Sokka's Warrior Wolf Tail

"No one gets left behind
We've lived through hell on earth together
Together in death I'll be by your side
No one gets left behind
You know I'll always have your back
And you always know I'll keep the memory of you alive."

-The Hudson Falcons, No One Gets Left Behind

The thing that means the most to me, would have to be my pony-tai-- I mean, my "top knot".

When I was six years old, my father gave me my first haircut. I was a little afraid at first, knowing that my father would be shaving my hair off with a sharp blade, but... he was my father, and I trusted him even though I was afraid. My father told me, that's what makes a man brave: to do things even though you are afraid.

When he was finished shaving he pulled the remainder of my hair back onto the top of my head into a short ponytail. He tied it with a piece of short brown silk, and then said that he was finished. My father handed me a mirror and told me to look, "It's called a warrior's wolf tail; it means that you, my son, are going to be a strong warrior just like me, and just like your grandfather, and just like his father. But know this, Sokka, my son, the reason we have adopted the name of the wolves is because in the wolf packs, no one gets left behind. In the war we are fighting, you must remember that it's not just yourself you're fighting for. You're fighting to protect your family. You're fighting to protect the ones you love."

When my father went away with the other warriors, I was the one left to "protect" everybody in the village. I knew in my heart that my father really left me behind because I was too young, but he told me that he was leaving me there for a reason. Then a few years later, we found Aang, and I knew the reason in my heart, but was too afraid to act.

Katara, my sister, was brash, and wanted to run off and rescue this boy we'd only known for a few days. And everything that had happened; everything Aang told us and showed us; it proved to me the reason I was there. But I still wasn't sure about it.

If I acted, I could harm the village... but then I remembered what my father told me when I was small, "Being brave means doing things even though you are afraid."

Today, I'm still travelling with Aang and my sister. And in my heart... I'm still afraid. Afraid that we might not make it home. Afraid that we might not see our father again. Afraid that I might even lose my sister, just like I lost my mother. But there is a lesson I've learned on my own while on my journeys, "Being strong means having hope even in when there is no hope."