2

"Don't get annoyed," Katara shot back, to which Zuko stiffened. "You're bleeding too." Rolling her eyes at his confused face, she pointed to his arm. Retrieving water from a nearby tea kettle (Zuko had clearly been living here for a couple days), she bended it into a small ball.

"Don't—" began the firebender, but she shushed him, saying, "You're lucky I'm even healing you." Enveloping her hands in the water, she pressed them to the wound on Zuko's arm, slowly knitting his skin back together, cleansing it so there would be no infection. Katara didn't drop her guard but she felt calmer around him when he was on his knees next to her, patiently waiting as she relieved him of his pain.

When she was done, she set to work on her own bleeding wound, noticing that hers was merely a scratch compared to his deep injury. Technically, she thought, Zuko took a knife for me. Her eyes widened in alarm at the thought and she shook her head, banishing the images, but her actions didn't go unnoticed by Zuko.

"What?" he asked, sounding irritated and self-conscious.

Katara stared at him blankly, trying to figure out what to say. Assuming her normal haughty pose, she turned her face away and crossed her arms. "I think you mean thank you."

"Thank you," he said, and from the sudden softness of his voice, it was obvious that he meant it.

Well. She hadn't actually expected him to say thank you, but she was pleased. Blushing, Katara craned her neck so he couldn't see her face at all, and said, "Why did you…?"

"Why did I what?"

Hand flapping about, trying to find a place she could gesture to, Katara searched for words to explain what Zuko had done. She wasn't exactly sure if he'd saved her, so she played it safe: "Why did you…take me away from June?"

Zuko didn't answer, and Katara didn't really want him to – not right then, anyway. As always, after healing, she became exhausted; more so than she already was. It must've shown on her face, because Zuko took one look at her and said, "Lie down. Sleep."

Her mind protested stubbornly, but her body followed his orders, sinking back onto the blankets that must've been his. They smelled homey, like maybe he'd had them as a child and used them often. It was not unpleasant – in fact, it reminded her of Sokka.

Sighing, her eyes fluttered closed, and she almost forgot that Zuko was still in the tent. As if he'd heard her thoughts, the firebender stood quietly and returned outside; Katara fell asleep before she heard him climb the tree, but not before she whispered, inaudibly, "Thank you."

Far away, June shrieked in rage. Kicking her unconscious comrade in the ribs, she watched as he sat up, sputtering. He rubbed his forehead, scowling against an agonizing headache, and turned his round face up to her, cowering, almost.

"Where did she go?" June asked through her teeth, eyes spitting fire and fingers raised like talons. She hissed like a snake, and her eyes grew small and slitty.

"I…I don't know," said the man, dumbfounded. He couldn't remember. Blinking once, twice, he tried to make sense of his jumbled memories from the night before. June's anger dispersed into the sizzling heat of the day, and she carefully picked up the chains that had once bound the Avatar's girlfriend.

Wrapping it around her hands and pulling it taut a couple times, June said, "She can't have just broken the chain. With waterbenders, they can freeze them and break them, but not without water."

"T-There was water around!" cried the man, gesturing to the plants that surrounded them.

"Her hands and feet were tied," June said coldly. "What happened?"

The guard thought for a moment more, then his memory dawned on his face. "A boy," he said. "A boy came."

"And you didn't call for help? What, were you too manly to ask for assistance? That got us far." June snorted and dropped the chains. They clattered against each other on the ground, and she stepped over them with mild disgust.

"No. I…I fell asleep," admitted the man, bowing his head. "But when I woke up, he had swords! Two long swords! And he charged me. He ran straight at me and all I could do was—"

The man's words cut off as he looked back at the wagon which he'd slept against. His dagger was on the ground, half covered in dirt. He quickly retrieved it, stooping over and experiencing pain in his lower back. Bringing the knife up into the light, he showed June the blood that had dried on the blade.

"I stabbed him," said the man. His chest puffed out and he smiled, as if proud of himself.

"Well, that didn't do much good." June examined her nails before crossing her arms.

"Wh-what?" he asked, deflating.

"Clearly, they still got away," June sing-songed. Her attitude was growing more and more irritated, and her foot began to tap against the ground. "You didn't do much if he still managed to get Princess outta here."

"I'm sorry," said the man, exasperated. "I'll try harder – I'll even catch them myself—"

"No need," June dismissed, waving a hand at him like he was a fly. "Your job is done. You're done. Leave. I don't need you here."

"But…ma'am…"

"Get. Gone," June hissed through her teeth. Without a further word, she spun on her heel and walked towards the wagon, gesturing for her other cronies to follow. She shouted orders to the men.

"Nyla," she called, and the shirshu quickly made its way towards her, waking from slumber. Nuzzling her, it breathed inward, snorting. "Good boy," said June. "Let's go."

"I don't understand," said Sokka. He stood next to Aang and Toph, who were crouching on the ground. Toph drew a map of the island – it was amazing that she could see so much – in the dirt as Aang inspected it. In the middle of the night, Toph had sensed unnatural movement, and had ever since been tracking it.

"It might be Azula," she'd said. "I can't tell how many pairs of feet there are – it's too far away – but that's all I can think of."

"What about Zuko?" Aang had asked, pulling on his chin as if he were stroking a beard in thought. "He could be nearby."

"True. But every time he attacks, he usually comes from the sky. Or water." Toph sat back, allowing Sokka to study the maze she had drawn. "I seriously doubt it's him, Twinkletoes."

"You're probably right," Sokka mused, eyes moving over the drawing. "But there's still one thing I don't understand."

"What's that?" said the younger duo in unison.

"If they've got Katara, how come they haven't tried to bargain with us for her? You know, Aang for Katara? That seems like a reasonable thing to do."

"I'd do it," said Aang. "I would."

"I know, little buddy. But you can't."

"I think it's because they know we'd pull something. Trick them. Or they know we'd protect him at all costs," Toph said, turning her face upward towards Sokka. He stared at her pale, unseeing eyes and patted her shoulder.

"I just want her home," Sokka sighed, collapsing onto the ground between them. "I'm supposed to look after her. But she's looking after me, all the time."

"She looks after us, too," Aang said quietly. "Me and Toph."

"That's why we need to save her. Toph, we're going after the people you're tracking. I don't care if it's Azula and her friends. We need my sister back."

Zuko slept in the tree closest to his tent. It was uncomfortable and not easily managed, but he didn't want to sleep on the ground; he could see farther in all directions from up in the tree.

Waking up a little before Katara, he leaped from the lowest branch of the tree and landed a bit clumsily on the ground. Stumbling slightly, Zuko made his way around the tent, hoping he hadn't woken Katara. Luckily, he hadn't, and thus he set to work, making himself tea.

He had to use a lesser kettle than the one that was in the tent; Uncle Iroh had always carried two, just in case, and it'd become a habit for Zuko. He felt cranky, like he always did in the morning, but the tea calmed his nerves.

Zuko wondered if he should find some food. His stomach was growling and he only had a small bag of dried fruits, and he imagined that June hadn't fed Katara that much. Then he wondered if he should give her tea, not because she'd be waking up soon, but because she was a waterbender, and could probably kill him with it…

He shrugged, pouring another cup anyway, and went to find something edible in the wilderness surrounding them. If he were elsewhere, he might've worried that Katara could escape him, but she probably hadn't memorized the terrain of the island and would get lost within moments of leaving the tent.

That was true. Katara did get lost. Waking when he'd jumped out of the tree, she'd waited for Zuko to leave, and now he was finally gone. She'd moved quickly and quietly out of his tent, taking nothing but one of his dao swords with her.

She left his little camp stealthily, making sure not to make tracks. Although she didn't remember most of what she'd learned when watching as her father taught Sokka how to fight with a sword, she knew some basic stabs and jabs.

The sun moved slowly overhead, beating down on her as she made her way, turning every now and then. She had absolutely no idea where she was going, but she could tell that with each step, more distance was added between her and Zuko; hopefully, between her and June as well.

Perspiration dripped down her forehead and she bent it off, wishing she had some clean water to drink. Her throat was parched and it felt scratchy, felt like it was swelling inward and suffocating her.

Zuko's blade drooped in her hand and her back slumped after a while; Katara was growing tired and quite possibly very far away from finding her friends tonight. It was still light out, but she was extraordinarily hungry, having to stop every now and then to wait out the hunger pains that rumbled through her stomach.

Her back hurt and her eyes felt too dry; Katara just wanted to find Sokka and Aang and Toph. What if they were starving? She couldn't remember Sokka cooking anything besides fish. Aang didn't eat creatures that had once been living, and how could Toph make meals when she was blind? They'd had enough money to buy them about seven meals – if they went to the cheapest places, of course – but it'd been, according to what she'd overheard from June, about four days.

Relax, she told herself, stopping to rest against a tree trunk. It provided little shade, but it was enough to satisfy her. Toph knows how to gamble. She's probably won more money than we already had…or – she gulped – she's gotten herself thrown in jail.

Oh, no. She covered her face with one hand, terrified that her friends might've been caught without her watching over them. In her mind, it stopped becoming a possibility as she thought about it more and more, and eventually it was an actual scenario to her – she had to find Aang, they were wanted fugitives on Fire Nation land—

"You're not getting very far," said a voice from above her. Katara jumped and shrieked a little as she looked up; Zuko was sitting lazily on one of several low branches that the surrounding trees provided. He made pointed eye contact with her before he continued. "If you waste your energy wandering around, you'll be tired before the day's out and easier for June to track down. I know you probably don't want to, but you should come with me."

"No," said Katara, moving out from under the tree and raising Zuko's blade in defense. "I'm not coming with you. Don't try to stop me. I'm going home."

"You sound really sure of yourself," Zuko retorted with a snort. "I hate to say it but you've been circling the tent for almost the whole day."

"I have not!" Katara snapped. "I haven't even seen your tent since I left it!"

"I never mentioned how far away from it you are." He shrugged, then pushed himself off the branch. His feet stirred up

—humid. It dawned on Katara. She threw her hands up and wrenched water from the air, from every nearby plant – still not much – and bended it towards Zuko, aiming straight for his…

Zuko raised his hand and fire erupted along Katara's water, and, to her surprise, it evaporated. "How?" she asked dumbly, dropping her guard.

"My uncle taught me some things since we last met. Plus, you're in my territory now." He gestured around them to the Fire Nation land, but he wasn't proud like he had been all the other times.

"Your territory? Weren't you banished?" Katara said icily, and she seemed to strike a nerve.

Zuko turned away, fists clenching and unclenching. "That's not important. Look. I don't want to have to force you to come along. If you haven't noticed, now I'm on the run from June as well as you, so we might as well stick together. You won't last long, anyways."

"Thanks for the encouragement," Katara grumbled. "But still, no. Leave now and I won't hurt you. But make one move, and I will." She raised his blade till its tip was almost touching the space between his shoulder blades.

So fast that Katara barely had any time to react, Zuko spun and grabbed the painful end of the sword, jerking it sideways past his chest and out of her hand. He maneuvered it to the side; turned it so the hilt was up and the end of the blade was still in his fingers, then loosened his grip so that it fell downward until he caught it. Now grasping the handle of the dao sword, he spun it away from either of their faces then brought it back until it was touching the side of Katara's neck. She stiffened, eyes wide.

"Like I said," his voice rasped. "You won't last long." He let the blade drop to his side and turned away once more, without even telling Katara to follow. She did anyways, trailing about six paces behind him. He moved through the tall grass like a rat would the stalks of crops on an Earth Kingdom farm.

They both were silent, and the only noise besides the winged creatures flying over their heads was that of Zuko moving the grass out of the way. Katara tried to worry about her current situation, but her thoughts always led back to Aang and the others.

She hoped silently that Toph was simultaneously scamming people out of their money and staying out of trouble. That was the only way any of them could get their nutrition, their energy…what if Azula had followed Zuko to the island? What if in capturing Katara, Zuko had handed Aang to his sister?

No, that's not right. I'm sure Zuko would know if Azula was around. He hates her as much as we do, Katara thought. He'd tell me. I've got no doubt that he'd tell me.

So she decided to stay a little while longer, because Zuko was right: she couldn't protect herself, especially against June or Azula and her friends. Katara was a master waterbender, and Zuko, who wasn't a master firebender, had so easily gotten rid of her weapon. The enemy of your enemy is not your friend, Katara remembered Master Pakku saying.

Then what's he planning?