I do not own ATLA
AN- Sorry for the wait, I had a bit of trouble with this chap, but here it is:)
I'd like to thank nutshak and G.N. for their great reviews. Thanks Guys:)
Chapter 10
The three girls made there way to the clearing were they had left Appa
Katara had been walking behind Airis and Toph and was sick of mulling over her question and wanted to find out for real.
Katara walked up beside Airis. "Okay, can some one please tell me who the hell Exia and the benders are so famous?"
Toph smirked "Everyone's heard of the benders! The only way you could possibly not know about them is if you were living in an iceberg three years ago!"
Katara put her hands on her hips "Ahemm!"
Toph's eyes widened "That's right! My bad!"
Katara turned her head away from Toph to look at Airis who was actually giving her an answer.
"The benders were a skilled group of well…benders that traveled all over the Earth Kingdom trying to get rid of the Fire Nation, colonies and all." Airis said not looking at Katara and keeping her voice emotionless. "There were four of us. Me and Eema were both earthbenders; she was my earthbending teacher. She was a lot like Toph actually. Watomm was a waterbender from the North Pole; he was Master Pakku's grandson. Which is one of the many reasons Pakku hates my guts and Faikai was a firebender he was a very shy, sweet guy, like a little brother only older. He was an orphan from the colonies."
"The four of us travelled the Earth Kingdom on ostrich-horse back, fighting whole armies. Trying to show people that we were so strong because we accepted the diversity and differences that separated our Nations and we worked together so well because we ignored our nationality and focused our own different, special abilities as one people" Airis was now using her hands to emphasize her words.
Toph butted in "Before those four, the Fire Nation had the north-eastern Earth Kingdom all the way to Ba Sing Se. Now they only have the tip of the Eastern Earth Kingdom thanks to them!"
Airis nodded and then looked down at her feet. "Yeah, but at our last battle for the rest of the Earth Kingdom…things didn't go as planned. Watomm was hit by a massive fireball thrown by the General of the Army and was instantly killed. Eema stopped fighting and went over to Watomm's body; they had been in love since the moment I introduced them to each other. Eema being vulnerable was hit by a spear and died over Watomm's body and it was just me and Faikai. We were back to back surrounded by soldiers. We managed to fend them off for a while. But…"
Airis stopped in her tracks. Toph and Katara stopped too.
Airis sighed "I'm good at planning attacks with the odds piled against us but that time it was too much for me. Before I knew it Faikai was falling; he had been hit in the throat with a fireball. All my friends were now dead. I panicked, I used my earthbending to run away and bring the bodies of my friends someplace peaceful to bury them. That's when I left for them Fire Nation."
Katara looked at Airis in shock. "You four did all that?" She couldn't imagine how. It amazed her. What could she, Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Airis could do if they even matched the benders.
"Yeah, I guess we did." Airis said laughing a bit then she looked down at her feet in a sad way.
"How do know Toph?" she asked softly trying to get Airis' mind off of her dead friends.
Airis laughed and Katara smiled. Her plan had worked.
"As you guys may already know saving the world doesn't pay very well. We had stopped in Gaoling for an earthbending tournament that Eema and I were to enter and win some money off of."
"Before that however we were invited to the Bei Feong mansion for dinner, that's were I met Toph, though I can remember you hating us to the core the moment you "saw" us." Airis said as she gently elbowed Toph in the ribs. Toph returned it harder but Airis didn't flinch.
"You were suspicious world travelers; you could have been thieves for all I knew." Toph shrugged.
Airis rolled her eyes "Anyway! I soon figured out that Toph was an earthbender who was not allowed to fully express her gift because of her blindness. I managed to talk to Toph and give some hints about blind earthbending. That's how we met, though it was a lot, A LOT more complicated than that."
Katara nodded "How do you know about blind earthbending?"She asked.
Airis looked at Katara then Toph. "Well everyone's heard of mink-snakes and a lot of people have been bitten by them."
Katara nodded remember Sokka's first time with a mink-snake. His hand had been swollen for a week.
"Well turns out some of them have venom that causes blindness for a couple of days. I got bit by one of 'em and I was blind for a week. Eema didn't let up on my training though but, I soon learned that I could earthbend better when I couldn't see."
The group of girls continued towards Appa. They soon reached him and Airis took off her cape, untied Aang and set him peacefully down on one of Appa's legs and covered him with the cape.
"What do we do while Sokka's away with Suki?" Katara asked.
Toph sat down on another one of the furry beasts legs. "Nothing?"
Katara gave Toph a scolding face even though she knew Toph couldn't see it.
Airis straitened her back and cracked her knuckles. "You guys can do that, I got me a saddle to build" Airis said as she walked into the forest to get started.
"I guess I could get dinner started" Katara said digging into one of the bags tied to Appa.
Toph sighed "I'm gonna go see if Crazy needs some help, see ya!" Toph said following Airis trail. Toph hated kitchen duty.
Katara scavenged around camp for small twigs to start a fire and made a fire pit. She got out a piece of the elk-deer and shoved it on a spit. Katara pulled out her bending water and practiced some of her more tricky moves, as she watched the slab of meat roast.
Yay me! I get to turn a stick with meat on it while my brother is probably making-out with his girlfrieng. She thought out of boredom.
I wonder where this pit stop Airis told us about is. It must be pretty safe for us to be able to stay there for three days.
After about an hour Toph and Airis returned with two pretty big trees using their earthbending they made it look like it weighed nothing. Airis put down hers to measure Appa's back and soon the two earthbenders with the help of Katara had a beautiful new temporary saddle for Appa.
Airis airbended the saddle onto Appa's back. It fit perfectly and it was secure. The girls spent the rest of the evening keeping the meat warm, checking up on Aang, and moving luggage that was tied to Appa, into the saddle.
The sun had set and the stars were up and shining when Sokka finally showed up. They had been swapping stupid and embarrassing stories for a long while before Airis and Toph sensed his presence.
Sokka soon appeared from the forest brush.
Katara ran up and hugged her brother. He seemed unusually sad for someone who had just seen his girlfriend.
Airis, who had her mind powers to help her understand Sokka, walked up to him and patted his back gently and said softly "Hey, man"
Sokka knew she knew about Suki. He looked at her "Thanks"
Airis gave a small smile to the sad warrior. "No problem"
Katara looked at her brother, she knew something was wrong. "You want some food?" She said as she turned to the meat on the fire.
Sokka shook his head "No thanks I'm not hungry" he said looking away from his sister.
Katara whipped around "You're not hungry! Okay, now I KNOW something is wrong!"
Sokka just looked away.
Airis walked up to the warrior. "Sokka you gotta eat."
He kept his gaze away from Airis. Airis thought for a second, and then gently placed her hand on Sokka's shoulder.
"How about this you eat here with us so we know you have some food in your gut and then you can go and spend the night with Suki. Huh? How does that sound?"
Sokka looked up at the Avatar. "Really? Is that okay with you guys?" He said looking at everyone. The Katara and Airis nodded, Toph just shrugged.
Sokka went over it in his head. "Okay, thanks guys"
Airis laughed "C'mon" she said leading the sad, unusual Sokka to the dinner circle where Toph was sitting.
Katara handed each of them a slab a meat and they sat down. The only sound was the crackling fire and the sound of the group of four eating quietly except for Toph who was wolfing down her food, despite her formal upbringing.
Katara looked at the Avatar, then Sokka who were both eating their food slowly. Airis met Sokka gaze and they held it there a minute before they went back to there food.
Katara put down her food. This was it! She was sick of Sokka and Airis keeping secrets. She was just plain sick of secrets!
"Sokka what happened with you and Suki at the abbey!" Katara said getting up.
Sokka looked away again "I don't want to talk about it"
Katara was infuriated but before she could say anything Airis spoke up in her calm, peace-keeping voice.
"Katara calm down, Sokka's been through a lot today and I don't think he's taking it well. Frankly I don't think any of us would if were told what he has told by Suki."
"What was he told? That's what I want to know!" Katara said her voice rising without her noticing.
Airis stood up "There is no reason to shout!" Katara calmed down. Airis turned to Sokka. "If you want I can tell them after gone and that will be the last of it."
Sokka just looked down at his meat and nodded.
Airis looked back to Katara "Okay?"
"Fine" the waterbender said to the Avatar.
Sokka soon finished his meat and said goodbye to everyone before leaving for the abbey. Katara had gotten out her sleeping bag, Aang was tucked in close to Appa with Momo on his head, Toph had her earth tent up and Airis had her hair layed out in a weird way so it acted like a cushion.
Katara sat up in her sleeping bag and looked over to Airis who was staring at the stars.
"So…" Katara pushed.
All she got from Airis was an "Ahmm"
Katara continued "What's up with Suki and Sokka"
Airis sighed. "Three words"
Toph turned around in her tent so she could hear her better.
"Suki…was…raped"
Katara jumped back and Toph jolted a bit.
Katara looked down sadly "So that's why… he was acting so weird"
Airis nodded and turned over on her stomach and propped her head up on her hands. "He really does love her doesn't he?"
Katara was a bit embarrassed to admit her brother's love for a girl. "Yeah I guess he does."
Airis smiled "Good for him, everybody needs somebody."
Katara smiled but then got an evil thought in her head and a sneaky grin took over the happy smile. "I bet you still have the hots for that firebender you met in the Fire Nation."
Airis eyes widened and she blushed instantly "What! … No… I mean… Arggh!" she stammered throwing herself into her hair.
Katara laughed and Toph poked her head out of her tent.
"Really? Firebender?" The earthbender smirked "Do tell!" she said rubbing her hands together.
"It was three years ago! It's over now!" she said pleading to Katara.
Katara didn't give in. "But you still really like him" She pressured.
"Yes!" Airis said throwing a twig at Katara. Katara began to giggle at Airis.
Then Airis got an evil idea in her head "I bet you anything that you have your eye on someone right now don't you, miss Katara" Airis said batting her eyelashes.
Katara's eyes widened and red crawled over her cheeks. "Well I don't know" she said looking around camp, her gaze hesitated for the smallest moment on Aang then zoomed back to Airis.
Airis noticed this small hesitation and smiled inside her head. Interesting! I could guess I could play matchmaker. This could be fun! Go Me!
"Maybe" she said playing with her braid and blushing more.
"I knew it!" Toph said jumping out of her tent smiling from ear to ear. Airis just smiled knowingly, her eyes sparkling with the wrong ideas (well Katara thought they were the wrong ideas).
Katara scowled at the girls and pulled herself into her sleeping bag.
"Go to bed and hopefully sleep will wash away your pervy minds!" Katara said covering her head with her pillow.
Toph and Airis buckled over in laughter. Katara groaned into her sleeping bag. She'd never hear the end of this one.
Once Katara was asleep, Toph walked over to Airis who was still awake and pondering over the heavens.
Toph stared into nothingness as she whispered to Airis. "You feel it too, Crazy? What's going on between Sugar Queen and Twinkle Toes?"
Airis looked up at the earthbender and smirked. "If by Sugar Queen you mean Katara and by Twinkle toes you mean Aang. Then, yes, I hear it loud and clear."
Airis and Toph both muffled their laughter. "Yeah" Toph said "Anyway, good night. Just wanted to see if you were as blind as those three." She said walking back to her tent.
Airis cocked her head "Those three?"
"Yeah. Sugar Queen, Twinkle Toes, and Snoozles."
"Snoozles is Sokka?" Airis guessed.
"Yep"
Airis shook her head "Do you give everybody names?"
"Yep" Toph said closing her earth tent.
Airis laughed softly and layed back down in her hair. She was glad to be part of a family again.
Airis was up at her usual time, she had finished her bending and was poking at the embers in the pile of ash that was once a fire with a stick.
Toph was second to get up, a record for her. The two benders exchanged "good mornings". Toph ate her small breakfast, of oats and fruit, and went over to play with Momo.
Airis sat up from the ground and dusted off her ripped and dirty Water Tribe clothes. "We gotta hit the air soon if were going to make it to the pit stop before dark, I'm gonna go get Sokka. You can start packing slowly if you want." Airis said walking away from the campsite.
Toph gave her a half hearted wave "'Kay" The earthbender said in a non-caring tone.
Airis shook her head and laughed quietly.
"Hey! I felt that!" Toph said standing up.
Airis shook her head again and walked towards the abbey.
It didn't take to long getting there, and getting in was even easier. Getting away from the swarm of young sisters who bombarded her with questions about the benders and how she survived, now that was the hard part.
"Where have you been? Was Watomm as cute as they say? Was Faikai really a firebender? What happened to you in the battle?" were among the many questions that attacked her.
Airis pushed them away slightly, trying to keep the eager girls at arms length. I thought only guys had this problem! She thought as more gathered around her.
"Excuse me" she said calmly at first but the girls went on swarming her like buzzard wasps.
Airis closed her eyes and rubbed her temples "EXCUSE ME!!!"
The entire courtyard yard went silent. Airis bowed "Thank you" she said as she walked through the crowd and to an elder. "Forgive me elder but I'm looking for Sokka, he stayed here last night." As she said this the sisters that had swarmed her left sadly back to there chores.
The old woman thought for a minute then she rolled her eyes "Yes, him" She said with particular disgust.
Airis flinched at the remark. Sokka, what the hell did you do!
"Let me get someone to help you find S-S-Sokka." Again she said his name like it was poison.
Airis shook her head "No need." She knew Sokka had bothered the abbey enough already. "I'll use my bending" Airis said kneeling on the ground and placing her hand on the cool floor for the warrior's familiar vibrations.
The sisters looked down at her in awe.
"Found him!" She said cheerfully, standing up.
The elder nodded "At least you have some decency, young one" She said as she walked away.
Airis turned her back to the elder and towards the direction she had felt Sokka. A smile crept over her face and she shook her head. You little perv no wonder everyone here hates you.
She walked down the stone halls. She smiled, all other thoughts leaving her head; they reminded her so much of the Air Temples. Airis came out of her thoughts as she reached Suki's door.
She gripped the door handle and leaned into the door to hear if she was interrupting anything.
Only faint snoring.
Airis took a deep breath and knocked on the door first softly and then when no answer came harder.
Nothing.
Damn it! She cursed in her head. Why me?! She thought as she slowly opened the door. It creaked terribly and she flinched. Nothing stirred. Airis let out a sigh of relief.
She continued to open the door. It revealed a small room, nothing unusual about it. The thing that made Airis pause and caused her eyes to open wide was the blue and white clothes scattered and thrown all over the room and as a bonus the strong smell of sex. Airis held her breath as she picked her way through the piles of clothes and saw on the bed a very naked Sokka with his arm wrapped around a very naked Suki. He had his hair out of his warrior wolf tail and Suki's was a complete mess. The blanket was up to their waists and Airis thanked the spirits for that. She did not need anymore disturbing pictures in her head, even though the both looked so calm and happy sleeping together.
To bad this peaceful, oh-so-happy picture was almost making Airis loose her breakfast.
Airis held her breath and whispered "Sokka, wake up! Sokka!"
The only reaction was his arm tightening around Suki and Suki snuggling in closer to him.
Airis looked around the room for something to throw at him. She picked up a couple of beads and threw them at him. Nothing happened.
OH! I fucking hate you so much right now, Sokka! Airis yelled inside her head as she walked over to the bed.
Fuck, oh fuck! Oh fuck! OH FUCK! She screamed in her head as she slowly brought her hand to Sokka's mouth to make sure he didn't scream to loud when he woke up.
As soon as her palm touched his mouth to keep him quiet, his eyes shot open and he screamed. Her plan had back fired. Airis jumped back. Suki woke up and screamed too and fell out of the bed. Sokka fell out of the bed too as he scrambled to find something to cover himself. He settled for a pillow and Suki grabbed a blanket.
"What the hell are you doing here!!??" Sokka yelled pointing at Airis, which made him drop the pillow and leave himself in the buff in front of Airis again.
"I came here to get you" she said as he scrambled for the pillow again blushing ten different reds.
"Though after last night, I'm guessing neither of you want to leave?" The Avatar said crossing her arms.
Sokka and Suki both blushed even harder.
Airis turned her back on the two lovers. "I'll give you some time to get dressed, I be waiting outside so don't even think about going for another round." She said closing the wooden door.
Sokka and Suki were out in five minutes. They found Airis leaning against the wall outside the room, and picking her nails with boredom.
"Why the hell did you do that?! You could've knocked" Sokka said getting angrier.
Airis looked at him with a 'well duh!' look on her face. "I did"
"Ohh… well than you could've said my name or something"
"I did"
"You could've thrown something at us." Suki said joining in.
"I did" her voice almost as bland as Mai's.
Sokka was embarrassed but wasn't about to give up the argument. "Why didn't Katara come and get me instead of you?"
Airis stared him in the eye. "You're kidding right?"
Sokka opened his mouth to object. But damn it, she was right it would have been a hell of a lot worse if Katara had found him with Suki.
"Well what about-"
Airis smirked "Please! Toph's wake up call would have been to earthbend you into the next week."
Sokka put up a finger to object but he had lost. Suki put an arm around her boyfriends shoulder.
"C'mon, we gotta get back to camp we have to leave soon." Airis said putting an arm around Sokka's other shoulder.
"Suki, you coming to say good bye?" Airis asked the Kyoshi warrior.
"Okay" The Kyoshi warrior said sadly.
The three left the hall to be met by some harsh stares from the elder sisters. Airis thanked them quickly and pushed the couple out of the gate.
"What's up with those ladies?" Sokka asked Airis.
Airis laughed "My best guess is that they heard your little adventure last night."
"Ohh!" Sokka and Suki said at the same time, both blushing deeply.
When they reached camp, they found all the supplies in the saddle waiting to be airbended on to Appa's back and Katara and Toph waiting impatiently for the group.
"Finally!" Toph said getting up off the ground.
Katara walked up to Airis and Sokka. "What in La's name took you so long?" Katara looked at the group harder and saw Suki holding on to Sokka's arm. Katara opened her arms wide and gave Suki a hug.
"Hey, Suki"
"Hey Katara" the girl returned the hug.
Katara had let her mind wander, so she whipped back to Sokka and Airis. "So?"
Airis rubbed the back of her neck "I ran into some complications getting these two love birds to wake up" Airis said jabbing her thumb towards the blushing couple.
Katara didn't get it at first, but then put two and two together. "Oh! Okay" She said awkwardly.
There was an awkward silence until Toph clapped her hands. "Alright the sooner we leave, the sooner we hit solid ground."
Airis nodded "Toph's right I better get the saddle onto Appa." She said walking over to the fully loaded saddle.
"We have a saddle again?" Sokka asked
Toph slapped his back "Yep!"
Airis manoeuvred the saddle, with her airbending, onto the bison and made sure it was tight on his back.
Airis jumped onto Appa's head and grabbed the reins. "Alright let's go!"
Katara and Toph clambered onto Appa. Toph grabbed the edge of the saddle and Katara held Aang, who was starting to get a little hair out of his head, comfortably in a spot close to Airis.
Sokka was still on the ground standing next to Suki.
"Where are you going?" Suki asked.
"To the Fire Nation were going find Aang a firebending master. We're gonna meet up with my dad at the North Pole after Aang's training and then will invade the Fire Nat-"
Suki kissed her boyfriend to make him shut up. Sokka tensed at first then relaxed into the gentle kiss. Suki pulled away and ruffled his ponytail.
"You talk too much" she said
"Hey! That's my line!"
Suki laughed and hugged Sokka. "I'm going to miss you." She said as looked up into her warrior's deep blue eyes. "Promise me, you'll come back to me"
Sokka took her hand and kissed her knuckles "I promise"
Suki hugged him as if she would never let him go. "Bye, Sokka" she whispered in his ear.
"Bye, Suki" Sokka said breaking the hug and backing away slowly toward Appa.
"Go on, the world needs you" Suki said with tears threatening to fall.
Sokka smiled and climbed into the saddle.
"Yip, Yip" Airis said from the drivers place.
Appa took off and caught onto an air current, helping him to stabilize.
Sokka and Suki kept eye contact for as long as they could, but then Appa flew through a cloud. The two lovers turned away from each other. Saddened by their separation but comforted by the fact that they would see each other again someday.
AN- The ending is so mushy!! What is wrong with me?! My brain is not working! (hits head a few times) There I think I fixed it :)
Tell me what you think about it. Please excuse the mushiness.
Please Review- Everyone knows you just can't wait to press the button and review. EVERYONE. Mwwaahahaha. I'm evil.
Please review