Katara groans, shifting on the sand that's embedding itself uncomfortably into her skin and scratching at her face so that she can put her elbows and hands up underneath her. She tries to pick herself up but fails, falling back down on the sand with a whimper as her eyes close against the unwelcome light.
Beside her, she can feel the heartbeat - barely - of the firebender Prince. Her arms feel like liquid in a very bad way and she feels like she's so tired she could sleep for weeks. Maybe bringing him along was a bad idea. Not only was she too tired to fight him off if he tried to attack her now, but he also had fought against her every single step of the way when she practically kidnapped him off the ship.
So much of her energy had been used to make the two of them a perfect, air-filled bubble so that they could make it away from the ship safely without having to exhaust themselves by swimming. But that seemed to only help Zuko in the end.
She should have just made him swim. See how much of a match his fire was against the ocean.
He's quiet though. Katara almost thinks that he's asleep but his heart is beating too strongly for that. Even in her weakened state, she can tell that he's awake and probably thinking about his crew - Lee - back on that ship with Zhao and the traitors.
Katara may hate the Fire Nation - she may even hate Zuko because he's the damned Prince - but even she knows that what happened was cruel. Sure, Zuko was her enemy and all but he wasn't a vindictive man like Zhao was. He wasn't evil. How the majority of Zuko's men could turn against him like that was insane.
There was also Iroh. She was more concerned about Lee, he being one of the first and only Fire Nation-ers to actually show her some compassion. The image of his clothes catching on fire has haunted her ever since she saw it. She hopes that he's okay, wherever he is though that fate is doubtful.
But Iroh. Zuko is probably more worried about his uncle than his crew or his ship. Katara doesn't know much about the uncle-nephew dynamic the two have, but she assumes that they're somewhat close.
She feels like she should console him somehow. However, that would require her having to open her eyes and move and she doesn't feel like doing that at the moment. Besides, he's still a firebender and the enemy. Consoling the enemy is not something that she should be doing at the moment.
There are other things to worry about. Like getting back her energy now that the three weak days are upon her. Or figuring out where in the world they are. Or trying to work out how she's going to get the Prince to go with her to her father without him figuring it out.
She can't exactly take him prisoner just yet. She's about to be weak and he's stronger than her right now anyway. Trying to get him now will be offering him an invitation to kill her right on the spot. It's daytime, and firebenders are at their strongest then like she's at in night when the moon is out.
She'll have to wait. Hopefully, fate won't speed up like it had over the past couple of days. She's starting to get a little dizzy thinking about what all has happened.
"You should have left me there." The Prince grumbles. Katara turns her head to face him and opens her eyes. He's staring up at the sky, the sun making him look yellow and gold and his black sleep tunic is burned in places.
They'll need new clothes. The ones they're wearing now will attract too much attention if they decide to go through villages. She can tell that her tunic is probably is in a far worse state than his. The sand is scraping her skin in delicate places.
"Lee was right," she breathes out. "Zhao would have killed you the moment that shield gave out."
Zuko quiets.
She pushes to the side and rolls over onto her back, staring up at the sky and she's still trying to catch her breath. "Besides, after what I saw happening on that ship, did you really think that you would have been able to beat him? Most of your crew was fighting you."
"A Captain stays with his ship. Always."
"You didn't let Zhao stay with his. So he took yours."
"My point exactly." Zuko shifts but groans. Is he hurt? "There were still some men loyal to me. What do you think is going to happen to them? To Lee? They're all in trouble and they don't have the good position that my uncle has."
Lee. Yes, he probably will be in a tough position. But she can't think about him. She needs to focus on what she can change. Lee had the opportunity to go with them - she would have taken him, probably - but he chose to stay behind.
Still. Knowing that his fate was more than likely not...good makes her close her eyes and take in a deep breath. She can't think about that.
"Lee is a soldier. He understood the risk when he chose to stay by your side instead of Zhao's." Katara says matter-of-factly.
When she looks over at Zuko she can see his hands ball up into tight fists. The tendons of his knuckles protrude. "What I did wasn't honorable."
"Well, console yourself with the knowledge that you didn't have a choice in the matter." Katara manages to sit up now even though her arms and legs still shake from exertion. "I can live with being the dishonorable one if it means that I'm alive."
He just glares at her. Katara smiles but there's no warmth, only annoyance. Honor - who can think of something like that when they're alive on a beach instead of on fire in the bottom of some ship in a cell? Ungrateful.
She could understand the guilt over leaving his fellow soldiers. That, she can take. But that stupid honor thing is bugging her for some reason and she hopes that he doesn't start talking about it again. Honor. Doesn't he know there is no honor in war?
Katara gives him a sideway glance. "Your uncle... Iroh. What - What happened to him?"
His jaw works. "When you left the room, Zhao tried to go after him. My uncle and Lee held him back while I ran after you. I-I'm not sure what happened after that. He's probably in one of the cells now. He wasn't on the deck."
The waterbender doesn't know how to reply to that.
The ocean isn't too far away and so she slides across the sand so that she can stick her legs in the waves. The tides wash over her and she slips further down, not caring that her clothes are getting soaked. She can bend that out later even if the salt will stay behind.
They need new clothes anyway. Might as well ruin these a bit more.
Water covers her legs and then glides up to her waist. It feels good, better than good and she absorbs it in as much as possible. It's no match for how the moon energizes her, but it's helping her more than lying on the sand under the hot sun.
"So what are your plans now?" She turns to look over her shoulder to see that Zuko is sitting up. Katara shrugs, then turns to look back at the ocean.
"Figured you would come up with something, Prince. Aren't I still your prisoner or something?"
He pauses. "I… I'm not sure…"
Her slipper-covered feet dig into the sand and she wants to take her shoes off but that means she has to take her legs out of the cool water. "Well you better be figuring that out. Or else we'll be on this beach for a while."
"You mean you jumped off the ship without any sort of plan?"
"Not really the planning type." That was always Sokka. Her brother would have a plan. That makes her shoulders slump and she stops trying to dig her slippers into the sand. "I just kind of go with the flow."
"Is that a waterbending joke?"
"Might be if you make it one. Don't hear you laughing though so it must not have been that funny." Sokka was the one who told all of the jokes.
Katara sighs and stretches out her legs. Her head falls back when she takes in a deep breath. What she wouldn't give for a bath right now. What she wouldn't give to see her brother.
She needs...something to distract her. She can't start thinking about family now. It'll just be depressing.
Her legs are steadier underneath her when she stands ankle-deep in the water. She slips out of the shoes and the leggings, her hands tucking up underneath the tunic when Zuko's face turns bright red and he looks away.
"What are you doing?" He asks the rock beside him.
"I'm taking a swim, what does it look like I'm doing?" She throws the tunic somewhere on the beach and smirks at his discomfort.
Her bindings stay on when she walks deeper into the water. She gets waist-deep before she finally dives in and starts to swim.
When she comes up for air, she takes out her braid and starts brushing through the matted knots, bobbing up and down with everything concealed because the water is about shoulder-deep. The Prince is too far away for her to see the expression on his face.
She starts scanning the forest and beach instead. From what she can see, there are no little camps near their immediate area but there are curls of smoke coming from somewhere in the forest. It's the closest thing that she can see that gives some evidence of life. They'll need to head that way if they want to find other people so they can start piecing together where they are and what they need to do.
Shaking out her hair now that it's all loose and untangled, she lies back and starts to float on the water, closing her eyes and soaking it all in.
She stays in the water until the sun get a little higher in the sky. Swimming back to the shore, she sees that Zuko hasn't moved much since she got in the water. If he had any sense, he would have taken the opportunity to flee.
Seems that the Prince doesn't know how to take advantage of a good escape opportunity. That's good for her, bad for him. Idiot.
He doesn't look away when she climbs out and sits on the sand beside him. She leans back on her palms. Even though she could bend the water off of her skin to get dried faster, she lets the sun do it for her instead.
"How did the etching stay on your skin with your healing powers?" Zuko asks, nodding his head to her hip. Katara looks down reflexively.
"Waterbenders get it when they first discover their abilities. The full powers haven't really kicked in then so my body didn't keep healing it."
"How old were you?"
"Six, maybe seven? I'm not for sure. It's been a while and it was pretty painful." A few moments of awkward silence settles. Katara looks past the firebender to the forest. "Do, uh, do firebenders have anything like it?"
Zuko shakes his head. "No."
"Shame. I think they look really cool even if it hurts. It's a mark of pride in my culture."
"I think it's barbaric."
Katara narrows her eyes. "Well then don't look at it if it offends you, Prince."
He looks like he's going to say something else but he just looks away. Katara keeps her glare as he works his jaw and then she stands. Her tunic is in a stiff heap but she bends what water is still in her hair onto the fabric to wash over it a little.
She gets dressed quickly in the leggings and shoes, then puts her hands on her hips and waits for Zuko to look at her. "I wasn't really serious when I said that we should stay on the beach until we figure everything out. We should go find a village or something and then figure out what we're going to do."
"And why should I take orders from you?" Zuko stares up at her.
"Seriously?" Katara puts her hands on her hips. "Fine - if you're having such a big problem with me just deciding to go to the village then you tell me what we should do."
He stands. There is sand all over his tunic but he can figure that out for himself. "Well, I think we should…"
"What? We should do what, Prince?"
"We should… oh damnnit, let's just get to the village. I can't think in this sun."
Katara quirks an eyebrow at him. "You can't think in the sun? You're a firebender. Just accept the fact that I was right and you're an idiot for not just going along with what I said in the first place."
"Are you always like this?" Zuko snarls.
"Only to people like you." Katara turns on her heel and starts marching away. She gets a yard or two away before he starts following her. She hears him huff, pouting behind her. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes are start attacking him, Katara balls her hands into fists and stares straight ahead.
They're in the forest when he finally talks to her.
"Do you even know where we're going?"
"Do I look like I know where I'm going? Why should I have to know? You're the Prince of the Fire Nation, surely you know something about this damned… place!" Katara throws him a glare over her shoulder. He's catching up easily and soon they're walking side by side through the trees.
"Well you were the one who marched away first. I assumed that you had at least some idea of where we are."
"We're somewhere on the south side of the Earth Kingdom. We were what, three, maybe four weeks from the Fire Nation when Zhao took over?"
Zuko looks down at her. "No. More like a week. But I don't know how far you got us off course through so it's not like I have a clear idea of where we are."
"Oh please, I couldn't have gotten us that far off." She rolls her eyes. A week? She was way off with her guessing. Maybe she couldn't read the tides as well as she thought...
"We should stay on the beach until we get some idea of where we are."
"And get stuck there when night comes? I'd rather sleep in a tree than on the beach."
"Sleep? In the forest?"
"If we can't find some place to stay then that's our only possibility! Unless you want to sleep on the forest floor and risk the chance of getting attacked by some wildlife. Actually, nevermind. You can stay on the floor. It's actually a good idea."
Zuko glares at her.
"Come on, we can't be that far away from a village. You didn't see the smoke? There's at least a camp a few miles away from here," Katara points North in a general direction to show where she saw it.
"Great idea. Let's go find the people that the smoke belongs to and see if they'll let us join them. Especially considering that we're strangers and we have no idea who are what they are - they can be murderers for crying out loud!"
Katara rounds on him and pokes him in the chest, stopping him in his tracks.
"And what exactly are you so afraid of? We're both master benders and we're stuck in the middle of this forest with no clue about anything! So of course we're going to have to find the only semblance of civilization around and if they ask for trouble then we'll have no choice. Now stop whining and follow along or I'll leave you out here alone. Let's see how long you last then, Prince."
His eyes narrow but he doesn't say anything. With a pleased humph, Katara turns away and starts marching away again. Once more, Zuko lets her get a little far before he starts following her again.
"Just saying that perhaps we should be a little cautious." He mumbles under his breath when he's caught up by her side again.
If she had known that they were going to be at each other's throats the entire time she would have left him on that damned ship. But instead of saying this out loud, she sighs and says something not nearly as confrontational.
"You can be the cautious one for right now. I just want to eat something and find out where we are."
"You're rather reckless, aren't you?"
"I'm the reckless one?" Funny, she had thought the same about him. She wasn't the one who had given a waterbender a knife and access to water. He hadn't cuffed her after the first day on his ship and his uncle had invited her for tea for Spirits' sake.
"You're just going to march into...whatever it is that we're marching into with no plan whatsoever?"
"Yes. What's wrong with that?" She stumbles - her legs still shaking from bending the night before - but she catches herself and tries to smooth it over.
"Don't you think that we should watch them for a little bit first? To see if they're benders or where they're from; if it's a village or just a campsite? Maybe they're firebenders and you're walking into a trap." She can tell that he let that last part slip out accidentally because he instantly clamps his mouth shut.
That does sound like a good idea… She would have thought about that later, she was sure. She just hadn't told him that. Katara sighs.
"You don't think I planned on doing that?" She sort of lies.
He glares at her again. It's starting to become a permanent thing. "Maybe we should just not speak to each other from now on unless it's absolutely necessary, waterbender."
"That's the best idea you've ever had, Prince."
-/-
The smoke is coming from a campsite. And no, they're not firebenders. Instead, the four or five men and women - there's a tent and she isn't sure if someone is in it or not - are clearly nonbending nomads.
Every time she moves to step towards their little campsite, Zuko reaches out and holds her back. He asks for just a few more minutes of watching before they start asking them questions.
The fourth time, Katara yanks her arm away from his hand and gives him a hard glare. "Are you serious?" She hisses. "We just need to ask for directions. I'd like to do that before it gets dark."
Zuko eyes the group warily. "Just a few more minutes."
"No. Now." Katara stands up and quickly jumps out from behind a bush, stepping forward and ignoring Zuko hissing for her - referring to her as waterbender and he really needs to find something else to call her or else she's going to rip his throat out - and walks for the camp. He can follow behind if he wants to, but she isn't too keen on sleeping in a tree.
She soothes down the front of her tunic and tosses her hair over one shoulder. Luckily she had a ocean-bath or else there's no telling how much dirt and grime she would have on her. Though knowing that these nomads are probably Earth people, it might not have hurt her.
A woman sees her first, and Katara slows her pace and gives the woman a small smile as she comes nearer to her. She doesn't look over her shoulder to see if Zuko has followed her because it might look suspicious.
"Excuse me? Hello - hi - I have lost my way and was heading towards a village around here. I can't quite remember the name but I was hoping that you would give me some directions…?" She trails off awkwardly, looking around at their faces to gauge some reaction.
"There's a small village that way," the woman who first saw her raises her hand and points west. "It's the nearest one. Not sure if that's the one you're looking for but they're nice people. Nice enough, that is."
"Thank you so much! I hope you all have a safe journey to… wherever it is that you're going." She smiles brightly. She couldn't wait to rub it into Zuko - she told him that this was going to be easy. They could have started walking fifteen minutes ago!
Katara bows her head to show her appreciation and begins to back away. When she turns, she bumps straight into the chest of a man that she hadn't seen earlier. Blank brown eyes stare down at her and she mutters an apology before stepping to the side.
The man grabs her arm.
Katara stops. All of their hearts are beating calmly except for hers.
"Excuse me," she says and pulls at her arm. "I must be going now." She tugs at it again.
The man doesn't let go.
"Dearie, why don't you stay a little longer?" The woman says behind her. Katara quirks an eyebrow. What were they playing at?
"I have family in the village. They're probably worried that I haven't made it there yet. I really shouldn't stay longer but thank you." Her voice is starting to get a little colder. He still hasn't let go and if he holds on for much longer she may very well form a water sphere around his head.
The man tugs her back to the small encampment. Katara follows but turns around so that she can see the others. Surely they have water somewhere so she won't have to bend it out of the plants.
"I'm sure they won't miss you." The woman smiles but it doesn't exactly make Katara feel any better. "For a few more minutes, of course," she adds.
"I don't have any belongings for you to steal." Katara lifts her chin, determined to show them that no matter what they do, it's not going to be easy. Maybe getting directions from them isn't going to be as easy as she thought it would be.
The woman frowns. Can any of the other men and women speak? "Well that's too bad. But we're not really interested in your belongings."
"She's Water Tribe." The man behind her says. He twirls a lock of her hair around his finger, tugging on it a bit as if to test the strength. "We'll get a good price. I didn't think the Fire Nation left any behind."
Katara realizes that the reason the others are not speaking is because they're too busy studying the ground. Their hands are in their laps, and when she focuses she sees that there are ropes wrapped around their wrists, tying them together.
Slavers. Her lips curl into a snarl.
"She a bender? Water Tribes normally etch their young at the waist if they show signs of bending." The woman sounds pleased. The man behind her roughly turns her around and starts tugging at the bottom of her tunic.
Katara pulls the water out of a group of weeds. Ignoring the energy pull that it takes, she answers that question for them by quickly forming the best waterwhip possible with her limited mobility. Sending it straight into the side of the man's head, she twists the opposite way.
He's startled, quickly dropping her hand as the whip sends him tumbling away from her. It was a weak attempt but she's free. Katara sucks the water back towards her body and sends it hurling towards the woman where it wraps around her waist and sends her straight into the ground.
The woman's heartbeat flashes furiously for a moment before it dies down and Katara suspects that her head hit a rock because there wasn't a whole lot of force use din that push. The man's though is still beating strongly, so she doesn't even give the woman a second glance when she takes the water back.
Building some momentum by twirling it around her hips, she flicks her wrists and shoots the water spear into the man's chest, pushing him back a few steps until he's up against a tree. Katara draws the water up so that it's covering his face and holds it there.
Fifty seconds pass. The man's heart slows and he passes out. Katara takes the water back and circles it around her waist so that she can turn her attention to the others.
Her arms shake when she puts them back down at her side. She's sweating - more tired than before. The moon yesterday hadn't been enough and she used most of the energy she gained on Zhao. Katara tries to keep her head up as she looks at those sitting on the ground.
They stare at her, slack-jawed and a little frightened. Huddling together, Katara puts her hand up and tries to look as harmless as possible as she takes a step towards them.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she says soothingly. "I want to set you free. Will you let me cut your binds?"
"Wait - don't do that yet." Katara huffs in annoyance when Zuko's voice comes from behind her. She looks over her shoulder to glower at him as he swipes at bushes and branches to get closer to her. "We need to figure out where we are and they can tell us."
"Which is why we should set them free." She replies pointedly.
"And give them a chance to get away?" He's finally beside her, a little winded with reddened cheeks.
"They're not our prisoners. They're people and they don't deserve to be bound up. Those two were slavers." She points to the two that are passed out. Zuko eyes the bodies and then gives her a questioning look. "No, they're not dead. Just sleeping for a bit."
"I think you should take my advice on this one. Especially since your last little plan sort of backfired."
Katara scowls. "I handled it very well, I think. A minor inconvenience is all."
"I'd rather not have any more inconveniences. We should ask them, then let them go."
"I thought we decided to not talk to each other unless it was absolutely crucial? Can we go back to doing that?"
"The nearest village is where they said. West from here. I-I can lead you there, if you want a guide. But you have to set us free." One of the young men says. "A-And you have to promise not to hurt us. I'm an earthbender."
"Like that's going to help you at all?" Zuko asks incredulously. Katara elbows him in the stomach, Zuko breathes in sharply and she gives him a deadly glare.
Katara takes a bit of water from around her waist and slices through the rope bindings.
"If you don't mind, we would really like a guide," she tries to smile reassuringly at him. "Well, I do at least. He's just following along. Please, don't mind his rudeness."
The three others have already started running away from them without even a thanks. She tries to not let it bother her but she can't help but frown. The man who spoke, however, stays and steps forward towards them while he rubs at his wrists.
"Are you hurt?" She asks.
He shakes his head. "Nothing that I can't handle." Breaking into a broad smile, he takes something from a supply pile and tosses it to Katara. It's a water jug. "Just in case there are no plants around. I'm Haru, by the way. Thank you for, you know, rescuing us and all."
Haru blushes, as if a little sheepish and Katara can't help but smile. He looks around her age; dark skin, tall with eyes the color of spring grass. His hair is longer than what she's used to on men but he has it tied back away from his face with a green band to keep the looser pieces from falling into his face.
Katara bends the water that's around her waist into the jug. "Thanks. My name is Katara, by the way. This is…" She looks at Zuko. Did he want to give his real name? Did these people know Fire Nation names? Would they recognize him?
"Han. My name is Han." He lies flatly. Katara raises her eyebrows, impressed. That was a quick reaction.
She looks back to Haru. "And really, that's not really a problem. I couldn't have just…let something like that happen."
"You'd be the first." His facial expression turns a bit odd. Katara frowns - what did he mean by that? "Well, if you want to make it to the village by nightfall, we should probably get going."
He starts leading the way and Katara leans over to Zuko and whispers, "Han?"
"It's a common name in the colonies."
Katara is rather impressed. She's rarely ever able to lie well, and even then she can't do it great on the spot. Zuko was able to do it just like that, like it was nothing .
A part of her says that knowing that should make her extra cautious around him. Katara straightens back up and tries to keep pace with Haru, who clearly has had more experience walking through the forest.
The weakness from bending is taking it's toll on her. She trips far too many times and her legs quiver like she's a newborn koala goat.
When she slips and lands flat on her behind, she doesn't miss the way the Prince smiles down at her like he's enjoying her weakness.
She wonders why he hasn't firebended her yet.
-/-