::~ Hi, and welcome to Day 2 of Zutara Week! Man, this is so much fun. Thanks guys! Please leave a review, it is very important!
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History
::~
She had to say it. She really did miss the snow. How could she not? She grew up in it. It was her only comfort when her mother died. She would sit nearby the tent flap, and watch the snow softly fall, making beautiful, but solemn patterns. The snow knew how she felt when she lost her mother. And it reflected it.
Which is why she was glad to have Zuko here with her.
A year after their marriage, after a lot of arguing, begging, and promised kisses, Katara was finally able to get Zuko to visit the Southern Water Tribe, and leave his more luxurious, warmer home.
The Fire Lord took the change of weather pretty hard, before he found out her past.
Now, he was just intrigued. She was as well, before she found out.
::~
The sun wasn't visible this time of year, much to Zuko's distress. He wandered through the crowds, looking for Katara, who would dissappear from his side just as soon as he found her. Sure, she was now Fire Lady and had many people to talk to in her tribe, but he still wanted her near him.
He knew it was selfish. Katara was a grown woman. Still, he couldn't help but feel a pang of loneliness when she wasn't around. It wasn't like he knew the layout of the Southern Water Tribe. He had only been here once before, when he was still looking for the Avatar.
Where was that woman!
He asked a man nearby, who went by the name of Bato, if he had seen Katara. Bato nodded, and told him she was taking a walk near the icebergs on the far side of the tribe.
Zuko hadn't been there long, but he knew that people steered clear of the icebergs on the far side of the tribe. So why would Katara go there?
He ran at break neck speed. It didn't take him long to reach the end of the tribe. He saw the icebergs up ahead, looming over the entire tribe. They were a darker color, with jagged edges that looked like they would break any second.
Zuko knew that yelling here was very dangerous. An avalanch could happen if one yelled, which is why he refrained from doing so.
" Katara?" He whispered. She didn't respond.
::~
" Wow." Katara said, looking up at the glowing tavern. Small, dots of many colors were hung overhead, shining so brilliantly, they looked like stars. As Katara walked closer to the edge of the cave, she saw that they weren't dots, but small worms of some kind, that had managed to adapt to the cold, and glow.
She walked in further.
" Katara!" She heard a voice call her name nearby. She also knew the danger of yelling, so she hissed, " Over here!"
In moments Zuko entered the cave. " There you are," he breathed, in relief. " I was so worried." He said, encasing her in a tight hug. She smiled and put her hand in his.
With her other hand, she pointed above their heads. " Look!"
Zuko's jaw dropped. It was beautiful. He never thought the Southern Water Tribe could have something like this. " Wow." He sputtered, antonished. How could such a wonder be hidden?
::~
Then, the cave seemed to glow. Zuko held Katara protectively to him. The frozen ice underneath them pulsed along with the cave. The animals that once shone brightly in different colors now turned a light shade of blue.
Mist encased the couple, pulling them deeper into the cave. Wind blew turbulently, accumulating the mist in front of them.
" What is this?" Katara asked Zuko, as he shook his head. He didn't know.
Suddenly, it stopped. An eerie silence hung about in the cave. Katara and Zuko didn't dare move an inch in their parkas.
" I see. After thousands of years, you have come." Said a female voice. Katara stood.
A woman, dressed in flowing white robes, stood before them. She was tall, and lithe. Her dress fell off of her body in cascades, with the appearance of water on her itself. It was cut at the shoulder, so the sleeves hung off over arms. A aquamarine gem was placed in the middle of her navy blue sash. Her hair was black, darker than space. It flowed to the end of her waist. Her caramel mocha skin matched Katara's as well as her peircing, cerulean eyes.
" Who are you?" Katara asked. The woman gave a slight smile.
" The better question, is who are you." The woman stated.
" I am Katara." Katara answered. The woman tilted her head a fraction.
" Katara? Are you sure? I must have been asleep for a long while, then. " Said the woman. Zuko stepped forward, once again at Katara's side.
" Who are you?" He asked, again. The woman"s gaze trained on his intently.
" No doubt, you are here as well. You look different. How strange. The last time I was awake,- well, never mind. That was a long time ago. Your name, please?" The woman asked. Zuko gulped.
" Z-Zuko." He said. The woman in white nodded.
" Yes, your name has changed as well. Your much more handsome, than you were last time too. Just saying, Oma." The woman said, leaning ever so closer to Katara.
" Oma? What? Miss, who are you?"Katara asked, becoming impatient.
" Forgive her. She tends to speak more than she should, and doesn't answer many questions." A man's voice boomed from behind the woman in white. He walked out from behind her. No, he floated.
He was taller than she was, a bit taller than Zuko. His eyes were the same as the woman's, with little flints of gold in them. He had considerably lighter skin than the woman's and wore white pants, with a white tunic. He looked equally as powerful as the woman. His hair, if possible, was even darker than hers.
" La, I told you I wanted to visit them" Said the woman, putting her hands on her hips stubbornly. La sighed and rubbed his temples.
" So? I wanted to see them too. It's been years, Tui. Don't be unfair now." La said. Katara inwardly gasped.
" Tui? And La? But, your spirits of the Northern Water Tribe." Katara said, latching on to Zuko's arms, and digging her nails in.
" Zuko, it's Tui and La." Katara said nervously, through grit teeth. Zuko pried himself from his wife's grasp before he had half-moon marks permanently etched onto his skin.
" But Zhao killed Tui. We saw it ourselves." Zuko said. Tui's expression soured a little.
" That man. I don't like him. Of course, we couldn't have a say in the matter, as creation is up to Agni, but I still didn't agree." Tui said, muttering to herself.
" Yes, That Zhao man technically 'killed' me, but all he did was ruin my material form on land. A beauteous one, at that. But it's all the same. Hasn't anyone taught you, ah, Zuko, was it? Spirits, are forever." Tui said proudly.
La sighed." What she is trying to say, is that she wasn't compeletely destroyed. Her spirit and power live on." he said. " I, for one, was smart enough not to swim too close."
" Hey! He looked queer, I simply wanted a good look at him!" The two spirits argued. Katara and Zuko looked ready to faint. Thankfully, the spirits noticed this.
::~
" This isn't about us, however. It's about you." Tui said, walking around the couple. La stayed in front of them.
" You do know your past right?" He asked, and both Zuko and Katara nodded. He shook his head.
" No you don't. You know your material past. The one you have in this life. But do you know your past's past?" La asked, stepping aside, and waving a hand at the dark expanse of the large cave. Soon, mist began to form once again, taking the form of a screen. Scenes from their lives played out before them.
First, was when Katara and Zuko fought at the Northern Water Tribe. Next, was their time in the Crystal Catacombs, their first heartfelt moment together. Then, time seemed to rewind. It showed all of the times they had done so much as see each other.
Katara held Zuko's hand tightly. She knew that watching their past was hard, especially for him. He gave her hand a grateful squeeze.
The scenes changed. They weren't the main focus, another couple was.
" Do you remember this life?" Tui asked. Both Zuko and Katara shook their heads.
" This is the form we remember you by. Oma and Shu." La said. Tui nodded.
" This is how we last saw you when we were awake. It is your past. And pay very close attention, for it can be your future." Tui said.
" Oma and Shu, were incarnates of our love for each other. Two forces of the universe forever dancing around each other, but never together. It brought us comfort to see our love story play out." Tui said, changing the mist. She showed a bright young woman and man, secretly speaking to each other at the top of a mountain near a tree.
" This is your history." La said. Zuko held Katara's hand, and held her close. He felt connected with what he saw in the mist.
" Your love is strong. Able to plow through anything, so long as your heart's intent is true." Tui said, turning towards the couple. Even though she was good-natured, the amount of power they felt surging through her was immense.
" Are your hearts true? Are you disposed to do anything for each other? To be true to one another, even if you apart?" La said. They both nodded, but he wasn't happy with their answer. He floated down, towards Zuko.
" Say tomorrow, she's taken away from you. You can't ever, ever see her again. Any life that you two were to make together will never happen. Would you still be true?" La asked. Zuko stood straighter, and looked at the epitome of all things bad in the universe.
" Yes." He said, his voice strong and unwavering. La was the embodiment of all negative energy. Even so, he had some good in him, balancing his power with Tui's.
La gave him one last look, before he realized that he was speaking the truth.
::~
" And what about you? Zuko is annoying, as is La. He will anger you. You will be angry at him. Will that faze you? Will that make you doubt of your feelings for him?" Tui said, floating around her. Even though Tui was good, she still had that speck of evil in her, the part that allowed her to be balanced with La.
" Will you doubt your love?" Tui asked once again. Katara saw the images in the mist, the flashes of pain Oma felt when she lost Shu. It rung deep in her soul.
" I will not doubt it." Katara said, her crystal blue eyes staring at Tui full on. The goddess pulled back. La made a motion to put his arm around her, but thought better of it, realizing that he could never touch Tui for fear of overpowering her and upsetting the balance of the universe.
Zuko saw the raw pain in his eyes. It made him pull Katara closer.
::~
" Your future will not be easy." Tui prophesized. " You will have many ups and downs. Many turbulent moments that make you just want to sleep endlessly. Your love is not easy. " She said.
" Take care of each other. By learning your History, you have set forward your Future. Remember all of the lives that are gathered within you. Remember, and live." La said, as he began to fade.
He was almost gone when Tui turned to them.
" Live, little ones. Always remember to live." She said, dissapearing into mist as well.
The two shades of mist entertwined and circled as they rose up, higher and higher, until they were specks in the cave.
And then they were gone.
::~
They walked silently out of the cave, their hands still clasped together.
They may be entirely different. They may be shunned from the rest of the world that just simply didn't understand their love.
But together, they were one.
That was one thing Tui and La had yet to figure out.