Behind Gray Clouds: Part 1

Day 11: Painted Lady

Rated T

Summary: Katara had run away from home without a word after severing her betrothal with Aang. Residing in the Fire Nation under the guise of the Painted Lady, she uses her healing abilities to aid the surrounding villages consumed by a deadly outbreak while also overcoming her own emotional disease inflicted by her previous relationship.

A/N: Thank you again for the reviews, it really keeps me motivated to come up with new ideas. I honestly have been writing fanfiction for over three months now and Zutara month really gave me the chance to work on what genres are my strengths and weaknesses. I look forward to writing all different types of fanfiction and hope that it will bring everyone else just as much enjoyment as it gives me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender

The small town by the river was quiet. The faint light of candles lit in the windows of every home caught the woman's attention from a distance. She knew what that meant.

Striding through the fields, her long brown robe dragging behind her, she made her way to the edge of the water. The village was across river and she needed to get to it as soon as possible. Lifting her hands up, Katara bent the water, submerging her feet and allowing it to carry her into the river so she could jet her way across it to her destination.

Her bare feet landed gracefully on the burnt grass. She made her way across to where the villagers resided. Katara quietly observed her surroundings, being careful as not to disturb anyone's slumber. She could smell the sickness in the air but she would not retreat. She was determined to do what she came to do.

Patting the water skin she carried on her hip to confirm it was still at her hip, she flexed her finger preparing it for the intense amount of work that lied ahead. The waterbender knew there would be clean water in every house like they were advised. She was aware of the rumors about her spreading from place to place, making it easier for her to execute her tasks as needed.

Choosing the house closest to her, Katara made her way into the small home, quietly tiptoeing to the room with the lit candle. She pulled the tattered curtain, focusing her sight in the dimly lit room. Her eyes landed on a small figure in a bed. The child turned to their side, coughing uncontrollably but unstirred from their sleep. Katara made her way in, kneeling next to the bed and pulled a bowl on the side of it next to her.

Taking a closer look at the child, the waterbender's heart broke. Seeing someone so small and weak caused her fists to clench. His eyes were swollen black, skin sickly pale and body drenched in sweat. His breathing was raspy, painful moans releasing from his purpled lips.

Not now. Katara thought, willing herself not to cry. Hold it together.

She bent the water from the bowl and enveloped it around her hand. A faint glow emerged from her hand and she placed it over the poor boy's exposed chest. After half hour or so of putting her focus into healing the child's illness, his breathing became steady and color painted his pale cheeks again.

Satisfied with the progress, Katara stood up, making her way out of the room to the next house. There were many stops she would have to make all through the night. Luckily, the full moon gave her the strength she needed to continue.

*break*

Katara stepped through the door of her cabin, swinging it open with a heavy sigh. The sun was starting to rise and she almost didn't make it back in time. The last thing she needed was to be discovered. Tossing her hat and veil to the side, she dragged her aching feet to the bedroom.

After kicking her boots off, Katara pushed the robe from her shoulders, pulling it down and shimmying her hips to get the rest of it off along with her bindings. Standing nude in the center of the room, Katara contemplated crawling into bed or grabbing something to eat. Her stomach growled, revealing the answer she needed. She threw on a pair of brown trousers and a tunic and made her way to the small kitchen. She grabbed an orange, carefully peeling it before using a knife to slice it into wedges.

Cooing, Katara kneeled on one knee. "Come on, sweetie, I know you're hungry."

Crawling from the corner of her living room, a small creature slowly made its way to the kneeling tribeswoman and sniffed the contents in her hand, quietly accepting the treat she was offering.

"There you go, Haku." She encouraged, lightly patting its head. Katara smiled as it happily consumed the fruit. She had found Haku on her travels through the Fire Nation. He was lying in the middle of a forest on the brink of death and she had to shoo away insects and small predators before they completely feasted on the unfortunate creature. She had healed him, unaware of what he was until he was at full health. It turned out he was a dragon. A small one at that and pure white. He had not grown in size since she rescued him a year ago, although it was pretty convenient in caring for him.

Haku would not leave her side since then and Katara enjoyed his company. "At least we're not alone." She commented to her new friend when they found a home to settle into. It was perfect. It was miles away from the nearest town, making it easier to run out in disguise at night without being noticed.

Katara finished eating her fill of the orange and tossed the rest to Haku. She made her way back to her bedroom to get some much-needed rest. Her small friend cuddling up next to her with a groan.

Lying on a sleeping mat with her head on her hands, Katara's mind wondered back to two years ago when she first made her travels through the Fire Nation, disguising herself as the Painted Lady and helping passing villages along the way. She had left her home, her family without so much as a word. It was wrong. She knew that.

Getting together with Aang was supposed to be her happily ever after. Or so she thought. While he spent his time being the Avatar, she spent hers helping rebuild the South Pole but once that was over, there was nothing left. Katara tried to convince Aang to allow her to join him on his journeys but he only turned her down, telling her she no longer needed to worry about such things and should stay put. It made her angry, hurt, and over all, depressed. She would wonder the newly built city like a ghost if she wasn't lying in bed sleeping well into the afternoon. She would hardly eat or speak. It was as though a dark cloud consumed her very being on a day to day basis. Weight loss and swollen eyes left Katara feeling more disgusted and weary.

Things were never the same since she traveled with the gaang in an attempt to defeat the previous Fire Lord. She was happy to be home with Gran Gran, Sokka and her Dad all together but even then, she felt out of place.

There was nothing else to do with her abilities besides teach and heal minor wounds. Day in and day out became a constant blur, nothing changed over the course of three years after the one hundred-year war. Her life revolved around patiently waiting for Aang's visits. It was all she ever looked forward to when nothing else seemed to entice her. Katara was unmotivated, a dull shell of her former self.

Then, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. She received a letter from a small village by the name of Dong Zhou about fifteen miles southeast of Jang Hui, the village she previously aided. They requested her help when their crops and work animals started to parish. A terrible outbreak left villagers starving and sickly. With the illness spreading massively in rural islands of the Fire Nation, it was taking some time for them to receive help. Katara knew the Fire Lord was doing his best to aid all his people, but if this breakout was as bad as the letter made it sound, she had to get to them urgently.

To her surprise, when she presented the letter to her boyfriend, hoping he would support her, Aang claimed her actions weren't needed and that she should, instead, continue staying put until it was time for them to marry.

Katara broke. That was the last straw. She wasn't going to turn her back on people that needed her. She eyed her fiancé with disgust at his suggestion. She ripped the betrothal necklace he gave her on their third-year anniversary off her neck and threw it hard at his chest and tossed him out of her home much to his shock and hurt.

As soon as she could, she ran. The waterbender just couldn't face her family. Too afraid that they might convince her to stay with Aang, and she took the next cargo ship to the Fire Nation.

Katara pursed her lips, the light peeking through the holes of her dark curtains made shapes on the wooden floor of her room. She lightly scratched Haku's back, the creature purring in delight turned on his back so she could rub his full belly.

A hole settled in her stomach at the thought of how worried everyone was about her whereabouts. Katara honestly hadn't slept well in years. As much as she told herself that she had to be here, guilt never ceased to consume her mind almost every day. She loved Aang but as time grew by and she truly took the time to perceive what her life really was like with him, she realized how much he made her feel inferior. As though she had no place other than by his side.

Katara knew she would eventually have to face her family and friends but until she was sure she did her part enough to move on, she would stay put. Her thoughts shifted to the village people she healed last night. It was going to take more than one night to heal them. They needed medicine and they needed it fast.