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Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 34026 -:- 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
- 238
- 239
- 240
Chapter 236
Zuko gasped. His body arched backward then slumped forward as the blood was snatched out of him.
“Katara!” Amayu screamed as the thick discolored fluid hung in the air suspended by the Waterbender while fresher, red, thinner blood streamed freely down his back.
“I can’t stop the bleeding. There should only be a minimal amount of poison left in his system but if I close his wounds the septicemia will spread again,” Katara pled tearfully. “Amayu, help him. Please help him. I don’t want him to have to go through this pain again. Stop the bleeding.”
Amayu had already begun working before Katara said anything. She had picked up gauze and was forcefully packing it into his wounds. She repeated the process until all of the exposed flesh had been covered then began working on his uppermost wounds. She yanked the dry gauze off of his back then covered the exposed flesh with another that had been soaked with medicines and pressed as hard as she could. She counted to one hundred then moved onto the next wound. She had done four by the time Katara had disposed of the tainted blood, cleaned her hands and moved to the other side of her so she could add pressure while Amayu treated another wound. They soon established a rhythm and worked quickly changing the soaked bandages, applying new ones, all the while pressing hard enough to leave handprints on Zuko. He was trembling and groaning by the time they were through.
Amayu checked his pulse. It had dipped down to dangerously low levels especially at his extremities. She massaged his feet to stimulate circulation while Katara spooned broth between his lips. Katara set the bowl down then pulled his head against her chest while she massaged his hands. In her desperation she asked, “Amayu, is there a Firebender that you trust? Massaging his limbs with warm water is how hypothermia is treated at the North Pole. It should work in this case to increase blood flow to his limbs. There are socks in the third drawer. You should be able to tie a blanket around his legs while you go for help.”
The doctor checked Zuko’s pulse and helped Katara change another set of bandages. She told Katara to feed him more of the spinach tea while wishing the Waterbender had consulted with her before drawing so much blood out. If she had known Katara was capable of that she would have used different painkillers that didn’t have blood thinning properties. She may have saved his life but cost him a few toes and fingers. She raced down the stairs and across the town to the medical ward. Toshio had a room at the barracks but she knew the arrogant bastard would most likely be somewhere near the patients. He was an excellent doctor but he had the personality of a skunkfish. She placed a towel over her hand and covered his mouth with it. “Wake up, grab your bag and come with me. There’s no time for questions.”
Bingwen’s other apprentice nodded. Unlike Amayu he preferred a more cautious approach to patient care and feared something like this would happen. He had gone to bed fully dressed and had two bags already packed and waiting. He thrust his feet into his boots and in less than a minute after being waken was running through the town.

Despite their speed they were able to make their way quietly into the hotel room. Katara was cradling Zuko’s head against her chest with one hand while the other was behind his back. She was slowly reopening and closing her fingers mimicking his heart rhythm.
“What have you two done?” Toshio asked when he saw the amount of bloodied linens and almost full basin.
“He had blood poisoning. We are treating him. He is no longer in danger of sepsis but he suffers from hypovolemia and has gone into shock. We need help keeping him warm and blood flowing to his extremities,” Amayu explained.
“The water in that tub is clean. Please heat to below body temperature,” Katara asked while stroking Zuko’s brow with her right hand.
“I am reporting you,” the newcomer said scrubbing his hands before placing them on the outside of the tub and raising the temperature.
Katara let go of Zuko’s head and called the liquid to her. It was barely warm on her skin. “That’s hot enough,” she declared while guiding the water to Zuko’s limbs. It began to pulse with the movement of her left hand.
“Heat the remaining water for ten seconds,” she said once again taking a deep breath to realign herself with Zuko’s biometric rhythms.
She waited until the man she’d tossed out of their room earlier had removed his hand to the mix that water with that she had wrapped around Zuko’s limbs and guide it closer to his torso. They repeated the process until all but the Prince’s face, neck and back were covered. Amayu and Toshi each checked Zuko’s wounds, they were still oozing but not bleeding as freely. Neither Fire Nation medic noticed the blood and lymph were pulsing along with Katara’s hands.
Toshio cleaned his hands and reached into the smaller bag he carried and removed a pot of ointment. He scrubbed his hands again before smearing the substance on Zuko’s back.
“You dirty little sneak,” Amayu groaned when she saw the goop. It was aloe gel fortified with antibiotics used to treat burns.
“Soaking the bandages was a good idea but it is your own folly you were too shortsighted not to realize these bandages would eventually dry out and stick to his wounds,” he admonished.
“It is not folly when the supply is so low it is best to save it for those with burns. You hid this,” Amayu replied motioning for Katara to remove the water from Zuko’s foot. She measured the pulse in one then the other; both had risen. She nodded at Katara then checked his wrists. Those levels had risen as well.
“What is his pulse rate?” Toshi asked Amayu. Satisfied the numbers were low but acceptable he asked, “What is his temperature?”
Amayu rolled her eyes but Katara slid the water away from Zuko and waited patiently for the man who was once again reaching into his bag. He withdraw two devices which Katara recognized from her time in the infirmary: a thermometer and a blood pressure cuff. The man cleaned the thermometer and placed it beneath Zuko’s arm before taking another upper body reading at the pit of his elbow. He then adjusted the prince’s feet and placed it at the junction of his knees. He recorded the numbers, cleaned that device and then used another to take the temperature inside Zuko’s mouth.
“Oh for the love of Agni, must you always do this?” Amayu exclaimed, “Can’t you just trust your instincts for once?”
“If I had trusted my instincts you would not have been able to endanger the Prince’s life in this manner. I should have reported you the moment you asked that a medical kit be brought to the Waterbender. No, I should have reported you the moment you consulted her for a medical opinion. No offense, you have proven to be a master at self-healing but we have no clinical evidence your methods work on other people. We have been sworn not to mention your abilities under the penalty of treason so we have no way to validate them,” he argued while using the cuff and pump to measure the blood pressure at Zuko’s ankle.
Amayu began, “Katara is…”
“Untrained in the standards of Fire Nation medicine,” he interrupted. “I am sure she is highly regarded among her people and her methods are considered quite advanced in her backwards tribe but she is untrained in the anatomy, physiology and treatment of Firebenders. Not to mention she has a vested interest in harming him. I am reporting you to Admiral Chu-hua and moving him to the infirmary as soon as he is stable.”
“No. No you will not do that,” Zuko countered weakly.
“Prince Zuko,” both doctors shrieked in surprise.
He coughed and Katara drew liver broth and placed it against his lips, “Drink it. It will do you better than water for the moment.”
He opened his mouth and swallowed the nutritive liquid. He sat up in the chair and looked Toshio in the eye, “You will not report them. They are doing what I asked. If you even look as though you are thinking of breathing a word of this to anyone I will have your whole family executed for treason.”
“You shouldn’t be moving, your wounds will reopen,” Katara said quietly pulling Zuko’s head to her chest and wrapping her arms around it.
“He shouldn’t be moving at all. Prince Zuko, you shouldn’t be awake!” Toshio exclaimed.
“I had to modify the painkiller dosage. The most commonly used ones accelerate bleeding,” Amayu explained while studying Katara’s expression. The Waterbender was trembling and there were tears pooling in her eyes. She had leaned down and was kissing his cheeks and forehead. He had managed to wrap his arms around her. She heard squeaking and realized it was coming from the chair. Katara wasn’t trembling. Prince Zuko was shaking hard enough to affect her.
Amayu began to speak, “Pri-”
Katara shook her head rapidly at the older woman and held Zuko closer shielding his face from view. Toshio saw the exchange as well but did not comment on it. He had done his pediatric apprenticeship at the Royal Academy and had a nephew the same class as Zuko. His oldest sister had often commented about Fire Lord’s dreadful treatment of his son and the impossible tasks he’d set for him. He had met his wife while he was working there. She had been friends with the woman who’d been sent to the coal mines for being kind to him.
The secrecy of the medical treatment suddenly made sense to him. “What have you given him?”
Toshio listened as Amayu recited mandrake, cannabis and ether.
“You gave ether to a Firebender? It’s flammable!” he yelled forgetting the need for secrecy.
“The oil is flammable. If you mix it with dried mandrake, cannabis, and a small amount of refined dust from a particular location the fire risk is negated,” she replied referring to the practice of using dirt from caves that were once the habitat of dragons to treat ailments.
Toshio rolled his eyes, “That old wives tale is purely myth and legend. There has been no evidence to support that remedy.”
“True, but it is a good source of iron, a stable ingestible base and 100% proven to remove the flammability of ether and has the placebo effect of boosting the spirits of those who consume it,” she countered. “Now be quiet before your yelling draws unwanted attention.”
“I will not report this through formal channels but I am advising Dr. Bingwen of your reckless disregard for life,” Toshio commented as he once again began making himself useful by cleaning wounds and applying pressure.
“And I am reporting you as well,” Amayu said tiredly. “Patients are more than physical ailments. They are people with fears and feelings. You took none of that into consideration before opening your mouth. A physician’s words and demeanor affects how a patient feels about the success of the treatment and rate of recovery. Prince Zuko knows Katara and I are giving him the best possible treatment. If we were not concerned for his welfare and if it were not our topmost priority we would not have sought a third physician to lessen the exsanguinations risks. You should not say things to make him or any other patient doubt the capability of the hands he has placed himself in.”
“Creating fear, casting doubt and negativity should be last thing you should do to someone as it makes them uncertain of your investment in their recovery.” Amayu placed her hand firmly on one of the newly applied bandages and pressed to stop the bleeding, “Our patients should always know we are doing our best for them. We will fight Kali herself to preserve them.”
Amayu stopped speaking noticing for the first time Katara’s hand movements and the way Zuko’s blood soaked and receded from the bandages. She swallowed heavily, “Katara stop.”

Kain: I'm sorry to hear about your troubles and glad you are still around to tell the story. Toyotas are beasts! Mine has seen me through several accidents and I refuse to drive another brand. I hope things go well for you.
Shinji is very messed up and he knows it. Azulon knows he is a fault so he enacted special laws to protect the soldiers in that division. Bong Cha has reasons for her guilt as well.
More of Amayu will be revealed in the later chapters.
I am so elated you see the twisted nature of their relationship. They're trapped in a whirlpool and struggling not to drown.
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- 239
- 240
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Borealis: A Zutara Story