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Different ways of healing.

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Today was Aang's day of preparation. It is the second last day of the festival. (Has it nearly been a week already?) It is tradition that on the second last day that all the teams make preparations and tasty goodies for the the final festival day and the great feast of the north wind. I suggested to Aang that we dissolve the teams for this particular day. I am the best (arguably the only capable) cook. Aang knows all the recipes. Toph cannot cook, Sokka is prone to 'experimenting', Zuko can only make kebabs and Suki will most likely try to make the Kyoshi Island dessert again. And then we will all have to eat it and pretend to like it.

Again.

Aang's face when I said this was almost comically afraid and disgusted. I have a feeling that Aang would face the Ungai before he eats one of Suki's desserts again.

-?-

Aang gave everyone a bit of a speech at breakfast about the necessity preparation, always be prepared etc. He gave a brief history lesson about how the Air Nomads would prepare before long flying journeys and announced we would all be on the same team for today.

Smushybear and cherry blossom were most happy to be reunited.

-?-

Okay, you can have WAY too many people in this kitchen. My Grangran used to say too many cooks spoil the broth and I would never quite know what she meant by that. Our village was so small and there were so few cooks and I had so many chores – I always thought a few more cooks, more hands to help with pickling and preserving- would be a good thing.

It's not.

Nobody fights to defend the right to make blackberry filling the wrong way quite like Sokka. We had a disagreement over the very simplest instructions and flour and sugar went everywhere. This kitchen is designed for three people max. There are six of us in here now.

All is chaos.

Still much fun is had by all.

-?-

So we put Toph and Suki in charge of kneading the dough for the bases. When Toph found out that all she had to do was bash up the dough- she took to her task with gusto ( she actually started a one sided conversation with her dough which went like this: Take that! And that! And that!). Suki can knead dough without making it taste like congealed sadness with lumps – so that is a good thing.

Sokka and I were in charge of the fruity toppings and fillings. We have had many arguments over the right way to prepare the fruit toppings. Aang has given us a recipe with Sokka sees as only a guideline. He has experimented and made a berry abomination that I am adamnat willnot be used in our final product.

Zuko and Aang were in charge of custard because it involves much faffing about with different flames and you have to keep varying the heat to get the custard to set properly. Zuko turned this into an opportunity to teach Aang more about firebending and tried to get Aang to control his custard flame using only his breath. Sokka made many jokes about Zuko's ability to turn almost anything into a firebending lesson. He has taken to commenting on what he's doing like he was Zuko giving me a firebending lesson. He lowered his voice to mimic Zuko's and tried to turn his berry abomination/dicing moonpeaches into a firebending lesson.

You see Katara, the way you are cutting up the moon peaches is good but if this was firebending practice – you would need to be slicing with much more control and work on you breathing – breathe in on the downward slice- good – now breathe out through your nose – argh don't throw moon peaches at me woman–

I found this supremely annoying and occasionally threw fruit at my dear brother. Zuko was getting steadily crankier and crankier and would keep protesting the he didn't talk like that/sound like that/ make everything about firebending. Sokka claimed he was just teasing and he thought it was cute and he'd learned a lot more about his breathing technique from listening to Zuko's lesson on custard bending.

I could tell a cranky explosion was coming and was unsurprised that when Sokka turned back to me and said solemnly now Katara, when it comes to the ancient art of custard bending – Zuko snuck up behind him and grabbed him and gave him a big mango flavoured noogie (he'd grabbed one of the mango skins from somewhere). And inelegant noogie struggle with various ingredients followed. Flour went everywhere, as did sugar. Toph declared food fight rather excitedly and threw her dough to the fray and then started pelting the boys happily with fruit. Aang with great speed – saved the good custard and the bases and what fillings me and Sokka had made and put them in the lounge room. Then he happily started throwing the remaining ingredients around. I took this occasion to tip Sokka's berry abomination on his head and he threw some berry abomination back at me and pulled me into the melee of ingredients. Suki, bless her cotton socks, tried to separate people, or at least tried to stop Aang from getting the leftover custard involved, because that is going to be hell to clean up. She got smushed papaya in the face for her trouble. Then she said oh bollocks, picked up the eggs and started flinging them at everybody with great precision. I grabbed Zuko at one point and started jam tickling him – it's like regular tickling but there is jam involved. I only succeeded in making us both covered in jam. Both of us are now strawberry flavoured and delicious.

The great northwind food fight was on!

Eventually, I made it out of the kerfuffle and grabbed the common sense stick and started joyfully smacking people with it until they ceased and desisted with their various food weapons. When everyone had calmed and all food armaments had been put down, I declared that we all needed to go get cleaned up. Everyone looked a fright, the kitchen was a complete mess and I couldn't face cleaning it up until I'd gotten the jam out from my bindings- how had jam even gotten in there in the first place? I started trudging towards the hot spring in my birthday cave and they all followed after me like dutiful, dirty ducklings.

-?-

There is a large hot spring at the back of the cave. We all stripped down to our undies and hopped in. I dunked all our clothes in the hot water at one part of the spring -to let them soak. I got Toph to earthbend a little basin so they wouldn't float away. They'll be much easier to clean later.

At first there was much splashing and ado and a small water fight broke out. It was kind of sweet, everybody had gotten each other messy and now everybody helped each other get cleaned up.

Sokka had a hold of Toph, who was clinging to his neck a little uncertainly. After a while he started trying to teach her to tread water with Suki. Aang was sitting on a little rock ledge with Zuko and talking about how the airnomads used to make custard. I watched them for a bit while I spun the clothes around in the water with my bending.

Wet and shirtless Zuko. Mmmhhhh.

Zuko apologised for starting a food fight and ruining the day's activities. Aang laughed and said there was always food fights at the Southern Air Temple and the food fight had made the day's activities. At that point I swam over to them and they both smiled in greeting at me. I sat between them and listened to tales of the food fights of 100 years ago. Aang wanted to show us a trick he'd been working on. He was trying to incorporate all the different bendings into his party tricks.

This has made Zuko a happy panda.

Aang got a small pebble and a drop of water and a small flame and made them spin around each other in mid air. They all burred together and it looked really cool. We clapped and cheered and asked Aang to do it again (Aang loves applause and requests for encores). Aang did it again and we clapped and cheered anew. Aang said he was trying to figure out if he could do it on a bigger scale and make them circle around himself. He thought that would look awesome. Zuko and I agreed that this would be an awesome sight. He went to show Toph and Sokka and Suki his new trick.

When he was gone, Zuko asked me if he was really boring and I was very surprised at this. I can never imagine being bored around Zuko and I told him so. He smiled and said that he was just worried that he was boring us all after Sokka had teased him about always talking about firebending. I told him not to worry, Sokka was just teasing – he teases because he loves, after all (Sokka has a great deal of what he would describe as manly affection for Zuko).

Besides we all knew it was important for Aang to learn firebending. When I was teaching Aang water bending, everything was about push and pull. I talked about push and pull so much that Sokka had declared that I was pushing and pulling him to insanity. Zuko smiled and said I might have succeeded on that front as we watched Sokka and Aang have a cannon ball splashing competition, while Suki held onto Toph. Aang was using his waterbending to cheat – but I didn't tell Sokka this. I talked a bit about how waterbending feels – that constant push and pull and flow of life. Water almost felt alive to me. Zuko listened and said that that fire felt alive to him as well, but it felt more like a heartbeat.

I wonder how earthbending feels to Toph. I will have to ask her later.

-?-

After everybody started getting all wrinkly, we got out. Aang airbended us all dry while I got all the water out of our clothes and we trudged back to the house to clean up the kitchen. We all pitched in and there were more shenanigans with cleaning implements. Zuko and Sokka had a broom sword fight and have earned a few whacks with the common sense stick. But eventually the kitchen was cleaned and I set about making lunch. Zuko stayed to help me and Toph and Aang went off to earth bend for the interim. Sokka and Suki went back to the hammocks, which has become their favourite canoodling place.

-?-

Zuko and I were slicing veggies together and watching Aang and Toph earthbend out the windows. She was trying to teach him how to make earth slice projectiles out of a pillar. It was quite similar to this move that I do with water bending and she was having great success. Aang does well when learning similar fighting moves, even though the bendings are very different.

Zuko agreed and said that Aang had picked up firewhips the first time Zuko had tried to teach him and this had been a pleasant surprise. Aang said that they were very similar to water whips. I wonder what other things are similar. Maybe we should focus on those if we want to get Aang comfortable with other bendings. Right now he is still over-reliant on airbending. He will airbend first in any situation. We are trying to get him incorporate his other bendings more. Because me and Zuko let off steam so much, we have a fairly good understanding of each other's bending. We tossed around ideas about what moves have a lot in common and came up with a rough plan of what we could teach Aang together. We will have to talk to Toph about this as well.

Maybe later today we can have a four way spar.

-?-

I've just touched Zuko's scar again. He'd had a big smear of custard on his forehead, right where his eyebrow would have been, from our food fight. It had been hiding under his fringe and hadn't washed off in the spring. I realised he couldn't feel it there – I guess the skin must not be as sensitive.

Zuko never looks in mirrors so it would be ages till he noticed it. I just noticed when he blew the hair out of his eyes. His fringe is getting long and he's taken to blowing it out of his face when his hands are busy. I find it kind of entrancing when he does this. So I noticed the custard smear and I told him...and asked him if I could ...I just gestured here. I don't know how to ask. But Zuko understood and bowed his head and let me wipe it off. It was something I could have let him do himself, but I've been wanting to touch it again for ages and I haven't known how to ask.

I wet my thumb and rubbed the custard off, but I didn't take my hand away. I just lay it flat against the rough surface. He closed his eyes and sighed so deeply when I did this. Maybe he's been wanting me to touch it again and hasn't known how to ask.

It must have hurt so much.

I think we were both thinking about the last time I had done this. Zuko cleared his throat and asked me, really quietly, if I'd meant what I said in Ba Sing Se, about being able to heal it. Well he actually asked the floor because he seemed unable to meet my eyes. I told him that I'd used up all the spirit water when Aang had been shot by Azula and he nodded sadly and said he just wanted to check.

I wish I could just heal it for him.

I wish I could just make it better.

I told him not to be sad, there was plenty more spirit water – at the North Pole they have a whole oasis full of it. When this war is over, and we have time, I'll take him up there and see what I can do. He smiled, a small, private smile and I couldn't help myself, I stroked the rough skin a little before I withdrew my hand. I could do it. I'm sure I could do something for it.

We looked at each other for a heartbeat of time and then Zuko said, in an entirely different tone of voice, that we'd better get lunch on the table before Sokka started complaining about dying of hunger.

-?-

I am exceptionally distracted at the moment. I was exceptionally distracted during my whole healing lesson with Aang. I am thinking about Zuko. I also think I must be getting a stomach bug because my stomach has been fluttering ever since lunch. It can't be lunch because we all ate the same vegetable curry and no one else is feeling indigestion. This feeling is like indigestion really. But it is not bad or painful indigestion. It's almost a good, if weird, feeling of indigestion.

-?-

Zuko, Toph and I have all had a chat about what is common to all three of our bendings. There are actually quite a few moves and forms. We have decided to have a three way sparring session with Aang. He is not allowed to use airbending, but can pick and choose from the moves and forms we have selected. Aang ecstatic with the idea. We will start tomorrow before Aang's final activity and festival feast.

-?-

Tremendous success! Aang didn't airbend once. He did use waterbending more than other bendings, but still, he has come along marvellously. We have agreed to do this tomorrow for a longer period. Aang was a bit too excited about the feast and everything else today to concentrate for a long period of time. He's scampered off now to do some final preparations for his final activity.

-?-

At lunch Aang thanked us all sincerely for taking part in his Airnomad festival and sharing the occasion with him. He was glad that he'd been able to share his culture with us and he really hoped we all had a good time. We all agreed and reassured him that it had all been tremendous good fun.

Today's activity was meant to take all the lessons we have learnt and put them all together. It was a treasure hunt. He'd marked three paths through the forest with clues and each team would have to follow the clues and the first team to find their treasure would win the whole festival and then would could come back and have custard tarts and celebrate. This announcement was greeted with some mild protesting from team boomerang and Zuko.

Team boomerang thought it was most unfair that victory could be snatched by another team. They were miles ahead of us! And Aang knew where all the treasures were hidden and would probably cheat and claim victory for our team. Me and Aang both protested at this accusation. Aang said that as the Avatar he wouldn't cheat and I wouldn't cheat either. Sokka mumbled something under his breathe about my cheating habits and Toph nodded and they both crossed their arms in unison and pouted and it was a little adorable.

Zuko shouted over the top of our bickering that he didn't think this was such a good idea. The forest was teeming with animals and some of them were poisonous and it was high summer now and they were all more active. Aang said he had been through the forest and hadn't seen anything. Zuko got a bit huffy and said that he wished Aang had asked him before he went because Aang could have been bitten and really hurt by something and we wouldn't have been able to help him. Aang said that Zuko worried too much and everything would be fine. Zuko said there was no way that we were all going through the forest unless we had learned some poisonous animal safety. We all agreed.

-?-

It was lesson time with professor Zuko. He made us all sit down and explained the various poisonous animals and their habits and what to do if you come across one. Some animals (most of the snakes) are more scared of people and will run away if you stamp lightly. Others, like scorpidillos and various spiders, will leave you alone if you just stand completely still when you see one. They will attack if provoked or to protect their babies, but if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone. The most dangerous creatures are razorback adders and they will actually attack with very little provocation and if you see one of them the best thing to do is run.

He even drew diagrams.

He got quite into his poisonous creature safety lecture actually. Zuko, when he is talking about something he's passionate about, is actually very mesmerising. I found professor Zuko to be a most engaging and endearing spectacle. It was distracting actually, because I was probably concentrating more on him and his various gestures and exclamations, than what he was actually saying. The only thing that could have made me concentrate less on his lecture would be if he had delivered it wearing the prison outfit. Mmmmhhhh.

-?-

Toph and Sokka followed the blue clues into the forest. Suki and Zuko were following the yellow ones and me and Aang had the green. Aang said that for it to be fair to the others, he wouldn't help me figure out the clues and that way we couldn't be accused of cheating when we won the whole festival. I asked if that was really the rules – whoever one the last game won the whole thing- and Aang confessed that he'd made that bit up, but just to make it more interesting for everybody and to give all the teams a chance at winning today.

Fair enough.

-?-

We'd gotten deeper into the forest when it happened. I heard a faint hissing noise and made Aang stay completely still. We both listened and we could distinctly hear a faint hiiiiiiiissss. Zuko said that most of the snakes were more scared of people than we were of them, so if we both stamped our feet lightly, we'd scare it and it would go away. Me and Aang did this, but the hissing actually got closer. This snake wasn't most snakes unfortunately, it was a razorback adder.

It was a seriously ugly snake.

It slithered from the bushes, with all of the spikes on its back sticking up menacingly, hissing all the while. Me and Aang both made little shrieks of terror and ran for it. After all that is the only thing to do when you see a razorback adder.

-?-

We ran until we were out of breath. We stopped in a small clearing and were nervously giggling at each other over our near miss. Sometimes after a big adrenaline rush and a bit of a fright – I get the giggles. I don't know why. I just do. Aang was giggling with me but suddenly his face just dropped in horror and he told me to stay completely still. I thought he was having me on really, so I giggled again. But Aang wasn't laughing with me. I glanced over my shoulder and there was a mummy scorpidillo standing in front of her babies.

Oh.

The mummy scorpidillo's maternal instincts had kicked in and her tail was raised high. There was a burrow near where I was standing that must have been their nest. Zuko had said we had to stand completely still with Scorpidillos but I didn't think that would work if we were so close to the babies. Maternal instincts are very strong and this mummy definitely saw us as a threat. Me and Aang talked quietly to each other. Aang thought he could blast it away with airbending and then we could make another run for it.

She'd stay with the babies, she wouldn't chase us.

Aang stepped around me and blasted. The mummy scorpidillo moved fast. Faster than I expected. Faster than I could move. She ducked Aang's airblast and suddenly she was right beside me. She struck with her tail as fast as lightning.

Oh the pain!

I yelled out in shock and surprise and hurt. It hurt so much. I fell to the ground and clutched at my ankle. Aang yelled out to me and tried to blast the scorpidillo away again – but this just made the creature more mad. I scrambled away from her, but she was so quick. Suddenly there was a tremendous crashing through the bushes and Suki and Zuko burst through the foliage. Suki grabbed me and pulled me back from the creature while Zuko aimed a fire blast at the scorpidillo. She turned and ran away, in the face of a fire blast, taking her babies with her.

All was calamity!

There was much chaos and commotion. And a bit of shouting. Zuko wanted to know what had happened and Aang was looking white-faced, shocked, afraid and very young. He managed to sputter out that it had bit me on the ankle and he hadn't meant for it to happen. I couldn't even speak it hurt so much. I was just whimpering in pain.

Lots of things happened very quickly. Suddenly I was leaning with my head in Suki's lap while Zuko looked at my ankle. Zuko told Aang to run to the house and bring back a big thick bandage from the first aid kit, as fast as he could. Aang shot off.

Suki asked me if I knew how to heal scorpidillo bites with waterbending and I shook my head. Even if I knew how- I wouldn't have been able to do it right then. Everything hurt and I couldn't even think it all hurt so much. Healing required concentration and right now my concentration was screaming oooooouuuuuuccccchhhh!

I hadn't had time to learn everything from Yugoda and there wasn't much call for learning to heal poisonous animal bites at the North Pole – largely because there was no poisonous animals up there. Zuko and Suki looked at each other with worried expressions and then something like grim resolve passed over Zuko's face. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it and looked in my eyes and said he was really sorry. Really sorry. But he'd need me to be brave and be calm. I nodded. He and Suki exchanged another glance and Suki started smoothing my hair and trying to sooth me and urging me to breathe deeply while Zuko burned the edge of the dagger and made a very quick little cut where the scorpidillo had bit me.

Wow, that hurt.

I didn't think anything could hurt more than a scorpidillo bite, but I was wrong. He then put his lips to the cut and started sucking at my ankle.

Wow, that was weird.

What a weird feeling.

It was very bizarre and most unusual to watch as well. This could probably qualify as one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. It did actually take my mind from the pain. In fact, it felt like the pain was receding after a while. Zuko sat back and spat out what he'd sucked from my ankle away from us and gagged a little and wiped his mouth. I asked what he had been doing and he explained that with scorpidillo bites- you had to suck the poison out as quickly as possible. He thought he got it all -but he wasn't sure. Suki asked how I felt. My ankle hurt like hell, but it was a dull throbbing pain, not the burning pain in had been two moments ago. Zuko nodded and said that was a good sign. How can having a terrible dull throbbing pain in the ankle be a good sign? He said that he'd explain later, but for now I needed to be calm and not move.

At that moment Aang returned, face white as chalk and arms laden with bandages. He asked if I was okay and I waved at him and said I felt fine in a reassuring fashion. I didn't actually feel fine, but Aang looked so scared and I didn't want to freak him out more. Suki and Zuko worked about wrapping my ankle tightly in a compression and immobilisation bandage and repeatedly told me to be calm.

I was being friggin calm.

I wasn't crying or being hysterical or thrashing about. I was as calm as I could be, after being bitten by a bloody scorpidillo. Aang wanted to know what he could do to help and Suki said that he should probably go find Toph and Sokka and bring them back to the house. Aang raced off.

Zuko said we'd need to get away from the clearing because the scorpidillos were still around, but that I couldn't put any weight on my ankle or move too much. I got a bit irate and asked how he expected me to get away from the clearing if I couldn't move too much/put weight on my ankle, but he cut me off mid-rant by lifting me up bodily with one arm under my knees and another at my back. He said of course he wasn't going to abandon me to the scorpidillos. I put my arms around his neck and he started to carry us back toward the house.

Okay, my ankle was killing me and I had just been bitten by a really poisonous animal and I should have been thinking on those things. But instead, because my brain is obvious melting around Zuko, I was just thinking that it felt quite nice to be carried by him. He was strong and reassuring and nice smelling. He really seemed to know what he was doing and this comforted me. I was glad that he and Suki had been so close. I may have snuggled against him a little bit and he gave my shoulder a gentle, soothing squeeze.

Suki walked in front of us to check that there were no more creepy crawlies ahead. Zuko told her she should pick as many sun poppies as she could and she started gathering them up by the giant fistful. When we got to the house Zuko lay me gently on the couch. Suki left the sun poppies in the kitchen and got some clean bandages as per Zuko's direction. She began unwrapping the bandage they'd put on in the forest while Zuko got up to faff about in the kitchen.

We both had a look at the bite. Suki drew in a hiss of breath at the sight. It looked terrible. All red and swollen, but the cut was neat and small and only bleeding slightly. Zuko brought in some hot water and said Suki'd have to clean it out. I said not to worry- I could just us the water to heal it, but they both stopped me. Zuko wasn't sure that he'd gotten all the poison and I need to stay as still as possible/not do anything to strenuous, like water bending, until at least tomorrow. He was going to make up a poultice that would draw any remaining poison out of the cut, but for now, I needed to be still and relax.

Boo.

Suki bathed my ankle and it looked a little better and Zuko came back with a bowl full of smushed sun poppy petals and papaya and a few other ingredients and a small bundle wrapped in a tea towel. He took my ankle gently and started rubbing the sun poppy paste into the cut.

Wow.

That was soothing. Zuko said simply that sun poppies are healing and should take the sting out of the bite and help with the swelling. It really did. Oh that felt so nice. I made many appreciative noises. It's not everyday I get a foot rub after all. It's also not everyday that I get bitten by a scorpidillo, so I guess there is that to consider. Zuko then placed the poultice on the cut and said that it should draw out any remaining poison and started wrapping up the bite in fresh bandages. He gave me a reassuring smile while he did this and told me I was going to be fine.

I think I like doctor Zuko even more than professor Zuko.

-?-

Zuko has brought me a glass of water, a jasmine tea and some cake in case I get hungry and put them all within easy reach. He has gone off to look for a little bell for me. He says it will be best if I stay off the ankle for at least two days and I shouldn't move about -so the bell will let the everyone know if I need something. I have sent Suki in search of the common sense stick. I would have only been on my own for about thirty seconds and just had time to wonder where Sokka and Toph and Aang were – when they arrived in a disastrous/emotional fashion.

Sokka burst in and ran over and practically flung himself at me and was nearly crying and asking repeatedly if I was okay and saying over and over that he loved me and I would always be his baby sister. I was quite startled by this actually. Sokka and I love each other but we aren't really prone to hysterical expressions of affection. I told him to get off me and I was fine and I loved him too, but he was being ridiculous.

He looked a little surprised to be greeted in such a fashion and complied. He sat next to me and pulled Toph on to his lap. She had a scared face and looked even younger than Aang had back in the forest. I took her hand gently and asked if she was okay. She said that she was fine and then she asked in a really hushed whisper (the sort you'd use in a temple or at the bedside of a dying person) if I was feeling okay. I told them both to stop being silly and that I felt fine, my ankle was just throbbing with a dull pain. Toph gave my hand a squeeze and said that I wasn't lying and she and Sokka both breathed a huge sigh of relief. Sokka said that Aang had made it sound like I was dying and he'd been so worried.

Oh Sokka.

I know that horrible worry. Not knowing if someone you love is going to be okay. I gave them both a hug and reassured them again that I was fine and it was all very touching.

Why is it that when I get bitten by a poisonous scorpidillo, I'm the one who spends all my time comforting other people?

Suki came back in at that point with my stick. She handed it to me and took one look at Sokka's face and put her hand on his back and started rubbing in slow circles. I gave everyone a light tap with the common sense stick and told them all to stop looking so worried, otherwise I'd think I was really sick and stress myself and apparently (according to Dr Zuko) I am not supposed to be stressed at all. Zuko came back and gave me a little bell and I gave it a test ring. It was a pleasant sound. I smiled in thanks at him.

I asked them where Aang was and Sokka said that he thought he was in the kitchen. Zuko went and got Aang. Aang wandered in after Zuko, looking lost. I patted the seat next to me and he sat down and cuddled up to me a little and I rubbed his bald head soothingly.

Zuko said he had a few things to tell us. For some reason everyone else saw fit to snuggled about me like affectionate kittens, in preparation for another lecture from Zuko. I had Aang practically in my lap and Suki on one side and Sokka on the other and Toph was sitting on Sokka with her head on my shoulder. And they were all sort of leaning on me.

Oh for goodness sake.

Zuko explained the situation to everyone. He said in a businesslike tone that everybody had to calm down and I wasn't dying. He told them that I'd been bitten by a red-bellied scorpidillo and they were quite poisonous. He and Suki had managed to get most of the poison out, but there was probably still some left and he'd put a charcoal and sun poppy poultice on the site – which would draw out any remaining poison by this time tomorrow. If I was feeling up to it, I could try waterbending healing at that point, but not before, he said with a little scolding look in my direction. Either way, he thought my ankle would still probably be sore and painful for two or three days.

The most important thing was for me to be relaxed and calm and to stay still, so everyone had to be extra nice to me, do what I said and fetch me anything I wanted for the next few days. That's why he had gotten me the bell, so if ever one of them heard it ring, they should come as quick as they could to see what I needed.

I gave the bell a little ring again, to test it out.

Everybody immediately wanted to know what I needed. I told them I was just testing. Okay, being bitten by a scorpidillo totally sucked. But being given this bell of power? I can definitely see the bright side of having to spend a few days abed.

-?-

I rang the bell and announced that I thought we should abandon the treasure hunt, declare team boomerang the winners of the festival of Aang and eat out tarts and cakes in the lounge room to celebrate the final day of the festival of Aang. Everybody has complied with my wishes.

I am a benevolent bell dictator after all.

-?-

Okay, I'm not going to lie. I'm totally drunk on the bell power now.

-?-

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Long rambly notes for your enjoyment.

lovely wonderful readers. Thanks so much my lovelies for all the wonderful reviews for the last chapter! You guys are brilliant and I would give you all egg custard tarts and snuggles if I could. Instead I write you fic. You have reached the end of different ways of healing. Congratulations and I hope you enjoyed it.

This chapter finishes off the festival of Aang in a somewhat disastrous fashion, with Katara getting injured. Aang has thought about this (and Aangst) which we will get to see next chapter. But it also got to introduce us to both doctor and professor mode Zuko. So I hope that works out nicely.

At the beginning there is no way that the gaang could spend any amount of time in the kitchen together without it all descending into a friendly food fight. Sokka is teasing Zuko out of love- he's not trying to be a jerk or anything. I thought it would be a nice bonding experience for the Gaang to get quite messy together and then have a swim together to get cleaned off. It also gave me and opportunity to let Katara touch the scar again.

I think she is the only person Zuko has ever let touch it and I think that's a big deal. Obviously bryke don't agree with me, but anyway. I think her offer to heal it would have come up again at some point- so I smushed it in here. I'm actually in two minds regarding the scar. On the one hand, it's done so much damage to Zuko and it hurts him so much and it is a horrible reminder of all the various messed up and horrible things that have happened to him -every time he looks in the mirror (I think he would avoid mirrors actually). I think it would be good for him to be free of it and all that baggage. The other hand says that it is such a part of his identity and it's become a part of him really. It is symbolic of his journey and he shouldn't deny/ignore that part of himself etc. He might have become accustomed to it and want to keep it. Sometimes when people have been really badly hurt and have come through it, it should show somehow. I'm not sure which way I'll go at the moment. Haven't made up my mind yet. But anyway, Zuko has been thinking about Katara's offer to heal it and Katara herself. a lot.

Another thing I wanted to start exploring is how the different bendings are similar and how they interact with each other. I think water and fire probably both feel 'alive' to the bender. And I also think it was time that Toph, Katara and Zuko started encouraging Aang to stop being so overly reliant on airbending. Toph and Zuko tried back on the rendevous island, without much success and I felt it was time for a second attempt.

Aang always airbends first, in any situation. I guess it's his native bending and he feel more comfortable using it. It's like a mother tongue I guess, for all you bilingual people out there. My host sister is fluent in 4 languages and can speak really well, but she says that she just prefers listening to french, because it is so familiar, even though she understands perfectly in other languages, french sounds natural to her. Eventually Aang will become 'fluent' in the four bendings, but I imagine air will always feel the most 'natural' to him. But as the avatar he's got to be comfortable with other bendings as well and use them when they are most appropriate. With the scorpidillos, he should have firebent at them, like Zuko does. All animals are scared of fire after all. But his over-reliance on airbending has now had a painful consequence for his friend. I'm not saying it's all Aang's fault. Accidents happen after all. But he is still going to feel a little guilty.

I also think that Katara's healing is not a magical cure all fore everything and there would be some things that would be beyond her powers at this point. I also think Katara, as wonderful as she is, would be a hilariously difficult and bossy patient and so I wanted to explore that a bit.

Katara's accident gives us a chance to meet competent, caring Zuko (like ninja nurse hakoda.) I think Zuko and Suki would have been close by and ran as soon as they heard Katara scream. Zuko knows that the most important thing with poisonous bites is to keep the person calm, so he does his best to keep it together and do what he can for her, without fussing or freaking out. His competence helps Katara stay calm. They scorpidillos are quite dangerous and he is really worried, but he keeps that under control, so he doesn't frighten her. He would have hated having to cut her, (he'd never want to hurt her in any way) but it was necessary to help him suck the poison out and he knows that there is not time for him to have a crisis of Zukoness about it. Suki and Zuko work well as a team when they are treating her in the forest and getting her back to the house because they are both stealthy badasses.

In my imagination, Zuko does actually know what he is doing. I think Ursa would have taught him and Azula about the proper treatment for various bites. It's popped up in many fics that Ursa probably knew a lot about poisons and most likely poisoned Azulon. I also think she knew a fair bit of medicine and would have drummed important knowledge into both her children, perhaps in the vain hope that if ever anything happened – the other sibling would be there to help out. The firenation has a lot of poisonous animals and Zuko and Azula were active children. It just makes sense to me that she would have taught them what she knew.

There are heaps of poisonous snakes and spiders in Australia (but don't let that put you off visiting my sunburnt country lovely readers). My mum is a nurse and she made sure that we all knew what to do about snake bites etc, and I was also taught in school. It is just common sense that if kids live in a place with lots of creepy crawlies – you teach them how to keep themselves safe and what to do if something goes wrong.

So now I must confess that I have taken an artistic liberty with regards to proper medical treatment of bites. Up until the 80s (as far as I am aware), it was recommended that if you were in an isolated area and someone got bitten the best thing to do would be to make a small incision and suck the poison out. Suck it good. But you had to do this very quickly before the poison had too much time to move away from the wound site.

This is now recognised as being counter-productive and unhelpful and is not medically recommended. If you do succeed in sucking out the poison, then you have also succeeded in poisoning yourself. Boo. The very best thing to do, lovely readers, if you are ever with someone and they are bitten by a snake is to keep that person as calm as possible and as immobile as possible and to wrap the area in a compression/immobilisation bandage (but not so tight that it becomes a tourniquet) and get to a medical facility as quickly as humanly possible. The person should rest, and be kept calm and satisfied for the next few days while they recover.

The avatar world or at least Zuko, in my fic, is from the pre-1980's school of medical thought. For two reasons. 1) it was dramatic! And 2) there is not really a medical facility nearby that they can just take Katara too. So in this fic, while he is engaging is dubious medical practice, he does succeed in sucking most of the poison out and miraculously doesn't poison himself. Yay! Wrapping up Katara's ankle with a cleansing poultice and keeping her calm and immobile would be the best thing for her at this point. And in the next chapter, the Gaang will set out to do this and take care of their team mum.

What shenanigans will our benevolent bell dictator get into from her place on the couch? How many of her friends will really regret that Zuko gave her that bell? You will have to wait until the next chapter to find out.

Til then lovely readers...