Chapter Eleven:
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" Katara asked, handing Aang a container of cooked food. He looked down at her from Appa, sincerely thinking about the offer. He shook his head.
"I'm sure. If we all go, it means less training for you. You and Zuko need to teach each other all you can, and in case it comes to it, you need to learn hand-to-hand combat too. I don't want to leave you behind…" he let his sentence drift off, hoping that Katara would understand the implied message. "…but it's for the best."
"I know Aang." She nodded. She understood his subtly, but chose to not acknowledge it. It was no secret that Aang had feelings for her – after all, he had kissed her that many times. Despite the immense respect and affection she had for him, she had come to the conclusion that she did not reciprocate his feelings. She loved him, as a member of her new family, and would go to the ends of the world for him – she had, after all. But she did not lay awake at night pondering his touch, replaying his kisses or echoing his voice. It was when she had first met Jet that made her realise that her feelings for Aang were different, and as their group grew and matured, she was more certain now than ever. She couldn't tell him though. Not yet. His focus would be ruined.
Torn up about the matter, she even consulted Sokka once about what to do. He suggested continuing as if she had never come to a realisation, and despite it feeling like a lie, she agreed.
Sometimes her brother was a fool. Sometimes he was her best friend.
"We'll be back as soon as we can." Aang said, settling into his seat on Appa. Behind him, Toph sat tied to the bison's saddle. Aang had fashioned the safety rope so Toph could sit, lie and turn around, and still prevent her from falling off. He would have to fly the whole way, and couldn't leave the saddle's front for long to sit with Toph, or prevent her from falling. She was grateful for the considerate forethought. She disliked flying at the best of times, but it was surely going to be worse without others with her in the main saddle.
"Don't rush Aang." Sokka said, lifting his fist, awaiting a bump in return. "Figure out what's going on. Suki and I will look after Katara." Sokka heard a little cough. "And Zuko."
"Sparky is probably the one who will have to look after you!" Toph quipped, much to Sokka's dismay.
"But seriously, we will be okay here. As long as you two have each other, you'll be okay too." Suki climbed up and gave Toph a hug. Their walk into town yesterday must have gone well, Katara pondered. She'd have to ask Suki about it later.
"If anything happens to either party, we will all try to meet on the day before the comet on the outskirts of the imperial city, as planned." Zuko reminded Aang. "Keep up your morning exercises, and if the option of fighting arises, try to bend fire first." Aang nodded, appreciating his teacher's advice. He knew it was not going to be easy, but the more the young Avatar knew about firebending and how to use it in battle, the better their chances became in any outcome.
"Of course. We'll see you then guys, if not before." With one last smile, Aang turned to the chirping flying lemur curled up in his lap. Momo had spent the day exploring the island, picking fights with the native fauna and scavenging for food. Not that he needed it – Aang made sure both Momo and Appa fed like kings. Regardless, Momo always seemed to disappear during the day, only the be found napping in the late afternoon, and again going to sleep in close proximity to Aang as the moon rose in the night's sky. "Ready Momo?"
The lemur sleepily cooed, gripping tightly at the hairs of the bison below him. He knew what was about to happen, but wasn't so concerned he cared to awaken any further. Aang smiled, and pet Appa below him, letting his best friend know it was time to fly.
"I'll miss you all." He sighed. "Appa, yip yip!"
Steadily and silently, the bison ascended into the air. Sokka had one arm around Suki, and the other waved manically at Aang. Katara had her arms crossed against her body, and Zuko stood not far behind her, his arms also crossed. He gave a small wave, but knew that the young avatar wouldn't look back. For all his faults, Zuko couldn't say that his determination was one of them. And Toph wouldn't turn around – it wouldn't matter anyway.
"There they go." Sokka muttered, giving Suki a kiss against her temple. "I think this makes it all the more real."
"It really does." Katara agreed, sending a silent prayer to Yue. Please, get them back to us safely.
/
"Katara." Zuko called out, as she, Sokka and Suki were heading for bed. "Can I talk to you?" She felt her heart hammer a little bit, but pushed the feeling away and she nodded. She scolded herself. Stop being so… ugh!
"Sure. What's wrong?"
"I… was hoping you still had the scrolls you stole from the pirates." He looked away, not sure why he was blushing.
Katara cupped her chin, her eyes looking down, deep in thought. She definitely still had them, however she could not recall if she had left them packed with Appa, or if she had taken them when they had settled on Ember Island.
"I think so. Come upstairs, I'm sure it'll be in… that room." She hesitated, not knowing if it was best she called it her own room, or his mother's room.
The walk was short and silent up the stairs, and down the hall they could hear the echoes of Sokka's snores. Katara had learnt to block them out – years of sharing an igloo would do that to a sister – but she hoped that Suki was able to sleep. Surely she would have complained by now? Katara made a mental note to ask her later. They had extra rooms now, so if she needed to sleep elsewhere…
Katara exhaled loudly, a quiet laugh under her tongue. She wasn't naïve. She knew that those two would sneak into each other's tents before, even when the option of their own space was available. Snoring or not, Suki was unlikely to want to be apart from Sokka.
With the impending battles, Katara couldn't blame her.
As they entered Katara's room, Zuko impulsively moved his hand to bend flames into the candles. Kicking himself, he bit his lip in frustration.
"Um… do you have matches?" he asked, squinting to see in front of him. "Or a stick we can burn from one of the other lanterns?"
"Oh! Shoot. Yes. Here." Katara fumbled about, grabbing a stick from the pile she kept near her door. She assumed Zuko would just light up the candles for her – he had done so every night, for everyone, since they arrived.
Except, of course, since he lost his bending.
It was till too new, and her habits too strong to die quickly.
She handed him the stick, but then refused to let it go.
"Teach me." She blurted. "Teach me to light them."
"Katara…"
"We know I can bend fire. We haven't really talked about it, but you saw what I did this morning. I want to be able to light a flame, when I want it to light." The soft glow of the candles in the corridor cast shadows across her face, making her determination seem even more intense than it was probably intended. Zuko gulped, remembering how hard it was to teach Aang the simplest things. Once the ball was rolling, things got easier – but he also had literally hundreds of past life experience years behind him. Thousands, even.
"I guess… are you sure you want to be standing here in the dark with me though?" He asked, once again kicking himself. Why would you ask that, you fool? He scolded himself.
"Why not? It's not like we can fight like we used to. Plus, I told you. I trust you." She simply replied, leaving Zuko to take a deep breath.
"Ok. Like I said, it's all in the breath…"
/
It took almost an hour, but Katara was able to create sparks, which lit up the torch stick in Zuko's hands. She found that clicking her fingers was the easiest way for her to feel the friction in the air and muster up the energy inside of her. She held a flame at her fingertips for a good five seconds, staring at it in wonder before she panicked and let it go. It was exhilarating, and terrifying. Completely the opposite of water.
They lit up the room, and for a moment, the two stared at one another, racking their brains to recall the reason they had come together here in the first place.
"Oh! The scroll!" She remembered suddenly, and with the room finally illuminated, she began her search. Her organised nature meant that it didn't take long for her to find it.
"Here it is." She presented it to him, and Zuko took it gratefully. Unrolling it, he sat down on his mother's old bed and stared at the ink before him. Even the drawings seemed to flow like the waves – gently and elegantly across the page, each motion using the energy from the previous one to flow gracefully into the next. He traced his fingers over them, wondering how on earth he was going to be able to do this. It was a completely different style to what he knew. He recognised a few motions as the ones Uncle had taught him once – redirecting lightning.
What were the odds that this particular set would be on this particular scroll?
The universe had a funny way of reminding Zuko of its presence.
"Did you want me to go through them with you?" Katara asked, sitting down with him. She looked over at the scroll, smiling in admiration and nostalgia. It seemed like years ago she stole this scroll, and yet she recalled it all as clear as day.
"Maybe later. You seem tired." He rolled it back up, noticing the dark circles underneath her eyes. He felt guilty, and couldn't pinpoint why.
"No, I'm not. It's okay." She reached over and brushed her hand over his, electricity pulsing through her. She felt like she could light the world on fire.
"Sorry!" She withdrew her hand, and Zuko wordlessly re-opened the scroll.
If things were normal, he felt like generating lightning would be as easy as breathing to him in that moment.
They sat there for a while, Katara occasionally standing to show Zuko how to piece together movements, her motions as graceful fluent as a fish in the sea. She highlighted the importance of the fluidity, describing how each connected motion leant strength to the next. Each push would help power the pull, the energy growing with each stance.
Eventually, as the night grew longer, Katara found herself lying down on the bed, her hair splayed over the pillow as she stared up at the ceiling. Zuko stayed sitting on the edge by her hip, for once noticing the heat that firebenders emitted. It was comforting, in a way. He asked lots of questions about the scroll, and despite her creeping fatigue, she was more than happy to answer.
"How do I move my hands here?" Zuko asked, pointing to a particular picture on the parchment. Katara demonstrated, and laughed as Zuko tried to mimic her. Her motions were effortlessly smooth, and his reminded her of the group of Fire Nation school children who had never learnt to dance.
"Here." She giggled, grabbing his hand without thinking.
There was that electricity again, pulsing through her veins and setting her nerves alight. She ignored it, and helped demonstrate how Zuko should move. Once he seemed to get the hang of it, she hesitated letting go.
"You okay?" He asked softly, noticing an odd expression cross her face.
"I just… your hands." She murmured, now sitting up, inspecting his hand as she held it in her own. He grew self-conscious, and ignored the urge to yank his limb away. She quickly continued. "I never thought to look, but there are no burn marks here." He swiftly understood, wondering why he hadn't thought to reassure her earlier.
"No, we never get burnt when we bend – only when we're bent at." He admitted. She still held his hand.
"They're calloused too. Hard working hands. Are you sure you're royalty? Not a peasant, like me?" She had that signature cheeky Katara grin again, her worries diminished. She smiled kindly at her.
"No, I just lived at sea for three years. And in the wild, chasing the Avatar for the past year." He shrugged, hoping this would explain it all.
It did.
Slowly, Katara put his hand down, as a failed stifled yawn escaped her.
"Thank you for this, Katara." Zuko said, holding up the scroll. He stood, leaving her to continue laying down.
"Thank you too, Zuko." She muttered sleepily. "It felt good, to light those sparks."
"Goodnight."
He walked into his room, and placed the scroll on his desk. He still felt the echo of that electricity in his pulse, energising him alongside the high waning moon. Stepping outside, the air had a chill to it he had never recognised before. It felt nice against his skin, and helped him clear his head.
He was once told that water was the element of change.
Everything truly was changing.
/
Fun fact: the whole Zutara scene here was inspired by a real scene that happened in my own life, nearly five years ago. So, if it seems a bit bizarre, it was because my true experience was a bit bizarre - but it has stuck with me as one of the defining moments that lead to our relationship. I think we started dating three months later.
There will be bending, fighting, fluff, sarcasm, development and more in the next few chapters!
But I hope you like the fluff - the slow build up of sweet moments before the eventual Zutara pairing.
Also, I apologise if anyone feels I didn't write enough about Appa and Momo - I love them both to death, I just couldn't think of fitting ways to put them in as a more central character set without deviating too much from my already waffling story!
Until the next chapter!
PS: If there is anything you want to see happen in particular, any suggestions or guesses, any questions or requests, let me know! As I've said, I've basically got the story planned out - a base skeleton, if you will - but I'm happy to fill in gaps or put in little nods to you guys as well. All feedback is welcomed!