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.]

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[Close. They were close. Once. Back before his death penalty, before matters had become as sad and dark and twisted as they had between her and Gale. She misses that boy, the boy she had befriended sometime after arriving here. There had been slow - very slow - steps back towards that friendship.

Steps, it turned out, that didn't move fast enough.]

Yeah.

[It's easier than the truth.]

I see. [He pauses.] I know it can't be easy for any of us. And... and Foo Foo is gone, too. [At least they won't have to worry about his future wellbeing anymore.]

...oh.

[It's funny that losing Foo Foo somehow makes it all the worse. Maybe it was because things were still so very rocky and unsure between herself and Sokka. But Foo Foo hadn't stopped caring for her. So long as she provided him with all the squirrels he could devour, he seemed to almost love her.

So much for teaching him how to hunt. For having another hunting partner. Something she hadn't really had since before the first Hunger Games.]

I'm sorry.

At... at least he's with his momma now. [At least Foo Foo wasn't getting left alone after all. But Aang can't take that much pleasure in that relief - his conversation with Katniss was relatively recent enough that it just feels like a sad irony.]

At least.

[Hopefully, Foo Foo's mother will take good care of him. Teach him how to hunt. She knows from experience that not all mothers can be counted on. But things tend to be a little different in the animal world at least. He would learn what he'd need to survive. So long as some other predator didn't take him down when he was still small.]

It's a good thing, Katniss. Really. For Sokka, and for Foo Foo.

[Just not for everyone else left behind.]

I know.

[It is a good thing. No one deserves to be stuck here. But it still makes her worry. For Prim's sake. For Clove and Cato's. If they ever leave, they have no where to go. How could any of them return to the world they left behind when they're dead? She still doesn't even understand how it works in the first place.

But she won't argue with whatever it is that brought her sister here. That gave Prim a chance to live again. She'll just accept it. And fight for Prim to remain.]

Right. Katniss, if you want to talk about anything... Just know that I'm here.

And if you need time... then that's okay, too.

[It should be the other way around. She should be the one offering him comforting. Sokka had been his friend, one of his closest friends. And here he was, being moral support for her instead. Could she be any more selfish?

She really, really didn't deserve his friendship.]

...if you need anything, Aang...

[She trails off. Hopefully, the implication would be enough.]

[Helping people with their problems helped Aang to think about his own less. And in some cases, it helps him to work through his own problems in the process.

He really is touched by Katniss's offer. He was worried because unlike him, she might never see Sokka or Foo Foo again. She might not believe for certain the way Aang does that they'll be able to be happy. Yet still she's offering to help him instead - he doesn't know what he did to deserve this friendship.]

I know, Katniss. I'll let you know. Just like... You'll let me know if you need anything.

Thank you. You're a really good friend, Katniss.

[That catches her by surprise. He has to be confused, has to have her confused with someone else. Because she's not a good person, let alone a good friend. A good friend wouldn't get her other friends killed. A good friend wouldn't be as selfish as she is, wouldn't have hesitated to help in the first place.

But, somehow, she keeps from scowling. Keeps from questioning him on those words. It's not true. But would it be so bad to pretend it was true? Just for a second?]

I will.

[He focuses on the present. On Katniss here in Luceti. Someone who's tried to do the right thing and help others. Someone who was hurting just like him. A friend.]

I'm glad to hear that. And I bet Sokka and Foo Foo would be, too. We all gotta look out for each other, after all.

Book 16: Drained [Voice/Action]

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