Fall of the White Lotus [Zutara/Taang]

12 | Twilight

Music: The Dragon Boy, Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away)

                    Zuko's years at sea did not betray him. Around noon, the Fire Nation ship put in at the small Kyoshian harbor - just as he'd presumed the day before.

While they were waiting to go ashore, he glanced sideways at Katara's excited smile and wished he could feel the same. But he would be encountering yet another place with unpleasant memories of his previous visit to their community and, even after more than three years, he wasn't completely sure about the Kyoshian reaction to his unexpected visit. In fact, he dreaded finding out.

To distract himself, Zuko busied himself with calming his ostrich horse, which proved to be enough of a challenge as the animal was nervously shifting on its spot in response to his own restlessness.

When the ship had docked, dominating the small harbor despite its modest size, Zuko expressed his gratitude to a radiant captain and slowly went down the gangplank, pulling his ostrich horse along with him.

Once he'd reached the quay, Zuko turned around to see if Katara needed help with anything only to discover she was still on deck, held back by the captain. Narrowing his eyes, Zuko registered that the captain was explaining something to her with a solemn expression. He watched as Katara shook her head, her expression darkening.

Zuko let go of his ostrich horse and turned to intervene, but stopped when Katara smiled and thanked the captain. The captain responded with a respectful bow, and Katara took the reins of her riding animal to follow Zuko down the gangplank.

She gave her fellow traveler a small, absent-minded nod in acknowledgement and then mounted her ostrich horse. And with a wary look in his eyes, Zuko followed her example.

                     Katara remained deep in thought as they journeyed into the Kyoshi hinterland. Sometimes, Zuko caught her sneaking glances at him, only to avert her eyes when her gaze would accidentally cross his.

Finally, he caught her gaze on purpose. "Is something the matter?" he asked in confusion.

She flinched and blushed but shook her head dismissively.

"What did the captain say to you? You've been acting very strange since." His voice held a hint of annoyance but she only forced a reassuring smile to her lips.

"Nothing, there's nothing wrong."

Zuko gave her one last suspicious look but decided to let the matter rest.

                    They followed a path through the vast pine forests covering the island. Only a few deciduous trees, already bare, rose from the woodland soil, while patches of delicate snow softened the outline of the pointy pines. Steel grey clouds shrouding the peaks of the steep mountain range around them promised much more snow for the night.

Zuko shivered and raised his inner temperature with bending, pulling his cloak tighter around him to trap the heat. He was amazed at the stark transition from the mild climate of the southern mainland to this bleak winter weather in just a day's time.

The ostrich horses rounded a bend in the road and suddenly the trees gave way to an open spot in the forest where a group of plain wooden houses was built at the foot of the mountains. Two rows of smaller houses guided the path towards the large community house in the back and, next to the houses, a half-frozen brook wound its way down the mountain. The proud statue of Avatar Kyoshi sprang up in the middle of the busy village square.

A bright smile formed on Katara's lips at seeing the familiar scenery. She was about to give her ostrich horse the spurs, when she noticed that Zuko had unexpectedly checked his riding animal. The animal paced restlessly in its spot as Zuko looked at the village before him, his features hardening. Then, he determinedly dismounted his ostrich horse and caught Katara's surprise gaze.