Facing One Another • Zukka

Chapter One

The black snow was enough for the village to fall into silence. Only moments before was the Avatar in their hands, willing to offer them protection. Now, they were on their own. The reality of the situation hits Sokka as he rushes to the front of the camp, his feet slipping from under him as the ground shakes vigorously. The situation feels eerily similar. All they can do is wait and it feels like... forever. The only sound being the deafening crack of the ice under the ship.

"Do you think he'll come back?"

Sokka turns to his sister, his heart aching at the sight of her. He knows why everything feels similar, but he wants to ignore it. The panic on Katara's face doesn't feel right, she always looks so happy. The siblings hold their gaze, knowing what was about to happen, but too afraid to admit it. Sokka regains his composure as the ship halts. He takes his boomerang out of its sheath and holds it tightly, his hand beginning to shake. The ship's door falls to the ground and the sound echoes through the camp. Sokka childishly expects to see the same men walk down the slope that he saw all those years ago.

He tightens his grip on his weapon as the feet of the men become visible. Slowly, their bodies come into view. An unknown man walks down the slope, staring past Sokka and into the camp. He and the other men stop outside of the village. The one in the centre, with a noticeable scar, crosses his arms and scoffs.

"The Avatar, where is he?" He demands. Sokka scowls at the man before him. His eyes... they aren't looking at him; his glare passes straight through him. Sokka's blood begins to boil, he won't let himself be invisible to the fire nation.

"Do I need to repeat myself? I said, where is the Avatar?"

"He's not here," a voice responds. Sokka looks beside him, to see Katara standing tall, with her hands balled into fists.

"You expect me to believe that?" there's smugness wrapped around every word and it makes Sokka clench his teeth.

"She's not lying, dumbass,"

Sokka expected this to anger the man, giving him an excuse to knock the arrogance of his face. Much to his frustration, he doesn't take his eyes of Katara.

"Excuse me?" He answers, refusing to look at Sokka. He takes a few nimble steps towards Katara and stops when he's mere inches away from her face.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" She refuses to answer. "I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to the lowlife with the boomerang,"

"Lowlife?" Sokka repeats, his gaze burning through the side of the man's skull. "I'll show you what a lowlife is..." Sokka begins to run, but almost on cue, a flash of orange and yellow flies through the sky.

The fire nation men look up, so does Katara and the rest of the village. Sokka doesn't dare to, his gaze is fixed on the unknown man. He takes one step forward and no one notices. He takes another, his footsteps light and as silent as they can be on the snow. As he gets closer and closer his hands start to sweat. Just as the man turns to look at him, Aang places himself between them.

"I've been searching for you-"

"If I surrender myself, will you leave my friends and their village alone?"

Sokka is half listening, his gaze never once leaving the man that is captivated by Aang. The words of surrender make him smile and Sokka feels disgusted. Everything falls silent, though he can see Katara's desperate face as she begs for Aang to reconsider. His eyes go between Katara's hopeless expression and the one of pure satisfaction. He watches as Aang is taken on board and he feels his sister clench his arm in anxiety. In that moment, Sokka was nothing to the fire nation and he knew it. He drops the boomerang onto the snow, the sound soft and gentle.