EDIT: Re-uploaded because FF hates formatting. I do the exact same thing every single time, and 20% of the time it messes up. I have no clue why. Sorry! And here we go!
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Chapter Ten:
Klink!
Clash!
Clank!
Ding!
Schlink!
The sound of metal on metal echoed quietly in their makeshift training arena. Katara and Aang were perched up on the roof of the house, overlooking the spar from a safe distance, acting as referees. Not that they were truly required – both taught by Piandao, the teenagers were quick on their feet and avoiding dirty tricks to gain the upper hand. Naturally, Zuko used his Dao swords, and Sokka proudly brandished his space sword. Before their duel, both boys commented favourably on the other's weapons, admiring the workmanship and durability of the vastly different arms.
Katara found herself thinking it was rather cute, watching them act like normal friends.
She also found herself staring too much at Zuko during the mock fight, her attention too focussed on the prince's graceful movements and muscular frame. She scolded herself, trying to hide her blush from Aang, whose grey eyes had left the battle and were hovering with concern on Katara's face. She shook her head and focused on the fight, advising Aang to do the same. She reminded herself that she was watching to try and learn to defend herself. By observing the boys at work, she could see openings and techniques she would later try and implement herself. It was just like when she would watch the waterbenders at the North Pole, before she was allowed to join them. She was hoping Suki would give her some pointers. She was fine with being taught by men – she didn't see the issue really – but because she lacked the frame of either her brother or Zuko, she thought someone of a similar stature might be able to give her pointers. She was hoping Suki would be able to teach her how to shift her light weight properly, and how to make the most of being smaller than her opponent. Katara felt that these sorts of things were best taught by those who experienced them, just like how she learnt better when learning waterbending from one who could bend themselves, rather than a scroll. Suki was asked to partake in the mock duel, but instead she was taking Toph out to the town's centre, to get away from the house and to try and feel like she was 'normal'. Initially Toph refused, but Suki was able to convince her.
"Toph Beifong wouldn't let a little blindness stop her from ruling the world." That's all it took, and they were off.
Getting back to the match, Katara noticed that both boys were agile, but Zuko was exceptionally so. No wonder he was able to moonlight as the Blue Spirit – no-one would have expected the Fire Nation Prince to be able to move so swiftly. It be a family trait, Katara thought, remembering the scarily cat-like way she manoeuvred.
Despite not being as quick as his opponent, Sokka was naturally more brutish, and seemed to be able to knock back Zuko further than Zuko could knock him back. He was also creative, making his attack pattern unpredictable at times. Both boys were breaking a sweat, visible even from the side-lines.
"Next hit wins!" Sokka panted, wiping the sweat from his brow before jumping ungracefully away from a strike.
"Getting tired, peasant?" Zuko asked, trying to disguise his own breathlessness. He swung his blades again, trying to determine where Sokka would dodge to. Sadly, it was not so simple.
"You wish!" Sokka swung his sword wide, leaving a huge opening for Zuko to attack. He turned his dao blade in his hand, and pushed the handle into Sokka's abdomen and sending him back onto his butt.
"Fine… you win…" Sokka huffed, dropping his sword by his side as he laid back, shielding his eyes from the sun.
"You fight good." Zuko smiled, sitting down next to his comrade. He sheathed his dao blades and wiped the sweat from his brow. That was one good thing about fighting at the North Pole – he didn't sweat at all. He also enjoyed fighting in the Earth Kingdom – the air wasn't particularly humid, which meant his firebending was better.
Well, as a waterbender now, maybe the humidity would be useful. He was still having difficulties getting used to the thought. Yet, for some reason, he could feel his heart flutter at the thought of learning from Katara. He put it down to how he admired her strength and teaching skills.
That had to be it, right?
"Well done guys!" Aang yelled, floating down from his referee position. Katara was clinging tightly to his waist, which made Zuko's stomach drop a little. He shook his head, thinking he must have been hungry after the duel. That had to be it, surely…
"You look pooped." Katara laughed. She sat next to Sokka, handing him a gourd of water. He took it gratefully, guzzling the entire contents before stopping to think about Zuko.
"Oh man, sorry! I'm sure Katara could…" he stopped, avoiding his sister's darting glares. "Sorry!"
"I can do it." Aang said, smiling softly and apologetically.
"No, it's okay." Katara replied. She had a sneaky smile on her face – a scheming smile. "Zuko can do it."
"Me?" He exclaimed, feeling the spotlight suddenly shift to him. "Why me?"
"Part of your training!" Katara grinned. "You can have a drink when you can pull water from the humidity around you. It's exactly like the water we drink, after all!"
"That's just torture!" Sokka coughed, once more avoiding his sister's glance.
"And I thought Ozai was hard on me." Zuko moaned, now lying back like Sokka, their matted hairs nearly touching. "Your sister is harsh." He muttered, licking his lips in desperation.
"Sorry buddy. Good luck!"
/
Once they realised she was very much serious, Aang and Sokka left Zuko in Katara's capable hands. Sokka couldn't leave without a good jab, and as they parted ways he couldn't resist discussing the long, cool bath he was about to have.
Zuko almost asked for an Angi Kai right there and then.
Instead, he sat up and copied Katara's cross-legged pose, promising himself he would try, but if he failed, he would run. He knew he was faster than her, and more motivated. Then again…
Her cerulean eyes burnt with a passion – no, a determination – and a stubbornness that Zuko had learnt to appreciate and fear simultaneously.
She felt nervous, but excited. Without being able to bend water, she would have to rely solely on the memory of it, and describe it in a way that could translate into practice. The initial push-and-pull of water was easy, as it was the most familiar to her and also was able to be taught in scrolls and stances. Pulling water from the air was something she learnt from desperation, and honed when she met Hama. The thought of the woman sent shivers down her spine. She pushed it from her mind, and began describing how to pluck water from air.
"It's… feeling the humidity. Feeling the water encase your skin, like a veil. It's tasting the water on your breath, and pulling it into your hand and command." Zuko nodded, admiring the poetry in her words. Firebending was never described to him in such a delicate way. He was taught brute strength, and here she taught elegant beauty. He could feel the humidity on his skin, and felt a tingling in his hands as he willed it to form for him. Alas, it did not work.
"How did you learn?" Zuko asked, hoping it would help. Katara shrugged.
"I was desperate."
"How desperate?"
"…I was in jail." Zuko barked out a laugh, which he tried to choke back ineffectively. Katara blushed, and began talking fast to distract from her growing embarrassment. "Toph and I got thrown in jail because we were gambling and she was cheating with her earthbending. The cell was completely wooden and neither of us could get out, so I made my own water from sweat."
"That… well that doesn't sound like you, but it sure makes sense when you mention Toph." Zuko smiled. It felt natural to him to laugh with her. "But, Katara." He teased. "Sweat is using water that's already there. How did you learn to pull it from thin air?"
He sensed the micro-changes in her facial expression, watching the glee drain from her face and her smile freeze with a painful memory. He regretted asking.
"I… had a new teacher, for a while." She sighed, knowing sooner or later they would have to talk about it. "She escaped another prison in a similar way, and knew how to pull water from plants. I knew how to bend the swamp plants, and it wasn't that big a leap, really. She taught me to pull the water from the air."
Sensing she wasn't likely to divulge further, Zuko concentrated again on feeling the water around him.
"I feel it… it's there, almost mocking me."
"It's not your natural element. It's like when Aang was learning earthbending. It was so against what he was naturally used to, so it took a while. You'll get it."
"Maybe it's too advanced?" He asked, wiping the sweat from his brow. "You were basically a master when you learnt. I can barely make ripples."
"I wouldn't say so Zuko. I know you stole my pitcher for practice." She shrugged, acting nonchalant. "I'm sure you can do more by now."
"How… did you know it was me?"
"Because I was you once. New and eager. And desperate." She added, her tone changing. "We really don't know how long this will last. And it scares me as much as it scares you. But we have to be patient – Ba Sing Se was not built in a day."
"I hope we find Uncle." Zuko blurted out without thinking. "He uh – you two would get along really well." He shrugged, not knowing why he felt compelled to mention him now. He put it down to the wisdom in her words.
"I'm sure we will." She smiled back. "Maybe he can make us some good tea."
"Hey!" Zuko retorted, flinging his hand from his forehead towards her. Steamlines of sweat struck the unsuspecting Katara, streaks of sweat now visible on her face. She yelled at him, impressed and mockingly disgusted.
"Hey!"
"Yes, Sifu?" He mocked, standing up and stretching his legs. He looked down at her, and stretched out his hand. She took it, a grin plastered on her face, unwilling to move.
"Good job, I guess. But gross!"
/
This chapter was somehow hard for me to write. I think I hit a creative wall at the same time as going back to work. But, I pushed through it, and plan to focus this story more on Zutara now. I had initially predicted this to be a short and sweet fic, after all! But I'm also having too much fun fleshing it out
Your reviews and favourites and follows mean the world to me. Every time I get an extra one, I feel super motivated to write again and keep going. So please! :) Here's a little reply to you all, thank you for your reviews!
Anonymous23 - I'm assuming you're the same person reviewing throughout every chapter, and I just wanted to say thank you! I really appreciate your in-depth reviews and speculations. Warms my heart! Thank you!
Silferdeath - Thank you so much for letting me know about the formatting! My apologies! Please enjoy :)
SernaJ - Thank you for reviewing, even if you didn't know what to say :) Sorry to remind you about Azula - but I figure, if it's going to be realistic, may as well talk about her too ;) she definitely was tragic, her downfall was both incredible and so sad.
Guest - Thank you for prompting me to write more about Appa and Momo; in my head they're always there, I just didn't plan on focussing on them. But you bought up good points, and since I'm trying my best to really capture the inner monologue and emotions of everyone, I too felt it important to explain some things. So thank you! I agree, I never thought about the servants on Ember Island, but as royalty you'd expect they'd always have guards, hand maidens, chefs etc., so thankfully this gave me a way to explain Appa's home :)
Misszeldasayre - Thank you! I hope you're enjoying it all :)
Babyg14 - I'm so glad that it caught your attention right away! I'm not sure if I'm the first to do a swapbending fic, but I can't recall any I have read about it, so I'm glad it feels refreshing to you :) Thanks!
Until the next chapter!