009 "Paradise Lost?" by Abraxas 2009-12-24
There is too much unsaid, incomplete.
I feel like the world is fragile - as if the slightest bit of scrutiny is enough to undo the fabric of its existence.
Sokka extends a talisman: a jumble of feathers and claws bound by leather.
I accept it.
Wrapped by the vice of his arms I am content. Yet fulfillment is impossible. Until I vanquish my corruptor. This, my exile, is cowardice compared to his bravery and that mismatch cannot endure.
"I need to go."
A tear swells out of his eye and my resolve is killed a little. I promise, again, not to go. And my quest is delayed.
Word spreads of Zhao - the butcher - my father's right-hand man. Tension rises as Hakoda and Batto conference with other Lakota chiefs. Winter approaches as I train to be strong. Toph and Katara agree with my plan and wish to join. Slowly. Gradually. Sokka relents. We know a day of reckoning is inevitable.
We sit beneath the eagles of Paku's abode after a trial of the fire-dance. Sokka brushes a skull. I study his fingers working that ornament. My eyes are drawn onto his regalia. His face painted with the color of the season. His chest adorned with beadwork formed into ribs like a shield. His writs and ankles adorned with a mix of fur and feather. And every so often I see a patch of naked skin.
The skull shakes - his face tilts toward the ground.
"I know why you need to go. But, Fire Eye, if I lose you...it will be my death. If I lose you to the spirits..."
"Never." I stop his lips with a kiss - our faces smudge with that wintry silver hue. "Never! I'll chase you around this turtle island before I give you up..."
END