THE OTHER AIRBENDER (Book 1)

(XXI) Water

"What are those two doing?!" Katara sighs heavily, annoyed by the fact that Sokka and Aang have been seemingly MIA for a while now.

"I think we should go check on them, because they are bound to run into some trouble," I tell her, and she nods in response.

We follow the sounds of their voices until we reach them near the shore. Sokka seems to be fixated on some random object he found lying on the floor, while Aang is looking around curiously for something.

"Did someone lose something?" Katara asks.

"Please tell me Momo didn't get lost again," I say, but just as I finish speaking, the lemur flies above my head with a swoosh.

"No, we found something!" Aang says, still rummaging through the bushes.

"It's burned," Sokka says, looking at what I recognize is an arrowhead very carefully. His eyes narrow at the distance. "There was a battle! Water Tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders. The firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill."

"Water Tribe?" I ask, surprised. "You mean from the South Pole like you guys?"

"So, then what happened?" Aang asks curiously.

"I don't know. The trail ends here," Sokka sighs heavily.

We then continue walking all the way to the beach, where I immediately recognize the remnants of Water Tribe weapons lying on the ground messily. I frown, looking around for any signs of Water Tribe warriors, but there appears to be no one in sight.

"Wait, look!" Katara says, pointing at something in the nearby distance. I glance in that direction and sure enough, I see it. A Water Tribe ship, seemingly undamaged, sitting by the shore.

We quickly run toward it, and Sokka immediately puts his hand on the boat, smiling.

"Is this your dad's boat?" I ask them.

"No. But it's from his fleet," Sokka replies, glancing at Katara with an excited smile. "Dad was here."

"When was the last time you guys saw your dad?"

"Actually... It's been a few years," Katara replies, with a sigh.

"He left when we were really young to lead our people to fight the war along the Earth Kingdom," Sokka explains. "I wanted to go with them, too, but I was too young."

"That's really brave of him," I note. "So it's been only the two of you for a while, huh?"

"Well, and Gran-Gran," Katara replies playfully. "But yes, it's pretty much been only me and Sokka."

"This war... It really keeps separating families, doesn't it?" I say sadly.

First, my mom is taken by the Fire Nation, and now, I learn that Sokka and Katara had been left to their own devices from a very young age. Is anyone really safe from this?

***

That night, before I manage to fall completely asleep, I hear the sound of footsteps drawing nearer, and I wake up with a start. Could it be Zuko?

"Who's there?" Sokka asks, and by now, the four of us are up and alert.

"Sokka?" A man in Water Tribe clothing says, slowly walking towards us.

"Bato?" Sokka asks, dropping his boomerang and immediately sounding overly excited.

"You know him?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Bato!" Katara confirms, hurrying toward the man with a smile.

"Sokka! Katara! It is so good to see you two," Bato says, hugging them both before scanning them from head to toe. "You've grown so much!"