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Tweak says, "Do you hear the people sing?"

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe (k_waterbender) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-10-28 21:43:00

Entry tags:

complete, day 20, katara, zuko

Day Twenty
Who: Katara and Zuko
When: Day 20 ; Late Afternoon
What: Katara confronts Zuko
Where: Building A - Zuko’s room
Rating: PG-13
Status: Complete

After healing Toph’s wounds, trimming her singed hair, and acquiring the story of how she came to look like she’d been attacked by a firebender, Katara set out after Zuko. Would he attack her, too? Yes. If he hadn’t remembered Toph, he would remember her. They had met in the South Pole when Zuko came to claim Aang. That was how they had discovered Aang was the Avatar. They had met again in the North Pole where Katara had defeated him to save Aang after the Fire Prince had first knocked her out to kidnap the then-twelve-year-old. Did he remember the Crystal Catacombs? That was doubtful. Why would he feel the need to still capture the Avatar if he did remember that?

Would he recognize her? She had aged, but she was still the same woman. If the former leader of the Southern Raiders could recognize her after she had aged six years from a child to a teenager, Zuko should be able to recognize her after five years of aging from a teen into a woman, especially because the differences would be less sharp.

Despite the fact that the golems had refused to help her find Vincent, she needed them to help her find Zuko. After all, he could be anywhere, including the forest where Toph had seen him. There were simply too many options in too large a space to search for the Fire Lord.

The golem she found happened to be made of clay. His graceful movements were nothing like a human’s, but they seemed strange for one made of an earthen substance rather than flesh and bone. He led her over the grounds to building A. Yes, the Planet probably foresaw troubles if an enraged and unremembering Zuko was to be in the same building as Katara and Toph. His building wasn’t even among the same cluster of three as the female benders.

As she entered the building, following the golem, her heart began to beat faster. Too many questions swirled through her mind, and her fingers subconsciously moved to touch one of two full water skins as if to comfort herself with its presence. Zuko had become one of the greatest masters of firebending over the years she had known him. Ever since he and Aang had gone on that trip so Aang could learn firebending and Zuko could learn to fuel his firebending with emotions other than anger, the Fire Lord had progressed quickly. Even wounded, Katara suspected her friend would be powerful. If only she knew.

She stood in front of his door, heart beating rapidly beneath her breast. His was the first door, number one hundred. Katara stood there for a moment, unmoving. She hardly noticed the golem’s departure. At last she raised her fist to knock, but she paused. The key was in the door. Why would he do that?

Using the key, Katara tentatively unlocked the door and turned the knob while pushing at the wood. The door swung open to reveal a Fire Navy ship-like room. She hardly had to turn her head to see Zuko lying on the cold steel of the floor, passed out- most likely from weariness and pain. He hadn't even made it to the bed.

From the way he lay, the healer knew his right foot was the wounded one, but she could see the dark blood that had oozed from the wound. Even in sleep the body was mindful of wounds. A wave of compassion wound over her. She wanted to heal her wounded friend, for she still viewed him as such. She didn’t like to see him hurt. The last time he had been severely wounded had been when he had tried to save her from Azula’s lightening. It had taken a while to fully heal him again, but she was eternally grateful that he had almost sacrificed himself for her.

Subconsciously, her feet moved her forward, but she found the way blocked by an invisible barrier. It brought her attention back to the present, back to what Toph had told her conspired between the two during a chance meeting. This was not the Fire Lord Zuko she knew. This was the old Prince Zuko she used to know inhabiting the body of the Fire Lord she had last seen. She needed him awake, but she also needed to be prepared. Taking a defensive stance, one hand at the neck of a water skin, she rapped at the frame of the door.

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k_waterbender
2008-10-30 02:29 am UTC (link)

The blood drained from Katara’s face as Zuko told her that Ozai was out of prison, wearing his royal robes. He must have taken the royal headpiece that had looked so magnificent and suiting on Zuko’s head for his own. How on in the world had Ozai gotten out of prison without his bending? How had the Dai Lee escaped their steel prisons? Only Toph could metalbend in their world. With whom had they allied themselves?

Katara’s sapphire eyes bored into Zuko’s golden optics, imploring him to believe her, to absorb her words. If only he had seen her only real attempt at acting, he would know lying wasn’t something at which she was an accomplished master. Lying was the same as waterbending. Water was too honest for such a thing.

“I know you were banished, but you regained your honor after Azula… killed Aang in Ba Sing Se with your help and the help of the Dai Lee. I mean, I was able to revive him with the water from the Spiritual Oasis in the North Pole, but you chose to do the right thing a few months later. You chose to help us. You taught Aang firebending. You restored your own honor by choosing the path of goodness.” Katara shook her head with frustration.

“Zuko, your sister was almost the Fire Lord. On the day of her coronation, you and I defeated her before she could be crowned. Look at the scar on your chest! I healed that after she shot lightning at me. You saved me by absorbing it, trying to redirect it the way you taught Aang to do, the way Iroh taught you before that. She was already starting to lose it, but she went completely insane after that.” Why couldn’t he remember? With enough badgering Jet had begun to remember. If only Zuko would allow her to help him, he would remember.

How far did his memories go? How could he not remember Iroh trying to help save the Moon Spirit? She must sound crazy to him. “Have you been in a coma for the last five years or something?” She shouted with exasperation. “I’m completely serious. I know it all must sound strange, but I’m not a liar!” He of all people should know that she was not a liar. If she didn’t want to say something, she withheld it. He knew that. She was tied to a tree, and he had tried to trade her mother’s necklace for the Avatar, but she hadn’t said he wasn’t around. She’d told him to ‘go jump in the river.’

The same hope in his features was reflected in her voice. She wanted to believe Iroh was alive. That old man was amazing. If the ship exploding was the way Zuko thought his uncle had died, then he had to still be alive. There’s no way he wouldn’t outlive her Gran Gran, especially since he’d gotten into shape and kept himself in good health ever since. It wasn’t pleasant to think of Gran Gran dying, but she was a couple decades older than Iroh. Her health had improved ever since she married Master Pakku, though, so she wasn’t going anywhere any time soon, either.

Katara’s grip hadn’t been tight at all. It was meant as a comforting gesture, but he tore himself away as if her hand was a manacle made for his shoulder. Hurt passed over her features again as he shouted at her, insulted her. Yes, she was a peasant, but she wasn’t ashamed of that fact. It only hurt that the man who had been her friend only three weeks earlier suddenly saw her as nothing more than an obstacle, a liar.

When he ordered her to leave, she didn’t move at first. “How dare you!” She felt a sudden sense of deja-vu, and tears sprang to her eyes “You have no idea what the Fire Nation has put anyone through any more. You had learned, but now that has all been forgotten. Your family’s surge for power has done nothing other than cause devastation. My mother was taken from me in that ridiculous war, and you accuse me of befriending and protecting someone who would rule by fear?” Her voice had raised to shouting.

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