My arm still wrapped around her neck as I squeezed tightly. My body released my seed deep inside her.
Softening up my grip I heard Katara's panting body as mine did the same.
"Just admit you stole it... and I could stop tomorrow," I whispered in he...
It's been two weeks since Katara left us. I haven't been able to eat. Haven't slept right, either. My mind won't stop circling back to her—where she might be, if she's safe, if she's even still...
This morning, the Earth King and his bear went their separate way—something about wanting to explore his "kingdom." I didn't really listen.
"Sokka, are you okay?" Toph's hand gripped my arm, pulling me from the fog of my thoughts.
We sat side by side on Appa's head, gliding through the cold, sun-filled sky.
"It's been two weeks, Toph..." I sighed. "We haven't heard from Katara. Not a single word from any Earth village. I don't know if that's a good thing... or really, really bad."
Toph didn't say much at first. Her expression barely changed, her head angled down like always when we're flying. She never looked comfortable up here, suspended in the sky with no ground beneath her.
"...If the Fire Nation had captured her," she said finally, "I think we'd have heard about it. Like we did with Aang." She shivered, clutching her cloak tighter around her.
Sokka shook his head slowly, side to side, his eyes finally meeting Toph's. "That's not the only thing I'm worried about..."
He hesitated, his voice rougher now. "Katara's my baby sister. And yeah — I find her repulsive, crazy, and way too overbearing most of the time..." He exhaled, trying to laugh but failing. "But I know other men don't see her that way. She's... she's still really innocent. And if anything happens to her, I don't know how I'll handle it."
Toph didn't answer right away. But she understood.
Her father had three concubines hidden away in the East Wing. One of them had escaped a Fire Nation colony, and what she'd been through was something Toph never forgot.
She shifted uncomfortably, her fingers curling in her sleeves. "Katara's smart," she said at last, quietly. "I'm sure she can handle herself."
Still, the chill in her voice said she wasn't entirely sure.
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"Are you cold?"
"Yes—oh, spirits, yes! Aren't you? Where even are we?"
"No, sorry. I didn't realize... I grew up in harsher weather. We're getting closer to the South Pole." I paused. "Wait—pretty sure Katara's outer jacket is still in the bag."
I handed Toph Appa's flight straps to hold while I made my way from his massive head to the saddle.
Did this idiot forget I'm blind again? Toph thought dryly, feeling the straps whip in the wind.
Aang's body was still lying near the back, barely conscious. His eyes fluttered open every now and then, like he recognized me... then shut again.
I grabbed Katara's bag and dug through it until I found her thick winter jacket.
