Soooo, this is the first time I'm doing a Zutara Week. Originally I had planned on 7 interconnected One-Shots that would tell the canon-compliant Zutara story going back and forth in time. But that didn't happen. Some of the prompts kicked my butt so hard, it's not funny. In any case, what I do have now, are a couple of interconnected one-shots and a few stand alones.

A special thanks to my sister and beta, Mammai. She whupped my lazy ass into getting things done XD

Presenting the first of the 7 one shots- Dragons.

As usual, R&R.

Disclaimer: Characters don't belong to me. If they did, Zutara would've been canon.

Dragons

The eerie silence of dilapidated halls of the Western Air Temple was broken by the rhythmic snores of a ten ton flying beast. Curled comfortably atop its head was a small, winged lemur and at its feet was the slumbering Avatar. Together, they were the last vestiges of a people long gone. The Air Temple that once housed a bustling population of Airbenders was now providing shelter to a very different and unique group of people - children really.

Children who were born in strife and were forced to grow up long before their time. A twelve year old was the only hope of a world gone awry. While another twelve year old was the one to invent metal bending. A fourteen year old Waterbender had been pushed to learn blood bending while her older brother had to watch his first love die. And then there was the sixteen year old who had been abandoned by his mother, abused by his father, exiled from his nation, lied to by his sister and was now hunted by his nation's army for treason. Children, all of them. Children who had to forego their childhood way too early. Most of whom were, at that moment, peacefully asleep.

Most, save one. The fourteen year old Waterbender was thrashing in her bed, her dark skin covered with a fine sheen of sweat. She shuddered and trembled, her eyes darting rapidly behind the tightly squeezed eyelids. Whatever she was dreaming about, she was deeply troubled by it. Then, all of a sudden, the eyelids snapped open, revealing bright blue eyes that darted around in sheer terror.

Of their own accord, her feet slid down the cot and landed on the floor, her toes curling a little at the cold. But as someone brought up in the South Pole, cold was ingrained in her system and it did nothing to jar her from her daze.

Breathing in short, heavy gasps, Katara stumbled towards her door and wrenched it open. An unnamed terror consumed her as she ran down the corridor, heedless of her surroundings. Her dream still haunted her.

A tall mountain. A lone figure dancing to an unheard tune. Sharp, steady, powerful movements. His lithe body moving in synch with his element. He looked majestic, regal and in complete control. Suddenly the ground beneath him shook, knocking him off his feet. He stumbled and fell. Behind him a gigantic shape arose. Its eyes burning with fire, the beast looked at the human who sat there, frozen in fear. The man, who up until then looked like he was born to rule the world suddenly looked tiny and insignificant as the humongous beast reared its head. Two pairs of golden eyes, one gigantic and one mismatched in size, met each other before the latter looked away. Fear was etched in his face as he heard an ear splitting growl behind him. The Firebender only had the chance to look over his shoulder once before the dragon's flames consumed him.

The image of his crumbling to a pile of ash was seared in her brain, making her tremble even now. It made her run down the hallway, to the room that housed the Firebender. Pausing in front of the room at the end of the corridor. Taking a deep trembling breath, Katara lay a hand on the door that was unlocked. As noiselessly as she could, she pushed the door open and peered inside. There, laying on a tartan cot, his legs covered with a thin blanket, lay the Fire Nation Prince, Zuko.

Sleep made him oddly vulnerable, his face bereft of the perpetual frown. Seeing him there, peacefully sleeping, eased something in Katara's chest and eased her breath. Relief flooded through her, making her slump against the door frame.

Ever since she'd heard the outrageous tale earlier in the day of how he and Aang had danced with the dragons, a cold dread had crept up her spine, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Oddly, it wasn't Aang whose safety bothered her, as she might have thought. Instead, she had been dreading Zuko's fate, over and over again asking herself, 'what if?'. During the day, she had managed to keep up the pretense of veiled disdain for him, shooting scathing barbs at him but night had robbed her of her mask. She could no longer bury her deep seated unease under the guise of hate. Now it gnawed at her incessantly. Now it compelled her to come and see him. To reassure herself that he had indeed come back home, to her.

The last though jolted her, making her realize where she was and what she was doing.

What are you doing, Katara, watching the enemy sleep? Worrying about his safety? Wouldn't it have solved your problems if the dragons had burned him to a crisp?

Something about the thought didn't sit well with her, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Suddenly angry with herself for rushing to his room and at him for making her worry, Katara straightened and walked away, neglecting to close his door.

In the room, Zuko opened his eyes, his brow crumpled in confusion. He'd woken up the moment he had heard the door creak open but something prompted him to keep his eyes shut and keep his breathing regulated. He was surprised to have recognized her tread and her faint smell. But what puzzled him even more was what she had done. What had Katara wanted? Why did she suddenly come to his room, gasping and panting, only to lean against the door frame? Why was she watching him sleep? He had half expected her to wake him up and accuse him of something absurd, like the chilly wind wafting through the Air Temple at that moment or something like that. But she had not done any of it. She merely stood there for a few minutes, and then walked away. And she hadn't even closed the door after her.

Zuko sighed as he pushed himself off the bed and closed his door. The last thought before he fell asleep was that he would never understand the workings of the Waterbender's mind.