By Anne Kramer/ Bard Child

Chapter I

Barely Alive

Gray eyes dart in the cold, stillness of the forest. Three huddled forms cling desperately to a bison for warmth and protection. One lad was of eighteen autumns, sharp eyes, lean tall muscles trained to strike at any moment. Mao watches with uncertainty. Another man, of nineteen autumns, bleeding from the face, cradles a small child of eleven. The poor thing was barely breathing, but Yomi clings onto the small boy tenderly praying to his god that he will live.

"Chiko, Breathe! Come on, you got to stay with me…" pleads Yomi, his eyes full of deep sorrow and fear; Mao nods to the bison to move forward, and gingerly, the cow moves though the dense mountain woods.

They survived. Barely, but they survived the onslaught of the temple. If Yomi hadn't urged his bison to dive instead of ascend, they would have been slaughtered and burned to ash. Now deep in the forest, the three brothers holding on, barely alive, Mao watched dawn rise again from the east, casting light on there ragged faces, and Chiko's, pale body.

"Brother, I don't think he'll make it. We need to sow him up!" Yomi in terror whispered to Mao.

Mao grunted a yes, and found a glade, where they could rest for a few more minutes. Fortunately, foresight was with them. They all had brought supplies just in case, even Chiko, who had managed to scrape up some food and clothes just in case they would have to flee. But it was all too soon for them. Mao couldn't believe that the Fire Nation would outright attack a monastery like that.

"I bet they were looking for Aang, and that son of a bitch had to run off somewhere, damn him!" Mao seethed as plunged into his bags for thread.

"Yomi you hold Chiko still, make sure he doesn't move." Yomi complied and moved Chiko in the saddle. Chiko's eyelids fluttered briefly,

"Yy-y-omiii, my arm, it h-h-urts." Yomi took hold of Chiko's clammy body and held him close.

"Don't move, Chiko. Don't move an inch; don't say a word. Mao will make you feel better," he soothed as Mao took hold of a needle and thread. He sat next to the little bender, took off his shirt and took a look at the full extent of the damage. Chiko's left side was torn to shreds; stabs and gashes littered his front and back. His left arm was severed near the shoulder. Nothing but a stump remained. Chiko was sobbing and start to shake as Mao took hold of him and began to sew the first deep gash. Chiko arched up and wailed.

"Noooo! Don't! I-i-it hurts!" He screamed. Yomi quickly covered his mouth and held him down.

"I told you not to make a sound! Stay still!" Yomi whispered harshly in Chiko's ear. Chiko choked down more sobs as Mao's needle weaved through the gashes. Yomi praised him tenderly as the sobbing boy could only shut his eyes and sob quietly through the pain.

"Oh you're doing so well Chi-chan. You're almost done, just keep up the good work." Yomi whispered again, this time softly. Mao reached the severed stump. He hesitated and looked at Yomi, unsure what to do now. With a little thought and careful stitching, he managed to get Chiko's arm stitched up right so it could heal.

"I guess those lessons on medicine and stitching up robes was useful after all." Mao commented as he tore off his and Yomi's sleeves to make bandages for Chiko and themselves. Though Chiko suffered the worse, Yomi and Mao would heal with time, with scars marking them for life.

Mao's eyes darted around fearfully. Firebenders could be scouring the forests for survivors, and Mao had to be ready. He looked at a jian sword that he rescued from the temple. He wasn't trained in sword-craft, but with airbending, he'd manage. Yomi held Chiko close as the maimed child slowly succumbed to sleep. He too was wrapped by fear. He looked at Mao and asked:

"Do you see any of them, brother? Are they around?" Mao shook his head.

"We need to move on; we can get through the glades and find a proper healer for Chiko, he is dying brother. Whether you want to believe it or not." Yomi eyes turned to Chiko and shuddered.

"I don't think it's wise, Mao. A village could put us at risk. Plus firebenders could be in the village and vicinity of it. We need to stay here in the woods for a little bit, until Chiko is strong enough to sit up and speak at least." Mao snarled in frustration.

"He'll be a corpse by evening. He lost too much blood, and you know very well he won't make it." Yomi cradled Chiko close, he had helped raise this child. He was there when they had found him whimpering in the woods. He was the one that even suggested his name. He had been his protector and guardian, and he made a promise. He had promised Gyatso that he would keep him alive. Yomi looked at Mao with a stern face,

"We'll stay here and try to recover; Chiko will be fine. I made a promise and I intend to keep it."

The trio traveled from the glade into an area that was more secluded. Mao knew making a fire was too much of a risk. Tonight they would have to rely on the bison cow for warmth and…food.

"Yomi, is Tenten still lactating?" he asked as he looked at the cow with an idea on his brain. Yomi nodded.

"Yes, she had Goku recently. So she'll still be producing milk. Why Mao?" Mao gave a grin. As he searched through his bags for a bowl, then it occurred to Yomi.

"What? You're going to milk her? Look, I'm sure Tenten's milk is nutritious, but do you know how to milk a bison?" Mao rolled his eyes.

"Sure it easy, you grab a teat and squeeze right?" Yomi sighed.

"No you dumbass, there is a trick to get the milk." Yomi got off the saddle that he was on and left Chiko alone as he began to assist Mao with milking his bison.

"Look," He started bending over and moved the hair out his way, to show Mao Tenten's smooth underbelly. "Bison cows, don't have huge udders like normal cattle. They have mammary slits; you need to nudge it open like a calf would. They take the exposed teat and rub it gently, too hard and she'll get angry." Mao looked at Yomi and nodded. "Alright, fine. I'll get some milk for all of us. Chiko needs it the most." And with that, Yomi heard a whine.

"B-b-b-rotherrrr." Yomi jumped back on the saddle and saw Chiko was awake.

"Oh Chi-chan! You're up. Good, there might be hope after all. Mao is getting something to eat, alright?" Chiko nodded. Yomi couldn't help but notice that Chiko's eyes looked dead, like they lost their luster. Mao arrived back on the saddle with a bowl filled with warm milk.

"Alright, supper. Complements of Tenten," he said handing Yomi the bowl. Yomi took a sip, and tried not to cough. The milk was warm and sweet, but it had a bitter after taste; Yomi knew he just had to get use it. He then gave the bowl to Chiko, who only groaned and turned his head. "Chi, you need to drink, it's the only way you'll live." Chiko whimpered and didn't say anything. Mao didn't understand why Chiko didn't drink the milk.

"What's wrong with him? Is he too weak to eat now?" Yomi nodded and sighed.

"I guess I have to do it the old way." Yomi replied as he tilted Chiko up. He dipped his two of his fingers in the warm milk and coated them completely. Then he placed them on Chiko's lips to get him to suck. Mao didn't understand at first but as soon as Chiko opened his mouth and sucked on Yomi fore and middle fingers, he realized that Chiko was fed this way before.

"Did you feed Chiko like this when he was a baby?" Mao asked as Chiko suckled, Yomi nodded, "When we found him, he was too weak to drink milk like a normal toddler. Monk Tang and I had to feed ourselves, by using our fingers coated with milk. Until Chiko was strong enough to drink on his own or eat." The process was repeated until Chiko pushed away Yomi's hands and moaned. "Stop." Mao drank the rest of the milk and tried to hunker down for the evening, and despite his predictions, Chiko was still alive when the first stars came out. Tenten provided them with food and warmth, which the boys were eternally grateful for. Yomi wrapped his arm carefully around Chiko, to support him and to keep him warm. Mao, on the other hand, stayed up long into the night, eyes searching for danger.

Dawn had risen again. Yomi open his eyes and prayed to Akash, the sky god, that Chiko was still breathing.Yomi bent down low and listened to Chiko's heart and lungs, which were still active. Yomi sighed in relief. Despite the odds, Chiko had managed to live another day. Yomi looked around for Mao and he wasn't there to be seen, but then a figure broke though the underbrush. Bare chested and holding two limp fish in his hands, Mao tossed the fish on the ground and looked at Yomi proudly. Yomi just glared.

"Killing a sentient creature is a sin, Mao. Why did you kill those fish?" Mao began gutting the bass.

"To eat, numbskull, we can't survive on Tenten's milk alone. We need meat for strength; I don't know what is edible in this forest, and I figured that fish meat was our best bet. But if you want become fodder for the jackal-vultures then fine." He ended it with a grunt.

"Whatever Mao, just how are we going to cook them?" Yomi asked as he switched around his weight. He had been sleeping on Tenten's tail with Chiko, when Mao arrived.

"I'm going to start a fire, stupid; I'm not going to eat this raw." He said gathering twigs and branches to start a fire. With a ring of rocks from the creek where he fished, Mao started a small, smokeless fire and began cooking the fish on hot flat rocks he had found in the creek as well.

"At least we have something to eat," Mao stated as he turned over a fish that had been gutted and now had its white meat sizzling.

Chiko stirred and woke up again. "Y-omi, Yy-y-omi. I need to pee, bad." Yomi rushed over and help Chiko up, he was still very pale and weak. But Yomi knew that he would still make it.

"Chiko, can you stand on your own?" Chiko shook his head.

"Nn-no. My legs f-f-feel like por-r-iage; I can hardly move them." Yomi sighed, knowing that he had another option, but was somewhat embarrassing for Chiko.

"Alright, if you can't stand, then you have to piss in a bowl." said Yomi, looking for larger bowl. He found a clay jar that would suffice. Mao turned his head away, grunting that Yomi should help him stand. Yomi replied that he would just fall back and piss himself. Mao rolled his eyes and made no reply.

After all was finished, Yomi brought a little meat for Chiko to eat.

"I know we don't take part in eating the flesh of beasts but it will have to do. We need strength from it." Chiko blinked and tried to move his left arm, but was bandaged to his side. "I can't get it," he whispered. Yomi sighed and shook his head.

"No, little one, you need to use your right. I know you used to use your left. But it's gone now. You have your right from now on." Chiko made a mewing noise and closed his eyes.

"I th-th-thought it was a d-ddream. A bad dream." Yomi shook his head sadly.

"Oh little one, this is far from a dream, and it's only the beginning." He carefully put the fish in to Chiko's mouth, for he was still too weak to move any of his limbs, knowing that this was beginning of a very hard life.

A/N: Ladies and gentlemen I present you with the first chapter of Brothers of the Typhoon. Look's like the boys have a long way to go. If you haven't read Silence the Wind, I recommend it you should read it. This the beta version, revision will be soon I would appreciate reviews and comments please

Bard Child

(EDIT: I made some slight changes)