Burn a little brighter (Zukka - Soulmate AU)

Chapter 4

[Repost because I changed how the chapters were split up]

Banishing the traitor from their village doesn't eliminate the threat, just pauses what could be another, smaller one.

The smell of the paint on Sokka's skin brings up a memory from years ago, and he shoves it down before it can make him panic. This isn't years ago. His father tasked him with keeping their village safe, and now he can. He won't disappoint him.

Grabbing his club firmly, he steps out of his tent into the bright light of midday. His boomerang is safely secured on his back, his shoes are good for running. He climbs up the wall of snow surrounding their village, eyes narrowed as he waits, examining the thick fog that's settled in front. It's a fog that has an eeriness to it, dull and dead like it's concealing something.

His eyes widen as the ground begins trembling under him, anxiety clogging up his throat. The fog doesn't part, but it doesn't need to because the shadow of something massive cuts through it, blocks his view of anything else. It smashes into the ice, breaking it apart without a care that this is someone's home, and the noise of cracking and splitting is unlike anything Sokka has ever heard before. A Fire Nation ship is heading straight in his path, and he's fighting to stay steady.

"Sokka! Get out of the way!"

He raises his club up, ready to- yeah, he doesn't know what. The ship crashes easily into the wall that's protected them for years, and the snow that collapses pushes him back away from the vessel. He finds himself flat on his ass right as the ship's front end opens up with a hiss of steam.

Fire Nation scum walk down the ship's ramp like they deserve to be there, like Sokka's whole tribe is nothing but a spider-fly buzzing in their ears. Hatred erupts in his stomach so viciously it almost feels like fire, searing a path down his arms thick enough to fling outwards.

He charges at them yelling, the fight to survive kicking in his veins, eyes connecting with the first soldier with a nasty scar marred on his face.

"You're a wonderful warrior."

The voice surprises him so badly he fumbles a step, trying to regain his lost momentum immediately after, but a blur connects with his hand, slamming into it, and the club flies out of his grip. His palm's stinging, vision isn't clear enough, body teetering clumsily, and a foot slams into his face so hard he blacks out. When he hits snow head-on, it feels like drowning.

Voices now? The universe hates him; he knows it. His face is throbbing. The snow under him almost seems to melt from his frustration, pulling his head out of it.

Sokka charges, snatching his club and yelling as the soldier's stupid voice growls threats at their tribe. He swings down his club, to his panic missing the firebender's head completely, and then he's flying through the air, world tilting until he smacks into the snow.

Flashes of orange alight in his direction, and he scrambles away, pulling out his boomerang and hurling it toward the figure.

A kid tosses him his spear, yelling, "Show no fear!" and Sokka's barreling toward the firebender again. The solder's fists move faster than he can process, breaking his spear once, twice, three times, and it's out of Sokka's hands and into the bender's, jabbed harshly into his forehead until he falls back onto the ground.

He flinches as his spear is broken again into two and tossed to the side like a useless toy. Something is burning in his eyes. He's a failure.

He can't even protect his own family.