The pack digs into her skin where it rests on her shoulder as they walk through the dense forest. The ground crunches with each step, frozen dirt and half-decayed leaves snapping and crumbling under tired footfalls in a wandering path leading mostly eastward. It's been about two weeks since they left the rest of the group, and it's about time that they start heading directly towards the Serpent's Pass. They had run into only a few handfuls of soldiers, which Katara is taking as a good sign that they've thrown the army off by splitting their large group up. Zuko leads them towards their destination with his compass essentially fused to his hand, and she's grateful that she isn't the one holding it. The tips of Zuko's fingers and nose are red, which says a lot about the frigid temperature and the winter wind that's been following them for weeks; Zuko is usually able to regulate his body temperature in order to stave off the cold, but she can imagine that it gets exhausting when he has to sustain that control for days on end. As it is, her toes are ice cubes in her shoes, and her fingers are numb even tucked away in the thick mittens she'd gotten from Piandao back in Shu Jing. She sticks close by Zuko's side to absorb as much of his warmth as she can, and consequently is hanging off of his arm by the time they decide to stop for lunch.
"I'm really not looking forward to sleeping out in the cold for another three weeks." Her teeth chatter through her words, and she's grateful when Zuko sits down next to her again with a mug of hot tea.
"Me neither." He hands the mug over, and she cups it gently in her mittened hands. She desperately wants to situate herself between Zuko's legs and curl up into his chest to maximize their contact, but that would be much too intimate, the seal of an envelope that she isn't ready to push quite yet.
They sit for a while and finish their tea along with a light lunch, and she's just dreading pulling away from Zuko when there's a rustling sound behind them. Both of them jump up and spin to look towards the sound, dropping into ready stances in case they need to fight.
"Oh, I didn't mean to startle you kids!" An old woman ambles out from the trees; her hair is long and almost white, and she's carrying a covered basket over her arm. But what catches Katara's attention isn't the woman's age or sudden appearance.
Katara gasps, and speaks through the mitten that's come up reflexively to cover her gaping mouth. "You're Othered!" The woman's eyes glow an icy blue, the color staggering against the dull brown backdrop of the bare forest.
"Oh, my!" The woman's wrinkled eyes widen when she takes in the two Othered standing before her. "I didn't realize you were gifted. How interesting!" Her eyes sparkle in the midday sunlight, almost ethereal in their brightness. "Why don't you two come back to my home? It's a short walk from here, and that way you don't have to stay out in the cold." Katara and Zuko look at each other, mentally debating whether or not they have the time to spare to deviate from their course.
"That's very kind of you, uh…" Zuko trails off awkwardly, and the woman's grin widens.
"Call me Hama."
Xx
"I didn't know anybody lived out this way." Hama leads them through the forest with sure steps, and Katara is increasingly intrigued by the old woman. "Have you lived out here for long?
"Oh, I've been here for a number of years," Hama says over her shoulder. "I was able to convince my family to build me a home out here once I was old enough to live on my own. I've been out here ever since!"
"My family did something similar for me. It was nice of yours to help you out." Katara looks up at Zuko's placid face. He hasn't spoken much since Hama had showed up, and she wonders what's got him so clammed up. She tries to catch his eyes, but he seems determined to keep his attention in front of them.
"Yes, it was."
"So, what's your gift?" Hama's steps falter for the briefest moment in front of her.
"I'd rather not say, dear." She shoots Katara a smile over her shoulder, but there's something off about it, some unnamable emotion hidden underneath her wrinkled skin. "Some gifts are better left unused." The words are almost a hiss as they leave the old woman's mouth.
"Oh." Katara looks up at Zuko again, and notices the crease on his forehead that hadn't been there just a moment ago. "Okay."
"What is your gift, my dear?" Hama's voice is back to normal, and Katara tries to shake off the strange feeling that the sudden shift in tone had brought upon her.
"I can manipulate water!" Katara siphons some water out of the skin at her hip and twirls it around in a simple arc above her hand. Hama's eyes catch on the water and follow the stream around as it twists back into its home.
"Isn't that something!" Hama smiles at Katara before turning to face Zuko. "And you, dear?" Zuko opens his hand, and a sphere of flame comes to life and hovers about an inch above his palm. The fire throws warm light onto Hama's face at strange angles and reflects off of her cool eyes. "Oh, goodness. That must be useful out here in the cold."
"Yeah." Zuko nods politely at Hama's smile, and when the old woman turns around Katara catches his eyes and raises a brow (what's up with you?). He flattens his mouth into a hard line and shifts his eyes quickly to Hama before bringing them back to her (we'll talk later).
The walk to Hama's doesn't take much longer after that; the sun is still high in the sky when they come upon the house. It's a good size, and looks to have two floors. Why would someone who lives alone need two floors? Hama ushers them into the house and hastily closes the door behind them to keep out the bitter winter chill. The first floor is bigger than Katara's entire home, but not by much. Where Katara's house is perfect for one person (maybe two?), Hama's looks like it could fit four or five people comfortably; it's possible that Hama could have had a family, and that would explain the large home, but for some reason Katara just doesn't think that's the case. It's not that the old woman isn't nice, and she's definitely friendly, she just gets the sense that Hama isn't the kind of woman who would be particularly good with children.
"Dear, could you perhaps light the fire for me?" Hama smiles sweetly at Zuko, and he lights the hearth wordlessly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Zuko walks back over to Katara's side, and they stand shoulder to shoulder, unsure of where to put their things or sit down.
"Make yourselves comfortable!" Hama waves her hand at them and sets her basket down on the counter. "You're more than welcome to stay the night, if you'd like to put your things upstairs. I'm sure you could use a night in a warm bed and a proper bath!" She and Zuko look at each other, and after a moment Katara shrugs her shoulders. A bed and a bath would be really nice.
"Are you sure we wouldn't be intruding?" It's the most Zuko has said since they met Hama, and Katara is itching to get him somewhere private so that she can pick his brain.
"Oh, of course not!" Hama uncovers her basket and pulls out the carcass of a sizable jackrabbit. "Please, I haven't had company in far too long. I'd love to make you a hearty meal and share my home for the night!" Katara pulls her bottom lip through her teeth and shoots one more glance at Zuko.
"Thank you Hama," she says, and the old woman returns her smile. "We'd love to stay."
"Wonderful!" Hama claps her wrinkled hands together after lying the animal corpse down on a thick wooden cutting board. "Why don't you two go get cleaned up and I'll get dinner started? There should be clean linens on each bed. Most of the beds are quite small, I'm afraid; I don't get many visitors, and on the off chance that I do they're usually alone and lost, not travelling in pairs." She winks at the two of them, and a hot blush crawls its way up Katara's neck and cheeks.
"Oh, that's— that's alright," she stammers. "We're not— I mean, we don't—"
"Oh!" Hama looks genuinely surprised, and Katara isn't sure how she feels about it. "Of course, yes. Like I said, there are clean linens on every bed."
She sends them off with a smile, and the two Othered shuffle awkwardly up the stairs. Katara follows Zuko into the room he chooses; the look of surprise on his face when she closes the door behind her makes her cheeks heat up all over again.
"What's going on with you?" She keeps her voice low, and sees his shoulders relax minutely. He didn't actually think—
"I just… get a weird feeling from her, that's all," he grumbles, and drops his bag onto the floor next to the small bed.
"She's just a lonely old lady."
Zuko raises his brow at her words. "Katara, I know you feel it too. You have a good intuition. She's just… off."
Katara sighs. "Yeah, you're right. But it's just one night. We'll clean up and eat a few real meals, sleep in real beds, and head out early tomorrow. She probably just hasn't seen anyone in a while and that's why she's a little weird."
"What about her gift?" A cold chill sweeps up Katara's spine. "What did she mean by 'better left unused'?"
"I don't know." She wraps her arms around herself, and finds that she's unconsciously taken a few steps closer to Zuko. "But we don't have to ask about it. Let's just drop it, and forget about it."
Zuko looks at her for a long moment, his glowing golden eyes darting back and forth between hers before he sighs.
"Okay. You're probably right, she's just a weird old lady." It doesn't seem like he truly believes her, and if she's being honest, she doesn't truly believe herself either. "Do you want to clean up first?"
"Oh, are you sure?"
"Yeah." He pulls off his heavy jacket, and she sees the muscles underneath his shirt as it stretches taught against his chest. "Let me know when you have a bath drawn and I can heat up the water for you."
"Oh, okay. Thanks." He mirrors the smile on her face before she heads down the hall to another room.
She peels off her heavy outer layers and plops them onto the bed, listening as it creaks slightly under the weight. She's finally starting to get feeling back in her toes, and after she takes her boots and heavy socks off, she massages some warmth back into them. As much as Hama weirds her out, she's really glad to be able to sleep in a real bed and take a warm bath. Her hair falls down in a curtain as she gathers her soap, comb, and clean clothes before she goes to start her bath. She piles her things neatly in the washroom before turning the tap and pulling enough water for her bath straight out and into the tub. Zuko's door is closed when she goes to fetch him, but before she can even knock the door swings open; the sudden movement makes her flinch.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Zuko is rolling up the sleeves of his deep red shirt so that they sit above his elbows. She had never realized how distracting someone's forearms could be before now. "I heard you coming. Are you ready?" Her eyes snap back up to his, and she feels her cheeks starting to heat up. Get a hold of yourself Katara.
She nods and they walk together to the washroom. Zuko bends over the tub (she does her best not to stare) and sticks his arms in the water almost up to his elbows. After a minute the water starts to steam, and the air gets thicker with the condensation.
"Is this warm enough?" She walks over and skims her fingers along the edge of the water.
"Yeah, that's great." Their eyes meet; there's something strangely intimate about Zuko's gesture, and she feels those familiar sparks dancing between their eyes. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Zuko holds her eyes, and she watches his flick down to her lips before he hastily straightens out and pulls his arms out of the water. "I'll just—" he gestures awkwardly over his shoulder with a thumb as the water rises off of his arms as steam.
"Yeah." She grabs the ends of her hair in a nervous gesture. "Thanks again."
"No problem." Zuko makes a hasty retreat, and she lets out a heavy sigh when the door closes behind him.
Xx
"So, what are you two kids doing all the way out here?" Hama asks around a spoonful of stew as they sit at the dining table. "There's hardly anything out here of interest; the closest town is three weeks away!"
"We're looking for The Source," Katara answers. It couldn't hurt to tell the old woman the truth, and she gets the feeling that Hama wouldn't believe her if she thought to lie.
"Oh? What's that?"
"It's what gives all Othered their gifts." She sees Hama's glowing eyes narrow just the slightest bit. "Someone's trying to destroy it."
"Who would want to do such a thing?" Hama passes Katara a plate of rolls.
"A tyrant." Zuko's voice is low and hard. "Destroying The Source will throw the whole world out of balance. He wants to use the confusion as an opportunity to gain more control."
"Oh dear, that doesn't sound good at all."
"It's not."
"That's why we're trying to find it," Katara interjects. "We have to protect it, otherwise the whole world is going to fall apart."
"My goodness!" Hama raises a wrinkled hand to place it over her heart. "You two sure are taking on a big responsibility!"
"We have friends that are helping us." Zuko's glowing eyes meet hers from across the table, and she sees the hidden message in them (don't say too much). "They're meeting us closer to where we think The Source is."
"Well, I'm glad you two aren't doing it all on your own. God forbid anything were to happen to one of you!" Hama says it with an air of brevity that is a stark contrast to the dark words, and Katara catches Zuko's eyes again across the table. We'll leave first thing in the morning.
Xx
After dinner and some tea, Katara and Zuko had retreated to their separate rooms for a much needed sleep. The bed isn't as comfortable as the beds at Piandao's castle, but it's leagues better than the frozen dirt and a bedroll, and she falls asleep relatively quickly. Which is why she's surprised when she awakens in the middle of the night for seemingly no reason. Something tugs inside of her and she sits up; there's a distinct feeling of wrongness, and she shivers at the ghostly sensation that crawls its way across her skin with the chill. She hears a noise coming from somewhere outside of the bedroom- probably downstairs- something that's almost a crash, but could also just be someone stumbling around. For whatever reason she decides to get up and investigate, even though the sound could have been anything. It's probably nothing to worry about.
She pulls on a shirt and her leggings and rises from her warm bed. She winces as the door creaks on its hinges, but when she pokes her head out the space beyond is empty. The hallway is dark, just a tiny amount of moonlight seeping in from a small window; she hugs her elbows to her chest with a shiver. The floor is cold as her feet make their way down the hall towards where Zuko had been sleeping, and she comes upon the door to find it cracked open. That's weird.
"Zuko?" she whispers, but she knows that Zuko would hear if he was in the room. The answering silence sends another chill running up her spine, and she reaches to push the door open. "Zuko?"
The door glides open to reveal an empty room; the blankets are flung almost entirely off of the bed, and there's no sign of Zuko. She turns around and sees the door to the washroom open and the room itself empty and dark. Something's wrong. The house itself is relatively warm, but there's a constant chill weaving its way down Katara's spine as she walks slowly to the stairs. Each step is silent as she treads downward into the large open space, only to find the hearth black and sooty and every chair empty. Her heart starts to pick up pace in her chest, and she can feel it beating behind her ribs as she pokes around the open space.
Another noise breaks the silence, and she jumps at the unexpected sound coming from behind her. She whips around, but there's nothing there. What the hell is going on? Her feet guide her towards where the sound had come from and lead her around a narrow corner; she stops at a previously unseen door that sits ajar in the empty space. It looks like it leads to some sort of basement, and every fiber of her being is screaming at her to turn back as she moves towards it. If Zuko's in trouble, I have to help him. It's this thought that fuels her bravery, and she pulls the door open enough so that she can see through it. It does in fact lead downward, but the stairs are completely dark aside from a miniscule flickering of light at the bottom that is much too far away to be at the depth of a normal basement. Katara's heart pounds like mad inside of her; in all the horror stories she's ever read, she always told herself that she'd never be the one to enter a creepy basement alone.
She takes the first step down the stairs.
Her bare foot is met by cold concrete, and she almost turns around right there before she remembers that there's a solid chance that Zuko is in trouble down at the end of the staircase. Trembling hands slide along the wall as she descends towards the small flickering light source, feeling like she's wading through molasses for how slow her feet are moving. Come on Katara, don't be afraid. It probably isn't even anything bad. She knows it's a lie even as she thinks it. The light source has gotten brighter now, and she realizes that she's almost halfway down the stairs. Little snippets of sound make their way towards her ears; it sounds like Hama is speaking, but she doesn't hear Zuko's voice in return. She begs her feet to move faster, knowing for sure now that Zuko is in trouble. I should have listened to him. We should have never agreed to stay the night.
Finally she reaches the bottom of the stairs, and the source of light reveals itself to be hidden just around a corner. Hama's laugh warbles out from around the corner as well, this time accompanied by a strangled grunt that must come from Zuko. Katara's steps are agonizingly slow, but eventually they lead her around the corner and into a scene straight out of a nightmare.
A sconce splashes firelight throughout the single room that she comes upon; the concrete floor is stained with large, dark splotches, and there are various sets of shackles spread out along the floor of the two side walls. Her heart is a wild animal raging in her chest; Katara truly wonders how she doesn't pass out. Her eyes find Zuko, and her heart almost stops completely.
He's held up against the far wall somehow, with his toes just barely scraping the floor and his arms outstretched on either side. There's a thin trail of blood starting somewhere on his hairline and travelling down over his scar and creeping down his neck, and his chest heaves underneath a ripped and bloody shirt. There's three long gashes that stretch from his sternum down across his torso to right below his ribs, and she gags at the sight of blood somehow floating in the air above his wounds. She meets his eyes- they're as wide as she's ever seen them, with unadulterated terror shining bright along with the glow. Hama stands a few feet away from him with her back to Katara and her wrinkled hand stretched towards Zuko with an open palm. Zuko grunts, and he twitches as if he's trying to get to her, but his body doesn't move. Hama turns around to face Katara, and a deranged smile stretches across her face.
"Ah, I had hoped that I could handle you both separately..." She keeps her hand stretched out towards Zuko while she speaks. Her eyes glow almost white in the darkness. "I told him he was being too loud," she turns back to Zuko, "didn't I?" Her hand clenches shut, and Zuko's face crumples with pain as he lets out a strangled scream.
"What are you doing to him?!" Katara wastes no time in summoning her water, only to realize that she doesn't have any on her. Fuck!
"Nothing that I won't do to you!" Hama cackles and reaches her other hand out towards Katara. Suddenly her body is overcome by the feeling of pins and needles, and she can't move a single muscle. "Do you remember how I told you some gifts are better left unused? My gift is quite dangerous." Katara feels a plucking sensation in her legs, like the playing of an out of tune lute, and her eyes widen in horror as she starts walking towards Hama against her will. "My gift isn't nice and playful like yours." Her words are venom; spittle flies from her mouth with each one. "I could never use mine to play house or dance around in the rain or whatever it is you do with water." There's an unmistakable poison in her voice, and it's entirely different from the Hama that Katara had gotten to know over the course of the day. "So, I had my family build me this house. Well, I didn't really give them a choice!" She cackles to herself again before continuing. "I had them build it nice and big so that I could offer respite to any lost travellers." She stops Katara about a foot away from her. "You'd be surprised how many people wander out here without realizing that I'm the only thing around for miles. There are worse things in these woods than bears, my dear." She smiles and tilts her head to the side, and Katara thinks she would throw up if she could move at all. "I take people in, and while they sleep, I pick them up—" Hama moves her hand upwards, and Katara is lifted straight off of the ground— "and bring them down here—" her gnarled fingers twitch, and Katara's legs start twitching as well— "and practice my gift on them. You see, Katara dear—" she lowers her hand, and soon Katara is back on solid ground. "My gift lets me hear the song that flows through every living being. Blood." Katara feels the bile rise in her throat, and she swallows hard to push it back. "My gift allows me to conduct a symphony with blood, and that means I can make people do whatever I want them to. A concert of my own creation." Her smile sends a violent shiver down Katara's spine. "Society has shunned me," the old woman's face quickly turns dark, "has turned me away, beaten and mocked me, and I'll do to them what they've done to me."
"But—" Katara finds her voice— it comes out scratchy and strained. "But we're like you! We were shunned too! Just let us go!"
"Oh, sweet child, I can't let you go!" Hama stretches her other hand back out, and Zuko is once again splayed against the far wall, panting and sweating with a dazed look in his eyes. "Even if you are like me."
Katara is at a total loss for words, and without any way to move her body, she starts to panic. She makes eye contact with Zuko, who seems more lucid now despite the pain he must be in; there's a hard look in the shining gold that lets her know that he's not ready to give up yet.
"Please Hama, we won't tell anyone!" Her voice breaks as she begs, and she feels salty tears trail down her face. "Just let us go and we'll never come back!"
"No!" Hama shouts and curls her hand up, and a white hot pain shoots through every part of Katara's body. It feels like she's being struck by lightning, and it has her baring her teeth and screaming out in pain.
Distantly she hears Zuko grunt, and suddenly the pain stops and she falls to the floor. She hears the familiar whoosh of Zuko's fire from her place on the floor where she's slowly trying to get to her hands and knees, and Hama shrieks and stumbles.
"Stupid boy!" Hama is livid, her voice wobbling and rageful, and Katara lifts her head just in time to see Hama grab hold of Zuko's blood and slam him into the corner of the room. An audible crack accompanies his contact with the wall, and he slumps down to the floor unconscious.
Katara uses her moment of clarity to swing her leg out and knock Hama down to the ground, and crawls over to grab the old woman's deceptively strong wrists and pin them to the floor.
"You fools!" Hama cackles as she twitches her fingers and sends Katara sliding across the floor into the wall. Sharp pain blooms from the back of her head as Hama stalks towards her, a predator cornering her prey. A groan slides up her throat; the world spins for a moment before she can even brace herself against the ground. The metal shackles at Katara's side clink together as Hama grabs hold of her blood again and moves her to sit up. "What will you do, Katara? Even if you could incapacitate me, would you just kill a poor old woman?" Katara's heart stutters even as she quietly grabs one of the shackles. Hama stalks towards her with glowing eyes locked on hers the whole way. If I can distract her enough so that I can move my hand, I can knock her out, and then… then… then what? What would she do? Hama's right; there's no other towns around for miles, and if she and Zuko left Hama to tell someone in town about her, the old woman would be gone by the time they got back. But she can't kill her, even if she is evil. She doesn't have it in her.
"You're sick!" She sticks to distracting Hama for now; if she can knock her out, she'll have more time to think about what to do. Her eyes dart over to look at Zuko, who is still unconscious, but thankfully breathing. "You're just a fucked up old lady! You're a monster!"
"Oh, yes! I am a monster, aren't I?" Hama lets out an unhinged laugh as she finally comes within Katara's range. "But there's nothing you can do about it! I'll kill you, and I'll kill your little boyfriend, and nobody will be the wiser! Your friends will never even know what happened!" Hama continues laughing as she gets even closer, and Katara can feel the old crone's control slipping as she grows more confident. She musters everything she can and uses her disgust and fear as fuel to power her arm as it swings up and whacks the metal shackle into Hama's head with a sickening thunk.
Hama falls down across Katara's legs as she feels her body return to her. She quickly scrambles out from underneath the old woman's body before rolling her to lay on her back. Her plan, as solid as she had thought it was, hadn't worked, and Hama stares up at Katara with wide, glowing, unblinking eyes. A pool of blood collects beneath the old woman's head, staining her white hair a gruesome red.
"No..." She barely gets the word out, and her hands start to shake as she reaches for Hama's neck. "No, no, no!" She presses her trembling fingers to Hama's pulse point, and feels nothing. "No! Come on!" She shakes the old woman's body, and the absence of a response starts her chest heaving at an almost painful pace. "Come on! Wake up!" She drops Hama's body— her body, oh my god— like it's burned her, and scrambles back towards Zuko.
Tears flow freely down her face as she turns to look at Zuko, who is still unconscious. She trembles violently, and turns back to look at Hama. The old woman lies lifeless on the cold ground, the pool of blood growing larger by the second. Katara turns to the side and retches until her stomach hurts. The image is burned into her mind; Hama's skin, pale as death, her unblinking eyes still glowing even now. Her chest expands around gasping breaths, but she still can't draw enough air in. She is suddenly wracked with uncontrollable sobs, so powerful she thinks they may crack her ribs. She covers her eyes with trembling hands, curls into herself, and cries.