~ This is only my first story, so I'm only publishing a small part for now! Rated T for later chapters, if you don't like Yue x Sokka don't read! There will definitely be more plot coming, but I wanted to see if people would want to keep reading. Thanks! ~
"You're okay!" Katara exclaimed as she fell to her knees in relief, skidding across the shore with her arms wide open, ready to embrace her friend.
Aang grinned as the rest of the team, including Appa and Momo, rushed over for one of their customary group hugs. Although he was thrilled to see his friends, Aang frowned slightly and said, "I have so much to do."
Katara looked around at her friends for support and then back to Aang, smiling. "I know, but you'll have our help."
Sokka stood towards the front of the stolen Fire Nation battleship, closing his eyes as he remembered the events that had taken place the day before. As the ocean air blew past his face, he thought about the distance Aang must have traveled to reach the bay he was found on, and with major injuries no less. It would be a few days before the team could continue on with any plans. "Sokka," called a gruff voice.
Sokka turned around to see his father, still dressed in the Fire Nation uniform, his composure stiff and his arms crossed. "Oh, hi Dad; what's going on? Did something happen?"
Hakoda shook his head and stood beside his son. "The Avatar is still resting; it should be a few days before he's recovered enough to go. We were discussing what our next plan should be, and I decided I should talk to you first."
Sokka puffed out his chest a little bit, secretly proud with his newfound importance on the team. "Well, the Fire Nation is bound to hear from those men who attacked us sooner or later, so I think me, Katara, Toph, and Aang should take Appa and go somewhere else, to throw them off. The rest of you can go on ahead, looking for other ships to ambush."
"Where do you plan to go?" Hakoda asked, rubbing his chin. "You can't go to the Fire Nation, you'll be found; and so many towns in the Earth Kingdom are being taken over, you'd probably be discovered by firebenders there too."
"Well…" Sokka turned again and looked out to sea. As the ship trudged on, several caves on the horizon stood out against the sunlight. "I guess we could always hide out, someplace where it's deserted; like a cave or something."
As Sokka and his father continued to discuss future plans, Toph sleepily shuffled across the ship's deck, grinning as she felt the metal sliding across her bare feet. "I could rip this ship apart in a heartbeat," she muttered to herself, trying to hang on to some confidence as she shivered against the wind, hearing the crashing of the waves against the ship. She was still turning over what she'd overhead Sokka and Hakoda talking about. If they were to start traveling again, they would need some money to help with food. After the battle with Azula, they were flat broke; supplies would be difficult to come by.
Blowing her bangs out of her face, Toph thought about the small stash of money she'd left in her bedroom back in Gaoling. It wasn't much, but it would help; the thought of going even a day without food made Toph's stomach growl. "Sokka!" she shouted, walking over to the place where she felt his weight. "If we're going to be on the run, we should first go back to my hometown and grab some cash. We can ride on Appa using a cover, and I'll sneak into my house; I have some money saved up that we can use."
Hakoda and Sokka exchanged a glance. "That sounds like a good idea," Hakoda said, smiling at Toph.
"It may be safer to go by ship though," Sokka said. "We can use Katara's waterbending to speed us up, and we'll be there in no time."
"Well, we should probably go talk to her before we involve her in your crazy plans," Toph said, grabbing Sokka's arm and pulling him across the deck to Aang's room. She didn't bother knocking, and instead flung open the door and yelled, "Katara, Sokka needs to run something by you."
Aang tried to sit up but, wincing, laid back down again. "What's going on, Toph?"