Dislaimer: I don't own anything from Avatar.
Intertwined
Chapter 6: Forced Companions
As the four walked in the direction Katara told them to, Sokka pulled her back so they could talk about what happened. Neither realized that Zuko had also fallen back to eavesdrop.
"What was that, Katara? How'd you know you could do that?"
"I don't know, exactly, but all I did was completely focus on the feel of water. It's like the power of the stream was flowing through me."
"Okay, I don't really understand that, but whatever. Still, how'd you know?"
"Sokka, you know how I tend to calm down when I'm near water?" At her glare, Sokka chose to not respond to that. "I think it's the same type of thing. I guess it has to do with being a Waterbender or a bender in general."
Zuko walked silently, thinking the girl's words over. Could he also do that, and find fire? He scoffed at the absurdity of the thought. She was probably leading them in the wrong direction.
Still…
The way she had looked, eyes closed, even breaths, was a lot like the way he was supposed to look during meditation. That was when he felt the closest to the flames burning before him.
He was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of the giant bison groaning in what seemed to be pain. Their procession stopped so the young monk could see what the problem was.
As Aang stepped around Appa's body, he paled at the sight before him. The normally white fur of Appa's tail had been stained red from the blood flowing freely from the open wound.
He stopped Katara before she could see it. Guiding her back to the others, against her wishes, was difficult, but when Sokka saw his face, he grabbed her by the shoulders and kept a firm grip on them. Angry that she was being passed between them like a doll, she stopped struggling and glared at them instead.
"What? Why won't you let me go back there? Aang?" she demanded, temper rising with their silence.
Aang started to slowly rub the bison's side before he spoke, and even then his words were halting.
"How big a wound do you think you can heal at once?"
Katara sobered immediately at his serious tone. "Well, I guess it depends on the size of it. Why do you want to know?"
Zuko had watched this exchange with a curious eye. They were once again ignoring his presence, but that suited his needs perfectly. Slipping out of their view, he walked behind the giant bison to see exactly what the Avatar was stopping the girl from seeing. As his eyes fell on the tail, he knew why they wanted to keep the girl away. The scent of flesh wafted to his nose, making him feel sick. Quickly moving to the front of the bison, he was thankful that there was no wind to blow the smell to the travelers.
When he took his place again, he could tell by Katara's widened eyes that she had been told at least a little of the gruesome sight. Glad that no one had noticed his disappearance, he became the stoic prince once again.
"We should get moving. With Appa in the shape he's in, if we don't get there soon, he'll be too weak to move," Aang mentioned, concern evident.
"Let me go ahead. It can't be much farther." Katara said, already starting to inch forward.
"No way is my baby sister going out there by herself."
"But Sokka-"
"No buts, Katara. You know how dangerous it is out there, especially for you." Sokka wasn't about to budge from his position on the issue.
"How about someone goes with her?" Aang suggested, hoping to get going soon, for Appa's sake.
Katara brightened. "That's perfect! One of you can come with me, as a bodyguard."
Sokka just shook his head, immediately dismissing the idea. "We can't leave you alone with him," he inclined his head toward Zuko, "for too long. And, no offense Aang, but I don't think you'd be too good at protecting her. So no one leaves."
They started walking again in a tense silence, a scowl etched on Katara's features. Only Zuko, who had remained passive through the entire discussion, and quite amused, noticed that Katara took special care to remain out of her brother's reach. He smirked when he realized what she planned to do.
Looks like someone doesn't like being told what to do. That was a trait he would admire in anyone, especially in a girl. Reminds me of someone…
Moving closer to Aang, Katara quickly whispered, "Just keep following this path. You should be able to find it easily enough. I'll either be waiting there, or I'll meet you on the path."
Aang's head whipped around as a startled "Huh?" escaped his lips.
"I'm sorry, Sokka, but Appa needs this too much."
And with that, Katara started running down the path before Sokka could register her words.
"Katara? Katara! Get back here!" Sokka yelled, running after her.
Hearing his shout, instead of making her stop or slow down, increased her pace. Knowing how fast his sister could be when she wanted, he gave up and returned to the other boys. Aang had his glider open, ready to fly after her. Sokka stopped him with a shake of the head.
"Let her go. Even if we managed to bring her back she'd just run off again. You know how determined she can be. Remember Haru?"
"Oh, yeah. But you said yourself that it's too dangerous for her."
"Well, she can take care of herself." Sokka's face, however, betrayed his true thoughts.
I hope…
"Let's go, Scarface."
Zuko snarled at the name, but went along willingly, knowing staying behind would just put him in more danger. Besides, he wanted to learn more about the group. Especially the girl.
Katara sprinted through the trees, never looking back to see if anyone was following her. She knew Sokka would try, but only up to a certain point. Then he would just let her be. It was Aang she was worried about. He had shown before that he could be just as protective of her as Sokka, perhaps even more. If Sokka couldn't stop him, he could easily catch her with the use of his glider or bending.
They should have more faith in me, she thought angrily. They know I can take care of myself, if they would only let me.
As her breathing became more labored, she slowed her pace, not wanting to drain her energy. She knew she had to be on guard at all times, and that being exhausted would only hinder her, in any situation.
Walking alone, without the chatter of Momo and slight conversation of her companions, Katara realized just how eerily silent the forest truly was. The fading light only added to the creepiness. To her, it seemed almost like the trees were reaching out, threatening to grab her at any moment.
When she reached the clearing beside the stream sooner than she had expected, she breathed a sigh of relief. Giving herself only a moment's rest, and paying no attention to any of the details around her, she stepped into the cool, clear water. Taking a calming breath, she slowly lifted as much water as she could 'carry' at once. Moving with slow, deliberate steps, she made her way out of the clearing, and once again started towards her companions, all focus on keeping the water under control.
What the three boys saw made them stop in their tracks, eyes wide with surprise, even Zuko. Coming towards them was a giant…ball of water? They relaxed as they saw Katara slowly coming up the small rise, arms tense from the effort of holding that much water up. Zuko marveled at her stamina. There was much he had to learn about these teens. She hadn't seen them yet, so Sokka chose to call out to her.
Bad idea.
Before anyone could stop him, he had already shouted, "Hey Katara!"
As Aang and Zuko had predicted, Katara was startled by the sudden noise, which destroyed her concentration. The water she had just barely kept under control fell down, drenching her. Shooting a deadly glare at her brother, she started stomping towards them.
Once again, Aang and Zuko were more perceptive of Katara's mood than Sokka, and they quickly moved away from him, Aang because he knew Katara and Zuko because he had some insight into girls, thanks to his own sister. Sokka, of course, remained blissfully unaware of their movements.
"Sokka, you idiot!" Katara shrieked. "That was for Appa! Do you know how HARD it was, carrying all of that over here! And you just had to ruin it, didn't you!"
During her rant, to escape the finger that kept poking his chest, and her wrath, Sokka had backed himself against a tree, inadvertently trapping himself. He looked to Aang for help, but found him trembling with silent laughter. He was so desperate that he actually wanted Zuko to make a rude remark to distract Katara. Zuko, in true Zuko fashion, chose this time to keep his mouth shut.
Aang finally stopped Katara, partly out of pity for the older boy and partly out of worry for the bison, by asking, "Katara is the clearing much farther from here?"
"Actually, now that you mention it, I don't think it's too far. I guess keeping the water under control," She glared at Sokka, who shrunk against the tree, "just made it seem a lot farther."
Sokka had to resist the urge to comment on his sister's quick change in attitude, settling on rolling his eyes when her back was turned.
Girls…
As the group came into the clearing, even Zuko had to admit that it was the perfect spot for them to spend the night in. There was just enough room for Appa to fit in, with a spacious amount left for the four travelers to sprawl out in sleep. Though the clearing was almost directly on the water, there was just enough foliage to protect them from prying eyes.
As soon as Appa was resting, Katara rushed to the water's edge, gathering what she thought would be enough. Cautiously stepping behind Appa, she fought the urge to gag as the putrid stench of the long-exposed blood assaulted her nose. Because the gash had been open, without any sort of treatment, for so long, the early signs of infection could already be seen.
Grimacing at the task ahead, Katara slowly started streaming the water to cover the wound. She never noticed the sharp golden eyes that watched her every move, veiled curiosity overpowering his usual indifference. He tried to tell himself that it was just to find out the extent of her skills, but he knew he was watching out of genuine curiosity at what Waterbenders in general could do. To get a better view, he moved closer. Not enough for anyone to notice, but it helped.
After only a few attempts Katara was ready to scream in frustration. Each time she tried to cover the entire wound, she only managed to get a part of it before the water trickled into the bison's fur. She finally settled on just coating her hand in water, and running her hand across the injury. Leaning back on her heels, hoping beyond anything that this would work, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. As she felt the familiar tingle that meant her healing was being tapped into, Katara quickly reached forward and placed her hands on the tail. As the water fell from her fingers, she hesitantly opened her eyes. Disappointment filled them as the only difference she saw was that there didn't seem to be any infection.
With a deep sigh, Katara walked back to her companions, who had left her alone. The first thing in her view was Aang's hopeful face. Turning away from him, she found that she didn't have the heart to tell him that there wasn't much she could do.
"Is he better, Katara? Did you help him?" Aang asked anxiously.
"Uh, well, the infection's gone," Katara replied, noticing how the monk's face fell. Needing to cheer him, she added, "And the bleeding's stopped."
"That's… good."
Katara looked to her brother for help and saw that his eyes were focused on her hands, his face tinged slightly green. When she glanced down, she felt sick herself. Covering the palms of her hands was Appa's warm, sticky blood. She quickly moved to wash them in the river.
Zuko settled down against a tree, as far from the others as he could get. So far, his plan to gather information on the Avatar and his companions wasn't going exactly as he hoped. The only thing he had learned was that the girl could do some sort of healing. Though that could be useful, he was more interested in learning about the Avatar.
As Sokka started trying to light a fire, Aang walked to Appa's side, making sure to keep his back to the soon-to-be flames, a constant reminder of what he'd done. Only Katara and Zuko saw this, the latter not understanding the boy's aversion. Katara, however, knew the reason behind the action and felt that, if she couldn't heal Appa, she should cheer him up.
Settling beside her brother, she stopped him halfway through his fifth attempt. Zuko watched as she whispered something that escaped even his hearing. He watched with mild interest as the 'warrior' jerked away from her, obviously surprised at what she had said. This time, his words traveled to Zuko easily.
"No way, Katara. You remember what happened the last time he tried that. I don't want you to get hurt again."
"That's exactly why we have to let him. He needs to get past that, and if he can do it without hurting anyone, I think he'll be back to normal."
"But Katara-"
"If it makes you feel better, I'll put up something to protect us. Okay?"
"Fine."
Zuko's eyes had widened just the tiniest bit when he heard the girl say something about protection. Though he cared nothing for the others, he was still bound around his upper body, and thus unable to do much.
Katara walked over to where Aang had been and sat beside him. Putting her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, she tried to cheer him up before asking him.
"Hey Aang. Don't worry. I'm sure Appa will get better soon. Tomorrow we can look for some herbs that will help," she said softly.
"Yeah, I guess. But that's not what I'm really worried about."
"Well, would you like to get the fire going?"
Aang looked alarmed at even the idea of trying to firebend. "Katara, I can't. You remem-"
"Don't worry. I'll be ready this time. I have enough water to throw up a shield in case you lose control, but I know you won't. So how about it?"
Instead of answering, Aang got up and knelt beside the fire pit. Making sure that Sokka and Katara were ready, he took a deep breath and concentrated on the feel of the sun during the day, just like Jeong Jeong had told him. He stayed in that position until he heard a small crackle and felt the warmth of a fire. As he opened his eyes, his face broke into a big grin. He turned to see Katara's face filled with joy, and Sokka's filled with amazement.
"You were right, Katara! I did it!"
Zuko watched their mini-celebration with a growing feeling of dread. He couldn't believe it, but he'd seen it with his own eyes. The reality of the situation hit him with full force.
The Avatar knew how to firebend.
He silently cursed. It seemed as though fate was truly against him. He'd had enough trouble capturing the Avatar when he could only bend the air. Now he knew air, water, and fire, if only the slightest bit. Now his own attacks could be thrown back at him, or at least deflected.
After managing to control the flames, Aang's mood had improved dramatically, just like Katara had thought. He was back to being the carefree, fun-loving monk. As they took out their sleeping bags to get ready to sleep, he used his airbending to move Sokka's around the clearing, eliciting laughter from Katara and him. Aang could have sworn he even saw Zuko crack a smile at one point. That small peace was short-lived because of Sokka's comment as the trio sat around, waiting for sleep to come.
"You hungry, Scar-face?"
"No," Zuko spat out, unable to take the constant blow to his pride without unleashing some of his frustration.
"Good, 'cause you're not getting anything even if you were."
They could all feel the heat of the campfire rise, particularly around Sokka. In an effort to calm the angry firebender down at least a little, Katara 'accidentally' dropped some of her water on her brother's head. The heat given off by the fire lowered right away. As Aang laughed at his friend's dilemma, Katara's gaze was caught by Zuko's golden one.
She found herself searching them over the flames for his emotions. There was anger, typical, that she had interfered on his behalf, and just a little gratitude for the same action.
Katara was jerked out of her thoughts at the feel of a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she found herself face-to-face with a concerned Sokka. Giving him a tired smile, she shrugged his hand off, crawling into the warmth of her sleeping bag. As Momo curled on her stomach, she felt herself drifting into slumber.
Following her lead, Sokka was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Aang took a little longer. Zuko observed the way the boy looked at the girl longer than necessary. Something about his gaze made something twinge deep within Zuko. With a start he realized that the younger boy had feelings for her. A slight smirk on his face, he made himself more comfortable for the night ahead.
Looks like I have learned something about the Avatar. Even better, what could be his one weakness.
"Have any of you seen Prince Zuko?"
Iroh had been asking every member of his nephew's crew if they had seen him recently. He hadn't been very worried at first, but as night had arrived, he knew that Zuko should have returned already. The crew hadn't been too much help, most of them saying that the prince hadn't been seen since he dismissed the men of their duties for the day.
"General Iroh, should we send out a search party?" Lieutenant Jee had been watching the old man restlessly move from room to room, and knew that something had to be done.
"No, no, my nephew can take care of himself. I am merely wondering why he hadn't mentioned it before he went off."
A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed! Meh. I am not happy with how this turned out. It's like my inspiration died in the middle. Don't worry, the next chapter should be better. Sorry for any OOC-ness. As usual, please review!