This was written for the LiveJournal community atlaland's A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words challenge. Participants were asked to write a story based on a piece of fanart. The fanart that inspired this story is drawn by Alagaesha at DeviantArt, and I'll put a link of the image up in my profile picture. Not much else to say, other than that I hope this story is all right, since I had to cut a lot of it out in order to fit the challenge's word limit. I also apologize if it seems incomplete...I kept it a little open-ended just in case I (or anyone else) wanted to continue with this idea...teehee. Anyway, enjoy!

With Courage

"That should do it," Katara sighed. Satisfied, she placed the dish she held down in front of her companion. "Eat up."

Her Blastoise rumbled in appreciation, taking a large bite from the Pokémon food before it.

Smiling, Katara then glanced over the campfire towards the nearby clearing. She hesitated before finally calling, "Zuko?"

The boy, busy training with his Charizard, didn't seem to notice.

Hating to be ignored, Katara huffed, louder this time, "Zuko!" She was rewarded when they both stopped and turned to look at her.

"Are you gonna eat or what?" she asked.

Zuko paused before patting Charizard's neck, signaling the end of their work out. Then they approached the campfire.

"Thanks," Zuko said, accepting the food she offered.

Katara simply nodded, then glanced at the Flame Pokémon. Its cerulean eyes danced with the light of the fire, watching her curiously. She had prepared food for it as well, but…

"I told you. You don't have to be scared," Zuko said, taking a bite from some bread. "Charizard won't hurt you."

Katara glared at him. "I'm not scared," she retorted, placing the Pokémon food down. Still, she nearly jumped when Charizard devoured it.

Zuko studied her, and though he said nothing, his good eye seemed to reflect amusement.

She exhaled sharply. "I'm not." Tension getting the better of her, she added, "I'm surprised you aren't."

Zuko frowned. "Should I be?"

Her sensibility returned just before she answered, forcing Katara to bite her tongue. Still, she couldn't help glancing at his face, her eyes giving away her meaning.

"Oh…" Absently, Zuko's fingers combed through his dark shaggy hair, brushing away strands that attempted to hide his marked flesh.

For her part, Katara felt somewhat guilty. She had traveled with him long enough to know that his scar was still a touchy subject. "Sorry…" she murmured.

Zuko shrugged, though his gaze seemed rather distant. "It's fine. But…if it makes you feel better, I didn't get this," indicating his face, "from any of my Pokémon."

Katara frowned, partially because the thought did make her feel a little better, and she once again felt bad for implying it. Though his statement also left her curious, the opportunity to ask was lost as they resumed eating in awkward silence.

Not that it was any different from their previous evening meals. They mostly journeyed together quietly, and while it wasn't so bad when they were traveling, it was much more uncomfortable when they settled down for the day. They spoke with their Pokémon more than with each other.

There wasn't much Katara could do though, since he was a Fire Pokémon trainer, and she preferred Water Pokémon. It seemed natural they wouldn't get along.

And it wouldn't be much longer. They were only traveling together until they reached Ba Sing Se. They both were on their way to the large city when they met anyway, and they would split company once they arrived. She would meet with her friends as she planned, and he would visit his uncle's shop.

And they would never have to see each other again.

She couldn't explain the sudden uneasiness she had at the thought, so she simply ignored it as they finished their meal and prepared for bed, silent as ever. Grabbing her sleeping bag and spreading it out, she looked up at Blastoise. "Let's put out the fire," she said.

Blastoise nodded, aiming one of its jets at the campfire. It sprayed a small stream of water, but the Water Gun was stronger than intended, a wave splashing Zuko as he was laying out his own sleeping mat.

"Hey, watch it!"

Seeing the water drip from his soaked clothes, Katara hid a laugh behind her hand. "Sorry," she said giggling, and even Blastoise seemed to snicker as it settled down beside her.

Pushing back his dampened hair, Zuko then looked at Charizard, already lying on its stomach and preparing to sleep. It craned its neck to look at its trainer.

That was when Katara noticed how close Charizard's tail was to the campfire…and to Zuko. She thought that Zuko had gotten wet simply because he moved at the wrong time. But remembering how important a Charizard's tail flame was to its life, she began to wonder if he had intentionally moved when he did.

He certainly was a mystery. He often pushed his Pokémon hard during training, and they seemed just as stern and moody as him. But she could see that he cared deeply about them, and judging from the affectionate lick Charizard gave him, his Pokémon felt the same way. They had been traveling together all this time, but she still knew very little about him.

"…Hey, Zuko?" she said, nervously tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear.

Wringing out as much water from his shirt as he could, Zuko looked at her. "What?"

"How…How did you get that scar?"

If they weren't seeing each other after reaching Ba Sing Se, then she at least wanted to know something about him.

Though she regretted asking as Zuko glanced away from her; he probably didn't mean to, but it made his scar more visible while making his expression harder to read.

Then he sighed. "It's not a big deal really," he answered, leaning against Charizard as it lay its head back down. "It happened a few years ago, before I got my first Pokémon."

"What happened?"

"I wanted to know more about battling. So I asked my father to show me some Pokémon strategies, since he's one of the strongest trainers I know. He told me that the only way I'd learn was from experience, so he let me borrow one of his Pokémon so I could battle him."

"What?" Katara gasped. "But if you didn't have your own, there's no way you could handle a high-level Pokémon…How did you control it?"

"I didn't. And since my father specializes in Fire Pokémon like the rest of my family…" He indicated his scarred face to drive his point home.

"That's…!" Katara found herself seething. How could anyone be so irresponsible to let their child take such a dangerous risk? Though Zuko tried to hide it, the pain in his voice was unmistakable. But it was exactly that which prompted her to ask, "So then…why did you still choose Charmander as your starter?"

Zuko glanced at Charizard, who looked up at him and growled softly. "Well like I said, my family trains Fire Pokémon, so Charmander was the natural choice. And it's just easier for me to understand them."

Katara blinked. "What do you mean?"

Folding his hands behind his head, Zuko looked up at the stars. "After the incident, my dad told me that I was fortunate, because I would never be a strong trainer if I didn't understand what Pokémon go through during battle."

Katara glowered. It sounded more like an excuse for Zuko's father to avoid responsibility for what happened. But she didn't have time to say anything before he continued.

"It took a while, but eventually I realized that he was right. When I got burned, I got a taste of what Pokémon go through. And even though it hurt, I learned from experience what Fire Pokémon are capable of, and I gained more respect for them."

Katara sat silently, her admiration growing for her companion. Despite what he said, it probably wasn't easy for him to handle the type of Pokémon that wounded him. She couldn't help but commend him for overcoming what he went through to train his Pokémon, let alone care about them.

Because she knew what it was like to undergo a distressing event like that…

And while she wasn't afraid of them, they did make her feel a little nervous. It was why she kept Blastoise out of its Pokeball lately, since Zuko always had one of his Pokémon out when he trained it. It slowed them down a bit, but Blastoise was her most-trusted Pokémon, and she felt safest with it.

Still, the longer she spent with Zuko and his Fire Pokémon, the more she found that they weren't so bad. And, she supposed, neither was he.

"Anyway, we should probably get some sleep if we want to get up early tomorrow," Zuko said.

"Right." Slipping into her sleeping bag, she looked at Zuko. "Your clothes are still wet, though. Won't you be cold?"

"I'll be okay. I've got Charizard." The Flame Pokémon curled up a little, bringing its tail flame closer to keep him warm.

"Will Charizard be all right, though?"

Both Zuko and Charizard looked at her in surprise, and she realized why. Though she respected all Pokémon, she had never shown much concern for Zuko's before, given her aversion to them. So she added, "I just don't want to start any forest fires or anything."

Zuko rolled his eyes, and the atmosphere shifted back to something more familiar. "If you're so worried about that, then don't travel with us."

"Hmph." She rolled over, turning her back on him. "Don't think I'd let you off that easily."

"Oh c'mon! I said I'd pay you back for your bike! Would you just let it go already?"

The End