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Thank you so much for sticking with me through these long breaks.
Katara's feet dip in the water, and she starts to swirl the water and dirt around with her toes.
She is supposed to try to connect with Tui and La, but Zuko told her to take it slow, start with finding her center and her chi.
She crosses her legs the way she remembers Zuko doing in the mornings past. She places both of her fists together; the tips of her thumbs touch. Katara slowly breathes through her nose, trying to follow her chi paths, just like Zuko told her to.
But she can't find them, and the water continuously laps against her thighs. She breathes in and out, deciding to search for the body's natural path. She traces her veins, and in her mind she walks along their flow of blood and through intricate pathways all over her body. The blood red lines turn to gold as she stumbles across her hidden chi, quite literally as her mind trips over bumps and dips thrown haphazardly along her chi. A light gleams behind her eyelids, and a sense of calmness fills with in her. Her nose catches a wiff of jasmine and lavender.
Her mind freezes, and her heart jumps as she comes across a path of broken, shattered chi. Her mind conjures up a casem to far for her to jump. One piece of her chi is fragmented and jagged. She mentally runs her hand over the break; sharp points prick her skin, but she does not bleed.
All she has to do is mend the break, and all her problems will be fixed. No more frequent losses of her bending ability. How does one grow new chi? Does it have to grow back naturally with time or is she allowed to create the section herself?
On the outside, her lips flip into a wide smile, and her fingers start to click together in harmony.
Inside, she concentrates, picturing the path mending in her mind. Her teeth scrape her bottom lip as she grunts from the strain placed on her mental state. Katara brings her arms close to her chest and then pushes them outwards with as much force as she can muster. She imagines a sparkling ray of golden chi shooting out of finger tips.
When Katara mentally opens her eyes to assess her work, she is pleasantly surprised to see a new section, a little more vibrant than the rest, laid out in front of her.
Yue's voice comes from somewhere inside of her, Katara, what have you done?
Her chocolate curls fall over her shoulders in a wave as she aggressively pulls the tangled ribbon from her hair. Her fingers snag on a loose thread which unravels the already frayed ribbon in her hands. Katara groans and lets the pile of thread fall to her clothes.
Katara submerges herself in the water, allowing the cold, refreshing liquid to wash over her. She breaks the surface, the water running off her face and from her eyes. She swims over to the edge of the river to grab a rag, finally scrubbing herself clean after days of laying in her filf.
A crinkle of leaves is heard, the sharp cracks filtering their way into Katara's ears. She drops her rag back to the edge of the rock as she sees Zuko come into view. She self consciously crosses her arms over her chest, only to remember she has kept her sarashi on her for this reason.
Katara wonder if he is worried, if his heart raced out of its regular beat when he found her mat emptied of her curled body. He doesn't know she went to bathe. Katara didn't want to wake him again, not after she frightened him with her humming, glowing skin after she mended her chi.
Maybe he isn't worried for her anymore; maybe his patience for her has finally run dry, and he doesn't care where she wanders off to now.
Zuko still hasn't seen her as she is hidden behind the rocks. Before Katara has a chance to look away, he throws his shirt to the ground in one swift motion. His skin stretches over his ribs as he lifts his arms. Zuko is thin, but his muscles are still visable.
Katara blushes, turning around before she can see if he took off anything else. She bites her lip, trying to decide whether to retreat out of the river to save both of them from an awkward encounter or not.
The river is big enough for the two of them, and she is a big girl. It's not like she will see him naked anyways.
Something hits her back, hard. She jumps at the sudden collision, knocking the rag to the water's surface. She mutters a curse as her hand gropes for the rag already sinking to the bottom of the river.
"Oh, sorry Katara. I didn't know you were... here."
Her eyes widen at his voice but soon scolds herself for feeling surprised. Who else would it have been? And she prays, as she starts to shift her body in the water to turn around, that he is wearing trousers or some sort of covering.
Please Tui and La, Katara prays, if you're listening...
Zuko is wading through the water, backing away before she has the chance to whack him. He is still wearing his brown trousers, and Katara releases a sigh of relief. The air is warm around her, she can feel his body temperature rising as his face is a shade of red across his proclin features.
Zuko is staring back at her his eyes downcast to the water's surface.
His hair is wet as if he had taken a quick dunk. His black hair shines in the sun, the droplets sparkle as they drip down his chin. Over the weeks she has spent with Zuko, she is surprised to only now notice how his hair has grown longer, the wet strands now brushing the top of his scar. It looks shorter when dried.
"I'm sorry," he says suddenly. "I disturbed you. I-I'll leave now." His blush is still present, and Katara believes the hue only deepens as neither party moves.
Her tongue is locked in her mouth, prisoned by her teeth, unable to help form syllables. She grinds her teeth together in frustration. Katara wonders, as the seconds pass, if she has to dismiss him. Zuko seems to be shell shocked; Katara doesn't know if she finds this cute or ridiculously annoying.
It is not like she is naked. For La's shake, he even helped her out with her moon cycle. And nothing could be more embarrassing than that landmark event in their mutual friendship. Katara clears her throat in a non subtle way. The cough is loud enough to jar Zuko from whatever thought that had glazed over his eyes and departed his mind from the present situation.
Zuko blinks twice before recognition dawns on his features. The blush spreads to his ears. Katara almost misses the old, forceful and abrasive Zuko. Her eyes are able to roam over his figure and face, as he again tries to comprehend the situation, she realizes that forgotten personality of his was a mask. A mask that has been deconstructed over the past few weeks into the shy, stuttering boy before her.
Katara realizes she has done that. She has dug under his skin and chipped away the pieces. She knows there are still some left, fragments scattered throughout him, and she wants to exploit them. She has been itching for a fight ever since she fixed her bending only a day ago.
Katara wants to feel the power coursing through her veins and the tingling in her bones. Her tongue is released from prison. "There's plenty of room for both of us to.. uh bathe. It will save time since we'll have to keep moving soon."
Zuko shakes his head; he isn't able to look Katara in the eye. "I-I should be going." Again is the unspoken word hanging in the air.
He trudges his way out of the water, not bothering to dry himself off before he pulls his shirt back on. The material sticks to his skin, shadowing his muscles. Katara's hopes fall suddenly at losing the prospect of a sparring partner. He heats his trousers, drying them off with each step. She watches the steam rise off of the material.
Katara places her hands on her hips. Her mouth parts; her tongue has again found its taunting spark. "Are you pig-chicken?"
Zuko stops trudging up the hill, his back stiffens. He too has his spark ignited.
If there is one thing Katara had learned from traveling with two boys, it is that they hated to be called pig-chicken. No matter how old or how princely they were, they could never handle being called pig-chicken.
"Fine." He growls out, taking back off his shirt, throwing it down to where it had laid before.
A piece has resurfaced.
He wades through the water, dragging his feet across the bottom sand. Katara has a triumphant smirk on her face.
Before she has time to react, her smirk is wiped away by a wave of water splashing her in the face, causing her to stumble. Her mouth fills with water, and she spits the liquid out before she swallows. Katara picks the wet strands of her hair out of her eyes as it clings to her prominent cheekbones to see Zuko with a glowing smile on his face.
Her eyes burn with a silent challenge. Her lips quirk up into a smirk.
"It was a bad idea to get in a splashing contest with a waterbender."
"Don't worry. All of your fighting techniques is just you splashing around. I think I can handle myself."
"Don't get too cocky." Fury burns inside her.
With a dramatic spread of her arms, the water in front of her rises up, cutting her off from Zuko. A flick of her hands sends the wave to Zuko's general area. It splashes down, some of the water hits the grass, soaking the surrounding vegetation.
When the water settles, and the ripples clear there is no sign of Zuko. No bubbles to suggest he is under water.
The hairs on the back of her neck tingle. She ducks as she side steps, just missing a fireball to the back. The air heats up around her, steam rising off the water where the fireball had landed.
"I know you're here." Katara takes a defensive stance in the water. The water laps at her undergarments. He can't hide for ever. Risking the disadvantage, Katara closes her eyes, opening up her other senses. The smell of smoke hangs in the air, the wind picking up the fire's scent and blowing it all around her.
She pushes her mind to dig deeper, pushing past the burnt scent. She searches for any disturbances in the water, a ripple caused by any movement. The river is at a stand still, it's power at her command. Her head whips around. She feels it. A tiny lap of water hitting her thigh, the source originating from behind the rock.
A smile blooms on her face. "Now the fun begins."
Opening her eyes, she whips her hands around. She brings up string of water, forming it into an ice shard. With her other hand she brings up a wall of water for protection later on. She flings the ice shard in the direction of the disturbance, now noticeable by Zuko's long strides breaking paths through the current.
He dodges it, sending another bolt of fire, only for it to be turned into steam by her shield. The ice shard impales itself into the tree, turning into water as her control of it lessens.
Fire daggers preturd from his hands as he fights off her water whips.
The push and pull of the river's water increases. Water starts to splash over and onto the banks. The current quickens, pulling branches and rocks, once stuck, with it.
As her hold on the water deepens, the current becomes worse. The sudden rush of water, almost knocking Zuko off his feet, stops his defense.
Water rises from the surface. Small globs form, staying suspended in the thick air. Water surrounds them, raising higher and higher. The current is still swift, threatening to bring anything that stands in its path with it.
Zuko digs his feet into the sand, trying not to be pushed off of his feet. His arms jerk up as if the blood in his system is trying to join it's comrades in the air. He lets his inner fire burn bright trying to release the hold she has over him. With a grunt he brings his arms down, only to bring them back up to shield his face from the water that has started to whip through the air.
"Katara what are you doing?" he yells over the roar of the river. Wind slaps his exposed skin as she makes a mini water strom. Ice chunks pelt his bare back; water stings his eyes.
Katara's eyes glaze over, her arms are level with her shoulders. The current cuts a path around her legs. The water circles around her, faster and faster as it starts to pick up speed.
An ice shard slams into Zuko's face, creating a slight gash on his unmarred cheek. The gash, wide enough to need stitches, starts to drip hot, metallic blood. As soon as the blood trickles down his cheek, it floats into the air, forming dark red globs alongside the water. One hand lifts to touch his cheek as he tries to call to her again.
His voice is hoarse, and it catches on the last word. "Katara stop this n-ow!"
Hearing Zuko's cry, her eyes refocus, shedding their distant gaze. With a scream from bubbling up in the pit of Katara's chest and echos with ferocity, the water settles in mid air; the current falls silent. In a sudden whoosh, the water and blood fall back into the river. The current subsides to its normal speed, drifting lazily around his legs, no longer angrily pricking at his skin.
Katara drops her arms, suddenly feeling light headed as she staggers to stay upright.
Zuko rushes forward to Katara. "What were you doing?" He is hesitant to speak.
"I-I don't know." Her hand goes up to touch his cheek with the gash; she should heal it later. "Did I do that?"
"Katara!"
Her eyes roll back into her head as she loses consciousness.
It has been far to long. I'm so sorry; I hope you all enjoyed this chapter though.
Awkward Zuko is my favorite:)
And yes, Katara started to bloodbend.
I wrote the end of this chapter before I even finished the first chapter so I'm happy to finally share it with you guys. Sorry for the impromptu Zuko's POV in the middle. There was no way around it.
See you in December!
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