.
Suddenly I See
Chapter Five
"I'm just tryin' to find my way. Tryin' to find my way,
Trying to find my way the best that I know how."
Hide and Seek
"What did you do with the boy?" A voice called out from the distance.
"We left him back in the clearing. There's no way he'll survive from the wound I gave him, sir."
No way he'd survive, eh? These goons were fools.
He had been so close to losing his breath from fighting off so many of them when they had simple stopped. And thank Spirits; it had seemed as though they would never stop. With ever slash of his sword he had hoped that there would be no new substitute for whomever he had – hopefully – just wounded. He hadn't been quite so lucky. There was a continuous flow of back-up and the constant movement of his sword and completely worn him out; again and again and again and again and again. Someone up there really didn't like him.
And suddenly a pain had shot through him like an electric current. His sword had fallen to the floor with a soundless clatter as he hastily covered his wound with his hand in a frantic attempt to cease the flow of blood. The sting of the wound was clear and sharp at the time; it had dulled some by now but that didn't stop the pain. It had been pretty darn deep. He really hadn't expected to have been hurt so easily – what a stupid assumption of his. He should never have overlooked their speed. He should never have been so careless. If he hand't allowed his mind to wonder then he wouldn't have ended up stuck in such a feeble state. But Toph…
One of the many masked men had shouted out for the others to abandon him there. An arm had been waved at the two closest to Sokka, one of them the attacker who had sliced his arm open in the first place. Damn him to hell.
And Sokka could still hear his words echoing in his ears;
"The girl will be enough. She's an ally of the Avatar's. and if he doesn't come for her straight away, well, she can be used as more than a hostage."
He had met the speakers gaze with a sinister glower then – it was the least he could do while being so vulnerable. He had received a smirk in return, he could tell from the creases in the enemy's mask. The bastard! Sokka knew only too well what he was planning to do and he did not like it. Not. One. Bit. He wouldn't let them get their grimy hands on Toph if he could help it. But when he had stepped forward, reached down for his sword desperately, they were gone by the time he'd mustered the strength to rise again. But in spite of the situation, he couldn't keep back a smirk. They hadn't noticed but it was going to be a simple task to follow them.
What did they know? They didn't know him. They had no idea who he was.
He peered down from the thick branch he was perched in, high above their camp, though low enough to see what was happening below and for their words to reach his ears, however faintly. There were only three of them… three of them and Toph.
"She's pretty," one of them commented offhandedly, inspecting her face with some sort of sick delight. Sokka snarled in disgust. He was ever-so grateful when Toph spat in the man's face.
"Piss off," she muttered.
He merely let out a cold, harsh laugh and pulled her head towards his, fingertip slipping under her chin and tilting it up. Face to face. "You watch your mouth to you might just say something you'll regret."
She tore her head away from him and turned it to the side. He could just make out the fear behind her eyes, no matter how thick the shell she hid behind was. Her mask faltered slightly but it was enough to keep her enemies at bay. At least for the moment. Her frown meant nothing to him when he could almost feel her apprehension. And Sokka felt it like a stab at his heart.
"The others haven't returned," their leader spoke up, before extending his fingers in two different directions. "You two, go after them." They left without a word, fading away and being swallowed up by the night. Sokka let out a sigh of relief. He could fight of one of them, possibly two if required, but three would have just been impossible. One wouldn't be too bad. It might be easy, even. Or maybe he was just being overconfident.
The man knelt down next to Toph, far too close for comfort; both hers and Sokka's. "You should know your place, girl," he sneered, "You don't want to make my men angry. Trust me."
When she didn't respond his face took the form of a scowl, eyes narrowed in displeasure. As his servant had done, he grabbed her chin and turned her to face him, leaning in closer. Their faces were inches apart. Centimetres apart. Millimetres. They were getting closer. Toph squirmed away from him as best as she could but it was in vain. Just what in Spirits name did he think he was doing?
"Get away from her."
Sokka yanked the enemy away from Toph by his collar, paying no attention to the struggle he made. When their eyes met he gained assurance from the slight look of bewilderment in the man's eyes. Sokka's burned fiercely down at him and he held his sword to the opponents neck without hesitation. He stumbled backwards and the scrambled quickly to his feet, fleeing the scene with haste. Sokka slid his sword back into its sheath and bent down to Toph's level, noiselessly untying the knots that bounded her in a matter of moments.
There was no need for them to exchange words when her gaze met his; her eyes said it all. She looked at him in such gratitude that he had to double take. Was this really Toph? He had rarely seen her vulnerable side. It almost made him love her even more.
And then he took her hand and ran.
"And ifI should fall, to the bottom of the end,
I'll be one step back to you."
.