Katara couldn't believe her luck—or rather, lack thereof. First there had been that infernal swamp, where she had been separated from Aang and Sokka. She'd slogged through that awful jungle for...she didn't even know how long—before she'd finally emerged, muddy and hungry. And lost.

She had carried on down a southern path for three days without seeing a single soul. She knew that her brother and Aang were headed towards Gaoling. She hoped to meet up with them there. But first, she had to make it.

She hadn't eaten in...days. Katara wasn't quite sure when, but her hunger pains had given way to hollow cramps that threatened to have her double over. She'd been able to refill her water skin in the swamp, but she was rationing it. She didn't know how far away Gaoling was, but she hoped it was close. She didn't think she could go on much longer.

The midday sun was hot overhead. Sweat beaded at her temples and dripped down her spine. Her vision wavered at the edges, and Katara found herself experiencing brief moments of unconsciousness—just fleeting moments where everything went black and she found herself stumbling, barely staying upright. Her stomach was clenching painfully, and she gritted her teeth, trying not to cry out. She wasn't going to make it.

But then, suddenly, she saw something on the horizon. No, not something—someone. The figure was small, wavering in the heat. Katara couldn't even be sure that it was actually real. But it was the first person she had seen in days. Maybe they could help.

She lifted her arm weakly and called out, "Hey!" Darkness fell over eyes for a moment, but she blinked it away. She waved her hand through the air. "Hey, help me! Please!"

Her stomach clenched then, and she keeled over in agony, dropping to her knees on the dusty road. Her ears roared and her blood pounded in her veins. Dark spots cropped up in her vision.

"Help...me…" Her voice was a jagged rasp.

Katara slumped forward, unconscious.

She was woken up by the smell of cooking food. Her head was throbbing something awful, and the hunger in her belly had risen to a crescendo. Katara opened her eyes and saw the flickering orange glow of a fire. Night had fallen while she was out. Her eyes cut over the scene, and when they landed on the scarred figure sitting opposite of her, anger rose in her blood.

"You!" Katara hissed.

She pushed herself into a sitting position, her hand automatically reaching for the pouch at her waist and finding it missing. But she was still weak, and her head swam from the sudden movement.

"Agh!" she cried out, clutching her head.

"I'm not going to hurt you." That familiar husky voice, which had hunted her and her friends across the globe and followed her into her dreams. But now, instead of being sharp with anger, it was softer, subdued.

"Then why did you take my pouch?" Katara demanded to know.

Prince Zuko grabbed something sitting beside him and tossed it to her. Katara glanced down at her water skin before she looked up at him again, her eyes narrowing.

"Why did you help me?" Katara asked, her voice tight with anger. Zuko was the last person she had expected to run into.

"You would have died."

Zuko didn't look up at her as he took a pot off of the fire. She watched him ladle broth into a bowl. He leaned around the fire and offered it to her. Katara looked at it suspiciously for a moment, but her stomach growled, and she caved. She held her hand over the soup and cooled it with her bending before she eagerly spooned a bite into her mouth.

Her eyes fell shut and she let out a soft moan. Food had never tasted so good, even though as far as she could tell, it was only thin broth with some tubers and vegetables. Katara opened her eyes and found the prince watching her.

"What are you doing out here?" Katara asked him before she took another bite.

He didn't answer. Katara continued to eat her soup, too grateful for it to seriously interrogate him.

She set aside her bowl when it was empty. "Where's your uncle?"

"We went our separate ways," Zuko answered, his eyes on the fire.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere."

"Are you tracking the Avatar?"

He looked up at her, his golden eyes flat. "No."

Katara considered that. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"I didn't kill you," Zuko said. "Or leave you on the side of the road."

She studied him. "One good act doesn't make up for a lifetime of bad ones."

"Think what you want," Zuko retorted. "It doesn't matter to me." He nodded towards her empty bowl. "I've fed you. Refilled your canteen. I'm not keeping you. You're free to go."

She didn't believe that for a minute. "Why? So you can follow me back to Aang?"

"I didn't realize you were so cynical," Zuko snapped.

"I'm only going off our history with you," she returned hotly.

Zuko looked away, the right side of his face turning towards her. "Things change, Katara."

She reeled back when he said her name, shocked. She didn't know that he knew her name. And the way it sounded on his tongue...she hated it. Hated him. Her anger surged through her, and before she knew it, she was on her feet, one finger jabbing in his direction.

"I hate you!" she snarled. "You're a terrible person! Always hunting the Avatar, trying to capture him for your father. You do realize that you're actively trying to stop the world's last hope for peace, don't you? Don't you?"

He flinched against the heat in her words. "Yes."

She stared at him incredulously. "Yes? That's all you have to say after everything you've done?"

Zuko stood up suddenly. "I don't owe you shit, okay? I didn't have to pick you up from the roadside and offer you food. I didn't ask to find you. And I certainly didn't ask for you to throw all of my mistakes in my face." He gestured out towards the dark desert. "You're free to leave."

Katara bit back the angry words on the tip of her tongue. She looked around in the darkness. If she left now, she would be no better off than she had been before. She had no food, limited water, and no real idea where she was. Her gaze landed on his ostrich horse, tied to a scraggly tree and nibbling on a bit of dry grass.

"Where are you heading?" she asked again, her voice softer now.

"I don't have a destination in mind," Zuko told her.

Katara swallowed hard. "Can I ride with you?"