Dragon Wings

Dragon Wings

As you enter this story you see a girl in a kimono who is kneeling on the floor upon a tatami mat. She says...

"Hello. Kiyumi here. It's been a while since I had a long Zutara story (Coconuts, Sand and Love) and it was for the reason of not having anything to write. Please help to support me and I thank you all for giving me a chance and clicking on this story's title. Please sit down, have a cup of tea, and enjoy the story."

If you wer forced to relive the past, would you cry?

If there was another choice you could see, would you wander down that path?

If you love someone, would you sell your life to the devil's hollow wrath?

Katara was a strong heady girl of fifteen years and could be recognized for her prestigious skills as a master waterbender and teacher to the elusive avatar. One would wonder why a girl with such powers over water wore the traditional garments of the nation of flame, who for the past years had been overriding all the other areas of the world on their quest for world domination. However, as she headed into a large building which resided in an abandoned structure known as the airtemples, the people who came out to meet her were no different. One, was a tall boy who looked to be about sixteen and had a short brush of hair tied back on his head, another, a young girl who stared ahead with glazed eyes but smiled with the confidence of a strong will, and then a similarly aged boy who bore tattoos on his skin like the mark of the gods. He was the avatar, the last and only airbender who had survived the assault of the fire nation by encasing himself in an cage of ice for a hundred years. He was not only the best friend of Katara, he was also the one deemed to finally end the century-long war and establish peace among all four nations.

Recently, there was a new addition to the the avatar and his allies. Katara was the only one who Zuko had not gained the trust of and for good reason. Katara had already been betrayed once by the hot-headed teen and she wasn't prepared to redo her mistake soon. The fact that she had come so close to using the Oasis Water on Zuko's scar instead of saving Aang's life scared her. True, she had felt some connection between herself and the fire-nation prince in the crystal prison once before but there was no misunderstanding now. She didn't trust him nor would she ever will. Her mind was set and just let that excuse of a prince try and change her. No doubt he would feel the full fury of a woman's wrath if ever he dare provoke her. Many mornings, she had woken to watch Aang and Zuko's training sessions which was where she was headed at the moment. The two most likely had just arrived at their usual spot and were preparing to start another session. Hiding neatly in a ledge above the chosen practice arena of the boys, she could efficiently keep an eye and hand ready over her water pouch to insure that she could get down fast enough to protect Aang if ever Zuko tried to harm him. Over time, she grew accustomed to observing the lessons of the twelve-year-old who had been both her and Toph's pupil. Zuko never attempted to attack Aang and she slowly stopped flinching every time Zuko's flames came to close to the airbender.

She also began to notice changes around the fire nation prince. Gone was the overall wildness of his bending.While the young avatar's efforts to produce a flame were somewhat forced, Zuko's bending seemed to flow from his limbs smoothly. In a way, his bending appeared to take on a waterbending form. She had finally understood this one day after her own personal routine on their water supply. She realized that the same waterwhip that she shaped her element into was the very one that the fire prince used on a daily basis. She assured this by watching his moves as he taught Aang a certain rotation. It was the same. Katara wondered if he had stolen this style from their fight in the caves. He might have, seeing as he had stolen many things from her before, those things ranging from her mother's bethrothal necklace to her own friend who was currently learning firebending from the thief himself. Katara gently slapped her palms onto her cheeks. Why? Why did her mind always travel to Zuko these days? Eventually, she decided to clear her head by working her bending. Wait. Maybe she could claim some of the debt that Zuko owed her. After all, since he had taken some things from her, he should repay her in full... with interest.

Her first whim was to return her gaze to the two firebending boys beneath her hiding spot. She watched carefully as Zuko explained the breathing process of his style to the boy and proceeded to demonstrate. Zuko brought his left leg far out in front of his right and in a swift and quick movement, shifted his hand up, thrust it out, and exhaled. Katara watched the flame shoot out and linger before dying out again. Smirking, she drew herself up and reached for the hide pouch beneath the fold of her clothes. Fluidly beckoning out the water, she copied the movements of the scarred teen and shot out her hand. Katara gasped as the water exploded and drenched her and the surrounding landscape. She wasn't sure if that was supposed to happen or if Zuko's form would even work on her element but she decided to try once more. She gathered up the remains of her water and easily dryed her clothes. Again, she lifted a delicate foot and shot out her arm but this time, she remembered to inhale...exhale. The effect was immediate. The water exploded once more but differently. The water turned into glistening shards of various sizes and they burst out in a stream in all directions. Then they turned icy and drove maliciously into the walls around her. Katara stood stunned, frozen in her stance. Fantastic. Katara felt elated. If this was the result of cross-bending, imagine what she could invent from all the other styles of bending. Briskly melting the ice around her, she prepared her stance once more. Still, the whole time she was practicing, her mind refused to wipe itself clean off all thoughts. Zuko continued to linger within her mind persistently.