A. N. : It's Viper-birthday time babey ! Three full years today, wow ! And as is now tradition, I have readied a short fic for the occasion. Ever wondered what happened with Smellerbee and Longshot after they were left in Ba Sing Se ? You can now find out in Of blue shells and scarab-bees. But now, back to Sokka !
Sokka is going to die.
He never imagined he'd think this one day, but fighting Phat was easy. Or, well, no, it wasn't, but at least there weren't real swords involved. And he was getting used to Phat's fighting style. And it wasn't Master I'll kick your ass but artistically Piandao.
At least Sokka's new sword cuts super well. Even if he only tested it on bamboos while running for his life. And maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration and Master Piandao won't actually kill him because that's not really the point of an exam. Probably. But he did say defend yourself and that sword of his is really, really sharp.
Master Piandao can probably stop his blows before killing him, but Sokka kind of really doesn't want to test that. So instead of defending, he evades, uses whatever trick he can think of to gain even a slight advantage – and you'd think Master Piandao would scold him for not fighting honorably or prettily or something, but instead he keeps throwing praise. Good use of your surroundings, of the environment, he says, and Sokka might be kind of terrified, but he also feels great.
Master Piandao will skewer him if any of them makes a wrong move, and Sokka has never felt so alive.
Maybe it's a little messed up. Maybe Sokka can't help but try to impress everyone, and actually managing to do it is getting to him. Master Piandao is an experienced warrior and he says Sokka fights good, and Sokka – Sokka actually believes him. It's not playing pretend anymore, it's not – not wearing his fakest cocky smile and making like a real warrior, instead of the dumb kid he really was.
Sokka has gone ice-dodging now, unorthodox as it was. He killed, and it felt horrible, but it means he earned his place. And Bato believed in him, Dad believed in him, Master Piandao believes in him. And he thinks he's starting to get why.
Sokka can't do any weird magic, is just now learning to really fight, but that was never what mattered. It's not what Dad and Bato valued – his forehead adorned with wisdom and Bato smiling brightly, the amazing coincidence of Dad also making stink-bombs – it's not what Master Piandao is praising, not versatility – boomerang and club and sword and fan and his constant reworking of the schedule – not creativity – the rotten eggs and the balloon and the drill and that knot he gave Wan Shi Tong – not quick-thinking or intelligence.
What Sokka lacks isn't what makes a great warrior. He thinks.
He kicks sand in Master Piandao's eyes – dirty fighting, but that's alright, isn't using the eclipse kind of dirty too ? – and tries to sneak around him – if he can manage to get his sword pointing at any of Master Piandao's vital organs, he wins.
Did Sokka have a false image of what a warrior is ? He doesn't know. He believes Master Piandao's words of praise, but there's also a voice in the back of his mind that's doubting it, doubting everything, always planning for the worst, for Mom to die and for Dad to leave and for Sokka to be useless. He doesn't think he can make it shut up, only try to drown in out in nicer noise.
Sokka steps on a twig and loses his advantage, stumbles, falls. He lost. Master Piandao smiles. Sheathes his sword. Pulls Sokka up.
It almost feels like a win.