Catalyst

Chapter 15: Shifting Tides

"Does he not sleep?" Katara muttered, exiting her tent the next morning to find Zuko already awake and tending the campfire. He hadn't moved from his seat the night before. There was a pot of something already cooking and Momo was waiting for his morning handout.

Zuko looked up from the fire and nodded, even giving her a small smile.

She frowned, not just because of what he said the day before but because, of all things, Momo was getting food from him. That was her job!

A gust of wind off the ocean ruffled her clothes. Reminding herself it was a job which, in the past, she had found herself wanting someone else to do for once, she returned his nod and went to the fire to warm up. The ocean breeze was surprisingly cool for summer. She had been away from home for too long. This temperature never would have bothered her before.

Keeping it light, she said, "Morning."

"Morning. Breakfast?" Zuko held out a bowl of rice, looking up from underneath his unkept hair.

He was trying, at least. She took the bowl without a word. Zuko stirred the remaining rice absently. After a minute, he spoke softly, "I think I know what Aang was upset about."

Trying not to sound too interested in anything he had to say, she replied, "Oh?" without lifting her head up from her bowl.

He paused his stirring. "He thought I was mad at him." Katara couldn't help but look to him for clarification. His eyes met hers and he quickly looked away. "He blames himself for everything that happened—to me, I mean."

Her interest and concern overrode any aloofness she was trying to convey. "And what did you say?" Hopefully nothing as stupid as—

"I told him none of it was his fault, of course!" he replied, his tone sharp. "He wasn't even there..." Uselessly stabbing the overdone food with his spoon, he said softer, almost to himself, "...how could it be his fault?"

Katara laid down her breakfast and took hold of the wooden spoon in his hand. He stopped stirring but still held on to it. "I think it's done," she said, giving him a gentle smile. A small shake of the cooking utensil and he let go. Taking the pot off the fire, she scooped some of the mushy rice into a bowl for him. "Are you okay?" she asked, handing it to him.

With all the confidence of a guilty man, he said, "Uh, yeah."

She raised an eyebrow. How did I ever find him intimidating? "Really?"

"Well..."

She smiled to herself.

"...as, uh, I brought up yesterday, I should be teaching the Av—Aang, I mean—I should be teaching him firebending, right? But it's like my bending is basically gone." He demonstrated by punching and having it result in a palm-sized flame. "Toph said everyone has a foundation for their bending, so I should try to find my new foundation since, well, obviously anger was my old foundation, but I don't know how I do that."

"When did you talk about this? Last night?"

He nodded.

What was her foundation? She touched her necklace. Of course. Mom—but not just that—stopping the Fire Lord from destroying families like hers had been. It wasn't like she chose it to be her foundation, it just was.

"What about your mom?" she suggested.

He gave her a sharp look. "My mother? What about her?"

Maybe not. She shook her head. "I mean, what motivates you? Who motivates you? Why are you here?"