Chapter 1;
Drawn Away
A/N: This was just going to be a one shot, but it's turning out longer than I anticipated.
Read my other stories; Seclusion's Cycle and Keeper of the Sun when you're done with this.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!
Katara knew Zuko was here somewhere. She'd been looking for hours. When she'd woken up that morning, there had been smoke on the horizon. Just a few minutes later, she'd heard Zuko shouting at his uncle. He'd never been very self-controlling.
She'd gotten up and left a note for the rest of the gang, and now, about fourteen hours later, she was still looking. Katara didn't really know why she was looking; why should she care where Zuko was? All she needed to do was go back and tell the others, and they could leave, but she couldn't stop herself. She had to find him.
She was running out of time; she could feel it. Suddenly, she heard something crack behind her. Someone was following her. She spun around, scanning her surroundings frantically. Something darted behind a tree just as her eyes focused in on the origin of the sound.
She started walking in the direction of the noise. Being as quiet as she could, she followed the faint sounds of leaves crunching underfoot. Katara didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but she was determined to find whoever she was following.
The sun was setting fast, and Katara needed to start heading back if she wanted to be in camp before everyone was asleep. Still, she couldn't bring herself to stop. She had to know who had been watching her.
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Zuko had to get away from her. Why was she chasing him? Did she really think that he didn't know she was there? He wasn't sure if she was trying to be quiet or not. If she was, it wasn't working.
He decided that the best way to get rid of her was to lead her on until it was dark, then sneak off while she was trying to figure out where she was. He almost felt bad leaving her alone in the woods at night, but not quite.
It occurred to Zuko that he didn't know the girl's name. This would be a bad time to ask, but he really wanted to know. He stopped. The girl ran into his back and fell over, dazed. "What's your name?" he demanded. She stared up at him, confused. "I SAID, WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" she sat up.
"Why do you care?" she shot him an evil look, but he didn't notice.
"FOR THE LAST TIME, WHAT'S YOUR NAME?!?!?!" Zuko's fists began to smoke. He was getting impatient, and Katara didn't want to be alone with him when he was mad.
"Katara," she muttered.
"What?" Katara was getting annoyed too, but she repeated her name anyway.
"KATARA."
"Oh, all right. Finally," and with that Zuko ran off into the woods, leaving Katara still sitting on the forest floor. Katara shot up and started chasing Zuko. He wouldn't get away that easily.
"Wait! Where are you going?" she called after him, not expecting him to answer. Zuko stopped and turned around.
"Away from you. Why do you want to know?" he glared at Katara, but his eyes looked mischievous and curious.
"Just wondering," she replied, "Hey, aren't you going to ask me about Aang or try to find our camp?" she hinted.
"No," Zuko wasn't about to tell her that he already knew where they were camped.
"What?! Why not? Isn't that what you're here for?" Katara was astonished.
"No," he started walking away again.
"Stop! What else could you possibly be doing out here in the middle of nowhere, coincidentally near our campsite? It's not like you have a life of your own. Did your uncle tell you to come here?" Katara grabbed his arm so he wouldn't run off again.
"No," he shook off her weak grip, "What makes you so sure I don't have a life?"
"Well, all you ever do is chase us. That shows a lack in social involvement, if you ask me."
"Sure…" suddenly he jumped over the edge of the creek bank. Katara watched, shocked. It was a twenty-foot drop from the top of the creek bank to the water itself, and because it was the middle of fall, there wasn't much water in the creek bed.
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"ZUKO!!!" she screamed as he vanished into the thick underbrush. "Are you alright?" There was no reply. "ZUKO!!!" Katara screamed urgently. She didn't know why she was so upset, but she was, and it couldn't be helped now.
She started crawling down the steep wall of mud into the creek bed. It was dark out now, and she was a little nervous trapped in the bottom of the creek with one of her worst enemies. She took a few steps ahead of her, and then turned around swiftly. Nothing was there, so she continued. Every now and then she turned around, expecting to see Zuko standing behind her, but he never was.
She continued this pattern of fear and intrigue for a few minutes before it occurred to her that he might not have even gone this direction. She turned around and headed back. It was getting late, and she wasn't about to spend the night in an unfamiliar creek with Zuko.
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Zuko watched Katara climb back up the cliff-like embankment. As soon as she was gone, he stepped out of his hiding place. That was close, he thought to himself. He knew she wasn't much of threat, but he still felt better now that she was gone. He climbed up the other side of the bank and headed back to his camp.