Hair
Katara plucked a melon seed from her hair, a souvenir of the days training. She and the rest of the Gaang had been working hard to prepare for the day they would have to face Fire Lord Ozai.
Toph had taken on the role of "The Melon Lord" with gusto. If the actual Fire Lord was half as passionate they were in serious trouble... more serious trouble at least. That thought settled heavily on her shoulders which were already stiff from the days exertion. She was sore, stressed, and sticky with sweat. She needed a bath.
The house on Ember Island where they were staying was a large ornate estate, even run down with age there was opulence befitting it's royal owner Fire Lord Ozai himself. It had a large marble floored bathroom to match, supplied with running water by the clever engineering that had made the Fire Nation a powerhouse. She considered heading to that bath, just down the hall from her room. But even with her door shut she could hear the struggle. Aang, Sokka, Suki, and Zuko were all arguing, trying to claim the first bath.
"Why don't I get to go first? This is my families house," Zuko said.
"Your crazy evil family we're trying to stop? The reason we're all getting sweaty in the first place? You don't get points for that! Besides, Toph almost crushed me?" Sokka countered.
"Yeah, that was great." Toph added with a snort of laughter.
"What about ladies first," Suki jumped into the fray.
Aang spoke up next, "Come on guys, we all want a bath,"
"I don't," Toph interrupted.
"I'm sure we can work this out," Aang ignored Toph as he continued diplomatically.
Katara listened to the debate circle back and forth for a bit, weighing her odds of success if she were to join the scramble. After a moment of reflection she thought better of it. She had a better idea anyway. She gathered up her toiletries in a leather bag, and slipped out the tall window in her room to stealthily make her way to the beach. The sun had set but the dark sand was still warm under her feet and the lapping of the waves on the beach was inviting.
At the waters edge she pulled her arms in a graceful arc, with the move pulling the warmth from the sea water and forming a board of ice on the inky water. With a leap she was on the board and with a wave of her arms she was propelling herself away from the shore. Her aim was a small dark spot just under the horizon.
Bright moonlight flashed over the ocean waves as Katara pushed her way over it it, all the while the small pot seemed to rise out of the water. She felt the salty water splash against her skin. After a short time she was on the shore of the small Island. The beach was rocky, but thick mosses made much of it soft underfoot. A green wall of moss, ferns, palm fronds, and vines, concealed the islands interior. Katara had no fear of losing her way. The island was less than a mile across, to small to get lost on, and the Ember Island mainland could be seen from it's coast. Katara would easily be able to find her way back. A bright half moon in a cloudless sky illuminated her path.
As she made her way deeper into the jungle it filled with a heavy mist. The sounds of running water pooling and splashing told her she was near. She pulled back some tall leaves and saw her goal.
Like much of the Fire nation this little island was volcanic. At it's heart rose a semicircle of rocky cliffs. Out of the rocky walls hot water flowed from unseen wells. The fresh water fell and streamed into shallow pools which fed the lush greenery that obscured it from prying eyes, creating a perfect private open air bath.
Katara had found this little island a short while back, and had made the occasional visit to relax.
She stripped off her outer most layers until she was in her white bathing suit. She stepped over to one of the waterfalls and let it flow over her. She let the gentle current carry away the sweat and dirt from her skin. She undid her Fire Nation style top knot to better let it flow through her curls. Before long she had scrubbed the grime of the day from herself. She lowered herself into the largest pool and reclined against it's edge, letting the hot water soothe her aches and unknot her strained muscles.
A mist drifted silently over the calm waters. Colorful fire nation birds chirped and sang in the surrounding trees. The sounds of the waves could just be heard through the forest. She laid her head back to gaze up at the twinkling stars and the glowing moon that even now pulled at her very being as it did the ocean. As she relaxed she felt the flow of the water, feeling streams bubbling up from wells heated by the furnace of the earth beneath the island before filtering through the rocky cliffs,falling and churning the smaller pools before flowing into the larger calmer pool, and finally surrounding her.
Then a sound pulled her back to herself. She sat up in the pool and instantly her eyes scanned the edge of the onsen. The quickly landed on Zuko.
"What are you doing here?" She asked him, half sinking into the water to hide herself. Was the warmth in her cheeks from the hot water?
Zuko had no such excuse for the pink that stained his cheeks. "I need to wash off after today and I lost the fight back at the house. I figured while everyone else was taking their time at the house I'd come out here and have this place to myself," he answered. She had forgotten, this island was technically part of the Fire Lord's Estate and of course Zuko knew about it.
"Well, you can't have it to yourself. But there is room enough to share," Katara said glancing away.
"Oh... Uh... I mean, I wouldn't want to disturb you... and... um... I can come back later if you want," Zuko stammered out. She recalled how he had been trying to authoritatively claim the bathroom back at the house. This awkward shyness was an amusing change of pace which brought an easy smile to Katara's face.
"Zuko, get in," she said decisively.
He just stared for a moment as his cheeks faded from pink to red. Finally he managed three hesitant words, "Right. Thank you."
He just stood there for another minute and Katara felt herself beginning to grow self conscious under his eyes.
"Zuko?" she prodded.
"Yes?" he said slowly.
"Are you going to wash?" she asked.
"Right, of course! Thank you. Sorry, I didn't mean to..." he began before Katara cut him off.
"It's fine, just hurry up and get in," she said.
He turned away, finally tearing his eyes away from her. He began to pull away his outer most layers of clothing. As the fabric slipped off his shoulders Katara allowed her eyes to drift over his pale skin, his lean frame revealing sharply defined muscles. Once he was down to his bathing suit he stepped into one of the smaller streams falling from the cliff to wash himself. Once he was thoroughly soaked he pulled bamboo bottle from his things and poured the contents into his hands, before lathering it into his thick black hair. As he rinsed his hair clean the bubbles traced the lines of his body.
Then he grabbed another bottle and proceeded to work it into his hair as well.
"Why are you washing your hair twice?" Katara asked.
"What?" he asked, half turning to her.
"Why'd you soap up your hair again after you just rinsed it?" She clarified.
"This is a conditioner," he explained. As he began to rinse it out Katara noticed how it hadn't bubbled up like shampoo. "It's supposed to help keep hair healthy so it doesn't tangle and grows longer."
"So you want to grow your hair out longer?" She asked eyeing the dark mop that hung around his eyes.
Zuko grew strangely quiet. He seemed to be weighing something in his mind as he finished rinsing his hair. He was settled in the water across from Katara before he spoke again.
"In the Fire Nation," he began slowly, "hair is seen a symbol of status. Short hair is for farmers and laborers, for them long hair would be soiled and tangled by the work. Maintaining long hair takes more effort. It needs to be washed and brushed more regularly. It takes leisure time or servants.
"Growing up as a member of the Royal Family it was only natural that I wore my hair long. Until the Agni Kai with my father. Most half of my head was shaved to treat the burnt half of my face. Most of the rest of it was shaved to mark my banishment. But I kept a long ponytail. A vestige of my royal self I refused to let go.
"Then Azula came to arrest me and I cut even that off. In part to hide my identity, but largely out of shame.
"Then I was welcomed back and I started letting it grow out again, and when I left the second time it wasn't because I was banished. It was my choice. Now my hairs getting longer and I don't know what I should do with it."
Katara had listened patiently to Zuko's explanation. Katara's small talk had brushed up against a more serious issue than she had expected. Part of her found all of the focus on hair silly. In the Southern Water Tribe almost every one wore their hair long, with a few half shaved styles like Sokka's for fighting. It was just warmer that way. They didn't have royalty in the south. Not like the Northern Water Tribe or the Fire Nation had anyway. But it was clear that this cultural standard was weighing on Zuko's mind. He took it seriously, so she would take it seriously with him.
"Well let me see," she started, sliding across the water towards him. She reached out, running a had through his wet hair. She saw his jaw clench, tensed against her touch, but he didn't stop her and soon relaxed under her palm. He trusted her. "I don't know much about Fire Nation traditions, but I do know this. You've come a long way on your own. You've chosen your own path, and you can choose this too. If you want to cut it all off and cut your ties with the old ways of the Fire Nation no one could judge you. But if you want to grow it out I think you're as deserving of that honor as anyone in the Fire Nation."
Then after she had slid her hand down from his locks and seated herself beside him, "But maybe pass on the shaved head and ponytail look though, I don't think it suits you."
"Yeah I guess that wasn't my best look," he said running a hand through his hair contemplatively. Then his eyes drifted back to her.
"Your hair, it really suits you," he said.
Katara smiled at the impromptu flattery. "Why thank you," she said politely.
"It must have been hard maintaining it all this time, how do you manage it without using conditioner?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" she asked back.
"Well my hair gets tangled and frizzy if I don't use conditioner. How do you deal with that?" he clarified.
"Well, I don't do anything special, she explained, " Most of the time I used to just leave it in the braid. Since I started wearing it down I have to brush it in the morning. A little shampoo when I take a bath. That's about it really."
"That's it?" Zuko asked sounding incredulous.
"I mean my hair loops take a minute I guess. I brush it before bed sometimes, if I have a few minutes." she said, a bit confused at his surprise.
"So you really don't use conditioner or anything? But your hairs so long, and thick, and shiny. You mean it really just grows like that?" he asked almost dumbstuck.
Katara smiled, amused by how worked up he was by this. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Wow, you're something else. I know Fire Nation girls who would kill for hair as beautiful as yours," he said.
Thy both blushed simultaneously as they heard what Zuko had blurted out.
They booth stood up out of the water in unison.
"Well... I should get out before I over heat," she said hurriedly, flushing from more than the water.
"Yeah, me too... it's uh... really hot," he managed to say red as a boiled lobstershrimp.
They both silently grabbed their things and made their way back to the beach. There the boat Zuko had paddled out in was waiting.
On it Katara ran her fingers through her hair all the way back to Ember Island.
