"Ah!" Katara's soft cry woke Zuko up.
"Is everything okay, Katara?" he whispered. It was early morning, even for Zuko. Katara blushed, embarrassed that she had woken him up.
"Yeah, I'm just stiff. Really stiff," she added, trying to move. "Sokka and Aang are being a bit overbearing, not letting me get up every so often. I'll get bed sores if I don't move, though."
Zuko jumped down off Appa and held his hand out to Katara. She took it and Zuko helped her to stand. "Have you been bleeding?" he asked.
"I can't see my back, so I have no clue." Zuko nodded, then looked at her, as if asking permission to look. Katara nodded and Zuko went behind her. Katara raised her shirt so the bandages were free.
"You need to have the bandages changed; I don't think it's bleeding, but my uncle said soldiers died from not having their bandages changed after the wound stopped bleeding."
Katara gasped. "Yuck." Zuko nodded and sat Katara back down on Appa.
"Do you want me to change them or wait for you brother or the Avatar?"
"How bad is it?"
He showed her a corner of the bandage. "You tell me."
"Could you go ahead and change them? Sokka would take forever to wake up," Katara said, sitting down. Zuko nodded and started looking for the canteens.
Momo was holding one like a stuffed bear and would not let go, no matter how hard Zuko pulled. Finally, Zuko reached for Sokka's boomerang and slipped it in place of the canteen.
"Sokka's not going be happy about that," Katara warned.
"Your point?" Katara giggled, but shook her head.
"Sokka's not so bad once you get to know him. Trust me, I've spent fourteen years getting to know him."
"You've spent fourteen years with him?" Zuko asked as he heated up the water in the flask. Katara nodded. "And you're still sane?"
Katara smiled. "Ask Sokka and he'll say I was never sane." Zuko looked at her. Katara saw his look and elaborated. "I've done some…weird things growing up."
"Like what?"
"I'd rather not say," Katara said hastily.
Zuko shrugged and used the water he had heated up to soak a rag. "Fine." If Katara was shocked that Zuko wasn't going push the matter, she didn't show it.
Slowly, Zuko undid the bandages around Katara's back. "This is probably going to sting a bit, but it needs to be to done," he warned her. Katara nodded. Zuko pressed the warm, wet rag to the blood on Katara's back.
"Agh!"
"I warned you."
"I know. It hurts, though," Katara muttered through gritted teeth.
"It could be worse," Zuko replied, gently washing the dried blood of Katara's skin.
"Good point." There was small pause. "Thanks, Zuko."
"For what? I haven't even finished washing the blood off."
"I know, but you're being gentle. I didn't know you knew how to be gentle."
"There's a lot you don't know about me," Zuko muttered darkly.
"I'd like to," Katara returned, looking at him out the corner of her eye.
"No, you don't. Trust me." With that, Zuko shut his mouth and didn't say another word until he finished. "There."
Katara felt her wound as best she could. "Thanks again, Zuko." Katara turned to smile at him. Something flickered around the edges of Zuko's lips, but died out before it could surface.
"You're welcome," Zuko muttered as he grabbed the old bandages. "Are these washable?" He showed the bandages to Katara.
"Probably not. Could you burn them?" Zuko nodded and went off to do as Katara had asked.
What is going on with me? I'm actually helping some Waterbender!
Oh, you know why you're doing this.
Not you again.
I'm your conscience. I'm always there.
Well, beat it.
Can't. See, you, unlike your sister and father, were blessed with a conscience and a sense of right and wrong. That's why you spoke out.
Am I supposed to be thankful?
Well, that's what most people feel.
Just shut up. I'm not most people.
Zuko expected to hear a comeback from his "conscience", but heard nothing. He finished burning the bandages and headed back to camp.
Before he reached it, he heard voices that sounded strangely like Katara and her brother arguing. About him. He paused, ducking behind a bush to watch and listen.
"I can't believe you let him touch your back!"
"He was the only one awake, Sokka."
"Still. What if he poisoned the cut?"
Zuko looked up as Katara, who was sitting where he had left her on Appa, kicked at her brother. "Will you grow up? I trust Zuko not to hurt any of us."
"He made you say that."
"How? He's nowhere near here at the moment," Katara pointed out.
"He's brainwashed you. He-ow!" Sokka was hit in the head with a double water whip. "What was that for?"
"You're being a big baby, Sokka. Zuko's been with us for weeks now and has he so much as looked at any of in a threatening manner?"
"Actually…"
"Besides you."
Sokka paused. "No," he admitted reluctantly.
"And didn't he explain why he's running from his own father the other night? He told you he's a fugitive and you're still being a jerk to him?" Sokka gulped.
"Katara, you should really calm down. You might cause your cut to reopen." It was a lame excuse, but Sokka was evidently scared of his sister's temper.
"I'll calm down when you grow up." With that, Katara crossed her arms and leaned back on Appa, clearing indicating that the argument was over.
"Sis…" Katara turned her head from Sokka, telling him she was going give the cold shoulder until he stopped being a jerk to Zuko. Sokka sighed and threw his hands up in the air, muttering something about "hormones" and "baby sisters always get their way". Zuko shook his head and entered the campsite.
Aang and Toph were packing up camp. "You don't want to know what happened between those two, Scarface," Toph said when she saw Zuko approaching her.
"How can you tell who's coming when you can't see?" Zuko asked. It was bugging him.
"I can see by the vibrations in the earth," Toph explained. "It may be in grays and all, but it's better than no sight at all."
Zuko had to agree with the Earthbender. The dim sight he got in his left eye now was better than the blindness he had had at first.
"Hey, could you help with this? It's pretty heavy," Aang called, struggling under the tent kits and Sokka's food supplies. Toph walked over and removed the food supplies. "Thanks. What did you remove?"
"The food, the heaviest thing we own." Aang laughed and Airbended the rest on Appa.
"Ready to go?" Everyone nodded and boarded Appa. Aang grabbed Katara as she was about fall.
"Whoa. Thanks, Aang." Katara smiled, nearly causing to fall over.
"Uh…um…you're welcome," Aang stammered, blushing slightly. Katara giggled and rolled her eyes as she got in the saddle. Zuko frowned and followed suit.
"Everyone seated? Good. Appa, yip yip!" Momo scampered to Aang's shoulder where he usually sat and held on as Appa took off.
Sokka spent the first half of the trip trying to get Katara to talk to him, but was failing horribly.
Zuko watched at Sokka's pathetic attempts, then turned to Katara after he stopped. "Why don't you just talk to the idiot already?"
"Because he's being a jerk," Katara said. Sokka gaped.
"Oh, you'll Prince Temperamental Firebender but not your own brother?" he exclaimed. Toph, who had been listening to the attempts at conversation, sighed.
"Maybe she likes him more than you, Snoozles," Toph teased. Sokka and Aang cringed.
"Eeewww…" Katara and Ty Lee laughed at their faces.
"What are you guys gonna do if I fall in love with someone not Water Tribe?"
"Kill him," Sokka said.
"Hope and pray you come to your senses before the wedding," Aang said at same time.
Ty Lee struggled against her bonds, but interjected, "What she falls in love with a Firebender?" Sokka and Aang looked at each other.
"Kill him," they said in unison.
"And like that's gonna happen, Pokey," Toph pointed out.
"Please stop calling me Pokey."
Toph shrugged. "Okay."
"Hey, you still call me Sugar Queen and Aang Twinkle Toes. Why won't you stop calling us those names?" Katara asked. Toph shrugged.
"You never asked." Zuko had to hide his laughter at the looks on Katara and Aang's faces.
"You mean, all we had to do was ask you stop calling us those names and you would have?" Aang asked incredulously.
"Except when I'm mad at you, yep." Toph reclined, resting her head on her hands. If she could see, she would have been inspecting her nails while Aang and Katara made weird faces at her.
"Well, will you stop, please?" Katara asked. Toph nodded.
"Sure. But Sokka's still Snoozles and Scarface is still Scarface," she said.
Zuko rolled his eyes. Better than "Zuzu", at least, he thought. Sokka didn't seem to think the same way.
"Hey!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Yes, Snoozles?"
"Stop calling me that!"
"Whatever you say, Snoozles."
Katara laughed and Aang gently closed Sokka's jaw.
"You really want to catch bugs, don't you?" he asked. Sokka looked at him, then collapsed with a groan.