Zuko guided Dusty down a dirt road just outside of Kuchon, following Katara and the merchant, who had informed them that her name was Bian. He was brooding privately, displeased that Katara had agreed on their behalf to allow the woman to house them for the night. He tried to avoid doing stuff like that, as it usually complicated matters.
Ahead of him, the girls were chatting like old friends. Zuko had tuned them out. He'd made it through one day in Katara's company. He just had to suffer through six more, and then he'd be rid of her. Then he could…
What, exactly? He thought irately. He hadn't been lying when he told Katara that he had no destination in mind. He was just a hopeless vagabond now, no home, no honor, no crown. Even if he did capture the Avatar, he could not guarantee that his father would allow him to come home. And he certainly wouldn't afford Uncle the opportunity at all.
Bian's voice broke through his thoughts. "Here we are. It's small, but comfortable."
Zuko looked up and found them facing a small house. There was a sizable vegetable garden on one side, and a handful of cow-chickens in a pen on the other side.
"Make sure you put your ostrich horse over there, Lee, away from the garden," Bian told him, gesturing towards the animal pen as she and Katara ascended the short steps up to the porch. "I don't want her eating my turnips."
"Of course," Zuko muttered as he led Dusty along the side of the house. He secured her to a post before he ruffled the soft feathers of her cheek. "Good girl. I'll see you in the morning."
He made sure to feed and water her, offering up an apple, before he walked up to the house. Bian had left the door open for him, and Zuko slipped off his boots before he went inside.
Bian's house was small and quaint, with an open floor plan for the sparsely furnished living room and kitchen. A short hallway led to the bedrooms and washroom. It smelled of spices, like tea.
Katara and Bian were in the kitchen. The merchant was already putting on a kettle of tea. They looked up when Zuko came in.
"Supper shall be ready shortly," Bian said as she walked over to him with Katara in tow. "Let me show you to your room. I've only got the one, as my boys always shared, but there's two beds to be had, at least."
Zuko inclined his head politely. "Thank you, ma'am."
She waved him off as she started down the hall. "Please, just Bian is fine." She opened one of the doors in the hallway. "Here you are."
The room was small, with just two beds and a dresser, but it was clean. Better than anything Zuko'd had in a while, at any rate.
"Thank you, Bian," Katara said with a smile.
Bian returned it. "If you'd like to draw a bath, you're more than welcome to, Sapphire. By the time you're done, dinner should be ready."
"I'd appreciate that very much," Katara told her.
Bian eyed them. "Do you not have a change of clothes, dear?"
Katara's eyes widened for a moment, and Zuko gave her a pointed look, hoping that she could come up with a lie to explain that.
"Oh...yes, I um—when I fell down that hill, with the brambles, I had my bag of spare clothing with me," Katara stammered out. "It got lost. Lee and I were unable to find it."
"Oh, that's terrible!" Bian said sympathetically. "Come with me, then. I'm sure I've got a spare outfit that will fit you well enough." She looked at Zuko. "Go keep an eye on the kettle, would you?"
"Of course."
Zuko retreated to the kitchen as the girls went into Bian's bedroom. He leaned against the counter and folded his arms over his chest, brooding again. After a few moments, Bian joined him.
"Make yourself useful and get the fire started in the stove, would you?" Bian told him as she grabbed some vegetables from a cupboard.
"Yes, ma'am," Lee muttered.
He grabbed some wood and set about making a fire with spark rocks. He hated it. It would have been so much quicker if he was able to use his bending. He was no good with spark rocks, and it took several minutes for the flame to catch. He lingered by the stove, not wanting to engage with Bian more than necessary.
Meanwhile, Bian was slicing a variety of vegetables. She glanced over at him. "So, you're a friend of Sapphire's then, Lee?"
Hardly. "Uh, yes."
"You must be good friends, if you're escorting her all the way to Gaoling. Where did the two of you say you were from?"
Damn it, Katara. This is why you don't talk to people. He racked his brains for a nearby Earth Kingdom town. "Omashu."
"That's quite a long way to go," Bian remarked. "And it seems Sapphire tends to run into trouble, doesn't she, having fallen into those brambles?"
Zuko felt discomfort prickle over his skin. Was Bian insinuating something? "Yes, it was quite unfortunate. The poor girl is quite clumsy."
"So it seems." She dumped the vegetables she had cut into a soup pot before she reached for a handful of mushrooms. "Are you from Omashu as well, Lee?"
"Uh, yeah, I am," Zuko said. He wished Katara would hurry up with her bath. He was never very good at small talk.
"You know, not many parents would allow their daughters to travel with a young man, unwed," Bian commented. Zuko felt his cheeks heat up.
"We are uh...good friends," Zuko said. "Her parents trust me very much."
"I see." Bian carried the pot over to the stove.
"I'm...gonna go check on Dusty," Zuko said, eager to end this conversation.
"Mm," Bian hummed under her breath.
Zuko hastily made his way outside. Dusty was nibbling on some grass, and he leaned against the fence post beside her.
"You never should have let me agree to this," he said to the ostrich horse. "You're supposed to back me up. Why didn't you tell me not to travel with that waterbender?"
Dusty only snuffled in response and carried on with her dinner.
Zuko sighed. "It seems like a cruel twist of fate, you know? I've spent the last three years hunting for the Avatar. And the last few months with him so close, yet always just out of reach. Now I'm traveling with one of his friends. It's like...a kick in the teeth."
Dusty let out a low whinny, lifting her head to look at him with her soft dark eyes.
"Maybe you're right," Zuko mused. "Maybe I found her for a reason." He chewed his lip thoughtfully. "She can take me to the Avatar. Then maybe…"
Then what? a rational voice in the back of his mind, one that sounded suspiciously like Uncle, asked. Then you'll have the Avatar, and nowhere to go. No way to get him home.
"I'll figure it out," Zuko muttered to himself.
"Figure what out?"
Zuko startled at the sound of Katara's approach, his arms falling to his sides. She'd snuck up on him without him even hearing her.
"Uh, nothing," he rasped out.
He blinked. She was wearing a soft green tunic that brushed the ground, tied with a golden-brown sash around her waist. Her hair was free from its usual braid, flowing in gentle brown waves down to her waist. Zuko swallowed hard.
"Dinner is ready," Katara said with a smile. "It definitely smells better than that broth you made last night."
Zuko scowled at her, but it lacked its usual heat. "Whatever."
He walked over to her, and they started for the house together.
"Were you talking to Dusty?" Katara asked him with a laugh in her voice.
"Maybe," Zuko snapped defensively. "She's good company. Better company than you, at any rate."
Katara scoffed, all of her humor disappearing. "And she's certainly better company than you!"
They didn't speak again as they went back inside. Bian had set up the meal on her tea table. Zuko had to admit, the soup was far superior to his, and it was complimented nicely by the rolls and tea she provided with it.
After the meal, Katara and Zuko cleaned up the dishes as Bian went out to tend to her garden.
"Your friend doesn't like me," Zuko remarked to Katara as she handed him a bowl to dry.
Katara bit her lip. "Well, I think that some people may have made some assumptions…"
"Assumptions?" Zuko prompted when she trailed off.
"That maybe...I wasn't traveling with you of my own volition." Her gaze cut to him for a moment. "But don't worry, I made sure Bian knew that wasn't the case."
Zuko felt his stomach sour at Katara's words, and his expression twisted into a scowl. "Maybe you shouldn't go around mucking yourself up like that, giving people the wrong idea."
Katara scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, because I absolutely chose to get lost in a filthy swamp before wandering around the Earth Kingdom for a few days. I did that just because I knew I'd meet up with you, and I definitely meant to give people a negative opinion of you."
"Your sarcasm does not go unnoticed."
"Good." She looked up at him, a smirk crooking her lips. "But I think your charming personality gives people a negative opinion of you without my help."
He scowled at her. "Ha-ha."
As they finished the dishes, Bian came back in and announced that she would be retiring for the night. Katara and Zuko thanked her again before deciding to go to bed themselves. They went into the bedroom Bian had provided. Zuko saw Katara's dirty clothes draped over the end of one bed, clearly signaling which one she had chosen.
Katara sat down on the bed and ran her fingers through her hair before she began to braid it. Zuko sat down on his own bed with a weary sigh, then he stretched out over the straw mattress, tucking one hand behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling.
When she was done, Katara laid down on her own bed as well. Zuko waved his hand and snuffed out the candle, relishing that one moment where he allowed himself to bend. He hadn't done that since...well, since Azula had shown up, and the two of them had fought.
"You miss that, don't you?" Katara asked quietly.
Zuko let out another sigh. "I do."
"I can't imagine how hard that must be. Not being able to bend." She paused for a moment. "I guess what I'm trying to say is...it must really suck."
He snorted in spite of himself. "Yeah, you could say that." He rolled onto his side with his back to her. "Good night, Katara."
She let out a breath. "Good night, Zuko."