.1 Mask

A rainbow of bright colors assaulted Zuko the moment he and Katara set foot in the store, a far too late warning of the horrors dwelling within. Of course, Katara was entranced by it, she was always the most open to this sort of thing. It really wasn't so much the colors that bothered the Prince as it was the faces. The faces sculpted into stone and plaster, giving them a 'real, but not too real' look that honestly creeped him out a bit.

He couldn't imagine why anyone would open a store that sold nothing but masks, and yet here he was, and here they were. Simple masks; elaborate masks; half face masks; full face masks; happy masks; sad masks; pretty masks; horrifying masks.

Most of them fit the last of those categories.

"Zuko, look at this," Katara was holding up an intricately designed light blue mask. The swirling design was reminiscent of the water tribe, likely why it stood out to her.

As it was, Zuko couldn't find it in him to care, and made as much known.

"Don't we have supplies to buy?" He not-so gently reminded her. "The others are going to get suspicious if we're gone for too long."

"We only left ten minutes ago," Katara countered, her hands, including the one grasping the mask, on her hips. "Besides, we've already pretty much gotten everything we need… oh, look at this!"

Zuko sighed and rolled his eyes. What was it with women and shopping? He doubted he'd ever get it. Extra annoying was the store owner, who'd been sitting quietly behind the counter this entire time. Though his face was down and he appeared to be reading some sort of ledger, Zuko couldn't help but feel his eyes watching them constantly. So why didn't he say anything, didn't he want to sell something? This didn't seem like the place people would frequent.

Katara, meanwhile, had replaced the blue mask and now gazed at an orange one, muttering things he couldn't hear. He turned his eyes away, vainly searching for something to keep him entertained until Katara was ready to go.

He found two masks, separated from all the others by a display case. Something about them held his attention, but he had no idea what. They weren't all that fancy, nor were they an unusual size or shape. The one on the left was black in color, a full mask with a plain, smooth surface that gave off a noticeable shine in the light. The one beside it, in stark contrast, was all white and seemed to be made of a softer material. What really surprised him were the smiles they wore. Unlike the large, goofy smiles of the others, these two were smaller, softer even. They looked more like actual human smiles. Zuko found his hand reaching up to the glass, and it was only them that he realized he'd walked across the room while lost in his thoughts.

Audible breathing alerted to him that he was not the only one. Zuko broke his gaze at the mask to eye his female companion, who's own eyes with filled with a great interest.

"These are really nice," She commented. "Good choice, Zuko."

He blinked, then did a double take.

"We're not buying these!" He almost shouted, earning a soft glare from Katara.

"Of course we're not," She answered matter-of-factly. "I'm just saying, they're nice."

Zuko eyeballed the masks again, giving a short nod as he did so. A small smile worked it's way onto Katara's face, not unlike the masks they were studying. Her hand shot out abruptly, pressing onto the glass just over the black one.

"That would look good on you," She remarked.

For a second time, Zuko just blinked. The statement had come from nowhere and he wasn't really sure how to answer.

"On me?" He repeated dumbly.

His answer was a wider smile and a nod.

"I don't know why, the color suits you, I guess," She shrugged.

Zuko glanced from Katara, to the black mask, and finally to the white. Something went off in his head as he focused on the softer mask. A mental image of Katara's face behind it found it's way into his mind's eye. He didn't know why he'd thought of that, but he supposed it was a nice picture.

"That white one would look good on you," The words came out before he knew it, and earned him another smile.

"Thanks, Zuko," Katara answered. Something stirred within Zuko at her words, but he wasn't sure what it was.

They lingered only a few minutes longer, their interest (especially Zuko's) waning quickly. The two benders left the store just as they came: carrying a satchel each, filled with earlier purchases and talking quietly amongst themselves. The store owner watched them go, still without lifting his head. Once they were out of sight, he finally did so, his eyes immediately going to the two lovely masks.

He'd crafted them himself many years ago. Long, hard hours of perilous work went into their creation. The same could be said for a good percentage of his merchandise (the older ones anyway, he was getting on in years and couldn't work like he used to), but none of them were as special to him as those two, and none of them had the same meaning behind them. He'd seen many a young couple entranced by them, the reasons why were always very clear to him, just as they were now.

"They really did make an excellent choice," His voice cracked, signaling his age just as much as his wizened, yet still bright, features did. "The masks, no, the faces of the bride and groom. Those two will wear them well someday."