Sokka
I close my eyes, trying to picture her face. I forgot what my mother looks like, I refuse to forget Katara.
Her skin was tan, her hair was brown and she always wore it in loops. Her eyes were blue. I refuse to forget.
What am I going to tell Dad? How am I going to tell Dad?
It's my fault. I'm the one who took us all to the desert. I'm the reason she died.
"Sokka? Sokka." I hear, pulling me out of my thoughts. Aang is crouching in front of me. "Sokka. It's almost time to board the ferry. Let's go." Like mine, his eyes lack a certain spark they used to Have. Even Toph, loudmouth, Sassy, and stubborn, has hardly said a word since the Sandbenders told us there's no way she could have made it.
"Okay. Let's go." I say and get up. We're on our way to the ticket booth when someone jerks me back by my collar. It's a girl.
"Tickets and passports please." She demands. I squint at her.
"Is there a problem?"
"Yeah, I've got a problem with you. She glares. "I've seen your type before. I bet you're sarcastic, probably think you're hilarious! And let me guess-" she rolls her eyes. "You're traveling with the Avatar."
"Do I know you?" I ask her, thinking it's weird she knows I'm with Aang.
"You don't remember? Maybe this will help." She growls, and then…she kisses my cheek. Instantly I know who it is, and for the first time since we lost Katara, I smile.
"Suki!"
…
We sit around a campfire and eat as Suki catches us up on where she's been. After we left Kyoshi, she and her warriors became more proactive in the war. Right now they're helping refugees reach safety in Ba Sing Se, which is why she's here. And the boss won't let them wear their warrior's clothes, so I Didn't recognize her out of her makeup.
"So what about you guys?"
"We're traveling to Ba Sing Se to see the Earth King. We found out about an Eclipse that will absolutely cripple the Fire Nation's defenses, we need to plan an invasion as soon as possible."
"Why don't you just take Appa? Where is he, anyways?" She asks. Aang gets quiet for a moment and looks down. I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Appa was stolen by sandbenders in the desert. We're hoping to find where he was trafficked to in Ba Sing Se."
"I see." She says, and reaches over to grab my hand. "I'm really sorry."
"Heh. Thanks." I tell her and gently pull my hand away, thinking of Yue. Suki knits her eyebrows together, and my face gets warm as I look away.
I made a mistake with Suki when we were in Kyoshie. After training with her for a few days, it was pretty clear we were both attracted to each other. And in the Water Tribe, you're supposed to wait for marriage before you have sex with someone but, once I found out that Kyoshi Island didn't have those rules I threw them to the wind. We slept together the night before we left. And Now I'm realizing why my tribe says to wait.
I'm in love with Yue, and she's waiting for me once the war is over. There's nothing I'll ever do to break her trust. But I can't deny I feel a connection to Suki that I doubt is going to go away overnight.
"Are you doing okay?" She asks Aang. He gets a hard look on his face.
"I'm fine."
"When's Katara coming back over here?" She asks. All of us go silent and look down, Toph immediately tearing up again.
"When we lost Appa, we got stuck in the desert for a while. And during a sandstorm, Katara got separated from us. We searched for days, until the locals called it and said there's no way she could have survived."
"What? That can't be-"
"I Didn't want to believe it either." Aang says.
"It was my Fault." Toph says, hardly above a whisper. "I should have been able to stop the Sandbenders."
"No!" I say firmly, scooting over and putting my arm around her. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was the one who took us into the desert. "
"If anyone is to blame, it's the Sandbenders for stealing Appa." Aang says, in a cold voice that I'd normally never hear from him.
"I'm so sorry." Suki says, dipping her head. "Since you missed the last ferry to talk to me, you should go ahead and get in line for the next one. I need to get back to my duties." She says as she stands up and dusts off her clothes. "It was nice to see you all again."
"It was good to see you too, Suki." I say as she runs off. Aang stands up.
"Let's go get in line." He says.