ZUTARA WEEK 2010: Day 7: STORM
Where the Road Meets the Sea
Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Bryke, but Zutara week belongs to all Zutarians.
NOTE: The last day is always so bittersweet. There's the sense of exultation after having been able to produce something for every day of the celebration. And then, there is the pain of parting. But all great things must come to an end. So this is my final piece for Zutara Week 2010.
It was strange writing for this prompt since I didn't have any clear ideas about it, which is strange since I always love using storms in my stories.
(Shameless Plug: "Sojourn in Solitude," "By Tempests Never Shaken" are where storms figure prominently but it rains a lot in my other stories as well. I don't know why I'm so fascinated. Maybe it's because I live in a country where typhoons and storms can be quite vicious.)
So I guess my ideas on Zutara in a Storm had been maxed out. Not to mention my being swamped with so many other things to do. But I came up with something that's hopefully not too crappy though it is quite cheesy at times, I'm afraid.
There wasn't a lot of time to really come up with something great but I hope this suffices. I wanted to be able to post something for every day of this celebration, no matter what. I guess I can be as relentless as Zuko when it comes to matters such as this. It was fun to write this though, even if I gave up some sleep. Ha! I can sleep when I'm dead, right?
Sorry if I won't be able to reply to your reviews and comments immediately. I just need to get this posted before I go back to reviewing for three midterm exams among other things. But as soon as I get a bit of a breather, I shall thank you all properly for your support. But thank you in advance anyway, and thank you to all those who read and reviewed my other Zutara Week pieces this year. I love you all.
This is more of a reflective piece than an action story. Not much really happens but I tried to go deep into the characters' thoughts and feelings.
I used some slightly modified lyrics of "Rain" (from "Once on this Island") to set the mood of this piece.
Happy Zutara Week and thanks for all your support!
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Let there be no moon
Let the clouds race by
Where the road meets the sea
Let the tide be high
Let there be a man
Walking by the sea
And let there be…
…rain!
The storm raged with torrents falling upon his face as he trudged his way along the beach. He was drenched and shivering but he persevered, putting one foot in front of the other even though with each step, he sank lower and lower into the sand. He was tired, exhausted, and even the drops of rain felt heavy on his back, another burden to bear as he went on.
It took all of his remaining strength to keep moving forward, even if he only had a general idea of the direction to take. His body rebelled against him, telling him to stop for the night, to rest and resume his journey in the morning. But his mind was stubborn, and he knew that he could not afford to waste any time resting. He needed to return to them as soon as possible. They were waiting for him, although there was really only one person he truly wanted to welcome him back.
And even if he did return that night, there was little chance of that.
She hated him, he knew that well by now. And he deserved her disdain.
But the longer he stayed with them, the more he became convinced that he wanted her to forgive him, more than the others. He even wanted her to like him, improbable though that may have been. But he continued to hope against hope that such a day would come.
After all, he had managed to gain the Avatar's friendship and even her skeptical brother's trust.
He wanted to prove himself to her, he needed to show her how much he had changed for the better.
Thunder rumbled not too far from him, followed quickly by a flash of lightning in the distance. In that instant the path before him was illuminated. He saw that he still had a long way to go. Not just to return to them but to regain her trust.
He would not falter, he would not give up. Clenching his fist, he walked forward, against the strong wind, and in spite of his own physical limitations.
He could not remember how he managed to escape from the Fire Nation soldiers. He knew that they had no loyalty to him, the traitor prince. But he winced slightly as he remembered the injuries he had sustained during the battle.
"This is nothing," he thought to himself, "I've been through worse. I think."
He had somehow jumped into the water away from the ships and had managed to swim out of their reach rather quickly. He did not know how he was able to come to the shore on his own, for he had simply drifted for hours in the rain.
But as soon as he had regained consciousness and was able to walk, he said a silent prayer of thanksgiving to the Ocean Spirit for protecting him. Did the spirits know that he was now a friend of the Avatar? He could not be sure, but he was not about to question them.
Aang and the others had been reluctant to leave him, but he had insisted and had even blasted fire at them to prove his point. He would not let Aang get captured again, not now, when they were so close to ending the war. The comet would arrive soon, and the Avatar would fulfill his destiny.
And Zuko was now willing to do anything to make sure that that happened. He did not see this as a sacrifice; it was his duty.
After all, he had taught Aang all he knew about firebending. The young airbender was ready to face the Fire Lord.
And yet, Zuko still wanted to be of help to them when the momentous day arrived. He wanted to support the Avatar as best as he could.
Then, there was the matter of reconciling with Uncle and dealing with Azula, among other things. He still had so much unfinished business.
"That is why," he pondered, "I can't afford to die now."
The rain and the waves bothered him not. In fact, he welcomed them readily. For though he was soaked to the bone, he felt safe covered in her element, even healed. For it felt as though all the grime and filth of his crimes were being washed away.
The memory of his past soon weighed upon him again, and soon the rain was mingled with tears and the blood that flowed from his many wounds. He was in great pain, but he was stronger than he thought he was.
He was determined to survive, to endure everything for redemption. And it was the hope that he would be able to see the same compassion and concern in her eyes that he saw in Ba Sing Se that drove him on.
So forward he moved, storm be damned.
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"Zuko! Zuko!"
The prince's name echoed in the sky as the Avatar and his friends searched for their lost companion. Hours had passed since they had parted with him, or rather, since he had insisted to take on the Fire Nation soldiers to help them escape to safety.
And now, they were coming back to save him. Aang refused to have Zuko suffer in his stead. The latter had done so much for him already.
"He has to be around here somewhere," the Avatar thought, "I must find him."
The group had split up into several search parties in order to find their friend faster. Aang had taken his glider and flown on his own; Sokka and Katara had taken Appa and flown over the sea, while Suki and Toph had continued the search on land through Toph's excellent tracking skills and earthbending. They had all agreed on a rendezvous point to return to by dawn. But they all hoped to find Zuko long before then.
At first it seemed that they were torn between putting as much distance between them and their enemy and returning to save their friend. But when they all remembered how much Zuko had been willing to sacrifice for them, the choice was clear.
Earlier that day, Azula had attacked them at the Western Air Temple. And while they had had to split up (with the Water Tribe siblings parting with their father yet again), the group had managed to escape the ruthless princess' clutches.
But they had barely made it out of there when they were being attacked once more by a fleet of Fire Nation ships and air ships. There had been a brief skirmish but when it became clear that they would not allow them to pass unharmed, Zuko had volunteered to be a decoy, pretending to be Aang, so that the others could escape.
The Avatar and the others had argued against this but the firebender was adamant and had already jumped to the ships. They had no choice but to leave but not without promising to come back for him. He assured them that he would meet up with them again, but they sensed an uncertainty in his voice when he had said this.
Nevertheless, they had left, and some of them had managed to catch a glimpse of the great damage he had caused to their enemies' ships. It had all happened so quickly that they had not been able to think things through properly.
As soon as they were safe, the immediately made plans for his rescue. While Katara still doubted Zuko, she had not objected to attempting to save him. She was wise enough not to speak out against Aang when the airbender was so determined. Besides, Suki, Sokka, and Toph were all as determined to save the firebender as well.
A storm was raging, and they were making good on their promise to find him again. Aang would not return without him.
Using her waterbending to shield them from the effects of the rain, Katara strained her eyes, trying to find any trace of Zuko either on the sea or the beach nearby. But Sokka was the one more concerned with looking since Katara was keeping them safe from the rain. In spite of the difficulty of their situation, even Appa did not complain. The great beast knew well whom they were searching for and he had grown fond enough of Zuko to want to find his friend as well.
"Zuko! Zuko! Where are you?" Sokka cried out as they flew here and there.
And after a while, even his sister joined in calling out the firebender's name. Sokka was glad that she had temporarily set aside her suspicions of him to help in the search. The Water Tribe warrior knew that Katara never meant ill to anyone. But then again, her reluctance to trust Zuko was mystifying to him.
For her part, Katara had not yet reached the point where she would be willing to abandon the prince entirely. So much had already happened since he had joined them at the Western Air Temple. And when she saw that even her father seemed to trust him, she began to question her own judgment.
Somehow, she was sure that he was really on their side. She did not even entertain the prospect that he had betrayed them and had opted to stay behind so that he could rejoin his countrymen. No, she gave him more credit than that.
She was not completely sure of how she felt about him. But she knew this much, she had no more intention of "ending his destiny" as she had had when he had first arrived. Even now, she wondered at herself for having said something so harsh. But he had always confused her, even back in Ba Sing Se.
But this was why she was helping in this search. She wanted to know more about him, to find out how much he had changed. A voice inside her head was saying that this doubt was irrelevant, that he had already proven himself but she was still quite stubborn and angry over Ba Sing Se.
But all that would have to be dealt with later on.
"What was he thinking, going off all by himself anyway?" Sokka cried out in frustration, "hasn't he learned anything about teamwork at all?"
"Maybe he's still not used to it," Katara replied, "he has been on his own for a while, after all."
"But still," the brother argued, "as if we weren't going to come back for him anyway."
Sokka then looked at his sister to gage her reaction. She had not objected so far to any efforts to save Zuko and for this he was relieved. He still didn't know why she held on to her anger for the firebender so much, and he wished that she had been at the Boiling Rock when Zuko had helped them free Suki and their father. Perhaps she would already be thinking differently about him. Sokka hoped that she would forgive him soon for whatever it was that Zuko had done exclusively to her.
It would not do to have so much tension in the team.
"Where could he be?" Sokka asked in exasperation, for their search had yielded no results, "we've been looking for hours."
"We can't be sure," Katara said, "maybe Aang or the others found him already."
"I really hope so," the brother replied gravely.
They continued to look through the rain, and Appa was being most cooperative. Hours passed and the rain had not slackened. They were growing tired and hoarse and the bison was groaning slightly from fatigue.
"Sokka," Katara said grimly, "do you think…"
But even she could not complete this sentence. The prospect was far too frightening, even for her. She shook her head sadly.
"No," Sokka had said sternly, "how can you even think that, you who always have so much hope?"
Katara bowed her head in shame. And she realized that she didn't want to consider that prospect any more than her brother did. The very thought caused a pang in her heart that she could not quite understand.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, "you're right. I shouldn't be saying such things."
"Listen, Katara," Sokka told her gently, "I know that you still don't trust him as well as we do. I don't understand how that happened but I know that that's what's going on. But he really is a good person and a true friend, and this is one of the rare times that I'm not being sarcastic."
Katara smiled sadly at this and then nodded to him.
"I know, I know," she replied, "I've been foolish, and now, I don't even remember why."
Sokka sighed with relief. He had never seen his sister so bothered about anything before and he suspected that it was because her feelings towards the firebender were stronger than she would ever admit. Stronger in a more positive way, of course.
The Water Tribe warrior decided to figure all of that out later on, and their search continued. After some time, Katara had a suggestion.
"It isn't raining as hard anymore," the waterbender observed, "maybe it would be better if I continued the search on the water, a little closer to the shore."
"How will you do that?" her brother asked.
"I can use my bending to ride on the waves just like Toph rides on the earth," she explained quickly, "I might be able to find him better along the shore if I'm nearer the ground."
"Is it safe for you to do that?" he asked in concern.
"Absolutely safe, so don't worry, Sokka," she reassured him, "I know what I'm doing."
"Fine," he conceded, "I guess I'll see you back at the rendezvous point."
"All right," she said as she dismounted and summoned a wave to her.
"I hope you have better luck," Sokka told her.
"I hope so too," she replied sincerely.
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As she continued on her own, Katara realized that she had made the suggestion not just to ease the search but also so that she could be alone with her thoughts, especially those on the missing firebender.
Recalling the events of the morning, she remembered that he had even saved her from being crushed by falling rocks at the Western Air Temple. She had not shown any gratitude at all, and now that she remembered it, she was ashamed of her rudeness.
He had done so much for them already, and she could no longer deny that. And she had been able to trust him before, even if he had not proven himself worthy of such trust. And now that he had worked so hard to redeem himself to them, now she was unwilling to trust him?
"Why am I holding back?" she pondered with a frown, "why am I being so stubborn?"
She was confused and hurt and upon thinking this, she realized that he too must have endured moral quandaries far more complicated than anything she had ever experienced. He had turned his back on his family and his country, in order to help the Avatar.
The more she considered it, the more extraordinary it seemed. For him, who used to be so obsessed with his honor, with returning in glory to his nation, for him to give all of that up to help his enemy defeat his father. It was too crazy to be true.
And yet he had done all that because he knew that that was the right thing to do. For some reason, she was only beginning to see all of this now that he was missing, now that his absence had left a gaping hole in their little family, and for some strange reason, in her own heart.
She had seen how much he had tried to win her trust but she had rebuked him at every turn. She had never denied anyone her friendship before. She had even been able to forgive Jet. She was surprised and ashamed at herself for her actions towards Zuko.
It had had something to do with her mother's death, and she now saw that she was unfairly linking Zuko to the man who had killed her mother all those years ago. He had nothing to do with that, and in fact, he had seemed to sympathize with her on that long ago, in Ba Sing Se.
Why had he said that they had had that in common? She had never bothered to ask him, so engrossed had she been being angry and bitter towards him.
"I've been such a fool!" Katara reprimanded herself then.
And now, her anger at him seemed to be washed away by the strong rain, her hard stance against him now seemed to melt. Ironically, the storm had cleared her vision, and she realized that she had been treating him so unfairly.
She was determined more than ever to find him that night, and to somehow make amends for having been so mean.
The waterbender moved forward with greater conviction, carried by the waves that seemed to be leading her way. With her hands she parted the rain like a curtain. There was a roar of thunder and a flash of lightning. And at that moment, as the light tore across the darkness, she saw him.
"Zuko!" she cried out even if she was still far away.
He could not hear her over the din of the waves and rain but somehow an echo of a familiar voice reached him and he looked about curiously, trying to find the source.
Without hesitation, she moved the waves and rode towards the solitary figure on the beach. Sokka was far away from her now but she would call him later. First things first.
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"Zuko!"
Was it a hallucination? Was he starting to hear things? Zuko stopped in his tracks and looked about him.
For a moment, he thought he had heard her voice, carried by the wind. He shook his head.
That was ridiculous. He was clearly too tired to think straight. He clutched at his wounds suddenly, the pain reminding him of their existence.
"I need to get a move on," he told himself, "I have to keep going."
But his steps were heavy now and he felt almost glued to the spot where he stood.
And then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a wave approaching. But he was too tired to move out of its path. It was coming closer and closer to him at an unnatural rate and he knew that he would not be able to outrun it.
So he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and braced himself for the impact.
"Zuko!'
His eyes snapped open. This time, the sound was no echo, but a clear and loud utterance of his name. Though he was still incredulous, he risked a glance and hoped to heaven that his eyes were not deceiving him.
For it was she who controlled the wave coming towards him, and as soon as she reached the shore, the water settled back into the sea, unthreatening and stable. She was at his side immediately and he was still too stupefied to react.
He could not be sure that those were tears of joy and relief on her face or only stray raindrops. At any rate, he was immensely glad to see her. He had not expected her to come but there she was.
Seeing him standing there, sad, shocked, and shivering, she felt all her anger disappear. He looked tired and weather beaten and yet as strong as ever.
She felt relief and happiness well up within her and as she ran towards him, every doubt or suspicion melted away, and it felt only natural to throw her arms around him in a warm embrace.
He was too shocked to see her, and even more so when he felt her arms around him. He really hoped that he wasn't hallucinating.
Meanwhile, all she could think about was how happy and grateful she was to have found him safe and alive.
"Katara," was all he managed to whisper as she held him tight.
The gentleness with which he had spoken her name struck a chord in her that she had not expected and she could do nothing for a few moments but hug him tighter.
"You're here," he said incredulously.
She smiled slightly at this, at his uncertainty and timidity. But she heard him wince slightly and she pulled away immediately, noticing that he was in pain.
As she got a better look at him, she saw in horror that he was covered in wounds. His clothes were torn enough to reveal many small and large cuts, as well as a bruise or burn mark here and there. She gasped at this and covered her mouth, as more tears flowed down her cheeks.
Seeing her so upset, he bowed his head and apologized. He had recovered from the shock of seeing her and now he felt quite embarrassed about his appearance.
"Sorry," he said earnestly, "I guess I'm not exactly a sight for sore eyes."
"No, no," she said immediately, recalling herself, "it's not that. I mean, you're hurt, I'm going to help you. You were so brave, and so reckless."
But as she spoke these words, she was already preparing some water to heal his injuries. He found that he had grown too weak to stand so he fell to his knees and she knelt beside him to provide support.
"Thank you, Katara," he said softly, and she had nodded to him.
As she began to heal the worst of the injuries, she wondered at how he had managed to walk cross such a distance on his own. She soon saw that he was severely wounded and knew that it must have taken a tremendous amount of effort just for him to walk.
There were no words to describe her compassion and admiration for him at that moment. How much had he endured to save them all!
But as she laid a hand, glowing brightly with healing water, on his wounded chest, he placed his hand on hers and squeezed it slightly. Slowly, she lifted her eyes to his and the expression of sincerest remorse and sadness in his golden eyes disarmed her completely.
"Forgive me," he said solemnly, "please forgive me for everything."
And this time, she was absolutely certain that it was not rain flowing from his eyes.
She was moved beyond words, her eyes wide at this genuine confession. All anger and bitterness were now completely forgotten, taken by the tides.
"Yes," she replied sincerely, "yes, of course."
She nodded quickly, to reinforce her answer, and the look of gratitude and relief in his eyes made her heart expand inside her. Once again, she could not control her tears from falling.
She paused her healing for a while and hugged him tight once more, and this time, she felt the gesture warmly reciprocated. They remained that way for a few precious moments, allowing the rain to wash away all their pains and fears.
"I forgive you, Zuko," Katara whispered, "with my whole heart."
Where the road meets the sea
Let their fate begin
In the rain…
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"And my ending is despair,
Unless I be reliev'd by prayer
Which pierces so, that it assaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free."
- The Tempest by William Shakespeare