Prompt 5: Misfortune (#13)
They said that Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe has a curse of misfortune. Sokka was inclined to agree.
Even from a young age, Sokka had a notorious streak of bad luck. As the son of the war chief, when the men went to war, an unreasonable amount of expectation and responsibility fell upon the young Sokka's shoulders. Young Sokka rose to the challenge, of course - but sometimes he secretly wishes that he had a happy childhood with a full family instead.
Of the two siblings, Sokka was the non-bender while his sister is a prodigal waterbender, the strongest born in the South Pole in generations. He was so jealous when she discovered her talent - Gran-Gran had put a hand on his shoulder and explained to him, "She is the last southern waterbender - the last of our hopes for resistance, and survival. And you - you are Hakoda's son. You are the best warrior in the village - so protect her. She is more important than any of us now."
There it was - responsibility, and jealous in one bundle. He had spent countless nights out on the freezing icy plains, going through the motions that he had seen so many times, desperately trying to make a single snowflake move. He'd begged, praying to any spirit who might be listening, to the Sun and Moon and the Ocean, bargaining away his soul and his life - but the snowflake never moved. Eventually he accepted who he was, and became a warrior instead; but sometimes he wishes he could actually help in fights.
Then there was love.
Yue, his first love. She was beautiful, and kind, and graceful, every bit the Princess everyone expected her to be. She was selfless, too - willing to marry a man whom she holds no love for to keep the peace, and afterwards, to give herself up to save the world.
Sokka had failed in his duties to protect her. He would have given everything he had to bring her back, to talk to her again, to hold her. But she had been wrapped up in his curse of misfortune, and gods forbid Sokka meet someone right for him.
Suki, his second love. She was beautiful, too, strong and loyal and every bit the warrior that Sokka strove to be. Their very meeting was astronomically unlikely - of all the meetings two people could have in the entirety of the Earth Kingdom, what were the odds of it being Sokka and Suki? But they met, and they fell in love. Then she was taken away, and broken.
When Sokka found her, and broke her out of prison, Suki had changed. Still a warrior, and still loyal, but the fire within her which Sokka admired so much had been snuffed out by cold shackles and cruel torment. She shied away from love since then - she still did her duty in the war, but love hurt her too much. Sokka understood and gave her the space she needed - even if it hurt him to see her that way. Gods forbid he keep someone right for him.
Toph Beifong. They said Toph Beifong had an unlucky streak as well, and she most definitely agreed.
Blinded from birth, Toph was destined to live her life in darkness. She thought she had a break when her parents found a teacher to teach her earthbending, but all she ever learned was basic forms and 'court' techniques. It was not training - it was stifling. Instead she struck out, learning earthbending from the wise badger-moles. They taught her far better, and she quickly became better - the best. Even then, she was imprisoned in her home, handled gently like she was a delicate flower.
Toph was not a delicate flower. She was the greatest earthbender in the world that no one recognized. She could handle any trouble that never came her way. She could fight a thousand men, if the thousand men could reach her through her family's overwhelmed prestige and wealth. She would have lived unappreciated and unknown until she was married off to some rich noble's son, for political reasons and not love. She was miserable.
And love - what did Toph know of love? The only one she ever felt a true connection to was Sokka, and he was already taken, by Suki. They were happy together. She could tell by the way their heart raced every time they met. When Sokka finally became available, it was not due to any happy circumstance, either - Suki was a friend and Toph did not enjoy seeing her in such a state of fear and uncertainty. Even if it meant she had a chance with Sokka, it did not feel right. Toph, too, bore the curse of misfortune.
The war was a common misfortune they shared. They were young. They were all too young, the members of Team Avatar. Children fighting an adult's war. They had to grow up too quickly for it to be fair. Sokka felt love, loss, anger, and acceptance in a whirlwind of emotions only months after his departure from the South Pole. No boy should watch their first love disappear into the night sky as a casualty of war.
Yet - they persevered. Driven by their misfortune, thrown right into the thick of the war - they met. Fate decreed that the pair, each touched by misfortune, would meet at the intersection of their respective paths of disaster. Sokka - the passionate, driven, unstoppable force - met the unflappable, immovable mountain that was Toph, and sparks flew.
Years later, when the ashes of the war finally settled and the skies cleared - they would look back, and through a bond forged from countless shared misadventures, their hands would interlink and they would decide that, as long as they had each other, they were very, very fortunate.