"Wow. This is amazing to watch." Katara muttered, looking up at all of the shooting stars.
"Kinda makes you realize how insignificant you are." Sokka agreed softly.
"Eh. You've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times." Toph shrugged.
One of the shooting stars came right towards your group, glowing a blue.
"Oh, man. You've never not seen anything like this." Sokka remarked, standing.
It flew just over you all, crashing and exploding in the distance.
"That's a fire." You deduced, looking at the orange glow.
You all scrambled on Appa, flying to where the object crashed.
"The fire is going to destroy that town!" Katara yelled.
"Not if we can stop it!" Aang shouted.
You all climbed off of Appa when he landed next to the fire, Katara sliding down to his head to take the reins.
"There's a creek over here. I'll bend the water onto the fire." She said, flying away.
Aang turned. "Toph, let's create a trench to prevent the fire from getting any closer!"
Sokka looked down at the club in his hand. "What should I do?!"
Aang paused. "Keep an eye on Momo!"
Sokka's posture dropped. "So, what, I'm just a lemur sitter!?" He sighed, reaching up and patting Momo's head. "There, there. Feel better?"
Aang and Toph rushed forward, creating a trench in the ground to stop the fire's advances.
A few little bits of fire flew off, catching the ground on fire.
Sokka began beating at one with his club, while Momo distinguished five in the time it took Sokka to do one. He turned, about to put out the others, when he saw that they were already taken care of. His shoulders drooped.
Katara re-emerged with Appa, dumping a large collection of water on the fire.
Toph moved an earth slab, patting the fire until it was almost out.
"Sokka! Y/n! Stand clear!" Aang yelled, taking a large bubble of water from Katara.
"Right. Stand clear. Got it." Sokka mumbled, grabbing Momo and walking away.
Aang blew at the water, making it splash towards Sokka.
You stepped in front of him, bringing your hand up so that the water went around you towards the fire.
The water and fire vanished into a cloud of snow.
"Good work, everybody." Aang praised, dusting his hands off.
You sighed.
"These people have no idea how close they were to getting toasted last night." Aang remarked quietly, sitting at a table with Toph, Katara and you.
"Yeah." Toph agreed. "The worst thing about being in disguise is, we don't get the hero worship anymore." She placed her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand. "I miss the love."
"Boo hoo. Poor heroes." Sokka grumbled.
You turned, seeing his back to the group. Instead of sitting at the table, he was sitting on the edge of the two-story building, his legs dangling over the side. You sighed, approaching him and sitting on his right. "Sokka-"
"What's your problem?" Katara asked softly. "You haven't even touched your smoked-sea-slug."
While you wouldn't have eaten any sort of sea-slug, Sokka would have.
"It's just… all you guys can do this awesome bending stuff like putting out forest fires, and flying around, making other stuff fly around… I can't fly around, okay?" He confessed. "I can't do anything."
"That's not true!" You and Katara both denied instantly.
"No one can read a map like you!" Katara continued.
"I can't read at all!" Toph added.
"Yeah! And you keep us laughing with sarcastic comments all the time!" Aang piped up. "I mean, look at Katara's hair." He grabbed one of the sections that she had tied and held it up. "What's up with that?"
Katara's face flushed red as she pulled it out of his grasp. "What? What's wrong with my hair?" She asked, looking around.
"Nothing." Aang told her quietly, feeling guilty and embarrassed. "I was just trying to-"
"Look I appreciate the effort, but the fact is, each of you is so amazing… and so special, and I'm… not. I'm just the guy in the group who's regular."
"Bending doesn't automatically make you special." You informed quietly from your seat next to him. "You're special all on your own."
Katara stepped forward, sitting down on her brother's other side. "I'm sorry you're feeling so down, but I hope you know none of us see you that way." She paused. "I know something that's gonna make you feel better." She told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You do?"
"Shopping!" Sokka exclaimed, clapping excitedly as he stood in the doorway of the store.
You stifled a smile as he rushed further into the building, looking over the weapons.
"Maybe a little something to re-invigorate my battling." He mused, his hand holding his chin in thought. "How about these?" He picked up a pair of nunchaku and began swinging them around, yelling. He clunked himself on the head, falling over and into a pile of weapons.
Various spears fell across him.
You winced before leaning down, picking them up and putting them back. You grabbed his hand and helped him up. "You alright?"
"I think so." He said, looking down at you with bright blue eyes.
You smiled. "Keep looking."
And so he did. For the next two hours. He tried such a variety of dangerous weapons that you were afraid he was going to kill himself.
As he picked at his teeth with a sai, his gaze landed on a sword that was on display on the wall. His mouth dropped and he went over to it, running his hand along the sheath. "That's what Sokka's talking about." He muttered.
You stood behind him, placing your hands on your hips. "Would you like a moment alone?" You teased.
"You have a good eye." A voice cut in.
You both turned, seeing a man with an apron and broom walk towards you. "It's a lovely sword." You admitted, looking back over at it.
"It should be. It's an original from Piandao. The greatest sword master and sword maker in history." He informed as the rest of the gang approached to listen. "He lives in the big castle up the road from here." He said, walking away.
"That's it!" Aang exclaimed, turning to the watertribe warrior. "That's what you needed all along, Sokka!"
"A sword?" Sokka guessed.
"Not the sword. A master." Aang corrected. "We've all had masters to help us get better. You should see if you can study with Piandao." He said as Sokka plucked the sword from the wall to get a closer look at it.
"That's a great idea!" Katara agreed, placing a hand on her chest. "I could have never gotten to where I am without Master Pakku. Everyone needs a teacher."
"I learned from badgermoles." Toph added. "They don't talk, but they're still good teachers."
You watched as Sokka pulled the sword from its sheath, looking it over.
"It would be nice to be a master sword fighter." Sokka mused.
"It'd be awesome." You corrected, grinning.
Sokka looked over at you, smiling softly. "Alright. I'll talk to him!" He exclaimed, in better spirits.
"What should we do today?" Aang wondered aloud.
"I'm tapped out. I already picked my toes. Twice." Toph informed.
"Twice?" Aang echoed.
"The first time is for cleaning, but the second time is just for the sweet picking sensation."
Your face scrunched in distaste as you observed Aang, Toph and Katara lying on their backs. You continued to stroke Appa's fur as you listened to them.
"Sokka's been in charge of the schedule." Katara piped up. "I'm not sure what we should be doing." She admitted with a shrug.
Momo flew over, settling between her and Aang, lying down as well.
"Plus, it's so hot today." Toph added.
"How hot is it?" Aang asked in an odd tone.
"I dunno. Real hot?" She offered.
"It's so hot, it's so hot, Momo is shedding like Appa!" Katara tried as a joke, wiping some hair off of the lemur's back.
"Guess the jokes don't run in the family." Aang muttered.
"Oh, everyone's a critic." She mumbled.
"So, where are we going next?" Katara asked, looking down at the map. "We're starting from here-"
"No, we're over on this island." Aang denied, pointing at the map.
"You noodlebrains don't know what you're doing." Toph insisted, lying down on the ground. "I miss Sokka."
"Ooh! I got one!" Katara exclaimed. She turned to Toph. "If you miss him so much… why don't you marry him?" She tried, grinning.
Toph rolled over so that her back faced the waterbender.
You face-palmed.
A bug flew in front of Aang, so he blew at it, sending the creature flying.
"Sokka's coming!" Toph shouted, sitting up.
You all lifted your heads, grinning widely.
"Hey, guys." Sokka greeted, emerging from behind the hill. "What are you doin'?"
You all rushed forward. "Sokka!"
"You're back!" Toph yelled.
"We missed you so much!" Katara informed, smiling at her brother.
"I like the new look." You told him, looking over the brown robe.
"Say something funny!" Aang requested like a child once he pulled away.
"Funny, how?" Sokka asked.
Aang and Katara laughed.
"What's their deal?" Sokka questioned, genuinely confused.
Toph turned away. "I don't know. They missed you, or something. I didn't care." She insisted. Though a small smile was on her face, and her cheeks colored slightly.
"Thanks. That warms my heart." He turned to the rest of the group. "Anyway, I need some help."
You all held onto the fallen meteor as Toph used earthbending to push it up the path to the castle. When you finally arrived at the large double doors, Sokka rushed forward.
He took both of the door-knockers, quickly banging them against the doors.
The large doors opened, revealing an older man carrying a sword. He wore similar robes to Sokka.
You figured that this must be Piandao.
"Who's this?" The man asked.
"Oh, these are my friends." Sokka introduced, gesturing at everyone. "Just other good firenation folks."
Piando studied the group before nodding in respect.
"Do you think we could make a sword out of a meteorite?" Sokka asked, pointing at the large chunk of rock.
Piando waked forward, placing his hand on the object. "We'll make a sword unlike any other in the world."
Sokka spent all of the next day into night working on the sword.
You, Katara or Aang would occasionally stop by to check on him and get him food.
You would stand in the corner and wordlessly watch him work. You weren't sure if he would be more comfortable with your presence or less so, so you didn't stop by very often. You wanted him to get his work done.
It was the next morning when you had all gathered to see Sokka receive his fully-crafted sword. You all sat off to the side, watching as Piandao walked forward.
"Sokka, when you first arrived, you were so unsure. You even seemed down on yourself. But I saw something in you right away. I saw a heart as strong as a lion-turtle's, and twice as big."
Sokka looked up at his master with a look you couldn't place.
"As we trained, it wasn't your skills that impressed me." Piando turned around, accepting the sheathed sword from his assistant. "No, it certainly wasn't your skills."
Sokka frowned.
"You showed something beyond that." Piandao continued. He drew the sword, revealing a black blade as he extended it out from him. "Creativity. Versatility. Intelligence. These are the traits that define a great swordsman." He sheathed the sword, bowing forward and offering it to Sokka. "These are the traits… that define you."
Sokka accepted the sword.
You looked over at him, expecting to see a smile. Was he… frowning?
Piando continued. "You told me that you didn't think you were worthy." He recalled, standing. "But I believe, that you are more worthy than any man I have ever trained."
Sokka's hands clenched around the sheathed sword. "I'm sorry, master. You're wrong. I'm not worthy. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not from the firenation, I'm from the Southern watertribe." He admitted, holding the sword out.
Your eyes became wide with shock and your mouth dropped open.
"I lied so that I could learn swordsmanship from you." He held the sword out further. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, too." Piando said, turning away. As fast as lightning, he turned back around, swinging his own sword as Sokka.
Sokka leaned backwards, avoiding the blow.
Piandao swung at Sokka's torso as he stood, but Sokka blocked it with his own still-sheathed sword.
You all stood, about to help, but Sokka reached backwards to shake a finger. He kept his gaze on his attacker.
"No. This is my fight. Alone."
Your heart sank as they walked outside to the dueling ground.
You all followed, watching as they waited, sizing each other up, before charging, swinging and blocking.
Piandao knocked Sokka backwards, sending him into the bridge.
Sokka stood, climbing onto the bridge, jumping from side to side, avoiding attacks.
"Excellent!" Piandao praised as Sokka leapt away. "Using your superior agility against an older opponent! Smart." He continued to attack, forcing Sokka into a bamboo forest, out of your sight.
They emerged minutes later, Sokka running from Piandao.
Sokka dug his sword in the ground, sending dirt into his master's eyes.
"Very resourceful." Piandao complimented, keeping his eyes closed so that they didn't get more dirt in them.
Sokka tried to sneak away, but he stepped on a twig.
Piandao charged, swinging.
To avoid the blow, Sokka backed up, but tripped over himself and dropped his sword.
Piandao held the tip of his blade to Sokka's throat.
"Sokka, no!" You yelled, leaping over the railing and rushing towards them. "Not again!" You pleaded, tears welling up in your eyes. You began to summon your water, but Piandao stepped backwards, holding his sword at his side.
"Excellent work, Sokka."
You skidded to a halt, the water you had begun to collect splashing on the ground. "What?" You questioned, looking up at him.
Piandao gestured, and his assistant threw the sheath. Piandao spun around, holding out his sword. The sheath slid perfectly onto the blade. "I think I'm a little old to be fighting the Avatar." Piandao said.
You turned, seeing that the others had joined you.
"How did you know?" Aang asked.
"Oh, I've been around a while. Pick things up." Piandao explained, wiping his eyes with a towel that his assistant brought. "Of course I knew from the beginning that Sokka was watertribe." He turned. "You might want to think of a better firenation cover name though. Try Lee. There's a million Lee's." He offered, drinking from a cup with a lemon slice sitting on the edge.
"But why would you agree to train someone from the watertribe?" Katara inquired, tilting her head slightly.
"The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation." Piandao said. "Knowledge of the arts belongs to us all." He walked away, picking up Sokka's sword and handing it to him. "Sokka, you must continue your training on your own. If you stay on this path, I know that one day you will become an even greater master than I am." He bowed, Sokka bowing back.
You smiled softly.
Sokka turned. "Let's go, guys."
You all walked out of the castle, heading down the path.
"Wait!" You all turned, seeing the assistant chasing after you all. "The master wanted you to have this as something to remember him by." He said, handing Sokka a small pouch. He bowed before walking away.
You all bowed back before looking over Sokka's shoulder.
"It's a pai sho tile." Sokka informed, holding it out.
"The white lotus." Aang elaborated.
"Huh. What does it mean?" Katara asked.
"I have no idea." Sokka admitted, looking down at it.
"I can't place it, but it looks familiar." You mumbled, staring at the object.
The double doors suddenly closed.
You all turned, seeing a firenation symbol on the doors, and a white lotus surrounding it.
"Huh. That's weird." You noted, raising an eyebrow.
"Ooh, that reminds me!" Sokka shouted, reaching into his pocket. "Toph, I thought you might like this, since you've probably never had a chance to bend space-earth before." He said, handing her a chunk of the meteor.
Toph took it, bending it in several shapes. "Sweet! Check this out!"
"I don't think there's such a thing as space-earth." Katara piped up. "If it's from space, then it's not really earth."
"Must you ruin everything?" Sokka asked, following his sister as she began to walk back towards camp.
"I can't believe I missed you." She grumbled.
You grabbed Sokka's arm to halt him as you almost reached camp. "Go ahead, guys." You told the others.
They nodded, continuing walking.
Sokka looked down at you expectantly, no doubt waiting for a reason as to why you stopped him.
"I'm really proud of you." You told him honestly.
Sokka's expression shifted into a soft smile.
"I hope this proves that you don't need to bend to be special. You're special all on your own." You admitted, grinning. You stepped forward and placed a small kiss on his cheek before pulling away enough to smile up at him.
Sokka pulled you into him, wrapping you in a hug.
All was right with the world.