Avatar: The Last Airbender One-shots

Moonlit Night and Hopeless Thoughts

***A/N: Hello again!! This story takes place in the episode the Ember Island Players right after the gang gets back from the show. It basically show Sokka's soft side and a character appearance from Yue. I thought it might be interesting to write something about how Sokka felt about the war, since we never really got that from the show (if I'm correct, I may be wrong). Once again, these characters do not belong to me and are created/owned by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Koneitzko. Hope you enjoy!***

Sokka sat at the edge of the beach on Ember Island, staring up at the full moon above him.

 The night sky was filled with stars, but the moon seemed to overpower everything, its glow turning parts of the water a soft white.

 "Yue..." he whispered as he gazed up at the moon, the glow encasing him in warmth, his whole body tingling with some kind of spirit magic.

 "I-I don't know if I can do this. If we can do this." he softly whispered, flashes of the horrendous play coming to his mind from mere hours ago.

 He shifted his gaze to the dark-blue water, the jokes he had given the actor long since fading to provide him humor, only the flames flashing through his mind.

 "I- I know I sound silly." He said, watching the waves lap at the shore.

 "I mean, I'm supposed to be the idea guy, the guy who provides the humor and makes everyone laugh, even Katara. Because you know... Sokka's instincts."

 He gave a half-hearted chuckle as a tear rolled down his cheek, softly plopping onto the sand. 

"But I don't know if I can protect them. What if this doesn't work? I failed protecting you. What if I fail to protect them? What if I fail to protect the whole world?"

 Sokka groans as he puts his head into his hands, trying to stifle the tears from coming out, his eyes now burning.

 A slight breeze tickles his back and he looks up, seeing a woman dressed in white, her skin and hair as white as snow, her white locks of hair forming a halo around her.

 "Sokka..." she says, cupping his cheek. Sokka closes his eyes, trying to take in her soft melodic voice he once heard.

 "Open your eyes." She says softly, her voice sounding like a song and poetry all at once.

 Slowly Sokka opens his eyes, staring into her icy blue ones that never seemed to lose their color, not even after her death.

 "Look around you."

 Sokka slowly turns his head, not seeing anything but the looming palace home before him, all of his friends sleeping and the beach quiet except for the quiet roar of the waves.

 He turns back to Yue, a quizzical look on his face. "But Yue, there's nothing there except for the palace home in the distance."

 "Sokka, what's in the house?" she asks, a slight smile forming on her face. 

"My friends..."

 "Exactly." Yue replies softly, still cupping Sokka's cheeks.

 "They're all still there. Stop looking to the future, and focus on what's in front of you. You're all looking after each other, don't feel like all the pressure is on you. Enjoy the time that you have with them."

 Sokka runs a hand over his eyes, sniffling. "But what if something happens to one of them?"

 "I promise you everything is going to be okay. Have a little hope Sokka." Yue says, a slight bit of humor in her voice.

 Sokka smiles a little. "Thanks, Yue."

 Yue smiles and kisses Sokka's cheek.

 "Remember Sokka..." she says as she gracefully hovers over the water and her body slowly ascends, dissolving into the night sky.

 A golden drop of water slowly sinks into the ocean, creating a swirl of golden color, lighting up the once blue sea. Sokka stares at it mesmerized and looks up, but Yue is gone, the only thing left being the white full moon, seeming to look after him in its perch in the sky.

 Sokka takes one last longing glance at the moon, the stands up, turning his head to the looming palace home before him.

 He trudges through the sand, gold flickering through his eyes as he makes his way to the palace home.

 His mind flashes to all of his friends.

 Aang, the goofy boy who was too young to have this burden placed on him. Toph, the blind girl who was tough on the outside but had insecurities overflowing within her. Zuko, the boy who just wanted to make his father proud but got a searing scar slashed across his face. Suki, his beloved warrior who always fought for what was right, no matter the cost. And Katara, his sister who had put up with his annoying jokes, and who stayed by his side through it all, even when she was hurting more than he could possibly know.

 He hoped they would all make it out of this. They each had suffered too much. They all deserved peace. They all deserved to be free of the restraints grasping onto them.

 He just had to trust in Yue that it would come true.

 "Hope." He repeated in his mind, chanting it as a war cry as he made his way up the stone steps, a small smile spread onto his face.

 "We can do this." He whispers, before disappearing through the doors.

***A/N: Thanks for reading! Hopefully you could get through this one. Honestly, I'm not expecting that anyone is going to read this, so if you are, thank you! Feel free to comment and stay safe!***