Dragon At Heart

Chapter 31

31. The Northern Water Tribe

I'm babysitting a dragon. That is something you don't get to say every day, though, if Kulo gets to stay, we might have to fix up something similar to daycare for him on a more regular basis.

Katara had a bad feeling about the situation, which was unusual, since Katara wasn't one to worry easily. Surprisingly, the part about being left to babysit a dragon all alone wasn't the part she was concerned about. She could take care of herself. Also, the dragon had simply laid down and stayed oddly motionless thus far.

I could try to talk to him, but what would I say? Uncomfortable silence it is, then.

Although Katara's trust in the goodness of her fellow men had suffered a blow after she had learned of Jet's deception, she wasn't generally wary of strangers if she wasn't given a reason to be. It was usually Sokka who played the somewhat annoying, but arguably necessary role of the suspicious one in the bunch. For some reason, however, today Sokka wasn't being as cautious as Katara would like him to be, and since Aang was openly trusting of people he'd only just met as a rule, she felt she needed to step up to the plate and keep a watchful eye.

The part that bothered Katara the most was why the dragon had followed them in the first place, especially after Kulo had made such an effort to rid himself of their company last they met. Despite his animalistic movements and inconsistent behavior, Kulo was obviously more than just a dumb beast, and it was this combination of smart and unpredictable that worried her.

The Gaang could deal with vicious monsters, and best even the most ruthless of firebenders, but Kulo was something different; something new, the like of which they had yet to encounter. She didn't know what the dragon was up to, or even wanted, but she had a hunch there was more going on than met the eye.

Katara wished Kulo hadn't shown up right now, or, preferably, at all. They had enough on their plate with studying waterbending, fending off the Fire Nation, and getting the Northern Water Tribe to see things their way. Most noticeably, to give up some of their more silly customs. Dealing with Kulo could have waited until after they had a better idea of what to do about the Fire Nation fleet. In Katara's opinion, even if the dragon would turn out to be harmless, they could have done without another unknown in the equation.

The whole thing boiled down to the fact that Katara didn't trust Kulo, and not in the way you don't trust your pet, because he is known to be impulsive and silly at times. Katara distrusted Kulo in the same way she distrusted anyone whose standing, opinions and involvement in the war were unclear. The fact that Kulo was technically a firebender didn't help. Even if the dragon wasn't on Fire Nation's side in the war, he was fire, which meant he was wild and destructive by nature. From what she had witnessed, the People of Fire had lesser morals than people from other nations did. Maybe even no morals at all.

Of course, Katara had no plans to act against Kulo, not without proof that there was foul play underway, but her instincts told her to be wary of the dragon all the same. Only time would tell if her worries were justified.

Aang and Sokka returned, as they had promised, in no time at all, bringing with them the 'happy news' that Kulo was welcome to stay, so long as certain precautions were taken. Namely, they would have to take care of and keep an eye on the dragon themselves.

Aang was, of course, excited and endlessly optimistic.

"...should be great. I've never had a dragon before, but I knew people from Fire Nation who knew people who had dragons, and I love animals, so it shouldn't be that hard to take care of him, right? First, we need a place for him to stay. Appa and Kulo didn't really get along on their previous encounters, so I think it might be best that they don't bunk together just yet. I've heard of this other great stable where we can set up a place for Kulo. I bet he'll get along just fine with polar dogs."