Next chapter! Then it might be a bit before the next cause I have to work something out
Sokka groaned and sat up, the rain falling on him in sheets as the wind blew. He could feel that he was no longer really sitting in grass, but a swamp like forest ground that had been dry only minutes before. He had to ask himself whether his choice was regrettable or not, and looking at the unconscious fire bender, he couldn't say for sure. His clothes and skin were water logged and mud filled; though with the force of rain it washed most of the mud off. He gazed up at the steep plateau where he could hear nothing but the fat water droplets hitting everything around him. Thunder rumbled, reminding him of Aunt Wu's prediction once again about rain.
The dark skinned teen then looked to Zuko who was out like a light, lying on his back in the mud, the water nearly to his ears as he lay there. Sokka was sure with this rain continuing to fall the prince would surely drown within minutes. He sighed, mind flashing with moments just a bit ago when he'd grabbed Zuko's wrist in an attempt to keep him from falling. Though the mud had broken his chances of getting a good grip and he'd been pulled down off the plateau, slipping and tumbling in the mud with the unconscious fire bender until they met flat ground.
So there he was now, with an unconscious fire bender, no way to get back to the plateau and he didn't even know which side of the plateau he was on; the rain clouded any form of vision yards ahead of him. He sighed heavily and got up heading over to the bender and kneeling back in the mud beside him; might as well see if the other was still alive before he did anything. He picked up Zuko's wrist and tried to feel for a pulse; but he found that never worked, and he especially couldn't feel anything with the rain coming down on them. He leaned down and placed his ear to the fire bender's chest and concentrated, shutting his eyes; hoping in the back of his mind that Zuko wouldn't wake up and hit him.
He heard it, a warm rhythmic beat in the fire bender's chest, a little to the right. It was actually strange to hear it. Sokka had been searching for a heart beat, but really hadn't expected to find one beating so… warmly. He supposed he'd hated fire benders for so long that he almost forgot that they were human too; cold, ruthless, heatless, demonic savages, but still human. Sokka relaxed slightly and listened to the heart beat a moment more before pulling back.
Another blast of thunder made the ground tremble and Sokka snapped back to reality. He looked quickly to the sky then back at the fire bender. He couldn't just leave him there, his mind and morality wouldn't let him live it down. He slowly lifted the prince's arm and pulled him up, pulling the other's arm around his shoulders for support. He doubted he could just heft the other up, and he was most defiantly right. He held Zuko's one arm in place and his other arm held the fire bender to him, standing straight. The first thing to do was find some higher ground and shelter from the blasted rain. Both were soaked to the bone, and Sokka was not enjoying it.
He headed in one direction; hopefully it was out of the ankle deep water. He was relieved when the forest got slightly hillier, the water made deeper pools in the lower grounds, but then Sokka also had some mounds out of water. He stopped under a fern tree to rest, figuring it was a good enough place to wait until the rain let up; the tree didn't stop the rain, but it stopped it from pounding on them and it was like an island in the forest, a mound of land that wasn't submerged under the temporary lake.
He got a chance to stop and look around then, at first only seeing water, rain and trees. But then he saw something not too far away and on higher ground. A rickety looking hut sat sadly in the middle of a hill between a couple of sturdy trees; probably the only thing keeping the hut up were the trees. Between being under a tree and a condemned looking hut, he chose the better of the two and headed for it. There was no light indicating anyone lived there, but Sokka was more focused on getting out of the rain than that.
Sokka approached, and then pounded on the door of the old hut, finally giving up when no one answered and pushed his way in. Inside was dark and chilly, with a few puddles on the floor where there were leaks in the roof. The place looked old and out of use, but it was dry and right then that was what Sokka was looking for. There was a fire pit in the middle of the room, a cot in the corner and a couple unburned logs by the fire pit.
Sokka hauled the unconscious Zuko over to the cot, setting the equally soaked teen on the squeaky mattress, taking a minute to catch his breath, the adrenaline running out in his system. Sokka kneeled next to the cot to rest, right next to Zuko, soaked to the bone.
He then looked down at the unconscious fire-bender in front of him, bewilderment filling him, wondering why he had saved Zuko from being stranded in the woods and possibly with a concussion. The water tribe teen's eyes then fell on Zuko's features, his fire shaped scar around his eye, and his normally tight appearance softened, his soft but pale looking lips…
Sokka's cheeks reddened and he turned away. No way was he checking out his, very hot, very unconscious enemy, besides, Zuko was a fire bender, a fire-bender, one of the people that killed his mother. He reminded himself of that and turned angrily back to Zuko; but he couldn't stay angry as he looked at the unconscious man before him.
Sokka gazed for a minute at the fire bender, his face reddening softly. He felt his own mind cloud up; reason didn't seem to make sense about why he shouldn't take advantage, Zuko was only an enemy after all, so it couldn't have any worse consequences. Whether he did it or not, when Zuko woke up he'd probably demand for Aang and try to hurt him. He leaned closer, an urge to feel his lips against the other's slicing through and common sense he might have had, his own bodily needs flooding his senses. He leaned closer to Zuko's face, lips hovering above lips, so close… Then he could forget this ridiculous curiousity with the same sex.
Sokka pulled back suddenly, reason knocking loudly. What was he doing! How could he possibly even think of taking advantage of some one like that; enemy or not, his conscious wouldn't let him do it.
He took a deep calming breath and a second later he whipped his head to the side and sneezed, a shiver running up his spine. His soaked clothes reminded him that they were there. He stripped off his clothes shamelessly; survival in the South Pole was if you got wet, you had to get dry quick or die from freezing. He removed his shirt and pants and they both landed with a loud slop on the floor. He blinked a minute, and then cursed quietly; they were the only clothes he had with him. He got up, clad only in damp underwear, looking about the hut; with in moments finding a skewer bar that hung over the pit; he set it upright and hung his clothes on it, taking up half of the rack.
He glanced at the still unconscious and soaked Zuko, guilt and worry creeping into his mind. He went over to the fire bender and hesitated a minute before leaning down and grasping the bottom of the drenched shirt, lifting it up and over Zuko's head, revealing a pale smooth chest. Sokka blushed hard and turned, taking a calming breath. He wasn't enjoying seeing Zuko half naked, he wasn't; at least he convinced himself so.
Hanging the shirt on the bar he turned to the other in bed, eyeing the waist line of the other's pants. He was very hesitant to strip Zuko of his wet pants. He swallowed a huge pillow-like lump in his throat and shut his eyes, stripping off the pants, quickly covering Zuko with the ratty piece of fabric which was suppose to be a sheet with the cot, then he flopped the pants over the bar with the other's clothing and went about to attempt a fire, trying to get a hold of the blush on his face.
:D Poor Sokka, I put him through emotional tormoil.
I do have one question though, should there be more lemons in tha Avatar section, or are you all still a bit too squirmish?
