Chapter 5: Return

The next thing Zuko realized was that he was stuck. He couldn't move his arms or legs, and he couldn't feel them. He looked down at his body and saw that he was completely caged in ice. He thanked the gods that he was a fire bender, or else he was sure his blood would have frozen over. He began to look around for Katara and realized what a huge disaster they had caused. Steam was heavily casted around him, blocking his vision so he couldn't see anything 10 feet away from where he was. Zuko started to panic when he couldn't spot Katara.

"Katara!" yelled Zuko. "Are you okay? Where are you?" He cursed loudly when he tried to move but was still locked in the ice cage. Zuko growled in frustration. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. He felt his body heat up to a burning temperature and the ice melting away, the water sliding down his skin and evaporating. Suddenly, Zuko heard squishing noises and heavy breathing; he quickly opened his eyes and turned his head to the direction of the noise. Katara emerged from the mass of steam looking exhausted, her shoulders heaving up and down with every quick breath.

"Hi," she breathed out, and smiled at him. "How are you doing?" Katara let out a small laugh and she breathed out again, still looking at Zuko. Relief hit Zuko when he saw that Katara was safe. The ice had thinned out enough for him to shift his arm and punch through the remaining layers. Shards of ice flew out as Zuko finally freed himself from the ice cage, with a huff of triumph. He stepped down when his foot squished into what felt like mud. The mighty river that was once there was reduced to a stream of muddy mess; the surrounding terrain was now splattered and covered in wet dirt. He looked towards Katara again, just in time to see her slowly close her eyes and fall forward.

"Katara!" yelled Zuko, in shock and worry. He quickly stepped forward and caught her in his arms before she hit the muddy earth. Zuko started with wide eyes at Katara and wondered what he should do, until he heard her quiet breathing. He told himself to calm down and get Katara to somewhere safe. He swung his other arm under her legs and lifted her up to his chest. Zuko carefully stepped through the mud, watching where he placed his feet. He definitely didn't want to slip and drop an unconscious Katara into the mud.

Zuko continued walking step by step until he felt the firm ground under his feet. His heart beat wildly when he felt Katara squirm in his arms, slowly opening her eyes again. He laid her down against a tree and checked to make sure that she was awake.

"Katara?" asked Zuko. "Can you hear me? Are you all right?" He lightly shook her shoulder and watched Katara open her eyes again.

"How nostalgic…" she mumbled. Zuko sat in front of Katara, watching her with a bewildered expression.

"You're crazy," remarked Zuko, but relieved that she was responding to him. Katara lightly smiled at his comment and let out another deep breath.

"Sorry, Zuko," said Katara. "I had to let out some extra steam." Zuko nodded in understanding, he knew that she had been distressed about the whole Sokka situation. Katara looked towards where the river once was, which was partially covered by the thick steam. "Quite literally actually." She joked.

Zuko released a small laugh at her lame word pun. Katara continued to breathe hard and closed her eyes, frowning.

"Katara, are you okay?" asked Zuko. He started to reach out with his hands when she slowly opened her eyes again. Her bright blue eyes seemed to grow dull with every shallow breath.

"Yeah," she managed to say. "I guess that took a lot more out of me than I expected. I'll be up in up in a moment. Can you go look for our stuff?"

Zuko was reluctant to leave an exhausted Katara by herself. He hesitated to agree, but nodded quickly and pushed himself up. He looked towards Katara with a worried look before he took off.

"Don't go anywhere," said Zuko, pointing warningly to her. "I'll be right back."

Katara lightly scoffed at his comment and raised an eyebrow at him. "I can't exactly move, Zuko."

He nodded in content and gave Katara a reassuring smile, before turning around and walking back towards their original spot. The steam had thinned out, the water slowly returning to the river in small droplets. He lowered himself into the bank and began walking carefully through the muddy water. Once Zuko reached the other side, he realized how exhausted, and out of shape he was. He stopped to catch his breath when he spotted their things. Relieved that no mud was splattered against their shoes and clothes, Zuko started to pick up Katara's baggage first. Her bow was even more beautiful up close; it stood up to his shoulder, and was coated in brilliant silver. There was a red strike down the length of the bow. Even the quiver has small intricate designs in silver that Zuko could not decipher. He threw on Katara's cloak over his shoulder, and swung the quiver over his chest. The river had to be crossed again, so Zuko decided he would just carry their shoes over.

Zuko was about to leave when he heard a small grunt from the forest. Alarmed, he turned towards the noise but didn't see anything through the thick mass of trees. He frowned and shook his head for being overly cautious, when a blur of red chased by blue shot through the trees. He knew there weren't animals with a red or blue color like that in the mountains, so Zuko tensed and prepared himself. When nothing happened for the next moment, Zuko began to doubt himself. He sighed quietly and decided it was best to return to Katara and get going. They had lost time sparring in the river. Not to mention Zuko had walked in the wrong direction so they had to travel further.

He took one last look into the trees just to assure his troubled mind, and when nothing appeared, he relaxed his body and turned to walk the other way.

The short trip back was harder than the first. The water started to build up again, and the steam had almost cleared. Zuko pushed his legs through the water, thankful that the currents were still weak; otherwise, he figured he would've dropped all their things.

To his relief, Zuko spotted Katara still leaning against the tree. He lengthened his strides, eager to reach her faster, and make sure she's still okay. Katara titled her head, and smiled at his approach. She had more color to her face, her eyes returning to its bright blue shade, and her heavy breathing was replaced with deep quiet breaths.

"Hey," said Katara. "What took you so long?"

"Was I really gone that long?" mused Zuko. Every time he was away from Katara, and came back, it indeed felt like he hadn't seen her in a while. He quickly casted away the thought and continued, "Sorry, the river had to be crossed there and back, and I guess I got lost in… how to bring our things over." Zuko didn't think it was necessary to mention the weird blurs he saw, especially when nothing happened afterwards. He finally convinced himself he was probably seeing things due to the steam and his exhaustion. Katara nodded with an amused face, accepting his reason.

"You did bring everything, right?" asked Katara.

"Yes, of course," Zuko replied. He slipped the cloak off his shoulder and handed it to Katara; his heartbeat quickened when her hand slipped under his to receive it. Zuko casually took his hand back, and pulled off the quiver from his body, handing it to Katara along with her bow and her shoes.

"Thanks," said Katara smiling up at him. Zuko smiled back at her and nodded a 'uh-huh". He sat down in front of her and began to strap his shoes back on.

"So how are you feeling now?" asked Zuko. He concentrated on putting on his shoes so he wouldn't have to look at her face and find a blush run across his cheeks.

"Better. I did some breathing exercises and rested while you were gone," replied Katara.

"Well," started Zuko, he finished with his shoes and didn't have anything else to occupy himself with, so he started to fiddle with his necklace. "I meant more emotional wise… you know, after letting off some extra steam." Zuko felt entirely awkward with himself. He knew he was no good at asking people these kinds of things. He was always a straightforward guy; mushy-feely kinds of subjects were never really addressed for him. But despite the awkwardness, Zuko still felt the urge to know Katara better.

"I'm still confused about it, and I'm not willing to accept his reasonless demand…" said Katara. "But I am more peaceful inside. I've decided that I'll listen to him for now and just ask him about it later." Katara shrugged, having a small smile on her lips. "Sokka always said not to bend if I don't have to, so letting all that out was actually really refreshing. Thanks, Zuko." Her smile widened as see locked eyes with him.

"Glad to be of service, ma'am," said Zuko with a sarcastic tone. But that was his true feelings. He was glad to be of help to Katara, especially when she had taken such great care of him, ever since she first found him half dead.

Katara continued to smile at him until she looked down to Zuko's fiddling hands.

"You know, I was wondering what this was when I healed your neck on the first night," said Katara. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not," said Zuko shaking his head. "Don't be afraid to ask me things, Katara." He stopped twirling the necklace in his hands and showed it to Katara. It was a circle shaped blue stone, with silver wave like markings. It was embedded into a red back piece that had fire symbol on it. The stone was hooked with a golden clamp, allowing the blue chain to loop through it. Zuko always liked how the necklace's chain was long, so he could tuck it under his robe. Katara brought her face close to Zuko's to admire the stone.

"It's so beautiful," said Katara. Zuko tried not to think about the heat of her words against his face. "Where did you get this?"

"Actually," said Zuko. "It's something that was given to me by my mother apparently. My uncle says it protects the person who wears it. And I was told some ancestor of mine really treasured it, so it's been passed down the family ever since."

"Then it must be important to you," Katara remarked, still admiring the necklace. She seemed to be in a trance like state, looking at the stone.

"I guess," said Zuko. He frowned at Katara's blank stare and waved a hand in front of her face. "Katara? You okay? Do you like it that much?"

"Oh no! It's not like that," said Katara, blushing and waving her hands in front of her. "I mean—I just thought it looked familiar. Sorry." She pulled back from Zuko, letting go of the necklace.

"No need to apologize," said Zuko shrugging. He pulled the necklace back under his robes where it was hidden from view. He looked around the forest and back at Katara with a raised eyebrow.

"Should we actually start walking up the river now?" asked Zuko, letting out a small laugh. "I wouldn't be surprised if Sokka already made it up there before us." Katara also laughed at the realization.

"Well, excuse me," said Katara with a sarcastic tone. She smiled again and continued, "He did say to hurry up and get to your house, whoops… I guess we have to get going now."

Zuko nodded in agreement and jumped to his feet, eager to give his hand out to Katara, and help her up. She took it with a small 'thanks' and picked up her bow. Her quiver and cloak were already swung over her body. After adjusting, Zuko started walking back towards the river—or at least what was left of it—with Katara comfortably next to him.

It was too quiet. After following the path of the river, Zuko began to recognize the terrain that was closer to his house. He was thankful that his uncle decided to mark a few of the trees surrounding their house when they first came, just in case one of them got lost. But something felt off. Zuko frowned and began to lengthen his strides.

"Are we close to your house?" asked Katara when he began to walk faster.

"Yeah," said Zuko, still frowning. "But something isn't right. You can usually hear the animals making noise, and the house is always lively…" Zuko's frown deepened as he heard his own words. "I just have a bad feeling about this."

"I do too," said Katara. "The air around here feels really dry. I can barely feel the moisture in the air."

Zuko suddenly stopped, surprising Katara behind him. She was right, the air felt undeniably dry—something he hadn't noticed due to his naturally high body temperature. But this was an aftereffect of something he knew of very well. He knew what had happened.

"Zuko?" inquired Katara, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"Let's hurry," said Zuko. His speed walk burst into a run towards his home. He didn't want to prove his theory right, but he had to see what had happened. Zuko could hear Katara's breathing behind him, and he knew she was still drained from their previous spar. He internally apologized, promising that he would do his best to take care of her later. Zuko's stomach lurched with nervous anticipation as he blurred through the trees closest to where his house was. His worst nightmare confirmed.

Zuko felt his breath leave him as he took in the scene before his eyes. A large rectangle of black ash covered where his house once was. Only a few of the wooden boards that supported his house was in a pile at the center. The wooden fence that held the animals was burned, all the animals gone. Pain battered through his chest when he realized that his uncle was nowhere to be seen. He heard a gasp escape from Katara, as Zuko's world began to shatter.

A/N: I realized that my chapters are slowly getting longer.
Well folks, this is the ending that I wanted to reach in the previous chapter, but I couldn't fit it. It's a daunting cliff hanger, I know.
Anyways, please continue to read and review. Reviews motivate me to write, knowing that there's someone out there who is waiting for the story to update, and I appreciate each and every one of them! Stay awesome.