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Half an hour later, unable to bear the sound of Sachi's giggles and the guilt weighing in her chest, they set off; with two earth-benders bringing up the rear. They went off as quickly as their ostrich-horses would take them.

It was for the best, she kept reminding herself. So what if you prove him right. So what if one human suffers. You've always suffered. And he's meant to kill you anyway.

But is it right?

She kept her head bowed as she tried to concentrate on the road, gripping the reins so tightly her knuckles were white and taunt.

"I'm alright. Just a little...a little tired," she yawned. Well at least she wasn't adding that onto the lie list. "C'mon. I'd like to get to the second outpost by morning to take a short break."

"Ahh you're up early," Giji replied, "Unfortunately you just missed the girls. We recieved an urgent message from the Earth Temple an hour ago and the girls had to leave right away. But we'll set you back on the trail after some breakfast...Lady Yana promised to wait for you at the temple."
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Meanwhile, the girls had just awoken at the first outpost past the fortress, gobbling down breakfast as they rode on. "We can't be sure Kyoujin hasn't woken early. Even if he is set on the Serpent's Pass..." Yana felt extremely guilty at this point, "We'll have reached the ferry and arrived at the temple by nightfall. He'll have to camp out two nights for the Pass alone...if he gets by."

Maybe it was the screaming fleeing passengers that gave it away. Either that or the forceful rocking of the boat. Whichever it was...Yana was forced to rush back out on deck to see the trouble.

She was on the ferry to the other side of the lake, preparing to go to the Temple on the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se. But apparently there were other plans as she saw an enormous poison green serpent rise out of the water with a screech. Someone was on its head...someone very familiar....

"Well I'll be damned." Yana groaned, "Merchant Boy finally found a pet that's just as irritable and ferocious as he is."

(No offense meant Rose, but Sachi and Yana are on a boat. Poor ostrich-horse may be a tad queasy on a boat >_<)

"....No."

Yana felt conflicted in leaving him behind...covering up the abandonment with a total lie to top it off. But the serpent would not be so keen on leaving, even with Kyoujin on the boat. There were innocent passengers on board. And Yana, above all others, had to protect innocent people.

"We'll tell him we simply were delayed by bandits." she whispered quietly. "We can work around this."

Yana kept her eyes on the serpent. She'd known it once. A test of preserverance had taken her through the Serpents Pass once. Yana had followed the sign's warnings to a fault; abandoning hope for extra help and taking on the challenge alone.

But that day was chilling. She was as heartless and cold as the Serpent back then. Could she be now?

"I know," Yana said, bowing her head, "But sometimes we need to take on hopeless cases. It's never ever easy...but people like me will do it. It's my job to take on such burdens." She looked morose and solemn. "Hopefully...his only kill in life will be me. Then I'd know the damage was far less severe than I first feared."

"Of course I don't," Yana hissed back. "But I have a job and a duty. My comfort and safety must simply be sacrificed. And in any case-" She smoothed out her anger. "He doesn't know we left him behind on purpose. But this is less about the ways of the monks and more about keeping him under control." She eyed Sachi seriously.

"Do you really want him running around by himself with that monster he's riding? Or even alone, as a dangerous bender? We have to act as protectors for everyone else....I thought you knew what you were in for when he joined us..."