Wanted

Chapter 8

Ice

Water is a mysterious power for firebenders. While they possess the ability to call upon their element with a whim, fire only exists in it's single form; never changing.

Water flows much like fire, moving around its surroundings, embracing and encompassing. It flows gently, powerfully, or fearfully. It may begin as a light mist or a silent trickle, yet soon can grow into a torrent. Left unchecked water could wash away anything not standing strong.

Yet water sets, it hardens, it holds, it locks and doesn't let go. Slowly it will move grinding against the very earth to move mountains, to carve a new landscape. It shatters and sharpens, glinting in the sunlight, showing it silent malice. And just when you think you'll be crushed or torn to ribbons… it melts and continues on as if you had never existed.

The first hint to her awakening began with the rising of the full moon. It rose early, the sun still behind high in the sky as it peaked above the tree tops. Frost soon followed. Zuko would've attributed it to the fact they were high in the mountains, if not for the fact that it slowly radiated from Katara's sleeping form.

"I'd wake her up, but I'm honestly afraid for my life." Sokka admitted as the huddled around the dying fire. The fog set in a moment later.

"I will admit," Iroh added when the fog choked out the fire, "This is a little unnerving. Are you sure she's asleep and not… how would you put it? Messing with us?"

"Trust me, Katara's anger runs deep. We've exposed her. It doesn't matter to her if it was unintentionally or if it was life or death. She's was comfortable and felt safe. Now, she's pissed and she doesn't need to be awake to let us know."

"Would it be a bad idea to hide?" Iroh asked.

"Terrible idea." Sokka responded, looking disappointed to deliver the news. "We're just going to have to face her."

She rose just as the sun was setting, a fact that made the firebenders more then a little uncomfortable. They derived most of their power from the sun, and now it was slowly disappearing for the night. Zuko only had a vague understanding of Katara's abilities, but he was sure that two firebenders against an enraged waterbender with the full moon hanging overhead wasn't even close to being a fair fight.

Zuko, however kept these thoughts to himself. He was sure everyone else had come to the same conclusion.

A low moan signaled them to her awakening.

"Is there anyway of defusing her?" Iroh whispered as they watched Katara slowly sit up.

"If there is one," Sokka whispered back, "I haven't quite discovered it yet."

Slowly Katara began to stand, she wobbled a little but no one made a move to help her. Zuko wondered for a split moment if Sokka was blowing the whole thing out of proportion. Then he watched as her hair fell into her face and she froze. She knew.

Blazing eyes turned on them, a mess of wavy brown hair swinging it's wake.

"Sokka!"

She didn't have to yell. She didn't have to scream. But suddenly everyone was frozen in place.

"I can't believe you." She started, still sitting on the ground and roughly pulling her boots on. Her hair once again fell in her eyes, and a moment later deft fingers where binding it in a messy braid. "This was your idea! You're the one who's insisted I go parading around the world as a boy! Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep your mouth shut when people are trying to communicate with you? When they're treating you like dirt and all you want to do is tell them to shut it?" she seethed as she dressed herself. It was like watching a whirlwind. Slowly though, as she got moving and her anger began to build, so did the ice. He could feel the chill creeping up his legs and through the log he sat upon.

"Look, Katara-" Sokka began before Katara cut him off.

"Don't even start." She hissed. "You knew better, you knew I'd be angry."

"We had to heal you!" Sokka responded, standing up to confront her.

"No." she said, waving her hand out at her brother, who promptly found himself on the ground. "You sit."

Zuko did a double take. It was almost like she had pushed him without even touching him. That, or Sokka had expected her to bend water at him and startled himself to the ground. But Katara continued her rant, distracting him from his thoughts.

"I don't care if I had a hundred arrows sticking out of my back, you knew better." She seethed, standing over him. Once again her hair was out, tumbling over her shoulders and hanging in front of her face. Two small beads of blue glass glittered in the moonlight. 'She must've woven them through her hair.' Zuko thought he rather liked it.

"And you!" Katara hissed, suddenly turning on Zuko, "Don't even think about getting any ideas."

The light air of charm Zuko was starting to feel for Katara suddenly snapped, and all he saw was an enraged waterbender getting in his face. Quickly, he stood. Katara let out a light squeak but held her ground, tipping her head back to glare.

Any day before that night Zuko would've looked down and seen a short, weak, young man still cutting his teeth. Now he looked down and saw a woman that probably had a little to much power, maybe too much isolation from reality and her own identity.

"I'm not here because of you." Zuko grumbled out defiantly, not bothering to make the height difference between the two any more pronounced.

Katara narrowed her eyes in defiance, still not backing off. "I don't-"

Zuko cut her off, "I'm here because your dragging my only remaining family through the Southeastern Earth Kingdom to teach a little boy to be an assassin."

The air, if it was possible, stilled and grew even colder. He could feel the ice creeping up his boots and felt the threat in air. He knew just then she would try to kill him, or force him to see the world through her eyes and her way.

He called flame to his hands long before he could hear his uncle protesting behind him.

She made the first move, calling forth the blade of ice he had seen her cut down forests with. He could hear them slice through the air as they passed by his head. He couldn't help but give her credit for cutting to the chase. She wasn't playing around.

But then again, neither was he.

He wondered if she saw the burning wave coming. He couldn't help but wonder if she had fought firebenders before. He hated to admit that his fighting experience with waterbenders was limited. But one thing he knew above all else; she held herself to the ground.

The martial forms of firebenders, waterbenders, and earthbenders especially, all maintained a root stance; a strong base posture from which every bender drew their strength. Over the years of private torturing and the running that took place after their escape from the Fire Nation his uncle's biggest lesson was always to sever this connection.

"Break their root Prince Zuko!"

The wave of fire moved quickly, eating the short distance between them. He expected her to stand her ground, perhaps use a whip to break the wall, forcing her to use up the limited supply of liquid… perhaps using the distraction of collecting more to get the upper hand…

But she jumped. He wasn't expecting it and the move momentarily distracted him. Waterbenders rarely broke their stance with the ground and when they did it was briefly and in a manner that would ensure that the bender would almost immediately be back in a strong standing position.

But Katara literally launched herself over the volley of flame. Not only did she break her root, but completely left the ground in a manner he had never seen before. She didn't land on her feet, but instead rolled into a kneeling position and used the momentum to pull several daggers of ice over her head and through the air at Zuko, who was forced to raise a curtain of flame; vaporizing the darts into points of harmless steam.

But as he called the flame away, he expected to see the waterbender distracted as she called water to her arms. But as the flames parted and he prepared himself to attack he was suddenly forced to defend as two more disks of ice hummed almost silently through the air; one cutting towards his neck while other aimed to cut him down at the knee. He was forced jump between the narrow spaces between the two blades. He could hear them slice through a tree behind him. And then a whip of water was slicing through the grounds a fingerbreadth from his head. Quickly he scrambled to his feet, retreating and attempting to root himself in a proper stance. He was just managing to call form daggers of flame before a curtain of ice washed over his legs and torso.

He tried moving. But he was sealed in his stance. He began to shiver.

"I may be shorter and younger and apparently weaker then you," Katara started as she walked up to him slowly and methodically. Her blue eyes glowed with fury. "We all have things to learn and relearn about each other. But what you need to learn right here, right now is that you have nothing to say about the Avatar and his abilities. I don't care if you're a banished prince, but until you're the last of you're kind, you're not allowed to say anything about what it takes to avenge the genocide of your people. Aang surpassed childhood the day your nation burned down his people and was forced against his will to avenge them. So if you ever think of saying anything else that pertains to Aang and the duty he has been given to save the world from your father your going, I will kill you." She took a calming breath and reduced his icy binding back into water. "This is your last warning."

And then she walked away to continue to pack up camp.

Zuko had to admit that, despite the fact that he had seen her fight before, he had no idea what he had gotten himself into. Not only had she handed his dignity to him on a frigged platter of ice, she was giving him the option of life or death. He knew her story, or at least, parts of… but Zuko began to wonder what had happened to her to force her to harden herself on such a level. He wondered if that's how he looked to a passing stranger.

A hardened, banished firebender with a scar to mark his shame.

But at the moment he was wet and shivering.

Sokka, to his surprise, handed him a blanket.

"You're lucky." He muttered, sounding a little worried, and perhaps a little amused.

"How so?"

"She let you fight."

Zuko wondered what that was supposed to mean.

A/N: I took me a long while to figure out how exactly to write this chapter. There are so many things I want to happen… but the elasticity of the plot, of course, has its limitations. Not everything can happen at once and the things I might not necessarily want nor plan may or may not happen. Anyways… The whole point of "Zutara" is the balance that must be forged from the volatile explosion that first occurs. After that, of course, we look forward to that gentle burn. Because I'm sure all of us here love the smolder that is Zuko and Katara.

Also, I would love to thank nephertiri for her wonderful review and support. It means a lot to me when the effort I put into originality and quality is recognized. So, THANK YOU, you rock. :)