Accidental Avatar 2-RocknRoll

Slightly before the big guy passed out...

So, after almost falling to our deaths and then having balls of fire launched at us, we had made camp at a nice comfortable spot. Katara was talking to Aang a little way ahead of where we would be going in the morning. The guy, Than, was massaging his massively pregnant wife's feet, Toph was chatting with Muteki and Jin. Pretty sure I'm in this conversation too, but...

Aha! There he is.

Sokka was off near an arch, out of earshot of the camp, and Suki talked with him. He'd been acting...weird lately. They leaned in to kiss....and then he walked away, leaving her all alone there. I had to refrain from yelling out my shock and irritation. Dammit, that's my ship! My OTP! Why can't they be a good little ship and not fight destiny!? Oh, wait, because that's what- ok, I'm going to stop ranting now. I waved off the giant, who gave me a questioning glance as I got up and split off from the group. He shrugged and went back to describing something really weird to Toph and Jin while I tracked down Sokka.

I found him sitting by himself with his legs dangling off the edge of the cliff as he stared up at the moon, so I joined him, and we sat in silence. Just staring at the moon.

"She's up there," he said eventually. "Yue... I can feel her looking down on me."

"Do you believe she loved you?"

Sokka gave me a look like, 'what the heck, dude, you're supposed to be making me feel better!'
Although it might've been 'where are you going with this?' but then I was never that great at reading faces.

"Of course!"

"Would she have wanted you to be happy?"

"Well, yeah..."

"So why aren't you?"

Sokka paused before staring up at the moon for a while.

"Sometimes...I feel like it's my fault that she isn't here," he answered, his voice barely above a whisper, and I could tell he was hurting. "I was assigned to protect her, and I couldn't."

"We were assigned," I corrected. "But what ended up happening...she sacrificed her life so the world would go on. She wouldn't want us feeling down about it. Especially you, Sokka."

Sokka looked away.

"Sokka," I said, leaning back onto my elbows. "You know you don't need to wait for the moon to come out to see her again?"

"What do you mean?" Sokka looked over at me, frowning slightly.

"She's always with you," I said, leaning over to jab Sokka in the chest. "In here. Once you love someone, they stay in your heart forever."

"But, I let her die," he went straight back to that. "If I couldn't protect her..."

"It is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength," I said, feeling distinctly like I was quoting someone. Probably was. "But it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize."

"What?" Sokka gave me a 'are you nuts' look. Or...'please explain'. I get them mixed up frequently.

"Basically, do what you can," I shrugged. "If you can't do it, even trying your best, then you can't do it. You can't run faster than you have the strength to do so, but you can work harder to increase your strength and thus run faster. Show diligence, patience, and endure to the end, and you'll grow as a person, and almost nothing will be beyond you."

Sokka turned his head away, and I saw his shoulders heave. Crying. I sat up and clapped a hand on his shoulder, showing him I was there. We sat like that in silence for a while before Sokka spoke again, his voice low and a little husky, likely from crying.

"I talk to her sometimes," he whispered. "She is still there. I just can't see her. You're right. She's still in my heart. I know...I know she wants me to be happy, and I try...I try so hard..."

"No kidding," I answered. "Amaya is still alive, but not being able to talk to her, to know she's alright? It kills me."

I sat forward and stared down into the abyss of churning water. 

"Yue might not be with us anymore, physically, but that just means we gotta make sure that we do better for those that are still here."

Sokka sniffed and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand. "Yeah, you're right."

I sat there a little longer before I spoke again. "Leaving Amaya behind was the hardest thing I've ever had to do-"

"Technically, Muteki left her behind," Sokka cut in. "You were dragged off."

"Dude, I'm trying to be supportive and intense and stuff!" I retorted. "You just killed my groove!"

Sokka chuckled lightly.

"But seriously, sometimes I wonder if I could've made her stay if I tried a little harder," I said, my grin turning serious. "Not too different from you, wondering if you could've found another way for Yue, hmm?"

Sokka gave me a small smile. "I know. I'll try to do better."

"Do or don't," I said. "There is no try."

Sokka grinned, then nodded. "Thanks, Mog. You always seem to know what to say."

I snorted at that. "Sure, sure. Amaya would disagree, though. She's by far a better head shrink than me. Has the stature for it too."

We both laughed for a bit before my thoughts returned to the pint-sized waterbender.

"You're thinking about her, aren't you?" Sokka asked.

"What gave me away?" I asked sarcastically.

"She seemed to know what she was doing," Sokka said. "Like...I got the sense that she had some kind of plan. I mean, she's nuts, but I got this feeling that she's really a good person."

"Yeah..." I said. "She's not bad. If Zuko harms one hair on her head, I'll roast him."

"I'll back you up, Mog," Sokka said, nodding solemnly.

"Then let's turn in for the night," I said, getting up and holding out a hand to Sokka. "Jin seems to think we're in for some impending doom."

"The best kind of doom," Sokka grumbled.