Left Behind

Chapter 8: Left Behind

Rynn's sense's gradually made sense of the mess surrounding her. It was cold but her shoulder and chest was on fire, burning her from the inside out. She was covered in stifling blankets that surrounded her in heat. She awkwardly threw them off.

That's when she noticed the comforting warmth on her hand. She was yet to open her eyes. But she already knew who it was.

"Sokka."

"Shh..." he said. "You need to rest."

"What happened?"

"You saved us, Rynn. That's all you need know."

"No... I failed... I hurt everyone..."

The pressure on her hand shifted as Sokka pulled her into a hug. "Without you, we would all be Fire Nation prisoners by now, or worse. Thank you."

"No, you don't understand..." She opened her eyes and her gaze landed in Sokka's piercing eyes. Tears sprung, and she couldn't explain it. "I love you," she whispered. "I love you, Sokka, and I just wanted you to know that."

He pulled her into a deep hug. Rynn noticed that he didn't return her declaration. But in this moment she didn't really care.

She fell back into sleep. When next she woke, it was Katara sitting by her bed. Her eyes were downcast, her hair falling past her shoulders to hiding her face. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I should've protected you."

Rynn didn't think the words were meant for her. She kept quiet as Katara continued to murmur apologies to herself. She let it continue for a few minutes until she finally said, "Hi, Katara."

"Rynn!" she breathed. "You're still alive!"

"Of course," she tried to pass it off as a joke but Katara wouldn't have any of it. She scooped Rynn up into a hug and when the Waterbender asked her what happened, she didn't hold back like Sokka did. "You protected us, you kept us safe... I thought we were done for but then Aang came down riding - get this - an otter penguin and saved us."

"Who's Aang?"

"We found him while we were fishing. He was stuck in an iceberg for a hundred years - Gran-gran thinks he's an Airbender!"

Rynn marvelled at how the day had stretched itself out. The fishing trip Katara spoke off - it had been this morning. The very same morning. She felt like a different person, so much had happened in the course of a few hours. As for Katara's story - it sounded far-fetched. Rynn wasn't sure believed it. "Is Aang still here?"

At that, Katara's shoulders slumped. "He gave himself up in exchange for the Firebenders leaving."

"No!" Rynn tried to push herself up but screamed at the pain in her shoulder. Katara pushed her back down softly but with enough force to keep the writhing Waterbender under control.

"Don't worry," she reassured. "We're going to get him back. I just wanted to make sure you were okay first."

"No!" Rynn exclaimed, for different reasons. "You can't take down an entire Fire Navy ship on your own!"

"Sokka will be with me. I'll be fine."

"You can't go!"

Rynn's good friend leaned over and planted a kiss in the temple of her forehead. "I'll be back soon," she promised. "Stay put."

It wasn't much use. As soon as Katara exited the tent, Rynn was pushing herself to her feet, almost fainting at the crippling injuries on her shoulder and chest. By the time she stood (somewhat) solidly, she was crying from the pain.

As fast as she could, she ran out of the healing tent. The bitter cold hit her like a whip. She stumbled around in the snow, only vaguely thinking that she should've grabbed a heavy coat before she left the door to prevent this issue. But the thought quickly vanished, along with any other sign of intelligence. She was running on instict now.

Rynn felt like something was chasing her. She heard the faint cries of her name being called but she chose to ignore them. It wound into a chorus of noise.

Rynn. Rynn. Rynn. Rynn!

One voice called louder than the others. She tuned the others out into static and concentrated on the familiar one.

"Rynn, you have to get inside! You'll hurt yourself!"

She realised she had fallen headfirst into the snow. Rynn was embaresed, but Sokka helped her up and supported her back into the tent. He helped her lie down.

"Stay put this time, right?"

"Don't go."

"I'll be back soon."

"Please don't go."

"I have to. Katara wants to rescue Aang."

"I know. He didn't deserve to be captured. But neither do you."

Sokka gave her a strange look. "Don't worry - "

"Help me up."

"No. You need to lie down."

"I'm not going anywhere. I just want to sit up."

Reluctantly, Sokka pulled her up into a sitting position. "Better?" He asked.

Rynn reached out and cupped his face in her hands. She didn't know what she was doing. But she hoped she didn't have to. "Before you go - can I...?"

His answer was to press his lips softly to hers. It was a million times better than Rynn had ever imagined it would be. Kissing was awkward, she noted with a laugh. Sokka wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close into him. She was enveloped and swallowed by his warmth.

Eventually, he broke off, pressed his forehead to hers. He was breathing heavily, same as Rynn. She was smiling radiantly and was sure her cheeks her burning red with passion.

"Rynn?" He began. "I love you too."

He gave her a quick peck on the lips and left.

He never came back.