Day 26: Rainstorm
Shivering, he rubs his arms, concentrating on his breath and inner fire to get warm again. After a while, he even manages to steam himself dry.
He's still cold, but at least not wet anymore.
Zuko presses himself against the wall of the tiny cave, pulling his legs close so that his feet won't get wet from the rain.
He pushes his hair out of his eyes, as a slender silhouette suddenly darkens the entrance to the cave.
Zuko sits up fast, but doesn't have time to drop into a fighting stance, as the girl in the entrance pulls the water from the heavy rain behind her and slams it onto his chest. He's pushed up against the wall, and the water cools down and hardens to ice, holding him up there.
She steps closer, and the shadows of the cave engulf her, so he can see her face now.
Zuko's eyes widen in shock. Her blue clothes and her face are very distinctive. Her braid is loosened, and her face is contorted in anger
"Zuko?!" she asks, sounding shocked and disgusted.
He scowls. He doesn't like the way she's addressing him. It's so informal.
"You? Leave me alone!" he snarls, as he heats up his body to melt the ice.
She walks in closer, then bends the water from her clothes and body away, outside of the cave. "I need shelter from the rain."
"You're a waterbender!" he growls.
"But that's a storm! The wind is very strong!" she complains.
He scowls at her. "Then go look for another cave!"
She crosses her arms under her chest. "There's no other cave here. I'll stay here, until the rain is over." She sits down against the wall, inches away from him.
With a growl, he breaks free of the ice and jumps down, lunging for her. Before she can bend another water stream at him, he grabs her wrists and holds her down.
Her chest rises quickly under his, as her wide blue eyes stare into his own.
"Don't be such a jerk, Zuko. Let me stay here," she says, almost softly.
He narrows his eyes at her. "Fine. But that doesn't mean I'm not still angry. We'll just have a truce, until the storm dies down."
She nods, and he suddenly notices in what kind of position he's lying on top of her. His cheeks flush, as he quickly retreats.
Katara sits up and dusts her clothes off.
Zuko watches her warily. He knows she might attack him again, but she only stares equally warily at him. So she still doesn't trust him. That's fine. When the storm is over, and he won't have hurt her, she might decide to give him a chance.
He rolls his eyes. Usually, he isn't into hopeful thinking at all. Katara won't trust him because of a few minutes of sitting next to each other in a cave. Even though he really would like that to happen. He has tried to recreate the connection they had under Ba Sing Se, but Katara always pushes him back, or walks away, pretending to have something very important to do.
Sighing, he looks back to the entrance. He knows she doesn't trust him, but he also knows that she won't hurt him now. So he just has to wait for the sun to shine again.