A/N: You guys honor me.
Chapter 2: Repair, Heal, and Intrude
Katara looked to her left and right. At Master Pakku's nod, she raised her arms in concert with the other two waterbenders, and together the three of them raised a towering wall of water. Katara struggled to concentrate, to hold each droplet of water in place with her mind. In a few seconds, Master Pakku had frozen the water into a solid ice wall. Katara breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her arms. The day had started out easy enough, but the sheer amounts of water she'd had to hold up were draining. Katara had long since lost count of how many walls she'd helped repair.
For the past couple of days since Aang's ocean spirit had driven away the Fire Navy fleet, Katara had been helping the Northern Water Tribe rebuild its damaged city. Remnants from the battle were everywhere. Large sections of the city lay in ruin, melted by fire or crushed by tanks. A layer of dark gray soot coated everything, and ash, like dirty snowflakes, still drifted down in some places.
Sighing, Katara moved to the next section of broken down wall and prepared to bend more water. She was cut off when Master Pakku spoke.
"Why don't you take some time off and help the healers, Katara?" he suggested kindly, noticing the tired look on her face. Katara smiled at him gratefully.
"Okay, but please call me if you need anything," she agreed. Katara left the other waterbenders and made her way to the large chamber that housed the wounded. Katara ducked her head as she entered, her senses suddenly assaulted by low moans and the coppery smell of blood. Cots were lined up in rows, most of them occupied. Young women scurried about, bringing hot water, healing herbs, and bandages to the patients.
"Katara!" someone called to her. Katara looked up to see Yaguda, the healer woman, hurrying towards her, bundles of white cloth in her arms. Her mouth was smiling, but Katara could discern the exhaustion and worry in her eyes. "Thank goodness you're here!"
"How's Airi?" Katara asked. The recently-orphaned eight-year-old girl had been burned badly by an errant flame, and Katara had been tending to her ceaselessly. Katara had helped heal a lot of patients, but somehow Airi had touched her in a way the others hadn't. Maybe it was Airi's eternal optimism and sparkling eyes, the way the little girl could still laugh even when she could barely move. Maybe it was the way Airi reminded Katara a little of herself, of the way she was before the Fire Nation had taken both her mother and her father away from her. Airi lost her parents to the Fire Nation, too.
"She's okay, but her burns aren't healing as fast as I hoped they would. You can see her in a bit, but please take these," Yaguda handed Katara the pile of cloth in her arms, "to the line of cots over there." She inclined her head towards the eastern wall, where Katara could see tumbled, blood-soaked sheets.
She approached the first man and helped him sit up in his bed. Scratches and tears dotted his bare chest, and there were ugly burns along one arm. Katara poured water from a nearby pitcher onto some cloth and then tried to gently clean the debris from the cuts on his skin. She apologized when he winced in pain. Softly, Katara began to talk to him. She thought it helped when patients could take their mind off of their aches and pains.
When she had cleaned the wounds as best she could, Katara bended water to coat her hands like liquid gloves. She smiled reassuringly at the young man as she softly placed her hands over the largest wound. He let out a sigh of relief at the coolness. Katara closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the healing energy well up inside her body and then forcing it down her arms, into her hands, and finally into the still-bleeding wounds. Come on. Slowly, Katara felt his skin absorb the water and leave her hands dry. Good. Her healing had been improving with practice. She couldn't yet completely heal wounds, but she healed enough so that patients weren't in danger of bleeding to death.
Katara worked quickly, healing first one patient, then the next. She spoke and asked questions and provided news, but her mind was on Airi. Finally, the row of beds and the cloth in her arms ran out, and she hurried over to Airi's bed. She approached Airi cautiously, in case Airi was sleeping. As Katara neared the bed, she saw that Airi's eyes were closed. Katara was about to move away when Airi opened her blue eyes and called, "Katara!"
"Hi," Katara said softly, reaching a hand for Airi's forehead. She still had a bit of a fever, Katara realized with disappointment. "How are you feeling?"
"Wonderful!" Airi chirped. "Look at what I can do now!" Airi's face took on a look of concentration as she put all her effort into slowly lifting her right foot a few inches off the bed. It hovered there for a minute, before Airi, breathing heavily, let it fall back down again. She looked up at Katara, her eyes beaming with pride.
"That's great, Airi!" Katara tried not to choke. What had the world come to when an innocent young girl, someone so full of life, had to struggle just to move her legs? She hated the Fire Nation. Katara blinked back her tears, not wanting the young girl to see them. "Are you ready to try some more healing?"
"Okay," Airi agreed. Katara drew her chair up beside the girl and slowly unwrapped the bandages on her arms. She tried not to wince when she saw the angry red skin. Carefully, Katara dipped her hands in the pitcher of water on Airi's bedside table, and, her hands still coated with water, gently placed her hands on Airi's left arm. Airi let out a satisfied sigh.
"That feels so good, Katara," Airi murmured. "Cool and soothing…"
Katara didn't respond as she tried with all her might to change the burned flesh into new, undamaged skin again. The burned tissue accepted the water, but there was no visible change. Katara let out a cry of frustration. Was she simply not good enough? Over and over, she'd tried to heal Airi's skin, but her attempts were always in vain.
"I'm sorry, Airi," Katara finally said, her voice sounding defeated.
"Oh, no, don't be, Katara," Airi reassured her, her eyes closed and a cheerful tone in her voice. "You can't possibly know how good that felt. The pain just goes away…"
"Here," Katara said, reaching for Airi's other arm. She did the same to it and felt a bit better when Airi sighed in pleasure and relief.
"Thank you, Katara," Airi said gratefully. "I think I'll just sleep now before the feeling goes away."
"Okay, Airi," Katara said, smoothing back Airi's dark brown hair from her forehead. "Just rest now, and I'll see you later."
"Mm," Airi mumbled, already drifting off.
Katara gazed at the child's sleeping face for a minute before she shook herself out of her reverie. She quickly rewrapped the bandages on Airi's arms. Standing up, Katara headed for the door. She couldn't take anymore healing today. All the pain, the blood, the tortured cries… it was all too much for one day. She needed something that could take her mind off of everything. Katara headed outside, intent on finding Aang so that they could practice waterbending together.
Zuko woke the next morning to a cloudy, sunless day. He sat up and saw that his Uncle Iroh was already awake and meditating.
"Anything happen?" Zuko asked.
"The fires are still going," Iroh observed. "I believe that some crew members are attempting to overthrow the new admiral."
Good, Zuko thought. As long as those idiots keep trying to rebel, they won't be looking for me. A sudden gnaw of pain in his stomach interrupted his thoughts.
"I'm so hungry," Zuko groaned. He hadn't eaten anything for two days straight.
"You'd best be going then," Iroh said softly. Zuko glanced at his uncle. He'd been the one constant thing in his life. Even when his family had turned its back on him, Iroh had stayed faithful. His uncle… his uncle had given up a lot for him. Uncle Iroh, too, had left his home country to travel for two years despite his old age, a time when he should be resting and living a simple life. All to keep watch and take care of him. Zuko wanted to tell his uncle how grateful he was, but he didn't know how.
"Don't go and accidentally drown yourself when I'm not around, Uncle," Zuko said gruffly. It wasn't what he wanted to say, but his uncle smiled at him, and he knew that he understood. "I'll see you soon, okay?" Without waiting for a reply, Zuko dived into the chilly water and began swimming towards the city of ice.
As Zuko neared the city, he noticed the blue-coated guards who were milling about on top of the thick walls. Zuko hid himself in a clump of ice and pulled himself out of the water. He thought for a minute, trying to figure out where the Avatar would be. It would be better if he could see the Avatar directly without going through the guards. Who knew what the guards would do to him? True, he was stronger than any of them, but even a powerful Fire Nation Prince could be taken down if there were enough guards. The Avatar, on the other hand, would be quick to accept him with less trouble and fuss. Hopefully. Zuko quickly pushed his doubts away. No turning back now.
Zuko crept up to a side wall, making sure to keep out of sight of the guards. He evaluated the mass of ice and snorted in disgust. It really was made entirely out of ice. How idiotic. What the hell were the designers of the city thinking? What kind of moron would build an entire city out of ice Obviously, the Northern Water Tribe wasn't as advanced as the Fire Nation. Well, what had he been expecting? After all, they were a bunch of primitive peasants. If you want to do it right, you use steel and iron.
Chuckling, Zuko lit up a fire in his hands and held it close to the ice. Slowly, the hard surface began to melt, sweating droplets of water. The dent grew larger and larger. Zuko did his best to control the fire, to make sure that it created a hole just big enough for him to crawl through. In minutes, Zuko had melted a small tunnel through the thick ice wall. Zuko ducked down and peered through the hole. Satisfied that no one on the other side had noticed a small opening in the corner of the great wall, he quickly crawled through, ignoring the ice as it scraped his body.
Now on the other side, Zuko quickly ducked behind a column of ice, trying to stay low. Where can the Avatar be? Zuko was a bit surprised by how vast the city was, but he was undeterred. It can't be that hard to find him. Zuko decided to head towards the center of the city. He ran forward, crouching over, until a waterway intercepted his path. Zuko nearly laughed out loud at the sight. So this is the way they travel. It was ridiculous, sheer absurdity. Oh well, it's better for me. Zuko slipped over the edge and lowered himself into the water, where he would be unseen. Zuko started swimming against the current, keeping to the edge of the waterway. He had been going along for a few minutes when he saw a boat heading down towards him. Crap. Zuko took a deep breath, then dove as far down as he could.
The boat came closer and closer. Zuko shut his eyes, bracing himself for an impact, but the boat smoothly passed over his head, Zuko let out a sigh of relief. He surfaced again for air, being careful not to splash.
"Have you seen the Avatar yet?" Zuko heard a female voice say on the boat. Zuko whipped his head around, trying to listen in on the conversation as the boat drifted farther away.
"No, but you can always go to…. if you want to see him… practices… bending." Zuko sighed in frustration. Go to where? But the boat had already drifted too far down the water way for Zuko to hear anymore, and Zuko didn't have time to go chasing after a boat.
Zuko swam further up the waterway, taking a couple of turns along the way. He was nearing the heart of the city now—he could feel it. The water around him was starting to get a little rougher, Zuko noticed. It was frothier and also felt a little colder to him, though he couldn't be sure as his body was already partly numb. Zuko swam a bit further and then surfaced for air. Directly in front of him was a short waterfall. Dammit. He couldn't swim any further in this particular waterway. Zuko allowed the water to carry him to the surface and then quickly scrambled over the edge of the waterway and back onto the ice. The wind blew, chilling his wet clothes. Damn all this water.
Shivering a bit, Zuko ducked into a narrow alleyway. He saw an open courtyard in which two figures were practicing waterbending by a large, spewing fountain. One was bundled up in blue robes and the other… Zuko felt a sudden burst of excitement. The other was wearing orange and yellow.
With a sudden burst of energy, Zuko started sprinting for the Avatar. He had only gone about a fourth of the distance, however, when he ran straight into a tall, burly warrior. Several other warriors surrounded him, all equipped with spears.
Shit.
"Katara!" Aang cried. "Watch this!" He froze a long ribbon of water into ice, then launched himself at one end with a burst of air. Aang shrieked as he speedily slid on the ice.
Katara laughed and pushed upwards, sending Aang up in a column of water that instantly froze, trapping him in the ice.
"Hey!" Aang yelled, struggling.
"That's what you get for not paying attention and concentrating!" Katara yelled up at him cheerfully. "Now while you're stuck up there, watch me!" She was about to demonstrate a new waterbending technique that involved swirling the water around an opponent and then turning the water into chunks of ice, but a sudden noise startled her.
Katara looked across the courtyard, where half a dozen warriors were struggling with something. She heard indistinct yells and then… fire? Katara ran across the courtyard, vaguely aware that Aang had let himself down and was right behind her.
"AVATAR!" a voice roared.
"Wait!" Aang cried. The sound of his voice stopped the warriors, who had been dragging something along the courtyard floor, and they parted to reveal…
"Prince Zuko?"
A/N: Are the chapters too short? Too long? Is the action moving too fast or too slow? Is it just boring? I'd love to know what you guys think.
Some Z/K interaction coming up soon, so stay with me!
Thank you so much for all the positive feedback. You can't imagine how happy and motivated it made me. I read and appreciate every single one. XD
Some things I thought I should address:
"Its a good start, but the Fire Navy ships are made of iron, not wood." –SleepingDragon13
I'm sorry for messing up on that. I was wondering about it; I should have researched more thoroughly. Forgive me?
"try not to rush into things(example: trust, relationships, certain understandings of one another…so on and so forth)" –ClandestineEntropy
I'm replying to you here because you didn't leave me any way to contact you! I am definitely not planning on rushing into anything. I hope that is good news. If not… it won't take too long.
About Chapter 3: I start school in about three days, and I haven't started any of my winter break homework yet, so I need to concentrate on that for a bit. But maybe if I get enough encouragement, I'll manage to squeeze in writing it before I go back to school. So please keep the reviews coming!