The Lady Xia

seventeen: Pai Sho

"Time is a game played beautifully by children."
~ Heraclitus, 

I rode behind Zuko, and he was still fuming at me a bit. Almost lit me on fire the other day, but Iroh thought it was rather entertaining how I 'accidentally' spilled tea on my coat. Speaking of Iroh, he was making sounds that made me question if he was dying. 

"Maybe we should make camp," I suggested. Trying not to cringe myself at the discomfort of riding. When Ryuu fired at me, he did manage to burn me, but it wasn't very large at first. It's been slowly getting worse as we travel. Partly because I don't have anything to clean it well, or even keep it clean. 

"No, please, don't stop for me!" Iroh exclaimed, and Zuko continued on, only for Iroh to continue moaning and groaning as if in agony. Zuko stopped and dismounted, he reached up to help me down, and I tried not to gasp as he touched where I was burned a week earlier. 

I helped Iroh sit down on a large rock, and then the ostrich horse's looked up in alarm. "What now?" Zuko asked in annoyance, and then I saw a rhino appear in front of us. I gave a little squeak of fright, I still can't handle the things. "Really, Xia?" 

"Colonel Mongke! What a pleasant surprise!" Iroh greeted as we were surrounded. 

"If you're surprised we're here then the Dragon of the West has lost a few steps," Colonel Mongke said. 

"You know these guys?" I asked in a squeaky voice. 

"Sure. Colonel Mongke and the Rough Riders are legendary," Iroh said. "Each one is a different kind of weapons specialist. They are also a very capable singing group."

"We're not here to give a concert," Colonel Mongke said. "We're here to apprehend fugitives!"

"I saw them a little further back," I volunteered nervously. 

"Would you like some tea first? I'd love some," Iroh said with a smirk. "How about you, Kachi? I make you as a jasmine man. Am I right?"

"Enough stalling! Round 'em up!" Colonel Mongke shouted. A man with a pony tail swung his ball and chain at Iroh, who easily kicked it away. It wrapped itself around the foot of another warrior's rhino, we dodged fire blasts coming out way, and I pulled out my bow and arrow to distract the other rhino riders. 

I started running towards the ostrich horses and swung onto it and started running them towards Zuko and Iroh. I grabbed Zuko's hand after he got Iroh onto an ostrich horse and we took off running. "Drive," I told Zuko as I turned around.

"What?" Zuko questioned, but stopped arguing as I turned around and faced the wrong way. "Xia, what are you doing?" 

"Hold still!" I told him as I glared at him, our faces only a breath apart. I quickly strung my bow and released a flaming arrow that I had laced with gunpowder. "I've been saving that," I said as it exploded as soon as it hit the ground. 

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Zuko asked as I turned back around.

"Didn't want to blow you two up," I shrugged. 

"It's nice to see old friends," Iroh said as he ran next to us. 

"Too bad you don't have any old friends that don't want to attack you," Zuko said. 

"Hmm... Old friends that don't want to attack me," Iroh mused. 

~*~

"Oh, thank goodness," I said as we walked into a sad little town. "They have drinks." 

"No one here is going to help us," Zuko said looking around. "These people just look like filthy wanderers."

"So do we," Iroh said as he looked around. "Ah, this is interesting. I think I've found our friend." We walked over to a Pai Sho table and Iroh sat down.