CONTENT WARNING: One scene depicts sexual assault.
Katara sized up the komodo rhino with a pensive expression on her face. Despite being less than half the size of Appa, its leathery gray hide and horned snout was nowhere near as friendly as the fluffy sky bison she was accustomed to. It wore battle armor in Fire Nation colors and the saddle didn't look as comfortable as Appa's either. Its golden eyes with its slitted pupils eyed Katara with mild disinterest.
Zuko patted its rough hide. "His name is Beast."
"That thing is kind of intimidating," Katara remarked as she sized up the komodo rhino. "I'm not so sure about this." She looked around. "Maybe walking isn't so bad."
Zuko rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. He mounted the large animal with practiced ease. "Come on, Katara. You ride around on a ten-ton flying bison, and a little komodo rhino is too much for you? I thought you were tougher than that."
Katara scowled up at him. "I am!" She resolutely planted her foot in the stirrup and took his outstretched hand. He pulled her into the saddle in front of him. She gripped the edge of the saddle as she looked around. "See, this isn't so bad. Not so bad at all."
Zuko chuckled. "Hold on, princess."
Admiral Jee approached them then and bowed. "We will await your return here, my lord."
"Thank you, Admiral." Zuko nodded respectfully. "We'll be off then."
He snapped the reins and the komodo took off with a start. Katara rocked back against him, unprepared for the sudden burst of speed. It doesn't look like it should move that fast! she thought with a rush. Zuko secured her with one hand splayed against her stomach, pulling her closer to him. A flutter went through her that had nothing to do with her apprehension at riding the komodo.
"I said hold on," he murmured in her ear. She couldn't help the tingle that ran down from her ear to her spine. How could someone's voice sound so...sensual...with no effort at all?
"This is definitely not the same as flying on Appa," she retorted.
"I never said it would be."
The komodo rhino carried them past the port of call where Admiral Jee would be waiting for them upon their return and up the road that cut through the mountains. It had been years since Katara had been through here; she knew that to the north was the abbey that had given Bato refuge, and to the south was the village of Makapu.
She wondered if Aunt Wu was still telling fortunes. She remembered the fortuneteller had told her she would marry a powerful bender. At the time, Katara had assumed that meant Aang. Now, with another very powerful firebender sitting behind her, she wasn't so sure...
It would take a few days to get to the tavern even on the komodo, but it was definitely better than hiking.
Katara settled herself against Zuko, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. He had one hand on the reins and the other holding her securely by the waist. If I'm going to be stuck on this beast all day I might as well be comfortable, she thought.
She knew she was trying to justify herself. She and Aang had been broken up for not even two weeks, and she was already getting cozy with someone else. Sure, that someone was Zuko, her old friend, but Katara wasn't sure that made it any better.
She observed the way her body fit perfectly against his. With Aang, while he had finally surpassed her in height, she had never felt small and protected. I never felt like I needed to be, she thought. But with Zuko it felt...nice.
Her closeness did not go unnoticed by Zuko. He adjusted himself to keep her warmth off of his groin and tried not to think about what her proximity could mean.
He liked to think he was fairly good at reading people, but the waterbender was throwing him off. He didn't want to make any assumptions, but the signals she was sending seemed to hint at...something. Zuko wanted to respect her, and the fact that she had just ended a long-term relationship, but he couldn't help reading into her body language.
Maybe she's not sure, and that's why she hasn't said anything, Zuko mused. But she certainly wouldn't be snuggling up with me if she thought we couldn't be more than friends. And Agni knows I'm definitely sending signals that say the same thing. But he wouldn't make a move...not unless she did first. Maybe it's too soon to bring it up.
"Comfortable?" Zuko asked, his voice low and husky.
"Mm-hm," she replied. "I might even take a nap. Wake me up at lunch time, will you?" He chuckled.
Katara could hear the smile in his voice. "Sure, princess."
But she didn't sleep.
They stopped for camp in a small grove of mango trees as the sun was starting to sink beyond the horizon. They had made good time; Zuko estimated they would be down the other side of the mountain by nightfall the next day, and at June's tavern the day after that.
He gathered firewood while Katara refilled their water skins from a nearby brook. With the fire going, Katara made rice and roast duck from supplies they had purchased at the port before departing as Zuko fed and watered Beast. After dinner they practiced some of the combat moves Zuko had been teaching her. They were stiff from riding on the komodo all day and the movement helped loosen their tense muscles.
Afterwards, they settled down to relax before turning in for the night. Overhead, owl hawks cooed in the trees and near the brook the badger frogs croaked. The night was warm and fragrant with the late-blooming flora. Through the branches above them Zuko could see the glittering stars. The new moon was dark.
Katara broke the easy silence they had slipped into. "Zuko, what are we going to do when we find the Conduit?" Katara asked. "Are we supposed to capture him and bring him back to the Fire Nation?"
He thought about it before he spoke. "I don't know. I wish Uncle had been more clear about that." He stared into the flames. "I'm not sure that's what we're supposed to do. I think we'll know when we find him."
Katara studied him through the fire. The orange light cast shadows over his face, deepening his scar. Not for the first time she wondered how he had gotten it. Zuko had never said, and she had never felt like it was her place to ask. She had always figured that if he wanted to tell her, he would.
She asked another question to distract herself instead. "So, in the event that scents don't carry over into new reincarnations, or if it has no trackable scent at all, do we have a back-up plan?"
"June's shirshu has the best sense of smell of any living thing," Zuko answered with more confidence than he felt. He kept his expression neutral. "If anything will be able to track it, it's her."
"And if the shirshu can't?"
Zuko arched a brow at her over the fire. He was a little irritated by all of her questions, and his lack of answers for them. "Has anyone ever told you that sometimes you're a complete pessimist, Katara? I thought you were supposed to be the one full of hope."
"I prefer to think of myself as a realist," she replied huffily. She frowned curiously. "What does that make you then? The optimist?"
Zuko snorted. "I'm not. I just refuse to accept failure as an option."
"I couldn't tell," came her sarcastic reply. Then her expression softened, and she smiled at him. "You were pretty determined to capture Aang no matter how many times he thwarted you."
"Ah, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed. He wondered if she realized how often she brought up her ex-boyfriend. Zuko tried not to let it bother him. They had been together for a long time, after all, and it made sense that with a long-term relationship, lives became entangled...it wouldn't be easy to cut Aang out, and it was wrong of Zuko to expect as much.
"You know, he told us that you were the one who rescued him when Zhao captured him," Katara said softly. "That was really brave. A bit foolish maybe, but also brave."
Zuko flushed.. "I...forgot you knew about that."
"Yeah, he told us after you came to us at the Western Air Temple and we sent you away. I think Aang really wanted to accept you right then, but Sokka and I convinced him otherwise." It was her turn to look away in shame.
"I won't lie." He let out a breath. "When I rescued him from Zhao, I did it so I could capture him myself." Zuko looked into the fire. "I couldn't let Zhao be the one to present the Avatar to my father. It had to be me."
"Why?" Katara asked boldly. "That's something I never understood between you and Zhao. I thought you were both on the same side."
Zuko shook his head, his face grim. "We weren't."
Katara leaned forward earnestly. She thought she could sense him opening up. Maybe this was an opportunity to peel back one of his layers. "Will you tell me the real reason you were so determined to capture Aang?"
Zuko thought about it for a moment before meeting her intense blue eyes over the fire. "It's all in the past so I guess it doesn't really matter now." He sighed. "It's kind of a long story."
"We've got time."
The corner of his mouth upturned in a quiet smile before he grew serious again. "When I was thirteen I was banished from the Fire Nation. I disrespected one of my father's generals in his war council room, so he took away my birthright and told me to never come back...unless I found the Avatar." His mouth contorted into a frown at the memory. "Looking back now, I realize he never intended for me to return. The Avatar hadn't been seen for a hundred years. What were the odds that I, a thirteen year old boy with nothing more than a skeleton crew of unremarkable soldiers, would actually find him?"
Katara listened intently, her heart pulling painfully for him. She had willingly left home just a year older than he had been, but she had chosen to do that. Katara couldn't even imagine her father banishing her or her brother, especially for a slight as minor as disrespect.
He continued "But I couldn't let it go. I believed that capturing Aang was the only way to restore my honor and to gain my father's favor, to come home." Zuko smiled humorlessly. "I'm glad I figured out that wasn't the case. How different things would be now if I hadn't."
She smiled at him. "I'm glad you figured it out too." Katara paused. "Will you tell me about when you rescued Aang? He never said much about it."
Zuko nodded. "It's kind of a funny story, now. I knew that Zhao was closing in on you guys. He had an entire navy under his command, with deep resources. He was a respected admiral moving through the ranks." Zuko shook his head. "If he hadn't been so arrogant to believe he could eliminate the moon and get away with it, he might've made it all the way to Fleet Admiral." Zuko seemed satisfied that he hadn't. "Instead of tracking the Avatar myself, I started to follow Zhao's trail. When I found out he had captured Aang, I broke into the most secure fort in the Earth Kingdom in disguise. I couldn't risk being identified. I would be labeled as a traitor, and either imprisoned for life or executed.
"So I put on the mask of the Blue Spirit. It's something of a legend in the Fire Nation. And I took my dao swords, too." He rested his hand on their hilts. "It wasn't well-known that I was skilled with broadswords. Back then, people who couldn't bend were considered weaker than those who could, and being the Fire Lord's son, it would have been shameful for people to find out I wasn't a prodigious firebender like my sister. I took up swords when I was young with my mother's encouragement." He smiled at the memory. "She knew it bothered me that I wasn't as good of a bender as Azula, and that Ozai looked at me as a disgrace because of that, so she hired Master Piandao to train me."
Katara gasped. "I never knew. Piandao never said."
Zuko smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It was part of his agreement with my mother. We kept it a secret from my father. It's funny now. When we were kids, Azula always used to tease me for playing with knives."
"They've sure come in handy," Katara remarked wryly.
"Yes, they have." He nodded and continued. "We almost made it out unnoticed, too. I took out a handful of guards and broke Aang out of the room Zhao had him chained up in. But somehow they realized Aang had escaped, and suddenly we had a whole army coming for us." Zuko shook his head in amazement. "I've got to hand it to him. He tried so hard to get us out of there. It was then that I really began to respect him. He was one powerful kid."
Katara nodded.
"They had us cornered by the gate. Aang was trying to fight them all off, but Zhao called off the firebenders. He said that the Avatar had to be taken alive, and that's when I saw our way out of there."
"You turned on him," Katara deduced quietly.
"Yeah, I did. But only for show." Zuko sighed heavily. "It worked. They let Aang and I go. We were almost home-free, but I'd overlooked one crucial detail: Zhao had enlisted the legendary Yuyan Archers to do his bidding. One of them shot me in the head and knocked me unconscious. If it hadn't been for my mask, I would've been killed."
She gasped lightly. "I never knew," Katara breathed.
"Aang could have just left me there. I don't know when he realized who I was. Maybe it wasn't until after. But he got us both to safety. And he waited until I woke up. He'd taken off my mask at some point so he knew it was me." Zuko shook his head in disbelief. "Despite everything I did to him, to people he cared about, Aang wanted to trust me. To believe in me."
"Aang and I are similar in at least that way. We always want to see the good in people." Their eyes met, gold and blue, over the flickering flames. Memories of the Crystal Catacombs flashed in her mind's eye. "What happened when you woke up?"
Zuko gazed into the fire. "He talked to me. He told me about his friend, Kuzon. And he asked if I thought, if we'd both been alive a hundred years ago, if we'd be friends too. Then I attacked him and he got away." He stopped for a moment. "Maybe...maybe if I hadn't done that, things would have turned out differently for all of us." His gaze was unreadable.
They sat in silence after he finished, the seconds dragging into minutes as Zuko reflected on his past and Katara absorbed it. It didn't make her think any less of him; in fact it only made her sympathize more. She had known his childhood had been harsh, but she hadn't any idea how deep that ran. Although the things he had done back then were wrong, Katara could see why he had thought he was doing the right thing. Why he thought those things were the only thing he could do.
"We should get some sleep," Zuko said, suddenly closed-off again. "We leave at dawn."
He laid down on his bedroll and turned his back against the flames. Katara watched him for a moment, wishing she could offer him comfort. But there were some wounds even she couldn't heal.
He woke up to a blood-curdling scream. Zuko threw himself into a crouch, hands at the ready, and immediately looked to Katara. She was sitting upright on her bedroll, her hair a tangled mess around her head. Her eyes were wide and her chest was heaving. His eyes combed the campsite for enemies, but he found no intruders.
"Katara?" Zuko asked, an edge of panic in his voice. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she panted. She looked anything but.
Zuko went to her and knelt down beside her. "Was it another bad dream?"
She nodded, bottom lip trembling. "I wish they would stop. They keep getting worse and worse, Zuko. I just wish they would stop." She wrapped her arms around her knees and drew them to her chest.
Not knowing what else to do but feeling compelled to do something, he sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. Zuko brushed damp hair back from her neck and pressed his cheek against the top of her head. He rocked her gently, comforting her until the trembles went away and she relaxed against his chest.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly.
Katara shook her head. "No, I'd rather not."
He hesitated for only a moment. "You can talk to me about it, if you want to. I'm all ears."
"It's awful." Katara sighed shakily. Her fingers knotted into his tunic and anchored him to her. "I keep dreaming that I'm falling into this...this absolute darkness. It's just a stupid bad dream but it feels so...real." She shuddered.
"It's okay, Katara. It's over now, and you're safe with me." Zuko gave her an assuring squeeze. "You should try to get some more sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." He went to pull back, but she grabbed his hand and looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"Please don't go," she said, hating how she sounded weak. But she felt safe with him close to her. Protected. "Stay with me."
He looked down at her, his heart softening. She looked so...small. And if he was being honest with himself, he had been hoping she would ask. This was the plausible scenario he couldn't come up with on his own. "Okay," he said.
She scooted over and Zuko joined her in her bedroll. Katara curled into him and buried her face in his chest. He stroked her hair gently. He could feel her cool breath against his neck, could feel her heart beating against his. He could get used to this.
Soon she relaxed against him and her breathing deepened. Zuko knew she had fallen asleep. He tucked her head beneath his chin and closed his eyes. He was quickly lulled to sleep by her rhythmic breathing.
When she awoke, she found herself comfortably warm and securely ensnared in his arms. Sunlight filtered down through the leaves, and cast them in a greenish-yellow light. Birdsong filled the air with melodic music. Katara had slept peacefully through the night without another nightmare to disturb her.
She looked up and saw Zuko was still asleep. At her movement he sighed softly, mouth twitching downward in his sleep. His arms restricted and pulled her closer. Katara stilled, and he relaxed. She studied his face freely. It was a rare occurrence for her to be awake before he was and she relished the moment.
In sleep, the worry and frustration that was constantly etched into his face disappeared. In sleep, he wasn't Fire Lord Zuko: he was just Zuko, and he looked much younger. Katara admired the strong line of his jaw, the soft set of his mouth, the way his dark hair curled against his forehead and high cheekbones. His skin was a pale contrast to the angry red of his scar.
Once, she thought the scar marked him and damaged his good looks. But as Katara lay there studying his face, she found she couldn't even picture what he would look like without it. The scar was as much a part of him as his golden eyes or raven-colored hair.
Slowly she reached up until the tips of her fingers grazed his scarred cheekbone. The skin was rough and puckered and she tried to imagine how he had gotten it, and how he would have felt at that moment. It couldn't have been anything less than traumatic. He was good-looking, so having his face disfigured had to have been damaging, let alone the excruciating pain he would have been in.
Suddenly his eyes opened and he looked down at her. Katara quickly withdrew her hand, cheeks flushed.
"Sorry," she said, embarrassed.
"It's okay," he said huskily.
But the moment had passed, and she sat upright instead. Katara disentangled herself even though she would rather curl back up in his arms. He propped himself up and eyed her back curiously, wondering what was going through her head.
"I overslept," he remarked.
"We should probably get going then." Katara stood up and fished her comb out of her bag and raked it through her hair before she began to braid it.
"I like it when it's loose," Zuko commented before he could stop himself.
She froze, an odd look on her face. "I don't want it whipping around in your face. Besides, when it gets hot it'll start sticking to me. It's impractical."
"If you say so." Reluctantly Zuko climbed out of the bedroll and stretched.
Together they packed up the campsite. Zuko made sure to feed and water the komodo rhino before they left. Finally he mounted the beast and helped Katara into the saddle in front of him, enjoying the way she settled back against him, tucking her head against his neck again. He gave her a reassuring squeeze before they took off. He couldn't see her smile or the pink of her cheeks.
It was faster going down the mountain rather than up it, with Beast plodding along at a steady pace, and Zuko began to think they might actually get further than he had thought they would that day.
At least that's what he thought until an arrow flying through the air buried itself in the thick hide of the komodo rhino.
The large animal raised up on its back legs, roaring in pain and surprise. It took every bit of strength in him to keep him and Katara in the saddle.
"What's happening?" Katara cried out. She was clinging to the saddle in desperation.
"We got hit!" Zuko replied. He dug his heels into the animal's sides. "Down, Beast!"
He watched another arrow whiz out from between the trees. It struck the rhino in the shoulder inches from Katara's thigh and the great beast fell to the side. Zuko threw Katara out of the saddle to avoid being crushed and he narrowly avoided having his leg broken beneath the animal's weight. Zuko landed hard on his back and the air was knocked from his lungs as stars burst in his vision.
"Zuko!" Katara screamed.
He jumped to his feet in time to see a group of rugged men brandishing weapons pour out from the treeline. He couldn't believe these rugged, filthy thugs had managed to miss Beast's armor twice. Zuko grabbed Katara's wrist and pulled her close to him.
"Well, well, well, isn't this sweet?" One of them chuckled as he twirled a sinister-looking scimitar in his hands. "Are you honeymooners or what?"
"What do you want?" Zuko demanded, his voice low.
He had one hand on the hilt of his dao swords. Beside him Katara had assumed a fighting stance. It would be best if he could keep her out of the conflict since she shouldn't waterbend if they could help it, but if he couldn't, he hoped the training he had given her would be enough. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, he thought.
"We want your money," a second marauder said bluntly. He appraised them and scowled, as if he just now saw their rugged appearance. "Hand it over and no one gets hurt."
"Zuko." Her voice was barely audible. Her hand gripped his. He could feel the sweat slicking her palm.
"Let me handle this," he said quietly. "Don't bend unless you have to, okay? I don't want to give ourselves away."
"Quit your whispering! Where's the money?" The first thief stepped toward the injured komodo rhino. The animal bellowed painfully, eyes rolling wildly in their sockets. "Is it in the saddle?"
The second thief eyed Katara up and down with a sick grin. "Or is the pretty lady keeping it somewhere…safe?"
"Watch it!" Zuko growled. He unsheathed his swords and stepped protectively in front of Katara.
The first marauder laughed again. "You think you can take us? There's four of us and one of you, plus your pretty little girlfriend." His grin deepened as he sized Katara up. "I think we'll just kill you, and take her for ourselves. How does that sound, boys?"
Katara felt a sliver of fear run down her spine.
"Sounds mighty fine to me, boss," the third one sniggered. "It's been a while since we've had fresh meat. And I've always wanted to sample some Water Tribe—"
"Enough!"
With a growl Zuko charged for the leader, his swords glinting dangerously. Two of his henchmen stepped in the way, raising sword and spear. Sparks flew as Zuko's swords collided with the thieves' weapons. Zuko pushed down on them. He kicked out with his foot and caught the larger of the two men in the thigh. The man limped back with a painful grunt and Zuko swung his swords out in a butterfly movement, forcing them to jump backwards. Zuko lunged for the leader, but his swords were knocked aside by the marauder's spear.
The fourth member of the band of ruffians approached Katara. He grinned at her with black, rotted teeth. He had a short sword in his hand. Katara eyed it, her mouth going dry. She wouldn't waterbend, not unless she had to...
"Come along with me now and you won't get hurt," he crooned at her.
"Eat dirt!" Katara snarled fiercely.
She kicked rock and dirt into his eyes and turned to run away. A hand clamped down on her shoulder, grimy fingernails biting into her skin through her clothes.
"You stupid little wench," the man hissed in her ear.
He pulled back hard and Katara nearly lost her balance. She planted her foot firmly in the soil and brought her elbow hard into the man's soft stomach as Zuko had taught her to. The breath left him in a grunt and his grip on her loosened. Katara grabbed his wrist in both hands and used her momentum to bring the man forward over her shoulder. He landed on his back, breathless and wheezing.
"Now leave me alone!" Katara spat at him.
She turned back in time to see Zuko snap the head of the spear off between his swords. At the same time he kicked out with his leg and caught the thief in his sizable gut. The man flew backward into his leader and they fell in a tangle of limbs. Zuko wheeled on the third man, blades singing through the air. The marauder jumped back in the nick of time: a thin trail of blood ran down his cheek.
Katara hurried to the komodo rhino and tugged on the reins. She needed to get the animal back on its feet. "Come on, Beast, get up!"
"No luck, little lady." The man who had grabbed her wound his fist around her braid at the nape of her neck and yanked her away from the komodo.
Katara shrieked in pain as she felt hair being pulled from her scalp and released the reins. She reached over her shoulders and dug her fingernails into the backs of his hands. His hand pulled back from her braid and he drew her back against him, fighting to pin her wrists behind her back. She tried to keep her arms up, but he was too strong. One meaty hand clamped over her wrists and held them against the small of her back. His hand engulfed her wrists. She struggled against him, but her shoulder blades protested and Katara found herself stuck.
She could smell his sour sweat. It was nauseating.
The man's rancid breath brushed her cheek as he growled into her ear, "Now, where are you keeping the coins at, little lady?" His free hand brushed across her collarbones. Katara felt her blood run cold as his fingers traveled lower. "You keepin' 'em in here?" His hand squeezed her breast as she felt his tongue lap at her earlobe. Katara cried out in equal parts horror and disgust.
Instinct kicked in and Katara stomped her booted foot on his bare toes and he howled in pain.
"Let go of me!" Katara shouted. She stomped on his foot again and he tightened his hold on her wrists, his free hand wrapping around her throat to hold her against him. A single, hot tear rolled down her cheek. She hated it; that tear. She wasn't weak. But that solitary tear said otherwise,
"Get off of her!" Zuko snarled.
Suddenly the hands restraining her went limp and Katara stumbled forward. She landed on her hands and knees in the dirt. She looked back over her shoulder and saw Zuko standing over the thug, one hand fisted into the man's dirty tunic. The expression on his face was guttural and threatening.
"Don't even think about following us, or next time you and your friends won't wake up," he spat.
He brought the hilt of his sword between the man's eyes, and the thug collapsed. Zuko let him fall into the dirt, his lip curled in rage and disgust. Beyond them his companions lay disabled as well.
Zuko looked up at her, worry creasing his brow.
"Katara." Zuko pulled her to her feet. He gave her a once-over. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"
"I'm fine," she said, a little harsher than she had intended to. Fear and adrenaline had her trembling and she did her best to quell it. She brushed the tear away with the back of her hand as she appraised him. "What about you?"
A cut above his good eye was bleeding. "I'm good. Come on, let's get out of here before they decide they want to go for round two."
Katara grimaced as her eyes drifted over to Beast, who lay panting on his side. "We're going to have to pull the arrows out and get him healed before we can go anywhere."
Together they approached the komodo. Katara inspected his wounds and frowned. Zuko watched as she took the arrow's shaft in her hand and twisted it slightly from side to side. Beast groaned mournfully and Katara winced.
"What are you doing?"
"Making sure it's not stuck in a bone. Thankfully, it's not, or we'd been in a lot more trouble." Katara considered the komodo rhino, grateful for the distraction. She tried to ignore the tremble in her hands. "Lucky for this guy, he's got thick skin." She looked back up at Zuko. "I need to open the wounds a bit more so I can pull the arrows out before I can heal him. Did one of them—" She nodded toward their attackers, lip curling in disgust. "—have a dagger on them?"
Zuko nodded. He went to one of the unconscious men and pulled a dagger from his belt. He handed it to Katara, who inspected its sharpness and found it satisfactory. She turned to the animal.
"I'm sorry, Beast, but this isn't going to feel good," she told the komodo rhino. She rubbed his hide assuringly. "Stay strong for me, and don't hate me, okay?"
Zuko watched closely as she inserted the tip of her finger into the wound. Her mouth was pressed into a taut line. Zuko didn't have much experience with healing or first aid when it came, so this was all new to him, and he watched, mildly fascinated. He was glad Katara knew what she was doing.
"I have to make sure it's not lodged, or else it'll be a lot harder to pull out the arrow," Katara told him, as though she could sense his unspoken questions. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Agni smiles on Beast today. This one isn't stuck."
Zuko watched as she pressed the tip of the dagger into the wound. "I have to make sure the arrowhead doesn't get snagged," she muttered. Fresh blood ran down Beast's leathery hide and the animal yowled in pain. Satisfied, Katara got to her feet and gripped the shaft in both hands.
"Sorry, Beast, almost there. Just a little more." She glanced up at Zuko. "Can you...try to hold him still? I don't want him to try and bite my head off. This is going to hurt."
"Yeah, okay." Zuko moved to stand by Beast's head. "I mean, he's really well-trained so I don't think you'd have to worry, but better safe than sorry, I guess."
Katara pulled hard, and the arrow came free with a sickening sound. She cast it aside. She turned her eyes back to Zuko. "How much time do you think we have before they wake up?"
Zuko glanced back at the marauders. He honestly didn't know if they would wake up. He wasn't sure he cared. "Enough."
Katara nodded. She grabbed a water skin from the saddle and uncapped it. She bended the water from it and encased her hand with it before she pressed her palm against the wound. The water glowed blue and her eyes were screwed shut in concentration. Beast let out a long snort that sounded like relief.
Once the wound was sufficiently healed, Katara turned her attention to the second arrow.
"Let's hope this one is as easy as the first," she muttered. Again Zuko observed her twist the shaft before poking her finger into the wound. She swore.
"What?" Zuko demanded to know.
"It's lodged in there in a bunch of muscle." Katara looked up at him, her brow furrowed. "I'm going to have to open the wound some more. It'll take some time, and it'll take longer to heal." Talking about what she was doing distracted her from what had happened. She gazed back at their assailants with nervous uncertainty. "You're sure they aren't going to wake up?"
Zuko's expression was grim. "Trust me. They aren't going anywhere for a while."
She took his word for it. Katara cut an incision along the injury, wincing as Beast bellowed in pain. Katara braced herself and yanked hard on the arrow, but it wouldn't budge. Katara looked over her shoulder at Zuko. "I'm going to need you to do it. It's really stuck."
"Alright." He took her place and wrapped his hands around the arrow. "Just tell me what to do, okay?"
"You're going to have to pull it really hard," Katara informed him. "And try to pull it out straight." Katara moved to stand by the rhino's head, stroking his leathery face soothingly.
Zuko nodded. "I've got this." He wrenched the arrow as hard as he dared, until it felt like the wooden shaft would break under his grip. Beast roared, his head lolling back to look at Zuko as if to say, are you really my friend? Because that hurts.
The arrow came free and Zuko discarded it.
"Thank you." She had already enveloped her hand in water, and she knelt beside Beast and started to heal him. She had been correct in her assumption: this one did take more time to heal because the damage was worse, but they didn't have a choice if they wanted Beast to be able to carry them. Once that was done, she bended the water back into the skin and turned to Zuko. "Okay, we should be good to go now."
Together they got the komodo back on its feet.
"We're good now, buddy." Zuko patted Beast's jaw, and the animal responded by licking the side of his face. Katara chuckled as Zuko grimaced, wiping the slobber off of his cheek. He eyed the komodo rhino with a grimace. "Thanks, Beast."
Zuko climbed back into the saddle and pulled Katara up in front of him. He held her with a tight grip, his hands shaking slightly as the adrenaline left him. He pushed the komodo hard, wanting to put as much distance between them and the thieves as he could.
Katara pressed herself against him, listening to the thundering sound of his beating heart. Tension rolled off of him in tangible waves. She wished she could wrap her arms around him and assure him that she was okay. But she was anything but. Those men had nothing but bad intentions for her. And the way that man had touched her…
Katara intertwined her fingers with his and squeezed tightly. His touch was comforting and she felt herself relax, just a little bit.
"Do you think they'll come after us?" Katara asked. Her voice was small and she cleared her throat.
"No, I don't think they will," Zuko replied confidently. "I think they learned their lesson about robbing strangers on secluded roads. They should consider themselves lucky they're still breathing." He said that part with such malice in his voice that Katara knew he meant it.
They rode on. Although he had believed what he told Katara, he wasn't one for taking chances.
Zuko finally stopped the komodo as dusk settled over them and guided Beast into a small clearing off the side of the road. He dismounted and then helped Katara down.
He caught her by the hand and suddenly pulled her in close. Her breath caught her in her throat at their sudden close proximity. He studied her face intently for a moment, his expression stormy.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Zuko asked again, his voice huskier than usual.
She nodded dumbly. "Yeah. I think I hurt him a lot more than he hurt me."
Without warning Zuko pulled her in closer and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. He pressed his cheek to the top of her head and held her there against his chest, a maelstrom of emotions coursing through him. He knew he could trust her to handle herself, and to watch his back, but seeing that thug put his hands on her had affected him in a way he couldn't quite name. I should have cut his hand off, Zuko thought as he held her tightly.
Katara closed her eyes and hugged him back, feeling comforted by his strong touch. Hot tears threatened to leak from her eyes. She had encountered her fair share of villains before, but none of them had ever implied such intentions towards her that the thugs had. It rocked her to her core. She knew that groping wouldn't have been the only thing to happen to her, had the men managed to take her.
She felt him exhale against her hair. Too soon, he pulled back. His eyes were deep pools of gold and she wished she knew what he was thinking.
"We can make camp here." He turned toward Beast. "We actually made good time today, given the circumstances. It's been a long day."
Katara snorted. "That's a bit of an understatement." But now that the adrenaline had worn off, she realized she was tired. She wouldn't mind stopping for the night. She wasn't hungry, but she needed something to do. "Okay. I'll get started on dinner."