Title: Decisions
Author: Penbee of Treewood
Pairing/Characters: None
Rating: G
Summary: After Avatar Day Sokka misses the chance to see a friend on a return visit and he wonders what has become of her and the others they have met on their travels.

Note: This thing is so old it had warnings for Avatar Day spoilers. I must've never gotten around to putting this up. (I think that was when I lost my net…) Anyway, up now. -- On another note: I haven't done much more than a basic wording cleanup to this since I originally wrote it after Avatar Day. Yes. It's that old, that untouched, and yes...this is the way it was, secondary characters mentioned and all that. I was hopeful (and hoping paid off!)

"You know, we go all the way back to Kyoshi, and we don't get much of a 'hello!'" Sokka's arms waved wildly as he gestured, first downward to some imaginary, invisible island of Kyoshi, and then in a giant sweeping motion meant to take in the bison and riders, sans Aang. His brow was pinched in a tight but amusing frown; offense at the minor offense, but offended just the same. "All because we don't have 'the Avatar' with us. Remember when we first went there?" he asked, voice breaking hysterically, eyes widening, and his eyebrows shooting up his forehead. "We ate like kings!"

His sister laughed somewhat, her gaze directed at their companion. Sokka snorted. Figures. No love. No love at all. First Kyoshi and now this. He followed her gaze to where Aang was busy rubbing harshly at a particularly hard to remove bit of makeup residue in the crease of his nose. Aang, Aang, Aang. You need soap and water for that, otherwise the stuff is like glue. Suki would have told you that, if she'd been there.

She taught me everything I could ever want to know about makeup…(Gah! That sounds bad!)…and some tidbits about fighting. Just a little. Nothing I couldn't have figured out myself--

Katara was now staring at him, and all he could do was blink at his little sister. What? Was there something on his face? Did he have a some of that nasty-excuse-for-a-cookie stuck in his teeth?

Oh.

He had frozen mid-gesture. Must make for a pretty idiotic-looking statue. Dropping his arms, he sulked off to a corner of Appa's saddle.

"They were sooo not even interested once they figured out Aang wasn't with us," he continued in a more conversational tone from his reclined seat. Katara just shrugged. Aang could offer no sympathy, having no real idea what the big deal was. Of course. How could he? Aang was the Avatar! "It was nothing like how great a reception we got the first time."

His sister frowned at him skeptically. Well, at least she was listening now. "Actually, I remember being tied to a post and threatened with the prospect of being Unagi food." She raised an eyebrow, smiling at him knowingly. "Or did you forget all that?"

"No, I remember." He brushed it off easily enough, picking imaginary lint off the knees of his pants. "But I also remember them being a bit more accommodating afterwards."

Naturally, Aang chose this moment to pick up on the conversation.

"Yeah, you got to wear a dress too, huh, Sokka?" the young Avatar piped in cheerfully.

"…Yeah." That dress. If it wasn't so humiliating, he'd admit that he actually enjoyed it. Suki was a good teacher…for a girl. And a good fighter—again, for a girl. It didn't surprise him now that he knew a thing or two about Kyoshi. Anyone who subjected themselves to that outfit and that facepaint and still managed to fight seriously was good to guard his back any day. Her and the other girls were worth something on a battlefield.

The battlefield. How long ago did they leave to go fight? Where were they now? Ba Sing Se? He imagined it was horrific out there. The last Earth Kingdom city-fortress would not go down without a fight.

He hoped they were elsewhere, seeing a little less action. Maybe no action at all.

"What's the matter? Upset you couldn't dress up again?" He didn't answer. She crossed her arms over her chest and sat opposite him, glaring. "Fine, be like that—"

"Katara," Aang trailed off. "Maybe Sokka just has his reasons?" It sounded to her like the young Avatar just wanted to prevent anything from erupting, but was just as befuddled about the mood change as she was.

Sokka finally spoke up again after a long drift of silence. "Do you ever wonder what they're doing now?"

Aang responded first. "Who?"

"Anyone. Gran gran and Pakku. Dad. Bato. Bumi. That guy from the mining town." 'Haru,' the almost-correction was on Katara's lips but never spoken. "The people at the Northern Air Temple." Teo and the others. "That girl that liked Aang." Katara's expression changed, and he knew she was thinking 'Which one?' "Those musicians…" His voice trailed off. "Even the Fire Prince and his uncle… Don't you wonder what they're up to?"

"You're concerned about Zuko?" Aang sounded duly impressed and proud of Sokka for that.

"Only because he hasn't shown up in a while," Sokka replied, unnerved at the attention that comment bought him. "But don't you?" This insistence was directed more at Katara than the young avatar.

"I guess so, yes." I guess so, says she. I guess so. Her mind had to be going a mile a minute. She was always worried about someone else. Aang, or home or…the list went on. He suspected she had more than once ran through her head a series of concerns. Had Jet changed his ways? Or was he dead…? No, what a gruesome thought. She'd banish it from her mind instantly. What about Haru? Was his family safe? Had the town kept their freedom? Yes, she'd assure herself, it had. How was home doing, without brave-warrior Sokka and mother-hen Katara? Was Gran Gran well? Of course.

Was Dad okay?

They had seen plenty of battles, usually against Prince (Give-Me-The-Avatar-Now) Zuko, but almost no actual war.

War.

"She's alive, Sokka." Aang's confusion at the cryptic statement was ignored. "I'm sure she's alive."

"He said I inspired her. So if she goes out and gets herself killed…"

"Suki made her decision." There was a long silence. "Yue did too. And mom."

He lowered his eyes.

"And, for the record, so did I."

Though I still hold out hope for SokkaxSuki shipping, that's not what this particular piece is about.