Wanted
Chapter 6
Secrets
Zuko wondered what "Katara" meant as they collected themselves. The name struck him oddly for reasons he didn't quite understand. They had just been attacked; one of them fatally injured and all he could think about was the definition of some foreign word. He forgot about it quickly and helped his uncle to his feet.
They didn't wait long to pull Hakoda's unconscious body into the protection of the woods. Sokka insisted on carrying the boy himself while Zuko could only follow. Iroh stayed behind, burning away the droplets of blood that would otherwise leave a trail. Looking at the wound, and the steady stream of blood that flowed out, Zuko decided it would be a miracle if Hakoda managed to live. Sokka, on the other hand thought otherwise.
"Water. We need water." He declared, almost tripping over a fallen log.
'Water? I'm pretty sure it's going to take more then just water to fix this. Probably even a blood transfusion or three.' Zuko wanted to say, but kept it to himself. He really didn't need to be the voice of icy reason.
"Is the child a healer?" Iroh asked as he shot out several small darts of flame, causing the blood to sizzle and evaporate.
"The only one outside the Northern City." Sokka replied, still rushing frantically forward. He almost fell into a pool of water a moment later. A look of sheer relief flooded over his face and he slowly bent forward to set his brother into the pool.
"Wait!" Iroh protested, stopping Sokka suddenly. "The pool is too cold, hypothermia will only make the healing harder to accomplish if not impossible."
"Well then what the heck am I supposed to do then?" Sokka yelled, frustration evident in his pained and dirty face. Looking around Zuko realized that they were all dusty and covered in forest litter, sand and mud.
Iroh turned to Zuko, "Nephew, can you please heat the pool?" He requested. "It doesn't have to be hot, just warm enough so the chill doesn't kill the child."
"I don't see-"
"Please Zuko." Iroh interrupted, pointedly looking at the dying waterbender.
Zuko quickly looked away from the hideous wound sticking out of the waterbender's back. It was a war arrow, meant to pierce thick armor and steal. Currently it was wedged deep mid-back, narrowly missing the waterbender's spine. He had no idea how anyone other then a highly trained physician could even come close to managing a recovery. And they were in the middle of a mountain forest without even a bag of rice to their name. How could this possibly be a hopeful situation? Sighing, Zuko decided that there was probably something he didn't know and he was only wasting time contemplating doubt. Quickly he rolled up his sleeves and plunged his hands into the water. He almost pulled them out again when he realized the icy temperature of the pond.
Uncle had been right. The water probably would've killed anyone other then a firebender. He began to heat up the pool as rapidly as he could. Behind him he could hear his uncle talking to Sokka.
"You're going to have to remove the shirt."
"Hakoda wouldn't want that." Sokka replied. "I don't want that."
"I assure you, Zuko is no threat." Iroh whispered, though Zuko could still hear it. "Your secret is safe with us."
"I'm going to get beaten for this." The young man sighed. A resounding rip sounded through the air, signaling the complete removal of the waterbender's shirt.
"The pool will cool quickly, so I suggest having Zuko take her into the water."
Zuko spun around. Her?
Long flowing brown hair spread across the forest floor and a shirtless torso exposed crisp white breast bindings that had effectively hid the presence of a feminine form. Long slender arms and wide hips forced Zuko's jaw open. Hakoda was not a boy.
Zuko stared dumbly at young woman covered in blood. This whole time he had been traveling with a master female waterbender, a rarity almost unheard of. 'Katara' suddenly made sense. It was not a word for 'brother' or anything else that would've made sense earlier. Katara was her name.
"Why was this a secret?" he asked, standing up to face Sokka fully.
The younger man sighed, visibly dropping his shoulders. "It's a really long story."
"I'd usually say, 'I have time.' But it appears that we don't." Zuko replied coldly, angry that he had been tricked so soundly. Even his uncle knew and did not tell him!
A pleading look passed over both Iroh's and the Water Tribesman's face. "I promise I'll explain the story later, just please help her now. She's dying and she's all that I have left."
Zuko knew that feeling; knew the plea. He still didn't completely understand how a lukewarm pool of water was going to save the life of the girl laying in the moss, but for some reason Uncle and Sokka were convinced it was a possibility. He decided he'd get made later and help now.
"What do I do?" he finally asked.
"Just keep the water warm and make sure she doesn't drown." Sokka explained. "The light is a bit intense. Don't let it startle you, it's not dangerous."
"Light?"
Iroh chuckled quietly, "You will see. But the time to act is coming to a close, so lets move quickly."
With that Zuko bent over the girl and gently picked her up, careful not to aggravate the wound that was already causing the color to drain out of her tanned skin. An ashy parlor was starting to settle in her face, giving her the look of death. Zuko wondered if they were already too late.
"Just step into the water." Iroh instructed, helping his nephew down into the pool. True to Iroh's prediction, the water had already cooled dramatically and Zuko was forced to raise his inner fires to raise the temperature. The pool was deeper then he anticipated and Zuko soon found himself chest deep. Zuko held Katara close to his body to ensure that she stayed warm. Her head rolled back into the water and he was forced to cup the back of her head with one hand while his other arm braced against her hips.
He briefly wondered how he could possibly mistake Katara's distinctly feminine body for that of a seemingly prepubescent boy. He suddenly realized that she was probably closer to his own age then had guessed and wondered how their group dynamic would change now that her identity had been exposed. He wondered if she'd start talking and tried to guess what her voice would actually sound like.
"You need to pull the arrow out." Iroh called from the edge of the pond, drawing Zuko's attention back to the present, looking down at the arrow he could see that tendrils of blood were slowly beginning to turn the water pink.
"What?" both Zuko and Sokka asked in shock. Pulling the arrow was the last thing you wanted to do with a wound like this!
"You need to pull the arrow out. She can't heal herself unconsciously and the shock of removing it will wake her enough for her to, hopefully, start the process." He explained.
"Hopefully?" Sokka asked, looking as ashy pale as his sister.
"Well… I've seen it happen before." Iroh reasoned.
"You better be right old man." Sokka replied. "Because I promise you're not going to want to see what happens if your wrong."
Zuko moved to set Katara's head against his shoulder and wrapped his fingers around the thick shaft of the arrow. "Sorry." He muttered into her ear before he gave a firm tug. A loud squelching sound signaled the removal of the arrow and Katara's body went ridged as she threw her head back and let out shriek of pain. A moment later the water of the pool illuminated into a bright shining blue and Zuko was temporarily blinded.
As the light began to fade, Katara's body began to relax, falling limp and submerging before Zuko caught her and pulled her head above the surface. Heavy breathing and a light coughing caused the waterbender's lungs to spasm and Zuko strained to keep her moving form as high above the surface as possible. Before Zuko could fully realize the intentions of her actions, Katara's arm gripped Zuko's shoulder and she pulled herself up so they were face to face.
Zuko looked at her dumbly as he held her body to his. A look of anger passed over Katara's face. "Crap." She muttered before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she promptly passed out.
"Did she just say 'crap'?" Sokka asked, pulling a thick blanket out of his sister's pack.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Is it a full moon?" Sokka questioned.
"It will be tomorrow." Iroh answered.
"Then yes." Sokka replied. "That's a very bad thing."
A/N: Two updates in two days! Aha! Thanks to sokkantylee and ElizabethIII for their lovely reviews! Critiques and reviews would be much appreciated, but you know… just reading it makes me happy.