That morning Katara opened her eyes and for once she felt… fresh, confident, and ready, ready for the day. She went through her morning routine calmly, slowly, and left her bedroom calmly, slowly. Though she made her way down the hall with her head held high, like a lioness bringing home a kill that was sure to reap encomium.
There was no other sound than the sough of her feet and the sound of her breathing, which today sounded as if she was listening through a dream.
She felt so good, so lively, and so puissant, that she knew from the very darkest corner of her soul that today was going to be epic.
She stopped once she made her way into a small side courtyard which at this time of day had an amazing view of the sun.
'Perfect timing' she thought to herself, took one last look at the rising sun, then continued up a flight of aged stairs, through a narrow hallway, past the air ball field, up a spiral staircase, and then there she was. At the beginning of a hall way which would lead her to a flat area with marble floors and nothing but walls, not even a ceiling, perfect for a fire bender.
A deep breath inward and she began, right foot, left foot the time it took to interchange the two was unbearable. Her heart began to quicken, and her breath suffered. But she remained calm even as she began hearing the unmistakable sound of fire being hurled through the air.
Right foot
Left foot
The sounds became louder until finally he came into her view.
His back was turned towards her as he was going through basic fire bending moves, then suddenly he stopped, and for a second Katara thought that he was about to turn around, but he didn't, instead his arms crossed in front of him and he pulled his shirt over his head, and threw it to the ground. Revealing beautiful toned skin, tightly encasing the muscles that Zuko worked ever so hard for. When his shoulder blades moved they left behind a perfect sequenced of muscle spasms. Paired with the fire that he resumed bending, it was a breath-taking image, especially to a hormonal teen like Katara. She stuck her right foot out and opened her mouth to call to him. But instead she turned in the opposite direction and proceeded to tip toe as quietly and hurriedly as she could back to her bed chambers, in which she let out a breath that she had been holding for a long time, collapsed on her bed and began cursing this horrible, awful day. While Zuko stood, puzzled , thinking he had heard someone, but in the end dismissed the sound as a creature of the wind.