"There's no time to tell a story. Afraid to reach for something new when you've torched the curtains before their call.
There's no time to tell a story; can you see this right in front of you when you've torched the curtains before their call?
Get well acquainted with your ache; don't look away." Here's to Entropy, Closure in Moscow
Xx
The view of the open ocean below should soothe Katara, but her thoughts are twisted up like Sokka's fishing lines back home. She feels haunted by golden eyes and the emotions swirling behind them, and try as she might to distract herself by mending Sokka's well loved pants, she can't seem to keep from pricking her finger with the bone needle every five minutes. The disbelief she felt when Zuko was revealed to be the prince of the Fire Nation was like nothing she had experienced before. He had seemed so… kind, and genuine, even though he was clearly troubled. Very troubled. She was no stranger to anxiety attacks; she had experienced many after her mother died, and the signs had been glaringly obvious when she had caught up to Zuko. Shortness of breath, wide unfocused eyes (well, one of them was wide), dizziness and weakness (no doubt exacerbated by the fast that he had nearly died less than 12 hours before). She wonders what demons he's hiding that would cause him such distress. What had brought it on? He had seemed fine when it was just the two of them, but when Aang came in, and then Sokka brought news of the ship… Her mind was too frazzled to continue trying to unravel the reasons behind his anxieties. And it seemed that she would never get the chance to ask him, as she doubted she would ever see him again.
"Katara, watch this!" Aang tries to get her attention to no avail.
"That's nice, Aang."
"You're not even looking."
Katara would have felt guilty if her mind had any more capacity for new feelings. She looks up briefly and smiles. "That's nice, Aang."
"But I'm not even doing it anymore."
A sigh escapes her. "I'm sorry Aang, I'm just distracted." Guilt bleeds through into her voice. "Where are we going anyway?"
"There!" He points down towards a newly visible island below them, full of excitement. "Kyoshi Island. There's giant koi fish in the lake, you gotta watch me ride one!"
"At this rate, it'll take us a year to get to the North Pole!" Katara hates to admit that Sokka is right, but since they decided to journey to the Northern Water Tribe to find Aang (and Katara) a waterbending master, they have made more than a few pit stops, which has no doubt made their trip much longer than it needs to be.
"This'll be quick, I promise!" Aang angles the reins to guide Appa down towards the island, and Katara swallows the unsure feeling that is growing in her stomach.
Xx
Next time, Katara is trusting her gut.
They spent some time on the beach, Katara and Sokka relaxing while Aang rode one of the giant koi fish in the bay, forgetting about their mission and taking some time to just have a little fun. But apparently, Aang had failed to realize that the bay was also home to a huge koi eating serpent, and Katara had to partially swim out into the bay to rescue him from being eaten, which effectively killed the "relaxed" mood. Not long after that, they had been ambushed and captured by an elite group of warriors (Katara had really enjoyed seeing Sokka made a fool of by underestimating the group made up of all women). The leader of the town of Kyoshi, Oyaji, had been skeptical of their presence, but once they explained that Aang is the Avatar, everyone calmed down and they were welcomed into the village of Kyoshi with open arms. The island had been named after Avatar Kyoshi, an incredibly powerful Avatar that created the island by splitting it off of a peninsula across the ocean. The Avatar had trained the women of the island to defend themselves, and the Kyoshi warriors were born, the tradition passed down with honor through the ages.
The people of Kyoshi were incredibly happy to see the Avatar, and Aang's head had grown seven sizes bigger with all the attention he was getting, especially from some girls a little younger than him. Frankly, Katara was pretty sick of his attitude at this point, and they had gotten in a little tiff about it. He seemed to think that they should stay on Kyoshi for a few more days, but Katara knew that it was imperative for them to leave as soon as they could; the North Pole was still pretty far away, and she was anxious to find a waterbending master. It didn't help that Sokka was getting all buddy-buddy with the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, Suki (Katara was grateful, however, that she seemed to be kicking the misogyny out of him by beating him up a hundred times), and that made him want to stay longer as well. He had insisted on taking lessons from the warriors, and Katara was at least glad that he was forming an appreciation for women past their willingness to do his laundry.
On top of everything, somehow in the scuffle with the warriors on the beach, her mother's necklace had fallen off. She had gone back later in the day and searched through the sand for hours with no luck, her heart falling down to her feet like a stone into the ocean when she had to give up. By mid afternoon, Katara is done with Kyoshi Island. Like, scream into a pillow and throw it at the wall done.
But it seems that fate has more in store for them before the day's end. Just after dinner, there is a commotion out near the edge of the village. The three of them run out to see what's going on, and Katara's shock leaves her speechless.
There, at the edge of town, is Zuko, being held back by two Kyoshi Warriors.
Xx
His plan was simple. He had his ship stay far enough away from the island that if Zhao passed by he wouldn't have any evidence that Zuko had been here (he knew Zhao would be suspicious of his presence simply on principle). Next, he would take a one man dinghy to get himself onto the island. Then, he would go into town, warn the Avatar and his friends (he tried to ignore the weird feeling in his chest when he thought of Katara) to fulfill his debt, and then leave before Zhao could get there. Once the Avatar left, he would follow the flying creature and capture him the next time he landed.
When Zuko gets close to the town, he is not expecting a group of green-clad warriors to ambush him, throw a bag over his head, and guide him none too gently through the forest. When they rip off the bag, he is at the edge of the village, being held by each arm to restrain him.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The Kyoshi warrior (the group was famous around the world as being the most elite all female group of warriors in existence, and were immediately recognisable due to their outfits and unique makeup) has a hard look in her eye as she questions him.
"I need to talk to the Avatar." He ignores the first part of the question; revealing that he is the prince of the Fire Nation would do him more harm than good.
"The Avatar hasn't been seen for a hundred years," the warrior growls. He has to admit that the woman's poker face is convincing. He wouldn't have been able to spot the lie if he hadn't already known for sure that the Avatar was here.
"I know he's here, I just need to talk to him!" He's beginning to get frustrated; he has to be in and out of this village before Zhao gets here, and who knows how close he is. If Zuko had easily spotted the flying creature, Zhao probably had too. He doesn't have time for this! "He's in danger!"
"Yeah, from the Fire Nation! Which you are a part of!" She opens up a sharp metal fan and presses the blade to his throat. "Why would I let you talk to him even if he was here?"
Zuko swallows, the fan nicking his throat as his adam's apple moves with the action. His eyes are drawn to movement at the far end of the village, and his heart swoops in his chest when he sees who has stepped out of the large building back there.
"Katara!" He shouts her name, hoping that she will vouch for him. What was the Avatar's name? "Aang!" To his relief, Aang, Katara, and her brother come rushing over to where he is.
"Zuko!" The sound of his name coming out of Katara's mouth is like a cool swim after a scorching day. "What are you doing here?"
"You're in danger!" He looks at Aang when he says it, the cut on his neck growing deeper as he turns his head. "The Fire Nation knows you're here, and they're sending someone to capture you." A murmur reverberates through the crowd that has gathered around the scene. "You guys have to leave, they'll be here soon."
"How do we know that you didn't lead them here yourself? Or that you're even telling the truth?" The warrior presses the blade down a little harder, causing a drop of blood to drip down his neck. He makes eye contact with Katara, begging her to say something.
"It's alright Suki." To Zuko's surprise, Katara's brother is the one who speaks up. He has a hard look in his eye, but as he puts a hand on the warriors shoulder, she draws back her fan, and the other two warriors release his arms. "He owes each of us a life debt. He doesn't seem dumb enough to lead us into danger and dishonor himself like that."
Dishonor. The word cuts Zuko to his core, the undeniable feeling that what he is doing is wrong making him want to turn around and run back to his ship. But he can't give up now.
"Thank you…" he trails off awkwardly, remembering that he doesn't actually know the other man's name.
"Sokka." He says his name in the same hard tone he had used before, and turns to Suki. "We have to prepare. We can fight them off while Katara and Aang load up Appa. With any luck, we'll be gone before they get here." At the sound of his words, the town bursts into a flurry of movement. Holy shit, I actually did it. Now I just have to get back to my ship and—
"Zuko..." He turns to Katara, her eyes brighter and bluer than he remembered. "How did you find us?" It's just the two of them; Aang had run to get their supplies, and the rest of the town was in a frenzy prepping for battle.
"Whatever you guys are riding on is pretty easy to see in the sky. I'm just glad I got here before Zhao did."
"Me too." They stand for a second just looking into each other's eyes. "Do you have time to help us pack our stuff onto Appa?"
He should say no; he really needs to get out of here before Zhao shows up.
"Sure."
Clearly his brain and his mouth are not on the same page. Before they can even get to the large building where it seems like they were staying, the sounds of crashing can be heard coming from the edge of the village, and Zuko has just enough time to grab Katara's hand and duck into a space between two houses before Zhao and his men charge through the trees on komodo rhinos.
"Fuck!" he curses and turns to Katara, still holding her hand. "I can't let them see me here. They'll know I helped you, and..." The rest of the sentence goes unfinished. He is sure that it's easy for Katara to guess what the Fire Nation would do to a traitor, especially one of the royal family. She nods, glancing over her shoulder towards the town.
"If you leave now, you can get around them. I'll distract them so you can get away." Her cool hand is still in his, and even though this is a bad idea (he would owe her for saving his ass again), he can't see any other option where he gets out of the village without giving himself away. His eyes dart back and forth between Katara's, the blue reminding him of the ocean and grounding him.
"Okay." He nods, but still doesn't let go of her hand.
"Will I see you again?" She sounds like she actually wants to see him again, and that alone pushes all thoughts of capturing the Avatar out of his mind for the moment.
"It looks like I owe you another debt," he squeezes her hand, "so probably, yes."
Her eyes shine as he says it, and a loud crash sounds from much too close. She squeezes his hand back.
"Go," she whispers to him, and he holds onto her hand until the very last moment before turning around and ducks into the forest surrounding the village.
So much for a simple plan.
Xx
Back on the ship, Iroh approaches him, looking unsurprised that he has returned to the ship alone. "How did it go, nephew?"
"About as well as it looks," he grumbles and leans against the side of the ship, his arms and legs burning from running through the forest and rowing the stupid dinghy back as fast as he could. "Zhao got there right after I did. Katara had to create a distraction so that I could get away."
A small smirk makes its way across his uncle's face. "So, you are in her debt once again."
Zuko groans and puts his head in his hands. What the fuck am I doing? "I need to rest. Don't wake me until tomorrow."
The sun had set just moments before he got on the ship, only a thin sliver of light still sitting on the horizon line. Zuko gets to his chambers, takes off his shoes, and doesn't even bother with his shirt before he falls face down onto the bed. My life is falling apart. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the necklace he found on the beach— it had unearthed itself while he was running to the dinghy, and he had recognized it immediately. It was the necklace Katara always wore ("always," as if he's even seen her on more than two separate occasions), and he knows he could use it to find her if the group heeds his warning about the visibility of their flying… whatever it is (he tries to pretend that he doesn't have any other reason to keep it). Turning it over in his hand, he inspects the shapes carved into the pendant, deciding to tie the necklace around his wrist for safe keeping, and he tries in vain to clear his mind so that he can rest. He doesn't have any nightmares that night; by the time he is able to sleep, he is too exhausted to even think.