ZUTARA WEEK 2021: Day 3: GLOWING

No Fire Could Burn as Bright

DISCLAIMER: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke but Zutara Week belongs to all Zutarians.

NOTE:

A fun prompt to work on despite being quite broad. I wonder sometimes how we still manage to be inspired by Zutara, and by the Avatar-verse in general, every year, but it is such a rich universe full of great characters so it constantly provides material.

Just a short, reflective piece for now. My Zutara Week entries tend to be in a similar vein because I don't want to get bogged down by action or too many plot points. Instead, I prefer to just focus on the characters and their thoughts and feelings. This one is from Zuko's POV, always an interesting place to visit. This is mostly set during that momentous Agni Kai in the finale.

Enjoy and let me know what you think. Thank you!

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Fire was the element of light, but whenever Zuko remembered what shone through his darkest moments, it wasn't his element that came to mind.

Instead, it was water that he thought of, glowing water that brought healing in more ways than one. Water wielded by someone who had become dearer to him than anything in the world.

For all the battles he had fought up until that point, the Agni Kai with his sister was the most vicious. It had taken all of his skills to match his sister's talents, and even if he knew he had greatly improved in his bending since he had last faced her, he also knew that part of his advantage in that fight had been the unstable condition of his opponent. Azula had not been at her best.

And to a certain extent, Zuko himself was also holding back, trying his best to parry each blow while ensuring that he dealt minimal damage to the person he was fighting. Despite everything, she was still his sister and some part of him still wanted to protect her. Any similar, sibling instinct on her part was non-existent, but Zuko had long been able to accept that about her. It didn't mean he was ready to hurt her.

But he realized too late how willing she had been to hurt him and to hurt anyone around him. As he absorbed the lightning she had launched towards Katara, he had never felt so much pain inflicted on him by his own element. His father's scarring of him all those years ago was nothing to this attack. His whole body was in agony as he struggled to remain conscious, to breathe, to stay alive.

And yet, as much as he feared his own death in those moments, what he feared more was that his sacrifice had not been enough, that he was still unable to save Katara. But he had been powerless to help her then, barely clinging to his own life, and hoping against hope that she would survive. He knew she was an incredibly capable bender, of course, but he still did not know how she would fare against his deranged sister.

Would she allow her natural compassion to cloud her judgment as he had done? Or was she not as compromised since she had no relationship to her opponent? It took what little strength he had left to even form these thoughts, even as he felt gripped by terror at the prospect of Katara losing the fight. But he could not move, he could not see what was happening. And so he had been left in the agony of suspense as Katara and Azula continued the fight he had been meant to win.

Those would be among the darkest moments of his life, the uncertainty of Katara's fate, his own weakness, and the overwhelming physical pain that threatened to send him to complete darkness. He had no idea how long he had been lying there until he felt someone gently turn him around.

And before he realized what was happening, he saw the light of the glowing water, the healing element, the life-giving force radiating from someone who cared deeply about him. He felt his strength return, his breath grow steady, and his body relax. Slowly, the world came into focus and he was met with the wondrous sight of Katara's tearstained face and relieved smile.

There would be more battles after this, graver injuries, deadlier risks. He would benefit countless times from both the healing powers of waterbending and Katara's support as she fought by his side. They would save each other's lives over and over again, each time thanking the Spirits that they lived to fight together another day.

He would experience that healing glow on many other occasions but none would be as magical as that first instance, when the destiny of the world and the fate of his family hung in the balance, and all he could think of was the life of Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.

No fire could ever burn as bright in such darkness, he thought, no other ray of hope could ever rival the radiance of the love that had saved their lives.