I.
As clouds passed lazily overhead,Sokka finally convinced himself he had never been so bored in his life.With Aang always doing his 'jerkbending' and the others finding separate things to do in the large canyon,there was really nothing to do but laze about.
The sun suddenly revealed itself from a gray mass finishing it's clean sweep when the rays fell heavy in his eyes.He squinted in the intense light and nearly rolled over when he saw an image.
A familiar face of moon white and ebony-lined,blue eyes.Her red lips were pressed together,as if trying to hold something in.Thin umber brows drawn together troubledly.It was Suki,once again.
Sokka proceeded to shut his eyes and turn over on his stomach atop the rounded spire,fitting himself more deeply into the little rises ringing the panneling.Situated,he conjured up a daydream.
In this particular one he imagined he was watching Suki whilest she moved in her practiced routine,flaring her fan about as if the cooling implicant were a weapon.And,as he had found out,it was.
He recalled the softness of their first kiss,the way he'd been able to sink into her.To taste her essence,to savor her soul.Images of Suki and the Moon Spirit often appeared inside of his mind's eye.
As often as he could hear their voices,even as painful as it was.
"You're going to get a sunburn,"A younger girl's voice noted.
With narrow eyes under the shade of his palm,Sokka was able to make out smallish form of the bare-footed twelve-year-old on top of a large point of rock,her silhouette eclisping the large gold sun.
"You're going to get a boomberang upside your head if you don't get away from Suki."He muttered irritably,sitting up to display a more prominent glower."We were on a wonderful date and she-"
Realization that his dreamlife was intermingling was his real life came to late,and his last line of defense was to sit facing toward the west.Where the sun would set on another day without Suki.
x.x.x
Evening shadows were cast down in great lengths across the open fields on the outskirts of the seemingly endless cannons.A need to sleep still claimed Suki as she was escorted in shackles.
It had been a long time since her leg muscles had gotten all this work and her mind was wandering toward Sokka,as if often did. Yesterday she had been alert but now yearned to sleep deepily.
Her mind wasn't focused.Was she going to see him again?Where was she exactly?Suki raised her paintless face to the two guards on either side of her,thinking.Have they any idea what their doing?
Have I?They suddenly halted where a large grove of trees were.
"This is where we leave you,"A muffled voice said from under one of the cerise helmets."The Western Air Temple.Follow all orders."
"And if I don't?"Why don't they end me now?Just end me now...
The men didn't answer this,but unbinded thinned wrists and left her there as they went away.Suki looked at the tiny,foresty area once and than back over her shoulder to catch one last glimpse at the guards.But they were gone now,as if they
Numbly,she turned back around and realized she didn't want to die.For months she had sometimes wished it,but being back into fresh air and daylight was rejuvenating.She was alive,Sokka was within walking distance and she could finally walk wherever now;
Without anyone holding her back.
x.x.x
Aang expertly dove out of the way as an oncoming fire ball aimed for his left shoulder.Doing a roll on his right,he recovered quickly with a retaliation directed at Zuko's abdomen.The Prince did not move,but instead seized the flaming sphere with a single hand.
"Whoa!"his pupil exclaimed."That's incredible,I gotta learn that!"
"Very well,"Zuko gave a small,knowing smile and sent it straight at Aang with two fingers.Unprepared,the Avatar airbended back and made an arch out of his body just as the flame approached.
He watched as it paused just short of him and returned back with ease to it's creator,disappearing in a puff.Hands motioning,Zuko encouraged the younger boy to attempt the same.Aang nodded.
"All right,"he centered his mind and focused on his tummy,giving it a fierce rub as if the outward friction would summon from inside him.After a time,he produced a large flame."Okay but,what if I..."
"You won't."Aang heard him call out in assurance."And you can't."
That only made the thirteen-year-old more determined.You'll see.
With a great inhale of air from behind the fire,Aang sent it right at his mentor and split it all right down the middle.He grinned as he watched Zuko gawk at the twin flames and then duplicated more.
"See,now you have more fire power then ever and a conviently harmless way to deliver them until they reach their main targets."
The seventeen-year-old slapped his forehead into the palm of his hand and shook it."No,no,NO!"he nearly yelled."Not only is it not good to combine elements at once,but the airbending diminishs the components of fire.I mean,just look at how weak these are."
To demonstrate his point,Zuko shot a flame without warning that Aang could narrowly duck from.Letting it freeze in mid-air where it had the first time,he let the other flames die and claimed but one.
"See,this is how your flame looked after you incased it in your air balls."Zuko explained more calmly as he walked over."This,"he let his clearly stronger flame rise."Needs to always be your result."
"But sometimes quanity is better then quality."Aang countered."I was about to make more air balls with fire in them.Then there'd-"
"You can't do that!"he was cut off."That would completely wipe out your attack,augh!You're just so annoyingly inventive,Avatar!"
"Yeah,well you're so..."Aang paused a moment."So hot-headed."
The two stared at one another a moment and then laughed.
"I don't see what's so funny."Katara suddenly emerged from the shadows"Aang,you getting burned certainly won't be laughable."
Aang could tell that Zuko was ready to comment,but held it back. The static between his friends was detectable from a mile away.
"Katara,I'm getting better."he told her,trying to ease the tension. "Every day I'm getting closer to achieving my dream of fighting..."
He let the sentence trail when he saw her hurt expression.
" 'Dream'? "she said bitterly."I thought it was a goal.All I know is no one working for the Fire Nation better show their faces here."
With that,Katara stalked away.Once a kindly mother figure turned into a condenscending,sometimes cynical shrew.Aang had noticed this as the days went on and it crippled him inside to see all this.
He sighed and turned to look at Zuko,only to see he had left the scene as well.The Avatar considered his role as mediator and sat down to think on ways of finding peace.But the words Katara had spoken still weighed down heavy in Aang's head and in his heart.
"Is it a dream or a goal?"They echoed coldly,their infliction like iced fingers strumming notes of deeply-rooted anguish within."No one working for the Fire Nation better show their faces here."he felt the hate she had for Zuko,but there was nothing she could fault him for except things they had already forgiven him for.But he knew.
And knew very well what would happen if someone,instrument or instructer,arrived here in cahoots with the Fire Nation.He would not be able to prevent the others from smitting whomsoever was tried to harm him,especially Katara.Aang felt a tear trail his cheek.
He was loosing her to her own self.
II.
"Mmm,"Sokka said as he tore another bite out of the cannon bug he had killed and had just recently cooked."You guys gotta try it."
The others looked at him queasily and stuck with eating fruit and nuts.As usual,Zuko sat apart from them and sat against a tall leg of the inner temple.Occasionally he looked their way in a glance.
"It's been three weeks,"Teo suddenly mentioned."Maybe it's time we tried inviting him over here,get to know him a little bit better."
Haru contemplated it a moment,The Duke and Pipsqueak gave a shrug before going back to eating,Aang smiled at the idea but let it slip with Katara's glare and Sokka let his eyes wander to Toph.
She was slowly smoothing her hand over the gray stones.
"Toph?"He spoke,recalling their encounter earlier that day.
"Someone's coming."
The subject of Zuko's dining with them fell short and all eight of them turned to see a hooded person approach them from behind.
"Who's there!?"Katara immediately demanded,startling Sokka.
"Give it a second,"he told her and made a determined stride over to the person ahead of the others,getting down in a set stance."I want just one thing answered,who're you and what'd you want?"
The hood was lifted and he/she went over to immediately yank him forward,where he found his lips were tightly being enveloped.
"Suki!"
"That's only one question answered,"She laughed breathlessly as she pulled Sokka closer now,hugging him to her."I'll answer your next in good time.Oh,Sokka..."her words ached."I've missed you."
A shaft of rock suddenly appeared between the two.Sokka was left clutching that with his arms,trying to reach around in vain for her.He turned to glare at Toph as she came to stand beside him.
"Toph!Get rid of this rock!"
"It wasn't me."She said,but sounded somehow relieved.
"I did it."
The others turned to stare at Haru and than back at Suki.
To be continued...