Sea and Sky

Chapter 24: The Grievance of History

Sea and Sky

Chapter 24: The Grievance of History

——

The envelop from Iroh's emissary had arrived just before dawn. Unable to sleep, Katara had received the emissary at the villa's entrance. The handoff had been made within moments. Just as quickly as she'd received the parcel, she'd made her way down to the kitchens. Most of the staff hadn't woken yet, so the kitchen was empty.

The herbs had been carefully packed in a rice paper envelope, lovingly pruned, fresh as can be. From the diagrams in the journal, Katara had been able to identify the white jade blossoms and bacui berries, but the third ingredient looked entirely foreign to her. Iroh's note had explained the medicinal properties of the red stemmed ovata, but had included a warning. The plant was extremely toxic if not handled correctly.

Iroh had written that the outer skin of the roots must be taken off completely before milling, in order to avoid creating an potent sleeping potion. In combination with the white jade and bacui berries, Iroh had seemed to guess in his letter that she was attempting to craft an antidote for Heaven's Kiss. How he had this knowledge, Katara wasn't sure.

As she went about preparing the ovata root, her mind was filled with thoughts of the previous night's conversation with Zuko. As the Fire Lord, Zuko had every right to send soldiers to defend his kingdom as he saw fit, but with Aang's position as the Avatar, it had made the friendship between the men fraught at times. Aang was a staunch pacifist and believed in the sanctity of life to the very core of his being.

Ever cautious of his father's legacy, Zuko had always been leary of expending any violence that wasn't necessary, even to the point of risking his own position. By default, Aang would never risk the lives of this around him without just cause. But it seemed that with the looming threat of General Kuyu and his daughter, their peaceful options were running short.

As she ground the root with the pestle against the granite mortar dish, her lips became a thin line, drawing the together in concentration. Replaying the previous evening in her mind, Katara's annoyance with the men flared within her. Once again she found herself caught in between the Fire Lord and the Avatar. A part of her wished for Zuko to send his men and simply end the General's Life. But her understanding of Aang's principles stopped her from expressing her thoughts aloud.

She knew, deep down, that she was a vengeful person. It had been Zuko himself who had aided her in tracking down Yon Rha, but it had been Aang's words at the back of her mind that had stopped her from impaling the man with her icy daggers. Often times when she was alone and the thought of her mother came to mind, Katara regretted letting the man go. A part of her wished to take his life.

Shaking herself of the murderous thoughts, Katara looked at the root. She'd ground it into a thin white powder. Hopefully she hadn't milled it too finely. Humming to herself, Katara dropped the pestle onto the table and went back to the journal. Next, she read, she had to boil the white jade blossoms and steam the bacui berries. Doubt welled in her mind as she went about the kitchen, collecting a shallow pan and a lid in which to siphon the oils into. With a quick flick of her wrist, she set the pan onto the stove top and flung a small stream of water into it.

Taking the flints into her hand, she sparked the rocks and lit a small fire. It was times like this that she thought it must be nice to be a firebender, and not to rely on flint and hay to start fires.

"Katara, you're up early."

Behind her, Katara was shaken out of her concentration by Suki's still groggy voice. The sun had just started to peak over the horizon, sky streaked with lashes of orange and pink. To see Suki awake and walking after the previous day's events was surprising to say the least.