"So, you're the tribesman from district twelve, huh?"
Sokka turned around to see two boys approach him.
"I'm Jet and he's Zuko. You look like a decent enough guy I guess," said Jet, extending his hand in greeting.
Sokka shook his hand with a firm grip. "Yeah... I mean, ignoring the fact that we're kind of strangers, I guess you look decent too."
"Funny guy, huh? That's cool. So listen," Jet said, wrapping an arm around Sokka's shoulders, "A couple of the tributes were thinking of sneaking out and throwing a little party in the city. We want to get some real food, not this cabbage shit they feed us. What do you say? You down?"
Sokka smirked. "Music to my ears. I'm in. When are we going?"
"At night. We'll be meeting on the roof of this building. Be there." Jet replied, moving away.
"I will, don't worry."
The two boys went about their business as Sokka walked away. Out of earshot, Zuko whispered into Jet's ear.
"Did he believe us?" Zuko asked, eyes darting back toward the tribesman.
"Definitely. What an idiot. He'll be the perfect scapegoat."
o0o0o0o
Sokka walked through the training grounds as he observed the other tributes honing their skills in both bending and non-bending. Some of them were truly impressive and doubt began to cloud his mind, wondering if he would make it out of the games alive. Lost in thought, he suddenly tripped. Trying to get up, Sokka realized a girl lying on the ground broke his fall and he found himself in an awkward position with his hands on her breasts. Blushing, he tried to get up, only for the girl to pull him back down and embrace him. His eyes widened when she kissed him, giggling as she did so.
A voice pierced Sokka's ears. "Ty lee, this is not the time for that!"
"Aw, c'mon Azula! Can't I have a little fun?"
"Let him go this instant! Both of you are crushing me!"
Ty Lee pouted. "Fine."
With some difficulty she released her hold over Sokka and reluctantly shoved him off.
"Sorry," he said, "Here let me help you stand up."
As Sokka stood up he extended his hand out. Azula merely brushed it aside as she stood up. Ty lee, however, gripped his hand tightly and took another opportunity to kiss him on the cheek.
"Thanks cutie!" Ty lee said, making Sokka blush again.
Azula rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable. The idiot falls over you, practically gropes you, and you thank him for it!"
Ty Lee smirked. "It kind of tickled actually!"
Azula, through with the whole ordeal, pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ugh, what is wrong with you?"
As the two girls began to bicker, Sokka decided to make himself scarce, walking away from the training area at a brisk pace.
Though embarrassed beyond belief, he had to admit that it felt really good to kiss a girl.
o0o0o0o
Once again, as he quickly rounded a corner at a fast pace, Sokka tripped over a loose tile and fell to the floor.
"Damn it, again?" he blurted out, nursing a stubbed toe as he sat on the ground.
A familiar voice caught his attention. "Ah, there's my idiot brother."
Sokka didn't need to guess who that was. He turned to his sister with an embarrassed look as a whole group of girls stood beside her.
"Hey Katara."
"Hey Sokka. Stubbed your toe?"
"Stubbed my toe."
"That sucks."
"Yeah, a lot actually," he hissed through his teeth, trying to get up, "Ow… ow."
One of the girls, a tribeswoman with impossibly white hair, stepped forward, her voice like a whisper. "Oh my… He's a cute one."
Blinking and taking a breath to hide the blush on his face, Sokka straightened his back and swaggered over to the girls with a slight limp in his step.
He cleared his throat and smiled. "Hey there ladies… and Katara. I'm Sokka," he said, bowing his head, "Pleasure to meet you."
A hearty chuckle caught Sokka's attention. "He didn't just bow to me, did he? I like this guy! He's an idiot, but I like him!"
He raised an eyebrow. "And, uh, you are?"
The girl, her dark bangs swaying in front of her eyes, made her way over to him, a big grin across her face.
"Toph Beifong, pal!" she said, punching his arm, "And that's how I greet people."
Sokka winced at the pain as he rubbed the bruise. "Terrific. And, uh, who are the other two?"
Katara rolled her eyes. "This is Yue and Suki. Yue's from our sister tribe in the north and Suki's from Kyoshi Island. I figured they looked like decent people to talk to and turns I was right."
"Except me! I'm all trouble, buddy!" Toph interjected, punching Sokka in the arm again.
"Ow! All right, all right, I get it! Jeez…" said Sokka turning to the other two girls as he bowed again, " Well, it's a pleasure to meet you ladies."
Just as he was about to turn away Sokka felt the ground shift beneath his feet. Losing balance he fell forward, kissing the stone tiles with his face.
Toph smiled, hands on her waist, looking a bit too proud of herself. "Pretty clumsy today aren't ya? Can't even stand up straight."
"Yeah," Sokka muttered, eyes narrowed at the girl, "Must be my toe."
"Well obviously!" Toph chuckled.
Yue extended her hand out to Sokka. "Here, let me help you up."
Blinking out of surprise, Sokka took her hand. Just as he was about to rise, she lost her balance and fell on top of Sokka.
Toph sneered, stifling a giggle. Through her seismic sense she could feel the boy's heart-rate skyrocket as Yue pressed her weight against his body. Their lips touched and both their faces were red.
"Bunch of clumsy people over here, huh?" Toph laughed.
Yue pushed herself off of Sokka, completely flustered. He managed an awkward smile, not knowing what else to do.
"Uh, its okay, it happens… all the time to me?" he said, seeing that Yue was completely embarrassed. His words didn't seem to help.
Toph laughed harder. "Oh man! You are one funny guy, Sokka!"
Katara crossed her arms. "I warned you, girls. Sokka will use any opportunity to sneak a kiss in on you. He's a bit of a jerk too. Thinks girls are only meant to have kids and stay at home."
With varying degrees of enthusiasm, all girls laughed as Sokka rose to his feet. He wanted to say something, say he wasn't like that anymore, but decided against it and moved along. He'd let them have their fun.
o0o0o0o
As the evening drew near, the tributes returned to their rooms to prepare for their main introduction to for the Kyoshi Games. It was a time for celebration, to remind the citizens of Ba Sing Se the greatness of their empire.
During their travel to Ba Sing Se, each tribute was told that they would need a costume, one that they would wear for the official opening of the games. Seamstresses from every district were sent to the city to make preliminary costumes for their respective tributes, to test different costume designs. When the tribute was fitted the actual costume would be made, ready to wear for the opening ceremony by the time the tribute arrived.
As required since the inception of the games, all tributes would then parade themselves along a planned route from the middle ring to the upper ring in front of thousands of spectators; young fighters from every district, showing themselves to the crowds before their inevitable deaths, all for the sake of stability within the empire.
Tributes from the Earth Kingdom usually had ample time to design their costumes. The tributes from the outlying districts, where the former Fire Nation and Water Tribes were located, were a different matter. Seamstresses from these districts were usually sent along with the tributes to design a costume as they travelled, typically on a specially designed airship. Unfortunately for the tributes of District Twelve, Sokka ate much of the food for the trip and their airship had to take a detour to resupply. They travelled the last few dozen miles by train to Ba Sing Se.
As the festivities for the tribute parade began Sokka squirmed into his costume. It was a rather simple design and one that he had chosen with pride - a boomerang. A big one, modeled after his own of course, so that he would stand out among the other tributes.
He walked to his starting point along the long confetti strewn road as the hum of thousands of cheering spectators filled his ears. Fumbling aggressively with his costume in order for it to properly fit he accidentally bumped into someone near him – or rather something. He heard a monstrous growl emanate from the hulking form he bumped into. Fear gripped his body as he realized he had bumped into a giant platypus bear, its skin a sickly purple, its head crowned by pink horns with long bat-like silver wings protruding from its back. He had never seen such a terrifying creature.
Thrown into a panic Sokka sprinted away as the beast raised its claws to attack him. He didn't look back, running as fast as he could. He could barely make out the sound of a girl laughing hysterically as he raced away in fear.
He had put some distance between him and the beast when he decided to look over his shoulder. Seeing that he had outrun the thing he slowed his pace, only to find his legs sinking into the ground like quicksand. He was caught.
A Joo Dee smiled at him from the shadows, her stance firm against the ground. "Where are you going, tribute? Surely you would not try to escape the city, and surely not during this most auspicious occasion!"
"Some crazy animal tried to attack me! Like a bear and a platypus mixed into one big monster!" Sokka blurted out.
"Yes. While we do have such creatures at our magnificent zoo, I can assure that they will not be attending the procession. We would not risk the lives of our tributes just before the games."
"Then why the heck is one out there on the starting line!?"
The Joo Dee merely smiled. With a flick of her wrists the stone at Sokka's feet began to loosen.
She beckoned him to follow her. "Come, tribute! I will lead you back. There is nothing to be afraid of in our magnificent capital!"
"Sure, sure…" Sokka muttered reluctantly.
By the time he had returned to his starting point the procession was already underway. He was at least fortunate that he would go last. That way no one had to know about his embarrassing little run-in.
"There you are, Sokka!" Katara said, waving her arm to call him over to her side, "Where have you been?"
"Oh, you know," he said causally, "Just needed to relieve myself before the big march. Hard to get the zipper down on this thing."
"Ugh, I didn't need to know that!"
Looking at his sister, Sokka noted that she decided to go as a spirit. A unique choice all things considered and from what she had told him her costume was meant to be a river spirit that guarded fishing villages. She was already boasting about how good it was compared to his costume. He admitted she had a point. Her makeup was on point.
Something peculiar caught Sokka's eye as his gaze drifted. Apparently someone had decided it was good idea to dress as a huge white pancake, while the partner held a crudely made spear. It baffled him beyond comprehension.
Katara nudged him. "That's Yue by the way. She's going as the moon spirit, while Hahn goes as pole protector."
"She looks like an under-cooked pancake."
She elbowed him. "Sokka, be nice. Come on, we better get moving. We're up next in the parade."
"Yup. We march to our doom. Might as well smile as we do so right?"
"Sokka…" Katara muttered bitterly.
The parade was grand in scale and the walk itself was long. Sokka guessed they had at least marched a kilometer before finally stopped. The other tributes gathered along side him were gathered before a podium in front of cheering crowds, where emperor Long Feng stood resplendent in his green robes. He gave a speech about peace and prosperity, but Sokka couldn't be bothered with it. He looked at the costumes around him for entertainment.
He spied the same creature that scared him before the parade started, the platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings. Embarrassment washed over him as he realized it was merely a costume. Whoever wore that one was surely committed to making it looks as frightening as possible. Beside it were two half naked tributes, a boy and a girl. Whoever designed their costumes left nothing to the imagination.
As Sokka gazed upon some of the other costumes, some them truly amazing, he began to doubt his idea to go as his favorite weapon and he cast his head down in shame as the crowds began to roar in his ears.
o0o0o0o
Night had fallen quick over Ba Sing Se. As most of the tributes slept some slinked through the dark, hidden by shadows. It was time.
As Zuko made his way through the darkened hall a hand shot out beside him and pressed him to the wall.
"What do you think you're doing, Zuzu?"
His eyes widened as he gritted his teeth. "I'm going out, Azula. What's it to you?"
What is she doing here?
"You're planning something. You and that idiot Jet are up to no good. You're going to get yourself in trouble," she hissed, tightening her grip.
"Why do you care? We're just going to have some fun. Not like we'll be caught."
"Fool. This is exactly why mother told me to protect you."
"Relax, Azula. We've got this all planned out, people to take the fall if we get caught. Stop being paranoid."
Zuko untangled himself from Azula's grip. She hardly offered any resistance.
Before he could rush away down the hall, she grabbed him by the shoulder, making him turn. "Be careful. I'm not going to be the one to tell our mother her son died over something as stupid as this."
With that Azula disappeared into the night and Zuko went about his business unhindered.
o0o0o0o
"Everyone here?"
Jet looked over the gathering of misfits. Zuko had finally shown up, along with Longshot and Hahn. Sokka, their fall guy, was surprisingly early.
He smirked. "All right, looks like the gang's all here. Let's go."
They sneaked out of the complex and silently made their way deeper into the middle ring of Ba Sing Se. Their destination was a food storage facility Jet marked out on a stolen map. From the route he had carefully planned out, it was only several blocks away.
When they finally arrived the area around the warehouse was completely deserted. As they broke in the boys found the place overflowing with food. Real food.
"All right boys dig in! It's a regular buffet in here," Jet announced with pride.
Sokka's mouth salivated as he eyed all the delectable goodies he could eat. His gaze was glued to the dried meats and bread that lay in stacks on the shelves around him. He was in a carnivore's paradise.
Digging in and stuffing his mouth with whatever was in reach, Sokka caught Zuko, Jet, and Longshot out of the corner of his eye. They were leaving with whatever food they could carry.
Thinking that was a good idea, he decided to follow them, taking as much food as he could. As he made his way out he found Hahn passed out on a box with several bottles of alcohol at his feet. Sokka left him there without a second thought.
Just as he made his way out he spied several Dai Li agents creeping toward the warehouse over the roofs of nearby houses. Sokka quickened his pace down the darkened streets as he heard a yell pierce the silence. Sweat trickled down his forehead. He was dead if he couldn't get away.
Rushing down a nearby alley he tried to find Jet and the other boys. He took sharp turns down narrow streets, crept silently through small alleys, and perked his ears for any hint of movement. Still, there was no sign of Jet and the others.
Sokka flinched at shadows, darting his head left and right, trying to pierce the darkness of the night. The only thing he could here over the silence was his own panicked breathing.
He was lost.
Searching his memory he tried to recreate the route they took in his head. None of the streets matched up. None of the turns or nearby houses looked familiar. He just hoped he was going in the right direction.
As he was running through an empty street he felt his legs sink into the stone. He knew the people capable of that technique. He was done for. Sokka tried to get his legs out, but it was futile. He sunk into the ground until he was completely submerged below the street.
A pitch-black room and an overly boisterous chuckle greeted him. The voice was eerily familiar. "What's up Snoozles?"
"What the- Toph? Is that you?"
A punch in the arm was his immediate response. The pain stung and he winced once again.
"Ow!" he blurted out, his voice echoing across the room, "Okay, okay, its you, I get it!"
"Is that dried beef I smell?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah. Why?"
He could hear her footsteps approach him. Her hands reached out to him in the dark, feeling his waist. Sokka blushed a little as she reached into his pockets and pulled out the beef.
She sniffed. "Do I need to know where you got all this food from? Or why Hahn was caught getting drunk in some warehouse by the Dai Li?"
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Do I need to know why you've been following us? Or how you got down here in the first place?"
There was a pause as they stood in the dark. He didn't really expect that.
She finally spoke up. "Hm. Point taken, Snoozles."
"Uh, right. So, how about we get-" Sokka uttered, before being cut off. Toph's hand clamped firmly against his mouth.
"Keep your voice down," Toph whispered, "It was hard enough trying stay quiet down here without you making noise."
As she removed her hand from his mouth, he began to whisper. "We need to get back to the complex. I don't know how you got here, but if they notice we're missing-"
"Yeah, yeah, pipe down already will you? I know the way. Come on."
Within minutes they were back on the surface and moving through the darken streets, going as fast as they could back to the complex. He could pick out the familiar buildings in the dark as they rushed pass them. The irony of a little blind girl leading him through the night was not lost on him despite his gratefulness.
When they arrived at the complex they helped each other sneak back in. Silently they parted ways and made their way back to their rooms to sleep. One hour passed and Sokka got what little sleep he could when all the tributes were suddenly forced to wake.
They were rushed into the central yard and made to stand at attention, their guides behind them. The Dai Li moved among them, silently taking a head count of who might be missing. Jet, Zuko, and Longshot were in attendance, while Hahn stood nervously between two agents. Yue stood alone, her guide's head bowed in shame.
Sokka trembled, trying to stay calm as he stood next to Katara. He was at least thankful that all the tributes came dressed. He'd look suspicious if he were the only one fully clothed in a sea of pajama-wearing tributes.
After the counting was done all the tributes were released and allowed to go back to their rooms. With a disaster averted, Sokka nonetheless looked over his shoulder as the Dai Li dragged Hahn to the administration building. He could only guess at the horrible things they would do to him.