They Say That She Moves Like the Waves

By The Blearing Phoenix

Katara took it all out of herself; she pushed it out of her very shell. She exerted herself until she breathed it out in one long uneven stream of breath. Shifting her weight unto the ball of her left foot, she twirled around and caught herself as the air pushed her back. Katara leaned into the very sphere of it, and watched as flecks of her curly chocolate tendrils settled against the crook of her collarbone. A whip of liquid unfurled as she flexed her fingers, felt the smooth bone pop and she hissed as the tiny shards of pain dissolved like wisps of smoke. Zuko flashed through her mind, his mark of dishonor, his ash-hued hair all chopped messily and his three-day old stubble that tickled her cheek as she spun over him--all of this stuck in her mind.

'How can they all believe him and confide in him so well? Can't they see that he's a traitor!?' Her anger came out in the form of a whirling bubble that she lashed out against the earth, seeing chinks and specks of rock land in a small scattered ring around her. Her feet prickled but she ignored the sharp jabs of soreness that dominated and traveled along the soles of her bare feet. Muttering a curse in a rather unladylike manner, Katara wondered how Toph could even walk around barefoot like this all of the time. The Waterbender told herself to focus though and so she braced herself and rooted her feet into the irritating, prickling bits of rock, hissing as slivers of skin were punctured and torn.

Katara remembered how Zuko had almost burned Toph's feet how he'd almost singed her own hair this morning because he had thought that she was an enemy. Frowning at her split ends, Katara sniffed and caught the faint smell of burned hair, before she spun around, catching the pull of the small babbling streamlet. She pulled it away from the earth, waved it over the small rocks and hurled it against the rock, feeling her anger slowly ebb away.

'Who's to say that Zuko won't just betray us again and go running back to his sister . . . who's to say . . .that he can be trusted to easily?' Katara almost flinched as she felt a wetness trickle down her mocha-toned skin, it slid down where it terminated near her chin, where the tear died. Huffing out air, Katara felt the tightness in her chest cavity lessen as she plopped down wearily on the ground. The water calmed down as she whirled it back into its area near the gaping cavern. Above her she could see the canopy—an endless mass of bottle-green leaves that let shafts of sunny-orange light through.

A flash of red, green, blue, and smudged orange dominated her vision. Aang frowned disdainfully at her, his brown eyes losing that childlike obliviousness that normally lived within his light eyes.

"Whoa, sis what the heck got into you?! You went all psycho! When you said cool down I thought you meant that you'd do some silent 'Ohm' meditations. I never expected you to-to—," Sokka temporarily forgot the one word that he was looking for as he stared at the hollow of Earth that the infuriated Waterbender was currently sitting in.

"You never expected Sugar Queen to go and mess up the lovely scenery, right? Well, for one thing she certainly doesn't waste time letting us know that she's pissed." Toph remarked cattily.

"Gotta agree with you there. Listen Ka--," Zuko winced and quickly moved his head out of the way as an icicle shard whizzed by his ear, barely nicking the shell of it. Feeling the steady rise of heat in his chest, spreading out like tendrils against his very bones, Zuko suppressed the urge to burn Katara to a crisp. If the girl was going to be such a grumpy ass then he could be one too.

"Fine if you don't want to accept my humble apologies, then you can go ahead and be a grump about it! See if I care!"

"You—" Katara rose up feeling the sting of indignation and – How dare he use such a defiant tone with her—she prodded an ice-cool forefinger into his chest not even wincing as Sokka's hands tried to grip her sides. Pushing her elder brother away, Katara leapt at Zuko and pinned him to the ground with her dainty spidery fingers. Aang spun around, staff gripped tightly in his hand, and somewhere Katara could hear the faint gurgle of Momo as if the creature was voicing his own disappointment with her actions. Somehow, Katara just got angrier and she huffed like an angry dragon as a wave of air knocked her own breath out of her and gently pushed her away from the snarling face of the exiled prince.

"STOP!" Aang's voice made her calm down only for a moment and she watched him through wet bangs as she straightened her blue dress but it was all to no avail—moments later wrinkles formed as she rolled out the kink in her hipbone.

"Way to go Twinkletoes, you got the two lovebirds to stop fighting!" Toph smirked and Sokka looked like his eyes were about to come out of his sockets as he let that harmless comment sink into his processing mind.

"You both need to work with us if we're ever going to take down Ozai. Katara we need to go to the market so I suggest that you and Zuko settle this AFTER the war. Right now, we're all starving. I have Appa all ready to fly so can we please go now?" Aang looked almost hopeful, the starry light in his eyes, the very toothy smile that he gave exuded happiness and hopefulness that only Katara could dream of and admire.

"I'm sorry that I did this. Whew, I guess I got a little carried away. We can go now," with that Katara shouldered the offered taupe-hued knapsack and let out a few spurts of water that resonated with soft healing blue light. She felt the discomfort sink in as she settled on Appa behind Zuko and she held her breath as she felt his warmth descending on her gooseflesh.

"Relax Sugar Queen, you have your boyfriend with you to keep you company," Toph piped up from beside the Firebender and she casually flicked a pebble unto Sokka's shoulder just to aggravate the Earthbender.

"Toph?"

"Why yes Waterboy?" Katara couldn't help but let out a good-natured chortle but she almost bit it back as Zuko's singsong laugh accompanied her own. Almost until she discovered that she kind of liked the sound of his deep voice and then she felt like berating herself. 'Oh boy . . .I do not have a crush on Zuko—I don't!' Yet Katara couldn't fight down the reddening pink that warmed her soft cheeks and she blushed even harder when Sokka gave Toph a knowing smile--then realization dawned on the Watertribe boy's face as another pebble connected with his skull. Toph almost flinched as she felt the heat rise in Sokka's cheeks and he rounded on her, his startling blue eyes twitching.

"STOP flicking pebbles at me!"

"Why Sokka I don't know what you're talking about?" Toph replied, feigning girlish innocence.

"—darn well know what I mean?"

"—stop being such a sissy about it, Bub!"

"We're almost there, guys!" Aang called out and Momo who'd leapt unto his master's shoulder let out a soft mewl of comfort. Below them earthy clay houses and ribbons of smooth flowing water cut into the green waving grass. Katara hoped that they could land soon because she couldn't really take the fact that she liked feeling Zuko's chest rise and fall and she liked seeing his brow twitch whenever he got agitated at her. She couldn't help but feel that she got more blown up over his antics than necessary because she loved seeing him angry—because it oddly fueled her and stirred something within her. 'Please land, please land, please!! I don't want to be near that exasperating, ugly, ((You know he's cute, Katara, don't deny it!)) hotheaded, ((You're just as hotheaded, which is reason #2 as to why you like him oh so much!)) ba-' Her own thoughts were defying her conscience . . . stupid conscience.

a/n: This turned out longer than I thought. Hee-hee I love writing about Katara's obvious de-ni-al about her LOVEOMGZ! for Zuko. Toph x Sokka love! I know that this was Zutara but I promise I'll do some Kataang for all of you Katara x Aang fans out there!

Peace and love to all those who read, TBP!