“Zuko, the sun’s setting.” He grunted a response and glanced at their surroundings, eyeing a darkened area on the nearby mountain face.


               “We’ll make camp there.” He pointed with one of the broadswords he had been using to cut through the tall grass. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Katara nod in agreement. He shifted his pack and turned to make his way there, looking up at the quickly darkening sky, noting the black clouds that had been gathering all day.



                 Katara suddenly grabbed the back of his shirt and jerked him back, causing him to fall against her and knock them both to the ground. The breath was knocked out of him, and he lay there for a moment struggling for breath before slowly sitting up. He turned to ask her why she pulled on him and saw her with a finger to her lips, the other hand pointed forward.

              When he looked he was staring into the eyes of a chicken cobra, a silly
looking but extremely deadly animal. The animal looked larger than normal, and he realized as different parts of its body started moving independently of one another that he had almost stepped into a bed of them. He nodded his thanks to the waterbender, then stood and pulled her to her feet before starting a wide walk around the nest.



                   They reached the cave just as the first rumble of thunder echoed through the sky. Katara bended some of the rain that had started to fall into a pot that Iroh had strapped to Zuko’s pack, setting it on the fire he had started with the wood they had collected on their way up the mountain. They divided some bread and cheese and ate in silence, each enjoying the first real break they had taken all day. Katara finished her meal and stretched out on the floor.



                “I forgot what its like to walk all day.” Zuko quirked an eyebrow at her.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when I was in the South Pole it was nothing to walk all day to get to a good fishing hole or something. I didn’t realize how much I’ve come to depend on Appa to get me from one place to another until today.”
The prince chuckled and stretched out on the other side of the fire.
“Getting lazy, peasant?”
A small ball of water suddenly appeared above his head, and he had just enough time to put his arms up in defense before Katara let gravity take control. He sat up and shook the water from his head, rolling his eyes at the smirk on her face. She giggled, then crawled to Zuko’s pack. She started rummaging around inside of it, even as Zuko eyed her.
“What are you doing?”
She frowned, shifting things around.



                  “I’ve been feeling a pull from this thing all day. What all did you bring?”
By now she had her head inside the bag, and her voice was muffled.
“I don’t know. Uncle decided he needed to pack for me.”
As he explained, Katara sat back up, a triumphant expression on her face. In her hands was a sturdy clay pot, the lid sealed shut by wax, and a rolled up piece of paper. Zuko sat up, puzzled.
“What is that?”
Katara sat the pot on the floor and unrolled the parchment, then giggled after reading it.
“What?!”
Katara cleared her throat, grinning.



                       “ ‘Dear Katara and Zuko, I thought you might be wanting some tea after walking all day, so I made a pot for you to enjoy. I realize that it would have been easier to just pack some tea bags for you, but Zuko’s tea would pollute sewers. Enjoy! Uncle Iroh.’”