Still don't own Avatar, although.. if I did, Toph and Sokka would've been canon. What you think? Not that I have anything against Suki though.
Okay, I realize that this chapter has nothing to do with the name of the story. Sorry. I honestly meant to just write a one shot of Sokka and Zuko training, but.. Toph invaded. (Typical writer's strategy; when questioned, blame the characters! Obviously. What else would you do; take them blame yourself? o-O) Ha.. I hope you enjoy it though.
Reply to reviewer.
guest: Thanks! Although this chapter may seem a little more serious than the previous due to reading a lot of more serious fanfictions between chapters. Hope you don't mind much.
Part Two:
Humorous vs Emotional
Sokka sighed. The talk with Toph hadn't gone over well and instead was mostly him just rambling, and her still in a daze. Eventually, he left her, and was now trying to find his sister.
There was a sudden shout down the hall he was traviling. There was another voice, and as he neared he recognized it belonging to Aang. "Please Katara, just lis-"
"No Aang! Just go! Leav-"
"No. I wont leave you." he said firmly, slightly surprising Sokka with the amount of strength behind those words. Sokka hid to the side of the open door as he continued listening. "You need to understand that this fight between you and Toph isn't going to-"
"I said get out!" Katara's shout was followed by a swoosh and whip followed by a yelp.
"Katara, I'm just trying to-" Aang pleaded.
With a wordless shout, Katara summoned all her water and shoved Aang with a mighty splash that threw him out of the room and against the hallway's opposing wall. The door slammed shut.
"Ow.." Aang muttered, rubbing his bruised head. Then he looked up. "Sokka?"
"Uh, hey Aang." he replied. There was a frustrated shout from within the room. "I came here after talking with Toph, but.. I think I'm going to wait a bit.
Aang looked at the closed door, then sighed and stood up. "That's probably best I guess."
Sokka nodded. "I'm going to wait here a few minutes before going in. You should go back now though and keep Zuko company." He offered a strained smile to the dazed Avatar.
"Yeah.. okay." Aang agreed, smiling back slightly before he started making his was down back where Sokka had just come from, one hand holding his head, the other used to lean against the wall. He probably had a small concussion. Katara never went that far, even on Zuko. The smile fell from his face.
After twenty minutes of sitting next to the door, both waiting for her to calm down some and for himself to regain a measure of his humor, he decided to go in. "So I saw you took it out quite.. physically there on Aang." he commented as he walked in.
Katara, who had been sitting with her back to the door, jumped to her feet and spun around. Her stance relaxed when she saw who it was, but her face was still irritated. "What do you want Sokka?" she asked.
"Um.. how about for you to not beat up your friends?" he asked, smiling. "It's not very nice." he added.
Katara stayed silent.
"We need to talk." Sokka said. "It's about what Toph did- but it was no big deal Katara-"
"It was a 'big deal' Sokka! That's what you-"
"Listen, you know she wouldn't have done anything fatal- and probably no maiming either." He gave a smile, but Katara wasn't phased by the humor.
"If she can do that, then so could any other earthbender." she muttered.
Sokka frowned and moved forward, taking Katara's chin and forcing her to look his in the eye. "Don't forget who your enemies are," he said. "We aren't fighting earth benders, Katara."
Katara swiped his hands away, and shoved his a few feet away. "We fought the Dai Li!"
"Yes, but they didn't encase anyone on rocks."
"They could've!"
"You don't know that; so far, Toph's the only one I've seen actually do that."
"What about when King Bumi put those 'creeping crystals' on us? The idea clearly isn't uncommon."
"Okay, first off- I am absolutely certain that King Bumi has many uncommon ideas," Sokka stated. "And second, Toph needed me to stay still long enough cover me with the rocks, right?" He wasn't actually sure if this was true or not.
She glared at him silently before turning her head and muttering, "I don't have time for this,"
"Why, because you have tons of things better to do than talk to me, your only brother?" he asked, ginning. Then, feigning emotional distress, he cried dramatically, "I'm hurt! No, I'm devastated!"
She glared at him. "I don't have time for your lame jokes!" she yelled. "I'm seriously upset, and you come in here spouting off whatever nonsense comes to mind- if you even have a mind! All you ever think about is meat and how to be the most of a nuisance as possible! Did you ever even think that I might want something more genuine than a dumb joke and a grin, or did you think I could just laugh and magically be fine? Isn't that what you do? Well not everyone can!"
Sokkas smile strained and his eyes hardened. He took a breath, then returned full force. "Haha! You caught me!" he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I guess you're right," he said cheerfully, hoping she didn't notice his clenched teeth. "I don't really have any real problems like you though, but still; nothing helps getting over being sad like becoming happy!" he declared dramatically, finally easing up on his jaw.
Katara breathed heavily and she glared at him. "Um.. Katara?" he squeaked, taking a step back. He mentally readied himself as she took what he recognized as a bending position.
A water whip suddenly shot out at him. He quickly sidestepped it, instinctively grabbing for it as it passed him. Unfortunately it was made of water and not rope, so his hands sunk into it. The water quickly gripped his hands and jerked him forward a step before he planted his feet in place, giving tug back. Katara was flung forward and into his chest. After losing her balance and concentration, her water splashed to the floor allowing Sokka to grip her in a hug.
She struggled trying to get out of it, but he was stronger. "It's okay Katara, no one's hurt. Everything's alright." he whispered, abandoning his humor completely.
She froze. After a moment, she slowly moved her arms, and Sokka loosened his grip enough for her to return his hug. "Sokka.. I almost bloodbended Toph when she had you attack Zuko.. it was just like what Hama did to you and Aang." she said, her voice incredibly small compared to the one used previously.
"No, it wasn't; not at all. Toph was just being her usual self, gaining amusement at others' expense." He gave a soft laugh. "I do the same you know."
Katara wasn't humored. "But she.. she-"
"What did she do?" Sokka asked, deciding a direct approach was best for once.
"She blood- well.. she did the equivalent of it."
"No. She didn't. I've been bloodbended before and I can personally guarantee that what Toph did felt a lot less weird- though admittedly more painful."
Katara looked up at him and blinked. "It.. wasn't the same?"
"Nope, nothing like it." he assured her with a slightly forced smile.
"..Oh."
She looked back down, and his smile became genuine as she sighed, the remainder of her anger and stress slipping away. They both let go of the other and took a step back. Then his smile turned into a smirk. "Of course.. you could always test it out yourse-"
The water rose and Sokka didn't try to dodge as it slammed into his cheek, spinning him in a full circle before he fell to his butt. "Ow!" he complained, glaring up at her.
Katara laughed. Sokka stood stiffly and turned around while pretending to be in pain and offended. Well.. the pain was genuine, but he exaggerated it. "Thanks Sokka." she said.
He hesitated, before relaxing. "No problem Sis."
He could hear the amusement in her voice. "Really Sokka? Sis?"
He paused, though still facing the door. "Then.. Sister?" he asked with a cocked head. "Oh, I know! Little sist- ow! Hey, you are my little sister!" He turned and gave one last sulking glare before huffily stomping out the doorway, slamming is shut behind him.
As soon as he was out of the room, Sokka sighed heavily to himself and leaned against the wall. Emotional talks were a really awkward and uncomfortable way of comforting people. Being funny and making jokes was much easier. Unfortunately, Katara reacted best with deep and meaningful conversations, so that's what he did. However, despite the strange process, the end was worth it. He smiled tiredly, stepping away from the wall and turning to head back to the common area. "Now if Toph-"
"Yes Snoozles?"
"Eep!" he screeched, jumping backwards a good five feet "You!"
"Me." she confirmed calmly.
After a second to recover, he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh nothing, just listening to the drama and feeling you and your sister get cuddly.
He paled. "Um.. well.. you see-"
"And also paying attention to your heart as you lied. Consistently." she added more seriously.
Sokka frowned. "I didn't lie." he said.
"Sure." she deadpanned. "Because you don't have troubles like your sister." she quoted him.
"That was only a small thing; I wasn't consistently lying." Sokka replied, starting to get irritated.
Toph sighed. "Not all lies are words Sokka."
He took a deep breath. "Not sure what your going on about Toph," he said cheerfully with a grin. Not that she saw it. "But I can assume you're here for Katara?"
Toph sighed again. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going."
A look of worry passed over her face that caused Sokka to soften some. "Hey, don't worry; she's feeling better." he said, putting a hand on her shoulder in support.
"I'm not worried!" Toph exclaimed, blushing slightly.
Sokka tried not to laugh. He really did. He failed. "Toph.. I can see your-" He stopped, staring at the cracks that suddenly spread under his feet. "Um.. I mean, uh.." His mind blanked.
Toph stepped passed him. "Coward." she whispered with a smile.
He turned and glared at her. "No, it's called not being stupid." he muttered. The cracks widened and he yelped, jumping away as a hole appeared. He stared as Toph reached for the door as if she hadn't just tried to stick him in the ground.
He considered another verbal retort to her physical action, but decided against it. Not that he was scared. He wasn't. It was because he wasn't stupid. Yeah.
Now, where was Zuko?
Alright, this chapter, as said above, doesn't really fit the name of the story; that will not be the case for the next one! So make sure to read it.. hint. Ha, I hope you enjoyed this chapter though, even if it's not what you clicked for. :P
What I did accomplish in this chapter is that you get a deeper look into Sokka's humor and how he uses it to maybe manipulate others.. but 'manipulate' is such a strong word.. you could also say that he tries to use humor persuasively in order to coax others into complying; but 'persuasively coaxing others into complying' is such a strong sentence. Hm.. oh, I know! Sokka uses his jokes and humor to keep the group together, often lightening the mood in tense situations, settling disagreements, and keeping them on the right path, as well as just for messing around. Yeah, that sounds better and more.. Sokka like, doesn't it? We'll go with that.
Anyways, about what happened in the chapter; Sokka failed at getting through to Toph, leading his to looking for his sister Katara. Hearing her voice, he watching Aang get thrown out of the room she holed herself up in. Angry about her hurting Aang, he waits to calm down, but his temper is tested again when speaking to her himself. He eventually talked and calmed down Katara, in the process of which, Toph over heard and knew that he was often lying while he talked to his sister. When confronted, he didn't consider it important so long as Katara and Toph got along again. He then set out after Zuko to continue his training.
