Done as a fic challenge for Red Hawk K'sani.

Fic Challenge #1

Fic Type: One-shot

Genre: Angst

Pairings: Whatever you want, just don't focus on the romance-y stuff so much; this is angst, remember.

Challenge: Do a Katara- and/or Sokka-centric angst piece. Ir could be about the death of their mother, or they could be homesick, or whatever you want. I just feel that the fandom really lacks a bit of the darker thoughts of the "happy-go-lucky" Katara and the "comic relief" Sokka. They need to have some depth to themselves, too. So, write away.:)

Restrictions: It can be any rating, so long as it falls under FFNet rating restrictions. Original characters may be used if desired.

You know, I was hesitant to sit on a flying bison before, but now…..it's kinda nice. Just sitting here, looking out over the ocean, the stars above us. Aang and Katara have already fallen asleep, I said I was gonna take first watch. So here I am, sitting in the back near the supplies, watching them breathe in and out, in and out, in an-

-Fire burns houses, people try to escape but they can't move for fear of getting caught in the flames. I can see the blurred shape of others, others like me trying to fight back-

-Shaking my head to clear the images, I glanced around to make sure everything was okay. Seeing that the avatar and my sister are still asleep, I went back to contemplating the waves underneath us. Looking at the waves started to make me feel dizzy, I mean, how much of that rocking can you take? Staring straight ahead is no better either….it just makes you feel more insignificant, like if you were on a small sailboat and something happened, it feels-

-Waves crashing all around, a huge one sweeps me off my feet, but I'm able to grab a hold of a rope, and I cling to it. I can feel tears start to form in my eyes, I'm gonna die here all alone and-

-Man, I need to stop thinking these things. What's with it with me always reminiscing the bad stuff whenever I'm alone? I got to stop doing this, seriously. I'm not even alone, I have Katara and Aang here…….wait, why aren't they moving? What's wrong with them? If something ever happened to them, I don't know what I would do…..I'd be all alone. I don't like being alone.-

-Running through trees, I don't see anyone else there, but I can sense them, we move together as one, sending secret signals to each other. There's our quarry, he's stopping, so I glance up and see eyes staring at me from the trees. I know I'm not alone.-

-I wonder if I'll ever be a great warrior. Sure, I put on a face, act all tough and strut around, but in the long run it's usually Katara or Aang who finish the fight. Me? I'm usually the one knocked out, or tied up, or something. WHY CAN'T I BE MORE LIKE THEM! Why do I have to be so clumsy? Why do I have to open my mouth and say certain things? I am the greatest warrior in my village!

But that's not always true either. Maybe the only reason I'm the greatest warrior is because I was the only one left. Can that be it? Maybe-

-I stared into her eyes, the flames reflecting in them. "I'm sorry. I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior," She stared back at me and smiled. "I am a warrior, but I'm a girl too," Planting a kiss on my cheek, I can still see her, flames in the background-

-Now that's a good memory. I smile at the image….and to think I had beaten her in training that morning! I wonder whatever became of her……hmmm. I wonder what becomes of people we helped. I dunno…..what I'm not interested in is whatever happened to the people with that spirit creature or whatever-

-Katara looks at me with wide eyes, meaning she's excited. "You were stuck in the spirit world for twenty-four hours! How do you feel?" I don't know how to answer that. What do I say, I feel great? Of course not. This is me we're talking about.

"Like I really need to use the bathroom!"-

-Brrrrrrr. I shiver, and rub my arms up and down, feeling the goose bumps there. That's odd though, it's not cold out, so why would I be feeling a chill? I wonder sometimes….am I really as brave as I act? When I was captured by that spirit, I was scared. More scared then I had ever been, but when Katara asked my how I feel I couldn't answer. How do you explain it? The unending fear of never seeing your family again. The thought of never feeling the sun on your face, the wind on your skin, the smell of food. So I had to improvise and use everyone's already preconception of me to my advantage. I acted every bit the funny guy. I tend to act like that more when I'm scared. I hope nobodies ever noticed.-

-Where the heck did all these pirates come from? O man, this can't be good. I looked around wildly in hopes of an escape route, but they all were closed off. I turn around and glance just in time to see Aang get caught in a net by pirates. WHAT? He's the avatar and he gets caught in a lousy net? Suddenly they're all walking away with him. That's when my fear kicked in. The fear that I would suddenly be left alone. So what comes out of my mouth but something really really stupid.

"Oh, I'm not good enough to capture?" Next thing I know, I'm in a net too.-

-Heh, I need to work more on that. I look out at the sky again. It's starting to turn lighter, but just barely. I look over at the two sleeping bundles. You can barely see their faces; they're wrapped up in so many blankets. Th-they're not gonna suffocate will they? I can barely keep the fear in my voice from invading my own thoughts. I move over and lean in close to them. I can still hear their breathing, and I can see the fabric rising. A good sign. Phew. Maybe I can be a little over protective of them, but I my reasons are semi-selfish. I don't want to be left alone.-

-Aang is looking at the temple with a sad look in his eye. So this was his home……it certainly looks like a nice place to grow up. Still, considering that all the airbenders have been killed, I really don't want to go up there. A wind comes down, chilling all of us to the bone. I see Katara shiver, but I know I can't. It would be a sign of weakness, and I can't show that. I'm the older brother! I can see Aang wants to start moving, but I seriously don't want to go up there. Not just yet.

"Sleep now, temple later,"-

-Ugh, and what we found there…..I don't even want to think about it. Dead things are really not high on my list of stuff I want to see. I still sometimes wake up at night in a cold sweat, having just dreamed about that kind of thing. I look at the sky again. It's turned a brilliant pink now, with a deeper red closer to the bottom. I stare at it for awhile. I really do like sunrises more then sunsets. It means that the day is coming, and that means that it will be light out. I don't really like the night. Probably only because it's dark. I glance over at the sleepers, and I can see them stirring. Great, they're waking up now. Aang sits up and stares at me through sleep-blurred eyes.

"Sokka? Why are you still up? You were suppose to wake one of us for the next shift,"

"I thought I should just let you guys sleep,"

"We-ell……thanks. You know, the sky is really beautiful right now," Aang looks over at me and smiles.

"Yea, it sure is," but I still can't shake away that saying I've heard before.

Red skies at morning, sailors take warning. Red skies at night, sailors delight.

Please take the time to review, and thanks go to Red Hawk K'sani for the challenge!