Sokka nearly took of running when she saw the flare go off, but GranGran kept her at the village. She talked it over with GranGran and the other women and they decided that Aang was probably a bigger threat then they originally assumed. Feeling guilty about their decision anyway, Sokka packed up a small bag for Aang with some clothes and dried food.
When they do return Sokka explains that it is better for the village if Aang leaves. At first Katara tries to go with him, but GranGran helps convince her to stay with the family. Hearing her sister snap about losing her one chance to become a water bender almost makes Sokka want to call Aang back to take Katara to the Northern Water Tribe. But there are more important preparations on her mind.
Sokka is not a warrior. She knows her father always wanted a boy, her masculine name is enough to remind her of that. She's not going to be so foolish as to put warpaint on herself. Instead she puts on the cleanest dress and hopes that if the fire benders do come that they can listen to reason… or at least believe her lies. Instead of trying to get the young boys to be warriors, she sends them to the mothers. She also demands Katara stay by GranGrans side no matter what happens. And as the large black ship draws nearer, she takes deep breathes to calm herself. She keeps her hands behind her back to keep them from shaking and hopes that she looks composed and worthy of respect. She is only 15, but she has been helping take care of the tribe for many years and as Chief Hakoda's eldest daughter, it is her job to be the voice of her people while he is gone.
Sokka cringes as she watches the things she worked hard to build just crumble as the ship crashes through them. She feels her breathe start to quicken as the hatch opens and the four men come down. Before she can even ask why they are there, the leader of the men brushes right past her towards Katara.
"Where are you hiding him?" The man looks around and then grabs onto GranGran. "He'd be about this age, master of all elements?" Sokka watches him shove her grandmother away and she quickens her pace towards him. Not getting an answer fast enough the man release an arc of flame above the villagers, frightening all of them. Sokka grabs his arm by the sleeve, ending his blast of fire. He turns towards her angry, and that's when she can see the scar on his face.
"I know you're hiding him!" He practically barks at her.
"Hiding who?" Sokka questions.
"The Avatar." The tables turn and now Sokka is in the man's grip. His hand is hot on her arm, but she tries to look composed.
"Everyone knows the Avatar disappeared one hundred years ago. If you are hear because of the flare that went off, I can explain." Sokka says, trying to change the subject.
"Oh can you?"
"Yes. We are running low on food and though we have always been told to stay away from the ship, I was hoping that I might be able to find some preserved food on there. But instead I just found it booby-trapped."
He appears to consider her statement for a brief moment. "Then what was that thing I saw flying away from the shipwreck?"
"A bird maybe?" Sokka answers quickly. "Maybe it was just a piece that flew off while the ship was collapsing."
"You have an answer for everything, don't you?" He says with a glare. He seems to have gathered that she's important to the tribe from the way that the others are looking at her. "Well then, unless anyone has any other information," the fire bender proclaims loud enough for everyone to hear, "I'll arrest you for trespassing and take you back to a Fire Nation prison."
The women gasp and Sokka tries to set her face in a hard line. She prays that Katara won't do anything dumb, but before she can worry about her, something sweeps the man's feet out from under him and Sokka is free from his grasp.
The children cheer and Sokka realizes that Aang has come back. "Hey Katara. Hey Sokka. You look pretty." He says with a cheeky grin.
"Hi Aang." Sokka says a bit sharply. "Thanks for coming."
The fire benders surround Aang, but he showers them all with snow. The fire bender with the scar melts it off of himself before glaring at Aang.
"Looking for me?" The airbender says.
"You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?" The scarred man says sounding shocked. Sokka hears her sister say Aang's name, obviously shocked too. The fire bender keeps talking. "I've sent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating. You're just a child!"
Aang cocks his head. "Well, you're just a teenager." That's when Sokka sees it, even under the armor, the fire bender is probably closer to her age than she originally assumed.
But he's still very dangerous. And when Aang offers to go with him so he'll stop attacking the village, she can't help but be a little relieved. Of course, her sister's anger at Aang being taken away quickly becomes her next problem to deal with. Grabbing what supplies she can, she prepares a canoe. Kanna also supplies them with quite a bit more, implying that they have a big journey ahead of them. When the Fire Nation ship takes off, Katara and Sokka are quick to follow after it. However, their canoe isn't that quick. Thankfully, Aang's friend Appa shows up to help.
The attack on the Fire Nation ship goes by so quickly Sokka barely remembers it. She is horrified to let her sister got on the ship to freeze some of the guards, and even more scared when Aang comes out of the water glowing. But soon she herself is involved in the battle scrambling to get Aang onto Appa's back. She also rushes to get Aang's staff. The scarred fire bender tries to keep it from her, but she shoves him off over the side of the boat. "You'll never get me into a Fire Nation prison." She says a bit vindictively before she rushes back over to Appa. Soon all of them are taking off and easily avoiding the bursts of fire.
Before they get far, Katara turns to her with a look that says she's trying to plead with her to stay with them. Sokka just grins. "Hey, if I get to mess with fire benders and keep an eye on you and your boyfriend at the same time, I'm all for it." Katara gets upset at the little comment, but she can see both of them blushing.