I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers.
Siegfried Sassoon
My palms were sweating slightly. A quick look to my left, and I saw Sokka bowed over in his familiar pre-battle stance.
A deep breath. Two.
A shout and a scream of rage rent the air, and we were in battle. I rushed forward, water in my right hand, spear in my left. I added my war cry to the others. As I darted through the trees, glimpses of blue and green told me that I wasn't alone. My first adversary came upon me, and I jumped, using my momentum to carry me into a powerful flying side kick. The man didn't anticipate it, and I hit him in the neck. I heard it snap and after landing kept running.
"Rahhh!"
Sokka's cry wasn't his normal intimidation call or his cry of victory, and I was forced to turn.
"Tui!" I shouted.
"La!" I heard the faint response.
I burst through the trees into a clearing. Sokka was taking on two firebenders. One had a wounded leg, run through with Sokka's spear, and I went for him first. His arms unfortunately, were still in use. Fiery pain engulfed my side while I twisted my water around, its sharpness deadly. The throat, underneath the helmet, was always vulnerable. The momentary regret in another kill had to be pushed aside as together Sokka and I attacked the final firebender. I distracted him with waterbending, and Sokka went in for the kill.
"Should we keep going?" My brother turned to me.
"Did you hear the horn?"
"No."
"We keep going. Let's finish this raid together."
A couple more soldiers and one determined firebender, and then the horn sounded.
It as a quick retreat.
"Survivors?" Sokka barked out, just like every time.
"Look for yourself," one of the earthbenders grunted.
"You two made it back. I'm surprised."
"Nice to see you too, Toph," I smiled. "You were with the open team?"
"Yeah." Toph settled down on one of the many boxes scattered throughout the base. "We made a good strike. You guys?"
"From the lack of dead bodies being carried in, I'd say we did well. It's hard to tell on the forested side of the mountain. You guys have it better, you know. Nice, open . . you can see your enemies . . ." I grinned at the blind earthbender, knowing she could hear it in my voice.
"You can keep whining, Sugar Queen, but you've gotta deal with it."
"Katara, fix up that burn. Then, could you heal me?"
"I got it." Before I had begun fighting, I had been a mediocre healer at best. Practice made perfect.
"Briefing right now," Haru said as he passed by. "You guys better hurry."
"Ugh, as long as Jet doesn't start one of his 'revenge' speeches." Sokka stretched. "That made a one hour meeting into a three hour one."
"You're one to talk, with that day you started having a hissy fit about no meat rations being left," Toph commented with her sly grin.
"I don't have hissy fits," Sokka returned indignantly.
"Oh, sure. Remember when you lost your boomerang?" I smirked.
"This conversation needs to end." Sokka stalked off to the meeting tent, the rest of us following, laughing.
We all fell silent as soon as we entered the tent. It was time for the summary.
My father, the Chief, stood at the front, hands behind his back. "We have lost brave soldiers today. All of you, remember the fallen today, Pipsqueak and Bato." The gasps around the room were almost customary at the post-raids, but they still bit deep. I had seen my father's throat constrict at Bato's name. They had been as close as brothers. I glanced across the room, where the Duke was crouched, small form stiff. Song was comforting him.
"We must continue the fight. The lookouts will keep watch, and we will anticipate the next Fire Nation raid. We must continue fighting!" My father's voice was strong.
"Earthbenders, report in four hours to the open side of the mountain for more work on barricades. Waterbenders, replenish your supplies, but be careful as you go down to the streams. Everyone else, replace broken weapons and rest as much as possible."
"See you, Toph."
"Be careful as you go down, Katara. There's a bunch of tremors. Probably next raid there'll be some catapults."
"You should let the Chief know," I suggested. I pulled out my waterskins. The three other waterbenders gathered together and we began to maneuver back down the mountain. I passed by several dead bodies, wincing as I did so. I had learned long ago to ignore my feelings when I killed, but afterward there was always a dull pain.
"Did you kill this one?" One of the younger boys looked at me. They were too new at waterbending to get really involved in the fights.
"No. Not this guy, anyway," I murmured.
"Shhh," the only other girl hissed. She had potential as a waterbender, assuming she didn't die.
"You get the latest news?" An unfamiliar voice broke the silence.
All of us dropped to the ground, the underbrush hiding us from the view of the Fire Nation soldiers.
"What's that?"
"it's rumors, mostly. Something about a threat, and maybe the princess will go after it. For some reason Zhao's furious."
"Let's get back. We've got to set up the catapults."
I stared at the other waterbenders and waited for the voices to recede."Let's get our water."
"You going to bed already?"
I looked over at my tent-mate. "Like you aren't tired."
"I'm invincible. I never get tired," Toph smirked.
"What if I tell you a story?"
"Not the one about Oma and Shu, please. We're so close to Omashu here, I think I've heard it about a million times."
"How about the Avatar?" I asked sleepily.
"You know we're not supposed to talk about him."
I started the story anyway. "My grandmother found him in the ice three years ago. Frozen, caught in time. The last airbender. According to her, he had the blue arrows that marked a master, and he was only twelve. Unfortunately, he only knew air, so he was sent to the Northern Water Tribe in secret, and the other elemental masters journeyed there to train him. The Chief says that only two more years and he'll finally be able to help us with the war."
"Why do you call him the Chief? He's your dad."
It gave me a pause. "It's easier that way."
Toph didn't ask for an explanation, which I was thankful for.
"So what will happen when the Avatar finishes training?"
"Well, assuming we've survived until then, he has amazing power. He will stop the war."
"If you say so."
I turned over. "He has to."
"Katara, how long have you been fighting?"
"I was assigned here when I was fourteen, and I've been fighting ever since."
"You've survived three years?"
"Well, first year and a half was training."
Toph was silent for a moment. "I didn't think anyone lasted that long."
"Tons of them do, Toph. You'll probably outlive us all, with those earthbending skills of yours," I murmured.
"One can hope." With that, the two of us went to sleep.
It was still dark when the signal was called. The distinctive bird call rang out across the mountainside, and I tumbled out of my sleeping bag.
"Toph."
"I refuse," she said groggily.
In response, I threw a nearby rock at her.
"I'm up!" she groaned.
Fighting through our sleepiness, we managed to get to the gathering before the raid began.
"Everyone to the forested side. Watch out for catapult fire, try and put out fires if you can. Good luck."
It was a good raid for us. I mostly put out fires, while Sokka and Toph did the attacking. Their catapults were weak and ineffective, mostly because they didn't know where to aim with the trees blocking. That didn't stop the occasional flaming hunk of earth from crashing through the trees and scaring us out of our skins, but the death toll was zero.
After the raid we celebrated. We did every time no one died.
"Pass me the meat, Katara."
"I'm telling you, earth is way better than water or fire."
I chose to splash Toph with her drink.
"Not fair."
I laughed, downing my own.
"Who wants to play a game of elements!"
"Not me."
"I do!"
"Katara, Sokka, and Toph."
"What is it?" I turned to see Chief Hakoda standing behind me, arms crossed. "Ah, right. Sorry, sir."
I threw a glance at Sokka and Toph as we walked. They seemed just as confused as I.
Our father directed us to sit while he stood at the front of the meeting tent.
"We have a situation."
"What is it, sir?" Sokka asked.
"Both of you know about the Avatar, and his on-going training. I have just received news that the Fire Nation has discovered his existence, either through a mole or by accident. He has been moved from the Northern Water Tribe, as they are not ready to take a full invasion. We believe that the Fire Nation does not know where he is, only that he is alive."
"What does that have to do with us, sir?" Toph said with her usual bluntness.
"The Avatar has a guard, but needs a guide. In this case, the three of you. You must find him and bring him to the different battlefronts, including this one. In short, help the Avatar end the war. All of you are experienced fighters, and Katara and Toph, you're the best benders we have. Don't let me down."
We were silent. Part of me jumped at the chance to get out of the perpetual cycle of raids, but the other part didn't want to leave. I had fought for so long on the same mountainside, making a difference. I didn't want to throw that away.
Sokka stood. "I am honored to take on this mission. I won't fail you." He bowed.
For a moment, Chief Hakoda's face moulded itself into a father's face. "Sokka, I know you won't."
Toph stood. "Me too. Just hope the earthbenders won't fail without me." It drew a smile from the Chief.
I stood. "We'll do our best." I stared into my father's face, hoping for some sign of affection, even a smile, but nothing came. I saw Sokka watching me, and I controlled my own emotions. "Please make sure the waterbenders in training are ready before they go out to battle."
We left, moving to our tents and gathering up our gear. Without speaking, we all knew that this meant leaving immediately, no goodbyes and no time to waste.
Packs on our shoulders, the three of us stood, staring down the mountain.
"Here goes nothing," Sokka muttered.
"Just another battle," I said with a sigh.
"Stop with the doom and gloom. Let's just do this thing." Toph took the earth we were standing on and made it into a platform, sending us hurtling down the mountain.
A/N: This is my next big fanfic! For anyone confused, the idea here is that the 100-Year-War IS a war. Obviously, Avatar is a kids show, so they couldn't explore this . . . so I am. Critique appreciated.