A/N: Here is the next chapter in the surprisingly unpopular story. I'm not sure I like the title so I'm going to have a little competition for who can give me the best title based on what you've read to this point. Also Please follow/review this story. Tell me what you like, don't like, and the like.

For the reviewer who said I need to change the animals to hybrids give me matches you think would work for the caribou(raindeer) and the other animals I mentioned. The sled dogs stay though, because I wanted to delve a little into the Inuit culture. Appa and Momo are the same in my story as they are in the show.

Chapter 4

I woke up with a start, cold sweat clung to my skin. I tried to calm my ragged breath as images of my nightmare left my mind. My nightmare was of the men I killed. Their faces flashing over and over again. The blood I spilled haunted me and I felt as if I'd never be clean.

I took a look at my surroundings. It was dark out and the air was still. We had landed by a lake hidden by mountains. I was still on Appa's saddle and Katara was fast asleep right beside me. I reached over and gently soothed her hair as I remembered her holding my hand as I fell asleep. I let the peaceful and familiar face of my sleeping sister calm me. I gently ran my fingers through Katara's hair and hummed a tune just like mom used to when we were little girls. I continued to hum that lullaby mom taught me until I drifted back to sleep myself.

"Sokka wake up!" Aang shouted

Aang's shouting startled me awake. I immediately went into project mode and I tried to scramble to my feet. Unfortunately for me I was on the edge of the saddle and when I went to roll to my feet I rolled right off the saddle. I bounced once off the side of Appa and landed face first on the hard ground. The cut on my lip busted opened and my swollen eye throbbed with fresh pain.

"Mmmmm..." I growled loudly as I held my face with both hands. I could feel the blood already dripping down my wrists from my now badly bleeding lip. I rolled up onto my knees and rested my forehead on the ground as I cradled my face.

"Oh spirits, are you okay." I heard Katara say.

I rolled back to sit on my butt and I looked Katara in the eyes. I pulled my hands away from my face to give her a show and I shouted. "Do I look like I'm okay?"

The swelling in my eye was even worse and I couldn't even open it anymore. The blood from my lip had dribbled down my chin and neck and was soaking the front of my tunic. Katara's eyes were full of shock and concern as she looked at my battered face.

"Sokka I'm sorry." I heard Aang say. I tore my eyes from Katara's and found Aang's. As my eyes met his I narrowed my working eye fiercely at him.

"I'm going to kill him." I snarled and shot to my feet and tried to tear after him. Katara wrapped both arms around me to hold me back. I dragged her behind me for several feet before her extra weight and my tired legs gave up the chase. Katara held me from behind until I calmed down and slumped my shoulders in defeat.

I concluded to myself that the universe really does hate me and that Aang is the catalyst for my suffering.

"That boy is going to be the death of me." I told Katara as I let her lead me to the lake to get cleaned up.

"It was just an accident he didn't mean for you to fall off Appa." She replied.

I didn't dignify a response as I went about cleaning my bloody face and hands.

"Katara did Gran-gran give you any medical supplies?" I asked.

"Yeah, you know Gran-gran, she would've made me take half of the tribe's stuff if she could." She replied with a chuckled that I shared knowingly.

"Good. I'm going to clean all my wounds in the lake and I need you to bandage me up while we fly to that temple fly boy was yammering about earlier." I let my irritation for the boy be evident in my voice as I spoke. Katara rolled her eyes at me but nodded anyways.

When Katara finished wrapping my arm the I went hunting for food in her pack.

"Hey Katara what happened to the blubbered seal jerky? I saw it packed with my weapons yesterday." I asked while rummaging through our stuff.

"Oh, that was food? I used it to start the fire last night." Aang replied sheepishly.

"You, used two weeks' worth of cured meat to start a fire." I nearly growled.

"I'm a vegetarian how was I supposed to know that was meat?" Aang asked innocently.

I was at a loss for words, I didn't think it was possible for somebody to be dumb enough to confuse jerky for kindling.

"He's kidding right?" I asked looking at Katara who just shrugged.

"Two solid weeks' of rations burned up in a camp fire. I can't freaking believe it." I grumbled.

I made it a point to ignore everybody until we landed at the Southern Air Temple. When we got off Appa I looked around and admired the beauty of the temple. This place was almost as beautiful as the celestial lights over the mountain back home. I heard Aang point to all the different places of the temple. I was only half listening until his voice got really sad.

"This place used to be so full of life, now there's only weeds."

I looked at Katara who gave me a pleading look. I groaned internally, why do I always have to fix everything. Damn her and those looks she gives me.

"So this Air ball game, how do you play?" I asked.

The next thing I know I'm standing on top of a wooden pole ten feet off the ground. Aang spun a ball around him with his bending and then sent the ball in the air and then used an airbending kick to send the ball ricocheting off of a pole and speeding towards me so fast I couldn't react if I wanted to. The ball slammed into my chest and sent me along with the ball through the goal behind me. I landed with a thud. I was lucky enough that I landed in enough snow to somewhat break my fall. The impact still sent pain shooting through my body and knocking the air out of my lungs.

I laid in the cold snow for several minutes as I gasped for air. My chest stung fiercely from the impact of the heavy wooden ball. The abuse my face has taken because of the airbender is bad enough now his abuse has moved to my more womanly features. I clutched my chest hoping to ward off the sting and I let the cold of the snow numb the ache of my body.

I decided to get up when I felt my hair starting to get wet. When I sat up I saw a half buried skeleton of a Fire Nation Soldier.

"Katara come here quick."

"What is it Sokka."

"Look" I said and pointed to the skeleton. "Aang needs to see this."

"Aang come see this." Katara yelled to the boy.

When he got close Katara waterbended snow from an overhang to cover the skeleton, and me in the process.

"What is it Katara?" Aang said happily.

"Just a new waterbending move I learned."

"Enough practicing, there's a whole temple to see." Aang said as he ran off.

"You know you can't protect him forever."

"His entire race was wiped out I can for his sake."

"Katara, he needs to come to terms with what happened. The longer you shelter him from it the worse it will make things when we start fighting the Fire Nation and if he keeps causing me to get hurt he'll have to worry about fighting me as well." I told her in a serious tone.

"Come on Sokka." Katara said pointedly ignoring my statement and running off to catch up to the twerp.

I hung back to avoid Katara and the boy. I was a little mad that I let Katara's puppy dog eyes get the better of me. It was her fault I was forced to cheer up the airbender by playing that stupid game. My boobs still hurt from him hitting me with that stupid ball and it put me in a sour mood. I allowed myself to grumble curse words and petty threats in regards to Aang for a few minutes before I started up the trail Katara had taken.

I reached the top of the stairs just in time to hear strange whistling and see massive doors open. I walked up next to Katara and whispered. "What's in there?"

"Aang said there was someone in there he was ready to meet." She replied just as quietly.

"That's ridiculous nobody survive in there for a hundred years." I retorted. Katara just shrugged and followed Aang in the room.

I followed Katara into the room and what I saw was very strange. The room was filled with statues. There were thousands of them. They lined the walls all the way up as high as I could see. The singular room went all the way up the tower. The ceiling of the room must have been a couple hundred feet up and The statues went up just as high. I stood in awe at the seemingly countless statues. The more I stared the more noticed there was a pattern. I have never been outside the South Pole until now but after seeing firebenders and now Aang as an Air nomad I figured out the bender I didn't recognize as an earthbender. The pattern was that of the Avatar cycle; air, water, earth and fire.

"They are arranged in the Avatar cycle, Aang I think these are the previous Avatar's" I said.

"You're right Sokka. This is Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me." Aang replied

"How do you know he was the previous Avatar?" I questioned skeptically.

"I don't know, I just do." He responded.

Just then I heard a noise toward the entrance. I turned to see a shadow of what looked like a firebender helmet. I snatched Katara by the arm and made her hide behind a statue.

"Firebender. Shh be very quiet." I whispered to Katara and Aang.

"You're the one talking." Katara replied in a loud whisper. I replied by putting my finger to my lips and glaring as sternly as I could.

The Shadow grew larger and I pulled my bone knife out of my boot as the shadow got closer. I took a change and glanced around the statue to get a better look. Much to my surprise and relieve it wasn't a firebender, but a furry creature with large ears and a thin tail. 'Hello lunch' I thought to myself with my mouth-watering.

"Lemur!" Aang shouted in glee.

I socked him in the arm. "Great scare away lunch, now I have to chase it down."

"Lunch are you kidding me, I'm going to make him my pet."

"Oh, I think not." I said as I tore off after the small white creature. Aang followed swiftly behind me. The little brat was fast, really fast. He used his airbending to catch up to me and slowed to my pace to mock me before darting ahead. When he was several feet ahead he sent a blast of air at my feet and taking them out from under me. Of course I hit the ground before I had a chance to put my arms up to break my fall my face and chest met the hard stone floor in a rush of pain. I slid nearly five feet before coming to a stop. The swelling in my face from the last few days could take no more and my cheek opened just below my eye socket. I rolled on my back and held my face with my hands trying to stop the bleeding and return the air into my lungs that the landing knocked out of me. My fury was only contained by the pain in my face and boobs which had taken the brunt of my punishment today.

"I swear the universe hates me" I muttered to myself after I recovered a little. I painfully pushed myself to my feet to find that stupid airbender and give him a piece of my mind.

I followed the path down to where I last saw Aang chasing the Lemur. The path led to a tattered tent. My instincts told me that is where I would find Aang so I slipped silently in hoping to sneak up and throttle the airbender. I pushed past a flap into a different part of the tent and the all the air left my lung at the sight before me. The floor was littered with skeletons of firebenders and one airbender that Aang was now kneeling in front of.

"Oh no." I muttered

I walked gently up to Aang. "Listen Aang." I said as I put my hand on his shoulder. I didn't finish what I said because as soon as my hand touched his shoulder his arrow tattoo started glowing and he stood up. A second or two later a burst of air shot out all around him. The force of the wind lifted me off the ground and sent be flying through the air. I sailed through the air for a good forty feet before I was slammed into a stone wall of temple ruins. My back hit the wall followed by the back of my head. A bright white light flashed before my eyes and then blackness.

I woke up as the sun was past setting. I felt tightness around my head that was accompanied by a sharp throbbing pain in the back of my head. I let out a moan and put my hand on my head. I felt cloth on my forehead and I probed around and felt that it was wrapped around my head. That explained the tightness.

"Sokka you're finally awake. I was so worried about you." She said loudly and full of concern.

"Uh, not so loud my head is killing me." I whined.

I suddenly felt a weight plop down on my stomach. I begrudgingly opened my eyes and looked to see that lemur from earlier sitting on my stomach and holding out a piece of fruit to me. When I didn't reach for it right away the little thing bound up my chest and laid the apple on me just below my neck. I sucked in through my teeth in pain at the weight of him on my chest.

"Come on Momo give Sokka some space." Katara said as she picked the little guy up off of my chest and set him down beside her.

"What happened? I remember going into a tent and nothing until just now."

Katara looked over her shoulder at Aang who was steering Appa. She got closer and began speaking so only I could hear. "Apparently Aang found his mentor's body surrounded by firebender skeletons. I guess the grief caused his Avatar spirit to take over and I guess his wind blew you into a stone wall and you hit your head pretty hard."

"No wonder it feels like a tiger seal jumped on my head." I said with a groan.

"You've had it pretty rough lately. Why don't you relax and take it easy for a while." Katara said in a sweet voice that reminded me of our mom.

I ran my hand down my face and felt a bandage just under my left eye and suddenly remembered Aang taking my legs out from under me earlier and anger boiled up in my stomach.

"That little brat airbender is gonna get it when I start feeling better. He has been the source of all my pain for the last few days. He's going to be the death of me if I don't kill him first." I complained through clenched teeth.

"Oh, lay off will you I'm sure hasn't meant anything by it." Katara said rolling her eyes.

I took a few breaths to calm me. Getting all riled up just made my head hurt worse.

"Why don't you just go back to sleep. I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning." Katara spoke softly to me.

I smiled up at her and followed her advice within the minute I was out cold.