It was a clear, sunny day, and the Gaang was setting up camp. Toph was searching for logs for a fire; Aang was using his airbending to clear the ground where they'd be sleeping of sticks and rocks; and Sokka and Katara were setting up the sleeping bags. Toph walked back into camp, armfuls of logs being carried in an earthbended case she had made. Every few steps, she would stop and push the cart ahead several meters, then catch up to it and repeat the process. She dumped the load of wood in the center of the campsite and plopped over next to Appa. She pulled a pecan out of a bag she had collected while log-gathering and closed her eyes. However, just as she was about to pop it into her mouth, a staggering set of vibrations in the woods caught her attention. By the size of the body, as well as it's structure, she could tell that it was a female, and by the staggering limp, and the occasional faint splash of liquid droplets where she stepped. Toph was immediately alert, leaping up from her laidback position and made a mad dash around Appa towards the mysterious figure. Sokka, who had seen her sudden haste, hopped up after her.
"Where's the fire?" He joked playfully, jogging after the frantic earthbender. He rounded the turn and the smile faded from his face as he caught sight of what had caused her haste.
"Who is it, what happened to her?" The mysterious woman had collapsed unconscious face first on the ground, dark hair falling in front of her face. "I don't know," came Toph's response. "She, she seems familiar, but, I can't… Her voice trailed off as Sokka carefully reached down and flipped over the unconscious woman. He let out a gasp and stumbled backwards as he saw who it was. Now it was Toph's turn to be curious.
"Who is it!" she shouted out excitedly, eager to put a name on the mystery woman.
"It's Suki."
Sokka's mind was a mix of fear and emotion as he watched the chest of the unconscious Kyoshi Warrior rise and fall with every breath. It was clear that she'd faced numerous hardships, there were plentiful cuts and bruises covering her now tanned skin, and her hair, longer than he'd ever seen it, was tangled and matted. There was a deep gash on her leg, and due to the swelling on it, it was obviously infected. When they'd discovered the gash, Katara had rushed down to a river that was a little ways away with Aang to collect as much water as possible, as there might be more unseen wounds, and the longer they remained open, the more precarious they became. Sokka's eyes snapped back into focus as a groan escaped from Suki's lips and her eyes fluttered open as she slowly regained consciousness
"S-Sokka?" She whispered hoarsely, surprise filling her heart, and blinding her with joy for a brief moment. But then, her realistic side took over. "It's probably just an illusion." She thought, "A trick of the light maybe. I must be hallucinating, either from pain or from hunger." Her injured leg sent a sharp pain up to her brain, reinforcing her negative thoughts. But she had to know, had to satisfy her aching heart's curiosity. Risking the heartbreak of finding out he was another trick of her mind, she lifted her arm slowly, and, taking a shaky breath, she reached out and stroked his cheek, and asked him; "a-are you really here, is it really you?"
Her simple question was enough to reduce Sokka to tears. She had left him, a strong, amazing young woman, and when she had returned to him, she had been reduced to – to this. His tears were enough to get Suki to start crying as well, tears that she had held in for what seemed to her like an eternity falling freely down her cheeks. This only made Sokka cry harder, and he reached down, with the tenderness of a mother, kissed her gently on the lips. "Did that seem real to you?"