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Current Mood: bored
Current Location: Fifth Level - Living Quarters

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So, after finally getting pod-popped and being allowed to go on her merry way, Mai is wandering around the living area. She does have what appear to be throwing knives strapped to her arms or concealed as best she can in her bio-jumpsuit. She's idly twirling one of those knives in her right hand and looks positively bored with her life and surroundings. She pauses to run her free hand through her hair. Yeah, Mai's going to need a mirror and some hair-clips to get it looking anywhere near decent again.

Not that she cares that much.

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"You would?"

He says it softly and hesitantly, the level to which he is touched by the idea that Mai tried to find them showing through before his brain catches up to his heart.

"I . . . guess that wasn't the best . . . there just wasn't time." To give you the good-bye you deserved. That, and Zuko knows now more than ever that he could have never said his plan out loud to Mai, because saying "Hi Mai, I'm leaving my comfortable life in the palace as the heir to the most powerful country in the world to help the Avatar take that country down even though I spent the last three years of my life hunting him" would have just reminded him of how dumb the plan really sounded when he thought about it.

"Um . . . you're settling in well," he adds, still trying lamely to make small talk. "I see you found your knives . . ."

"I was on my way to the Boiling Rock before I ended up here, and it looks like I've managed to find you anyway, Zuko."

She crosses her arms, clearly not impressed with his excuse (well, at least she considers it an excuse). She glowers and although her voice isn't raised, it is still cold and filled with venom.

"There wasn't time? That makes me feel so much better to know that you couldn't spare five minutes to tell your girlfriend that you were leaving. You ripped my heart out, Zuko! You can't imagine what you put me through!"

She pauses, seething, then continues grudgingly, "Settling in? This place stinks. I'd rather be back in Ba Sing Se then here."

Mai flips the knife, then balances the tip of the hilt on her finger, "Glad you noticed. At least you're not totally oblivious."

He lowers his head, wincing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It was stupid, I know, but I couldn't . . ." face you. "Risk being -" slowed down. "stopped."

He sighs. "You have every reason to hate me for what I did. But I wouldn't have left if it wasn't absolutely necessary - Mai, I had to go. The Fire Nation - my father - he needed to be stopped."

He looked her in the eye again, gathering his resolve. "It wasn't about us, it was bout the whole world. I had to leave. For you. For the Fire Nation."

She watches him impassively. He certainly sounded sincere and her anger was beginning to cool. She was still hurting, but perhaps there could be reconciliation.

"You're sorry? You had to go? Zuko, you're betraying your nation, not helping it! I don't care about your father or any of the rest of it! I..."

She scowls and looks away, "I care about us. About you."

Softly, "I care about you too."

She doesn't understand. He doesn't know how to make her. All he wants to do is take her in his arms anyway.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry."

"Didn't mean too? You left me a letter! Couldn't you at least have looked me in the eye? Told me face-to-face?" She rubs one of her temples, irritated.

"I've already said that, haven't I? Ugh."

She glares again, "See what you're doing to me? And now I'm stuck on this stupid ship for who knows how long!" She pauses and adds, grudgingly, "At least you're here."

He cracks a smile at that. "Yelling at me might make you feel better."

He's touched again. She's actually glad I'm here. This is a terrible place to be, but still, she's glad to see him.

"I promise if I find a way off . . . I'll tell you about it, not leave you a note."

"What do you think I've been doing, Zuko? Singing your praises?" Mai rolls her eyes.

She crosses her arms and gives him what can only be described as a death glare, "You'd better tell me! If I have to go through that again, you will be sorry you were ever born."

Mai reaches out a finger to prod him in the chest, "And don't you ever break up with me again!"

Just like that? It's that easy?

Nothing in Zuko's life is that easy.

Except, apparently, this. The prince's momentary gaping turns into a smile of relief.

"I won't. I promise."

Mai keeps giving him that glare, "You'd better not."

She turns on her heel, glancing over her shoulder, "What is this place, anyway? Some ship? What are we doing here?"

"It's a ship, yeah. It sails through the stars."

He just walks behind her, content to see her at all, especially now that he knows she isn't going to kill him ~~right away~~. "Whoever's in charge of the ship brought us here to fight a war, but the ship won't give us any information beyond that."

"Sails through the stars...? How is that even possible?"

She walks along, not bothering to take in her surroundings or even pay much attention to any of the rooms or passages they were passing. It wasn't like she cared, anyway.

"Fight a war? Doesn't it have any of its own people?"

"I guess not. Or maybe they're just too lazy to fight their battles themselves."

Zuko DOES care - he's angry about it, and it shows.

"We've already been attacked by an army of giant roach-beetles. I don't know what's next."

Mai frowns softly, "Sounds like a few generals I've heard of..."

She turns back to him with a sigh, allowing her confusion to show through her facade of apathy. Really, Zuko is the only one she usually drops it for.

"An army of giant roach-beetles? Sounds fun."

She does manage to offer him a small smile of encouragement, despite the sarcasm in her voice.

"It's not. The people here are crazy. Even more than usual."

Well, Sparhawk's all right. But Brainy's obnoxious, Leela's annoying, Ax is weird, and don't get him started on Will.

The smile of encouragement hits him where he melts. Mai's smiles are special, partially because they're hers, and partially because they're so rare. "At least things will be a little more sane, now that you're here."

"Wow. Real vacation spot."

Mai likes this less the more she hears about it. Being stuck on some starship and being forced to fight giant bugs is not her idea of fun (that definition is relatively tiny, anyway).

She is, however, relieved to find Zuko here for all of the frustration and anger she was dealing with. He was something familiar and someone she actually cared about. It would (probably) make her stay a little more sane.

"Yeah... I'm glad you're here. Can't imagine what it must've been like to be here all alone."

"It was -"

Well, it's not as though Zuko hasn't been alone before. He's been a stranger in a strange land before, but being a Fire Nation Prince in the Earth Kingdom was a few steps down from being the only person from his entire world on a starship.

". . . it was pretty lonely," he admits. "Nobody here even knew what Bending is."

He smiles, thinking of Brainy and his scanner. "Some of them didn't even believe me when I showed them what it was. It's crazy here. There are green people, and people made of light - people who fly who aren't airbenders . . ."

Mai actually looks surprised. People don't know about Bending? Everyone knows what Bending is. Don't they?

"Nobody? How can they now know what Bending is?"

She pauses, listening to him for a few moments, "Sounds pretty crazy. At least it makes life a bit more... interesting."

"I don't know. A lot of them can do strange things, but they don't call it Bending. I wouldn't, either."

"Interesting. Yeah, that's about the best that can be said about it." he smiles a bit. "It's better now that you're here."

Mai shrugs and then smiles. It's one of those smiles that's reserved for Zuko and only Zuko, "Yeah. I'm glad I'm not here without you."

His hand finds hers. He squeezes it, gently.

It's a good thing nobody else is around, because if they saw Zuko smiling like a sap, his carefully crafted image of perpetual angst would be sunk.

She squeezes back and then moves forward to give him a hug.

The same is true of Mai as well, except it would be her perpetual indifference and apathy.

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