𝑨𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕

𝑭𝒍𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐

Chapter twenty eight
Elora

Sokka sat hunched over the makeshift table, his brow furrowed in concentration as he attempted to sketch images of Appa. Each stroke of his pencil seemed to betray him, resulting in a less-than-accurate depiction of our beloved bison. Despite his evident struggle, Sokka persisted, determined to contribute to our search efforts.

Meanwhile, I observed his efforts from across the room, a mix of amusement and sympathy tugging at my heartstrings. It was clear that Sokka's artistic skills left much to be desired, but his willingness to try was commendable, nonetheless.

As we delved into our mission to find the lost Appa, Aang and Katara burst through the front door, breaking the peaceful atmosphere we had managed to cultivate. Katara waved a piece of paper triumphantly, revealing a professionally printed image of our fluffy companion.

"We found a printer to make our posters," she exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement as she showcased the crisp image of Appa.

"Hey! I thought designing the lost Appa posters was my job. I've been working all day on my Appa," Sokka protested, holding up one of his sketches depicting a rather mangled-looking creature that vaguely resembled our bison friend.

Aang furrowed his brow in confusion. "Sokka, the arrow is supposed to be on Appa's head. Also, why isn't Lora doing the sketching part? She's the artist here."

"What?!?" Sokka almost shouted, his disbelief evident. "Since when?!" We all exchanged shrugs.

"Why am I the only person who didn't know?" Sokka continued, his frustration growing.

Katara crossed her arms, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips. "Because she only does it when you're busy with something else so she can draw you." I roll my eyes at her words.

"Ah, so I'm the art," Sokka nods in satisfaction, and I playfully throw his sketchbook at him. He snickers, "Why the print? I worked hard on my drawing."

Toph notices his mood change and adds with a grin, "It looks just like him to me."

"Thank you! I worked really—," he cuts himself off, and I laugh as Sokka realizes his mistake, "Why do you feel the need to do that?"

"Let's just stick with the professional version," I tell him as nicely as possible. Aang grabs a bunch of mini posters.

"Come on, let's get busy!" he says, energized and ready to start putting up the posters.

✾ ✾ ✾ ✾ ✾ ✾

"We can't wait around to get permission for everything," Sokka says frustratedly to Joo Dee, who had come over to inform us that putting up flyers was not permitted.

"You are absolutely forbidden by the rules of the city to continue putting up posters," Joo Dee asserts.

Aang snaps, "We don't care about the rules, and we're not asking permission! We're finding Appa on our own, and you should just stay out of our way!" He backs her out the door and slams it in her face. The impact leaves the ground practically shaking, and I smile proudly at him.

"That might come back to bite us in the blubber," Sokka points out.

"Doesn't matter. From now on, we do whatever it takes to find Appa," I assert.

"Yeah! Let's break some rules!" Toph yells as she earthbends a large hole in the side of the house.

"That wasn't part of the rules we're aiming to break, but attagirl," I chuckle, while the rest of my family just looks concerned.

Our group heads out and walks into the street to start hanging up posters.

"We'll split up to cover more area," Sokka explains, "Toph, you should probably go with Katara."