19Penguin Sledding
Zuko had just exited the hut where Hakoda lived. He brushed at the wrinkles in the parka and thick pants he was now wearing. Both articles of clothing had the traditional Water Tribe colors and white markings. The hood was laced with white fur, and even by itself it was heavier than his usual clothing. Katara was sitting outside the hut, waiting patiently for him to emerge.
"Hey!" she called excitedly when she saw him. "It doesn't look half bad, Zuko. It makes your skin look three shades darker," she joked. Zuko smirked playfully at her. Katara grabbed his arm, tugging him in one direction. "Come on," she urged, "there's something I want to show you."
"H-ey!" he choked as she began dragging him along. "Katara, where are we going?" She barely even looked back at him before running forward again. Zuko struggled to keep up with her in the dense snow. He watched Katara glide across the ice and snow, as if it were child's play. Unlike her, though, Zuko didn't have the convenience of sliding around on snow all day.
They started to slow when Sokka and Aang came into view. "Hi, Katara," Aang shouted excitedly. "Are you guys ready?" Zuko looked back and forth between Aang and Katara. The young Avatar was smiling endlessly, and Zuko couldn't help but to feel a bit worried.
"Sokka," Katara began. Her brother looked up with the same quirky smile as Aang. "Are you ready to head up to the hill?" Sokka nodded briskly and with enthusiasm. "That's great. Now, Aang, you take care of getting Sokka there, and I'll take care of Zuko." Not even a second passed before the Avatar whipped out his glider and snatched up Sokka to glide away.
"Katara, where the heck are you taking me?" Zuko asked with slight worry. Katara smirked at him and tossed her hood off of her head.
"We're going to the hill, and you'll see what happens from there. Now, hold on to me. We need to get to the hill quickly before the sleds get away," she instructed him.
Cautiously, Zuko wrapped his arms around Katara's waist. "Wait, why would the sleds get away? They can't move on their own, right?" Katara playfully smirked back at him with mischief in her eyes. "Oh no," Zuko groaned, fearing the worst.
"Hold on tight, Zuko," she told him again. "We need to hurry!" Zuko did as she said and held on to her waist again, slightly blushing. Katara moved her arms up and down in a smooth motion, and before he knew it, they were gliding over the ice. The wind battered his face, and the coldness stung his eyes.
"What is this?" he shouted through the wind. "Ice surfing?"
Katara smiled and laughed. "I guess you could call it that." Zuko grinned when he heard her laugh. That was what he liked to hear, her laughing. It made him happy to know that she was in a good mood.
When they finally stopped gliding across the icy ground, Zuko was looking out over a hill. The acids in his stomach were churning, as Zuko fought the urge to hurl. Katara took one look down at him and chuckled. "Not feeling well?" she asked. Zuko shook his head and groaned. "I can help you with that, but you have to let go of me first," Katara told him with a grin.
"Right," Zuko mumbled, quickly letting go of her. He soon fell to his knees, still unable to hold himself up. Katara giggled and placed her hands on the sides of his head. She slowly circled her fingers around, her hands glowing with water.
"Is that better, Zuko?" she asked after several minutes of rubbing his head. Zuko didn't answer, merely nodding to get his point across. "Hmmm, maybe just a little bit longer," Katara muttered to herself. Again, she rubbed the side of his head in small circles, healing his faint sickness.
Finally, Zuko was well enough to stand up. "Thanks, Katara," he softly spoke. "That feels a lot better." She smiled at him and took his hand. "So, where are the sleds at?" Zuko asked. Katara, again, laughed at him, pulling him forward toward the top of the hill. Once there, Zuko saw several dozen animals with four flippers waddling aimlessly around the ice. They were oddly loud, and about the size of a small child.
"They're penguins," Katara said, as if reading his mind. "They are actually pretty placid, and what's even better is that they're people friendly." From a short distance away, Aang and Sokka could be seen walking amongst the large birds. They seemed to be scouting through the group.
"What are they doing?" Zuko asked in a low voice. "What are we doing in a field of penguins?"
"When I said that we needed to get to the sleds before they leave," Katara began, "this is what I meant. We're going penguin sledding." Zuko's jaw dropped in disbelief. "It's not dangerous, Zuko, just relax. We've done this too many times to count. No big deal. Come on," —she grabbed his hand— "let's go pick out some penguins."
Zuko planted his feet. "Are you insane? You want me to get on one of those and slide down a hill?"
"Yeah, that's just about right!" Katara smiled. "Come on, Zuko, I think Sokka found you a penguin already." Hesitantly, Zuko followed her through the crowd of animals until they got to Sokka. "They don't bite, Zuko," she confirmed to him.
Cautiously he reached out to touch the penguin. It grunted, and Zuko withdrew his hand with a gasp. Zuko heard Sokka snicker under his breath as he mounted another penguin. "Just sit, hang on, and go!" he shouted as he sped off down the hill.
"Wait for me, Sokka!" Aang called, quickly hopping onto a smaller penguin to race down the hill.
"Well," Katara whispered with excitement, "are you ready?" She sat down on the back of a penguin, holding another bird next to her.
"As ready as I'll ever be," he sighed. Zuko carefully sat down on the penguin's back, closing his eyes and waiting for the worst. Before he knew it, the wind was blowing in his face, licking his cheeks with their icy temperatures. He opened his eyes slowly, and looked around wildly to see where Katara was. She was whooping with joy, waving her arms in the air, as they plummeted down to side of the mountain.
"Isn't this fun!" she cried completely overjoyed.
"Yeah," Zuko finally shouted back, "this is pretty amazing!" The icy wind stung his face, but the exhilaration was incredible. At the speed they were going at, everything around them was a blur. Zuko's eyes were widened, and he began to smile endlessly. This rush had lifted his spirits, made him feel so high. Snow was being kicked up and flew into his face, blurring his vision slightly, but Zuko still forced himself to keep his eyes open. The whole way down the side of the mountain, he and Katara were cheering, yelling with pleasure from the thrill of the ride.
When they finally reached the bottom and slid to a stop, Aang and Sokka were waiting for them. "So, how was it?" Aang asked urgently.
"Totally and completely amazing," Zuko grinned. Aang punched the air with his fist, and then began running back up the mountain to go down again. Sokka feebly smirked at the prince before following Aang up the steep slope. Zuko silently laughed under his breath, but then turned his attention to Katara.
"So, maybe it wasn't as bad as you thought. Now was I right or was I right?" she grinned. Katara smiled at him.
Zuko sighed and laughed a little too. "You were right, it was fun." He looked over to her once again, just to see her smiling face. "You want to go again?" he asked sheepishly.
Katara began to smirk. "I thought you'd never ask, Zuko." They both laughed before Zuko grabbed hold of her waist again. "You may want to close your eyes this time. We don't want a repeat of what happed last time," she suggested to him cautiously.
Zuko shook his head in disagreement. "Nah, I think I can handle it. Besides," he smirked, "if I do get sick, you'll just have to make me feel better again."
Katara giggled and stroked the side of his face. "Okay, Zuko," she sighed. "Now let's get back up to the top so we can go sledding again!"
Zuko readily nodded eager to go back up to the top. Penguin sledding, he chucked to himself. Who would have known?
Yep, here's the second part of the Water Tribe Short Series. There's just a few more.
Now, roses are red, and violets are blue. It makes me really sad when you don't review. xD
On top of that, I would like to announce that I finished the book Eclipse, and it was amazing! Vampire love... 33333
Read, review, relive, repeat.
- Saz