The Art Of Finding Each Other (Zutara)

All The Paths You Could Take

"Katara, are you done yet? Our shift is ending."

Katara stopped storing the medicine in the cabinets. Uh, no? Not really, she thought. She turned left to look at her fellow healer, Rya. They had been working together in almost every single shift that week. Katara liked how quickly she got things done around the healing wing, even when she could be a little too impatient. She was also a remarkable medic despite being only a few years older than her.

"No, I'm not done. I want to leave this organized for Monday." Katara answered her.

"But girl, the folks who take the weekend shifts are going to mess up your order anyways. Today was tough enough without you being a set-up freak." Rya could be a bit rude sometimes, but under that facade there was an amusing work partner to lighten up the heavy labour of the day.

"Give me one more second and I'll go, okay? You can grab your stuff in the meantime." She just had to prepare everything for her next shift, a neat environment was crucial for her if she wanted to be as efficient as possible. What if someone needed stitches to patch up a wound? Rya would definitely thank her for arranging their supplies then.

"Agh, you win. I'll be at the entryway waiting for you." Her friend grunted and started to walk away.

Fridays were a surprisingly busy day at the healing wing. Maybe it was just everyone's anxiety for the weekend or the stress of a pretty long week, but the passing of time felt slower. Katara was ready to go home. Home, the word resonated in her mind. Was the Fire Nation her home, now? She wasn't sure of it, but it certainly felt like a good place to be at the moment. Almost everyone she cared for was there. Except for GranGran and her father, but she knew that rather sooner than later she was going to see them. Family ties were unbreakable after all, she was aware of it.

Katara finished up arranging all the supplies and throwing up whatever wasn't usable anymore. She took one last stare at her work area and decided it was time to go. She hurried up to make sure not to make Rya wait any longer. The two of them had been walking a part of their way home together for the last couple of days. Rya lived in Harbor City, so she had a far longer trip than her. But, they still kept each other company for the few blocks that their paths had in common.

Katara crossed the entryway of the Medical Center. Rya was waiting for her, with an exhausted but friendly look in her eyes.

"Finally, lets get out of here, my brother is probably already home for school and I promised I would hang out with him tonight." Rya urged her to start walking.

"That's sweet of you. My brother is probably making out with his girlfriend right now, enjoy yours while you can." She laughed, as she was just lightly joking, she definitely adored Suki.

"Is it cool being the little sister? I swear, to be the older child is to have tons of responsibilities."

"I mean, I guess it's fine. With Sokka our dynamic is different. We are both the older and the little child despite the age gap. We equally take care of the other." Katara wondered if that seemed unusual for other people. She was already so used to their relationship that she couldn't dream of it being any other way.

"That's the dream. Don't get me wrong, I love Merin, but he's much younger than me. My mom is always expecting me to do everything. I'm even considering coming for an extra shift tomorrow so she will stop getting in my head."

"A weekend shift? But, you have already worked mornings and afternoons every day of this week." She felt bad for her work buddy.

Rya slowed down the pace. "I know, but we could use the money. I think I'm gonna do it."