Katara watched the graceful movements of her hands as she bent the water from the pots on the small iron stove top to the large metal wash tub she had found hidden in a storeroom earlier. Raising her hands, she watched as the cold water in the bottom of the tub rose up, taking in the hot water and mixing together, forming the perfect temperature for a good long soak.
Pulling her dirty water tribe dress from her, she debate with herself before finally removing all her under binding; what was the use of a nice long soak if she had to do it with dirty clothes on?
Katara stepped into the water, feeling instantly clamed. She allowed herself to sink into the water, letting the sensation of her element, clean water, wash over her.
A small part of her felt guilty for taking a few moments for herself while everyone else aboard was seeing to their chores or taking care of Aang. But she pushed that guilt from her mind as the water lapped at her body, pulling her deeper and deeper into relaxation.
Even so, she only allowed herself a few moments of uninterrupted bliss before sitting forward and grabbing the spare cloth and soap bar that she had laid aside earlier. Working a quick lather, she quickly washed her body, before ducking under the water and working the soap through each dirty strand of her long hair.
She sighed lovingly; it felt wonderful to have clean hair again. Sitting forward once more, she closed her eyes and bent water from a bowl on the floor and used it to rinse the soapy water from her hair. She could have easily bent the water from her hair, but instead left it; there was something clamming about feeling the water flow through each strand and drip down her body, before falling gently onto the floor under her feet.
Standing, Katara stepped from the tub. As she did, she heard a light chirp-chip from under one of the shelves. A small smile crossed her lips as she pulled a spare cloth around her body to dry off.
"Momo, are you trying to sneak a peek?" Leaning down, she spotted the lemur curled on the lowest shelve, chewing on an over ripe peach and watching her with large, innocent eyes.
Laughing softly to herself, Katara straightened once more and dropped her dirty dress into the tub. She quickly washed it as best she could, then pulled the dress from the tub, quickly bending the water from the cloth. She traded her damp towel for the now clean dress, noticing as she did that the hem needed repair. Sighing softly, she pulled it on and then sat on a stool to brush her long locks out with her fingers. She never thought she would long so much for a simple hair comb.
Feeling the back of her neck, she felt a large knot of hair caught on the lace of her mother's necklace. Removing it, she placed it lightly on the floor by her feet and went back to working the tangles from her hair.
After she worked all the tangles out, Katara leaned back against the wall behind her, feeling the exhaustion from the past weeks pressing down on her. She started to close her eyes and just take a moment for herself when a flash of white shot across the floor at her feet.
Letting out a short gasp, Katara stood and instantly dropped into a water bending pose. She relaxed when she saw that it was just Momo, who had finished his peach and was no doubt on the prowl for something else to eat. She sat once more, watching with a slight smile as the lemur criss crossed along the floor, his tiny hands scraping across the floor with each turn he made.
"Sorry, Momo, there's not any food in here."
The lemur looked up at her, his head cocked slightly to the side, chirping some unknown reply back at her.
Laughing softly, she reached down and scratched him lightly behind his soft floppy ears. Momo let out a little purr, leaning into her touch.
Standing once more, Katara realized she had forgotten her binding. Shrugging to herself, she decided it could wait till she was back in her own room and simply smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress as best she could.
Turning back to the tub, she quickly and efficiently bent the water from the tub and out a small window, where she let it drop into the ocean with a small flick of the wrist.
Next, Katara bent down to retrieve her mother's necklace. Her hands scanned the rough metal floor quickly, but instead of feeling the necklace, panic swiftly over rode her when her hands came up with nothing. Her brilliant blue eyes examined every inch of open floor near where she had placed the necklace, but still nothing.
Just as tears of anxiety filled her eyes, there was a soft chirp behind her. Turning swiftly on her knees, Katara watched as Momo lifted the lost necklace to his mouth, grasping it tightly before climbing through the open window and out into the night.
"Momo! No! Give that back!" Katara yelled as loud as she could as she ran to the heavy iron door, throwing it open and running toward the open deck of the ship.
Katara continued yelling at the thieving lemur as she raced along the open deck. Since it late, almost everyone had retired for the night, leaving only one or two as look outs on deck.
Tonight, it was Pipsqueak and The Duke, although The Duke had already fallen asleep and was leaning against Pipsqueak, who sat up a little straighter has Katara came flying on deck.
"Katara, is everything alright?" Pip made sure to keep his voice light, so as not to wake The Duke.
Katara replied only with, "Just going to skin a lemur!" before continuing down the open deck. She heard Pip let out a small laugh; nearly everyone on board had had something stolen by said lemur, and they almost never got it back.
The cold metal was harsh on her bare feet, reminding her that she'd forgotten to replace her boots. One more grievance that she planned to place fully upon Momo's head; if she could ever catch him.
Just as the thought entered her mind, Katara noticed a lone figure at the back of the ship and watched as Aang's pest-of-a-pet raced up their back, coming to rest sitting on their shoulder.
The person turned and Katara realized that it was none other than Zuko, who watched with a slightly amused look as she drew closer.
"Don't tell me you're his next target?" Zuko asked softly, reaching up absently and petting Momo lightly.
"His going to be my next target," as she spoke, Katara drew an orb of ocean water toward her, "for target practice."
Another laugh flowed from Zuko's lips as he reached for the lemur once more. Katara watched, amazed, as Momo handed Zuko her necklace without a fight. As soon as Zuko grasped the delicate jewelry, Momo jumped from his shoulders and glided over Katara's head, making his way smoothly back to steal something else, no doubt.
"I don't know why he keeps bring me things," Zuko told her, as he stepped forward, holding the necklace out for her.
Katara let the orb of water she was still holding float back into the sea, then walked toward Zuko, reaching for her mother's necklace. She quickly placed it around her neck once more, making sure that it was secure.
"So everything he steals, he gives to you? Why?" Katara wondered.
Zuko let out a tiny sigh, turned to gaze across the vast ocean once more. "I'm not really sure, but I don't know who it all belongs to, so it's just sitting on the spare bed in mine and Uncle's room."
Katara let out a small laugh, walking forward so that she was standing beside him, watching the ocean with him and just sharing a quiet moment. "Maybe he likes you."
A small smile tugged at Zuko's lips as he turned to look down on her. "Maybe."
Silence filled the space between them, broken only by the spattering of the ocean as it was cut open by the ship.
Katara stared up at the moon, which hung low in the night sky. She closed her eyes as she let the gentle glow soak into her, flowing through her veins and feeling her with a sense of control.
"I never got to thank you," she started softly, opening her eyes and turning around, leaning her back against the railing as she watched the young Prince. "For what you did in Ba Sing Se."
Zuko stared down into her brilliant blue eyes, unsure what to say.
Katara started to fidget under the intense glaze from his golden eyes. Dropping her eyes, she began to nervously pick at the folds of her dress. "So, I guess, thanks."
As the silence stretched between them, Katara began to feel more and more uncomfortable. "Well, goodnight."
She pushed herself away from the railing and started to walk away. She'd only taken a few steps when she felt a warm hand wrap around her wrist, stopping her in her place. She remained with her back to Zuko, letting the warmth from his strong hand spread from her wrist all the way to her shoulder.
"Your welcome," Zuko replied softly, his words sending a puff of hot breath into her hair, instantly warming the back of her neck.
Katara felt a shiver work its way up her back and through her arms, raising goose-bumps in its wake. Turning back around, she looked up into Zuko's warm honey eyes. She noticed that his hand stayed on her wrist, almost as if he'd forgotten that he was holding her.
"Your welcome," he repeated, feeling lost in her sapphire glaze.
"You already said that," Katara replied, speaking softly.
The wind blew softly, blowing her hair across her face. Before she could reach up and toss it way, Zuko's hand was there, lightly pushing her hair behind her ear. She thought that he would drop his hand after that, but instead, his fingers skimmed lightly through the long locks, flowing gently over her shoulder and down, all the way to the end, just above her waist.
Words were trapped in her throat, frozen in place by the look of utter delight and wonder in his eyes as the followed the path of his hand.
"You have the most beautiful hair," he whispered, playing with the slight curls at the end of her long locks.
"Zuko -," she started, not sure what she was going to say.
But it didn't matter whatever she was going to say, because before she could think of something, she was suddenly ripped away from Zuko.
"And just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Chief Hakoda yelled, shoving Zuko hard into the metal railing behind him.