Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.
Life with the Yellow-haired Girl
The yellow-haired girl healed slowly in the weeks that followed. It became easier for her to move, and about a day after waking, Gran-gran decided that she was able-bodied enough to move about our tent freely. As she found her feet, the girl stumbled a few times; legs shaking as they became used to supporting her weight again after having been inactive for days. The girl walked cautiously like she was doing what she could to make sure she stayed out of our way as we went about our day. It didn't bother me much. Seeing as most of my time was spent away from the family tent. But I know Katara had been trying to actively involve the girl as she went about her chores. Both as a way to teach the yellow-haired girl our language and to give her something to do. It slowed Katara down, and I often came home to find her completing tasks that shouldn't have taken her very long to do. Katara said she didn't mind. That it was nice to have someone to work with. Even if the yellow-haired girl was more trouble than useful. But I didn't get it. The yellow-haired girl was a burden. She created more work. I get it that the girl would die if we didn't help her. I'm not saying that we should kick her out because after meeting her it was clear that she wasn't a danger to anyone. But we had enough problems to deal with. We didn't need any more.
But I kept my thoughts to myself and spent more time than I usually did away from the village; hunting and fishing. And whenever someone asked me why I pointed out that I now had another mouth to feed. But with the dark months quickly approaching, I knew I couldn't avoid my family and the yellow-haired girl for much longer. As soon as the first winter storm hit, we'd all be trapped inside our tent for most of the time. Only going out when it was absolutely necessary.
By the time Gran-gran deemed that it was safe for the girl to go without bandages on her healing and now permanently discolored arms, the girl had learned all our names. Though the only name she managed to pronounce correctly every time was mine. I think it's because Sokka had one less syllable than Katara and because Gran-gran had elected to teach the girl to call her Gran-gran rather than Kanna. Saying that it would be less confusing for the girl since she heard Katara and I using that title. The yellow-haired girl had also learned the words for water, fish, and tent. It served as proof to Katara that the girl could learn. But I thought she was picking up on things rather slowly. How hard could it be to learn words?
She hadn't seen much of the village yet. Gran-gran didn't want her exposed to the cold so soon after recovering. We also didn't have any spare coats for her, so unless she was going to the outhouse, she remained within the cloth walls of our tent. It was just as well too because she was too tall for Katara's clothes to fit her properly. Meaning that she was wearing mine, and my people weren't accustomed to seeing a girl wearing a man's tunic. They already thought the yellow-haired girl was strange enough. She wouldn't be accepted here until she stopped being so… foreign. Gran-gran was working on making clothes for the girl. But she thought it was important that the girl learned to sew and also said it would help her regain dexterity in her fingers. So, it was slow going as Gran-gran tried to teach her without using words. A lot of time was wasted undoing the incorrect stitches the yellow-haired girl made so she could try again. I didn't see how any girl her age couldn't know how to sew. I thought it was something every girl did. It was one of the first things Mom had taught Katara. But this girl fumbled with the needle; as if she had never held one before. Even I was better than she was. And I only picked up a needle when I needed to fix a fishing net or patch a hole when on a hunting trip.
"Knife" Katara said as she held up one of Gran-gran's cooking knives for the yellow-haired girl to see.
"She doesn't know the word for knife yet", I asked, having just come in from teaching the younger boys. Both girls turned to look at me. The yellowed-haired with her usual blank expression, while Katara glared.
"She's learning a lot", Katara defended. All of us tried to avoid using the girl's gibberish sounding name whenever possible. Our tongues got tied whenever we tried. And the yellow-haired girl never seemed to recognize that we were calling her. So, to me at least, she remained the yellow-haired girl. "We worked on the laundry today, and she didn't need any help lighting the fire to boil the water", Katara said as if using flint was a great accomplishment. I rolled my eyes as I walked further in and sat down next to the girls. I know that it's nice for Katara to have someone to talk to whenever she wanted. Even if she's just having one-sided conversations. But it did irk me. I was the one who found her.
"What's for dinner?" I asked as Katara put down the knife.
"Sea prune stew", Katara answered casually as she moved on to the next item in front of her. She picked up a comb made from tiger-seal bone and handed it to the yellow-haired girl. "Comb", Katara pronounced slowly.
"C-comb", the girl repeated.
"What happened to the fish I caught this morning?" I asked as the girl passed the comb back to Katara. She wouldn't have any use for it until her hair grew.
Katara placed the comb next to the knife and picked up one of my socks. A washed one, I'm assuming. "Gran-gran gave it to Sanna for her kids. They were sick and Gran-gran said they needed protein". I groaned and flopped down to the ground as Katara handed the yellow-haired girl my sock. "Sock", Katara said.
"I need meat!" I complained before the girl could mimic Katara.
Katara scoffed as the girl put the sock back down and climbed to her feet. For what? I have no idea. "I thought it was your duty to provide for the people in this village?" My sister asked, throwing my words back at me.
I reached up and ran both of my hands over my face. Can't a guy get a little rest? "It is", I answered; half-listening to the rustling sounds the yellow-haired girl was making on the other side of the tent. "But that doesn't mean I should have to go without every night!"
"Don't be dramatic. You like sea prune stew", Katara said.
I was going to point out that it was Dad who liked the stuff. I, on the other hand, was a connoisseur of meat! But before I could, the yellow-haired girl returned. "Sokka", she said in her strange accent. I removed my hands from my face to see her standing over me with a piece of blubbered seal jerky in her hand. How did she- Slowly I reached up and took it. She smiled at me before sitting down in her original place. Had she understood me?
"That was amazing!" Katara praised the yellow-haired girl Who just smiled in response. I don't think she knew exactly what Katara had said but recognized it as a compliment. "Sokka", Katara said as she turned in my direction. I had already stuck the blubbered seal jerky in my mouth and was lazily chewing it. "I didn't teach her any of that. She picked it up on her own!"
I turned my head just enough to shoot my sister an unimpressed look. "So, she can listen. Big whoop". But… it did feel nice to be heard.
The next day, I came home with a tiger-seal skin that had been curing in the village smokehouse. I had tracked down and killed the seal two weeks ago. And the skin was only finished today. I had wanted to use it to make the new winter gloves for the kids. They were always wearing them out or losing one. And if I lined the inside with fur Gran-gran wouldn't have to worry about treating frostbitten fingers this winter. But with the arrival of the yellow-haired girl who had nothing, new gloves for the kids was no longer top priority.
Inside the tent, Gran-gran sat with the yellow-haired girl. That meant Katara was probably out waterbending. They were silent and neither of them looked up when I entered. They sat across from each other with the girl holding Gran-gran's left hand in both of her scarred ones. The girl's fingers were rubbing and smoothing Gran-gran's wrinkled skin. I squinted my eyes. Why was she doing that? Why was Gran-gran letting her? "What is she doing?" I asked; making myself known.
Gran-gran sighed; so relaxed that she didn't move as she answered me. "I don't know. But it's doing wonders for my arthritis".
Walking further in, I studied them as I dropped the skin to the floor. "How does she know the word for arthritis?" I asked.
"She doesn't," Gran-gran said as she pulled her left hand from the yellow-haired girl and gave her her right hand instead. The girl didn't seem to mind. She held on to Gran-gran's right hand with a smile and started rubbing it like she had been doing with the last; paying careful attention to Gran-gran's knuckles. "She noticed that my hands were bothering me when we were sewing her coat, and just started doing this".
Gran-gran explained as I squatted and spread the tiger-seal skin until it was lying flat on the ground without a single wrinkle. I guess it was good that the yellow-haired girl had some sort of skill she could bring to the table. Maybe she could learn some medicine stuff from Gran-gran once she could talk better and take over some of Gran-gran's work. I had to move a little to be able to grab some charcoal from the hearth. A risky thing to do when lit, but I'd been doing this for years. "Is she going to be done soon?" I asked as I returned to my position in front of the tiger-seal skin. "Cause I wanted to get started on this before dinner"
Gran-gran finally looked in my direction, and her peaceful look made me feel guilty for interrupting. Gran-gran was just as responsible for the village as I was. As the village elder, she was often called on to assist others on top of what she did for me, Katara, and now the yellow-haired girl. "And what is it you want to start?" She asked as she eyed the materials I had spread out in front of me.
I felt my face heat up. Ever since the girl woke, I had made my opinions about her using our resources. Even though I was really just annoyed that I wouldn't get to talk to another teenager like I had wanted. But this was different. This was something she needed if she was going to make it through her first winter in the South Pole. "She needs boots of her own", I admitted; looking away from Gran-gran. She'd had been using old boots that someone else had out-grown. But they were old. The fur lining was worn down, and the stitching used to make it waterproof was starting to break. Besides, we made out boots to be a custom fit for the original owner. So, the ones she had now weren't a comfortable fit.
"That is a good reason for us to stop", Gran-gran said. I looked up in time to see her gently turn her hand in the yellow-haired girl's grip until her hand was on top. The yellowed-haired girl looked up at Gran-gran with curiosity. Having gained the girl's attention, Gran-gran said slowly, "Go to Sokka, child". She moved her hand that was on top of the girl's, to point at me. "Call her, Sokka", Gran-gran told me. "Help her understand".
I sighed. It shouldn't be that confusing. Gran-gran was pointing at me. That should be clear enough. But I didn't what Gran-gran asked. Using my hand that was holding the charcoal, I gestured her to come closer. "over here", I said; my voice sounding half-hearted even to my ears. But the girl didn't seem to notice. She rose from her spot in front of Gran-gran and walked towards me using little steps. Like she was afraid of stepping on something. But she listened, and it wasn't long before she was standing near the edge of the tiger-seal skin; looking back and forth at Gran-gran and me like she was seeking confirmation that she had done what we wanted.
I nodded. "Put your foot here", I said, pointing to the spot on the tiger-seal skin that I wanted to use first. She didn't move. I sighed. Right. 'Foot' and 'here' were words she didn't know yet. With the hand that wasn't holding charcoal, I reached out and touched her sock-covered foot. "Foot", I repeated.
"F-foot", she mimicked; just like she does with Katara.
Gran-gran cackled to herself as she stood up. "I'll start dinner", she said. "Let me know if you need help".
I didn't answer Gran-gran. Instead, I grabbed the girl's ankle and pulled it until she picked it off the ground. She let out a small squeak as she fought to maintain her balance, but by the time she was steady, I had already placed her foot on the tiger-seal skin in the position that I wanted it. "Stay", I ordered gesturing my hand like I was pushing the air down. She seemed to understand at least that much because she didn't move. With the charcoal, I traced the outline of her foot; adding a little room to have enough skin to work with when I actually constructed the boots. Her feet seem to be about the same size as Katara's, but hers were just a little wider and she had high arches. When I was done with that foot, I waved her off the tiger-seal skin before saying, "other foot". She must have remembered the word for 'foot' and guessed the meaning of 'other' because there was only a half-second pause before she placed her second foot next to the outline for the first. Something inside of me swelled. Was this the same feeling Katara got every time the yellow-haired girl used a word that she had taught her? Whatever the feeling was, I brushed it off. I didn't mean anything. I was just doing my job as a provider.
Once I had traced her feet, I used my hands to measure how much of the skin I'd need to make the top part of the boots. I did this by place one of my hands on the back of her heal and then place my other hand both it to measure. The skin on her leg was smooth. Not like the ruined skin on her arms. I gulped and had to remind myself that I had a job to do and shouldn't be thinking about anything other than getting the correct measurements. I ended up lowering my top hand a bit. Looks like there are only a hand and a half-length between her heel and the bottom part of her calf. Keeping my hands together, I moved away from her and placed my hands on the tiger-skin. I stared at it for a while, to remember the length with my eyes, before moving one hand to grab the charcoal and draw a line. "You're done", I said to the yellow-haired girl once the line was drawn. I had all the information, I needed. But the girl didn't move. She continued to stand next to me; staring.
"How long until you are done with her boots?" Gran-gran asked from the opposite end of the tent.
"hmm", I thought to my self as I was already moving on to the next step. "About two or three days". That should be a doable timeline. Especially when considering everything else I had to do.
"Good", Gran-gran said with a nod of approval. "She should be finished sewing her coat by then too. Then you can take her with you the next time you go fishing".
That caught my attention, fast. "What?" I asked as I snapped my head up. The yellow-haired girl jumped back in alarm. "Why would I take her fishing? What good would that do?" I couldn't watch her and fish at the same time. What if she got lost or if I didn't catch anything? Either outcome lead to me getting blamed for not doing my job.
"Sokka", My Gran-gran said in warning. I took a deep breath. Gran-gran rarely got mad. But when she did, she'd put the fear of La into you. Seeing that I had calmed myself, Gran-gran's tone went back to normal. "I know you were hoping for a friend when you found this girl. And I know she's not what you expected. But she can still be a friend, just one you'll have put more effort into. Give her a chance. There are things you can teach her that she can't learn in the village".
I sighed but didn't argue. I was the one who brought the yellow-haired girl into our lives in the first place. So, I guess that means I am stuck with her. "Alright, Gran-gran. I'll take her fishing". Gran-gran smiled as the girl just blinked at us without any comprehension.
The yellow-haired girl was starting to look better now that she had her own coat and boots. She was less… sad looking. And just as I had promised Gran-gran, the day after she had both her coat and boots, I took her fishing. We left the village early in the morning when everyone else was just starting to cook their breakfast. But it was better to fish either early in the morning or near the end of the day, as that's when the fish would be looking for food themselves. I decided not to take a canoe out. The water was generally calm during this time of year, but I didn't want to bring up any bad memories for the yellow-haired girl by taking her out to sea. I had found her washed up on the shore, after all. And the last thing I needed was a weepy emotional female on hands. Instead, we made the trek to a part of the sea just off the coastline that I knew was frozen solid. We'd go jigging. With winter approaching, soon this would be the only type of fishing my people and I could rely on. It wouldn't hurt for the yellow-haired girl to learn a bit about it. I kept my pace quick as we walked, and was surprised when the yellow-haired girl didn't complain once. Though I guess she doesn't have to words to complain… Still, even though she was slightly out of breath, the girl never lagged; she kept pushing forward. A couple of times, she slipped on patches of ice she hadn't seen; causing her to reach out and grab onto my sleeve to keep herself standing upright. The first time, it annoyed me. This was why I didn't want her to come with me. She'd only slow me down. But then it happened a second time. And then a third, and a fourth. Each time she didn't give up. She just found her balance and moved on. And I realized that if she wasn't going to complain, I couldn't either.
When we got to where I wanted to be, I had to make two trips across the ice. One to drop off my fishing gear and spear, and another to help the girl figure out how to walk on ice. It wasn't something that could really be explained; even if the yellow-haired girl could understand any explanation I could give her. Walking on ice was a skill that you had to learn by doing. It was something that everyone from a water tribe figured out at a young age. It was such a common part of our lives that we didn't even pause when stepping off the ground. But for someone who hadn't grown up here, it was like learning to walk all over again. I had her hold on to my elbows as I gripped her forearms. We made slow progress as we traversed the ice to what I had deemed as the best fishing spot. Once we got there, I let go of her arms and only had to wait a couple of seconds before she let go of mine. "This", I said, gesturing to my gear and ice under our feet. "Is jigging". I didn't wait for her to give a response, because I knew she would give one. Instead, I knelt down and took out my hunting knife to saw a square hole in the ice. The yellow-haired girl watched this whole process, making some sound in her gibberish language once I had finished cutting and had removed the ice from my fishing hole. I looked up at her as I tossed the ice aside to see a look of understanding on her face; like she knew exactly what I was doing. "Do they fish like this where you're from?" I asked, before remembering that she wouldn't know what I was asking. Shaking my head, I put my knife back in exchange for my fish lure. "We use this", I said to her as I showed her the fake fish carved out of a rib bone attached to a toughly woven thread. "and make it swim around in the water like this", I explained through both words and action. The action was for her benefit as she watched me stick the fake fish into the hole and drag it through the water by the connecting thread. "It attracts the fish, and when they're close to the surface, I'll use my spear to catch them". Me using words was for my benefit, so I didn't have to spend the whole morning with this girl in silence.
But the girl pointed with the gloved hand to the spear lying next to me and said "spear?" Like she wanted to make sure she'd heard me correctly.
"I guess Katara taught you that word, huh?" I asked. But she didn't answer. Seems like she can only handle one word at a time. "Take this", I said gesturing to the thread in my hand. It took a couple of gestures before she knew what I wanted. But once she did understand, she didn't hesitate in taking the thread from me with both hands. "Keep pulling it back and forth", I said; moving her hands for her until she started to do it herself. "Good, just like that", I commented, even though I knew it didn't matter. I picked up my spear in my dominant hand, and we both peered into the square hole and waited… and waited…. and waited. This was always my least favorite part of fishing. When I used to go fishing with Dad, we'd pass the time by talking and swapping jokes. But it wasn't like I could do that with the yellow-haired girl.
So, the waiting continued in silence. I remained ready to spear at fish at any moment as the girl continued to pull the fish lure around in the water. Occasionally, I would feel her eyes on me. Like she wanted to make sure that she was using the lure right. But she didn't make any sounds, so I didn't have a reason to look at her. That is... until the waiting got to be too much for me. "Hey", I said without looking up from the hole in the ice. "Do you know why fish swim in schools?"
And of course, I didn't get a response.
"Because they can't walk", I delivered the punchline. Only then did I look up. She was staring at me; blinking with her usual vacant expression. But for some reason, at that moment, it cracked me up. I started laughing through my teeth. "What do you call a fish that won't shut up?" I asked between breaths.
Again, no response.
"A big-mouthed bass", I snorted; laughing at my own joke. The yellow-haired girl didn't get it. I knew she wouldn't. But seeing me crack up must have done something to her. Because a smile slowly started to grow on her face. "Why are fish so gullible?" I asked, pausing even though I didn't have to. "Because they fall for things hook, line, and sinker!" I laughed louder and harder. It's been a while since I last got to use these jokes. Katara hated them. It was only Dad how had appreciated my humor. Even though she didn't know what I was saying, the yellow-haired girl started giggling; finding my laughter contagious. The sound of her laugh was light and sweet. Kind of like the sound of otter-penguin chicks chirping. As we continued to laugh, I thought of something else that I didn't mind about the yellowed-haired girl being here. She couldn't tell me that my jokes weren't funny, and if I laughed hard enough, she might even join in. When the laughter died out and we both started staring into the hole in the ice again, I took a long breath. "I guess you're not so bad", I said.