Blood and Tears

Chapter Four

Katara awakened to the slight nudge of sand and gravel under her feet. She rubbed her eyes and looked around.

She found there was a slight bend in the river and their log had found itself stopped at the other side of the river. And judging by the setting sun, she had been out for several hours.

The vegetation had changed some around the river, which meant they had travelled quite a distance. Instead of gravel and dirt along the river's edge, there was sand. This pleased her, for the sand would be softer on their feet for walking which meant fewer chances for a blood trail behind them.

She smiled in gratitude, so far things were looking up to them. Now all she needed was to find a place where they could hide for a while. At least until they were both well enough for travel. But where would they go? She had no idea. She wasn't even sure as to where they were, except somewhere in the Earthkingdom. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and keep her mind at the present situation.

Her eyes scanned the scenery before her. There were plenty of bushes everywhere and trees sprung up here and there before retreating into a forest. There was a small rocky hill covered in vegetation, bushes all around and a tree overlooking it. The hill itself was laid out between the sand and where the sandy beach turned into lush grass of paradise. Flowers seemed to pop up everywhere, creating a picturesque look of natural beauty.

Katara couldn't help but admire the beauty around her, forgetting about her present predicament, even just for a moment. As she continued to take in the beauty that was before her, her eyes came once more to the hill.

She noticed blackness behind the bushes at the front of the hill. Her heart danced with hope. Could this actually be a hidden cave instead of a hill? She had to find out, hoping against all odds that it was. For it was so well hidden, it was very easily mistaken as a hill and therefore easily missed.

She went to move herself from the log and was snapped back into reality by the clink of chains. In all the beauty and excitement, she had forgotten that she was still chained to Zuko and the FireNation Prince was still not awake.

She sighed in disbelief. How could she possibly forget such a thing? She didn't know how, but she did know was that she was somehow going to have to wake him and get him up. This wasn't something she could do on her own and the chain wasn't long enough for her to go exploring on her own. She would have to take Zuko. So she gently shook the Prince's shoulder to wake him.

Zuko was in a dreamless sleep when he was awakened by a sharp pain in his shoulder which seemed to run down his still useless arm. He held his eyes tightly shut and a small painful grunt escaped him.

"Sorry" came a familiar voice. And then the pain seemed to subside.

He opened his eyes trying to remember what happened, and where he was. His vision was very blurry and he couldn't make out anything for a while, except for blurs of colours which made no sense to him. He felt completely numb from the waist down, and completely stiff from the waist up, which also confused him. And why could he move his one arm and what was the pain for? And what's that smell?

He shook his foggy mind to try and clear it to make sense, which only caused him to feel dizzy. So he decided to look in the direction of where the voice had come and figure things out that way.

At first all he could see was a blur of blue and brown. But as the sight in his good eye returned – somewhat – the blur took the shape of the water girl - Katara. That's when everything came pounding back at him, and he dropped his head in the realization of it all.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, concern in her voice.

He took a deep agonizing breath, looked up and scanned the area.

"Why have we stopped?" Zuko demanded "We should be going as far as we can. We should hit a village or something along here."

"Look, we need to get out of the water. Night is coming and the water will be much colder then it is now." Katara said sternly "We won't survive the night. What we need is shelter. A place we can hide until we are well enough to continue on."

Zuko couldn't see the details of her face, but with the tone of her voice, he could tell she was upset with him. But at the moment he couldn't care. Yes, she was probably right, but he couldn't see a place here. So it didn't make any sense to him why they shouldn't continue down the river until they found such a place.

"And I suppose you found a place." Zuko said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Actually I have"

Katara had said that with such determination and seemed completely proud of herself that Zuko scanned the area before him once more. But all he could make out were bushes, trees, probably more bushes, a hill and, oh, more bushes.

"Get us moving. We are continuing downstream" Zuko demanded. He could begin to feel the pain in his chest again.

"You honestly can't see it" Katara was excited now; he could tell by her voice she was pleased to have one up on him "The hill is actually a cave, a secret cave. I'm sure of it."

Zuko couldn't take it. The pain from the waist up was all coming back to him. He didn't have time for her games. But before he could protest, she was already off the log and trying to pull it onto the beach. Zuko gave a sigh, untangled himself from the log's extra branches and dejectedly helped out with getting the log inland.

Once Zuko was out of the river, the pain in his legs began to sharpen and he once again had to lean onto the water girl. Much to his distaste, he felt weak, but he wasn't going to let her know how much pain he was going through. No, he would suffer in silence and not show the weakness he felt.

Once they were sure the log would not float away, they made for the so called cave. But the closer they came to it, the stronger the scent was. Zuko couldn't understand why the smell wasn't bothering the Katara as much as it was him. By the time they reached it, Zuko was having troubles trying to breath. Every breath was an effort, his lungs were rejecting the foul smell.

"I knew it was a cave!" Katara said excitedly "The smell is not too bad, it is liveable anyways."

Zuko wanted to say 'Speak for yourself', but he was trying to concentrate on breathing. He never even gave her an angry glare for her gloating. He was too afraid if he stopped concentrating on breathing he would suffocate.

Zuko could tell that she was very excited that she had one up on him, but then when they went in the cave, that all changed.

Zuko gaged, lucky for him his stomach was empty. Katara must have had the same problem, for all if a sudden he felt himself being roughly turned away from the cave and half dragged away as fast as was possible.

It wasn't until they were by the log when Zuko was able to catch his breath and breath in somewhat fresh air, for he could still smell the foul smell. But it wasn't as strong.

"Come on Zuko, help me move the log back into the river." Katara asked.

"No"

Zuko's survival instincts kicked in. It was something his Uncle had enforced in him during the three years he spent searching for the avatar. Zuko found himself grateful for those teachings.

"No?" Katara asked "In case you didn't notice, there is such a foul smell in that cave, there is no way we'll be able to breath. And in case you forgot, we need to breathe to survive. Oh, or is it you want me to admit that you were right. Ok, I admit it. Are you happy now?"

Zuko could tell she was upset that he wouldn't help. And she spoke to him as though he were stupid or something. This infuriated him.

"No I'm not. And for your information, I could smell it ever since I woke up." Zuko shouted back. The pain in his chest became so severe that he doubled over in pain. He decided not to lose his temper like that again. Once the pain subsided, he looked at her.

"You can smell it from the river? Really? Then why can't I?" It was a question, he could tell by her voice and words that she didn't believe him and she was trying to hold back her own anger.

"Yes," Zuko answered in a much calmer voice. He decided to explain himself. "There was a general of which was a great friend with my Uncle. He had been severely injured in battle and his eye sight was beginning to go. When my Uncle went to visit him when I was younger, he would bring me along. I was always so amazed how he could hear the tiniest of whispers and could smell the faintest of scents. I asked my Uncle once after one of these visits, and my Uncle told me that when you lose one of your senses, your other senses hype up to help compensate for what you have lost. I guess since my eye sight isn't very well right now, my sense of smell has improved greatly."

Oh how he hated to admit that last part. To admit that he was weak, that he was losing the battle. But what she said after, he hated even more.

"I'm so sorry Zuko, I didn't know." Katara said. Her voice completely sincere.

"I don't need your pity." Zuko sneered as he turned away from her, or at least as much as his body would allow. He still needed her to keep him standing and moving.

"We're going back to that cave and taking a look inside." He demanded. "It's the perfect spot for us to hide, what with the smell." He could sense her rejection without even looking at her or even her saying a word. "I know it smells like trash, but it will mask up our own scent. If there are any dogs tracking us, they won't be able to smell us. If we're lucky, they'll go mad from the foul smell and never come back. And if the owners know that smell, they won't be back either"

He didn't and wouldn't mention that luck was never on his side. It had always been that way ever since he was born. If something bad was going to happen, it always did. But if he had a chance to stop it, he was going to give it all he was worth. But convincing her might be another issue. He had to try and convince her to stay and give her cave another chance. He had a feeling that she didn't have any idea as to the owner of such a smell was, seeing as she was from the cold area of the world, and he clearly doubt that she had come across one when she was journeying with the avatar. These creatures were not very common, but his Uncle had taught him to stay away from them and never anger nor scare one. Zuko himself had only seen one in his life, and that was while in search of the avatar. They had come across it and his Uncle had pulled him back, telling him that the creature was a furious beast when angered with its powerful teeth and razor sharp claws. But to scare it, is a punishment worse than death, for the smell of it tells other creatures to stay away. But when scared, its spray is much worse of a smell and sticks onto whatever it the spray hits for life. No amount of washing can get the foulness of the smell off. His Uncle's warning was clear in Zuko's head, and he knew he was heading for danger. But he also knew that if the cave wasn't used recently, then it would be the perfect place to hide. He had to find out. His Uncle had taught him how to tell such things, and he was about to take those teachings and put them to the test. Zuko decided not to tell the water girl what kind of creature the smell came from, or else he would lose the fight to stay. For no one, once they knew, would want to be around a skunkbear. The perfect protection.

"Look Zuko, I could barely breath in there the smell was so bad. I don't think we're going to get very far with it." Katara tried to reason.

But Zuko wasn't done yet, he knew he had to try and convince her. But he did remember something that his Uncle had told him about creatures and caves.

"It's quite possible that the creature that lived there only lived in the entrance of the cave and never ventured further in." Zuko began.

"So?" Katara sounded impatient to Zuko.

"So," Zuko tried again. "If that is the case, then perhaps the back of the cave will be more comfortable for breathing."

"Zuko, if it's in one part of the cave, it's in the whole cave." Katara pointed out to him, but Zuko wasn't done yet.

"I wouldn't rule it out just yet." Zuko remembered his Uncle always telling him that. Oh how he missed his Uncle. He would have known what to do and how to get her to understand.

"Ok," Katara tried to reason. "So, say the cave smells better in the back, who is to say the creature won't come back?"

"My Uncle taught me how to know if a creature has made any recent visits to a place or whether it has left." Zuko pointed out. He really hoped that he was convincing her. "I can assure you, I will know."

"Fine." That was all she said.

So once again they made their way to the cave entrance with Katara helping Zuko. And once again, the smell was so strong, that Zuko gaged, and once again he was grateful for an empty stomach. As they made their way as quickly as they could into the cave, Zuko gave a quick check around to see if there were any signs of recent activity. To his relief, there were not. As they reached the back, they found it was still the same and Katara gave that look as, 'I told you so'. However, as they turned to leave, they found that there was yet another entrance on the side. It was very easy to miss, for it was align with the back wall of the cave. Lucky for them, they had turned on the right side to see it and they were right up to the back wall. But just looking into the cave, one would never see this other entrance.

Zuko pointed to Katara to venture in. He couldn't speak, the smell was over powering and between trying to breath and gaging, he was having troubles. Katara took the hint and they managed to squeeze in, for this entrance wasn't very big at all, but quit narrow.

Once inside the second half of the cave, they found the air much nicer. It was actually quit fresh once you moved to the back part away from the entrance. There was a fresh breeze blowing into this section through vent like holes in the ceiling, which made it very comfortable. It did let in a bit of light which reflected in a small pool of water located in the middle of the cave. This made it easier to see within the cave.

Now it was Zuko's turn to have the upperhand and give Katara the 'I told you so look' - which he did.

"Don't say a word." Katara warned him.

Zuko replied with a smirk and a weak laugh. He was pretty pleased with himself.

Not a word was said between them as they made their way out of the cave. Zuko was grateful for that, for his chest was throbbing and he was getting weaker with every painful step. He was finding he had to concentrate just to keep moving.

Once they got back to their log, Zuko found he had to rest a bit. He was tired, but he didn't want to admit it. So he simply said they needed to think things out first before anything else. This turned out to be true because while he was resting, he watched Katara as she ripped a piece of her tattered water clothes and placed it onto one of the log's extra branches, which puzzled Zuko.

"What are you doing?" He finally asked.

"I am hoping that if Arun and his men find this log further down the river," Katara began to explain "That they will think we exited the river there and will pass our hiding place. I mean, with the log gone from here, they may bypass this place and we remain hidden from them."

"That's a pretty good plan," Zuko complimented her. He remembered how his Uncle was always lecturing him over not thinking ahead during the past three years and was glad that she had. "Good for thinking ahead."

He could tell that Katara couldn't believe what she had just heard, and to be honest, he couldn't believe what he had just said to her. And he wished that he hadn't. Once again, his weakness was showing again.

"Don't think too much on that." He said as an afterthought. And he looked away from her, not bearing to see her looking at him like that.

Zuko, very painfully, helped Katara push the log into the river, and watched as it floated further down it. Then he watched as she went and grabbed a branch with leaves attached to the end of it and began cleaning away their tracks in the sand.

Zuko was having a hard time trying to stay awake and alert. His eye lids kept wanting to drop and he could start to feel far away from everything around him. But he tried to fight the feeling. But in truth, the pain was getting to be too great for him to bare. And once again he cursed himself for being so weak. His Father was right, he was a weak fool. He was so glad his Father couldn't see him now.

Arun was very pleased with the speed they were tracking the two escaped prisoners. His powerful wolfhounds were pushing through the undergrowth without any problems. The only thing holding them back, were the men holding their leashes. With their strength, even bushes bent and snapped when they appeared in their path. Arun and his men still had to pick their way through, what with the braches that reached over the path of the tracking wolfhounds.

Arun smiled. He loved the blood lust that his wolfhounds showed in their eyes when tracking or in battle. And he knew nothing could escape them once they got the scent. He remembered being fascinated by the beasts ever since he was little and he had to have one. When he was older, he purchased four pups. He had trained them to hunt and track, but also to follow his orders, even in blood frenzy. All his hard work paid off. They were loyal only to him, and would follow any of his orders at any time, for any reason. They were his pets, his babies and he loved them.

Arun watched his babies plough through the undergrowth as they continued on their hunt. And his mind wondered back onto the two escaped prisoners and what he would do once he caught them. Which he knew would be soon enough. He had decided that he would drag the pair of them back to camp, letting his pets growl and snap at them but never touching them. No he wanted to be the one to torture them once they got back to the prison camp. He would use them as an example to the other prisoners to avoid this from occurring again. And then, once he had finished with his fun, he would feed them to his wolfhounds as a treat for being so good. That was his plan, and his smile deepened with every step they took which drew him closer and closer to them.

But then his smile turned into a frown, for his wolfhounds had stopped.

They had come to the edge of a river where a slight fork seemed to have formed. The wolfhounds were searching everywhere on the bank for a fresh smell of the scent. Arun himself looked at the river fork and watched the flow of the water in both halves. He noticed that the one closer to them was much slower and pretty calm compared to the other one.

"What do we do?" One of Arun's men asked him as the wolfhounds didn't seem to be making any more progress. "Which way do we go?"

Arun watched as one of his wolfhounds waded into the water and began sniffing the two boulders found just past the entrance of the calmer side of the forked river. It gave out a howl and Arun knew it had picked up their scent on the boulders. He watched as the other wolfhounds followed and began sniffing the air for any more of the scent. Arun knew however, that although his wolfhounds could pick up a scent even through the breeze, with the amount of moister in the air from the nearby waterfall, there was no way his babies would be able to here. So once again, he watched the river and made his decision.

"We'll cross this fork in the river and follow the other one." Arun began barking out orders. "Take two wolfhounds to the other side of it and between the two pairs, we'll find out which side the fire brat and water girl left the river at. Then we'll let the wolfhounds follow then scent again."

"What if they took the other fork in the river?" One of his men asked.

"Then we'll turn back and try that one. The river runs faster in the one we're following and if they managed to get a log or something, that is the one they would have taken." Arun explained. "And if they ended up going on foot through the other fork, they can't travel very fast with a chain and the way the fire brat is. We'll catch them in no time even with the delay."

That bit of logic seemed to do it. His men began following his orders and once again they were on the hunt. Arun knew it would only be a matter of time, before his pets found the scent again.

Katara had finally lain down. She was completely exhausted, what with having to half carry; half drag the half conscious Fire Prince while trying to see that they were well hidden. But now she felt better about their position and that nothing more could be done.

She sighed in relief. She looked over at Zuko who was lying unconscious at the other end of the cave, as far as the chain would permit. She had laid herself down at the other end, away from him. They were enemies, even though they were chained together. And she knew that, but she also knew that their survival depended on them working together.

She gave a shiver. The night seemed to be getting colder as it drew on. She curled herself up in a ball, hoping that her own body heat would help her keep warm. Oh how she missed sitting by the fire back at home, wrapped up in the thick blankets GranGran always had for them. A smile appeared on her face as she remembered those really cold nights, GranGran would take both her and her brother up in her arms and they would sleep together all warm and snug.

She looked over at Zuko and frowned. There was no way she was going to do that with him. She'd freeze to death before she would and still she'd refuse. She tried crawling up into a tighter ball and closed her eyes. She hoped that perhaps she would fall asleep and wake up to the morning heat.

For what seemed like hours of shivering, she once again found herself thinking of her options. And once again she came to the only option she had. He was running a very high fever, which meant his body would be very warm. She on the other hand was very cold and her body would be very cold. If truth be told, her body would bring down his fever and his body would warm her up. Therefore working out for both of them. This was the practical Katara speaking.

She shook her head at the thought. He was the Crown Prince of the FireNation. He was above everyone and that she was little more than a peasant to him. He was the one who was always trying to take Aang away, away from the world…away from her. Tears sprang up uninvited. She squeezed her eyes shut to try to make them stop. Once they did, she wiped away the ones that had escaped her.

She shivered again and tried to roll into a tighter ball. But no matter what she did, she couldn't get warm. To her, the night just seemed to get colder. And again a fight came up within her head, with practical Katara saying it was the only way they would survive and the stubborn Katara reminding her he was the enemy and everything the FireNation had done. She struggled internally for some time before a side finally won, and a decision made.

She gave a sigh of defeat. As much as she hated to admit it, she had no other choice, not if she and Zuko were going to survive. And right now Zuko needed her, even if his stubborn pride would never let him admit it, and she needed him as well. So with that final thought, she got up and went over to where the unconscious prince laid on his back. She took a deep breath and laid down right beside him. She felt very uncomfortable doing so; after all he was the Crown Prince of the FireNation, what right had she. 'Survival.' She kept telling herself, she had no other choice. Katara leaned up next to him; already she could feel his body heat warming her. She laid her head on his shoulder and an arm around his waist and closed her eyes.

Though she felt very uncomfortable, she couldn't help but begin to relax. Zuko's body temperature was coursing through her frozen limbs, like lying next to the fire on a cold night. He even smelled of burning ambers, which made it all the more like lying next to the fire. Katara scolded herself for the feeling. She hoped and prayed that he wouldn't wake until the morning came and she was at the other end of the cave.

Then she fell into a deep sleep with dreams of warm summer days under the sun and of cold winter nights beside the fire.

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Note:

Sorry this chapter is so long, and I will apologize in advance for the next chapter because I know it will be long as well, that is going by Caeria's outline notes for the next chapter. I wrote this one and the outline came from Caeria. I just elaborated and add a few things here and there. And I will let you know, the wolfhounds and skunkbear are both my ideas. In the Avatar series, you see animals which are a combination of one of more actual animals in our world. And if you see something usual like in our world (like the Earth King's bear) it's a treat to those people (paying a lot of money to get tickets to sit next to the bear). So I thought since there was a need for some animals, and I am not familiar with the animals in the series, why not make some up that may fit right into the world. Hope you like them.

I am always open to questions and feedback on this, and I do reply back. That is, as long as you are signed in and I am able to message your account on here.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I enjoyed writing it.