I like this chapter for some oddly strange reason. Just cuz I love to make Katara hate Zuko...even if it is for no reason at all! (Zuko: Hmph.)
(a/n: I don't own Avatar.)
. : I Chapter Twenty Six I : .
After a few hours of Katara's constant feasting, she finally proclaimed that she was full and went back to check up on her airbending friend. When she walked into the room, she was saddened to see that he'd fallen fast asleep. Tiptoeing silently over to his sleeping form, Katara knelt by his side and gently caressed his cheek, a small tear forming in her eye. Katara lifted her chin up and blinked it and it's minion's back, but that just made it all worse. Falling back on her rear end, she held her knees up to her chest, crossed her arms, and buried her face. This is all my fault...
She couldn't take it anymore, and broke down sobbing. Just remembering how close to death Aang had been, she promised herself that she wouldn't let it happen again. Never again...
Lifting her tear streaked face up, she eyed her friends sleeping form, his hands lying haphazardly on his stomach, moving up and down with his soft breaths. Almost immediately, she reached a hand out and gently grabbed his nearest hand, caressing his palm with her thumb.
A thought finally sprung into her mind and she eventually got up and walked out of the curtain, forgetting to dry her eyes. When she walked into the campsite, she saw Iroh and Sokka's sleeping forms in the far corner of the clearing. She sniffed and walked over to her small Water Nation pack, beginning to rifle through it. "Where is it? Where is it, where is it, where is it?!" Katara whispered as her digging became more frantic. She was so busy in her search that she didn't bother to hear the soft militant pace of footsteps walking in her direction, only noticing when the figure spoke. "What are you looking for?"
Katara's heart skipped a beat when she recognized the prince's voice and frantically dried her eyes. "My water skin. You haven't seen it, have you?"
The prince shrugged his shoulders and bent down to her level, looking her in the eye. Katara decided that she only imagined the slight concern in the look that he'd given her when he'd seen her red eyes, no doubt. "Have you been...crying?" The prince asked, and she decided to ignore the somewhat soft tone of his voice.
Katara smoothly got up and walked away from him, before saying as cold as possible, "Obviously you don't know where my water skin is. I'll have to ask Sokka when he gets up."
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh. Katara just shot Zuko down! OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!
Zuko: I try to be friendly and this is what I get?! Maybe this is why I sided with Azula at the end of Season Two...
Me: You know what, Zuko?! Don't talk to me! You've been acting like friggin' Sasuke for the past few episodes and it's getting on everybody's nerves! YOU DESERVE TO BE SHAMED!!!
Zuko: (goes off and cries in a corner)
-Reply.