16
Hoshiko sighed happily as she floated about in the water. She and the others had been led out of the desert and Sokka was leading them to Ba-Sing-Se with some maps he had gotten from the spirit library. They had passed a waterfall on the way and decided, what with the hot temperature of the desert torturing them all day, that a nice swim would be very refreshing. Toph sat on the edge with her feet kicking in the water, Hoshiko swam around in the pool, simply lounging in it. Aang was doing the same, only he froze some of the water around him to make a float of some kind to relax in the water. Katara had gone up to the top of the cliff to jump into the pool below. Hoshiko looked when she saw her figure moving against the sky.
"WATER BENDING BOMB!" She shouted as she jumped off, holding her legs to her stomach as she splashed into the water. What a splash it was! It forced Hoshiko and Aang out of the water and onto the shore. Hoshiko landed on her feet, and Aang's ice-float smashed to pieces, breaking his fall. They became drenched in the water that came back down. Hoshiko, Aang, and Toph laughed good naturedly at the stunt, while Sokka scowled, holding up the drenched piece of parchment that was their map.
"Sure! Five thousand year old maps from the spirit library," He began sarcastically, "Just splash some water on 'em!" Katara came out from the pool, wringing out her hair.
"Sorry," She said, bending the water out of the parchment. Sokka got down from the rock he sat on and put the map against the ground.
"So did you figure out what route we're gonna take?" Aang asked as everyone gathered around him.
"Okay, we just got out of the desert, so we must be around here," He pointed to a spot on the map, "And we need to go to Ba-Sing-Se, which is here." He pointed to a drawing of Ba-Sing-Se's walls on the map, "It looks like the only passage connecting the south to the north is this sliver of land called 'The Serpent's Pass'." He pointed to a tiny piece of land that stood in between two halves of a lake before Ba-Sing-Se.
"You're sure that's the best way to go?" Toph asked dubiously.
"Yeah, The Serpent's Pass doesn't sound exactly friendly…" Hoshiko said, looking at the map.
"It's the only way." Sokka said, "I mean, it's not like we have Appa to fly us there."
"Shush up about Appa!" Katara hissed to her brother, "Can't you at least try to be sensitive?" Everyone looked over at Aang to see his reaction. Aang simply sat there, an emotionless look on his face.
"Katara, it's okay." Aang said with more calmness than anyone would have expected, "I know I was upset about losing Appa before, but I just want to focus on getting to Ba-Sing-Se and telling the Earth King about the solar eclipse."
"Oh." Katara responded, "Well, okay. I'm glad you're doing better." Sokka rolled up the map and stood.
"Then to Ba-Sing-Se we go," He said, "No more distractions."
"Hello there, fellow refugees!" A voice called out, everyone turned to see a couple waving to them. A young man and a woman who must've been his wife, because her belly had swelled greatly from carrying his baby. Sokka scowled a little at the sight, knowing the universe just hated him and his efficiency.
Everyone waved back and went up to meet the refugee couple as they came forward.
"Hi there." Aang greeted, shaking the man's hand, "I'm Aang. This is Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Hoshiko." He gestured to his friends as he introduced them.
"I'm Tahn," The man greeted back, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Where are you five headed?"
"Ba-Sing-Se." Hoshiko said, "We have some important business to attend to there."
"Are you guys headed to Ba-Sing-Se, too?" Aang asked.
"Sure are." Tahn said, a smile coming over his face, "We're trying to get there before my wife, Ying, has her baby." He gently rubbed Ying's stomach as he said this, looking up at her lovingly. Hoshiko suddenly felt a sharp pang of jealousy at the couple's happiness, wishing she had someone to be like that with as well, but Kotaro wasn't there.
"Great!" Katara said, "We can travel through The Serpent's Pass together." The couple jumped, eyes wide.
"The Serpent's pass?" Ying repeated, "Only the truly desperate take that deadly route!"
"Deadly route." Toph repeated, punching Sokka painfully on his shoulder with a sarcastic grin, "Great pick, Sokka!" Sokka fell over from the force of the hit and quickly stood back up.
"Well, we are desperate." Sokka said.
"You should come with us to Full Moon bay." Tahn said, "Ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba-Sing-Se."
"And it's hidden," Ying added, "So the Fire Nation can't find it."
"Hmm…" Hoshiko said, humming in a thoughtfully sarcastic way, "Peaceful ferry ride, or deadly pass? Which to pick?" Sokka glared at her.
"Just be quiet." He grumbled.
Tahn and Ying led the way through a tunnel that was hidden on the wall of a cliff. When they reached the end of the tunnel, it was opened up by earth benders. Everyone looked around sadly at what they saw.
It was an entire city of tents, full of men and women, children and the elderly. Hoshiko looked around sadly when she saw some of her own people milling around the tents, looking miserable in their surroundings. They bay itself was gigantic, with three ferry rides ready to take off soon. Hoshiko looked as she saw one leave the bay, already full of people ready to go to Ba-Sing-Se. She saw the bay was illuminated by a hole above them, looking similar to the moon when it was full. She saw how the bay got its name.
"I can't believe how many people's lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation." Katara said sadly, looking around at the uncountable refugees.
"They are all looking for a better life," Tahn said, "Safe. Behind the walls of Ba-Sing-Se." Hoshiko looked around to see there were long lines being formed in front of the docks, where there were people at desks ready to board the next ship.
"Come on," Hoshiko said to the others, "We need to hurry and board if we want to get to Ba-Sing-Se as fast as we can." The others nodded and became separated from the couple as they went to get their things ready before they boarded.
The five of them waited in the seemingly endless line for about twenty minutes, with an older man pushing a cart of cabbages in front of them. Hoshiko looked over at Sokka as he whispered in Katara's ear, "Does he look familiar to you?" He pointed to the man in front of them. Katara shrugged wordlessly, and Sokka shrugged off whatever he was thinking of.
The old man went in front of them to the old woman, who asked him to present everything he was bringing to the inspectors a few feet away and they began speaking. Hoshiko turned away from the old man and looked to the others.
"What do you think Ba-Sing-Se is like?" She asked them. Everyone looked around, uncertain.
"We've been in the South Pole practically our whole lives." Sokka said, gesturing to him and his sister, "So we couldn't tell you."
"My parents wouldn't let me out of their sight." Toph said, "I've never been." Everyone turned to Aang.
"I never wanted to go to Ba-Sing-Se." He said.
"Why not?" Hoshiko asked.
"Because of what I had heard." Aang said, "They separate the different parts of the town by class. The farthest out is the lowest class and the closest inside is the highest class. The cultures are almost alien to each other, that's why I never wanted to visit."
"No!" The old woman at the desk snapped at the old man in front of them, "I told you already! No vegetables on the ferry! One cabbage slug could destroy the entire ecosystem of Ba-Sing-Se!" The man quickly began shaking his head no at her, but she didn't seem to listen. She pointed to the cabbage cart, "Security!" The old man let out a despairing wail as he watched a large platypus bear destroy his cart.
"MY CABBAGES!" He wailed, falling to his knees. He seemed to be frozen to the spot and the guards had to move him so the line could keep moving. Everyone looked up at the woman, slightly afraid of her.
She stamped something on a piece of paper and called, "Next!" Aang timidly stepped forward.
"Um… Five tickets for the ferry to Ba-Sing-Se, please." He said, holding up five fingers.
"Passports?" The woman asked. Aang looked back at the others before looking back at the woman.
"Uh… Nobody told us we had to have passports." He said.
"Don't you know who this is?" Sokka asked, "He's the avatar!"
"Bah!" The woman scoffed, "I see 50 avatars a day! By the way, not a very impressive costume." She pointed to a group of Aang copies who sat near the desks. Momo climbed up Aang's shoulder to look at the copies, "Besides, no animals allowed." She leaned down in his face, "Do I need to call security?" Aang looked back at the platypus bear and grimaced.
"That won't be necessary." Aang said stepping back.
The woman stamped another form as she called, "Next!"
Toph walked past the group, "I'll take care of this." She pulled a piece of paper out from a pocket inside her tunic and placed it on the desk in front of the woman, "My name is Toph Bei-Fong and I'll need five tickets." The woman gasped at Toph's passport.
"The golden seal of the flying boar!" She breathed, then bowed deeply, "It is my pleasure to help anyone of the Bei-Fong family."
"It is your pleasure." Toph replied snobbishly, "As you can see, I am blind and these four imbeciles are my valets." She waved a hand to everyone else, who smiled up at the woman.
"But the animal-" Toph interrupted her.
"Is my seeing-eye lemur." Toph said.
"Well," The woman began, "Normally it's only one ticket per passport, but this document is so official… I guess it's worth five tickets." She stamped five tickets in a row for each one of them. Toph reached up and took each one.
"Thank you very much." She said. She handed a ticket to everyone and they smiled as they walked away.
Once they were out of hearing range of the woman at the desk, Sokka said, "Alright! We scammed that lady good!" Hoshiko rolled her eyes at his statement. She turned around when he let out a yelp and looked to see a female guard had grabbed him by the shirt to get his attention. She held out her hand with a stern expression on her face.
"Tickets and passports, please." She said. Hoshiko mentally strangled Sokka, You idiot! Why did you have to say we scammed her? She heard everything you said!
"Is there a problem?" Sokka asked nervously.
"Yeah, I got a problem with you." The girl said, poking him in the chest. "I've seen your type before. Probably sarcastic, think you're hilarious, and, let me guess, you're traveling with the avatar." Sokka's look of nervousness turned to one of confusion.
"Do I know you?" He asked. The guard grabbed the front of his shirt.
"You mean you don't remember?" She asked him, Sokka looked at her fearfully, "Maybe you'll remember this." Hoshiko put herself on high alert, ready to fight, but was very surprised when she kissed his cheek instead of punching him in the gut. A bright smile illuminated Sokka's face.
"Suki!" He cried happily, hugging her. The girl smiled at him and pulled away.
"Sokka, it's good to see you!" She said, just as happy as Sokka. Katara and Aang smiled and went over to greet Suki.
"Suki! I don't believe it!" Katara exclaimed, hugging her.
"It's good to see you, too, Katara." Suki said, she turned to Aang, "And Aang, always a pleasure." She shook his hand with a smile and he smiled back.
"You, too." He said, he turned and saw the confused looks on Toph and Hoshiko's faces. "Oh, right, guys this is Suki, she's an old friend of ours." He gestured to her and she nodded respectfully at them, "Suki, this is Toph, she's my earth bending teacher. And this is Hoshiko, we're helping her look for her family." They both nodded respectfully back at Suki. Hoshiko stumbled when she was suddenly pushed from behind by one of the refugees in line. She rubbed the spot on her back glaring at the man who had bumped her.
"This really isn't the place for a reunion." Suki said, she turned and waved her arm for them to follow, "Come on, I know a place where we can chat."
She led them over to a small viewing box that looked over the bay and its ferries. As they sat down, Hoshiko took in Suki's appearance. She was very beautiful, she couldn't have been much older than her. Her blue eyes sparkled with her smile. She was very slim, and even through the bulky uniform, she could see that she was very athletic.
"You look so different without your make-up." Katara said, "And the new outfit!"
"That crabby lady makes all the security guards wear them." Suki said, looking down at the uniform in distaste, "And look at you, Sleeveless Guy." She smiled at Sokka, "Been working out?"
Sokka smiled arrogantly and rolled his arms, showing off his muscles, "Eh, I'll grab a tree branch and do a few chin-touches every now and then." Sokka said, flexing his arm and patting the 'muscle' that was there, "Nothing major."
Hoshiko snorted in laughter, "Since when?" Sokka scowled.
"Since a while ago!" He snapped, "Do you mind?" Hoshiko rolled her eyes.
"By 'a while' do you mean yesterday?" Hoshiko asked slyly, Sokka pouted and turned away, crossing his arms like child.
"Are the other Kyoshi warriors around?" Aang asked.
"Yeah, after you left Kyoshi, we wanted to find a way to help people." Suki said, "We ended up escorting some refugees and we've been here ever since." Momo hopped up on the railing Suki leaned on and she laughed, scratching behind his ear, "Hi Momo! Good to see you, too."
"Wait," Hoshiko said, catching everyone's attention, "Kyoshi, as in Kyoshi Island? That place we visited, like, a couple weeks ago? That Suki?" Katara nodded. Hoshiko nodded and smiled slyly at Sokka, "Oh, I see."
"What? See what?" Sokka asked, Hoshiko turned away.
"Oh, nothing." She said with a smile. Sokka scowled and turned away, ignoring her.
"So, why are you guys getting tickets for the ferry?" Suki asked, "Wouldn't you just fly across on Appa?" Suki looked as everyone's expressions became downcast at the mention of the bison.
"Appa is missing." Katara said sadly, "We hope to find him in Ba-Sing-Se."
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Suki said, everyone turned to Aang as she asked him, "Are you doing okay?" Aang looked up and saw how everyone looked at him worriedly, and frowned.
"I'm doing fine." He said in an annoyed tone, "Would everybody stop worrying about me?"
"Avatar Aang!" A voice called out. Aang looked over the railing to see Tahn and Ying looking up at him. "You have to help us!" Ying continued, "Someone took all of our belongings! Our passports, our tickets… Everything's gone!" She began to cry and her husband wrapped his arm around her.
"I'll talk to the lady for you." Aang said. Ying and Tahn looked up at Aang with hopeful smiles.
"No passports, no tickets!" The woman said, stamping Aang's head.
"But she's pregnant and all their stuff was stolen!" Aang tried to reason, "You have to make an exception."
"No exceptions!" The lady snapped, "If I just gave away tickets willy-nilly to anyone, there would be no more order! And you know what that means: No more civilization!"
"What if we gave them our tickets?" Aang asked.
"No!"
"But-!"
"Next!" Some spit came out of her mouth when she said this and Aang moved away, knowing he wouldn't get through to her. Aang wiped the ink from the stamp off his head as he walked over to the couple.
"Don't worry, you'll get to the city safely." He assured them, "I'll lead you through The Serpent's Pass."
Everyone followed Aang out of the tunnels after they had given their tickets to another group that had camped out in the bay.
"I can't believe we gave up our tickets," Sokka grumbled, "And now we're going through The Serpent's Pass."
"I can't believe you're still complaining about it." Hoshiko said, Sokka stuck out his tongue at her in response. She growled at him in an animalistic way and he flinched a little in fear.
"I'm coming, too!" A voice called, everyone turned to see Suki, only now she was wearing her Kyoshi outfit and make-up instead of the old uniform. She looked very different from before. Sokka stopped in his tracks and turned to her as she ran closer to him.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked, sounding a little concerned.
"Sokka, I thought you'd want me to come." Suki said, sounding confused.
"I do!" Sokka said quickly, "It's just…" He trailed off, looking away.
"Just what?" Suki asked. Sokka stared at her for a moment before he spoke again.
"Nothing, I'm glad you're coming." He said. Suki walked past him to join the others, and Sokka's shoulders slumped a little. Hoshiko's noticed he looked genuinely concerned about adding Suki to their numbers, and she suddenly figured out why.
Yue.
Her sudden… well, she couldn't say 'death' because she wasn't dead, but her 'rebirth as the moon' affected him in a way that made him concerned for the life of any girl that was close to him like that. So, it was only natural that he was concerned about Suki coming on their travels. Hoshiko could feel her depression as she thought about Yue. She quickly shook it off, knowing that she couldn't be depressed at the moment.
The Serpent's Pass actually wasn't that far from Full Moon Bay. It only took them about thirty minutes to walk there. The pass wasn't what they had expected at all, it went through the lake, like it did on the map, and was very thin for a piece of land, there were rises in it here in there, making it seem jagged, but it went on a generally straight path.
"This is The Serpent's Pass?" Sokka said, looking at it, "I thought it would be more wind-y, you know, like a serpent." Hoshiko shrugged in response.
"Maybe they misnamed it?" She asked, Sokka shrugged like she had and they both looked back at the gateway that read 'Serpent's Pass' at the top.
"Look at this writing." Ying said, looking at something that had been carved on the side of the wooden gate, "How awful."
"What does it say?" Toph asked.
Katara walked over and examined the carved words, "It says 'abandon hope'."
"How can we abandon hope?" Ying asked sadly, turning to her husband, "That's all we have!" Tahn held her in a comforting embrace, because Ying looked as if she was about to cry.
"I don't know," Aang said, catching everyone's attention, "The monks used to say that hope is just a distraction. So maybe we do need to abandon it." Everyone looked at the air bender in shock.
"What are you talking about?" Katara demanded.
"Hope isn't going to get us into Ba-Sing-Se." Aang said, turning to her with an emotionless expression, "And it's not gonna find Appa." He turned and walked towards the gate, "We need to focus on what we're doing right now, and that's getting across this pass."
"Okay, if you say so." Katara said, looking down at the ground. Everyone followed Aang as they travelled on the pathway. As they walked along, the pathway got thinner, and soon they had to walk single file. As they walked, Hoshiko looked out at the eastern side of the lake and saw one of the ferries that were carrying refugees to Ba-Sing-Se. She looked on the other side and jumped when she saw a Fire Nation ship sailing on the waters.
"Anyone have any idea why there's a Fire Nation ship here?" She asked, looking around, seeing that everyone else had noticed it, too.
"The Fire Nation controls the western lake." Suki explained, "Rumor has it they're working on something big on the other side and they don't want anyone to find out what it is."
"Fire Nation making a big project…" Hoshiko muttered, "That's a pleasant thought." Hoshiko turned when she heard the sound of crumbling stone, and saw Tahn had stepped on some loose rock and was beginning to fall. Toph used earth bending to make some of the cliff jut out and catch him before he fell too far down and used that same piece to make him jump back up onto the path. Ying rushed over to him immediately, checking to see if he was hurt.
"I'm okay!" He said, pushing her hands back to herself, but embracing her just the same. Unfortunately, the rock he had stepped on continued to fall and splashed into the lake waters below. The sound of the splash seemed ominous and everyone stood still as they waited to see if the Fire Nation ship would react at all.
They did.
Hoshiko's eyes went wide as she saw the orange glow of a fireball being launched at them.
"They've spotted us!" Sokka exclaimed, "Let's go! Let's go!" Everyone tried to run, but Aang had other ideas. He jumped off the cliff, keeping himself afloat with air bending, pulled his staff back and hit the fireball back to the ship with a powerful gust of wind. It was a direct hit to the ship's helm, but they had already launched the second fireball as it hit them. The fireball soared over Aang and hit some of the rock above the group, specifically over Suki. Sokka pushed her out of the way so she wouldn't be hit, and before the rocks could touch him, Toph used her earth bending to make a large wedge of earth come out above him and made the rocks fall into the ocean instead.
"Suki, are you okay?" Sokka asked frantically as he helped her to her feet, "You have to be more careful, come on!" He dragged her along with him. He didn't hear Toph grumbling to herself about Sokka not thanking her for saving his life. Hoshiko grabbed her wrist and they quickly ran behind a rock wall where the ship wouldn't be able to see them, not that they could do anything at the moment, anyway. With the ship so damaged, they would spend a good few hours on repairing it, so they were safe.
For now, anyways.
Everyone kept travelling along the pathway until it started to become dark. Hoshiko suggested they make camp before sunset, because they were all very tired, and Ying had told her husband that her feet were starting to feel tight in her shoes. They found a small plateau where everyone could sleep for the night. Once Ying had sat down, her husband sat next to her, gently massaging her swollen feet and ankles. Everyone placed mats where they thought would be a good place to sleep for the night. Aang and Hoshiko started a small fire to keep them all warm, and everyone had packed their own food. When Hoshiko realized that Tahn and Ying only had what they had in their pockets as food, she offered them hers. They instantly refused, saying they shouldn't, and Hoshiko shot back that they should at least eat half to keep up their energy and to help nourish Ying's baby. At the mention of the child, they caved and ate the food, to Hoshiko's satisfaction.
She watched as Suki unrolled her mat on a ledge close to the edge, and Sokka came over to her almost instantly. "Suki, you shouldn't sleep there." He said, dragging her mat away from the ledge, "Who knows how stable this ledge is? It could give way at any moment." He dragged it next to his mat and flattened it out.
"Sokka, I'm fine." Suki insisted, walking over to him, "Stop worrying!"
"You're right, you're right." Sokka said, "You're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself." Suki smiled at him and was about to lay down on the mat, when Sokka suddenly jumped up, screaming, "WAIT!" She stopped, wondering what it was that could have startled him so much, "Oh, never mind, I thought I saw a spider, but you're fine." Suki frowned, not taking a lot of comfort in what he said. Sokka walked away to tend to the fire and Hoshiko came up to the warrior.
"Don't get so upset." She said, "He only said that so you would sleep next to him." Suki smiled a little.
"And the spider?" She asked, Hoshiko pursed her lips thoughtfully, then shrugged as an answer. Suki frowned again and lay down on the mat. Hoshiko looked over at Sokka and her expression became sorrowful, knowing he was only acting like this because of Yue.
Later on that night, after the moon had risen a bit in the sky, Hoshiko got up, seeing Tahn helping Ying prepare for bed that night. Toph was already snoring inside her earth tent. She noticed that Sokka, and Suki were nowhere to be found. She got up and found Sokka sitting beneath a nature-made stone arch and staring up at the moon. She felt her ears droop at her sadness and was about to go to him, when she caught Suki approaching him out of the corner of her eye. She stayed put and eavesdropped on their conversation.
"It's a beautiful moon." Suki said softly, looking up at it.
"Yeah, it really is." Sokka said, a touch of sadness in his voice. Suki sat next to him, a small smile on her face.
"Look," She began, "I know you're just trying to help, but I can take care of myself."
"I know you can." Sokka said, looking at her.
"Then why are you acting so overprotective?" Suki asked. Sokka looked away from her before he spoke.
"It's so hard to lose someone you care about." Sokka said, "Something happened at the North Pole, and I couldn't protect someone. I don't want anything like that to ever happen again."
"I lost someone I cared about." Suki said, "He didn't die, he just went away. I only had a few days to get to know him, but he was smart, and brave, and funny…"
"Who is this guy?" Sokka asked with a scowl on his face, "Is he taller than me?"
"No," Suki said with a smile, "He's about your height."
"Is he better looking?" Sokka asked.
"It is you, stupid." Suki said with a laugh. Sokka's scowl melted away and he smiled.
"Oh." He said. He looked into Suki's eyes and she looked back. They leaned closer and closer, and they were about to kiss one another, when a cloud suddenly moved, bathing them both in moonlight. Sokka stopped and opened his eyes, pulling away. "I can't."
Suki opened her eyes and pulled away, "I'm sorry…"
"No, you shouldn't be." Sokka said, walking away from her. Hoshiko watched sadly as Suki walked away, back to the campsite. Hoshiko came out from her hiding place to see Sokka was still staring up at the moon.
"I miss her, too." She said softly, making him jump. He looked and saw Hoshiko, her ears drooped, and a sad appearance to her crystalline blue eyes, she had her hands clasped behind her back as she walked closer to him. She turned to her gaze to the moon, "Yue was always so sweet. She was smart, too, she always knew just what to say." Her fingers began fiddling with her bracelet with the blue plate, the same one she had given Yue for her sixteenth birthday, "Sometimes, she would get these… looks from passersby. I always felt a little jealous for that, but not much. Mostly because Yue is a very beautiful girl, it's only natural a pretty girl gets looks like that. Then I'd remember the first day I met her, then I wouldn't feel so envious."
"What happened on the first day you met?" Sokka asked.
"I found her in an alley with two guys about to rape her." Hoshiko said bluntly, "I helped her get away before they did anything traumatizing." She sat down where Suki had been sitting and Sokka sat next to her.
"Oh." Sokka said, he looked back at the moon, "…I really miss her." He stared down at his hands, "Sometimes, I have dreams about that night. Sometimes, I'll go up with her, other times, she'll rise and I'll fall." He sighed deeply, "I keep going over that night again and again, trying to think of some way to have prevented what happened, but…" He trailed off, unsure of how to continue. Hoshiko reached up and gently smacked the back of his head, "Hey!"
"You didn't know her very well, did you?" Hoshiko said, "No matter what happened, Yue always looked toward the future, it may not have always been in happiness, sure, but she still always looked ahead. Instead of people like me, who always stick to the past." She gently fiddled with bracelet's plate, "And you, too. She'd want you to move on, Sokka. Look towards your future, not stay stuck looking behind you, because," She grinned wryly, "It's pretty difficult to walk backwards." Sokka smirked at her joke. He watched as Hoshiko slid the bracelet off her wrist and held it out to him, "Here, you take it." He looked at it with wide eyes.
"Hoshiko… I couldn't." He pushed it back, "It's yours. You should keep it."
"You loved Yue." Hoshiko said, "This is the only bit of her that you can still touch. It means more to you than it does to me, take it." Sokka stared at the bracelet, seriously considering the option of taking and having the only piece of Yue that was left. He shook his head and pushed it back.
"If she wants me to move forward," He said, reattaching the bracelet to her wrist, "Then I need to let her go, and that means not keeping anything too sentimental. The bracelet is yours, Yue left it behind for a reason. It's yours to keep." Hoshiko smiled and looked down at the bracelet.
"You knew Yue better than I thought you did." She said, putting her hands in her lap, "I guess I should have known better."
"And I guess I should've known that somewhere under all that rudeness," Sokka said with a sly smirk, "That you actually had a sense of humor. Tiny one, though." Hoshiko glared playfully at him and pushed him off the rock he sat on, "Hey!"
"I still don't know what she saw in you." Hoshiko said with a laugh as she stood up. Sokka glared playfully at her and grabbed her tail, yanking her down as well, she let out a yelp and glared at him, "What did I say about my tail?!" She pushed his head down and stood up, glaring at him. Sokka saw her glare and grimaced.
"Okay, okay, sorry." He said, "I was just playing."
"In Shinjun culture," Hoshiko began, "Yanking someone's tail is not 'playing,' at least, not in the sense you're talking about."
"Okay, I'm sorry." Sokka said, pushing himself up. Hoshiko still glared at him, "Really, really sorry." Hoshiko huffed out a sigh.
"Fine." She said, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight." She turned and started walking away.
"Goodnight." Sokka muttered, sitting back under the arch.
"Oh, and Sokka?" He looked over at her, "Think about what I said, okay?"
Sokka nodded, "I will. Thanks Hoshi." Hoshiko froze and looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"
"Nothing," Hoshiko said, shaking her head with a small smile, "It's just… It's been a long time since someone called me Hoshi." She nodded at him one last time and headed back to the campsite.
The next morning, everyone travelled on the path again. Hoshiko noticed that Sokka walked a little closer to Suki than he did yesterday, and he hadn't shown any over protectiveness since she had spoken to him the night before. This thought comforted her as she looked down at Yue's bracelet, thinking of her friend. She was fiddling with it so much, she didn't notice the person in front of her, which was Toph, had stopped walking and she bumped into her. When Hoshiko was about to ask why she stopped, she looked ahead and saw the answer for herself.
The next hundred feet of The Serpent's Pass was under the water, and they couldn't make it across without someone drowning.
Katara, seeing the dilemma, stepped forward and said, "Everyone single file!" In a commanding voice. Everyone did as she had said, being single file behind her as she bent up the water to clear the path. As they got deeper into the water, Hoshiko saw that the water bending was creating a protective air bubble around them. "Aang, I need help!" Aang, seeing that she couldn't hold up the end of the bubble on her own, bent the water around to make the end of the bubble.
Everyone looked around them, never having been underwater without being unable to breathe. Hoshiko licked her lips as she saw a school of fish swim past them, she was tempted to reach out and grab one, but Sokka put his hand on her shoulder. He shook his head no, and she pouted, unhappy at the thought of not eating one of the fish. Momo saw the fish as well and jumped off Toph's shoulder to jump out the bubble to chase after them. He swam past Sokka and Suki and they smiled at his playfulness, Hoshiko scowled.
"Oh, so he gets to go after the fish, but I don't?" She asked with a pout, Sokka scowled.
"If you went after the fish, the bubble would pop." Sokka said, Hoshiko scowled but said nothing in response.
Suddenly, something huge swam past Momo at an alarming speed, scaring him and making him jump back in the bubble on Hoshiko's shoulder. He was quivering in fear and Hoshiko gave him a comforting pat on the head, wondering if he was cold or afraid. Something huge swam past them, and she now understood that he was afraid. Everyone stopped out of fear at the sight of it. They could only see its silhouette, but it had a long snout, resembling a horse's, an incredibly long neck, and a sort of bottle-shaped body.
"What is that thing?" Suki asked, staring at it as it disappeared. Everyone waited with baited breath, wondering if it would return.
It did.
The huge creature swam straight through the bubble, making water pour in from the giant holes it made. Everyone screamed in fear of drowning, but Toph, ever the quick thinker, used earth bending to bring them up to the surface above the water my making a small, stone island. They looked around them as they saw the green and purple spikes of something's back as it swam circles around them menacingly. When the spikes disappeared, its head came up, revealing a huge, purple and green sea serpent. It let out a shrieking cry at the creatures that had dared invade its territory.
"I think I just figured out why they call it The Serpent's Pass!" Sokka said, pointing up at the monster. "Suki, you know about giant sea monsters! Make it go away!"
"Just because I live near the Unagi doesn't mean I'm an expert!" Suki snapped. Sokka backed off and picked up Momo, presenting it to the serpent.
"O great and powerful sea serpent!" He called up to it, "Please accept this humble and tasty offering. Thank you."
"Sokka!" Katara said in an admonishing tone. Sokka flinched and dropped the lemur. The serpent let out another wild cry as it descended upon them, and Aang sent it back with a gust of wind.
He turned to the others, "I'll distract it. Katara, get everyone across!" He opened his glider and flew up to the beast, making it chase after him while Katara bent up a path of ice to the other side. Everyone dashed across it, more than ready to get away from the monster, and once Katara was sure that everyone was going to be alright, she jumped onto the water, making a small iceberg for her to surf across the lake water on and she went to help Aang.
Hoshiko and Sokka turned around when they saw Toph had not moved from her little island.
"Toph, come on!" Sokka called, "It's just ice!" Hoshiko saw her take a tiny step onto the ice, then she shrunk back to her original position.
"Actually…!" She called back, "I'm gonna stay on my little island where I can see!" The sea serpent was pushed back by one of Aang's attacks, and it smashed against the island, Toph jumped off the earth. "Okay, I'm coming!" She carefully and slowly moved across the ice in a sideways walk, arms held out for balance.
"You're doing great!" Sokka called out slowly, "Just follow the sound of my voice!"
"It's hard to ignore." Toph muttered, but only Hoshiko heard it, and she smirked.
"You're almost there!" Sokka said when she was about twenty feet away from them. Hoshiko's eyes widened when she saw the sea serpent being pushed back again, and it landed on the icy path, destroying it. Toph shrieked when she was suddenly forced up and into the water. She splashed around aimlessly.
"Help!" She cried, "I can't swim!"
"I'm comin' Toph!" Sokka called, taking off his shoes to get ready to swim after her, but Hoshiko beat him to it, diving straight into the water, swimming as fast as she could towards the earth bender.
"Help!" Toph cried before she sunk under the water. Hoshiko felt her heart begin to quicken its pace and she swam faster, when she was about where she had started to sink, she took in a big gulp of air and dove down after her. Toph was struggling under the water, limbs flailing around aimlessly, looking for something to grab. Hoshiko reached out and grabbed her under her arms and swam up to the surface. Both of them gasped at the sudden relief of fresh air and took several deep breaths before either of them spoke.
"Oh, Sokka," Toph cooed, "You saved me!" She leaned over and kissed Hoshiko's cheek.
"Actually, Toph," She said, "It's me, Hoshiko." Toph's eyes went wide and her cheeks became dusted a light pink color.
"Oh… Well…" She laughed nervously, then slumped in her arms, "You can go ahead and let me drown now." Hoshiko rolled her eyes with a grin.
"Who knew you could be so melodramatic?" She said as she began to swim back to shore.
"You are never to tell anyone about this." Toph said, "Ever."
"My lips are sealed." Hoshiko assured. It only took them another minute to reach the shore and Sokka helped Toph to her feet. Hoshiko pushed herself out of the water and followed the others as they ran up the pathway to safety. Hoshiko looked to see that Katara and Aang were using their water bending abilities to make a giant whirlpool around the serpent, making it spin uncontrollably. When it managed to stick its head out, it bashed its cranium against the wall of the serpent's pass and fell into the water. It swam away, deciding that this particular lot wasn't worth dealing with. Aang opened up his glider and Katara grabbed onto it as they flew up and past the others, who cheered at their victory.
To say that Hoshiko was relieved when they saw the end of the path was an understatement. She felt overwhelming and incredibly peaceful at the thought that this adventure was finally coming to an end. When they got off the path, she was tempted to kiss the solid, stable earth in joy, but she restrained herself.
Sokka looked ahead of them and saw a huge wall a few miles away, and smiled, "There's the wall!" He exclaimed, pointing it out to the others. Everyone smiled, happy to know that their travels were almost over. "Now it's nothing but smooth sailing to Ba-Sing-Se."
Ying suddenly gasped out "Oh, no!" Holding her swollen stomach, her face contorted to one of pain. Instantly, Tahn was at her side, concern etched across his face.
"What's wrong?" Sokka asked, looking at her.
"The baby's coming!" Ying gasped, Tahn carefully leaned her against a cliff so she could sit down.
"What?! NOW?!" Sokka exclaimed in worry, "Can't you… hold it in, or something?"
"Sokka, calm down." Katara said, coming up to him, "I helped Gran Gran deliver lots of babies back home."
"This isn't the same as delivering an arctic seal!" Sokka shouted, "This is a real… human… thing!!"
"It's called a baby." Katara corrected with a dull look on her face, "And I helped her deliver plenty of those, too." She turned to the others, "Aang, get some rags. Sokka, water." The two boys ran off to get what they were told to, Katara walked over to Toph, "Toph, I need you to make an earth tent. A big one." Toph walked a little closer to where the couple was and bent up five huge slabs of earth over them, "Suki and Hoshiko, come with me." They followed her into the tent, doing whatever they were told to help in the baby's delivery.
Ying let out quick breaths as Katara prepared her to push. Tahn held onto her hand and Suki held onto the other. Hoshiko stood ready with a few rags for the baby when it was born.
"You're doing great, Ying." Katara comforted, she turned around to the entrance and shouted, "Sokka! Where's that water?" Sokka, hearing the call, began to come in with a pouch in his hands, "Now get ready to push." Sokka entered at this moment and looked over at Ying, "1… 2… 3… Push!" Ying let out a loud groan of pain at the effort, and the baby's head began to crown.
Sokka fainted from the sight. Hoshiko looked down at him in surprise, then picked up the water, giving it to Katara. When she saw it was Hoshiko giving it to her, she looked over and saw her brother lying on the ground, passed out. She let out a groan at the sight of it.
"I got him." Hoshiko said, "You keep helping Ying." Katara nodded and Hoshiko walked over to Sokka, picking him up by his under arms and dragging him out of the tent. Aang and Toph looked over at him in surprise.
"What happened?" Aang asked, looking at his friend.
"He fainted." Hoshiko said, "Apparently, Mr. Tough guy here can't handle seeing a baby's head." Toph guffawed aloud at her words, and Hoshiko let herself grin, "Come on, help me elevate his feet. He needs blood flowing back in that noggin."
"There wasn't any before, why now?" Toph asked, Hoshiko laughed, then pulled Toph in for a one-arm hug.
"I love you, Toph." She laughed, picking up Sokka's ankles and setting them on a rock. After a minute, Sokka regained consciousness, and Hoshiko decided it was best for her to stay out where she could keep an eye on him, he insisted he didn't need it, but she didn't listen. He sat down against the outside of the tent and she sat down with him. Aang sat on the opposite side and Toph leaned against the wall.
After a little while of waiting outside the earth tent, a baby's cry was heard. Hoshiko jumped up excitedly at the sound.
"It's a girl!" Katara exclaimed happily.
"So, you wanna go see the baby, or are you gonna faint like an old lady again?" Toph asked Sokka with a grin.
"No, no. I'm good this time." Sokka said quickly, getting up and following Toph into the tent, Hoshiko coming after him. She looked at the sight before her, Ying, holding her baby girl in her arms, Tahn watching over them, looking like the happiest man in the world. She looked around, realizing one member of their group wasn't there. She looked outside and saw Aang still sitting against the tent.
"Aang, you have to see this." She said to him, offering her hand. Aang took it and she pulled him up onto his feet. He followed her inside the tent as everyone gathered around the new mother. The baby made little cooing noises at her mother.
"She sounds healthy." Toph mused with a smile.
"She's beautiful." Katara said, looking at the little girl.
"It's so… squishy-looking." Sokka said, for lack of a better word. Hoshiko looked at him dryly.
"All babies look 'squishy' when they're newborns." Hoshiko said, "It means they're healthy." She leaned down to get a better look at the baby. She looked up to see that Tahn was looking down at his wife with the most loving gaze she had ever seen. She felt a pang of jealousy go through her again, wishing she had that special someone, too. It disappeared though, when she looked back at the baby, and felt only happiness for the new family. She didn't realize that Aang, at the sight of their happiness, had begun to smile for the first time in days.
"What should we name her?" Tahn asked his wife, looking down at his little girl.
"I want our daughter's name to be unique." Ying said, looking at her little face, "I want it to mean something." Hoshiko looked over at Aang, and saw tears welling up around his smiling face. He wiped them away and stepped forward and began to speak.
"I've been going through a really hard time, lately." He told them, "But you've made me… hopeful again."
"I know what I want to name our baby now." Ying said, looking up at her husband, "Hope."
"That's a perfect name." Tahn agreed, "Hope." He gently touched Hope's chubby cheek with his finger and smiled. Aang walked over to Katara and gently tugged on her wrist, she looked at him questioningly and he quietly asked if they could speak outside. They left the tent, and the others followed, letting the couple be alone with their new baby girl. They looked over at Aang and Katara, nobody really being able to make out what they were saying to each other.
"I am suddenly reminded of an old proverb." Hoshiko said, catching everyone's attention, "'When the mother gives birth, she risks her life. And when the baby is born, everyone around her is blessed'."
"Where'd you hear that?" Sokka asked, Hoshiko thought about it for a moment.
"You know, I'm not entirely sure." She said, she shrugged her shoulders, "Oh, well." She looked over at Aang and Katara and saw them embracing. They walked over to them, Toph holding up Aang's staff.
"I promise," Aang said, "I'll find Appa as fast as I can, I just really need to do this." Aang took the staff from Toph with a smile, looking more like his old self.
"See you in the big city." Sokka said, putting his hand on Aang's shoulder.
"Say hi to the big fuzz ball for me." Toph said, punching Aang's shoulder.
"Best of luck." Hoshiko said, giving him a thumb's up. Katara walked over to Aang and smiled.
"You'll find him, Aang." She said.
"I know." Aang replied, "Thank you, Katara." He opened up his glider and looked over at Momo as he scurried beside him, his wings out and ready for takeoff, "You ready Momo?" The lemur chirped approvingly and they jumped up into the sky, flying towards the great wall. Everyone waved goodbye as they went off.
After a moment, everyone went to prepare their things for the next couple hours of travel. Hoshiko looked over at Suki as she approached Sokka, her keen ears hearing every word she said.
"Sokka, it's been really great to see you again." Suki began, Sokka looked up at her with wide eyes and stood up to face her.
"Whoa, hold on." He said, "Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?"
"I came along because I wanted to make sure you got through The Serpent's Pass safely," Suki explained, "But now I need to get back to the other Kyoshi warriors." Sokka slumped over in surprise.
"So… you came along… to protect me?" He asked in shock, Hoshiko snorted quietly behind her hand.
"Listen, I'm really sorry about last night." Suki said, "We were talking and… saying things… I just got carried away and before I knew it, I-" Sokka cut her off by pressing his lips to hers.
He pulled away and smiled at her, "You talk too much." He said, Suki smiled and they kissed again, wrapping their arms around each other.
"They're getting way too into it." Toph said with a scrunched up nose as she stared in their general direction. Hoshiko shook her head with a smile.
"I think it's sweet." Hoshiko said, "But I guess we should be moving on." She raised her hand and manipulated Sokka's shadow to make it reach up and tug his ponytail. He yelped in surprise and pain and jumped at the sight of the inky tentacle. "Hey, lovebirds!" They looked back at her in surprise, "We need to get going, so put a hold on the making out!" They blushed and looked away from each other.
After a few minutes, Suki was all prepared to leave and they waved goodbye to each other. She headed to where she knew the ferries would dock, saying it would be safer that way. Everyone headed off in the direction of the wall, ready to get to Ba-Sing-Se and get their message to the Earth King.
Aang flew over the plains to the wall, he flew up high and landed on it, looking over the city and smiled. He looked back to see the plains and gasped.
Heading for the city, marked with a large Fire Nation emblem, was a giant drill, guarded by ten Fire Nation tanks, five on each side. Aang looked back to Momo sadly, "Sorry Momo," He apologized to the lemur, "Appa's gonna have to wait."