Charred //ZUTARA

Chapter 52 - ''I'm fine.''

First thing that registered in her mind was the pain in her right wrist. She didn't even acknowledge the one down her body as the heavy steps faded away in the distance. 

Katara kept staring at the Moon above her, admiring the beautiful light, the stars surrounding it as if they were old friends. 

It was so quiet here. 

Not even the wind could be heard, not the swooshing of the leaves, not even her own screams anymore.

It was peaceful. 

And the ground was soft. She was pretty sure it was moss under her bare back. If not for the annoying, little branches, it wouldn't be so bad. 

She could probably sleep here. 

She smiled at that thought. Yes. Sleep seemed like a good idea. 

But the probably broken wrist wouldn't let her just drift off like that. No, it was throbbing always as violently as...

No. 

There was no pain there. She would not even think about it. 

Squeezing her eyes shut, she very slowly sat up. The muscles in her thighs strained. A small whimper escaped her but she took a big breath in. 

''I'm fine,'' she whispered to herself, to the Spirits, to the Moon. The tears long dried on her face. ''I'm fine.''

Katara opened her eyes. She spotted her tunic along with her pouch and her belt folded neatly next to her. Only scraps of her undergarments near it.

''You must be freezing. Put your clothes on and come join us at the cave.'' 

She frowned. She wasn't cold. 

Another breath and Katara dared to look down her body. 

There was no mistaking the blood on her inner thighs and that covering the ground underneath her. She also had a faint memory of someone's fingers digging into her hips while pushing them down but surely they weren't his.

He also wouldn't leave those bruises on her breasts. 

No. 

No. 

No.

Her body shook with the force of a cry but she swallowed it down.

''I'm fine.'' 

Katara reached for her pouch. Blinking the tears away furiously, she used her waterbending to clean herself up. Wincing, she gathered her clothes and surprisingly quickly, she dressed up. 

Her legs wavered as she stood up. She used used a scrap of what used to be a part of the bandage she used to wrap around her breasts to stabilize her definitely broken wrist. The used the remaining material to sheathe around her arm, her back. 

She could just heal it but she... well, she couldn't. Perhaps she wanted him to see at least a fraction of what he broke tonight. Or perhaps she simply didn't have enough strength. 

No matter. 

She needed to get back before anyone came looking for her. 

......................................

''I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine,'' Katara kept telling herself all the way she struggled to join her friends. She couldn't think at all, could barely breathe when she heard the laughter coming from inside the cave. 

That's when she realized she couldn't join in. Not yet. Perhaps never again. 

She paced outside the entrance, all the while repeating the words ''I'm fine'' like a mantra. It soothed her a bit. She once heard a lie repeated a thousand times becomes truth. She hoped that would be the case.