Chapter Two
To say everyone ran to Sokka joyfully would be an understatement. Suki reached his side in a heartbeat, as did Katara, her healing waters out of her flask instantly. Jet was closest and helped Suki roll Sokka onto his back. As he did, Sokka's dark hair fell to the side, revealing that a section of hair just one side of the center of his forehead had gone completely white.
Then Jet stepped aside to allow Aang to kneel beside the fallen watertribesman, his tattoos going a telltale blue as he entered the avatar state.
Katara's waters swirled around her brother as Suki clenched Sokka's hand and stroked his face, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"I think he's okay," Katara said at last, but there was a distinct note of uncertainty in her voice. "He's really tired though."
"How did he get here?" Jet asked curiously, and he and Zuko headed out the door to greet his rescuers. But when they opened the door, they found the courtyard of the city empty and dark. Bits of seaweed clung to Sokka's boots and trousers, but otherwise he was completely dry.
At the table, all the commotion had woken the Duke. He looked over to see his captain lying on the floor safe and sound. The sight broke him and a single sharp sob of relief tore itself free from his chest.
Meanwhile, Suki had regained her composure and turned her attention to getting her husband off the floor and into bed. The men carried the unconscious Sokka into their little bedroom. "Man, he's heavy," was the comment voiced quietly, but no one could tell exactly who said it.
Once Sokka was placed on the low mattress, Suki shooed the rest of the crew out so she could settle him in private.
She ended up cutting the thongs that held his boots tied to his legs as the knots were so dried into themselves that she couldn't untie them. She managed to free him of his heavy trousers as well, the blue fabric dry but dusty with algae and white crusts of salt and sand. His tunic was gone and his white long-sleeved undershirt hung in tatters, as if nearly torn off him. She completed its removal, noting bloodstains on it in places, but Sokka didn't bear any sign of injury.
After several minutes she at last she had him as comfortable as she could make him, a light coverlet cast across his still form. "I know you don't like to sleep hot," she whispered as she stroked his cheek and pushed back that odd lock of white hair that fell into his face. Then she bent her head against his strong, broad chest and listened to him breathe, listened to the beat of his heart.
He was alive. Her Sokka was alive. He was home with her again.
That was all that mattered.
In the next room, the rest of the gaang sat quietly, respecting her need to be with her husband. "Are you sure he's okay?" Zuko asked at last.
"He seemed fine," Katara answered, but everyone could tell she was holding back.
"What else?" Toph asked in a leading voice.
Katara sighed, but it was Aang who replied.
"There's something different about him," the avatar stated. "He's physically fine, but there's been a shift of some kind in him. Something spiritual, something chi related."
"That's not much of an answer," Mai commented dryly.
"I know, I know," Aang replied. "But until he wakes up and tells us what happened, we don't know anything else."
A quiet mumbling sound came from the fire and the group looked over to see the Duke curled up asleep in the floor. "Poor kid," said Jet as he rose to check on him. "Suki's mom said he'd been out searching day and night ever since it happened. And before that, they'd spent a couple of days riding out a bad storm. I'll see if I can't get him to bed somewhere."
"We need to go tell Suki's family that Sokka is back anyway," Katara said. "They've all been worried sick."
In the end, Katara and Aang went next door to tell Suki's parents that their son-in-law had come home mysteriously but alive and well. Pao and Shei were astonished and relieved to say the least. They also helped get the Duke home safely and showed the two royal couples of the group to appropriate lodgings in the city with only Katara and Aang staying at Sokka's house.
Zuko and Toph along with Jet and Mai found themselves guests of the island governor. The governor and his wife showed them to a pair of lovely guest houses overlooking the harbor with much bowing and scraping. It wasn't often that Kyoshi Island had visitors of such importance as the Fire Lord and Lady and the King and Queen of Omashu—especially not at the same time and not along with the Avatar. The man was beside himself.
In the end, Jet and Zuko had to practically push the governor off to bed before turning in after a very long and eventful day. At last the island went quiet as everyone went to sleep, the stars turning overhead, the moon shining down protectively.
Sometime during the night, Suki had felt Sokka roll over in bed and she knew he was simply sleeping. So she curled up against him, glad to have his warmth beside her again.
Despite her exhaustion, she'd barely slept. She'd certainly tried not to. As long as she was awake, she knew it was real, that her Sokka had come home to her again, despite the odds, despite the impossibility—he had come home. If she fell asleep, it might all become a dream.
Then as the night grew longer, she finally drifted off, her body pressed against his, her arm wrapped around his waist to keep him safe with her.
Katara entered quietly the next morning, a pitcher of water in her hand. Sokka had seemed a little dehydrated to her the night before and she wanted to be sure he got something to drink when he woke.
As she sat the pitcher down on the small table beside the bed, her brother mumbled a little in his sleep and began to stir. A quick check showed that he was sleeping normally, probably dreaming, she decided.
But he settled again quickly, his face relaxing into peaceful rest with Suki snuggled next to him, finally sleeping soundly, and Katara decided it could wait. So she backed quietly out of the room.
All was quiet for a moment with the exception of the sound of light breathing as the couple slept. Then the sound grew slightly louder as Sokka's breaths came deeper, more urgently.
Over on the dressing table, something rattled and the pitcher of water began to tremble slightly, then began to tip from side to side as if in an earth tremor. However, the only thing moving in the room was the pitcher. The rattling grew louder as the pitcher now rocked back and forth wildly, the water in it sloshing about.
Suddenly the water shot out of the mouth of the jug and splashed violently against the far wall, spraying the room with tiny droplets. Sokka sat up as if shot, one hand thrust out in front of him, his eyes wide with fear.
Suki sat up as well, wiping drops of water from her face. "What was that?" she asked sleepily. Then she became aware that Sokka sat next to her, breathing heavily. "Sokka, baby? Are you okay?" she asked, rubbing his back.
"Where am I?" he asked, his voice rough. "How did I get here?"
"You're home, baby," Suki assured him. "You're home."
Sokka turned to her with wonder in his eyes. "Is this real? Are you real?" he whispered, reaching out to touch her face.
"Yes, Sokka," she answered, tears glistening in her eyes. "This is real. You're home."
In all the time she'd known Sokka, she'd seen him happy, she'd seen him angry, she'd seen him anxious, and she'd seen him sad. But she'd never seen him cry.
Until then.
He reached for her and held her tightly in his arms as he wept like a little boy, his strong frame shook by hard sobs. She just held him and stroked his hair and his back, her tears flowing freely again as well. At last he lay down with his arms around her and went back to sleep.
But Suki couldn't sleep. She eased herself free of his embrace and stepped onto the floor right into a puddle of water. The wall was wet as well. She noticed the pitcher of water on the side table, but it was completely dry inside. Very strange, she thought to herself.
She threw a few towels over the puddle, grabbed some clean clothes, and stepped into the wash room. After a good bath, she felt much improved and went back into the bedroom where her husband still slept even though the sun well into in the sky.
In the common room, Katara and Aang sat with the little ones, feeding them breakfast. Kodaso and her babies Aiko and Hasue giggled and crowed as Uncle Aang made faces while feeding them. Bumi and Toma had begun playing with the toy skybisons and badgermoles Sokka had carved from driftwood.
"We need a dragon now," Toma stated firmly. Bumi nodded in agreement. Both little boys had begged all morning to go see Blaze, but until everyone was up and well, Aang had held out.
"Poor Appa. All your admiration has gone to Blaze now," he teased the boys.
"Don't worry, Uncle Aang," Zutara said from behind her little dollhouse. "I'll always love Appa best." And to demonstrate, she reached for the stuffed skybison in her babydoll bed and settled him beside her. "Do you need a drink of water?" she asked it.
The little girl rose from the floor and got a breakfast bowl from the table, pouring a little water into it.
"Don't spill, please," Katara instructed.
"Oh, I never spill," the little girl assured her aunt. Then she carefully set the bowl on the floor and began to circle her finger over the bowl. "I'll stir it up for you, Appa," she declared.
Aang watched with interest as the water in the bowl began to follow her finger. Zutara was bending. He gave a little gesture to Katara and watched as his wife's face fairly began to glow with pride.
"That's a nice trick," Aang said appreciatively. "Your Aunt Katara can do that too. She'll have to show you some more tricks."
"I'm a waterbender," Zutara declared confidently.
"I'm a firebender, like Uncle Zuko," Toma stated just as confidently. "I'm going to ride a dragon one day."
"No, you won't," Zutara snapped back, secure in her knowledge. "You have to be Fire Nation to be a firebender. You can only be a waterbender like me."
"I don't want to be a waterbender," Toma whined. "If I can't be a firebender, I'm going to be a warrior and a fisherman like Daddy."
"Hey, you two keep it down," Suki said as she came into the room. "Your daddy is still asleep. He got in really late last night. He had a rough trip home."
"That's an understatement," Aang offered quietly to himself. Then since the little ones were full, he wiped faces and hands and set them each onto the floor to play.
"I wanted to be sure Sokka got some water when he woke up," Katara said. "He seemed a little dehydrated last night when he got in."
"Well, there's a pitcher on the table but all the water is on the wall and on the floor," Suki stated. "I was going to get something to clean it up. None of the kids have been in there, have they?"
"No," Aang replied curiously. "They've been with us."
Katara got up and went into the bedroom quietly. Sure enough, there sat the pitcher, but it was bone dry and empty. And on the wall and floor she could see the large puddle of wetness. With a gesture, she bended the water back up and into the pitcher again.
"What are you doing?" Sokka's voice asked sharply as he sat up.
"Just cleaning up a little," Katara answered. "How are you feeling, Sokka?"
"Fine," her brother answered. "Just confused."
"What about?"
"How did I get here?" he asked. "Where's Suki?"
"She's in the common room with the kids. Do you want some breakfast?" Katara asked gently. "How about something to drink?"
Sokka rose unsteadily to his feet. "Give me some pants," he ordered.
Katara looked through the chest by the bed and soon found a pair that looked soft and comfortable. He managed to get into them, though he was staggering a little as he made his way to the door. Once in the common room, however, he put on his biggest grin and headed to the big chair by the fireplace, only to be covered up with children when he got there.
Squeals of Daddy and Uncle Sokka mingled with babbles of Dada as six little ones made their way into his lap. Aang gently detangled his two from the mix so that Sokka could spend that time with his own kids. He could only imagine how the big watertribesman felt.
Curious Zutara had immediately noticed the white streak in his hair and made a face as she ran her fingers through it. "Where did you get this, Daddy?" she asked.
But in the turmoil of Toma's talk of the dragon outside and the babies' jumping up and down on his legs, he wasn't sure what she was asking about. "Let's get Daddy some breakfast," Suki encouraged and the two older children crawled down to help.
Toma carefully carried a cup of juice to his father, using both hands as instructed, when Bumi backed into him, knocking him right into Sokka's lap, juice and all.
But as Aang watched, the juice flew up out of the cup and right back into it again, not a drop spilled. Sokka deftly removed it from the boy's hand and took a long, deep drink. "That is good stuff, Toma," he said to the little one, giving his wolftail a little tug.
Then Suki extricated the two babies out of his lap so he could eat in peace. "Aren't you coming to the table, Daddy?" asked Zutara.
"Not this time," Suki told her. "Daddy had a rough night. We're going to let him be comfortable for a while."
Sokka looked over at Aang with a grin. "That one is my little Miss Manners," he explained. "She's kin to her Aunt Katara."
Once he'd had a good breakfast in him and had been crawled on by his children, Sokka found himself beginning to feel almost normal. He still kept looking for Suki and touching her whenever she passed by. He also couldn't resist touching his little ones and kept at least one of them in his lap, rotating them out whenever one got restless.
After a while, Aang went out to check on Appa and Katara declared that she was going to look in on Mai and Toph. The two older boys wanted to go see Blaze with Aang and Katara took Kodaso with her, leaving Suki and Sokka with Zutara and the twins.
It was Hasue's turn in Daddy's lap for the moment as Aiko amused himself by stacking blocks on the floor. Zutara then declared that she had to do something about Daddy's hair. "I don't like it," she stated firmly.
So she got the brush from the bathing room and proceeded to brush vigorously, as if she could brush out the offending white. Finally Sokka had to ask why she was working so hard on him. Suki had stepped into the kitchen to put away the breakfast dishes, but came back to the door just as Zutara passed her father the hand mirror from her bedroom.
Sokka looked in the mirror, running his hand over the white lock in his hair. His hand shook a little as he pulled the long white strands before his eyes. "Where did you get that, Daddy?" Zutara asked in an accusatory tone.
After a brief thoughtful pause, Sokka answered, "I guess it must be where the moon kissed me." And though his words were playful, his tone was serious, Suki realized.
"Well, I don't like it," Zutara declared, then continued to brush, but more gently now.
Suki felt a chill run through her as she watched. What had happened to him out there in the ocean? How had he survived? Who did she owe for bringing him back to her? How could she repay that debt?
Meanwhile, the waters around Kyoshi Island continued to toss and roll. Trade ships on their way to the harbor had to turn around and head back to the coast. Fishing boats either struggled back into port against the massive waves or simply headed off to safer harbor at Whaletail Island.
And far to the north in the Spirit Oasis of the Northern Water Tribe, the koi fish no longer circled each other but instead held themselves apart on opposite sides of the pond.
"Kyoshi Island is a really beautiful place," Mai was saying as she and Jet had breakfast together on the balcony of the guest house. "We should try to come here more often."
"Maybe for a second honeymoon," he offered suggestively as he spread jam across a piece of bread.
"What do you mean 'second'?" she asked wryly. "I don't recall ever getting a first."
"We went to Ba Sing Se," Jet replied with a teasing grin. "We even took a cruise."
"We rode the ferry across the lake," Mai retorted. "That does not count as a cruise. And that trip to Ba Sing Se was for an audience with the Emperor. It was not a honeymoon."
"So where do you want to go?" Jet asked. "I'll take you wherever the treasury will allow."
"How about Ember Island?" Mai asked. "It's a beautiful resort with beaches and parties and plenty of . . ." Her voice trailed off as she remembered her last trip to Ember Island with Zuko, Ty Lee, and Azula. It had turned out to be less than fun. Plus a trip to Ember Island would end up mostly state visit with all the Fire Nation aristocrats that would want to make points with the King of Omashu.
"On second thought, how about Tuzai Island? Zuko and Toph have a beautiful house there and they say the beaches are gorgeous," Mai offered instead. "It's peaceful and quiet and there's nobody there to impress."
"That sounds really nice," Jet had to agree.
Then Mai considered how long it would take them by caravan then by boat to get there. If they couldn't swing a ride with Aang or Zuko, it would take a month at least.
"Once upon a time, I promised you a trip to Whaletail Island," Jet teased. "We still have to go there."
Mai remembered that promise. It was back in the swamp when they were trying to con their way out of a bandit trap. He'd told the bandits she was his girlfriend and had spent a lot of time kissing her neck. It had been pretty exciting.
She looked across the table at her husband, catching the gleam in his emerald eyes. She knew what he was thinking. And thanks to his now-sharp earthbending skills, he had a pretty good idea of what might be going on in her head as well.
"True," Mai answered slowly as she got up from the table and made her way to Jet's seat. "But you know, we really ought to make the most of our time here as well. Now that Sokka has made it home safely, we can spend a few days relaxing. After all, until Aang and Katara are ready to head back to Omashu, we're kind of stuck here."
Then she ran a hand around the back of his neck and into his hair.
"I think a honeymoon is a really good idea," Jet suggested as he pulled her into his lap and proceeded to kiss her neck. "Let's have lots of them."
Mai couldn't agree more.
Aang and the boys met Zuko in the large barn where Blaze and Appa had bedded down for the night. Now the two giant animals were outside in the sunshine, both apparently resting. "Hey, buddy," Aang called to Appa.
Appa opened an eye and whuffed a friendly greeting, then went back to sleep.
"I think they both had a long day yesterday," Zuko commented as he worked. He had a brush and was tirelessly scrubbing down Blaze's scales, stripped down to undershirt and light trousers.
It was odd to Aang to consider the Fire Lord as a dragon groomer. "Do you do that at home as well?" Aang asked as he picked up a curry brush of his own and went to work on Appa's tangled fur.
"Of course," Zuko answered. "I serve him as I would the Firebending Masters. I belong to him—he does not belong to me."
Aang thought to himself that Fire Lord Ozai would never have stooped to manual labor—not even for a dragon. He would have hired a staff of workers to do it for him. As he watched Zuko work, he thought the change in attitude was a very good sign for the future and he said so aloud.
"It was losing its perspective that brought the Fire Nation to ruin," Zuko continued. "I will not have my son raised to believe that he is better than his people or than the dragons that bring their spirit to his nation."
Blaze lifted his head so that Zuko could work under his chin, then gave the Fire Lord a wet, rough lick on the face. Zuko and the two little boys watching mesmerized all laughed.
But for Aang, the exchange was bittersweet. He remembered how it had felt to see the sky full of dragons at little Rokiroh's birth. He remembered the look of awe and humility in Zuko's eyes as Blaze had chosen him.
Then with a sigh he remembered how it had looked above the Southern Air Temple when he was a little boy to see flights of skybison filling the air. What would happen to airbending when there were no more skybison?
He'd joked with Katara that they would repopulate the world with airbenders. But how could they when the spirit of airbending was encompassed in the skybison just like the spirit of firebending lay in the dragons and the spirit of earthbending lay in the badgermoles?
Then he thought of the koi fish at the Spirit Oasis. When Admiral Zhao had killed Tui, the moon spirit, all waterbending had ceased. Until Yue had given her life back to the little white fish and took her place as moon spirit, the moon itself had ceased to shine.
He buried his face a moment in Appa's soft fur. When Appa ceased to be, would all airbending cease as well? What would happen to the balance of the world? How could the four elements continue to exist in harmony if one were completely missing?
Aang looked down at Bumi as he brushed Appa's feet, his small hands barely able to grip the brush. He was not only this little boy's father, he was—as the only remaining airbender—his teacher as well. His son had a look of serious concentration on his face as he worked. He would have been a good companion for a skybison. But he would never get that chance.
Aang glanced over at Zuko and Blaze and a rare flash of resentment ran through him. The dragons had come back to the Fire Nation. Why couldn't the skybison come back to the airbenders?
Because there were no more skybison, he considered with a deep sigh. His Appa was the last one.
Appa must have sensed his mood and picked up his shaggy head to stare Aang straight in the eyes. Then he whuffed a great breath of warm air over him as if to say, I am here. We are together. Then he closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.
"I think they both overflew themselves yesterday," Zuko was saying with concern as he put down Blaze's brush and went to give Appa a rub on the head. "They need to rest up for the journey home."
"When were you planning to head back?" Aang asked, grateful for Zuko's concern for Appa.
"In a few days, I guess," Zuko answered. "I had some business to discuss with Sokka. That's why we came. Being here for all the drama was a kind of bonus—if you could call it that. What about you guys?"
"We might have to take Jet and Mai back to Omashu. When we got the message that Sokka was missing, they insisted on coming," said Aang as he went back to brushing Appa's long fur. "Otherwise, we'll be here until Katara and I are satisfied that Sokka is really okay."
"Does something make you think he isn't?" Zuko asked, worry in his voice.
"I'm not sure," Aang answered. "Something is definitely different about him. I'm just not sure exactly what it is."
Back inside the house, Suki had gone to the kitchen to begin preparations for lunch. Even though Sokka had eaten late, she felt sure everyone else would be ready for something soon. Besides, she'd never known her husband to turn down a meal.
To her surprise, instead of resting in the common room, he followed her to the kitchen and sat at the small table watching her. She wanted to send him back to his comfortable chair, but was so glad to have his presence with her that she didn't have the heart to do it.
Instead she walked up behind him and leaned her cheek into his hair, her arms around him. He was really there. He was solid and real and warm and present. "I thought I'd lost you," she whispered, and despite her best efforts to stay strong, she began to cry.
Then it was his turn to comfort her as he pulled her onto his lap. "I'm never going to leave you again," he said quietly. "I promise you that."
Suki heard the words and knew the intent behind them was sincere. But she also knew her husband was a fisherman and that the ocean was a part of him just as surely as if he'd been born a bender. He was Watertribe. She knew the call of the open sea would be too much for him to resist.
But even as she knew this, she kept back a little piece of hope that it could be true. That he could stay with her forever on dry land, and she'd never have to let him go. She'd never have to risk him again.
All the petty troubles they faced—the issues with the boats, with the shrimpcrab venture, with the tiny house, with living next to her parents—all these things had faded into insignificance in the light of real trouble.
All she knew was that he'd come home to her. That she had him in her arms again. But that loss she'd felt so keenly like a knife to her heart still clung to her, and she knew it would be a while before the pain and the fear faded. Until it did, she would hold him close. She would love him with everything she had.