Chapter 67: Sokka's Feelings of Euphoria

They'd been walking for a while when Zuko thought to ask, "What happened to Professor Zei?"

Sokka replied, "He felt like keeping the big owl company."

"What owl?"


Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Zuko are exhausted. Momo is draped across Sokka's shoulders, too tired to fly.

Sokka tried using the lemur's ears to give himself some shade.

Toph walked into the back of him with a grunt.

He snapped, "Can't you watch where you're…"

His eyes widened.

She deadpanned, "No."

He nodded. "Right. Sorry."

"Come on, guys." Katara said, trying to force a cheery smile. "We've got to stick together and keep going."

Sokka grabbed hold of his visibly damp shirt and pulled it away from himself. "I don't think sticking is a problem, Katara. Spirits, its hot."

He eyed the barely-sweaty Firebender with annoyance. He was still wearing his blasted armour.

"Any chance you can cool all of us down?" he said, voice tinged with irritation.

Zuko sighed and shook his head. "Sokka, I'm not even doing it consciously. I'm just… used to the heat. My body adapts to it better than yours. That's all."

He kept eyeing the Firebender. "Yeah. Sure."

"Katara, can I have some more water?" Toph asked.

Katara sighed but nodded. "Okay, but we've got to try and conserve it."

She made four small orbs from her bending water. Zuko shook his head. "I'm fine, Katara. You guys need it more than me."

She frowned at him but let it go. He did seem to be handling the heat better than the rest of them.

She sent one of the orbs back into her flask and sent one each to Toph and Sokka, saving the last for herself.

A realisation seemed to hit Sokka. He swirled the water around in his mouth. "We're drinking your bending water? You used this on the swamp guy! Ugh!"

Toph nodded. "It does taste kinda swampy."

"I'm sorry." She said. "It's all we have. The rest of our supplies were…"

She trailed off. Zuko finished for her. "On Appa. Yeah."

Sokka cried, "Not anymore! Look!"

He hurried ahead, towards a nearby cactus. He cuts off a piece with his machete and began drinking the fluid inside before any of them could say anything. Momo happily joined in.

Zuko eyed the cactus and groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, that was a mistake."

Katara looked at him and then shouted to her brother, "Sokka, you shouldn't be eating strange plants!"

The three hurried up to him and Momo.

Sokka cut off another bit of cactus, offering it out to them. "There's water inside these!"

Zuko knocked it from his hand with his staff. "That's not water, you idiot."

Sokka eyed him, and then shrugged. "Suit yourself. It's very thirst quenching though. The quenchiest!"

He smiled at Katara and wiggled his eyebrows. She frowned. "I don't know…"

Katara noticed something strange. Her brother's pupils were dilating, almost completely devouring the blue.

Sokka began to notice lights dancing between him and his sister. He shook his head, but they were still there. They were kind of pretty.

Katara grabbed his shoulders and steered him away from the cactus patch. "Okay, I think you've had enough."

"Who lit Toph on fire?" Sokka asked curiously. "Was it you, Zuko?"

Zuko sighed. Katara asked, "What did he just drink?"

The Firebender shook his head. "I don't know the name, but the peoples of the Desert Tribes sometimes drink it during holy days. They wait for the sun to go down, drink that juice, and then run through the desert. It's… strange, to say the least."

"What does it do?"

"Makes them see things. Strange things. Hallucinations."

Katara groaned. "Spirits, please tell it doesn't last long."

Zuko eyed the juice dripping down Sokka's chin. "Based on how much he drank? We're all in for a long night."

Katara groaned again. She watched as Momo jumped from the top of Sokka's head and flew in lazy circles until he crashed into the ground.

Sokka giggled. "Momo, you're so crazy."

Toph asked, "Can I get some of that cactus juice?"

Zuko and Katara spoke as one. "NO!"


They staggered through the desert as the sun began to set. Toph and Katara had their arms wrapped around each other, while Zuko did his best to steer the dazed and delusional Sokka. This mostly consisted of him whacking at the boy's ankles with his staff, and prodding him in the base of the spine.

"Keep walking, Sokka." He intoned, for the hundred thousandth time.

"How did we get into the middle of the ocean?" Sokka asked, amazed.

In a voice as dry as the desert itself Zuko said, "I've become an Exalted Sage. I turned the sand to water."

Sokka stared at the Firebender in unconcealed awe.

Katara sighed. "Zuko, can you please not encourage him? His brain doesn't need any help."

Zuko shook his head. "Sorry."

Toph stopped walking, halting Katara too. She said, "Toph, we've got to keep going."

The younger frowned and tilted her head to the side. "It feels… I think there's something behind us? Damn sand, it's so hard to tell."

Katara cried, "Maybe it's Aang!"

They turned and looked. There was nothing there.

Zuko said quietly, "We can't see anything, Toph. You must just be sensing the sand shifting."

She sighed. "You're right. Sorry."

He waved it off. "Happens to the best of us, especially out here."

They went back to walking in silence, too tired to talk for long, except for Sokka. He rambled to himself and every inanimate object around him. Zuko kept poking him with his staff and urging him forward.