Water in Your Hands [1] (Sokka x Reader)

10~ The Blue Spirit and His Shadow

Even after Sokka tried to get them some extra money, they were still broke. They had nothing but a sick Sokka to show for their troubles with the storm that they got caught in.

They had found a run down temple in an abandoned area to rest in for a bit, at least until Sokka got better.

(Y/n) leaned on a pillar, picking at the skin around her nails as she listened to Sokka nearly cough his lungs up.

"This should bring your fever down." Katara said, holding a cold rag to Sokka's forehead. He laid inside of his sleeping bag on top of Appa. Sweat beaded his face, and he was totally out of it.

"Y'know what I love about Appa the most? His sense of humour." Sokka slurred through a stuffed nose.

"That's nice. I'll tell him." Katara assured.

Appa groaned, and Sokka giggled at that.

"How's Sokka doing?" Aang asked, walking up to Katara.

"Not so good," Katara starts. "Being out in that storm really did a number on him."

"I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea, but I found a map," Aang says, beckoning (Y/n) over to see it. He lays it out on the cold stone ground. "There's an herbalist institute on top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there."

"Aang, he's in no condition to travel," Katara protests. "Sokka just needs more rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow."

Then Katara starts coughing.

"Not you, too." (Y/n) groans.

"Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fi—" Katara sounded like she was going to join Sokka in having their lungs coughed up by tomorrow morning.

"Yeah, no chance. A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense like your brother. You're both staying here." (Y/n) gets up and backs away, making sure to keep a good distance between them.

"I'm going to find some medicine." Aang announces.

"I'll go look for some ginger root, maybe i'll have more luck finding it than you, Aang," (Y/n) says. "Are you gonna be okay here? As long as you don't leave, it'll be fine. We'll be back before you know it."

"We'll be fine." Katara says, huddling into her own sleeping bag.

(Y/n) jumps down from the temple, the sounds of Sokka's fever-induced laughter echoing behind her. She waves Aang off as he dashed towards the mountain, leaving dust in his trail and in her eyes.

Of course, she didn't have much knowledge with plants. She had a vague idea of what the leaves looked like, and that the root needed loose soil. She felt like an animal patting around the soil to check how loose or dense it was.

The plants all looked the same to her. She knew the leaves were thin, but how thin was the question. She'd pull up plants to only be met with the roots, no ginger in sight.

She knew she had wandered too far when she reached a swamp.

"Great," She said aloud. "Now i've got to turn back, look everywhere again, and—"

She heard a familiar yelp. Familiar sounds of arrows hitting wood. She heard frantic wading through the swamp.

She scrambled to the edge of the swamp to see Yuyan Archers pointing their arrows at Aang. Her colleagues. The people she had been with for so long. The red paint across their faces, their nearly identical bows, who only showed their differences if you got close enough to inspect them.

They had Aang pinned, and shot arrows with a net strung between them to capture him. They took Aang as he writhed in the net, desperate to free himself. She wanted to badly to go and save him, but she knew that it would only result in her capture, too.