Run.
Chap 11: Glósóli
They had been on the airship for one day and the air surrounding the firebender and waterbender was tense with anxiety.
The Fire Lord was constantly thinking and planning, pouring over maps and atlases. While the waterbender watched him toil, worrying about his well being.
Katara stood at one of the panels of controls in the cockpit, holding the wheel steady she watched Zuko as he read and re-read maps, his face was etched with worry.
"Zuko?" she asked him softly, trying to break his concentration, "Zuko?" she asked again a little more loudly and less patiently.
"Yes?" the young man asked her without removing his eyes from the maps.
"Stop worrying, I've traveled the desert before and I'm still alive" Katara said, her back leaning against the wheel, watching Zuko as he sat hunched over a low table strewn in maps.
"Yea...but you had the avatar then." he replied bitterly under his breath.
Katara sighed loudly, walked over to Zuko and took his hand, "Come with me" she said pulling at him trying to get him to stand.
"Katara," he murmured slightly annoying, he looked up and meet her eyes which were pleading with him to take a break "fine." he said giving in.
Katara led Zuko to the deck of the airship where in typical situations soldiers would be posted.
There fingers still intertwined Katara commanded, "Look at the view."
"What about it? We've seen these views before on Appa and on boats." Zuko protested trying to turn to leave, but Katara held tighter to his hand forbidding his escape.
He groaned in annoyance showing defeat, Katara flashed him a wide smile, "Okay now relax and enjoy the view with me." her voice was tinted with laughter as she observed his annoyed expression.
Surrounding the two benders was a scenery of ocean blending into a beach and a beach blending into a lush wood, with mountains as the backdrop and the sky was painted a clear blue of the midday.
Katara leaned into him slightly and smiled.
They stood like that for several minutes when Katara decided to break the silence, she turned to face him. Her large blue eyes studied his face. Zuko looked down at her with confusion in his eyes.
Katara slowly reached her free hand to his face and gently placed it on his scar, she could feel him tense up quickly at he sudden contact the slowly relax under her fingers.
The skin was oddly smooth but bumpy, she realized in all the years of knowing him that she hardly even noticed his scar and not just because his hair covered the most of it, she mainly saw just saw him. Somehow to her the scar just made his appearance more appealing, with the mystery of how he'd look without it, in the corner of her mind where she stored her attraction to Zuko Katara knew he'd be devastatingly handsome.
"How'd you get it?" she asked breaking her thoughts, she slowly trailed her fingers down it then removed her hand completely. Katara studied his face in hopes that asking wouldn't upset him as she knew his scar was something he guarded heavily.
Zuko's eyes shifted from her then to the ground then to the ocean below, he inhaled loudly "My father."
Not far from the airship in a small town of the Earth Kingdom a large white air bison slammed to the ground of a large houses courtyard causing the earth to shake.
A boy leaped lightly off the animal and stormed the front door of the home and slammed a fist into it, "Open up!" he yelled.
The door swung open and he marched in, sitting on the floor of the main room sipping on tea was a girl his same age, her black hair was pulled up on her head and her bangs that were formerly worn in her face were tucked behind her ears.
"Well hello there twinkle toes, or should I say big foot with all that stomping around your doing." the girl said, as she turned to face him.
"SHE DUMPED ME!" the avatar yelled pacing around in a rage.
Toph just nodded nonchalantly at the boy.
"Why aren't you saying anything?! You always have something to say!" he barked at her.
"This is true, but I don't know how you never knew it wasn't coming" she said sitting back down on her cushion and continued picking at her feet.
"and what's that supposed to mean?!" Aang yelled sending a gust of air at the small earthbender.
"I mean exactly what I said twinkle toes, it was going to happen sooner or later, she was clearly unhappy." Toph explained, without a hint of sympathy in her voice.
"How can you be so fine with this?! Katara was destined to be with ME not HIM!" Aang screamed pointing at himself then waving his arms about to represent 'him'.
"Who's him? I thought that Jet guy died, and I think the Haru thing lasted two minutes" Toph mocked, as she had always known since the Eastern Air Temple four years ago who "him" was.
Aang just stared at Toph in bewilderment, he couldn't fathom how she could be so nonchalant at something he deemed to be a travesty.
"Zuko, Toph, that's who" Aang seethed through clenched teeth.
The earthbender shrugged, "First of all Aang, you don't know if they're together, together. Second of all, he has a girlfriend named Mai. Third of all, you never owned her."
Aang's mouth hung open for a brief moment as he swallowed down what she had just said, it occurred to him that Katara and Zuko could never possibly be together, together that was just an absurd idea. It also occurred to him that Toph was right, he didn't own Katara as much as he seemed to have acted.
"Now take a deep breath Twinkle Toes and have some tea and tell me everything that happened." Toph said in a teasing sort of tone.
After explaining what happened at the Air Temple, Aang felt as if a weight had been lifted off him.
"Thanks for listening Toph." Aang breathed. "No problem." she replied.
Aang studied the blind girls face for a moment, "So what'd you mean by 'it was going to happen'" he asked.
"Meaning, you guys breaking up, or Katara running to Zuko?" she asked.
"Wait that also was referred to Zuko?!" Aang snapped at her, standing up.
Toph made a frustrated noise, "You and Katara breaking up was bound to happen, first of all I don't know if you're aware but you started to date her when you were THIRTEEN and she SIXTEEN, can you subtract? because that's a big age difference!" Toph was now standing and facing down Aang.
"And regarding Zuko, they've always gotten along well, I don't know if you ever picked it up but they always end up with each other, even Haru could see it at the Air Temple when we stayed there!"
Aang stared at her with a aghast expression forgetting for a moment that she was blind, "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
"It means didn't you ever notice that they hung out with each other a lot? when we ate, they'd sit with each other, when it was either turn to get firewood they'd to together, they'd watch each other practice bending and even when we left there and went to ember island they did the same just more so because Katara wasn't as mad at him, they have a strong connection I can feel it whenever they're near each other." Toph explained.
"How is that even possible? she hated him most of the time he was with us!" Aang said incapable of comprehending the possibility that Katara had a stronger sense of companionship with Zuko then him.
"Whatever happened in those caves of Ba Sing Se set the tone, that's all I know because when we saw that play at Ember Island they're vibrations went crazy."
Toph shrugged, not caring much about the details of Zuko and Katara's relationship, she had already sensed the potential when she first felt them in the same area.
"This is so wrong" Aang said falling to the ground and hiding his face in his hands, Toph slowly approached him and sat down next to the last airbender.
"It's okay Aang, there's other girls out there ya know" she said lightheartedly, resting a small hand on his shoulder.
Katara stared at Zuko with wide shocked eyes, "Your father?" she choked out.
"Yes, my father." Zuko replied turning his gaze away from the water bender.
"I don't understand..." she trailed softly, the hurt and confusion in her voice caused him to return his eyes to hers, causing her breath to catch in her throat at the sight of sharpness in his eyes.
"When I was thirteen I attended a war meeting with my Uncle, one of the generals plans were inhumane so I spoke out against it, as punishment I was to fight in a Agni Kai, I originally thought I'd be fighting the general so I wasn't worried but it ended up being my father I had to fight, since it was his war room I offended.
I asked for forgiveness, but he refused to accept it. So he burnt me, marking me as a traitor and as a banished Prince without honor"
Zuko told her, his voice distant.
"You never lost your honor Zuko." Katara said quietly, she approached him slowly and gently wrapped her arms around his middle pulling him to a hug, which he slowly accepted and hugged back fiercely. Katara rested her head on his warm chest and listened to his heart beat slowly, only knowing hers was racing.
Zuko was sitting on a wooden stool in the galley he sat in front of a steaming bowl of juk he had poured for himself, while slowly spooning the gooey substance in his mouth he stared down the untouched bowl of juk opposite of him that he had poured for Katara.
"What's for dinner?" he heard a female voice ask him, "Juk, as always." he replied without taking his eyes off her bowl.
"I think we're going to want to stop in a town before we start our trek in the desert, we can't make juk out there, its to hot." she said, sitting down in front of him and grabbing her spoon.
Zuko blinked taking in his companions appreance, she had changed from her Water Tribe clothes and replaced them with Fire Nation's.
Zuko caught himself drinking in her appearance, he always had a liking for her in reds.
Katara wore a dark red halter top that was cut short revealing a sliver of her taunt tan belly, the bottom of her outfit was very relevant to what Ty Lee wore but in the same dark red of top.
Zuko's eyes trailed up her arms and shoulders and to her back back, he swallowed back the lump in his throat and shook away his unapproved thoughts.
"Why did you change?" he asked, hastily shoving a spoonful of juk into his mouth.
"Well it's to hot in the desert to wear my normal robes, they don't breathe the same as the Fire Nation's clothes do." Katara explained, looking down at her new outfit.
"Well, our summer's can get very warm, so its required I suppose." Zuko stated.
Katara smiled at him, "So to-morrow we'll get supplies then continue on our way?" she asked.
"Yea, of course." he replied vacantly.
A silence fell amongst them and all could be heard was the hissing and creaking of the airship.
"So I've been wondering, how are we going to get around the desert when we get there?" Katara asked curiously.
"Oh a komodo dragon." Zuko answered her, meeting her eyes waiting for her reaction.
"Those big lizard things that Azula would use? Won't it get overheated?" Katara asked, worry slipping into her voice.
"No, they can go weeks without water and they can carry a person for several days without getting tired," he explained to her "and since we're probably not going to ride for days straight it should be okay."
Zuko studied Katara's face for moment seeing the worry on her frowning mouth, he reached out his hand and placed it on hers resting on the wood table, "We'll be alright, you said so yourself." he smiled at the water bender.
Zuko landed the airship in the outskirts of the town they were headed to, to get further supplies for there journey.
It was a small secluded Earth Kingdom town, the houses were small with thatched roofs and glassless windows.
The villagers on the streets watched Zuko and Katara keenly as they walked down the dirt streets, to the villagers eyes they saw a finely dressed, mismatched couple with a serious and nervous face.
They walked closely to each other as if they strayed apart from each other for but a moment they would be desperately lost without each other.
"Let's just get food and whatever else and leave." Zuko said tersely from the corner of his mouth.
"Mkay." was Katara's sole reply.
The travelers located a market, and were quietly browsing the selection.
"We need to get food that requires little water to cook it with, or better yet food that doesn't require cooking at all." Katara said as Zuko was weighing bags of rice.
"Then jerky might be the best way to go." he said dropping the bags.
All together they grabbed four bags of jerky, four melons and a small bag of assorted nuts. "This should be enough to last us a week if we ration properly." Katara said to Zuko as they paid, "Let's hope so, I don't want to be out there for longer then a week." he said sourly. "I don't think we will be." Katara said reassuringly squeezing his hand, a gesture he realized she was doing a lot recently.
They walked cautiously to the airship, they has encountered no problems in the village thus far and did not intend too.
"I feel as if we're being watched." Katara whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Zuko, who's eyes were darting back and forth examining there surroundings.
"Me too, that and followed, stay close." he responded tensely.
Zuko felt as if eyes were boring in his back, he knew that some people might recognize him being Fire Lord, but if so he expected a welcome of some kind, not just stares.
Zuko felt Katara snatch his hand and squeeze it tightly and inhale sharply, he looked around in worry as to what she could of possible saw.
"Well, well look what we have here." said a smooth male voice.
Zuko broke his thoughts and searched for the owner of the voice, standing in the center of the dusty street stood Jet.
Zuko stared at the freedom fighter in disbelief, Sokka had told him that he had died at the hands of the Dai Lee.
He turned his glance to Katara, she was clearly as shocked as he was, her large blue eyes were wide, her mouth dropped open and a blush working it's way onto her cheeks.
"Jet?" she said in barely a whisper.
The freedom fighter smiled haughtily at her, and sent a sneer to Zuko.
The tall boy sauntered over to them.
"I'd told you I'd be alright didn't I Katara" Jet said keeping his focus solely on her, causing Zuko to feel a slight twinge in his gut as Jet eyed Katara so hungrily that openly, and the slight twinge only worsened as he saw Katara swoon ever so slightly to the boy's charm.
"How are you alive?" Katara asked, the shock still written on her face.
"Longshot and Smellerbee got me out of the caves and to a healer. I was out for a week, the internal damage was pretty bad." Jet explained with a wave of his hand like it was all no big deal that he could of died.
Zuko continued to stare down Jet as he chatted with Katara, he was never fond of the freedom fighter as he tried to accuse him and his Uncle of being fire benders back in ba sing se and get them arrested.
"Come on Katara, let's go." Zuko said hastily pulling on the girls arm, trying to get her to come with him.
"But Jet just invited us to dinner!" Katara said turning to finally face him, "But we've got to keep going, we're almost there." Zuko practically pleaded with her.
"Ah come on Lee, just some dinner." Jet said jumping into the conversation a sly grin plastered on his face.
"Fine." Zuko grumbled angrily, giving into the pairs pleading.
A/N: UGH sorry for the delay. I've been so distracted lately being the summer holiday and all.
I hope this update was up to par, I feel like it was really weak.
I wanted to bring Jet back for a bit, see if he can add to the plot, he's an annoying little fucker after all, always stirring up trouble, but you gotta love him for it anyway ahha.
I also brought back Aang and Toph, I thought they needed to be in the story for a bit just to add in slight Taang action.
Also, I got bored the other night and drew some Zutara fan art, I am the worst artist known to man but I think I did a alright job considering my normal attempts. and yes I took a picture of it with my webcam, I don't own a scanner.
(take out spaces obvz) Linkage: http : / / Coonzz . deviantart . com / art / Southern - Raiders -hug - 132628030
and if that didn't work it's on my deviantart account, my screen name is 'coonzz'
If you're interested in seeing it haha
yea so I think that's all..........OH if you've never had nutella, you need to go to publix to the peanut butter isle and get some right now! you will not be sorry.
and as always please forgive my spelling/grammar
until next time
Fueled by: glósóli - sigur ros
