Happy New Year! ...even though I'm nearly a month too late. I would like to thank everybody who has reviewed, favorited and followed up until this point! I'm really sorry this chapter has taken so long for me to put up (especially since it was already written), but as you all know, life gets in the way of the things that we like to do. So thank you for sticking with me so far and thank you for reading. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long for me to upload, but we'll see.
He ran.
He didn't know to where, but he had to get away. He couldn't stay there anymore. How could he? It was like nothing had ever happened. How could they be so happy with Katara gone? How could they dare try to replace her?
Mom and Dad looked so happy when they told him. "Sokka, you're going to be a big brother!" But he was already a big brother. He didn't want another sister, he wanted Katara back! With that thought, Sokka stopped blindly running. Once he stopped, he noticed that he didn't run as far as he thought. In fact, he barely made it to the outskirts of the village. A plan beginning to form in his mind, Sokka started running to the docks. A few people were milled about, mostly women gossiping with each other, but that was all. With the raid still fresh in everybody's mind and the banishment of Tanouk only a few days past, the village was subdued. There weren't many people to see Sokka running towards the docks, and those that were out, but nobody paid him any mind. It was common to see Sokka running around and playing warriors and tiger-seals with his sister. Maybe the women thought he was getting used to playing by himself. But Sokka had a plan that was becoming more solid with every step he took. He wasn't going to be a big brother again, he was going to get his little sister back.
The docks were the only structures still grand in the Southern Water Tribe. They were made out of a mixture of stone and ice, with elegantly and painstakingly carved symbols with archaic meanings that Sokka could only guess at. Sokka headed towards the third dock, where the fishing boats were located. Sokka remembered them from a fishing trip with Masato once. Katara was so jealous at all of Sokka's catches and she cried when she couldn't go. Fishing was a job for men after all. Sokka recognized Masato's fishing boat and headed towards it. He clumsily untied the rope tying the boat to the dock and jumped into the swaying boat. He hefted the oar and paddled—very slowly—into the open sea. Sokka was sure that with enough Paddling, he'd get to the Fire Nation in no time. The oar was heavy, but Sokka was going to be a strong warrior. He paddled away from the tribe, with small waves rocking the boat along the way. The icy shore got smaller and smaller as Sokka paddled farther away. Soon, carrying the oar became too heavy for his tired arms to lift and he stopped paddling. The waves kept pushing the boat farther and farther. The gentle swaying of the boat combined with his tired body lulled him into a deep sleep.
When Sokka woke up, the sky was dark and the stars were shining brightly. Disoriented and shivering slightly from the cold, Sokka shot up and looked around. All he saw was the inky water and choppy waves hitting the hull of the ship. He frowned a little, but picked up the oar and started paddling again. Since he was already this far, he had to continue. The Fire Nation couldn't be too much further. As the night wore on, the sky got darker and the air got colder. Sokka shivered, despite his warm parka. The air was getting frigid, much colder than at the tribe. He wanted to keep going, but he was so cold. He should have brought some furs or maybe one of Gran-Gran's blankets. Sokka looked at the sky again and saw the full moon shining bright in the sky. Seeing the moon all on its lonesome reminded Sokka of himself. He was all alone, in the middle of the ocean and nobody knew where he was.
"Mom?" Sokka asked, hoping against hope that she could hear him. "MOM!" Sokka yelled. "DAD! GRAN-GRAN! BATO!" No matter how loud he yelled, nobody answered. There were no sounds except the waves lapping on the boat's hull and his own ragged breathing. Sokka soon started to panic. "MOM! MOM! KATARA! SOMEBODY! Anybody…" Nobody could hear him. No matter where he looked, he was the only person around for miles. Sokka put down the oar as his vision started to blur. Hot tears warmed his chilled cheeks and Sokka started to sob.
When Sokka woke up, he was warm. He didn't remember falling asleep, but the dried tear tracks on his face suggested he cried himself to sleep. He sat up and a fur slipped down to his knees. Sokka didn't remember Masato's boat having any furs. He looked around and saw he was in a hut made of ice. On the walls were dark colored furs and etchings of a large fish-looking monster. The fish thing looked a little scary. "Good, you are awake," said a voice. Sokka turned towards the doorway and saw the most beautiful lady he had ever seen. Her skin was dark, like his and her eyes were blue just like Katara's. Her hair was inky, long and curly and her smile reminded Sokka of his mom. "I found you drifting in your fishing boat. Such a large boat for a wee one," she said with amusement in her eyes. "What were you doing in that boat all alone?"
Sokka frowned. His mom told him to never speak to strangers without her or dad present, but the lady looked nice enough and she was super pretty. Her furs were so warm too. "I'm going to the Fire Nation. I'm gonna get my sister back so Mom won't have another baby," he said. The lady looked surprised before her face dissolved into a smile. "You must be very brave for one so young," she said as she approached Sokka. He grinned. No-one had ever called him brave before, except for the man who took Katara away, but he didn't count. He felt really good because this super nice and pretty lady who thought he was brave. "She's my sister so I have to save her. It's my job as a big brother," he puffed out his chest. "I have to be the man because Dad and Bato aren't doing anything."
"Indeed," the woman said. "Your sister is very lucky to have you, but enough of this. As you are now awake, you must be hungry. I have made a stew for you." At the mention of food, Sokka's stomach grumbled loudly. The lady smiled wider as Sokka felt his face heat up. He let the lady help him off the pile of furs and lead him to the front of the hut. The whole hut looked a lot smaller than the one he shared with his family. The front room contained a few sitting furs and a pit that had a small fire and a pot that contained bubbling stew. The smell made Sokka's mouth water and his stomach clenched in hunger. He plopped on one of the furs as the lady produced a bowl and spoon out of seemingly nowhere. She scooped a hearty helping for him and gave him the bowl. As soon as the bowl touched Sokka's hands, he started shoveling the stew into his mouth. It tasted just as delicious as it smelled, with chunks of tender meat and something soft and meaty-tasting.
Halfway into his first bowl, he realized that the lady didn't get any and she was just watching him eat. "Do you want some?" he asked, feeling a little silly at offering the lady her own food. Maybe he was using the only bowl and spoon she had. She shook her head, smiling sadly. "No, I am fine. It is just…you remind me of my sons."
"Oh," Sokka said. "You have kids?"
"Yes, I had many children once, but they are all gone now."
"Did the Fire Nation take them away?" The lady nodded at his question. "Then I'll save them too!" Sokka declared. The lady chuckled.
"You are a very brave boy, little one, but it is too late. The children I have left are beyond your reach," she said. Sokka looked down and frowned. It wasn't fair. The Fire Nation shouldn't be able to take sisters away from their brothers and children from their mothers. And now out of all of the pretty lady's children, she only had a few left. "I'll get back on the boat and sail to the Fire Nation! I'm not far, I was sailing for a long time," Sokka insisted. The lady looked at her hands for a moment, before fixing Sokka with an intense look.
"Do you want to help me get my children back?" she asked? Sokka nodded. "Then I want you to grow up. Grow up and be strong for your mother because she will look to you. Be strong for your father, so he can use your strength to carry his feet forward. Be strong for your brother, who will need you to protect him." The lady's intense stare softened as a gentle smile overtook her face and she laid her hand over Sokka's smaller one. "Grow up and be strong for your sister. She will need you to guide her when you save her, but do not fret child," she said at Sokka's bewildered look. "Finish your stew, you are still a child yet." Sokka nodded and did as he was told, he even got seconds. Once he was finished, the lady took all of the dishes and the stew and stashed them away. Sokka yawned loudly and let the lady guide him back to the room he woke up in. It seemed to have gotten even warmer and he was starting to feel very drowsy. "You rest child," the lady said, tucking him into the furs. Sokka drowsily smiled at the lady, before looking a little apprehensive. "Um, can you sing me a song so I can go to sleep? Katara gets bad dreams, so Mom always sings to her and I always overhear, but she doesn't anymore." The lady smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of his face. Up close, the lady looked even prettier and in the dark, her blue eyes looked like they were glowing. "I will sing you a song," she said. The lady had a really pretty voice, low and husky, unlike his mother's smooth tones. She sounded like a bottomless, fathomless abyss deep in the ocean. He didn't understand what she saying, but he let the sound of her voice wash over him and lull him to sleep.
Sokka was shaken awake and the only thing he registered was the freezing cold. He felt snow slowly melting inside his parka. He looked up and saw wild blue-grey eyes boring into his own. "Oh thank Tui, thank Tui," came the relieved voice that Sokka vaguely recognized. The shaking stopped and he was pulled tightly to the body above him. "You gave us such a scare Sokka! Where were you? You didn't come home for dinner and we looked and Masato's boat was missing! I can't—"
"Hakoda, he's freezing. Let's get him home before he gets frostbite. Kya would be happy to see him," said another voice. The strong arms lifted him and it felt like he was moving. His eyes blankly looked at the sky, it was white and he could see small flakes of snow. Sokka wondered about the pretty lady in her lonely hut before he fell back asleep.
When Sokka woke up again, he was starving. He tumbled out of the pile of furs he was wrapped in and headed towards the kitchen. When he arrived, he saw his mother, Gran-Gran, Dad and Bato. His mother flew up and gathered Sokka into her arms. "Where were you? We looked and you were gone and I…" Kya said before bursting into tears. "How could you do that to us?" Hakoda exploded. "You just up and leave without telling anybody! Did you even think about us!?"
"Hakoda, let the boy speak. I know Sokka will explain everything to us, won't he?" Gran-Gran said smoothly. "Kya, you're smothering the poor boy!" Kya nodded and took a seat next to Hakoda. Her face was wet with tears and Hakoda held her hand tightly. Sokka fidgeted as eight eyes fell on him, awaiting his explanation. He kept silent, he didn't want to talk about his plan. Now, in the face of his mother's tears and his father's anger, Sokka thought his idea seemed really silly. "Well?" Hakoda asked harshly. Sokka sighed and looked at his feet.
"I wanted to save Katara from the Fire Nation," he mumbled.
"I can't hear you!" Hakoda yelled.
"I said I wanted to save Katara from the Fire Nation!" he said loudly. "I took Masato's boat and I was going to sail to the Fire Nation and bring Katara back with more so Mom wouldn't have another baby." Sokka looked at the adults and flushed at the incredulity on their faces. He didn't like that.
"That's not how it works, Sokka," Bato spoke up for the first time. "You can't—"
"But why not!? You all act like Katara never existed!" Sokka cried. "None of you guys are doing anything! You didn't do anything! You just let them take her away!" At Sokka's words, Kya started to sob anew. The men looked ashamed of themselves, but Kanna held her head up high. Her grandson's words rung true, but he was a child and he didn't understand how the world worked.
"The penguin otter doesn't go up against the elephant squid when it knows that it is colossally outmatched, Sokka. Our tribe can do nothing against the Fire Nation, and neither can you," Kanna said coolly. Sokka bristled. "The pretty lady said I could do it!" he shouted. That made the adults pause. Kanna's eyes widened, Bato's jaw dropped, Hakoda look shocked and angry at the same time, and Kya's sobs gradually stopped.
"What pretty lady?" she asked in her watery voice. "Who did you see?"
"Tell us everything Sokka!" Bato said loudly.
"I paddled for a really long time and then I fell asleep. When I woke up I paddled some more but I was cold and alone and it was dark. The pretty lady saved me. I woke up in her hut and she fed me some stew and told me about her kids." Sokka didn't understand why everyone was so interested in the pretty lady. She was really nice and her stew was really good.
"What did she look like?" Kanna asked.
"She had blue eyes and dark skin like us and her hair was black. She was really pretty and nice and she made good stew," Sokka mumbled. Kanna looked as if she was deep in thought. Hakoda noticed his mother's thoughtful expression and turned to Sokka. "Sokka, why don't you go to Masato and apologize for taking his boat," he said sternly. His voice quickly softened as he spoke to his wife. "Kya, why don't you go with him?"
Kya nodded and stood. "Come on Sokka, you have a lot to explain to Masato," she said softly, stretching out her hand for her son to take. Sokka looked at his mother with an unreadable expression, before walking towards the parkas. Pain flickered across Kya's face at her son's rejection, but she steeled herself and followed him. Soon enough, the both of them had left the hut, leaving Kanna, Hakoda and Bato alone.
"Well?" Hakoda asked his two companions.
"Sokka's story does not make any sense. The way he talks, it seems he was only gone for a day or two, but he was gone for a week! We were going to begin his funeral rites!" Bato anguished. "And who is this 'pretty lady'? The closest inhabited island is Kyoshi Island and they don't look like the lady Sokka described."
"He couldn't have reached Kyoshi Island anyway, it's a two week voyage, and Sokka was sailing the wrong way," Hakoda said.
"I think Sokka was transported to the spirit world," Kanna said suddenly. Hakoda and Bato looked at Kanna with wide eyes. "I think he must have encountered the spirt of someone who suffered during the raids. Plenty of mothers lost their children when the Fire Nation took the waterbenders. She could have died trying to defend her children or maybe she took her own life after the Fire Nation took her children away."
"So my son was spirited away by a lonely childless ghost?" Hakoda asked. He suddenly looked very old and very weary. Grey hairs that were not present before the raid peppered his scalp and there were wrinkles at the corners of his mouth. Kanna frowned at the stress her son was under. Their family felt empty without Katara, but Kanna thought they were slowly healing. This debacle with Sokka only proved to her that they had a long way to go.
"We should be grateful that the spirt gave him back to us, not to mention that he's alive. Spirts do not give up those in their grasp so easily," Kanna said. "He's been touched by a spirt, that marks him apart from the rest of us. My grandmother used to say that those touched by a spirt had more spirts drawn to them, so let's keep Sokka close to us." The men nodded. They couldn't let something like this happen again, not after losing Katara. Hakoda knew that he had to make Sokka see that the new baby was not a replacement for his lost sister. He just didn't know how.