A/N: Wow, reviewers – I'm speechless! Thank you so much for all the love. There were many reviews and some were marvelously long and detailed, so I'm going to refrain from addressing each one, but just know that I squeal and squirm with delight at every single one. You're the reason this story hasn't died a hundred deaths already, haha :)
Katara struggled to breathe, trying to wrap her mind around what Jiao had just said. A sky bison?
Ozai pushed himself from the wall and followed Jiao out the chamber. She smoothed her hair and gulped a breath to regain her composure before trotting after them. Katara snaked through the passageway and out into the main foyer to find Jiao and Ozai peering up at the sky from the shadows of the cavern. They were speaking in low tones, something she couldn't make out. When she followed their line of sight, her stomach hitched and she had to blink twice to be sure. A dark shadow wove across the night sky, its familiar form outlined in silver moonlight. Appa…
Thoughts scrambled in her head. Had Aang come for her after all? A rush of heat burned somewhere deep in the corners of her heart, scorching her from the inside out. After all this time… Did he think he could just swoop gallantly to her rescue and expect that nothing had changed? Expect to find the same girl from before? Her brows drew low over hardened eyes. Well, it didn't matter now. It was too late. She had made her choice.
The bison swooped lower and Ozai jerked her out of view, hugging his arm around her. She let herself melt into him, her hands resting against his chest. A fleeting glance brushed her from the corner of Jiao's eye. They waited there, rigid and tense, in the shadows until Jiao finally gave the all clear. Katara peeked up into the starry black canvas. Appa was gone.
Zuko circled Appa over the village and landed in front of the gate. He signaled the others to stay put and climbed down, approaching the four guards he had spoken with earlier. They stood at attention, eyebrows raised, the unspoken question on their faces. Zuko gave a grim shake of his head.
"Nothing," he said. "The gully's too deep and narrow, we couldn't see a thing in the dark. We'll have to go back out at dawn." Zuko sighed deeply and ran a tense hand through his hair. "Any chance you can accommodate six travelers and a huge bison overnight?"
A smile broke onto the guard's face. "Of course, Fire Lord. Sukoshi would be more than honored. You and your companions are welcome for as long as you choose to remain."
"Thank you," he managed a smile.
"We'll set you up in the Governor's Hall. It's the best we have to offer."
The heap of a sleeping bag writhed and grunted in Appa's saddle. Zuko tensed and saw the guards' eyes search for the source. It wasn't much in the way of cover, but it was all they could think of in order to hide Aang. The guards couldn't find out they had the avatar. No one could. He could only imagine what people would think if they saw the new Fire Lord with a hysterical avatar bound and gagged in his possession.
"What was that?" a guard asked.
"Uhh…" Zuko's mind scrambled for an explanation.
Sokka coughed and forced out a groan, clutching his hands over his stomach and rolling to his back. Zuko didn't miss a beat.
"Our friend's not feeling too well," he offered and wrinkled his nose. "Bad sea prunes." He watched the crease of the guards' eyebrows as Sokka rolled back and forth, groaning like a hogmonkey in heat. Zuko's jaw set, praying to Agni that they didn't see through it. He cursed the warrior for being such a ham.
"You know," Zuko cut in quickly, "I think we'd prefer to stay in the stables. Our presence might send a panic through the village and cause you more trouble. Thank you for your offer nonetheless."
The guard seemed surprised at Zuko's request, but his shoulders relaxed in assent. "Very well, sire. As you wish."
Zuko let out a small breath and turned his eyes to heaven in a silent prayer. The guard nodded to his comrade, who turned and unlatched the heavy iron bolt. The gate swung open with a loud groan. Four more guards stood on the other side.
"The Fire Lord and his companions are to be our guests of honor," the first guard instructed. "Show them to the stables and see that they are comfortable." He turned back to Zuko before stepping aside. "I hope your friend turns the corner soon. Nasty stuff, that food poisoning."
Sokka wailed.
"Thank you," Zuko smiled through his teeth and shot a quick scowl over his shoulder.
A guard on the other side of the gate stepped forward. "Right this way, my lord. Welcome to Sukoshi." With a short bow, he led the way into the humble, torch-lit town.
Jiao stirred the pot of morning rice and added another log to the fire. The flames licked higher and he rubbed his cold hands over the heat. The cavern was quiet save for the soft snores of his comrades still asleep on the far side of the foyer. Ozai and the girl hadn't risen yet either. A thought churned his stomach. He only hoped they had taken separate rooms. Grimacing, he quickly forced the thought away.
He glanced over his shoulder out the mouth of the cave. The first breath of dawn lined the sky, streaks of pink and lilac. Giving a last stir to the pot, Jiao rose and walked to the entrance. The air there was brisk. He gave a quick shiver and hugged his arms around himself, drinking in the fresh morning air.
Jiao wasn't sure how long he had been standing there when the clunk of boots sounded softly behind him. He turned to see Ozai approaching. The men shared a brief nod as Ozai came to stand beside him. Sunlight pooled at their feet, bathing the floor in golden light, as the sun began its ascent in the sky. Moments passed in silence. Finally, clearing his throat, Jiao spoke.
"I wonder, sir, if I might ask you for an advance on my retirement pay."
Ozai shot him a brief glance. "I thought we'd discussed this. You'll get it just as soon as I have what we came for."
"Yes, sir, we did. But… well, I received a messenger hawk last week. The letter said my wife is on her deathbed. She doesn't have much time – the doctors say a month, maybe two." He huffed a sour chuckle. "If we're being optimistic. I'd just like to be able to make her last days happy. Maybe cross a few things off her bucket list. I don't have the means to do that now without…" Jiao let his words trail off.
Ozai was silent for a moment. "You have my condolences, Jiao. But my answer stands. You will have your retirement plus a bonus for your loyalty just as soon as we claim victory."
His lips parted. Hurt stitched his face. How could he be so cold? Had the man ever loved anyone in his life? The thought evoked images of Ozai and that girl tangled against the wall. A spark inside him burned but he carefully wiped away the scowl that crept upon his face.
"What is going on with you and that girl?" he asked in his most collected voice.
Ozai didn't turn to him, but Jiao could see the downturn of his lips. "Nothing that concerns you," he spoke with finality.
"Forgive me, sire, but… you understand my confusion." He shook his head, his open mouth searching for the words. "How– how could you let this happen?"
Ozai's frown deepened, but he looked straight ahead, toward the other side of the gully still awash in mauve shadow. After a moment, he turned and headed back inside the cavern. A pang of anger shot through Jiao as he stalked after him.
"She's just a girl." The words came more harshly than they should have as he trotted after him. "You're using her. I just don't think–"
Ozai spun around, anger etched in his face. "You're right, you don't think," he spat. "Only a fool would ask such reckless questions of his superior." He stood towering over him, seething. "You know nothing about it."
Jiao frowned at the ground but didn't back away. "It just… doesn't sit right," he mumbled with a shake of his head.
"I really don't care what does or doesn't sit right with you," he growled, inches from his face. Ozai's teeth clenched, setting his jaw tight. "And I'd advise you to remember your place, Jiao… before I put you in it."
Jiao pinched his mouth but didn't step back. His eyes flitted away briefly before darting back again, holding boldly to Ozai's, challenging. It was dangerous. He didn't care.
"Now," Ozai snarled, straightening slowly, "if you're through wasting my time–"
A rumbling groan from somewhere outside cut him off. Jiao stepped away from the entrance and peered around the edge. The avatar's bison had come back, circling the ravine. Jiao's mind raced. Why? Had their hideout been compromised? He heard Ozai curse beside him.
"I hope you and your idiots have some kind of a plan," he hissed a whisper. "If the avatar keeps hovering over the ravine like this, it won't be long before he notices the gap in the cliff side."
Jiao fought back the doubt and puffed up with all the confidence he could muster. "We have it all covered. See that down there?" He pointed to a dark shape at the bottom of the gully where land broke to sea. "There's a ship waiting for you. The hardest part will be the climb down to get there. But it won't take long once you set sail, and even shorter if you put your little waterbending friend to work."
He could hear the sharp breath and the snarl as Ozai opened his mouth to speak but a shadow fell briefly over the sun-veiled entrance. A groan came again, louder, closer.
"That's all great," Ozai grumbled. "But there's still the better part of two days before the blood moon rises. Until then, we're holed up in this cave praying Agni's mercy that the avatar passes us by. And you're telling me that's your brilliant plan?"
Jiao shot him a sideways glance and fought back a retort. It was true. He hadn't seen a reason to have a plan beyond simply having a means from here to the island. He hadn't thought it possible that the avatar might actually snuff out such a well hidden hideout before they were ready to meet him. But he couldn't let on that his plan really was as pathetic as Ozai made it sound.
"No need to fret, my lord," he said, voice firm with the certainty he wished he felt. "Whatever happens, my men and I won't fail you."
The moon had always called to her, as it did all waterbenders. But tonight was different somehow. Katara was restless. She could feel her chi swirling, churning like a slow burn. But there was something else too. A darkness beneath the surface, almost too subtle to touch, just a drop in the vortex of her energy, but it was there. And she shuddered against its vague familiarity. Memories came crashing back of things she would rather forget. Hana. Bloodbending. The dark elation she'd felt at another's life force pulsing helplessly at her control. It was that darkness she felt again now, inexplicably, and it scared her.
Katara surged up from her bed and out the curtained door. It was no use trying to sleep. The passage was almost dark, dimly lit with just an occasional candle sconce. She listened to the heavy quiet for a moment and drew a deep breath. To her right, the corridor wound back toward the large open foyer and then onward, housing more bedrooms and storage. To her left, the passage snaked away into almost total darkness. They must not have settled the cavern much past her and Ozai's rooms. The idea of uncharted cave piqued her curiosity. It was probably safer to walk the other way, through more familiar territory, but she craved the solitude. She needed to clear her mind.
The faint flickering light dwindled behind her as she crept down the corridor. But it wasn't long before Katara had to stop. It was just too dark, she could barely see a thing. And what she could see only looked like more of the same: cold, boring rock that tunneled on and on in the same boring way as far as she could see. Her mouth drew down in disappointment and she was about to turn back when her foot sloshed in a cold, wet puddle. The ripples just barely gleamed in the candlelight from where she'd come. The sight of the water stirred in her an unrivaled hunger for her element. She longed for the familiar push and pull of it. She needed to feel it, control it.
Katara raised her hand in a graceful arc and watched a steam of it rise at her command and then plunk back down. She repeated the move almost hypnotically, over and over. This was peace, tranquility, perfection. She breathed slowly, feeling her chi push and pull with the ebb and flow of the water.
She brought another stream of water up, swirling it in a graceful ribbon. It split into two, twisting and spiraling around each other like two moon-doves, ascending, then swooping down, criss-crossing in flight, and finally rejoining as one.
The prickles on her neck told her she was being watched. The water splashed back into the puddle as she turned to see Jiao standing behind her, hardly more than a silhouette in the muted candlelight at his back. She couldn't make out much of his face, but the silence of his stare made her uneasy. Katara fidgeted and cleared her throat.
"Um, sorry, did I wake you?"
"I was already awake," he muttered. "Couldn't sleep."
Katara nodded stiffly, wrapping her arms around herself. "Neither could I," she said softly. Not being able to see his expression made her nervous. He just stood there, hands in his pockets, studying her. She looked away before continuing. "I can't remember ever feeling the moon this strongly before."
The soft thump of boots drew her eyes back. Jiao walked toward her slowly, his posture relaxed. "That's because you never have. The blood moon is rising. Tomorrow it'll glow red as deep as blood for which it's named."
Katara had never heard of such a thing. Why hadn't her people ever mentioned it? Surely they would have known. "Have you ever seen a blood moon?" she asked, not sure what else to say.
"No." His footsteps echoed quietly in the corridor. "They occur only once every hundred years. But I've heard stories that say you'll never see anything like it." Jiao sauntered closer, the side of his face now illuminated in the half-light. "The earth is bathed in red glory. The moon's pull on the earth is more powerful than ever before. The tides rise higher, the waves thrash harder…" He came to stop before her, his irises flickering with the light. "Waterbenders grow stronger."
A lump was growing in the pit of her stomach. She didn't like the way he was looking at her or how close he was standing. And why was he telling her this? Before now, he'd never spoken more than three sentences to her. Something didn't sit right. And then it occurred to her.
"Wait, how do you know there's a blood moon rising?" she said, her voice hardening with a flare of hostility. "I'm Water Tribe and never so much as read about it before." Her brows drew lower as her suspicion mounted. "This has something to do with your plan, doesn't it?"
"Ozai's plan, yes."
"Which is also your plan," she frowned harder. "You're helping him, right?"
"In a manner of speaking. But not for charity's sake." The words twisted his face in a grimace.
Jiao proceeded to tell her of his dying wife, how he had agreed to help Ozai in exchange for enough money to retire comfortably and care for her. Only now, time was growing short. Ozai would not confer his payment until his service was complete, which meant he couldn't leave now. He could only hope to have a few days with her when this was over – a few days he hoped to make as happy and comfortable for her as possible.
"That's just the saddest thing I've ever heard," she scowled, crossing her arms. "Almost as sad as a grown man unloading his sob story on a worthless prisoner." She waited for him to react, but he just stood there, rigid, unflinching. She scoffed, annoyed. "If there's a point to this, I'd like to get to it now. Otherwise, leave me in peace."
"My point is to remind you of the power you hold. Power only magnified under the force of a blood moon." He stepped in closer, brows pulled down hard. "You are involved with a dangerous man. A man who will use any and all means necessary to further his agenda. Even manipulating the heartstrings of a pretty girl." There was a flash of something in his eyes as he said it that made her stomach lurch. Katara took a step back, but he followed closely. "Do not make the mistake of thinking his feelings for you are sincere. Ozai's word is only good for as long as it benefits him. For those too blinded by his silver tongue, it is often discovered too late." Jiao's mouth twisted, like he'd just tasted something bitter. "So if tomorrow night the side you've taken proves nothing than the remains of an empty promise… if it turns out this man's word is but smoke and mirrors, I hope you'll have the strength to do what needs to be done."
Katara's eyes widened. She furrowed an eyebrow, grasping for words. "What do you mean?"
Jiao straightened and turned to leave. "You're a big girl. I'll let you figure it out."
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
Katara wrestled with sleep, unsuccessfully. Sometimes she would drift closer again only to be pulled back to consciousness. The night dragged on for eternity. She tossed and turned, thinking surely morning must have come by now. But her inner moon told her daylight was still hours away. Finally, she gave up the fight and padded back out into the corridor to stand in front of Ozai's door. He was probably sleeping soundly. She imagined herself curled up in his arms, drifting off to the thrum of his heartbeat. Her stomach fluttered, but only for an instant as Jiao's words came tumbling back to her.
Her hearth seethed. The man didn't know what he was talking about. Ozai's feelings for her were real. There was a fire in his gaze that burned for her every time their eyes met. A passion in his touch that could never belong to a man just going through the motions. Jiao didn't know Ozai the way she did. She tried to ignore the shards of doubt still wedged in the back of her mind and stepped forward. With a small breath, she peeled back the curtain of Ozai's chamber and, after a brief hesitation, slipped inside.
The room was almost completely dark, lit only by the candlelight leaking in under the foot of the door. Katara waited and listened for a moment. There it was. The slow, even breathing of a deep sleep. How she envied him that peace. At the far side of the chamber, she could just make out the dark of Ozai's slumbering form atop the stone cot at the wall. Sleep eluded her in her own bed. Maybe the comfort of Ozai beside her would calm her restless spirit.
Katara gulped a breath and tiptoed to the side of his bed. As she reached toward the covers, she hesitated and bit her lip. With her eyes adjusted to the dark, she noticed the bare porcelain skin of his shoulder and traced it down across his muscular back until his body submerged beneath the blanket. He wasn't wearing a shirt. What else wasn't he wearing? She reined in her mind from wandering too far and reminded herself that she was only trying to get some sleep. That was all. So, drawing back the covers, she tentatively slid into bed beside him. She waited to be sure he hadn't woken him and then curled her body along his back. He was so warm against her breasts and she shivered slightly. Wrapping her arm timidly around the smooth skin of his waist, Katara finally felt the tides of sleep sweeping over her and let them carry her away.
She awoke in the morning to a hand sweeping gently across her forehead and back through her hair. Katara's eyes fluttered open to see Ozai lying on his side, facing her. His other arm was bent up under his head like a pillow as his eyes skimmed over her. She thought in passing how much larger his muscles looked at this angle. He raked his fingers softly through her hair again.
"Well, this was unexpected," he said in an almost-whisper. "Waking up with a certain waterbender curled around me gives a new meaning to good morning." His mouth settled with a hint of a smile. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
His playful tone was electrifying. Her face softened as a smile perched on her lips. "I couldn't sleep," she whispered back. "I just… needed to feel you close to me." The words came out more pathetic than she had intended. Embarrassment flushed her cheeks as her smile melted away.
His eyes darkened a note at the conflict in her tone. Ozai leaned back, those amber eyes piercing her through. "Something troubling you?" His fingertips swept down the tender skin of her neck, brushing the hair back from her shoulder.
"Ye – no, well… Kinda." She forced a little chuckle at the way she stumbled over the words. Taking a deep breath, she propped her head on her hand and tried to think of a way to ask the question that was twisting up her insides. "I know about the blood moon tomorrow night. I know you're planning something. I wanna know what."
"And just how did you come to learn of the blood moon? Passed down by the Water Tribe's elders, I assume."
"Actually, no." Her lips hardened in a frown. "Jiao told me."
"Is that right?" he said with a snide twist of his mouth. "What else did he tell you during your little heart to heart?"
"Does it matter? I'm tired of you shutting me out of your plans. If you won't give this up, at least let me in. I just want the truth."
His eyes frowned but he said nothing. Katara searched his face. He just looked back at her, solemn, self-assured, enigmatic.
"Forget it," she sighed, turning away. "I should know better than to ask by now. Not like you can trust me or anything."
"Katara." Ozai's deep voice was soft, almost hushed. His fingers gripped her chin, turning her back to face him. "I have no doubt that I can trust you. You've proven yourself more than worthy of that. But… it's complicated. Come tomorrow night, you'll know everything. Until then…" His thumb stroked along the rise of her cheekbone. "Try to trust me."
Katara wanted to. In fact, she couldn't think of any reason not to trust him. He had protected her and cared for her all this time and his words, while sometimes frustrating or insensitive, were always dripping with honesty, even when it hurt. Her eyes scoured his features, looking for any trace of deceit. All she found there was the warmth of his gaze and the shadow of a smile that she had come to know so well. She could get lost in those eyes, in the heat simmering there. When he looked at her that way, heat pooled in her chest. She traced his mouth with her gaze, a small sigh brushing past the gap of her lips.
Ozai must have read it in her face because he leaned forward, his breath fluttering on her lips before they pressed to hers. Helplessly, she felt herself opening like a flower under his kiss and let her hands glide over the smooth skin of his chest and up to his neck. This was different from the other times. He kissed her slowly but deliberately, with a heat that proved its own passion. He was savoring her and she reveled in the fire of his touch, his bare skin beneath her fingers. His chest pressed more firmly against hers as he rolled her gently to her back, tangling his legs with hers. Ozai's burning lips broke away to plant a kiss on her jaw, trailing kisses back toward her neck. There was an electric charge as his lips brushed her ear. The sigh of his warm breath sent a tingle through her belly and she hardly noticed how her fists balled up in his hair.
Her breathing was growing heavier in a most undignified way, but she didn't care and she didn't fight it. And as the wave of euphoria mounted, she let go and let it carry her away.
The edges of the sky were tinted with the coming of dusk. The sun would soon begin its descent and give way to the moon's red splendor. It was time.
Jiao nodded at the two men on his right. "The village is at the top of the ravine. Make sure Fire Lord Ozai's ship has set sail before you alert the guards. See that no one spots you on the ascent or they might suspect something."
The men gave a grim nod, shrugging on their gear and beginning the climb up the stony gorge. Jiao turned his attention downward, to the two dark shapes descending toward the sea's edge and the ship that rocked gently there in waiting. Black clouds were creeping over the horizon. The glow of the sun cast an eerie green against the dark grey. The foam below was already thrashing more wildly. Hopefully Ozai and the girl would reach the island before the storm hit.
A coldness clinched his stomach. After all these months, after all the blood and the tears and the sweat, the time was here at last. A few more hours and he could go home to his wife with his reward – her last bits of happiness – in hand.
"Sokka, I'm telling you for the last time, shut your trap."
Zuko sat forward on Appa's head, steering the reigns as they soared over the stony gorge. The muscles in his jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth. The cool evening wind whistled past his ears and whipped the hair back from his face.
"It's obvious they're not here," Sokka bellowed behind him from Appa's saddle. "This place is deader than a Goth party. We've spent too much time raking over this gods-forsaken area as it is."
Zuko's hands fisted tighter into the reigns but he said nothing. After their second night of rocky sleep in Sukoshi's stables, not everyone had been in agreement about what to do next. Where to direct their search. Two days of scouring the gorge had turned up nothing. Sokka had insisted that they should forget that place and move the search outside the town. One by one, the others had agreed with him. In the end though, Zuko had played the Fire Lord card and dragged them out to the gorge again. There was something about it that kept drawing him back. If he could only have a little more time, convince them to stay a little while longer…
"Zuko, Sokka's right. You gotta give it a rest," Toph piped up. "Your old man's given us the slip again. The more time we waste, the more distance he'll put between us."
"And my sister," Sokka added. "We have to expand our search –"
"No!" he snapped and sliced a hand at the warrior. Zuko let out a short breath. "He's here somewhere, I know it."
Behind him, the warrior scoffed. "How can you possibly be sure of that?"
"Call it intuition," he muttered grimly. "I just know my father. He didn't go through that town. He's up to something."
A moment passed in silence, but Zuko could feel Sokka's eyes on him like two picks of ice. "You better hope you're right."
But Zuko wasn't right. After hours of flying and weaving and searching, he'd finally had to throw his arms up and admit that he had been wrong. That his "intuition" had cost them days of precious time. This was the closest they had been to arresting his father and Katara, and now there was no telling where they might be. Ugh, he was such an idiot.
"What did I tell you?" Sokka bit at him as they climbed down from Appa's saddle. A Sukoshi guard nodded to them and led Appa back to the stables. Zuko stalked off with Sokka hot on his heels. "If you had just listened to me in the first place, we might have had a chance to rescue Katara. But nope. Instead, we lost them. Again!"
Zuko spun around, his heart on fire. "Alright, I get it! I'm an Agni-damned moron who can't do anything right. I'm screwed up beyond repair. But none of this is getting us any closer to Katara, is it?!" He stepped inches from Sokka and glared down at him, shoving a threatening finger in his chest. "So how about you shove all this self-righteous hogshit up your posterior and help us come up with a plan that will find her."
The hurried clomp of heavy boots interrupted them. Zuko turned to see a guard running toward them, urgency painted on his face.
"My lord," he began through heavy breaths, "we just received an eye-witness report that Ozai may have been spotted down in the ravine."
Zuko met Sokka's sour gaze. His mouth pressed into a line. "We just came from there. We didn't see anything."
"Two hikers allegedly saw him boarding a ship at the water's edge. There was a girl with him." Zuko's eyebrows lifted at the words. Could it be? "Perhaps you missed him, my lord."
Zuko nodded. There was a chance the sighting was unrelated, just a sailor or a fisherman, but something told him it was no coincidence. He knew there was a reason he was drawn to the ravine. It had to be him.
"Thank you, soldier. Have our bison re-saddled and brought back out immediately."
The guard nodded and hastened toward the stables.
"Do you really think it's him?" Suki asked hesitantly. "What if it's just another dead end?"
"It won't be. I'm certain of it." He shot a gloating scowl at Sokka before turning toward the coast. The ocean fanned out beyond the cliffs as the sun dipped below the surface. Angry black clouds were swelling in from the north. The shrill cries of white birds came mixed with the words that burned up from his chest.
"Time for a family reunion."
A/N: So I caved to the pressure from so many of you and put one more tiny makeout scene in here. How could I say no? Hehe. And the rest of that little scene? Feel free to interpret that as you will ;-)