And an AU again. Sorry. It's not that different, though.
Katara is twelve, Zuko is fourteen, and Ozai died right after the Agni Kai. So Iroh became Zuko's regent, Zuko is officially Crown Prince and the unofficially the Fire Lord. Iroh discusses every decision as regent with Zuko so that Zuko can also learn how to be a good and just Fire Lord later.
Through Iroh's influence and some common sense Zuko was okay with ending the war. He now travels the world as peace ambassador so that the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes actually can believe the declaration of peace.
I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.
Day 11: Dragon
Katara likes waking up to the sound of her grandmother making breakfast. Then Katara would get up and help her.
It's new to her, however, to wake up being licked against the cheek.
She frowns, still sleepy, when she suddenly realises what that wet and warm feeling is. Startled, she sits up quickly, causing the animal to let out a frightened screech. It retreats to the foot of her bed, staring at her.
Katara blinks. What the deep sea is that thing? She never saw anything like it, and except for red, long, small and scaly she doesn't know how to describe it.
It looks like it has fins, very large ones like a manatee, but it's tail doesn't end in a fin. And it has feet, so it might not be a sea creature. It has the size of Gran Gran's largest pot. Its eyes are golden, which reminds her of the Fire Nation. Maybe it belongs to these peace ambassadors who arrived yesterday. She should bring it back to the giant ship anchoring close to the village.
The animal is curled together, but standing on its feet, in a slightly defensive pose. When it hisses, smoke comes out of its nostrils.
Wow. That creature is incredible.
"I'm sorry," Katara says and leans more forward. "I didn't mean to frighten you, but you startled me. Licking people's faces against their will is not good behaviour."
It seems to relax a bit, maybe it realises that Katara means no harm. So she stretches her arm out, very slowly, as not to startle it with too abrupt movements.
It comes slowly closer, sniffing at her fingers, then it licks them.
Katara tries hard not to squeak.
Just then she can hear people's voices outside of the hut. They must talk very loud, since the ice normally keeps the day life noises away.
And they must be crazy, because it's still incredibly early. When Gran Gran didn't start cooking yet, no one in their right mind would get up that early.
"But he has to be somewhere!" a young voice shouts very loud.
Now Katara can hear Gran Gran's steps in the hallway. Deciding, she wants to find out, too, what's going on, she slips out of her bedroll and puts on her shoes.
The animal stares at her curiously.
"Want to come with me?" Katara asks and holds out both her hands.
The red creature comes closer and Katara gently grasps it under its forearms, like she would hold a baby or a puppy. The creature doesn't seem to object, and hangs there, long tail curled, the face looking even kind of friendly. Maybe it's a very intelligent animal.
Its body feels very warm, which feels great against the chilly air.
Katara puts it close to her chest, the same way Gran Gran taught her how to hold a baby, and the scaly animal presses its body even closer to her.
Hm, it seems cuddly.
Walking out of the hut, a horrible image presents itself to her.
Five Fire Nation soldiers stand in front of Gran Gran in a half circle, while one is standing in front of them. Clearly the leader, he is smaller, looks younger and doesn't wear a helmet. This way, the horrific burn scar on his pale face is well visible.
Katara takes a deep breath and walks up to her grandmother.
"We are not trying to search your village, I'm only searching for my dragon!" the boy shouts.
Huh, he looks pretty imposing in his armor, but he's probably still in Sokka's age. How can he command all the soldiers behind him?
"I understand that, but as peace ambassadors you really shouldn't search the village. People will think that you lied about the peace and are here for a different reason," Gran Gran replies sternly.
The boy pinches the bridge of his nose and looked tiredly to the ground.
Stepping closer, Katara lays a hand on her Gran Gran's shoulder. She turns around and smiles at her granddaughter.
One of the soldiers clears his throat. "Uhm, Fire Lord Zuko?"
"Don't call me that, and I don't want to hear it!" the boy snaps.
Katara blinks. Did she just hear right? Was that teenager...?
The creature in her arms moves, and suddenly Katara notices that all of the soldiers are staring at her. The boy is still occupied with glaring at the ground. If he really is royalty, then his posture is horrible.
Katara's new animal friend makes a squeaking sound and turns around.
The boy looks up at that sound, and Katara notices that she feels frightened. What if what Gran Gran said was true, and there was no peace? What if it was only an excuse to be received warmly here?
"You!" the boy addresses her.
Her eyes widen. She really wishes he wouldn't stare at her.
"What are you doing with my dragon?"
Some of the soldiers suddenly chuckle.
The boy doesn't react, he only stands there, his feet wide apart and his fists clenched, leaned forward. Katara doesn't have to have animalistic instincts to know that this stance is aggressive from head to toe.
She almost takes a step back.
"I-I-I," she stammers.
The animal in her arms turns again and licks her face.
She scrunches her nose. "I told you that it is rude," she murmurs quietly, but starts stroking the animal without thinking.
Hearing an annoyed groan from in front of her, she quickly looks up and sees how that boy advances her. His posture doesn't seem aggressive anymore, he looks more like a tired parent.
She tenses and wonders if Gran Gran will stop him.
"I can't believe this," the boy says, sounding slightly irritated.
Katara fights the urge to take a step back, as the boy stops directly in front of her.
"Druk," he says warningly.
What does that word mean?
The creature turns to look at him and makes that friendly high pitched noise again.
Now she suddenly understands.
It is his pet, and it ran away. Well, if she were a firebender's pet she'd run away, too.
The animal lets out a squeaking sound, which ends in something like a bark, as she notices that its tail is swishing around.
"I can't believe that you..." the boy starts, apparently talking to the animal. Then he groans again and suddenly bows. It's not something Katara is used to.
"Please excuse me, if I frightened you. I was under the impression that you abducted him," he nods to the animal in Katara's arms. "But I believe that he simply went on a discovery tour on his own."
"It's a him?" Katara asks, without thinking.
The boy suddenly does something that somehow doesn't fit into his face. It seems to be made for angry expressions, the way his scar pulls his left facial side into a constant scowl. But he smiles. "Yeah, he is."
Katara automatically smiles back. "What's his name?"
"It's Druk."
Katara raises an eyebrow. Strange name for something like him.
She scratches him under his chin, and Druk shudders, clearly enjoying it. "Fine boy, Druk. You're a very fine... Uh, what is he?" she asks, looking up at the boy who has a strange expression on his face.
"A dragon," he says like that was obvious.
"Is that typical Fire Nation?" Katara wants to know, somehow ignoring the soldiers' and her grandmother's looks.
"Yeah, of course. The dragons were the first firebender's. When they're grown, they are very big, bigger than ten igloos," he goes on, referring to something she knows.
"You're going to be that big?" she asks Druk, who happily swings around his tail and cocks his head to the side.
"They can fly and breathe fire," the boy goes on.
"He's adorable," Katara gushes and scratches her new friend one last time, before gently putting him on the ground.
Druk seems happy, as he hops towards his owner, who bends down to wiggle his finger warningly in front of him.
"You can't just go off by yourself, Druk. You're still too little!"
Druk seems to feel guilty, as his tail drops into the snow, and he sits down, his ears hanging.
Katara feels amazed. Wow, dragons really must be way more intelligent than otter penguins!
"That will have consequences, young man!" the boy warns, and Katara feels the urge to step up and protect Druk, but she waits.
The boy scratches his chin, thinking. "Oh, I know! No fireflakes today!"
Druk lets out a whining sound, which almost tears through Katara's heart.
"No! Don't give me that look! It's decided! You should have stayed on the ship, you know that!" the boy says, then picks Druk up. "Come on, let's have breakfast," he says, then he looks at Katara again. "Thank you for taking care of him," he says and bows a bit.
Katara smiles. "No problem."
The boy bows to Gran Gran, too, and then walks off toward the giant Fire Nation ship, his soldiers following him.
"Was that one of the ambassador's sons?" Katara asks her grandmother.
Gran Gran smiles slightly. "That, Katara, was the future Fire Lord."