As Kasai sat next to Avani in the small shelter that had been built around them, she could not help but let her mind wander. As the woman next to her tossed and turned in her sporadic sleep, Kasai watched her. Part of her wanted to comfort her, but for what reason, she didn't know. Avani had been nothing but a thorn in her foot since the mission began, and yet Kasai found her oddly intriguing. 

Instead, she let her be as she were, twitching and grumbling as she drifted in and out of a lucid state. Kasai looked down at her foot, which she just remembered was injured. Funny how the brain can forget physical pain in the presence of emotional agony. Her foot was gnarled and torn from where the goo monster had stolen her boot right from her leg. She cringed as she picked pieces of dirt and debris from it in an effort to clean it up a bit. 

The rest of the time, her mind traveled. The scene of Barron being swallowed by a sea of black replayed in her mind, preventing her from resting at all. When she wasn't thinking about that, she thought about how Kieron had sacrificed himself to make sure she was safe. If only she could have reached out and pulled him into the rock tent with them... Hot tears ran down her face, and she sniffled. She wiped her face with what was left of her mangled sleeve and rested her head and arms on her knees. 

After about an hour, she had allowed herself to close her eyes and rest. She dreamed of memories from days long past. A movie of her life with her friends played out in her mind, beginning when she was a young teenager training at the pro-bending gym where she met Kieron. From there, they grew very close and ended up forming their own team together, fighting side by side for many years, until Kasai decided to join the police. 

That was where Barron entered her life, he was one year her senior, and was going through the officer training program with her. They became friends only after they had been competitors, each fighting to be the best in their class and earn the top spot. But this drew them together instead of apart, and they were soon comrades at the PD, where they worked together and made sure they were on the same assignments. 

Kasai's short rest was disrupted when Avani yelled out, causing her to jerk her head up from where it rested on her knees and look around frantically. When she realized it was only words from an unconscious woman, she let out a sigh of relief. Rubbing her eyes, she stared at the rock wall that lay before her. The calmness was almost ironic. 

After a few hours, Avani returned to consciousness. She stirred for a moment and then thanked Kasai with a brief utterance of the word. Kasai nodded once and looked at her arm, "You're welcome." She began to think again of Barron, how he was a waterbender and waterbenders could heal people with their bending. If only he were here... tears welled up in her eyes again, but she clinched her jaw and refused to let them fall. 

As a wall came down from their shelter, she looked out to see it was significantly later in the afternoon. Well, what would be afternoon, if time worked the same as it did in the physical world. Kasai stood and walked towards it, turning her head over her shoulder. 

"I'll be right back."

She walked out of the tent and up the small hill to where the battleground was. Whatever that monster was, it was now gone. Only streaks of black remained as a ghost of what had been there only hours before. Kasai scanned the area, and thanked the spirits when she saw a pack lying on the ground. She grabbed it and returned to the rock shelter, sitting down beside Avani again. 

"Here, you need this. In more ways than one." She handed her a canteen full of water that she had retrieved from the bag and gave a half smile. "Might help your arm out a little, as well as dehydration." She motioned towards her singed arm and then continued looking through the pack, checking what supplies they would have to survive on for now.