Team: Earth Kingdom
Round: 5 Temptation
Category: Themed
Prompt: Party
Word Count: 2,354
Sokka woke up groggy and with a bad taste in his mouth. As he opened his eyes, they began to focus on a small, furry face starring right at him. Then he felt a wet tongue against his skin.
"Aagh! Mo Mo!" Sokka cried in disgust while Mo Mo leaped away in surprise. "You really gotta stop doing that!" As Sokka sat up, he looked around and saw that he had fallen asleep on the floor of his room surrounded by drumstick bones and bits of leftover meat scraps. His stomach suddenly rumbled as he recalled all the partying he and Mo Mo had done the night before, eating so much meat that he must have passed out. He got to his feet, stretched, and yawned; shaking off the last of his sleepy-ness.
"Hey, Sokka, you awake yet?" said Suki as she opened the door. Her eyes widened when she saw the mess of bones on the floor. "What in Kiyoshi's name happened in here?! And what is that smell!?" She plugged her nose and opened one of the windows.
"That, my dear, is the smell of manly-ness!" Sokka replied.
"More like the smell of mother-of-all-messes!" Suki retorted. "Did you spend all of last night finishing off that platypus-boar?"
"Well, me and Mo Mo, here," said Sokka as he gestured to the flying lemur who was lying on the floor and looking slightly more rotund than usual. And as Suki now noticed, Sokka looked slightly rounder as well. Sokka's stomach gurgled again. "Oh, time for breakfast!"
"Sokka, this is getting out of control! You can't eat nothing but meat your entire life!" Suki said as they walked together to the breakfast nook.
"Why not? It's got everything! Protein, nutrients, flavour, greasy goodness..." Sokka trailed off as his mouth began to water. There was an assortment of food already out on the kitchen table. "Oh look! Leftover hippo cow burgers! Don't mind if I do!" He raced over and began munching them with great enthusiasm.
"Woah, woah, woah! You can't eat that for breakfast!" Suki protested. "You need fruits and vegetables, and maybe a little exercise!"
"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Katara asked as she entered the room.
"Sokka's out of control meat eating! That's what!" said Suki.
Katara sighed. "I knew this would happen eventually. You just can't help yourself, can you?" Sokka shrugged and continued eating.
"Good morning, everyone!" said Aang as he bounced cheerfully into the room. "How're you guys doing?"
"Well, despite having these two seriously harsh my mellow, I'm fine," said Sokka as he munched away.
"Sokka! Are you eating the leftover hippo cow burgers?!" Aang asked frantically.
"Yeah... why?"
"Those were from last week! They went bad a day ago!" Everyone starred in shock and horror at Sokka who had just ingested rotten meat.
Sokka shrugged. "Tasted fine to me."
"That's it!" Suki cried, slamming her fist down on the table. "You sir are going on a diet, and you can bet that that diet does NOT include meat!" She snatched away the burgers, threw them in the trash, and placed a plate of fruits, vegetables, and home-made bread in front of Sokka.
"Oh, come on!" Sokka whined. "I don't need to go on a diet!"
"Oh, yes you do Sokka!" said Suki. "It's time you started taking care of your body, and by golly, I'm gonna see to it that you do just that!"
"So Sokka's going vegetarian? Cool!" Aang said with a smile.
Over the next few days, Suki held Sokka on a very short leash. She watched him constantly, and for good measure, she got rid of all meat in the house, to remove any temptation. Then, one fateful day, they received an invitation from Omashu.
"It's from Boomi!" Aang said with excitement.
Katara opened it and began to read. "'Dear Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Appa, and Mo Mo, you are all invited to the two and a half, three-quarter, Horny Gecko-Spider Anniversary Feast at Omashu palace.'"
"A feast!?" Sokka cried with excitement. "When does it say it is?"
"Tomorrow," answered Katara.
"Yes!" Sokka whooped for joy. But then he caught sight of Suki's glare. "Ahem, but of course I would eat very responsibly and keep to my diet... for my girlfriend."
"Thank you, Sokka," said Suki kindly. "I know how hard this is for you, and I'm proud of you for trying so hard." She kissed him lightly on the cheek and smiled.
"I guess we should get packing then," said Katara. Then she and Suki left the room.
"Hey, Sokka," Aang said, coming closer to his friend. "I think it's really cool how you're dropping meat for Suki. I'm happy for you!"
"I only wish my stomach was happy," Sokka moaned.
"Oh, you'll get over it. In fact, if you ever want to know about some really good meat substitutes, just let me know!" Aang smiled.
"Uh, thanks but no thanks," Sokka replied. "I'm not eating anything called 'meat substitute'."
Aang shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The next day, Team Avatar arrived in Omashu and stepped into the palace just as King Boomi was announcing the official beginning of the party.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Smaller lads and lassies, flying lemur monkeys, and sky bison! We are gathered here today for a feast!" King Boomi said, looking out over the dining hall. "But not just any feast! The two and a half, three quarter anniversary of the first time my great uncle discovered the horny gecko-spider and used it as a backscratcher. But then later he found out its scales could be used for medical purposes. So to that I say, FEAST AWAY! Ha ha ha!"
Sokka walked into the room and his nose was bombarded with the rich, warm, juicy smell of meat. Then he looked around at the two long tables which had been set up perpendicularly. Each one was filled to the edge with hot steaming plates of meaty deliciousness. He could feel his mouth begin to water. But he had to remain strong, for Suki.
"Ah, Aang and friends!" Boomi said, walking over to the gang.
"Boomi!" cried Aang as he rushed over and gave his friend a hug. "It's so good to see you again!"
"It is, isn't it?" Boomi chuckled. "Eh, help yourselves to the buffet. There are lots of good choices this year. Lemur-possum on a stick, shrimp kabobs, roasted turtle-duck, raccoon-chicken, caribou-chicken, hippo-chicken, crocodile-chicken, possum-chicken—it pretty much all tastes like chicken—but like I said, help yourselves!" Sokka wasn't sure how much of this he could take.
"All that meat!" he said to himself. "Oh! Come on, Sokka! You can do this! You can do this! For Suki! Let's see, there's gotta be some salad or something here." He went over to one of the tables and rummaged through the steaming dishes set side-by-side. Eventually he was able to find a veggie platter that no one had yet touched and filled his plate full of carrots, broccoli, and dressing. He then proceeded to munch sadly away in one of the corners of the room and looked longingly at the whole roasted turkey-boar sitting majestically on the left table. The temptation was unlike anything he had ever known before.
"Why not just have a small piece of meat?"
"What? Who said that?" said Sokka.
"Me, of course." Sokka looked up and saw the turkey-boar looking right at him. "Come on!" It said. "Just one taste..."
"Sokka—"
"AAH! Aang!" Sokka cried as he whipped around to face him. "Ugh, don't scare me like that!" He stole a quick glance back at the roast, and it was now back to normal, facing away from him.
"Oh, sorry," said Aang. "Why are you sitting here all alone?"
Sokka let out a long pathetic sigh. "All the meat! It's everywhere! I don't know how much more of this I can take, Aang!"
"Well if you're having problems with cravings, fear no more!" Aang announced as he whipped out a plate of assorted vegetarian foods. "First, we've got this awesome bean curd and rice." He happily plopped a scoop of it onto Sokka's plate. Sokka frowned.
"Got anything more, you know, meaty?" he asked sadly.
"Well, I've got this delicious tofu lobster-chicken!" said Aang, placing a strange white paste among all the "healthy" foods Sokka was collecting. "Ooh, you're gonna love this! It's called tofurkey! Here, try it!" Aang took a forkful and shoved it into Sokka's mouth. "Well?" he said with a smile. Sokka weakly smiled back as he sloshed the paste around in his mouth, wishing it was actual meat. "See! I knew you'd like it! And who knows? Maybe after all of this, you'll become a real vegetarian just like me!"
"Sokka! Don't let his lies of soy beans and tofu get into your head!" Sokka turned and saw the roast looking at him again. "Join me and my brethren in heavenly meaty-ness!"
"Hold please!" Sokka squeaked as he shoved his plate into Aang's hands and dashed off to the powder room. He splashed some cold water onto his face and breathed deeply. "Just breathe! Just breathe! Only a few more hours left to go! You can do this Sokka!"
Sokka strutted back into the dining hall and was bombarded once again with the sweet smell of roasted, rubbed, marinated, juicy meat.
"Eat us! Eat us! Eat us!" they all seemed to say. Sokka's stomach began to rumble.
"Aaaaaah! I can't do it!" he cried desperately. He was just about to run in the direction of the turkey-boar when Suki and Katara walked right in front of him.
"There you are, Sokka!" Suki said happily. "We've been looking for you everywhere. How have been handling all this?"
"Oh, perfectly perfect, you know?" said Sokka, smiling a fake smile. "Can you believe I've never tasted tofurkey before tonight?"
"Wow! That's great!" Katara said, beaming at her older brother. "Sounds like you're doing well."
"Right..." Sokka lied brought gritted teeth. Katara and Suki waved goodbye and headed toward another group of girls, then Sokka tip-toed over to one of the tables. If he could just manage to sneak one piece of meat, then maybe—
"Another fork, coming right up!" Suki said as she trotted passed him, obviously on an errand for someone else. Sokka instantly ducked under the table and waited until she was out of sight. He slowly began to emerge after a few seconds. Clearly he needed to pick a more hidden area if he was going to make a clean getaway.
Sokka skilfully worked his way over to the far side of the room where he was practically alone with a beautiful carve of ham.
"Just one, tiny, juicy piece..." he said, reaching out slowly toward the meat.
"Hello, Sokka."
"I wasn't doing anything!" Sokka yelled as he whipped around. He was greeted by Iroh, Zuko's uncle. "Oh, hi Iroh," said Sokka, chuckling a bit, awkwardly.
"You seem tense, my young friend. Tell me, what's wrong?" Iroh asked.
Sokka hesitated for a moment. "Have you ever have someone you love tell you to stop doing something, even if you really love that something, but you still love the person, so you're kinda stuck in a loop of circular reasoning that just drives you crazy?!"
"Personally? I can't say that I have," said Iroh, thoughtfully. "But I know love can be a tricky thing. In my experience, if you truly love someone, giving up addictions, hobbies, or other recreational activities may be necessary for the relationship to blossom. But you should never let the other person completely over run your life, either. If it is something that is truly close to your heart, and something that you believe in, then I'm sure your love will understand."
Sokka clenched his fists with determination. "Then I know what I have to do!"
"Very good. I hope you—"
Iroh was cut short when Sokka made a beeline for the turkey-boar, then he jumped up and yelled, "I BELIEVE IN MEAT!" Then crashed into the table and dove into all the meat he could get his hands on.
All of a sudden, there was a loud CLANG! Then Sokka blacked out. He woke up the next morning in bed with a nasty headache.
"He's awake," he heard Katara say.
"What happened?" Sokka asked groggily.
"Well, after you dived into the dinner table and started eating like an animal," said Katara. "Suki came up behind you and—"
"Laid the smack down in Sokka town!" Toph laughed.
"I didn't mean to do it so hard!" Suki interjected. "I am so sorry Sokka!" She wrapped him in a warm hug. Then she grabbed him by the collar and started shaking him violently. "But how could you do something so totally idiotic!? I thought you said you were doing fine!?"
"I'm sorry, Suki! But it was Iroh's idea!" said Sokka.
"What?!"
"I mean, I can't give up meat forever! I'm Sokka the meat and humour guy! It's like my whole identity!" Sokka went on. "And you bet Foo-Foo-Cuddly-Poops that I will never be "Sokka the veggies and straight talk fellow!"
"Sokka, what is it you're trying to say?" asked Katara.
"I'm saying that neither extreme is gonna work. I know I can't live off of only meat, but I can't live without it! What I need is a healthy balance of both vegetables and meat. In other words, compromise." When Sokka had finished, Suki's face was soft and deep in thought.
She sighed. "You'r right, Sokka. It was unfair of me to take away part of your identity. And a balanced diet makes way more sense."
"Thanks for understanding, Suki. You're the best."
"So does this mean that Sokka's no longer a vegetarian?" Aang asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid it does," said Suki.
"That's too bad. I made a whole batch of tofu last night. Oh well. Anybody want some?" said Aang holding up a dish of white paste.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuh...?"