Hello, everyone~~! Welcome to Chapter two of 'For You, I Will'! I'd like to thank the people who reviewed the last chapter. Sorry it took so long, you guys, like I said; "More reviews make me update faster" and hardly anyone reviewed...So, that's why this is late. But I hope you enjoy it none the less!
Chapter Two:
The Boy in the Iceberg
It had been many a moon since the raid, Chou concluded. The war had become worse over the time that had passed and Hakoda was preparing to leave. Sokka was preparing to leave as well, wanting to fight alongside his father. He finished putting on his war paint and grabbed his things, turning to come face to face with Chou. His eyes widened slightly.
"Chou…!" He gasped. Her expression was heartbroken as she stared at him with aquamarine orbs.
"Where are you going, Sokka?" She asked softly. He sucked it up and turned serious.
"I'm going to go fight with Dad in the war." He answered. She frowned and bit her lip. Sokka's heart jumped into his throat. He hated it when Chou was upset.
"But, what about Gran-Gran? And Katara?" She paused and whimpered, "What about me, Sokka?"
"I'm sorry, Chou. But I'm a Southern Water Tribe warrior and I have to go with my Dad." He told her and moved around her, going to join his father. Chou watched him leave and looked down, walking away.
Sokka made his way to his father, holding his equipment close in his bag. Hakoda looked over and frowned, walking towards his son.
"Sokka…" He sighed. The young warrior frowned softly.
"I'm coming with you." He told him. Hakoda frowned more.
"You're not old enough to go to war, Sokka, you know that." Hakoda told him. Sokka tried not to whimper.
"I'm strong, I'm brave! I can fight! Please, Dad!" He begged. Hakoda placed his hand on his son's shoulder.
"Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most. And for you, right now, that's here protecting your sister. And Chou as well." Hakoda stated. Sokka then felt even worse for what he said to Chou and he frowned even more.
"But, I don't understand…" He whimpered. Hakoda smiled faintly.
"Someday you will. I'm going to miss you so much." He said as he hugged his son tightly. Sokka held onto his father as tears streamed down his cheeks. Hakoda pulled away and pat his son's head, "Go on, Sokka. I want to say good bye to Katara and Chou before I leave." He said. Sokka nodded and ran off in search for the two. He peeked into the hut and found Katara and Chou huddled close together. Katara looked up and Sokka nudged his head.
"Come on, Dad wants to say good bye to you both before he heads out." He informed. Katara nodded and took Chou's hand, having Sokka lead the way. When they arrived at the shore, Hakoda was waiting with a gentle smile. He made his way towards them and hugged Katara tight.
"I'm gonna miss you, Dad!" Katara whimpered. He smiled and pet her head.
"I'll miss you, too, Katara. Help your brother take care of the tribe for me." He told her. She nodded and Hakoda turned to Chou. She kept her gaze down and he lifted her chin so she could look at him.
"Chou, it's been only a couple of years since you've joined the tribe. But, not a day goes by that I don't regret finding you. You are an official member of the Southern Water Tribe and we are more than happy to have you with us." He told her. She smiled faintly and hugged him tight.
"Please, be careful, Koda. I don't want anything happening to you." She said. He smiled and hugged her back.
"I swear that I'll be safe and back home soon, Chou. As long as you promise to be safe as well." He replied. She nodded vigorously and he rubbed her back. Pulling away, he smiled proudly at the three, "You three are the pride of the Water Tribe. Don't let me down." He said. They nodded and Hakoda turned as he was called to leave. He smiled and waved to them one last time before leaving with the others. Sokka watched the ships sail away and he felt an empty feeling pang deep in his heart. Chou looked down and turned, walking away. Katara looked back at her, worried.
"Chou?" She asked. The young girl just made a small noise.
"I'm gonna go home…" She muttered. Katara frowned and looked to her brother, scowling.
"Chou told me what you said to her, Sokka. That wasn't nice!" She stated. Sokka looked down.
"I know. I really think I should apologize for being an idiot."
"I think you should too!" She said. Sokka nodded and turned.
"But first! I gotta get this paint off my face." He stated. Katara put her hands on her hips and shook her head at him.
Two years. Two years had gone by since Hakoda and the others left. Sokka had taken being temporary leader too seriously, making him turn out to be a bit of a jerk. Over the time span, Gran-Gran would tell stories about a time with peace between the four Nations and how the Avatar was the only one who could restore the peace that once reigned over the land. Over the two years, Chou had tried desperately to regain her lost memories. But so far, she couldn't remember a thing. This not only saddened her, but the others as well.
Chou was busy helping Gran-Gran and the other women when Sokka and Katara approached her. She looked up and smiled, "Hey! Where you guys going?" She asked. Sokka jerked his thumb behind him boredly.
"We're gonna go fishing. We'll be back soon." He answered. Chou smiled and nodded.
"Ok! Be careful you two! And get us lots of fish!" She said. Sokka waved as he and Katara walked off.
"Can do!" He called. Chou smiled faintly and shook her head as she went back to work. She finished everything and went to go spend time with Gran-Gran. She sat down and sighed softly.
"He never takes me fishing…" She muttered. Gran-Gran looked and smiled softly.
"Who? Sokka?" She asked. Chou nodded and Gran-Gran chuckled.
"He's a man, Chou. He's like that." She stated. She made a noise as she poked at the fire with a stick.
"He takes Katara fishing. But not me…" She grumbled. Gran-Gran chuckled more and went back to what she was doing. Chou frowned and brought her knees close to her chest, sighing softly.
"Gran-Gran? Have you noticed anything different about Sokka lately? Like the way he's been acting?" She asked. The old woman looked over her shoulder and gave a thoughtful look.
"Like, what do you mean?"
"I mean that Sokka has been really mean to women lately. Like he turned sexist or something. He treats me and Katara like all we're good for is keeping everything clean and making food." She muttered. Gran-Gran frowned slightly.
"Sokka is going through a hard time. He wants to be a good leader like his father. So I can understand if that's the reason he's acting like that." Gran-Gran stated. Chou made a noise and Gran-Gran pat her head, "Give him time, child. He'll grow out of it." She reassured. Chou made a noise.
"I hope so, Gran-Gran…" She said softly. Gran-Gran frowned and went back to what she was doing. Surely, she'd need to have a talk to her grandson on how to treat women.
After a little while, Chou waited at the shore for Sokka and Katara to return. She waited and waited until it grew dark. She began to worry; she could tell when she caught herself Waterbending a small wave. She stopped and sat down in the snow, drawing small pictures with her finger.
"Sokka…where are you?" She muttered. She continued to wait, fighting the sleep that tried to crawl over her senses. Gran-Gran approached her and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. Chou tiredly looked to the old woman and Gran-Gran frowned.
"You should come home and get some sleep, dear." She instructed. Chou frowned.
"But I have to wait for Sokka and Katara…" She answered. Gran-Gran shook her head.
"You'll get sick if you stay out here." She said. Chou frowned even more, "But…"
"No, Chou. Go home, they'll be back soon." She instructed. The young girl looked down and slowly stood, walking back to the hut. She slipped inside and crawled into her sleeping bag, not caring that she was still in her normal clothes. She closed her eyes and sleep blanketed her senses swiftly.
She awoke when she heard the crunching of snow outside her hut. She sat up and rubbed her eyes as someone entered her home. She lit a lantern and saw it was Sokka. She smiled tiredly.
"There you are…! I was so worried…" She told him. He made a noise and she frowned.
"What's wrong?" She asked. He sighed.
"We found someone while out fishing, which, by the way, we caught no fish! Katara made me bring him home." He replied. She blinked.
"You're upset over company?" She asked. Sokka fumed.
"He could be a spy for the Fire Nation!" He stated. Chou frowned slightly.
"I highly doubt that. The Fire Nation has no need to bother us anymore…" She told him. He eyed her, anger burning softly in his blue orbs.
"Did you forget that you and Katara have magic water?"
"It's Waterbending, Sokka, not magic water…" Chou corrected. He shook his head.
"Whatever! The Fire Nation could find out and take you away! …A-And Katara, too!" He stated, his cheeks slightly flushed. Chou blushed softly and looked away.
"Well, I'd like to meet this so called 'spy'…" She said, getting up. She walked out and meandered over to Katara and a young boy.
"Katara!" She called. The two turned and Katara smiled.
"Chou! I want you to meet someone!" She replied. She motioned to the boy, who waved softly, "Chou, this is Aang. We found him in an iceberg. He's an Air Nomad…!" Katara introduced. Chou smiled warmly at him.
"It's wonderful to meet you, Aang!"
"It's nice to meet you, too, Chou! Wow…!" Aang blinked and Chou raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?" She asked. Aang smiled.
"You have such pretty eyes! I've never seen such a color before!" He stated. Chou blinked when something clicked in the far reaches of her mind.
"Your daughter has such beautiful eyes. How did they get to be such a color?"
"I'm not sure. But they just make her even more beautiful…"
"Chou?"
"Huh?" Chou shook from her daze and blinked at them. Aang and Katara both looked worried. She smiled, "I'm fine! Don't worry!" She reassured. They nodded and they began to talk to Gran-Gran. Chou held her forehead and groaned softly. Someone touched her shoulder and she looked. Sokka seemed somewhat concerned, "Are you ok?" He asked. She nodded softly.
"Just a small headache…Don't worry…" She muttered. He nodded and went over to the others. She watched from a distance as Aang explained that his staff could turn into a Glider and he opened it, revealing the orange kite-like wings to everyone.
"I can bend the air around my Glider and allows me to fly!" He explained. Sokka scowled.
"Last I checked, people can't fly!" He retorted. Aang smirked and prepared his Glider.
"Check again!" He stated and burst into the air, flying around like it was the easiest thing in the world. Chou watched amusedly as he flew around, only to slam into one of Sokka's watch towers. Sokka gasped and Katara ran over to help Aang.
"That was amazing!" She stated. Sokka darted over and tried to fix his tower.
"My watch tower…!" He whimpered. Aang stood and spun his Glider, closing it. Snow fell from Sokka's tower and landed on him, burring him in snow. He popped out of the snow and scowled.
"Great. You're an Airbender, Katara and Chou are Waterbenders! Together you can just waste time all day long…" He huffed before pulling himself out of the snow. Aang looked back to Chou and grinned widely.
"You're a Waterbender? And you, too, Katara?" He asked. Chou forced a meek smile through her headache.
"Not exactly, but we can do a little bit…" She answered. Gran-Gran took Katara's hand.
"Alright, no more fun. Come on, Katara, you have chores to do." She said as she pulled the young girl off. Sokka gathered up the boys and took them to the wall to train them. Chou decided to watch, as she always did, finding it cute to see Sokka train four-year-olds to be men.
"Now men, it's important you show no fear when you face a Firebender. In the Water Tribe, we fight until the last man standing, for without courage, how could we call ourselves men?" Sokka told them. The young boys stared at him and Chou giggled softly behind her hand. Sokka shot her a look and she stopped, looking away as she played with her hair. He nodded in approval and went back to the boys. They stared at him more until one of them raised their hands, "I gotta pee!" He stated. Sokka huffed.
"Listen! Until your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe! And that means no potty breaks!" He stated. The boy frowned.
"But I really gotta go…" He said. Sokka sighed.
"Ok…Who else has to go?" He asked. They all suddenly raised their hands and Sokka smacked his forehead with his hand. Chou giggled madly and Sokka shot her a look. She smiled and waved gently, making him huff. Katara walked over to Sokka and nudged him.
"Have you seen Aang? Gran-Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago!" She said. They heard shuffling a few feet away and looked. Aang crawled out of a small igloo and grinned at the kids that walked up.
"Wow! Everything freezes in there!" He stated, making the kids laugh. Sokka growled.
"Katara, get him out of here! This lesson is for warriors only!" He stated and tried to walk away, only to stop when the kids were using Appa's tail as a ski jump. Sokka growled more and ran over.
"Stop it! Stop it right now! We don't have time for fun and games with the war going on!" He hissed. Aang blinked and jumped down.
"What war?" He asked, "What are you talking about?"
"You're kidding right?" Sokka asked, scowling. Aang turned his attention to something in the distance and gasped.
"PENGUIN!" He shouted. They turned and saw a Penguin-Otter in the distance. It jumped and tried its best to run away. Aang darted after it at lightning speed and the three stared at him in bewilderment. Sokka glanced to Chou and Katara.
"He's kidding…right?" He asked. Katara glanced at him and Chou shrugged. Katara decided to go after him and Chou crossed her arms, smirking. Sokka looked to her and scowled.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing~! I just think that maybe Katara likes Aang. But~! That's just me~!" She sang and walked off. Sokka chased after her and she squeaked, running away.
"Sokka! What the heck!"
"C'mere, dang it!" He yelled. She laughed as she continued running from him. They both stopped when they saw a flare light up the afternoon sky and they stared at it. Sokka growled and clenched his fists, "I knew it! He was a spy for the Fire Nation!" He growled. Chou frowned and touched his shoulder.
"Sokka, I'm sure it's something else…" She told him. He glared softly.
"No! I know its Aang! He's signaling the Fire Nation!" He hissed. He ran off to tell the villagers and Chou frowned as another headache pounded like a war-drum in her head.
I know it's not Aang…He's too innocent to be a Fire Nation spy… She thought. She then sighed and started following Sokka.
"But Sokka's too thick headed to believe me…" She muttered.
Thank you for reading chapter two! Like I said last time, the more reviews, the faster the next chapter comes out~! And like I said last time, I will use all flames to train my Firebending. So, see you again next time~~!