Now that I am FINALLY caught up on my chapters (yay!) I can work ahead a little. I hope that all of you guys like this chapter-I know that it is a little short, but it is more of a passage chapter than a major one, but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read and review! I need the feedback!

Worry

Zuko had had a restless night after Sokka had finally shut up. He had tossed and turned over and over again, well into the night. After he had been able to catch a few snippets of sleep here and there, he awoke to what he believed to be dawn-though the dense woods still prohibited any morning light to seep through the woven branches. Zuko suddenly felt anger towards the lush forest as he felt it was purposefully denying him his strength that was owed to him after such an aggravating night. He felt unreasonably worn out and his limbs all felt weak. He hated that feeling…

Zukorighted himselfwith a cemented frown upon his face and stood-his back aching from so many consecutive nights on the hard ground. I feel three times my age… thought Zuko with a scowl. He had had too many sparring and battle injuries for his own good and he had not thought about it at the time, but at that moment he knew he would be paying for it later in life.

He looked down to the snoring, heaving frame of the other teen. Sokka was on his side with his hands clutching his Water Tribe weapons. It was an amusing sight, but, after the previous night, Zuko couldn't help but have a slight amount of admiration for him. Extending his taut arms above his head, Zuko nudged Sokka's raised shoulder with the side of his boot, "Hey! It's morning."

Clumsily and still more than half asleep, Sokka lashed out over his back with his club at the "thing" that had woken him up way too early. He ended up missing with it and hit himself in his own back with a yelp. Zuko hung his hands from the back of his neck as he barely stifled a snicker as the other teen dropped his weapon and rubbed at the bruise that was probably already forming near his spine.

After a few more minutes of those antics, Sokka finally sat up. Bleary eyed and dazed, he glared up at Zuko, "What was that for?" With nothing more than a slight snicker, Zuko raised an eyebrow, "All I did was wake you up. I wasn't the one who hit himself with his own club."

Rolling his eyes, Sokka flopped back down as if he hadn't slept in days, "I'm sooooo hungry!" he whined, "I didn't even get to eat those berries that I found yesterday…" Dramatically, Sokka covered his face with his hands as if he had an audience of more than Zuko and a few forest creatures lurking throughout the shadows. With a sigh of greater anger than he had anticipated, Zuko urged Sokka to his feet with a, "Come on!" The previously slouched teen obeyed and stood-not wanting another night like the last one. Sokka gathered his belongings and slung them into their places in the pack across the width of his back. When he was done, he looked over at Zuko. The Fire Bender gestured in the direction that he had found Sokka hanging from a tree. The Water Tribe warrior raised an eyebrow in confusion. Zuko rolled his eyes, "You said you were hungry, so go ahead and eat!" Without another thought, Sokka dashed off for the food.

It was a while before Sokka had finally eaten his fill and by that time some dappled light was able to seep through the trees' dense leaves. Zuko was leaning up against a rough tree-trunk and watching his hand dart in and out of a shaft of light. That little bit of sun was all he had needed to feel better, but he still could not wait to return to the brightly lit campsite and…Zana-he realized. All the things that Sokka had revealed to Zuko that night had really made him want to get back to the others as soon as he was able to.

Zuko looked up again to see Sokka stomping back over to him. "Hey, uh, thanks for letting me eat," the Water Tribe warrior said as he licked his purple-stained fingertips with smacks. Zuko gave him no response and instead righted himself and began to walk off in the direction he had come from when he had been looking for the ensnared Sokka. The other teen followed closely behind as the two of them slowly made their way back to the camp and, hopefully, some acceptations of apologies.

Zana looked around, but there was no sign of Zuko. As a matter of fact, no one had seen him in hours and the sky was beginning to grow to a dim purple with highlights of pink and red. Iroh had told her where Zuko had gone off to, and no matter how confused she was over the whole messed up situation with Zuko, Zana couldn't help but worry. She continued to stare at the edge of the forest, willing both teenage boys to stagger out of the woods unharmed. None of it happened.

The sun had fully set beyond the bleeding horizon and she and the others began to settle in for the night. Katara left Aang and Momo to their antics and she joined Zana by the usual fire. "I am kind of getting worried about Sokka. It's getting late and who knows what kind of trouble he could have found," the Water Bender said with a lilt of concern in her voice. She looked up at Zana from beneath her dark lids: she was waiting for the Double Bender to contribute something to the conversation. Katara was hoping to find some material with which to judge just how bad her fight with Zuko had been, but Zana refused to oblige and only gave a curt grunt. She remained silent and stared at the flickering flames, as Katara had seen Zuko do many nights before. Must be a Fire Bender thing… she thought with a flitting smile.

Katara adjusted herself to make it more comfortable to sit there, or at least as comfortable as one can be positioned on a roughly pebbled beach. She looked over to see Momo and Aang chase each other around in a wide circle. Without turning her head, she said with a giggle, "It's hard to believe that he is the one who is supposed to be able to save the world…" Zana actually broke her staring match with the fire to look up at what Katara had been talking about. Her crystal eyes locked onto the young Avatar and his little companion. He was just a kid and he already had so much on his shoulders, yet Aang always seemed so cheerful and optimistic. Zana couldn't help but wonder why she and Zuko were just a few years older and had more bitterness in one limb than Aang had in his entire being and they had not nearly as much responsibility.

Zana was nearly jealous of how carefree Aang was when he had so much to think about in both the near and far future. She turned to make actual eye contact with Katara, "He's so happy now, so why did he disappear for so long?" Katara's eyebrows raised, "Aang? Well, he never really wanted to be the Avatar. The were going to take him away from his best friend and he wanted none of it-" The Water Bender continued to explain how she and Sokka had discovered Aang and Appa encased in the huge iceberg the young Avatar had created in order to protect them. How it had somehow shielded them for all those decades from aging and the elements. "I guess when you are the Avatar, anything is possible," Katara smiled.

Off to the side, there was a stumble and a pile of laughter as Aang and Momo crashed and tumbled over each other. With a faint smile of her own Zana spoke, "Yeah, you are right…" Katara stared at her, "About what?" "That it is pretty hard to believe that someday that boy will be responsible for the world…"

Soon enough, the sky grew a deep navy blue and there were hundreds of stars sprinkled above their heads and surrounding the moon like a glittering halo. Zana volunteered herself for the first watch while Iroh, Aang, and Katara fell fast asleep around the blazing fire she had made. As soon as she was sure that all of the others had fallen asleep, she stood and stretched her arms high above her head.

There was a slight and unusual chilly nip to the breeze. It was nearly the beginning of summer, but the weather made it feel like the early beginnings of fall instead. It caused Zana pull her worn cloak tighter around her body. To keep herself occupied during the nearly silent hours, she paced back and forth along the river's edge as her feet kicked the glistening pebbles with every step. It was a soothing sound, coupled with the running water less than a stone's throw away. Hugging her arms to her side, Zana realized that she had no intention of waking any of the others for their watches. She wanted to be awake and prepared for Zuko and Sokka's hopefully safe return.

The next morning, along with the warm hues of the sunrise, came a renewed strength for Zana. She had stayed up the entire night just hoping for any sign of the two teens, but by the time the full moon was directly above her in the sky, she realized that Zuko would have been smart enough to bed down for the night and wait for the rejuvenating light.

The rays that cast across everything not covered by the trees began to wash over the exhausted Zana-helping her not to feel so worn out and tired. She sat on the outskirts of the small camp, facing the woods with her knees pulled tightly to her chest. Zana resembled a small forlorn child with her sleeves covering her clasped hands and hood pulled taut atop her head.

Even without looking, she was able to tell that all of the other traveling companions were still fast asleep by the slight snoring and sleepy-rustling sounds from beside her. Zana sighed. She was still hoping that the boys were ok, but she was so tired after traveling for so far and long without rest. Not to mention that her fight with Zuko had emotionally drained her as well. She kept watch a little while longer until her eyelids became unbearably heavy. Her sight flickered in and out with her consciousness, until she saw movement from the tree line. She sat up straight and when the motion did not stop, Zana stood in her ready-stance.

She had no idea what to expect, but a wave of relief washed over her once she saw Zuko's frame shove his way through the brush. Soon after came Sokka's clumsy body. Without another thought, She broke out into a full run to greet the returning boys. She was going to go straight to Zuko, but she thought twice about it and veered off at the last second and landed in Sokka's arms with a laugh instead, "I am so glad that you're ok!"

After traveling for an hour or so Zuko and Sokka finally reached the edge of the forest. "The end, at last!" cried Sokka. Zuko looked back over his shoulder and spoke very matter-of-factly, "Yes, but I don't know how sure I can be that we are going to come out somewhere near the campsite."

"I don't care," Sokka called ahead, "at least we are getting out of these dismal woods!" Zuko couldn't help but snicker to himself in agreement. He too wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but probably for much different reasons than Sokka had. Zuko wanted to speak with Zana–to at least try to apologize for acting like he had earlier. The light grew brighter still and soon Zuko shoved his way past some bushes and branches and into the blinding sun. He was all at once rejuvenated with a surge of the power he had been missing, but it was so bright and different from the dim forest that it took Zuko a few seconds to catch his bearings.

Squinting, he was able to see a few shapes that looked as if they made out a campsite, but he was interrupted when Sokka shoved past him, nearly knocking him over. By then, Zuko was able to see where they were and they, in fact, had come out somewhat near their campsite. Then, there came Zana. She was running at the two of them as if they had been gone for weeks instead of a night. For a second, he thought she was going to jump into his arms, but she ended up landing in Sokka's. Zuko couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

Sokka and Zana ended up toppling backwards into the brush with bouts of laughter. Zuko sidestepped the two and moved to help Zana up. She turned her face to the sky to see Zuko. There was still a smile brightening her eyes and the sight made Zuko's heart skip half a beat. She reached up for his hand and took it as he gently pulled Zana to her feet. Their eyes locked for the first time since their fight and Zuko slowly opened his mouth to speak, "Zana…we-" "Hey! Sokka still stuck down here!" the warrior called up as he pulled at his tunic hem that Zuko had accidentally been standing on.

With a growl, Zuko stepped off of Sokka and Zana slipped her hands from his. She instead helped Sokka to his own feet. "Come on…they should all be awake back at the camp. No one could have slept through that ruckus," Zana said with a giggle. She and Sokka walked ahead and Zuko soon followed slowly behind. He may have missed it, but he thought he saw Zana glance back over her shoulder at him, but he may have been mistaken.