After making the decision to walk for a bit instead of fly, Sokka is pretty confident that the uneasy feeling she's been having should go away. Katara seems to want to cause a little trouble, calling her their fearless leader and making little jokes at Sokka's expense. Sokka knows that it is just harmless teasing, but for some reason it rubs her the wrong way. Sokka made the mistake of making some comment about her instincts and now Katara won't let it go. Katara makes a comment about Sokka's instincts knowing everything and the older girl rolls her eyes.
"Haha, very funny." Sokka says sarcastically.
"I'm tired of carrying this pack." Aang complains.
"You know who you should ask to carry it for awhile? Sokka's instincts." Katara says with a giggle. Sokka rolls her eyes, getting a little tired of how immature Katara is being. And when Aang joins in, Sokka's ability to hold her tongue slips.
"That's a great idea." Aang is grinning too. "Hey Sokka's instincts, would you mind-"
"Okay, okay, I get it. Look guys, I'm tired too. But the important thing is," Sokka says not paying attention to her surroundings. "that we're safe from the…" She walks through a bush and stops "Fire Nation."
They're surrounded by the Fire Nation because Sokka hadn't been aware of her surroundings. She curses her luck. She yells to run but one of the soldiers starts the plants behind them on fire. "We're trapped!" She yells, before Aang points out that her shirt is on fire. Katara puts it out, but the burn is still there. "If you lets us pass," Sokka says grabbing her club and hoping she looks threatening, "we promise not to hurt you."
"What are you doing?" Katara whispers.
"Bluffing?" Sokka says quietly.
One of the men with an eye-patch laughs. "You promise not to hurt us?" He's suddenly knocked out.
Sokka looks around for who could have done that before Katara points up towards the trees. "Look!"
A young man with hook swords jumps down and takes out two soldiers. Soon he runs forward and takes down two more using his hook swords. "Down you go." He said grinning.
Sokka looks over towards Katara who looks amazed and then Aang who looks shocked. She turns back towards the action to see the young man take down one more soldier who charged at him. Another soldier yelled that someone was in the trees. Sokka watched as everything played out. A young boy took down one soldier by jumping on his shoulders, another sent arrows at the soldiers, and more and more people came out of the trees taking down the Fire Nation soldiers. Aang and Katara were even helping out, using their bending to take out soldiers. Sokka tightened her grip on her club in her hand and prepares to attack one of the distracted soldiers.
Before Sokka got an opportunity too, the young man with the hook swords took him out. "Hey!" Sokka yelled, about to protest.
"Just watching out for you." The guy said with a grin. Sokka could almost hear the word 'babe' at the end of his comment.
A huge boy drops out of the trees to take down two more soldiers and Jets sets up a chain of effects that knocks down another one of the soldiers who looked like he was about to come at Sokka. Before Sokka can get too upset about that, she has something else to worry about. The way Katara is looking at their 'savior'.
Sokka watches them talk to each other and basically just stands around trying to make sure that the soldiers are all taken care of. She hears the names of Jet's group of Freedom Fighters and keeps the comments to herself about the fact that they probably made up all their names.
Jet included.
"We're here." Jet explains when when they get to a certain spot in the forest.
"Where?" Sokka questions. "There's nothing here."
Jet hands Sokka a rope and helps her wrap her hands around it. "Hold on tight."
"Why?" Sokka says shaking her hands so Jet will let go. "What's this do?" Suddenly she screams as she's pulled up into the branches.
Once she gets on her feet up in the glorified treehouse, she watches Katara and Jet interact with a very bad taste in the back of her mouth. She doesn't like the way Jet looks at Katara, or the way Katara looks at Jet. She's intercepted every time she tries to get close to the little group, so eventually she gives up and just studies the area and the group. She doesn't want to stay there long.
At dinner Sokka watches Katara fawn over Jet. Even Aang is charmed. Sokka decides it would probably be impossible to drag her sister away now. Tomorrow, after the magic of what Jet does wears off she'll try to talk the group into leaving. For now she excuses herself from the little dinner to go collect her thoughts elsewhere. It's not like Jet can do too much with Katara with his whole group there.
"Sokka."
Sokka cringes. She didn't want to run into this person at least until the next day. "What do you want Jet?" Sokka says, not even hiding the anger in her voice.
"I wanted to know why you ran off."
"I finished eating. There was no reason to stay and watch some creep flirt with my sister."
"Flirt with your sister?" Jet says with a laugh. "There's a Water tribe girl I wouldn't mind flirting with, but it's not Katara."
Sokka tries to laugh, but she feels her face heating up. She tries to remind herself why she doesn't like him. "Oh, yeah, right! You've been all over her since you met her, even getting on the same line as her to get up here." She doesn't like the sound of her words, it almost sounds like she's jealous of Katara.
"I wanted to make sure she got up here safe. I didn't think you'd be too happy if something happened to her." Jet grins, getting closer to Sokka. "I would've liked to be on the same line as you, but I knew you could handle yourself."
Involuntarily, Sokka feels herself start to blush again. She's glad she doesn't use Katara's hair loops, she has a feeling if she had them, Jet would try to brush them away from her face or do some equally lame thing. "Look I'm tired." Sokka finally says. "So unless you came here for something important, I'd like you to leave me alone." She pauses. "And my sister too." She adds before turning away from the leader.
"Well actually, I needed you on an important mission tomorrow."
Sokka turns back around. "What mission?"
The next day finds Sokka up in a tree with Jet. And no, they are not k-i-s-s-i-n-g. She's not even thinking about that. Except to make a stupid joke. In her head to herself to make this boring job manageable. Soon enough, she has a feeling, that she won't call her instincts, and she jams her jawbone knife into the trunk of the tree.
"What are you doing?" Jet asks, kneeling to get a little too close to her.
"Shh," she says in a quiet tone. "it amplifies vibrations."
"Cool trick." Jet whispers right into her ear, and Sokka can't jerk away fast enough. She puts her ear to the handle of her knife.
"Nothing yet." There's a few moments where she's not exactly comfortable in the position that she's in, but soon it pays off. "Someone's approaching."
"How many?" Jet asks while he gets his hook swords ready.
"I think there's just one."
Jet does a birdcall to his other Freedom Fighters. "Good work, Sokka. Ready your weapon."
She takes her knife out of the tree, but when she realizes that the traveler is just an old man, she pauses. "Wait, false alarm." She whispers. "He's just an old man."
Jet doesn't listen though, he jumps out of the tree, still prepared to attack the old man. "What are you doing in our woods, you leech?" Jet demands to know.
"Please sir," the old man pleads, "I'm just a traveler."
Jet knocks the man's cane out of his hand and the Freedom Fighters surround him. The old man falls over and they pin him to the ground. "Do you like destroying towns?" Jet says angrily. "Do you like destroying families? Do you?"
"Oh please let me go…" The old man says desperately. "Please have mercy."
"Does the Fire Nation let people go?" Jet says raising his leg to kick the man. "Does the Fire Nation have mercy?"
Sokka snags Jet's foot with her club before he can kick. She helps the old man stand. "Jet, he's just an old man!" Sokka says disgusted at Jet's behavior.
"He's Fire Nation." Jet says pushing past Sokka. "Search him!" Jet's two lackeys do what they're told.
"But he's not hurting anyone!" Sokka points out.
"Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother?" Jet yells. "Remember why you fight!" Sokka is curious as to how Jet learned that fact, but she figures that Katara must have told him. Jet's attack on the old man reminds her more of Zuko's attack on GranGran than it does of someone actually protecting people.
When the old man is thrown back to the ground, Sokka speaks her mind. "This doesn't feel right."
"It's what has to be done, now let's get out of here." Jet and the Freedom Fighters push past Sokka, but she once again helps the old man up off of his feet and grabs his cane. As she hands it to him, Jet comes back and grabs her roughly by the arm. "Come on, Sokka." She lets him drag her along, looking back towards the old man a few times.
When Sokka tries to explain to Katara what happened and encourage the group to leave, Katara demands they hear Jet's side of the story too. Watching Jet laze around in his little hammock bed while he obviously lies through his teeth about that happens irritates Sokka, and she tries to stand as close to the door as possible.
Katara's decision to believe Jet about the assassin plot and the knife is the last straw and Sokka just storms away to pack.
She's gathering her things when Jet knocks on the door. "I know you want to leave, but Katara and Aang both want to stay to help."
"They'd probably be a lot more help if they could be taught by water bending masters. Which is what I'm trying to take them too."
"But I don't want them to leave." Jets says stepping into Sokka's personal space. "And I don't want you to leave. You helped save my life today."
"I don't believe your little story Jet." Sokka says not back down. "Maybe yesterday I would've believed your lies, but I've seen what you can do. And I'm gonna make sure Aang and Katara see it too."
Jet sighs before turning to leave. "I wish you'd stop acting like I'm the bad guy, and realize that we're fighting against the same one."
When Katara and Aang come back, Sokka's still unable to convince them to leave, and she's stuck there another night.
"Sokka, I'm glad you decided to join us." Jet says with a dangerous smirk. Smellerbee and Pipsqueak force Sokka to her knees. She rubs at the back of her head where Smellerbee and Pipsqueak had both pulled her hair. Jet reaches out a hand to help her up. He cocks his head and the Freedom Fighters leave. "Walk with me."
Sokka follows along because of his grip on her arm. "I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town."
"Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation."
"There are people living there Jet," Sokka pleads, "mothers and father and children."
"We can't win without making some sacrifices."
"You're lying to Katara and Aang!" Sokka yells.
Jet stops. They're not too far into the forest, but Sokka can't tell where they are. "Because they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do."
"I do understand." Sokka says. Jet looks at her hopefully. "I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."
"What I want is you, Sokka." For a few brief seconds Sokka is surprised when Jet presses his lips against her own.
Sokka shoves Jet away from her and wipes her mouth. "Oh, as if I'd believe that for a second!"
"It was worth a try." Jet says with a shrug. Sokka raises her arms ready to attack Jet, but Jet pins one of her hands to a tree with his hooks and grabs the other hand and pins it too. Horrified, Sokka starts to kick at him, but he backs away.
"I was hoping you'd have an open mind, but I can see you've made your choice." Smellerbee and Pipsqueak suddenly drop down from one of the trees. "I can't let you warn Katara and Aang." Smellerbee gets Jet's hooks and gives them back to him while Pipsqueak restrains her. "Take her for a walk, a long walk."
"You can't do this!" Sokka says struggling while Smellerbee helps Pipsqueak tie her hands together.
Jet just grins. "Cheer up. Sokka. We're gonna win a great victory against the Fire Nation today."
It's surprisingly easy to get away from Smellerbee and Pipsqueak. Sokka uses the animal traps against them, and their poor knot tying skills means she's not restrained. The harder thing is convincing the people of the village that she's not a spy. Thankfully, the old man from earlier shows up and everyone is evacuated out before the flood occurs.
When she gets around to finding Katara and Aang, she's beyond happy to see that they have Jet restrained. The big smile her sister gives her when she sees that's she's alive is also great. But the best part is when she punches Jet in the face. Katara refreezes him to the ground, and they take off on Appa. "I just hope you realize that next time you should believe me when I say not to trust anyone." Katara nods her head. "I mean, I would go so far to say that my instincts saved a whole bunch of people today." Sokka says, feeling quite good about herself.
"Um… Sokka?" Aang butts in. "You know we're going the wrong way, right?"
"Well now I do." Sokka says with a sheepish grin before she turns Appa around.