Katara (The Clan of Rot)

== "You can't help everyone, but you should make every effort to help those you can." ==
Katara is the clans most prominent healer, having taken over after the previous healer decided to leave the clan. She lives with her mate Zuko, and they clash and merge in the best of ways. While he focuses solely on the fighting aspect, she does both that and healing. In the mornings she takes care of any patients she might have, before heading out to the little garden she is tasked with taking care of, alongside the cook Feliks.
The garden contains plants used in medicine, spells, and plants for food. It’s not uncommon for her to run into the cook. She’s struck up a friendship with him, and the two sometimes spend time together when both are free from their obligations. Once done with the garden she usually strikes out on her own, sometimes dragging River along with her as he knows the space outside the clan the best. While River might be oblivious, Katara considers him as one of her closest friends as well.
While out she forages, always looking for new ways to speed up healing, trying to be as helpful as possible. Although her magic is great at speeding up the healing process, it isn’t perfect, and more often than not she has to rely on herbs and knowledge. It also isn’t as exhausting to heal with herbs as it is with magic. She also has a tendancy to stop by Deimos and Hemithea's home, as they sometimes have some new potions or concoctions that are occasionally helpful. Katara finds Deimos standoffish, and much prefer Hemithea's company. She's found that she can spend hours discussing healing with the intelligent mirror, and they have a pretty solid friendship.
Some days she’s busy with tasks, and others she’s free to do as she pleases. On the uneventful days she likes to join her mate Zuko in his day to day tasks, or spend the day honing her warrior skills with Murphy and Anya. Katara mostly focus on healing, but she would kill someone if they insinuated healing was all she was good at.
At night, with the moon shining down on them, she and her mate spar in the outskirts of the clan. It reminds them both of when they first met, and Katara likes the adrenaline, the feeling of being young and foolish.
Katara gets along with most of the clan members, but is prone to getting into arguments with Rey about the way he runs his business. She stands up for what she believes in, and works against every injustice she sees. Whenever she has a patient she is terribly protective, and at some point she would like to start a family of her own.
She likes the current clan leader Dissection well enough, though she disagrees on some of his opinions. As there’s no other prospects at the moment she’s decided she can live with him in charge though. On the subject of Maniae she is wary. Having been present when Maniae hatched, she’s curious about them, but due to the behaviour and mannerisms the dragon unsettles her. Katara spends some nights discussing this with Zuko, and she sometimes worries that the rise of Maniae with Rill at their side could be the end of the Clan of Rot.
== Past ==
Her talents with healing were discovered when she was just a hatchling, and once she reached early adolescence she was off on her own. While she adored her parents, she never felt like the small tribe she was born into was big enough for her. She wanted to experience everything the world had to offer. As was usual, she didn’t expect to see her birth family again, and mourned their loss in the beginning, almost turning back a few times.
Kataras first destination on her journey was the Sunbeam Ruins. She’d heard all about light scholars while growing up, and wanted to know the knowledge that was hidden in the light domain. A light clan kindly let her stay for a while, and she learned more about healing and honed her skill. During her stay she met an excitable spiral dragon named Aang who was finishing up his studies. The spiral had excitedly explained to Katara that he was on his way back to the Windswept Plateu, his home, and that he was planning on travelling through the Shifting Expanse and the Ashfall Waste on his way.
Feeling like she was mostly done, and bored with the healing, she agreed to join him on his travels. The first stop, the Shifting Expanse, was a teachable moment for Katara. The way the lightning dragons experimented and worked, their tirelessness and drive inspired her to try her other potential abilities outside of her healing. She started training to fight. No longer would her sole focus be on healing, she wanted to know how to protect herself.
Her new friend Aang didn’t agree with her new insight, and tried to persuade her to stop the training, to keep focusing on healing. She argued that she’d need to know how to fight in case she was ever dropped into a situation where it was needed. Their argument was short lived, and in the end Katara kept up her training, although Aang seemed disappointed in the choice.
As was the nomadic nature of her new companion and friend, they soon left the expanse, heading into the Ashfall waste. The first clan they stumbled upon told them of a kingdom that was spreading, threatening to take over the neighbouring clans. There was a small resistance, and after some prompting they got pointed in that direction.
Upon arriving they were met with suspicion, especially from Zuko, the leader of the resistance. When Katara first met him, her eyes were immediately drawn to the large scar that ran along his face, and after some inquiring to other members of the resistance she’d gotten the whole story (see Zuko for full story).
The start of Zuko and Kataras friendship was rocky. It wasn’t that they were enemies or fought, but they had very different world views and disagreed on how things should be done. By working together to stage the rebellion, they managed to get closer, and by the time the plan to take over was set in motion, they could easily call each other friends.
When the time came to duel Zukos father, he chose Katara to be by his side, which was a good thing since his father cheated, resulting in a near fatal injury to Zuko’s chest. Katara managed to help heal it, and with the help of Aang defeated Ozai.
The plan had been that Zuko would take over, under the assumption that Azula, Zukos sister would be unsuitable for it due to her fathers treatment of her. However, when they managed to find her, they realised she wasn’t as far gone as they’d expected. With some coaching from Zuko, Katara, and Aang they agreed that she would be a suitable leader for the inhabitants of the kingdom, and having seen the terror their father wielded Azula had no intention of doing the same.
Somewhere along the lines Zuko had made the decision that he didn’t want to rule, though the reason had eluded Katara. He instead chose to tag along with Katara and Aang as they made their way to their final destination, the Windswept Plateu. On their travels there Katara and Zuko kept sparring, their matches becoming more and more even until she was finally consistently beating him, a sharp contrast to her losses earlier on.
As they reached the wind domain they all settled down in Aangs home clan, and together they learned the wind way, surprisingly staying with them for a couple of months. Aang had made it clear he intended to stay there, that the travelling was all done for him. He also made it clear to Katara that he wished for her to stay with him as a mate, but in her heart she knew she only saw him as a friend. She also still had a wish to travel, as no place so far had made her want to stay permanently.
Seemingly in a similar mindset, Zuko tagged along, and the two of them continued the travels, growing closer each day. Their journey led them straight into the Scarred Wasteland, and something about it just intrigued Katara. They spent a long time in the outskirts, because despite how fascinated Katara was, they both knew how dangerous the wasteland could be.
They’d been making their way along the border towards the Sea of a Thousand currents when they ran into a black and green mirror. Or rather, the mirror simply popped up into their lair one day, and announced that they should come visit his clan. Kataras first instinct was curiosity. The mirror seemed harmless enough, perhaps a little out there, but perfectly harmless. His fascination with sticks seemed to be on a completely new level though, but she quickly overlooked it as he told her the story of his clan.
The mirror known as River, also explained that he’d followed them around for a few days, as Katara and Zuko were nearing the territory that his clan, the Clan of Rot, had claimed. He’d figured it best they simply introduce themselves instead of accidentally stumbling upon it unannounced.
Katara and Zuko felt unsettled by the fact that they’d been watched without knowing it, and told the mirror that they’d sleep on it. The mirror promised to return the next day and take them to the clan, should they wish it.
That night they spent discussing it all, Zuko strongly against it. Confused by the explosive nature of the discussion Katara had pushed until the real issue had risen to the surface. Zuko had developed romantic feelings for her, and the potential competition of other dragons had made him extremely paranoid. The fact that they’d been travelling alone for a few months really didn’t help.
The revelation came as a shock to Katara, but looking back she could start to see hints of it. Searching within herself, she found that she might be feeling something similar, but the constant travels had made her push it down. They’d been friends for a long time and grown comfortable in each others company.
After getting over that little surprise, they managed to come to an agreement. If the clan seemed like a good one, and they were allowed, they’d temporarily settle down and see what a potential romance might be like. See if they were compatible in that way as well.
When the mirror called River returned the next day he eagerly took them with him, and they were surprised to find just how close they’d come to the main clan. After being introduced to the clan leader Dissection and a few other notable characters, they spent a few days camping in the outskirts, seeing how the clan functioned.
Liking what they saw they decided to stay indefinitely, and after a short talk with Dissection had secured a more permanent residence. During the first year or so the romance between the two blossomed. Katara could now relax in a whole new way, and they had no pressure, only time, to explore each other and the feelings that arose. It also helped Katara tremendously to be so close to the Sea of a Thousand Currents, because while it was no longer her home, it still brought her a sense of safety and stability.
== Relationships ==
Zuko [Mate]
Feliks [Best friend]
River [Close friend]
Hemithea [Close friend]
Deimos [Acquaintance]
Rey [Frenemy]
== Short stories ==
To be written...
== Aesthetic ==
Category:Mirror
Category:Water Dragon
Category:Female
Category:Forager
Category:Healer
Category:Warrior
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