The Warrior's Gambit (Zutara)

XLII

Katara didn't have the time to realize that she hadn't seen any weapons on them, nor that they really seemed like they were fighting a war. It seemed like they were just causing chaos, but heck, she wasn't going to tempt those odds, because the world was still a caterwaul of other people's misery.

"Katara!" Lu Ten hissed, eyes fearful, "Kat!" He was motioning to the rubble, asking for her help to clear it. Katara bit her lip to keep from crying as she picked up rocks, her arms nearly refusing to work, until they could wriggle inside. Lu Ten pulled a piece of a door over their hiding place, masking their location unless someone really looked and saw a few footprints in the sand.

"Farther back, go," Lu Ten commanded, and Katara crawled in the dirt until she hit the back of the shelter. It was absolutely pitch black. Lu Ten made a small fire on a tiny torch and sank it into the dirt between them, the flicker of the light dancing on their faces. And as she stared at Lu Ten, a feeling she'd never experienced during a battle rose up inside of her. It was not that he was showing emotion, it was that he was showing none.

And Katara knew what this meant.

Fear. Katara felt fear. She felt the feeling of death looming like never before, just outside their hiding spot. She usually ran into fights, in a blaze of foolheartedly foolishness, but sitting here made an emotion creep upon her, cold as the colorless faces of the dead.

"We're all going to die, just like that," Katara whimpered, feeling so small and childish. She curled into a ball the best she could, her arms looped tightly around her legs.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..." Lu Ten murmured, his expression so tightly guarded and never cracking, "Ozai's won." How was Lu Ten being so calm, Katara wondered? How was he not breaking right now? How did you take this fear that she had to be sure he was feeling too and just throw it away, leaving nothing behind?

"So, you think he's the leader of the Equalists too, huh?" Katara said dryly, unsure how to react right now.

"It's obvious, isn't it? He's gloating," Lu Ten spat.

"Why? Why this? Do you think he's going to...kill Zuko?" Katara asked, the fear growing in her mind. She tried to shift and winced hard. Lu Ten looked at her arms, red and raw.

"Can I help?" he offered.

"Are you a waterbender?" Katara asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. She wasn't going to be able to lift her arms right now to heal herself.

"No, but I'm medic-trained." He unbuttoned his vest and started tearing strips off his undershirt to set her arms, using some debris as firm sticks to hold her arms straight. "May I?"

Katara nodded numbly, watching him work. He clenched his jaw, methodically wrapping her arms to prevent further damage. There was silence in the hidden basement, juxtaposed with the horrors of screaming just outside. When Lu Ten did speak, it nearly jolted her in terror.

"My uncle will do anything to win," Lu Ten finally said, "To answer your question. If that's what he deems necessary, that's what he'll do."

"Okay, sure, Ozai doesn't like to lose," Katara agreed, unsure how this was new information.

"No, Katara," Lu Ten looked almost half-deranged, cycling between laughs and sobs. "I don't think you get it. He'd do anything, undermine anyone, ruin anyone's life..." He looked her straight in the eye. "How did Zuko get his scar? And do you know why Zuko does not wear his hair long, as is traditional? "

"I...uhm.." Katara blinked at the sudden change of focus. "We were told he won in the match that chose him over you for the heir apparent. It was a sign of his true power." Katara shook her head. "I don't buy it, but I mean, that's what I know. As for his hair, he said he lost it in a spar with Azula, and she burned it away..." From Lu Ten's face, she knew that this had been a lie on Zuko's part, though she could not guess why he'd forgo tradition like this when often, tradition meant so much to him. And, logically, it had been enough time to grow it back, and yet...Zuko kept it just below his ears.