Disclaimer: Avatar belongs to Nickelodeon and it's creators, sadly of which I am not part of.
Iroh walked back into the little clearing, his arms full of firewood, just as Zuko was adjusting his loose pants. He stopped and looked at his nephew with one brow raised in a silent question. Sensing his Uncle's presence, Zuko looked up and caught his gaze, "What!? Don't look at me like that Uncle! She was just healing my leg."
Katara was seated as far away as possible from the arrogant Prince, her back towards the two firebenders, but nevertheless heard their little exchange and her cheeks heated madly. Desperate to change the subject and distract him, she turned back to Iroh. "General Iroh, I'm done healing Zuko. I can cook breakfast now if you start the fire."
But the older man walked over to the center of the camp and began to arrange the firewood, "Nonsense, my dear. I volunteered to cook, so I will cook. I think you would probably like to take a break anyway. If you insist, you may help the others."
Right on cue the rest of their little group appeared; Aang and Sokka's arms were loaded with various provisions, followed by Toph hauling a bucket of water. With the supplies Iroh set to work; setting up pots and dishes, boiling the water, and preparing the oats. The others excepting Toph and Zuko (who sat on his blankets and sulked, or so it seemed to Katara) began to chop up different fruits. While the young people settled around and made casual conversation as they worked, Iroh flew around the campfire as if he had been born a culinary artist instead of being waited on hand-and-foot for most of his life. He finished quickly and all enjoyed a relatively simple but hearty and delicious breakfast of porridge and honey topped with fresh fruit. Even Zuko ate the peasant food in respective silence, if only because his Uncle had prepared it; he had sworn after his brief stint as a fugitive and refugee that he would never eat such crap again. And although he would never have admitted it, he found that the food was edible, even pleasant.
As everyone was finishing up, Appa and Momo as well with their respective breakfasts, Aang got to his feet before the others. "Hmmm," he cleared his throat, slightly awkward. He had been thinking about their situation quite intently that morning as he gathered nuts and berries in the forrest. They had come together, now what were they supposed to do? Fight evil? How, where to start? He figured that perhaps they might all start off with a simple task together; an errand. "...It's not too far, but it's still a hike. I think we should leave one or two behind to stay with Appa and your creatures. What did you call them? Horses?" The group still had not time to examine these strange creatures, but after an affirmative nod from Zuko he continued, "They might be too noticeable. But we can get everything that we need. Okay so who wants to stay behind?"
Toph immediately volunteered; for too long had she been confined behind constricting walls in a silly dress hiding her bending ability. Out in the tranquility and loneliness of the forest, far from the irritating and erratic vibrations of the hustle and bustle of civilization, is where the earthbender felt truly at home. In the middle of the woods she would be surrounded by solid earth, and was deemed capable enough in the unlikely event of an attack.
After all was said and considered, it was decided that the rest of the group would go: Iroh would rather perish than pass up a shopping spree. Katara had to go, as she was the buyer and organizer of the group's supplies. Aang went because he felt that it was his duty to unite the new group and lead them. Zuko was wrangled into the journey by his Uncle, and Sokka went to eat food, keep an eye on a certain former Fire Prince and watch out for his sister. So the five set off hiking through the quiet woods, each conscious of that fact that this very group had been mortal enemies and battled each other on numerous occasions. But all kept quiet with the residual tension as they hiked onward, each unsure of what lay before them.
The quiet tranquility of the forest highlighted the pervasive silence of the mismatched group of five as they trekked towards the village. Aang and Iroh had once or twice tried to strike up a conversation, but soon the lack of response made them stop and once more the travelers were silent. Finally after an hour or two's walk they reached the smallish, rural village. It was not terribly small perhaps, but after the enormity of Ba Sing Se, so it seemed to the group. It was however filled with good people selling their wares in a small, but noisy and crowded marketplace, hardworking earth people from nearby farms and homes, and a gaggle of children giggling and running to and fro. Aang, Zuko, Iroh, Katara, and Sokka drew some notice (whispers, looks, and subtle murmurings) as they entered the town; it was not often such foreign looking people passed through.
"Okay, so I think we should split up," Aang suggested from under his conical hat. "How about Katara and Iroh, you go to the market and buy the food and we'll get the other odds and ends. How much money do we have left?"
"About 100 gold earth-sovereigns," Katara answered as she gave the heavy sack a good shake.
"Err well," Zuko began hesitantly. "I swiped some money from the Palace before I left. I suppose since we're all 'together' now, it should go towards our expenses."
"Thank you Zuko," Aang replied, pleasantly surprised. "Give it to Katara. She usually takes care of the money and the budget and buying stuff."
The exiled Prince recoiled. "You leave the money matters up to a girl? In the Fire Nation…"
"Well in this Nation," Katara snatched the bag out of his hand, "I'm the most mature apparently. These two would impulse-buy every little piece of junk and disgusting morsel of food they came across." Her eyes glinted dangerously as she gazed at him defiantly, as if daring him to argue.
But Zuko, in no mood for a fight, held up both hands in appeasement and shrugged, "Fine."
Katara was taken aback but satisfied and gave him a short jerk of her head before eyeing the new money pouch. Upon opening it and examining the contents more closely, her eyes widened and nearly bulged out of her head. "There has to be at least 300 gold pieces in here!"
The supplier merely shrugged; he had just blindly grabbed.
"Well we shouldn't have any financial problems for awhile. I think that since we have extra funds we should all get an equal share of a part of it for personal items; we could all do with that. I'll give Toph hers when we get back to the camp, because I have no idea what she'd want," She concluded thoughtfully and glanced down at her own well-worn Water Tribe regalia.
"Wow! Thanks Katara!" exclaimed her brother. "Usually you're such a tightwad that…" he stopped at the look she was giving him. Don't push it Sokka! Just remember all those tasty meaty scrumptious treats…"Sokka you're drooling."
Zuko was surprised as well at her unexpected generosity, and took the handful of coins doled out by the waterbender gratefully. He could well use some clothes and perhaps a razor and maybe, he took a discrete sniff of himself, some soap.
So the group dispersed into the market of the small town, Zuko immediately breaking off from the company of Aang and Sokka. Let the others get supplies for the group, he had contributed with the gold. He wandered around, buying the necessities and avoiding the peasants and their occasional stares and whispers. Despite living as a refugee for a time, Zuko had never really become comfortable around these commoners; perhaps it was a bit of residual Fire Nation Royal prejudice, maybe some disgust and condescension, but it was mostly a lot of fear, anger, and misunderstanding.
Meanwhile, as Sokka and Aang were off having fun on their own, Katara was having a fun but exasperating time with Iroh. He certainly had an eye for a bargain, she'd give him that, and he could haggle extremely well, but his eyes were also bigger than his stomach; he wanted to buy a large quantity of everything the market had to offer, especially expensive, exotic, unnecessary items. For the fifth time Katara dragged the old man away from a cart advertising some type of awful foreign, candied-meat. She sighed, for a wise old man this was like shopping with a child! "Iroh," she said gently, "I think we have enough food. Why don't we start buying some the personal items we need?" The old general's eyes took on a dangerous gleam.
"Excellent idea Ms. Katara!" And with that exclamation he grabbed her hand and proceeded to drag her through the shops. Katara had to hand it to him; the man knew how to shop, even if he was a bit on the…overenthusiastic side. Arms and bags finally overflowing, he turned to his young companion, "Okay now I can just head over to that basket weaver over there and…"
"How about I meet you by the fountain? I have everything I need except for my clothes. I think I saw a seamstress somewhere over there," she said indicating with a jerk of her thumb over her shoulder.
Iroh smiled. "That's fine Ms. Katara. I completely understand." She smiled slightly and gave a short bow before turning and leaving. "Make sure you splurge on at least one thing for yourself!" he called after her retreating back. She found the little shop quickly enough and entered through the low wooden doorway, revealing the dim store, with light filtering in the windows and illuminating the streaming clouds of dust. Lining the shelves and racks of the one-roomed store, to her relief, were clothes that were mostly pre-made, simple, and sturdy. And they have blue!! The kindly, middle-aged shopkeeper smiled when Katara entered and swept to her side gracefully, leaving the only other customer present. The girl glanced up as the woman crossed the room and took note that, although by no means was she rich or opulent this woman had taste and style.
"Yes my dear, anything I can help you with?"
"Oh, I'm just looking for simple, practical stuff. Like underwear I guess."
"Alright then, help yourself," she indicated the expanse of the store with her arms spread wide. "And if you need anything fitted or altered, or want to try something on, just holler. Also, I have a good selection of fabrics if you want anything made."
Katara nodded and smiled at the helpful shopkeeper and proceeded to peruse the selection of clothes. She ended up choosing a few pairs of socks and stockings, simple shirts and undershirts, extra breast bands and underwear, a pair of sturdy earth boots, a few blue outer robes almost identical to her current dress, and two pairs of loose, navy blue pants. As she was about to find the owner, arms full of cloth, her eye was caught by the fluttering of an ivory white sleeve protruding from an overstocked rack of clothing. Strange, there's no breeze in here. Shrugging, the girl made her way over to the rack on which the ivory cloth was beckoning. Katara grunted with effort as she struggled to push apart the two opposing masses of clothing, when she did however, the Watertribe girl let out a soft gasp. The dress was long and flowing in both the belled sleeves and length; the white silk uncomplicated but beautiful in its understated simplicity, and set off by the royal blue tie around the waist.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Katara whipped around; mesmerized by the dress, she hadn't noticed the older woman appear at her side. She looked at the woman now and nodded mutely, who chuckled in reply. "Yes it's very rare we ever get Water Tribe through here, no one else has much suited or favored the color. Perhaps it was here waiting for you. But if you like this, I have something in the back that'll make it look like an old moldy rag. It was actually made for Water Tribe, worn by a Princess as I understand it." Katara found her arm suddenly seized and her body being propelled through the store. "Don't know why I didn't think of it before, when you walked in. It'll be absolutely perfect for you!" This last was muttered under the woman's breath as they went through a set of green curtains that smacked the girl in the face as she was pulled along. Still going at full speed, other unique and obviously exclusive dresses, displayed haphazardly along the long dark hall, passed by in a bewildering blur. When the shopkeeper finally halted at the end of the hall and dropped Katara's hand; she let out an inaudible sigh of relief and took the opportunity to rub her sore wrist, while the other woman bent over and fumbled with the handle of the ornate wooden door. "Hmm, now where was, ahhh," the lock clicked, the older woman opened it with a flourish, walked in, and stood holding it ajar for Katara with an inviting smile.
Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the sudden brightness of the small sky-lit room, and then the room and the woman vanished, and all that she was conscious of was this dress. The blue dream was draped on a mesh wire frame, molded to imitate a female form, and seemed to move and flow as if a magical breeze was there for its benefit alone. It brought the mesh form to life; caressing and floating around the wire as it would a real woman's body. The deep blue shimmering silk continually changed color, as it gently swayed under the hazy ray of sunlight illuminating it from above. Katara was still gazing raptly at the dress when the woman beside her spoke and brought her sharply back to reality. "You like it my dear?"
The Water Tribe girl started. "Oh yes," she breathed, "it's beautiful. But it's not like any Water Tribe style I've quite seen before."
"Would you like to try it on?"
A few moments later Katara stood peering into a large cracked mirror hanging on the inside of the door. She smoothed the silk over her hips with her fingers and twisted slightly from side to side as she marveled at the dress, and the changes it wrought in her person. The deep blue transient silk now moved and flowed with her body, playing with the sunlight pouring in from above, and making it seem as if she were really wearing a dress of her proud element. White silk trimming on the edge of the dress hung loose and almost off-shoulder in the collar, but came down again to meet in a low-cut but modest neckline and set off her smooth tan skin nicely. The fabric folded and crossed over her chest; the left edge folding over the right and curving gently out to accentuate the right hip and flowing back to the center of her body, where it became hidden underneath the large, pale blue silk band wrapped around her waist. In the middle of the cinching wrap there was sown a simple silver crescent moon, a tribute to her people. Underneath the wide piece of fabric the two edges of the dress met once again and gradually parted, resembling a drawn curtain, to reveal the white silk under dress. The dark blue outer dress ended three quarters of the way to the floor, and from its edged hem, a delicate pattern of curling white vines climbed knee high. This design seemed to complement the line of dark blue, rolling waves showing on the bottom of the ivory under dress. With a final look she tore herself away from the mirror and slowly opened the door. She stood, framed by the doorway for a few moments as her companion began a slow, admiring smile. The older woman let her beaming face stand as an answer to Katara's unasked question and merely said, "It was made a long time ago for a Water Tribe Princess, as a coming of age present. Her father sent away for a famous tailor of the time, from the Fire Nation as it so happens. And he took elements and design styles from all of the Nations, but primarily her tribe, to make it. Simple, yet beautiful and elegant and absolutely perfect for you. Fit for a Princess, no?" Her eyes crinkled and shone in the dim light of the hall as she once again admired the dress on the girl.
Katara digested this information and unconsciously twisted her body, running her hands over the smooth, light fabric. And then sighed dreamily in subconcious agreement and regret. "I don't know if it's perfect for me, but it's very very beautiful. Unfortunately though, I have no occasion to wear it and I doubt I could afford it."
"Nonsense, why this dress was absolutely waiting here for you, calling out; it must be fate. I'll tell you what, you buy the white silk one you were admiring earlier and I shall give you this one free of charge. As for an occasion, I'm sure a pretty girl like you will find one," she finished with her eyes sparkling. Katara opened her mouth to protest but the woman waved her words away. "Phoo, phoo! It would be a crime not to let you have this! Come along then."
Continually deaf to all of her objections, Katara finally resigned herself and let the woman wrap her purchases, specially packaging the two magnificent dresses. She thanked and bowed profusely to her enigmatic benefactor as the woman waved her from the shop. Still shocked at her good fortune, the girl didn't notice when she found herself at the town's fountain and was still lost in thought when Iroh arrived with his arms full of even more packages. But she focused on him in amusement when he proceeded to set them down and pick through them one-by- one, holding them up for Katara to examine and profess an opinion.
As it was his habit and nature, Zuko was quick and efficient in his shopping; keeping all purchases to necessary items. Once he was done he figured he had plenty of time left to find the others, and so he wandered aimlessly around the little town finding nothing of note and certainly, not surprisingly, nothing that caught his fancy. (Zuko was the type of person where nothing ever really 'caught his fancy,' except perhaps a finely made weapon). So it was by accident that he stumbled upon his Uncle and Katara standing by the large, bulky Earth fountain. He was about to reluctantly approach them when he noticed what they were doing, and he stopped abruptly, snorted, and shook his head. His Uncle had done this many times in the past to his aggravation; going through each and every purchase in detail, and asking what he thought. Zuko almost grinned as he settled back in the shadows, against the side of a stone building. He decided to let Iroh continue for awhile, what better way to get a little vengeance on the girl and some entertainment in the process?
However, as he leaned nonchalantly against the rough stone a lone, hooded figure caught his attention. The former Fire Prince was trained to sniff out any possible danger; his senses were tuned to notice anything out of place, or not quite right. The dark green figure stood out from the crowd in Zuko's mind, because he so desperately wanted to be unobtrusive. His hood conspicuously raised, he was staying to the shadows a short distance behind his Uncle and the waterbender, keeping unnaturally still except for the very occasional, subtle twist of the head towards the two by the fountain. It was as if he was straining to hear them so much and stay so still, that he stuck out like a silent statue in a noisy, hustling crowd. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. He studied the figure another moment or two. No, definitely something off there, I'll test him out.
Zuko carefully stepped out of the concealing silhouette of the building and joined the moving crowd of people in the square, heading towards his Uncle and Katara still at the front of the fountain. "Uncle! Katara!" he yelled, once he was a few feet from them. Sure enough he saw or rather felt the mysterious figure shift in interest. Still speaking loudly he continued, "Thank gods I found you two. I got separated from Aang and Sokka and was wandering around on my own. I'm all done shopping, ready to go?" As he finished he maneuvered himself in-between the two and started to lead them away from the middle of the square. But he was having trouble budging Katara, who had done a double take and was currently staring at him as if he had started skipping merrily and handing out flowers. Iroh meanwhile, shifted his packages and Zuko finally managed to propel them both forward.
"You said my name," Katara pronounced in wonder. "You said my name," this time she said it slowly and suspiciously as she continued to let him steer her. "I didn't even think you remembered it!"
"Indeed nephew why so exuberant all of a sudden? I haven't seen…"
Zuko dropped his false cheery demeanor and said in a low, urgent voice, "Listen to me, both of you, and don't look anywhere but straight ahead no matter what I say." His suspicions had been confirmed as the hooded figure moved away from the wall and began to follow them stealthily. The young firebender had been tracking him with his peripheral vision. "Someone was watching you at the fountain, and they're following us now. He's in a dark green cloak with the hood pulled up. I'm going to go straight at him, and I want you two to split up and take opposite sides. We're going to try and corner him in an alley, okay?"
Katara and Iroh, though extremely surprised, said nothing and each gave an affirmative nod. "Good, ready? Now!" And without giving them any further time to think, Zuko spun around quickly and broke from his companions, running straight at the dark figure. The hooded man stood rooted to the spot for a split second as Zuko sprinted towards him, but turned on his heel and began to run swiftly in the opposite direction. Iroh closing in on the left, and Katara maintaining her position on the right, the man took off back through the market and the center of the village. He dodged around surprised villagers, shoving them aside, and knocking over various carts and goods as he tried to lose the three benders tailing him. But Zuko and Katara were closing fast on him, leaping and dodging around the different people and obstacles, with Iroh falling behind at a steady but slower pace. The Prince sprinted swiftly, feeling the power and ease of his body in full flight, how good it felt to be simply running freely, with the added spark of the lust of the hunt adding a feverish gleam to his amber eyes; he glanced to his right and was surprised to see Katara keeping up with him. She was fast for a girl, but he could tell he had more stamina and endurance as he pulled in front of her with an extra spurt of speed. Nearing the edge of the town, with fewer people around, they recognized the astonished faces of Aang and Sokka a short distance ahead. "Head him off!!!! Catch him!!" Zuko bellowed as he neared them, he was aching to blast his prey off of his feet, but couldn't risk a display of firebending.
Aang stood stunned for a moment as he watched the four figures running towards him, but quickly gained his head and shot a blast of air at the unfamiliar figure, knocking him back into a small alley between two shabby buildings. The whole group ran towards the alley, Zuko leading and only slightly winded, followed by a panting Katara, and a thoroughly confused Aang and Sokka. They spotted the figure they were pursing adjusting his hood and slowly climbing to his feet as Iroh finally jogged into the opening and stood behind the others, doubled up, wheezing and gasping with his hands on his knees. For the next few moments only varying degrees of heavy breathing were heard, magnified by the enclosed space as the gang scrutinized the man, who seemed to recover as well. He was slowly backing up as his head darted around the alley, looking for any possible escape routes. They truly had him trapped between two buildings and a high stone wall. Finally Zuko took the initiative, as it was his chase, and approached the figure authoritatively. "Alright, you've run your race. Now who are you and why were you spying on us?" The firebender's hand lit ever so slightly, small flames licking the knuckles of his closed fist. The man said nothing and continued to retreat until his back touched the earthen wall. Zuko followed his movements, advancing upon him slowly. When they were within an arm's length of each other the stranger made a sudden movement and the Prince countered with lightening speed; grabbing the man's hand with one of his own and throwing a forearm into his chest, effectively pinning him against the wall. Face-to-face Zuko peered at him for a moment and he abruptly dropped his arm and backed away as a shocked expression spread over his features. Without a word the stranger lifted his hand and slowly lowered the hood.
"Lieutenant Ji!" Iroh exclaimed from the behind the others.
Yup, cliffy. And no, I did not just write a bunch of fluff about pretty dresses. They are actually important to events later in the story. I did sketch out the second dress on Katara, as I had trouble describing it. When I get my act together, I'll post it on DeviantArt.