Katara

It's probably been an hour since Zuko brought me to this cave. He pushed a heavy rock that I'm sure is too large for me to budge in front of the entrance.

What does he want from me?

"So..." I start out, ending this ridiculously long silence. "Why did you blow up that ship again?"

"I thought I explained this already."

"You said Zhao hired them to blow up your ship."

"Yes."

"Why would he do that?"

Zuko, who hadn't been looking at me, takes his eyes off the shirt he's been sewing --YES, HE'S SEWING-- and gazes at me with a look that tells me he thinks my question is stupid.

Instead of answering my question, he holds the shirt up, showing me his work. I must've been giving him a "What the hell?" look this whole time because he says, rather blandly, "I make my own clothes."

"I can see that," I tell myself.

"Who taught you how to sew?" I ask because I really am interested in knowing. I doubt sewing is something he learned in a Fire Nation school.

"A friend," he says, and I get the feeling my question bores him. I don't care.

"You have money. Why don't you just buy clothes?"

"If I can make them, why would I buy them? Besides, buying cloth and sewing supplies ends up being less expensive than buying the garments."

That sounds like the sort of thing I'd say. Well, at least he's frugal.

"Are you going to answer my question, Zu-"

"What's the hardest lesson you've ever had to learn?" he cuts in.

What a rude person!

I cross my arms, turn my head to the side, and stick my nose in the air.

'Why did you bring me here, Zuko?" Maybe he'll actually answer this one.

My stomach growls so loud it echoes off the cave walls. "Shut up," I mumble as I grab it.

"I have food," he says as he checks his work against the sewing pattern he has lying on the ground by his foot.

"I don't want your food. I want you to answer my question," I demand. "You said you wanted to capture me, not the Avatar. Why? Why me?"

"Conversation," he responds. His unusual answer brings my head around to stare, shocked, at his passive face.

"Zuko, I don't understand - "

"You were telling me about your mother in Ba Sing Se," he says in the same gentle voice he used a year ago when he talked to me about his scar. I can only bring myself to be angry about his remark. It's only after the fact that I notice I've made a tightly-held fist. The conversation I had with him in Ba Sing Se was a regrettable lapse in judgement on my part, and I don't like that he's brought it up. He's just trying to make me feel terrible. He's trying to intimidate me and control me.

"I said the Fire Nation took her away," I spit out with such an acidic tone that he should get the hint that this conversation is over. It's definitely registered with him because I see him flinch.

"What's the hardest lesson you've ever had to learn?" he asks again. I roll my eyes.

"Why do you want to know? It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

His words drift over to me like black smoke, stinging my eyes, choking me. "Why?" is the obvious question to ask him after he makes that last statement. I stop myself from asking it because I haven't decided if I even want to know the answer.

I meet his gaze so I can stare passed his blank expression and into his mind. I say to myself as I watch the light from the fire dance in his eyes that Firebenders, particularly him, have the most beautiful eyes. I've still got my Mean Face on when we gaze back and forth at one another. Maybe, as he pierces me with his Firebender eyes to probe me for whatever it is he thinks I have to offer him, he won't be able to figure out that he scares the crap out of me.

I suck air in through my gritted teeth that makes a hissing sound as he breaks his gaze and holds his finished shirt up. He nods his approval at his own work then folds the dark gray shirt up and puts it on a small pile of clothes he has laying in the corner of his small but well-organized dwelling.

He turns to study me with his Firebender eyes once again. I snort and look away from him but I can still feel his gaze upon me like an eerie chill on a dark, moonless night that raises goosebumps as it creeps across the skin.

"if you answer my question, I'll answer yours," he offers in the same cool, almost seductive tone he used when he tried to entice me with my mother's necklace.

"How about letting me go instead?" I counter as I push the memory of our first close encounter back into the furtherest recesses of my mind.

"That's not an option. Not yet, anyway."

I hate him for making me negotiate my own freedom.

"Why not, Zuko? What do you want from me?"

"I already answered that question."

"Let me leave, Zuko! You have no right to hold me here against my will and you won't even tell me what you really want from me. You don't want to have a conversation with me." As I yell this to him, my voice cracks under the stress as the reality that he can't be reasoned with sets in.

I wring my shaky hands together as I try to calm myself. He watches me with quiet deliberation as I collect my thoughts.

"Please..." I beg. He looks away.

"Zuko... I can't talk to you under these conditions."

"You won't talk to me under any other conditions," he says, not bothering to look back at me. "Please don't lie to me and say you will," he begs back.

"If you think you're in danger, you aren't," he stresses, and I'm sure that he can sense my fear.

He turns his head to look at me once again. The weight of his heavy stare pushes against my being. I bulk at his statement. He's an idiot.

"You take my water away from me and drag me here against my will, and you tell me I'm not in any danger? How can I be expected to believe that? I would be a moron to think that I'm safe with you, Zuko!"

"You'll just have to trust me then."

I get to my feet so fast at the sound of the word "trust" drifting from his lips, the motion makes my head spin. He may have the most beautiful eyes on Earth but he's still an ass who has no business telling me I should trust him.

Before I can even stop myself, I run right for him. Fueled by an amazing adrenaline rush, I throw a punch that he catches before it gets the chance to land where his scar use to be. "Sokka makes this look so easy," I tell myself as I throw another blocked punch.

Zuko keeps my hands far enough away so I don't claw his eyes out. I pound into his chest with my fists as I deliver my speech about what a hateful, evil, treacherous bastard I think he is for being born. Something like that, anyway.

I jab for the critical areas: The heart, the rib cage, the stomach, the neck, and the face. He's excellent at protecting his center and face. This only causes me to become frustrated. I take my anger out on his shirt so I can tear it off and rip his skin right off of his torso. I hear him grunt as my fingernails dig into his flesh.

Now I know what they're talking about when they say "seeing red". That's all I see as I threaten to kill him by bending the water in his body right through his skin.

How long has it been since he started letting me wail on him? Seconds? Minutes? My mind's a blur of angry, pent-up images of our last fight against one another, of all the times he's scared me nearly to death, of the Fire Nation's attack on my home almost eight years ago, of Aang's encounter with Ozai, and of Azula zapping Aang in the back.

I get a clean shot at his right ear. My fingernails rake across it as I let out a cry of sheer anger, putting all of my force into possibly ripping his ear off the side of his head.

"Enough!" he says, keeping his tone low and even.

As he grabs my arms and pulls me against him, his forcefulness brings me back to my senses. I can feel his racing heartbeat against my own as we both struggle to catch our breaths.

Our heads are resting in the crux of each other's necks. It's almost like an embrace. Almost.

I wait for my second wind because I still have unfinished business with his face. I claw at the tattered remains of his shirt so he'll push me away. Then I can get another good shot in.

"Katara," he whispers into my ear. I freeze at the first sound of my own name coming from him. "You said it yourself. Ozai is dead. There's no reason for me to use you to capture the Avatar. The reason we had for fighting each other is gone."

He relaxes his grip on my hands but doesn't let go. We sit, held to an excruciating silence, as we try to figure each other out.

"Will you talk to me now?"

"I said everything I had to say to you with my fists!" I hiss.

He lets out a deep breath that fans the stray hairs that have fallen out of my braid, leaving a trail of goosebumps in it's wake.

"I'm tired," he tells me. "Too tired to put up a fight. Please, Katara, no more fighting."

I nod. "No more fighting," I promise.

He releases his hold on my hands and I pull myself away from him as I lock gazes with his sad Firebender eyes.

I realize I'm straddling him. I literally jumped the guy. If someone were to walk in on us right now, us framed by soft firelight, they might get the wrong idea. I cringe at the thought of such a scenario as I climb off of him.

Within a few seconds, my fear and anger turn into grief as I look him over. I reel at the sight of bruises and scratches that are left on his arms, neck, and chest. I nearly ripped his shirt off. I'm certain I said things to him that no person should ever say to another person, and I find a morbid sense of comfort in the fact that I got so mad I can't remember the details of my attack.

My hand flies up to my mouth as the reality that I brutalized someone with my bare hands sets in. My parents did not raise me to be a savage but that's exactly what I had become. I'm shaking so violently that Toph can probably feel my quaking all the way in the Fire Nation.

"Oh my gosh, Zuko, I'm so sorry," I whisper as I touch the pendant on my mother's necklace.

I wipe my tears away while he goes behind a screen he has set up for privacy. I see him throw his torn shirt across the screen, mumbling about how he'll mend it later, then grab for another shirt that had been lying across the screen this whole time. I can't help but wonder why he needs a privacy screen if he's the only person staying here.

He takes a seat in front of me again. I don't bother to look up at him.

He hands me a handkerchief he's pulled out of his pants pocket. "It's clean," he tells me.

I give my nose a good blow into it. "Not anymore," I mumble. He offers me a crooked smile then rekindles the dying fire.

"There's water over there if you want to wash your face."

He points to a black metal barrel which is setting only a few feet away from me.

"What?" I shriek.

He shakes his head and smiles. "It's completely filled with water."

I stare at him in disbelief as he waits for me to pick my jaw up off the ground and say something.

"I told you, you aren't in any danger here. You can defend yourself at any time, although," he rubs a sore spot on his arm. "It doesn't seem like you need the water," he jokes. I can find no humor in his remark, though.

I wash my tear-stained face and redo my hair as he watches from the corner. I can't stand it if my hair's a mess. I pull some plant root out of my pocket. It's handy to have when I need to get rid of food stains in Sokka' shirts. I rub his blood from my tunic then dab some cold water on it to finish the job.

You didn't break a single nail," he says as I clean his blood from underneath my nails.

"You're such a horrible person!" I point out as I fling some water in his direction. "Just by being near you, I become a horrible person."

When I'm done cleaning myself, I sit back down in front of him, my hands folded neatly on my lap, and wait for him to say or do something. Then I grow bored from watching him do nothing. Though I should be quaking, beating Zuko up has released tension I didn't know I had within me. I feel relaxed.

"Why would you sit there and take a beating?" I ask as he kicks his pair of sheathed swords, sheath and all, to me. I can only assume he does this to make me feel more secure. I have no idea how to use those things but I'll just put them right next to me for safe keeping anyway.

"I'm use to it," he shrugs. "Besides, you looked like you needed to let off some steam. Maybe, since you've gotten that out of your system, we can actually have a decent conversation."

"You have issues, Zuko, and I'm not saying that to be insulting. Although I am trying to be insulting, I'm also making an observation."

I watch as he rubs the back of his head and neck. He seems to not be surprised by the things I say to him. As if he's done a quick scan of my mind, he comes back with a resounding, "You couldn't say anything to me my own family hasn't said to me. Nice try, though."

I shake my head. I have nothing but pity for him. There's a sad sense of loss behind his words and I'm reminded of the conversations Iroh shared with us about what happened to Zuko after his mother was no longer there to protect him from the Firelord's cruelty.

He brings me out of my revelry with a simple "I'm sorry".

I scrutinize the childlike way he hugs his knees while he continues to poke at the fire - a fire he could just as easily raise with Firebending. I remember Iroh's words: "A part of Zuko will always be ten years old. That's how old he was when his mother vanished." That's what he looks like: a sick, hopeless, ten-year-old boy trapped in the wasted-away shell of a man's body.

"You should let me heal your wounds," I offer.

"No!" he thunders and I nearly jump out of my pants. "No Waterbending!" he insists.

"But Zuko, I can completely heal you with Waterbending - "

"You don't understand," he comes back as his Firebender eyes flash at me.

"You're right. I don't understand why you won't accept my help. I did this to you. You should let me help you."

I watch as he pulls out some medicinal roots, bandages, and rags to clean and dress his wounds with.

"At least let me help you dress them," I say as I grab a rag from his hand. "Before I could heal with Waterbending, I was a practitioner. All of the women of my tribe are practitioners."

He nods his okay.

I inspect his belongings. "You have a nice selection of medical supplies here, Zuko. Where did you learn - "

"A friend," he cuts in. "He gave me these supplies and some scrolls that show me how to use them properly.

"The same friend who taught you how to sew clothes?"

"Yes."

"You're lucky to have such a resourceful friend," I tell him, offering him a smile so he'll relax. I want to know more about this friend and I want to examine him to determine if he really is sick.

"What's your friend's name?" I ask as I scrub my hands with some soap he has handy.

He sighs and leans back against the cave wall as I squeeze some of the extract from the roots out into a freshly-washed tin bowl so I can make an ointment with it. I stir the mixture with my finger, citing there's nothing more sterile for me to stir it up with, then I dab into it with a clean white cloth.

I take his pale, gaunt face into my hands, turning his head to the side so I can get at his ear. He grunts as the medicine makes contact with puckered flesh of his open wound.

"This would be a lot less painful if you'd let me use my Waterbending."

"I'm fine," he grunts out.

"Zuko, I've used my healing ability numerous times - "

"Your abilities are not in question," he grunts out as I dab at a deep cut on the side of his head. "I know you're a Waterbending Master."

"If I use conventional medicine, I'll have to stitch your ear at the lobe. And your lip. It's busted wide open."

"I'll stitch them myself if it bothers you so much."

"For you to stitch yourself up would hurt like hell, Zuko."

"It's no problem," he tells me as he shrugs the matter off. "There's a suture kit in the bag."

He goes to grab for the bag but I push him back against the wall gently. I feel my brows knit together as I take his face in my hands again and force him to meet my stern gaze. The only emotion I get from him plays out in his Firebender eyes.

He is a child. Dealing with him is like dealing with kids who don't want to take the right medicine even though they need to.

I put the water on and let it creep up my hands toward the scratches on his tired face. He grabs for my wrists but the water creates an impenetrable barrier that makes it impossible for him to take hold of me. After he lets out a defeated sigh, he lets his hands drift down to his sides.

"Thank you," I tell him as I let my water lead me to where it's needed to most, a large, protruding bump on the back of his head. I hadn't even realized that his head had slammed into the rock wall in back of him. "Well, he shouldn't have pissed me off," I tell myself and I want to take the thought back as soon as it cuts loose inside of my brain.

"Now, behave yourself."

"I'm not a child," he insists.

"Then don't act like one," I tell him as I drench him in water.

I heal every wound with one decisive form. I take in a deep breath, his handsome face still cradled in my hands, I exhale through my nose as I put all of my energy behind my water. The water glows as it takes pathways to every soar spot on his body, filling the cave with so much light that he closes his eyes in response to it's brightness.

My water maps out the contours of his body and gives me a unique insight into his physiology. I'm stunned to learn that he has wounds that go back years that have never properly healed. Iroh wasn't kidding when he said all of the problems of their family eventually ended up on Zuko. I didn't realize Iroh was speaking literally, although I never had any doubt that Azula had used Zuko for a punching bag when they were growing up.

"Who broke your ribs, Zuko?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your ribs were broken about a year ago? Probably in Ba Sing Se?"

"You can see that with Waterbending?"

"It's like you said, Zuko. I'm the Master."

He nods dumbly.

"Firebending comes from the breath," he tells me but I already know this. "Azula ordered the Dai Li to break all of my ribs, to put pressure on my lungs so I couldn't firebend against any of them. Then she ordered them to bend me into a stone box up to my neck. They dragged me to Lake Laogai and tossed me in."

My eyes bulge so far I feel like they'll jump out of my head. I shake my head in disbelief.

"How did you escape, Zuko?" I ask in a tone that sounds like I'm mocking him. Oh, what the hell! I am mocking him. His story is nuts!

"I didn't." he hisses as he narrows his Firebender eyes at me.

I feel myself lose control of my water as the sound of his voice, hissing like a hungry snake in the grass, jars me. It splashes against the floor and walls and his Firebender eyes flicker with amusement as the sight and sound of it all.

"What did you say?"

"I said - "

"I heard you," I hiss, "but..."

"Azula held me prisoner in the Earth King's throne room for three days before she gave them the order to dump me. I was like a living statue; a monument to how she always managed to win at life. I guess she got tired of my singing so she had me dumped into Lake Laogai.

My face lightens a bit. "Singing?"

"Yes. I sing when there are no other available options. I'm horrible at it and I only know songs about drinking and sex--the old sailor's songs I learned from my crew."

I find it difficult to stifle my laughter at the thought of him singing dirty songs to his sister of all people. That is one messed-up family!

"I'm sure it wouldn't have bothered her since I've been singing horribly since we were kids but Dai Li agents started singing along. They didn't even know the words," he finishes in a disgusted tone.

"...but you're alive, Zuko! How?"

"It's complicated," he says.

"But it has something to do with the loss of your scar, doesn't it?"

He says nothing as he fiddles with the hem of his shorts. His silence is my answer.

"This is why you didn't want me to heal you with Waterbending? Because you're afraid of water?"

"And Earthbending," he finishes.

"Oh..." I trail off. "And you think that I would promise to help you then turn around and hurt you with Waterbending?"

His lips are pursed together in a thin line, concealing his answer.

"Because that's what Azula would have done to you?"

"Yes," he admits rather bluntly, "and because you've made it perfectly clear that you still choose to be my enemy."

"I never chose to be your enemy, Zuko."

"But you chose to be so now."

I'm caught off guard by those Firebender eyes of his as he shifts them from side to side as though he's waiting for my water to rise up and attack him from all sides.

"I choose to be cautious," I tell him with a steel-tempered tone. "I've been betrayed before."

"I never betrayed you in Ba Sing Se," he cuts in. My lip twitches as I hold back the urge to...do something. "I may have given you the wrong impression but I never made any promises to you. It was foolish for you to think otherwise."

I breath several times as I remind myself that beating the crap out of him makes me feel like a horrible person.

"It's not that simple," I tell him after I've composed myself. "But I'm not going to argue with you about it. I'm not talking about you. I was betrayed and used by someone I had feelings for." I keep the same even tone I've held for the past few minutes. I refuse to break down in front of him over something Jet did a year and a half ago.

"Will you answer my question now?" he wonders as he pokes at the fire.

"Is it that important to you, Zuko?"

"Yes."

I take a deep breath as my mind breezes through another "Why?" it has for him that I really don't want to know the answer to.

I shake my head. "No. I'm not answering any of your questions."

He closes his Firebender eyes then lowers his head to the ground.

"Very well," he whispers without looking back at me.

"If you just wanted to talk to me, Zuko, why couldn't you have walked up to me like a normal person would do and ask me a simple question?"

"Because I'm not a normal person and, after seeing how quickly you put your water on today, I know I can't just walk up to you and start up a conversation."

"Good point," I concede as I push the rock out of the way with Waterbending. "But that doesn't mean you should force me to go somewhere with you."

"I'm so - "

"I know. You're sorry, but you'll probably try it again, won't you?"

"No," he says blandly as I start to leave.

"Don't go," he pleads. "I'll answer your questions."

"No thanks. After that last story, I'm not sure I want to know the answers."

I watch him get up, grab his swords, and walk toward me. "I'll take you to your brother," he says after he lets out a resigned sigh.

"Don't bother," I hiss. "Just point me in the right direction. I'll find him myself."

"He only made it about thirty yards from your camp site. If he hasn't escaped yet, he'll be swinging from a low branch of a tree."

"Thanks for the water," I say as I put my water shield on.

He follows me out of the cave and starts to trail behind me like a lost little puppy.

"Don't follow me," I growl.

He stops cold in his tracks then steps back to lean against the cave wall.

I start to walk away when I find myself looking over my shoulder to take one last look at him. Even the dim light of the quarter moon sets his eyes ablaze.

"Your uncle thinks you're dead," I hear myself tell him.

"I know. Your brother told me."

"Don't you think maybe you should go home to the Fire Nation?"

He shoves his hands into his pockets. "No, I don't."

"Alright, Zuko."

I walk away.

Sokka

"Okay, trap... I've got this stick and I'm not afraid to use it! Take that! And that! And some of that!"

Why do I feel the need to constantly talk when there's no one around to listen? I shrug the matter off as I try to bend the metal wires far enough apart so I can squeeze through them.

Before I can say "All You Can Eat", I catch a glimpse of a silver ribbon of water as it cuts through the iron bars of my trap.

I impress myself as I land feet-first on the ground with the skill of a Ferret Cat.

I give Katara a thumbs-up. She nods.

"I can't believe I let Zuko dupe me," I mumble as I seize the rope from the ground.

"I can't believe you let him dupe you, either," Katara complains.

"Where is Zuko, anyway?"

"Zuko?" she asks.

"Yeah. Who do you think set this trap?"

She shrugs and I can't help but notice she's wringing her hands together, something she only does when she's spooked.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," she insists but I can hear her voice crack.

"Is it Zuko?"

"NO!"

She practically yells the answer at me so I know it has something to do with Zuko.

"Then what?"

I, uh, was Waterbending and I thought I was being watched so I left."

"That was probably Zuko," I tell her and she grabs for Mom's necklace.

"We're gonna go back to camp. If we're lucky, Aang will be back there by now. If not, we'll both go looking for him."

She only nods.

"But first," I cut in, "I have to use the bathroom."

"Gross!" she complains as I run off behind some tall bushes.

"It won't take long," I tell her as I do my business.

"Sokka!" she yells. "I don't need the details."

"Alright, I say absentmindedly as I finish up.

"Hey, Katara... Can I use some of your water to wash my hands-"

"No! The river is that way," she yells.

I wash my hands and face off in the river while she does a couple of Waterbending tricks.

"C'mon," I say as I tap her shoulder. "Let's go meet Aang."

I feel her trembling as I put my hand on her back to lead her back to camp.

"Katara..."

"It's nothing, Sokka."

We walk back in silence and meet Aang halfway.

"Guys!" he launches himself toward us with Airbending. "I was just coming to look for you guys. There's food at the camp site!"

"It's yours." I tell him. "Zuko brought it."

Katara and I watch Aang's face light up. We look at each other, not really knowing what to say next. I know Zuko's said or done something to her. She doesn't want to tell me about it and I'm sure she doesn't want Aang to know about it, either.

"Yes," she breaks in. "He hand-delivered it to us. Sokka and I went to find him to thank him."

"He left in a hurry so we didn't get a chance to thank him when he brought us the food," I finish. We look at each other again. Yeah, that story will work.

Aang floats on his Air Scooter with the excitement of a kid with a new toy. "So, did you you find him?"

"Yeah..." Katara says.

"Where is he? I wanna thank him, too."

"We thanked him for you," I rush to answer.

"What did he say?"

"He yelled at us for disturbing his meditation," I finish.

"Nice save," I tell myself, knowing how bad it is to cut in on a guy's meditation period.

"Oh..." he trails off as we watch his Air Scooter disappear. "Well," he continues, cautiously. "It was nice of him to bring some food for everyone."

Katara and I plaster a couple of fake smiles on our faces. "What a guy," we say in perfect Water Tribe unison.

"Maybe he's a different person. Maybe he'll talk to me now."

Aang looks like he's about ready to do ten back flips.

"Aang?" Katara says as I watch her walk over to him. "Let's not get our hopes up. Zuko probably has the same problems he's always had. Just because he gives us some food doesn't mean he wants to be friendly. Besides, if he wanted to talk to you, he would have talked to you today in the village."

I sigh as I watch Aang's face droop. Then he comes back with "I'm the Avatar. Maybe I can help him."

I guess it's time for me to put my foot down.

"Aang," I hear myself say as I put my hand on his shoulder the way my dad does me when he's ready to deliver a heavy-duty reality check. "Zuko is messed up. His problems can't be solved by the Avatar. You can't solve every problem. Besides, it's like Iroh told us: Zuko has to want to help himself."

Aang looks up at me, then to Katara, who has this regrettable look on her face. She's biting her lip so hard I think it could start to bleed at any minute.

"Well," he starts as he shuffles the dirt beneath his feet around. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"That sounds like a plan," Katara says as she rubs his back.

Aang looks at her with pleading, gray eyes. "What are we gonna tell Iroh?"

"Nothing," I break in before I can even stop myself. What am I saying?!

"Nothing?" I hear Katara squeal. Oh boy! Now I have to defend myself.

"We have to tell him something!" Aang insists. I really hate it when he puts his staff in my face like that.

"Okay, fine." I throw my hands up in the air. "We'll tell him that Zuko's alive but that he looks like crap and he's blowing things up for no other reason than he can. I'm sure that will make Iroh feel real good. If we tell him nothing, he'll think Zuko is dead, not running around the Earth Kingdom acting like a maniac. At least if he's dead, Iroh doesn't have to worry about him."

Did I just say that? Judging by the looks on their faces, I'm thinkin' I did.

"You want us to let Iroh continue to believe that Zuko is dead?"

"Katara..." Okay, maybe that's crazy but there's a logic behind my thinking. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

"Even if we wanted to keep it a secret, the minute someone brought Zuko's name up, Toph would register that we know something about him," Katara tells me. I facepalm. Why do I keep forgetting about her almost super natural Earthbending abilities?

I'm looking at Katara but I can just feel Aang glaring at me from behind.

"Sokka!" he says. I turn around to find him holding his head in disbelief. "If Zuko is alive, then Iroh has hope that he'll go home to the Fire Nation to be with him. I have to tell him the truth. As long as Iroh thinks Zuko is dead, there is no hope for Iroh. Zuko is the only family Iroh has left. By giving this news to Iroh, we give him hope again. Even if Zuko is up to his old tricks, there is still hope for Iroh that he'll someday decide to go back to the Fire Nation."

"Fine," I sigh as I turn to walk to the camp site.

I hear Katara ask me what's wrong with me but I don't bother to answer her. I'm too tired to worry about it.

"Let's just go to bed," I suggest as they stand there looking shocked.

I throw my hands up in defeat as I turn to face them.

"Look... I'm sorry. It was a stupid thing to say. Can we just go back to the camp site now?"

They nod and drag their feet all the way back to camp.

When we get there, Aang crashes against Appa and falls right to sleep. Kyoshi may have had the biggest feet of any Avatar but Aang has got to have the biggest snore.

Katara snuggles down under her blanket while I lean against the wall of our cave and pull out some scrolls to read.

"Katara," I whisper.

She doesn't look at me. I'm not sure she can hear me over Aang's and Appa's snoring. Momo hears me, though. That or he's hungry and he's just looking for crumbs in my pants pocket.

"Bad Momo," I hiss as I watch him run off with my last piece of chocolate candy. He hides under Katara's blanket as I shake my boomerang at him.

"Katara..."

"What?"

"We pretty much lied to Aang about Zuko."

she rolls over to look at me. "I know."

"If Zuko did something to you, you'd tell me, right?"

"Yes, absolutely," she assures me then turns her back to me. "Just get some sleep," she trails off.

"Katara..."

I hear her let out a long sigh.

"Yes, Sokka?"

"You were right."

"What are you talking about?

"You were right. I've already decided I'm going to the Fire Nation."

"It's okay, Sokka."

"Because, what I do for Iroh could ultimately help our tribe and - What did you say?"

"I said it's okay." She turns around again to face me. "You said Dad was okay with it, right?"

I nod dumbly. "Yeah..."

"Well, if it's good enough for Dad, then It's good enough for me."

I scratch my head. "That makes sense. You are a wise sister, Sifu Katara."

"I am a wise sister. Now go to sleep."