Fall of the White Lotus [Zutara/Taang]

7 | Code

Music: The Beginning Of The Journey, Kenji Kawai (Folklore)

                    Without waiting for Zuko's response to her whispered thanks, Katara sent her ostrich horse down the path Princess Yue had pointed out for them to follow. Huddled in her cloak, she welcomed the driving rain as she tried to forget about what the moon spirit had told her. A disturbing little voice in the back of her head kept telling her that the other Water Princess had meant for her to reconsider the nature of her relationship with Aang. And that was exactly what Katara had been avoiding for a long time now.

Her breath formed icy clouds in the chill of the night, and cold water started to seep through the tightly woven cloak. She could have protected herself with her waterbending, but all she could think about were Yue's words as the cold began to creep into her stiffening body. She only woke from her stupor when she heard Zuko's voice yelling for her to stop. Turning her head, she gasped in fear when she suddenly found herself gazing into a gigantic abyss as her ostrich horse started to slide off the edge. Only a slippery boulder separated the ostrich horse and its rider from tumbling into the depths of darkness.

With a forceful jerk, she tightened the reins and two nerve-wracking seconds later, the animal thankfully obeyed and let itself be directed towards the mountainside. When it ducked its head for some dry grass, Katara quickly dismounted and instinctively pressed her hand to her chest to calm herself.

Zuko had watched helplessly as Katara slowly but surely had been drawn towards the abyss, knowing that he couldn't possibly reach her in time from his position far behind her. It had been a cry of despair that had escaped him as he'd yelled for her to stop, fiercely hoping that it would wake her from her musings over what the moon spirit had said to her, which had clearly touched her deeply. 

He couldn't describe the feeling of utter relief coursing through him when she'd followed his directions, dismounting and now leaning against the mountainside, her eyes wide with fear. It was as fierce as the agony that had taken possession of him earlier when he realized that he could be losing Katara to the Kolau Mountains.

Finally reaching her, he quickly dismounted from his ostrich horse and, suppressing the urge to pull her into a tight embrace, looked her up and down to see if she was alright. Her gaze was filled with gratitude when she looked up at him. Thank Agni, the troubled expression had disappeared from her eyes.

Knowing that she had to reach her ostrich horse but afraid to let go of the mountain wall, Katara began to shuffle along the rugged mountainside. Suddenly, she lost her shaky balance and fell backwards with a small yelp. To her surprise, she landed on dry ground. She heard Zuko cry out from outside, calling out her name in worried panic.

"It's alright, Zuko. I believe it's a cave," she called back.

He appeared a moment later, an expression of relief on his face which turned into a look of approval when he turned around in the small cave she'd just discovered. It was barely more than a crack in the walls, but it was dry and it would do for what remained of the night.

Their first priority was to dry their clothes. Zuko began to evaporate the rain from his until Katara protested against the steam he was creating in the small cave. Mumbling an apology, he let her bend the water out of their clothes. With an elegant flick of her wrist, Katara directed the glistening stream back into the night.

As Zuko turned his attention to the ostrich horses, which needed unpacking, Katara attempted to fold her dried cloak, but it was heavier than she thought and it slipped through her fingers. Instinctively, her hand shot out to grasp it before it hit the ground. As her fingers clutched at it and halted its momentum, she saw a bit of folded paper swirl down from the folds.