Nelumbo Nucifera
"LEAVE!"
Sokka removed his arms from his head as the flames disappeared behind his back. Before him, Zuko kneeled in front of his uncle's (Iroh?) damaged body.
He let his gaze slip sidelong to Aang and the others. Aang and Katara were exchanging worried glances; Toph was wearing an expression of anguish.
She turn to him, though he did not know how she knew he was there, her face unreadable.
Sokka turned away.
"Let's go, guys," he muttered. Behind him, he heard Katara make a tiny noise of protest, so he added, "He doesn't want our help."
Aang sighed, in a long-suffering sort of way, and marched silently passed Sokka. Toph followed with her blind eyes turned toward the ground. A moment passed, and then Katara walked passed him. Her face was tight, as though she was struggling to keep herself in one piece. In her hands, Sokka could not help but notice that she absently fingered the end of her long ponytail.
He shook his head.
And then glanced over his shoulder. Zuko was seemed to have not moved, but rather sat brokenly over his fallen uncle. Something inside Sokka paused, and in the stillness he felt his heart shift slightly for the two.
But then he shook it off, and started to walk after the group.
It was –
Sokka blinked, and looked down at his feet. His toe had accidentally knocked against something too soft to be a rock. It was wooden, careworn, and thin. And shaped in a perfect circle.
He bent down and picked it up. The face was smooth, but when he turned the tile over he found a pink lotus flower carved into the dark wood. It was the only type of flower he knew by a name, and only because it had been his mother's favorite.
Sokka furrowed his brow. "Weird," he whispered to himself.
Then, behind him, he heard Zuko beginning to rise. Hurriedly, so as not to get himself burnt to a crisp, Sokka slipped the lotus tile into his pocket and started to run after the others. Maybe, he mused, if they walked fast enough, they'd find Appa before moonrise.
