A/N: I'm disappointed that I didn't get a single review from the prologue and the first chapter. I barely got anybody reading this story at all. Is it really that bad. I think it is better written than my other story, Fractured Fire Princess, and that story gets a lot of love. Please leave a review good or bad. I've already got over 50 pages typed and I'd hate to abandon it due to failure. Tell me what you like don't like or what you'd like to see happen.

Chapter 2

I faded in and out of consciousness as they treated my arm. I remember snippets of frantic shouting from sources I was too out of it to recognize. I know it was pain that kept bringing me back because at one point someone put a leather strap in my mouth to bite on. I remember vividly the pain of when Gran-gran cleaned my arm with alcohol. The sudden and searing pain was enough to clear the fog from my mind for a short time. When she poured the liquid on my arm it burned like fire and I let out a blood curdling scream and tears flowed freely from my eyes.

Apart from Gran-gran cleaning my arm everything else is less clear and mostly muddled up in my head. I do remember that I had my head resting in Karra's lap and that she was gently rubbing my face and hair with her soft fingertips in a way that my mom used to when I was a little girl.

The smell and sizzle of meat being cooked woke me from my slumber. I sat up and instantly regretted it. My head was pounding and I got light-headed. After a few seconds my vision cleared and I began taking my surroundings in. I was on my bed, or more accurately my pile of furs, and all I had on was my trousers and chest bindings. My hair was matted to my sweat soaked face. I noticed my arm was tightly wrapped in white bandages and there were a few spots red where my blood soaked through. I let out a moan as much for the pain as for my current situation.

"Sokka! You're awake!" Karra shouted and before I could blink she had rushed over and enveloped me in a crushing hug.

"Karra, can't breathe." I squeaked out.

"Oh, sorry." She said blushing fiercely.

"You've been out two days. You me...us worried." Karra said after a few quiet moments.

"Two days! I was out for two days." I exasperated.

"Sokka you lost a lot of blood we thought we lost you a couple of times." Karra said her voice and eyes full of sadness. Her face contorted into an angry scowl and she punched me hard in the shoulder. "Don't you ever scare me like again. What were you thinking trying to take on the alpha wolf." She chided me angrily. I wasn't going to point out that it wasn't my fault that wolf decided to attack me and use my left forearm as a chew toy.

"I'm sorry, what can I say? Hero complex." I said sarcastically and shrugged my shoulders. Karra dropped her head to hide her smile and punched me again for good measure.

"Sokka dear, you're finally awake...and pale as a ghost." Gran-gran's voice went from relief to concern and that had me worried. Normally Gran-gran is calm in any situation. For her voice to take that tone I knew it was serious.

Gran-gran knelt in front of me and felt my forehead. "You're burning up." She then grabbed my injured arm and brought it to her nose and sniffed. Her face scrunched up at the smell. "And your wound is infected."

Gran-gran looked to Karra and told her to get her apprentice, Hannah, and to make sure she brought her bag.

"This is going to be very painful my dear. Here bite down on this." She said as she handed me that same thick leather strap from the other night. I nodded and put it in my mouth.

Gran-gran unwrapped my arm. The wounds were infected and seeping and the cloth was almost fused with the wound. Gran-gran gave a sharp tug at each spot the cloth was fused to rip out the cloth. Every tug was an explosion of pain and I screamed into the leather strap as I bit down on it. I was crying freely now and my shoulders shook with a combination of pain and sobs. Gran-gran kept saying; "Hold on were almost done" and "You're doing a good job." and "I'm sorry cub."

Karra returned with Hannah and as soon as she was by my side I wrapped my free arm around her and cried into her shoulder. Karra being the good friend she is she wrapped me in her arms and soothed me with her gentle words and touch.

Gran-gran and Hannah cleaned my wounds again and they had to cut away some of the infected flesh. Karra held me tight. She was as much keeping me from squirming as comforting. My wounds were packed with some sort of paste and my arm was rewrapped.

I slept most of the next week as I had a high fever from the infection, but I slowly began to recover. My wounds were still painful and if I tried to do too much with my arm the scabs would crack and bleed, but the infection was gone. Gran-gran, Karra, and Katara would change my bandages several times a day and I cried nearly every time for the first week.

The beginning of the second week Gran-gran let me start doing some things around the village. Lying around not doing anything that first week drove me crazy and when Gran-gran let me leave our little abode I was giddy as a little girl. I mostly helped Katara with her chores, but I did start making something out of the alpha wolf's pelt. I decided to make a hunter's head-dress out of the head and neck. The rest I made into a summer parka for Karra as a gift for putting up with me and my wounds.

I think by the end of the second week I was driving all the other women crazy. I wasn't very good at domestic stuff. I think I ruined three pots of sea-prune stew before they stopped trying to make me cook it. I couldn't tell you how many loads of laundry I botched and had to do over again. I was made for building weapons and tools and going hunting.

"I want to go hunting with you so bad." I said to Karra as I moped around helping her load her sled.

"You know Kanna would kill me if I let you come hunting with me. Besides with your arm still injured you can barely pull back your bow let alone steady it enough to get a clean shot off."

"I know. It's just Gran-gran is making me take Katara out fishing. She said it'd be good for Katara and I to go out together and do some bonding. Do you remember the last time we went fishing with Katara?" I bemoaned.

"How could I forget? You were soaked and miserable the whole time and it was one of the few times I had fun in this miserable place." Karra said laughing at the memory.

"Hey Karra, I want to thank you for helping to take care of me the last couple of weeks. I know it can't be easy to deal with me being a cry baby."

"Oh, it was nothing Sokka, you're my best friend. I'd do anything for you."

"Here I made this for you." I said as I handed her the summer parka I made for her. "It's a summer parka. I made it from the pelt of the alpha wolf that bit my arm."

"Oh, Sokka, it's beautiful. You didn't need to do this for me."

"I don't think I would've made it if it wasn't for you." I said solemnly.

Karra pulled me into her arms and thanked me for the parka.

"This is only going to be a short hunting trip. I'm only going seal hunting. I'll be back tomorrow. A day with Katara would be good for the both of you."

I let out a long sigh in resignation. "You're probably right. I don't spend nearly enough time with my baby sister."

o0o0o0o0o0o

Fishing with Katara was every bit as horrible as I thought it would be. All she did was drone on and on about me not acting like a girl and how I was too tomboyish for my own good. She was so stubborn and irrational that even after I explained how the customs work in our tribe, she didn't quit. The customs say that if a family bore two girls the first born is to take on the role of the warrior/hunter as if she were born male. What made matters worse was how her words cut me. She didn't know it, but I was jealous of her early developed womanly curves. Her shapely figure was sure to get her attention when the men of the village returned. I on the other hand never really developed those curves. I was too skinny and what wasn't too skinny was too muscular. Chasing down game in the tundra for days on end with meager rations tended to keep me underweight. Add that to all the packing and hauling and lifting I'm forced to do, I tended to build muscles in areas unfitting for women.

I was looking in the water for fish and I noticed our reflections. I studied my face, then hers and it made me even more jealous. Her skin was soft and the lines on her face were delicate and her lips full and beautiful. My skin was rough from the elements, the lines on my face hard and my lips were chapped and dull. The only thing I had on her were my eyes, even so mine were hardened from a rough life. Katara's, while they're not as pretty as mine, were warm and kind and filled with naïve hope and optimism. Of course that happens when you're the favored and sheltered child of the family, the whole tribe for that matter.

I broke out of my sulking when I spotted a large fish swimming beside the kayak.

"Katara, there are fish right by the kayak. Let me show you how to use a spear for fishing." I whisper.

I secure the rope to my spear and get in position to strike the fish when suddenly I hear Katara shouting something. "Katara quiet you'll scare the fish." I hiss at her as the fish starts flee.

The fish was still in striking distance and I brought my spear back to strike when suddenly cold water dumped on my head and neck and rolled down my back. I shrieked at being suddenly being soaked in ice-cold water.

I turned and glared daggers at Katara. "Why is it that every time you waterbend around me I end up with freezing water dumped on me? Now, thanks to you, the fish got away!" I shouted at her.

"Well I had a fish until you popped the water bubble with your spear." She yelled back.

"Well we're spear fishing, not waterbending fishing. Ugh, why can't you keep your weird waterbending to yourself?"

"It's not weird waterbending it's-

"I know it's a sacred art and a part of our heritage." I cut her off.

I was about to continue my rant when our kayak got pulled into a strong current. I grabbed the paddle to try to steer away from the ice slabs that were also getting pulled into the current. The current pulled us towards a narrow passage between two icebergs. The ice field squeezed us in and we started bouncing off of the ice blocks. I heard Katara yelling at me to go left as if I had any control as it was. The kayak got trapped between two sheets of ice and I grabbed Katara and pulled her out of the kayak onto an ice sheet just as the kayak was crushed between the ice sheets.

"You call that left?" She shouted at me. I was in extreme pain from my arm, but I was too mad to pay it any mind and I yelled back;

"Well maybe you should have waterbended us out."

"So you're saying this is my fault?" She shouted back.

"I knew I shouldn't have gone fishing. I wanted to go hunting with Karra." I yelled. I saw the hurt in her eyes before it turned to fury.

"You're the most selfish, immature, insensitive, tomboy I've ever known. I'm embarrassed to be your sister. Ever since mom left I've been doing all the work while you've been following Karra around playing hunter." She kept yelling, but I tuned her out when her arm movements started to crack the ice of the ice berg. Her rage was destroying the iceberg and it's enough to distract me from the hurt of her words and replace it with a fear of what her tirade was going to do.

The iceberg started to fall apart and its destruction caused a large wave that pushed our ice sheet violently. I caught Katara and kept her from falling off the ice sheet as it nearly tipped over.

"Alright you've gone from weird to freakish Katara." I said when we stopped moving.

"I...I did that?" she asked in awe.

Before I could retort the water started to glow where the iceberg used to be. I looked closer and panicked as I saw whatever was glowing rushing towards the surface of the water. I grabbed Katara and laid on top of her as the glowing orb surfaced and nearly tipped our ice sheet over.

After our little ice sheet settled I took a look at the giant glowing ice orb. Inside appeared to be a person and something else much larger. Katara crept to the edge of the ice and peered at the floating orb. Katara let out a gasp when the person opened glowing eyes. I grabbed Katara by the shoulders and clutched her to my chest protectively.

"There's a boy in there. We have to do something." Katara exclaimed as she snatched the club I had strapped to my back and raced towards the glowing ice.

"Katara wait, we don't know if it's safe." I yelled as I chased after her.

Katara began swinging my club into the orb and causing it to crack. With one final determined swing the ice orb burst open sending a rush of air that knocked Katara and I down and pushed us several feet on the ice. I held onto Katara during the whole slide and when we came to a stop I came to regret it as my left arm burst in agony. This whole ordeal had been far too much strain on my still to fresh wounds.

Katara's gasp pulled my mind from the pain in my arm. I followed her gaze to see a boy with glowing eyes and tattoos standing on the crest of what used to be the orb. A nearly blinding beam of light was shooting in the air. 'Great nothing says 'hey Fire Nation over here' like an insanely bright light shooting in the sky.' I thought.

The boy's glowing and the light beam waivered and the boy collapsed. Katara rushed and caught him before he hit the ground. I retrieved my spear from a nearby ice sheet when I heard and excited boy's voice; "Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

"Um, sure." Katara responded.

The next thing I knew we were following the boy around the crater after he shouted the name 'Appa'. We turned around a bend to come in contact with a huge white furry creature with big black horns.

"Get back Katara." I yelled as I raised my spear to defend us from this enormous beast.

"This is Appa, my flying bison." The boy exclaimed.

"You'll have to forgive my sister, she's a little paranoid. My name is Katara and my sister is Sokka" Katara said.

"My name is-" The boy stopped mid sentence and sneezed. His sneeze sent him shooting in the air and strong wind blew in all directions.

"I'm Aang. Nice to meet you." The boy finished after he landed like nothing happened. My mouth hung open in shock at the boys display.

I pointed at the boy and then up in the air a few times trying to wrap my head around what I just saw. "You just sneezed and flew ten feet in the air" I said in shock.

"It felt higher to me." He said with a shrug.

"Wait, you're an Airbender." Katara said.

"Sure am." Aang replied.

"I think I'm still delirious from the infection. I'm going to go home and..." I stopped mid sentence when I looked out and saw the ice sheets had all drifted away leaving us stranded with a weird bald kid dressed like a monk and his giant beast.

"If you guys are stuck Appa and I can give you a ride back to your home."

"Oh, we'd love a ride thanks." Katara shouted and let Aang help her into a saddle that was on the beast's back.

"No! No we are not getting on that thing. Katara get down. We don't even know if that thing is safe."

"Well are you hoping some other safe thing will come along before you freeze to death?" Katara said smugly.

Before we knew it we were riding on the giant beast as it swam slowly towards the village. The slow trek back to the village gave me a chance to calm down from all the craziness that happened in the last few hours. As my nerves calmed the throbbing pain in my arm returned. I pulled my sleeve up to reveal my bandages were soaked through with blood. Today's events ripped open the wounds on my arm and I'd be lucky if the infection didn't set back in.

We made it to the village late that night. I jumped off the bison and hurried off to our home without as much as a good bye or good night to Katara or Aang.

I entered our igloo to find Gran-gran still awake and sitting by the fire.

"Gran-gran, I'm surprised you're still awake." I said

"I had a feeling you two would be showing up late. I wanted to make sure there was some food when you got home." Gran-gran said with a soft smile but I could see the worry in her eyes.

Gran-gran had a sense of foresight. She always seemed to know when something was going to happen.

"Gran-gran can you help me change my bandages. I kind of over did it a little." I said sheepishly.

I pulled my parka off and rolled up the sleeve on my tunic to give her access. When she saw the wrappings were mostly red she gasped and then gave me a quick glare. I returned her with a shrug and a guilty smile that said 'you know me'. She smirked and rolled her eyes before getting the supplies.

"You have a lot of explaining to do young lady." Gran-gran chastised me as she unwrapped my old bandages.

I hissed in pain when she tugged the wrapping free from sticking to my wounds. I let out a shaky breath before responding.

"You won't believe me if I told you." I replied. She gave me the 'look'.

I proceeded to tell her everything that happened. I had to stop a few times when the pain took my breath away. When I finished telling her the story she raised an eyebrow at me.

"I think you're still delirious from the infection." She said while feeling my face for a fever.

"That's what I said and I'm inclined to believe you. I'm going to go to bed and when I wake up hopefully things will make sense." I got up and kissed Gran-gran on the cheek and wished her a good night and dove into my furs, within a minute I was dead to the world.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of children squealing and laughing. I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach and buried my head under my furs to try and ward off the noise to no effect. I gave a growl of frustration and dragged myself out of bed. A cold draft hit me as Katara rushed in.

"Gran-gran come quick I want to introduce the village to Aang." Katara said with glee.

"Ugh, you mean everything that happened yesterday was real?" I groaned.

Katara looked at me wide-eyed. "Uh, Sokka don't you think you should put some clothes on?"

I looked down and noticed I was still in nothing but my chest bindings and a pair of sleeping trousers.

"Hey come on Katar-Ah!" Aang shouted as he barged in and saw me half dressed, and he quickly turned beet red.

I quickly hid behind the tiny curtain that gave my sleeping area some privacy. From the look on Aang's face I assumed I was the most skin the boy had ever seen from the opposite sex. It was a show I was not thrilled to give to a boy on the cusp of puberty. I peeked around the curtain and to my chagrin the boy was standing there stiff as a board with a stupid look of shock on his face.

"What the hell are you still doing in here?! Get! Out!" I shouted at him. His face flashed with fear and he bolted out.

"Don't the monks teach manners? Who walks into someone's house without knocking, I mean come on." I mumbled as I got dressed.

"Well you shouldn't be running around half naked." Katara countered.

"It's my house. I shouldn't have to worry about people barging in. Besides I just got up I didn't get a chance."

"You should have been up long before now anyways."

I looked to Gran-gran for some support but she just had a smirk on her face. She was clearly enjoying herself at my expense.

I scoffed threw up my hands. "Whatever."

Katara accepted that as my defeat and urged Gran-gran out to meet Aang. I finished getting dressed and followed them out after a few moments. I stepped out and my jaw dropped as I gazed upon the carnage this boy brought. My watch tower was nearly destroyed, the weapons rack was turned into a makeshift sled jump at the base of the ramp for the wall and don't even get me started at all the pelts that were ruined from being ripped off their tanning racks. Anger started building up in the pit of my stomach and I was two seconds from going off.

Aang was saved from my wrath by the distinct sound of sled dogs barking in the distance. I looked to the opening in the wall and saw Karra and her sled team nearing the village. I took off towards Karra. I needed to get away from the airbender and vent. I sprinted to her nearly tackled her in a hug when I reached her.

"Thank the spirits you're here, I'm about to lose my mind."

"What's wrong Sokka, what happened?"

"... and then I come out to find the watch tower completely destroyed and the village is in total chaos." I finished explaining my frustrations of yesterday and this morning. Karra's reaction ranged from skepticism to concern and now she's doubled over laughing hysterically.

"It's not funny! Do you know how hard I worked on that tower."

"I'm sorry, it's just….it's only you. I think the universe hates you." She said still laughing.

"Laugh it up chuckles. I'm making you help me fix the tower." I said sarcastically.

Once Karra got herself back under control we headed back into the village and I helped her kennel the dogs and we took to skinning the seal she got. Karra and I talked aimlessly while we worked for most of the morning and into the afternoon until I decided to damper the mood and address my concern with the arrival of the airbender.

"I saw that worried look in Gran-gran's eyes. I think that airbender is going to bring a heap of trouble on our heads and I think Gran-gran can sense it."

Just as I finished we heard a pop and a whistle off in the distance. I looked towards the noise and I saw a bright signal flair illuminating the air in the direction of the old Fire Navy ship.

"Oh shit." Karra and I said at the same time.

"This is bad. This is really bad." I said almost to myself.