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Why the Caged Bird Sings
03
Love Thy Neighbor, Rock and Paper
Dangerous. So very, very dangerous.
Katara's whole body felt like it had suddenly been frozen over by a sudden chill wind that swept throughout her limbs. All she could see clearly were those two intense, defined eyes staring straight at her. She couldn't move.
Well, that was until suddenly Prince Zuko let out a very feral snarl and began to twist in his binds. Then Katara moved very fast - backwards and AWAY.
Sokka had immediately jumped up, leaping over the small fire he had been working on. In one hand he held his club, and in the other, his knife. Both weapons caught the first embers of the fire's light on their lengths and seemed to dance in its glow, which reflected in the Water Tribe warrior's eyes.
"Don't even try it, Zuko!" Sokka shot, his grip tightening. Katara only blinked, heart pounding, as she scrambled to stand.
Zuko stopped twisting for a moment, absorbing everything around him.
So it was as he had feared when unconsciousness had first lifted from him. He had been taken captive.
Captive.
By the Avatar.
Something akin to a very hot, twisting, violent beast seemed to explode somewhere inside him and Zuko threw back his head with a blood curdling growl, sending small tendrils of flame and smoke curling from his mouth and lips into the cooler, open air.
"Let me go!" he then demanded hostilely, more than a little irritated. This was insanity. This was not supposed to happen. Something had gone wrong in his plan.
And who the hell tied all this rope around him?
Ignoring Sokka's demands to quit moving, Zuko continued to twist, ignoring the smarting shots of pain that seemed to flee to and from every crevice of his body. He growled again, unable to get his hands free--his wrists were cramping, as it seemed his arms were bound in a strange fashion--though fit for keeping a Firebender at bay.
He tried to twist his legs free, knowing he was plenty dangerous with just them. The ropes bit cruelly at his exposed skin and only seemed to tighten the more he struggled. Suddenly a very firm and sharp bolt of agony raced through his head and the prince stopped, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt his body tremble just slightly.
"You idiot!" Sokka grumbled, still towering over the prince (though he had taken a step back after that display of fire breath...) "You're not getting out of that easily. So I suggest you stop trying!"
"Don't tell me what to do, peasant!" Zuko snapped angrily, his eyes flashing like a wild and caged beast. "You tie me up because you know I'll beat you in fair combat!" he added out of pure unadulterated spite.
Just as Sokka was about to reply and possibly do something violent as well, Katara knew she couldn't take any more of this. She felt two tempers rising around her, Zuko's being stifling, almost suffocating. She had to breathe.
"Stop it!" she demanded shrilly, pushing Sokka back and stepping in-between the two teenage boys.
Sokka almost yelped but caught his balance, having only been seconds away from falling flat on his rump in their little mini-fire. He growled, flexing his wrists and staring down his sister, who was partially facing him. "Hey!" he protested in vague annoyance.
"Be mature!" the Waterbender scolded, not really knowing what she was doing. Great, now she was upset.
This is just what I need, she thought bitterly. It was bad enough when I just had Aang and Sokka!
"Release me," Zuko began, his voice suddenly calm and smooth, "and I won't do anything...regrettable."
Katara turned her full gaze on the Firebender, her jaw set. How can he sit there looking so arrogant? she thought, troubled and mildly disgusted. The light of the flames barely licked at his bound form, but most of the light seemed to be concentrated in his eyes--almost as if it was caught and trapped there once it reached them. Katara drew a breath, unsure heartbeats still trembling against her ribcage. She was used to playing mediator and sometimes leader, but Zuko unsettled her. He was too uncontrolled, too unpredictable...too dangerous.
"We can't," Katara answered after a brief lapse.
"We won't," Sokka threw in. His sister shot him a disapproving look.
All Sokka seems to want to do is upset him, the Waterbender thought idly. But she couldn't blame her brother, not really. It was simply ingrained into his nature of being, well, Sokka.
Zuko felt his eyebrow twitch uncontrollably. These flunkies were just dying to get him ticked off, so it seemed.
But it was simply too much to struggle right now, it was even a chore to think. The pain that the swollen area on his head was emitting was very, very distracting.
"We're trying to figure out what we're going to do," Katara said softly, hoping to somehow calm the incapacitated prince. All she got was a hostile glare in turn and a slightly curled lip.
"What who's gonna do?" a voice asked and the two siblings twirled around in surprise. Aang stood off to the side, blinking. Coils of metal were wound around one of his arms and he looked confused.
"Aang!" Sokka said, before suddenly pointing a finger straight at Zuko's face. "Mr. Happy woke up," he emitted with definite sarcasm.
Zuko thrashed again in his bindings, the pain of doing so sending white and black spots sprouting in his vision. "You will respect me!" he snarled futilely. His throat was still hot from his last display of anger.
The young Airbender winced at Zuko's tantrum, letting the coils slide down his arm as he relaxed. "Do you really think..." the boy began to his companions but mostly to himself, guilt evident on his features.
"No backing out now, Aang," Katara interrupted, her expression soft yet firm. She reached out as Aang stepped closer, placing her hand gently on his shoulder in comfort. "We can't let him go now." She sighed inwardly but Sokka nodded frantically behind her, arms folded.
"That's right!" he said. "Now help me get our guest situated." Sokka turned to face Zuko directly, scowling. "Now listen, you..."
However, Zuko wasn't listening to Sokka's babble. His gaze was fixated on Aang; his scarred face a mask of many different and sometimes conflicting emotions.
There, before him, the Avatar. The one thing he'd been searching for, for years. Just a step and an arm's reach away, the boy stood, blinking at him. The one thing, the one key, to all of his troubles. The answer to the riddle, the answer to the question that plagued the prince day in and day out, from his first conscious breath in the morning to his first conscious exhale at night.
Zuko pulled his mouth tight, his teeth grinding together subconsciously. So close, so far. The infuriating helplessness he felt was almost suffocating, pouring in from all sides of his mind.
However there was one little voice of reason within the prince's growing anger. You can use this to your advantage.
The Firebender briefly closed his eyes. Yes, I can, he reasoned. Suddenly the smallest of smirks played across his features. I can.
Zuko opened his eyes, directing his gaze at Aang only, focusing all of his energy into the gesture. "So?" he asked, his voice monotone.
"SO?" Sokka imitated in apparent annoyance. "Haven't you listened to anything I've been saying for the past minute!"
Zuko spared a parting glance at the other boy. "No."
Sokka fumed in his own way, and Aang was beginning to look uncomfortable. Katara squeezed his shoulder.
"Aang?" she asked, her voice still soft. The young boy seemed to have a heavy weight sitting on his shoulders, burdening him. His conscience... she thought.
"We..." Aang suddenly straightened up, his expression firm. "We have to tie you up with this, Zuko. And then we'll figure out what...what we're going to do." The young Airbender held the cords out, his expression slightly pained. Katara winced inwardly. Aang was not used to playing the part of captor. It was difficult for the boy to fathom, much less play the role of.
Zuko studied the cords, his right eye flinching as another bout of pain flashed through his head. Metal, of course. Better than rope when restraining Firebenders. Rope could burn, but metal would only get hot. Sure, it could melt, but the feeling of metal melting and burning into the skin wasn't very pleasant.
For a moment the prince could have laughed. This little boy was playing the boss. And he wasn't very good at it. It was almost enough to earn Zuko's pity. Almost.
"We'll talk," the Firebender stated firmly. "And come to a...compromise."
"Yeah, yeah," Sokka muttered, pulling the cords away from Aang. "We'll talk later." The boy turned to the Firebender, thrusting out his arm and the binds. "Now are you going to make this easy?"
Flames kick started in Zuko's heart as invisible fingers pulled at his temper again. He really, really didn't like this Water Tribe boy.
"Maybe," Zuko replied dryly. Sokka's eyebrow twitched.
"Sokka, maybe you should go get our things arranged," Katara voiced, rubbing at her hands nervously. "After all, Aang got us some food, right?"
The Airbender flinched before going into a coughing fit, facing away.
"That's right!" Sokka said, temporarily forgetting anything, everything and everyone. He scurried over to their belongings and leafed through, pushing Momo aside, fighting back his oncoming drool. "Where'd you put the things, Aang?"
"I..." The boy rubbed at his heel with another foot. "It's a long story, kinda."
Sokka looked up, his face beginning to pale. "What? You mean you didn't bring back anything to eat?"
Katara threw her hands up. The last thing we need is another crisis, she thought bitterly. "Look, we still have some left over! We'll just eat that. We'll get some more in the morning, right?" From off to the side, Aang breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, Aang and I will treat Zuko and you-"
"Hey!" Sokka protested, standing with a loaf of bread halfway in his mouth. "Who said-"
"Both of you are acting like big babies!" Katara cut in, causing Sokka's eyebrow to twitch violently again. "So both of you need to stay away from each other right now."
"Don't interfere!" Zuko barked in defense of his quite delicate pride. However, before he could add anything to his statement, Aang squatted beside him. He stopped, turning his attention to the tattooed boy.
"I didn't want to do this, you know," Aang replied, trying to search Zuko's fierce golden eyes with his softer gray ones. "So maybe we can let you go if you're nice, okay...?"
Zuko scoffed, turning his head away with a scowl. Nice?
Calm down, Zuko, his voice came again. Don't ruin it. Play this into your favor.
The Firebender took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, pent up heat escaping in one fluid motion.
"Go ahead," he consented hotly, though far from happily.
Aang beamed, his eyes brightening before he bit at his lip, dropping his remaining cords to the ground.
Katara squatted down on the opposite side of the Firebender. She felt his gaze slide over to her and she tried her best to ignore it. Instead she turned her attention to the coils of rope and wondered how she was going to do this. Meanwhile, Sokka was grumbling (but eventually cooling down) and fiddling with their remaining food, getting it ready to eat.
"I'm almost as good at knots as Sokka," Katara called to Aang as she gave a length of rope a tug. "So I'm guessing for every piece of rope we take off we replace it immediately, and then just work our way through..."
Zuko stirred and the girl paused. She briefly glanced up to catch a slight eye roll from the prince as he leaned his head back against the tree, looking upwards. He still appeared to be quite irritated.
"No surprise," the girl muttered to herself. She coughed as she felt his hot gaze snap to her once more, fearing he had heard her. In attempts to brush that episode aside, she turned her attention back to undoing the old binds while methodically adding the new ones.
It took a while, but after an hour of being careful and taking it slowly, the rope was gone and the metal-based cords replaced it. Katara wiped her forehead as Aang stood, stretching his arms and yawning.
"There! You should feel better," the boy exclaimed, hoping for some ounce of forgiveness from Zuko for putting him through this.
Zuko, having suffered through the hour without many angry exclamations, could take no more. "What makes you think that?" he responded haughtily and Aang sweated slightly, rubbing at his bald and tattooed head.
Katara pushed herself up and crossed her arms, glaring down at Zuko directly. "You should be grateful! We could've made it a lot worse!" she snapped, at the same time slapping herself mentally for losing her temper again.
"What could be worse than this?" Zuko spat back, giving his shoulder a jerk. "Captured by a boy!"
"Shouldn't have tailed us," Sokka replied cheerfully from a few yards away. Zuko relapsed into low, feral noises of anger as he bit back his words the best he could.
Sokka whistled happily to himself, picking at the fish he had caught a few minutes prior from the beach. He had to admit, getting Zuko's feathers ruffled was fun, but it was almost better watching other people do it.
Katara 'hmph'ed loudly at Zuko's outburst. "Have it your way!" she replied by grabbing Aang's arm and dragging him over to the fire. She sat beside her brother and Aang followed, albeit with a little extra force.
The girl's stomach rumbled and she hungrily attacked her portion. She was careful to leave a little extra, though--she wasn't sure when they'd be able to get food again, and she wanted to make sure they always had a little on hand. Sokka, however, seemed to not be worried about such an occurrence. He ate his meal with great force, leaving not a scrap untouched. Aang picked at his, but downed it eventually. Katara frowned to herself. He's still bothered by all this...
It was then the Waterbender began questioning their wisdom is keeping Zuko at all. While on the topic of him, she put her plate down and glanced over to said Firebender.
He was still sitting, having not moved much. It must have become obvious to him he can't escape, Katara thought idly as she continued to study him. His eyes were closed and his face was still tilted up towards the sky and canopy of the trees, almost as if in thought. She bit at her lip again before picking her plate up once more, pushing herself up by the other hand while doing so. With calculated steps she carefully made her way around the fire and the few yards over to stand before Zuko again. This was beginning to feel weird.
"Hey..." she began, her voice lower than normal. When the prince didn't stir Katara knelt, brushing her leg with a hand nervously. Gripping the plate harder, she held it out a few inches in front of her in what she hoped was an honest-seeming gesture. "You hungry?"
Slowly Zuko's unscarred eye peeled open. With the slightest of movements he rotated his head to stare evenly at the Waterbender. After a few seconds he lowered his gaze to the plate. Then, without as much as a blink, he arranged his head back to where it had been and closed his eye. "No," he responded. His voice was completely laced and stoic, almost completely emotionless.
Katara's brows knotted. He has to be at least a little hungry... with a sigh the girl placed the plate on the ground beside the boy, pushing at her knees to stand. "Well, let me know if you change your mind," she replied.
Why am I being so nice? she wondered to herself as she turned and made her way back over to Sokka, who was sprawled on the ground petting his swollen belly. I guess it's just my nature. And maybe I feel a little sorry for him...
I still don't like him, though, she added, frowning. Aang looked up from playing with Momo, catching her gaze.
"How is he?" the Airbender asked in a hushed voice.
"Grumpy," Katara muttered. Aang giggled to himself.
"The usual," the boy replied, looking a little relieved.
The Waterbender smiled, brushing a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. If Aang felt a little better, she could, too.
Zuko watched them pilfer around and eventually drift off to sleep, one by one. The fire was almost dead, now nothing more than a few glowing embers. A chill wind drifted past and the Firebender shivered slightly, pulling some heat curled within his body up and spreading it to his numb limbs.
He had to admit; the metal was more comfortable than the rope had been. It didn't bite into his skin as badly, though it did pinch in places. The teen grunted, attempting to shift his weight. With a sigh he eventually lounged back against the tree, tugging at his wrists. He could barely feel his fingers and toes.
After a few moments of nothing but silence, occasionally broken by a mellow birdcall or various other night noises, Zuko glanced over to the plate beside him. He had to admit, he was hungry. However his pride had gotten the best of him and he was barely hesitant to decline the Waterbender's offer earlier.
The Firebender sniffed at the air, the scent of the cooled food causing his stomach to protest slightly. He then pulled back, hissing slightly as the bark of the tree rubbed against his bare skin. God, this was uncomfortable.
At least his head wasn't quite as horrible-feeling, though Zuko now knew for a fact he probably had a very large knot on his temple. It throbbed occasionally, especially when he moved or spoke--which is why he now declined to do much of either.
All the more reason for me to cherish my victory when this is over, Zuko thought with an unsteady smirk. If he played his cards right, he'd be with the Avatar, alright. He'd be with the Avatar on his ship back on his way to the Fire Nation.
Then everything will fall into place, the prince added with a hint of nostalgia. Then and only then things would make sense again. Then and only then would his life become stable. The Avatar, the answer to it all. He'd show Zhao. He'd show the world, his uncle, himself, all of them. But especially Zhao...
Zuko was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of movement. Training his gaze to the moving sleeping bag, he saw a head pop above the blanket.
"Oh," Katara mumbled in vague embarrassment as she shifted around more. Eventually she sat up, folding her arms against the night air. "I didn't know you were awake."
Zuko said nothing, only studying her silently. Katara immediately felt self-conscious and folded her arms more tightly. She felt like a mouse under the glare of an incapacitated cat. Safe, but still disturbed and far from comfortable.
Not much of a talker, is he? she thought to herself. At least when he's not the one pulling the strings.
The girl removed herself from the sleeping bag, scooting away from the snoring mounds that were Aang and Sokka (though the snoring mostly belonged to Sokka.) She was sure her brother had intended to stay awake all night and keep watch, especially on Zuko, but food had gotten the better of him. It usually did.
Katara idly picked up a stick and poked the fading embers before glancing over to Zuko again. He was still watching her silently, his face masked with effort and vague moonlit shadows.
After a few more moments of silence Katara sighed, giving the embers a final poke. "You sleepy?"
Zuko still said nothing. He continued to watch Katara as she tried to busy herself with small and unimportant things like rearranging a few twigs or giving the dead fire another poke. It was obvious she was having trouble sleeping.
Waterbender, the prince thought idly. Weak... Everything about her screamed where she was from. Her clothes were loose, not restrained and restricted like Fire Nation armor. Her skin was dark and even, her hair oddly ornately pulled back--but probably the most obvious thing, to Zuko, was her eyes. He wasn't accustomed to seeing such large, emotion-filled eyes, especially not of that shade of rich blue. In the Fire Nation people usually had small, dark untrusting eyes.
Weasel eyes, Zuko thought, and then snickered softly as he immediately placed the image of Zhao in with that description...
The Waterbender blinked and looked up as she thought she heard the faint sound of a snicker. Raising an eyebrow she eyed Zuko warily--that is, until he caught her looking. Then she looked away, poking at the embers again.
She knew it was just his being there that kept her from sleeping. He was like a shadow that hung over her sleep, scaring it away. Katara pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, staring off into the forest. She still didn't know what they were planning on doing about this situation.
"So?"
Katara jerked slightly at the sudden noise before registering it as Zuko. "So?" she repeated stupidly.
"What are you planning on doing with me?" the Firebender asked coolly, collectively. Katara didn't like that voice.
I wish I knew. "I don't know." I kind of wish you'd just disappear, honestly.
Zuko raised his eyebrow and Katara almost wondered if he had heard her thoughts.
"Hm." Zuko leaned his head back again, flakes of bark rubbing against his head. God-forsaken tree... he thought in annoyance.
He wished the girl would just go back to sleep so he could think, and maybe drift off himself. He needed his full strength if he was going to make this situation into anything in his favor.
Zuko scowled, flexing his shoulders in attempts to dislodge bark from them.
Katara continued to watch Zuko out of the corner of her eye. It was obvious he was tired, whether he admitted it or not. And that nasty bruise on the side of his head didn't look too pleasant either. After seeing him fight against the bark for a moment, Katara suddenly realized why Sokka had removed his shirt. Trying to make him as uncomfortable as possible, eh, Sokka? the girl thought to herself. She didn't know whether to be amused or guilty. She felt a mixture of both.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Katara silently began to crawl over to their belongings.
Zuko's eye immediately caught her movements and he watched her as she picked and slunk along quietly as to not wake up her companions. What the hell is she doing?
After taking something into her arms she crawled back and even farther, making her way to Zuko's side. He frowned, not knowing what she was up to.
"Here," Katara whispered, holding out something large and gray. The Firebender blinked as he realized it was his shirt.
"I was just going to... kinda put it between your back and the tree," she continued lamely. Somehow she felt she had to repent for Sokka's misdeeds.
Zuko stared at the shirt for a moment before looking away into the darkness. Katara scowled, thinking he was ignoring her kind gesture, until she saw his back shift. He was arching it away from the tree.
Without a word the girl folded the shirt and stuffed it against the bark. Zuko immediately relaxed and Katara leaned away. Still, not a word was exchanged and Zuko never spared her another glance.
Gee, don't even say 'thanks', the Waterbender mumbled inwardly. With a sigh she made her way back to her sleeping bag. Giving their campsite one last glance-over, Katara slipped back under the covers and wriggled until she was comfortable in her bedding.
Zuko had to admit, he felt a lot better. He stretched his muscles as best he could without causing unholy pain, and then cracked his neck. Now more at ease, he closed his eyes and exhaled up into the trees. He wondered why the Waterbender had offered him the comfort, but decided it was one of those strange Water Tribe things. It looked like she had a weak spot--that being pity.
Pity, Zuko scoffed inwardly. Pity. Pity was the last thing he wanted. But it was sometimes the first thing he got when people saw his scarred face.
Despite his attempts to brew in his own thoughts for a while longer, Zuko eventually drifted off to a now less uncomfortable sleep.
Meanwhile, Katara finally got comfortable, with one hand draped over her stomach and the other curled by her head. She turned her head a little and sighed, before sniffling a little at the air. She blinked, raising her hand and touching her finger to her nose.
Her hand smelled like Zuko's shirt. Like the faint trace of charcoal mixed with something vaguely sweet.
The last thingKatara remembered was her gazing at her hand before sleep enveloped her in its embrace.
Aww. Zuko's so cute when he's irritated as heck.
xDreamWishHopex - Thank you! Wow, you were here for both chapters!
midianek - You, my friend, are very insightful. Hehe, I noticed my little boo-boo just seconds before I read your review. Needless to say I'm covering myself up now! But hey, who's complaining...? The fangirls aren't! Woo!
MysticAnime - I try to do that myself... picture the characters saying everything I put in dialogue. It's fun! And thanks. I usually do read over things twice before submitting, but sometimes things continue to elude me... and some things get lost in formatting...
almostinsane - Thanks!
PsychoMindGames - Thank you, thank you! I do try to keep everything IC. This means I can't do really wild and crazy plots, but... at least I still have the characters! And thanks for the comment on my name. It amuses me, too!
Spleef - Thank you! Your fics were some of the first I ever read on Avatar.
lunaserenity - Hehe! Poor little Sokka. Maybe, maybe...who knows? Suki might get jealous!
spontaneousxhumanxcombustion - Your comment about Zuko shirtless made me laugh a lot. VERY true! And yeah... even though this is a Zutara, I can't ignore the fact that Aang has a little crush, too. It kinda worked its way in!
blufirestar - Your thumbs are very important to me! XP
AnimeShark - And we all love an irritated prince, don't we? Yes, yes we do! And thank you once again, your comment meant a lot to me.
silver girl - I'll try not to get writer's block! My inspiration comes from great people like you who review. Whether you know it or not, a lot of reviewers subliminally give me ideas to work with...
Lucibell - Thank you! I love your fics, too. Anyone who's interested should check out your Zuko stuff!
1likethat - Thank you!
NOODLES4BRAINS - Hehe, it's in my nature to at least try to put a little humor into things I write. I'm happy you found it funny! There's so much to play with in Avatar.