Zutara Week day four: Gravity
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender
Gravity
"…See, the moon isn't bending the water Katara, it's pulling it with this force called gravity." Sokka attempted to explain to his sister as he prodded at a globe.
"Of course the moon isn't bending the water. The moon spirit bends the water." Katara said dismissively.
"No, Katara, the gravity from the moon pulls the water upward, creating tides."
"But the moon spirit exists Sokka, are you suggesting it doesn't do anything? Did you miss what happened at the North Pole when Zhao killed the moon spirit?" Katara replied.
"No, Katara, I didn't miss it. The moon spirit makes the existence of the moon possible, that's all."
"Oh, that's simply all it does, make the source of a waterbender's power exist. Nothing important."
"Katara, why do you choose to ignore science? I'm trying to help you learn how the world works." Sokka groaned, giving up and flopping into one of the red cushioned chairs.
"Because I know how the world works, thank you very much." Katara snapped, folding her arms.
"Spirits and hocus pocus do not make the world run Katara."
"Were you blind during all the adventures we had? You got kidnapped and taken into the spirit world."
"I remember none of that."
"Sokka, you're an idiot."
"What are you guys fighting about now?"
The siblings looked up and saw Zuko standing in the doorway in loose casual clothes, since the old group was on vacation at the old Firelord's home on Ember Island, and he was looking at them with a half irritated, half amused expression.
Katara's heart sped up for a moment, but she forced it to slow. It always happened when she was in a room with Zuko now, and without Aang's helpful lessons for meditation techniques, she was sure someone would have noticed (if they hadn't already).
"I'm trying to teach Katara that the world doesn't run on magic."
"It's not magic!"
"Whatever it is, it isn't what the world runs on!"
Katara turned burning eyes on Zuko. "You tell him. You're not half as idiotic as him, surely you wouldn't have ignored everything we've seen about how spirits make things work."
Zuko entered the room and sank into one of the chairs, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. "Well, I was taught by my mother and uncle that the world was created by the spirits."
"See, Zuko accepts the facts." Katara bragged.
"But," Zuko continued. "There are a lot of things that have been discovered as science has been advancing, the airship is a prime example of that, and the underwater machine Sokka invented. I've heard about this gravity idea from the scientists in the Fire Nation court, and there is far too much evidence to ignore it from what I understand. The way I look at it, if the spirits created our world, they must have created these things like gravity so the world could be in working order. So, you're both right."
There was a rather hostile feeling silence that fell over the room for a few minutes, before Katara was the one who broke it.
"Zuko does actually make sense Sokka."
"…Well, fine, maybe. But I still say that someday science is gonna be more accepted and more studied than spirits." Sokka grumbled in reply.
"As long as you two are done fighting, it makes everyone else miserable when you're angry with each other." Zuko commented, getting to his feet. "Aang and I are going to the beach for a swim, you guys can come if you want I'm sure." And Zuko left the room, giving his friends a smile.
Katara stared after him, that fluttering feeling threatening to overcome her. "Hey Sokka, can people have this gravity thing?"
"What? No! That's ridiculous!"
But I'm so pulled toward Zuko. That was all that went through Katara's head.
End