Borealis: A Zutara Story

Chapter  85

He was still seething when the crewmen were finished with the repairs and no longer needed Katara. 

“Zuko, can I go check on Appa?” Katara asked quietly

“No,” he replied harshly.

“Why not?” she yelled in response to the unkind way he replied to her.

Zuko growled, “Do not question me peasant.”

Katara angrily made her way to the stairs making sure to get in front of him. He’d untied her hands so she could bend the water to help the crewman. When they were near the top she turned and kicked him in the chest and ran to check on the bison. She was surprised to find Mu was already unsuccessfully trying to calm the frightened animal.

“Appa, it’s okay.  It’s okay.  I’m here.” She said extending her arms and slowing her gait towards him.  “Your name was Mu wasn’t it?”

“Yes, I’m the ship’s veterinarian. I will be Appa’s caretaker once we reach the Fire Nation. He’s a fine beast.”

“He’s more than that. I don’t have much time before Zuko gets here.” She said calling forth ocean water and separating the salt. She covered Appa with fresh water and made sure Mu was the only one who saw her as healed what she could of his wounds.  “Can you tell those Firebenders to extinguish their flames? Recent experiences have made Appa afraid of fire.”

“There no point in running Water Peasant, we still have your brother and the Avatar.”

Katara heard Zuko’s bellowing long before she saw him. She quickly moved around to Appa’s rear taking the water with her and began working the spike out of his tail, healing the torn flesh as it lifted.  “Bring him some apples or moon peaches. He likes those. And he likes being brushed.”

“Miss Katara, that’s amazing. I’ve been trying to think of a way to remove that ever since we came on board. I’ve been sedating him with painkillers and giving antibiotics to prevent infection, but I was afraid we may have to remove part of his tail. I’ll distract Zuko.  Take a look at the toes on his second leg on the other side of you. I believe it is where Azula’s lightning struck him.”

Katara slid around to the other side taking care not to be seen as she desalinated more water and pressed it against the bison’s feet. “Poor Appa, I’ll can’t heal it all at one time, but I’ll be back I promise.”

“Prince Zuko, are you still inspecting the damage caused by Miss Katara?” Mu asked walking over to Zuko keeping his word to distract the prince while Katara worked on the bison. “I had no idea the girl was capable of causing so much damage.  Is she why our forces were so severely battered at the North Pole?”

“No, the Northern Invasion failed because Zhao killed the Moon Spirit in front of the Ocean Spirit not thinking it might get angry, inhabit the Avatar’s body, rise up, and chase him,” Zuko deadpanned.

“I thought that was just another one of Fan’s drunken stories,” Mu muttered. “So did you really get eaten and spit out by the Unagi?” he asked moving sideways when Zuko attempted to step around him.

“No, I did not get eaten by the Unagi, giant elephant koi, an angry forest panda spirit, a giant rhinoceros beetle, a talking platypus bear, or anything else that he told you,” Zuko huffed taking another step sideways only to be blocked again. “Have you seen the Waterbender?”

“I saw her earlier,” Mu answered truthfully, hoping Zuko wouldn’t think to ask just long ago was earlier, “So I guess he lied about you tying her to a tree, stealing her necklace, using a shirshu to track her down and serenading her with a Tsungi horn?”

“I did not steal her necklace!” Zuko bellowed angrily, drawing the attention of Zhao 1. He added “Or serenade her with a Tsungi horn,” when he saw the slight upturn of lips denoting Mu’s amused expression.

“So you did tie her to a tree and track her with a shirshu?” the older boy asked.

“I was using her as bait to catch the Avatar,” he explained through clenched teeth.

The newcomer snorted, “Yeah right, you convince the unspeakable evil to bring her back with us and burn a crewman for obeying orders to put her in the brig. You do the signet exchange in front of the evil that shall not be named and literally don’t let her leave the room unless she’s tied to you, but we’re supposed to believe all this time you were chasing the Avatar?”

“I was,” Zuko protested but the denial sounded weak even to him when put in that context.

“Speaking of your shadow, where is she? Tied to the bed this time?” the other twin asked earning a sharp elbow as the normally graceful Mu tripped seemingly over nothing.

“I don’t-” Zuko began before turning to Mu, “You’re helping her. She wanted to see the bison.”

“No, I am not helping the girl,” Mu shook his head correcting Zuko’s assumption, “I was helping the bison. As chief veterinary officer it is my duty to see to the health and well being of every animal aboard this vessel.”

“I asked if you saw her and you said ‘earlier’!” Zuko shouted.

Mu raised his finger to emphasize his point, “Earlier is defined as a previous moment in time. You did not specify if the unit of measurement.”

Zuko inhaled blowing smoke out of his nostrils before stalking over where Katara was hiding behind Appa. She stepped out after quickly bending the remaining water away from the bison.

“Why did you run away stupid peasant?” Zuko stopped when he saw her not noticing he was directly in front of the creature.

The bison had been alone and injured for several weeks with only a stranger who looked like the grumpy girl who’d thrown sharp things at him.  In this one night he’d been washed, dried, petted and was in less pain. He was happy to see one of his humans; he was overjoyed to see this one.  This one had been the one to end his previous captivity allowing him to reunite with his best friend.

Everyone on deck was treated to the sight of Crown Prince Zuko covered in bison spit. When he steamed it off of himself, Appa licked him again. 

Katara doubled over clutching her sides, “Tui, La and Yue, Appa as soon as I get off this ship, I’m buying you an orchard full of apples.”

Several of the crew offered to let her use their paychecks and asked what other kinds of fruit he ate.