Review Replies:
rach12901: Thank you for the support! I feel that A:TLA had immense potential as a show to rival other stereotypical "amazing" shows like Breaking Bad, but because it was created for Nickelodeon it didn't quite live up to its potential. Still, it far outclasses any other cartoon show on the airwaves, both in its time, and since.
pukachujan19999: Thanks for your kind words! I feel like I might have to insert some angst into this chapter to spice things up, but somehow end it on a good note. Or not. Who knows?
elleanon: I'm very flattered you consider this 'non-cringy'. As for the ellipses and parantheses, I'll try to be more concise from now on.
Guest #1: Me? A professional? I mean... I'll take it! :D
Guest #2: I can't wait to find out how my writing will have progressed by the time I've written 19 more fanfics- if I'm ever going to write that many lol
Guest #3: Right now ;)
Guest #4: Obliged.
bahLee: Intense it shall be... ;) (I might have to change the rating later lmfao)
K-the-Queen-of-Typos: I just don't want people to hate me for dividing the Gaang like ths lol
Zuko knew very well that even the slightest chance of him being recognized could put both him and his newfound friend in jeopardy. Alas, he had gone back to his peasant ways- hiding in an alleyway as he dispatched Katara with his pouch of coins to purchase some clothes for them. The two had walked some several thousand feet through the Lower Ring of the city in search of a market or store. When they had come upon the open-air market and spotted the stall selling some clothing (Zuko had called it peasant rags, earning him a light whack from Katara, after which he aquiesced), they quickly decided on a single change of clothes to replace their worn and tattered ones. As Katara left Zuko kneeling behind a wooden barrel, she pondered the decisions she had made in the past 24 hours to end up here with Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. But such a moniker didn't quite fit the Zuko that she had discovered below Ba Sing Se, and had learned to trust just this morning. This Zuko seemed protective. Kind, she thought to herself as she walked to the stall. A silk banner identified the vendor as 'Kai-Li Fabrics'.
She tried her best to ignore the stares of the locals around her at her disheveled appearance. In front of her a wizened old, bearded man sat in the stall. Despite clearly noticing her lack of suitable clothing, he didn't comment- perhaps because the girl he saw was at a clothing store. "How may I help you?" he asked, his voice betraying what could have been a sandbender's accent. "Hi, uh, I'd like..." she paused to take in the collection of clothing that the stall had to offer. "One male and one female robes set," she began, pointing at pre-wrapped sets of clothing on the table before her, "two straw hats," she continued, smirking slightly at the reaction that Zuko was probably going to have to such 'degrading' accessories, "and... a set of underwrappings, please." she finished, blushing as she made her final request. "No problem, young lady." the man said cheerfully and went to collect the items and a simple fabric bag. Once he had gathered and packed everything he tallied up the final cost. "That will be 28 silver coins." he told Katara. "Alright," she replied, fishing into the coin pouch for coins. Then, she realized that there weren't 28 silver coins. There didn't even appear to be 10. Looking into the pouch more carefully, she realized that it was mostly comprised of gold coins. Lots of gold coins. She found herself rather flustered. She quickly fished out two gold coins, mumbling something about 'no silver coins', and 'change'. The man merely chuckled, and gave two silver coins back to Katara. "Have a good day, young lady." he said, bowing his head slightly. "You too." she said quickly, returning the bow before hurrying off with the bag.
After about half a minute of walking she came upon the alleyway where Zuko was hiding. She walked into it and turned around the barrel where she had left her friend. The sight that greeted her, however, was quite unexpected. Zuko was awkwardly scratching the head of... Momo! The older boy turned his head left to sheepishly smile at Katara, shrugging awkwardly. "I-I recognized him as the lemur that always stuck with your group." he said, glancing at the creature beneath his right hand as if it would explode at any instant. "Oh, uh... he's Momo. Our flying lemur," Katara explained. "I don't know how he got separated from the rest of... my friends..." she continued, her voice lowering at the last part, "but I'm glad he's here!" she finished, trying to hide the unwelcome feelings that had resurfaced just then. Zuko didn't miss these cues however, and his gaze softened slightly. Katara slid down the brick wall and opened the fabric bag. Momo leapt from the ground and into the bag, chittering quietly. Katara chuckled lightly at this, but somehow, Zuko knew, she was feeling a bit down. Perhaps it was the way her shoulders had slightly slouched, or her muted gaze, but Zuko knew he wanted to comfort her. So he did the one thing he felt was appropriate in this situation. He pushed himself closer to the girl, wrapping his right arm around her shoulders.
Katara initially tensed, before relaxing, relishing the modest embrace. The boy gently squeezed her right shoulder blade, his palm warming slightly. "T-Thank you..." she murmured, as she began removing items from the bag, in the process lifting Momo out alongside the female robes set, the lemur leaping onto Zuko's shoulder as soon as it got the chance to do so. Next, she pulled out the male robes set (Zuko hummed appreciatively at the dark purple shade that had been applied to the fabrics- it was a better choice than just white, or green), and finally the straw hats. Zuko groaned, somewhat light-heartedly, at seeing the straw hats. "Too peasant-like?" Katara quipped, suppressing a giggle. "N-No, I mean..." he sighed, cupping his face using his left hand. "... Yeah..." he admitted, a red tint appearing on his alabaster complexion. "B-But it's okay... we're peasants right now, I guess." he continued, grinning at his friend, who returned the gesture graciously. She then looked at the robes set that she had gotten for herself. "Um..." she began, looking between Zuko and the package in her hands. Zuko immediately got the message, his cheeks flaring up with embarassment. "S-Sorry!" he stammered, and moved to the other side of the barrel, crouching away from her. Katara merely giggled, her own cheeks gaining a rosy tint, as she took the paper bag containing the new underwrappings with her as well.
As Katara began changing, Zuko merely fiddled with his fingers, with Momo curiously gazing at the former enemy. It was a habit of his, to distract from something that made him feel awkward or uncomfortable. Then, he felt a piece of fabric make contact with his jet-black, wild hair, and heard Momo's renewed chittering. Looking up, Zuko felt he could shrivel up and die- it was Katara's underwrappings! He cringed into himself, eventually working up the courage to use his finger to quickly nudge the underwrappings off of his head and safely onto the top of the wooden barrel. He heard her shuffling around, probably changing her clothes. A particular image floated into his head, and he hastily dispelled it, mortified about what he had just mentally pictured. I'm NOT supposed to think about friends like that! he screamed to himself silently. He made a move to begin unpacking his own robes set, but then he realized why he was here in the first place- his side of the barrel was close to the street, and Katara's wasn't. He patiently waited for Katara to finish swapping out her clothing, thinking hard about feeding turtleducks, which was the most innocent thing he could envision in his head at this moment. After what Zuko considered to be an agonizing amount of time, he heard the younger girl's voice: "I'm done." she called, prompting Zuko to get up and walk over to the other side of the barrel. When his eyes met Katara's clothes, he smiled appreciatively. She had picked a light purple set of robes, which provided an interesting contrast to his own dark purple clothing. They silently swapped places, as it was now Katara's turn to wait as Zuko changed into the new set of robes that she had purchased.
Momo left Zuko's side and crawled over to the younger girl, the lemur pausing before leaping into her arms. "Huh..." she remarked, her blue irises gazing into the green beads of her animal companion. When a lemur and a firebender are more loyal to me then my friends- wait no, the firebender IS my friend. Momo too, I guess. I gain one friend and lose three? She stroked Momo's ears gently, her hands exceedingly gentle.
Pondering this change in circumstances, her thoughts drifted. She imagined a pair of striking amber irises gazing into her own cerulean blues, providing... was it comfort? Yes, she imagined comfort, but she also imagined something more. Warmth. Something that, in many aspects, had been missing from her life for the last six years. A lump grew in her throat, and her breathing started to speed up.
Breathe, Katara. Breathe. She vaguely heard rapid chittering, and a pair of scurrying footsteps, but she couldn't bring herself to focus.
Breathe, she thought, no, she recalled. Her vision slowly turned black, the last thing she remembered was seeing the beige of the cobbled streets transition into the morning sky.
Breathe, her consciousness whispered, yet there was no way to do so. In the pitch-black vacuum of her psyche, there was the slowing beat of her heart, the creeping dread of a memory burned into her very soul resurfacing; heat, screams, the distinct scent of salt, they all swirled together into one horrific cacophony of reminiscence. She felt a familiar, yet somehow dark light reaching for her, its tendrils pulling her back in time...
"Breathe, my Katara, breathe."
When she opened her eyes, she found herself... home. The Southern Water Tribe. That explained the ice, the familiar walls of her abode. But... something felt wrong. She was... smaller? She felt scared. Hurt. Broken. Shattered. Blood dripped from her hands, her eyes blurry with tears; she found herself staring into familiar, yet unreachable blue orbs. Eyes that had lost their light. Katara's lower lip wobbled, tears freely streaming down her cheeks. "M-Mom... Mommy?" she whispered, her small hands vainly palming the charred tissue that was once her mother's skin. Her fingernails were stained with the crimson liquid that had once enabled life. "Mama!" Katara cried, the little girl bursting into tears, the gravity of her loss beginning to truly dawn on her. Katara wasn't acquainted with death. She had heard of it from stories told late at night, tales from morose village elders observing the remembrance of a lost generation; a lost lifetime. Though she hadn't known death, Katara knew right then that it could only be death that would take her mother away from her. "Please come back..." she croaked, her whimpered request an impossible plea to Tui and La; spirits who were unwilling to interfere in the cycle of life and death, spirits who had accepted the inevitability of human atrocities. As her own cerulean seas gazed upon the ruby-tinged horror that was Kya's demise, something changed within her. Something broke. Her very soul was corrupted, shattered. As her quivering lips made contact with the charred, degenerate matter upon her guardian's neck that once embodied the vibrant nature of her mother's sepia skin, the insidious aftermath of the Fire Nation monster leeched into her pores. She had lived for eight years without mortal knowledge; and now she had been permanently acquainted with it. When the blood pooled out from underneath the older woman's torso and melted around the child's legs, the metallic scent seeped through the layers of her clothing and into her skin.
When she heard the flap at the entrance of their home rustle, and heard the footsteps practically sprinting towards her halt immediately, Katara knew that her sorrow would no longer be a solitary one; though her own desolation would surely be magnitudes higher than anyone else's. "Katara!" her father's voice boomed, his arms latching around his daughter's frame, desperate to shield her from damage that had already been inflicted. "Breathe, Katara, breathe. My Katara, breathe, my Katara, breathe, Papa's here, my angel," her father whispered into her ear, even as his own frame shook with every word enunciated, tears beginning to flow freely down his visage. As she grasped onto Hakoda's parka, Katara left her mother's blood onto the fabric, staining it with the evidence of the cruel obscenity that had befallen Kya. But he could never know, Katara thought to herself. He would never know the true horror of his wife's death, for Katara had absorbed the horror. "Katara!" a faint voice called from far away. As the young girl cried her very strength out, she felt her consciousness drift- a welcome respite from the horror that was her reality.
Katara, wake up, the vacuum called out, once more opening a dark, lightless tunnel through her warped, twisted psyche.
Please, for the love of Agni, wake up, she heard again, but this time she swore she recognized that voice. Wait, Agni?
"Katara, please!" Zuko called out, prompting Katara to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was amber. Black hair. Pale skin. Fire Nation. Her blue oceans hardened, the sorrow of six years of loss prompting the appearance of water shards from thin air, prompting Momo to screech; the lemur had been at Katara's side throughout her panic attack and flashback. Zuko knew what was about to occur a split second before it did, and he reacted accordingly- by briefly lifting the girl up with his left arm, and using the fingers on right hand hand to stab them at the base of her neck, just above her back. He had learnt this pressure point from Ty Lee, and he hoped that it would work, for both his sake and for the sake of the waterbender. The shards, which were aimed at Zuko's face and neck, dissipated immediately. Katara felt the familiar, dreadful sensation of utter helplessness and weakness surge through her frame, as her bending was rendered unusable. As the firebender's palm approached Katara's face, all semblances of composure completely dissipated. "I-I'm sorry, p-please don't h-hurt me..." she whimpered frantically, her hyperventilation further exacerbated by the pure terror that had gripped the waterbender. "Mama, sorry, sorry, sorry..." she continued, her eyes shut tightly, as she expected the End to swallow her at any moment. When the palm that met her cheek didn't burn, but merely caressed, her rambling vanished and became replaced by uncontrollable sobs. "Shhh, I know..." Zuko whispered, his own orbs of liquid gold failing to keep in the teardrops that were beginning to fall, some hitting Katara's torso, others splashing against the ground. After several minutes, where Zuko whispered sweet nothings into his broken friend's ears, taking care to not startle her anymore than she already had been, the girl's crying quieted, for the most part ceasing. Her frame continued to tremble, but at least her eyes were open once more, apprehensively gazing into Zuko's own orbs. He decided to take initiative and ease Katara's frame up against the wall, making sure to do so slowly and gently. He oriented himself so he was sitting next to her. After a few moments, Katara leaned against Zuko's right shoulder, easily pressing up against him. "... sorry..." she finally mumbled, her voice dripping with guilt and sadness, and accompanied by her sniffles. "That's okay..." he replied back quietly, adding: "You did nothing wrong, alright?" There was no response for a few seconds, but eventually Katara nodded once. "That's good." he cooed, taking his right hand and slowly bringing it underneath her chin, his callused fingers caressing the soft, wet skin gently. Momo, who had witnessed this most unfortunate state of affairs transpire had ceased chittering. Being the perceptive lemur he was, he slowly crawled up Katara's torso, perching on her right shoulder. He began rubbing his nose against the girl's ear, eliciting a slight smile from her.
After a beat, Katara spoke. "I... I want you to know that I trust you, Zuko. I... I need you to know that. Because..." she paused, seeming unsure of herself. Upon feeling the older boy's fingers begin to draw circles just above the small of the back, she picked up the courage to continue speaking. "N-No one's truly made me feel this way... Made me feel... protected. Made me feel this... this warmth. Not since my..." she gulped, tears threatening to pool out of her eyes once more. "... since my mother was alive." she managed. Zuko instinctively brought the smaller girl closer to his body, his heartbeat fluttering at the words. His hand moved up her back, his fingers eventually meeting the pressure point that had deprived Katara of her bending. "Hold still, please." he whispered into the waterbender's ear, to which which she complied. His fingers began to massage the point, his eyes closed in concentration as he recalled the precise manner to ease the chi path which he had disturbed. Momo observed the firebender's actions with fascination, noting the reverential manner in which he performed his duty. After a few minutes, Zuko felt content with his progress. "Try bending now." he instructed. Katara nodded, and she furrowed her eyebrows as she strained to pull water from the air, her fingers contorting in an effort to do so. Eventually, she managed the feat, which was nevertheless difficult for her. "Alright, that's good... I got scared that I took away your bending permanently for a second," he half-joked, earning him a light rap on his shoulder from Katara, who grinned at him, beads of sweat having manifested on her forehead. This brought a smile to Zuko's own face, for he was proud that he had managed to deal with the situation in the manner that he had done so without any negative consequences. There was of course, another reason for this mood. He had just been compared to by Katara to her own mother. Under normal circumstances, such a parallel would have drawn a hearty chuckle from the boy. But this was different. Her mother was gone. Ripped from her by the Fire Nation's imperialist ambitions. If she saw that distinct, protective, normally parental warmth and comfort in him, the Prince of the Fire Nation, then that had to count for something, right?
"I'm glad you're back to Earth, Katara." Zuko jested while rotating his finger next to his head, smirking at Katara's flustered blush. "U-Uhm..." she paused for a moment, thinking about a reply. "I'm... glad you're here, with me?" she managed. "I... I am glad you're here." she repeated, this time more confident. She looked into Zuko's golden orbs once more, taking in every detail, every sparkle, every innate curve in his irises. They were intense, yet comforting. They were warm, yet provided cool relief. They could hurt, but they could heal. Katara chewed on her lower lip, then braced herself. She hesitated for just a moment, before raising her right hand to cup Zuko's face- specifically his scar. The older boy tensed, the smile receding from his face. Her thumb stroked the jagged, permanently damaged tissue, her palm pressing into his left cheek. Momo followed Katara's hands, the lemur making some kind of mournful noise upon fully realizing the severity of the scar; Momo had only ever seen it as a means to identify the firebender as the enemy, but now when the boy was on their side, the lemur had a chance to see it for what it really was- a horrific disfigurement.
She traced the edges of the scar, noticing how the upper portion of the injury was comprised of tendrils jutting out from the center of the wound. There were four of these tendrils facing upwards, and one, thicker, shorter one facing somewhat sideways, the offshoot ending just at the edge of Zuko's left nostril. Five offshoots. One for each finger, Katara realized, horror slowly creeping into her being, that familiar insidious feeling crawling up her back. A metallic taste was manifested on her tongue, as she adjusted her hand to try to match the outline of the scar. Zuko realized what was happening too late, Katara's widening eyes and small gasp indicators of her terrible realization. "W-Wait, Katara, it's not what it seems..." his words died on his tongue when he saw Katara shaking her head, tears once again threatening to spill out of her tearducts. Momo knew that this was a tense situation, and he therefore leapt from Katara's shoulder and onto the ground; the lemur's beady green eyes looking between the waterbender and firebender rapidly. When Katara's fingers and thumb were fully extended, she juxtaposed her hand over the scar, confirming her suspicion- though her hand was smaller than that of whoever had done this to Zuko, it was a close enough match to confirm the fact that a hand had burnt off half of Zuko's face. Someone had personally, deliberately done this to Zuko. Any excuses that Zuko had vanished upon him seeing the look of utter fury marring Katara' visage. "Who?" Katara whispered, rage coursing through her veins. "Uhh... I-I don't know w-what you're talking about-" Zuko began, but was silenced by the tears that were now freely pouring down her face. Oh, Agni he thought to himself. "... Zuko?" she whispered, inching closer to her friend. After several seconds, Zuko sighed. "... It's best that you know the whole story." he replied finally. Upon seeing the thinly veiled skepticism appear on the younger girl's face, he continued: "I won't lie to you again. Do you trust me?" he asked, his voice quavering. They both knew that the entire basis of their friendship, the perfect storm of circumstances that had led to such a friendship developing; it all relied on waterbender's answer. Naturally, Katara understood this. She took a deep breath, and replied gravely: "Yes."
Alright. I have some explaining to do. Sheepish grin.
So I moved, got caught up in work and school, had a few personal/family issues, and ultimately suffered from severe writer's block. Alas, this is what I came up with. But don't worry! I'll finish the next chapter quickly.
I hope, :p
Anyways, I'm sorry for the unforgivable delay, but here we are. Don't mind the cliffhanger at the end lol. Really curious to see everyone's feedback!