Vague. Set after Day of Black Sun.
Penitent
The air crackled with energy before the grey sky lit up. A few moments later a resounding boom followed, echoing from mountain to mountain. Winds whipped the foliage, anticipatory whispers rushing through leaves and grass. Katara felt as if Nature herself waited with her, watching Zuko with level eyes. Sokka was most likely angrier than a wounded hippo-bull that she had followed the prince, but she had to know.
"Why are you here?" he asked, and the winds snatched the words from his mouth and carried them to her before sailing away again. He looked weary, defeated, lost. She didn't know how to respond, but she continued to breathe steadily. She wondered if he felt the keen expectation she was feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Her silence nettled him; she noted his shuffling feet as he impatiently shifted his weight.
"Tell me why you changed your mind," she demanded. Katara didn't think he would answer, but the words shot out of her mouth anyway, partially accusatory, partially curious.
The intensity of her stare left him with one option: he looked away, looked up at the clouds that threatened rain. They were teeming with the raw power of a spectacular storm, yet no drops had fallen.
She continued to stare at him, almost desperately. He made no move to answer, so she decided he never would. She would just forget that spark of humanity she thought she had discovered in the eerie green glow of that cave. Her footfalls echoed in her head as she strode away. It was because of them, she later reflected, that she didn't hear his approach. But suddenly he was right behind her, grabbing her elbow in an attempt to stop her. She yanked her arm out of his grasp and twisted around, frowning ferociously. He retreated a few steps, and she noticed he no longer looked lost. In fact, some sort of determination seemed to have surfaced that almost camouflaged the haggard lines of his face.
"You were right . . . about everything. Everything you said, but I didn't want to listen. I see that now," he confessed.
There was another boom, louder than the first, and they were soon drenched in a heavy downpour. The frown on her face washed away in the rain, but she didn't smile. Deciding he probably disliked being wet, she nodded her head and turned around again, taking up the same route she had been pursuing, only this time she knew he was following.