****DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

Tea: A hot drink made by infusing the dried, crushed leaves of the tea plant in boiling water.

Tea

Katara easily sipped from her teacup, filling her mouth with the flavorful brew, igniting her taste buds in refreshing sweetness. Her guarded blue eyes glanced furtively around the teahouse, a quaint little place in the Earth Kingdom- the Jasmine Dragon.

Her dark hood shielded her face from view as she studied the multitude of people who entered the shop, oblivious to the inquisitive gaze of the water- bender. She studied these people, read them like books, as though the ink- pressed words were stamped across their skin. It wasn't a difficult or daunting task- so many of these people were predictable.

But he wasn't.

That was the main reason she came to the tea house so often. To watch him. It was as simple as that. It disturbed her that he intrigued her to this extent- he was the fire-bending enemy.

Katara had initially been revolted by her fascination with him. It made her sick to her stomach, made her insides churn. Eventually that revulsion faded to mere curiosity. She was simply curious about him, about his sudden change of heart.

His thought processes were foreign to her. Ever since her childhood she had been taught in black and white- there was a right and a wrong. But the more she studied him the more she realized that he couldn't afford to think like that. What was right in his situation? He was trapped by family commitment, an impending throne with a shadow that seemed to be cast across the oceans to touch its wispy fingers to even the Southern Water Tribe. And then there was her side, Aang's side, of the war- the right side. And even though it was supposedly to better the world, to purify it- there was still killing, casualties, and guilt. It was so difficult to imagine being in his situation. And she pitied him. Somewhat.

Katara raised the cup to her lips once more, but found that the small basin was empty. However, tea leaves, swirled together in a mesh of abstract shapes, remained attached to the bottom, like algae on rocks in the ocean. She stared at the misshapen gunk, finding pictures within the web of supposed nothingness.

Her hands went rigid around the cup. She had to be wrong. Or at least misinterpreting the picture.

At the bottom of the cup, nestled into the web of sodden tea leaves, lay a tiny, slimy, green flame.

With a quick look towards the other side of the tea shop- where the object of her thoughts was tending to another customer, Katara took a deep breath. She had to be wrong.

She rose from the table, depositing several coins in payment for her beverage, and slipped from the building, trying to forget the boy in the tea shop. Tried to forget the flame in her cup, and apparently her future. And she attempted to forget the connection she was sure the two shared.

Yep. Simple and an overused idea but I couldn't resist. I hope you enjoyed :)

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Have a great weekend!