savedtheworld | Book 16: Drained [Voice/Action]

[Voice]

[It had been easy enough to assume that Sokka had still been kidnapped - that he'd be back any day. It was worrying, but there was still the assurance of his eventual return. Except that eventually, his room was checked. And found empty. There wasn't even a sign of Foo Foo Cuddlypoops. It was hard to believe - when Aang had first gotten to Luceti, he had gotten used to Sokka being the man with the answers. And also a beard. He was like a big figure of the town. And now he was gone. Katara wasn't in a state to announce it herself, so Aang eventually did it. Making it quick and to the point.]

Hi everyone. This is Aang. I'm sorry to tell you all this, but Sokka has gone back home. I know we're all gonna miss him. I already do. But at least at home... the last time I saw him there, he was happy.

[Action]

[Aang spends some time over by the statue of Sokka's head located House 56, studying the image of his best friend. He tries to meditate and tries to imagine the inspiring words that Sokka would usually say. Because he's still afraid of being around other people. And right now, the people dear to him may need him more than ever.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm sorry, Raven.

Do you... need company?

Edited 2013-12-04 17:30 (UTC)

[She doesn't want company. Not Aang. Not someone who knew Sokka but knew nothing of her, really, or of what he was to her or what it meant to stick with him even when he lost the part of himself that cared about other people.

But her fear makes her need it, almost.]

I don't know.

Hmm. [She doesn't know what to think about that. On one hand, she understands it and would probably feel similarly if she, y'know, could go home without dying. On the other hand, it was the things that happened to him here that made him into the Sokka she knew -- though she doesn't know if it's selfish to think like that.

But it's not really the time to debate something like that, especially since she doesn't know what she'd debate. So, instead:]

Do you know what he's going to be up to, when he gets back? I think he said that a war had just ended, or was about to end, or something like that, but I never asked him what he was going to do after that. Does he go on to be a smith like he was here?

... I don't know, I was still working on that part.

[Aang's concern almost makes his heart break. He's learned to be okay when people went home, over the years and the relentless number of heartbreaks, he's just learned to go numb when he hears of another one. But he can't tell that to a boy who is made for giving hope to the world.

It isn't right to put that on him.]

Thank you - I'll be fine.

[ She physically shrinks back when she hears his reply, and it takes a while before she can manage to respond to him, though she sounds a good deal more timid than she did before. ]

Then you don't get to see them anymore... that's why it hurts so much. You're alone now.

It's okay.

You can think about what you need. And... I'll wait by the fountain for a while, just in case... you wanna.

[He figures that moving away from the Sokka head statue would at least be a tactful move. He does have his own fear at play, but he knows he has to face it to be there for his loved ones. So he'll want to face it for Raven, too, even if he doesn't know her that well.]

For him... the war had just ended. And I'm from a year after that.

Pretty soon for him, we're all going to meet up in Ba Sing Se and have a big party. Sokka's gonna try to make art of all us, and it'll come out silly. We all look weird in the drawing, but we laugh anyway. We have a lot of good times. And then... Sokka's gonna help us in traveling around the world for the Harmonic Restoration Movement, to settle the things left over from the war.

I don't know... if he's gonna be doing smithing. All I know is, one day he'll be a councilman at Republic City, and he'll help to keep it safe.

I know it hurts, a lot. I know I lost a lot of people back home. But I also know that... no matter how much death happens, life always continues.

And sometimes, people's lives can be reborn... in new and different ways. It's still sad, because it's not the same, but it's what happens. And... it reminds me of something a wise man told me once. He told me that love... is a form of energy that swirls around us. When people leave us, their love stays behind. It stays within your heart, and it can get reborn in the form of new love.

Well... Try not to worry about it too much, Zuko. Really, you should try to find something you know you wanna do. If you have to force yourself into any kind of job, then that's not right. There's lots of people here, after all, so there's sure to be someone else to step up to whatever you don't wanna do.

[It's nice to hear about something silly in Sokka's future like the party and picture, and she smiles a little despite the situation. It's also good to hear that he's helping to deal with the after-effects of the war, but the last part startles her.]

A councilman? He's going to be a -- a politician?

[Given enough time to consider it, it won't seem so strange. But it's not what she would have guessed.]

Yeah, yeah. I know.

I just think I should be doing something more worthwhile. I feel like I'm not contributing.

It's kind of cold... want to meet at the tea shop?

I think I can do without lemur-winged dreams, thanks.

Hey, Twinkletoes.

[ Toph and Aang hadn't seen much of each other these last weeks. With his fear of being around people and her fear of being left alone, it made hanging out a little hard. But this time, when she decides she's going to track Aang down and spend a second with him, she knows it's not because of some silly fear. Eventually she finds him, and she plops down next to him without really thinking about whether or not he'd like that. He could always escape, but she'd like to see him try. ]

Toph... H- hey.

[He says with a bit of a quiver in his voice. He's heard from some people by now, and he's feeling like he's in a relatively better place regarding his issues. But he does still feel that uncomfortable fear running down his spine. And he does find himself subtly over slightly, away from Toph.]

...If you don't mind telling me about him, I'd be happy to hear it.

[ It's true, too. ]

A story to tell...

Ummmmmmm, let's see. [ She has to think about this. ] Well, once he told us about a cool battle he had on his ship!! He fought a huuuuuuuge sea monster.

[ sure he did ]

He did? [Aang looks very concerned about this.] A sea monster?! Was he okay?

Well, yeah! Uncle Bumi's the best captain ever!! He said he made friends with it after the battle and it became his pet!!

But then it ran away when he left the door open...

[ this is a legit and believable tale ]

[He breathes a sigh of relief.]

I'm really glad to hear that. He- he must really have a way with animals... [He finds himself smiling fondly on the thought. Thinking about people who aren't here - that's relatively easy. It doesn't invoke his phobia, at least.]

I bet they'll find each other again someday.

[ Toph senses that subtle shift a little too keenly and frowns. ]

Is that still a problem? I was hoping we could hang out today.

No - no, we can still... hang out! It's not as bad, Toph. I'm... working on it.

I guess. I mean, at least you aren't running away really fast, anymore. [ Did he do that? Toph isn't actually sure. But she's just kidding, really. ]

[He very well might have at some point, whenever any sneaky attempts at slipping away from others failed.]

R-right! [He gives a nervous laugh.] Yeah... Now I'm just - just a sitting monk!

So... How are you, Toph?

[Making conversation! It's a step.]

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