The Jaded Princess - A Sokka Love Story

Chapter Seven

This is so uncomfortable, Orzala thought to herself, stealing a glance toward the water tribe boy for the thousandth time since they had left camp. It was obvious that he was making every effort to avoid her: if she looked toward him, he immediately became very interested in the tree tops or bushes, if she tried to walk in line with him, he'd speed up just enough to be ahead of her.

They hadn't even spoken a word to each other, and they'd been out searching for food for at least an hour. She was starting to get annoyed.

Orzala released a small sigh, tucking a strand of her ebony hair behind her ear. She saw Sokka tense up at the movement. "You know I don't bite, right?" She asked tentatively, a hint of teasing in her voice. He only gave a short nod in response.

She scowled to herself.

Her chest burned with a slight anger, and she clenched her fists tightly as if that would keep it contained. Orzala forced herself to pause, rubbing her neck harshly to ease some of her frustration. As her head turned to the side, her eyes caught a flash of blue within the brush beside her. The girl squinted, slowly creeping forward. She released a relieved laugh as she observed what she had found.

"Sokka!" She called, glancing back toward the boy, frantically waving him over. "I found some berries!" She didn't miss the joy that dashed over his face for a moment, but he quickly replaced it with a frown as he shrugged.

"Put 'em in the bag and let's head back. I think we've been out here long enough." Orzala's shoulders sunk, her face contorting in irritation. She collected a bag-full of the berries, but not before chucking a few in Sokka's direction.

"You are insufferable!" She spat, and Sokka's eyes widened momentarily as his eyes met hers. There was a fiery forest hidden in her orbs, and he couldn't help but look away- almost as if he would get burned if he looked too long. With a huff, she began to stomp off, leaving him standing alone. His blue eyes trailed after her.

"Hey, princess!" He called, watching as her shoulders tensed and she halted. "Camp's the other way." Orzala deflated slightly before she spun around. Her eyes did not meet his as she waltzed past him once more.

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Katara jumped when the earth princess burst through the trees, tossing her bag down. "There's your damn dinner," Orzala hissed, stalking past her and toward Appa. The bison swerved his head toward the earthbender, bumping her with his nose when she was close enough. The action calmed the fire that burned in the princess's veins, but only slightly.

Sokka emerged from the brush a moment later, an unimpressed scowl on his lips.

"Great, you're back!" Aang joined Katara as they huddled around the boy, eager to see what had been brought back.

"What's for dinner?"

Sokka dug through his bag quickly. "We've got a few options," he told them. "First, round nuts, and some kind of oval-shaped nuts. And some rock-shaped nuts..." He examined his handful before frowning. "Actually these might just be rocks." He tossed the handful behind him.

Orzala winced as one rock smacked right into her forehead. "Ow!" Sokka looked back at her, but quickly turned back to the others.

"Dig in!" They frowned.

"Seriously, what else you got?"

"Don't forget my berries!" Orzala called, watching with slight amusement as Momo began to fiddle with a rock of his own.

A sudden bang sounded through the forest, and Orzala gasped as the ground beneath them began to shake. "What was that?" Katara called as it happened again, but a smile had already begun to creep onto Orzala's lips.

"Someone is earthbending!" She breathed, jumping up and running toward the sound. "Come on!"

"Shouldn't we be running away from huge booms, not toward them?" Sokka's words fell on deaf ears as the other three disappeared into the trees. He began to follow reluctantly, scooping up his bag of nuts and trudging after them.

He found the group huddled together, watching the new earthbender in awe from behind some rocks. "Isn't it dangerous to hide behind a rock? Like what if he decides he wants to move this rock and then he'll see us and crush us or something."

"Let's go meet him!" Orzala spoke, jumping up and approaching the boy rapidly.

"Hey!" She called, waving at the boy. "I'm Orzala! What's your name?" The boy whipped around with a gasp, before turning and fleeing. "Wait!" Her feet moved before her mind did, moving to run after him. Before she could follow, however, the boy caused a rock slide behind him, making it impossible for the group to continue.

"Nice to meet you!" Aang called, coming up beside the earth princess. Katara frowned.

"We just wanted to say hi."

Aang lit up suddenly, grabbing Orzala's arm. "Hey, that guy's gotta be running somewhere! Maybe we're near a village, and I bet that village has a market!" The princess quickly caught on, smiling ear to ear.

"Which means no nuts for dinner!" The two laughed and began running once more. Katara quickly followed behind.

"Hey, I worked hard for those nuts!" Orzala whipped around with a glare.

"You worked hard for those nuts?!" Sokka blanched, quickly correcting himself: "ok, we worked hard for the nuts." But as Momo flew past him he sighed.

"Yeah, I hate them too." He ran to catch up.