Tough Eleven

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

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The climb down the cliff wasn't easy. Katara went first. The basket of cat toads strapped onto her back offset her balance making it a constant struggle to keep herself from tipping backwards. Zuko went behind her, wrapping the rope around both his wrist and waist in an effort to give his body extra support. It was a very weak effort and they both knew that should he fall, the rope would do nothing for Zuko other than possibly break his wrist. Even if he didn't fall he would still have to suffer through constant rope burn.

But eventually they both made it to the crumbling balcony overlooking the chasm. Katara helped Zuko down from the rope as best she could, but as weak and tired as she was she could no longer support both his weight and her own. They ended up sprawled across each other on the stone floors. Katara was too tired and sore to be annoyed at the fact that Zuko was lying on top of her. Her body ached all over and she could barely feel Zuko's weight through the pain.

She wanted to sleep so badly, she was so tired. But Katara reminded herself forcefully that she couldn't sleep, not yet. She shifted herself as best she could with Zuko on top of her and he let out a low groan in response to the movement, rolling to the side and onto the stones where his eyes drifted open lazily. He groaned again trying to move.

"Agni, everything hurts," he moaned, sitting up. Katara nodded as she also eased into a sitting position.

"Come on." She propped herself onto her knees, ignoring the protests of her muscles, and began to help Zuko do the same.

They leaned against each other as they stumbled through the vast corridors of the Western Air Temple, trying to make as little noise as possible so not as to disturb the temple's still-sleeping residents. Fortunately, Toph slept in a hammock strung from one of the temple's lower arches. Katara had tried to suggest to her that sleeping in a normal bed would be better but Toph had refused to pay her any mind. But so long as she was snuggled up off the floor she wouldn't be able to feel it as Zuko and Katara made their way through the halls.

They went to Zuko's room first. It was closer to the balcony and Katara knew that while she was only sore and tired, Zuko was still suffering through the effects of the venom. Zuko's room was a lot more personal then anyone else's, probably for no other reason than him having more personal possessions than anyone else. A brass bowl filled with a strange smelling wax had been placed in the middle of the room, the wick had already been burnt down to the bottom of the bowl. Portraits of his uncle and a beautiful woman sat on a chair next to his bed, along with a topknot crown that looked at least a hundred years old, and a cloth pack filled with other objects lay discarded in a corner. Observing these things, Katara was devastatingly aware that the only things she owned, really owned, were the clothes on her back and her mother's necklace. All of a sudden this seemed very pitiful.

Taking her attention away from all the things Zuko had brought with him from the palace, Katara helped Zuko lower himself onto the stone slab that in Aang's culture was considered a bed. He shifted uncomfortably and Katara remembered that the woven straw mat which had previously sat on the stone slab serving as a mattress had been woven along with her own into the basket that was still slung across her shoulder.

"If you want, I can get you a new mat from one of the other dormitories," she said.

"Don't worry," Zuko said softly, reaching down for the worn blanket pooled at the foot of the 'bed,' and pulling it over himself.

Katara found herself staring at the portrait of the woman sitting on the chair by Zuko's bed. Who was she? His girlfriend? She certainly looked like the type a Fire Nation prince would be interested in. Not that, Katara reminded herself, she had any idea what type of women Fire Nation princes were interested in. She was intending to ask Zuko just who the woman in the portrait was, but when she turned to face him the prince had already fallen asleep. Watching him sleep, Katara felt a wave of pure exhaustion sweep over her. She suddenly felt too tired to even stumble back to her own room. It was all she could do to remove the basket of Cat Toads from her back and slump down to the floor, propping herself up against Zuko's bed before she too fell asleep.

Katara didn't dream that night, far too exhausted to do anything other than sink into a deep, empty sleep while her body tried to regain it's energy. But still it seemed like barely a minute had passed before Katara began to wake up. She tried not to, curling up on her side and wrapping her arms around her as she became distantly aware she was lying on a very hard surface. Her mind still felt sluggish as she opened her eyes to what was definitely not her bed, nor her room. For one thing, her room was never as sunny as this one, the only time it got any sun was in the evening and even then it was only three thin lines of weak, watery light.

Zuko!

Katara sat up with a start, any trace of sleep banished from her mind. She was in Zuko's room sitting at the base of his bed. Katara sprang to her feet, instantly regretting it as a wave of pain swept over her. Every muscle in her body ached. She bit back the groan that threatened to spill from her lips and steadied herself on her feet as a dizzy feeling overtook her. But when the dizziness had passed and she was almost certain she could walk without experiencing vertigo, Katara turned her attention to Zuko. He was lying on the stone slab, his breathing shallow but steady. His face was paler than usual making the harsh red of his scar stand out, jagged and angry. He slept flat on his back with his blanket draped across his waist revealing the red marks still marring his torso. The swelling had gone down even more overnight and Katara knew she would be able to heal them completely when he awoke.

Or she could heal them now while he was still asleep. That was probably the better option. The wound, though for the most part healed, still looked incredibly painful and Katara knew that his muscles would be sore enough without the wounds on his side. She retied her sash that had become loose while she slept and ran her fingers through her hair, cringing as they snagged through several knots. Then Katara left Zuko's room and padded softly into the halls of the Western Air Temple. The halls were deserted except for the hermit crabs who scuttled around the floors and the peacock doves who had made their nests in the archways. It wasn't hard to look at the vast halls of the Temple and imagine them as they must have been a hundred years ago, filled with Airbenders. Katara could almost feel the emptiness.

The balcony was also deserted but Katara could hear the distant voices of Toph, Aang and the others echoing from some other part of the temple. Good, Katara didn't really feel like having to talk to any of them right now. She already knew they would ask questions as to why she had only just emerged from the depths of the temple at midday. Especially Aang and Sokka would want to know. Aang because he was worried and Sokka because he wanted to know why she hadn't been up to make breakfast. She tried to keep her footsteps soft and even so not as to alert Toph, who she could hear yelling about 'seaweed' or something. Her shout was met with the pounding of feet and screams of laughter.

Katara made her way to the fountain and sat on it's rim. She uncorked her first waterskin, running her fingertips along the old cork inscribed with a faded 'H.' Katara had found the waterskin among various other items her Gran-Gran had packed for her and Sokka to take on their journey with Aang. Katara had always wondered where she had even gotten the waterskin from; what sort of waterbender would abandon their greatest tool?

She knew now of course, the kind that didn't have a choice. The kind that were stolen from their homes and put in metal cages with dry air. Holding the waterskin steady, Katara bent a ribbon of water from the fountain and poured it into the skin until it was full before slinging it over her shoulder and uncorking another one. She filled all four of her waterskins to the brim and secured them across each other on her back before leaving the balcony and the distant sound of laughter.

Zuko wasn't awake when Katara returned to his room but he had moved his arms so that instead of draping across his chest they were splayed above his head. He smelt of stale sweat with the slightest hint the flowery smoke that curled up from the many incense sticks he had placed before the portraits of his uncle and the mysterious woman. Katara didn't even want to think about how bad she must smell, all she knew was the minute she had healed Zuko she was taking a trip to one of the temple's many bathrooms. None of the baths were in any condition to hold water, and like the rest of the temple they were designed for Nuns who had forsaken all earthly comforts. But one of the first things Katara had done upon arrival in the temple was divide what was left of the soap she had purchased in Ba Sing Se among the temple's residents and offer what she could spare of her cooking pots as basins. Everyone would have to take bedbaths. Just because they were hiding from the most powerful nation in the world in an abandoned temple did not give anyone an excuse to neglect personal hygiene. Still, she could understand everyone's reluctance when it came to taking baths in the western air temple - it was more of a chore than anything else. Of course, having Zuko around to heat the water had made the whole ordeal that much less unpleasant.

Katara gazed down at the sleeping Fire Prince, her expression softening. Maybe he wasn't completely useless. The strange half-and-half feeling that swept over her whenever she thought about Zuko and what he had done was all getting a bit much for Katara so she forced herself to focus instead on healing him. She drew the water out of her pouch and pressed it against Zuko's side.

When trying to explain the technique to Aang so that he could learn how to heal, Katara was alarmed to find she couldn't do it. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't find the words. In the end, after several unsuccessful attempts Aang had cut her off.

"So what you're saying is, it's kind of like instinct?"

"Yes!" Katara had cried out, relieved to have some way to describe her healing. It was the perfect way to describe the technique. And as she pressed her hands to Zuko's side, the healing instinct once again came over her and Katara found herself binding the Fire Lord's skin together.

As the red marks completely disappeared from his skin, Katara withdrew her hands from Zuko's side. She pulled the water away and directed it back into her pouch. She had just finished re-corking it when a soft "hey" drew her attention back to the boy lying on the stone bed. Zuko looked so peaceful with a soft smile on his pale face and the bright midday sun shining across him in lines streaming from the windows placed all along the far side of the room. It was almost heartbreaking how beautiful he looked in that moment, gentle and soft. Katara had never thought that anyone from the Fire Nation could look so fragile. She shook her head slightly reminding herself that people from the Fire Nation were not in anyway soft, gentle or fragile.

"How's your side?" she asked, busying herself with the basket of cat toads that still lay on the ground where she had discarded it the previous night. Easing herself into a kneeling position, Katara set about removing the makeshift lid. She heard Zuko moving behind her before two pale hands joined hers. Katara looked up from the basket, her eyes meeting Zuko's.

"It's better," he rasped, not breaking the eye contact. They stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity, neither daring to look away for fear that the unnamed gravity that hung between them would be lost. In the end however it was Katara who broke the contact, remembering that she still hadn't forgiven Zuko.

Her expression turned stony as she cast her glance downwards with a mumbled, "We'd better get these ready to cook."

Zuko also looked away, focusing his attention back on the basket as he removed the lid.

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STORY NOTES

Pictures: Apperently portraits of family and loved ones are very popular in the Fire Nation and in the Western Air Temple it is evidenced that Zuko bought a prtrait of Iroh with him when he left the palace.

Waterskin: It has never been revealed where exactly Katara got her original waterskin from much less the extra three she was shown weilding in the day of black sun. I think it's more than likely that Katara's waterskin used to belong to another waterbender. And what waterbender do we know that has a 'H' in their name?

Bedbath: A bedbath is basically the same as a spongebath it involves filling a basin with water and washing one selfs down.

Anyway Thanks for reading, I hoped you enjoy it. And I'd like to take this oppertunity to say a big thank you to my new Beta Reader Saucebender! She's going to be editing my work from now on. And if you get the chance go check out her story 'Dreambenders'

Ari Out