Chapter 16: Yue
While Katara conversed with their friends and updated them about the South, Sokka walked around Kanguq and Sayen's estate following more failed attempts at "uncling." Heavy doses of socialization weighed down on him all at once, and he relied on a degree of solitude to piece together the information he had recently processed, so he opted for an exploration of the building by himself. It seemed that his friends only recently moved in considering the furniture, ceremonial decor, and animal pelts that were shoved together and tucked away in small closets. For the most part, the place was completely empty, too, confirming his suspicions. He wondered if perhaps this estate came with Lady Sayen's promoted status; after all, she was a member of the princess's council now.
The Southern prince then came across a particular room, inside of which were a few pieces of furniture, more than sparse amounts, but what caught his eye was an open chest stuffed with several small items. He stepped in out of curiosity and saw that the chest was filled with lots of black masks. Sokka reached down and picked up one of the masks, likely a new one as it was covered in a wrap. The masks were all identical; pitch-black in color to invoke the symbolism of La, oval-shaped to cover the entire face save for the eyes. On the forehead of each mask was a white crescent in the shape of a smile, which obviously invoked Tui symbolism.
Rays of afternoon sunlight suddenly slipped in through the windows and illuminated the room. He turned to look at his glistening surroundings before he found himself staring at a huge painting that covered a large portion of the wall behind him.
It was no doubt a masterpiece in style and the meticulousness of detail, but more than the artful prowess, Sokka was charmed by the subject of the painting. A woman, her eyes a deep baby blue, her hair long and white as it billowed behind her like waves.
Sokka widened his eyes. So it really is the princess? Do these people actually know what she looks like? Are they just hiding the fact?
Or it could be Tui, the logical point of him pointed out.
It doesn't seem like it, though, because Tui is usually depicted in white robes. In this painting, the woman was wearing black robes, bearing a white circle resembling the full moon on her chest. She had a black mask dangling from the sash at her waist; the mask was extremely similar to the black masks in the trunk, the only difference being that the woman's mask had a full moon on the forehead area compared to the crescents on her followers' masks. And of course, there was mist surrounding her, alluding to her identity as the Lady of the Mist.
The theme of the painting was obvious, too; this woman was a leader and a liberating figure, her mission represented by the way she was breaking metal shackles beneath her feet and tearing the chains away from a group of distressed-looking people consisting of women, children, and destitute tribesfolk. The night sky was dark and burdened by storm clouds to one side of the painting— the side that the woman was facing away from— but it transitioned into a clear night on the side the woman was facing. Her face, fair as snow, was perhaps the brightest part of the entire painting, which was a mixture of dark blues and blacks for the most part. Blurred in the background behind her, nearly encased in the midnight mist were several other people in black robes, wearing crescent-moon masks like the one Sokka was currently holding. And perhaps the most impressive part of the work that added onto these themes was a quote— an excerpt by Lady herself extracted from one of her speeches— included at the bottom of the gigantic painting, where the darkness of Lady's swooping robes and the blackness of the midnight water left room for fine calligraphy written in small characters and white ink:
"The stories we hear of the Spirits are our stories. Tales of love and loyalty, fear and tyranny, deviance and defiance, conformity and rebellion. These stories are manifest in our daily lives and show us that the Spirits' struggles are ours, that our struggles are theirs. Their battles are ours, their compassion is ours, their victories are ours. This goes to show that the Spirits are in all of us, consistently working to look after us. We may envision a harmonious world of the supernatural somewhere beyond the clouds, but the Spirit World is here. Now. In every oppressed creature crying for help, in every liberating agent lending a hand." —Speech Nine
And when he finally managed to stop drooling, Sokka returned to his observation that there was no way this painting was not a depiction of Lady. There was no way that Lady was not the princess, either. "Instead of offering an innocent life as a sacrifice to La, why not feed the same La who is present within all? Arranging mass feedings for the poor and helpless, offering jobs for the destitute, freeing the wrongfully caged, and taking a moment to smile at those you feel responsible for. All of those things are no different from feeding La, providing for La, freeing La and taking a moment to smile at La."
But then again, it was not uncommon for Tui to be portrayed in different art styles or symbolic descriptions. This was evident in the themes of compassion and liberation that obviously melded with the goals of the Revivalist mission. Who knew, perhaps Lady, whose appearance continues to elude the Revivalists to this day, is depicted as Tui Herself in the painting, and maybe Sokka was mistaking Tui for the princess, who strikingly took after the image of the Moon Spirit. In that case, it would be pure coincidence and nothing more than that.
But it didn't have to be because the princess likely is Lady herself. And it may very well be that she didn't want the world to know.
"She's an incognito leader. Because she is highly targeted by the Nationalists, she conceals her image by wearing a mask. She's described to be a powerful healer and waterbender."
Powerful waterbender. That's the thing. He ruminated again on her waterbending from earlier, the way she trapped and maneuvered the lightning with such exquisite skill. He didn't have to be a bender himself to know that that was some powerful waterbending.
Did it ever occur to you that you're being a little too biased in your calculations? his conscience probed. What if the princess and Lady and Baby Blue really are different people who just happen to share a lot of commonalities and a similar mission?
Baby Blue? Sokka blinked.
Well, we don't know her name yet, so...
He flushed, his head tilting as he studied the painting. It appeared to Sokka that he will never again see images of Tui the same way; all of them had taken on an actual form and a name— a name that he didn't know yet.
"If those officials find out that I'm thwarting their efforts, they'll have my influence suppressed one way or another. That's why the plan is for me to seem unattached to the issue on the surface and claim to stay out of these matters, but behind the scenes, it's all about taking action, doing something. That's why I favor a more secretive approach."
He reached out slowly and let his fingers hover near the woman's face. He ran a finger along the strokes that formed her hair, tracing the elegant white swirls of paint. It has to be the same person. It just had to be. His instincts were screaming it. The princess might be taking on these identities secretly to take action and make a difference in the tribe, something she would not get to do otherwise if she'd been sheltered and locked away from the world. And she could very well be telling everyone that she wasn't a bender while hiding her skills. The reasonings and the little details, he would probably never know until he has a talk with the princess and until she opens up to him about this, but these personas were most likely one person.
But what if you're putting all of this together because you want them to be the same person? You're obviously biased in favor of the princess, so you might subconsciously be expecting her to be perfect.
But the evidence was mostly in favor of his hypothesis so far. This has nothing to do with biases. Yeah, the princess was sweet and kind-hearted and compassionate and considerate and defensive of disadvantaged people and graceful in her gait even in her servant persona and downright beautiful as the spitting image of the Water Tribe's patron goddess...but all of that couldn't possibly have anything to do with his handling of the mystery.
"You see that, Sokka?"
Sokka nearly jumped and quickly pulled his hand away as he was interrupted by his sister, who walked into the room with Kameli.
"That's art right there," Katara pointed to the painting, "not giant hair loopies that look like lemur ears."
"You just don't understand my art style," he huffed in defense.
Kameli chuckled at the siblings while the Southern princess stepped forward and gazed at the painting more closely, taken aback with the image of the woman. "Wow...this is really beautiful…" she skimmed over the quote, "and powerful. Does this painting have a name?"
"No, Princess, it's untitled," Kameli said. "But perhaps you can give it a name."
Katara stepped even closer to the artwork. "This is obviously a painting of Lady, right?"
"Yes," Kameli nodded. "This work was painted by a talented artist who works for the Beloved's Children Welfare Mission. He gifted it to the group at one of our social service events around two years ago. He even suggested that we name the painting as we see fit."
"Well whoever painted this did an amazing job. It's a masterpiece," Katara breathed. "And it's very symbolic, too. He portrayed Lady as Tui Herself."
"That's why it's also a good luck charm for us," Kameli said as she glanced at the painting. "We believe that looking at this painting brings us good news. It has been the case most of the time." She sighed. "But in some ways, it might have been better if the artist hadn't depicted Lady as Tui. It's because he portrayed her in a Tui-like manner that we can't hold onto it, much less name it."
"What? Why not?" Sokka asked. "You know you can utilize art as propaganda against the Nationalist Party. Get people to turn back to Tui worship and support our group with religious imagery. The Nationalists did the same thing to suit their stupidity, didn't they?"
"I doubt Lady would be fond of that sort of move, though," Kameli said. "She had never intended us to evolve into a political group. It could even be that she's not involved with many activities because she's disappointed that we've established ourselves as the Nationalists' rivals."
"How is that bad?" Katara asked.
"You see, Lady is more of a diplomatic person. Everything she does, she does it to avoid confrontation, and she always opts for peaceful resolutions. But Sayen and many other members are not like that. They are more willing to face the political issues and challenge the Nationalist Party directly. That's why they felt it was necessary to take the step of turning Revivalism into a political movement in the recent years."
Sokka thought back to what the princess said regarding the political side of things. "I don't identify myself with any political affiliation. I just go with whatever's the right thing to do, whether a Nationalist proposes it or a Revivalist. I like to have everyone in my circle."
"And besides, she has disapproved of people raising her to goddess status. The quote, the Tui imagery, the heroic descriptions. She feels uncomfortable about those things," Kameli explained. "To respect her opinion, Sayen ordered that we not hang it up or at least request for changes to be made, but we couldn't bring ourselves to have changes be made to such a breath-taking painting, and now we don't know what to do with it."
Katara and Sokka looked back at the painting, admitting to themselves that yes, this was a breathtaking work of art that shouldn't be changed whatsoever.
"Well as the leader of a revolutionary movement, political or not, Lady needs this kind of propaganda," Sokka said, managing to break contact from the painting for a few seconds.
"I respect what her motives are, but even though she wants to maintain peaceful relations, confrontation is still necessary at times," Katara said. "I would've never gotten to learn waterbending from my own grandfather if I hadn't confronted him about his traditionalist attitude. The same thing happened when I wanted us to get rid of a few purity laws. I even sparred with him for my demands."
"And given what Khasiq can be capable of, I have a feeling that compromises and peace talks are not going to go very far," Sokka added. "You hear the people talking, don't you? About Khasiq being responsible for Chieftess Ahnah's demise? And everything else he's doing to try to have the throne for himself?"
"Those are the exact reasons why Master Kanguq and Lady Sayen are wanting to move forward with their political endeavors," Kameli said. "They've been raising funds and campaigning. They're doing everything they can. Lady is not stopping them necessarily, but she's not a big fan of all of this. She wants us to be cautious."
"But since she's such a powerful bender herself, she can drive Khasiq out," Katara said. "She just needs to agree to do so."
"Right now, she's relying on her skills to heal and protect our families," Kameli said. "But willingly striking or sparring someone is out of the question for her." She couldn't help frowning a little. "Her speeches must have influenced the princess as well. She didn't appoint a war minister, and she's constantly urging the importance of peace talks and diplomacy for complicated issues."
"I wonder what her motivation is for being this way. Lady, I mean," Katara said. "Do you know anything about her personally, Kameli? Sister Sayen mentioned something about them having the same master…"
"Unfortunately, I don't know too much about those details. I was only recently deemed a member of the group," Kameli said. "That is a conversation you both need to save for Lady Sayen. She was the one closest to Lady."
Sokka, in the meantime, had his gaze back on the painting. "Well...if you don't want to keep this, then can I take it?"
Kameli and Katara both seemed surprised at his suggestion.
"You want this painting?" Katara asked him.
Sokka, realizing what he said in his daze, flushed and corrected, "I meant us. You know, since you like it so much. I have a feeling Mom and Dad will like it, too. Since it's Tui and all. Plus, we're part of the Revivalist mission now. It'll be a way to...to, uh...celebrate the legacy. That way, Lady doesn't have to see it every time she stops by, and the painting doesn't have to be thrown out or changed."
"You are more than welcome to have it, Your Highness," Kameli said.
"Great! We could hang it up in the estate," Sokka said, turning to his sister. "I was gonna say that Mom and Dad can keep it in their room or you or Kohana could hang it up in one of your rooms, but since your rooms are already kind of full of Tui and La tapestries and stuff, I'll just have to keep it in my room, I guess…"
And while Katara was excited that they got to keep the painting, she couldn't help noticing if her brother's sudden obsession with the elusive "beautiful white-haired woman," Tui or otherwise, was the reason behind him being so enraptured. He even wanted to hang it up in his room. Sokka caught onto his sister's suspicions and blabbered in defense, "It's just an idea, okay? You can keep it in your room, if you want."
"No, it's okay, you can have it," Katara said. "Since you insist."
"I'm not insisting, I just think it's a good idea to—"
"Yeah yeah, sure, not a problem," she crossed her arms, smirking. "Who knows, having a picture of Tui might help you get hitched soon. I mean, it does apparently cause good luck."
"I will be sure to meet with Chieftess Kya and Chief Hakoda very soon," Sayen said before the siblings could take their leave.
"Do you know if we'll have the chance to meet the princess?" Katara asked. "You're part of her council. You would know her schedule, right?"
"I'm not sure, Princess Katara. She doesn't have a schedule other than her meetings with us every morning."
"Her Highness has accepted some of the modified rules and regulations regarding her security insofar as she is not assigned a bodyguard," Kanguq added. "As of now, only her council and cabinet members have the permission to interact with her. Every other form of communication is by correspondence, and there needs to be a very strong security-related reason for her to meet with anyone at this point."
"It's not that all of you are a threat, rest assured," Aput said. "Chief Arnook himself doesn't visit her so often. Rumors have it that even before we knew about her, he rarely had the chance to visit her since Khasiq was constantly on his back all this time."
"I guess as long as Khasiq is here, it'll be difficult for them," Katara said. "If only she agreed to have a bodyguard. It's risky being a non-bender and having no training to defend oneself."
"Yes, having a bodyguard would've probably provided her with some freedom," Sayen sighed. "It's strange how her mind works sometimes."
But only Sokka knew that it was her way of seeking her own freedom. That she was more than how these people saw her in terms of capability. "I get that you don't know much about Her Highness," he said, "But we would like to know more about your leader. What her vision is."
"I think that's a conversation for next time," Kanguq said.
"Trust me, Your Highnesses," Sayen followed, "It is better that such a conversation be held privately."
Which didn't fail to make Sokka contemplate more questions, but he kept quiet. Patience was they key.
The siblings decided not to tell Hakoda and Kya about the political tensions and about running into the lost warriors just yet. That would be an obstacle they would have to overcome later. As for now, they would simply be rebellious siblings roaming in an overly elitist society, consistently being put in their place by their parents, who were trying to do everything they could to get along with the power that was trying to help them up under the princess's guidance. Their friends were very much in agreement to this arrangement and urged that they all meet in secret just as they did today. And as for the painting, it would remain a "gift" from Lady Sayen on behalf of the team.
It drew strong reactions— strong positive reactions, of course— from Kya and Hakoda, Yugoda (who was there for some reason), and even Kohana and his little menagerie. The huskies raced around the painting that had temporarily been carried into the lounging hall by the servants; Kohana's little sky bison, Nuwiya, flew around the painting in curiosity while Ku'zi the lemur blinked at the people in the background, pawing at them as if they were real.
"That is a big painting," Hakoda remarked in awe. "Very beautiful, too."
"Tui has never been so beautiful," Kya sighed, lost in the intricate brush strokes and the poignant colors.
"This is definitely a good omen, Chieftess," Yugoda smiled at Kya.
"Bah, omens," Sokka rolled his eyes. "It's a painting, it doesn't have magical fortunetelling or foreboding properties."
"But Sokka really wanted to keep it in his room anyway," Katara announced.
"Your room?" Hakoda raised an eyebrow.
"I only suggested it!" Sokka sputtered. "Since you guys have other tapestries and stuff in your rooms."
"Then we can keep it in the hallway," Kya suggested. "I don't want you keeping it in your room and making fun of it every chance you get."
"Actually, Sayen told us that looking at this painting brings good news, and we all know who needs the most luck around here," Katara looked at her brother.
Yugoda's smile widened at the prospect of good news as she looked at Hakoda and Kya. Hakoda placed his arm around Kya's shoulders, a soft beam on his lips. "Good news, hm? Well isn't that a coincidence?"
"What's going on?" Katara asked.
"We know this isn't something you three might have expected to hear," Hakoda addressed his children. "Especially when your mother and I are trying to find nice matches for you. And with Kohana being so young...Frankly, we weren't expecting this, either, but the Spirits have their ways of giving us certain blessings."
"Did we finally find a match for Katara?" Sokka said, earning a snowball in the face.
"Alright, you two, settle down. And no, it's not about your matches," Kya assured her oldest children, keeping a hand on her stomach. "Sokka, Katara, Kohana, in a few months, we will be having a new addition to the family."
Sokka felt his jaw drop. Katara burst into cheer. Kohana looked confused and tilted his head in curiosity. "What does that mean? Are we getting a new pet? Oooh, I want a rabbit monkey!"
"No, silly, it means we're having a little sister or brother!" Katara squealed and hugged her mother. "This is so exciting, Mom!"
"I want a baby brother!" Kohana jumped up and down. "I want one right now! Dad, when is he coming?!"
The parents-to-be chuckled at their youngest with Hakoda drawing the boy close. The Southern chieftain then cast a look at Sokka, who was still shocked by the news. "Sokka?"
And the shock finally wore off. The warrior prince felt a huge smile play on his lips, his chest thumping with excitement as he hugged his mother. "Couldn't be happier, Mom. I mean, I did call it, after all."
"You did," Kya laughed. "I guess my La-touched oldest has a bit of fortunetelling skills in him, too. If only you predicted yourself a wife."
"Okay, don't start," and then he looked downward and addressed his newest sibling, "Welcome to the family, squirt! I'm Sokka, also known as your favorite person in this household—"
"But I'm his favorite!" Kohana pouted.
"It could be a 'she', you know," Katara said defensively.
"Hey, I was being gender neutral," Sokka put his hands up. "Boy or girl, I'm still the favorite big brother here. I mean, I am the fun one."
"But I'm funner than you!" Kohana frowned at Sokka. "I have lots of pets, too! Little Brother would want pets. You said I could only have one!"
"Ko-bear, how could you?" Sokka feigned offense. "I got you what you wanted! I'm more fun than all of you combined!"
Kya and Hakoda smiled at their children's banter, but they couldn't help coming back to the one issue that still tore at them deep down in spite of the many joys that were coming their way. Hakoda was the one to spill it. "Do you think we should talk to Priestess Osha again?" he asked his wife. "She mentioned a ritual for Sokka."
"I don't know. Khasiq keeps saying something about a curse…"
"People have their biases," the chief said. "Ivaneq was telling me earlier that at the Grand Temple, women are made to stand in a separate section towards the back. They only get to see the altar from afar while the men get to see the altar up close and actually partake in the rituals on behalf of the women."
"But the wife and the husband are representing Tui and La. They need to be involved in the rituals together."
"That's not exactly possible when they're trying to get rid of Tui Herself."
"What?" Kya widened her eyes.
"There's no Tui idol at the Grand Temple, either. It's only La, according to what I've been hearing," Hakoda said. "Rituals are only performed for La, and all prayers that originally include Tui are revised to suit only La."
"That can't be. Tui and La should both be worshipped. They should always be next to each other!"
"I know," Hakoda frowned. "Sounds to me like that place is the one that's actually cursed."
"I'll say."
Hakoda looked over to Kohana. "If the Moon Temple really was cursed, then Kohana…"
"I don't want to think about it," Kya said.
"It's because he's safe that I think we shouldn't give up on the Moon Temple," the chief insisted. "I say we give it a shot and talk to Priestess Osha."
"But Hakoda, if Father finds out—"
"My father doesn't need to know about this. Not at all," Hakoda placed his hand on her shoulder. "You don't have a problem with what happened at the Moon Temple, do you?"
"Hakoda, it was a baby. Why would I have ill feelings over a situation that can't be helped? The poor baby, whoever she was. I only hope she was cared for." Her voice wavered with sympathy. "A compassionate approach to understanding the Spirits is much better than a monetary transaction. You heard what the caretaker told us at the Moon Temple, and you heard the prices for the Great Temple rituals."
"I agree."
"But…" She didn't want to imagine the furious face of her traditionalist father-in-law. "If your father finds out about a place as radical as the Moon Temple with its priestesses and everything…You know how he is. He grumbles over Katara rebelling against him to this day, and it took him a while to accept the changes."
"Who's going to tell him about this? No one," Hakoda assured. "I won't say a word, you won't say a word. Sokka and Katara won't speak of it. Well, Sokka's not going to care, if I'm being honest. Kohana's too young to even know. And I seriously doubt this little one's gonna blow our secret," he ran his hand gently over his wife's still-flat stomach. "Kya, I want to see our son celebrate having a child of his own with a wife who loves him for all that he is. And I know you want that for him, too."
Of course, they wanted the same for Katara, but she wasn't the one with a birth chart that screamed "loner."
"Chunta said something about the princess's birth chart. He talked about how she could be blessed with Tui... but talking to Chief Arnook about this isn't going to be an easy process with how overprotective he is of the princess."
"We'll give it a try, no doubt. Just after the rituals."
Kya nodded, turning back to look at her children and their playful wrestles with each other, Ku'zi, Nuwiya, and the huskies. "I want to meet the caretaker again," she said. "She seems like she's filled with much wisdom. And like Priestess Osha, she was lenient on Sokka. She might have a few suggestions to give us, too. Osha seems to be quite fond of her, and I get the impression that she taught her a lot."
"I think that's a great idea. We were going to see her anyway for an amulet for Kohana," Hakoda said with a smile. "We can even ask her about a new amulet for the little one."
"How far along are you?" Katara asked her mother.
"Only two weeks," Kya said. "I was late and wanted to be sure."
"How can you find out this early?" the Southern princess turned to Yugoda.
"I was able to feel her chi pattern and detect subtle changes, Princess," the healer explained. "I can show you how to detect it so you can regularly check your mother's progress yourself."
While the ladies huddled in one room, Yugoda's assistant was encouraging Hakoda to take a few strides in the hallway without his crutch. The assistant kept his attention on the performance of the chief's injured leg while Hakoda held onto Kohana, answering his many questions.
"And then, Mommy and Daddy pray very hard to Tui and La and ask them for a baby," Hakoda told him."
"Did you do that when I was born, too?"
"Yes, we did," Hakoda chuckled. "We asked the Spirits, 'Oh Tui and La, we have Sokka and we have Katara. We want another little baby.'"
"Did you know I was a boy?"
"No, we just ask the Spirits for a baby, and They will decide who the baby will be."
"Did Sesi and Nanuq ask for their husky babies, too?" the boy referred to the parent huskies.
"Of course! That's how everyone has babies. Isn't that right, Kino?" Hakoda turned to Yugoda's attendant, who chuckled and nodded in the affirmative.
"But they can't talk like us, Dad," Kohana pointed out.
"The huskies have their own language," the Southern chief said. "They probably went, 'Woof woof! Wooooof!'"
Kohana giggled. "So Tui and La said that I will be a boy?"
"They didn't tell any of us. We found out after you were born. So it's like a surprise."
"Did They fly to our house and give me to you?"
"Well, one night when we were all sleeping, Tui and La came down and magically put you in Mommy's tummy."
"So did They come put Little Brother in Mommy's tummy last night?"
"Yes, they did, and remember we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet. It could be a sister. But whoever it is, you—" he poked Kohana in his chest, "need to promise that you'll be a good big brother."
Sokka shook his head in amusement as he listened to the conversation from nearby, seated across from the painting of Lady as the huskies lounged around him. Ivaneq, Zhi, and his fellow crew member, Ping, were seated next to the prince, smiling at the chief's interaction with his younger son. They were also pleased to see that Hakoda was able to walk without grimacing in pain every other second.
"I suppose the herbal oils are helping?" Zhi asked.
"I guess so. Dad's not in that much pain now," Sokka answered. "He's practicing how to walk without the crutch."
"I have a feeling he will get better very soon, isumataq," Zhi smiled.
"And you're going to be a big brother again, sir. Good news all around," Ping said. "How does it feel?"
"I don't feel like a big brother, actually. It's weird. The little bear cub will be twenty-three years younger than me."
"The age gap makes you feel more like an uncle or something, doesn't it?" Ivaneq chuckled. "My little sister was born when I was nineteen years old. I felt more like a father figure to her than a brother, and she was the same age as my oldest at the time."
"Come to think of it, you're like a second dad to Kohana, and the same will go for the little one," Ping said. "After all, had everything turned out in a traditional sense, you would have had at least two kids of your own by now."
"You know, I think it's this exact desperation that made me a big brother," Sokka mused. "My parents and grandparents really wanted a baby in the house, I guess, and since Katara and I are lost causes, my parents went down the oogie lane."
"Oogie?"
"It's a word I made up for being touchy-feely. You know, public displays of affection and all that?" He leaned back against the pelts. "The night we had that party when you guys first came to the South, oh boy, oogies galore. I even joked that having a sibling at this age would be embarrassing."
"You know how it is, Prince. Water Tribe family dynamics," Zhi snorted.
And as much as Sokka appeared to be yapping away, deep down he couldn't help but feel a sweet warmth in his chest. "Honestly, I don't think I remember my folks being this happy. "Well, since Ko-bear was born." And he looked at his parents and sister and brother, each excited and giddy in their own way. "This is your princess's doing, too, Ivaneq."
"The Spirits are the ones granting children, Prince Sokka," Zhi laughed.
"And science, of course." Ivaneq nudged the warrior. "We can't forget that, can we?"
"Are you onto your science debates again?" Hakoda said, walking up to them with his usual crutch again.
"We were just contemplating the various ways the universe works, sir," Ping covered with a smile.
"I see."
"Sokka, Dad said we can get snow slushes to celebrate the baby," Kohana tugged at his brother. "Let's get a snow slush!"
"Why don't we take you, Little Prince?" Ivaneq hoisted the boy up in his arms. "Let's get some for all of us."
Ping and Zhi followed Ivaneq and Kohana, leaving Hakoda with his firstborn.
"She's not going to be there, is she?" Sokka said. "Her Highness?"
And Hakoda had to admit that the respect his son was giving the princess was amusing. "I highly doubt it." He took a seat next to him. "But you should come to the ball anyway."
"What does me going to the ball have to do with her going?"
"Exactly," the chief smiled, nudging him. "And why did you ask?"
"I was just curious," Sokka flushed and turned away.
"Well you should come regardless. Katara's coming. Avatar Aang will be there, too, apparently, and he was really looking forward to seeing you both there."
"I'd rather not go, to be honest." And when his father raised his eyebrows at him, he quickly replied, "This has nothing to do with the princess." Besides, it wasn't like he had plans of sneaking around the palace and trying to find the princess himself while everyone else was caught up in the ball or anything... "I-I mean, what am I gonna do there? Bust a move? I'm not much of a dancer to begin with..."
"You don't need to dance, just socialize. Try to get on people's good side for once. Katara and Avatar Aang will be there to supervise you."
"So I'm going with my sister so she can supervise me?"
"Did you really expect us to leave you by yourself after what happened this morning?" Hakoda crossed his arms.
"Did you expect me, the prince, to stand there and do nothing when an innocent person was being attacked by a psychopath?"
"I expected you to control your tongue, at least, instead of yapping away your dissatisfaction with Ozai's parenting skills," Hakoda huffed sternly. "Seriously, Sokka, what were you even thinking? Were you thinking at all? You didn't have to go that far!"
"Well he pretty much raised her to be a monster, didn't he—?"
"Enough. Look, we can't afford to get on the bad side of the Fire Nation. Even if they're the ones who made a mistake. Our entire nation— Northern and Southern divisions— will have a lot to lose if we slip up even a little. The Southern Revival Project will be abandoned entirely if other nations refuse to cooperate with us. This is our chance, Sokka. We can't lose it with this attitude of yours."
It was definitely something the patriot within him had to think about.
"I'm also saying this because it's important that your mother is as stress-free as possible during this time," Hakoda softened his voice. "So don't aggravate her. This means staying out of issues that do not concern you—"
"And being involved in rituals without protest," Sokka mumbled. "I heard you and Mom talking earlier."
Hakoda placed his hand over his son's shoulder, not able to help a smile. He wasn't sure how his son turned out to be so critical of anything remotely spiritual despite being raised in a household like theirs, which looked up to a patriarch like Pakku. "It's for your own good, Sokka. You might not believe that, but we do."
The Southern prince let out a sigh and a nod. "Alright."
The lavish ballroom was filled to the brim with many important families, mothers and fathers introducing their daughters and sons to others' noble and worthy daughters and sons. The more important youth of the four nations, however— save for the chaotic Fire princess, who had avoided the event altogether— were huddled in a different chamber entirely with personally-appointed security guards of their own. Needless to say that matchmaking was at its peak during this time, which meant that many parents allowed and even encouraged their children to spend time with potential suitors.
Thankfully, Kya and Hakoda steered clear of the fuss— well, in Sokka's case, considering they had their eyes set on the North's princess and were tragically too steeped in the effects of his birth chart to believe he'd rope in any other woman. They fussed over Katara, though, like crazy. Kya couldn't be more insistent that the Southern princess carry her luxurious sashes and shawls the right way— the right royal way— over her exquisite blue dress, which bore a jewel crafted intricately in the shape of the Water Tribe insignia.
"Is my wittle baby sister gonna find a man today?" Sokka teased and pinched her cheeks as if she was a baby, earning a whack to the face with a water tendril.
It was a radical experience wandering around in fancy clothes, though; Hakoda and Kya were able to understand specks of royal life here and there given the little bouts of meager luxury they experienced in their early childhood, but Sokka and Katara, who came from a humbling economic destitution and were wearing extremely fancy robes, were still trying to make themselves look like they could own such clothing in the first place. Katara didn't mind it too much since she sometimes fancied dressing nicely and wearing make-up, but for Sokka, there couldn't possibly be an itchier tunic— that, too, made of silk, which one would naturally assume would be soft instead of uncomfortable— anywhere in the world. Overdressed and pouting, he opted to walk around instead of taking a seat to allow some kind of breeze to flow through the layers of his shirts. And, of course, to be on the lookout. Could she be here? he wondered. Princess Baby Blue?
"She's definitely around here somewhere."
He turned his head in the direction where the voice was coming from. Two maids, covered in head scarfs, were conversing as they rearranged the decor on a messy table nearby.
"Do you really think Lady could be among us?"
"Think? I know she is. She has to be the servant who escaped the Fire princess's wrath. The way she maneuvered that lightning? That's definitely a 'Lady' kind of move."
"How would you know? You haven't seen Lady do that."
"But it's a very powerful move, and no one else seems to know how to do that. At least, not any of the people I know. Besides, Lady is a powerful waterbender. If they really say she's as powerful as she is, she's gotta be able to do something of that scale, right?"
My thought exactly! Sokka's interest piqued tenfold at the conversation.
"It's not impossible, but we can't tell if that's the case for sure," the second maid said. "Though it definitely is an impressive move."
"Yeah. About time someone stood up to that Fire bitch. I mean seriously, who would shoot lightning at a minor for accidentally spilling something?"
"Shhh, be quiet! Someone will hear you!"
"As if I care," the first maid went on. "That Fire princess seems like she'd be the type to fire everybody in the palace if she becomes Fire Lord. Good thing she's not next in line—"
"We are in a room full of high-ranking authorities!" the second maid hissed. "If anyone hears us, they'll tell the chief—!"
"Arnook can't do a thing even if he wanted to. He's too much of a pussy to get Khasiq off his back. You think he's competent enough to fire me?"
"Hey."
The two maids jumped at the sound of Sokka's voice, eyes widening when he charged up to them.
"Chief Arnook is the father of Her Highness, the princess of the North," he frowned. "Show him your respect."
The maids bowed frantically. "Our humble apologies, Prince Sokka."
"Please, forgive us."
"I will if you answer my question," he crossed his arms. "So I ran into this lady earlier. She had the number eight on her identity tag."
"N-Number Eight?"
"Is that her name?"
"We don't know her name, sir."
Dear universe, did anyone know her actual name? Then again, she could totally be planning to keep it hidden, who knew? Either that, or he hadn't asked the right servants what her name was, yet. At least, the name she went by; it's not possible to have a job without a name, right?
"Did you at least see where she went?"
"No, sir."
He sighed, frowning in disappointment. Where could she be?
He was forced to put a pause to his inquiry when his parents came looking for him and insisted that he stay with his sister and stay out of trouble, so the siblings stayed put in one place. They were soon approached by Princes Zuko and Lu Ten immediately approached the Water Tribe siblings and gave their apologies for Azula's behavior and the incident. Fire Lord Iroh, especially, felt terrible for what happened and, along with Fire Lady Mayu, was willing to join the Southern chief and chieftess for dinner to express his apology and dissipate the tensions.
"My father's not exactly the understanding type," Zuko admitted.
"And it didn't help that our grandfather, Azulon, always favored my father over Uncle Ozai," Lu Ten said. "That bitterness has stuck with my uncle for a long time."
"Well you're nothing like your dad, Prince Zuko," Sokka smiled, turning to Lu Ten next, "And you're exactly like your dad, Prince Lu Ten. And if you ask me, I think the Fire Nation is in good hands."
Occasional run-ins with the Avatar's seemingly countless friends kept Sokka and Katara further occupied. They were content to make conversation with their new friends for the time being. Sokka tried to keep himself invested in the conversations, but his eyes repeatedly roamed. The clusters of servants bustling about, the maids running around with their number tags blazing, the hundreds of pairs of eyes, some among them blazing in sharp blue but none of them being the specific baby blue sapphires that he was looking for.
"It seems like you're always looking or something these days, Prince Sokka," Teo remarked, noting that the prince didn't respond with how seriously he was looking around the room. "Prince Sokka?"
Sokka snapped out of his search. "Huh?"
"Are you looking for someone?"
Sokka shook his head. "No...no…"
"Congrats on becoming a big brother again," the Duke said. "You must be excited."
"Yeah, it's definitely exciting," Sokka grinned.
"And look who's gotten the seal of approval from Master Piandao," Kuzon smiled.
"I know, it was shocking," the prince admitted. "I wasn't expecting that at all."
"Well, you did kind of reach a crucial level of badassery when you were facing Princess Azula back there."
Katara, on the other hand, spent a lot of her time with Lady Mai and Kyoshi Warrior Ty Lee (who seemed interested in Sokka quite a bit and was not at all subtle about it, giving occasional winks in the direction of the uncomfortable tribesman). Eventually they all got to meet Toph Bei Fong, who "apparently doesn't have a habit of apologizing for giving undeserved bruises," Sokka noted with a hint of annoyance. Nevertheless, they were all fascinated when the blind earthbender referenced her ability to "see" through the vibrations in the earth— a skill that she unfortunately couldn't rely on here in the land of ice and snow.
"So Knife Girl here's getting married to Sparky. Circus Warrior's ensnaring all the guys in town, and I clearly don't need a man," Toph munched on a crab puff that Song gave her.
"Even though your own earthbending rival seems to have a thing for you," Mai noted idly, referring to Prince Bumi of Omashu.
"He kind of does, actually," Katara agreed, and Mai smirked knowingly as the earthbender huffed, blowing her bangs away from her face in the process.
"No one said I was into him."
"Yeah, Toph's not at all into the idea of romance and things," Ty Lee chirped.
"Whatever," Toph grabbed hold of another crab puff, "Well what about you, Sweetness?" she asked Katara. "You're not lookin' to mingle, either…?"
"Actually, I'm not concerned with all that too much." And it was true that Katara was not as serious about finding a man to be "whisked away" by. Then again in spite of her nonchalance, she'd been mentioning Aang in their conversations quite a lot for someone who knew him for barely a day, and this was noticed by everyone else, who were familiar with Aang going on and on about the Southern princess since the moment he met her.
Sokka, too, was not oblivious to this. This was the only time Sokka heard his sister talk about a guy so frequently, much less have so much fun with him at first meeting. The instant connection that Katara and Aang had made it seem as if they'd known each other for years.
"I wonder why Aang's not here yet," Katara eyed the room from where they were.
"Twinkletoes, huh?"
"Twinkletoes?"
"It's what I call Aang," Toph said. "My parents invited him to dinner last night. We talked to him about some things concerning my metalbending academy. For an Avatar, he doesn't seem all that grounded," she furrowed her eyebrows. "Annoyingly light on his feet."
"I know this might sound wild, but maybe it's because he's an airbender," Mai pointed out. "And besides, I thought you said you couldn't sense vibrations."
"I can't right now, but Twinkletoes met with us at our place," Toph explained.
"Chief Arnook's daughter...we don't know her actual name, but she made arrangements for the Bei Fong family to stay in Ivik Valley," Song explained. "It's ten miles east of the palace. There's no ice or snow there; it's more like a taiga region, and the permafrost there has thawed over the years."
"Which means vibrations galore, baby!" Toph grinned. "Well, not as much as I would feel on regular ground, but still. I gotta say, Princess Mystery got the art of hospitality down pat."
Sokka couldn't agree more.
It took another few minutes of small talk before Katara's curiosity got the best of her, and she asked again, "Aang's coming, right?"
"To be completely honest, we're not sure if he'll show up," Kuzon shrugged. "Aang's not the one to dance with ladies."
"It's not to dance," Katara added with a flush, "He told us he was going to come see us, that's why."
"Oh, I was just saying that casually." Though his reaction to Katara's embarrassment was definitely that of amusement.
"I kind of thought he'd be a ladies' man," Sokka said. "Being the Avatar and all..."
"More like an animals' man," Teo chuckled. "He loves animals. Momo and Appa are his entire world, pretty much."
"And other animals in general," Haru chimed in. "One time, we were at the Earth King's palace for a party. We were all having a good time, socializing and stuff, and then we saw Aang entertaining the Earth King's pet bear, Bosco, with confetti and lights and airbending tricks."
"Ah, Basco," Teo laughed and shook his head. "If Aang wasn't the Avatar, the Earth King would have hired him permanently as Bosco's entertainer."
"I mean, Aang dances in groups and stuff, don't get me wrong," Kuzon said. "And he's a super good dancer. But not with actual romantic or courting intentions. I still remember how one time, this girl named On Ji tried to hit it off with him at an event in the Fire Nation last year." He shook his head. "But nope."
"But hey, who knows," Pipsqueak shrugged. "Maybe things will be different this year."
As soon as he said that, Avatar Aang came into view, meandering through the crowds. Following him was Prince Bumi, who had supposedly offered to be the monk's shield or something from the way he was blocking people from swarming over his best friend.
"Ah, there he is," Haru smiled. "Bumi's here, too."
"Ohhh, Bumi's here," Ty Lee looked in Toph's direction while the earthbender rolled her sightless eyes.
"Hi, everybody!" Bumi waved at his friends. Aang waved, too, as he and Bumi approached them, but the Avatar quickly froze at the sight of Katara. His hand, which was also frozen, moved from its position in mid-air with Bumi's subtle nudging.
"Look who put in a little more effort into their clothing this time," Teo noted with a teasing grin. "See somebody you like, Aang?"
"I...well, I…"
"He can see who he wants to see," Bumi defended, flashing a grin at Toph. "We all have people we like to see."
"The person you're looking for is right here," Mai tapped against the table that Toph was sitting at. Ty Lee giggled at the earthbender's scowl.
"What does this have to do with me?" she snapped, banging her cup on the table. "Song, get me out of here."
"Yes, ma'am."
Haru sighed and gave a knowing look. "Well I wish we could stay, but we have some very important things to take care of," he turned to Teo, Kuzon, Pipsqueak, and the Duke. "Right, guys?"
"Oh, right," the Duke answered, and the four friends looked at the still-frozen monk before excusing themselves. In the meantime, Princes Zuko and Lu Ten came to greet them again. Bumi trailed behind Toph, and Lu Ten, who caught sight of Song accompanying the Bei Fong, trailed along with the prince of Omashu in unspoken desperation. Prince Zuko took hold of Lady Mai's hand and smiled at her, murmuring an excuse and pulling her along with him.
Aang came back to earth after the abrupt change of the song being played in the background thanks to a player's mishap. The monk rubbed the back of his bald head, blushing wildly, his face so crimson that it put the Fire Nation robes to shame. He smiled at the Southern princess. "Katara, wow, you...you look beautiful..."
"Aw, thanks Aang!" Katara smiled, also blushing as she looked down at the floor. "You look really nice yourself."
Sokka raised his eyebrows and gave the hopelessly gushing monk a subtle, not-so-subtle flick to his forehead on top of his arrow. By the time Katara looked back up, the airbender was rubbing his forehead, but he quickly straightened up and cleared his throat, smiling at Sokka now. "You look great, too, Sokka."
"How flattering," the warrior said sarcastically.
Aang, trying not to make the hearts in his eyes so painfully obvious, held his hand out to Katara. "S-So...uh…I hear this song's really good." He let a dopey grin take over his features. "Maybe you'd like to join me for a dance, Katara?"
"Oh... I mean, I...I'd love to...but I'm not really familiar with a lot of moves and—" she pulled back her hair, which was already pulled back, to begin with, "—my shoes don't seem like they're good for..."
"Take my hand." Suave and confident.
"Okay."
Sokka blinked, unaware that his eyes had widened as he watched his sister gleefully take the monk's hand. Neither Aang nor Katara seemed to remember their mission of supervising a certain warrior who had butted heads with a member of the Fire Nation royal family. They laughed breathlessly as Aang led her a little ways away, jumping into a conversation of the many different types of dances he'd learned during his travels around the world.
"They're so cute together!" squealed Ty Lee, whose presence Sokka had forgotten. He blinked as she gave him a coquettish grin. She leaned against him as he took a step back. "Uh, hey, Miss…?"
"Ty Lee."
"Right, sorry. What, uh," he watched her lean further into him, and he took another step back, "What are you doing?"
"You mean you can't tell?"
"Tell what?"
She laughed. "How innocent." And she tried to place an arm around him, noting how rigid and confused he was as he just stood there on his tiptoes so she wouldn't reach his shoulders. She asked anyway, "Wanna dance, cutie?"
"I'm not really much of a dancer."
"I can show you a few moves."
"Actually, I'm not really—"
"Say, can you stand on your hands?"
Sokka quirked his eyebrows, "What kind of dance needs you to stand on your hands?"
"The fun kind," the Kyoshi acrobat bit the corner of her bottom lip.
"I can't do anything like that, sorry," Sokka headed in the other direction.
"I'll show you a few easier moves," she trailed behind him.
"I already have a dance partner, actually—"
"We can waltz for a minute until she gets here!"
"Sorry, no thanks, maybe some other time?" And he took off, squeezing through the crowds and accidentally barging in between couples.
After several more minutes of aimless wandering, Sokka spotted the rest of his friends. Bumi supposedly found a reason for bickering with Toph again; his presence was both annoying and strangely charming for the young Bei Fong (who would, of course, never admit to this) and thus kept her somewhat entertained in a place she didn't care much for but was forced to visit. Lu Ten and Song had supposedly made up and were caught in breathless love confessions and desperate I-missed-you's while making out in an empty closet in the shadows, and an embarrassed Sokka had the honor of closing the closet door and granting them their much-needed privacy. Zuko and his betrothed, Mai, were also caught in considerable displays of affection and ended up leaving the ball early. Meanwhile, Pipsqueak and the Duke went off to munch on meticulously arranged goodies in the dessert aisles that were set up at two different corners of the vast chamber.
Under other circumstances, Sokka would've found himself stuffing his face with sweets as well, but tonight turned out to be more of a babysitting task for him instead of his sister. He huddled in a corner where he could keep an eye on Katara. Turned out that Aang was an incredible dancer; he had eagerly (more than eagerly, Sokka noted) taught her how to glide across the ballroom in the different styles he knew, that goofy grin of his having captured every bit of her attention. He caught every one of her tumbles and did all he could to not make her feel embarrassed.
"Some of the ballrooms of Ba Sing Se tend to keep things very simple," Aang explained to the Southern princess. "The elegance comes mainly from people's robes and statuses, unfortunately. But they do have some good dances." And he moved his hands and body side to side while she tried to copy his movements. "Yeah, that's it, you got it!"
"You seem to know a lot of Earth Kingdom dances," Katara noted.
"I happen to know a few Fire Nation dances, too," he told her. "Their ballrooms are a little more elaborate. My favorite's the famous Fire Flex, where you move your body like a flickering fire," and he wiggled his body in a sort of comical way, "It's chaotically rhythmic."
"Chaotically rhythmic, huh?" she laughed. "It seems hard to do something goofy like that while keeping a straight face."
"Probably because I made it up," he grinned. "But as far as actual dances go, there's the Phoenix Flight and the Camelephant Strut."
Their dynamic won the occasional glances of hundreds of other people as well, who found the Avatar's interaction with the Water Tribe princess very sweet and entertaining to watch. Some people whispered amongst themselves of how they didn't know the Avatar was seeing someone. Some people passed the rumor that the Avatar and Princess Katara were likely engaged, mistaking her amulet for a Water Tribe betrothal necklace. Others were bittersweet, expressing disappointment that the Avatar wouldn't consider their own children's hands in marriage but nevertheless happy for him.
Kuzon, Teo, and Haru, who happened to be close by from where Sokka was observing, laughed.
"It's good to see him dance with a girl, for once," Teo smiled.
"Go Aang!" Haru cheered.
"My man's finally feeling the magic of love," Kuzon beamed.
Love? Wasn't it too soon for that? But Sokka saw the way Katara laughed and smiled in the presence of the airbender. For once, she was having fun with a guy, and while Sokka felt his brotherly instincts kick in protectively, he couldn't help but wonder if he should lower his guard maybe just a little. Despite them knowing Aang for sixteen hours at the most, the monk was actually a swell guy at first impression. Trustworthy (being the Avatar probably had something to do with that). Playful, funny. Not to mention downright free, something Katara had always strived to achieve. How could a few hours reveal so much about someone?
And it was in that moment of sappy weakness that he admitted to himself, They look pretty good together.
"The otter penguin is cheerful, playful," Chunta had once said of Katara's totem. "Princess Katara, your partner will be someone who cultivates a child-like spirit within you, as he himself is child-like, but mark my words: he will protect you with the willpower of the universe."
And how coincidental was it that Katara literally met the monk on an otter-penguin?
Even if it does work out, it's just a coincidence, the Southern prince huffed and jutted his chin up. Fortunetelling nonsense has nothing to do with it. Besides, nothing's finalized just yet, and he wasn't letting those two out of his sight...
Well, maybe except for tonight. There were adults all around, anyhow, to babysit. Let 'em have their fun. He's a monk, he's got morals.
He took his seat at a table in a shadowy corner and looked around at the foreign environment that he was in. After several years of roaming the bland Arctic snow, drawing the same fishing line every day, treading the same treacherous waters in hopes of catching a fish or two, and feeling the same dread of starvation, it felt different to suddenly be at a place like this. He thought about the stillness of the South a few weeks ago. He thought about the silence that settled in the air the moment he told his family that the last of their nearest rivers was fished out. He thought about the mute devastation that he saw in Panuq and Kirima's eyes as they approached their young children with food that could only get them through one night. Their lives had been so different, and yet, here they were. Boisterous surroundings, orchestras. New friends engaged in attractions, silliness, goofiness. Lovers engaged in passionate ordeals. His parents, full of relief and tenderness as they cradled his unborn sibling, who was conceived in a world of recovery and happiness. Katara, giggling and whirling throughout the ballroom with a particular Air Nomad, who was known to the world as the Avatar more than the vibrant youth in love that he was.
Everything around Sokka felt so... alive. Everything was friendly and hopeful and joyful after the advent of the princess. Everything was in full bloom, and it warmed his heart immensely. He sighed, his eyes still wandering in curiosity. Is she really here? The woman who made this all happen?
"What are you doing by yourself?"
He turned and saw Suki heading towards him. "Oh, Suki, hi."
"Ty Lee's looking everywhere for you," she chuckled as he made a slight gagging face.
"You mind telling your friend to turn it down a notch?"
"Why? Is she flirting with you?" Suki took a seat next to him. "Ty Lee's like that. A bit ambitious with the guys she meets."
"You got that right."
Suki took a deep breath and closed her eyes as if mentally preparing herself for what she was about to say. She then tucked her hair behind her ears and casually glanced at her reflection in the icy table. "It's been a while since we've last seen each other, hasn't it? You've always been busy traveling..."
"Yeah, I guess so."
She couldn't help a frown that crossed her features when she noticed that he was paying her little to no attention. His gaze didn't stay put, roaming around the room. "Who are you looking for?" she asked.
"No one, no one. You were saying?"
Suki sighed and couldn't help scooting just a little closer. He didn't seem to have noticed. "So...uh...I know that...I know that you put off relationships since your tribe was not in a very good place...and I get that you didn't need distractions..." She looked up, "I was wondering if maybe—maybe you'd like to…like to consider...?"
But Sokka seemed like he was out of this realm, his eyes widening as he finally caught a glimpse of the person of his interest in the distance. She was only a glimmer. A sparking presence in a rumpled servant uniform beneath a sliver of moonlight that had spilled into the room from an open window. And then she disappeared, lost in the sea of the crowd. He darted out of his seat.
"Sokka—?"
"Gotta go, see ya later!"
She walked down the empty hallway. Accompanying the Arctic winds was soft moonlight, occasionally joined by palettes of blues, pinks, and greens from the aurora that danced across the sky. The colors bled together as they bathed the dark, torchless hallway. Her legs felt like chirimoya jelly, and she could barely feel her arms from the day's work, but despite her exhaustion, the crease on her face veil gave away the smile that formed on her face. She kept close to the row of windows, feeling the colors wash over her, and she closed her eyes, her smile widening. More streaks of color trailed across the sky, reflecting themselves against the white of her eyebrows, seeming to paint her fair palms in purples and rare reds.
She could still hear the music playing in the ballroom several feet behind her; the tune was pouring into her, urging her body to move to its addictive beat. Her voice, seemingly having a mind of its own, let loose for a moment and made her hum along to the song, but she caught herself, snapping her eyes back open. Once again, she looked around. There was no one there.
She felt her feet starting to move but stopped herself again, shaking her head. Someone might come. Then again, the song was getting really catchy now, and she did find that she was in a really good mood at the moment. She was cautious, though, and started back with the humming. Uncertain and quiet as she waited for a response from anyone who might possibly be wandering about. And when she heard nothing, she very carefully began to move her feet in time to the music in little slides and shuffles. Her eyes followed the chaos of the lights that reflected on the woven blue carpet that lined the corridor; ribbons of blues and purples swiveled around like smooth waves on the floor, and she moved along with them and let the pattern guide her, giggling softly.
And just like that, the song came to an end.
"Nice moves!"
She gasped sharply and froze, turning around with wide eyes. She instantly recognized the face that was looking back at her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you—"
"That wasn't me!" And she straightened herself with the speed of light and began walking away at high speed.
"But I saw you," Sokka called in gentle amusement before following her. "Hey, wait up, please! I didn't mean to—ahh!" he somehow tripped over his own leg and fell forward, cursing beneath his breath as he hit the head of an open door on his way down to the carpet. "Oww!" Fuck. Was he cursed to run into everything and make a fool of himself in front of the princess every single time?
But at least he managed to catch her attention. She raced over and knelt beside him. "Ajunngilatit, naalagaatitaq?" Are you alright, Prince?
Sokka blinked up at her, noting that she spoke to him in the South Central dialect. "Uh...ajunngilanga, qujanaq." I'm okay, thank you.
And certainly not for the first time since he came to the North, she offered her hand to help him up, and he took it, his face warming intensely. "You know the South Central Tongue?"
"Some of my friends have Southern influences. I picked up a few words here and there."
And the realization then dawned on him. If she was Lady (or if she was even remotely involved with the Revivalists for a while), then she had to have met his Southern friends and picked up on the dialect. Of course, Sokka said nothing of it, pretending to not know.
"Does your head hurt?"
"No, it's fine, thank you."
An awkward pause followed, and before he could break the silence, she said quickly, "I'm sorry, but I can't be here…" And as expected, she bowed. "I'll be going now, Your Highness—"
"Wait, wait, please," and he quickly shoved his hands into his pockets, fumbling for the scarves. He pulled them out, picking up the one that slipped from his hands, and upon noticing that they were slightly wrinkled, he smoothed them out and handed them to her. "Your scarves. Ma'am," he added with a klutzy bow of his own. "I'm sorry if I seemed like a weirdo that popped out of nowhere, I wasn't really trying to stalk you or interrupt your moment there, I...I was trying to give these back to you…"
Who are you lying to, of course you were watching her dance.
Because he found it adorable, but one doesn't go about saying that.
"Oh," she took the scarves and bowed. Again. "That's very kind of you. Qujanaq, naalaganera." Thank you, Prince.
He let out the breath he'd been holding for a long time and managed a little smile, tilting his head in curiosity. "I don't really like formalities, Baby Blue."
She blinked. "Baby Blue?"
"You never told me your name, so…" he shrugged, "I mean, I would call you Protector of Wolves, but that would be ratting you out."
Her face grew warm. "We have numbers, sir," she said, looking down. "I'm Number Eight. You can call me that."
"But you're not an object to be numbered," he said softly. "You're a person, and I'd really like to get to know you."
I'd really like to get to know you. But she didn't really respond to that, fidgeting with her hands.
"I never got to properly say thanks. For earlier. At the feast," he said. "You were too good to me."
"Everyone needs to be treated with respect and dignity," she said. "It should be something we should all do, not choose to do."
Oh, universe, how could anyone be so perfect? He squeed internally. "I wish I could say thanks face to face..."
Face to face. She responded by briefly making eye contact with him, but she quickly looked back at the ground. "We need to keep our faces covered, sir. It's part of the protocol."
"There's no one here," he said warmly. "And I'm not a tattle-tale."
"My apologies. I don't know if that's a good idea," she said, hesitant.
Sokka sighed, doing what he needed to do to keep them on the same page again. "Utoqqatserpunga," he said sincerely. I'm sorry. "About earlier with the penguins, and... before that when you were playing hide-and-freeze with the kiddos—"
"Oh, no, that was my fault," she said. "I should be apologizing—"
"No, I was the one that should've given a heads-up. My fault entirely." He sighed. "And I'm also really sorry for not telling you who I am. I mean, Wang Fire is still my name. Well, it's an alias I went by whenever I hunted or traded near bandit country. I thought a name that sounded even remotely Fire Nation would intimidate people. Since tribefolk are usually hesitant to attack Fire Nationers. But, uh..." He looked up at her. "I didn't tell you who I was because I wanted to be your friend. Being royalty might have its perks, like not going for days on end without food. But the annoying thing is, everyone ends up being really formal with you. Like they look at you just for your position and not for who you are. And if I'm feeling this way just in these few days of actually living like a prince, I can't imagine how Her Highness must have felt to not even have this kind of social interaction...if she was kept a secret from her own people."
She appeared surprised by the way he put it, but the look on his face was knowing. Tender, even.
"I haven't met anyone like you down South," he said, his face crimsoning. "You were really nice to me, and you didn't care if I wasn't a believer and all that. Not to mention, I really liked the conversations we had before. Not everyone is so open-minded in the South Pole, you know? And...I wanted you to be my friend. I didn't want you to be formal with me. Like you are now..."
She then got the courage to look him in the eyes, her gaze soft. "I wasn't angry at you for not telling me who you were. I just felt embarrassed. I was afraid I said the wrong thing since I wasn't aware that it was you who I was talking about at certain times."
"Really?" he seemed relieved. "And here I was thinking I could never be redeemed!"
"Oh, you poor thing," she shook her head. "I was never bothered by that. I was curious on why you didn't tell me, but I didn't think too much of it. I was too busy thinking I made a fool of myself in front of royalty," her eyes danced away in embarrassment, "And that's never too fun."
"Tell me about it," he rubbed his head and grinned nervously. "So does this mean you don't think I'm a terrible human being?"
"I would never think that," she chuckled and looked at him. "You are very endearing, naalagaanera," she said sincerely, "but I am not allowed to speak to you like this in public. And it's not because I'm seeing you for your status. It's because I don't have a status to call my own." Her eyes lost a bit of their vibrance. "If you're a servant at the palace, you need to be nameless and faceless to avoid all interactions with those who are above you. Well, if you're a servant or the princess."
"You don't really think that, do you?" his eyes wavered knowingly. "I mean, you're the caretaker of the Moon Temple, after all. You're all about breaking arbitrary rules."
"Yes, I am. And I definitely see us as equals. As very good friends," she told him. "But some rules must still be followed. Just for a little while. Just enough to break the system from the inside."
The way she put it sent a thrill down his spine.
"And besides, There are hundreds of people willing to talk to you. Like Avatar Aang and his friends. I'm not nearly as interesting as they are—"
"I completely disagree," he said. "I said before that I loved our conversations, and I meant it. And since you admitted that we're equals," he took a step forward and asked expectantly, "Would you kindly consider breaking this rule for me?"
Her eyebrows rose in what must be amusement. "Breaking this rule would mean breaking other related rules, honorable naalagaanera."
"Kindly consider breaking those, too, then, oh great Defender of Wolves?"
She laughed, folding her arms. "Aap, ikinngutima." Alright, my friend.
He beamed brightly. "If only my new friend could say it to me face to face."
So she pulled away her face veil. She let her headscarf loosen as well, letting her long braid slip and brush against her knees. "Are you happy now, ikinngutima?"
And an uninhibited Sokka let out a very dreamy sigh and a smile that reached the ends of the earth. His chest pounded, and he was feeling lightheaded again, but he kept himself grounded this time. "Ah, that's the face of a goddess right there."
Her face was colored in a deeper shade of red this time. He, too, seemed surprised that he said it out loud but grinned at the effect that it supposedly had on her.
"Yue is my name," she eventually said, twiddling with her thumbs.
"Yue," he breathed with much more reverence than one could have for a sacred mantra. "It's very lovely."
She smiled, her blush intensifying. "So, um...people here are not really supposed to know our names...and I'd greatly appreciate if…"
"Yue? Who's that? I've never heard of her," he chuckled. "Your secrets are safe with me, Baby Blue."
She raised her eyebrows, again bemused by her nickname. "May I still call you Mr. Wang, then, from time to time?"
"Of course! Call me whatever you like."
"So I suppose this means we're good, Mr. Wang?"
"Very," he said, nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "So, uh, are you done for the day?"
"Yes, my shift is over."
"Then can I walk you back to where you need to go? If you're okay with that, that is."
"Do you know your way around the outer ring? Or would you like me to walk you back after you walk me back?"
"And I'll walk you back again," he laughed. "To return the favor."
"To return the favor of a favor."
"Oh absolutely."
She giggled. "You're a true Water Tribe gentleman, aren't you, Prince Sokka?"
"I'd prefer just Sokka."
"Well then, 'Just Sokka,'" she teased. "It's a really nice offer, but I don't want to take your time away from the ball. You should be enjoying yourself."
"Dances aren't my thing, actually. You seem to have a better talent for those."
"Oh dear," she blushed in embarrassment.
"You're actually pretty good at it if you ask me. Better than me, that's for sure." And he felt his heartbeat skyrocketing as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yue, since you're done for the day, and I'm just...chilling, basically...are you open to...uh…" How do I put this? "Doing an activity with me…?"
"Doing an activity?" she asked, innocent and visibly confused.
"Uh...yeah."
"What kind of activity?"
"A...A social activity. The two of us. We could...explore. See the North. Well, I'm the one exploring here, hehe," he said nervously. "Did you eat yet?"
"Not yet."
"We can get something to eat, then. It'll be a...a friendship dinner..." Friendship dinner? What on earth...? "...if you're cool with that…? I haven't eaten yet, either..." Not too much, anyway. "Unless you have somewhere you absolutely need to be."
"No, not really."
"Then would you like to come with me, Miss Yue of the North?"
She chuckled at his attempts at making his voice deep and fancy-sounding, making him absolutely giddy. "I'd love to."
A/N: Too bad there's no Yukka Week, but Happy Kataang Week to my fellow Kataangers! Been a proud Kataang shipper even before I knew what shipping was :3