Part One: Winter
Chapter Two: The Messenger Hawk
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender
They stood there, an uncomfortable silence filling the air.
Zuko took a last look at the camp and turned around.
Now, there was no excuse not to visit Azula.
Unless he stayed...
"Hey, Toph," she said quietly. Katara had sat there for an hour at least, holding Aang's hand and watching him breathe. In, out, in, out... she had to force herself to look at his face, wishing that those eyes would open, that those soft lips would smile.
The blind girl was glad she couldn't see, because she knew she couldn't bear to watch the agony on Katara's face.
"Zuko's here," Toph stated quietly, her faint words breaking the silence. Katara looked up, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
"But... no. He's with Mai at the Palace City."
"No, Katara. He's here, and he won't leave."
Katara sighed quietly. "Well, why won't he?"
"Sokka's trying to tell him that Aang needs rest, but..."
Toph paused for a moment.
"Well, he wants to see him. And you. He won't go away until he does."
Katara looked at the boy, so motionless and weak. She halfheartedly turned to the door of the room, as if expecting somebody to enter.
"Tell him no. I don't care if he stays, he just needs to let Aang rest."
Toph shrugged.
"Well, it's your choice, Katara... but Sokka... he won't-" She didn't need to finish, because Katara knew what she meant.
The Waterbender's eyes fell on Aang's sleeping form. Up, down, up, down... his chest rose in a slow, steady pattern.
"Fine, then. Just for a while. Then tell him to stay away," she muttered, looking away.
The shrill cry of a hawk filled the quiet air.
Sokka watched it fly through the sky, its wings gracefully circling the sun.
Zuko looked up as well. "Messenger hawk. Fire Nation."
The wings dipped, and the hawk landed. Sokka stared at it, transfixed.
"Looks familiar, that bird."
Ming quietly stepped into the throne room, her head bowed.
"Fire Lord Iroh, your tea," she said, a smile in her eyes.
The elderly man winked at her and accepted the brimming cup. It was freshly brewed, from the finest tea leaves of the day, and he sighed contently.
"Ah, the only thing that makes life on this throne bearable," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "The only thing that would make my day is sign of my nephew."
"There is none," Ming stated. What an amazing change in her life... since the war ended, she had gone from lowly prison guard to a servant of the Fire Lord. "Servant is such a demeaning word," Iroh had said that day. "After all, amazing kindness must be repaid, and you have done more for me in prison than you could ever do for me as Fire Lord. You are not a servant to me, Ming, but a friend. A friend to the Fire Nation."
Now, the Dragon of the West bowed his head. "Prince Zuko, I know, has never wanted to ascend the throne after what his father did to him... but I will show him that I can set things right."
"You already have."
"No. We- I- have the duty of bringing prosperity back to the world. By repairing the damage the Fire Nation has done," he stated, putting his steaming cup down.
"Isn't that the Avatar's job?" Ming asked quietly. Their eyes met, and Iroh sighed.
"The Avatar is not in ideal condition as of now."
"Toph, hurry up!" Sokka's voice rang out in the deserted camp.
A frazzled Toph came running up, a strained look on her face.
"Shut up, you big-eared oaf!" she felt like screaming back. Only concern for Aang made her bite her words back.
"What now, Sokka? Your incessant yelling is probably the reason Aang isn't recovering!" she hissed, trying to ignore Zuko in the background.
Sokka motioned towards the messenger hawk, although Toph couldn't see a thing. She waited, annoyed, until Sokka got her point and moved closer to her ear.
"Hawky came back," he murmured, glancing sideways at the messenger hawk. "It's a message from your parents!"
Toph's raised an eyebrow, then folded her arms. "Read it to me, then. And tell Prince over there to leave."
Sokka sighed. "Katara said it was fine...?"
"Yeah. She said whatever, okay? Just read the paper!" Toph hissed back, a defiant look on her face. The Earthbender's glare was deadly, and Sokka would've obeyed whatever she told him to do with that look in her eyes.
"You can go visit Aang now, alright?" Sokka called to Zuko. The prince glared at him and walked on.
"He left, now read me the message!" the blind girl demanded.
"Hold on, hold on!"
The hushed argument went on, but before long, Sokka, with a triumphant rustle of the paper, unrolled the scroll and skimmed the letter.
"What, what? I'm dying of impatience here!" The Earthbender shouted in annoyance, stomping her foot on the ground.
Silence for a moment. "Read it!" she demanded, and he sighed. No reply.
"Fine then, I'm leaving. There's obviously no point-"
"You have to promise not to get mad when I read this, alright?" Sokka interrupted softly. Toph stopped, she understood that tone. It was the voice Sokka used whenever something went totally wrong.
"No problem. You said it was from my parents..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes widened in realization.
Now Toph understood the severity of the situation. What if her parents were... dead?
No. Sokka didn't want her to get mad. She wouldn't get mad if her parents were dead.
But what if the Fire Nation... what if they killed her family?
She forced the thoughts back into her head, unable to accept that fact.
"Read it. Now." Get it over with.
Sokka looked at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes, and began to speak.
"Five minutes. Then get out."
Katara glared at the Firebender with cold severity in her eyes. Zuko had joined the troops a few weeks before the invasion, and even after the war, Katara still found it hard to trust him. She didn't know why it was so difficult; Zuko had done nothing wrong since he joined their side, but after the fight in the catacombs, after he helped to almost kill Aang...
Well, it was hard to see any good in him after that.
They had talked to each other several times, Zuko trying to make amends, and Katara treating him with the most civility that she could muster. Zuko had won the trust of Aang, of all people, and Zuko had gone as far as to offer to teach him Firebending. But Katara had refused to let that happen. She cared about Aang too much to let him get hurt again.
Zuko looked at the boy lying on the mat, and then at the girl, who was looking at the boy with expressionless, unreadable eyes.
"Is he alright?" He managed. Katara glared at him.
"No, he's not. His bones are broken and he's unconscious. He had some internal bleeding and his burns are not recovering. Is that enough for you?"
The prince looked at the Avatar, lying still and motionless.
"That cake," he said to himself, but she heard.
"What about it?" she whispered icily.
The teenager looked at the boy, then the cake, then the carved figurine. He noticed that it was in the shape of a bison.
He saw the girl's fingers, curled tenderly around the boy's, and the quiet sadness in her face.
It was obvious. Even he, of all people, could see it.
The Avatar wasn't going to live.
She wasn't about to accept it.
And he, the Fire Nation Prince, had no business here. He turned to leave.
"It's his birthday, by the way," he heard Katara say behind him.
He turned back around. He had no present.
At least he was there, then. At least he was there.
"Happy birthday Aang." He muttered. Zuko felt the intense glare of her cerulean blue eyes, like daggers pressing down on his back.
You are to return immediately to the Bei Fong household.
You have put the family in disgrace. The entire neighborhood now knows of you. Blind, weak, they say. A dishonor to the Bei Fong name.
But we, your loving parents, know how brave you are. We want you to come home.
We want to show them all who you are.
"I don't believe them." Toph said after a minute's silence.
"Toph, they're your-"
"There are no neighbors. The Bei Fongs have their own property."
"I don't know, but-"
"I've already brought the family disgrace. They haven't noticed yet?"
"You wrote a letter to them, so they're writing-"
"Loving parents. Who are they kidding?"
She turned to the warrior, a defiant look on her face.
"They lied to me too many times. I'm not going to take it anymore."
The warrior saw strength and resolution etched into every nuance of the Earthbender's expression. Saw how she was unfaltering, unwavering in the face of authority. He didn't know how to contain this girl, because she could break through metal and earth and anything.
And this girl, though blind, could see through lies.
She kicked the dirt, sent it flying. It scattered in the air, specks of brown in the evening chill.
"What are you saying?" He managed, trying to keep a hold on her. She wrenched free.
"That I don't care, Sokka."
I'm never going back again.
The chill of the evening enveloped them both until they were frozen in place, standing there for whatever reason.
Trying to forget.
Thanks for all the awesome reviews! It's more than I expected, though. Feedback for this chapter would be appreciated, too!
A Look Into Later Chapters: (I can't believe I'm writing this but) Zutaraness! Heartbreak! And if Aang ever wakes up again...
(P.S. Don't worry, Kataangers... there'll be more Kataang all the way!)