Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 33524 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, any historical figures or events, or easily recognizable persons, places or things. I make no profit from this work of fanfiction

Chapter List
- 120
- 121
- 122
Chapter 119
As the Earth Kingdom shore got closer their number of escorts continued to grow. The normal oceanic traffic had been diverted so there would always be a number of ships nearby to provide support for the Ursa; so did their proximity. The staff was allowed come aboard to view the chained Avatar but only the officers were allowed to have a go at Sokka. Now that Appa was better the scent of animal dung he carried had greatly diminished. The normal scent of sweat and muck wasn’t enough to deter those who’d lost family at the North Pole, on the day of the invasion, or those sick and twisted individuals who often rose to military greatness that liked to hurt people for pleasure.
Zuko knew there was only so much interference he, Mu and the Zhao twins could provide without raising suspicion but doing nothing meant Sokka would undoubtedly be killed. He couldn’t tell Katara that the days he threw her on the bed, over the couch or simply wrestled her to the floor were so her screams would be loud enough to distract anyone heading downstairs long enough for Mu to place a shovel in the hands of her unconscious brother and prop him up in the dirtiest stall.
He couldn’t tell her that any of the pain he’d ever experienced had hurt as bad as loosing Lu Ten. Even if it meant he had to hurt her physically as a diversion it was far kinder that he do so to spare her the emotional pain of losing a sibling. If it had not been for Taiga, Mai, Mu, Quanli, and Aunt Sunshine he would not have fared as well after Lu Ten and his mom’s death but he knew Katara would not allow herself to rely that heavily on him. She would retreat deeper into her shell and the walls she was building to keep everything out would thicken.

Zuko couldn’t tell Katara that he had stopped taking her on deck and made such ridiculous demand was to keep her from seeing her brother at his worst or because a prison ship was among them. If she learned of the games the wardens played to amuse themselves there would be nothing he could do to convince anyone he had her under control. If they survived the outburst she would be taken from him and transferred onto a ship headed back to the Fire Nation. He doubted she would live long enough to make it.
Zuko wasn’t so naïve as to believe her brother had lived this long without someone in a high place helping them. As much as Katara hated Chu-hua they were lucky the newly appointed admiral had been chosen to command the Ursa. The duty roster had been changed several times after leaving port and each time the amount of abuse he received lessened. Zuko could not help but to think it was because Chu-hua had been his mother’s mentor and favorite cousin. She had once crushed the head of an injured kitten that had been trampled by Komodo-rhinos beneath her boot saying it was better to kill it and end its misery.
Zuko didn’t know much about the ships oldest engineer only that she had helped Chu-hua to convince Rear Admiral Qin to form a flanking position around them and press non-stop to the Earth Kingdom even though it contradicted the orders he received from his direct superior. After hearing the way his mother chewed him out for the behavior of his crew during their first visit none of them would be likely to make the effort necessary to come aboard. At the Admiral’s command they were pressing non-stop to dry land.
All of the crews had been split into staggered five hour shifts and the boats ran at full capacity for an hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset with Waterbending supplementing their speed during the downshifts. Dropping anchor to show off the captured Avatar had even been stopped. Now he was taken on deck during the ships slower movements and those wishing to view him had to move along with the Ursa or come aboard using a war balloon. Word had spread that Admiral Blood wanted to reach dry land and was threatening to kill those who prevented her from doing so.
Not many were willing to test the sincerity of her words by asking her to stop her ship.

Zuko did not contradict Chu-hua’s orders that Katara be allowed to use Waterbending to increase the ships progress. He could have, but tempers were already short at this point; the sooner they reached land the better. There were more than arguments and insults being tossed from one ship to another. It had gone past friendly rivalry to documents denying certain individual’s requests to spar.
The frustration peaked when the man who’d attempted to rape one of the laundry women aboard the Ursa had tried to force himself on one of the kitchen helpers under his command ship. Unlike the Ursa where most of the non-fighting crew was civilian this young man was a fully trained member of the navy. He’d allowed his superior to go just far enough to claim self-defense before killing him. The officer immediately above him had also been killed for not taking the appropriate measures to discipline him and one of the Ursa’s crew members had to replace him.
The cook had been transferred aboard the Ursa for his own protection. He was a commoner and the two men who had died were nobles. Rear Admiral Qin would only be under the watchful eye of his mother for so long and he had seemed unhappy when ordered to sign the transfer. Luckly the cook and his family lived in the jurisdiction owned by Ty Lee’s family. She’d already sent a coded letter to her father requesting they be protected. He was a retired general and who attributed his children’s happiness and his sanity to the precision and order he learned in the military; particularly from his father-in-law General Khan.
He would not look kindly upon someone encroaching upon his domain to avenge scum who broken the basic tenets of comradeship.

Each day Zuko worked harder to try and find ways to make Katara talk to him, now that she refused it was like living in total isolation. He felt lonelier having lost her friendship after spending so much time getting to know her. Mu was busy with the animals and keeping her brother alive. Zhao 1 spent most of his time near the rookery decoding messages and ensuring the all of the birds were checked upon landing and prior to send off. Zhao 2 was busy haggling with the supply and acquisitions officers on the other ships. The journey from Fire Nation to the Earth Kingdom normally took seven to nine weeks for ship the size of the Ursa but with the nightly stops to change escorts and bison illness they were approaching eleven.
His only reprieve came the days she pushed them further with her bending. He spent hours watching Katara’s stress disappear as she got lost in her element. After being at sea so long he could understand the ocean’s lure. There were nights aboard the Albatross it seemed to whisper, “All will be fine if you trust yourself to me, Zuko”.
He imagined its call was much stronger to a Waterbender. As Katara bent a look of calm would come across her face. She looked almost as if she was sleeping but her eyes were open and her arms and body were moving in perfect synchronisity with the waves. It reminded him of watching his uncle bend fire. Iroh was the only Firebender he could watch with that level of mastery without feeling jealousy or resentment. The only other two Firebenders he knew that could immerse themselves so completely in their element and maintain control were Azula and his father.
But that level of immersion was dangerous. He’d given himself bending sickness far more times than he could count. When he was at the palace it was because he pushed himself so hard struggling to be good enough. The first time he’d done so out of joy was on the Albatross. He’d fallen asleep on deck and woke up feeling the first rays of sun sinking down into his skin. He almost burned himself alive from the euphoria. He would have spontaneously combusted if Uncle Iroh had not taken control of the fire from him and slowly brought him back to a point where he could safely manage his inner fire.
He wasn’t able to bend water but could tell when Katara experienced similar highs. The smaller craft would come closer as she stopped pushing the water away and began to only pulling it towards her. She would drop her stance and ignore everything around her as she smiled and took a step towards the rails.
The only way to stop her would be to hold her in his arms until she came out of her daze.
Although it worried him, Zuko loved those days. Katara would allow him to hold her without protest. She’d look up at him and smile then lay in his arms as they fell asleep on deck.
- 120
- 121
- 122
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Borealis: A Zutara Story