Chapter 2

Just Another Day

Sokka's eyes opened to the early morning sun peeking into the window. He automatically checked the corners of the room, the lock on the window, and was about to perform his customary loop of the apartment when he felt a weight being pressed against him. He looked to see Toph, her head on his right shoulder, fast asleep and snoring very loudly. Her arms were wrapped around him as if she was trying to protect him from something, and he felt something wet slowly run down his arm. Is she... Yep. She's drooling on me, he thought. I probably deserve this somehow.

He sat there, his friends snores drowning out the chirping of the birds outside. He looked over at Toph. At seventeen, she was far more fearsome than she had ever been at twelve. She was still a thin girl, and she only came up to Sokkas chest, but years of earthbending and years spent developing metalbending had left her covered in muscle. Wait a minute, he thought, inspecting her tightly fitting shirt. Does she have bigger back muscles than me? When did that happen?! He huffed at the thought, now thinking on a few new ways to work the muscles in his back. She would not beat him at being more muscly. At another loud snore, Sokka turned to look at her again. In all honesty, the girl drooling on his arm was quite beautiful. She was strong and unshakable in the same sense that Suki was, if not more so, and now she knew about the nightmares. Sokka closed his eyes in shame. Not even Suki had seen that. Nobody was supposed to. What made the situation worse was that he knew of no way to stop them. In truth, the dreams had been happening for years. Some times it was the day he and Katara lost their mother, or when Yue died all those years ago. Other times he dreamed he died on the day of Black Sun. Most often though, it was the final few moments on the airship the day Aang beat Fire Lord Ozai. Sokka had felt fear before, but he had never felt like he lost hope, save for those few moments before Suki saved them. He shook his head at the thought of Suki. She's just busy is all, he thought. He felt like he was convincing himself, but considering everything they had been through, their relationship had to be stronger than that. He had just finished carving the necklace and everything. He was going to continue the thought when he felt actual vibrations from one of Tophs snores. With that she started to wake. She jerked away from him when she learned of how she fell asleep.

"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. He felt a little sad when she withdrew contact.

"Almost nine," he replied, looking at the sun through the limbs of the dead tree outside. Despite being in the middle of winter, the season had been light on Yu Dao. The last snow had been two weeks ago. It was strange and very unnatural to his mind. It'd be spring within another two full moons. Oh no, he thought. Soon, I'm going to need to figure out what to do for Tophs birthday! He went through a quick list of things he could pull together, but it would have to wait for another day. He stood up and went about his loop of the apartment. His and Aangs room? Nothing out of the ordinary. Their bags are where they're supposed to be. Aangs staff was still in its proper corner. Kataras, and formerly Tophs, room? spotless. He checked the bathroom last. Nothing out of the ordinary. He walked in and inspected the bandages covering his hands. Without being able to really see what she was doing, Toph did a poor job wrapping his hands, but the bandages stopped the bleeding, at least. It did not matter to him how they were wrapped. That she took her time to do so, that she cared enough to wrap them at all was enough for Sokka. He unwrapped his hands and inspected the cuts. They were not very deep. That did not stop them from hurting but after he had washed them and cleaned the cuts, they were not nearly as menacing. It would be a few weeks until his entire range of motion would return, but he could still hold a sword. And I plan to, he thought. He carefully applied medicine to the cuts and bandaged them properly. He looked at himself in the mirror as he straightened up from his chore. His face was thinner than usual, and dark circles were underneath his eyes. The blood from last night had become a flaky crust on his skin. Seeing himself like that was scary. He found a cloth and wiped his face clean before he went into the kitchen. Breakfast was not going to make itself.

Toph was lying on the couch, massaging her feet as Sokka messed around in the kitchen. He was quiet. If she did not know any better, she would say he's lost in thought. He's probably embarrassed about last night, she caught herself thinking. If she had been in his situation, she definitely would have been. She wondered how the war had affected the rest of them, until a particularly large bruise above her ankle was found. With gritted teeth, she began to knead it out, smelling her favorite egg fried noodles wafting from the kitchen. He never really seemed to have an opinion on it, but Toph thought Sokka had always been a good cook.

The air around them felt quiet and tense as they sat down for breakfast. "So," Toph finally said. "Do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

"No," Sokka simply replied, with an air finality.

Toph shrugged her shoulders. "You'll have to talk about what's going on eventually."

She received a very noncommittal "hmm" in reply and that was all. Well, if he wants to be all stoic and immature about this then fine, she thought. He'll talk sooner or later. The rest of breakfast was fairly quiet.

Once they were done washing up, Sokka found a clear space in the living room and began to stretch. From his neck, to his shoulders and arms, to his chest and core, down to his hips and the various muscles in his legs. The whole process took over half an hour, but at the end he was limber and ready to train.

"You planning on fighting someone?" Toph asked. She was sprawled on the couch, still kneading out bruises on her legs.

"No, but as usual now, my day is pretty open so I want to get some practice in, and I need to get familiar with an old friend," he explained, patting Space Sword, which was now belted to his left hip. He opened the back door and breathed in the crisp morning air. He circled around lingering patches of snow and found a large dry spot of land. He set Space Sword down lovingly and began to run over his basic stance exercise. Riding Stance, Forward Stance, Tower Stance, Spring Stance, Leaning Tree and Leaning Tower. He practiced until he was sure his footing was right, then drilled his hand to hand combat. Every punch, block, kick, counter attack, he practiced everything in his arsenal, even some of the chi blocking Suki had taught him, along with a few small things he picked up watching his bender friends. He can't throw fire or rocks with his mind, but some of what he saw Aang and Zuko do, even Toph, had some practical use in hand to hand combat. Once he had reviewed what he could, he picked up Space Sword and slowly drew it from the sheath. He then reviewed everything he learned from Piandao. Basic stances, cuts and thrusts. He went into Prickle-Boar Charges Down the Mountain. Step, cut to neck, drop to Tower Stance and block, spring up, cut, cut and thrust. Cherry Blossoms on the Wind. Spring Stance, twist and pivot into cut, kick, pivot to Leaning Tower and block, step into Spring Stance, spin, stab and cut. His hands burned from gripping the sword, but he continued, not allowing a few small cuts to stop him. He went into a dozen forms, Platypus-Bear Mauls the Wolf-Bat, Lion-Turtle and the Dragon, Polar Bear-Dog Howls at the Moon, every one he had learned. He expected Space Sword to feel odd, and unfamiliar in his hands, yet it flew, a swift black arc of death wherever he swung. His arms began burning terribly from the weight of it. He was about to finish the deadliest form he knew, Sheathing the Blade, when he felt a rock smack him in the back of the head. He turned around, rubbing his head, to see Toph standing on his plot of dry soil, three small rocks spinning in a circle above her open palm.

"I believe someone challenged me to a rematch yesterday," she stated, a small and wicked grin on her face.

Sokka grinned as he sheathed Space Sword and loosened his boomerang in its holster. "You're on."

Without warning, Toph flung the three small pebbles at him, buzzing past his head at frightening speeds. She stomped her left foot down into a forward fighting position and a squat tower of rock rose in front of her. Sokka charged at her, wondering how he will get past the small tower. The key with benders was to close the gap as quickly as possible. Most were helpless at extreme close range, especially since most did not bother learning any close combat technique. Toph however, was dangerous at any range until she was off her feet. Being closer to her just meant having a slight better chance of not being crushed. Sokka rolled to the side as part of Tophs little tower sped at him. The second his feet touched the ground again, he felt the ground open beneath him. Toph wasn't playing around this time. He leaped forward, flailing his arms as he lost his balance. As he regained himself, he looked ahead to see another giant rock flying at him. He slid to the left and barreled forward. Last time, he had stayed back far too long to get to Toph. When he had finally charged, she had set up her rhythm, found out how to poke at him. Getting her off her feet was step one. Step two was to be close enough for step one to matter. Lost in thought, he felt a rock slam into his chest. He flew backwards, his breath flying out of his lungs. He rolled on the ground and once his head was clear enough to register what happened, he ducked out of the way as another rock flew straight at him. He rose to his feet, shaking slightly. He breathed in deep and ran at her again. He felt the ground tremble beneath him. He stopped short and slammed into a giant spike of rock, rising directly in front of him. The point grazed his stomach, tearing into his shirt. He spun and threw his boomerang, his hand stinging at the contact of its sharpened edge.

Toph did not feel like playing around. She knew Sokka was at least a decent fighter as non benders go. She wanted to see what he was really made of. Her tried and true method for dealing with non benders was simple: toss rock, slide ground under feet as they dodge, and repeat. However, Sokka was proving tricky to catch. She felt him stumbling and jumping all over the place, but she could not pin him down. She felt him charge at her full speed. She decided to mix it up. She slid back into a Leaning Stance and put her right hand up, palm to the sky. The spike shot out of the ground right in front of him. She felt him slam into it and she struck both hands forward sending the spike flying. It did not make contact though. He spun around at the last second and did something. She heard something, but couldn't track it. Whatever was making those whooshing sounds was not on the ground. Oh shit! His Boomerang! She was about to raise a tower of rock all around her when something caught her ankle.

Sokka ran at Toph, watching boomerangs progress. Perfect, he thought, seeing the rest of its path in his mind. He made sure it would hit her with the dull side so as to not endanger his friend. He saw it catch her on the ankle, throwing her off her feet. Now's my chance! She's in range! He landed on top of her, holding her by the wrists, pinning her to the ground. A humongous smile cracked his face.

"HA! I WIN!" he shouted.

"Get off me, Meathead!" she screamed back. Toph felt a volatile mix of emotions. A non bender had her trapped. She felt shame at that. Yet, it was Sokka. After last night he needed a win, and he was so close. All she had to do was lean up… "I lost on purpose so your stupid feelings wouldn't get hurt."

"Admit it!" he exclaimed as he released her wrists. "I got you!"

She shot up and their faces smashed into each other. They both held their faces, groaning at the severe and intense head butt that just occurred. Wow, good one. Was that you trying to kiss? she thought wiping a few small tears away. She thought she heard him mutter something about the most awkward way to possibly break his nose. After the pain subsided they sat there, their noses a hairs breadth away. She felt an intense heat in her face, and not just from hitting her face into his. Her heart was hammering so hard she was surprised he could not feel it. She inhaled sharply as she felt him touch her, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Alright alright," she relented, her voice cracking and unsteady. "You get this round. Next time I'll just bury you and call it a day." He rolled off of her, lying on the dirt, his arms in the air and yelling in triumph. She laid back, a small smile on her face. She stomped her foot on the ground and a small pedestal of stone shot up from the ground underneath Sokka. He screamed as he flew in the air, before landing flat on his rear end with a groan. He rolled over, massaging his lower back as Toph turned to him. It seemed like she was looking at him, straight in the eyes.

"You may be my best friend, but never forget: I always get the last laugh."

Sokka shook his head at her as he slowly walked around, trying to get some blood back into his. He had beat Toph, even if she got the last laugh! He heard Piandao's voice in his head. Rule number two: If you must fight, make sure your opponent can not strike you as you celebrate victory. Textbook mistake. He would do better next time. Maybe chi block her to really get the message through. He looked over at his friend to see a small smile on her face. Her face had been nearly touching his, well save for when she tried going through his face. Why did I brush her hair out of the way like that? he silently asked himself. Her face, pretty and covered in dirt had seemed absolutely mesmerizing in that moment. As if nothing else had existed. What a strange thought…

The tension surrounding them this morning had disappeared entirely. That was something the both of them silently loved about the other. They would be butting heads one moment, hopefully not literally, and laughing the next. Her dry and somewhat callused humor amused him to no end, and his sarcastic and often silly disposition made him too fun to stay mad at. In short, they could not stay angry at the other, no matter how hard they tried. The rest of the day was nothing but poorly timed timed jokes and quips as they went around town, both of them feeling restless after their sparring match. The sun had fallen behind the horizon and the stars were shining brightly when they returned to the apartment, a myriad of familiar smells tugging at memories in the back of Sokkas mind. Someone was cooking. Someone was inside. His left hand went to his scabbard as he slowly walked in.

Kataras face popped out from the kitchen. "Sokka! You're back!" Her face lit up as she hurried over and embraced him. She gave Toph the same greeting, bewildered that Toph was back in town.

"Sokka," Katara started. "I am so so terribly sorry we missed yesterday. We were held back for so long. I hope having our big Water Tribe dinner tonight can be the start of making up for it." Aang walked into the living room at that moment, balancing an array of trays and bowls with a small controlled gust of wind.

"I even cooked meat for you, Sokka!" Aang declared in a heavily conflicted voice. "If that doesn't say "I'm sorry," then I'm not sure what more I could do."

Sokka looked on as the table was set, a whole Water Tribe dinner with five times the meat, hot and ready. He smiled. "Ah, I could never stay mad at you guys for this." He embraced his sister and her boyfriend tightly, then sat down, putting Space Sword next to him, as Katara dished out the stewed sea prunes.

"Sokka, is that Space Sword?" Aang asked. He seemed somewhat shocked to see it again.

"Yeah! Toph found it!" He handed it over to the airbender as he explained what she told him the night before.

"Sweetie, I don't think we can top that," Aang told Katara as Sokka finished the tale.

"So, what did hold you guys up last night?" Toph asked.

"Well we didn't get out of there until early this morning," Katara explained. "But we reached an agreement on how to expand Yu Dao."

"Actually, I owe you for that one Sokka," Aang said. "Remember what you said a few months ago about creating a place for all four nations to coexist? A unified political faction? Well, I brought up the idea to King Kuei and Zuko and they really seemed on board with it! We talked and Mayor Morishita agreed to make Yu Dao the example city. He's going to rename it and everything! Thanks to you, we now have Republic City, and the United Republic of Nations."

"Are you sure using one of Sokkas ideas is a good plan?" Toph asked, her mouth full of noodles. She stayed clear of the sea prunes.

"I might have to take Tophs side on this one," Sokka said, his mind running a mile a minute.

"We have it all worked out. There's going to be a representative from every nation, along with a secondary representative, just to be safe. This way, every nation has an equal voice," Katara detailed. "King Kuei has his representatives on the way and so does Zuko. We sent a letter to the North Pole for theirs and -" Katara stopped suddenly and looked at Aang. Aang nodded his head and Katara nodded back. "The South Pole will also have representatives. We didn't send a letter because we thought you might like a chance to go home and ask Dad if he'd be interested in the position."

"Dad?" Sokka asked incredulously. "He's the war chief. His place is at home."

"As the representative of the Southern Tribe, he'd hold more power and authority as war chief in the United Republic," Aang explained. "He would be a part of every meeting and conference, and it'd be up to him to bring issues from home to the table. When he does need to rally the Southern Tribe to fight, he'd have the benefit of aid, extra soldiers and supplies, from all the other nations. Can you think of anyone better suited to the task?"

The more Sokka thought on it, the more right Aang and Katara seemed. He could think of no one better to represent home. "So who would be the secondary representative?" he asked.

Aang and Katara shared a worried glance. "Well," Katara said hesitantly. "We were hoping that you would do it."

"Me?!" Sokka asked in half a scream, feeling utter shock.

"Sokka?!" Toph asked at the same time as Sokka. They both turned their heads towards each other at that.

"I know, I know," Aang replied. "Sokka, you have a good mind for these things. Most of your ideas are crazy." He waved his hands in the air at that last part. "But they work! And we all know your greatest drive is to protect the people you love. As a representative for your tribe, you would be in a position to not only protect Katara or your Dad, but the entire South Pole!"

That's a very valid point, Sokka thought. "I don't know, guys. This is a lot to get hit with all at once."

"Just promise me you'll think on it?" Katara asked, a pleading look in her eyes. The same look as in his dream…

He closed his eyes tightly, rubbing his temples, the fires slowly creeping into his minds eye. He heard his name and shook his head, opening his eyes.

"Are you okay, Sokka?" Katara asked.

"I'm fine," he lied. "And I promise, I'll think on it."

The rest of the evening was joyful and everyone had fun, poking jokes at one another and reminiscing, although anytime Katara looked at her brother, she had the look in her eyes. The sister look. The look that said she knew something wasn't right, and she was going to find out what.

Later that night, after Katara and Aang left for their respective rooms, Toph and Sokka stood around the kitchen, cleaning up from dinner.

"Do you think you'll take the job?" Toph asked.

"I have no clue," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Part of me feels like I need to, whether or not it's what I really want. You know me, I don't do politics well. I don't have the pomp for it." He puffed out his chest, taking a regal position as evidence. "To be able to help and protect everyone from home though, that sounds too good to be true."

"Remember, you did say you'd help out at the school when I leave next week," Toph said, crossing her arms. She sounded like she was reminding a little boy to do his chores.

"I know and part of my hesitation is because of that. Helping the school can come first, then I can take the job and see Dad. You're just as important as anyone from home. I owe it to help you too."

Toph did not answer. She was surprised. Does he really think that? They cleaned up quickly, and as they said goodnight, Sokka grabbed her by the shoulders and softly hit his head against hers, his skull only slightly hurting from before.

"What was that?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Well for starters, I thought it'd be funny after today, and two it just seems like something you'd do. You know, to replace hugs."

"Hitting you on the head does sound a lot less sickening than hugging you," she replied, punching his arm.

"Thanks. Warms my heart."

She grabbed his shoulders and on her tip toes, butted his head softly before going to her room for the night.