Sokka, though not usually uncomfortable around children, had absolutely no idea what to do in this situation. The whole thing was just crazy. Not only is he watching Azula's kid but he's watching her so Azula can do lord knows what kind of illegal things!
I know Toph gave me this whole big speech about jumping to conclusions but there is no way Azula is up to anything good right now. He thought to himself and he honestly believed it. An 'old friend' of hers had attacked her just this morning, now all of a sudden she's dressed up in ninja gear and dropping her daughter off with him for anywhere between a night and a week?
When Sokka's thought's shifted to those of Azula's daughter he turned his attention to the girl. She was sitting on the couch while he sat in the chair, playing with her doll without making a peep. Studying her appearance, because really what else is Sokka going to do with her, he noticed where it is that she resembles Azula. The girl had her mother's face and skin tone, though her hair is lighter and she has dark brown eyes. Seeing that Mika didn't inherit her mother's eyes almost made Sokka, sad? Disappointed? He couldn't understand that, as far as Sokka was concerned the less Mika takes after her mother the better it is for both her and the world. So why did he feel like that philosophy was more than just a little mean or unfair?
"So Mika, how old are you?" He finally asked her, though he almost regretted it when she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Four" she answered
"Ok, what time does your mom usually put you to bed?" Sokka continued, although he was half expecting Azula to not understand the importance of bedtime with children and just let her daughter crash at one in the morning.
"Eight" the little girl responded.
Sokka looked at the clock to see that it was eight-fifteen at the moment.
Great he thought to himself I've had her for twenty minutes and I'm already screwing up. "Well then it's already past your bedtime so why don't we-" he started but Mika cut him off.
"No!" She yelped, "I can't go to bed yet! I haven't taken a bath, or brushed my teeth!" She exclaimed and Sokka fought back a groan, this is going to be a long night.
Azula did just as she was asked, well almost. She was told to bring Mika with her but Jong's an absolute mental case if he thinks that's going to happen. But other than that she fallowed Jong's orders exactly, and was currently waiting at the docks.
"Well, well, well, look what the Cat-Owl dragged in" a gravely voice mocked before it's owner emerged from the shadows, Xiao.
"More like the Elephant-Rat, if Jong's going to make me come down here in the middle of the night he should at least tell me why." Azula remarked as Lee and Zhang appeared behind Xiao.
"You look good Azula" Lee said, obviously attempting to ease the tension within the group.
"Wish I could say the same for you three, now what's going on?" She demanded and Zhang grinned maniacally as he approached her, his left hand coated in hard rocks.
"You'll see" he said and took a swing at her but she grabbed his elbow and forced him down.
"Don't think I've lost my touch," she warned with a smirk as Zhang got to his feet with a grin.
"Wouldn't dream of it" Jong said as he joined the group, "I see you've all reunited" he commented.
"Almost all of us, I see your brother was too much of a coward to show up." Azula commented, her words dripping in venom.
The four men shared a look before Lee looked as though they were about to say something but Jong slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Hariko is no longer with us," he said, Azula almost asked what he meant exactly but her better judgment kept her quiet, the less involved she got with these guys again the better.
"Fine, so back to the matter at hand, what am I doing here?" She questioned and Jong moved aside and gestured to the small fishing boat behind them.
"Get on board princess and we'll tell you," he said
"I'm not leaving the city," she told him bluntly but he responded by pulling out his knife.
"You may not have brought the kid, but I can still find her. So get on board," he ordered her and Azula narrowed her eyes at him, thinking that she probably should've asked Sokka to take Mika out of the city, and then she did as she was told.
"Sokka, Sokka" Sokka awoke to his name being whispered as someone tugged on his arm.
"Hm, what?" He questioned groggily, opening his eyes to see that Mika was standing there almost in a panic as she tried to wake him. "Mika? What's wrong?" He asked and when she saw that she had woken him she took her hands away and shrank in on herself.
"I miss mommy," she admitted, tears beginning to fall down her face.
Sokka sighed, he knew how to handle this sort of thing with Bumi but Mika he knew wouldn't be as easy. Bumi all he had to do was let him sleep with one of his old tattered blankets from the war, why the kid got so much pleasure out of that Sokka would never understand but it works so he doesn't question it. Sitting up he noticed Mika watching him expectantly, just waiting for him to say anything in response to her. When he sat up he noticed something on his floor, his pillow from the couch.
"Mika why is your pillow in here?" He asked gently and she looked at him almost in guilt.
"I'm scared to sleep alone but I didn't want to bother you so I've been sleeping on the floor, only I wasn't sleeping cause I miss mommy too much and then I started crying but I still didn't want to bother you so I kept it quiet but, then…" she trailed off as she began to cry harder, "I'm sorry, I just got really scared." She sobbed but she had only just gotten the last word out of her mouth when Sokka put his hand on her shoulder then used the thumb of his free hand to gently wipe away her tears.
"It's ok. Now your mother is fine, but if you're scared don't be afraid to wake me up. Got it?" He asked and Mika nodded with a small smile.
"Got it. Do you think I could sleep with you tonight?" She asked and Sokka smiled warmly at her.
"Sure" he answered whilst picking her up and swinging her over to the other side of the bed. Mika squealed in delight as he did this and Sokka figured that if she wasn't wide-awake already she probably was now.
Once she was on the bed Mika quickly scrambled underneath the covers and made herself comfortable, much to the amusement of Sokka. He sat there watching her for a minute until she was all settled and opened her eyes and stared back up at him.
"Are you actually going to sleep?" Sokka chuckled and Mika only shrugged.
"Could you tell me a story?" She asked and that's when Sokka got an idea.
"How about you tell me a story, about your mom. It's been a long time since the last time we saw each other and we didn't get much of a chance to catch up." He explained, he knew that tricking a four-year-old into telling him things Azula may not want him knowing could be considered as very underhanded, but he just had to know.
Mika sat up and thought about the question, wondering what exactly Sokka wanted to know and what it was that he already knew. She had never met Sokka, so the last time her mother saw him was probably before she was born. So he probably didn't know much about her or anything her mother did after she was born.
"Well we didn't always live in the city" Mika finally started, "I'm not really sure where we lived when I was a baby, mommy never talks about it. But she says we traveled. I was two when we moved to Republic City and we slept in those big buildings where lot's of people sleep. Or if there was no room we just slept between the buildings. We moved to our apartment after mommy started working for Mr. Lao." She explained. Sokka tried to make sense of what the little girl was telling him, big buildings? Did she mean the homeless shelters? Had Azula and her daughter really spent the last two years or so in homeless shelters?
"What was it like when you knew my mommy?" Mika asked when it became clear to her that Sokka wasn't going to say anything. He looked down at her confused so she clarified, "mommy says that you were friends before I was born. How old were you? What was she like?" She questioned.
Sokka paled at the question, sure it's perfectly reasonable for a little girl to want to know about her mother's past, but Azula's past is something no child should ever have to listen to.
"Um, what did your mother tell you?" Sokka finally asked, figuring that if Azula had constructed some lie for her daughter than he better go along with it.
Mika shrugged "not much. She never likes to talk about before I was born, not even her friends. I asked her about my grandma and grandpa but she said that they're not around anymore so I think they died. I asked if she has any brothers or sisters but she says that it doesn't matter and they're not around either. She never told me about her friends which is why I want to know about you, what were you and mommy like?" She asked looking up at the water tribe man, her eyes now half lidded with drowsiness.
Sokka had to think for a minute, she wanted to know about him and Azula being friends, which obviously they never were. But he didn't want to lie to her, so he told her what he could.
"Your mom and I met as teenagers, I was fifteen and she was fourteen. We were never really great friends but we knew each other. I was mostly friends with her brother" Mika gasped at this revelation, which Sokka was sure he would pay for later.
"Mommy has a brother!?" She exclaimed and Sokka smirked, oh yeah Azula was going to kill him for this.
"Yup. Two years older than her, one year older than me. We became friends during the war. Your mom and her brother didn't always get along but deep down they really care about each other." He continued.
"What's her brother's name?" Mika asked eagerly but Sokka only sighed
"Sorry Mika but that kind of stuff is for your mom to tell you," he admitted, though he doubted Mika would recognize Zuko's name as the Fire Lord.
"Aww" Mika whined, "Can you at least tell me what he's like?" She begged and Sokka smiled.
"Well when we were teenagers he was angry, a lot. He had a really bad temper but over time that changed and we became friends." Mika was listening with heavy interest but Sokka didn't want to make this conversation all about Zuko, he still needed to know a thing or two about Azula. "But your mom on the other hand, she used to scare me." He confessed with a laugh and Mika giggled.
"My mommy used to scare you?" She laughed
"Oh yeah big time, with her blue fire. Most terrifying days of my life." Sokka reminisced; he was so caught up in his memories that he nearly missed the expression of total confusion that had overtaken Mika's face.
"What do you mean blue fire?" She asked and that was when Sokka became confused.
"Blue fire. You know when she bends? The fire's blue?" It was more of a question than a statement, because Sokka knew he wasn't exaggerating. But Mika was still shaking her head.
"Mommy's fire is orange just like normal, and why would she be chasing you with it?" She asked, truly not understanding what the older man was telling her.
"Well, we were, you know fighting." Sokka told her, wondering if maybe she just didn't grasp the fact that at this point in history they were on opposite sides.
"But mommy scared you? She always says that she could never survive in a bending fight, she doesn't like to bend." Mika half explained half questioned, meanwhile Sokka's thoughts were all questions.
Azula doesn't like to bend?
The little firebending prodigy had stopped bending?
"Sokka?" Mika's voice dragged him out of his thoughts and forced him to look at her, "Did mommy beat you when you fought?" It sounded like a simple question, but Sokka understood it's meaning. She wanted to know why her mother would lie to her, would quit bending and say she was never any good; and she wanted him to tell her.
"I've faced a lot of people in my life, but your mother was one of the most powerful and gifted benders I have ever seen." He said before giving a sigh, "and I'd bet you anything she still is." He finished, by now Mika was lying back down and burying herself in the covers once again.
"Why did she stop?" She mumbled and Sokka laid back down himself.
"I guess we'll have to ask her when she comes back," he said and feeling satisfied with that answer Mika closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.