The Spaces Between is back!
A Scorching Hand ended up being four parts instead of three but it is now complete and this fic can now move forward.
Part 2 takes place directly after 'The Chase' episode and will be four chapters.
Part 2 - Healing Iroh - Chapter 1/4
Katara rolled over in her bedroll to stare up at the star-studded sky. The night's descent had brought a chill that rolled over the dry and dusty landscape. Heat collected by the previously sunbaked ground radiated from the red earth beneath her up through the layers of bedding and the cloth of her blue tunic. It was a familiar sensation that for the hundredth time that night, brought her thoughts back to him. Even with exhaustion settling into her bones, the afternoon's skirmish still weighed on her, she couldn't forget the raw pain on Zuko's face when he snarled for them to leave both him and an injured Iroh behind.
She wasn't really sure how she felt about the scarred prince. He was persistent and single-minded, his relentless pursuit of them was a testament to that. He almost succeeded when he took Aang from the spirit oasis but his lack of forethought is what saw him defeated that same day. Who in their right mind would challenge a master water bender surrounded by snow and ice under a full moon?
She snorted to herself. She was the kettle calling the pot black, wasn't she? She had thrown down the gauntlet with Master Pakku, arguably the best waterbender in the world with almost no experience or training to her name. The thought made a wry smile tug at her lips.
Zuko was a complex question she hadn't found an answer to. The concern for her safety at the river bank and the odd kindness he showed in caring for her that night was not something she was able to forget or explain away. The incident at the north made things feel like they were back to normal but then his actions today perplexed her further. If someone had told her that the team avatar would be working together with Zuko against his sister of all people, she would have laughed and said 'when eel-toads fly'. Now she just might have to check them for feathers once she returned home.
Whenever that may be.
Katara's thoughts shifted to Iroh, he was hurt, badly. She knew nothing about the man but the fact that he put himself between Tui and La and the Fire Nation garnered her respect. Then there was Toph who for some reason had taken a liking to the older man and trusted him. While she couldn't be sure about Iroh, she felt she could put faith in Toph's assessment of people.
The ache in her shoulders made her shift in her bedroll again, she had been tossing and turning ever since they landed. She hoped trading Appa's saddle for her own bedding would not only keep her from waking the others but be more comfortable, but here she was, eyes wide open and still awake. No position was comfortable enough for her to get any of the sleep she desperately needed.
After several more adjustments, she gave up and with a frustrated sigh and threw off the covers. The night's chill immediately slipped in crystalizing around her, raising goosebumps on her skin. She sat up and listened, the sound of soft snores and a low grumbling let her know that Aang, Appa, and Sokka were sound asleep. She discreetly got up from her bedroll and started getting dressed, pulling on her boots and securing her waterskin to her hip before silently tip-toeing her way into the night.
She only made it a handful of meters before a figure in the dark startled her.
"Where do you think you're going Sugar Queen?" Toph's voice curled around her in the dark.
"SPIRITS!" Katara yelped clutching her heart, she whirled to look at Appa's saddle checking to see if she had woken the others.
After seeing that the dead could be roused more easily she turned back to Toph, "Why are you awake? And how are you so quiet?!"
"I could ask you the same thing." the younger bender stood before Katara, hands on her hips, chin jutted upward and suspicion etched on her brow, "Where ya headed Sweetness?"
"Nowhere."
"Really, sounds hard to find." Toph said tapping her index finger on her chin, "I should wake Twinkletoes and Snoozles, I bet they could help you find it. I would myself but I'm not that great with maps" Toph's provoking tone was accompanied by her token gesture of waving her hand in front of her face.
"NO!" Katara whisper shouted grabbing the earthbender's hands, "Toph, please."
"Then spill Sweetness."
Katara sighed looking over her shoulder at Aang and Sokka, she turned back to Toph, "It's Iroh. He's hurt and out there with that boar-pig-headed idiot."
"You're worried about Iroh?" Toph's tone was part confusion and part surprise.
"Yes."
"Why would you care about a fire bender?" she questioned.
"Uh, well, today was not the first time we've crossed paths with Iroh. He's Zuko's uncle." she explained, "We were in the Northern Water Tribe so Aang could learn waterbending. The north is also home to two spirits that are very important to the water tribes. Tui the moon spirit and La the Ocean spirit. While we were there one of Ozai's admirals tried to harm the spirits and Iroh essentially committed treason trying to protect them. It wasn't something I expected." she hesitated unsurely but carried on, "Iroh might be Fire Nation but I don't think he's one of the bad guys."
"He's not." Toph's words held a conviction that surprised Katara.
She nodded her head out of habit before realizing the milky-eyed girl before her was unable to interpret body language. It was becoming a common mistake, Toph's ability to 'see' was taking some getting used to. She made it easy to forget that her seismic sense had its limitations.
"You trust him." she said more of a statement than a question.
"Maybe, we just had tea and he helped give me perspective on some things." Toph grumbled non-committaly.
"You what?!" Katara shook her head. "Never mind, Toph, I'm not really sure how I feel about him either but I do know he's hurt, badly. I can help him but I need to go quickly"
"So why sneak off? Why not let Snoozles or Twinkletoes know?" Toph's questioning was starting to feel like an interrogation.
"Because I don't think they'd understand."
"Because he's the uncle of psycho stalker dude who chased you around the globe?"
"Yes."
"Is that safe?", Toph's genuine concern once again surprised Katara, they had their spats but she might be underestimating the girl before her.
"I'm not sure, I think so? Toph, I can't not go, Iroh is hurt and I can do something about it" she pleaded.
Toph stood quietly for a few moments. Katara swore she could almost hear the pebbles tumbling in her head as she waited nervously for the young earth bender to make up her mind.
"Fine, go, I won't tell dunder one and dunder two but if you're not back before they wake up, I will rat you out." she warned.
"Understood," Katara began climbing down the outcrop they had landed on, looking up she called back, "be back by sun up or else."
"Sweetness, you're going to break your neck."
The rock beneath Katara's hands shifted formed a rough set of stairs down to the ground below them.
"Thank you!"
Toph crossed her arms and 'looked' to the side, "Hurry up before I change my mind.
Katara smiled and scrambled down the newly formed stairs. With nothing left to say Toph conjured a stone tent. She laid on the ground, palms pressed to the earth, she 'watched' Katara walk out into the night until she could no longer feel her footsteps. At least she'd know which way to head if Sugar Queen didn't come back. As much as she trusted Iroh, the same couldn't be said for his nephew. As she let sleep descend on her she hoped Katara knew what she was doing.
…
The day had been long and hard on everyone, including Appa, so they hadn't looked very far when it came to finding a place to bed down for the night. Lucky for Katara, she only had to walk about a mile before the line of abandoned structures came into view.
On the main strip of the small town, the unassuming buildings that stood only a few hours earlier were now just charred remains. Yet somehow, they still managed to loom over her in the moonlight. Much of what lay ahead of her was covered in shadows and red dust. She wandered over to where they lost Azula earlier that day, the ground was littered with splinters and debris, scorch marks painted the walls and uneven ground.
"Where could they have gone?" she queried into the night.
The assumption was not far, Iroh was by no means a small man, and Zuko as far as she knew took his fair share of knocks during the fight. She walked to where Iroh had been struck, the scorch mark from Azula's fire strike made her wince internally. He had taken the full force of her attack, she needed to find them and soon. Looking closer she could make out a track in the dust leading away from husks of the burnt-out structures. Following it took her further into the small town past darkened windows and empty doorways until the trail stopped. It simply ended in the middle of the road without a turn one way or another toward shelter.
Did he? No, no way he could have.
But the evidence was there, only one set of footprints were pressed into the dust. It was a bit harder to follow than the track but she managed to trace it further into the town than she expected. The trail ended at a nondescript wooden door set into what appeared to be a small home with earthen walls and a tiled roof. The door was made of rough wooden planks, sealed with dark sap and bound top and bottom by two metal straps, the small square window to the right of the door was tightly shuttered. Both emanated a soft glow about their edges. Katara drew a nervous breath and lifted a hand to knock but she never got the chance.
'CRASH!'
The door slammed open with enough force to knock her to the red earth and steal the breath from her lungs. The dust that kicked up from her fall blinded her as the ringing of metal cut through the silence of the night. When she opened her eyes the glint of moonlight on metal let her know she had hit the ground and was on the business end of a sword.
What had she gotten herself into?
So once again Katara has stumbled head first into trouble.
I am toying with the idea of adding in a Ba Sing Se - Blue Spirit chapter but I'm not sure yet, leave a review/comment on this chapter to let me know what you think of the idea or this chapter.