"You have definitely lost too much blood."

Kasai's face was flushed, not expecting the caress that Avani had provided before they rose again. She shook her head and pushed the lump in her throat away, focusing next on how to make it out of this horrid situation. She kept one arm on Avani as she noticed that the young woman was not too steady on her feet at all. In fact, she was afraid she might drop dead right there. "Whoa now, crazy pants, take it easy." 

Kasai's eyes hastily scanned the area to make sure there were no more spears of black headed their way at the moment. She looked around, trying to locate her friends in the mess of black. Kieron was slowly stepping back, taking one step back after each sheet of rock he would send flying at the tentacles. She spotted Barron further into the liquid, he had turned the water from his pouch into sharp ice appendages on his arms, slicing through the waves of tar. 

She turned her attention when she heard Ryuu shout out, and soon she saw a bright flash of light from where he had been. It was unlike anything she'd seen before, a mighty combustion that he used as his last attack on the monster. 

Kieron had retreated to stand at Kasai's side, but Barron was nowhere to be seen. After the last light faded from the burning glow, he could be spotted with his head down and shoulders heaving heavily. 

"Barron! Are you crazy? We need to get out of here!" Kieron shouted, and took a step forward to retrieve his friend. But as soon as his foot hit the ground, the monster began to come to life again, a mixture this time of bubbling tar and winged creatures that had emerged from the bulbous center. Kieron stopped and gaped, then looked back to Barron. 

"Get them out of here, Kieron!" Barron shouted over his shoulder. He drew in a deep breath and then wasted no time in sprinting forwards towards the center of the tar monster. He stopped a few feet away and concentrated his bending with all of the strength he had left in him, using his waterbending to move the goo monster as if he were blood bending it. 

The bulging center quaked as he restricted it and controlled it with his entire being. Flying spirits still escaped the top of the sac, but the tar recessed into a large blob, shaking as it fought against Barron. He grit his teeth and screamed as he held it back. The whole thing appeared to be working until Barron's arms and legs began to quiver under the strain. Slowly, slivers of black tar slipped out from the blob, until all at once, the entire entity came cascading towards Barron, swallowing him up without a trace. 

Kasai let out a scream, falling to her knees as she watched her friend and colleague disappear into a sea of black. Kieron blinked away hot tears, but remained on his feet. He quickly glanced around, watching the small air bender being taken away as winged spirits began to swarm the sky. 

"Kas, get up. We have to get out of here." He pulled her up, but she was stumbling forwards. Kieron's eyes searched for Avani, and he caught a glimpse of her as she disappeared over the hill. He grunted as he picked Kasai up and ran over and down the ledge, with flying spirits swooping at them every few seconds. When he was close enough, he tossed Kasai towards Avani and used his last remaining seconds to build a thick wall of stone all around the two girls, forming a protective tent from the flying creatures. 

Just as he placed the last wall up, he held his hand out towards Kasai and waved to her, his face holding back the fear that he felt as a spirit swooped down and grabbed him, dragging him off into the distance. 

Kasai cried out again. Everyone she knew and cared about was now dead or as good as it. The sound of wings batting against the rock wall could be heard from within the dark tent, and Kasai realized Avani was lying next to her on the ground, her arm was still bleeding heavily. 

"Shit," she crawled over and rolled Avani on her back, looking at her arm. "Don't you dare quit on me now kid, we have unfinished business." She looked around, hoping one of them had been holding onto their packs, but there was no such luck. She searched her coat and trouser pockets, finding only a hand full of gauze from a blister earlier in the day. 

"This'll have to do then..." She unraveled the crumpled fabric and carefully wrapped it around Avani's arm, making just enough for one layer around her forearm. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to stop the bleeding, but everything that she had witnessed was too much for her to keep bottled up inside this time. She kept pressure on Avani's arm, knowing that it must be hurting quite a bit. "Please, don't punch me..." she said, her voice cracking. The sounds of spirits hitting their shelter was soon drowned out by Avani's suffering as Kasai heated flame in her hand and applied it to Avani's arm, where the bandages did not cover the most severe wounds. She was careful to only apply the small torch-like flame to the gashes in her flesh, cauterizing the wound and stopping the profuse bleeding, but it was difficult with the amount of pain Avani must be enduring. Cautiously, she finished and breathed out in relief that the worst part was over.