Mai locks eyes with Zuko. "Why would you do this?"
"Mai, the Fire Nation is wrong."
"So? What does it matter, we're still winning. You could come back. Help your sister catch the Avatar and I'm sure your father would restore your honor. You would be a prince again. You can come home."
Katara sees the conflict in his shoulders, drawing lines of stress and tensing his muscles. She should say something, anything, remind him that what he's doing is right. He's on the right course, he's doing the right thing! The words get caught in her throat and her mouth is dry.
He could go home. That's all he's ever wanted. His honor, his home, he wants it back. All it would take is turning around, Sokka isn't as fast, he'd go down in a second. Katara would be harder, but he could go home. Isn't that worth it?
No, it's not. It wouldn't just be turning his back on them, it'd be turning his back on everything he's learned. It'd be turning his back on what he's accomplished so far. He can't do that, and he especially can't hurt the person he's come to call a friend and the people that he might soon be able to call friends. He turns and Katara's scared blue eyes catch his, he couldn't turn his back on this, on her. Nothing else really matters right now except her eyes - the look of hate and betrayal, he'd never be able to ignore or forget that. He's doing the right thing, he already has his honor.
"Mai, just take Tom-Tom and go."
"Don't do this."
"I'm doing the right thing. Everything they taught us growing up is a lie, this war needs to end."
She sighs, "Fine Zuko, do whatever you want." She turns but Zuko stops her.
"Wait, what did Azula mean when she said I could rot beside Uncle?"
Mai looks over her shoulder, unsure of whether to tell him the truth or not. The fire in his eyes, the belief that he's doing the right thing, that could all be destroyed by the truth. She could make him come back, make him feel guilty and come over to their side again but no, she loves him too much for that. She shrugs, "Azula always lies." She walks away and Ty Lee follows, shooting a smile over her shoulder at them and winking at Sokka before turning back around to catch up, Tom-Tom in her arms.
Tonight, after both of them get berated by Azula for their foolishness Ty Lee will slink into Mai's bed and snuggle up close to comfort the heart broken girl who never makes a sound.
. . .
"So, I can't be the only one who thought that was really weird," Sokka states, a little uncomfortable at how close he knows they were to being turned into Water Tribe crisps.
"Yeah, that was weird," Katara answers but she keeps her eyes on the friend by her side. Zuko is silent. So, that's what Huu meant earlier. That was the decision he had to make, that was when he had to remember that he was on the right path. There have been so many chances to go back, to turn around and do the wrong thing but it was only by chance he even learned that there was a right thing to do. "Should we go help Aang?"
Right then, Appa's roar greets them and he lands in front of them, Aang panting in between his horns. They scurry on only to find an empty saddle.
"Where's Bumi?"
"I'll explain at camp! Yip-yip!" Aang snaps the reins and they soar away from the city.
As soon as they land Yung comes up, "Where's King Bumi, what happened?"
"He didn't come. Turns out he can still earth bend, he's just waiting for the right moment."
"What! The right moment? The right moment would have been before the city had been captured!" Yung hollers.
"No, you would have been fighting off the Fire Nation Army for months and more people would have died than this way. He's waiting and then going to take back the entire city. That way they don't already have supply lines stretched out here and it'll be much longer before they can even think of attacking."
The anger goes out of Yung, replaced with understanding, "Oh."
. . .
They spend another night in the Omashu camp. Benders are already putting up tall walls to keep everyone safe. They gave the briefest of outlines of what happened while Aang was dealing with Azula before Aang launches into a full blown explanation of every detail of the fight and just how scary she is. Everyone around them listens, hanging on every word, except for Sokka, Katara, and Zuko who are still thinking through the events of the day. Eventually everyone disperses and a polite bender comes by to give them walls for a little privacy. There's no wood and Zuko doesn't feel like bending right now, he's just tired, and so they go to bed under the light of the moon. Sokka has made sure to position himself very close to Katara tonight.
Aang rolls over in his sleeping bag to look at Zuko, studying the harsh lines of his face and noticing the semi-permanent scowl. "Listen, Zuko."
Zuko opens his eyes. "Huh?"
"I'm sorry. I guess you really are on our side." Aang readjusts in the sleeping bag, acting as if he didn't say anything at all. Zuko doesn't say anything either but a small smile worms it's way into the open.
Sokka looks up at the moon, wondering about Yue. Seeing a princess that was such an absolute contrast to her brought her back to his mind. His hair is down and he flips the pin over and over in his hands, missing the girl with snow white hair and eyes he could fall into.
Katara waits until her brother and Aang are asleep before wriggling out of her blankets and plopping down next to Zuko. "Hey,"
"Hey 'Tara." He's just sleepy enough that her name slips out like that before he wakes up fully. The nickname makes her belly flop, memories of drunken nights and murmured conversations of their homes - him wanting her to come with him - dancing through her mind. Strangely enough neither of them have needed to drink themselves to sleep since the swamp.
"How are you doing?"
Amber eyes so much kinder than his sister's look up at her and he sits up. "It was weird but," He gestures meaninglessly, trying to find the right words. "I know now more than ever that helping you guys is the most important thing."
She wraps her hand around his and squeezes, smiling. "Good." She bites her lip, "I was afraid for a moment. I saw it in you, the fight to figure it out."
He hangs his head, "Yeah, but then I thought about everything I've learned. I can't turn my back on the truth." He can't turn his back on her either. "Besides, how can someone without any honor restore mine?"
"Zuko -"
"I know what you're going to say. Don't."
"Okay." She just squeezes his hand instead and leans her forehead forward onto his shoulder. "I haven't worked on your back lately, would you like me to?"
He cranes his neck to look at her in confusion. "No? I didn't get hurt."
"I know, but I can feel how tense your shoulders are." She doesn't say that she wants to help his chi flow. It's got to be all kinds of twisted right now, the pull between the right thing and family putting kinks in him.
"I'm good."
"Okay." Silence stretches comfortably between them and he rests his head against hers taking in the sweet ocean smell that somehow clings to her hair even in the middle of the Earth Kingdom. He wants to run his fingers through her beautiful hair and maybe it's the moonlight or the exhaustion but he does just that. His arm wraps around her and his hand buries itself in her locks, feeling the texture that's so much different from his. She sighs and leans deeper into his shoulder, her own shoulders relaxing more the longer his fingers swirl her hair between them. She smells so good. She smells nothing like the Fire Nation, she looks nothing like anyone from the Fire Nation, but for some reason she reminds him of home and his heart breaks and he collapses in on himself.
"I'm never going to get to go home am I?" His voice cracks.
Her head snaps up and her eyebrows furrow, her own chest hurting with pain for him. "Zuko," she cups his face, wiping away an errant tear, "don't say that."
"Even if I went back now it wouldn't be the same though would it?"
"No," she pauses, "No it wouldn't be. There's no going back, no matter how much we want to." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Sometimes I wish I could just go back to the South Pole and be ignorant and naive again, but we can't go back. The homes we left don't exist anymore, we're not the same people we were when we left."
Zuko's jaw clenches, holding back emotion and he pulls her close, clinging onto some bit of sanity in the world that he's sure is trying to fuck him over. She hugs him back just as tightly, wishing that she too could go home, wishing she could just forget it all. That's not the way it works though, she'll never be the innocent child that left the Southern Water Tribe again and he'll never be the trusting naive boy that spoke up during a War Council again. They each wonder what would have happened if they'd never left.
Eventually they break apart. Katara goes back to her bed but a large part of her wishes he had asked her to stay. She sleeps better with him at her back but there's no way to ask.
Zuko watches her get comfortable before closing his eyes. He wishes she had stayed, having her that far away at night makes him uncomfortable. If anything happens he can't get to her fast enough. The fact that he enjoys the feel of her in his arms has nothing to do with his wish of course but there's no way he can ask her to stay without making things weird and he doesn't want to risk messing anything up with the one person he's comfortable calling a best friend.
. . .
"So, did you talk to Yung about getting an earth bending teacher?" Katara questions over the wind on Appa's back. They'd finally left the 'New Omashu' and were on their way again.
Aang shakes his head, "He said that the earth benders that are left are needed. He can't spare any to teach me. Besides, Bumi said I need to find a teacher who waits and listens before striking. None of the benders there seemed like that."
"Okay, so where are we headed?"
"Ba Sing Se. I figured we'd stop at the towns in between here and there to look for a teacher. I think I might actually know where one is. I saw her at the swamp and even if she isn't an earth bending teacher she's something and I feel like we're supposed to find her."
"O-okay? Do you know where this mystery girl lives?"
"Yeah, it's not too far from here actually, only a few days."
Sokka looks up from examining his nails and picking dirt out, "Sounds like a good plan. Let's go find the strange girl that the silly magic tree showed you." He never told anyone what he saw in the swamp and pretends that no, there's nothing special about that place.
Katara rolls her eyes but ignores his comment instead choosing to focus on what he's doing. "Sokka, that's disgusting."
"No, little sis, disgusting would be letting it stay under my nails."
"Either way, it's gross." Sokka rolls his eyes and flicks dirt at her. She wrinkles her nose and thwacks him with a water whip.
"Hey! That's not fair, no magic water stuff!"
Katara sighs exasperatedly, "Zuko, you've travelled more than we have. Do you know anyone that isn't an idiot who calls it magic water?"
"I'm not getting in the middle of this." Zuko doesn't even look up from the scroll he's reading. Sibling anything is not his specialty.
"Smart choice!" Sokka pipes up and continues to preen himself.
"Ugh, boys!" She throws her hands up. "I'm ignoring both of you."
Sokka shrugs and Zuko continues reading. The water bending master flips her hair over her shoulder and begins to undo the braid so that she can comb it out. She needs something to do.
. . .
Katara demands a river that night, she needs to unwind and bending sounds perfect right now. Besides, a bath would be nice if possible. As soon as camp is set up Zuko excuses himself and though Katara looks after him curiously she stays with the stew she's cooking.
"So, how's dinner coming, Katara?" Aang plops down next to her.
"Good, it's not much but with all of the seasonings Yung gave us we should be good." She turns towards Sokka. "Could you catch us some fish? I think it'll go well today."
He grins, this is the perfect excuse to get Zuko alone. "Of course. No problem. I'm just going to go be the fishing guy, nothing but fishing."
Katara quirks an eyebrow and Aang tilts his head but shrugs. "Whatever. Anyway, do you want to teach me anything new today?"
She shrugs, "You may not have fully mastered water bending Aang but you got pretty good at it in the North Pole."
"Yeah, but it's still a good idea to practice at least."
"Okay, some sparring would be nice. Let's do it while Sokka gets the fish?"
Aang nods excitedly, happy at the idea of sparring with her, really at the idea of spending any time with her. Things have been strained between them lately, or at least not the same as they used to be and he hopes to fix that. "Okay!"
. . .
In a secluded section of the bank Zuko paces. He knows he has to do this, he knows it's the right thing. Besides, if there wasn't one already there's bound to be a bounty on his head now. This is the last piece, after this he can't even lie to himself and try to convince himself that not that much has changed. He kneels beside the river, pulling a dagger out from under his shirt. Breathe in, calm down, breathe out, he can do this, breathe in, that's not even a home he should want to go back to. Tears prick at the corner of his good eye and he blinks them away. He's a fugitive now, his sister will see to that. The blade slices through his hair, cutting his ponytail - the symbol of his banishment - off. It falls into the water and floats away. Deep in his chest Zuko feels off, part of him is lighter - looking towards the future - but part of him just hurts - the part of him that just wants to go home. He's never going home. This time he doesn't blink away the tears or silence the hoarse sobbing that rips its way out of his throat. This is the end of a chapter in his life. Breathe. He's helping to create a better world. Breathe. He's doing the right thing and nothing his sister or even his father says will change that. Breathe.
Sokka finds him kneeling beside the river, his head in his hands, no idea of the importance of what Zuko just did. "Hey, jerk bender, we need to talk."
Zuko's head snaps up, he actually was completely unaware of Sokka coming up behind him. "How long have you been there?" His voice is still rough the crying though his face is clear.
"Long enough." Really he'd only just walked up but that's beside the point in his mind. Let the prince sweat. "What happened to your hair?"
"What do you want?"
"Fine, forget about the hair, I have something more important to talk to you about." He gets close to Zuko, trying to stare the other boy down. "What exactly is going on between you and my sister?"
"What?"
"You heard me, what's the deal. I saw you in her bed the other night, don't try to deny it!" Sokka jams a finger into his chest.
Zuko swipes the hand away. "Nothing's going on between us. We just enjoy each other's company, that's it."
"Oh, 'enjoy each other's company' is that what you're calling it? I appreciate what you did at Fong's and I don't know what happened on that ship of yours but I have to watch out for Katara okay. And part of watching out for her means telling you to keep your hands off of her!"
"I never touched her! Why would you even think that?" As soon as the question comes out of his mouth Zuko knows exactly why he would think that. He's slept in her bed, he's found himself staring at her without realizing it - memorizing the way she moves, strange dreams of her haunt him sometimes when he isn't dreaming of his banishment, he kidnapped her what feels like a lifetime ago and kept her in his room. The look Sokka gives him says that the Water Tribe boy is thinking about those things exactly.
"You know full well why I think that," Sokka growls. "You touch her, hurt her, anything and I will end you. There'll be a fishing accident that you won't recover from or you'll trip on Appa."
Zuko glares back, "You don't scare me."
"Well I should."
. . .
Katara stands waist deep in the river with Aang passing water back and forth. They had said they'd spar but instead it's turned into just talking with some bending. "So, you really think this girl we're going to find could be your earth bending teacher?"
Aang shrugs, "Really I don't know. I didn't actually see her bend but something about her seemed like an earth bender, something about the way she moved. She wasn't a regular one either, she's special. We have to find her."
"That sounds fine to me." Katara spins, adding flare to the water that heads back in Aang's direction. He smiles as he catches it. "Since you don't want to learn fire bending yet I think learning earth bending is a great idea."
"Thanks. You know," He bounces the water from hand to hand before sending it back, "I've really missed this. We haven't really talked in - in a long time and I've missed this." Right now the scary Katara that escaped from Zuko's ship isn't there, she's been a lot calmer since the swamp. Aang doesn't understand all of what happened on the ship even though he overheard it when she told Bato. He didn't know why getting buried by Fong had scared her so much, it was scary yeah but not as scary as she was making it out to be. Right now though he can forget that there is a whole other Katara, one that screams in her sleep and shakes in enclosed spaces and clings to Zuko's shirt crying, and just play with his friend, the happy Katara.
"Yeah Aang, I've missed this too." No, really she hasn't too terribly much and she feels awful about that. He's so optimistic, so happy-go-lucky all the time and she can't stand it. She does feel bad that more and more lately he's been pushed to the side of the group it seems. She'll have to try harder to include him in things. She smiles widely at him and his heart skips a beat, his Katara is back, and she sends the water zooming towards him.
"Hey," Sokka comes plodding up with two big fish. "I caught something."
"Oh good! Okay, I'll get them cooking. Come on Aang, let's go back." He nods and they wade towards shore. Aang steps onto dry land but something stuck on a branch near the shore catches Katara's eye. It looks odd, out of place but she can't quite tell what it is. She steps closer and picks it. "Oh!" She recognizes it, in fact she's run her fingers through it a dozen times and has even once or twice tied the band around the base of the hair - Zuko's hair. What's going on, where is he, is he okay? She knows what he's said - he doesn't deserve to have his hair, it's part of banishment - and for a split second dread washes through her. Is he planning on attacking Aang? Did he cut it off because he's going to 'regain his honor'? No, no, he would have done that in Omashu if he were going to. She scurries up the bank, the severed ponytail still in her hands.
"Hey, what's up?" Aang questions.
"Oi, Katara!" Sokka hollers but she's already gone.
It doesn't take long for her to find him grunting to himself with one hand awkwardly feeling the top of his head and the other holding a knife and trying to shave it. If he were going to try and capture Aang she's sure he'd be doing something other than trying to fix his hair. She drops the ponytail and comes to stand behind him. "While this is entertaining to watch, I think you're going to start loosing a lot of blood if you keep it up."
He groans, a stream of smoke leaving his nose in frustration. "I don't need any help," he growls.
"Sure you don't." He tries again to scrape the knife along his head but Katara grabs it. Water pools in her hand, glowing, stitching up the nicks. "I never really thought about it but who did your hair before? Quite obviously you didn't do it yourself," She snickers and he scowls.
"Uncle did it. He's always been good at stuff like this."
"Ah okay. That would explain the fuzz. Why don't we go back to camp, you can use Sokka's or Aang's razor."
Zuko flashes back to his recent conversation with Sokka. Should he go ahead and act normal or try and give her a bit more space? Fuck it, if he acts differently then Sokka will think that something was happening before and it's not like he's ever let anyone tell him what to do before, he's not starting now. No, people have told him what to do but he's not about to let Sokka of all people do it. He still doesn't feel like dealing with her brother though, and he's not entirely sure he can keep his cool right now. "Just try and make it match the rest. I'll buy a razor at the next town."
She rolls her eyes, "Fine." Five minutes later his hair is choppy but shorter. The diamond patch where his ponytail had been still evident. "So, why'd you cut it off?"
He shrugs, "It was time."
Katara raises a questioning eyebrow but he doesn't see. "Okay. Well, I'd better get back to camp before Sokka burns the fish. You coming?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute."
Katara walks off back to the others, the ponytail and worry forgotten. Sokka doesn't say anything to her about his conversation with Zuko as they gut the fish. Aang's practicing in the river again - far away from the bones that are being pulled out. Zuko arrives once the food is ready, Aang already is digging into his meatless stew. Katara is bending the rest of it into three bowls.
Aang looks up, "Hey, what happened to your hair?"
"Nothing. I just didn't like it anymore."
"O-okay then." Aang nods and goes back to his food.
Sokka grabs his bowl and sits. Katara hands one to Zuko and takes the last for herself. Zuko starts to sit beside her when Sokka coughs loudly, glaring at the fire bender. Zuko just raises his eyebrows haughtily and proceeds to get comfortable beside Katara. "You okay there, Sokka?" Aang questions.
"Yeah, just thought I saw some bone I thought I'd taken care of earlier."
"Mhmm, sure." Katara responds, a little confused but no one ever accused her brother of being normal.
The rest of the meal passes in mostly comfortable silence with the exception of Sokka's glaring. Eventually Aang wanders off to play with Momo and Sokka starts sharpening his boomerang. Katara sighs and starts gathering up the bowls, sticking them in the pot to take down to the river and clean. "You almost finished?"
Zuko looks up at her and at the big pot on her hip. No one else cares that she does the dishes along with cooking. Since they've left the North Pole every night she cooks and then cleans up by herself. Tonight it's his turn. "I've got it."
"Huh? It's no problem."
"No Katara," he stands and grabs the pot from her before putting his own bowl in. "Let me. Why don't you go relax?"
The gratitude in her eyes speaks volumes, much more than the "Thanks," does. Sokka watches the exchange and his sister look curiously after the boy as he begins to clean everything. He's not going to be able to stop this is he? All his posturing and threats, they're nothing compared to that look Katara gives the Fire Nation man.
Katara goes to Appa's saddle and grabs the soap before heading down to the bank. "Here, you might need this."
"Oh." Zuko's face heats up, "Yeah, maybe." He grabs it and runs it quickly over the bowls before rinsing them and setting them to the side. Katara winces slightly, he's missed large sections of each and the soap hardly touched them.
"Have you ever washed dishes before?"
"Of course I have!"
"Mhmm, well then why don't I just help you?" She grabs one of the bowls he just finished and runs the soap more thoroughly on it before swishing water around in it and finally rinsing it out. Zuko watches, learning. "Could you dry this off?"
He takes the bowl back and nods before heating up the air around it. The dishes go quickly with her washing and him drying. They both carry them back to Appa who grunts in appreciation at the scratching he gets once everything is put away and the sleeping rolls and Katara's bath supplies are tossed down. She grabs them and hesitates. Quite honestly she wants to bathe but doesn't want to go to the river alone. The last time that happened the pirates and then Zuko got her. It's irrational she knows, there's no one after them for once and she's a master water bender. She squares her shoulders and leaves though she does ask that if she's not back in an hour someone comes to check on her though she 'swears to fuck Sokka if you steal my shoes or snatch my soaps or pull any of the pranks you used to at home I'll smack you into next week.' Sokka looks at her innocently, feigning cluelessness.
Not too terribly far from camp but still far enough away to ensure privacy Katara undresses, kicking off her shoes and pulling off her dress - she got new ones made in the North Pole along with much needed undergarments. She sighs with relief as the water washes over her wiping away the grime of the past few days. She'd cleaned herself pretty well after the sewer in Omashu but this is far superior to rain barrels. She relaxes and begins to bend letting the water flow smoothly around her, over herself before sending it and the dirt it's collected downstream. The moon hangs high - not full but only barely waning - and she lets herself feel it in her blood. She can feel the water around herself, the fish swimming nearby, and tries a new move, one she hasn't wanted to try around anyone else. Her arms rise, calling the river water higher and higher. She could freeze it here but no she has something better planned. Instead of pulling moisture from the air she focuses and tries to push the water out into the atmosphere. It's hard, it's pushing when she's used to pulling but she gets it. The air around her hangs heavy and she's still focused enough that when she commands it the fog rises higher. She's sweating profusely. A twist of her wrists and she releases it. The fog hovers above her, thick and waiting before it opens and rain pours out. Her chest swells with pride and she throws her head back, laughing. The North Pole may have called her a master but she still has so much more she can do.
. . .
Morning finds Zuko awake while everyone - even the usually early riser Aang - sleeps. The sun just barely skims over the trees, igniting the fire in his blood. They need to move, keep going, something, he's getting antsy and seeing his sister didn't help. He - oh, he needs to fire bend. It's been days, no, over a week since he's done anything more than light a fire. Aang's bending is hardly noticeable even up close. Katara's doesn't attract the attention of anyone outside of the range of sight. His however has the potential to draw people for miles with the flames. He can't not bend though, it's not natural. It'd be like Sokka cutting off his arm, it's just a bad idea. He sighs and prays that no one is around. He'll keep his flames low but he still needs to practice.
The prince strips to the waist and begins his katas. Breath in and feel the sun, breath out and release fire. The first one is smaller than usual. It's no matter, he just hasn't done it since the swamp. He turns to the next position and punches out. Only a small flame comes out. His forehead furrows. The next pose only barely produces anything. What in the hell is going on! He groans in frustration, breaking out of his forms and lashes out. He tries over and over again trying different things but nothing happens or at least nothing in comparison to what his bending is normally like.
A twig snaps behind him and he turns. Momo wakes up and blinks before screeching and jumping out of the way as a wild animal scampers by - to fast to quite tell what it is. Zuko relaxes until he hears the rumbling. It's getting closer! "Wake up!" He dashes to Katara, shaking her awake roughly.
"What?" She mumbles.
"Get up, now!" His tone alerts her and she snaps awake. She springs up and pulls the sleeping bag out from around Sokka while Zuko wakes up Aang.
"What's going on?"
"There's someone coming. Get up," Zuko commands and Aang starts to move.
They can hear shouting closing in on them, strangers aren't usually a problem but something about the loud guffaws and sharp voices is dangerous. Panic starts to rise in Katara's throat and her eyes narrow. She loosens the cork on her waterskin that's already slung around her shoulder. "Sokka, we don't have time for this," She hisses.
"I'm up, I'm up." Sokka rolls over, reaching for his boomerang as Aang and Zuko are already loading up Appa. A war komodo rhino bursts from the tree line, decked out in Fire Nation armor with a soldier atop it.
The soldier's eyes zoom in Aang and Zuko. "Prince Zuko," He roars, "Your sister sent us looking for you and the Avatar!" Zuko falls into a defensive stance and the man just laughs. "Don't bother fighting us, we've got you surrounded!" More komodo rhinos step into view and Katara hisses. An archer lets loose flaming arrows headed at Aang who jumps up, cleanly avoiding them. Before another move is made water wraps around the group spinning quickly around them, effectively stopping anymore arrows. Aang, Sokka, and even Zuko look at her in surprise.
"Come on guys! Don't just stand there, get on Appa!" She shouts, moving her arms frantically as she backs up towards the bison. An angry yell comes from behind the wall of water. Her hand shoots forward and the spinning stops momentarily to send a dangerous icy spike towards the source of the yell. Aang picks up the water from on top of Appa, moving it with effort as Katara climbs on, Zuko helping hoist her up. The moment she's safe she begins to send shards of ice out of the wall as Sokka yells for Appa to fly. With a groan they're airborne. "Aang, octopus!" Katara shouts and he nods. Their arms rise in unison, tentacles forming and reaching up to protect them from more arrows and at least two javelins. Appa shoots up, out of the octopus and far enough away from the soldiers that they can't get hit.
"What the hell was that!" Sokka shouts the moment the catch their breath.
Zuko groans, "My uncle told me about them once. I think they were the Rough Rhinos. They're mercenaries who work mostly for the Fire Lord and I guess in this case, Azula."
"Ack! Azula, I thought we left her behind in Omashu!" Aang complains.
Zuko laughs sarcastically, "You never get rid of Azula. If you thought I was bad -" He lets the comment hang in the air, Aang and Sokka shudders. Katara's stomach drops, Zuko took her captive. What would Azula do if given the chance? Death springs to mind. She grimaces, she's not going to give Azula that chance, no one in their little family is getting hurt by the Fire Nation again. "There's something I need to talk to you guys about," Zuko adds.
"What is it?" Katara looks over at the very obviously very nervous prince.
"Well, um, I've lost my fire."
"What?"
"I've lost my fire. I think it's because for so long I thought that I was supposed to catch Aang and now I've joined you guys and learned the truth about the war. It messed up some stuff inside of me and I need to try and fix it. What?" Zuko snaps at a laughing Sokka.
"Well, just the timing. It was perfectly fine before, you know, when you captured my sister but now, no it's screwed up."
"It's not like I tried to loose it!" Zuko retorts hotly, for once no smoke streaming from his nostrils in annoyance.
Katara pinches her nose, "Sokka," she warns.
"What! You've got to admit the timing is something."
"The timing isn't important. We just need to get his fire back so he can teach Aang."
"I still don't want to learn fire bending," Aang cuts in.
"It's not an option Aang! You have to learn. Now, how do we get your fire back?" She looks over at Zuko who's rubbing the back of his head nervously. She takes in the site of him shirtless from trying to bend this morning and butterflies start floating around her stomach.
"Well, I've always relied on anger," and pain, "to fuel my fire bending but now-" He shrugs. "A lot of it's gone." His eyes are drawn to the woman sitting across from him. He's learned the truth, he's started down the right path, and it was all triggered because of her. He can't tell her that she's the one who lanced him open and helped drain the anger, the pain, and loneliness out of him.
"Well that's easy," Sokka responds. "All we have to do is make you angry, that's not hard." Sokka starts jabbing him in the side with Aang's staff.
"Stop that!" Aang grabs the staff away.
"I don't want to rely on hate and anger to fuel my bending, I need to find another source."
"What about the original source?" Katara asks. "Water benders learned it from the ocean and the moon. Air benders learned it from the?"
"The Air benders learned it from Sky Bison," Aang states, reaching down to rub Appa. "Isn't that right buddy?"
"Well that doesn't help me. The original fire benders were dragons and they're all dead."
Aang looks up in confusion. "No, there were a lot of dragons when I was little. Roku had a dragon."
"They're gone now, okay!" Zuko snaps and Aang backs off, his hands up.
"Okay, okay. Sorry."
"Maybe there's another way though. The first people to learn from the dragons were the Sun Warriors. They died off thousands of years ago but their city still stands. Maybe we can find something there."
Katara's afraid she knows the answer but she has to ask anyway. "Where exactly is their city?"
He sighs, "The Fire Nation. We have to go to the Fire Nation."