"Well, look at this," she said, backing into the corner of an abandoned ruin. "Enemies and traitors, all working together. I'm done. I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."
Zuko was certain she was lying, (Azula always lies) but even Azula couldn't take on five people and the Avatar by herself. So she cheated, the way she always did when they were kids, and a crash of blue lightning brought Iroh down. A strangled noise escaped Zuko's mouth, one he didn't recognize, as Azula disappeared in an explosion of four elements (and a boomerang) before anyone could stop her.
The banished prince dashed to his uncle's side; the former general lay in the sand, face sweaty and contorted in pain. Zuko crouched beside him, hands shaking. Please, he prayed silently to the spirits responsible for what seemed to be the endless disaster that was his life thus far, not him too.
He heard the shuffling of feet behind him and realized suddenly that he was severely outnumbered should his enemies attack. They crept closer, and Zuko could feel their eyes on him.
"Get away from us!" he yelled, leaning over Iroh as some sort of shield, his eyes never leaving his uncle's face.
"Zuko," a familiar voice said, closer still. "I can help."
"Leave!" he screamed, sending an arc of fire towards the group. He heard the sounds of scurrying feet and focused on Iroh. He had no idea how to move him without causing more pain, much less how to help him. Behind him, the footsteps had stopped and Zuko was faintly aware of the Avatar and his friends talking.
"Katara," the eldest boy said. "What are you doing?"
"I'm helping," the girl- Katara answered. Her voice sounded sure, unafraid.
"But they're the enemy!" the boy (her boyfriend? brother?) argued, and Zuko was inclined to agree.
"Sokka, he's hurt." Katara's voice was soft but stern, like a chastising mother; definitely brother.
"That's not our problem," Sokka continued. "We have to get out of here."
"I will not turn my back on people who need me!" Katara yelled. Sokka didn't speak then and there was an extended silence before another girl, the Earthbender, spoke.
"Come on Snoozles," she started. "Gramps is a good guy." Sokka groaned and muttered something under his breath but seemed to concede.
Zuko felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see the Water Tribe girl kneeling down beside him. He began to push her away, to shout at her to leave but she grabbed his wrist.
"Zuko," she almost whispered. The way she said his name made him feel safe as if her gentle strength would protect him. He looked to where her hand held him, her small fingers dark against his pale skin. Hers seemed warmer than the last time he'd seen her, darkened by the desert sun. "I won't hurt your uncle. Just let me help."
She looked into his eyes, never flinching, her stare never lingering on his scar the way most people's did. He met her gaze for a moment longer; there were freckles across her nose, he noticed, and her cheeks were pink with the beginnings of a sunburn. She raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently for an answer Zuko realized he had yet to give her. He mentally cursed his idiot teenage body for getting distracted in a time like this and supplied a curt nod. Katara sprang into action then, sending the Avatar to get more water and the small Earthbender girl (Aang and Toph, apparently) used her bending to form a slab to carry Iroh into one of the more solid buildings. Sokka appeared with a bedroll and extra blankets and set up a makeshift workplace for his sister.
Soon Katara was gathering her water and using it to form a sort of glove around her hands. Aang watched closely, an eager student. But Zuko watched with his stomach in his throat, tense and ready to pounce. When she put her hands on Iroh's chest where the wound was most concentrated, Zuko's jaw tightened as his uncle groaned; it looked bad, covering much of his aging skin. The water began to glow, faint blue light sending strange shadows across the narrow room. Zuko's good eye widened as Iroh sighed in relief.
"How do you do that?" he asked, surprised by his own question. Katara looked up at him, her eyes even bluer in the light, and met his gaze for a moment before looking back to her patient.
"I don't really know," she answered, her voice quiet as if ashamed to say. "It's just instincts."
The conversation ended there, Zuko feeling stupid for having asked in the first place, Katara working diligently, her face twisted in concentration. Aang and Zuko watched on for what felt like days, the former occasionally inquiring about healing, until finally, Katara deposited her water into the sling on her hip. The burns weren't entirely better and the attack would probably leave a scar, but Iroh was okay for now. He was unconscious, but Katara assured that was normal and good for healing.
"That's all I can do tonight," the Waterbender said.
"I want to watch for infection, he seems to be running a fever," she continued, laying a hand on his forehead. Zuko placed his hand next to hers, ignoring the sudden jolt he felt when their fingers brushed and shook his head.
"No," he murmured. "That's normal for us." Katara looked up, her brow furrowing before realization hit her.
"Right," she laughed, mostly at herself. "Firebenders."
Zuko almost smiled then, she has a nice laugh, but didn't.
Later that night, the kids save Zuko were gathered around a fire, chatting quietly. Zuko stood in the doorway of the building they were calling home, for now, observing. He determined they had no clear leader, which could be why they never seemed to stay out of trouble. From what he gathered the Avatar and Toph were the youngest of the group, neither could be any more than thirteen. Aang was in that awkward stage of boyhood, his limbs scrawny and too long and determined to grow with or without the rest of him.
Toph was tiny, though her shoulders and legs were muscular, as was to be expected from Earthbenders. Her hair covered most of her face, except her mouth, and her raucous laughter and snorts seemed to vibrate everything around them. It took Zuko longer than it should have to realize that she was, in fact, blind- her stares, always about a foot off from their target, should've made it obvious. Part of him wanted to ask how she did, well anything really, but his Palace upbringing told him that was tactless and probably none of his business.
The Water Tribe siblings were entertaining to study, to say the least. Katara was younger than her brother, who seemed to be about Zuko's own age, his voice sometimes still cracking in the way that Zuko had finished growing out of a year ago. Sokka seemed bigger than the last time Zuko had seen him, still thin but more proportionate than the Airbender. Sokka could've been the leader, based on age, Zuko supposed, but Katara undermined him in the way only younger sisters seemed able to.
He guessed she was about the same age as his own sister, fifteen maybe, but the thought of comparing Katara to Azula made him feel… weird. Bad. Not a feeling he could readily identify and shook that off immediately. Her hair was longer than it had been, her dark braid so long she could almost sit on it. Her face was apple round with youth but parts of her; the arch of her brow, the cut of her wide, flat cheekbones, the curve of her neck, all alluded to the woman she would become. And Zuko, all hot-blooded teenage boy, noticed more so than he wanted to. The setting sun made her skin golden, radiant. And all he could think of was how soft her cheek might feel beneath his callused thumb.
Loud sound effects broke him out of his trance. Sokka was talking animatedly, limbs flailing, mouth forming the Crash and Splat as he informed Toph of he and Katara's, probably, overly exaggerated the fight against Mai and Ty Lee she had missed. The mention of his childhood friends hurt more than he was prepared for. It occurred to him, suddenly, that unlike the Avatar, he didn't have any friends. Not that it should matter, what did he have in common with anyone anyway? But the thought weighed heavy in his gut until the conversation went quiet, and he heard Sokka whisper-yelling at his sister.
"You always do this!" he said.
"Do what?" Katara was defensive. Her eyes narrowed, challenging him to continue.
"You get all involved with stuff that has nothing to do with yo-"
"I do not!" She cut him off, and Sokka rolled his eyes.
"Yeah," he continued, unfazed. "You do. You did it with Haru and his dad, and with Jet. I swear, sometimes it's like you meet any guy in need of your help and you completely lose track of our plans!"
She let out a noise of frustration and stood abruptly, storming off before rethinking and turning on him.
"Is that what you think?" the waterbender asked, her voice rising in anger. "That I'm just that kind of dumb girl? I want to help people! But you're acting like I'm some boy-crazy idiot!"
"Katara," Sokka's voice was softer now, working towards soothing. "Of course not. But we have to move on, it's not safe for us to stay here. We don't know if those girls are coming back and we can't trust these two."
Zuko noted that the Avatar and the Earthbender were strangely silent, watching the siblings bicker back and forth, Aang's eyes darting from Katara to Sokka to Zuko, where they narrowed suspiciously for the briefest of moments before flashing back to Katara.
"If you want to go," Katara stated, her mind made up. "Then leave, but I'm staying. Zuko's uncle hasn't done anything to us."
"Iroh." The siblings turned to look at Zuko as he spoke. They seemed to have forgotten he was there at all. "His name is Iroh." The group, minus Toph, stared at him for a second too long and he could feel the skin of his neck warming under the scrutinization.
"Iroh is a nice guy Sokka," Toph added, breaking the sudden tension. "And he makes great tea. I'm with Sweetness, we should stay." The Water Tribe boy looked to the Avatar, who merely shrugged.
"If anything happens," Aang said. "We'll leave immediately." Sokka let out a groan, slouching heavily. Is this how they make decisions? Zuko asked himself, Katara just making up he- Oh, found the leader.
"Fine," Sokka conceded. "But if we wake up dead, I'm never going to let you live this down."
Zuko wanted to point out that if they were dead they'd never live anything down, but his better judgment talked him out of it.
AN: liked it? hated it? thoughts? i really don't have a clear plan for this & am totally open to suggestions (no i wont write taang, sorry). also, i made Iroh's wound a little more severe to add Drama idk. reviews are much appreciated! xx jaq