"Ember Island transport will be departing in about five minutes! Those who haven't boarded please do so immediately!"
Sokka had just arrived at the port. He had accidentally slept in, so he had no time for breakfast. His mother had packed him a lunch. After saying goodbye to everyone in the house, he grabbed his bags and rushed out the door.
When he arrived at the port, the transport was about to leave. He had gotten there barely in time. He rushed onto the ship, passport and ticket in hand. He handed it to the ticket master.
"Go on in, young Master Tatzu," the man said with a smile. Sokka bowed in thanks, took back his transport and ticket stub and got on the boat.
As soon as he got back on, the feel of the rock of the ship brought back a flood of Water Tribe memories. He leaned on the edge of the ship and smiled, inhaling the warm summer air mixed with the salt spray of the ocean as the island moved away at fast speeds. He marveled at the speed of the newer steamships. Finally they were at sea, no land in sight.
For the rest of the day he just sat on a chair near the front and read a book Piandao had given him on his last birthday but that he hadn't been able to read yet. He heard someone sit next to him.
"You look like you've been on a boat before," a voice asked him. Sokka put down the book, turned and saw a young Fire Nation girl looking curiously at him. She looked to be around his age with long brown hair, a portion of which was tied up in the traditional Fire Nation style. She had lovely green eyes, something unusual in the Fire Nation. She wore a lovely red dress and most likely came from a well off family. Sokka smiled a bit.
"I have traveled a lot," he said.
"Really? That's quite nice," the girl replied.
Sokka nodded and looked out at the ocean. He always loved the feel of the water on his skin and sun on his back. Looking at the horizon he spotted a bank of large luminous clouds approaching.
"Looks dangerous," the girl said. Sokka nodded and hoped that they weren't heading their way. He even said so.
"Agreed," the girl nodded.
"Tatzu," he said, introducing himself.
"Lien," the girl said, extending her hand. Sokka shook it with a wide grin. He'd learned to overcome his hatred of the Fire Nation during his time there. Not everyone there was bad; they just seemed to live under misinformation, under a dictatorship that lied to them about their true intentions.
"Where are you heading Miss Lien?" he asked. "Ember Island as well, or will you be continuing on to one of the other stops?"
Lien looked out to sea.
"Ember Island for vacation. How about you?"
Sokka looked up at the sky and shielded his eyes from the sun.
"I'm just traveling around, no set destination in mind."
"Really? That sounds like fun! You ever think of visiting the colonies?"
Sokka shrugged and gave a lopsided grin.
"Who knows? For now I wanna see all that I can of the homeland that I haven't seen yet."
"Good travels then friend," Lien said with a giggle. A woman called out to her and she excused himself. He thought to himself that he would at least have a friend to talk to up to Ember Island.
He noticed the storm clouds approaching abnormally fast, and he realized it was against the wind. The other passengers were also noticing. They saw flashes of lightning and began to talk nervously. Sokka frowned.
"Let's hope this doesn't get too serious…" he said to himself.
Unfortunately, it got serious incredibly fast. First the winds picked up, then it began to rain, drizzling at first but then it began raining harder, and soon hail was mixed in. The passengers headed to their rooms, confident this steel ship would hold them safe as it was buffeted back and forth by the raging storm.
Sokka was sitting in his own room reading by lamplight when the ship yawed more than usual and shuddered. Sokka, ever curious, decided to investigate. He grabbed his bag and sword and headed out.
The storm had blackened the night save for the occasional flash of lightning. He saw the extremely choppy waves dash against the ship's metal hull.
Suddenly a violent jolt sent him flying. He grabbed onto the railing in time but another flash of lightning illuminated what he thought was a floating body in the water. He recognized it as Lien. She seemed to be struggling, but just barely. Lien was clinging to a small piece of wood but her grip wouldn't hold for long.
A sudden crack and blinding flash startled Sokka enough to cause him to lose his grip. He fell into the stormy sea. When he resurfaced he saw that the ship was beginning to burn. A bolt of lightning must have struck. Turning, he spotted Lien and swam towards her. She was crying for help when she saw him.
"Tatzu…" she said weakly as she reached out to him. Sokka grabbed her arm.
"I've got you miss," he assured her. Yet another bolt struck the ship and caused yet another fire. Lee looked at the ship.
"Mom…Dad…" her eyes glistened, and not from the sea. Sokka held her close and she cried as the ship began to break apart. Suddenly a massive wave formed and crashed into them both, causing Sokka to lose consciousness.
"Sokka, lemme see that!" Katara begged as she chased her brother around the igloo. Sokka giggled and ran away from his younger sister, holding his new birthday present away from her.
"Only if you catch me!" he giggled. Katara fumed and chased him some more. Their parents watched with amused eyes as the two siblings roughhoused.
"Be careful you two, that boomerang is sharp and could cut you," Chief Hakoda said. The children continued running around until Katara fell and injured her knee on the hard ice. She began bawling. Sokka, not wanting to see his sister cry, handed her his new boomerang.
"You can hold it for awhile," he said as Kya tended to her scraped knee. She looked at her brother and smiled. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. He backed away in childlike disgust as the others laughed. He blushed heavily and ran outside.
The sky was dark, despite being noon. Looking at the sea, he saw a darker mass quickly approaching.
"This isn't right…" he thought. He looked around and the people didn't seem to notice. The light from their fires illuminated peaceful laughing faces. The dark mass was upon him instantly and swallowed him…
"Gah!"
Sokka sat up and coughed up a copious amount of sea water. He doubled over and continued hacking up his lungs until he could hack no more. After he wiped his eyes clean he looked around. He was on a beach somewhere.
Near him lay Lien. Panicking he rushed up and checked her pulse and breathing. She had a pulse but wasn't breathing. He began to perform resuscitation maneuvers on her. After a few tries she gasped and coughed up water. He sat her up and rubbed her back to help clear the water out of her.
"How ya feeling kiddo?" he asked. She coughed a few more times before responding with "I'm cold."
Sokka then realized it too. It was bitingly cold, and their soaked clothes weren't helping. He looked at the sun. It was low in the sky, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was setting or rising.
"Well, we should build a fire and try and warm ourselves up," he stated as he stood. Lien stood as well then a sudden splash caused her to look out at the ocean in wonder and amazement.
"Wh-what are those?" she asked. Sokka turned in time to see a massive fish tail go beneath the water. He looked again and saw a massive yellow and red fish leap out of the water.
"Elephant-Koi, but those aren't native to the Fire Nation…" he murmured. His eyes suddenly widened. The pieces were coming together. The biting cold, the Elephant-Koi, everything.
"We've drifted south, very far south."
"How far Tatzu?" a scared Lien asked as she clung to his arm. Sokka realized he'd said that out loud. He put his arm around her.
"That's not important at the moment. What is important is that we get warm and something to eat."
He looked around. There were green trees everywhere, and he spotted some with fruit. Looking back at the sun he saw it had gotten lower in the sky.
"Sun's setting Lien. We need to build a fire and get some food fast. Let's go gather some dry firewood, okay?"
She was trembling, and not just because of the cold and fear, but because she was about to cry. He reached over and pulled her into a hug. Holding her hand he headed into the forest until he found a small clearing. He placed her down near a fallen tree and collected branches. When he'd gotten a big enough pile going he set it ablaze.
Soon a large roaring fire was burning brightly. Reaching into his bag he pulled out a blanket. It was still wet so he dried it before wrapping it around Lien. He plucked a few of the fruits off of the trees, sliced some up and handed the slices to her. She turned away.
"Lien, you need to eat, it'll help warm you up," Sokka said gently as he held the slice in front of her. She shook her head vehemently.
"Not until Mom and Dad get here."
Sokka looked down at the fire sadly. He realized she was still in shock and denial about her parents. He moved closer to her and put a gentle arm around her. She looked up at him with tear filled eyes.
"Where are they? Their safe right?" she asked, pleading with him for a positive answer. Sokka's face fell and he couldn't meet her gaze.
"Lien …I…"
That was all he needed to say. She broke down and collapsed into his chest, bawling hard and clutching his shirt. Sokka just wrapped his arms around her and held her close, letting her cry as much as she needed.
After a while her sobs stopped and she relaxed. Sokka realized she'd fallen asleep in his arms. He gathered some soft leaves, laid one blanket down on it, lay her down on it then covered her with another blanket. He then lay down with a small blanket and, after rebuilding the fire, went to sleep as well.
When he woke the next morning the fire had gone out. Lien was still sleeping but she was now shivering. He got up and lay his own blanket on top of her then got to work setting up a new fire. He plucked a few more fruits and sliced them up. Lien woke to the crack of the fire. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Did…did I fall asleep last night while crying?" she asked groggily. Sokka nodded. She blushed.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to inconvenience you."
"It's fine, you didn't do anything of the sort," he replied. He handed her some more slices. She accepted them gratefully and ate, seeming to have a bit more of an appetite.
"Will you be okay?" he asked. She stopped midbite and looked down.
"I will be Tatzu," she replied. Sokka nodded.
"Call me Sokka. It's my real name."
She looked at him puzzled.
"I'll tell you my story later, okay?" She nodded in reply and was about to speak when Sokka stiffened. He held up his finger, motioning her to keep quiet. His hand slowly went to his sword. Her eyes widened in fear. The morning had gone strangely silent. Standing slowly, he grabbed her hand.
"Run!"
The forest exploded with movement a mere instant after he said that. Green and yellow blurs seemed to jump from tree to tree as Sokka and Lien ran towards the beach. Within an instant they were at the beach but they weren't alone for long. A group of strongly garbed warriors fell out of the trees and surrounded them. Sokka was surprised to realize they were all female. The leader was obviously a bit angry that her surprise attack was detected. They all had gold plated fans which he assumed they used as weapons. Sokka realized he had no choice. He firebent at the feet of the females, creating a blue ring around the two.
"We're not here to cause trouble," Sokka announced. "We were shipwrecked and found ourselves here. If we're not welcome here, we will be glad to leave." Lien clutched his clothes trembling.
The leader glared at him. Sokka recognized the look. It was the look of hatred he'd so long had for his Fire Nation captors when he was incarcerated in the Tower. However, he didn't have the time for their hatred. He had the dream prophecy to worry about.
"You're from the Fire Nation. Don't deny it."
"I won't deny it, but we're not here to fight."
"Explain the fire around you then."
"I'm protecting this woman. She's just lost her family to the shipwreck and she's frightened."
That gave the leader pause. A look of confusion briefly appeared on her face.
"Stop!"
The new voice belonged to a male, Sokka saw a man dressed in blue run up. His hair and beard were silver and he appeared to have just woken up. The female warriors looked at him confused.
"Oyaji, what is the emergency?" one of the women asked.
"This man…he…heralds the arrival…of the Avatar…on our island."
Everyone gasped. Sokka looked at them confused.
"But Oyaji, he's wearing Fire Nation clothes and he can firebend!" the leader said.
"Avatar Kyoshi herself came to me in a dream and told me-" here he whispered in her ear. Her eyes widened and she turned to Sokka again.
"What is your name young man?" she asked.
Figuring it wouldn't be a good idea to lie, he said, "I'm Sokka, formerly of the Southern Water Tribe."
Everyone, even Lien, looked up at him in shock. The leader looked at him suspiciously but raised her hand. The other women lowered their fans. Relieved, Sokka dispersed the flames.
"Come to the village. We have much to talk about."
Here's your new chapter you whiners :P
morbiusgreen