Siku's knuckles turned bone-white as her nails dug into the flesh of her palm.  He was insufferable and how she managed to get stuck with him was beyond her.  She and Asha were in the wrong place at the wrong time, that was all there was.  Now her whole family was left behind and she had no idea when she'd see them again.  Her little sister would have to be escorted to school and spend her days under watch until all of this was cleared up...  The hot, salty particles of water gently slid down her cheeks before she knew it.  At this point, she wasn't even listening to Katsu's incessant blathering; she was only trying to prevent the tremors from overtaking her body as she walked point, her back to both of her compatriots.  She crossed her arms and let out a sigh as the weight of danger she had put her own family into came down on her.  She had to blame Katsu, but where would that get any of them?  Getting angry with the already hard-headed Avatar could only exacerbate the situation.  He was sorry enough as it was, the last thing she needed was The Bridge groveling at her feet...  She smirked through her tears at the thought.  That idiot.

The girl cleared her throat and used her hand to "itch" her eye and, without turning around, responded with a roll of her eyes, "Fine then.  Don't learn them.  You'd probably just waste all of the water anyway, then what would [i]I[/i] have to bend?" She taunted.

It took the remainder of the day, but finally they arrived in Gung-Li.  Siku used her hand as a visor, the sun was just about set, but the sliver that was still on the horizon decided that her eyes were a fine target.  The small coastal town was quiet, as she imagined it often was, and many of the shops were already closed and turning in for the night.  It was so different from Republic City and even from the North Pole...  She'd never had time or reason to visit the smaller tribes up north, the ones that lived peaceful, nomadic lives of simple tasks like hunting, fishing, and sleeping around fires.  Father always said it was too uncivilized a life, but Siku had always wanted to see what it was like.  Now it was a life she had no choice in.  Her eyes scanned the different wooden buildings; they were all so quaint, they looked like homes, not houses.  Like livelihoods rather than franchises.  Some people were carrying baskets of food home and even a few children went running by, obviously chasing each other.

Siku smiled a little bit - what would her life have been like here, had she been raised in a small Earth nation home with no ridiculous customs or courtesies?  Then again, she loved being a water bender and she used to love being an Ice Wolf.  Oh well, life goes on.  She placed her hands on her hips, "Ugh...  I'm taking a guess that the transit is closed, so let's go find a place to eat dinner and sleep then we'll get moving in the morning, yeah?"

They wandered the streets for a few minutes, looking for a sign mentioning restaurant or inn of any kind, but it was slim pickings.  The town likely got very few visitors, as it wasn't a major harbor, and she was beginning to grow more sure that "chartering" anything to Iwa was going to be more of a hassle than they bargained for.  The girl looked around and bit her lip in thought.  Each moment that passed it seemed less people were outside, but god dammit to ask for directions would feel so foreign.  She never needed directions...

Then, she heard it.  Likely, Koinu would have heard it first, but it still wouldn't take long for them all to.  It was a soft sobbing sound coming from just around the corner a couple of roads ahead...  It sounded like a child - either lost or in some kind of distress.