"Hello, meat creature. Get ready to become my main entrée…" Sokka whispered towards the koalaotter. They were on a normal-sized island that belonged to neither the Earth Kingdom, nor the Southern Water Tribe. Most of the people who inhabited it couldn't bend, which reminded Suki of her home, Kyoshi Island.
The water temperature of the lake in which the pod of koalaotters were basking in was the same as that of the lakes in the South Pole. Sokka remembered the jerky he had made out of one with his father when he was much younger. He wanted to taste it again, to taste that experience, to taste his father's love once more.
Or maybe he just wanted to taste the meat. Yeah, that was probably the most likely reason. Sokka positioned his make-shift spear so that it would pierce the creature's neck. If he threw it at just the right angle, he could make sure to preserve the meat that would be used for the juiciest jerky. He licked his lips, extended his arm, and—
"SOKKA!" Suki screamed, causing the pod of koalaotters to flee. Sokka sprang off the bank he was laying. The spear was released into the air, and was coming down fast. The tip dug into the ground inches from Sokka's head.
"Thanks, Suki," Sokka remarked sarcastically. "You let my jerky get away."
"Sokka, how could you even think of eating such an adorable animal?" Suki asked harshly.
"It's meat. I can think of eating it because I'm so hungry!"
"We just had lunch!" Suki cried. "I didn't even think you could do something so horrible to something so cute." Suki gave Sokka a disappointed look, and turned her back on him. She walked up toward the house that Team Avatar was staying at.
Sokka sat on the bank, watching Suki as she walked away. He knew that this time it would take a lot to apologize. What could he do? Sharpen her weapons? No, you can't sharpen fans. Wash her outfits squeaky clean? No, he'd probably destroy them. His mind continued to think up ideas, but each of them weren't good enough.
The only thing that Sokka could think of was to ask his friends. He had slumped down on the bank, and through his peripheral vision, he saw his sister Katara practicing her newest waterbending move. She had bought a new waterbending scroll, with the most advanced move Katara had attempted: walking on water. She was progressing on her newest skill, though she couldn't do more than a couple of steps without falling in the lake.
"Katara, I need your help," Sokka muttered.
"With?"
"Suki. I made her mad and I want to apologize." He told his sister everything that happened.
"You always have to go after the cute creatures for jerky, don't you? Ugh." His sister teased. "Well, if I were you, I would just apologize. But, if you want to do something really romantic—"
"Yeah, I think I'll just go with the apologizing thing." Sokka exclaimed. He knew better than to get Katara started about love and romance. He had made that mistake before. He quickly stood up and sprinted up the bank, leaving Katara standing on the shore, with a dreamy look on her face. Sokka began to slow down, just as a boulder landed in front of him.
"Toph!" He called, shocked. The blind earth bender popped out of the ground head first.
"Yes, Sokka? Do you need my help with your loooove problem?" Toph asked, mocking him.
"You were listening! That's so wrong," Sokka yelled, sounding hysterical.
"Only to the last part before you ran away like a baby. I don't even know the problem." Toph admitted. Sokka told her a simplified version of his problem. When he finished, Toph burst into laughter.
"Why did I even try to get help from you?" Sokka asked as he walked away.
"I recommend…" She stomped her foot on the ground, and Sokka looked over his shoulder. Toph was holding numerous small gems, all of different colors, in her hand. "These." She poured them into Sokka's extended hand. "Thanks for the laugh!"
Sokka noticed Suki leaving the house, and figured that it was safe to go look for some more advice there. He noticed Iroh sitting at the table sipping on some tea. No surprise there. But, Iroh was pretty reliable when it came to advice, so Sokka sat at the table and told him of his problem.
"Oh, well it does look like you are in a slump. You should make Suki some exotic tea," Iroh suggested. Of course he would say tea. "For an apology, you should go with a nice grey nodo tea." Sokka stood up from his seat, and gave Iroh his thanks. He then left, coming face-to-face with a 50 foot flame. He screamed.
"Zuko!" Sokka yelled, extremely agitated.
"Zuko isn't here, he went to the market, remember?" Aang pointed out. "I'm sorry, did I burn you? 'Cause I could go get Katara—"
"No, it's fine," Sokka told him. He told the Avatar of his problem.
"Well, I'm a vegetarian. So, I can't really share your point of view… Sorry, I couldn't be more of a help." Aang replied.
"No, wait, I think I just got an idea! Thanks!" Sokka shouted as he ran off. He spent the rest of the afternoon planning his surprise for Suki. He braided the gems Toph gave him into a bracelet. He went into the garden for a grey nodo flower. And he planned the greatest dinner ever. Sokka set everything up so that when Suki walked in, she gasped.
"Sokka, what is this?" Suki asked, seemingly forgetting about the disappointment she had felt earlier.
"I prepared a meal for you, for everyone actually, and I didn't use any meat," Sokka replied, his voice wavering on the last word.
"It's not that I don't like meat, it's just that I don't having to see you kill the meat, especially if that meat is a cute koalaotter." Suki said, and ran up to give Sokka a hug. Their eyes met, and they exchanged a kiss.
"Now, food!" Sokka exclaimed when everyone came into the house. And, even without the meat, it was one of the best meals he'd ever had.
