Catalyst

Chapter 17: Tea, Trust, and Trouble

Katara headed back to the camp before the hour completely finished. She had caught and cleaned over half a dozen fish in that time, and she wasn't going to wait around for Toph and Zuko's "training" to inevitably end with one of the tents on fire. When she noticed the amount of smoke rising from the camp in the distance, she readjusted her grip on the rope that held the fish and hurried along.

Slowing when she was close enough to realize the tents weren't up in flames, she spotted Zuko and Toph standing over the campfire, gray smoke pouring off of it and rising into the air. The two watched on, every now and then pointing at something hidden in the orange and red flames. She kept her distance so Toph couldn't sense her and craned her neck to see what it was they were looking at, but she couldn't identify anything out of the ordinary.

Katara noticed Zuko go into a wide bending stance. He pivoted and brought his right hand around, palm up, as if he was going to strike the fire itself. Instead, he stopped short and a small flame leapt from his hand to the fire.

Toph yelled at whatever it was to burn hotter, calling it a good-for-nothing. When she leaned over the fire a little too close for comfort, Zuko pulled her back a little, saying something that was out of earshot.

A minute later, a final determination was made. Zuko shook his head and Toph earthbended away whatever had been in the fire without turning around. The thing shot back behind them and hit the sand several feet away from Katara with a dull thunk.

Katara set down her fish, went over to the object, and picked up it. She passed it rapidly from hand to hand and waited for the still-hot object to cool. It looked like...Katara didn't know what. It was about the size of her palm and the shape, for the most part, was that of a hollow log. One side of the tube was closed, while the other end's edges were wavy and expanded outwards like a flowing dress. The warm, soft edges bent under her grip.

Katara looked past the mysterious object in her hands and saw, buried in the sand, other similar objects. Some were almost identical to hers, though others looked significantly worse and could be compared closer to hunks of misshapen clay balls than whatever it was she held. What are they trying to make?

Still gripping their latest creation, Katara stepped forward and went to the two benders hovering over the fire. Toph was the first to turn around, followed by Zuko who looked both frustrated and embarrassed. "What are you doing?" Katara asked.

"That was a fast hour," Toph noted. She attempted to stand in front of the fire and conceal whatever it was they were doing, but her small frame made it impossible. A curved edge of something peeked out from the coals.

Katara took another step forward. "Uh huh. What are you doing? I found this." She held up the clay...flower?

"That's an interesting rock formation," Toph replied.

Switching to Zuko, she raised her eyebrow. "Care to explain?" Silence. Zuko glanced at Toph for guidance. She shook her head only the slightest, but Katara caught it. "Zu-ko?" she drew out saying his name but immediately regretted it. Zuko stiffened, and any possible hint of friendliness disappeared. Toph made a face.

She was questioning them like children. Well, they were children, but so was she. "Look," she said, trying once again, "I just want to know what this is." She sighed. "Please?"

His expression softened and he nodded, moving aside to show the firepit. Stepping forward to get a better view did nothing to give Katara a sense of what was resting in the coals. "What is it?"

Zuko fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "It's a, uh...cup." She gave him a sidelong look. "Well, it's supposed to be one, anyways. I need to get the fire hotter so the clay will harden; it's only been melting." The discouragement in his voice was plain as day.