Zuko and Katara are doing dishes together again, and Zuko suggests that even if Katara gets the day off, she would still "supervise" the chores, resulting in another splashing battle.
Katara makes some facetious suggestions about what she wants- all her wishes to come true, rainbows and a lionpony called "miss sparklepants"- but says she really wants a fun, relaxing day, recalling how difficult it was to get Aang to relax before the Day of Black Sun. Zuko suggests that it should be easy for the girls at the day spa, but doesn't like the invitation for the boys to come. Katara suggests "steamy yoga" for Zuko, saying that even his hair is standing at attention (although it's because of the soap) and although he insists he's always tense, Katara makes it a birthday command to relax, saying that it's her favorite part. Zuko isn't surprised, resulting in yet another splashing battle, to get the soap out of his hair.
Zuko asks one last time what Katara wants, and Katara wants something small, no bigger than a breadbox... which is a problem, because the boys got her something that is bigger than a breadbox.
Zuko and Katara then have another sparring match. Katara wins by tickling yet again, with Zuko trying to find her tickle spot. Katara then announces her desire for items smaller than a breadbox, causing Sokka to Face Palm and say "Now You Tell Me".
Katara watches Aang practice firebending, and he's doing well, which is a nice change of pace. Aang asks to talk to Zuko in private, and Katara is told to Take Five. Katara leaves but eavesdrops on them.
Apparently, Aang is looking for something rare, expensive and special (but apparently not specifically special for Katara). Zuko has one gift idea for each item:
- The rarest is the burning passion firelily, which is apparently quite expensive off the island, and is supposedly a gift given by men who want to have sex with their lovers, although Zuko doesn't say this outright.
- The most expensive (and tastiest) is the dragonberries, a delicacy among Fire Nation nobility that must be picked by hand from the top of the dragon berry tree.
- The most special is the white crystals, but they're bigger than a breadbox and don't fit into the plan.
The Gaang leaves Katara alone with Sokka, presumably as part of the plan. Katara suspects as much, but she realizes she can't do that, lest he add a sixth flavor to five flavor stew- fire flakes, much to Katara's dismay, and she lays into Sokka. If this is a plan for making sure Katara doesn't leave the kitchen, it's quite effective.
The group gets back, but remains tight-lipped and shifty. Katara tries to get answers out of Suki, but to no avail. Katara tries Toph next, since she's more likely to be open, but she's practicing the tsungi horn, the loudest instrument she can get her hands on, one that her parents never let her play, and unfortunately, one that is, for the most part, too large for her. Aang and Sokka have escaped, leaving Katara to view with wonder at two new things- Zuko being so patient and Toph being so bad at something.
Toph gets frustrated and wants to give up, but since giving up is not in Zuko's nature, saying that he was shorter than Toph when he started, was also terrible at the horn, but the horn is a difficult instrument to learn and she merely needs practice, as well as possibly a platform like the complete compendium of firenation history.
Zuko and Katara let off steam again, and Katara feels herself getting better, possibly enough so that she could beat him in a straight up fight, although it's more fun to beat him by tickling him.
This time, however, it ends in a draw, with both combatants finding each other's weak spots. Once Katara's surprise at how Zuko found out her weak spot (through Sokka) fades, the two engage in a tickling match.
When Katara and Zuko get back, the others are asleep, so they make some tea and Katara asks why Zuko, with so many instruments to choose from, chose the hardest one. The short answer is because Iroh and Lu Ten could play it. The long answer is because it was the hardest one, and Zuko wanted to prove that he could do it. Katara finds it to be "such a Zuko answer", to do something because it's difficult and because he's stubborn, but she notices that he seems to be dismissing his own answer.
Zuko says his mother wanted him and his sister to have a more rounded education, with creative things, but his father said Azula was "special" and didn't need it. Katara feels sad that Ozai can so easily make Zuko feel inadequate, especially with things like music, that should be fun. Katara reassures him that it was special, which is touching. She then gets him to play it for her if she asks nicely.
By now, it's after midnight, and on Katara's birthday, so Zuko comes out with Katara's presents, the first being a necklace that supposedly will grant three wishes for Katara. Katara wishes for a fabulous birthday, that everyone survives the war, and that they ultimately win. The second present is a clear crystal, a prism, which shows a rainbow when light passes through it.
Katara's impressed, noting that her sarcastic answer was made in the belief that Zuko was asking to be polite, and that no one gets her what she really wants anyway. But she points out that rainbows and wishes are what she wants anyway. Zuko mistakes Katara's silence for disapproval, until she expresses heartfelt gratitude for the gifts and for remembering what she said, although she hopes he doesn't remembers the insults. Katara thanks him for the gift, and says it's more thoughtful than socks and scarves. Zuko and Katara spend some time just cuddling. Katara wonders how the others would react if the others saw them (including Toph, who can't exactly see them), but puts it out of her mind just as she's getting to Aang, and decides she doesn't owe any of them an explanation.
Another author's note follows a chapter of almost pure fluff, thanking the readers and wishing she could give them the same gifts Katara got.
The author mentions that the Gang(sic) is preparing for Katara's birthday, and their plan will play out in the next chapter. Meanwhile, Katara's concerned about the others' stress levels, and hopes to help them relax, but that she'll ultimately succeed.
The author mentions that the islands of the Fire Nation would often be volcanic, and have many hot springs (which the Gaang will explore at some point); she knows because she used to live on one like them, and the Fire Nation islands remind her of something like Ischia or Hawaii.
The author points out that Aang wants to do something for Katara that shows how he feels, and wants something rare/expensive, especially flowers, as shown in The Fortuneteller; the author suggests that it's a good place to start, but flowers are "generic"; a valid assertion, and I've found when giving gifts that you have to consider the recipient. Aang then decides to go to Zuko for advice- in other words, the guy who will eventually end up with the girl he likes- and thus learns of the aforementioned flower that's like a red rose.
Kimberly T. was the one who came up with Katara's tickle spot.
The author mentions her love for Toph and Zuko playing the massive horn, but suggests that Toph may turn to an easier, and less noisy, instrument for a while.
The author mentions that being at the house (and, one might imagine, anything relating to Zuko's old life in the Fire Nation) stirs up many memories for Zuko, most of which aren't pleasant. Ozai is naturally "callous" toward Zuko, and willing to emphasize how special Azula is in comparison, so Zuko decides to prove himself at other "hard and complicated" things if he can't match Azula as a bender. It also helps that his uncle and cousin are good at that instrument, and his mother wants him to be a good player (he showed his skills on the mandolin in "Tales of Ba Sing Se") . Em Dixon says Azula was Ozai's child, and Zuko was Ursa's child (and this was before the plot twist in the Search that suggested that Zuko might be Ursa's illegitimate child), and he also wanted to make Ursa happy. But while his feelings are mixed, Zuko has developed past needing Ozai's approval, and can stand on his own now.
The author then goes into the gifts, describing the beads as similar to wish knots and karma beads, which the author heard about from a friend, and working in a "hippy store." The colors of the beads mean various things, and blue for hope is best for Katara, who is a little superstitious.
The author then calls upon her Year 8 science for the prisms, as a way of showing that Zuko takes what she says to heart, and realizes that a part of her rant is the truth.
So, at this point, Zuko has two gifts that happen to fit with what she talked about earlier, while Aang goes for expensive and rare gifts, a contrast between working smarter and working harder, so to speak. I have to wonder- must Aang always be the one whose efforts are well-intentioned but ineffectual?
The author says that next time, they will get to the birthday, and someone saw Zuko and Katara cuddling.
What I Liked
- Insight into Zuko's efforts at the horn.
- The fact that the house stirs up memories for Zuko
- The gifts
What I didn't like
- The implication that Aang is that much worse than Zuko at understanding Katara and getting good and thoughtful gifts for her.
