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Dragon's prey	By : ajj77sunhawk Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Slash - Male/Male > Sokka/Zuko Views: 20843 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Thank you all my amazing reviewers and BlueTiger sorry for gender bending – you rock in spades! :)

This two weeks, well three actually have been busy and hell at work – so getting the speed to write was difficult. So sorry about the wait.. will try to get the next chappie out fast!

Oh this has now been beta'd by my super Beta who caught my misnomers with Appa and Momo. BrukleFlesche thanks so much for catching my 'Air' instead of 'Winged' lazy mistakes. You rock. :)

Please read, review and enjoy! :) (thanks to work reviews keep me sane)

Chapter 16 : A Sister's lament

The flight from the Earth Kingdom to the Fire Nation was a tense one. Nothing Aang did helped settle Katara's nerves. Momo, brilliant little creature that he was, stayed away from both of them. Aang was not going to settle anything, seeing as he too was unconsciously tense and worried. Both humans were in their own little mental worlds, and Momo decided whatever world they were in was not a place for a brilliant Air creature, so the Winged Lemur spent his time up front with Appa.

Katara sat staring into space, her thoughts flying a mile a minute. She was afraid. What if they were wrong? What if Sokka was not there? Could she spend another year like this, slowly going mad with worry, fear, and guilt? And what if they were right? What would happen then? What if Zuko had accidentally hurt Sokka, she'd freeze him solid! But what if—what if the Fire Spirit had— NO! NO! She would not allow her mind to go there. If something worse had happened, ...she would know—wouldn’t she?

She blinked back her tears. All these worries were a smokescreen hiding her biggest fear: what if—what if—Sokka was fine, and he was avoiding her because he blamed her? What if he called her a negligent and useless sister? She already called herself that. She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them hard. If Sokka, her big brother called her that— Spirits, if he rejected her, she would not be able to handle it. When everyone had left, no matter how selfish some of her choices had been, no matter how much trouble she got them into, Sokka had always been there for her, joking, clowning, ridiculous, irritating, silly, good-natured, fun, ...loving, supportive, protective, solid, reliable - Sokka!

How? How could she not have noticed Sokka's missing tattoos? How could she, of all people, allow that devil-may-care smile of Sokka's to fool her?

Guilt ate at her. She was so fast to answer the needs of others, to tell them how important they were. When was the last time she had said that to Sokka? Like everyone else after the war, her focus had been on the benders. When had she last told him how much she admired him? She knew, she really did know, Sokka played the clown to draw attention to himself, the least likely threat in a group of benders. A non-bender in a benders’ war, Sokka had allowed himself to be humiliated so many times for their sakes. She would never have allowed others to treat her the way they treated Sokka. Her pride was too important. Her mind flashed back to the library where the Owl Spirit of knowledge had allowed them in because of Sokka's tomfoolery. The spirit had called Sokka a fool and had never realized until it was too late that the “fool” was the true threat. None of the others would have been able to utilize the library and put things together as fast as Sokka had done. Privately, Katara had always felt that Sokka was the deadliest among them—unpredictable, brilliant, and more than that he never let anything – not pride or fear or his own personal needs – stand in the way of getting a job done. If Sokka had been fighting the ex-Fire Lord, Katara had no doubt that regardless of how it would have impacted on him personally, the man would not be cooling his heels in prison – he would be dead.

Why had she not told him how proud she was of him?

Katara stewed in her guilt and self-recriminations. Aang, knowing that those emotions were usually expressed by his beloved as anger, tiptoed around her. Besides, he had his own guilt to deal with.

The two-day journey was made in one and a half. Appa was stretched, hardly having time to stop before being urged onwards.

They reached the mountains that bordered the Fire Nation, flying high, clouds and smoke obscuring them from view: they went unnoticed past the sentries and guard posts. It was late evening when they reached the Capital; the air was thick with fog, and the day was already dark.

They had not actually meant to stay hidden, but the weather and the speed they were acting with had kept them so far obscured from view. Still, Aang did not want to jeopardize their relationship with the Fire Nation more than strictly necessary, so he guided Appa in the direction of the front gates. The tired Sky Bison was moving more lethargically now, happy to finally get some rest. Flickering firelights at the gates indicated the area where Appa should land so that they could be introduced and escorted into the throne room.

For now the extent of their plan was to go and see Zuko. What they would say to him or how to bring up what had happened in the Spirit World without accusing Zuko of anything were things Aang would figure out later. Katara tensed beside him. Oh, a large part of his plan involved trying to keep Katara from losing her temper and freezing Zuko. No matter how he tried to place it in his mind, freezing the Fire Lord just did not seem to be a plan conducive to peacekeeping. Aang groaned silently as Appa headed down. Where the hell was Sokka when Aang needed him? He was the plan guy, Aang was just the Avatar.

They were heading down smoothly when Appa stiffened. In a move that shocked Aang, the Sky Bison suddenly jerked the reins out of Aang's hands and surged up in the air, angling his flight away from the main gates. Aang of course did not try to force Appa to get back on-course, instead he looked at Katara in confusion. She just shrugged, equally surprised, but she uncapped her water bottle in case this meant trouble, and Aang reached for his staff.

Appa angled his flight and flew to the west of the castle. They all noticed a strange building that, unlike its neighbors, had no real windows, and the skylight was the only one with bars on it.

“Is that a prison?” Katara whispered. Aang had no time to answer; other, more urgent matters took hold.

“Appa, what are you dooooooiiiinnnnngggggg?!” The shout was stolen from his mouth as the air suddenly raced past. Appa had, without warning, gone into a steep dive, and the two benders could only hold on, cling to each other and scream soundlessly as the Sky Bison cleaved the air, spiraling down at breakneck speed.

Appa headed straight at the grills, rammed into them head-first, they splintered under the impact of the attack. The grills had not been as solid as Appa expected and the momentum carried the Sky Bison straight down. The large creature crashed rather unceremoniously into a huge garden. A lone figure fishing in the garden pond looked up at the awful sound of splintering metal, 'eeped', and scrambled out of the way as two tonnes of Sky Bison suddenly hurtled towards him. He winced in sympathy as he heard the unlucky passengers crash into nearby bushes and then he was suddenly on his back.

**

Though the bars of the Prey's chambers had been reattached as per the custom, none was assigned to guard the Prey's quarters other than the now purely ceremonial guards at the main door. The Prey was free to leave, and the guards considered it a personal favor to them that the Prey had so far stayed in the quarters. Until the unification ceremony, none wanted to tempt fate by provoking the highly protective and irrationally jealous Dragon.

The guards on the West Tower were as such the only unfortunates to witness the familiar Sky Bison's crash into the Prey's Gardens. No one needed to tell them who were riding the Sky Bison, and as one the guards turned to apprehensively look at their unnaturally pale captain. This was one task nobody was going to volunteer for.

The watch captain, in a voice unlike his own, said, “Well, Lord Zuko doesn't really kill the messenger.”

Unfortunately someone whispered, “Yeah, Lord Zuko don't, but since this is ‘bout Master Fire, that blasted Dragon jus’ might stomp on the messenger on 'is way to the Master.”

The watch captain paled further. For a second no one moved, then, in an act that would later earn him a reward for bravery in unnatural circumstances, the captain himself turned and ran off. He would enter the Dragon's den himself and break the news of intruders in the Prey's quarters to the Fire Lord.

**

Katara and Aang shook themselves off, their brains still a little addled from the less-than-gentle landing. Appa was totally ignoring them, off somewhere. The words of annoyance died unspoken on their lips as both benders heard a muffled but familiar voice: “Appa! Ack! Momo! Okay, okay, I missed you, too! Hey, stop, enough! Let me up! Drowning under here!”

The Air Bison and Winged Lemur were all over their long-lost friend. Sokka hugged the huge beast tightly; he had missed the smelly lummox very much.

All Katara's drozen nerves came into heated life. Tears gathered in her eyes as she gazed at the tall figure in a loose white tunic and soft pants hugging Appa. He was alive – Sokka was alive. Her fear of his rejection, though, kept her rooted to the spot.

His left hand still holding Appa, Sokka half-turned to Katara. Her apprehension was mirrored in his eyes. Sokka waited, uncertain, as the silence stretched. Unable to bear it, he pressed his cheek to Appa's warm fur. “Hey, did Appa carry you in here unwillingly? It’s okay, Katara. I know my excommunication makes it hard for you, I'm sorry I messed things up so badly. I'm so sorry!” Sokka said a smile plastered on his face. By the spirits, it hurt to smile, but he had to, he had to salvage something with his sister.

“You're sorry!” Katara's voice broke. She burst into tears and hurled herself into Sokka's arms “Damn you, you idiot, how dare you apologize? I am supposed to apologize, not you! Not for this, NEVER for this! Damn you, Sokka! Don't you dare apologize when we are the ones who wronged you!” Katara alternated between hitting Sokka on the chest and hugging him hard. She pressed her face into the soft cotton and felt beloved strong arms close gently around her and hold her close. The two stood holding each other while Aang dithered around them, gave them a few seconds alone, and then finally, unable to hold back, joined in the hug. No words were spoken, none were needed; in silence apologizes were made and accepted, and bonds that had eroded with time reformed stronger than ever. It was the same, and yet—it was different. They were no longer the youths walking the same road as they traveled and battled together: they were leaders, adults, and each had a separate path to follow. Still, they were family, and they were together again, and in that moment that was all that mattered.

--tbc---

This is a real natural ending!! So sorry... anyway care to guess at what happens when Katara actually notices the brand eerrr... tattoo and when Zuko comes in... heheheeh! Anything in particular u wanna see? Review please...
- 15
- 16
- 17
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Dragon's prey