Avatar the Last Airbender - Book 4: Air (The Master of the Lion Turtles)

Chapter Fifteen: A Good Kind of Sad

KATARA POV

Druk was not as uncomfortable to ride as he looked. Huddled into Zuko's back with her hair flowing behind her as the dragon snaked over the vast ocean below, Katara found she could let her mind wander to all sorts of places, rather than having to focus on staying on the saddle like she assumed she would.

Zuko had found her curled up in the bed of the still trashed house and had forced her to tell him everything. She did. She cried. He listened. He called her an idiot and she agreed. But he also confirmed her thoughts that Aang shouldn't lie to the leaders of the world - no matter the motive. 

"Its hard, I know," Zuko had concluded, "But if the worst came about - he's the Avatar, he'll always have the final say in a battle."

They had been leaving the house when the young woman with the letter had come running around the corner, calling for Katara and Sokka. When Zuko realised that he knew her from his time as a fugitive, Katara swore he was about to drop down onto his hands and knees he was so apologetic. 

The though made her smile into his robes. The smell of the sea filled her nose and brain and she was almost able to forget about the dangers that could possibly be awaiting them. Almost.

Even Zuko's quite humming to the tunes of old Fire Nation songs couldn't calm her nerves. Nor the steady flapping of the wings on either side of her. No matter how far her mind drifted, it always came back to the fact that her father was in danger. Her family was in danger. Her tribe, her home, her life. 

Ever since her mum had died, and her father had been the only pillar of support that her family, and the tribe, ever seemed to need. He appeared to have unlimited amounts of strength and power. His confidence never wavered and his voice always calm and collected. No matter what was thrown his way, he prevailed. Even without any form of bending, Katara always saw her father as the strongest man in the world. 

But then he left. All the men did. 

Suddenly that ever present pillar of strength and courage was gone, leaving only ice, snow and constant fear of invasion in its place. 

If anything happened to her father now, Katara didn't know how she'd cope. She had to distract herself. 

"So, what's up with you and Sokka," she yelled at Zuko over the wind. The others had had to ride on Appa across the ocean. The added weight and lack of an aerodynamic build meant that Appa moved slightly slower than Druk. That meant it would take them longer to arrive and help, but it also meant Katara could talk about her brother's romance life without him overhearing. 

Zuko's back tightened under her arms. Oh yeah, that's a sure sign something is up.

"I don't know what you mean?" Zuko countered. Katara sat up and lent back slightly to get a better look at his face. 

"That blush tells me otherwise." Zuko's eyes twitched, flicking back to look at her before focusing on the water. Katara could practically hear his brain working and figuring out what to say. 

"He's a good friend, my best friend, I think. That's it."

"You think?"

"I don't want to assume." 

She smiled, how adorable. "You like him a bit more than that don't you?" Zuko said nothing so she pushed on. "What happened on your little 'best friends' trip huh? Anything interesting? Romantic perhaps? Is that where you fell for him? Unexpected and random, but welcome all the same? Oh I can see it now! Two boys, roaming the Earth Kingdom together and one things leads to another - only one bed perhaps?" She would have kept going, winding him up like she tended to do to Sokka, but Zuko cut in. It was quiet, but he definitely said it.