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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
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- 62
Chapter 60
The smell of stale air and animals grew stronger with each step and Katara wondered why Zuko would take her to such a place. She was about to ask then she saw the bars. This was the ship’s brig. This was where they were keeping her brother. She ran to the bars, slipped her arms between them and hugged him. He looked horrible. He smelled horrible. She had just been pampered but he was trapped in squalor.
“Zuko, will you open the portholes please?” Katara asked noticing that several lined the walls but were all closed. As soon as he did the air became noticeably fresher.
She turned to him again, “Do you mind if I Waterbend? I need to clean Sokka.”
“I’m fine Katara. You don’t have to ask him anything,” he said narrowing his eyes at Zuko.
“You’re not fine Sokka! It smells like a barn down here. When was the last time you bathed or had clean clothes? You’ll get sick if you don’t wash regularly. When was the last time you ate? Are they feeding you?” Katara harangued.
She stepped back and began bending water in through the porthole, “I’m bathing you and washing your clothes so stand still.”
“Katara, I’m not a child. I can bathe myself. You don’t have to do this. Please don’t do this,” Sokka protested.
Katara ignored his pleas and took the opportunity to thoroughly rinse out his mouth. If he hadn’t bathed she knew he hadn’t brushed his teeth.
“Dammit, Katara. Stop!” Sokka cried desperately as he was covered head to toe in water leaving only his face bear. It washed over him, removing the stench and grime he’d deliberately accumulated.
“Katara, that’s enough, I’m clean you can stop now,” Sokka continued to beg her to leave him alone, but she drew more water to him slipping along his skin, in between every layer of his clothing; the salt water giving him and his clothes a complete but gentle scrubbing.
Katara stopped when the water came away clear and there was no longer trace of dirt beneath Sokka’s fingernails or on his person. “That’s better. Don’t you feel better now that you’re clean?” she asked hopefully.
“No. I don’t. I feel worse actually,” Sokka said angrily. Bad things happened when he was clean. Several members of crew had been looking forward to playing with a pretty female prisoner. Zuko had thwarted their plans but there were a few who were undeterred by his gender; a pretty male prisoner was just as good. “Leave, Katara.”
“But Sokka why? I just got down here. Why do you want me to go away?” Katara wailed confused. “You’ll get sick stuck down here in all that dirt. All it takes is one simple scratch for infection to set in or you could contaminate your food while trying to eat it.”
“So you wouldn’t have a problem if I forcibly bathed you?” He yelled then lowered himself back down to the mat he’d been given to sleep on. Katara had even washed that too. He curled into a ball on his side turning away from her.
Katara shook her head, “But I don’t understand. You didn’t have problem when I did it in the palace or all those times when we were traveling and could only find puddles. Sokka, look at me please. Talk to me, what did I do wrong? Please don’t shut me out. I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.”
Sokka blinked back his tears. This was his sister, good ole helpful Katara, never met a lost cause she didn’t like. Never passed up an opportunity to assist someone who looked like they needed help even if they didn’t want it; that’s how Haru got arrested, Katara was being helpful. But still she was his sister; the one he couldn’t protect. La, he couldn’t even protect himself.
He rolled over heavily, this time Katara noticed his sluggish movements, “You’re hurt. Sokka why didn’t you say anything? I washed you with sea water and didn’t bend out the salt. I’m sorry. I’ll heal you. Can I heal you please?”
Sokka sighed and limped over to the bars, “Just be sure to take the salt out.”
Katara nodded and pulled in a large amount of water. She bent a good portion of it back through the porthole before encasing Sokka in the water and placing her hands on it to make it glow.
The tension Sokka was holding slowly unwound. Being surrounded by the water seemed to heal all of his injuries, even the ones that were internal. He kept an eye on her face, hoping that she didn’t realize where he was hurt. She couldn’t know. No one could know.
“What’s that light?” a male voice said.
Zuko grabbed Katara’s shoulders breaking her concentration, “Get rid of the water. Someone is coming.”
“But-” she began. Sokka wasn’t healed. She could feel the pull on her energy, but couldn’t tell where it was going.
“Now!” he hissed.
Katara did as she was told and Zuko began doing a concentration exercise that involved individually sending fire up his fingers and along the lines in the palm of his hand.
“Prince Zuko, we didn’t know you were down here,” one of the men said bowing.
“Forgive our interruption. We just came to give the prisoner a little snack,” the other said jovially.
Zuko’s eyes narrowed, “Where is it?”
“Pardon me my prince?” the man asked confused.
“You said you were bringing the prisoner a snack. Your hands are empty. Where is the snack?” Zuko asked suspiciously.
“Oh…I…ah…” he stammered
“The cook is still making it,” the other said quickly.
“I’ll stay here until it’s ready. You should probably bring the Avatar something too. He’s a vegetarian,” Zuko said harshly letting the men know he hadn’t been fooled.
Both men returned fifteen minutes later with two heaping plates of food. Zuko unlocked the steel door to Aang’s closed in cell but left him in leg irons and manacles when he placed him in Sokka’s exposed prison.
“Thank you for looking out for my brother,” Katara said to the men completely misunderstanding the situation.
One of the men smiled at her and boldly replied, “You’re welcome, milady. I would gladly give you the same treatment if you were not in Prince Zuko’s capable hands.”
“See Zuko, I told you he was nice,” Katara said vindicated. “That was the man who brought me down here the other day.”

Sokka forced the bile back down his throat at the man’s comment. He was being fed at regular intervals but it was most often half of Aang’s portion. He needed to keep whatever nourishment he could get.
He retched again this time actually tasting the vomit in his mouth as his sister thanked the first man who’d raped him.

.
“Please tell me you really aren’t this stupid,” Zuko snapped at Katara. He noticed Sokka’s distress and called for one of the stable hands to go to the kitchen and fetch a bottle of wine and cup. Zuko gave the girl his ring so she wouldn’t have problems with the cook. She returned and Zuko poured a cup for Sokka. “Drink it in small sips. It will settle your stomach.”
Sokka grimaced, but took the cup. It was the same stuff they’d given him at the palace.
“I’m not stupid,” Katara yelled at Zuko.
“Well don’t act like it! That man is not your friend and he is not your brother’s friend. The sooner you get it through your thick skull that I’m your only friend the better off you’ll be!” Zuko yelled right back at her.
“Oh, so you’re my friend now? You weren’t my friend last night when you were r-” Katara retorted in her anger forgetting that Aang was right there.
“SHUT UP!” Sokka screamed, “Both of you just shut up. I never thought I’d say this but the Jerkbender is right. That man or anyone one this ship is not our friend. You’re too naïve and trusting Katara. We’re prisoners of war. We’ve been captured by the enemy. The enemy!”
Sokka pointed at Zuko, “Every single person on this ship is our enemy and wants to harm us in some way. Don’t you forget it! Just because they’re nice to you or give you pretty dresses and jewelry doesn’t mean they care about you. They are still the enemy. First chance you get, run away. Don’t worry about me and Aang. Run away, save yourself and don’t look back.”
Katara looked stricken, “Sokka how can you say that?”
“Easy. No matter what you think, people don’t always want your help. Sometimes you stupidly butting in only make things worse on the people who have to deal with it once you’re gone.” He said cruelly.
“Sokka, how can you talk to Katara like that?” Aang asked.
Sokka turned on Aang, “Just as easy as I can tell you it is your fault we were captured in the first place. If you were able to control the Avatar state you could have defeated the Fire Lord on the day of the invasion. But no, you were too busy flying around playing and riding stupid animals and holding on to bunch of other garbage you should have let go of to do what you needed to do. 100 years ago you ran away, this time you were right there and still managed to let down everyone that was counting on you.”
The Air Nomad’s eyes widened and tears came to his eyes.
“Hey Jerkbender. Get these two away from my cage. Looking at them is turning my stomach,” Sokka said coldly yanking his hands away from the bars where Katara was holding them.
Zuko opened the door and dragged Aang to his own cell and rechained him to the wall. He poured Sokka another cup of wine. The Water Tribe boy knocked it back and Zuko refilled the cup.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said quietly so only Sokka could hear it before pulling a sobbing Katara towards him.
Sokka sipped it slowly. He knew he would probably die on this trip. He needed to push Katara and Aang away so when it happened the two of them would be okay.
- 60
- 61
- 62
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Borealis: A Zutara Story