Mirrors of Katara with Sokka and Zuko with Azula
Part 4 - Mirrors - Shard 3/11 - Siblings
Why won't he wake up?
Hasn't it been weeks?
Is she even helping him?
She's so young, what does she know?
Will he make it?
Katara pushes the murmurs out of her head and leans back against the wall. Below decks, a sheen of sweat makes her skin glisten in the lamplight. The Avatar stripped to the waist, lays unconscious in front of her, a dark layer of moon peach fuzz covering his head and and criss-crossing fern patterns etched into his skin. She has worked on him all evening as she has for weeks, yet Aang still sleeps. Doubt has carved out a festering nest in her chest, it gets deeper with each passing day. Is she helping him? Or is she kidding herself? She looks up as the door creaks open.
"There you are." Sokka gives her a small smile.
"I figured you'd be here." he says as he takes a seat on the floor beside her, "You're going to wear yourself out."
"I have to, what if he never wakes up?" she asks.
The desperation in her words saddens him. She has been there for him since they left home, La since they lost their mother and their father left for war. Has he done the same for her? Or has the strong girl - soon to be a woman - he has watched her transform into in the last few months, made him forget that she still needs her big brother?
"He will Katara, and when he does it'll be because of you. I mean if it weren't for you, he wouldn't be here at all." he reassures her.
"It feels like my healing isn't doing anything for him."
"You need to have faith in yourself, I've seen you do amazing things and this will be one of them."
"I don't know if I can." her words are almost a whisper, like a dying flame.
Sokka wraps his arm around his little sister letting her head drop on his shoulder, "Then I'll just have enough faith in you for the both of us."
She nods silently against his shoulder.
"You know what, I think you need a change of pace and we could use your help on something."
"Is this one of your crazy ideas again?" she asks in mock suspicion
"The craziest so far." a smile lights up his face, "We're going to steal a Fire Nation ship."
"What?" Katara's head shoots up.
"I did say it was the craziest so far." he gives her a sly look, "We could really use your help. you being a water bending master and all."
"What about Aang? I can't just leave him." she looks at the sleeping boy with worry.
"I know how you feel and that's why I asked. But understand, this is important. On our boats we're a sailing target." he explained, "If we could get a Fire Nation ship, we could be hidden in plain sight which would be safer for all of us, especially Aang. What do you think?"
She leaned her head back against her brother's shoulder. As much as she didn't want to leave Aang's side, Sokka was right, she needed a change and she would be helping everyone else in the process.
"Ok." her acquiescence came as a single softly spoken word.
"Really?!"
She nodded smiling silently, Sokka pulls her closer in his one-armed hug.
"Don't worry Katara, I've got you and together we'll have everyone else."
/|\
"I'm bored," Azula gives a dramatic yawn, "Zuzu let's spar."
Zuko sits on the deck with his arm around Mai, they both give Azula the same bored, silent expression.
This won't do, oh well a bit of light prodding will get her what she wants.
"Too afraid are we? That makes sense, you've been away for so long your bending must have waned. Especially under the tutelage of that traitorous buffoon." Azula pushed her first button.
His jaw clenches and she smirks, the old man was always a sore spot for him. She watches as Mai places and hand on his thigh prompting him to try and force himself to relax. Her plot to get him to come home is now becoming a hindrance, she'll have to tear that down sooner than later. Right now she knew exactly what button to press.
"I see. I guess I need to go in search of a more honorable opponent."
Zuko shoots up from his place on the deck, earning him a sigh and an eye roll from Mai.
"I'll take you any time Azula."
"Well then, put your money where your mouth is Zuzu." Azula's eyes shine bright in the sunlight, "Show me what you've learned."
Zuko leaves the shaded spot next to Mai and walks the ten paces down the metal plate deck before facing Azula.
They bow and his sister wastes no time bringing down a wall of blue flames that charges for him. He kicks across its path sending back a crescent of yellow flame that halts the wall's advance and cuts down its length. When it dissipates Azula is gone.
He hears it before he sees it, diving into a handspring he kicks out another bolt of fire to his left. A searing blue fireball emerges from the same direction, rocketing to where his head was a split second ago. She was playing dirty, using the damage to his left eye and ear to her advantage.
"Guess you didn't see me big brother." she taunts him in a haughty sing-song voice.
He turns left toward her voice and finds her, both hands alight with blue flames against the sun and sea. It gives him an idea. With a roundhouse kick, he sends another crescent of fire toward her but doesn't bother to see if it lands. He circles around her right, with each step he punches out shot after shot. She follows him around the circular path deflecting them all.
"Zuzu, do you really think these puffs of smoke are going to cut it?"
"Not at all!" he calls back before mounting the railing, putting himself between her and the afternoon sun. Running across the thin metal tubing he puts more power into his hands sending blast after blast each one stronger than the next. The reactionary force of it threatens to push him back, down into the deadly embrace of the sea.
The sun is blinding forcing Azula to block each hit at the last second, each one pushes her back another few inches. Her older brother was starting to piss her off. Bringing her hands together she forms a ball of blue flame, swinging arms wide she pulls it, stretching it out. The flames thrum beneath her hands as she feeds it more power and compresses it down into a thin long arc. She aims for a few inches above the rail and lets the blue arc shoot forward, if she couldn't see him then she would take the whole thing down.
Hope you don't mind taking a dip Zuzu.
The arc of fire hurtles towards him, if he stayed on the railing he would end up in the ocean, he had to jump. Crouching on the railing he waits for the last second before launching himself up and forwards toward the ship. Once he hit the deck he would lose the sun's advantage, Azula would need to be fast to catch him in that moment and there was only one thing faster than fire.
Zuko hit the deck with a thud. She already had the sparking energy in her hands, that sound was the signal she was waiting for. Turning towards it she doesn't bother waiting to register him by sight, she doesn't need to. She lets the lightning loose in a prickling flash from her fingertips, it rushes towards her brother who stands frozen in place. Maybe today she will finally have her wish of being an only child.
Zuko starts falling into the waterbending stance before his feet even hit the deck. He sees the flash of blue sparks surge toward him and wills his body to relax, to flow the way Uncle taught him, to move the same way she moves. When the lightning hits his fingertips it runs numbingly down his forearm crackling and lighting and up every fiber of him it passes through. Grabbing hold of the energy he pulls it down through his stomach and guiding it back up through his other arm and out of his fingertips. The bolt shoots harmlessly into the sky, he doesn't watch it go, there's no time. Another flowing movement blends seamlessly with the power of his fire-bending stance and brings him face to face with Azula.
The surprise on her face disappears so quickly he almost thinks he imagined it. Her face was an arrogant mask once again but the slight twitch of her brow lets him know she is furious. He smirks taunting her with a come hither motion.
Azula presses her fire to the balls of her feet scorching the deck and propelling herself up into the air above the ship, she takes advantage of her aerial position and sends out fireball after fireball until a rain of flames descends on her brother.
Zuko pushes his bending out past his fingertips materializing a pair of flowing fire whips. He pushes the first one out aiming at Azula's face, she turns in midair avoiding the strike but he still manages to singe a few hairs. Zuko flings the second whip taking advantage of the moment of distraction. When it wraps around her waist, he wrenches it down, aiming for three decks below them.
She shoots jets from her hands and feet pushing against the pull of her brother's fire whip. She manages to soften the blow when she finally hits the deck. She tucks her head and uses the momentum to roll, dissipating the force of the fall. She's up on her feet and into another form in seconds. She smiles because she's found another button, maybe that hindrance won't be a hindrance for much longer.
Azula drops her stance and calls across the deck, "Where did you learn that?"
"Uncle." Zuko half-truths.
"I first saw you using them in the crystal caves, I've never seen Uncle conjure whips like that." she tells him, "In fact, the only person who I've seen use their bending like that is that is that water tribe peasant."
Azula turns to look at her former classmate, "Isn't that right Mai?"
Mai is silent and turns her head
Azula looks at him like a naughty child, "You were in those caves with her for quite some time Zuzu. As I recall she came out unscathed and she was quite endearing towards you. Why she even looked betrayed when you fought alongside me." his sister places an index finger on her chin, "Maybe that waterbender isn't as much of your enemy as you claim?"
The look she gave him when she held the Avatar in her arms still haunts him. Her touch on his scar, her kiss on his skin, how she felt shivering in his arms, the promise he made her by the river, all of it is seared into his mind.
"I'm done. Find someone else to play with." Zuko growls, he heads below deck, leaving both Azula and Mai behind.
FYI: The fern patterns on Aang's skin are called Lichtenberg figures
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