Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.
Kyoshi Island
"This is home", I said; pointing to the south pole on our map. Kaya tracked my finger with her eyes. "And we're… somewhere over here", I continued; drawing a circle on the map with my finger on a section of ocean depicted on the map. "And we're going here". I pointed to the North Pole. On the other side of the Appa's saddle, Katara worked on patching a tear in my pants. Something that made this impromptu geography lesson with Kaya a bit uncomfortable. But we had spent the dark months together in the same tent and would be on the road for the foreseeable future. So, it wasn't like we were unfamiliar with each other. Besides, I had a long coat.
Kaya's eyes darted around the whole map with the middle of her forehead wrinkled; barely paying attention to the north pole which I was still pointing to. Like she was looking for something else. Something she wasn't finding. At least she didn't seem confused about what a map was. Kaya let out a small huff of air when nothing stood out to her. Instead, she pointed to the north pole, right next to my finger, and asked, "Why?"
Which was a very good question. I stopped pointing at the North Pole to scratch behind one of my ears. But it was a very good question that I couldn't give an answer. The days after we left the Southern air temple, after picking up another mouth to feed and stopping Aang from accidentally blowing us off the face of the mountain, Kaya had gotten a lot of language instruction. From me, Katara, and Aang. Flying around on a bison across the ocean, only occasionally stopping at random islands, left us with a lot of time that was no longer being wasted on chores. During that time, Kaya picked up on some new verbs, and continued working on using the WH- question words; who, what, why, and where. She was very fond of the word 'why', as we soon found out. But pronouns were still a toss-up with Kaya continuing to refer to herself by saying her name.
Still, even with how much she learned, telling Kaya, "we're going to the North Pole so Aang can master waterbending because he's the avatar and needs to learn it as a first step to him saving us all from the tyranny of the Fire Nation", wasn't going to be easy for her to interpret.
"Hey, Katara. Check this out", Aang called from where he was steering Appa with his new pet, Momo. Or pretending to. Honestly, most of the time it felt like Appa was the real navigator on this journey.
While Aang's call was enough to get Kaya and me to look at him (A needed distraction. Hopefully, Kaya would forget her question), it wasn't enough to catch Katara's attention. Aang held his hands parallel, palms facing each other. In between them, three small marbles he'd reclaimed when we were at the Southern air temple swirled around in another demonstration of his awe-inspiring airbending.
While Kaya looked impressed, I rolled my eyes. This again.
"That's nice, Aang", Katara said without turning away from her task; pushing the needle through the fabric and pulling.
Aang's shoulder's slumped as he stopped the airflow and clasped his hands together; caging the marbles. "You weren't looking", he complained with a frown. Geez, he was laying it on thick. This kid had a lot to learn about girls.
In response, Katara looked up after completing a stitch. "It's great", she tried again.
Aang's frown deepened. It was deep enough that Kaya copied the expression, looking at me to help her piece together what was happening. Not that explaining this was going to be any easier than explaining Aang's destiny. "I'm not doing it now".
"She's sewing, Aang", I decided to step in. "Girls are serious about that stuff. You shouldn't bother them when they're doing women's work".
I meant it to be supportive. I meant it as a way to explain Katara's lack of interest. It was a comment to get Aang and his tween version of flirting off Katara's back. You know, when flirting is more 'look at me' requests than actually expressing attraction. But based on the narrowed-eyed glare Katara was shooting in my direction, you wouldn't think that. "What about sewing makes it 'women's work?'" She asked pointedly.
As if she didn't know. Leaving the map with Kaya, I leaned back into the supplies we have tied down to the back of Appa's saddle. "Simple. Sewing is women's work because girls are better at it than guys. While guys are better at hunting and fighting. You know, men's work". I explained, not understanding why Katara seemed to get more annoyed the longer I talked. I mean, both men and women had an equal amount of work, which I acknowledged. So, what if the work was different?
Katara's face twisted into a scowl; a look that had Kaya shifting nervously. But for once, Katara didn't start yelling at me. Instead, she held up my pants. "I'm all done", she declared with a fake smile, despite the large hole still visible in the pants. "See what a good job I did?" And she let my pants go. The wind created by riding on a flying bison blew my pants back. One pant leg smacked Kaya on the shoulder. While the rest of it was caught by my face.
Sputtering, I sat up and grabbed a hold of my pants before they blew away completely. Being without pants would be worse than having pants with a hole after all. "Katara, please!" I tried; finding the hole and sticking my hand through it. "I can't wear these". Especially not on a journey to the north pole.
Katara didn't look even a little swayed. She's my sister. She wasn't really going to let me travel like this, right? And then Kaya, sweet easy-going Kaya, started laughing. It started out in a restrained huff. But something about my face had her hunching over the map with full stomach-aching laughs. Kaya's laugh sounded like an otter penguin bleating for fish. Since she started living with us, I was the only one who had managed to provoke that sound from her. And… I guess that's still true. But I didn't like it when it was at my suspense.
"Katara, please", I whined. But my little sister remained unmoved.
Kaya took deep breaths and calmed herself. Though, as soon as she looked up and back at me, the otter penguin noises started all over again. The sound was contagious and soon Katara's face soften and Aang was lifted out of his disappointment.
"It's okay, Sokka", Aang said; smiling at Kaya as the yellow-haired girl tried with little success at quieting herself. She pressed one of her hands over her mouth as the other held onto the map. It muffled the sound a little. But not by much. "Where we're heading, pants aren't required".
… That didn't make me feel better. Katara turned towards Aang; asking him if he knew how far out we were. I turned to Kaya. "Why are you laughing? You don't even know what Katara and I were saying".
Kaya shook a little; forcing herself to take more deep breaths. This time, the action allowed her to return to normal. She leaned towards me. Once again, reminding me that I wasn't wearing pants. "Sokka face", she said; poking the tip of my nose before pausing. Kaya glanced to the right; searching for the right word. When it didn't come to her, she used her free hand to hold her stomach. "ha ha ha" she mimicked.
"Sokka face ha ha ha", I repeated to myself. Sometimes, repeating the things Kaya said made it easier to figure out what she was getting at. Sometimes, I had to say it a couple of times before I understood it. This time once was all I needed. "You think my face is funny. That's why you laughed!"
Kaya smiled widely and nodded. "Sokka's face is funny", she spoke correctly… maybe. I think she might have been saying that I make funny faces. Or, so I hope. Seemingly happy that she managed a complete sentence, Kaya took the pants I was holding and exchanged them with the map. She quickly found where Katara had stuck the needle in the fabric and continued where she left off. Kaya leaned into me as she sewed; the tip of her tongue picking out between her lip as she made stitch after stitch. Her needlework wasn't as neat as Katara's. But the yellow-haired girl had come a long way since Gran-gran had helped Kaya make her coat.
A feeling of contentment took over Appa's saddle. Still, as I half listened to Katara and Aang, and watched Kaya work, I couldn't let go of what Kaya said. 'Sokka's face is funny'. Great. It was something every guy wanted to hear. My fiancé thinks I look funny.
Kaya really liked trees. Her muddy brown eyes would light up when she saw them. And she wanted to know the words for all their parts; branch, bark, trunk, leaf. Kaya would point to them and wait eagerly for me to tell her so she could repeat it back. Sometimes she'd tell me the words in her language. At least, that's what I thought she was doing. But I didn't try to say the foreign words or remember them; never being able to get my tongue to wrap around those strange syllables. I wasn't like Aang, who liked to try to make the sounds of clashing consonants like Kaya could.
As Aang played in the water and Katara watched, Kaya and I explored the surrounding forest. Always grateful for a break from flying, I didn't mind following Kaya as she dashed from tree trunk to tree trunk; glancing up at the canopy of leaves over her head with delight.
Though, we didn't wander far from the shore. Hopefully, Aang's dip in the ocean wouldn't be long and we could fly a bit longer before nightfall. "Sokka", Kaya called as she came back to where I was standing with my back against a tree. In her hand, she held a pine cone. Something I knew by name and had only seen a few times before. Kaya rambled on as she held out it out for me to see. Some of her words I recognized. But most of what she said came from her own language. The only thing I could pick out were, "Tree…. Winter…. Paint… family". What those four things had in common with a pinecone, I'd never know. Or why Kaya was so excited to find a pinecone. At least, I won't know until Kaya knew enough words to tell me.
"Yeah, that's a pinecone", I said; trying to remember what little I knew about them. "Comes from trees but not something we can eat".
Swallowing a small laugh, Kaya stared down at the pinecone in her hands with a sort of nostalgic fondness; acting as if she understood me completely. Her demeanor had me arching an eyebrow and standing up straight. Did she understand me? "So does your home have pinecones?" I asked in some sort of disguised test. I didn't want to get my hopes up. Nor did I want Kaya to feel my disappointment when she couldn't fully answer me.
The smile on Kaya's face was uncommon for her. It was small and had a sort of gentle longing. Slowly, as if crawling her way out of a memory, Kaya nodded. "Kaya's home has… pinecones", she said; only stumbling over the pronunciation of the new word she just learned.
It was four words. Four words strung together in a simple sentence. But it was a sentence that was correct. And even better, it was four words that directly responded to what I had asked. "You can understand me!" The realization had me taking two big steps away from the tree I was leaning against and closer to Kaya.
Startled by my sudden approach and exclamation, Kaya scurried a step back; clutching the pinecone against her chest out of instinct. Her brown eyes stretched wide as she stared into my face. Her expression was confused. "Kaya know what Sokka say". Her words came out just as slowly as before. As if she couldn't understand why I was so surprised that she could answer my questions.
And okay, her second response wasn't as correct as her first. But Holy La! "We can have conversations now!" I celebrated. Unable to restrain myself, I placed one of my hands on each of Kaya's shoulders. This was great! This was awesome! "We can talk about where you come from. We can talk about how you got here… Well, not here here. But how you ended up in the South Pole". Bewildered, Kaya blinked as I kept going. This was amazing! Kaya had learned enough that I could finally get some answers. Maybe even learn where other yellow-haired people could be found. And I could tell her my jokes and she would actually get the punchline. Or we could share stories about our dads. And I guess if she's able to follow all that, it was time for me to explain what her necklace meant…
Suddenly blushing, my hands slipped off Kaya's shoulders. Pine needles softened my footsteps as I took a step back. We did need to have that conversation, did we? I was kind of hoping Gran-gran would be the one to explain things to Kaya when the time came. But that was before we found a one hundred- and twelve-year-old boy frozen in an iceberg and had to take a trip around the world. "Hey, Kaya", I started as I stared at the toes of my boots and scratched the side of my face with one of my index fingers. "What do you like about me?" I asked. Based on Kaya's response, maybe I could determine if now was a good time to discuss future plans.
A gentle breeze rattled the leaves and branches over our heads as Kaya continued to blink at me; the pinecone still safely cradled against her chest. "Sokka…" She started to say. Unaware at that moment, that my heart thumping against my ribcage like it was trying to get out. "Sokka talk fast…"
The finger inching the side of my face stilled. I talk fast… That's what Kaya likes about me? What a weird thing to like. Eyebrows slanting together in confusion, I looked up to see Kaya staring back at me with her own slanted eyebrows. Although her face held a tinge of concern that mine didn't. Or did she mean something else when she said I talked fast?
I didn't get the chance to ask. Over by the shore where we had left Katara and Aang, a shout of alarm sounded. Spinning on my heel to face the right direction, I heard Katara yell, "Aang! Watch out!"
Ugh, what now! I thought as I started back the way we came. I'll just have to think about what Kaya said later. "Come on, Kaya", I said over my shoulder. "We better go see what's-"
Hands reaching under my arms yanked me off balance. All around us, I could hear whooshing sounds. Kaya gasped as a carefully placed foot between mine, knocked me over completely. Attack! We're being attacked! I realized as I tried to simultaneously jab an elbow into my assailant and climb to my feet at the same time. But a knee digging into the center of my back made any counterattacks futile. Man, why did I leave my boomerang in Appa's saddle? That had to be my first mistake.
"Alright, you got me", I relented as my arms were yanked back and bound at the wrist. Even with my head smooshed into the dirt, I could still hear the sounds of a struggle happening a few feet away and knew it had to be Kaya. Meaning, my attacker wasn't alone. "Just leave Kaya alone", I tried as my ankles were quickly bound. "She's just a girl".
Though my attackers didn't seem to care as the struggle continued. Though, maybe they were taking more care with Kaya than they had with me. Considering that it sounded like Kaya was still able to put up a fight. Maybe… Maybe Kaya could get away. Then she could run and get Katara and Aang and get me out of this mess. "Kaya!" I yelled as I wrestled to turn my head in a different direction. All I got for my effort was a blindfold tied around my eyes. "Kick them in the no-no spot. Just like you did with Prince Scarface", I yelled out my orders as the knee in my back lifted.
"Ow!" An unfamiliar voice exclaimed before the sound and feeling of a bodying falling next to me reached me.
By the small squeak that accompanied it, I can only assume the body belonged to Kaya. Well… maybe the others heard me yelling. Assuming the scream we heard earlier wasn't Aang and Katara getting assaulted.
"She threw a pinecone at me", the unfamiliar voice explained. My lips quirked despite the seriousness of the situation. That's my girl. But… wait. That voice… the one who was just speaking; that didn't sound like someone who'd be able to hogtie me. Who attacked us!?
Okay, so… The place we're at is called Kyoshi Island. A place that had a human-eating sea monster protecting its shores. Probably the only reason the Fire nation had left this place unscathed for so long. And surprise, surprise the people of this island loves airbending avatar Aang. Which meant we didn't have to meet their resident sea monster for trespassing. Yay for us. But what's even weirder about this place was the fact that all their warriors were girls! Females! A girl wearing a dress and waving a fan was able to knock me down and tie me up! How?!
"This is so good", Aang gushed around a mouthful of breakfast pastry. "I bet you'll like it better than seal blubber jerky", he called to me from where I was sitting with my back against the wall; arms crossed and frowning at the floor. Not that he stayed focused on me for long. "Kaya, Katara, try the orange one. I think they're my favorite".
Katara didn't need prompting as she helped herself. But Kaya waited until Aang shoved the aforementioned pastry into her hands. "Orange…" She repeated the word as she picked off little bits and stuck them in her mouth for a taste.
"Yeah", Aang said; grinning broadly when Kaya took a bigger bite out of her breakfast; apparently liking whatever she sampled. "It's orange. Just like this is orange", he said; pointing to the orange shawl-like part of his shirt. "They're the same color".
"Color", Kaya parroted back to him as Momo slinked close enough to steal food from the table.
"Sokka", Aang tried to get my attention again. "Come eat. You're missing out".
"Not hungry", I grumbled as I glanced at a decorative room divider that didn't look like it served any functional purpose. I guess that's the benefit of living in a home that you couldn't pack up and move. You got to own unless stuff. Like decorative room dividers.
"When are you not hungry?" Aang asked; failing to read the room.
Watching the back and forth, Kaya lowered her pastry away from her mouth. Giving Momo the perfect opportunity to snatch it from her before scurrying back under the table. Not that the yellow-haired girl seemed to mind. She just shrugged before tentatively helping herself to another one.
"Ignore him", Katara told Aang once she finished swallowing. Her voice sounded far too pleased to be an example of what a supportive sister should sound like. "He's just grumpy because a bunch of girls got the best of him yesterday".
"They didn't get the best of me! They… they caught me by surprise". Yeah. That was it… I was surprised. First, I was busy with Kaya and then I was worried about Katara after she screamed. Anyone in my shoes would have been caught off guard.
"Yes, they caught you by surprise", Katara agreed. But the smirk on her face kept me from being soothed. Nibbling on a pastry with Momo using her lap like it was some sort of plate, Kaya watched the exchange just like she had with many of our conversations as we sat around Gran-gran's hearth. At least she didn't look as amused as Aang did. "And then they beat you up".
Sputtering, I sprung to my feet. Where was the loyalty!? "Sneak attacks don't count!" I declared; shaking a fist in the air. "It's… it's unsportsmanlike".
"Excuse the interruption", a smug-sounding voice interrupted. All four of us, five if you counted Momo, turned towards the voice.
"Suki, good morning", Aang greeted cheerfully once he took in the sight of the leading girl from yesterday standing in the doorframe of the lodgings we were given.
Just like yesterday, her face was painted and she was dressed in her uniform. Armor and all. Did she ever take it off? Geesh!
"Good morning avatar Aang", Suki greeted. Bowing a little before she fully entered the room. "I hope everything is to your liking", she asked in reference to the half-eaten spread on the table.
"It's wonderful", Aang answered at the same time as he offered the Kyoshi resident a bun. One which she politely refused. "I haven't had anything like this in ages". Yeah, I thought with a snort. Especially because my jerky isn't good enough for him.
"Everyone has been so kind", Katara added as Kaya situated herself so her back would be to Suki as the other girl came closer. Briefly, Suki's eyes washed over me as my face burned. How long had she stood in the doorframe? How much did she hear? "I'm not sure we can thank you enough".
"No thanks are necessary", Suki said; her eyes focusing on the other three. Giving me a needed respite to lower my fist. "We're just sorry for any distress we caused. We had no idea you were the avatar".
"Don't worry about it", Aang said right before he shoved another pastry into his mouth. "How could you've known?" he asked; sending crumbs flying in every direction. If Suki was disgusted at getting an eye full of half-chewed food, she didn't show it. "So, what can we help you with?" Aang asked eagerly. "Does the village need me to help clean the statue? Or do they want another airbending demonstration?"
"Nothing like that", Suki answered; her smile genuine. Or at least, that's what she wanted us to think. A genuine smile was probably easy to fake under all that makeup. "Though I'm sure the village would enjoy that. I'm actually here to see if your friend would like to train with me and my warriors today. Kaya, was it?" Suki asked as she directed her eyes to the yellow-haired girl.
Kaya blinked up at her; interpreting Suki's words at her own pace and giving me enough time to speak for her. "Kaya doesn't fight. She doesn't know how".
Suki's eyes flashed over to me; sparking something dangerous. "She can learn. Wen Di is still complaining about how much getting beamed by a pinecone hurt". Suki's eyes softened before they returned to Kaya. "You have good aim. Do you want to learn how to use it in a fight?"
"No", I refused without thinking. "You're not teaching Kaya anything".
The next time Suki looked at me, it was with a heated edge. "I wasn't asking you", she said confrontationally with her hands on her hips and elbows sticking out. "You don't get to decide for her".
Oh, yes, I do. Kaya is my responsible. Same as Katara is my responsible. And what's worse, Kaya doesn't have the words to speak for herself yet. So, of course, I have to decide for her. Kaya doesn't know what people are asking her!
Before I could say any of that, Katara jumped in with a warning look on her face. One that slipped off as soon as she addressed Suki directly. "That's a kind offer. It's just… Kaya doesn't speak the same language as us. She's learning… but we don't know how much she understands. It might be hard for you to teach her".
Crossing my arms once more and grumbling to myself, I watched as Suki's painted face lit up with intrigue. It was the same with every new person Kaya encountered. Yellow hair is weird and there's only one language so how could she be speaking a different one. Yada. Yada.
Except, Suki didn't say or ask anything along those lines. Instead, she knelt in front of the yellow-haired girl. "Hi Kaya. It's nice to meet you". She spoke slowly and directly to Kaya. "My name is Suki".
Suki waited patiently for a response, as Kaya glanced around her at all of us. Looking for some sort of cue. But the only one she got was an encouraging nod from Katara. "Hi, Suki?" Kaya said after a moment; her words coming out like a question.
Though no one seemed to mind. Instead, at the same rate of speech, Suki asked. "Do you want to learn how to fight? It could be important. Since you're traveling with the avatar".
I snorted in the background. Everyone ignored me. Except for Katara who shot me a dirty look. There's no way Kaya followed all that.
Affirming my belief, Kaya looked towards Katara. As if asking for help. "Kaya", Katara tried. "Do you want to go with Suki?"
This was getting ridiculous. "She's not go-"
I started to say but fell silent when Kaya spoke up. "Kaya go with Suki? Learn…" Since she didn't know the right word, Kaya raised both of her hands. One she kept flat and the other formed a fist. To pantomime what she meant, Kaya lightly punched her flat hand.
She… when did Kaya learn that? I asked myself as Aang and Katara perked up at Kaya's comprehension. "Yes", Suki answered; sounding as encouraging as Aang and Katara looked. "Learn to fight".
A half-smile, slightly unsure, grew on Kaya's face. It was a smile that made my stomach twinge. "Kaya go", Kaya agreed.
"Great", Suki said as she stood up; watching as Kaya cleared away the crumbs Momo left on her lap before following. "The girls will be thrilled to have you".
"Just let us know if you need help", Katara said as Aang shoved another pastry in his mouth. "Kaya's a fast learner, but it can be hard to understand her sometimes".
"We'll figure it out", Suki assured us as she and Kaya headed for the door. "See you later".
Suki walked out first, with Kaya hesitating in the doorframe long enough to wave goodbye before she followed. I waited long enough for the sounds of their footsteps to disappear before complaining. "Great. Now I'm going to have to undo whatever bad habits they teach Kaya".
"Let it go, Sokka", Katara said with a roll of her eyes. "It's like Suki said. We're traveling with the avatar and learning to fight is important. Besides, Suki knows what she's doing and you weren't offering to teach Kaya how to defend herself".
My bottom lip stuck out without my consent. Stupid girl warriors with their stupid fans. How did they even beat me? It doesn't make any sense.
"So, uh", said Aang; interrupting my inner turmoil. "What did Suki mean about a pinecone?"