(no subject)
Title: Yin Hands
Fandom: Avatar
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Zutara
Rating: T
Prompt: 7_chakras--Earth (Individual); Chasm, 5. still breathing
Word Count: 1354
A/N: This has been sitting on my HD for about...uh...a week and a half. It took me forever to come up with a title.
All it took was one glance in the wrong direction, one millisecond of her dropping her guard. The keen edge of a sword sliced into Katara's side, splitting fabric, severing flesh, rending muscle. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a small "o" in surprise; for a moment, time froze.
Then the soldier tore his blade free, and Katara's whole body shrieked in pain. All the breath rushed from her lungs; the bending water that had been previously suspended in the air around her fell to the ground with a splash muted by the din of the battle. She stumbled forward, her arms reaching instinctively to her side, trying to mend the gash, but it was wrong somehow--the liquid oozing between her fingers and over her hands was too warm and too thick, and although she could feel her mind connecting to it, it slipped out of her grasp; its flow streamed around her chi like oil on water. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground.
Twenty yards away, Zuko saw her fall. Barely dodging the conflagration of steel and fire that hungered for his blood, barely staying afoot, he scrambled to her side. He felt as if something large was trapped in his throat, in his chest; his diaphragm was suddenly horribly constricted.
"Waterbender," he said, hovering over her, afraid to touch her, jar her, in any way, but overwhelmed by the need to do something. "Waterbender!" Then, when she did not respond: "Katara!"
Her eyes, clenched tightly shut, opened slightly, and her face contorted into a grimace of pain. Her umber skin was pale, covered in a pallid sheen; her breathing was coming in deep, slow, labored gasps.
He opened his mouth to say something more, but a tingling at the back of his neck made him turn, and he had to duck low and lash out his broadsword to meet that of the soldier attacking him from behind. Zuko pushed forward with a yell, knocking the man backwards. Plunging to the ground, Zuko swung his foot around and caught the other man by the ankle, bringing him crashing down; then he leapt to his feet and thrust his fist down, issuing forth a blast of fire in the man's face.
In that single fluid movement, he silenced his attacker and whirled around, dropping to the ground again next to Katara. She was breathing more heavily, and her whole body was trembling weakly. Looking down at her side, Zuko could see the blood still oozing from the wound, spurting when she struggled to inhale, trickling through the gaps between her fingers when her lungs contracted.
"Are you..." he began to say, and stopped. To ask would be to expect an answer, and deep down a part of him was terrified for what her answer would be. The question, though, had its own momentum, and it tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she said unconvincingly, her clenched jaw belying her bravado.
"Can you heal it?" he asked, before belatedly realizing that her water skin was empty, and that her bending water had soaked into the dry earth.
Slowly, slightly scared by the knowledge of what it meant, she said, "I think I can stop the blood flow...or at least slow it."
He realized what that implied and said nothing in response, instead focusing on the hesitation in her voice. "...But?"
"But," Katara said, "I don't think I can close the wound."
Her decisive answer quieted him again, setting his thoughts in motion. He realized suddenly that the Earth Kingdom contingent fighting with them had managed to push the Fire Nation soldiers back; for the moment, they were safe.
An idea came to his mind then. It would be painful and danerous, but there were no other options; their medical supplies were low, and he couldn't leave her, but neither could he take her along in that condition--and she would never let him stay when he was needed up ahead.
"I could cauterize the wound," he said, apprehension clear in his voice. "We have enough pain medication. Then a few of the men and the injured could make camp here, and you could stay with them."
"Cauterize it. How would--oh." Her voice squeaked. If she was in pain now, she would hurt like hell when this was over. "Yes to the--to closing the wound. No to staying here. Shut up," she said when she saw him open his mouth to argue. "Once it's closed, I'll be okay. I can refill my water skin, there's a river nearby. I can heal as we're moving, and I'll get plenty of sleep tonight when we make camp. I'll be good as new by tomorrow."
"Fine," he conceded, "but if you slow us down too much, or we get caught in another fight, I'm having one of the earthbenders bring you back to town."
She smiled weakly. There was the Zuko she was familiar with. "Agreed."
They managed to get her out of her shirt, although it was nearly torn in two by the time it was discarded. Both their hands were sticky with blood, and her face was much paler than before. Zuko tore a long strip from the bottom of her shirt at her insistence and used it to wipe up as much of the blood around the wound as he could, so that he could see the cleanly-hewn edges. They waited a moment for Katara to gather her energy and staunch the blood flowing freely from her side, and for Zuko to gather as much calm in himself as he could. Glancing at where the dirt had soaked up her blood like water, he realized that they didn't have nearly enough antibiotics and prayed she didn't get infected.
"I'm ready," she said as she exhaled, her breath long and slow. He nodded, sat up straight in a meditative pose, and held his hand in front of him, a small fire sparking to life above his palm. He turned his whole mind to the blaze, focusing it, increasing the temperature until his fingertips felt the familiar sensation of blistering heat.
He moved his arm down towards her side, then paused and asked, "Do you want something to bite down on?" Beneath his question, he was apologizing for the pain he was about to inflict.
She barely jerked her head to the side. "No. Just get it over with."
Zuko brought the flame down to her skin, and within seconds it was pinkening, lightening, and taking on a reflective sheen. The all-too-familiar smell of burning flesh drifted into his nostrils.
Katara's back arched and her limbs stiffened and trembled, her hands fisted so tightly that her nails bit into her flesh. She ground her teeth together and tried to distract herself by counting to 100, 1000, 10000 in her mind, but nothing could fully yank her away from the feeling in her side, agony unlike any she'd ever felt in her life--as if great, inch-long claws were digging into her flesh and a dozen saw-edged blades were slicing through the tissue. Saliva, pink-tinged with blood, bubbled from between her lips, and for one heart-stopping moment Zuko thought that she was bleeding internally until he realized that she had simply bitten her tongue to draw her mind away from the pain in her side.
The reek grew stronger, and her flesh began to redden. Zuko hurriedly pulled his hand away and snuffed the fire out.
Katara's limbs relaxed, although her whole body continued to quiver. Sweat dripped from her forehead, tickling her face. Her breath came in deep, shuddering gasps that stretched her muscles and tugged at her sides, but she could feel now that, despite the intense, searing ache along her gut, the skin was whole again.
"Are you all right?" Zuko asked, empathy in his voice.
"Yes," Katara answered. "I'm still breathing."
Fandom: Avatar
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Zutara
Rating: T
Prompt: 7_chakras--Earth (Individual); Chasm, 5. still breathing
Word Count: 1354
A/N: This has been sitting on my HD for about...uh...a week and a half. It took me forever to come up with a title.
All it took was one glance in the wrong direction, one millisecond of her dropping her guard. The keen edge of a sword sliced into Katara's side, splitting fabric, severing flesh, rending muscle. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a small "o" in surprise; for a moment, time froze.
Then the soldier tore his blade free, and Katara's whole body shrieked in pain. All the breath rushed from her lungs; the bending water that had been previously suspended in the air around her fell to the ground with a splash muted by the din of the battle. She stumbled forward, her arms reaching instinctively to her side, trying to mend the gash, but it was wrong somehow--the liquid oozing between her fingers and over her hands was too warm and too thick, and although she could feel her mind connecting to it, it slipped out of her grasp; its flow streamed around her chi like oil on water. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground.
Twenty yards away, Zuko saw her fall. Barely dodging the conflagration of steel and fire that hungered for his blood, barely staying afoot, he scrambled to her side. He felt as if something large was trapped in his throat, in his chest; his diaphragm was suddenly horribly constricted.
"Waterbender," he said, hovering over her, afraid to touch her, jar her, in any way, but overwhelmed by the need to do something. "Waterbender!" Then, when she did not respond: "Katara!"
Her eyes, clenched tightly shut, opened slightly, and her face contorted into a grimace of pain. Her umber skin was pale, covered in a pallid sheen; her breathing was coming in deep, slow, labored gasps.
He opened his mouth to say something more, but a tingling at the back of his neck made him turn, and he had to duck low and lash out his broadsword to meet that of the soldier attacking him from behind. Zuko pushed forward with a yell, knocking the man backwards. Plunging to the ground, Zuko swung his foot around and caught the other man by the ankle, bringing him crashing down; then he leapt to his feet and thrust his fist down, issuing forth a blast of fire in the man's face.
In that single fluid movement, he silenced his attacker and whirled around, dropping to the ground again next to Katara. She was breathing more heavily, and her whole body was trembling weakly. Looking down at her side, Zuko could see the blood still oozing from the wound, spurting when she struggled to inhale, trickling through the gaps between her fingers when her lungs contracted.
"Are you..." he began to say, and stopped. To ask would be to expect an answer, and deep down a part of him was terrified for what her answer would be. The question, though, had its own momentum, and it tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she said unconvincingly, her clenched jaw belying her bravado.
"Can you heal it?" he asked, before belatedly realizing that her water skin was empty, and that her bending water had soaked into the dry earth.
Slowly, slightly scared by the knowledge of what it meant, she said, "I think I can stop the blood flow...or at least slow it."
He realized what that implied and said nothing in response, instead focusing on the hesitation in her voice. "...But?"
"But," Katara said, "I don't think I can close the wound."
Her decisive answer quieted him again, setting his thoughts in motion. He realized suddenly that the Earth Kingdom contingent fighting with them had managed to push the Fire Nation soldiers back; for the moment, they were safe.
An idea came to his mind then. It would be painful and danerous, but there were no other options; their medical supplies were low, and he couldn't leave her, but neither could he take her along in that condition--and she would never let him stay when he was needed up ahead.
"I could cauterize the wound," he said, apprehension clear in his voice. "We have enough pain medication. Then a few of the men and the injured could make camp here, and you could stay with them."
"Cauterize it. How would--oh." Her voice squeaked. If she was in pain now, she would hurt like hell when this was over. "Yes to the--to closing the wound. No to staying here. Shut up," she said when she saw him open his mouth to argue. "Once it's closed, I'll be okay. I can refill my water skin, there's a river nearby. I can heal as we're moving, and I'll get plenty of sleep tonight when we make camp. I'll be good as new by tomorrow."
"Fine," he conceded, "but if you slow us down too much, or we get caught in another fight, I'm having one of the earthbenders bring you back to town."
She smiled weakly. There was the Zuko she was familiar with. "Agreed."
They managed to get her out of her shirt, although it was nearly torn in two by the time it was discarded. Both their hands were sticky with blood, and her face was much paler than before. Zuko tore a long strip from the bottom of her shirt at her insistence and used it to wipe up as much of the blood around the wound as he could, so that he could see the cleanly-hewn edges. They waited a moment for Katara to gather her energy and staunch the blood flowing freely from her side, and for Zuko to gather as much calm in himself as he could. Glancing at where the dirt had soaked up her blood like water, he realized that they didn't have nearly enough antibiotics and prayed she didn't get infected.
"I'm ready," she said as she exhaled, her breath long and slow. He nodded, sat up straight in a meditative pose, and held his hand in front of him, a small fire sparking to life above his palm. He turned his whole mind to the blaze, focusing it, increasing the temperature until his fingertips felt the familiar sensation of blistering heat.
He moved his arm down towards her side, then paused and asked, "Do you want something to bite down on?" Beneath his question, he was apologizing for the pain he was about to inflict.
She barely jerked her head to the side. "No. Just get it over with."
Zuko brought the flame down to her skin, and within seconds it was pinkening, lightening, and taking on a reflective sheen. The all-too-familiar smell of burning flesh drifted into his nostrils.
Katara's back arched and her limbs stiffened and trembled, her hands fisted so tightly that her nails bit into her flesh. She ground her teeth together and tried to distract herself by counting to 100, 1000, 10000 in her mind, but nothing could fully yank her away from the feeling in her side, agony unlike any she'd ever felt in her life--as if great, inch-long claws were digging into her flesh and a dozen saw-edged blades were slicing through the tissue. Saliva, pink-tinged with blood, bubbled from between her lips, and for one heart-stopping moment Zuko thought that she was bleeding internally until he realized that she had simply bitten her tongue to draw her mind away from the pain in her side.
The reek grew stronger, and her flesh began to redden. Zuko hurriedly pulled his hand away and snuffed the fire out.
Katara's limbs relaxed, although her whole body continued to quiver. Sweat dripped from her forehead, tickling her face. Her breath came in deep, shuddering gasps that stretched her muscles and tugged at her sides, but she could feel now that, despite the intense, searing ache along her gut, the skin was whole again.
"Are you all right?" Zuko asked, empathy in his voice.
"Yes," Katara answered. "I'm still breathing."