A Different Destiny

Chapter 20

The journey to land took less time than Zuko had thought it would. Energized by the sight of land, Katara had bent the raft smoothly to shore in no time. The moment they touched down on the rocky beaches, with an earthbender's appreciation Zuko threw himself down onto the ground. The earth felt unsettling underneath him, like his body still wanted to move with the push and pull of the tide. He clamped his eyes shut, repressing a wave of nausea that had washed over him.

He could sense Katara kneeling down beside him, while she wasn't nearly as enthralled with dry land as Zuko, she was still happy to be ashore. She didn't want to admit it but she had been quite certain they would die out there.

It had either been take their chances with the seas or let Zuko be imprisoned again- or probably much worse with the Northern Tribe.

During the quiet moments on the raft, when they both sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts, surrounded by nothing but miles of ocean, Katara would find herself sneaking glances at Zuko out of the corner of her eye. It was like she had to remind herself that everything was real.

Months- or even weeks ago, if you would have told Katara that she'd leave her brother and friends behind for the Son of the Firelord, she would've laughed hysterically in your face. The only way that would've ever happened, is if she had set out to hunt him like he had done to them for so long.

Now, she found herself sitting bolt upright, reaching for him in the middle of the night terrified that he would be gone and she would be utterly alone. She always regained control of herself before their hands could touch, before she could reveal what was really happening in her head.

"We should go." Katara said, looking over to see if Zuko had regained himself. While his face still had a somewhat green tint to it, he was able to rise, and nodded in agreement.

"Stand back." he said, putting his arm between her and the raft. She gave him a confused look and yelped in surprise as Zuko burst into motion, unleashing a stream of flames at the raft. He didn't let up until the raft was nothing but smoldering splinters.

He looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, I thought it was best not to announce ourselves if Azula is already in the area."

She nodded. "Agreed but maybe give me a heads up before you set something on fire close to me? Let's say within 20- no. 50 feet?"

Zuko eyes her wryly, "I'll keep that in mind. Now let's get off the beach before someone spots our little barbeque."

Katara muttered something about how a real barbeque would involve food and possibly something about a really fun barbeque would also have cactus juice?

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Luckily for them they had landed in a relatively remote area of the Earth Kingdom, being at the most northern point, most of Chenbao's residents were fishermen and hunters. Since they were so isolated from the rest of the nation, they actually relied on trading with the Northern Tribe. However, since the war broke out Katara knew the Northern Tribe had ceased their trips south believing that was inviting trouble back to their peaceful waters.

Chenbao had never been a rich village, with only a few hundred villagers, but the trading with the Northern Tribe is what allowed them to thrive. When the trading stopped the population dwindled, some moved away, many more starved.

Katara had heard about it on her first visit to the Northern Tribe during one of Aang's meetings with the Tribe Council. Everyone knew the Avatar's time was limited so wherever he went people had always been asking him for advice. This particular issue had left the council divided. While the Northern Tribe had always seemed like it was its own little world, the economic effects had finally reached their shores.

While the prices of everyday items like fire nation tools or even earth kingdom clay had soared ever since the war broke out, they were not nearly unattainable. The only way to get such goods was to pay an exorbitant amount of money to have a runner or a group of runners to bring it to you. If you were desperate and had enough money you could employ a single runner to bring back earth kingdom tea. But when it came to things like metals for weapons, the tribe had sent small groups of some of their strongest warriors to trade in Chenbao.

It was nothing like the years before when there was open trade, and entire families would make trips with their wares to the village. There they would only spend a small amount of time actually trading, the rest of it spent dancing, singing, and telling tales with their earth kinfolk around a campfire. Now, only warriors were allowed on the yearly voyage to their neighbors to the south.

Aang had been for reopening trade, believing that all the nations should live together and in harmony and argued that the war would be over soon now that he had returned. Katara knew that his words reflected more confidence than he actually had felt at the time. He had wanted to do everything he could do to put the world on the path to peace, even if that meant stretching the truth at times. As far as Katara knew the trading never reopened because of the attack on the North Pole, critics now having more than enough evidence of the dangers that the outside world holds.

Zuko and Katara were able to find a collection of small abandoned huts, just off the path. Because of Chenbao's continued struggles, they appeared abandoned. No lights came from within, and weeds crept up the sides of small structures like no one had taken care of this area in quite a long time.

The whole thing sent an eerie chill down Katara's spine but she supposed it was better than sleeping in the woods. Without saying a word, they decided they would share a hut. After being on the raft together for so long the idea of being separated seemed foreign to Katara. They would also be safer in the event of an attack.

Zuko led the way into the biggest hut, which was not that big at all. Each one was made up of a single room with a single window for light, and a door for an entryway. Katara realized that this had likely been where earth nation fishermen stayed during the season so they would have a safe place to sleep but it wasn't meant for living long-term in.

Zuko lit a flame in his hand, shedding light on the room. The furnishings were sparse to say the least, a straw mattress laid out on the floor, and wooden stool. Katara's nose itched as the dust from their movements kicked up in the air.

She took a deep breath. It's better than the woods? She thought to herself, mentally bracing herself for a long night.

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Sorry this chapter was kind of slow but had to set up some context for the next few where shit really starts going down! hint: someone takes their first life, someone else hits their lowest point and becomes open to the greatest change ;)