savedtheworld | Book 16: Drained [Voice/Action]

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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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... Probably. He might have gotten more inventive than that.

[At least the programs at the battle dome would make him think so.]

Are you sure he's gone for good? Sometimes people come back, right?

You're right. People do come back sometimes. Once, I went home and came back here overnight. But... there's no way to tell for sure. This place is more unpredictable than anything else.

As much as I'd like to believe it... I think it'd hurt me if we kept hoping for him to come back and it wound up to be false. [Especially for Katara.] He's safe at home, at least.

I guess you have a point...

[He doesn't even want to think of what Katara might be going through.] It's better for him to be there than here, right? [Better for any of them, he has to remind himself. The fact that Sokka is gone could really be a good thing.]

[While Aang can't shake off the weight of wondering what Katara must be going to.]

It is. That's the good part. I know in my time, a year after the war, he seemed very happy. I don't know a lot about his future... but there's gotta be a lot more good there than there would be here. It's for the best.

[It's just his absence in general, the loss of such a great source of support here in Luceti, that hurts.]

Well, if he's happy...

[Zuko can't help but wonder if he's happy, a year into the future, but he isn't going to ask that. This isn't about him.]

There was a lot of things he helped maintain here. We're going to have to take over those for him.

That's right. We'll have to take care of his basement and whatever's left in there. And... someone will have to help Katara more in preparing meat for dinner. But at least there won't be as much of it in dinners wi-without him to eat it. [Beyond that, Aang and Zuko are now like the men of the house in general. Oh and probably Bolin too.]

I'm not even sure about all the things he took care of outside the house. There's the smithy, but I'm no good at that kinda thing.

I'm not either, but it's kind of important, right?

[Does Luceti need a smithy?]

We should look into finding someone who is. I guess I could take care of that...

[He needs to start shouldering more responsibility here anyway.]

That's a great idea, Zuko! I like that kind of initiative. I mean... I think that Raven and Winry still work for the smithy, but I don't think they make weapons.

Ah... right. I should probably bring it up with them first. They'd have more of a say over that than me.

[No need to go bossing around people he shouldn't.]

They're both friendly. I'm sure you can work something out.

Do you know a lot about... smithing?

[Just a small twinge of pain as he remembers Sokka and Katara showing him around Luceti on the first day, and explaining to Aang what a smithy was. Which of course involved Sokka praising himself excessively.]

I don't know anything about smithing.

[He sighs. Being a firebender should help with that sort of thing, right?]

Really? Well at least you got your own swords.

Yeah, but I didn't craft them. I only know how to care for them.

Oh. Well that's still a good start! The smithy's not just about making things, it's about taking care of them too. Or if it isn't, it should be! I bet lots of people around here could use tips on how to take care of their swords better.

... I hadn't planned on actually running the smithy myself - just making sure there was enough people who could.

Oh, well then you do whatever you wanna do around here. I'm sure everything will work out.

You don't think I'll mess things up, do you? I mean what if the other workers are already handling it?

I'm sure you won't mess up whatever you try at, Zuko. You're good at things. [He's not even sure what he's encouraging Zuko to do anymore, but anything's a good distraction from the hurt of missing Sokka.] You just have to talk to the other workers and see what's up with them.

I'll do that.

And if it turns out they don't need me, then... I can find something else to help with!

Like what?

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

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.

Yeah, yeah. I know.

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

I feel like you are, Zuko. Even every little thing you do around the house is a help to us. And I'm sure you'll find more ways to help the enclosure as a whole eventually. You're real fire lord material, after all! But there's nothing wrong with not knowing what you wanna do yet.

Isn't there, though? A Fire Lord has to know how to handle important decisions without wasting his people's time.

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