Chapter 3: The Western Air Temple
Aang didn't know what woke him up exactly. Was it the melodic chirping of the birds greeting the dawn? Or perhaps the subtle shifting of Appa beneath him as the sky bison stirred in his sleep? Or was it just Chit Sang's snoring. He couldn't say. Whatever the cause, he found himself bathed in the warm embrace of the morning sun filtering through the temple halls, instantly lifting his spirits.
With a contented yawn, he stretched his limbs, reveling in the sensation of being well-rested. Yet, as he took in his surroundings, a pang of sadness tugged at his heart. The architecture surrounding him served as a poignant reminder of the great loss his people had suffered. It was a stark contrast to the vibrant culture that once thrived within these walls, an ancient culture and a loving people he belonged to.
Yet, why did he feel so disconnected to them?
The intricate mosaic art adorning the walls, depicting sky bison as the first airbenders, stirred memories that felt both distant and achingly familiar. It was as if he were an outsider peering into his own history, It was difficult to reconcile the past with the present, to imagine that this place had once teemed with life and laughter only a century ago and not millennia.
Though he had never ventured to the western air temple in his youth, the tales of its magnificence had always captivated his imagination. Unlike the Southern Air Temple where he had spent his formative years, or the Northern Air Temple with its modern renovations, this sanctuary seemed untouched by time. Its buildings hung precariously from the cliffs, hidden in plain sight yet sheltered from the ravages of the outside world. There were also no secret passages like in the other temples, well that was as far as he knew. He had hoped Teo and the Duke would find them soon, so they could explore it together.
He always wondered how they built these places, but a better question than was...
How were they so well preserved?
Did nobody come here since?
Lost in his contemplation, Aang was jolted back to reality by a sudden disturbance from the clouds below. The gentle sounds of nature were shattered by the abrupt departure of birds, and even Appa emitted a low growl of warning. In an instant, His senses sharpened as he sprang into action.
A bomb.
Aang jumped to his feet as the projectile passed through the waterfall overlooking their encampment and with a light blast he quickly send the device into the opposite direction.
Boom!
The explosion went off, a few feet away from the platform. The sound echoed, through the halls, waking everyone form their sleep. Rushing outside to see where the explosive came from. He quickly scanned the clouds below him and after a second his eyes landed on the source of the explosive.
Airships!
Three Fire Nation ships appeared from the clouds and began simultaneously bombarding the platform.
"Aang!" Katara's urgent cry pierced through the chaos, drawing Aang's attention back to their besieged encampment. With a swift pivot, he turned to face the scene unfolding before him, he watched in horror as the ancient ruins around them succumb to the explosions.
Without a moment's hesitation, Aang dashed back to the spot where he had been with Appa, his mind racing with a desperate plan and then with one move, he summoned another gust of wind, directing it towards the massive door shutters surrounding them. The heavy shutters groaned and creaked as they began to close, casting a deep shadow over the area and offering some semblance of protection against the incoming assault.
For a fleeting moment, a tense silence settled over them, broken only by the distant rumble of explosions echoing through the air. Then, without warning, the roof above them began to splinter and crack, sending chunks of debris raining down upon them.
"Watch out!" Zuko's warning cry rang out just in time, his quick reflexes propelling him into action as he tackled Katara to the ground, shielding her from the falling rubble.
A grunt escaped both their lips as they hit the ground hard.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, her voice tinged with irritation.
"Keeping rocks from crushing you," It took him a second to realizes, his arm was still over her shoulders.
"Okay, I'm not crushed, you can get off me now" Katara flared up as the discomfort of their close proximity grew between them. She stood up as soon as he lifted his arm.
"I'll take that as a thank you." Zuko quipped, offering her a wry smile as they all began to move towards the walls within the temple.
"Come on! We can get out through here." Toph exclaimed, her voice cutting through the chaos as she stood alongside Haru in front of a makeshift tunnel they had just carved out. Without hesitation, everyone followed, except the bison.
"You too, Appa." Aang started pulling at the reins but to no avail, did the bison move. He kept on pulling and soon , katara and her father joined him in the tug.
As they struggled to coax Appa into compliance, he felt a pang of frustration gnaw at his chest. He knew the sky bison hated being underground, and the tunnel seemed far too cramped for him to fit through comfortably but there was no other way out. Pulling at the reins for the third time, Aang glanced ahead to where Zuko stood, and realized he had his back turned towards them.
"What are you doing?"
"Go ahead. I'll hold them off." Zuko replied. He was way over his head on this one but it might just give them time. Plus he didn't have to second guess, who was behind this attack." I think this is a family visit."
"Zuko! No!" He protested, torn between the urgency of their flight and the loyalty he felt towards his teacher. His friend.
"Come on! we have to get out of here." Katara urged, her hand on Aang shoulders, signaling him to leave Zuko and focus on the job at hand.
"We can't just leave him behind." He couldn't shake the nagging feeling of guilt that gnawed at his conscience. They couldn't just leave Zuko behind, not when he risked so much for them in the recent days.
"Let him go. We need to get Appa into the tunnel. Now Aang!" He complied and for a fourth time, They pulled on the reins but with no success, only causing more lengthy growls from the bison. He watched Zuko disappear into the gap that was left behind now by the collapsing shutters.
Meanwhile on the other side, Zuko raced forward to meet the impending threat head-on, his senses sharpened as he braced himself as a bomb hurtled towards him, its fiery explosion erupting mere centimeters away and for a second he could feel the heat emanating from the explosion as he jumped, passing through the smoke cloud and breathed in its essence. As the smoke cleared, Zuko wasted no time in retaliating, with a fireball of his own, aimed directly at one of the airships, instantly destroying its cannon. His determination unwavering despite the odds stacked against him.
But his focus was shattered as a fourth airship materialized before him and the attack stopped, its imposing presence casting a shadow over the other three battleships. Out of the clouds came the mast and Zuko's eyes darted towards the figure standing on it.
She knows just how to make an entrance.
There, she was in all her glory, his sister, barely two years younger but had outclassed him in every aspect, he was taught to master. She was perfect. He was lucky to have been born. And for most of Zuko's life, She was the standard he was measured with. Where Zuko had struggled to meet their father's expectations, Azula had effortlessly surpassed them, She's ambitious, ruthless, and a fire bending prodigy. He was considered a disgrace, weak and soft. A average at best in the art of bending.
And as he gazed up at her now, he couldn't help but feel a surge of bitterness welling up inside him. He had spent years chasing after her shadow, always striving to prove himself worthy in the eyes of their father, yet every time it had cost him a piece of himself. But he was done with that past. He could simply not afford it.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, meeting her gaze as a smile grew on her face at his words, as if he knew the answer.
"You mean its not obvious yet?" She responded, her tone dripping with sinister amusement." I am about to celebrate becoming an only child!"
Azula lifted herself over the railing and with a swift motion, She launched a blistering fireball towards Zuko, who barely managed to evade the attack, thinking twice of countering the shot. But as he scrambled for cover, the force of her blast sent him hurtling backwards with bone-jarring force. He crashed against one of the broken shutters nearby, having terribly miscalculated the power of the blast.
"This isn't going to work." Aang grunted, still struggling to get Appa into the cramped tunnel alongside the others. The sky bison's reluctance was palpable, his low grumbles echoing the frustration etched on his face. "Appa Hates tunnels."
"Aang There's no way we can fly out of here." Katara interjected next to him, her voice strained with effort as she pulled just as hard but not gaining an inch of success.
" There might be a chance." Hakoda chimed in from beside them.
"How? Those airships will blast Appa from the air, once we're in their sights." Aang said.
Katara glanced at her father, knowing full well what he was about to suggest. She shook her head vehemently, her heart pounding with fear at the mere thought of being separated from her dad once more. They already lost Sokka. She can't loose him too.
"We have to split up," Hakoda stated firmly, his gaze locking with Katara's even as she protested silently.
"No! We can't split up. Not again! Not after what happened to Sokka," Katara pleaded, her voice trembling with emotion as she clung to the father.
"It's okay," Hakoda reassured her, his tone gentle.
"What do you have in mind Chief?" They heard Toph ask, behind them.
"Glad you asked. Okay, Chit San and I will take the kids, through the tunnel towards the stolen airship." They nodded in unison and then he turned towards Aang." Aang, you'll take The rest of the team and fly through the airship blockade."
"How will we get through?"
"That's tricky. I'm no earthbender but Toph is it possible for you, to hold a ton of these stone slabs together as a face shield?"
"A face shield?"
"For Appa, yes."
"Oh! Easy peasy."
"Great. We will attract the same amount of attention due to the stolen airship belonging to Azula's fleet, so we will have to remain separated until we've ditched the airship. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" They all said in unison.
"This is not okay."
"Katara." Hakoda faced her as everyone else said their lost goodbyes to each other." Listen, this won't be forever."
Katara met her father's gaze, searching his eyes for any sign of doubt. Finding none, she hesitated for a moment before finally relenting,
"Promise?" she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Promise," Hakoda affirmed, pulling her into a tight embrace as they shared a moment of solace. The war had truly taken its toll on their family yet all was not lost. They would find each other again and before that, She would rescue Sokka. Despite all the rumors, her gut feeling had told her, he was still alive and she prayed, they would find each other again.
Their moment was cut short however by Aang when asked them.
"Uh guys? where is Suki?"
There he was, coughing and struggling to recover from the blast, Zuko lay sprawled on the floor as Azula's airship turned to aim at him. The sound of her voice, cold and calculated, cut through the smoke-filled air like a blade.
"Goodbye, Zuko."
The bomb was launched, hurtling towards him with deadly intent. But before it could reach its target, a slab of stone flew through the air, colliding with the bomb and causing it to explode mid-flight. Both Azula and Zuko stared in disbelief as the smoke cleared to reveal Suki, standing between her and Zuko. She grabbed another slab of stone with her feet and flung it with perfect accuracy inside the cannon entrance, causing it to detonate from the inside.
"Thought you guys left," Zuko muttered, his voice rough with exhaustion as he struggled to push himself upright.
"Not yet. We're trying to get Appa underground," Suki replied, her gaze darting between Zuko and the looming threat of Azula's airship.
"I see." Zuko acknowledged, a flicker of gratitude in his eyes as he nodded towards Suki in silent appreciation. He was glad to see her. "Thanks."
"Now, we even."
Then Azula's voice rang out from the airship above, "Wait? Is that my favorite prisoner?" she taunted, her words laced with venom. "Well, currently second favorite."
Suki's blood ran cold at the mere mention of Sokka, her heart plummeting with dread at the thought of what Azula might have done to him. She bore firsthand witness to the depths of Azula's cruelty. When He and Zuko had found upon her, she had been teetering on the edge of despair. The anger and hatred in Sokka's eyes that day had been seared into her memory, along with his solemn promise that the next time they encountered Azula, he would make her pay for every injustice they had suffered. But neither of them could have imagined that fate would deliver their moment of reckoning so swiftly.
She remembers it clearly, their struggle on the tram. How Sokka never held back, striking at Azula, every opening Zuko gave him. Then, as the guards began cutting the tram line, the two of them escaped onto the oncoming tram and everything would've ended right there. But Azula could never accept defeat, She deserved victory, no matter how small or insignificant.
So, she baited Sokka to follow, knowing full well how easy it was for her infiltrate his mind and With each taunt and insult, Sokka's defenses crumbled until his rage consumed him, driving him to leap.
Over a week had passed since they lost him, yet Suki still struggled to accept his absence. But she couldn't afford to dwell on her fears. She needed answers. She needed to know if Sokka was still alive.
"What have you done with Sokka?!" she demanded, her voice trembling with barely-contained fury.
"Oh wouldn't you like to know." Her smirk made Suki's blood boil." Don't worry He's alive."
Relief washed over Suki momentarily, only to be shattered by Azula's next words.
"He thinks you abandoned him."
"He wouldn't," Suki protested, her fists clenched at her sides as she fought to contain her rising panic.
"He wouldn't?" Azula repeated. "How do you think I found you?" her words were like a knife twisting in Suki's gut.
"No," Suki whispered, the weight of Azula's words crushing her with a sense of helplessness.
It couldn't be true. Sokka would never betray them. Her stomach twisted at the thought of what might have happened, in order for her to have gained that information.
"Yes and yes, you will never see him again," Azula declared, her voice cold and merciless as she reveled in Suki's anguish.
"Don't listen to her," Zuko finally interjected. "We will find him again."
But before he could say more, a blast from Azula's airship struck a nearby pillar, causing it to collapse. With quick reflexes, Suki watched as Zuko seized the opportunity, using the falling pillar as a makeshift ramp as him propelled himself towards Azula. With a burst of firebending, he launched a barrage of fireballs directly at her, forcing her to leap from the railing to avoid being hit.
Landing roughly on the roof, Azula regained her footing with practiced ease, her gaze fixed on Zuko with a mixture of contempt and amusement.
"Looks like you and water boy share a common trait, after all" she sneered.
"And what is that?" Zuko demanded, his voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
"You're both so foolish," Azula replied with a derisive smirk, her confidence unwavering even in the face of impending danger.
As they both lunged forward, fire and determination burning in their eyes, Zuko and Azula clashed in a flurry of strikes and counterattacks. Each movement was calculated, every blow aimed with precision as they sought to gain the upper hand.
each movement a testament to their skill and determination. As they circled each other on the deck of the airship, With ferocious speed, Azula launched herself at Zuko, flames dancing at her fingertips as she unleashed a barrage of attacks. Zuko responded in kind, his own flames meeting hers in a dazzling display of red and blue fire.
But there was something different about Azula, an aggressiveness in her movements that Zuko couldn't quite place. Her strikes lacked the usual sharpness and precision that he had come to expect from her, instead being replaced with raw power.
She's on edge.
He would be wise not allow her to land any one of her strikes as he learned the consequences moments ago from the fireball she had summoned earlier on, so their clash continued, the air crackled with the heat of their battle, the sound of their fire mingling with the roar of the wind. Zuko could feel the intensity of Azula's rage radiating off her in waves, her attacks growing more aggressive with each passing moment. But even as she unleashed her fury upon him, he refused to yield to her hatred.
Instead, he fought with a calm determination, channeling his own inner strength to match her power blow for blow.
And then Appa's familar groans were heard.
"Oh, look, it's your new friends," Azula sneered, her voice dripping with disdain as she watched Appa soar towards them from the temple, a makeshift shield of rocks forming a protective barrier around his head. Azula didn't hesitate before she launched a barrage of fireballs at them, her aim deadly and precise, but her efforts were in vain as the bison soared gracefully overhead, narrowly avoiding her attacks.
"At least I still have friends," Zuko retorted, as he watched her slowly turn around. Her demeanor had changed. Zuko couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her like that if he did at all.
Azula's eyes blazed with anger at his words, and with that she charged furiously at him with a punch coated with blue flame. from the other side, Zuko brought all his reserve energy into his punch and it came opposite direction, causing a monstrous explosion, finally sending them both from the airship.
But just as Zuko found himself free-falling through the air, his heart pounding in his chest, he felt a sudden rush of panic grip him. Then a second later, Katara's hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling him onto Appa's saddle just as they soared past.
He was safe.
But...
He glanced back at his sister, still plummeting towards the ground below, and the realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.
"She's..." he began, his voice catching in his throat as he struggled to find the words. "She's not going to make it."
In that moment, as he watched Azula's descent, a surge of conflicting emotions washed over him. Despite everything they had been through, despite the bitterness and resentment that had festered between them for so long, he couldn't bring himself to hate her.
But just as he resigned himself to her fate, Azula defied all expectations with a single, audacious move. With a kick of her feet, she rocketed herself towards a nearby mountain, her hairpin serving as her only means of braking her fall until she came to a sudden stop, suspended in mid-air like a specter of defiance.
"Of course she did."
"Hold still."
As Sokka's eyes fluttered open, his vision blurred and hazy from the remnants of his dream, he heard a voice—a woman's voice—soft and soothing,
His mother?
Impossible.
her gentle touches were a soothing balm to his broken body. But as reality came crashing into vision, he realized that the figure bending over him was not his mother, but another woman entirely. It had been her gentle touches he felt, and not his mothers. He felt his chest burn and then cool down as if the pain was slowly being washed away. Her hands moving with a practiced grace as she tended to his wounds. With each delicate movement, he felt the searing pain in his chest begin to ebb away, replaced by a cooling sensation that washed over him.
"Hold still," she repeated, her voice a gentle command that cut through the haze of his thoughts, grounding him in the present moment. Sokka instantly complied, allowing himself to relax into her care.
But as he gazed up at her face, he couldn't help but notice the ethereal glow that seemed to emanate from her face, a reflection of some sorts.
And then he saw it—a puddle of water hovering inches above his chest, suspended in mid-air by an unseen force. The realization hit him like a tone of bricks.
She was a waterbender.
A healer, too.
That's insane.
The revelation was staggering. Sokka knew of only two waterbenders with the ability to heal—his sister Katara and Yagoda of the Northern Water Tribe. Such talents were rare, even among waterbenders. It was considered a precious gift bestowed upon only the most skilled and dedicated practitioners of the element.
But what were the odds that he would encounter another healer—a fellow tribesman, no less—in the depths of this hellish prison? The questions swirled in Sokka's mind, a whirlwind of confusion and curiosity that threatened to overwhelm him.
Was she from the Northern Water Tribe too? Like Yagoda?
Why had they never seen her before, especially during the break-out?
Had she been sent here, after the chaos of their escape?
And most importantly, why was she here now, in his cell, tending to his wounds?
The woman gaze turned to him, her eyes narrowing at his as if she could see the turmoil inside of him, present on his face. Sokka's heart skipped a beat as he followed her gaze, only to find himself confronted by the presence of two looming figures-
Prison guards.
His body immediately tensed at their presence. By now, he had learnt that nothing pleasant ever followed when there were prison guards in his cell. He almost suddenly became much more aware of his surroundings than before and he was paranoid enough to wonder, if he they heard anything, he said while sleeping. The guards stood a few paces away from the bed where Sokka lay, the cell door left ajar, allowing a sliver of light from the corridor to spill into the cell.
It was clear that they had been sent to supervise the woman's healing efforts, to ensure that everything proceeded according to plan. Yet He couldn't help but feel a sense of futility in their presence. Though he was no longer bound by chains, Sokka knew that any attempt to overpower the guards and make a break for it would be futile. Despite his newfound freedom, he was acutely aware of the lingering weakness that still plagued his body.
Also, he wanted to know how much time had passed since he lost consciousness.
Then the memories came flooding in. The last time, she was here. Sokka couldn't help but flinch at the painful recollection of the lightning that had seared through his body. For the first time since he was captured, She had managed to completely break him and in his vulnerability, he had given her, the one thing, he tried to keep furthest away. His body shuddered at the thought of his betrayal towards his friends and even though, he was in critical condition, He felt no excuse would ever wash the guilt, he felt.
She should have killed him.
But she decided to-
"Calm yourself, child," the woman's voice broke through Sokka's thoughts, her tone firm yet reassuring. "This won't work if you keep on moving."
Sokka nodded, doing his best to focus on her healing hands and block out the distractions that threatened to overwhelm him. But even as he tried to push aside his doubts and fears, one question continued to nag at him—the question of why she was here, treating him, as much as he wanted to succumb to his wounds. Sokka laid there for a few moments until the complete picture of his woeful situation hit him in the head like a ton of bricks. And dared he asked the question, he already knew the answer to.
"Who sent you here?"
"Princess Azula." She answered. He wasn't surprised in the least. She was behind all the medical attention, he had received, right after taking him to the brink of his life." She had me transferred here from the Mainland to heal you."
"transferred?" He looked at her as if she spoke another language.
"Yes, you are quite the fortunate one to be alive, if I'd arrive any time later..."
"Right." If she only knew half the story, how he became like this in the first place. He really wanted to tell her, hell tell anyone for that matter, what he'd been through but the words never took shape, rather he asked:" What do you mean by transferred? As a prisoner?"
Her outfit, she wore, said otherwise.
"No I'm a physician." she clarified, her expression solemn.
"I see. You don't happen to be a firebender too? right?" No matter how dark things would seem, there was always room for some sarcasm.
"No, of course not, that feat could only be- "
"Then why wear their uniform? you know you'd get arrested wearing that, back home."
"Its a long story" she sighed, her gaze distant as if lost in memory. "One that I'm not comfortable sharing now. Please just hold still, so I can do my job and we both get to keep our heads."
"I feel like I've already lost mine."
Late that same night, As Sokka gradually roused from his well-deserved slumber, the darkness of his cell enveloped him like a heavy blanket, the remnants of his exhaustion still clinging to his weary limbs. Yet despite the lingering fatigue, he could sense a tangible difference in his body—a newfound lightness, a sense of ease that had eluded him for so long. His muscles felt more relaxed, his movements less strained, as if the healing session had worked wonders. He wondered where was she all this time. They might as well have sent her from day one.
He still didn't know her name.
He had found him self too occupied by his thoughts to even ask her. The insanity of Azula's decision to send her to heal him after nearly electrocuting him and the disturbing fact that the water tribe healer, now adorned Fire Nation colors. For what ever reason, she did not say, most likely because of the presence of the guards but after a while, he didn't care anymore as he just wanted time to pass and get the whole ordeal over. He never witnessed her leaving or the guards as the entire sensation of her healing, over took him and he passed out before that.
It was a good thing though, that the guards left him on the bed. A wave of relief washed over him as laid there on the mattress and wasn't hanging from chains. he hoped that, that stage of his life here was over. Turning over to the other side, He could still feel a bit of heaviness in his body and there was something else.
he was hungry, starving in fact.
With a resigned sigh, Sokka's gaze drifted towards the nearby table and chair, where he knew his meager supper awaited him. The guards always dropped it off every night, like clockwork. But just as his hopes for sustenance began to rise, they were dashed in an instant. His heart sank as he caught sight of a flickering blue flame dancing in the darkness, its conjurer seated casually at the table, exactly where he needed to go. His muscles tensed instinctively at her presence, his senses on high alert.
Azula.
He found himself paralyzed as he watched her in total darkness, her features obscured a bit by the flame but he could make out her face and the hair that hung loosely around it. The light reflecting upon her mark, she bore proudly on her forehead and in those dark golden orbs, He found a burning intensity that seemed to pierce through the darkness itself.
He tensed.
What stunned him the most was that She wasn't wearing any armor, only a simple nightgown that clung to her form in the darkness. He'd only ever see her in two other uniforms, a kyoshi warrior outfit, on the day of the coup against the Earth king and in her royal armor. It made him sick to his stomach, to even admit to himself, that she was beautiful and now, it amazes him, that even in the dark, he could still see her clearly.
Sokka couldn't help but marvel at the paradoxical nature of her beauty, the way it seemed to mask the evil that lurked beneath the surface. She was a study in contradictions—a vision of loveliness that belied the sinister intentions that lay hidden within. Once upon a time, he had reserved the word "evil" to describe her brother, Zuko. But since Azula had entered the picture, her brother seemed almost angelic in comparison.
He also wondered what the time might be at this moment. He could never discern the hour, but judging by the oppressive darkness and the eerie silence that surrounded him, he knew it was late. Very late.
Then why was she here?
As Sokka pondered the myriad of reasons that could possibly explain Azula's presence, none of them seemed to make any plausible sense. Some were so absurd that they almost seemed laughable, He shook his head in disbelief. His mind just wouldn't accept now or in a million years that there were any other reason for her to come down here than to cause harm towards him.
It didn't matter to him though, Whether she was here out of some twisted sense of amusement or for some other nefarious purpose, Sokka remained resolute in his defiance.
Unfortunately for her, he was unchained so if she wanted to start interrogating him, She would have to do it with his dead body because he would struggle against her till his last breathe. He was tired of all her sessions. He was so tired of everything that dying seemed like a relief.
Then he remembered the embrace, they shared. It had been like this, no guards, no nurses, no warden. Only the two of them. At the brink of death, just as everything started to feel cold as he was slowly losing consciousness, unable to register anything around him. He was engulfed by warmth as her arms moved around him. He had apologized to her almost subconsciously even after he betrayed his friends and he was certain, had she asked him, he would've apologized a thousand times more. For at that moment, his life depended on her and when she whispered those words back to him, He welcomed death whole heartedly.
Even now, his body yearned for that same feeling, that same sense of security. It made him sick to his core.
Sokka's reverie was abruptly shattered when Azula stirred on the other side of the room. He caught her nose crinkle, possibly at some irritation and then there was a sharp intake of breath and then her flame disappeared, Plunging the cell into total darkness. He strained to follow her movements, but the blackness was impenetrable, leaving him with nothing but the sound of her shoes on the metal floor. For a second, he imagined them coming closer towards him but dismissed the thought almost immediately. Then the prison door opened and she finally left him alone.
He felt solace wash over him as if he had just come up for air after suffocating underwater. He didn't know how much longer of her intense staring he could take.
For now, though, he allowed himself a moment of respite, a brief reprieve from the constant tension that had gripped him in her presence. He closed his eyes, letting out a long, slow breath as he tried to steady his racing heart.
Yet, even in the stillness of the cell, he couldn't shake the hunger that gnawed at his insides. His stomach rumbled loudly, a painful reminder of his empty belly and the meal that awaited him just a few feet away.
But Sokka knew better than to rush into things. He had learned the hard way that patience was often the key to survival in the Boiling Rock. So, he resolved to wait. He would give it a few more minutes, until he was certain that Azula was truly gone and he was alone once more.