A/N: I promised the plot would pick up, and this is only the beginning! Thank you so much to those of you who have been sticking around so faithfully. You're what make writing this that much more worth it. Really, every review I get is just confirmation that this is even worth working on. I hope you enjoy!
Summer Air
Chapter Three
The next evening Katara still wasn't sure how she'd gotten roped into hunting for fire lilies on Toph's behalf. For once she'd had the luxury of sleeping in, only vaguely remembering a blurred second somewhere in that slumber when Toph had poked her head in, asked a question, and received affirmative answer to it. Katara hadn't even known what she'd been agreeing to at the time, and how her name ever came up in the first place was still a mystery. Unfortunately, asking Toph for enlightenment left a lot to be desired.
"Well, Suki obviously couldn't do it, so that left you."
"Why did I have to come? You could have asked Aang. He'd have loved this. He said he wants adventure 'just like old times' even."
Toph merely barked a laugh. "I thought you knew this was part of the fertility ritual, Sweetness."
Alright, not only did it leave a lot to be desired but it made the whole thing even more uncomfortable and awkward for the poor, clueless waterbender.
It was nearing midnight and Toph had led them to the very edge of the crater, only to decide she deserved a rest since she hadn't walked that far in years. She even added a cough Katara assumed was to prove the exertion. But the waterbender was getting impatient. Not only had she been hoodwinked into this – she truly believed – but now Toph was dilly-dallying instead of getting the job done.
"You just sit here then and I'll go find you a fire lily," she nearly growled in her frustration.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch." Cough. "We're technically not supposed to get them until after midnight anyway. New day, and all that. Has to be on the solstice in order for it to work."
"How do you even know they grow out here, anyway? We could have hours of hunting ahead of us."
"Geez. Fussy Britches it is. It's not like you have anything better to do and couldn't use the extra help, if you know what I mean." Before she had to dodge a whip of water her direction, the younger woman added, "But don't worry, I asked Zuko."
"Zuko. Right. Why is it that he gets the privilege of being called by his name?" At this point she was sour about everything, including the whole day so far. No sooner had she woken up than she was given babysitting duty and, thanks to her brother's indulgence, Satoru was hardly the best-behaved child on the planet.
"He's my boss. And he's got enough on his plate without having to explain why his ambassador calls him Sparky."
That surprised her. "Wow, so you actually do have a heart, Toph."
"Just don't tell anyone," came with a smirk and another cough. "Especially him."
"Who?" But before she could wonder for very long her worst suspicions were confirmed.
"Hello, ladies."
Zuko. Again.
Katara suddenly felt very set up. "Fancy meeting you here," she said with honeyed sarcasm.
"Toph didn't tell you—"
"No!" she snapped, though she quickly regretted it and clapped a hand across her eyes to try and mask her blush of shame. "No one tells me anything anymore. I didn't know this was some fertility ritual, I didn't know you'd be here…" She gradually peeked between her fingers to catch sight of his bewildered expression and sighed. "I'm sorry; it's not your fault." Her gaze turned daggers at Toph instead.
"Miss Fussy Britches is just cranky today," Toph offered, stifling another cough and stretching where she was still sitting.
"Be careful or I might consider bending you into an ice sculpture while you're sleeping," she seethed.
"Whatever. It's past midnight now so you can go ahead and pick me a fire lily. I'll wait here. Zuko knows the rest of the way."
Katara must have looked like she was about to commit murder because Zuko's hand was on her shoulder before she could say another word, steering her away from the ornery earthbender who still wore her characteristic smirk. It wasn't until they had put several paces between them and Toph that he finally removed his hand and cleared his throat for an apology.
"It's not your fault, Zuko. Ugh. I'm sick of my friends thinking they know what's best for me and just conniving like that to get me to go along with it. I wish they'd just be honest with me."
"I don't think that's how Toph works," he said with a weak chuckle, continuing on with her in tow in their 'hunt.' "For what it's worth, I didn't want to be here either."
"So why are you?" At least following his lead allowed her temper to simmer even more.
"One of the primary duties of a Fire Lord is to have an heir to establish the line of succession. My people expect me to take part in this ritual every year until I do."
"But this is all just a silly superstition."
He chuckled again. "As if the Water Tribes don't have their own silly superstitions?"
"Well, of course they do. But we don't think picking a flower somehow promises you'll have children that year."
"Or that you'll find the love of your life? Eligible young men and women are encouraged to take part as well, you know."
No, I don't know, was her initial thought but she bit it back for a slight smile. "Either. Is the Fire Nation that obsessed with romance and children?"
"To a certain extent. I've been spending the last few years trying to undo what my father and his father before him did, but we're still a nation built on the concept of industrialization and expansion. But that's only part of it. After all, sending all the young men and women out after midnight hunting for fire lilies is just a means to encourage their own fertility rituals, so to speak. It's usually too early to find any of the flowers."
It took a moment for what that meant to dawn on her and when it did she was blushing and offering little more than a simple, "Ah." As they continued on, however, she found herself growing more and more paranoid, eventually adding, "Aren't you going to set tongues wagging being out here with me, then?"
He finally came to a halt near a grassy hill, sending her something of a bemused smile. "When Toph asked me where the best place to find fire lilies would be, I had a feeling something was up. I made sure to send her as far away from where the masses would be searching as possible, to avoid any gossip. People assuming I'm in bed with one of my ambassadors is a little more than I'd like to deal with right now."
"But you'd come out here with Mai?" As soon as it was out of her mouth she was kicking herself, blaming her curiosity for getting the best of her. Hastily, she tacked on an apologetic, "You don't have to answer that."
"No, I never hunted for fire lilies with Mai," was all he said, before he motioned over the knoll. "That field there will have a few of them, by the way. Pick as many as you like and then we can head back."
"You didn't want to—"
"No."
Considering she already felt as if she'd tread too far into his personal life she said nothing more, climbing the hill to find the field on the other side dotted by a few of the red blooms. It was vaguely reminiscent of the first time she'd seen the beautiful flowers, and she blinked away that bitter memory before plucking just two of the near dozen scattered across the meadow. One was for Toph and the other she tucked out of sight into the bosom of her tunic, feeling foolish for participating in such a 'silly superstition' but unable to help herself for some reason. It wouldn't do any harm, was her solid reasoning.
The walk back to where Toph was waiting was relatively silent. Zuko was nice enough to explain some of what she'd see the next day during the solstice celebrations, to ensure she wouldn't be completely ignorant or caught in more traps like the one already sprung on her. It was sweet of him, and she found herself wondering if he was always that considerate and she'd just never gotten to see the side of him before. Perhaps the years had a kind effect on everyone and she was only discovering it now.
"Took you guys long enough." Or maybe not.
"Here's your fire lily." Katara was happy to hand it over immediately. "Now let's go."
"Zuko, you coming back with us?"
"I'd better not. I wouldn't dream of sullying either of your reputations," he said smoothly, wearing a half-smile. His gaze met Katara's as he continued, "But I'll see you both tomorrow."
"For part of it, anyway. I'm going to make the whole group wander around like peasants most of the time. It's never as much fun cooped up in the royal seats."
"Well, I can't argue with that," he chuckled in reply. "Be careful on your way back. Oh, and if you want to avoid most of the…traffic of the evening, I'd suggest taking the main path straight through the housing district."
They finally reached the house an hour later and all that was left was to sneak quietly to their rooms and call it a night. Katara was surprised to find a newly-placed vase seated on her windowsill, obviously meant as a home for the lily she could have found that evening. Had one of the servants placed it there according to tradition? Whoever had seen fit seemed to know she'd give in to her curiosity as always, so she had her suspicions that it was someone who knew her a bit better than the waiting staff.
Gently retrieving the flower from its hiding spot she placed it in the water, watching as it instinctively seemed to lilt toward the moonlight pouring in through the shades. She didn't believe any of the superstitions of the tradition, but it was a beautiful bloom nonetheless.
When she finally fell asleep she dreamed of a field of fire lilies, a full moon, but instead of the hateful glare on Hama's deranged, wrinkled face, she saw the hateful glare of a red, angry scar, though the face that wore it was smiling.
Wandering around like peasants had indeed been much more fun than sitting still could ever have been. Toph had even provided them all "disguises," allowing them a better chance of blending into the crowds. It truly was just like old times, if even for just one day.
In fact, no one noticed when the hooded figure joined their group as they wound their way through the row of food vendors, until he reached out and tugged on Katara's elbow.
"Excuse me—" But as she looked up, she saw a finger pressed to Zuko's lips that were curved into a grin. "Hey!" Her voice dropped a few decibels, "Aren't you going to be mobbed out here?"
"Not as long as you all keep my secret," was his simple reply.
Of course he'd been welcomed by the rest, even given the responsibility of handing out advice on which foods to try, which shows to see, which illusions were simply that and which had a bit more something to them. When they saw the flame thrower spinning the dazzling array of different colors of fire around in a pinwheel, he was the one who informed them how much talent that truly took.
"Each color of fire is progressively harder to create," he explained, as they sat in Toph's courtyard, the earthbender sipping tea and claiming she needed some rest before she'd have to 'put on a show' for the fire nation nobles by sitting still during the dragon boat races.
"Azula had blue fire, I remember that," Sokka chimed in, rubbing his belly that was almost as large as Suki's after being stuffed full of every delicacy offered. Suki, meanwhile, had retired for an afternoon nap.
"There was a portrait of Ozai at the palace once upon a time and he had black flames at his hands," Aang solemnly added.
After just a brief moment of awkward silence, Zuko lifted a hand and snapped, producing a small orange flame. "Orange and yellow are the weakest. Any firebender can wield them. Red is a bit more concentrated." He snapped his fingers again and the tendril shifted colors. "Then purple." Another snap, another shift. He would continue through each and every color he named. "Blue. Green. And finally, white."
"Where does lightning come in?" Katara couldn't help herself.
Obligingly, he snapped his fingers again and this time the air sparked with electricity. "In some ways it's the hardest of all. It requires complete peace of mind and absence of emotion, or so they tell you when they're teaching. It's much easier said than done."
"I can't believe Azula had complete peace of mind over killing people," was from Aang with a frown.
"Don't worry, buddy, I'm sure it's way more complicated than that. Bending is tricky business. All that crazy magic and whatever else goes into it. You know." Sokka still suffered from foot-in-mouth disease, it seemed.
But before it could get any more awkward, Toph was declaring that they'd best get ready for the races, since they'd have to look less like peasants, Zuko included. That cleared the courtyard rather quickly, leaving Katara to feel a need to apologize for her brother's insensitivity and Aang's naïveté. In the end she opted just to change the subject.
"You've improved your bending so much, Zuko. You should be proud."
"In five years I'm sure everyone's improved." There was something lingering just unsaid beneath the surface of the tones, and he finally continued, "Or changed, at the very least. I used to be like Aang. I used to want to find some good in my sister. Now, I just think it's good riddance that she's gone."
"Is she still…?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen her since that day."
Katara frowned. "I don't blame you. I don't think any of us can. She tried to kill you. She tried to kill all of us. Repeatedly."
All he offered was a smirk, and after a few more moments of that tense silence he spoke again. "Today's the solstice. We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves, remember? Go get ready for the races. I'll see you there."
And before she could say another word he was gone.
When they saw each other again it was if the awkward moment never happened. They were all dressed to impress, seated in the pavilion that overlooked the river where the colorful boats – all crafted in varying sizes and shapes of dragons – were lined, preparing to race. It was a magnificent sight, to be sure, and Katara couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for poor Toph.
Toph just brushed it off. "Who knows, maybe I'll ride in one someday. I'm sure it beats just sitting here. Though when they start drumming that's always pretty neat."
Suki was using one of her fans to try and combat the heat, though Katara figured it was probably an impossible task. Even in the cool pale blue of her gown she was sweating. The Fire Nation had never been her favorite during the summer months.
"What do they win again?" Of course Sokka would care about the prize.
"Fortune," Aang supplied sagely.
"I think it has something to do with their crops," Toph added, with a slight cough.
"Are you okay, Toph? You've been coughing a lot lately—"
"Sugar Queen, don't ruin it by worrying over me for no reason."
"Something would be wrong if my sister wasn't worrying about somebody," Sokka pointed out. He received a glare for it.
"Shh! I hear the paddles. It's about to start."
Despite the fact that no one else had heard anything, Toph was right. A referee of some sort had taken to the front of the racing line, arms lifted overhead to signal for silence from the crowd. After a series of complicated hand gestures, a loud clap resounded and a gong was pounded nearby to send the boats off. Each one held a drummer at the tail, beating a steady rhythm that set the pace for the men with the oars.
As the water pushed and pulsed, it was all she could do to stay in her seat. It was a truly beautiful thing, with the waves cresting at the dragons' heads like blue and white fire mingling on their breath. The vibrant color of the painted boats against the sheen of yellow sunlight on the river's surface was another spectacle in and of itself. She never knew something as simple as a race could be so breathtaking.
A cough at her elbow broke her concentration. "Katara, I—"
"Toph, I wish you could see this. It's extraordinary."
But her friend never heard her. The coughing swallowed the words, and as Toph collapsed to the makeshift floor of the tent, it was in a puddle of spittle and blood.