The Warrior's Gambit (Zutara)

XXXVII

TW for suicide in this chapter, just to give everyone a head's up, in case anyone would be bothered by that! Take care of your mind, y'all.

--

Under the musty morning air inside the courtyard, Nadhari sneezed for the twentieth time, interrupting Mother Superior and earning her a stern glare.

"Stop sneezing, it's rude," Mai hissed to her, hardly moving her lips to speak and not turning her head at all.

While Katara usually loved any excuse to get Nadhari in trouble, she begrudgingly found herself agreeing with the snotty contestant. The fumes wafting from the gigantic vats of perfume were cloying at best and overwhelming for anyone at worst. Katara was holding her breath or she'd be sneezing and coughing like Nadhari was.

"If I may continue?" Mother Superior asked in a hard tone. Nadhari wiped the edges of her watering eyes, sniffling at the smells that were attacking her.

"Yes, sorry, of course. I didn't mean to be rude," Nadhari said, cowering under this surprisingly imposing figure.

From across the courtyard, Katara caught Zuko's eye and saw him laughing. He'd been covering sneezes for the entire presentation as well, but since he was sitting behind the matron, he hadn't been the subject of her ire.

"Mother Superior, perhaps a quick break? The smells can be quite pungent for those not used to them. Maybe we can enjoy the food you all so beautifully prepared and come back in half an hour?" Zuko said, standing. It would have been rude of him to let this continue.

"Of course, Prince Zuko. I sometimes do forget that regular noses are more sensitive." She bowed low to him, motioning to the other nuns to close the vats. Immediately, Katara could breathe better.

"Enjoy, please!" she said, forcing her tone to be a bit kinder than before, fearing displeasing Zuko.

Katara stood, rolling out her shoulders and heading straight for the food table.

They were out on another trip and Katara was surprised -- no, she was utterly flabbergasted -- she'd actually been allowed out of the palace. Of course, her travel companions were Mai and Nadhari, but it's not like she had other friends she would rather be with.

She'd once assumed that she still had Alcina, Ratana, and maybe Cillia and On Ji as friends since Toph's departure, but the recent events had soured their opinions of her. The only true friend that Katara had remaining was Suki.

Smellerbee didn't seem to hate or love Katara, but they weren't close, to begin with. Maybe they should be now that Katara was as close to totally alone as one could come.

She was glad to be away from the stares and gossip. Currently, they were in Abbey, which was far from the reach of that gossip rag that had just about ruined her reputation in the palace. Far from people judging her. No one here knew any details, and if they did, they didn't care. The nuns that ran the Abbey in Jingseng were more tied to helping others as well as adhering to the wills of the spirits.