Moonlit Lake

Untitled Part 1

The light of the full moon flowed down into the clearing, reflecting off the lake and bathing the young woman with its gentle grace. The water sparkled as a steady breeze drifted over the surface. All along the edges of the lake bloomed exquisite night lilies, their pale, creamy petals reaching out to greet their mistress, the moon.

Katara closed her bright blue eyes and breathed deeply. She'd been on edge the past few days, her mind muddled and confused. But tonight she could forget all that. Tonight she could simply bask in the light of her element's matriarch.

Focusing her gaze once more on the lake in front of her, she pulled out a stream of water and began making swirling designs in the air with her bending.

This was what she needed; to be alone with her element. While it didn't fill the void she'd felt inside since the war ended, it relieved a bit of her tension. For the first time in awhile, her mind felt focused.

After only half an hour, however, Katara sighed. This wasn't working. She could still feel the confusion and emptiness that she'd yet to be able to explain.

I need to be closer to the water, she thought. Maybe if I truly feel one with it, this strangeness will fade.

Tugging her dress over her head, Katara set it on the grass by the lakeshore. She'd chosen this area for a reason. Her 'vacation' would have been meaningless if anyone could find her whenever they wished.

Slowly lowering herself into the water, Katara closed her eyes once more. She felt the combined strength of the moon's gentle beams and the water lapping against her skin fill her. This was true peace. Ducking beneath the surface, she welcomed the comforting silence.

For months now she'd had the nagging feeling that something was missing which, of course, it wasn't. While she hadn't actually settled down anywhere yet, she was never without friends or family. When she wasn't visiting her father, Gran Gran and Pakku back home in the south pole, she was with Sokka and Suki on Kyoshi Island or wandering the Earth Kingdom with Toph or visiting the villages most devastated by the war with Aang. After all that traveling back and forth, she still hadn't found anywhere she truly wanted to stay.

The breeze was cold agaainst her face when she finally bobbed her head back up. But that wasn't what shocked her. It was the fact that she wasn't alone anymore.

On the far bank the tiny orange glow of a fire caught her attention. She was certain it hadn't been there before she submerged herself. Pacing in front of the fire was a figure she immediately recognized as Zuko.

Zuko. It had been so long since Katara had last seen him. His duties as Fire Lord kept him busy and Aang's new mission to heal the world had kept him from visiting their friend. Katara wondered what he was doing so far from home in the middle of the night.

She knew she should probably call out to him, make herself known, but he appeared to have a mind as troubled as hers had been. He'd likely sought solitude just as she had.

So when he stopped pacing suddenly and turned toward her, Katara immediately sank down again. Uncertainty gnawed at her. Had Zuko already seen her? If not, what was she to do? If she tried getting out and leaving the firebender to his privacy, she had a greater chance of being seen. Yet she couldn't stay down there forever. Sure, she could bend the water around herself to create a pocket of air but that would only last a short while. Then she would be forced to resurface.

Slowly, Katara poked her head out of the water enough to see Zuko. His amber eyes were not locked on the lake but on the sky, the moon. His lips moved as if uttering a prayer, though Katara was too far away to hear the words. He ran a hand through his unkempt hair then shook his head.