Note: I just wanted to say a big 'Thank you' to all my readers
before finishing this off. I really do love to hear your comments and
I'm happy that you took the time to let me know what you think about
this. And (since it's around that time) Happy Holidays! On with the show
46 – Sun
Aang's first line of
defense is Katara, but Zuko holds fast to the conquering cliché
of attacking at dawn.
47 – Moon
Katara tells him about
an old tradition (a practice only her Gran-Gran talks about anymore):
rite of passage by way of moonlit swim in the freezing waters of her
homeland that (if the gods felt merciful) allows the participants to
return home; cold, cranky, but reborn.
48 – Waves
He allows himself to be
pulled along as he has before (as he would again); Zuko is keenly
aware that he'd be lost in her wake if he ever let go.
49 – Hair
His people wear their
hair like crowns: with golden clasps and not a strand out of place;
she (in sharp contrast) wears it like a tail, like a beckoning tangle
that he swears has ensnared him.
50 – Supernova
The words are never
said out loud (they are made known through brief touches and chats
over tea and his unblemished face) for their hearts just might burst:
it's more than just saying them, now; it's feeling them.