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Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 33965 -:- 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
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- 188
Chapter 184
Several hours later Zuko still hadn’t been able to coax Katara out of the pool of shame she was content to wallow in. She refused all of his offers to take a walk, take Kohri for a ride, talk to him, and read. When she refused his offer to spar in favor of sitting hunched over a pitcher of water and make sad little ripples he took matters into his own hands.
He scooped some of the picken and vegetables from their containers and made riceballs. He wrapped those in clean linen and placed them in his pack before wandering over to the bookshelf and choosing a familiar title he’d enjoyed as a child. He placed that in his pack as well.
“It’s time for a picnic. We haven’t gone on one in a while,” Zuko announced. When Katara continued to ignore him he nudged her with his foot. “Get up. We’re going on a picnic.”
Katara lifted her head and rolled her eyes at him, “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Fine. Have it your way,” Zuko grumbled before stomping over to the bed and snatching a blanket. Using all the stealth he had ever learned he took four short steps and pounced. He slid the edges of the blanket underneath her torso then switched the hands to pull the opposite edges back around. When she was wrapped tightly as a Komodo sausage he tied the edges and lifted her. The trip down the stairs was difficult and she seemed to get heavier with each step as he walked to the stable.
“Look after your sister,” he said gruffly to Sokka as he set her down on a pile of hay.
Sokka took a step towards her to release her from her cloth prison. He paused when he noticed her expression. “It’s okay. I’m going to free you.”
“Don’t.” Zuko said placing a hand over Sokka’s. “She’s unhappy and I’m taking her on a picnic. She needs to get away from here.”
Zuko lifted a waterskin, “She needs to be somewhere she can relax. If you untie her she’ll fight me. I don’t want to do that. I’ve hurt her enough already.”
Sokka down at the clean hand over his dirty one, “You do realize that’s not dirt don’t you?”
Zuko shrugged, “It’s not the first time I’ve touched manure. As a condition of keeping Kohri I had to clean up after her. It washes off.”
Sokka slid his hand away from Katara when the animal nudged him in his back.
“She likes you. She’s usually not that friendly,” Zuko marveled.
“Yeah well, that beanpole friend of yours put carrots in my pocket the first few times he shoved me into her stable. I learned that if I didn’t have carrot to pet her snout to avoid being injured,” Sokka snorted as he turned to begin the action. “What’s wrong with her? I thought all Komodo rhinos were vicious creatures.”
“They aren’t vicious. They’re kind and loyal. Some only act that way because of the people who trained them. I spent countless hours with Mu’s family learning the proper methods. If I was unable to go to their home, Lu Ten continued the lessons until Wei, Mu or their father could come teach me,” Zuko lifted Katara onto the animal and bitterly added, “Korhi or any of their animals will never be turned into sausage.”
“What?” Sokka questioned in disbelief. He’d thought Komodo was a seasoning or regional style of cooking.
“Komodo sausage. The ones who have been abused to the point all they know is how to be aggressive are turned into sausages and eaten by the people they’ve fought beside when they are no longer able to do battle. That will never happen to Korhi or any of the animals raised by Mu’s family. They are able to transition back to civilian life and are prized breeding stock. Other breeders don’t put the same time and care into their animals,” Zuko explained as he climbed behind Katara.
Sokka watched the prince leave and smiled as an idea slowly came to mind. The next time a meal came he wouldn’t give Aang all of his vegetables. He would keep a few of them.

Zuko guided Korhi out of town. When they reached the dry meadow he climbed off and gave her lead along with a simple command, “Seek.”
Partially unwrapped Katara sat unhappily on the animal. She glared at Zuko and reached out with her still bound hands to grab Korhi’s saddle horn. The normally calm and steady rhino was running around agitatedly, “Is this some new type of punishment?”
“Halt,” Zuko ordered and Korhi almost bucked her passenger. Zuko untied Katara and helped her to the ground before removing Korhi’s saddle and armour. When Katara was at his side he smiled, “Seek Korhi. Katara you should help her. I’m sure the two of you will have results in no time.”
“I’m not some pig you can send out to hunt truffles,” Katara said stomping away from him. She stopped abruptly and slowly began turning around in a circle. It didn’t take long for her to figure out what Kohri was seeking and why she should help her.
The rhino was looking for water.
Katara timidly approached the large beast stomping at the ground and nudging it with her horns. She stood a few feet back and placed her hands on the ground then rose into a bending stance. It didn’t take long for a small brook to arise from their combined efforts.
“This is what Komodo rhinos are born to do. The islands they come from are rocky and finding water is difficult. Centuries ago people noticed the rhinos could always find it and their hooves and horns were good at breaking the ground open so they domesticated them. They became war animals by accident. Mu’s family has always been good with animals. During the rebellion they supported Kozulon and rose up against the nobles supporting Sozai. They weren’t nobles at the time so you can imagine how that went. Before the rebellion only the nobles had the time and money to develop the skills necessary to properly wield their element. It would have been a slaughter if the animals had not seen their handlers in danger and gone to protect them. Supposedly even a dragon followed his great-great-great grandfather into battle.”
“When Great-Grandfather Sozin ordered the dragons be hunted for sport Mu’s family was the only one who protested. Their nobility status was very new but they ambushed fellow nobles and injured them so they couldn’t hunt. Soizin lowered their rank but couldn’t completely strip them of their title as he knew he would need their animals in the war,” Zuko pointed to Korhi, “This is what the ferocious beasts of war and intimidation are like when we leave them alone.”
The rhino was playing in the muddy water. She was rolling around and frolicking like a sealpup in the snow. She noticed Zuko watching and made a noise that reminded Katara of a very, distorted bark. Zuko waved his hands and Korhi charged at him. He planted his feet and spread his arms wide. As soon as the tip of her snout hit his stomach he grabbed her horns and allowed her to toss him into the air. He loosened his grip and swiveled around onto her back. He tapped Korhi’s head screaming, “Free!” and the rhino took off at full speed. Zuko wrapped his arms around her neck and rode her bareback like hadn’t done since he was a child.
Katara drew more water from the stream and began practicing her bending. She was making a water dragon when Korhi followed by a wildly laughing Zuko crashed through it. She was about to get angry but the large scary animal ran towards her, tongue lolling and stubby tail wagging.
Zuko screamed, “Make another dragon, she wants to play with you.”
Uncertain, Katara did as directed, sending the dragon off to the left and Korhi happily chased it. She allowed the dragon to be crashed then made another. To her surprise Korhi took a few steps after it and turned in the other direction. She did it two more times before Katara realized the Komodo Rhino wanted to play tag. When Korhi grew tired she lumbered back towards them and nudged both Katara and Zuko before stomping to enlarge the brook and creating a mud hole large enough to wallow in. Zuko retrieved her brush from his pack before stripping down to his long breeches and wading in beside her.
“Toph would love this,” Katara muttered while shaking her head in amazement to see Zuko frolicking in the mud with Korhi after grooming her.
She had spread out the blanket and was reading when Zuko spoke to her, “Will you read it out loud? It was one of my favorites as a child. Mom and Father would take turns reading it to us at night.”
Katara sighed and began speaking, “Fruit rained down on them as Aang used his Airbending to shake the tree branches. Ever resourceful Bumi used his Earthbending to soften the ground beneath then and roll gently into the baskets he made to catch them.”
“Katara, stop, read it the right way without adding anything,” Zuko demanded petulantly.
“I am reading it the right way without adding anything,” she huffed.
“No you aren’t. Kuzon’s pet monkey climbed into the trees to shake them. His dog pushed them into one place where he could pick them up,” Zuko explained.
“What are you talking about? Kuzon didn’t have a monkey or a dog. He had two best friends an Airbender named Aang and an Earthbender named Bumi. It’s says so right here in the first sentence!” she said flipping to the front of the book.
“No it doesn’t! I memorized that book as a child. The first sentence says Kuzon had a loyal but scruffy dog named Bumi and a semi-intelligent monkey named Aang,” He wiped his hands and snatched the book from her, “See it says, ‘The best friends of my childhood were an Airbender named Aang and an Earthbender named Bumi’.”
He paused and looked at the book, “But that’s wrong. I grew up reading The Boyhood Adventures of Kuzon the Magnificent. This is wrong!”
Katara eyes widened and she placed her hand on his arm, “No Zuko, this is censorship. This is the book how it was written by Kuzon. It was also one of my favorites as a child. I’ve never heard Kuzon had a monkey or a dog. It’s always been Kuzon, Bumi and Aang.”
She stopped turning the book over in her hands, repeating “Kuzon, Bumi and Aang.”
The book always hinted to a great secret the boys always searched for but never found, Katara’s eyes widened with the epiphany and she began jumping up and down in her excitement, “Kuzon, Bumi and Aang! Don’t you get it? That’s the secret! Kuzon, Bumi and Aang! It’s real. The book is real.”
“What do you mean the book is real?” Zuko asked skeptically.
“The book is seventy years old. Kuzon wrote it when he was thirty-three. If he were alive he’d be 113. Aang is 112 years old. He was trapped in the iceberg for a century. King Bumi of Omashu is 113. We met him when Aang took us to Omashu to ride the mail slides. The city guards captured us and we thought we’d be jailed but king invited us for dinner after the chaos we caused in his city. The next morning he placed me and Sokka in creeping crystal. He forced Aang to do these weird challenges if he wanted us to be set free. Our faces were almost covered when he gave Aang one final challenge. It was to guess his name. Aang got frustrated so they fought. They were about to strike critical blows when Aang guessed who he was. He didn’t expect his childhood friend to be alive or the king,” Katara laughed, “turns out Sokka and I were never in any danger. Well at least Sokka wasn’t; the creeping crystal was rock candy, all we had to do was eat our way out.”
“Aang went missing weeks before the war began. Before that the Air Nomads traveled freely throughout all the lands. He had friends in the Fire Nation. One of them was a boy named Kuzon. He sometimes told us about all the trouble the three of them got in but I never put it together until now,” Katara’s voice softened, “This book is real Zuko. It’s a historical account of the harmony between the nations before the war began. We have to save it.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Zuko said quietly.
“What do you mean it’s not a big deal? It’s a huge deal!” Katara argued.
“No, it’s not. It can’t be. If it’s a big deal it will be destroyed before we leave. All of the books in all of the rooms will be destroyed. No one would ever get a chance to read them and the stories inside them will be lost to the world. It’s a not big deal Katara. It’s boring book that we never read.”
Katara nodded in understanding then reverently held the book in her hands,, “There are a lot of things the world will never know.”
“Will you finish reading it to me? I want to know what happened what really happened,” Zuko asked sadly as he resumed his place in the mud. Katara had read the book twice before the sun began showing signs of receding.
“We should go,” Zuko said rising from the mud. “The people who attacked us are still out there. If we stay much longer we’ll be sitting turtleducks.”
Katara used a great deal of the water to bend him and Korhi mostly clean before heading back to the hotel. When Zuko was re-saddling Korhi she knelt down and forcefully redirected the underground water source so it would come above ground for a short distance before once again retreating into the earth. She carefully rearranged the dirt and rocks to hide the emersion point so only those how knew what to look for would be able to detect it. She climbed aboard Korhi and clutched the bag holding the precious book like a lifeline. As a child she'd dreamed of living in Kuzon's peaceful world; now that she knew it was real she was determined to do everything in her power to make it a reality.
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Borealis: A Zutara Story