Find what you're looking for?

-Part 2-

Katara stood at the river with her hands out over the water. Lifting both her hands up, two large globs of water followed her hands and she bended the water into the two water skins she had at her hips. She figured as well that they would need some food, and now after a while of not being able to handle food, she realized just how hungry she really was.

Looking around, she found some large leaves from a tree and laid two of them down. Turning back to the water, she waited till a couple of fish swam slowly by her. Quickly she caught the two fish in her water bending and pulled them from the water and set them on one of the large leaves. Quickly she grabbed them by the tail fins and beat their heads against the ground, killing both fish. Then she wrapped the leave around the fish and walked back to the whole. Zuko hadn't returned yet, so she set the fish by the hole and wandered back toward the water. As she walked along, she picked some fruits and berries she knew they could eat, and was surprised when she had more than she thought, at least enough for a few days. Heading back to the hole, she sat down and set the berries by the fish and picked one from the pile, before placing it on her tongue and rolled it around in her mouth, savoring the sweet taste.

"Well looks like you won't be useless after all." Katara jumped the low voice and turned to see Zuko standing there with his arms full of wood. He had removed his shirt and laid it over his shoulder, and she could clearly see the fine definition in his muscles. A fine sheen of sweat covered his body and she shivered slightly while looking away, trying to hide her blush.

Zuko only snorted lightly while walking over and setting the wood down. "Girls really are insane" he thought to himself while looking around. For the most part they were pretty well hidden. This part of the forest seemed pretty dense and far enough away that if they made a small fire it should be okay.

"Oh no…" Katara's voice was slightly worried and Zuko looked to her.

"What?"

"My pack, I left it at the temple! It has my cards and scrolls in it!" Zuko snorted and shook his head.

"It's not that important. Even if it was Uncle would probably grabbed it anyway." She nodded slightly and blushed as her stomach rumbled loudly. Zuko smiled faintly and looked down at her. "You're hungry, you need to eat." She nodded slightly and Zuko set up some wood on the grass, and holding his hand by the wood and snapped his fingers, a flame being produced and sprang to life on the wood. Taking up a long stick, Katara impaled the two fish on the stick and held it over the fire at the right height so they didn't burn. He figured she was cooking both of them for her, but stopped that line of thought when she spoke to him.

"They won't take long to cook. Fish is okay with you right?" He nodded and watched her. Spending so much time out traveling in the wild, she knew how to cook and take care of herself, even hunt when it came to it. She was a lot strong than he gave her credit for, and it took him a while for him to realize this. He always knew she was strong, a talented water bender and good at what she did, but to survive so long and continue on the way she had took real strength. After a few minutes she pulled the fish off the fire and poked them slightly. Both of them were steaming and smelt so good, and he realized as well how hungry she was. Katara chuckled faintly at the sound of his grumbling stomach and taking the leaf the fish had rested on, folded it over and pulled one of the done fish off the stick and handed it to him. Zuko was surprised she didn't flinch from the heat of the cooked fish, but figured it was because of her callused hands from all the travel. He took the fish and watched as she took a bite of the fish meat, the food still on the stick. The sight of a young woman eating like a nomad made him laugh in the back of his mind as she took a bite of the fish as well.

Katara was surprised to see that Zuko was actually refined when it came to eating. He sat up right on his legs, back straight, and took small bites. It was slightly funny and she had to keep from laughing. Being out in the open air and eating food, and just feeling safe even if she wasn't seemed to help. She tired hard the whole time to force the images of what Zhou did from her mind and it took all the strength she had, but now she didn't have to. Her mind was focused just on surviving, not fighting her own thoughts.

Zuko felt a pressure in his pocket and remembered that he had Katara's necklace still. Yei had taken it off of her last time when she gave her the tea. She wanted to make sure that there was no pressure of any kind on her throat that might freak the girl out. He set the makeshift plate down and reached into his pocket. His hand brushed across the smooth feel of the pendent and he knew that this was something that set her apart from the other water benders. This small necklace made her who she was, and now he held it. It game him a sense of power, of protection over her. Which he found almost completely insane… almost.

-

That night, Katara and Zuko lay side by side on the soft grass and piles of leaves. The fire was small but burned warmly. Zuko was already asleep but Katara lay watching the stars. The night would be cold, but the fire was already burning strong enough to keep her warm. And if need be, she could always lay next to Zuko, and simply claim she was cold and probably moved towards his body heat while she slept. She wasn't sure what was going on with her, but she felt a fast growing attraction for the fire bender, and she knew she shouldn't be. It was wrong, he was trying to capture Aang and he had already proven he would do just about anything to get what he wanted. But she couldn't help it. He was a strong, and tremendously handsome, even with his scar. It seemed to add to his personality and marked him for who he was. Katara had her blue eyes, Aang had her tattoos, Sokka had his boomerang, and Zuko had his scar.

She looked over to him as he slept, and realized how tranquil and young he looked. She figured he was probably eighteen by now, two years older than her. A fluttering sensation filled her stomach and she blushed while wrapping her arms around herself and looked back to the sky. Right now she needed to sleep. Sleep was what would help heal her right now, so sleep she would do.

-

When Zuko woke, it was early, the sun just rising over the horizon. He felt an odd weight against his stomach and looked down. It startled him at first and he wanted to jump up but stopped when he remembered Katara was still weak and probably injured. He sat up slowly and shifted her to lie on the makeshift bed. Zuko watched her sleeping and blushed at remembering the feel of her against him, laying on him. But he shook of the moment of warmth and embracement and stood up, before walking off to find a quiet place to meditate.

-

By the time Katara slipped form her dreams, she found Zuko sitting with his back to her, facing the direction the sun rose. She figured by the position of his shadow that it was probably nine or ten in the morning. Standing up slowly, she stretched and dusted her clothes off before walking over to him and sat down beside him. He was silent as he continued his meditation, and Katara was becoming increasingly bored with sitting there. So she shifted to sit with her legs out in front of her. She sat that way for a while then shifted again, making a little more noise.

"Can't you sit quite for more than a few minutes?" His voice was slightly sharp but not angry.

"Sorry…" She remained still again before feeling her legs beginning to cramp. For a moment Katara wanted to try something, but fought it off. After a moment she gave into impulse and went along with her thought.

-

Zuko wasn't sure what she was doing, but he felt rather than saw her reach out and act as if she was going to touch him, but didn't. Instead he rather then felt her hand wave in front of his face. So she wants to play hu? Zuko opened his eyes and gave a loud "Boo!" right in her face. Katara screamed and fell back on her rear with a wince and gave the laughing boy a sharp glare.

"Serves you right for messing with me while I'm trying to meditate!"

She stood up and put her hands on her hips while looking down at him.

"Serves you right for falling asleep on me!" Zuko looked up with the returned glair and stood up, towering over her.

"Falling asleep on you?! You're the one who decided to get cozy with me last night!" The blush that came to Katara's cheeks made her look like her head was about explode. He'd never seen anyone blush so bad, but the blush only got worse as her temper rose.

"How dare you accuse me of getting cozy with –YOU- of all people! You're the enemy!" Zuko growled and was already growing tired of this stupid girl.

"Hey you're the one who decided to fall asleep on my stomach not me!" Zuko turned and started away from her while trying hard to keep his anger in check.

"Where are you going now?!" Katara called out after him.

"To find some place quiet!" The water tribe girl stomped her foot in anger and felt like screaming, but bit her tongue and watched as he walked off into the forest.

-

Zuko tried hard to control his temper and calm his mind, but the annoying water peasant would not leave his thoughts. She was imposing, annoying, bossy, and beautiful. He couldn't deny it any longer. He knew she hated him, and that passion of hate only fueled his attraction for her. It was like playing with fire, he knew he could get burned, and that thought only made him want to play with it more.

Sighing, Zuko let his shoulders fall and go lax. There was no way he was going to be able to meditate with the fiery water bender in his mind. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if he had found what he was looking for, and if Katara had found herself.