A/N: Hello my friends I am terrible because I've kept you all waiting and I'm soooo sorry. I love writing this story though and I think I'm going to continue unlike some of my others lol. I'm very tired and I can't think of what i should inform ya'll, just know if you're confused on anything you can ask me and I'll answer when my mind is not in a daze! Which also means there's a lot i still have to edit but it's readable, right? okay i'm gonna go, enjoy this chapter

Chapter 2

"Oh La it's so hot." Katara whined.

Sweat fell from both Katara and Zuko's brows. The rays of the sun burned against their skin, turning it beat red. Summer in the Fire Nation felt like sitting in a pit of a burning volcano.

Katara bent the sweat from her forehead and discarded it of into the woods. She reached for her pouch to get a drink of water and shook it. There was barely any water left. She groaned and put it back in its place, knowing it's better to conserve it for when they need it.

"Ugh Zukoooo. We are almost out of water, this heat is unbearable, and we're in the middle of nowhere. We have been walking for days in this direction, and whose idea was to walk this way…? Oh yeah, yours."

Zuko stopped abruptly in front of her, and she runs into his back with a muffled umpf.

"Why did you stop? What's wrong?" Katara said with crossed arms. She looked very irritated because it was already enough to walk in this damn heat but to stand in it was just down right stupid.

"We're in the Shino Forest, it's the only forest close to the Fire Capitol and it's what my family used as a shortcut to get to Ember Island if we didn't want to go the more public way."

Katara stood their staring at him baffled, and still very much so irritated with standing in the blistering heat just to talk.

Zuko sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We are headed north to the only small village I know closest. Trust me I've studied and have traveled this path multiple times. I know where I'm going, Katara." He sharply pronounced her name in a way that made Katara scoff and roll her eyes.

Zuko didn't really have anything else to say to her because he was tired too. His throat burned, and his legs ached with pain but he trudged forward knowing if he stopped, Katara would refuse to keep moving.

"We're almost there, just a couple of more miles." he told her, he could hear her labored breathing, or maybe it was his… he honestly couldn't tell anymore.

After a few more hours, they ran into this old man coaching a wagon filled with barrels and boxes of cargo. The man nearly ran into Zuko and Katara, who was leaning on each other for support, well more as Katara had her arm wrapped around Zuko's neck and her head rested on his shoulder, dragging her feet along.

The man looked down from his coach at the two and Zuko looked up with weary eyes before passing out.

00OOoo00OOoo00OOoo00OOoo00

"You can't just bring strangers off the street Moe," said what sounded like and angry old lady whispering.

"They passed out in front of my cart, what was I supposed to do, Nori!"

"I don't know leave them? You don't just bring them to our house! The Fire Nation is already on our bad side! Keeping two people who don't look like they're from here in the midst of all this mess into our home, knowing we have Sora to look after, is just stupid!"

"Well, what do you want me to do about it now? Take them back to the road and leave them there?"

"YES, MO-"

Katara shifted and turned trying to signal she was up. She had just about enough of listening to their conversation. She wasn't about to be picked up and placed back on the road, not after being able to rest in such an oh so comfortable bed.

"-I think the girl is up, go check on her." the woman, whose name apparently was Nori, instructed the elderly man, whose name seemed to be Moe.

Katara felt Moe's presence next to her face but kept her eyes shut. She heard sloshing of water, all of her senses picked up, and her heart started pumping her blood faster. "Water," was the only thought on her mind. As soon as he blotted, the damp cloth on her forehead Katara's eyes flashed open.

The man jumped back in shock of how quickly she had awoken.

'Uh…Hi there…" he managed to speak out.

"Water…" She croaked.

The man poured the bowl of water into her mouth and Katara took long gulps until she was satisfied with the feeling of cold water flowing past her dry lips and down her parched throat.

"Where is he?" She asked secondly once she finished drinking.

"Who... oh the boy is in the other room across the-"

"-Can I see him?" Katara sat up fully and asked.

The man blinked a few times at her surprised at how well she was responding.

"Uh yeah he's just across the-"

Katara had already hopped out of the bed and headed towards Zuko. He was asleep, but alive and that was all that Katara needed to know to feel just the slightest bit better.

She knew he probably needed the sleep, but she shook his shoulder to wake him up.

"Zuko!" She whispered sharply.

Zuko tossed, turned, and moaned before opening his eyes. He smiled at the sight of Katara, but then frowned and quickly rose up because he had no idea where he was.

"Where am-"

"-I don't even know. Apparently, we're at some elderly couple's house and they are insane and we need to leave!"

Zuko shook his head in confusion. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. Where are we?"

"You're in my house, and you're being treated very kindly since we let you sleep in our beds and gave you our water." The woman walked into the room with a sour expression on her face. Both Zuko and Katara's heads turned toward her.

She was frowning at Katara, and Katara refused to look in her eyes because she probably heard what she had said.

Zuko cleared his throat and spoke up. "Listen, m'am, uh me and my friend are very grateful for the help that you have provided and the sacrifices you've made… but we would like to know an exact location of where we are and if you could please tell us why we're here."

The old lady had her arms crossed over her chest, but at least the sour expression on her face had softened. "My husband, Moe, saw you two struggling along in the woods, and out of his generosity he decided to pick you both up when you collapsed. As for where you are, you might as well be in the middle of nowhere. I and my husband live in the outskirts of the fire nation, along with the other outcast."

"So there are other people here?" Zuko asked.

"Well a little ways through the forest and down the road there is a little town filled with old, disabled, poor, and rejected people. It's the town my husband provides mail, and cargo for."

Zuko and Katara exchanged looks. Finally some good news to hear; maybe this was finally the light at the end of this tunnel.

"Can you take us there?"

"My husband goes there only on the weekday's mornings, tomorrow he takes off for two days, but the day after that he leaves, I'm sure he can take you then.

Katara could almost cry she was so happy, something good finally occurred when these past few days everything seemed hopeless.

"But I didn't say you could stay here at my house-"

"Nori!"

"-We," Nori sharply turned to glare at her husband and signaled him to shut up, "have other things to worry about, I'm sorry but after you two get settled for tonight you leave, and you may come back on the third day, or travel there on your own, your choice. Either way my house isn't your home."

Both Zuko and Katara sat there with blank expressions, they didn't know whether to be grateful, or upset at what the lady had just told them.

Finally Zuko broke the silence with a question, "Well where are we supposed to go?"

Nori shrugged and got up to leave the room, and without even turning around to look back as she told them to go ahead and gather their things.

Katara placed her head in her hands and shook her head in disbelief. They had almost died from wandering outside for too long, and here it was, the excellent opportunity to have food, water, and shelter supplied to them, yet they still were forced to go back out into hopeless land outside.

Zuko ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath in and then let it out, before getting up and pulling Katara with him.

"Come on Katara; let's get our stuff and go."

"Wait." a voice called from the doorway.

The two of them stopped and turned to Moe, who they had forgotten was still in the room, and listened.

"Look, I'm sorry we can't help you in all the ways that you need to be helped, believe me I want to, but I have to honor my wife's wishes. Although I hope that, you don't stay in our shed house for the time being, that's out in the back of the house where we keep our ostrich-horses. I sure hope you don't stay there, because my wife hardly ever goes down there and checks, but still that isn't a place to stay." He winked at them and walked away.

"Moe wait!" Katara stopped him. "Thank you, you have saved our lives we owe you one."

"Oh yes trust me I'll make sure I get my thanks in return." and with that he left.

Katara furrowed her eyebrows in confusion by what he meant, but waved the thought away as she and Zuko go get their stuff together and walked out of the house and settled all their things inside the shed.

00OOoo00OOoo00OOoo00OOoo00

A few minutes had past as they decided that Katara would sleep on the hay and that Zuko would sleep propped up against a barrel in a very close, small corner. The only noises heard were the sounds of rabbit-owls hooting in the night, occasionally a small breeze would blow in through the shed and cause Zuko to shiver... and let's not forget the sound of Katara tossing and turning in her sleep.

It was so annoying. Zuko would close his eyes for a few seconds and just before he could fall into a deep sleep, he'd hear this crunching sound of hay and a girl muttering, it frustrated the hell out of him. It had been almost an hour since both Zuko and Katara lay down in that shed, deprived of sleep, and Zuko was on edge.

Finally, her restlessness stopped, and all he heard were her tiny breaths. He closed his eyes again and finally… ever so gently… went… to sleep.

Of course, that didn't last long.

"Zuko?"

Zuko's eyes snapped open and he harshly whispered a "What?!" in her direction.

"Jeez don't get your hotpants all in a twist, calm down."

"Ugh," he sighed, "Katara I'm just tired, what is it?"

"Well um… it's dark."

"Well I'd hate to break it to you Katara, but that does tend to happen when it's nighttime."

Katara glared at him with a plain expression. "I'm not an idiot Zuko, it's just really dark and I can hardly tell if you're there."

Zuko lit a flame in his palm and turned his head to the opposite corner of the shed where Katara was. She was laying down there wide-awake looking back at him.

"Now you know where I am."

He extinguished the small flame and closed his eyes again.

"Zuko."

He lit the flame again, and this time he turned his whole body to face her. "Do you want me to just stay up and keep a watch out while I have my flame going?"

"No you need you're rest, I just like to know you're there. Plus I'm cold, it smells weird, I have hay poking me and places that shouldn't be touched and this ostrich-horse keeps looking at me weirdly."

Zuko sighed and got up and walked over to her. He came to her side that she was lying on the hay and told her to move over.

"What are you doing?"

"Hopefully some thing that will shut you up."

He lay down next to her and pulled her closely to him. Katara eeped as he pulled her close into his chest. His arm hung over her waist, and his head rested on top of hers.

"Uh Zuko…"

"Shh… Please just sleep, at least you know I'm here and this fixes you being cold, so go to sleep, please."

Katara hesitated but finally relaxed and eased a bit into his comforting presence. "Okay I'm sorry…"

"But Zuko?" She tilted her head to look up and him; he opened one eye and looked down at her.

"What about the horse." She whispered jokingly.

"Oh for the love of Agni, goodnight Katara." Zuko groaned.

Katara giggled at his response. "Goodnight Zuko."

They stayed like that together until they both peacefully fell asleep.

A/N: I hoped you liked this chapter folks! Until next time! Please LIKE, REVIEW, and FAVORITE, it really helps you guys! Thanks!