Team: Water Tribe
Round: 7
Category: Drabble
Prompt: (8) Line, "The world spun beneath (pronoun) feet until everything tilted slightly to the right.; (10) Weather, Windy
Word Count: 517
The wind whipped across Zuko's face and he groaned, sitting up from his sleeping bag. His hand went instinctively to his side, gripping his healing wound. It had happened just the day before, a battle like so many others he had been in. Honestly, he didn't know what had hit him, he just knew that pain had torn through his body, the world went dim and Katara was at his side. He didn't know how the battle had ended, he was vaguely aware of the retreating ride on Appa and setting up camp. He did know he had lost a lot of blood and that if it weren't for Katara, he probably wouldn't be alive.
There was thunder in the distance. A storm was coming, he looked around at his surroundings. A modest tent sight, underneath the usual rock outcropping. They weren't in danger, which made him relax. The others were resting peacefully close by. Katara was closest, naturally, he didn't expect anything less. Sokka and Aang weren't far away. A lightning strike was close, the wind started whistling.
Zuko carefully pushed himself onto his feet, standing was a bit dicey. His whole body hurt, aching pains shot through him with each step he took. But he knew he needed to move. Get the blood flowing, what blood he had left. He wasn't good at just lying around. Besides which, he loved watching the lightning, it brought him a sense of peace.
He made it to the edge of the outcropping just as the rain started. It splattered to the ground, slowly soaking it. He panted and grunted, holding his side. Maybe this was a bad idea. He felt dizzy, sick to his stomach. It was too soon, he should have stayed down, resting. The wind howled, hitting him in the face with a cool, stinging blast.
The world spun beneath his feet until everything tilted slightly to the right.
He was going down.
Bracing for impact was as easy as closing his eyes. There wasn't much else he could do. The fall seemed to take forever until he realized he should have already hit the ground. He cracked his eyes open and saw that he was laying on a sheet of water, inches from the ground. The source was water from a nearby puddle.
"What are you doing, Zuko?" Came an exasperated, tired voice.
"Just needed to get up and walk." He replied as the water carried him back over to his sleeping bag. Without leaving a single drop on his stuff, Katara deposited him unceremoniously. He grit his teeth and glared at her.
"You aren't ready to get up. You were shot with an arrow yesterday! Lie down and rest!" Katara pointed a finger at him, daring him to talk back. His glare softened and he looked down at his side.
"So that's what happened," He mumbled before rolling over and covering up. "Thanks, Katara." He said sincerely, taking a deep breath. He heard Katara sigh and snuggle back down in her sleeping bag.
"You're welcome, get some sleep. I know storms are your favorite."