Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

257. Chapter 257: Storytelling-Wedding 3

Storytelling/Wedding

3

The Water Tribe's walls hid and protected a beautiful, tight community. Igloos and smaller huts were built within the enclosure of the strong walls that hugged the tribespeople's living spaces. Where those walls had been crafted to protect a small cluster of crumbling igloos during Sokka's teenage years, nowadays they were larger, spread out further, expanded by the work of the most talented ice sculptors of the Tribe and their two waterbenders. Whenever they lacked the space to craft new homes, Hakoda would task his trusted tribesmen to widen the enclosure for the sake of making room for whoever intended to craft an igloo next.

The walls had grown in an uneven way, Sokka had noticed, as they no longer hugged the Tribe in a perfect circle, the way it had been even after the union of all the different tribes, back when their participation in the war had ended. It was an odd sort of oval instead, with asymmetrical ends, some walls taller than the others… some of them even taller than the watch tower he had been so dedicated to crafting throughout his teenage years.

That the tower hadn't been torn down over the course of the village's expansion was but a miracle, Sokka thought, as he stood right outside the walls, glancing at the enclosure of his childhood home. No doubt the tower could have been improved upon considerably with both Katara and Aang's skills, if nothing else… but he suspected his sister had refused to change any of it, to honor Sokka's memory back when she believed him dead. His chest tightened as he closed his eyes: his struggles had caused far more pain than he'd intended on his family and Tribe…

But if he looked around himself now, it would seem as though everyone was moving forward, little by little. He could finally speak properly with his sister, though he had yet to hold a thorough, one-on-one conversation with Hakoda, who had offered him no end of leniency in that respect. His family igloo, at least, had become a safe place… just as he expected Azula wanted it to be. If only she knew how he'd been welcomed, if she learned he'd patched things up with Katara as best as possible… he could see the smile on her face in his mind's eye, and he clung to it tightly as tears threatened to spring in his eyes once more. He missed her… he missed her so badly. She should be here, beside him… he could only wish she were, knowing such wishes would amount to nothing. He had the feeling that she would have enjoyed witnessing the duel her brother and sister-in-law were preparing, if only she could have been here to see it.

Zuko and Suki would train today, as they had determined on the previous day, to ensure she would be in proper shape to teach everyone, starting tomorrow. She seemed quite nervous in her parka, uncertain about the restriction the mittens on her hands could represent for her fighting style. Holding her fans with gloves wouldn't prove easy… Zuko had an advantage in being a firebender, moreover, a firebender who had trained the Avatar extensively across the past years. As dark as the days were, Zuko's fire seemed as strong as it had been back in the Fire Nation, in Sokka's eyes… perhaps even slightly stronger. Training in the South Pole might have proven to be an effective method for Zuko to push his own boundaries and develop his bending skills far beyond the banished Prince's own expectations.

"You ready?" Suki asked him, as Zuko twirled his swords in his bare hands, smiling at the familiar weight of the dao blades.

"I guess so. It's been forever since I've used these," he admitted, with a shrug. "I hope they haven't dulled just because they've been sitting as ornaments for the last few years…"

"Your firebending's bound to be dangerous enough on its own for me, I suspect," Suki smiled, breathing deeply as she glanced at her own weapons, set on a nearby cluster of ice. "Damn, I can definitely train without them, but I really should get back into the rhythm of wielding them, too…"

"We can split our training between hand-to-hand combat and then weapons combat," Zuko suggested, a playful, cheerful grin across his face. A grin Sokka was certainly unfamiliar with, but Suki showed no sign of surprise at her husband's unusual enthusiasm. Their time together, far away from so many pressures, definitely had done Zuko countless favors. "Whatever you're more comfortable with."

"I'll be comfortable sparring with you, that's for sure," Suki laughed quietly. "When was the last time we even did this, Zuko? I mean, proper sparring…"

"Probably… heh, ages ago," Zuko admitted, his gaze flickering towards the ice cluster where Sokka sat on a blanket, with the two littlest children of the Tribe, as well as their family's dog. "When we trained him, I figure."

"Right," Suki said, biting her lip before smiling at Zuko. "Those were good days, huh?"

"I'm sure all three of us agree on that," Zuko sighed, setting down his swords again before stepping towards his wife. "At any rate… are you ready?"

"Are you?" Suki smiled teasingly, raising her hands in his direction.

Sitting by Sokka's side on the thick fur blanket – one of the furs Suki had acquired on the previous day –, basking in the light of the lanterns they'd brought with them, Mari gazed at her parents with the brightest of smiles. She grabbed Sokka's sleeve, tugging it as she pointed at her mother.

"Mommy fights daddy! Daddy said she always wins!" she told him, excitedly. "This morning, mommy said they fight… like Princess Jing and Wentai!"

Sokka chuckled and nodded: he had half-expected Mari would have forgotten all about the story he had shared with her by now. Holding a child's attention for this long was quite unusual, an honor he didn't take lightly, especially when he knew, personally, how difficult it was to ensure young children listened to anything for minutes, let alone hours.

His new duty as babysitter didn't appear quite so daunting now that he sat with Mari beside him, and Zi wrapped in a bundle of warm furs, slung over his chest. Zuko and Suki had explained how to strap the carrier to his own body, ensuring he'd done it properly before entrusting him with their youngest. Zi gazed at him with wide eyes the whole time, eyes of a violet-blue hue, quite similar to her mother's, while her hair was as dark as her father's.

"Guess we can watch them deck it out for a while, right, Mari?" Sokka said, rocking Zi gently in his arms. "I can tell you more stories once you get bored…"

"Yes! More story! I love Princess Jing and Wentai!" Mari squeaked, grinning brightly at Sokka, her parents' training bout seemingly forgotten.

"Your mommy and daddy first, remember…?" Sokka said, pointing at them. Mari gasped, blushing a little as she turned towards Zuko and Suki once more.

They hadn't started just yet, but Sokka guessed it wouldn't be long before they did. Suki always seemed to prefer waiting for the opponent to deliver the first strike, something Zuko hadn't forgotten, so they both rounded each other, prepared to fight back when either one chose to throw the first punch…

Zuko took a step forward, throwing a tentative fist towards his wife, only for her to deflect it with one hand and reach for Zuko's neck with the other, her fingers perfectly outstretched in a threatening gesture. Mari gasped, and Sokka snickered.

"There we go! Imagine if all the women in the Tribe learned to do that: we could conquer the Fire Nation in a heartbeat!" he stated, as Zuko snickered under Suki's insincere threat. She laughed as well, releasing him from her hold as she shook her head.

"You were just trying to give me an edge there so I looked cool, Zuko. No need to be so gallant, please… take me seriously here," Suki smiled, preparing herself again as Zuko scoffed.

"I always take you, and everything, seriously. Everyone says it's a flaw of mine," Zuko declared pompously, causing his wife to laugh again as he prepared himself once more. "Not my fault you're the best fighter in this whole Tribe, is it? The absolute best. I don't give a damn about no top-ranked gladiators…"

"Heh, of course you don't…" Sokka said, shaking his head and smiling a little, despite himself.

Suki laughed too, but this time it was she who jumped forth, dashing with an agile movement that sought to strike Zuko from his left, where his eyesight was weaker…

It was a feint. She spun on herself just as Zuko attempted to parry her blow, and the attack came from the right instead. Once more, her hand stopped at his neck and Zuko swallowed hard as he froze in place.

"Oh, come on, you can respond to this!" Suki laughed, lowering her hands as Zuko chuckled, shaking his head with certainty.

"I'd be dead by now if this were a real fight. I'm helpless against you," Zuko sighed, smiling carelessly at her. "Maybe I'm the worst person for this job, if you're looking for a challenge…"

"Are you seriously going to let me beat you up without fighting back the whole time?" Suki laughed, as Zuko wrapped his arms around her.

"Maybe. What about it?" he smiled, tightening his grip and swaying in place with her, as Suki laughed carelessly in his embrace.

Sokka sighed, closing his eyes as he averted his gaze from the intimate moment the couple shared. A sound beside him brought him to open his eyes anew, though: Mari had covered her eyes with her hands, though she looked out between her mittens often, simultaneously curious and shy over the kisses her parents shared.

"Guess they do that often, huh?" Sokka asked her, smiling a little. Mari covered her face again and nodded.

"Mommy and Daddy always do that…" she mumbled quietly, her cheeks red. "Grown-ups do that when they're married, they say…"

"Hmm, they do, it's true," Sokka admitted, nodding weakly. Mari bit her lip as she glanced at him again, still blushing.

"Did Princess Jing marry someone and kissed them…?" she asked. Sokka smiled and chuckled at her innocent curiosity.

"You really want me to give away the contents of our story so fast? We have lots of grounds to cover before Princess Jing decides she wants to marry someone…" he teased her. Mari giggled and nodded.

"Now?" she asked, forgetting all about her parents again, even as it seemed they were readying themselves to spar again.

"What, already? But they're only getting started…" Sokka pointed at Zuko and Suki, but Mari shook her head.

"Princess Jing!" Mari exclaimed, beaming brightly at Sokka. He sighed: resisting such bright gold eyes had never been his forte.

"Alright, then, alright…" he sighed in submission.

Mari giggled happily, her boots swaying side to side, brushing against the dog that laid down anxiously beside her, watching as his two masters play-fought, for all purposes, a few paces away. Zuko had ordered him to stay put, and as usual, Gruff had listened, even if every impulse in his canine body urged him to rush to Zuko's rescue.

"Well, then…" Sokka said, his eyes shifting towards Zuko and Suki again: this time it seemed Zuko had decided to dodge and evade Suki's attacks, though Sokka immediately recognized her combat style as an attempt to taunt her opponent into attacking carelessly, creating false openings to goad him. He smiled after Suki successfully deflected Zuko once he attacked, winding up with a full arm wrapped around his neck this time. "Goodness, your dad's just no good at fighting, is he?"

"He is…" Mari pouted, but she giggled again. "Mommy is better."

"Definitely looks like it," Sokka smiled: Mari giggled, a hint of pride in her voice… and Sokka frowned upon recognizing an opportunity at the very part of the story he had to tell the child next. "Hmm… we left off when Wentai went to live in the Capital, right? Once Princess Jing bought him a house…"

"Yes, yes!" Mari exclaimed giddily, nodding promptly. Sokka bit his lip and smiled with a hint of mischief.

"Alright. Well, Mari, before they went out to buy that house, Wentai's healing process was inspected again by the people at the Palace, and they confirmed he was much better by then. But as he and Princess Jing were walking through those ridiculously long corridors in the Palace, they bumped into someone: it was Princess Jing's brother!"

Mari gasped, as ever amazed by learning more about Princess Jing, and Sokka smiled inevitably at her wonderment. Having such enthusiasm for things, such innocence… this child certainly deserved to grow without losing either thing for as long as possible. Which was, of course, one of the reasons why he couldn't tell his story with full honesty, just as it had been on the previous day.

"Princess Jing had an older brother, you see," Sokka continued, more quietly than before. "He was… a grump, actually. He always had this really nasty frown on his face, and he complained about everything, so much more than Wentai did! His name was Prince… Prince Piqi."

"Prince Piqi? Who's that?"

Sokka's decision for Zuko's character's name had been a choice made on the spur of the moment, like all names he'd come up with so far, and he had spoken it softly, expecting only Mari to hear it. He had failed to notice, however, that they were being watched by three people, standing by the Tribe's entrance… well, two of them still stood there, while the other one waded awkwardly towards them over the snow, sporting what Sokka suspected were three layers of outerwear to protect him from the cold.

Mari flinched upon hearing that voice, shifting closer to Gruff: the dog growled, and the child did the same when Kino stepped up without a care in the world, slowing down next to Sokka. His loud shout had been overheard by Suki and Zuko, who had slowed their latest training bout as they glanced at Sokka in confusion.

"Hello, Mari!" Kino grinned, waving at the child, who only pouted angrily in his direction. "Oh, Mari! What have I ever done to earn your disdain…?"

"Maybe it's because you ask her that every time you see her?" Katara chimed in: she and Aang walked together towards the others, following Kino far more gracefully.

"Kat-Kat!" Mari exclaimed, her voice as good as a cry for help.

Sokka raised an eyebrow as he regarded his sister in silence. She gave him a guilty grin and a light shrug, readying herself to explain her presence once she stopped right behind the ever-anxious Kino, pulling him away from the child by yanking the hood of one of his parkas. Once Kino stumbled back, Katara smiled and waved at Mari.

"There you go, Kino's not going to bother you anymore, dear," she said, as Kino pouted in protest. Katara glanced at her brother next. "We're all done informing everyone in the village about the upcoming training: Dad, Aang and I took care of it. Some of the older ladies think it's a weird idea, but most of them were thrilled. Some of the husbands, not so much…"

"Really, now?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow as Katara smiled.

"Yeah, they claim their wives are powerful enough as it is, apparently," she laughed. "Ah, well, it's no matter anyway, they'll be trained and the men will have to deal with it. So long as Suki's up for it, the first session should be tomorrow… right?"

"Right," Suki confirmed, smiling weakly. "Thanks for getting everyone on board, Katara. You guys had plenty to deal with as it was… I could've tried to do it once we were done here."

"Oh, no worries," Katara smiled, shaking her head. "Dad says he'll make sure everyone attends, too. It'll go well, I hope… and I guess your babysitting session wasn't going so poorly either, huh, Sokka?"

"It wasn't, but now that you guys are here, I guess Mari will be happy to spend time with you instead?" Sokka guessed, with a weak grin. "Though you and Aang… you did get started with what I asked of you yesterday, right? Were you going to continue today?"

"We did start, no worries. We meant to continue building all those ice blocks and walls after lunch," Katara said, with a quick grin that she shifted towards Mari later, leaning on her knees to look at her. "You still look worried, Mari! It's fine, we'll keep Kino away from you, I promise…"

"Yes," Mari pouted… and startled all the grown-ups when she wrapped her small arms around Sokka's calf, as though to hide from Kino behind him.

Even Sokka froze in place, eyebrows raised, as everyone else gasped, jaws dropped, at the same time. He only blinked blankly, wondering if Mari had made a mistake… but she clung to his leg with such certainty it didn't seem it was a mistake at all.

"Woah. Woah! She likes you already!" Kino squeaked, looking at Sokka desperately. "How did you do that?! I've known her all her life and she never liked a single hair on my head…"

"I've bribed her with stories, that's all," Sokka said, with an awkward smile. "That's how you win kids over, Kino. Bribe them and, before you know it, you're their favorite person… not that I'm Mari's favorite person at all, though. Her favorites are Zuko and Suki, I figure, but right after them… I suppose it's Princess Jing, eh?"

"Princess Jing!" Mari grinned brightly, looking at Sokka with hopeful eyes again, Kino long forgotten. Once more, the child's behavior couldn't have been more astonishing for all the onlookers.

"Wow. You really won her over," Aang laughed, smiling as he crouched in front of Mari with a teasing smile. "Who's Princess Jing, huh? I've never met her."

"Princess Jing is a firebender, like me!" Mari exclaimed, beaming. "She is the best firebender in the world!"

"Oh?" Aang blinked a few times, glancing at Zuko with astonishment: the child's father merely offered him a half-hearted shrug and a submissive smile, for he wasn't about to contest the title of best firebender, as bestowed by his daughter. "Well, wow! She has to be amazing!"

"She and Wentai have ad… Adventures!" Mari exclaimed, beaming after pronouncing a new, difficult word properly.

"And who… is Wentai?" Katara asked.

"He is Princess Jing's friend!" Mari grinned. "They fought and Princess Jing won and Wentai lost and then he fought the bad guys for her!"

Katara blinked blankly before glancing at her brother with questioning eyes: he averted his gaze, unsure of how his sister would judge him for his choice in story for Mari. Yet it was Kino who talked next, tapping his chin as he glanced at Mari with curiosity.

"Then… is it that maybe Princess Jing's brother is Prince… Piqi?" he asked, as he, Aang and Katara glanced at Zuko at the same time.

The man's sole eyebrow twitched as he glared accusingly at Sokka, who only smiled guiltily and shrugged. On cue, the three newcomers started laughing wildly, and Zuko's irritation only increased.

"This… this was a terrible idea. The worst idea ever. That bastard, babysitting our kids? Telling them his stories without any supervision?" Zuko said, his voice dangerously calm as he snarled in Sokka's direction. "How dares he…?"

"How dares he call you Prince Temper? Well… he's not right to do that, not at all, but Zuko…" Suki grimaced, reaching up to cup his cheek delicately. "That's not really you, just as that's not really him or your sister…?"

"I… I guess, but… ugh, he's such a pain. Now the others won't stop messing with me over that stupid name. You know they won't," Zuko growled. Suki laughed and shook her head.

"That's why you have to go all out and fight me properly, silly. That way they'll be too scared to mess with you," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively, prompting Zuko to smile a little.

"Only Kino would be too scared, but… guess that should work," Zuko chuckled, readying himself for another bout of combat. "I am going to kill him if he gives you a shitty name, though."

"Don't expect me to hold you back if he does," Suki laughed, raising her hands as well.

"Prince Piqi, though… that's priceless," Kino chuckled – he had fallen on his butt in the snow, as amused as he was. Mari's enthusiasm at Sokka's stories suddenly gained a new quality, for even Katara, judgmental and uncertain as she had been at first, scarcely could muffle her laughter at that sudden revelation.

"He is boring!" Mari giggled. "Princess Jing is fun!"

"Ah, yes, Princess Jing and Wentai agree," Sokka smiled, nodding sagely. "Prince Piqi was in a bad mood that day, but then again, he usually was in a bad mood. Wentai had looked forward to meeting him, but when Prince Piqi was such a grump, Wentai decided he didn't like Prince Piqi one bit! So, when Princess Jing poked fun at Prince Piqi, Wentai decided to join in… and oh, boy, Prince Piqi didn't like that! You see, Prince Piqi… he's allergic to fun and laughter. It just doesn't make any sense to him, not one bit…!"

"I… am going to kill him. I really am!" Zuko grunted through gritted teeth as he threw a strong fist at Suki, which she blocked expertly, barely containing her amusement.

"It's not really Prince Piqi's fault that he's the way he is, though," Sokka continued, melodramatically: Kino, Katara and Aang did a much worse job at hiding their laughter than Suki did, but Mari continued to listen to Sokka's every word with utmost fascination. "After all, he was the firstborn son of Fire Lord Wunao, and he is just the absolute worst, as we've already discussed. So…"

"Fire Lord Wunao?!"

Zuko stopped his duel with Suki abruptly, carelessly letting her knock him into the snow for he had turned to Sokka in disbelief. Their group's unanimous exclamation seemed to fade into the silence of the South Pole… a silence that was interrupted once Aang snorted and laughed, followed by Kino and Katara immediately. Zuko, despite his previous displeasure, smiled and hid his face behind his hands at Sokka's rather blunt choice to refer to Ozai. Suki smiled, leaning down to mess with Zuko's hair before pulling him up: by then the spree of laughter had spread throughout the group, and as much as Mari had already heard the Fire Lord's name the previous day, she still was infected by everyone's laughter as Sokka smiled, having guessed Zuko's worsening mood might be fixed once he heard the name he had bestowed upon his fictional father.

"Feeling a little better now?" Suki asked him playfully.

"Okay… okay. I won't kill him. I can endure Prince Piqi… as long as he's the son of Fire Lord Wunao," Zuko chuckled, shaking his head as he rose to his feet.

"You guys are really into these names, huh?" Sokka smiled: his sister had dropped next to him, shaking with laughter while Kino rolled on the snow. Aang gazed at him in utmost amazement by now, potentially tempted to ask what name he'd bestow him… and just so, too daunted by the choice of a mean nickname, if Sokka decided to mess with him the way he had with Zuko.

"Well, I'm sorry, but that was… brilliant. It was actually brilliant," Katara chuckled, shaking her head.

"Heh. If only Azula knew…" Sokka said, absent-mindedly… he froze midsentence, but then he smiled and finished his thought, pushing through the sadness, for once. "She always hated my sense for naming things. She'd be shocked I'm such a hit now…"

"Maybe you've improved, then," Aang suggested, chuckling still, despite by now Katara had stopped laughing, uncertain if Sokka's heart could withstand even his own casual mention of the woman he loved. She eyed him warily now, a ghostly smile still on her face, and she wrapped an arm around her brother's, squeezing him gently to offer whatever support she could.

"Maybe I have… but you know what? It's impossible to tell whether I improved through this story," Sokka declared, proudly. "Because this is a legend! I'm just retelling it, you see, it's all factual and it's absolutely not my doing that those are their names. Simple as that."

"Of course, of course," Katara nodded promptly, glancing at Mari again to offer confirmation of the veracity of Sokka's story. "This big goofball of a brother I have, he knows what he's talking about. Rest assured, Mari, everything he's telling you is absolutely true."

"Yeah!" Mari exclaimed, grinning happily as Sokka smirked and drew in a deep breath.

"Okay, so…" he said, biting his lower lip. "Princess Jing and Wentai, of course, defeated Prince Piqi with their impeccable senses of humor and ability to tease anyone who stood in front of them, so Prince Piqi couldn't stand a chance. Yet again, Princess Jing and Wentai were triumphant!"

"Princess Jing always wins," Mari declared, with full confidence, as though she'd forgotten all about the outcome of Wentai's latest fight. Sokka smiled, however, and nodded.

"Prince Piqi was in a bad mood after that, but then… oh! More new characters, of course," Sokka said, tapping his chin. "Princess Jing, as you know, is a wonderful, smart, charming lady, so everyone was drawn to her, inevitably."

After yet another defeat at Suki's hands – though one that had taken her longer to build up, this time – Zuko raised an eyebrow upon hearing Sokka's outlandish praises of his sister's social graces. As much as he had believed, back when he was younger, that Azula was better at making friends than he was, Zuko wasn't quite so sure she had been all that charming, or that said charm would be as infallible as Sokka presented it… but as expected, Princess Jing could do no wrong, not when Mari's happiness seemed to hinge on her heroine's absolute success as much as it did.

"Thus, Princess Jing had two very good friends," Sokka continued, raising his index and middle fingers, as though to count them more easily for the little girl beside him. "The first one was called Chouyun. And the second… was called Gaoxin"

"Weird names," Kino commented, blinking blankly, and Mari shushed him with her finger over her lips.

"Gloom and glee…?" Zuko interpreted, glancing at his amused wife. "Mai and Ty Lee?"

"I mean… it kind of fits, doesn't it?" Suki chuckled. "Doesn't sound particularly feminine, but it fits their personalities fairly well."

"I'm still worried he'll give you a lousy name…" Zuko pouted, as he took up another training stance. "Let me know when you want to get started with the weapons, okay?"

Suki smiled warmly before stepping forth with a quick jab at Zuko. He dodged it, deflecting the next one and sweeping his leg quickly in the space between them to gain further room to attack with another kick. Suki laughed as she inched away from his attack: Zuko had always favored using his legs in combat, but he certainly excelled most at it when he used firebending as well. They focused more on their sparring bout this time, scarcely noticing Sokka's story had progressed along further until Suki had knocked Zuko on his back once more.

"You really aren't going all out and I know it, silly," she smiled fondly at him. He chuckled, clasping her hands in his, as Suki glanced at the group by the thick fur, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

"… Wentai wasn't very comfortable staying behind with Prince Piqi, but he decided he'd endure it because Princess Jing and Gaoxin had to see Chouyun and her baby first, and not everyone can visit a mommy and her newborn right away. Still… Wentai would've loved it if he could have stayed with Princess Jing instead, yes, he would have. If only he had, things wouldn't have turned out quite so badly…"

"Why does that sound like Wentai's the victim in the situation, somehow?" Zuko called out, brushing snow off his parka as he glared at Sokka challengingly. Sokka snorted, waving a hand in his direction.

"Because he totally was, nobody should be punished with being all alone with Prince Piqi for even ten minutes, right, Mari?" Sokka smirked, glancing at the child, who laughed and nodded. "See! She agrees!"

"Prince Piqi is boring," she decided, beaming, and Zuko nearly whimpered as Suki wrapped her arm around his waist.

"My… my own daughter…" he mumbled, as Suki laughed against him.

"Zuko, come on…" she said, rubbing his chest gently as Sokka continued his tale.

"Wentai tried, he really did, to have a normal chat with Prince Piqi, but then Prince Piqi said something rude," Sokka said, with a sigh. "He… made fun of Wentai, somehow, and Wentai was very much displeased about it! Must have been… ah, yeah, he made fun of Wentai for getting hurt by Ruchong. Remember Ruchong? The blind, tough earthbender?"

"Ruchong is bad!" Mari pouted, shaking her head.

"Well, Prince Piqi is silly and he thought Ruchong wasn't that strong, see?" Sokka said, shrugging. "So Wentai was annoyed when Prince Piqi dismissed his best efforts to defeat her… and, uh, well. That's when, uh… Wentai called Prince Piqi by the nickname Princess Jing always used on him, heh. Heh. Oh, damn…"

"A nickname…?" Suki repeated, blinking blankly as she looked at Zuko with a questioning, raised eyebrow "Wasn't that…?"

Zuko's face, pale as it ever was, grew paler yet as realization dawned on him, moments before Sokka spoke that new nickname aloud. Katara, Aang and Kino had heard the nickname too, in Whaletail Island… and the first two seemed to reach the same conclusion Zuko did an instant after seeing the utmost horror on his face. Kino, however, remained as utterly clueless as Mari was.

"What's the nickname, huh, huh?" Kino asked, nudging Sokka, who covered his mouth with a hand as he started chuckling quietly.

"Don't. Sokka… don't do this," Zuko pleaded, but his plea achieved nothing: Sokka could barely believe he was close to tears again, if of laughter this time, startling even the child that nestled against his chest with how violently his body shook with each laugh. "Sokka!"

"What is it?!" Mari grinned, jumping to her feet as she grabbed Sokka's leg, thrilled by the next of Sokka's revelations, long before he revealed it.

"No… no wonder Prince Piqi… tried to kill Wentai that very day…" Sokka managed to say between laughs, wiping the tears from his eyelids with his thumbs. Next to him, Katara blushed and covered her own eyes with a hand before Sokka finally spoke. "The nickname Princess Jing used for her brother was… repeating the first syllable of his name, see? So that means… Wentai called him Prince Pee-pee"

It was such a silly, childish joke… thus, it proved utterly successful on a two-year-old. The child roared with laughter, so loudly she startled Gruff beside her: she fell on her back on the furs, rolling from side to side as her father nearly faltered where he stood, held upright only by his loving wife, who patted his back gently at the most humiliating possible situation he could've ever imagined…

And yet he couldn't be entirely mad. Not when his little daughter was laughing so loudly, so happily, even if at his expenses, without her awareness. One day, Zuko expected Mari would realize just who the characters of Sokka's outlandish story truly stood for… and by then, he hoped, she'd be amused and mortified on equal measure for having fallen, line, hook and sinker, for Sokka's worst teasing of her father.

"I swear… I didn't think of that all along," Sokka admitted to his sister as he leaned closer to her, between soft laughs. She snorted and shook her head, dabbing at the tears on the corners of her eyes, worsened by Zuko's defeated, horrified reaction. "I would've used another name, not Piqi, if I'd thought…"

"No, no, no. You couldn't. You had absolutely no reason to use another name, you hear me…?" Katara cackled, hugging her own stomach as Zuko huffed.

"You have lost every right you ever had to resent me for anything you ever resented me for after that," Zuko hissed, pointing at Katara, whose laughter only worsened over Zuko's threatening voice. "That laugh's bound to have made up for whatever I've done to piss you off since we've known each other, you hear me?"

"I'll think about it…!" Katara laughed still, her face red by now as Sokka glanced at Zuko apologetically.

"I… will fix this, a bit. I promise…?" he said. Zuko scoffed, raising a hand as though he were about to make a rather obscene gesture in Sokka's direction… but, as expected, his daughter's presence deterred him from it.

"You have a lot to answer for," was all he said, with a hushed, threatening voice. "You'd better do twice as good as Fire Lord Wunao for this, you hear me?"

"I will. I will. I don't know how… but I will," Sokka vowed, still chuckling as Mari finally seemed to calm down, sitting up again with her cheeks red and puffy after so much laughter.

"Prince Piqi… was upset?" Mari asked, biting her lip. Sokka chuckled and nodded.

"Quite, if I dare say so," he said, breathing in slowly. "So much that… well, as Wentai had his weapons, since he and Jing had been at a fight earlier, Prince Piqi looked for some swords in the house to use in a fight against Wentai, to avenge himself. So they, uh… fought inside Chouyun's home, no less. It was a pretty crazy fight…"

"Wentai wins!" Mari exclaimed, beaming, but Sokka offered her an apologetic smile.

"Not this time, because you see…" Sokka grimaced, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Prince Piqi can't win!" Mari huffed, outraged by the very notion that Prince Piqi might ever defeat Wentai. Sokka chuckled but shook his head.

"They both lost," he said. "Because… guess who wins instead of them?"

Mari thought about it for a moment, rubbing her chin in deep thought… and then she smiled brightly and gave Sokka her answer.

"Princess Jing!"

"And there you go! We have two winners, Princess Jing and Mari!" Sokka declared proudly, as the others clapped at Mari's correct guess. "Princess Jing noticed something was going on and she stepped outside Chouyun's birthing room to find out what all that noise was: when she saw her brother and her warrior were fighting, she was so mad!"

"Oh, no…" Mari gasped, her mouth a small circle as Sokka nodded solemnly.

"Oh, yes. It was horrific. She was so angry…" Sokka said, dramatically. "First… she stopped Prince Piqi, knocked him off his feet and kept him off Wentai. And then, when Wentai assumed she'd done that to help him… she stormed up to Wentai and punched him square in the head."

"Oh, no!" Mari said, though she giggled at the image Sokka had presented for her. Sokka sighed and nodded as everyone laughed.

"All of this because you are not supposed to fight indoors, Mari. If you have any reason to fight someone, you take them outside!" Sokka declared, proudly, and Katara slapped his arm.

"The heck? How's that the lesson to be learned, Sokka?" she hissed, and Sokka chuckled as Mari laughed too.

"Oh, fine, then: don't fight people for silly reasons, Mari. Though, just so you know, Katara knows that you'd beat her if you fought her, that's the only thing that bugs her…" Sokka told Mari with a soft voice, causing the child to giggle again.

Suki's gaze switched from the storyteller and her daughter to Zuko, standing beside her, awkwardly, as he was. She nudged him gently, causing Zuko to flinch in her arms.

"Was all that… really like that?" she asked. Zuko grimaced.

"Somewhat…?" he confessed. Suki snorted.

"You two seriously got into a fight in Mai's house?" she asked, puzzled. Zuko sighed and shrugged.

"I guess you'll say Azula was right to beat us up for it, won't you?" he said, smiling a little. "Well… yeah. She probably was, I can't say no to that."

Suki laughed again, hugging Zuko gently before guiding him to where their weapons lingered. They'd need to make this a much briefer training bout, for Suki's hands would likely cool quickly without her mittens, which she removed quickly before picking up her fans.

"Ready?" she asked Zuko, who had done the same, holding up his dao swords instead.

"I'll start without fire, I'll use it later if you kick my ass too easily this way," Zuko smiled. Suki chuckled and nodded as she took a defensive stance once more.

Meanwhile, the story had continued: Sokka had only just recounted the harsh words Princess Jing had given both the foolish combatants, and he had revealed afterwards that Prince Piqi had decided to watch one of Wentai's fights…

"Wentai's next fight, then…" Sokka said, breathing deeply as he pondered how to handle one of the most complicated moments in the early stages of the story. Truth be told, explaining everything thoroughly would never be something he'd wish to do… he wished to do so even less when his main audience was such a small child. There were many concepts she would likely be utterly puzzled by… and he had wanted to ensure she remained perfectly innocent, as she was. Cutting to the chase, then, and not extending or complicating the story with difficult factors, would be the best choice, going forward. "His new opponent was a lady with fancy weapons like… like your mommy's fans, see them? Just like that. She had a sword, too… and she wore warpaint! Have you seen warrior's face-paint so far, Mari?"

The little girl shook her head rapidly.

"Ah, too bad, then. Anyway, her name was… lady Uchiwa," Sokka decided, nodding solemnly – Zuko shot a quick glare at Sokka, who raised his eyebrows questioningly before Zuko nodded in approval. "Ah, not bad, is it?"

"I can… accept it," he hissed, smirking a little before returning to battle with his own lady Uchiwa, who appeared most relieved to know that her name meant, simply, 'fan'.

"So… Wentai was fighting lady Uchiwa, and they were pretty evenly matched," Sokka continued – Zuko scoffed and Sokka only rolled his eyes and continued with his idea for how to tell the story. "Prince Piqi stood in the public, watching the fight… and there was something different in Prince Piqi that day! Because, instead of being a grump who was ready to flee in the face of fun and games, Prince Piqi was fascinated by this fight. Though no… not by the fight: by lady Uchiwa."

For once, it was Suki whose footing was faulty, for once: she moved too far, and Zuko had to catch her while dropping his swords, ensuring to keep her safe and sound in his arms as she blinked blankly, gazing up at him in amazement.

"Mommy…?" Mari called, interrupting the story for a moment upon noticing her mother might be in trouble.

"I… I'm fine, dear. Everything's okay," Suki grinned, glancing at her daughter with an awkward smile. "Just took a faulty step, so don't worry. Go on, listen to your story."

Mari nodded before turning to Sokka again. He smiled a little at Zuko and Suki: the best way to push this story forward would benefit them, first of all.

"Wentai managed to outdo lady Uchiwa in the end, but oh, boy, Prince Piqi thought that lady Uchiwa had fought with much more honor than Wentai had! Not because he was right, mind you, but Prince Piqi was feeling something he'd never ever felt before! Prince Piqi… had fallen in love with lady Uchiwa!"

Mari gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Sokka nodded solemnly as the others glanced at Zuko with amusement again: as flustered as he appeared, he held Suki proudly, finding no fault in this twist in the story. It wasn't much of a twist anyway, as far as he could tell…

"So, when the fight was over, Prince Piqi asked lady Uchiwa to go on a date with him."

Oh. That was new.

"A date?" Mari asked, blinking blankly. "What's that?"

"Ah… heh. That's when two people who like each other spend some time alone doing… fun things," Sokka said, biting his lip and grinning. "Like… like penguin sledding. Or just eating their favorite foods, or talking about… about their favorite stories? Maybe they can go adventuring, just looking around all sorts of beautiful places, see the southern lights…?"

"Ooooh…" Mari said, blinking blankly… and then her attention shifted from Sokka to Katara, sitting beside him. "Like Kat-Kat and Aang!"

Sudden shifts in the mood of their strange gathering ought to have been no surprise anymore… yet this one took everyone but the child by surprise, most of all the two people she had mentioned so casually, who flinched immediately, their faces flooding with color.

Naturally, the first to react was Kino, who snorted and laughed carelessly, rolling onto his back once more as Aang, visibly nervous, glanced between Sokka and Katara in a clear panic. For once, Zuko wasn't the center of the awkward situation, and he couldn't have been more pleased for it as he smiled, with Suki clinging to his arm and chuckling against him, baffled by her daughter's accidental outing of Katara and Aang's supposedly clandestine relationship to the former's sibling.

Sokka, of course, turned his head towards Katara, utterly speechless, blinking blankly as he regarded her with raised eyebrows. His sister, so comfortable against him as she'd been so far, inched away from Sokka now, utterly flustered… and quite ready to respond to the sudden, casual accusation that had put her in the spotlight suddenly.

"That's not…! That's not a date! Not at all!" she exclaimed, and on cue, Aang nodded promptly.

"Not dates! We're not, well…! No, none of that, no," he said, though his voice certainly lacked the conviction that permeated Katara's… yet where Aang seemed reluctant, Katara genuinely seemed to panic as her brother refrained from speaking still.

"Oh, come on, Sokka! Don't look at me like that, even if it were true, it's not like you're in any position to say or do anything about…! It's not true, okay? It's not!" Katara rambled, before shooting a scathing glare at the still laughing Kino. "And you… quit laughing!"

"Who's laughing now, for sure…?" Zuko snickered, and Katara shot her glare at him, next, until Sokka finally spoke again.

"I…" he said, his eyes shifting between the anxious pair. He had certainly been quite unconcerned with recognizing the extremely familiar signs of a secretive relationship between these two so far, but with Mari's sudden claim, he guessed he'd have to be on the look-out for those, in the future… "I think story time's over for now, because this sounds like a much more important subject to discuss…"

"No! Oh, come on, Sokka! There's no reason to stop, not at all! Come on, Mari just has the wrong idea! Aang and I, we're training! It's not dates, it's training!" Katara explained. Sokka hummed.

"Yeah. Training. I used to call it that, too," he said, with a dry grin that caused the blood to slow in Katara's body as Zuko scoffed.

"Okay, now, we didn't need to know that part…!" he said, grimacing before gesturing at Sokka. "And I mean, all things considered, you're not exactly in a great position to judge them, even if I do enjoy that you judge her, but…!"

"This isn't judgement, it's genuine curiosity…" Sokka said, still with that same dry grin as Katara huffed, grabbing him by the ears and forcibly changing the angle of his head towards the waiting Mari, who grinned guiltily, aware now that she'd started a conflict even if she scarcely knew why.

"Back to the story! Look at Mari, she's waiting for you to explain how dates are different from training!" Katara hissed. "I bet Wentai and Princess Jing trained a lot, didn't they?"

"You have no idea," Sokka said, blinking blankly as Katara groaned, dropping her head on his shoulder, then bumping her brow against him over and over as Sokka grinned awkwardly at Mari. "So! Ha. Prince Piqi. And lady Uchiwa. They went on a date!"

"Why does lady Uchiwa go on a date with Prince Piqi…?" Mari asked, biting her lip before giggling with childish malice. "Prince Piqi is boring!"

"Heh. Maybe lady Uchiwa likes boring boys," Sokka answered, simply, and it was Suki's turn to scoff.

"Or maybe Prince Piqi is a lot more interesting than you've admitted he is, so far," Suki declared proudly, wrapping an arm around Zuko's waist and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. He, of course, appeared perfectly happy for her gesture.

"Well, whatever the truth may be, lady Uchiwa and Prince Piqi took off together and had a very fun date," Sokka continued, with a shrug. "It was the first time Prince Piqi had fun in his whole life: and he didn't feel sick afterwards! That's how Prince Piqi knew, for sure, that he wanted to marry lady Uchiwa one day, and lady Uchiwa, who liked boring-boys-who-maybe-weren't-so-boring-after-all, looked forward to that day too, very much so. They were a happy couple, from that moment onwards."

"Oh, boy… guess he did make up for the worst of it, did he?" Suki said softly, glancing at Zuko, who smiled warmly at her. "If only we'd been smarter and known better…"

"Would've been a good idea to get started right then and there, yes," Zuko conceded, chuckling as he kissed his wife again. "And we got completely distracted there, didn't we?"

"We did," Suki laughed, reaching for her fans once more and jumping away from her husband. "On your guard, then!"

Sokka breathed deeply, glancing at Mari with uncertainty: the child eyed him so eagerly he guessed he had to continue the story, yet not focusing on the two last characters he'd mentioned…

"Wentai, of course, was surprised," he said, swallowing hard. "He had no idea a royal, a child of Fire Lord Wunao, could possibly start a relationship with someone who wasn't from the Fire Nation – Lady Uchiwa came from a very distant island. So Wentai… he asked Princess Jing about it. Would it be okay for her to have a relationship, just like her brother did? As she had been so appalled when her father wanted her to marry a nobleman, Wentai thought maybe Princess Jing didn't want any relationships, whatsoever. But Princess Jing said it wasn't simply about relationships, or marriages… but about finding the right person to have all those things with. About finding the right person to fall for…"

He breathed deeply, letting all sorts of unpleasant memories rush through him. If only he'd thought things through, none of that painful night would've happened at all. If only they had been more honest… if only they had talked things through. Fear had gripped him, fear of the very damn consequences that saw him here now… the consequences that saw Azula back to the Fire Nation, returning to her father's wretched clutches in hopes of preventing the debacle Ozai would unleash on the Southern Water Tribe. He hadn't been wrong, back then, to fear those consequences… he had been wrong, however, to assume the moments of companionship, of shared strength, of teamwork and true understanding of each other, of pure, ever-growing bliss and love, wouldn't be more valuable than his very life. Now, standing where he did, knowing Azula as deeply as he had come to know her, having faced near death by Ozai's choices… he knew what he would do differently, in retrospect. No, he wouldn't have stopped her… no, he wouldn't have pushed her away: he would have held onto her instead, protecting her fully, avoiding the worst risks… ensuring she would be safe from Ozai's wrath, no matter what.

His long silence, and his daze, alerted most adults nearby that he had been struck, again, by melancholy and memories that both soothed and tormented him. Still, he raised his head again to find Mari gazed at him in confused curiosity, and he smiled once more.

"Wentai didn't quite understand right away… that what Princess Jing tried to say was that she wanted love, real love, the kind of love worth fighting for, as best you can. If that love defied her father's expectations… well, he is Fire Lord Wunao, isn't he?" Sokka smiled sadly. "Who'd bother trying to keep up with the demands of a man known for being stupid, right? Right."

Mari giggled and nodded. Sokka smiled and nodded as well, breathing sharply as his gaze traveled past Mari, lost in the snow ahead.

"So… what Princess Jing wanted was love, true and strong, no matter if her father disapproved of it. Wentai… he continued to be puzzled by that notion. Would she really defy her father's expectations that way? Did she really dare do something so… so dangerous? She answered his question without words by… by kissing Wentai."

Mari gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as she blushed. Katara blinked blankly, puzzled by how early these relationships seemed to start… she suspected it was for Mari's benefit, and yet that strange melancholy in Sokka now hinted at something much deeper than that: had that happened exactly that way, by any chance? Had it happened similarly, at the very least? Had his first kiss with Princess Azula taken place after mere days, or maybe weeks, after he'd first met Zuko?

"Wentai was shocked, of course: Princess Jing was, after all, the most beautiful woman in the world," he explained, matter-of-factly. "That she would kiss him… it was very confusing."

"Grown-ups kiss when they're married…" Mari recited shyly, and Sokka smiled a little.

"Well… Wentai and Princess Jing weren't married yet," he admitted. "But if it's alright with you, I'll have you know that some grown-ups kiss when they intend to marry in the future, too… and that's what happened to Wentai and Princess Jing. Though, Wentai didn't quite get it, at first… he spent days without understanding if Princess Jing was trying to make some sort of statement by kissing him, to prove that she could do whatever she wished to do, so long as her father didn't find out… or if maybe she did like him. Why would she like him, he wondered? She had been stronger than him, defeating him when they first met, after all. What was so special about him? What about him might possibly interest her at all? He didn't know… and that confused him, very much so.

"He didn't know for sure, whether she liked him or not, until the next fight," Sokka continued, biting his lip. "It was against… a pretty dangerous, strong warrior. He was out of sorts, though… he just seemed to attack mindlessly, and Wentai had to work really hard to defeat him. He was badly wounded at the end… but Wentai did win, despite everything. His opponent was in terrible shape, so all the available physicians had to look after him… Princess Jing was worried about Wentai, though, because he had all sorts of nasty scratches and bruises…! So, she decided to take care of him herself. And as she was doing that, Wentai realized she wouldn't do something like this for just anyone. She was, after all, a Princess… someone with her strength and authority could easily order someone else to take care of him, if she didn't want to put in the work to do it herself. But Princess Jing didn't do that… no, Princess Jing never did that, not with him. Just as when she had carried him out of the fight when Ruchong won, she took care to heal Wentai herself now… and Wentai finally understood it: Princess Jing did like him. But… did that mean they should get married?"

Mari blinked blankly at the question: never before had she pondered the possibility of people having any sort of relationship without marriage, young as she was, and raised in the Water Tribe, too. Even if she had believed Aang and Katara had dates, she hadn't quite translated that into any sort of romantic significance just yet. This seemed quite complicated to understand so far… and Sokka sighed for that, smiling sympathetically at the child.

"Well, who knows, right?" he smiled, shrugging as he rocked Zi in his arms gently. "So! Now, on to the real deal: what happened on Prince Piqi and lady Uchiwa's date? That's way more important…!"

"No! Prince Piqi is boring!" Mari protested, though her face was alight with amusement once more.

They wouldn't spend much longer outside the tribe's enclosure, for Suki and Zuko would need a break from their training once her fingers weakened under the duress of the cold air. As much as Mari begged Sokka to continue telling Princess Jing's story, he distracted her with all sorts of outlandish tales about lady Uchiwa and Prince Piqi's date instead, how they'd ridden otter-penguins and raced each other recklessly, how they'd gone swimming to see who reached the bottom of a pond first, and how they'd partaken in many fun games that Mari seemed slightly interested in… only to ask about Princess Jing moments later. The next stage of the story, Sokka knew, would take much longer to explain properly, so he preferred not to jump into it yet… though the way his sister often glanced at him, all the way until the training session had ended, told him that even when the happy family took off, he'd likely be questioned about the veracity of his story by Katara.

"Sounds like you've got your hands full with this babysitting job," Katara told him, after she, Sokka, Aang and Kino were back inside the Tribe's walls, walking towards their family's igloo well after Zuko and Suki had taken their children home. "Mari's adorable, but… a little demanding."

"Just a little?" Sokka asked, with a weak smile. "Eh, it runs in the family. Nothing I can't handle, for sure."

"I suspect so," Katara said, biting her lip. "I'm… a bit surprised you're telling her that story, though. Not that I don't think you should, it's fine if you want to, but…"

"You didn't expect I'd find it easy to talk about any of that, huh?" Sokka guessed. "Truth be told… neither did I. But it's easier this way, somehow. She's a child, so… it's basically telling the story without all the uglier business involved in it. The way it should have been, I guess…"

"Have you skipped a lot of bad things?" Kino asked, gazing at Sokka with sad yet curious eyes. "All that sounded pretty fun, today…"

"Heh, well… it wasn't all that fun, back then," Sokka admitted, swallowing hard. "The real Prince Piqi didn't even approach lady Uchiwa until… heh. I honestly have no idea when he did. As for… for the real Wentai and Jing, things were far more complicated than that."

"But… she did kiss him, then?" Katara asked, raising an eyebrow. Sokka wished his cheeks wouldn't redden at her question.

"Well… yeah. That was the only good part about it," Sokka admitted, his stomach twisting as he hoped his sister wouldn't ask any further questions on the subject.

Surprisingly, it seemed that merely knowing just how early her brother and Princess Azula had acted on their attraction was enough information for the puzzled Katara, who looked as though she'd only just swallowed a whole chunk of ice after Sokka's answer. He blinked blankly at her expression, which she schooled into an awkward smile quickly.

"It's… nothing. Nothing! I'm just, well… surprised. For how long had you two been partners by then, if… if I can ask?" Katara said, almost shrinking in place as she tried, as best she could, to respect Sokka's choices, happiness and pain alike.

"Uh… huh," Sokka blinked blankly, realizing only now that he had scarcely given time much thought, back then. "I… I'm not entirely sure. I think… five months, maybe?"

"Huh. Well, I thought it was much faster, that's not so bad," Katara admitted, with an awkward smile. "I mean, you guys still managed to trick us in Whaletail Island, to a fault, because we weren't even sure you were a thing back then, but I guess, if you waited a while before you were together…"

"Uh… well, we weren't exactly together after that," Sokka grimaced. "Like I said… complicated. Too complicated to explain to a two-year-old. That she's understood all she has so far is nothing short of a miracle, frankly… definitely takes after her aunt, brains-wise."

"And not after her grandfather," Katara smirked, prompting Sokka to chuckle softly at her jab over his chosen name for the Fire Lord.

"Say… will you tell Mari about all the story?" Kino asked, gazing at him intently. "Like… Whaletail Island! Will you tell her about that, too?"

"Oh. Uh… huh. I mean, if I get that far without boring her, sure," Sokka shrugged, smiling a little.

"What names will you give us?!" Kino asked excitedly. Aang chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'll probably just be Kuzon again, right?" he asked. "I thought maybe you could come up with something interesting, but that'd work, Mari wouldn't realize it's me…"

"But I'd need a new name!" Kino grinned, and Sokka scoffed.

"What for? I could call a character Kino and try to get her to like you better that way…" he suggested, with a lop-sided smirk, as Kino groaned in frustration.

"That'd be nice, but… ah! You know what we should do? You can tell me one of the stories, and then I can retell it to her!" Kino grinned excitedly, grabbing Sokka's shoulder. "Then she'll like me because I know stories about Princess Jing…!"

"She'd never believe you're telling a genuine story," Katara said, dismissively, and as Kino yelped, Sokka huffed proudly.

"No can do, buddy," he said, shaking his head. "I can't relinquish these storytelling duties, not to you, not to anyone…"

"But surely Princess Jing is the answer!" Kino exclaimed, gazing into the horizon with hopeful eyes. "If you just give me a little chance, lend her to me for at least one day…!"

"Not happening, I said," Sokka huffed, pouting. "Get your own princess."

"Hey!" Kino gasped, as Aang and Katara laughed. "W-well… sure! I'm going to come up with one myself! You'll see! All three of you!"

Carelessly walking through the tribe as they were, laughing and making fun of each other, their small group drew stares again… stares that started wary, but shifted into genuine curiosity before long. They walked together towards the central igloo, where they'd share lunch together with Hakoda and Kanna. Busy as they were chatting, they didn't notice Hakoda wasn't alone by the igloo's entrance until they were merely a few paces away.

"Ah? Haka and Kattan are dropping by for lunch, too?" Kino asked, puzzled. Sokka tensed up, slowing in his steps – the two boys who had looked up to him had grown into men in his absence, and as excited as they had been to see him when he'd woken up, he wasn't sure that enthusiasm had carried over the latest developments…

"Oh? Sokka!" Kattan gasped, grinning at the sight of him amidst the others. Sokka offered him an awkward smile that Haka reflected with far more enthusiasm. "There you were!"

"Everything okay?" Aang asked, as they finally stopped before the igloo.

"We've been pretty busy lately" Kattan explained, hands on his hips. "But we just got back from a hunt, and we heard Suki's going to be teaching everyone how to fight?"

"Yeah. I asked her if she could do that," Sokka confirmed, nodding. Kattan and Haka glanced at him cluelessly.

"But… you'll do it too, right?" Haka asked, puzzled. "You'll teach a few lessons yourself, at the very least…"

"Huh?" Sokka raised his eyebrows, a disbelieving smile spreading over his face. "Well, I'm not sure I should. All my students are bound to need potty breaks at the same time, after all…"

"That…! We were like six back then!" Kattan exclaimed, blushing as Haka chuckled, shaking his head.

"Is that why you've told Suki to do it?" he asked. "Come on, Sokka! We've all learned to hold our water until after the lesson's done…"

"Or to go take a piss before the lesson, actually," Kattan intervened, at which Haka rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Fair too, but that's not the point!" he said, glancing at Sokka with bright eyes. "I know we were messy students, back when we were kids… but you could probably teach everyone plenty of useful techniques. I mean, we could help pass on the ones we already know…"

"That's also true," Kattan pointed out.

"But I'm sure you've got more tricks up your sleeve these days, don't you?" Haka said, eyes gleaming. "I don't know about everyone else… but Kattan and I would be thrilled to be your students again."

Sokka's eyes shifted towards Hakoda questioningly: had he put these two up to this? The older man had stayed silent so far, and he raised his hands in a gesture of innocence while under Sokka's scrutiny.

"I had nothing to do with this. They came to ask me about it just now, I didn't know what they were up to," he stated earnestly. Sokka smiled a bit, despite himself.

"If you say so," he said, biting his lip as he glanced at Haka and Kattan. "I'm not sure yet. I've said maybe I'll try to help with a lesson or two eventually, but Suki's probably better off helming this project for now…"

"Okay, but… how about you teach advanced stuff to the warriors, while she teaches everyone else?" Haka suggested, and Kattan nodded promptly. "She'll have to start with basics, right, and as we already know basics…!"

"You don't know the basics the way Suki does," Sokka smiled a little, shaking his head. "You'll have to take double lessons, hers and mine, if anything…"

"Sure thing!"

Their enthusiasm startled him, profoundly. Beside him, Katara smiled fondly, bumping Sokka's shoulder gently with her own.

"You can't let them down, now, can you?" she teased him. "At the very least think about it, will you?"

Sokka sighed, hands on his hips as he regarded his two former apprentices with uncertainty. In the end, what truly mattered was that the Tribe was as prepared as possible for Ozai's impending, inevitable attack… no one's discomfort would ever be as important as keeping everyone alive. He bit his lip before nodding, at which Haka and Kattan gasped happily.

"This won't… this shouldn't be mandatory," he clarified, raising a hand to slow them down. "Feel free to tell whoever you think might want to join my lessons, I guess… but don't go around recruiting the whole Tribe if they don't want to be part of it, alright?"

"Oh… well, sure, but we'll tell some people anyway," Kattan said, with a casual shrug. "It's probably easier if you have less students, right?"

"Yeah, you guys taught me that much," Sokka said, smirking a little as the two warriors before him laughed carelessly. "Alright, then. Once Suki's daily lesson is finished and she can take care of her kids again, seek me out and I'll try to teach you guys whatever you want to know."

"Yeah! Thanks, Sokka!" Haka exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air as Kattan clapped, even if his hands were covered by the mittens.

"You're the best!" he declared, at which Haka nodded vehemently.

Their enthusiasm sat awkwardly with him, taking root among his heart's uncertainties. He had been told his people cared for him, that they wouldn't judge him – at least, not too harshly –, that they only wanted his happiness. He wasn't sure that could be true for everyone… but perhaps it was true for those who had known him best, back in the day. Those who didn't think less of him for his experiences… those who wanted to understand, rather than reject, everything he'd been through. Sharing everything the way he had with Mari had proven easy because the child had next to no idea of what he was truly talking about… doing the same thing with everyone else, without hiding behind the safety of Jing and Wentai, felt like bleeding his heart out. Going about it that way was much easier, so much easier than confronting reality fully…

"If you need to hear it again…" Hakoda spoke up, startling his frowning son as the two excited warriors walked away, to inform others about Sokka's agreement to teach them a few lessons. "I had nothing to do with this. Not even a tiny bit."

"I… I believe you," Sokka said, smiling weakly and nodding in his father's direction. "I didn't expect this, is all. Let alone this soon…"

"You'll get used to it eventually," Katara said, patting his back gently. "And you'll have the whole Tribe swarming around you once they overhear your stories for Mari, the way we did…"

"Ah? Getting along well with that little wonder, are you?" Hakoda asked, amused. Sokka smiled and shrugged.

"Just because I've bribed her with stories, I'm pretty sure her little sister likes me better, all in all," he said. "With how much noise we were making, I thought she'd start crying at any given moment… but she just spent the whole time staring at me without making a sound."

"Zi is as quiet and calm as her big sister is boisterous and enthusiastic," Hakoda explained. "But if you can get Mari to settle down for stories… that's a good idea to handle her, truth be told. Sounds like your babysitting sessions have been successful."

"So far, yeah," Sokka smiled a little. "Though I know I won't be able to spend all day telling stories, though. We… we have a lot to plan for, right? Weapons crafting, gathering of resources, more plans for any battles ahead…"

"We have some busy days in the horizon, for sure," Hakoda confirmed, nodding as he glanced at his children and their friends, with a softening smile. "All the more reason to cherish a proper lunch together, I'd say. We'll talk more about our plans afterwards, or during the meal, if you want, Sokka."

"Sure," Sokka smiled, nodding approvingly as his father stepped inside the igloo, followed by a hasty Kino, ever delighted by the prospect of food.

Katara entered the igloo next: when Aang attempted to follow, however, Sokka's hand darted out and clasped his shoulder, yanking him back towards himself.

Sokka had instilled fear in many people throughout his life, he knew as much, but seeing the color drain from the Avatar's face as Sokka scrutinized him with deadpan eyes had felt like a most unique circumstance compared to his previous experiences at intimidating people. What Sokka wanted to know was obvious, and Aang, clearly, didn't expect anything good to come from it.

"S-Sokka…?" Aang said, swallowing hard as his shaky eyes met the former gladiator's own.

"I wasn't paying attention so far, I admit it," Sokka said, his eyebrow twitching. "But I am paying attention now… and looking back, maybe there's enough reason to think Mari wasn't talking nonsense when she said what she said."

"That…! I, well…! Y-you don't have anything to worry about! Whatsoever!" Aang exclaimed, nervously. "K-Katara and I, we're…! W-we're not, well, it's not like…!"

Sokka clapped his shoulder, in a gesture that once again seemed menacing. Aang fell silent immediately flinching as Sokka closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath.

"Do you seriously think that, after what I went through… I'd be an asshole to you or my sister if you're in any sort of secret relationship?" he asked. Aang blinked blankly. "I mean, we don't know each other very well, that much is true, but did you seriously expect that from me…?"

"So, wait. Y-you mean…? Y-you won't be angry that, w-well…?" Aang sputtered, his face rushing with color now as Sokka studied him intently.

"That… you two are together?" Sokka finished. Aang swallowed hard.

"I mean, w-well… I… I guess?" he admitted, nervously still. "B-but I don't know if we really are, or if we still are, if we were…?"

"Uh… huh?" Sokka raised an eyebrow, and Aang sighed.

"I don't know what's going on anymore, to be honest," he admitted. "We… we do like each other. But I guess, after you came home, things got a bit busier so… we haven't really talked much about what to do. We didn't feel ready to reveal it to everyone, but I guess most people already figured it out, huh…?"

"Yeah… in my experience, most people do," Sokka said, breathing deeply and releasing the air slowly. "Well… talk things over with her, whenever you can. You have an igloo of your own, so… if you guys really want to do this, the heavier part is already done, right?"

"Well… maybe I should build one without my bending," Aang said, biting his lip. "Isn't the idea of the igloo-building rite meant to prove I can build a roof over our heads and raise a family underneath it…?"

"And you think your bending gets in the way of that?" Sokka asked, slightly amused. "Come on, I'm sure it counts just fine. If you're not ready, that's okay too… you guys do have the luxury to choose when to move forward and when to hold back, come to think of it. Still… if you want my advice, you probably shouldn't waste much time mulling things over when you already know what you want. Even if you had all the time in the world… the sooner you can spend all of it with the one you love, the better."

Aang swallowed hard but nodded. Saying these words might be torture for Sokka, he suspected… but he had said them, nonetheless. As awkward as it might be for him to see his sister in a happy relationship, for apparently all siblings acted that way, Sokka hadn't meant to threaten him away from his sister or so. Instead, he watched out for her, for them… Aang could only offer him a heartfelt smile as he patted Sokka's shoulder too.

"Thank you. I… I'll try to talk things out with her, once the time is right," he said, biting his lip. "Thanks for the advice and for understanding, too…"

"Understanding, you say?" Sokka smiled a little, shaking his head. "What sort of hypocrite would I be if I didn't? Now, come on, they'll eat all the sea prunes if we don't hurry…"

"Uh, that's not the best way to motivate me to get there faster…" Aang admitted, though Sokka still yanked him inside the igloo, both chuckling quietly as they joined the others in their meal.

The next day in the Southern Water Tribe saw the tight community shaken up by many changes in what had been a regular, general routine. The first of those changes took place when Hakoda called everyone to gather at the center of the village, on the morning Suki would begin imparting her basic combat lessons at the Tribe:

"Most of you already know about the situation at hand," Hakoda explained, as Sokka watched on from the back of the crowd, standing next to Zuko, Katara, Aang and Kino. "The Fire Nation didn't attack us for the past years, but we all knew the peace we've enjoyed would be short-lived: we will prepare the Tribe for future hostilities as best as possible, and this is but the first step to achieve that. We are the Southern Water Tribe, and we have stood against their conquest for over a hundred years: we will continue to do so, no matter in which shape the Fire Lord attempts to lay waste to our Pole. We won't yield our homes, our families, our people, to the flames of his greed and wrath."

Loud cheers received his spirited words: everyone agreed with his determination to preserve their Tribe and defend it against any invaders, it seemed. Sokka swallowed hard, guessing not a lot of people held him responsible for this situation, despite having every right to: all of them had expected the period of tense peace with the Fire Nation to prove ephemeral and false. They were as ready to fight back against the Fire Lord today as they had been when Sokka had last led his men into reckless battle.

"Suki will begin the combat training next, for those of you who have agreed to learn to fight to defend your families," Hakoda said, spreading his hand towards the awkwardly smiling Kyoshi Warrior, who stood beside him and bowed her head towards the polite clapping she received. "Do your best to follow her indications, everyone. As for the more experienced warriors and weaponsmiths, you will have tasks of your own as well: I will explain them all by my igloo once Suki begins the lessons. Little by little, I'm sure we will strengthen ourselves further to take a stand against the Fire Lord's forces: we are better together, and we will make him rue the day he chose to pick a fight with the Southern Water Tribe."

Again, excited cheers. Sokka breathed deeply as he watched his father stepping down from the rough ice dais Aang and Katara had crafted earlier for the speeches and for Suki's later lesson, too. Warriors immediately flocked towards Hakoda, all of them eager to find out what their tasks would be… and Sokka ignored the impulse to join them. He had given his father his best understanding of what needed to be done to fight back against the Fire Nation navy, as good as crafting a list of resources and roles necessary to keep the Tribe safe and protected. It would be up to Hakoda to determine who was better suited for each task. Leadership was effortless for the man, well-used to leading the Water Tribe as he was… and Sokka still stood in an awkward place with the majority of the village, as far as he could tell.

"Guess things are bound to be pretty hectic from now on…" Katara mused, smiling a little as she watched the Tribe's women and a few older children, as well as some warriors who also wished to learn from her, arranging themselves before Suki's dais, following her indications so they wouldn't be close enough to hit each other by accident while imitating her movements.

Zuko watched her with amazed joy, ever delighted by the opportunity to witness his wife in action. Kino nudged him teasingly for it, and Zuko scoffed at him, hugging Zi protectively against his chest, as though Kino's taunts would bother the child somehow. Sokka expected Mari might tell Kino off for bothering her father… until he felt a small hand nudging at his trousers. A quick glance downwards revealed a most eager Mari, grinning at him expectantly.

"You will tell the story of Princess Jing today…?" she asked, with the sweetest, most manipulative voice a child could possibly resort to. Naturally, it paid off perfectly, for Sokka couldn't help but smile in her direction.

"That's what I'm here for, isn't it?" he said, and Mari giggled as she danced in place in sheer delight.

The storytelling session didn't start until after Suki began her explanations of basic combat training. The women, older children, young teenagers and warriors under her charge made slow movements, taking care to follow Suki's indications, but after half an hour of watching her mother pacing between combat rookies, Mari resorted to her new favorite means of entertainment once more. Sharing the story of the hunt of the Rough Rhinos would be no easy feat, but Sokka would ensure to skip over the most unpleasant moments, focusing more than anything on the extraordinary discovery of Xin Long.

At first, Mari was the only one paying attention. Within ten minutes, Aang and Kino had joined as well, while Katara attempted to watch the combat training while frequently glancing at Sokka whenever he said anything funny, or anything that stoked her curiosity, such as his description of the pompous Governor Lese, in Gaoling, whose name meant 'garbage'. Within another ten minutes, though, a few warriors who had been leaving Hakoda's briefings slowed down to listen in on some of the stories: once Sokka reached the epic conclusion of the tale, dramatically enacting how Princess Jing tamed and bonded with her new dragon, a whole cluster of curious warriors, including Haka and Kattan, were listening intently, wide-eyed at his every outlandish explanation.

"And so, Princess Jing offered her hand to Wentai…" Sokka continued, and Mari gasped in joyful excitement. "The first flight of a rider and their dragon is supposed to be a lone flight… but not that day. Not for Jing, because she decided to bring Wentai along as well: together, all three left that cave and flew, as fast as they could, to track down those wretched Rough Hippo-Cows…!"

"Princess Jing wins!" Mari shouted proudly, sending a ripple of laughter through the group. Sokka, of course, smiled and nodded.

"Princess Jing always wins, right?" he said. "With Wentai by her side, and her new dragon, Knightmare, there was nothing that could stand in the way of Princess Jing! All three of them fought the Rough Hippo-Cows upon finding them, just before they could barge into another Earth Kingdom village: they fought as hard as they could…! And they won, of course, how could they not…?"

A happy cheer rushed through the small crowd that had gathered around Sokka: he hadn't failed to notice them, but he had done his best to focus on Mari alone, the one for whom he told these stories, in the first place. She was the happiest of them all, of course: any victories for her heroine, of which Sokka had countless to offer, brought the brightest of smiles to her face.

"Seems like we have nothing to worry about after all, huh?" Suki asked Zuko: her lesson had already ended, and as much as Zuko had ignored Sokka's story this time and focused on Suki instead, he remained fully aware of the fact that his oldest child was utterly enthralled by every surprising development Sokka's storytelling offered her. "I should've told her stories with more action than the one with the snowflakes…"

"Your stories are fine," Zuko smiled, kissing the top of her head. "I suppose he's just a big hit right now, but she'll probably get tired of Princess Jing after a while. I, uh… I assume she will, at least."

"I hope she never does. She looks so happy," Suki laughed, watching as her daughter begged for more stories – to everyone's amusement, Haka and Kattan, despite asking Sokka for combat lessons of their own, seemed happy to second Mari's request, even if Sokka seemed to have finished his story for the day.

"More tomorrow, okay?" Sokka chuckled, messing with the child's hair as she pouted, hoping to persuade him somehow, despite storyteller's attention had shifted towards the warriors who had listened in, too. "So… are we supposed to start today with this, Haka, Kattan?"

"Well, we could listen to more stories, but we probably shouldn't be so careless," Haka admitted, laughing as he rose to his feet, yanking his friend along too. He glanced at the other warriors who'd stuck around for the stories, smiling encouragingly at them. "If you guys want, Sokka's going to give us some extra pointers on how to fight firebenders now!"

"Firebenders…?" Mari asked, pouting a little, and Sokka leaned down quickly.

"It's just the bad ones, Mari. You know, like Fire Lord Wunao," Sokka reassured her, and she seemed to understand his meaning immediately. "Princess Jing, heh… she'd never want to fight us in the first place, and we're lucky for that, because she's so powerful she'd kick all our butts!"

"Yeah!" Mari grinned. Sokka chuckled as he rose again, nodding in Haka and Kattan's direction, indicating he was ready to get started…

Only to find that all the onlookers decided to stick around for his lesson, too. Sokka blinked blankly, having expected a much smaller class… but this would be for the best, he knew. The more people joined in, the better chances they'd have to win when the Fire Nation finally arrived.

It was a long day, one he suspected would virtually repeat itself on the next day, structure-wise. More training, more storytelling… he was a lot busier than he expected to be, but that wasn't such a bad thing, he reasoned when he returned to his room later, once his exhaustion demanded he went to sleep.

His eyes drifted towards his untouched packs, as they often did. Space Sword's handle stuck out from the bag it was tucked in, as did the hilt of his club. Perhaps his lessons would make far more sense, and they'd move along even more smoothly than they had, if he wielded his actual weapons to instruct everyone, rather than borrowing them from his students…

But the mere thought of doing that shot a burst of unbearable pain through his soul once more. He didn't want to… he truly didn't want to. The more he told Princess Jing and Wentai's story, the easier it was to forget his own, an irony that didn't escape him. Picking up any of those weapons again would be a reminder, again, of everything he'd lost… of everyone he'd lost. Of the woman without whom he wouldn't be standing here, in his childhood bedroom, once more…

No. He wasn't ready. Not yet.

He was broken in more ways than he wanted to acknowledge: telling Jing and Wentai's story allowed him to put distance between himself and his sorrows, between himself and his own life's experiences. He lived in a strange, confusing duality now, in a haze where so much of his reality could fall out of focus for moments, giving him just a brief respite from his anguish… only for it to sharpen once more whenever her image took shape inside his mind once more. He missed her so much more with every passing day, even if she felt closer to him whenever he made the most of the opportunities to talk about Princess Jing…

He continued taking those chances for the next days: their return to the Fire Nation followed, and Wentai's swordsmanship lessons to Jing saw Mari thrilled by the notion of another firebender with a sword, much like her father. Though, of course, Mari demanded that Jing would defeat Wentai, outright, with next to no training: for once, Sokka put his foot down and explained Jing would win eventually, once she learned how to use swords properly, much as Mari still was learning how to use her fire. No rational argument seemed to convince the child, however, that Jing could ever lose… and as much as Sokka wished to impart a few lessons to the child when it came to victories and defeats, the truth was that seeing Zuko's reactions at his daughter's hero worship of Azula's alter ego persuaded Sokka, more often than not, to let the child have her way.

Next, Sokka introduced Haru, whom he named Huzi, for 'mustache': Mari seemed utterly perplexed over the notion of glassbending, for she didn't even know what glass was, and she was convinced it was merely icebending. For the sake of economy, then, Haru became a waterbender rather than an earthbender, and his Ty Lee certainly hired him in a much less chaotic fashion than she had in real life, rescuing him heroically from an evil noble's clutches without requiring a ridiculous loan for the sake of buying him off the dreadful sponsor's hands.

The story of the White Lotus' attack, of course, horrified the child: Princess Jing, sick? It was unthinkable, and little Mari was utterly distraught about it. Of all stories he'd shared, none seemed to catch Zuko's attention as much as this one did – he had taken off to hunt over the last few days during most Sokka's storytelling sessions and he returned to the Tribe quite late, but he had been too curious not to stay and listen to the complicated events that had taken place when his sister had been ill. Mari was deeply preoccupied over whoever these evil warriors were, and why they had stormed the city, but most of all, she seemed terrified that Princess Jing might fail to defeat them… and she cheered with utmost joy when Wentai showed up, just in time to defend his Princess from anyone who might do her harm. Even though Sokka confirmed Jing was still sick afterwards, the battle had been settled and Jing had survived safely, all of which was enough for the child to breathe easily once more.

The crowd of listeners only seemed to increase, day by day. Young children or fully-grown adults, it made no matter: they had been thrilled to listen in on his storytelling sessions before Sokka had made deliberate efforts to reconnect with his people directly. A week after he'd started the story, he noticed the two boys who had bothered Mari sat within the crowd, as well: they kept their silence throughout the storytelling session, appearing awed, even, over the incredible fight Wentai held against The Pebble, while Prince Piqi sponsored him.

"More tomorrow, more tomorrow…" Sokka reassured his enthusiastic public, who seemed to find that particular tale too short for his daily storytelling sessions. "The next story will be so much longer! It's a whole event, a scavenger hunt all across Fire Fountain City… if I started now, I'd have to stop halfway through and you'll be really upset if I do that, won't you?"

"Will Princess Jing be okay tomorrow…?" Mari asked, biting her lip nervously. Sokka smiled and nodded.

"She will be all healed from her cold tomorrow, that's for sure," he said, and Mari smiled brightly once more.

"Yes! Princess Jing will win again!" she declared proudly. Sokka chuckled as Suki stepped up to collect her daughters, for her own lesson was done for the day.

"You've got a gift, honestly. A week of this, and she's still not bored," Suki smiled at him, as Sokka chuckled, unfastening Zi's carrier carefully before handing her over to Suki.

"There, there, back with your mom, okay?" Sokka told the child, who cooed softly when his warm chest was no longer supporting her weight. "I'll rock you again tomorrow, promised thing."

"You're far better with kids than I'd have expected," Suki smiled, embracing Zi warmly. "Guess you're full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I surprise even myself sometimes, sure…" Sokka said, with a careless shrug.

Suki laughed off his lack of modesty, offering her hand to Mari and leaning down to speak softly to her. Mari nodded at the prospect of eating lunch, and she waved at Sokka as her mother guided her away, towards their igloo.

"And now that that's done… time for training?" Haka asked, nudging Sokka gently with his elbow. Sokka smiled and nodded, clasping the younger man's shoulder. "You should train with us directly today, Sokka. I'm sure we'll do better if you show us just how much we have left to learn…"

"I'm still thinking about it, Haka," Sokka admitted, patting his student's back. "Maybe soon, eh? I just need a little more… preparation."

The last of his words spilled out just as he frowned with uncertainty upon facing his students for the day: among twenty Water Tribe warriors of different strong builds and varying sizes stood a short, black-haired, pale-skinned Kino, who smiled awkwardly while holding a knife in his hands.

"I… thought I could join in?" he said, softly. "I've kind of thought about it, and I don't think I learned much of anything while in the academy, so…"

Sokka smiled at his nervousness, immediately allowing Kino to partake in the day's training. The former soldier, of course, was delighted to join in, though he certainly wasn't much good when the moment of paired combat arrived: Haka made short work of him every time, even joking about how quickly he could disarm Kino in every bout.

"I'm sure that took less than two seconds, this time!" Haka snickered, as Kino pouted in frustration.

"I'll get you yet, Haka! I sure will!" he exclaimed… though he turned his hopeless eyes at Sokka afterwards, almost begging him to save him. "H-how do I get him?"

"I've already explained, haven't I?" Sokka asked, sighing as he picked up Kino's knife and returned it to him. "Look at him, watch him move: keep your feet light so you can dodge and evade his attacks. If you can't, be at the ready to block his weapon with your own, and most importantly… don't drop your knife whenever he threatens you. Got it?"

"B-but that was the only way they'd leave me alone when we trained like this in the academy…" Kino sighed. Sokka huffed.

"Guess that explains why you didn't learn much," he said, patting his back as Kino groaned.

"I'm really no good at this, am I?" he asked. "I need more training, so much more… but you know what? I think I'd be better if I could, uh, follow movements rather than just react! If I could learn a routine, maybe…"

"Fighting isn't about following a routine, though," Sokka said, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, I know…" Kino sighed, lowering his head in defeat.

The Fire Nation man had never been unpleasant for Sokka, not even the first time he'd met him. Zuko lacked the patience to deal with him, clearly, and he had passed that impatience onto Mari. Katara scarcely was any better than that, while Aang mostly seemed to keep Kino company unless he had important things to do, which meant Kino would be left behind whenever anything serious happened. He wanted to be of use, Sokka guessed… to help those he cared about, and that a Fire Nation man would feel that way about the people of the Southern Water Tribe was as good as a miracle, and not something to take for granted…

Curses, maybe the guy's accidental persuasiveness was why he annoyed Zuko so much, come to think of it.

"Okay, okay, you know what?" Sokka sighed, rubbing his brow with his fingertips. "You win. I'll… get my gear. Maybe the best way for you to learn is if you can follow, I can't rule that out, so…"

"You'll do it?!" Kino asked, eyes gleaming gratefully as Haka smiled as well.

"You'll get your weapons, then? Great! You can spar with us!" he exclaimed. Sokka huffed, glancing at Haka with uncertainty.

"I'm not sure that I should do that, not with Space Sword anyway…" he mused. "We're not exactly overflowing with weapons in the Tribe, cutting any by accident in training would be a waste. Anyway, I'll be back in a moment. Keep on training, alright?"

"Yeah!" Kino and Haka responded positively. Sokka sighed as he turned on his heels, wondering why on earth was he making a decision he was so sure he'd regret…

Maybe it was simply because he wanted to test his own limits some more: Azula's name slipped from his lips more often these days whenever his friends questioned him about the accuracy of any of his stories, always eager to hear the actual anecdotes behind whatever he'd explained last. It still hurt, of course it did… but his chest's pain had gained a strange, melancholic quality that he guessed he'd grown to crave, in a strange way. Maybe one day he'd feel strong enough to talk more thoroughly… maybe one day he'd finally speak about everything with his father, for Hakoda still seemed to wait patiently for Sokka to approach him. One day he would… one day he'd find a way to do so.

Maybe that day would be closer if he picked up his weapons today: he crossed the distance to his family's igloo in quick strides, stepping across the common room first, then making for his room, his stomach twisting in anticipation, his heart pumping blood rather than misery, so far…

He breathed slowly as he knelt before the pack with his weapons, sitting right by his unused armor. He unfastened the pack's bindings, breathing out slowly as he drew out his boomerang first, with trembling fingers.

"Hey, buddy…" he whispered, his voice frayed. "Been a while, huh?"

How long had it been since he'd last held any of his weapons? Since his fight against Combustion Man, perhaps? He swallowed hard as the memory of that scorching inferno rushed through his mind again: he pushed it aside as he pulled out his sword next, draping it across his back. The club came next, and then he dug around for his knife, awkwardly fishing blindly for the weapon's handle.

He found a few surprises in the pack, evidence that the guards had as good as yanked out anything they expected had value in his house and tossed it in the bags that Sokka wound up bringing home. A comb, the old wolf figurine he'd kept since the first visit to Ba Sing Se, Mahjong tiles… no, he didn't own a set of those. It was enveloped in a small bag of soft fabric… Piandao's White Lotus tile? To think it had traveled this far with him… but that wasn't his intended target. The knife appeared to have slipped to the bottom of the bag, somehow…

He brushed against its hilt near the bottom of the pack, only for his fingers to touch an unexpectedly soft, polished stone as well.

He frowned immediately, clasping the knife and yanking it out quickly, almost to shake off whatever sense of wrongness he'd felt just now. There, he had all his weapons, and he should simply close that bag and leave. That was it. That was enough progress for today, more than enough, perhaps it was too much…

He couldn't. He didn't dare close it yet. Not when his heart hurt upon remembering the last time he had touched a stone so smooth… when he had last worked one, with his own fingers, ensuring to craft something beautiful, something meaningful, for the one he loved most dearly.

"N-no…" Sokka blurted out, shaking as the thought manifested in his head: it couldn't be. It just couldn't be what he thought it was. He had given it to her… he had retrieved it and ensured she'd have it. He had asked her to keep it, and she had said she would, so why…?

It had to be something else. Maybe a button of a strange clothing garment he couldn't remember owning, maybe a weird tile for a game that had been misplaced, even though he knew of no oval-shaped tiles of the sort…

He closed his eyes, slipping his hand inside the pack once more, rummaging gently… until he found it. Until his fingers wrapped around that smooth, polished stone… until they brushed the velvet fabric it was attached to.

In just that moment, every ounce of progress, every step forward he'd taken over the past two weeks, seemed to shatter and crumble. Tears flooded his eyes, tumbling down his cheeks, as he drew his hand back…

As he laid eyes upon Azula's betrothal necklace.

She had given it back. She had put it back in his things, at some point… she had done it, for whatever reason. She had ensured he'd take it with him, without his awareness. She had returned it without telling him about it. She had…

His whole body shuddered violently as sudden sobs overtook him. She had given it back… even though he had begged her to keep it, she had given it back. Was it she feared it would be taken away from her? Did she expect her father would destroy it if he knew it existed? Maybe he would have, yes… but it was hers. It was supposed to be hers. He had asked her to keep it, because it belonged to her, with her…

She had stuffed it at the bottom of his pack, to ensure he wouldn't notice it was there until he was home.

She had given it back.

By the time Kanna noticed something was wrong, Sokka clung to the necklace, pressing it to his forehead, all his pain reclaimed and rekindled, burning into him as painfully as it had when he had watched that ship sailing into a dark horizon… on the moment he had woken up in a world where they could no longer be together. His lessons went completely forgotten, for he could no longer stand up, let alone teach anyone a damn thing… all he could do was sit in his room, swept into his grandmother's gentle embrace that failed to comfort him, for nothing could mitigate his agony any longer. He sat where he did, overcome by the grief he had attempted to escape from across the past week… with no more defenses left between himself and an unforgiving reality: he'd lost more than he'd ever be able to regain.

There was no moving on from grief like this… from a sorrow deeper than the darkest of oceans. The only option ahead, the only possibility he could glimpse when he was torn open by his endless misery, would be to succumb to that grief, to lose himself in it, to stop running away from it… and so, that was exactly what Sokka did.

---

A/N:

We'll have a double update next week and, with it, this story arc will be over. I doubt it's any surprise that I wanted it done as soon as possible, considering what it's been like so far… but the third arc of Part 3 may be (I hope) a little less discouraging and depressing than the first two were.

As usual, thanks for reading thus far.