Previously on The Curling Bones: Sokka's found Aang in the iceberg and has taken his home to his tribe.
When he came to Aang was in a tent, he surveyed his surroundings and his eyes fell upon an old woman. Her features were stern, her breathing calm and steady and her eyes fixed upon him like he held a secret.
"Where am I? What happened?" the young airbender queried and waited for an answer. The woman nodded at him simply and sighed.
"You're in the Southern Water Tribe. My grandson found you in the ice," she began. "You went into a trance, and he knocked you out with his boomerang," she finished and he rubbed his forehead, boy did it swell. "You'll be okay," she stated and paused for a moment. "You're the Avatar," she said plainly and he stilled. How did she know?
"I am," he said finally because finally, there was no need to hide.
Katara sat across from Azula. It had been a few days since the princess spoke to her. Apparently, one of the kitchen staff spilled some gravy on Azula's pants while she had been going through the trash and that infuriated the girl. Azula refused to talk to anyone after that is until now. Katara watched with a kind of motherly patience and Azula drew and scribbled on the sheets of paper given to her.
"You are sick, you cannot go out today!" Azula exclaimed and scribbled down Katara's 'prescription.' Katara smiled at the other girl and took the sheet of paper from her friend. "So what kind of medicine do you want to have? We've got all sorts," she said and gestured to the bottles around her. They were 'donations' from the crew; gifts for the princess, her toys and props. Azula loved to play doctor and Katara honestly suspects that this was because she wished she could heal the hurt that had been inflicted on her.
"You're a brave girl," Katara said and touched Azula's hand as the other girl pressed the stethoscope to her chest and listened hard for a heartbeat. The stethoscope was a real one. Zuko bought the second hand object from some merchants along the shores of the Earth Kingdom. "Why don't we play another game? Maybe we should play 'restaurant'?" Katara queried and received a mock frown from her 'doctor'.
"Shush!" Azula exclaimed and listened even harder against Katara's chest. When she finally heard the heart beat she smiled and laughed and giggled. It was there! Her patient was alive! Katara touched her hand to Azula's forehead and received an innocent smile from the girl.
"Lady Katara!" a crew member exclaimed as he opened the door, not bothering to knock. Katara looked at the man; there was excitement in his eyes as they glistened and shone.
"Prince Zuko has made a discovery," he told her. Katara took a look at Azula and watched as the other girl twisted the stethoscope around her fingers and smiling, held her hands up for Katara to see. Katara sighed softly and stood from her position on the floor. She supposed a moment away from Azula wouldn't hurt.
So she headed out of the room with the crew member out into the open. Zuko turned around and watched as his best friend walked toward him. He smiled at her and passed her the telescope. It was the most curious thing. There in the distance was a glow, very apparent, very clear. She was sure it was a sign.
"What do you think that is?" she asked and he looked at her, his eyes glistening with excitement.
"It must be the Avatar, we will head there tomorrow," He said finally and smiled even more. There would be a celebration tonight, he was sure of it. This was good news; great news, he thought as he took the telescope from his best friend and gazed through it. This felt better than he thought it would.
"How's Azula," he said suddenly and turned to Katara. "Is she better now?"
"At least she's playing with me. I mean, it's something right? The past few days, she wouldn't even see me," she said and sighed. "But she's set on playing 'doctor', you think that means anything?" she queried and he shook his head. There was no sense in making her feel more worried than she already was.
Zuko smiled at his friend and gathered her into his arms.
"We're finally going home," he said and kissed the top of her head, inhaling her scent. She smelt of flowers, fire lilies to be exact and he liked that. He heard her sigh and he smiled; it was times like these that they bonded and he loved these silent mornings, with her in his arms.
He moved to kiss her cheek and when she turned to face him, he figured he'd go for it. He moved slowly, gently, his lips painfully near to hers when they heard Jee cough from behind them. They both backed away from each other, trying to suppress the blush that threatened to color their faces.
"I erm… I'll go and tend to Azula," Katara said and headed toward the princess's bedroom. Zuko sighed softly and glared at Jee.
"Breakfast is ready Prince Zuko," he said and walked away. Zuko seriously considered strangling the man.
A/N: Nice and fluffy! sorry for not posting for so long! schools's meant to be hectic and trust me if you're a culinary student, like i am, it is tough! i've been working on this lasagna recipe for weeks and finally it's done; just need to tweak it a little. enough of my rabbling, please review!
