[Ouch. That -- ow. She's never heard him sound so openly affectionate before, and it hurts more than it has any right to.]

Xing. That's a pretty name. [She doesn't hate this girl she's never met. Nope. Not at all. That would be stupid, and wrong and more importantly, ridiculous.

She looks at the piles of clothes -- all bright, colorful, frilly, feminine -- and adds that to the ever-growing list of things she'll never be. A real Avatar. A leader. A pretty girl. She and her stupid cane would look ridiculous in pretty clothes like these.]

I should go. You and Xing probably have a lot of catching up to do. [She's not imagining what kind of catching up that is.] I don't wanna get in the way.