Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 33555 -:- 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
- 295
- 296
- 297
Chapter 293
The stars were in the sky when Zuko came for her. He led her farther out of town but she could still see the glow of the massive funeral pyre. He laid his head on top of hers and whispered, “I couldn’t find Aunty.”
Katara rubbed his back but remained silent. Not finding a body after an Earthbending attack meant nothing. On the day of the invasion she’d witnessed Fire Nation soldiers being trapped between boulders and ground to dust.
Chu-hua moved them a respectful distance away from the ruined city and made camp. After a dinner of soup Zuko crawled onto their sleeping mat and curled his head against Katara’s chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist and absently moved his fingers along her lower back. The change in texture between his pajama top that she was wearing, soft skin, and linen wraps was just as soothing as the heartbeat next to his ear and the fingers massaging his scalp.
“Aunty was the one who cared for Uncle after my cousin was killed. She maintained his body while he journeyed to the spirit world. When we were at the North Pole you told me that you had to look after the Avatar’s body so his spirit would have a place to come back to. If not for her I would have lost Uncle when I lost Lu Ten. I would be dead by now if not for him. I owe this woman everything but I can’t even give her a decent burial.”
Katara’s fingers stilled and she whispered, “If she truly has passed then her spirit lingers. She can see what you are doing, hear what you are saying and feel this anxiety you have for her. You should go back to her home. Remember the good times and happiness you shared so she can feel peace and move on.”
Zuko lifted his head and sighed, “It doesn’t work like that, Katara.”
“Why doesn’t it? If Kali is your goddess of death and darkness and the gateway between the living and the dead wouldn’t it make sense that if you went back to Aunty’s house where her spirit sill lingered in the darkness of Kali that your goddess would feel the death nearby and come for her?”
“Kali will detect the death but she’s drawn by fire,” Zuko whispered
“Zuko, the city was burned and you are a Firebender. How difficult would it be to attract her?” Katara asked.
“Katara…” Zuko whimpered.
She interrupted him, “Not all of the bodies could be recovered after the raid. We said the prayers for the dead and poured water over their ashes to wash them towards the ocean. We repeated it several times, all of us at specific points pouring water to guide our loved ones spirit to La beneath the shining light of Tui. Tui and La guided and protected us in everything.”
Her tone sharpened as she spoke, “Is your goddess of death so weak she can’t find those she is seeking?”
Zuko pushed away from her and walked out of their tent. She thought she’d gone too far until he came back fully clothed a few moments later and threw a set of clothes at her. “Get dressed but don’t say anything.”
Katara dressed in the white garments and followed Zuko silently. It gave her chills to see most of the camp outside also dressed in white. White was the color of mourning among the Fire Nation. It was the color of demons among hers. She took a hesitant step forward hoping that Sokka was asleep inside one of the few buildings the Dai Li created. It was one thing to be accused of siding with the enemy by her brother but another to be seen walking among demons while garbed in their raiment. Even Yue had abandoned the sky on this night. Clouds stood high and her face could not be seen. It was a terrible demon whose march frightened the moon into hiding behind her flimsier brethren.
Katara fisted the back of Zuko’s shirt and hid her face in the finely woven funeral garments mirroring his footsteps as they trod forward. Right, left, right, left to a place inhabited by ghosts following the footsteps of those who sought Yuki-Onna. She mouthed the words to ward off demons twisting her own name amongst gibberish just in case the invocations did not work. Yuki-Onna was the patron saint of orphans and a demon who lured the lustful to their deaths. She took the form of what the weak desired the most and called them to her. They existed happily within her realm and believed the snow babe Nukka to be their own flesh so long as they did not question. The moment they opened their eyes and asked of their own families, her whereabouts when she was not with them shattered their illusion allowing the demon to emerge.
There was only one man, Nukka’s true father, who was able to accept the demon within as easily as he accepted the form he desired. He, like all humans eventually died, leaving Yuki-Onna alone to search for a new husband and Nukka a new father. The lands passed swiftly beneath Katara’s feet and she bumped into Zuko when the eerie procession stopped moving. She lifted her head. The night sky, as dark as a place without hope could be was suddenly ablaze as the Fire Nation finished the work of the Earth Kingdom and committed the ruins to ash.
The fires blazed until morning. They receded an hour after sunrise and Katara realized any possible fuel source had been consumed hours ago. The most recent fires and the peak at dawn’s light was due to their own bending.
Zuko turned and leaned heavily on her; the night’s exertion having taking its toll on his still recovering body. He laid his head on hers and whispered, “We cremate our dead since Kali is drawn to Agni’s fire. She is the guardian of the spirit world where both the dead and unborn reside. In the dark of night, we call to her hoping she’ll remember us as her children and protect us from what dangers may be lurking. We make love at night when Agni clings to her in hopes our own couplings will gather her blessing and bring us children. We burn our dead to ashes the color of night so they may be more pleasing to her. So she may find their forms more acceptable and hold them to her bosom as she crosses back into the spirit world. Their spirit becomes a part of her. Twice a year when our remembrance for them is strongest they emerge from her sooty depths to seek our love and ease our sorrow.”
“I do not know Aunty’s birth date and have no idea if Uncle will remember. I don’t know when she died but I am certain on the eve of this date she and the others who were lost will come to visit us. Thank you, Katara, for allowing me a way to honor and say farewell to her.”
The white clothing of the Firebenders shone in the sun’s early rays and amid the scorched earth they seemed to glow. Katara took a step back, in the beautiful white of her homeland the demons also glowed beneath the light of the sun. She looked down at her own garments; she had no inner fire to illuminate them but to her tired eyes they seemed to change hues as Zuko stepped closer. Her hand, small and dark seemed to disappear when enveloped in his. She glanced up at him as he called her name once more. His back was to the West and he stood facing East and the rising sun. She could see Yue giving way to Agni over his shoulder. It was a bad omen for her people to first glance the moon at sunrise.
It was worse that her hand, colored by the depths of La mixed with the light of Tue, felt comfort being consumed by the pale hand of a demon.
- 295
- 296
- 297
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