They set off from Bian's early in the morning. Katara thanked her profusely for her kindness, and stepped on Zuko's toes until he did the same. Then he was climbing into Dusty's saddle. Katara pulled herself up behind him, settling her hands on his waist again as they took off again.

They had been riding in silence for a while when Katara said, "You know, Dusty? You might not be a sky bison, but you sure beat walking."

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked irately.

"Oh, I'm just taking a page out of your book. And you know what? I think you're right. Dusty is better company."

Zuko huffed out a breath. "Don't let me interrupt your girl talk."

"No problem!" Katara petted Dusty's hip. "Zuko is such a grouch, isn't he? I'm surprised you haven't run away from him yet."

"In case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly have anything to be happy about," Zuko snapped.

"Right, right, you're a wanted man. How terrible that must be. Me and my friends have no idea what it's like to have people hunting you down."

She felt his back stiffen with his anger, and then Zuko was suddenly pulling Dusty up short. He jumped down from the saddle and stomped a few paces away.

"Where are you going?" Katara demanded to know as she slid forward on the saddle to take the reins.

"You are absolutely insufferable!" Zuko shouted. "I swear, you have got to be the most aggravating, agitating person on the face of the planet!"

"Then you clearly haven't spent much time with my brother," Katara told him.

Zuko pushed his hand through his short-cropped hair. "Oh my spirits, just shut up. Shut up for five minutes, will you?"

Katara glared at him. "Oh, excuse me for just trying to pass the time!"

"No. Nu-uh." Zuko shook his head. "You're trying to make me mad. For what? For revenge for me following you and your friends? I get it, okay? You hate me. I deserve it. Whatever. But if you want me to take you to Gaoling, you need to back off! I don't need your shit."

Katara stared at him for a moment, silenced by the heat in his words. She hadn't really thought about it. Sure, she didn't want to be around him, but this whole thing had been her idea, and all she'd done was antagonize him. He did deserve it, but maybe he had a point. There really was nothing stopping him from leaving her here.

Katara slid off of Dusty and took a few tentative steps closer to Zuko. "You're right. I'm angry with you because of everything you've done. But you're helping me, and I really should be more grateful for it."

Zuko's brow furrowed as he stared at her, as if he couldn't quite believe what she was saying. Not that she blamed him.

She released a shaky breath. "So...in light of our unlikely alliance—"

"—Temporary alliance."

"—whatever. In light of our unlikely, temporary alliance, maybe we should…" Katara peeked up at him. "...put aside the past, and work together."

He arched his lone brow. "Work together?"

Katara shrugged. "Yeah. Instead of bickering all the time. It's not getting us anywhere but mad, and I don't know about you, but that is exhausting."

Zuko looked away from her, his lips quirking down. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

Katara offered her hand sheepishly. "So...temporary allies?"

Zuko considered her hand for a moment before he shook it. Her hand was small and cool in his. "Temporary allies."

"So why did you and your uncle split up?" Katara asked him a few hours later.

Zuko exhaled through his nose. If he'd known that striking an alliance with her meant that she'd be trying to make small talk, he would have preferred the arguing.

"Safer," Zuko answered her, his tone clipped.

"That must be hard. You two always seemed so close."

Zuko looked down at his hands, clenched tightly around the reins. "We are."

"I'm close to my brother too," Katara went on. "And Aang. I miss them a lot. I hope they're okay."

Zuko glanced over his shoulder at her. "Do you think they're looking for you?"

Katara turned her eyes up to the sky. "No, probably not. Aang knows how important it is that he finds an earthbending teacher. Nothing else matters."

"Not even you?" Zuko asked.

She shrugged, her eyes falling into her lap. "They know I'll be okay. We'll meet up, hopefully in Gaoling." She glanced up at him. "Where will you go?"

Zuko faced forward again. "I don't know."

And that was the truth. Ever since he'd split from his uncle, Zuko had nowhere to go. He was just wandering around, miserable and alone. He had no long term plans. He hadn't even been trying to track the Avatar. It all seemed so hopeless.

Then he found Katara. She'd given him a purpose, even if it wasn't exactly his first choice. But maybe he could stay in Gaoling for a while. It was a sizable city where he could maybe blend in, find some work. It hadn't been touched by the Fire Nation. That couldn't be the worst thing, right?

But Zuko knew in his heart that that sort of life wasn't meant for him. He was the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. The blood in his veins had been blessed by Agni himself. He wasn't a commoner, and he never would be. He wanted his throne more than anything.

He couldn't think about that right now. He had no idea how he could go home, with his honor restored and his crown intact. Zuko needed to focus on what was happening now.

"Why Gaoling?" he found himself asking her.

Katara hesitated for a moment. "It wasn't our first choice."

"Oh?" He didn't know why he was asking. He didn't know why he cared. He told himself that he was just trying to pass the time.

"After the North Pole...we headed for Omashu. Aang was going to learn earthbending from King Bumi." She paused again. "But it's been conquered by the Fire Nation."

Zuko swallowed hard. "Oh."

"We tried to free King Bumi," Katara went on, her voice low. "But we were attacked by these Fire Nation girls. It was...terrifying, honestly. One of them did something that took my bending away."

Zuko felt his blood run cold. He only knew of one person who could do something like that.

"And this other girl was insane with knives."

Zuko's heart thumped against his chest. Mai. It had to be Mai. Which meant—

"And the third girl? Her flames were blue."

Zuko's eyes closed and he hung his head. Azula.

"Aang found Bumi, but he wouldn't let Aang free him. He told him he had to find another earthbending teacher," Katara said quietly. "Gaoling is the next biggest city, so here we are."

Zuko digested all of that for a moment. Then he said, "You never told me how you got separated from your brother."

He felt her sigh brush the nape of his neck. "It was the swamp. That place...it's weird." Did she shiver? "I'm still not sure what happened. Appa just went down. We were all separated. I must have wandered around for days looking for my brother and Aang."

"How did you get out?" Zuko asked her, frowning.

"I...found some people who live there. They showed me how to get out," Katara replied, sounding a bit reluctant. She was clearly holding something back. "They said they found Aang and Sokka and helped them too. That's why I know they're going to Gaoling."

"I see," Zuko said. He cleared his throat. "Well, hopefully they're there, then. So you can, you know, be reunited."

Katara tapped his shoulder, and Zuko looked back at her. She was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, her brow knit.

"What are you going to do?" she asked him quietly. "Are you going to go after Aang?"

Zuko dropped his gaze, feeling his stomach flip nervously. "I think...maybe I'll try to find my uncle."

He felt her breathe a sigh of relief. "Okay."