The Mahaha Tribe Arc 6:
Surprisingly, and fortunately for them, the howling of the rather unrelenting blizzard had significantly lessened when they stopped to camp for the night. Even though it was still snowing, the destructive winds that even an airbender would fear, had reduced in intensity, and the location Sokka chose as a campsite was within the woods; the campfire currently casting their shadows, reaching the rather elongated Sitka Spruce and Atlas Cedar trees - common in the South Pole - encountering a pack of tundra wolves was their only worry. They sat atop ice-logs, formed by the Avatar and Kaisa, encircling the campfire, their tents were already set, and they'd already cooked and served dinner. Now, a few minutes after Sokka had suggested they catch some sleep, the group - last minute - was strategizing, discussing and deciding on which path to take to reach their objective.
"It would normally take us around three days to get there, but if we take less breaks, we should be able to reach in two," Sokka hypothesised.
"Is there really that great of a need to hurry?" Suki asked, "We shouldn't overexert ourselves, Sokka. If we're not careful, we'll be worn out even before we reach Bhoot Pahaard. And if we're spent, who knows how difficult completing the mission will become - we don't exactly know what we'll be dealing with up there."
"I agree with her," Haru nodded.
"I'm more inclined to agree with Councilman Sokka," Kaisa admitted, frowning as she refused to meet anyone's eyes, let alone the Avatar's, fearing she'd sense judgement within them. "But… that's more or less because I don't want to risk losing my mother."
"We also have to entertain the possibility that whoever is up there could be gone by the time we arrive," Sokka stated. "I don't mean to offend you Kaisa, but we can't say without a shadow of doubt that we'll definitely be dealing with spirits on that mountain. If we are, then great; years of travelling with Aang have taught me that spirits don't usually travel much. They tend to inhabit particular locations; places of importance to them." His eyes slightly furrowed as his expression became serious and calculating - Suki hadn't been witness to it in a while, mostly because they hadn't properly been together for… spirits knew how long now. The flame of the campfire flickered in his sapphire orbs as he argued, "However, let's suppose that whatever's up there isn't a spirit, but rather, a group of bandits kidnapping or robbing or extorting people. In a case such as that, if we take too long, there's a large possibility that they'll be gone before we get there."
"You heard the same stories I did, Sokka," Haru countered. "In fact you even said it yourself: people have been disappearing from that mountain for decades now. Do you really think a group of bandits, who've likely found success where they are, would leave that mountain if it's so advantageous to them?"
"There's a reason I don't believe in folk tales and superstition."
Haru frowned as he raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What's that got to do with anything?"
"He's trying to say that we need to separate fact from fiction," the Avatar stated before the warrior could answer.
"How did you get to that conclusion?" The still confused earthbender further inquired.
"Fiction: everyone believes spirits likely inhabit that mountain as their 'presence' has been felt for decades," Sokka elaborated. "Fact: the time intervals and differences between the disappearances are unknown, meaning, no one knows exactly who disappeared and when, and how long it took for another to disappear. If each disappearance, for example, occurred a year or a decade after the one before, it would be likely to suggest it is the work of spirits. However, if they occurred regularly, bandits are the more valid candidates. Yet, we can't be sure, because all that information is unavailable and unknown to us; no one kept records of these kinds of things back in the day."
"So…" Haru racked his brain as asked, "...what's your point?"
Sokka simply sighed in defeat before Suki opted to help him out, "He's trying to say that we shouldn't rule out any possibility." Haru looked towards her cloaked, slightly shivering self as she continued, "We're venturing into the unknown - we can't walk into a situation with a fixed mindset; it'll get us killed. We need to be flexible."
"I think you're right," the Avatar stated while staring out into the distance, his eyes focusing on a large patch of darkness within the distance. "We can't be fixed on the idea that we'll be battling spirits… but we can't discredit the notion either; it's been talked about for decades, and we have a living survivor beside us." At that, the three others all jerked their heads towards Kaisa, who kept her gaze glued on the Avatar, watching the way he stood gracefully and shuffled away from the campfire. "With that being said, I still think it'll be a good idea to regroup at Ilanaaq Village. It'll give us time to recharge, and we can also search for more sources of information; they're the closest civilization to the mountain, so they're bound to know something."
Nodding, Sokka became slightly alarmed however when he noticed Aang entering the patch of darkness just past the closest set of trees. "Where are you going?"
"To scan the area - make sure we're not being watched or cornered by anyone or anything," he answered back.
"Don't venture out too far, then," Sokka called back.
There was a beat of silence in which Suki was preparing to follow the airbender, mostly to escape the campfire, but more so to talk to him. She wanted to clear the air - if there even was a need to do so. Like… she wasn't the only one who thought they'd shared a moment that morning, was she? He knew it too… right?
Her inner turmoil was interrupted when Kaisa sat up hastily and announced that she'd go with him as a 'safety precaution'. Suki frowned, but only for a second. It didn't bother her that Kaisa so obviously had a crush on Aang. I didn't. No, really, it didn't.
Sokka himself was preparing to ask Suki if the two of them could step aside and have a little chat. There was much that he wanted to discuss with her, but it would be rather unfair of him to do so while in Haru's presence, both to themselves and to Haru; it had the capacity of being one awkward conversation. Not wanting to make the earthbender uncomfortable, Sokka prepared to stand up and ask Suki to shuffle to the side with him, but before he could, Suki had already stood up and turned to return to her tent.
"I'm gonna call it night," said Suki as she waved them goodnight. "Night you two."
"Goodnight, Suki," Haru reciprocated while Sokka simply frowned - it was clear as day that she was avoiding him. Whatever the reasoning she had, it didn't sit well with him. "Give her some time."
Haru's comment caught him by surprise, "Hmmm?"
"Give her time, Sokka," he said, staring empathetically into the Southern warrior's eyes as he continued. "She didn't expect to be meeting you like this. She's just a little shocked. Give her some time, and she'll come through."
He raised an eyebrow, still frowning, "Is that what she said?"
"It's what I can make of it."
Nodding rather absentmindedly, Sokka thought it'd be better to mention something that had been bothering him all day, now that they were already on the topic…
"Speaking of…" he trailed off, for some unknown reason, unable to say her name at that moment. "Do you know… or, do you think there's… something going on… between them?"
"Well," the earthbender scratched his beard before answering, knowing exactly who he was referring to as he'd had the same suspicions previously, "they do seem pretty close now. But… I think that's more or less because Aang visited Kyoshi Island often between travels. So, naturally, he saw her more, and they've probably become close friends due to it." Sokka nodded, he could understand that. "I've seen the way Aang looks at someone he loves…" Haru elaborated, causing Sokka to cringe slightly as he knew what was coming next. "And… he doesn't look at Suki the same way… well, you know." The earthbender shrugged, refraining from stating anything further as it was quite self-explanatory.
"Yeah," Sokka was mostly reassured. "You're probably right," yet, the seed of doubt had been planted, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to completely pluck it out from the fertile ground of his mind.
"Hey! Hey, wait up!"
"Don't shout," he grumbled while stopping and turning to the girl jogging towards him. "You'll alert others to our position."
"Who?" She asked, leaning forward slightly to catch her breath. "There's no one else here."
"You can never be too careful," Aang murmured, his eyes returning to scoping out the environment as Kaisa frowned.
"Is something wrong?"
He didn't meet her eyes while answering, still opting to focus on ensuring they were safe from other external sources of danger, "Why do you ask?"
"Cause you're completely different from last night," she observed, trailing behind him as he walked further away from the campsite. "Sokka said not to go out too far," she reminded him, but the waterbender was met with no response as he stopped and once again glanced around, analysing his surroundings. "Do you have a split personality or something?"
With a deadpan expression, he turned towards Kaisa, surprised that she'd have a similar sense of humour to Sokka, "I have different attitudes for different situations."
"And when will the Aang from last night come out again?"
"When someone needs comforting."
She grinned mischievously, "So, all I need to do is get hurt or something…?"
"Don't you dare," his eyes narrowed towards her, but she simply laughed at his expression, thus causing his frown to break into a small smile as he chuckled alongside her.
"Brooding doesn't suit you, Avatar Aang."
"I'm not brooding, just being cautious," he stated, now shuffling backwards, going through the same path he followed, leading back towards the campsite. "This is a dangerous mission, and whether we like it or not, Sokka and I are responsible for everyone's safety. So, we can't be caught slacking."
"Well," her grin only widened as he looked towards her while walking side by side, "can't you be cautious and responsible without looking like you haven't smiled since your previous reincarnation?"
That got another chuckled out of him.
She felt her heart flutter when the older teenager grinned back, "Maybe."