So this is my first foray into the Avatar universe. I hope you enjoy reading it. It's right after the final chapter in the second book. I do support Sokka Suki, and I hope she turns up alright. Read, review, please and thank you -- all that jazz.
shadeofsound23
We rode away on Appa with the two new companions that misfortune had placed with us, wondering if there would be a tomorrow. Katara was watching over Aang, relief etched all over her worried face at the discovery that he was still alive. She didn't, however, budge from his side, fearful that, without her, he might die again.
I take out my boomerang and turn it over and over in my hands, relearning all the nicks and curves of a weapon that I knew better than most parts of myself. I smiled; my faithful boomerang always came back, no matter what it would come back to. The smile didn't last long – we weren't going back to where we were thrown from. Ba Sing Se had been rotting from the inside out for too long anyway; all Azula did was give a push in the right direction and it was hers.
All Azula did… besides stealing Suki.
I quickly sheath my boomerang, not wanting to give the anger now coursing down my arms an easy outlet. I tell myself that it's not right to assume that of Suki, that she's more capable than that. Though what Katara hastily told me about Azula's charade was not comforting. About how she had tried to go to Suki for help, but only to find out that it Azula in Kyoshi armor.
Suki's armor.
Seething to myself, I can't describe how not knowing if Suki's okay is fueling a rage I never knew I had. It wasn't just depressing like when Yue died, when I couldn't protect someone who needed it. It wasn't someone giving up their life for a greater cause.
It's different now; something has been torn out of my being. Azula stole something precious from me, and I will get it back. I won't have it any other way. I know she's alright. She has to be alright.
I stop when it turns to begging that she'll be all right. I'm a warrior. I don't beg.
Not even to my own doubts.
Toph, holding my arm, turns her head towards me. I know she didn't do that to look at me; she's already looking at me with her abilities.
"You know, Sokka, Appa can pretty much fly himself. You don't need to hold the reigns so tight."
Her frankness forces me back to focus, and I look down to see my fists clenched around the leather straps that tie to Appa. I forcefully remove the strips from my hands, earning a grateful grunt in appreciation from the bison. My fists immediately ball up again, and I can feel the tears building up around my eyes.
Dammit; I am more in control of myself than this.
I feel a head hit my shoulder. Toph holds my arm tighter. I look over to Toph and open my mouth.
"Toph…"
"Sokka, I know; I'm not trying to move in on anything or anyone." We were quiet for a long while.
Staring at anything I could to keep from breaking, I try asking her why but only a strangled choke escapes my throat. She holds my arm a little tighter and speaks with a little sadness in her voice.
"Sometimes people just need a stable place for awhile; where the rug won't get pulled out from under them, or the floor won't just crumble and give way. Of all of us, I'm pretty sure that I know the most about stable ground."
She smiles a little at me.
The tears welled at my eyes trickle down, burning angrily against my skin. My fists tremble as the knuckles turn white. The shaking increases, running the full course along my body, driving it to quake with anger, frustration, loss... I ease my head onto Toph's, trying to allow myself the stability she offered. The tears increase.
" 'Sides, I'm positive that Suki'll be okay. She's a tough girl, and she'll get out of whatever scrape she got into just fine." She moves her arms around me, as if she was afraid I would shake into pieces in her grasp. I try to not disappoint her, but it gets harder as more images of things that I never wanted to see pop into my head as my mind betrays me to fearful waking nightmares. They soon were associated with the face of Azula, and the cold lump in my stomach from just previous was quickly replaced with a burning flame. Combined with the fiery tears that were streaming down my face, my body felt like it was set ablaze, and there was nothing I could do with it. Shortly, as all fires that run out of fuel do, it died down, leaving me silently sobbing as Toph held me together.
"They stole her from me." I whispered between ragged breaths.
"We'll get her back, Sokka. I promise." Toph said quietly, hoping secretly that Suki was alright.