"Sokka you're such a pig!" she screamed.
"At least I'm not a complete psychopath!" Sokka yelled back. It was late at night as all six people sat around the fire. Katara, Aang, Toph, and Zuko just watched the two as they fought. A month ago they met her, the girl Sokka was yelling at. Her name was Leah, a soul bender. They had discovered her in the forest and she almost had killed Zuko. She was very easy to get along with, but Sokka could find something wrong with her. Leah may have been dark, sadistic, and a little crazy, but that was from her ability to control people through soul bending. She could control a person's limbs to how she saw fit. It was a scary, burdening power, that had recently started getting to Leah.
"It takes one to know one, pal!" Leah countered.
"I'm not the manipulative, sick, twisted sadist! I swear, you wouldn't even flinch if you saw someone being tortured!" he yelled. She glared at him and the group ran to restrain her, knowing what was to come. Aang held her arms while Toph encased her feet. Katara went to talk to Sokka while Zuko tried to calm her down.
"Leah, Leah, listen to me. Sokka doesn't mean it. He's just frustrated. Calm down Leah, calm down, please," Zuko whispered, trying to calm her down. A white aura already encased her, making her hair move a bit by the invisible wind. It soon flickered to a stop as she fell forwards. Zuko caught her and Toph released her feet. Zuko helped her down as Katara yelled at Sokka.
"Look what you did to her! This is the third time this week! You know Leah can't handle all the anger! You're lucky she didn't kill you!" she yelled at her brother.
"It's not my fault she can't control herself!" he defended.
"Yes it is! You shouldn't egg her on like that! Do you have any guilt?" Katara yelled. Zuko looked to both of them and glared.
"Shut up you two! If Leah wakes up, she could have a heart attack or worse!" Zuko scolded. Both let out a sigh, knowing Zuko was right. If Leah had woken up less than an hour after her energy build up, she could die. Katara and Sokka joined the circle around the fire again. Leah was out cold, head resting on Zuko's lap as the group entered an awkward silence.
"Why do you always fight with Leah?" Toph directed to Sokka, breaking the heavy silence. "You know that she could kill you if she got angry enough, so why do you get her angry regardless?" All eyes were on Sokka now, realizing none of them had an answer themselves.
"Why? Because I hate her. She has no guilt in manipulating people, controlling them, stripping them of their free will, torturing them. I doubt Leah even has a conscience. She's despicable!" he explained.
"She never told you her past, did she?" Zuko asked. Sokka gave him a confused gaze, then look to the rest of the group, who obviously knew something he didn't. "She's going to hate me for this, but it's best if you know."
"When Leah was five, her and her parents figured out her power. They knew she'd be powerful and was overjoyed. Her parents thought she may even be stronger than an avatar. They trained her to death for three years after that and when she was eight, the fire nation found out about her. They figured she would be a good addition to the nation, so they kidnapped her. When she refused to cooperate, they locked her up in a high security cell. The only light she ever saw was when the guards opened up a small hole to slide food through. Leah turned dark and sadistic there. She would often torture the guards out side her cell for entertainment. She got a sense of revenge in doing so. Leah got an idea to control the guards to set her free and after four months of planning, she pulled it off, seeing light for the first time in four years. I remember when I was twelve, seeing her walking through the streets, seeing people hide from her. She looked up at my uncle and myself and I will never forget that moment. Leah was turned into an animal from such harsh treatment. She was scary thin, pale and look on the edge of death. Her eyes were pitch black and sad. I vowed that day that if I ever saw her again, I'd protect her and take care of her. I was about to go up to her, but she was gone after I blinked. Two years later, when I was fourteen, I found her in the woods. I took care of a wound on her leg and we grew to understand each other, with out words. Leah disappeared the next day and I hadn't seen her since the day we saw her in the woods just a month ago," Zuko explained. Sokka was dumbfounded. He could never imagine that kind of story and one that tied in with Zuko so much. That explained why they were so close. Leah opened her eyes slightly and sat up a bit. It hadn't been an hour, so this brought some alarm. Zuko guided her head back down to his lap and she fell asleep.
"She was treated like an animal?" Sokka asked, barely above a whisper.
"No. No one could ever treat an animal that badly," Zuko replied. The group's eyes shifted towards Leah. She looked so peaceful compared to a few moments ago.
"I had no idea," Sokka said.
"Yeah, well now you know. Maybe you'll treat her better now," Katara spat, before getting up and walking to the tent. Sokka felt guilty after that. He had to make it up to her some how. Just then a white glow came over Leah again. This time it was stretched upwards, forming into an image of her, but with a set of wings. She was bright and looked like a ghost. Leah then woke from Zuko's lap and sat up. The white mist turned into a fish and swam around the sky. She looked at it and smiled as it swam up and up until it was just another dot on the sky.
"It's gone," was all Leah said before getting up and extending a hand to Sokka. He took it, dazed and looked at her. It was the first time he had seen her smile at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Katara walked out of the tent and watched the two along with a stunned Zuko, Toph, and Aang. She pulled back and grinned. Sokka was still surprised and stunned, paralyzing him. Leah started to glow white again and soon her whole body was made of a white mist. The wind blew slightly, causing her shape to change. Her legs disappeared and were replaced with a fish tail. Leah drifted off into the sky, swimming along towards the north star. The fish from earlier came down to join her and they swam off together.
Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Aang all stared at the sky, still dazed by what happened. Zuko looked up too, grinning. Leah never wanted to hate Sokka; she loved him. Zuko was told this day would come and he was just glad she was able to tell Sokka.
Years later, Sokka sat on a cliff, watching the night sky. It reminded him of that night five years ago.
"Hello Sokka," said a voice from behind him. A mermaid made of white mist greeted him. He smiled at his friend.
"Hello Leah."
