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There wasn't much room in the saddle for three people, and someone had to steer anyway, so Katara was sitting on Appa's head, listening to Iroh lecture Zuko about being lazy and neglecting his Firebending.
"It's not like I could have practiced while I had a sprained ankle, Uncle," Zuko pointed out.
"And after? What then, Zuko?" Iroh asked.
"I had to be careful! Firebending would have alerted Azula to our position faster," Zuko quipped.
"And that's and excuse? Zuko, if you wish to be able to defeat your crazy sister, practice is vital!" Iroh sat back. "As soon as we meet up with the Avatar, I'll start training both of you." The ex-general gave his a nephew a look that dared him to argue. Zuko, defeated, crawled over to the other end of the saddle and slid down to sit with Katara.
The Waterbender smirked. "Tired of your uncle already?" Zuko growled. "Take that as a 'yes'."
"I keep having to repeat 'I love my uncle, I love my uncle' in my head to keep from snapping," he replied. Katara giggled, and then blushed when she realized how close she and Zuko were. Zuko noticed and looked away.
Suddenly, a freak wind picked up, nearly causing Katara to fall off Appa. "Whoa, gotcha." Zuko grasped Katara's hand, pulling her back.
"Thanks. That's the second time you've stopped me from falling off Appa," she muttered. Zuko merely nodded and took Katara's arm, telling himself it was just to be sure that she wouldn't fall.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko noticed his uncle was watching him, trying hard to hide one his evil grins that Zuko was all too familiar with. It looked just like Azula, only less malevolent and more mischievous.
Apparently, Katara didn't see Iroh, because she absently leaned against Zuko's side, shivering slightly. Zuko tried to hide his sudden blush, but he could feel the heat rise to his face. He silently hoped that his whole body temperature wasn't rising; Katara would feel it and ask why.
"What was life like for you, growing up in the Fire Palace?" she asked. Zuko looked down at her.
"I told you that already."
"You told me what the Fire Palace itself was like; what was your life like?" Katara looked up at him. Zuko took a deep breath. He would tell her about his life before his mother disappeared. For the four years after that, it was all training and lessons.
"Growing up in the Fire Palace was…okay until I was ten. Then I had to focus more on lessons and less on free time," Zuko said. Katara nodded and motioned for him to continue. "Before that, most of whatever I wanted and everything I needed was catered to by the servants. Living with my sister was sheer torture, but I…left before she had hit that age where you girls seem to be moody."
"Puberty?"
"Yeah." The two teenaged benders paused then shivered at the same time. The thought of Azula with raging hormones frightened them. Katara shook her head.
"Okay, anyway…"
"What? Oh, right." Zuko shifted slightly, causing Katara's head to rest on his chest. "Um…like I said before, I never left the palace much. I spent most of my free time in my mother's courtyard, watching the turtle ducks." With that, Zuko fell silent, thinking about lost days.
He sat there for a few minutes, Katara's head on his chest. Finally, Katara spoke up. "Zuko?"
He looked down at her. "What?"
"Mind if I ask how you got your scar?" Zuko tensed. He knew that was going come up eventually.
"Why do you want to ask?" he muttered.
"Well, the other night, after Lakai treated me, you had another nightmare, and you were touching your scar. I guess I'm worried. I do that a lot, worry, I mean," Katara explained. Zuko nodded.
"You can ask, but I might tell you," he warned.
"How'd you get your scar?"
Zuko had never told anyone about his scar that didn't already know; would he change that for one Water Tribe?
I would! And so would your uncle, who is probably eavesdropping.
Inwardly, Zuko cursed his other side and looked at Katara. "Don't tell anyone," he said firmly. Katara nodded and he told her.
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It was afternoon and they were looking for the spot where everyone was supposed to meet. Zuko hadn't said a word since he had explained his past to Katara. After his tale, he had gotten back in Appa's saddle and sat at the far end, brooding.
"There it is! There's the Mound of One Hundred Soldiers!" Katara cried happily. Iroh nodded and held on as the Waterbender brought Appa down.
"I don't think I will ever be used to sudden landings like that, Miss Katara," Iroh complained. Katara smirked as she climbed down.
"Zuko said the same thing; now he's a pro!" Iroh chuckled, and looked at his nephew. Zuko merely rolled his eyes and jumped off.
"How long do you think until the others show up?" Zuko asked.
"Depends on how fast they're traveling. If they're going Sokka's pace, probably sometime tomorrow," Katara joked. "Could you go get some firewood, Zuko? It'll be dark soon." Zuko nodded and left.
He was gone at least an hour, not just getting firewood, but also taking time for himself. He wasn't used to talking about his rather painful past with people, and not only had he told Katara, but she had cried for him. Not loudly, of course, but Zuko had seen the tears fall softly. For some reason, he felt…bad for making her cry.
When he returned, everyone else had caught up and were arguing about who'd get Appa tomorrow.
"Here." Zuko deposited the wood and walked off. Behind his back, Sokka made a face; Katara shushed him. She stood and made a small fire pit that Iroh lit with his Firebending.
"So, we're still heading for the Eastern Air Temple, right?" Toph asked. Aang nodded.
"We'd be safe there for a while, giving everyone a well deserved rest with no Azula issues. I'm warning you guys, though, it'll be chilly. The Eastern Temple was up in higher mountains and there still might be snow on some of the peaks."
"And it's a good thing there's that cloth from the market. I can make heavy cloaks for those of us who don't have one," Katara said as she and Ty Lee set about getting some dinner ready. "Sokka and I have our parkas, I think."
"Like I'm gonna get rid of them, Katara," Sokka pointed out. Katara nodded.
"So that's….five cloaks. Hope we have enough cloth," she muttered.
"As Firebenders, Zuko and I are able to keep our body temperature higher, so light cloaks will suffice," Iroh offered.
"Lucky," Sokka muttered.
Zuko, meanwhile, was leaning against a rock that marked the place of slaughter the mound was named for. His uncle said that, right after the war started, one hundred soldiers, twenty-five of each nation, had died there.
It was here that Katara found him, thinking. "Zuko," she said softly," dinner's ready." Zuko nodded. The Waterbender waited, and then added, "Are you coming?"
"I'm not hungry right now," he replied in a low voice. Katara simply nodded and acted as though she was going to go back, but stopped.
"Come with me." She grabbed his wrist and pulled him along after her, in the opposite direction of camp.
"What are you doing, Katara?" Zuko asked when the girl slowed down. Katara stopped and turned to Zuko, her necklace catching the full moon's light.
"You've been like this all afternoon, Zuko. What's wrong?" Katara's eyes were full of concern.
"Nothing that concerns you," Zuko spat. He was tempted to add peasant, but Zuko really didn't think of Katara as a peasant anymore.
"It started when I asked about your scar, so I think it concerns me," retorted Katara. "Zuko, I just want to know what's wrong."
"Hmph." Zuko looked away and crossed his arms. He looked back at Katara. "You really want to know what's wrong with me?" Katara nodded. Let's see, I'm a fugitive, I have an annoying inner voice, I told you everything about my past and…
I think I'm attracted you.
Where had that come from? How on earth could he be attracted to some Water Tribe girl? Granted, she was kind, gentle, fierce in a pinch, a skilled fighter, beautiful…
Stop that, Zuko commanded himself. He focused back on Katara. "I'm not used to reliving my past for other people," he muttered.
"You didn't have to tell me, Zuko. I just wanted to know if it had anything to do with your nightmares lately," Katara said softly, coming closer. "Though I kinda feel sorry for your dad."
"Why?"
Katara smirked. "Because he has one very ticked off female Master Waterbender on his hands now." Zuko rolled his eyes and smiled slightly. "What? You've seen me get mad; it's not pretty."
"That's true," Zuko replied. He paused. "Thank you."
"No problem. For what?"
"For understanding."
Katara nodded, then reached her hand up to Zuko's scar. He tensed and closed his eyes, but allowed her to touch it slightly. "I'm sorry this had to happen," she murmured. "I know you probably don't want my sympathy, and I know that no amount of apologies can ever heal it, but I'm still sorry."
Zuko looked at her and took the hand that was on his cheek, lowering it but keeping it in his grasp. "It's okay, Katara. I probably deserve having it anyway."
"No! No one deserves to have their own father scar them like that! Especially you," she added. Zuko cocked an eyebrow.
"Why 'especially me'?" he asked. He could see Katara's blush in the moonlight.
"Because…because you're a nice person, when you want to be. You proved that when you spoke up for that division," Katara stammered.
Zuko just stared at her for a few minutes, oddly elated that she thought he wasn't an idiot or a monster or one of the hundreds of things he thought about himself at times.
He realized that they had been talking for quite some time and were about an eighth of a mile away from camp. "We should be heading back now. Your brother probably ate all of the dinner."
Katara giggled. "No he didn't. I hid some away for you, in case you wanted it later, and he loves me too much to eat all of my dinner. C'mon." They walked back to camp, not realizing that their hands were clasped together the entire time.