The Woes of a Cabbage Merchant:
The…Chase?
His Lungs were on fire. He hadn't run this much since he stumbled upon a polar bear dog den right after birthing season. For some reason, the mother bear dog did not believe him when he said he was just passing through.
I mean, I love meat, but she couldn't know that! Unless…the animals are talking! Oh no! I can never trust one again! A girlish giggle pushed through his thoughts. Alright. Calm down. We can just deal with this revelation later. Right now I need to run from this Hyper Finger Jab Punch girl.
Sokka glanced back to see how close Ty Lee was to him and let out a strangled cry when he saw her smile and wave a few yards behind him. He whipped his head back to the front again, in case she got any ideas. That girl had issues and seemed to think that fighting was the same as romancing.
Sokka's breath scraped out of his mouth, and he definitely had a stitch in his side. Maybe I can lose her if I cut through one of the alleys… and as He thought this, Sokka abruptly turned into the alley on his right—only to slam to a halt.
A man with graying hair and a green tunic and cap stood right in front of the water tribe boy, mouth agape, in the very act of carefully placing a cabbage on top of the pile already situated on the wooden cart beside him.
Man and boy, old and young, stared at each other for a full ten seconds, stock still…until a high-pitched voice sliced through the air.
"Caught you!" Sokka's shoulders slumped and the old man pulled the cabbage he was holding to his chest protectively as Sokka slowly turned around.
"The universe hates me." The boy muttered, eyeing the beaming young lady before him as if she carried some disease.
"Well, I don't hate you!" Ty Lee giggled again, lifting her hand to her mouth, her brown eyes shining.
"That's perfect." Sokka gave a fake smile.
Ty Lee looked at the warrior in hope, "Really?" Maybe he thinks I'm cute, too!
"No." Sokka's smile slide from his face and he inched his hand towards his boomerang. Ty Lee noticed, frowned, and moved a step closer.
"I wouldn't try that. I'd have to take drastic actions, and I do so want you to like me. Our auras would look perfect together!" Ty Lee clasped her hands before her and jumped a little on the balls of her feet.
Sokka couldn't be more confused. "Our….auras?"
"Oh Yes! Mine is a brilliant pink and yours is a soft blue, like the sky on a perfect, sunny day." Ty Lee sighed dreamily.
"What auras?" Sokka scratched his head.
Ty Lee's eyes filled up with tears, "You mean you can't see them?" at Sokka's shake of the head, Ty Lee deflated like a puffer camelfish, a pout on her lips for a brief moment before her brilliant smile returned.
"Well, maybe I could teach you how to see auras!" She took another step towards Sokka eagerly, and he stepped back in reflex, bumping into the cabbage cart the old man had been trying to pack up and move unobtrusively. The merchant held his breath with wide eyes until the cart and cabbages stopped moving. He knew not to make any sudden movement when teenagers were around his precious cabbages…bad things happened.
Sokka swiftly pulled out his boomerang and pointed it towards Ty Lee threateningly, "Stay away from me! I'm warning you! Keep those grimy hands to yourself!"
Ty Lee frowned, looking at her hands, "Grimy? My hands aren't grimy!" She huffed and took another step closer.
"SNEAK ATTACK!" Sokka threw his boomerang towards Ty Lee, who nimbly ducked to the left to dodge it. Here's my opening!
Sokka turned around, and, using the cart for support, leaped over the cabbages.
Well, he would have leaped over the cabbages if Ty Lee hadn't used her magic hands and rendered Sokka's legs useless.
"Oh, no…" Sokka looked down and braced himself as he crashed onto the cabbages, smooshing half and causing the others to be thrown everywhere.
The cabbage merchant stood by his cart, jaw open in shock. Then the tears started to form, "M-m-my cabbages!"
Ty Lee was too busy dragging Sokka down the alleyway by the back of his tunic to hear the old man's reaction, which was cut off anyway as Sokka's boomerang returned.
"Hey! What about my boomerang?" Sokka flailed his arms about, effectively hitting Ty Lee's arm.
"Ow! Why did you hit me? I almost dropped you!" Ty Lee rubbed her arm with her free hand.
Sokka smirked and waved his arms around some more, hitting Ty Lee a few more times in the process.
Ty Lee dropped Sokka unceremoniously and stomped, her hands on her hips, "That's enough! I caught you fair and square and now you have to come with me! Those are the rules!"
The Water Tribe boy scoffed, "What rules? The rules of 'Chase'?" More like the rules of war…
Ty Lee stuck her tongue out in return, "Yes, Dummy!"
Sokka threw himself onto his belly, trying to go back the way they came, and Ty Lee dove onto the floor after him, screaming "You leave me no choice!"
The warrior's attempt at escape (or turtle seal impression, take your pick) was cut off yet again as a few quick jabs made his arms limp as noodles. Sokka released a strangled yell, and Ty Lee hopped to her feet, and grabbed the back of his shirt again, pulling him to the outskirts of town all the while mumbling something about her aura not being this dingy since leaving the Fire Academy for Girls.
Sokka's brain was in overdrive, his eyes darting back and forth as he tried to think of a way out of this predicament. Maybe I could…no, she'd see through that in a second! What if I used that rock…well, what would I pick it up with? My teeth? Hundreds of plans raced through his head, each as ludicrous as the last. Why can't I think of anything? I'm Idea Guy!
Just as this thought appeared, Sokka registered that they had just walked (or in his case pulled) past the last house in town; he tried to look over his shoulder to see where they were headed and could only see the back of Ty Lee's legs.
"Where are you taking me?"
Ty Lee giggled, "We're going to the trees up ahead. We need to be away from people for what we're going to do."
Sokka gasped and closed his eyes. They're gonna torture me! Why, universe, why? His imagination went wild again and he was on the verge of hyperventilation when shadows fell upon his useless limbs and the high trill of birds surrounded him.
The Water Tribe warrior slowly opened his eyes as he felt bark against his bare arms and heard the rough, earthy substance snag on his blue tunic. Leaning Sokka against the fallen log, Ty Lee cart wheeled in front of him, crossing her legs as she sat down on the green grass.
She smiled brilliantly, "Let's start!"
+==+TL & S+==+
Sokka's eyes jerked back open. Ty Lee was still sitting cross legged in front of him, like she had been thirty seconds ago and for the last hour and a half. The Fire Nation must have developed a new method of torture—lull the victim into a false sense of security by boring them to sleep and then SNEAK ATTACK! In come the real questions! Why didn't I think of that?
Sokka had no idea what Ty Lee was talking about; he got lost five minutes after she began and had been fighting sleep for the last hour. The warrior would have already succumbed to that blissful world if he didn't know their evil plan.
I must stay awake! His eyelids dropped again, and a second later Sokka jerked them back open. Even knowing their plan, I'm falling asleep…she's good. Sokka couldn't dismiss the grudging admiration he felt for the girl—grudging because she was the enemy and admiration because she was fine. I mean cute..uh perky…uh adorable...I mean SNEAKY! Yeah, sneaky.
The warrior's fight for the correct adjective had pulled him away from the danger zone of dreamland, and since Sokka was now awake and had no idea what Ty Lee was talking about, he decided to observe the acrobat.
The first thing he noticed was the way the sun glinted off her chocolate colored hair; Yue's hair was cold, mysterious, and though Sokka loved the way the moonlight came to life in his first love's locks, he found the warmth and comfort and familiarity that radiated from Ty Lee infinitely preferable. His next fixation quickly caught his attention as she laughed aloud at something she had said, her lips still slightly smiling as her laughter echoed once or twice in the copse. How is someone so happy and good looking working for Azula?
His study was interrupted as he noticed that Ty Lee was looking at him expectantly. "What?" Sokka said articulately. Ty Lee giggled.
"I asked if you can see my aura now?"
Sokka blinked and then it clicked. Her aura, that's what she had been talking about. Sokka struggled to remember anything that she had said the last hour and a half, but only came up with the image of meat, which he knew was due to the fact that he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He continued to think. Nope. Nothing. Wait a minute…didn't she say something about—
"It's…pink?" Sokka squinted and tilted his head to the right, acting as if he was struggling to see something over Ty lee's head.
He didn't have to struggle to see the transformation that took over the acrobat's face, though. Her already pretty face became dazzling as her pink lips spread into the most beautiful smile Sokka had ever seen. His eyes widened, and his head straightened back up on its own accord as his mouth dropped open.
She's…She's…Heavenly. Forget food comparisons, her beauty has passed into perfection.
The warrior didn't have much more time to think as Ty Lee squealed, clapped her hands and lunged at him. Sokka's eyes widened more as he felt her soft arms slide around his neck and her lips crash onto his.
Sokka felt dizzy. He'd been kissed before, but nothing compared to this. His ears were ringing, his sense tingling—and he suddenly felt like he could join the Singing Nomads in song just from this one little, perfect kiss.
No matter its perfection, it only lasted a short second because Ty Lee quickly pulled back, her own eyes wide as she realized what she did.
"Oh…I'm so sorry..I-I-" she broke off in a giggle, her hands covering her reddening face.
"I can't believe I did that!" Ty Lee giggled again and shyly glanced at Sokka through her eyelashes. Sokka was preoccupied with trying to learn how to breathe again—and it didn't help when she looked at him in that way—so beautiful, so innocent, so…perfectly wonderful.
Ty Lee's eyes grew worried "Can you forgive me for being so forward? I just haven't met someone who can see my aura in so long."
Her words finally got Sokka functioning again. He grinned. "No. I can't."
Ty Lee pouted "Ohhh!"
"But maybe you could show me that special sneak attack again?" Sokka gazed deeply into her eyes, watching as confusion and then shy understanding filled them. The acrobat brought a hand to her lips as a soft giggle escaped them. She leaned closer, her eyelids falling closed—
"I can show you a sneak attack! For my cabbages!" Ty Lee and Sokka's heads snapped to the side and they saw the Cabbage Merchant pulling his arms back and then letting something fly.
Sokka recognized it as soon as it left the merchant's hand. "Boomerang!"
But that's all the Water Tribe boy could say before a shrill "Look out!" and a massive headache began.
"Ohhh…" Sokka tried to hold his head, until he realized that he still couldn't move his arms.
Ty Lee bent her head over his, her braid falling over her shoulder. "Would you like me to kiss it better?" Ty Lee said perkily, her hand gently touching his head.
"Yes," Sokka whined, as he scrunched up his nose, "But could you fix my arms first?"
A/N: Well, I hope you like it, my first foray into Avatar: The Last you don't like my characterizations, sorry, not used to writing them—still working out the kinks. Please do tell me what is lacking in the characterizations, if they are OOC, etc. I love constructive criticism because I'd like to make my writing as great as possible! (Just do it nicely please! I don't want RUDE comments)
Poor Cabbage Merchant, doesn't get any slack. Ever.