A/N Edited 15 December, 2019

Chapter 7

Sokka made his way down the perfectly landscaped street in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se towards the oversized manor he and his friends had been staying at for the last three weeks. He had just come from the Jasmine Dragon and a frustrating meeting with General Iroh and Master Pakku. There had been news from their spies in the Fire Nation colonies. Katara and Zuko had narrowly escaped capture after they'd been recognized on one of the larger Islands five days ago but no one knew where they were now. The soldiers that had been in pursuit had lost track of them almost immediately, as tended to happen when one was left frozen to a tree. Despite this lack of information, Master Pakku seemed annoyingly optimistic. When he'd told Sokka not to worry because they were both powerful benders and if they weren't captured it meant they were fine, he had nearly thrown his boomerang at him. At least the General seemed almost as worried as he was. If they were in fact alright, Sokka thought they'd likely abandon the island hopping in favor of a more direct route. A ship to the Earth Kingdom coast maybe.

Master Pakku, it turned out, had more than one reason to be positive. There had been word from his father and the rest of the tribe. Apparently Hakoda had decided to make for the South Pole after leaving the Western air temple months ago. Apparently he wanted to be there on the off chance things turned out as they had so they could leave their unprotected home as soon as possible if necessary. As of two days ago, his father and the rest of the Southern tribe had made it to the Earth Kingdom and were making their way North. He had sent word once they had reached Kyoshi island. Master Pakku was eager to see Gran gran again and Sokka felt only slightly better knowing where his father was.

Besides the update on his sister and father, they'd shared information regarding the naval blockade around the north pole. Apparently General Iroh had been correct in his assumptions about his brother's priorities. A handful of Fire Nation ships had been spotted heading north through the wide rivers dividing the Earth Kingdom. It was estimated they'd reach the blockade in a week.

Wearing an uncharacteristic frown and glaring at the ground as he walked along the stone street, Sokka knew he could not stay in Ba Sing Se a day longer. Not when his sister was as good as missing, and his father and people would be marching near Fire Nation occupied territory soon. Sitting around all day in their ostentatious lodgings while his family was in danger was driving him crazy and he knew he wasn't the only one that felt like climbing the walls. Toph had been grumpy and quiet in turn. She spent most of her time either trying to teach a few earthbenders how to manipulate metal or arguing with Suki. Suki apparently turned rather salty herself when both bored and worried, not that he really blamed her. If they weren't fighting they were taking their frustration out in other ways. All around Sokka had had just about enough of both of them and with feeling so helpless.

As he stomped up the front steps and banged open the front door, he wasn't sure if he should include them in his new plan or not. Surely traveling so far alone wasn't the best idea, but he didn't know if he wanted to put up with the girls anymore. Without other guys around he felt well, outnumbered; though it was Katara's absence that was felt most keenly. He never thought he would miss her bossy mothering. If he was honest with himself, even though Aang was the Avatar, it was really Katara that had held their little group together. Knowing the war was far from over, they needed her; both for the mothering he missed and her amazing bending.

Making up his mind, he headed for his room, gathering up the things he thought he might need. If he guessed their pace correctly, his father would be in Omashu in two weeks. If he traveled by eel hound the whole way, except when he'd need to take the ferry into Half Moon Bay, he could maybe meet them there. Unrolling a map he tried to guess his sister's possible location. If they were still heading to the Earth Kingdom, they'd likely make a stop in Omashu as well. It was on the way and still under Earth Kingdom authority. Yue knew when they'd make it there though. He sighed and stuffed the map into his pack. Turning to dig through his clothing, he didn't notice the door open.

"Going somewhere Snoozles? If you are, take me with you! I don't even care where. I can't take anymore of your fan twirling girlfriend and her crusty attitude."

Sokka turned to look at Toph and noticed that although she sounded like her normal snarky self, she wore a frown of her own. Watching her for a moment, Sokka crossed his arm and smirked.

"I think we're all a little on edge. You're certainly not innocent of fight picking and irritating attitudes." She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head menacingly in his direction. Sokka put up his hands in supplication. "Hey I'm just sayin', I know I haven't been overly pleasant either. Anyways, yes I am leaving. I just met with General Iroh, he's heard from my father. He and the rest of our tribe should be in Omashu in two weeks and I want to try and meet them there. I think Katara and Zuko might stop there too, though who knows when. That being said...If I let you come, Suki will want to come too. I had kinda planned on sneaking off alone. I don't suppose I'm gonna get away with that now am I?"

Sokka rubbed anxiously at the back of his head as Toph flopped back onto his bed and sighed.

"No way. Do you have any idea how dumb that sounds? You're a smart guy Sokka, but traveling alone through contested territory is just asking to get captured by the Fire Nation. You know you need me." She rolled onto her stomach and propped her chin on her folded hands, shooting him a smug grin. He rolled his eyes at her and remembering she wouldn't see the gesture, waved his hands at her in irritation.

"You know, just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't hear you flapping your hands at me like a grumpy turtleduck."

Rubbing his hand down his face, he relented.

"Fine. I guess we'll need to find Suki then, she'll want to come too."

He missed Toph's sour expression at that as he bent to tie up his pack. She stood from the bed and stretched her arms before heading for the door.

"Alright, but I can't promise a change of scenery will make her any less annoying."

Sokka rolled his eyes again as she left and hoped desperately that he wouldn't regret taking them with him.

oOoOoOoOo

To Sokka's surprise and delight, getting out of the city and having a goal to focus on had done wonders for all three of them. Suki had taken mere minutes to pack her things once Sokka had found her. Apparently she was just as desperate to leave as he was. She was also anxious to hear news from her home and hoped Hokada had been able to speak with her family. Sokka found it hard to be irritable when he was so focused on finding his family, and Toph enjoyed traveling on the ground. It only took them a day to get to the ferry port and once again thanks to Toph's family, they were able to get passage easily. It would take them two days to reach Half Moon Bay on the slow ferry.

Later the evening after boarding, the three friends sat together along the stern, legs dangling over the edge between the rails. Watching the water trail behind them, Sokka thought of his sister. He wondered where she was and if she was alright. He even worried about Zuko. Ever since they'd gone off to rescue his father and Suki from prison, the two had formed a fast friendship. Sokka wondered if Suki and Toph were right about how he felt about his sister. He wasn't so blind as to miss the awkward flirtation and silly smiles they had only for each other. Yes, he thought that Zuko must indeed care very much for his sister. He guessed that was alright. As to the other nonsense Toph said she'd "seen" and Suki guessed, well he refused to think about that too much. Anyway, Sokka wasn't fool enough to try to tell his sister what to do, if she wanted Zuko she could have him. He laughed out loud at that.

"Poor Zuko'" Sokka whispered to himself, not meaning it at all.

"What was that Sokka?" Suki poked him in the arm, drawing him back into the moment. He ran a hand through his loose hair and turned to her.

"Oh nothing. Just worrying about my sister and the Jerk bender. I hope we run into them somewhere along the way. I know Katara can take care of herself, but she's still my little sister and after Aang… well, I will just feel a whole lot better when I know for sure she's ok."

Toph let out a dramatic sigh, drawing his attention. Her head was cocked so her hair was out of her face for once and her pale eyes shone in the moonlight. It was easy to forget sometimes that she wasn't the 12 year old little girl they had met in Gaoling, but 14 and actually really pretty now that he thought about it. That was an unsettling thought, he wondered what she'd say if he told her. She'd probably hit him.

"I never thought I'd say it, but I miss your bossypants sister... Sparky too. You know…" She stopped herself and Sokka noticed she had tears building in her eyes that she quickly swatted at. He knew she disliked making emotional displays. "I miss Momo. Stupid leamer, what happened to him anyway?"

"We never did have a chance to go back and recover Aang's… Well I bet he is still around there somewhere. He wasn't spirit bound the way Appa was. Poor guy, we should go back and look for him!" Suki was suddenly choking back tears too. Sokka lay a hand on each of their knees as he let a few tears of his own go. They hadn't been able to go back for Aang's body. As far as they knew it was crumpled and broken at the bottom of the mountain he'd fallen from. If they could, after they'd met up with his father, he wanted to go back to Wulong Forest. Aang deserved that much. Maybe Momo would be there too.