"So where do I get something to eat?" Sokka asks eagerly as we disembark, clutching at his stomach. Katara glares at him in annoyance.
"You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an airbender temple, and all you can think about is food?" She admonishes, her lips pursed.
"Hey, I'm just a simple guy, with simple needs," he comments just as simply, earning a withering look from his sister.
"Don't bug him too much, Katara," I interject with a laugh. "Most guys only think with their stomachs."
"Oh, yeah? You don't see Aang whining about food," Katara points out, motioning to the young airbender.
"Yeah, well, Aang's a bit more evolved," I laugh, grinning mischievously at Katara.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Sokka cried indignantly, to which I merely laugh and jog up ahead to Aang.
3rd Person POV
Sokka and Katara stay back as Shannon catches up with Aang.
"Evolved. . . I suppose you think that's funny, don't you?" Sokka accuses Katara in frustration as they walk.
"Yes, very," she admits, smirking at her older brother. Sokka purses his lips as Katara continues, her tone serious. "You should be glad she's still so civil to you after everything you've said to her. You've been a real jerk."
Sokka's brows furrow as he grumbles indignantly. "I am just being cautious – someone around here has to be. You and Aang are far too trusting."
"Insulting her looks is you being cautious?" Katara reminds him with a glare, causing him to blush in shame. "Besides, I think she's proven herself enough times to warrant our trust. If it weren't for her, we would never have found Aang and he'd probably be dead by now," she snaps.
"You don't know that. . ." Sokka grumbles, but he begins to lose his resolve at the truth in her words, glancing guiltily at the mysterious girl ahead of them.
"Oh, so you were going to risk your life to save Aang, were you?" Katara asks him, struggling to keep her voice low so that Aang and Shannon couldn't hear. "You really need to apologize to her. She's one of us."
Sokka hesitates, unable to find a response to her accusation. ". . . I still think I am right to be cautious. Am I the only one who remembers that she admitted to being on the fire nation ship? Or that whole thing about a koi fish telling her to help Aang? Her whole story is suspicious."
"So what?" Katara snaps at him under her breath. "Aang doesn't seem to have a problem with it, and he's the Avatar! I heard them talking last night – I missed a lot of it, but I think they know each other somehow."
Sokka stares at her in disbelief. "That's impossible! Aang's been stuck in an iceberg for a hundred years and Shannon is like, fifteen. How could they possibly know each other?"
Katara shakes her head. "I don't know, but Aang is the Avatar. Strange things are bound to happen around him. Shannon might be one of those things. Besides, she's so sweet. I highly doubt she's fire nation."
"Sweet?" Sokka asks in disbelief. "She was making fun of me not five minutes ago!"
Katara blinks at him blankly before sighing in exasperation, wondering if stupidity is genetic.
"You really have no experience with girls, do you. . ."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sokka whispers angrily.
"Nothing," Katara explains, eyeing Sokka in pity. "Just stop being so nasty and apologize to her. I get the feeling she's been through more than she's letting on." At those words, Sokka's expression softens and he remains silent, thinking that maybe he had been a little harsh.
Seeing her brother remorseful, Katara's annoyance with him diminishes and she pats him on the shoulder, smirking slightly as she adds. "Besides, if you apologize, I know she will forgive you. She keeps staring at you whenever she thinks no one is looking."
Sokka turns pink and glances at Shannon. "Really?" He asks tentatively.
"Yeah, and if you stop acting like a paranoid jerk all the time you might actually have a chance with her," Katara prods him encouragingly. "Although, I still think she's too pretty for you."
Sputtering, Sokka whispers his denial. "Who says I want a chance with her?! I'd be happier if she just left us altogether!"
Katara snorts. "Oh, please. Half the reason you're acting like this is 'cause you think she's pretty. You talk about being such a ladies' man but when you're actually faced with a beautiful girl you end up teasing her like a little kid."
Sokka turns red at her words, his face screwing up indignantly. "I do not!"
"Yeah, sure. That's why you also keep staring at her whenever you think no one's looking," Katara smirks knowingly.
At her words, Sokka turns an even deeper shade of red. "No, I don't! I – I'm just keeping an eye on her because she might be a fire nation spy!"
"Whatever you want to tell yourself," Katara laughs as she jogs ahead, leaving Sokka to fume in embarrassment.
Shannon's POV
"And that's where my friends and I would play airball," Aang explains as he shows us around the Air Temple. I can't help the smile on my face as he points at each new area with excitement.
It is kind of glanced over in the series, but the Southern Air Temple is outstandingly magnificent. I've never seen anything so tranquil and historic. Something about this place feels somewhat familiar as well – it feels homey. Weirdest of all, I feel like I'm being called by it, more specifically, by a large building at the very top of the mountain.
As I stare up at the mysterious structure, goosebumps erupt on my skin and my ears are filled with an odd ringing.
"Shannon?" Sokka asks, concern in his voice. "Are you alright?"
Blinking away the fogginess in my head, I nod, rubbing my arms as I turn back to Sokka in surprise. He is the last person I expected to check up on me, let alone with such a worried look on his face.
"Yeah. . . just peachy," I say with a hesitant smile. "It's just. . . this place. Doesn't it feel different somehow? Like it's alive somehow?"
Sokka eyes me with renewed concern, as though I was speaking in tongues. "I'm sorry, did you just say it feels alive? This place is deserted. There's no sign of life anywhere."
Pursing my lips, I lay my hand on a withered tree, the bark coarse against my hand. "I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking it. . ."
"You're probably just hungry," Sokka decides, waving off my concern. His words are so out of the blue that I can't help the laughter that bubbles up in my throat. That is possibly the most Sokka answer I could have expected.
Sokka stares at me as I collapse in a fit of giggles, clutching at my sides as I struggle to speak. "Oh my god! Do you ever think of anything else besides food?" I cry with tears in my eyes.
Sokka glares at me with pink cheeks, his eyes flashing. "Of course I do! Stop laughing at me!" But his words just make me laugh even harder.
"You know you're just proving me right about Aang being more evolved, right?" I taunt, mirth filling my chest. This is the hardest I've laughed in ages, even back in my own world.
"Ugh – you see! This is what I mean!" Sokka cries out, throwing his arms in the air. "Why Katara keeps insisting that you're so sweet when all you do is – "
"Calm down, Sokka," I laugh, shoving him gently. "I'm only teasing. Your reactions are just too funny. It's cute."
"Oh. . ." Sokka blinks in surprise, the outrage in his features disappearing as he considers me carefully.
Comfortable with the silence, I glance around at the buildings around us before focusing back on Aang, unaware of the faint blush that adorns Sokka's cheeks.
" – and over there is where the bison would sleep, and. . ." Aang travels off with a sigh, his eyes glancing around forlornly.
"What's wrong?" Katara asks, noticing his sudden silence.
"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds. I can't believe how much things have changed," he admits sadly.
Seeing his small form breaking, I frown, knowing that this is just the beginning. Beside me, Sokka and Katara watch him in silence, as though unsure how to comfort him. After a few minutes of deafening silence, I glance at them in confusion. Isn't Sokka supposed to try to cheer him up right now?
Frowning, I nudge Sokka pointedly in the side with my elbow – admittedly a little too gruffly.
"Hey! Why'd you – " Sokka begins to exclaim before seeing the look on my face as I motion towards Aang. Understanding dawning on his face, he approaches the young boy cheerfully. "So uh, this airball game. How do you play?"
At his word's Aang's eyes light up and he leads us down to the airball court, chattering about the rules of the game. As we do, Sokka glances back at me with a reluctant smile and nods in thanks, appreciative for helping Aang cheer up. Smiling, I mouth a 'good job' as he turns back around. I continue to watch his back as we go, playing our conversation back over in my head, unaware of Katara's eyes on me.
"You know, you should really stop staring at my brother like that," she chimes as she saddles up next to me, making me jump.
"Wh–what? I'm not staring!" I deny as I tear my eyes away from said boy and flush, my face betraying me.
"Yeah, and I'm a platypus-bear," she grins. "I have to say though, you really have poor taste. You are way too pretty for him."
Swallowing nervously, I turn away. ". . . It's really not like that," I try to explain. "He's just funny. . . and kinda cute. . ."
Katara's face curls in disgust as she eyes me in dubious concern. "Ugh! How?!"
Seeing her expression I laugh loudly. "Would it be easier to understand if I said I am weak to blue eyes?"
"By that logic, you think I'm cute, too," Katara smirks, thinking she's found a flaw in my argument. Inwardly I laugh at her naivete.
"What would you say if I said I do?" I smirk back with innuendo. "I never said I was only interested in guys."
Not expecting my answer, Katara blushes deeply as though confused by my words. "Wait – what?! I – I mean – "
"Calm down girl," I grin, waving her off. "I'm just playing. I know you've got Aang and I'd never get between you two like that. Besides, as weird as it sounds, your brother is more my type – not that I'd ever make a move on him either, I guess," I admit, frowning at the thought. That was one of the downfalls of knowing the plot of ATLA – I know exactly who ends up with who, and the one who ends up with Sokka is decidedly not me.
Katara blinks at me in confusion with subtle annoyance. "Aang is not my boyfriend! And what do you mean you won't make a move on him? Did he say something to you? Because I swear if he said one more sexist, idiotic thing – "
"No, no, nothing like that," I cut her off, eyeing her brother forlornly as we watch the two boys try to play airball. "It's just that his destiny is with someone else," I reveal mysteriously, turning to Katara with a conflicted grin.
Katara's face screws up in confusion as she considers my words, but before she can respond, Sokka is hit with a ball in the stomach and comes flying at us, landing harshly in the snowbank.
Up on the court, Aang smiles broadly, calling out, "Aang, seven! Sokka, zero!"
Laughing under our breaths, Katara and I approach a frustrated Sokka, who is watching us with betrayed eyes.
"Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt," Sokka complains as he struggles to sit up, but as he does his eyes widen at the object he finds at his feet, half-hidden in the snow. "Guys, come check this out. . ." He says gravely, his voice low.
My heart lurches. I had been having so much fun with everyone, I had forgotten this part.
"Fire Nation. . ." I mutter, staring down at the object sullenly.
Hesitantly, I reach down and brush away a bit of the snow, revealing the fiery colors as the iciness of the metal burns my skin. Tears prick at my eyes not from the pain, but when I consider how horribly terrifying it must have been for the people living here when they were ambushed. When watching the series I had been sad for them, but now it is different. In the show, they were fiction – no one had actually died. But now. . . These people were real . They were alive . They had laughed and played and loved. . . They were Aang's family. And now they were dead, violently murdered at the hands of the fire nation.
Suddenly everything felt so much more real – the war, the people around me. . . I have been so focused on my own problems I haven't taken the time to recognize that the events happening around me are real. The people are real. The pain they feel is real.
Feeling overwhelmed, I bite my lips, grimacing as I struggle to force down the sob that threatens at my throat. Shame and embarrassment eat at me, causing me to shake softly in the snow.
Seeing my wavering figure, Katara places a hand on my shoulder, her eyes mirroring the sorrow I feel. Unbeknownst to me, Sokka gauges my reaction, searching for any kind of deception in my actions. After a moment he furrows his brows and sighs, conflicted and guilty.
"We should tell him," he murmurs as he tears his gaze away from my fragile figure.
Nodding, Katara turns and calls for him. "Aang! There's something you need to see."
Rising to my feet, I wipe at the stray tears in my eyes and try to compose myself. Feeling eyes on me, I glance up and catch Sokka watching me and I blush, embarrassed by my tears. Turning away in discomfort, I watch as Aang approaches joyfully, but before he reaches us, Katara turns and waterbends the snow to conceal the helmet – and Sokka by default.
"What is it?" Aang asks in confusion as he observes the scene in front of him: a red and teary me, and Sokka, buried in the snow.
Flustered, Katara glances at me before answering. "Uh. . . well, Sokka was being mean to Shannon again and – and made her cry. . . so I tried a new waterbending move. . . to get back at him?" She trails off awkwardly.
Her words make me pause and tilt my head in confusion. Her trying to lie in real life is horrendous. Not only is it completely unbelievable, but it is also positively painful. I swear she wasn't this bad on TV, but for whatever reason Aang seems to go along with it.
"Nice one! And Sokka, you should really be nicer to Shan. She's a good person," he admonishes, glancing at the half-buried boy, who shoots a glare at his sister. "But enough practicing," Aang continues, motioning around gleefully. "We have a whole temple to see!"
As he runs off, Sokka rises to his feet, brushing the last of the snow from his head and shoulders. "You know, you can't protect him forever."
At his words, Katara and I share a sad look before she walks after Aang, leaving me alone with a stern Sokka as we follow behind.
After a moment, Sokka turns to me. "Firebenders were here. We can't pretend they weren't."
I clench the ends of my jacket, my knuckles turning white from the strain. "We have to – for Aang's sake. If he finds out that the Fire Nation invaded his home, what they did to his people – his family. . . he'll be devastated," I state, tears pricking at my eyes once more. Half of me wants to pack everyone up on Apps and leave, but I also know that this is an important event in his journey. Even so. . .
"Hey guys!" Aang suddenly shouts, making us jump. Glancing up ahead, we find said airbender and Katara standing in front of a statue of a monk. I state up at the familiar statue, knowing the man's identity before Aang reveals it.
"I want you to meet somebody!," Aang says proudly, motioning towards the said statue.
"Who's that?" Sokka asks, staring up at the older man curiously.
"Monk Gyatso! The greatest airbender in the world. He taught me everything I know," Aang explains reverently, bowing respectfully towards the statue and staring up at it fondly.
Katara reaches out and places a gentle hand on Aang's shoulder. "You must miss him."
"Yeah," Aang says forlornly. After a moment, he walks away, me being in the direction of the building that has been calling to me since we got here.
"Where are you going?" Katara asks in surprise, glancing momentarily back at Sokka and me.
Aang pauses on the steps to look back at us. "The air temple sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet."