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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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Chapter 244
Katara ran. She kept moving despite the pain and ran to the once place she knew she would be safe that had water; the one place she knew where no one, not even Zuko would hurt her.
Ty Lee rushed to the door as soon as she heard the familiar thud of someone unable to stand falling against the door. Katara collapsed in the acrobat’s arms and begged for water.
Unsure of what else to do Ty Lee led Katara to one of the private bathing rooms. Ty Lee began to understand why the water Katara sent to rescue her during the battle seemed to tingle and why she didn’t have any burns or scars as she watched the water glow around the blister spattered Waterbender returning her skin to perfect condition. Ty Lee remained at Katara's side watching the changes in her aura as the Waterbender wrapped her element around her like a blanket and cried herself to sleep.
The noblewoman felt like a traitor but the color of Katara’s aura could only be described as dismal. There were too many disturbances in her chi. Ty Lee rubbed her hands to warm them and activate her energy as she centered herself; mentally preparing to cleanse the aura of the woman who’d stolen her best friend’s fiancé. That description reflected negatively on Katara and positive thoughts were needed for healing. Ty Lee reassessed the girl before her using a more pleasant description – the sister of the man with whom she was cuckolding her future husband. She tried something else that didn’t make her feel like a loose woman. The sister of the man who had brought her so much joy during their stolen moments; that was a better description. She focused on the happiness she felt when she was with Sokka and used the positive energy to help his sister.

Katara awoke feeling more refreshed than she had for days. She opened her eyes expecting to see the whitewashed walls of the hotel room but instead she saw brown walls etched with flowers and vines. She groaned, “Where am I?”
“You’re at the Ursa House. You ran here half-dressed and barefooted,” Ty Lee said quietly. Her voice dropped to a whisper and she took the other girl’s hand in hers, “Katara your skin was red; you had blisters in some places. Did Zuko burn you?”
Katara sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, “He wasn’t hungry but I tried to feed him. He knocked the bowl of stew out of my hand. I used all the water in the pitcher but it wasn’t enough. I mixed ether and alcohol to heat the water in the tub when I bathed him. They’re both lighter than water. I forgot and tried to use it to heal myself by mistake. He didn’t know I had made it worse when he reached for me. I didn’t mean to push him. It’s just it hurt so much. I didn’t mean to hurt him when I know how badly he is injured.”
“I’m scared Ty Lee. I’m losing myself and becoming like them,” Katara admitted still making no effort to break Ty Lee’s hold on her hand.
Ty Lee nodded reassuringly even Katara’s rambling made no sense to her. The way she talked it sounded as though Zuko were injured not her. Sokka had once told her that she and Katara would make best friends. He was angry when he said it and didn’t mean it in a good way. Two stupid sluts happily fucking the enemy. He later apologized for insulting her but not his sibling. The times Zuko had asked her to watch Katara and even when they fought she also thought they could be friends under different circumstances.
“I know what loosing yourself feels like,” Ty Lee admitted thinking of her fiancé, her adulterous relationship with Sokka, and her changing friendships with Mai and Azula. “Every time you look in the mirror you just have to make an effort to remember yourself. Not the you that you are becoming, but the you that you once were.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Katara asked warily.
Ty Lee smiled sadly at her, “I miss the true color of your aura. It was so beautiful when I saw it in Omashu. I had never seen an aura so bright and vibrant. It made me understand what my grandmother meant when she said chi blocking is not simply a tool to be used to harm others; it was developed to protect the world’s aura.”
“I know that your Earthbender calls me Circus Freak,” she said smiling brighter and her face lighting up with the memory. “I am a circus freak, Katara. There is nothing I enjoyed more than flying through the air and seeing the audience’s happy faces and the rainbow of their auras. That is the me I want to remember. The Ty Lee who made people smile and brightened their auras not the person I am with Azula.”
The somberness returned as she sighed, “I suppose you don’t believe me. You really don’t have a reason to, but I’d much rather be at the circus, flying through the air, smelling the animals, watching the faces of the audience as they oh and ah. That’s what I dream about every night. That’s what I try not to forget when I wake up. I want to remember the Ty Lee who makes people happy when I look into the mirror. I want to be the Ty Lee flying through the air at the circus instead of the Ty Lee who got blackmailed into following Azula.”
"If I didn't come with her she would have incinerated everything, the people, the animals, the spectators, everything," The acrobat explained after seeing the Waterbender's confused expression.
Katara squeezed her hand warmly before letting go of it. She knew they were cousins but had often wondered how Ty Lee had ended up following Azula. She lacked the coldness of Azula and Mai. Knowing the other girl had been blackmailed and only came to protect those she cared for reminded her of her duty to Sokka. She rose and bent the water away from herself and hugged her, “Thank you, Ty Lee. I need to get back to Zuko.”
“But he hurt you," Ty Lee sputtered in confusion.
“He’s hurting. The me that I am takes care of people. I can’t let him or what he has done to me forget that. I lose myself the moment I allow that to happen. He wins if I don’t help him,” Katara explained quietly before huffing sardonically, “No wonder Sokka calls me stupid.”
To her surprise Ty Lee hugged her and whispered something in a foreign language. It was her turn to be surprised when Katara interpreted the phrase, “By understanding my enemy I eradicate him.”
Ty Lee stepped away from her, “But how? That’s a secret language my grandmother made up and taught us.”
Katara realized her error. Ty Lee had spoken in Air Nomad. That phrase was inscribed in every Air Temple, was etched onto Aang’s glider and was one of the few she could read, write and speak as it advocated friendship and communication as a means to end warfare. She couldn’t tell her what Zuko had revealed about her heritage so she used their family connection. “Zuko taught it to me. He wants us to get along.”
Seeing Ty Lee’s unconvinced expression, she explained, “Even though he’s the crown prince of the Fire Nation he’s seen and experienced the war. He knows what the war is doing to the world.”
A cough from the other room made Katara realize how her words could be construed, “I’m Water Tribe. He’s lived among the people of the Earth Kingdom. He believes that through dialogue and discourse the people of the world will see how much better off they can be under the Fire Nation’s benevolent rule. He believes they would surrender if they understood Soizin’s true vision and lives on both sides would be preserved. He thinks everywhere could be like the coastal colony we docked at before coming here. The people are happy. Their lives are peaceful. Their women and children are safe.”
There was dry clapping from the door, and a bored voice began to speak, “You do know how to lay it on thick don’t you? Or have you been fucking my fiancée so long you really believe his cow-hippo shit?”
“Mai!” Ty Lee’s eyes widened in horror. She thought she had felt her friend’s aura while hugging Katara but dismissed it thinking Mai would never come there.
“I got bored and thought I’d look for my best friend and see why she spent so much time at the Ursa House. I wasn’t expecting to find you here with this whore. Tell me are you here because of a shared lack of morals, a feeling of kinship and family or because you are the typical social-climber who thinks sucking up to whomever the prince fucks will give you and your family a leg up since you are unable to fuck himself yourself?”
“Mai, how can you say that?” Ty Lee shrieked angrily. “You know what - nevermind. Come on Katara, let’s find you something to put on and go back to the hotel.”
Mai grabbed Ty Lee’s wrist when she attempted to walk past her, “That’s even worse. The town was abuzz with rumors that Zuko burned his whore in a fit of anger then cast her half-naked and shoeless into the street. I am guessing you heard them too considering how many women are saying it is a fitting punishment for the Waterbender. She’s here in this state but you are still showing kindness to her. It would be easier to think my best friend since childhood was ambitious rather than truly capable of betraying me.”
Ty Lee yanked her arm away and spoke sharply, “I would like to think my best friend since childhood would know me well enough to know the reason I am helping Katara is the same reason I would never betray her. Thank you Mai for reminding me that sometimes you don’t have to go the mirror; there are times when it will come to you. Let’s go Katara, your mirror is waiting for you.”
“You are still leaving with that who-umph!” Mai clutched her chest and coughed. Ty Lee had struck one of her pressure points.
Ty Lee stood protectively in front of the Waterbender, “Katara is a woman seeking sanctuary at the Ursa House. I am one of its sworn protectors. No harm, insult, aggravation, or irritation shall be visited upon those seeking sanctuary on its grounds. I let the first two slide out of friendship to you. I cannot be remiss in my duties any longer. Leave these walls or you will find yourself more than chi-blocked. The sanctity must be preserved or do I need to remind you of what happened earlier?”
“I need to go,” Katara said sickened by how casually Ty Lee mentioned the man’s death and threatened her friend. “I need to go. I need to go now. I can’t be here.”
She wasn’t even aware of Ty Lee throwing a blanket over her, wrapping an arm around her waist to secure it and holding her as they walked back to the hotel.

Arraye: Thank you. It means so much to hear that incident fits with my version of Fire Nation culture. You’ve been with me from the start and there were times I wondered I was choosing the right words and scenes for the world I was building. Your feedback lets me know the puzzle pieces are fitting.
I do have a question, was it difficult to read due to wording and grammar or the gruesome subject?

Kain: It’s great to hear from you again. I hope you’re doing well and life has gotten better for you. BTW- a Jeep introduced itself to my new Toyota. I think there’s a curse on the brand. I’m good; it’s good but damnit less than 2,000 miles. *GRRR*
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Borealis: A Zutara Story