Theme # 48 - Dance
by yanocchi for the Zutara100 C2
It was a tired troop of friends that straggled into town late one night. It had been several days since the last sign of habitation, and while Appa had been happy to hunker down on the docks with a pile of hay, Aang and the others just wanted beds in the nearest inn they could find. Sadly, inns seemed to be in short supply along the pier.
"Aang, why don't we go into the city and look for a place to stay?" Toph pleaded, dragging her bare feet along the cobbles.
"No, I don't want to be too far from Appa," Aang replied.
Katara raised her drooping head and looked up and down the docks. Not too far ahead she saw a cluster of figures gathered around the glow of a hibachi brazier. "Let's ask them," she suggested, pointing.
"We should avoid the sailors," Zuko warned, eying the sailors suspiciously. "They could try to catch us for the bounties."
"I'm willing to take that chance," Sokka said with weary cheer.
"You're not the one with a price on his head," Zuko pointed out. But Sokka had already trotted on ahead, hailing the sailors.
"Ahoy there!" he called. "Don't suppose you know where a few tired travelers could find a place to sleep?"
Katara groaned and passed a hand over her eyes. "That idiot. I'd better stop him before they want to kill us, with or without the bounty." She placed Toph's hand on Aang's shoulder and chased after her brother.
"I dunno, I think they're too drunk to care," Toph said with a grin.
"You can tell from here?" Aang asked, impressed.
"It's their voices. They've been singing."
As though to prove Toph's point, there was a squeal of strings followed by a shout raucous voices. Aang and Zuko eyed each other nervously, but Toph threw back her head and laughed.
"What's so funny?" Zuko demanded.
"So— So— SOKKA!" Toph gasped, clutching at her stomach. "He's SINGING!"
The three of them hurried over to the fire. To their surprise they recognized the blue clothing of the water tribe. The men wore thick brown beards and some had the beaded hear of warriors. Several of them had stringed instruments tucked under their arms, and a pair of men who had the look of brothers were playing on a flute and a horn.
But the most surprising thing was the way Sokka and Katara were behaving. Sokka had thrown his arms around the two nearest sailors and the three of them were roaring the lyrics to what was obviously a familiar song. The combination of expert handling of the instruments and the natural melody of the voices was unexpectedly pleasant. Sokka's mellow tenor melded with the rough bass of the older men's voices, and Katara's bright alto tones rose above the others with the melody. The waterbending girl was practically bouncing, one foot slapping against the pier in a complicated rhythm while her hands kept time.
Zuko and Aang stared at their friends in surprise. Toph's face was alight with glee and she shouldered her way through the burly and salt-smelling men to Katara's side. The two girls clapped happily through the song and when the last notes faded into the night air the sailors cheered them both.
"What are you DOING?" Zuko spluttered when Aang moved to join them. "We have to find an inn," he reminded the boy.
"Do YOU want to try to stop them?" Aang laughed, gesturing towards the group. Despite Katara's half-hearted, but highly vocal, protests Sokka eagerly tossed back a large mug of something that smelled alcoholic. The men and Toph cheered their encouragement.
"Don't complain to me tomorrow when you feel sick!" Katara laughed.
"Hey, you don't get to say that!" Sokka retorted, gesturing with his now-empty mug.
"What?"
"I'm drinking to YOU!" The sailors roared with laughter.
"Northern Flower!" the man with the flute called. The men started in on another song, much to Katara's embarrassment. She and Toph were encircled by the men, including Sokka and Aang. Zuko watched in alarm, but instead of trying to escape Katara began to dance. She kicked her feet and spun about, arms lifting occasionally to clap. Listening closely through the stones of the pier, Toph began to kick as well, and Katara enthusiastically caught the other girl's hands.
Zuko watched, open mouthed, as they danced. Katara had always seemed a reserved and serious girl. It had never occurred to Zuko that she might know how to dance. And dance WELL. Her face was flushed and her braid flew in its own dance. The uninhibited smile that she wore seemed to make her glow.
When the song ended the men cheered her and Toph, toasted them, and began to talk cheerfully with Sokka and Aang. At that point Zuko gave up. He approached Katara where she sat, panting and laughing, and took a seat on an upturned cask next to her.
"What's going on here?" Zuko asked.
Katara looked up at him and blushed, then laughed. "It's just been so long..." she said, watching the men fondly.
"You know them?"
Katara shook her head. "I don't have to," she murmured.
Zuko nodded solemnly. He understood homesickness. For a while he didn't say anything and just watched the flames in the hibachi. His thoughts were interrupted by a shout.
"Hey, we haven't heard him sing, yet!" one of the drunken men bellowed, pointing a wavering finger at Zuko.
"He doesn't know any songs," Katara said defensively.
"Then he'll have to dance!" the largest of the sailors insisted. Zuko was about to object, but one look at the size of the man silenced him.
"But he can't dance," Sokka put in. The men booed this statement.
"EVERYBODY knows how to dance," they objected. "Especially if he's dancing with a pretty girl." Katara groaned and slapped her palm against her forehead. Zuko flushed and refused to look in Katara's direction.
"I'LL dance with you Katara," Aang offered eagerly.
"Shush, Twinkle Toes," Toph said. "They want ZUKO to dance."
"I wanna dance too," he complained.
"Then I'll teach you," Toph said with asperity. Aang seemed to brighten at the prospect.
Before Zuko could offer to let Toph teach him, Katara had grabbed his hand. "On your feet, your highness," she said sardonically, pulling him off his seat.
"I already know how to dance," Zuko snapped, snatching his hand back. Katara only laughed and caught his hands again.
"Not like this, you don't," she giggled wickedly. Zuko felt a wave of heat rush to his cheeks. Was this what Katara was like when she was home at the South Pole? Maybe she'd had some of whatever Sokka had been drinking and he hadn't noticed. Or maybe it was just the music. For some reason, Zuko didn't feel like arguing.
"Make 'em dance to Maidrin Rua!" Sokka called, hoisting a mug above his head. Katara's eyes widened and she whirled on her brother.
"Are you MAD?" she gasped at him. Then she realized that Sokka's attentions weren't focused on her and Zuko, but on Aang and Toph instead. The pair was laughingly trying to duplicate the dance Katara had taught the younger girl earlier. Their feet tangled in each other and Aang stumbled against Toph, who caught him, blushing. Katara smiled slyly and shrugged to the waiting musicians.
"Fine, whatever he says," she acquiesced. The man winked at her.
Katara turned back to Zuko and took his hands again. She stepped in close, their arms held up and pressing together. Startled, Zuko tried to draw back, but Katara wouldn't let him.
"The song starts slow, so we can move faster once you get more comfortable," she told him with an encouraging smile. Zuko gulped nervously.
"What's wrong with this song?" Zuko asked, trying very hard to not think about the close proximity of the mocha-skinned girl.
"Nothing," Katara answered a little too quickly. Before Zuko could ask further the music started.
As Katara had said, the song started at a fairly slow pace. The first part of the dance was simple, but it grew more complicated. There were kicks and steps and taps, then a switch and a spin...
"I think I'm starting to—" Zuko began to say. Then the music picked up. "No wait, not yet!" he gasped in protest, but it was too late.
Sokka whooped and Katara laughed, and somehow Zuko managed to keep up. All the thoughts left his head, and the only thing he could think of was keeping up with Katara's dizzying pace. The bubbling plunks of the strings seemed to move his feet and the claps of the audience fueled him.
Then, as suddenly as it had began, the music stopped. Still caught up in the dance, Zuko stepped in close to Katara, the beat still thrumming through his veins. He felt her body pressed tightly against his, their hands still joined. Katara was panting and laughing, her face tipped up towards his.
"See? Everybody knows how to dance!"
To his extreme surprise, Zuko found himself laughing. It must be the music, he thought idly.
"But what was wrong with that song?" Zuko asked Katara again. Quickly, she separated herself from him and turned away.
"You weren't listening to the lyrics, were you?" Toph teased. Zuko shook his head unthinkingly.
"No, what about them?"
Toph laughed wickedly, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. "Shall I tell you?" she asked coyly.
"Toph..." Zuko growled dangerously. With exaggerated seriousness, Toph recited the lyrics back to him. Through the heavy colloquial overtones, Zuko managed to gather enough about the song to make him blush. Eyes wide, he shot a glance in Katara's direction. Katara was looking at him, and their eyes met. The pair flushed and turned their heads away, not quite fast enough to hide their matching smiles.
I'll tell me ma when I go home
The boys won't leave the girls alone
They pull my hair, they steal my comb
But that's all right till I go home
She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Dublin city
She is courting one, two, three
Pray, won't you tell me, who is he?
Albert Mooney says he loves her
All the boys are fighting for her
Knock at the door and ring the bell
Singing 'my true love, are you well?'
Out she comes as white as snow
Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes
Our Jenny Murry says she'll die
If she doesn't get the fellow with the roving eye
Let the wind and the snow and the hail blow high
and a fog come tumbling through the sky
She's as sweet as apple pie
She'll get her own lad by and by
When she gets a lad of her own
She won't tell her ma when she gets home
Let them all come as they will
For it's Albert Mooney she loves still
--Maidrin Rua (Tell Me Ma) as performed by The Tossers
ATOGAKI: My muse has ADD. I was working on WORK. Like, I get PAID for this stuff... and then I heard this song, and I just had to write a fic.
A hibachi is a small Asian barbeque. I don't really think they have old oil drums to burn their garbage in. XD The "dance," while I didn't describe it in much detail, is actually a warm up my friend uses when she's trekking. It's meant to keep you warm in cold climates... like the Yukon, which is where she used it first. Makes sense for it to be a water tribe dance.
Just a bit of random fun stuff, and totally not thought out at all. There's another "dance" fic that I'll be writing, but this one is a bit more... child friendly. X3