Once the engine was fueled and the and the Overlord was ready to go, the team was ready to meet up with Ty Lee and take a look at the trail Xisheng had discovered. As Mai had predicted, she had no choice but to leave the door to the driver's cabin open and lean out of it in order to direct Xisheng in the direction he needed to go. The view port of the Overlord made it impossible to look too high into the sky, since it was designed to offer maximum protection for the driver. There would be no way to see the smoke signal Xisheng had created from within the confines of the cabin.
Fortunately, that smoke signal had indeed reached into the sky by this point, with the column being tall enough that Mai could see it over the treetops and steer Xisheng in the right direction. Thankfully, the rather sparse tree canopy allowed her to keep track of it even while they were in the woods. As before, Xisheng had acknowledged the possibility of such a signal drawing unwanted attention, but there had really been no alternative other than wandering around and hoping they didn't waste too much time doing so.
Besides, they were really out in the middle of nowhere: Gaoling was really the only major city in the southern Earth Kingdom, and that was back West. There was practically no major settlement even worthy of being mentioned on a map to the East of Gaoling. It was essentially wilderness all the way to the ocean on the EK's eastern shore. Considering that there was nothing to even defend way out here, and that the Fire Nation didn't have any notable presence in the area since a staging area blocked off by the Si Wong desert was pointless, the chances of any sort of Earth Kingdom patrol being out here were practically nil.
Assuming that Xisheng was actually right and the white fur he had found did indeed belong to the Avatar's bison, then it was possible his group was in the area: but if they did see the smoke, it was possible that it would actually lure them in, which would ultimately be beneficial for them. Got rid of the hassle of a chase, at any rate.
Considering that the destination in question wasn't that far away, it didn't take long to reach it, even though the Overlord had to take some winding paths around trees, which slowed them down. Thankfully, Mai's sharp gaze kept them going in the direction they needed, so that type of hassle didn't cause them too much of a problem. It was a bit odd to have Mai leaning out of the open cabin door to give him directions, but thankfully they were moving slow enough that she was in no danger of harm. Admittedly, Xisheng was worried about the danger to her person if she was needed for following the trail of fur, if Azula authorized it. He would probably need her to do the same thing in that situation.
One way or another, it wasn't long before the vehicle broke through the woods and reached the bank of the river they were looking for. On the opposite side of the river was the very bonfire Xisheng had left as his marker, with Ty Lee kneeling down some ways from it, keeping a watchful eye on the flames and ensuring that they didn't grow out of control. Thankfully her job wasn't very hard, since Xisheng had created quite a large fire break around it.
Considering that the team would have to get to the opposite bank anyway and he assumed they didn't want to get wet while fully clothed, Xisheng went ahead and plowed the Overlord into the water, after telling Mai to shut the door and keep herself dry, of course. Frankly he wondered how Ty Lee had gotten across without getting wet herself: while the river was rather narrow at this point, it would have been impressive if she had actually managed to jump it. Then again, maybe she had just taken off her shoes and waded through it. With such a raging fire nearby, drying off wouldn't have been much of an issue.
When the crossing was over and done with and the Overlord was safely parked, Xisheng and Mai disembarked the vehicle, with Azula following suit from her much roomier cabin. With the three of them approaching the large bonfire, Ty Lee wasted no time in excitedly waving to them and making some proclamation about getting lonely out here. As for Xisheng, he quickly took control of the bonfire's flames with his bending and extinguished them. Their purpose had been served, leaving only a smoldering pile of tinder.
With a specific purpose in mind and with the intent to waste as little time as possible, Azula was quick to summon Xisheng's attention.
"So, Lieutenant: where is this suspicious trail of yours?"
Xisheng traced his steps to where he had spotted the white fur when he was first here. Once he was confident that he was standing in the same spot as before, the soldier peered into the woods before him. Even knowing what he was looking for, it took him a few moments to spot the first tuft of hair that was their objective. There was a lot to take in within his field of vision, after all.
"Right there. Can you see it?"
He pointed directly at the first white spot he saw, hanging off of a tree branch. Both Azula and Mai came to stand next to him, trying to follow his outstretched finger to its implied destination.
Unsurprisingly, Mai saw it first. As always, her sharp eyes impressed.
"Yeah, I see it. And the next one too, stuck on that vine. There's a third one a little further away. I'll admit, the placement of this fur does seem to indicate that it fell from up high."
While not as quick as Mai, Azula quickly picked up the trail herself.
"I concur. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean this is tied to our prey, but I can see why you would find it prudent to bring this to my attention, Lieutenant. Good work."
"Of course, Princess."
Now that he had finally done his job as far as this situation was concerned, Xisheng had little to do other than wait. At this point, their course of action was up to Azula and Azula alone. Unless she asked for their input, there was little else for the others to say.
That being said, it didn't look like Azula was going to ask any questions right away. Her hand on her chin, it was fairly obvious that the Crown Princess was deep in thought, perhaps weighing their options and the merits of both.
Having lost the trail of the Avatar after Gaoling and having no way to accurately pick it up again, Azula's intention had been to continue eastward to make contact with the nearest Fire Nation outpost, which Xisheng had assured her rested on the west coast of the Earth Kingdom. The reason for this was simple: blindly searching around for the Avatar when he could have been anywhere in the world by now was a waste of valuable time. Instead, it would be more productive to return to Fire Nation territory and be appraised of the current war situation if possible. If pursuing the Avatar was a waste of time due to a lack of a trail, then there were surely other war efforts Azula and her companions could contribute to.
Such things were outside of the general scope of her mission: even hunting the Avatar was something her father had not explicitly told her to do. However, it wasn't as if Ozai had told her that she was forbidden from doing anything while abroad. He trusted in her judgment and discretion, and likely would have applauded her for trying to do greater things that were within her power. He had always told her to settle for nothing less than all she could achieve, after all.
As for getting back to Fire Nation territory and being appraised of the war situation, one would think they could have just turned around and returned to Omashu instead of making for a remote outpost. There were two reasons why they hadn't done this.
For one, returning to Omashu was actually a more time consuming ordeal than heading for the remote outpost to the East. Between Omashu and Gaoling was mountain lowlands and a huge forest that couldn't be skirted. Xisheng had experienced quite a degree of difficulty in navigating all of it on their initial journey here. On the other hand, the path to the remote outpost was mostly easy terrain for the Overlord to navigate. Once they left this forest they were in now, which was already sparse, there would be little in the way of obstacles to slow them down. Ultimately, reaching the outpost in question would take less time than going back to Omashu.
Of course, there was a second reason Azula had foregone Omashu. That was because there was only one real operation left in the war's entirety: capturing Ba Sing Se. The South Pole was negligible, the North was suppressed, Gaoling was no threat and Omashu had been recently neutralized. Pockets of resistance from the enemy may have existed across their territories, but Ba Sing Se was well and truly their last remaining stronghold. Once that was over and done with, the war would be well and truly over, at least in an official capacity. Azula had no doubt guerilla warfare between the Fire Nation and rebel forces would continue for some time after the official conclusion of the war.
Point being, Azula was very confident in saying that the next military operation would be against Ba Sing Se. And if she wanted to contribute to that operation, she would have to reach Ba Sing Se. Unfortunately, Azula and her retinue were on the literal opposite side of the continent from the city, and the Si Wong desert separated them, among other things.
Reaching Ba Sing Se from Omashu was actually very easy, if one took an aquatic path. There was a channel one could enter near Omashu that led right into Full Moon Bay, which was about the closest one could get to Ba Sing Se as far as its shores were concerned. However, Full Moon Bay was currently the epicenter of a large refugee evacuation for the Earth Kingdom, and was heavily fortified. Moreover, news of Omashu's fall had almost certainly reached Ba Sing Se by now, so such an obvious route would be fortified even further.
This was also why Serpent's Pass, the land route, was off the table. While the East side of the Pass was technically under Fire Nation control, it wasn't very tight. Ships weren't occupying that space in great numbers, due to constant Earth Kingdom entanglements and the titular serpent that resided in those waters. Traveling that route on land in hopes of flagging down a Fire Nation ship to take them the rest of the way was risky and complicated, not to mention likely to fail altogether.
So ultimately, it was a simpler matter to travel to the East Fire Nation outpost on the Southern shores of the EK, at which point Azula and her allies could take a ship around the easily accessible waters on the Eastern shore of the continent, all the way to land near Ba Sing Se. At that point moving safely on land would be easy.
The question was this: was this potential lead on the Avatar worth delaying that entire plan of action for an undetermined period of time? Would it be worth delaying hours, days, or even weeks? What if it ended up being nothing? What if it was just some wild animal that had white hair and was shedding? Azula would be particularly disgruntled if they wasted a ton of time chasing some pointless lead.
But there was no way to determine whether or not this was a worthwhile risk or not. All she could really do was guess.
With no words from Azula forthcoming for several moments, it was clear to everyone else that she wasn't particularly confident on making a decision one way or another. But no one had anything to say to help her make a decision. Or at least, Xisheng and Ty Lee didn't.
Mai, glancing back at the Princess from her position nearest the forest and the trail being considered, debated whether or not she really wanted to say anything. On one hand, she didn't particularly fancy the idea of following this trail through the woods, especially since she knew she would have to play a major part in the pursuit. She wouldn't be able to just relax while they pursued this lead, if they chose to.
On the other hand, it's not like the alternatives were really any better. If they ignored this trail, they would just be driving East for several days, according to Azula. In all that time, Mai would have little to do other than lay around, and that was even more dull than doing something that she didn't care much about. Besides, if they did follow this trail, she would have to stay in the driver's cabin to help Xisheng follow it with their vehicle. The two of them hadn't really talked at length since the conclusion of his duel with Azula earlier. Not that she would admit that the notion of talking with him again lifted her spirits, but she was somewhat curious about a number of things following the huge debacle that had gone down. Namely, she wanted to know how he had gotten Azula to take a loss so well. Mai really hadn't thought that was possible.
In the end, she decided it was worth speaking up. Anything was better than standing around here, right?
"Azula, if you want to investigate this, you don't have to worry that much about wasting a lot of time."
Surprised to hear an interjection from Mai of all people, Azula cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Is that so?"
"Think about it: if this is just some animal and not the Avatar's bison, then following the trail will lead us to something that makes that obvious pretty quickly: an animal path, a nest or a den, hunting grounds... if this fur is from a wild animal from around here, there will be signs that make that clear before we have to follow it too far. If that happens, we can just get back to what we were doing."
Xisheng was quite impressed with this deduction, though he didn't say anything since Azula was the one being addressed.
"I suppose you have a point... I must say, Mai, I didn't expect you to be this well-versed in tracking. Doesn't seem like something you'd have experience in.
To this, Mai merely shrugged.
"I'm not. Just seemed obvious to me."
There was a small twitch in Azula's expression, probably a disgruntled one that had to do with the implication of something obvious eluding her, but ultimately she said nothing about it. The thing about Mai was that she often called things as she saw them, so it was very unlikely that she was actually trying to insult anyone in situations like these. Throwing a fit over it would just waste time.
"Well, one way or another you're right about this. That said, I suppose we can spare a little bit of time to investigate this since our current objective wasn't tied to a particularly tight timetable. Although, if this does happen to lead to the Avatar..."
Azula petered off again at this, her hand going to her chin as she glanced back at the parked Overlord.
"...we'll probably need the Mongoose Lizards to engage him. Out here in the wilderness, they'll have plenty of avenues of escape available. Not only will we have to catch them on the ground, but we'll have to close the distance and attack very quickly so they can't run before we actually have a chance to strike."
At this point Xisheng stepped into the conversation as well.
"Rapid deployment could be a problem. With the smoke from the vehicle, we'll hardly be sneaking up on anyone paying attention. I'll be driving of course, and I'll need Mai with me in the driver's cabin to navigate for me. That means the two of us won't be able to immediately mount the Lizards and deploy. As for you and Ty Lee, you'll probably have to stay in the car with the Lizards themselves to quickly deploy from the vehicle and attack immediately."
Needless to say, Azula didn't look particularly happy about sitting around in the same car as their mounts. While they weren't nearly as bad as Ostrich Horses, Mongoose Lizards still weren't particularly pleasant company, especially for a Princess. Even so, Xisheng had a point.
"Well, let's wait until we're certain of what we are pursuing before worrying about that. No need to put ourselves into an uncomfortable situation prematurely. But assuming that they will be needed: Ty Lee, do you feel that they're ready to go right now?"
The brunette looked a little confused by the question, wondering how she had been saddled with the job of animal ringleader. Apparently, she had been appointed due to being slightly more knowledgeable about Mongoose Lizards than any of her friends. Darn that one summer at the circus, giving her such a skill set...
A little dismayed to have the job but understanding why she did, Ty Lee figured it would be best to just roll with it. She had been paying more attention to the Lizards than anyone else, after all. It was usually her that made sure they stretched their legs, stayed fed, and remained generally docile. Thankfully that wasn't hard since Mongoose Lizards were actually pretty tame. They didn't get too antsy in the car of the Overlord since it was usually warm, and there was a certain rhythm to its movement.
"Well, they went out while we were parked for most of the day, and they ate not that long ago, so they should be ready to go on another trip if you want to leave right now."
Content with that, Azula merely nodded.
"Very well. We should get underway immediately then. You and I can wait in the main cabin, Ty Lee. Lieutenant, alert me via the communication pipes if something of import arises."
Xisheng bowed at that, watching as Azula retreated to the main cabin of the Overlord, Ty Lee on her heels. The latter was giving him a sort of disgruntled pouting look, perhaps unhappy with the notion that he and Mai would be alone for an extended period of time. Frankly, Xisheng didn't know why the notion bothered her at all. They'd be busy, to start with, but on top of that he highly doubted that Mai had any sort of interest in him that would get in the way of Ty Lee's own, especially considering what the acrobat had made clear earlier today...
Remembering an extremely flustering conversation and the embarrassing implications that went with it, Xisheng turned to the driver's cabin, hoping to put those unprofessional thoughts from his mind by focusing on the task at hand. It only partially worked, so he decided to try harder by speaking to his new companion for the moment.
"Sorry about this, Mai. I'm sure you didn't really want to do this today."
Following him towards the driver's cabin, Mai sighed, but it almost seemed obligatory. She didn't actually sound that disgruntled.
"It's not like it's your fault the situation is what it is. I'm sure you didn't really want to do this today either."
"Well, I was driving either way, but I guess you're right in saying this is a little more tedious. It's not all bad though: I like having your company, and I doubt I would have had that if this situation hadn't come up."
Opening the door of the vehicle, Xisheng's hearing was somewhat impaired due to the groaning of metal on metal. Because of this, he didn't actually hear Mai's response.
"You could have just asked..."
Knowing she had said something but unsure of what it had actually been, Xisheng glanced over his shoulder.
"Sorry, what was that?"
Perhaps realizing that she had said something kind of embarrassing, Mai didn't repeat herself, instead opting for something else entirely as she fought down a mildly flustered feeling that would have broken her usually impeccable mask.
"I said it's a little sad you get so lonely. You'd think you would actually want a little peace and quiet after everything that's happened to you this week."
Accepting her altered response at face value, Xisheng merely responded to that.
"I suppose that's fair. But honestly, I don't find your presence taxing in any way that would necessitate avoiding you if I was tired or frustrated. You don't really infringe on any semblance of peace and quiet."
Xisheng said all of this as he stepped into the Overlord proper, lighting a lantern near the door that illuminated the cabin for its occupants. That wouldn't be necessary once the engine was running, but it was a preferable alternative to having to Firebend a light until that was accomplished. All things considered, he didn't see the somewhat gratified expression on Mai's face as she took his impression of her into consideration. It wasn't everyday that someone told you that, of all people, they didn't feel as though they ever needed a break from you.
Of course, before she took that to heart too seriously, perhaps it would be best to discern how he really meant it. It could actually be insulting, depending on how and why he had formed this opinion. Mai decided to investigate just a little bit as she stepped onto the door frame where she'd likely be spending a significant amount of time today.
"And Ty Lee and Azula do? Well, I can get why you might need to avoid Azula from time to time after the past few days, but you don't ever seem to get fed up with Ty Lee."
"As you say, there's definitely a certain level of exhaustion that builds up over time with Azula. She's very intense, and even when she tones that down a bit, you can never really relax: she's always plotting something, or trying to catch you off-guard, or expecting something of you. Admittedly, all of those things contribute to making her a very interesting person, but it also requires you to be constantly focused and attentive around her. Of course, a lot of that may simply be because she has deigned to teach me personally. I'm sure these aspects of her character are different for me than they are for you or Ty Lee."
Folding her arms as she waited for Xisheng to reignite the coal powered flames of the Overlord, Mai couldn't help but agree with that assessment. He was right in saying that it was a little different from the perspective of her friends, but Azula was indeed a demanding personality to be around. She had high expectations, lofty ambitions, a confidence that often bordered on disdain for others, and a penchant for holding everyone to her standards. She was difficult to please and easy to agitate. Like running a marathon, just being around her was an often draining experience that one needed to recuperate from. Frankly, Mai wondered if she would have ever become friends with her as children if it hadn't been more or less out of her hands. Probably not, honestly.
Realizing that she was thinking almost entirely bad things about Azula, Mai actually felt obligated to point out something good that justified them being friends. Otherwise she really had to question what on Earth she was doing here at Azula's behest.
She supposed the Princess was usually good to her friends, even if she was a little finicky from time to time. The debacle with Xisheng was evidence enough of that. Even though Azula very rarely said it out loud, there was a certain respect that she had for Mai and Ty Lee at least: she wouldn't have asked them on this mission or even have been friends with them as kids if she didn't appreciate their skills and abilities, and whatever else it was that the Princess considered important.
For Mai specifically, perhaps it was simply the fact that life with or around Azula wasn't and never had been boring. From mischievous second child to current teenage heiress, she was always pursuing something that was more interesting than whatever else Mai had to do. She had little doubt that this reality was a major contributor to their continued relationship. Admittedly, that didn't seem like very good grounds for a friendship, but it was what it was.
As the fires of the coal burning engine roared to life at Xisheng's hands, Mai realized she hadn't actually responded to him, which was probably something he had been expecting.
"OK, so that's plenty of fair reasoning for Azula. But you didn't say anything about Ty Lee. You don't ever really seem bothered by her presence."
Xisheng picked up a shovel that was constantly resting near the engine and shoveled in some coal to get it going. It was a wonder that he could hear Mai speak to him next to the roar of the flame. Hopefully that noise would block out anything condemning from entering the communication pipes and being heard by their friends: in hindsight, Mai hoped Azula hadn't heard everything they had just said about her...
As for Xisheng, there was a really weird expression on his face as the conversation turned to Ty Lee. Mai couldn't really tell what that was about, but the solider got it under control soon enough, so she forgot about it swiftly.
"Well I would never say that Ty Lee's presence bothers me, per se. But she is a very... enthusiastic person. Even when we're just talking about something minor, there's a certain level of energy she brings to the table, and a certain level of energy she expects from others, as well. I'm sure we both know that this level of energy is a lot higher than most people exude on a regular basis. I'm glad she's so energetic and passionate: someone who finds joy and happiness in everything is rare in this world to begin with, but having that kind of person in your life is especially rare for a soldier like me. You see so many terrible things in war, so many examples of humanity at its lowest, that it's easy to forget how to enjoy things in life. I'm glad that Ty Lee constantly reminds me that there are plenty of reasons to smile and laugh, even when things are rough."
For her part, Mai couldn't help but wonder about all of these "terrible things" Xisheng talked about in regards to his soldiering. It was kind of easy to forget that he had apparently seen a lot of people die, and that he'd probably killed a lot of them himself. He just didn't strike Mai as the haunted, brooding about dark deeds and darker realities type of guy. Maybe he just hid those memories away. Or maybe he just didn't have them. Mai certainly wasn't going to ask, at least not yet. She didn't think he would trust her of all people with that.
That being said, she didn't say anything, which gave the soldier time to finish his piece on why Ty Lee was someone he could arguably need a break from, even if they were few and far between.
"All of that said, if I'm too emotionally spent or physically exhausted, I could see it as being difficult to hold any meaningful interaction with Ty Lee that would be satisfying for both of us. It's weird to call her "demanding," but I feel as though she has a certain expectation for others to try and match her positivity and cheerfulness at all times. That, in its own way, can be tiring, depending on the circumstances. Of all the people in this group, I can't think of any aspect of you that's tiring, even in a small way like that."
Now that he had finished all of that and was moving towards the driver's chair, Mai actually did deign him with a response. Mostly because she was closing in on Xisheng's reasoning for not finding her exhausting. What she believed that reasoning to be, at any rate.
"So basically, the main reason you don't see me as someone who "infringes on any semblance of peace and quiet" is because I'm boring?"
Glancing over at her, Xisheng found that his partner in conversation actually seemed quite displeased by this notion. He supposed it made sense: Mai did hate boredom, after all.
"No, it's not because you're boring, Mai. You're... relaxing. Tranquil, almost. This may sound odd, but I don't feel as though you really expect anything of me, other than me being somewhat interesting and not a nuisance to you. I don't feel like I have to try and be a certain way with you, whether it's trying to be more ambitious, or cheerful, or dedicated to a certain goal. This is not to say that I'm faking those things when interacting with Ty Lee or Azula: but I feel like you aren't disappointed when I'm too tired to act a certain way, or when I just want to spend time doing something that ultimately might not be that practical or useful. Am I explaining this well?"
Having not expected this type of explanation at all, Mai wasn't quite sure how she felt about it. But ultimately, Gohan seemed to think of it all as a good thing and a good opinion of her. She supposed that mattered most.
"Well, it's a little weird to hear that what you really like about me is the fact that I don't expect much from you..."
"I really meant it more along the lines of being able to be myself in any emotional or mental state around you: so long as that state is somewhat interesting and doesn't annoy you. Not having to put in any effort to be a certain way around you means that your presence doesn't really cause any fatigue, so ultimately I don't feel as though I ever need a break from you. Maybe that makes more sense."
Probably unaware that she was even doing it, Mai smiled a bit.
"I suppose it does make sense. To be honest, I guess I kind of feel the same way about you... I don't really feel like you expect anything of me either. Maybe it's because you're just too passive to care, or maybe you actually understand me better than most: either way, I don't really feel like you ever tire me out either. That's a first..."
Getting as comfortable as he could in his chair, Xisheng smiled too, though his was combined with a bit of smugness.
"Oh really? Mai, are you saying I'm special to you?"
Averse to teasing as always, Mai's smile swiftly turned to a frown. She also wasted no time in turning her back on him, directing her gaze outside.
"You've cleared a low bar that the rest of humanity has somehow failed to, that's all. Don't get too cocky about it."
The tone of her voice, while irritable, wasn't truly unhappy, so Xisheng was able to tell that Mai wasn't honestly upset. That being the case, his smile widened even further as his situated his hands on the levers of the Overlord.
"So I'm the only one out of a very large number: what's the definition of special again?"
"Are we going to get going, or what?"
Chuckling to himself, Xisheng decided he would let the subject rest. He was more than content to simply know the things that had been revealed between the two of them in this conversation. Knowing that he had something uniquely special between him and all of his allies, even the prospect of navigating the wilds based solely on verbal directions didn't seem that bad.
---
Hours later, Xisheng was rethinking his sentiment in regards to the scenario not being that bad. It was true that he had company in the driver's cabin, and it was even company that Xisheng really liked. But having Mai with him was quite literally the only good thing about the situation. Everything else about it was bad.
For one, maneuvering the Overlord through forests was difficult enough under the best circumstances. With the addition of two cars to the main engine, the Overlord was arguably the largest land vehicle in the Fire Nation military, and considering that it wasn't the most maneuverable vehicle to begin with, there were many times Xisheng had to take a detour around terrain it simply couldn't pass.
That issue was compounded by the fact that their path was determined by tufts of white fur that Mai had to pick out of the scenery, meaning they had a very narrow range of maneuverability. Xisheng couldn't stray the vehicle too far from the path whenever an obstacle came up, or picking it back up again would be nearly impossible. That too took time and effort, being remarkably tedious. Honestly, out of all of it, Xisheng was most impressed by Mai's ability to keep the trail with little more than her hawkish vision. Sure, they had lost the trail a few times, but Mai always managed to pick it back up in the end.
Unfortunately, the nature of the exercise required a great deal of focus and attention from both of them, so there was little in the way of conversation between Xisheng and Mai over the course of the several hours they had been on the move. Sure, they'd managed to talk about a few things, albeit with interruptions every time Mai had to direct him towards the next step of their trail. The best they could really do the whole time was small talk, which wasn't really satisfying for either of them.
Finally, there was the fact that they had been at this wretched task for roughly six hours, with no break other than one for food, water and physical relief from biology's demands. Xisheng's ass and knees were both stiff as hell, and Mai had made it clear many times that her legs were killing her, no surprise considering that she had nowhere to sit for the duration of their travails. They hadn't been able to entertain the option of changing roles, as Xisheng didn't have her impeccable ability to follow a trail, and while Mai had driven the Overlord a little bit, she didn't have the experience to maneuver it around efficiently in such a tenuous situation.
There were only two things that could be considered good news at this point. For one, the fact that the trail they were following was still going, even after all of these hours and miles, made it highly likely that they were indeed on the Avatar's trail. Secondly, they had left the wooded forests behind some time ago, giving way to open ground that was much easier for the Overlord to traverse, and much easier for Mai to see long distances across. After what was shaping up to be a downright exhausting experience, they finally had it a little easier.
Unfortunately, even this turn of fate was completely unchallenged. Having left near noon prior to six hours of travel, darkness was beginning to fall. It wasn't the all-encompassing darkness of night quite yet, but it wouldn't be long before dusk reached that point. Now that they had a bit more leeway as far as focus was concerned, Xisheng made sure to raise a brief discussion about this.
"How long do you think you'll be able to keep track of the trail with it getting darker like this?"
Mai, leaning heavily on the door frame of the cabin to take some strain off of the legs she'd been more or less standing on for six hours, held up a hand to block her hair from flowing into her face thanks to the wind. No point talking with a mouthful of hair in your immediate future. Even after all of that, she was a little slow in responding. She was clearly tired.
"It should be a full moon tonight, and the skies don't look too cloudy... I should be able to keep an eye on the trail for a bit longer yet. Bank right towards that hill, by the way."
Xisheng did as he was told, completely blind to whatever trail Mai was following. Every once in awhile, he felt like he could see some of the white fur they were looking for, but more often than not it ended up being a trick of the light. He pretty much had to trust her senses, but she hadn't steered him wrong so far, as best as he could tell.
Of course, depending on how tired she was, the accuracy of her tracking could suffer. The fact that she wasn't even complaining much about this objectively shitty situation was evidence enough that she was actively conserving energy for the task at hand. To say this worried Xisheng was a major understatement.
"Since it's getting dark, I feel that our chase will come to an end sooner rather than later. Even the Avatar has to sleep."
If this made Mai feel any better about the situation, her words didn't make it obvious.
"So do his hunters."
"That's true. Azula and Ty Lee may be fine, but if we do come across our foes, I'm worried about you. Leaping into action after so many hours of standing isn't as easy as it sounds."
Mai kept her eyes on their surroundings since missing any part of the trail could cause them a significant setback.
"Me? What about you? You started this day off getting beaten up by Azula. Then you had to sit around in that metal chair for the same amount of time I've been standing here. If anyone should sit things out when the fighting starts, it should be you. Did you even have time to treat your injuries before all of this started?"
Xisheng could admit that, objectively, his situation must have looked pretty bad from Mai's point of view. But for him, it didn't strike him as that odd.
"It's not so bad. I've actually had a lot of experience with this type of thing. You stand around on guard duty for four or five hours, then have to leap into a fight to hold the line. You get injured in the heat of battle, and you just have to keep fighting until it's over. You know, one time an Earthbender split my shoulder, and I had to crawl away-"
Having cast his gaze towards Mai in some sort of macabre bragging about the old days, Xisheng cut himself short when he saw that she had turned her head enough to glare at him. Naturally he felt the need to cover his mistake somehow.
"Sorry, guess you have to be a soldier to get a kick out of that."
Mai turned her attention back to the outside, but she still sounded pretty irritable.
"So soldiers get a good laugh when they hear stories about their friends getting hurt? Are you all just psychos? And bank left towards the third mountain from the prow."
While getting directions threw a weird interruption into the conversation, Xisheng didn't let it distract him from the subject at hand. Maybe Mai had a point. He wouldn't want to hear about her or Ty Lee or Azula being hurt, even if the instance was in the past. No sane person really wanted to dwell on gruesome injuries their friends may have suffered.
Of course, all of his soldier comrades back in the field would have laughed about it. They also laughed about the Kebab thing once a week. But maybe that was just the kind of atmosphere that existed between people who knew they could die on any given day at their job. Dark humor was a good way to cope with the stress and trauma... but only around people who had gone through the same and got it.
Maybe it wasn't a good thing that they all got it. Maybe it was the normal people back in regular society that were right, acknowledging that there was something fucked up about people like Xisheng making a joke out of their suffering. Sure, it was his suffering, and in a way, he had a right to treat it however he wanted... but he could also understand why those who cared about him would be unhappy if he treated said suffering as a joking matter. If he cared about them in the same way then he should have the presence of mind to understand how they felt about it.
Coming to that conclusion, Xisheng figured he had to apologize again, though for a different reason.
"Sorry, Mai. I guess it does seem crazy from a normal person's point of view. It's just... well, you, Ty Lee and Azula are kind of the first friends I've had in years outside of the Army. I've... forgotten what it's like, really. I'll do better, I promise."
Feeling something very unusual for her (pity, maybe?) Mai tried to clarify that she hadn't really meant it that way. She didn't want him to feel like he had to hide or tone down an aspect of himself. Such things were exactly what she had hated about her own childhood. If anything, what she was really upset about was how nonchalantly he considered all the crap he'd been through. People like that, too selfless to consider themselves slighted or too sheepish to feel like they deserved some sort of respite from their struggles... something about it just pissed her off.
"I don't want you to do better, I just want you to be a little more- wait..."
Mai cut her statement short as she squinted out at a point in the sky, trying to identify something. Considering the task at hand, she had no choice but to shift her focus even though what she had to say was important. It would have to wait until later, considering what she had in her sights.
"Over there, above that copse of trees to your right: I think I see the Avatar's bison flying away from us. Do you see it?"
Ever the professional, Xisheng likewise shelved their conversation to focus on the mission. He had to lean down to increase the angle of his upward view, but ultimately he was able to see what Mai was talking about. Granted, to him it was just a white spot in the sky, but he could tell by the somewhat unnatural movement that it certainly wasn't a cloud, and it was visible from too far a distance to be a bird.
"I see it. Did you only just notice it?"
"No, it came up from the trees. Must have just taken off."
"Hm. Guess they must have seen us coming. No surprise, what with the big trail of smoke from the engine and all. I wouldn't be surprised if Toph could sense the approach of something this heavy with her Earthbending either."
While she kept her eyes on the target so they could keep following it, Mai nevertheless glared at the implication.
"If that's true, we're doomed. Anytime we get close they'll just fly away again. Hasn't this all been a waste of time?"
"Not necessarily. It's called endurance hunting: they may be able to outpace us in a sprint, but if we can overtake them in a marathon, then ultimately we win. That bison is an animal, so it'll tire out eventually. We have a machine that never falters. As long as we can keep track of them..."
Mai didn't seem nearly as optimistic about this assessment.
"We've been driving for hours already. Hard to talk about endurance considering the situation. I don't think I can keep this for a whole lot longer."
Even though Xisheng had far more experience in long shifts in uncomfortable positions than Mai did, he definitely saw where she was coming from. This type of scenario wasn't great for them: with he and Mai exhausted and cramped from the situation, half the team would be either greatly hindered or out of the fight entirely, against an opposing team of three powerful benders: plus the Water Tribe boy. It wasn't particularly good odds. And that was assuming their enemies even stopped again within a reasonable time frame. Experienced as he was, Xisheng was with Mai on the fact that he probably couldn't keep this up for another four to six hours.
That said, he didn't believe it would come to that. The fact that the Avatar and his gang were on the ground out here in the middle of nowhere meant they were likely preparing to stop for the night, which meant they were likely tired or approaching a time that they were usually sleepy. Even if they had the wits about them to abandon sleep and flee at this point, they'd probably tucker out eventually, likely choosing to stand and fight before they collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. Besides, kids more easily succumbed to sleep than their elders.
That said, they had options as well. Unlike Azula's team, which required two people to follow the Avatar, his group didn't have to go in any particular direction: only one of them needed to stay awake to guide their bison, if any of them had to stay awake at all: maybe the bison was perfectly capable of running away without any direction. Point being, many of them could sleep on the pretty spacious back of their animal transport while fleeing from their Fire Nation pursuers. Xisheng and Mai didn't have that luxury.
"I personally don't think we'll have to. I'll not pretend to know the limits of that bison's stamina or their own ability to stay awake overnight, but even if they don't tire out, I wouldn't be surprised if they choose to stand and fight just out of frustration. If Toph is with them, she may even try and persuade them to do just that for the sole sake of fighting Azula..."
Mai didn't know what she was expecting: perhaps some sort of answer that would have allowed them to rest or call of the chase, but she had known from the start that wasn't going to happen. That being said, all she could really do was sigh.
"Regardless, I'm not helping with the fight. My legs are killing me."
"That's fair. Either way, I'm going to alert Azula regarding the situation."
Since the Overlord could continue driving so long as it had fuel in the engine, there was no issue with Xisheng leaving his chair to head for the communication pipes near the back, using the opportunity to stretch as he did so. In that regard he had been better off than Mai for most of this ordeal, since she couldn't really leave her vantage point, lest they lose track of the trail they were following.
Leaning towards the pipes, Xisheng simply assumed that Azula was listening in, or that he would be loud enough to awaken her if she were sleeping. Frankly, Azula struck him as a light sleeper.
"Princess, we have eyes on the Avatar. He's fleeing in the opposite direction with his bison. Presumably, our approach was detected."
For a moment, there was no answer. However, it didn't take long for that to change, even though Azula's voice was a little distorted through all of those pipes between the cars.
"Very good, Lieutenant. Continue the chase, and alert me when a confrontation seems likely."
With little else to be said, the conversation ended, leaving Mai with room to sigh yet again.
"Typical. Not even a little grateful that we're doing all this crap."
Still near the pipes, Xisheng didn't say anything to that, lest it be heard by his superior. Mai may have been safe talking at a low volume at her distance, but Xisheng certainly wouldn't be, and he wasn't going to risk that.
That said, another voice came across before he could return to the driver's seat. This one was Ty Lee's.
"Gohan, are you and Mai alright? You've been cooped up in the front all day. Have you had any more water since we stopped?"
Xisheng couldn't help but smile at this: while Ty Lee had certainly made herself a rather... awkward existence earlier today, somehow she still managed to negate that lewd image entirely when she was so sweet and considerate. Odd, how such a pervert could turn completely around on a whim. Then again, maybe it was presumptuous and rude to assume that perverts couldn't also be very nice and caring people.
"We're fine, Ty Lee. Well, I'm fine. I'm sure Mai would disagree with that assessment."
Rather than agreeing with that, Mai scowled and kept her attention on the Avatar and his bison. Losing sight of them now would just cause an even bigger hassle for them. Of course, considering that they could fly, their prey would definitely escape her sight sooner rather than later, but knowing which direction they had gone in at all was certainly helpful.
Naturally, Ty Lee didn't know how Mai had responded, but she was probably well aware anyway. Anyone who knew anything about Mai would know how she would react in this situation.
"Alright, but when this is all over, you and Mai had better forget everything and just rest, alright? I bet it's been really uncomfortable up there this whole time."
"Yeah, remind me to tell our military's development branch to make some cushions for these seats. I doubt they sat in them even once before saying this thign was fit for service."
"Oh, we should have gotten you one while we were in Gaoling, maybe-"
Perhaps foreseeing why this conversation was getting too long for its own good, Mai interrupted it.
"Gohan, do I need to remind you that you have to turn this thing to keep following the Avatar?"
"Right, fair point. Sorry Ty Lee, back to the driver seat for me."
Since it was true that he couldn't afford to lose track of their prey, Xisheng didn't wait for whatever response he may have gotten, instead hopping back into the driver seat posthaste. It was just in time, since Mai had to guide him to a new direction. Not for the first time, Xisheng couldn't help but wonder how much easier this all would have been if dragons were still around in the Fire Nation. Whatever happened to all of them anyway?