sokkas-sword

[sokkas-sword]

flickers (chapter five)

sokka x female reader

summary: after the events of the swamp and avatar day, the gaang try and rest for a couple of days before continuing the search for an earth bender to train aang 

warnings: mentions of death - nothing else i think this ones pretty lighthearted :)

wc: 3.5k

masterlist

prologue --- chapter four -- chapter six

a/n: long time no see - this is actually a record for me not posting anything in a year, i was just so busy and then when i wasn’t i didnt have the motivation to write. so sorry for taking so long and i dont even know if people are interested in this fic any more but i’ve written some more for it again so might as well post it and hopefully will not disappear for a year again. anyways i went back and made a few changes through the story already written including the addition of a nickname for the reader (mainly because i dont like using y/n all the time) but yeah this a little filler chapter so there is more of a connection between the characters before i ruin it for them in a few chapters time :)

“Alright! This place looks great!” Aang clapped his hands together as Appa landed in a large clearing, a stream running through it and into the forest that surrounded them. 

She watched the avatar jump from the bison’s saddle and onto the dirt below where he stood with his arms wide, a huge smile on his face. And she couldn’t help but smile back at him - his positive energy was infectious and it meant the prospect of staying in this clearing for a few days more appealing - especially as the water tribe siblings were still a little hesitant towards her.

Although, after their experience in the swamp, and whatever went on in Chin on Avatar Day, she had noticed Sokka being a little more caring towards her and Katara was doing her best to be civil. So even if they didn’t trust her yet, they were trying and so was she - so hopefully, their relationships could only improve from there.

The idea of having a break from the Avatar's group constantly getting into trouble and other situations that make her head spin if she thought on it for too long, put a smile on her face as she climbed off Appa’s saddle, the feeling of dirt beneath her feet allowing the tension to melt from her body. She may have only been with this weird group for a week or two now but she wasn’t yet used to flying on Appa, her fear of heights making her uncomfortable every time they travelled on him.

Caught in her own thoughts as she reached for her bag, she didn’t notice Aang trying to get her attention, that was until he airbended himself right in front of her a bright smile on his face as he spoke, “Hey Lia I was calling your name, do you want to play a game?”

She blinked at him, surprised by the nickname she hadn’t heard someone else call her in over a year now.

The lack of response confused the young avatar, waving his hand in her face he asked, “is everything okay? You seem a little out of it?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” she nodded at him, “it’s just you called me Lia.”

“Oh, am I not allowed? It’s just you said to Momo that’s what your friends call you and we’re friends right?”

A warmth spread through her chest at Aang so nonchalantly calling her his friend, she was Fire Nation and apart from Ria, had never really had friends that weren’t themselves from the Fire Nation as well so this meant a lot to her.

Realising she hadn’t replied back to him yet, she gave him a small smile, “Yeah we’re friends, I just haven’t had someone call me Lia in a while.”

“Well get used to it, travelling with Team Avatar gives you the opportunity for loads of friends! It’s one of the best parts!” He gave her a thumbs up before turning to look at the Water Tribe siblings who had been watching the interaction silently, and when Aang subtly indicated they should do something, they both smiled at their new acquaintance. And even though their smiles looked more like grimaces, y/n felt just a little more accepted into the group than she was this morning and that was enough for her.

She turned back to Aang, answering his original question from before she’d gotten sidetracked “well we should help set up camp first but then we can play a game if you want?”

“Yep sounds great!”

It didn’t take long for the four of them to set up a small camp, Sokka going off into the trees surrounding them to collect some wood for the fire, Aang scouring through the bags for some food for them and her and Katara setting up the tents. It was quiet whilst they completed the task but y/n didn’t mind, it allowed her time to think about all she had already experienced with the Avatar and his companions.

She still avoided thinking too much about the swamp debacle where she saw her mother and the old man, less she become emotional, but the whole Avatar Day situation they’d stumbled into in Chin was much easier to focus on if not confusing in a different way. It was interesting to see a place not associated with the Fire Nation hate the Avatar as much as they did, even if they had their own misguided reasons, but the similarity of misinformation on specific topics between the people of Chin and what was taught in the Fire Nation had struck a chord in her. Obviously, there were still great differences between the situations but it still had affected her more than she had thought it would. And it led her to become more grateful that she had started to push past her previous teachings and learn how much damage the Fire Nation was doing to the rest of the world and all the people in it, especially how it had affected the people she was starting to become close to. 

It didn’t take long for the group to finish setting up camp and whilst Katara began cooking, refusing the offer of help from y/n, Aang began his task of having fun and tried to drag his new friend into the game he had planned earlier.

“So it’s called ‘don’t fall in the quicksand’ and basically the first one to touch the floor loses, but you have can try and sabotage your opponent by trying to get them off balance however you can.” Aang briefly explained to her.

“Oh I used to play that when I was younger, except we called it ‘the floor is lava’! And you’re looking at the reigning champion young Avatar.” She smiled teasingly at him whilst she gloated, ignoring the pang in her chest at the thought of her and Zuko playing this in the palace gardens when their parents weren’t around.

“Ha! I’m an airbender Lia, so unless you have a miracle tucked into your tunic you’re going to lose,” he looked over at Sokka to see if he wanted to play as well but he was already shaking his head at the pair. 

Y/n chuckled to herself at the Avatar’s confidence, yes he may be an airbender which gives him an incredible advantage, but unfortunately for everyone she has ever known, she had always been unbearably competitive and today was not the day she was going to start losing at a child’s game.

She tied her hair up into a top knot and started walking to the treeline, waiting for Aang to call the start of the game. She didn’t have to wait long before his shout of “QUICKSAND!” was heard across their little camp, she quickly jumped onto the tree beside her and climbed up the trunk to perch on a branch strong enough to hold her weight. Happy with where she was she began looking for where Aang had ended up, only for him to be on a tree on the other side of the clearing, waving at her.

Waving back to him she started figuring out how she could get over to him and get him to touch the floor without herself falling and losing the game.

Unbeknownst to the two already chasing each other through the trees trying to push the other one off, the Water Tribe siblings watched them from their spot next to the campfire. Katara shook her head at the pair, turning back to the food she was preparing and muttering under her breath, “one of them is going to get hurt if they’re not careful and then it will be my problem.”

Sokka turned to look at her from where he had been watching y/n laughing at Aang as she flung a branch at his face so he almost fell off the branch he had been on. “Come on sis they’re having fun, not committing crimes, lighten up.” 

She glared at her brother, “She’s Fire Nation Sokka, we know as well as anyone the damage they can do, I still don’t fully trust her - what if this is some plan to capture Aang?”

“Look,” he placed his hand on her shoulder pulling her focus from where she was angrily chopping vegetables, “I agree that we should be wary around her, but honestly from what I’ve seen, she seems to be, I don’t know, a nice person maybe? Definitely not what I expected from someone from the Fire Nation. And at the end of the day if there was some ridiculous plan to capture Aang, I’m not sure it would involve playing games with the Avatar.”

The pair looked up at the trees again to see y/n throwing some sort of berry at Aang’s face in quick succession, momentarily blinding him before kicking at his ankles so he fell of the low branch he had been standing on, and before he realised what had happened he had touched the ground and the Fire Nation girl was hooting in victory in the trees above him.

Sokka gave a small smile at the site and turned to his sister, finishing off what he wanted to say, “I’m just saying I think we should maybe give her a chance to prove herself and earn our trust before we decide she doesn’t deserve it. I’m thinking of asking her to teach me some of the fighting tactics she knows tomorrow, maybe if she offers to help you with dinner tomorrow you could let her? And actually try and talk to her if you do - we’re a team and Aang seems to already loves her so we could try and do the same?”

Katara thought to herself for a moment before nodding at her brother, wondering what she could even talk to their new companion about given the opportunity.

As they made their way back to the campfire, Aang laughed at how happy his new friend was at winning their game, even if he was surprised in her victory - he had never lost at that game before, but there was always a first time for everything and maybe if she was happy about this she’d start feeling more welcome in the group. He may have been the youngest here but he could still see how tense the others were around each other and he wanted to fix it.

———

Dinner that night was a quiet affair, everyone just happy to not having their lives threatened or experiencing something insane for once, and instead just enjoying the quiet world around them. Once they had finished, Katara got up to start clearing everything away, and when y/n offered her help, there was a small moment of hesitation before she nodded at her, taking Sokka’s advice of trying to give her a chance.

Y/n was pleased when Katara allowed her to help, sitting next to her when she used her water bending to clean the dishes and y/n dried them up. It would’ve been even quicker if she could have used her fire bending to dry the dishes but she was still not ready to reveal that bit of herself. 

As they finished their task Katara turned to her, “Um, I was wondering why your nickname was Lia? If it’s alright to ask?”

She smiled at the water bender, “Yeah of course. It started with my mum actually, my favourite flower was always the camellia flower, so she’d always call me ‘her little camellia’, and then enough people heard it and started calling me Lia, or Little Lia at the time,” she smiled at the memories of the people who loved her and who she had lost, “But yeah after a while Lia just stuck and it makes me feel closer to my mum I guess.”

Katara had felt enough pain at her own mother dying that she recognised the glassy look in y/n’s eyes as she recalled her mum, and she felt herself softening towards the older girl, reaching out she squeezed the Fire Nation girl’s shoulder, “I understand, since my mum died I’ve worn her necklace to feel closer to her. It’s the small things I guess.”

Y/n nodded at the girl, giving her a shy smile, “The small things.”

Feeling some of the tension between the pair dissipate, they both made their way back to where the boys were sitting feeling slightly lighter, Momo launching himself at his new favourite member as soon as they were sat down, cherishing the warmth her body emitted as a fire bender. 

It didn’t take long until the events of the past few days caught up with the group and they all fell asleep, the embers of the fire casting a small glow over their campsite.

———

Sokka woke up with a groan, he had never been a morning person and living on the road with the constantly happy and chatty Avatar was something that he suspected he’d never get used to. Not to mention their new companion was somehow always awake early as well and would also chat to said boy - it was all just a lot in the mornings. He looked over to the Avatar himself and witnessed him trying to flirt with his sister in his own weird way, somehow getting her to agree to go exploring with him for the day. 

That left him with y/n for the day, and he was hoping to ask her to teach him some combat skills, if he actually got the nerves to ask. He’d already been impressed with her skill with a blade on numerous occasions and even if just a few months ago he would’ve turned his nose up at her teaching him anything due to the fact she was a girl, his time with Suki had started changing his mind then and he’d since been proven wrong multiple times. So all he had to do was ask, that wouldn’t be so hard would it?

It turned out it was that hard. He was being ridiculous he knew but as he watched her practice her forms next to the stream - the perfect time to him to ask for some pointers, he was well aware of this - he just couldn’t bring himself to ask. 

So instead he watched. She looked calm as she went through her movements, the sun shining on her dark curls, as she span and lunged with no weapon in her hand, a true warrior even with no sword in her hand. He hated to admit, especially because he knew he should be wary of her, but he was starting to admire her, not just for her skills in combat but she was already good friends with Aang and maybe even starting to gain Katara’s trust if their relaxed attitude towards each other last night was any indication - and that in itself was nothing short of a miracle. But other than that she was pretty. She was really pretty, and Sokka couldn’t help but notice it anytime the firelight danced in her eyes or she laughed at one of Aang’s dumb jokes, or sometimes his dumb jokes, and it was beginning to annoy him. Why after everything, after Yue, did he start thinking a Fire Nation girl was pretty? It was stupid and he shook himself out of his thoughts and started walking towards her before he could psyche himself out of his plan.

“Hi,” y/n opened her eyes and raised a questioning eyebrow at the Water Tribe boy who had interrupted her morning forms, “I, um, was wondering, if you’d be able to teach me some sword skills or something I don’t know - it’s just I feel like I need to know more than just my trusty boomerang and you are you know, um, really good with a sword and you could help me? Maybe, if you want, if you don’t want to you don’t have to. Please stop me from talking.”

She couldn’t help but laugh a little at how flustered he had gotten trying to ask her for help - it was kinda cute and she smiled as he avoided her eyes.

“I can teach you somethings if you want, although can’t say I’ll be a good teacher, if you get hurt I’m not taking the blame when Katara gets annoyed at us.” She joked, pleased with herself when Sokka gave her a hopeful smile.

“Yeah I would like that, and don’t you worry my sister knows I’m to blame in any and all accidents, she’s had practice dealing with me for years.”

“Okay well we can start off with the basic defensive forms if that’s alright with you?” He nodded at her, glad he’d gotten over himself and asked - hopefully if he learnt a lot from her over time he’d no longer feel useless when Team Avatar found themselves in dangerous situations.

They went over the numerous defence stances for hours until the sun was at the highest point in the sky and they declared it was time to have a break, both of them lying down on the hard ground, a comfortable silence enveloping between themselves. 

Y/n was busy thinking about how she’d initially been taught her combat skills to better help Sokka when her thoughts were interrupted by the older boy himself.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but I’ve been thinking about that dumb swamp, and was wondering what was it you saw when we were in there? Again you don’t have to answer if I’m being too nosey.”

She turned to look at him, making eye contact briefly before she lay on her back once again, debating whether she wanted to talk about it or not.

Silence stretched between them, and just as Sokka thought he had been too inconsiderate in his questioning, she spoke.

“I saw my mother.”

She could feel Sokka tense slightly beside her before facing her fully, her eyes remained on the sky above her, the clouds moving across it in various shapes, calming her down.

“She died a few years ago now, there was this illness in our city, it claimed a lot of lives but that didn’t make it any less painful when I lost her I guess, and my father-“ she took in a sharp breath at the thought of him, “none of us took it well and seeing her in that swamp, I just wasn’t ready for it.”

Sokka watched as she wiped a stray tear with her hand and was getting ready to say something to her before she continued speaking.

“But that wasn’t the worst of it. I… I touched her shoulder so I could see her face for the first time in so long, I wanted to make sure I still remembered it you know? But when she turned around it wasn’t her anymore.”

There were lots of tears falling down her cheeks now, as she remembered what she’d seen, but she continued telling the silent boy beside her, hoping that talking about it would make things easier.

“Instead of my mother it was a man who I… hurt a few years ago. It’s the thing I’m most ashamed of and it was why I left the Fire Nation actually, it’s just seeing his face and remembering what I did, even though at the time I didn’t want to, it was just too much.” 

She sniffed turned to look at Sokka again, scared but curious as to how he would react to her admission, even if it wasn’t a full admission, but she needed to know that he didn’t suddenly hate her.

He leant over and wiped a tear of the cheek closest to him, “Thank you, for telling me, I’m not sure it’ll make you feel better but the person I’ve learnt you to be is not someone who would willingly hurt others, so to me, you’re not a bad person, and this does not change that opinion at all.”

She hiccuped, feeling a small weight off her shoulders even if he did not know the whole story he didn’t think she was a monster and that was enough for now. She went to reply to him when their moment was broken by the arrival of Aang and Katara from their little adventure, happily chatting away and asking about lunch. Y/n gave Sokka one last smile, wiped away the rest of her tears and went to greet Aang, trying to listen to him whilst he spoke about a mile a minute about the animals they’d seen.

———

That night, after dinner had been eaten and cleared up, there was, for the first time since y/n had joined the group, a nice and relaxed atmosphere surrounding the group and it stayed that way until they departed their small campsite the next day. Their break was over and now the hunt for Aang’s earth bending teacher was back on the schedule.

taglist: @kaylove12 @bestyearsof5sos @neemonroe @aangsupremacy @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @lizziel1410 @idalinette @jasminedrgon @avocados-and-lemons @chewymoustachio @http-jackass @theamandaaashow​ @plutoneu​

strikethrough means i couldnt tag you - also because it’s been so long, if you no longer want to be tagged you can just ask :)

[sokkas-sword]

Could you please add me to the tag list for flickers? I love the story so far <3

thanks and yes i’ll add you to it :)

[sokkas-sword]

Hey ! I'm sure you've been getting this a lot, but could you tag me in the next flickers chapter? I fell in love with the series and I'd hate to miss anything <3

of course i’ll add you to it now :) and thank you so much im glad you like it

[sokkas-sword]

flickers (chapter four)

sokka x female reader

summary: the group land in the swamp, separated from appa and momo, and with tensions still running high, they all struggle to work together to get out of the swamp, especially with all the mysterious things that keep occurring 

warnings: blood, death/mentions of death, swearing, panic attack and just some trauma in general really ,, also my writing is really rusty so sorry about that

wc: 4.1k

masterlist

prologue --- chapter three -- chapter five

a/n: ive actually written something!!!! sorry about taking so long to get a new chapter out (hell idek if people want to read this anymore its been so long) but my exams were awful and i spent so much time preparing for them so i hadnt had time to write and then after i was finished i needed some time to recover mentally - but i now dont have uni again til september and currently have no job so hopefully i’ll be able to write a little more (if people are still interested in this that is) // anyways enjoy!

As they passed through the canopy, she could feel the branches and leaves scratching her body, but before she could complain too much she and the others landed, or crashed should she say, into the swampy water.

Sokka moaned beside her and she agreed with his sentiment - this swampy water wasn’t the most pleasant thing she’d come across and she was really starting to think that these kids were bad luck; but at least this time she wasn’t badly injured.

Aang was the first to recover, although he had used his airbending to float down into the water so he wasn’t soaked to the bone with disgusting swamp water like the rest of them.

She watched Aang jump up into the canopy to look for their animal companions that had not crash-landed with them, leaving behind the awkward tension between her and the water tribe siblings - in hip deep swamp water - could her day get any worse? Not wanting to risk the siblings talking to her, not that they seemed inclined to, she began looking around the area, keeping the sibling’s chatter as background noise.

“Sokka you’ve got an elbow leech.” She heard Katara point out to her brother, she turned around to witness him screeching as he tried to remove it and y/n couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, earning her a scowl from the water tribe boy in question. Luckily before anything else could be said Aang swung back down from the canopy, a dejected look on his face.

“You couldn’t find them?” Katara asked.

“No, and the tornado has seemed to just disappear as well.”

This news was worse, and weirder in her opinion, a weird silence settled over the group as they looked into the trees surrounding them, darkness on all sides.

They began walking through the trees, Sokka up front chopping the vines that blocked their path with his machete and y/n bringing up the rear, her sword in hand in case anything happened - something felt wrong here and she didn’t like it one bit.

“We should speed things up.” Sokka announced to the group, slicing through a particularly large group of vines.

“Maybe we should be a little nicer to the swamp.” Aang said as his eyes darted around.

She stopped listening to their conversation as something in the corner of her eyes moved.

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes not leaving the spot where she was confident something had moved - but there was nothing there other than the trees and vines that already surrounded them. This stop had caused the others to walk further away than she realised, so she took one last look into the darkness before increasing her pace to catch up with them. Huh, they didn’t even notice me fall behind - not that I blame them Sokka is busy killing plant life and Aang and Katara are busy telling him not to, she can handle herself anyway.

Y/n agreed with Aang and Katara on this, this place was unlike anything she had ever experienced before, and after the movement she was positive she saw and the feeling of eyes on them, she was sufficiently creeped out. Not that she would voice these opinions of course - she was new to the group and the water tribe siblings still didn’t trust her, or like her yet actually, and she didn’t want to make this experience any more tense.

Walking through the swamp was exhausting and it was completely dark by the time they started slowing down, still no Appa and Momo in site, and she wished she could use her bending for a light source, just so she could see if something was hiding in the darkness. But she wasn’t ready to reveal herself as a fire bender yet, you didn’t have to be a genius to know it wouldn’t go down well with any of the others - including Aang who didn’t seem to hate fire benders as much as the other two, but he definitely didn’t like them.

“Appa! Momo!” Katara shouted into the darkness, but much like the rest of their journey there was no response.

“There’s no way they can hear us and no way we can see them,” Sokka turned around to face the rest of them, “We’ll have to make camp for the night.”

Her pleasant thoughts of finally getting a chance to rest as he said this were interrupted by a weird swamp-gas cloud that popped next to them. Agni this place somehow just kept getting worse and worse.

“It’s just swamp gas Katara,” Sokka looked at his sister who was looking more nervous by the second, “nothing supernatural at all.”

That seemed to relax the group a little, beginning to walk to find somewhere suitable for camp, y/n beside Sokka and in front of the other two with no one saying a word. But of course in this spirits awful place the silence didn’t last long as a blood curdling screech interrupted the dark swamp. Without thought, all four of them latched on to each other in fear, before the swamp went silent once again.

It took a second for her to centre her breathing and calm down, and in this time she noticed the death grip her and Sokka had on each other’s hands. They briefly looked at each other before quickly letting go, and Aang let go of her arm on her other side as she stepped away, coughing awkwardly as she avoided Sokka’s gaze.

“Um I think we should build a fire.” She spoke for the first time in hours and the others all nodded their heads, still a little disturbed by whatever that screaming was.

It didn’t take long for Sokka to chop up some of the roots for the fire, even with Aang still warning him about harming the plants. But for the first time since getting here, she didn’t care that she agreed with Aang, instead she wanted a fire to see their immediate surroundings and she knew with her element near her she would feel more comfortable in this horrible place.

They were all sat around the fire when she spoke up again, “Just curious, but is it always this weird when you’re travelling or is this like some horrid anomaly?”

The others looked at her and then each other before shrugging. Wow what a useful and informative answer, thanks so much guys for putting me at ease. She rolled her eyes at the trio before returning her attention to the fire in front of her - focusing on the way the flames moved always made her feel more at ease, and she definitely needed that in this swamp.

“Does anyone else get the feeling we’re being watched?” The water bender asked the group, nervously looking into the darkness behind her.

“Please we’re all out here alone.” Sokka responded once again, adamant that this place was not as alive as the others kept suggesting. Well not all of them he realised, their new companion had barely said a word since they were sucked into this damn swamp by that freak tornado - and despite himself wishing he didn’t care at all about her - he couldn’t help but wonder if she was holding up okay as she was less used to these weird avatar adventures than the rest of them.

He glanced over at her to check but she didn’t seem to even be paying attention to the conversation, she just sat staring at the flames, their movement reflected in her golden eyes. But before he could study her anymore - not because she was pretty, no definitely not that, it was because she was their natural enemy and he didn’t know if he trusted her yet, yeah that was it - a bug flew at his face, interrupting his thoughts.

As he tried to hit the bug to get it to leave him alone it enveloped itself in a bright light, unfortunately illuminating the hundreds of glowing eyes surrounding them. They all huddled closer together, y/n whispering to him from her position by his shoulder, “What was that about being here alone?”

He turned to scowl at her, but didn’t say anything as he, admittedly, was a little freaked out about the entire ordeal.

———

The four of them slept with their backs pressed together, facing out to the rest of the swamp in case something happened - but this didn’t stop the vines that wrapped around their bodies and pulled them in separate directions.

She was jolted awake as the vines pulled her away from the group, and she was glad her sword was in reach for her to cut at the vines that had a strong hold on her body. She dropped to the ground with a groan, not having a chance to recover before more vines shot towards her; it was times like this where she was thankful for her fast reflexes and skill as she cut any that got near to her.

As she defended herself against the plants, she tripped and tumbled down into the swamp water, where the vines finally stopped their bombardment against her.

But now there was a new problem - she had no idea where she was or where the others were, and despite all her training she didn’t know what to do.

———

She walked for what felt like forever before her mysterious surroundings revealed something to her. But it was not something she was expecting.

There was a woman in front of her, she couldn’t see her face as she was facing the other direction but she knew who she was - it was instinct to recognise your own mother.

The woman was wearing red and gold robes that related to the fire nation, except these ones were reserved for the more important families, ones who had money and the respect of the Fire Lord. Her pitch black hair cascaded down her back, so unlike what she was used to seeing - her entire childhood her mother had never worn her hair down, it was always in some fancy up-do that y/n wished she had the skill to replicate.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts and observations, she took a step towards the woman - her mother - and tried to call out to her, gaining no response. Her mother was dead, she knew this, but she still continued walking towards the woman. The hope of possibly seeing her face for the first time in two years reminded her of emotions she hadn’t acknowledged in years - the love her mother gave her when she had disappointed father again and been punished for it, the security she experienced when she would hold her close when she had nightmares about her brother dying, the emptiness she felt when her mother finally succumbed to the sickness that had held a grip on her for months. All of these emotions and memories came flooding back to her and by the time she was directly behind her,  there were already tears falling down her face.

Shaking, she lifted her hand up and placed it on her mother’s shoulder, who finally turned to look at her - but it was no longer her mother.

She fell to the floor, scrambling backwards through the shallow swamp water, her heart pounding in her ears as she looked into the eyes of the the man she had killed before running away - the one who haunted her dreams. His neck was coated in blood from where she had directed her blade and as she struggled to breathe, he lifted his hand up to point at her, and in his last breath he shouted “murderer!” before disappearing into the swamp fog.

It didn’t matter that he had now vanished, y/n couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think - her thoughts were too much, she wanted to push down the emotions that had risen with the appearance of her biggest regret but her mind didn’t respond to her, she could feel tears run down her face but she couldn’t move to wipe them away. It was all too much. She couldn’t breathe. She was a monster.

———

Sokka hated this swamp. First they lost Appa and Momo; then the weird glowing eyes; next the vines kidnapping them; and now he had seen Yue. Well ‘seen’ wasn’t necessarily the right word in his opinion, it was a simple trick of the light in this already creepy swamp, that’s all - absolutely nothing else.

So, despite being a little shaken up from the ‘Yue' incident, he continued on through the thick vines, hoping to get a glimpse of one of his companions.

Before long he heard something that stood out from the other swamp sounds - almost like someone was crying.

Rushing towards the noise, he was surprised to come across y/n sat in the water, her knees pulled up against her with her head resting on them as she dug her nails into her skin, the light sobs were interrupted with a choking sound as she tried to breathe.

Sokka shook himself out of his shock and ran towards her, falling into the water so that he could face her and try and get her attention. She didn’t even look up, instead just kept trying to inhale and failing to do so. Shit.

It didn’t take him long to realise she was having a panic attack - Katara used to have them after their mother died but this was seemingly worse than what he had helped his younger sister through, and he prayed to all the spirits that his method of calming her down worked on the newest addition to their group too.

“Hey can you look at me?” He grabbed her hands, trying to get her attention in any way as well as preventing her from digging her nails into her palms as there was already blood dripping into the murky swamp water they sat in.

She finally looked up at him, her eyes wide when she noticed him before he and in between her failed breaths she gasped out, “Can’t … breathe.”

“Okay, we can fix that okay?” He tried to smile at her as she nodded her head slightly, “Alright I need you to to try and breathe on my count okay?”

Another nod, “Good, breathe in for 5 seconds with me.”

Sokka breathed in with her following his instructions before repeating the process until her breathing was closer to what it normally would be.

“You’re doing great, now tell me something you can see.”

“Your face.” Her voice was raspy when she spoke but Sokka didn’t care, he was just glad that he was making progress.

“What about something you can feel?”

She took in a deep breath before looking down at their intertwined hands, relaxing the tight grip she had on him “Your hands.”

“You’re doing amazing y/n, tell me something you can smell.”

Her breathing was basically back to normal and the tears had stopped by the time she provided him with an answer, “The nasty swamp water.”

Sokka let out a breathy laugh at her answer, smiling as he gently wiped the tears off her face.

“Yeah it doesn’t smell great. Are you, um, feeling better now?”

She nodded, removing her still shaky hands from his grip, avoiding his eyes.

They sat in silence for a few minutes when she finally spoke up, “I’m, uh, sorry you had to see that, normally I have better control.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m glad I could help.”

Light finally seeped through the tall canopy above them, giving Sokka the kick he needed to start moving again, desperate to find the others so they could get the hell out of this place.

“Alright,” he stood up and held out a hand to the fire nation girl, “I don’t know about you but I’m ready to leave this disgusting swamp.”

A small chuckle escaped her as she gripped his hand to pull herself up, and despite still being a little shaky, the worst of the panic attack seemed to have passed. Still a little embarrassed that Sokka had seen her like this, at her weakest, she avoided his worried gaze and started walking in what was hopefully the direction of their other companions.

Before they got too far, she turned to face him, giving him a small smile, “thank you, by the way,” and continued on, not seeing the small smile that had formed on the older boy’s face.

———

It didn't take long for them to find the others - or perhaps the others found them as Aang had tackled Katara into them - the four of them finally coming to rest on a large tree root.

“What do you guys think you’re doing?!” Sokka shouted, waving his hands around, “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Y/n coughed from where she was sitting next to Aang, grabbing the water tribe boy’s attention.

“Right. We’ve been looking all over for you.”

She flashed a self-satisfied smirk at him before returning her attention to Aang.

“I was chasing some girl.”

The three of them all looked at the Avatar, confused on what he was talking about.

“What girl?”

“I don’t know.” He moved to help Katara up, as y/n stood as well, “I heard laughing and I saw a girl in a fancy dress.”

Right, this place and group just keeps getting weirder. What have I gotten myself into?

“Well there must be a tea party here and we just didn’t get our invitations.” she rolled her eyes at Sokka’s attempt to dismiss what Aang had seen, but she had seen something too - not that she was thinking about it again, nope bad idea.

There was a sadness in Katara’s voice when she spoke that y/n knew all too well, “I thought I saw Mum.”

“Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother?” She hadn’t really thought back on the argument between Jet and Sokka she had heard all those months ago but now it all properly clicked into place for her. There were lots of reasons why they didn’t trust her she was sure but a death of a mother was a different kind of hurt that she knew all too well. And it was the Fire Nation’s fault.

“Look,” Sokka began, “we were all just scared and hungry, and our minds were playing tricks on us. That’s why we all saw things out there.”

“Wait you saw something too?”

He turned away from his sister when he spoke, “I thought I saw Yue.”

She had no idea who this Yue was, but the sadness in his voice when he spoke was indication enough about what had happened to her. Her heart went out to this small group that had let her join them - they had been through so much pain, and she wished she could fix it. But she was Fire Nation, and everyone knew Fire Nation didn’t fix things. They destroyed them.

“Look it doesn’t mean anything,” he continued, pulling her out of her thoughts, “I think about her all the time. And you saw Mum, someone you miss a lot. And y/n, you saw-“

He trailed off, realising he didn’t know what she saw. But it didn’t matter now, all of three of them had turned their attention onto their newest member, her shoulders stiff as she looked at the ground.

“Wait, y/n, did you see something as well?” Aang asked, brow furrowed as she clenched her fists at her side.

After a few seconds of silence she looked up, “Uh yeah, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

She caught Sokka’s eye where she was surprised to see genuine concern for her. Maybe after this ordeal she’ll be able to gain his trust and possibly even friendship.

“Okay,” the avatar gave her one last look before addressing the others again, “well what about me? I didn’t know the girl I saw. And all of our visions led us right here.”

Looking around at their surroundings, it didn’t take long for them to notice the huge tree towering above them. The centre of the swamp.

“It’s been calling us here.” Aang turned to smile at the others, glad he was right about what he felt.

That good feeling did not last long though, and soon the small group was staring up at a giant figure made of vines looming above them.

They scattered in different directions.

She held her sword in one hand and dagger in the other, skilfully cutting all vines that aimed at her. Although she was not successful in her standoff with the swamp monster for long though, it grabbed her legs, tossing her into a nearby tree with a grunt. The sharp pain and small sensation of liquid on her neck was all she needed to know that she had, once again, been injured.

For Agni’s sake this is getting ridiculous, I’m going to look like I can’t look after myself and that’s just embarrassing, she thought to herself as she slowly stood up, looking for where the trio and weird plant monster had gone.

It took longer than she’d like to admit to find them all again, but with the ways things had gone in the last day or so she shouldn’t have been surprised when she not only found that they had defeated the monster without her help but also there was now a weird man standing in the vines that must have composed the monster in the first place. Was she the only sane one here? Did they not realise how weird this was?

“-and I heard something calling to me, telling me to land.” She managed to catch the tail end of Aang talking as she approached the group from behind.

“He’s the avatar. Stuff like that happens to us a lot.” Sokka told the man, Katara frowning at her when she came to stand next to her.

“The Avatar? Come with me.”

Before she could follow the man, Katara grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop.

“Where have you been?!” She hissed, “Was it your plan all along to leave us to fight the first assailant we met in hopes we’d die? Perhaps that would make your beloved fire nation proud of you. Helping kill the Avatar must be reward worthy.”

Too shocked to respond to the water bender’s accusations, she just blinked at her.

“Well?” Her arms were crossed as she glared at her, her foot tapping against the tree root they stood on.

“Uh I was actually incapacitated,” she quickly showed the cut on the back of her head, Katara’s eyes widening at the sight of blood, “But thanks so much for assuming the worst about me, it means a lot.”

Turning on her heel, y/n began following the others, the fire inside her burning brighter at the anger Katara’s words had caused.

“Do you not want me to heal the cut?” Katara offered from behind her, and when she whirled around to face her, she was surprised to see the guilt on the girl’s face. Guilt, however, didn’t make what the waterbender had said any better.

“No, I think I can manage treating it myself.”

She went to catch up with the others again but stopped to say one last thing, “Katara, I would like to belong in this group with you guys as my friends who trust me, so I don’t appreciate you assuming that I would betray you after promising to help fight the Fire Nation. It is dishonourable to go back on my word and beliefs, so if you don’t trust me, at least trust that I want to stop the Fire Nation.”

Nodding her head after saying her piece she left to catch up with the others, leaving a stunned Katara behind.

———

After the events of the day, Sokka was glad to be sat down eating something, the possum-chicken settling nicely in his stomach as the swamp benders told them stories about the way they lived.

Despite the joyful energy around the campfire, there was a new tension between his sister and y/n that wasn’t there before and he wanted to do something to fix it but didn’t know how. So instead he listened to their new acquaintances talk and watched the Fire Nation girl play with Momo from the corner of his eye, a small smile gracing his lips at the sight.

taglist: @kaylove12 @bestyearsof5sos @neemonroe @aangsupremacy @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @lizziel1410 @idalinette @jasminedrgon @avocados-and-lemons​

strikethrough means i couldnt tag you :( ,, ive kept the same taglist from before but because its been so long yous might not be interested anymore - if thats the case just tell me and i’ll remove you from it :)

[sokkas-sword]

not me reading through what i had written of ‘flickers’ so far and thinking it would be great to have more chapters - but yunno that means i have to actually write the chapter that i couldnt figure out back in january so im very annoyed about this

but anyway i actually have written some of it and hopefully i can finish the chapter either today or tomorrow :)

[sokkas-sword]

uh i just wanted to say (as its been a while since ive posted on this account) that i will eventually get back to writing my series on here but atm my uni work and exams is more important and has been keeping me too busy for the past month or two (and will until its over in june most likely) but i will write if i get any time but i hope everyone is doing well :)

[sokkas-sword]

Hi! i wanted to ask if u could add me to the taglist of flickers? i am in love with the fic and i dont wanna miss anything, thanks!

you absolutely can! and thank you so much !!

[sokkas-sword]

the pure hell that was my exams is finally over and i have a week before my lectures start so hopefully (fingers crossed as im useless at doing things when i have time) i’ll be able to do some writing this week :)

[sokkas-sword]

can i be on the taglist of flickers :)

ive added you :)

[sokkas-sword]

Hey I was wondering if I could come on the taglist for flicker? ❤️

you absolutely can !

[sokkas-sword]

rocks and riches (pt 4)

zuko x reader

Pt 1 / Pt 2 / Pt 3 / Pt 5

words: 6k

warnings: cursing as usual and some minor claustrophobia?? im not claustrophobic so idk if its bad or not

summary: the beginning of meddle-week

a/n: remember how I said there was like a 99% chance this was going to be the final part? yeah well I lied. the 1% happened. part 5 will be up at some point and I’m just gonna stop telling yall how many parts I think this fic is gonna be bc I’ve been wrong so many times. sorry this is long as hell idk what happened 🙃 if you see my crush on mai projected in here no you didnt

:) :) :)

Listen, you knew you could be dumb sometimes, but you weren’t stupid. 

Sokka had been acting pretty weird and you had already determined Iroh was guilty of meddling, so now that they had each other to bounce ideas off of, it couldn’t have been more obvious what they were doing.

You had mixed feelings about this revelation. A part of you was kind of (very) stressed about not knowing when their team of sorts would strike next with you and Zuko as pieces in their odd game of Pai Sho. How were you not supposed to be nervous that they would slip up and Zuko would find out about your feelings for him, ultimately ruining your friendship and any hope of ever visiting the Fire Nation without residual emotional baggage? It took strength, but you kept reminding yourself that you were just one person against three people who seemed very determined to achieve their goal, so, really, what were you supposed to do?

Their first move was to get Ty Lee. 

Keep reading

[sokkas-sword]

Can I please be on the tag list for flickers?? I love your writing!!

of course you can and thanks !!

[sokkas-sword]

flickers (chapter three)

sokka x female reader

summary: y/n ‘properly’ meets her new acquaintances (my worst summary yet but i spelt acquaintances wrong about fifty times so i dont care)

warnings: blood, injuries, scars (tell me if there’s something i missed)

wc: 2.8k 

masterlist

prologue --- chapter two -- chapter four

a/n: i’m alive!!! sorry for not updating in like a month (i think ?? im terrible with the passing of time) but my mental health is currently spiralling and has been for a few weeks and is about to get worse as my exams are about to start and my university is hell bent on ruining my life so i wont be updating again until like february when they’re finally over so apologies in advance. anywaysss i hope you like this :)

The sky bison landed in front of her, the avatar and water tribe siblings’ eyes going wide when they recognised her.

“Y/n!” Aang jumped off the saddle and looked like he might even hug her (why would he do that they have literally met once? Was he always so positive and smiley?) but he stopped in his tracks when he saw the blood on her neck, “Spirits are you alright?”

Before she could answer the water tribe siblings had approached her as well, Sokka eyeing the soldiers on the ground, “You did all that?”

“Yes.”

“We heard fighting from up on Appa and were about to come and see if anyone needed help, but you apparently didn’t need any help,” Aang smiled at her, “why were you fighting though?”

“I was in the village nearby helping a family and wanted to get the soldiers away, but they spotted me before I came up with a decent plan,” she pointed to her neck in emphasis, “and so I ran and faced off against them here.”

“Wow, you must be a great fighter!” Aang was beaming at her again, but the siblings did not seem to share the avatar’s enthusiasm - Sokka had his eyebrows raised almost looking impressed, but she guessed by his crossed arms he still didn’t like her, Katara on the other hand seemed slightly concerned by y/n’s injuries but this was overshadowed by the scowl on her face, her hand on her water skin as if she was ready for her to start fighting them. Like that would happen - even if she wanted to she no longer had the energy to fight two benders and another warrior.

“I was trained young.” She shrugged at the avatar in answer, hoping they would either help her or leave her alone - was everything always such a long conversation with this group?

Aang hadn’t seemed to have noticed the tense air around the siblings, instead he turned to the younger girl, “Aren’t you going to heal her Katara?”

Heal her? She was certain she hadn’t been able to do this all those months ago when they initially met.

Before Katara could say anything y/n held her hands up, “She doesn’t have to do anything it’s fine - I’ve got bandages in my bag and can treat my injuries myself.”

“Wait, injuries? As in plural?” The water tribe boy asked, much more concerned than he had been a moment ago.

“Um, yeah, one of them got my back as well.” She turned to show them the injury, and judging from the sharp intakes of breath it was much worse than she initially thought.

Katara’s voice was surprisingly soft when she spoke, “I can heal them, they could get infected or scar otherwise.”

She let out a low laugh, “Trust me I’ve dealt with worse and what’s another scar to add to the mix?”

The trio all furrowed their brows at her response - it would have been funny, the way they seemed to act as one, if their looks weren’t aimed at her. But before they could persist on the point any longer a low groan came from where the soldiers were laying.

Their eyes widened, Aang turned to her, “Come with us.”

“What?” Y/n, Sokka and Katara all responded at the same time - she was shocked but the other two seemed downright offended the avatar would even consider asking her.

“You’re injured and they’re waking up,” he grabbed the girl’s hand, pulling her towards his sky bison.

“Wait! I need to get my bag.”

Sokka’s hand was outstretched for her to grab as she ran back towards the bison, a fire blast came from behind her, causing her to stumble but luckily the boy’s hand had grabbed hers and he pulled her up with a surprising amount of strength. It took her a moment to realise she was on top of him though and when their eyes connected they both launched themselves away from each other, pink on their cheeks.

In her haste to put some space between her and the water tribe boy, she had forgotten all about her injured back, which met the saddle before she could correct it and she let out a small gasp of pain before she blacked out once again.

It took a few moments for any of them to realise what had happened, the trio had all looked at the fire nation girl when they heard her gasp, all confused as to what to do.

Katara was the first to regain her senses, already uncapping her water skin and moving over to use her bending to heal the girl.

Sokka grabbed his sister’s wrist, “What are you doing?”

She rolled her eyes, “I’m going to heal her, obviously.”

“Oh, right. Didn’t she say she didn’t want to be healed?.”

“She also said she could wrap them herself, but she can’t exactly do that whilst unconscious can she?”

He let go, watching his sister bend the glowing water around the girl’s neck.

Sokka may not like the Fire Nation, but he was still worried about the girl in front of them - he barely knew her but he knew she must dislike the fire nation as much as them if the scene they had found her in was any indication; and he remembered how desperate she was to help heal someone back when he first ran into her. Maybe she was a good person, but due to Aang’s optimism and trust in people, and Katara’s hatred for the fire nation, Sokka was going to judge for himself when she was awake to see if they should trust her.

He watched as his sister cut the fabric off y/n’s back, already done with the injury on her neck, and Katara let in a sharp inhale at what she saw. Both Sokka and Aang moved to see what had happened, only to be met with a deep gash, still leaking lots of blood. But that wasn’t what had caught their attention - no, when the girl had mentioned scars, none of them could have imagined that her skin would look like this. There were so many marks across her back, some were obviously caused by burns - small circles of darkened skin and a few longer scars that reached her shoulders, but there was also a few thick and ragged marks that were likely caused by a weapon. Some had seemed to fade with time, but that only troubled the group more as it implied she was young when she received them.

Maybe there was much more to the fire nation girl than any of them had initially thought.

Katara, after noticing the boys looking over her shoulder, had shooed them away to give the other girl some privacy as she set to work healing the cut across y/n’s back. Her face was concentrated on the process but her mind was spinning. She hated the fire nation, she really did, and she knew nothing about this girl, only meeting her briefly after saving her from drowning the last time they had ran into her, but she couldn’t help but soften towards the girl in front of her who clearly had a troubled past. Perhaps if the girl proved herself to be a good person, Katara could even come to care about her, but she still hadn’t decided on whether Aang was right to invite the fire nation girl with them yet, so any friendship or feelings that aren’t distrust and hostility were a long way off currently.

She finally finished healing y/n and turned to Aang and Sokka, “What are we doing with her when she wakes up?”

“Um, I kind of hoped she could join us, just listen-“ Aang put his hands up to silence the siblings’ protests before he was finished speaking, “She’s an amazing fighter, she doesn’t agree with the Fire Nation and the war from what I can tell, and I have a feeling it’s more than just a coincidence we’ve come across her multiple times now - it’s like fate.”

“Yeah well fate hasn’t always worked out well for us, has it?” Sokka crossed his arms as he spoke.

“I understand it’s your decision Aang, but I don’t trust her - she’s still Fire Nation at the end of the day.”

“I agree with Katara,” Sokka said, “And we don’t even know if she wants to stay with us, so I say wait until she wakes up and then we can ask her and make a decision.”

“Fine.” Aang turned back around to focus on where he was steering Appa, he really wanted her to stay with them - she seemed nice, he remembered how she had risked her life for the goat-dog when they first met, and she was clearly a talented fighter - all good qualities in his opinion.

———

Y/n could feel a breeze on her face as she began to stir, it was nice - wait, why was there a breeze? Where am I?

She sat up, reaching for her dagger so she could defend herself but paused when she was met with the three faces of the avatar and friends. It all came back to her - the fight, the injuries, the avatar asking her to come with them.

She carefully reached around her back, trying to feel the bandages that covered the cut that had been inflicted on her - but she found nothing, only the bumps of her old scars. Oh right, they said the water bender girl could heal her and apparently they had taken the liberty to do that whilst she was unconscious. Why do I always seem to be injured and unconscious around these people? Maybe they’re bad luck or something?

Putting her dagger back down, she turned to face the trio properly. The young monk was grinning at her, but the same couldn’t be said for the other two, they both had their arms crossed and neutral expressions on their faces as they watched her.

“Uh, hello?” She gave a small awkward wave to the group, internally cursing to Agni that she didn’t have better social skills.

“Hi! How are you feeling?” Aang asked, unfazed by the tension rippling off the siblings.

“Much better,” She turned to the younger girl, “thank you for that by the way.”

The girl nodded at her, turning to raise her eyebrow at the avatar as if she expected him to say something.

“Oh right! Do you want to travel with us?”

“You want me to travel with you? The avatar?”

She heard the older boy mutter “no” under his breath but she ignored this, focusing solely on Aang.

“Yes! You’re a great fighter and you could really help us in our fight against the Fire Nation. So, do you want to?”

Maybe this was what she had been looking for - originally helping in small villages on her journey to Ba Sing Se had felt like enough, but working with the avatar himself, she would truly be able to use her skills in the war. But as she looked at the two water tribe siblings, she was cautious - they clearly didn’t want her around, and she said as much to Aang.

“I’m sure they will grow to like you if you join us - they just don’t know you yet.”

“Neither do you.”

“True - but I’m a great judge of character!” Judging by Sokka’s scowl at this statement, she guessed that was not the case but her heart still warmed towards the young boy who was looking at her with hopeful puppy-dog eyes.

“If your companions are fine with it, I would be honoured to help you in your fight against the Fire Nation.” She directed a small smile towards Aang which only grew as he jumped in the air, letting out an excited ‘whoo’ at her decision.

She looked at the siblings to see if they were alright with the decision, neither of them looked too pleased but they nodded nonetheless, turning to talk between themselves - leaving her to look at the sky around them.

She would never admit it, but y/n wasn’t a huge fan of heights, not being near the ground felt unnatural and as this was her first time at this kind of height she couldn’t stop her heart rate from quickening as she looked over the edge of the sky bison’s saddle. Yeah, not doing that again.

Just as she moved away from the edge, a small animal jumped at her, almost knocking her back over the exact side of the saddle she wanted to stay away from.

The animal looked at her with its big green eyes before pulling at one of her dark curls, and apparently satisfied with what he found, turned around and curled up in her lap, a soft sigh escaping its lips. Y/n looked at the others in confusion.

“That’s Momo, he’s our flying lemur.”

She looked down at the lemur and patted its head softly, “Hi Momo, I’m y/n, but my friends sometimes call me Lia after my favourite flower, and we can be friends if you’d like?”

Too focused on the animal on her lap, y/n didn’t notice the other three exchange amused looks - Aang was beyond happy at the tenderness she showed the flying lemur as it seemed to prove he was right about her, Sokka and Katara were both happily surprised at the interaction, even more so as they kept watching the girl talk to Momo, as if no one else was around.

———

The ride was silent as the group made its way further across the Earth Kingdom - Aang was at the front steering Appa, Sokka was sharpening his boomerang, Katara reading and y/n was deep in thought, absent-mindedly fiddling with the locket around her neck which she always did when nervous or thinking.

Sokka raised his gaze from his blade, looking down at the swampy forest they had been passing over, and were currently getting closer to.

“Hey Aang, you taking us down for a reason?”

“What? I didn’t even notice.”

The conversation broke y/n out of her thoughts, moving to Sokka’s side to see what was going on.

“Well are you noticing now?” The older boy waved his hand around to make a point, almost hitting her in the face.

Katara had moved to her brother’s other side, “Is something wrong?”

“I know this is going to sound weird but I think the swamp is…calling to me.”

She raised her eyebrows at this, were these guys always so weird?

“Is it telling you where we can get something to eat?” Y/n coughed into her hand to try and conceal her laugh at the water tribe boy, but he noticed and smirked at her before turning back to Aang.

“No, I-I think it wants us to land there.”

Um that seems like a bad idea.

“No offence to the swamp, but I don’t see any land to land on.” The fire nation girl nodded as Sokka spoke, glad he was thinking similar things to her.

“I don’t know. Bumi said to learn earthbending, I would have to wait and listen. And now I’m actually hearing the earth. Do you want me to ignore it?”

Absolutely, she thought at the same time the siblings spoke,

“Yes.”

“There’s something ominous about that place.”

Aang turned to her, “What do you think y/n?”

“Oh,” she hadn’t realised she already had a say in things this early on in the journey, but it was nice he wanted her opinion, “I’m with Sokka, besides,” she pointed at Momo hiding in her tunic, “Momo doesn’t like it here and I don’t think Appa does either.”

As if in response, the sky bison let out a small roar showing he agreed with her.

“Okay, since everyone feels so strongly about this, bye swamp. Yip yip.” He moved the reins to move the bison further into the air, and she had never been more thankful for the increased height as the mysterious swamp became smaller underneath them.

There was a loud rumbling behind them, y/n turning at the same time as Sokka, eyes widening at the sight of a tornado approaching them with speed.

“You better throw in an extra ‘yip’. We gotta move!”

They all held on to the side of the saddle for dear life as the wind picked up, Appa moving back and forth trying to get away from the tornado.

The force of the winds lifted Sokka away from the saddle, both Katara and y/n jumped to grab one of his hands, their other hands clinging to the saddle to try and keep them from getting blown away as well.

Aang, hearing the commotion and Sokka’s yelling, jumped onto the saddle, creating a ball of air around the bison, cutting off the strong winds and causing Sokka to fall back down into the saddle face first. The avatar’s eyes were tight shut, his teeth gritted in exertion as he tried to combat the tornado, but it was no use and the protective ball of air fell away and she screamed in terror as the tornado tossed the four teens and Appa into the trees below.

fyi the nickname Lia is from the Camellia flower found in the fire nation, and using it will let me use y/n less which i prefer :) and it might have some relevance to the story later on *wink wink*

taglist: @kaylove12 @bestyearsof5sos @neemonroe @aangsupremacy​ @ladylizzieofdarbyshire​ (i think this all the people who have asked me to be on the taglist pls tell me if you have and im just being dumb and i’ll add you to it)

[sokkas-sword]

I love your work!! I finally got the courage to send a request, if it’s too much, could I get a Sokka x Reader? Maybe using this prompt or something similar where the reader is hurt? -Person A's face is bruised and bleeding, and they refuse to look at Person B because they don't want them to see the damage. B grabs their chin and physically pull their face up so they can see it, cursing when they see the damage, then caring for the uncooperative A's injuries.

A/N: Hey sugar!! Thank you so much for your sweetness and your request. I really love this troupe!! But never fear sending in a request! I don’t bite! Also, enjoy this piece I wrote, I call it part of my Covid Chronicles. Tried to keep this gender neutral so please tell me if I made a mistake!!

Masterlist:

You Never Listen //Sokka x Reader

You’ve always been quite stubborn. This wasn’t always a bad thing necessarily, in fact your precarious nature had gotten Team Avatar out of several sticky situations. Not this one though. Your swords can only hold off benders for so long, and you knew that.

Especially after the constant reminders from the other non-bender on the team and your closest companion, Sokka. You knew he was going to chew you out for this, fighting off a horde of earth bending Dai Li officers just so they could get a good head start away from them. He was going to tear your head off.

Well, if the Dai Li doesn’t beat him to it.

One of the more aggressive fighters had nailed you right on the chin with his stone, scraping and bruising your face almost immediately. The impact sent you flying back, no doubt bruising and bloodying other parts of your body as yo clambered against the dirt. You were off your game, and the Dai Li wasn’t merciful. Your sword did little to help once they found their opening. But you weren’t ready to give in just yet.

The gang, especially Sokka, couldn’t just leave you behind and hope to see you again. He was much too invested in you by now, and hope was not enough when it came to your life. So he doubled back on his own, finding a group of three Dai Li agents struggling to restrain you. He could see blood on their hands, across their knuckles like they had been-

He couldn’t go into that train of thought right now. If he did, he couldn’t be rational. And you needed him to be rational, so that he could safely get you back. He had to come up with something, a plan, anything that would get you out. He crouched in the forest line, concealed by trees and plants that bought him time.

It didn’t take him long, the noises of your protests and their frustrated voices was enough to give him the idea. He gathered a few rocks nearby, throwing them near the men. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for them to be distracted. To hesitate. It’s all the opening you needed, slipping out of their relaxed grip like you had been greased up.

The agents yelled and ran after you, but you were too far gone for them to even consider chasing you past a few feet. You ran towards the green expanse of the trees, smirking at the lack of their chase. You were exhausted, fighting their group until just the three of them remained took everything out of you. You couldn’t stay upright much longer. You just hoped to make it into the tree line, the forest keeping you safe. You thought you must have some sort of guardian angel, someone watching over you that stepped in on your accord. You didn’t know exactly what happened, but you know that the trio of warriors didn’t just decide to let up on you out of the goodness of their hearts.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sudden leafy shade protecting you from the hot Earth Kingdom sun, the coolness making you sigh immediately. You were safe.

That is, until you trip over a rock and feel yourself falling faster than your brain could process. All you could do was clamp your eyes shut and brace your fall with your hands, preparing for the worst.

Preparing for a fall that never came. Your hands braced against a hard chest instead of a hard ground, your eye cracking open to be met with the blue tunic clad around tan skin. Sokka.

Now you knew who your guardian angel was.

As relieved as you should have been, you couldn’t help the panic that increased your heart rate. Sokka never wanted you to stay behind, insisting that everyone working together would have been enough. You disagreed, and even though you were injured you still knew you made the right decision. He wouldn’t see it that way, and even if he did, he wouldn’t admit it. You were ready to get your ass chewed out, the only thing that could possibly save you was hiding the damage to your face. The blood running down your cheek, the gnarled mix of disgusting colors littered about your cheeks, the knots of swelling and tender skin all over your head and face. No, there was no way you could avoid this. Sokka would find out eventually, hence the anxiety in your chest once you find yourself steadied in his arms.

He cleared his throat, his eyebrow raised at your strange behavior. “Y/n? I’ve got you. You’re okay. It’s me, it’s Sokka.” He informed gently, reaching for your chin to get a good look at you. You smacked his hand away before he could, though, making him yelp and furrow his brows with a huff. “What’s gotten into you? I saved you! Don’t be like that, just, look at me?” He asked, hurt by your rejections.

You shook your head. “You’re gonna be mad.” You stated simply, playing with your fingers. Maybe you are stubborn, but it comes from a place of love. Your love for your friends..for the non-bender that protects you, you only dream of protecting them. Even at your own expense.

“I’m already mad, you never listen, Y/N. You’re gonna kill me, all I do is worry about you. So why don’t you just listen to me now and let me see your face.” He huffed, holding your hands and inspecting their damage.

You sighed shakily, but relented. You knew you weren’t getting out of this one. You looked up at him with a clenched jaw. He blew a hot stream of air out of his mouth in frustration, his pointer finger gently resting under your chin, holding it up before you could snatch your face away.

He licked his teeth, tearing a piece of cloth off of his tunic and wetting it in the nearby stream. He gently but silently wiped the blood from your wounds, gritting his teeth the whole time. Normally, silence wouldn’t bother you. A comfortable silence, a sweet and gentle presence that your normally find yourself in with Sokka. It was no secret about your feelings for him. You’re sure everyone knows now but him. His silences were few and far between, and when they did occur, they were soft and full of unspoken words that the two of you knew the other was saying.

This silence was different.

This silence was disappointment. This silence was oppressive and overbearing, creating a guilty weight of stone in your stomach.

“I’m sorry.” You squeaked out. Immediately, he felt bad. He could tell by your stare that you were worried about upsetting him, and he felt some tension ripple away at this.

“No you aren’t. And that’s okay. Technically you have nothing to be sorry for.” He responded, and you watched in a perplexed fashion as all the muscles in his face relaxed, the softness that normally clouded blue eyes returning just in time to grace your features.

He knew he had no right to be mad at you. He was only pissed because you seemed so careless with your life. You were so unaffected. It was like you didn’t realize how much you meant to everyone, how much you mean to him. He pushed your hair out of your eyes and even managed a small smile. “You just scared me. I’m not angry at you.” He assured once more.

You bit your lip. “I know, I’m s-“ you caught yourself, looking away from his always kind but always intense stare. “I only do it cause I love you all. The idea of something happening to them, to you, I..I can’t handle it.” You admitted quietly.

He huffed, letting your face go once he finished the wipe down. “How do you think I feel? You and Katara are the only people I love. My only job is to keep you safe, yet you keep throwing yourself in danger all the time!” He scolded, seemingly realizing what he said at the same time you did, mutual pink covering both pairs of cheeks.

“Like a sister. I know.” You hurried to keep him from getting all stupid and embarrassed. But the opposite happened, he got even more confident.

“No, like a partner.” He corrected immediately, making your eyes widen.

“Oh-“

“Can I kiss you?” He choked out, his face still so close from his wound care of earlier. You nodded, so did he. He licked his lips and planted them perfectly over yours, his hands carefully placed on your shoulders to avoid the gashes and bruises on your face. You kissed him back, that weighted stone of guilt blossoming into a fiery ball of adoration and love. It felt like forever and not long enough all at once as he pulled away, chests heaving and breaths loud.

“Now let’s get back. Katara can heal those better than I can.” He prompted, leading you by the hand. “Oh, and Y/N?” He asked curiously.

“Yes?” You respond, waiting for his inquiry.

“Stop being so damn stubborn!”

[sokkas-sword]

tysm for including me in this !! :)

Avatar: The Last Air Bender Fic Recommendations

Legend: 🔥 = Smut; 🌸 = Fluff; 🥀 = Angst

Prince Zuko x Reader

🌸 Aphrodite Kallipygos @muertawrites​​ (Plus Size!Reader)

🌸🥀 Destiny is a Funny Thing / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 @imnotusedtobeingloved​ (firebender!Reader) (WIP)

🌸🥀 Rituals; Chapter 2 @spasmsofthought​​ (water tribe!Reader)

🌸🥀 The Dark of the Moon @muertawrites​​

🌸🥀 Training / Part 2 / Part 3 @nadisabug​

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🌸 Apartment 4E – Hot Chocolate / Sick Day @sokkaspirit​ (college!AU, Roommates!AU) (WIP?)

🌸🥀 Flickers @sokkas-sword​ (WIP)

🌸 Good Love @muertawrites​​

🌸🥀 The Girls of Ba Sing Se / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 / Part 15 @missturtleduck​ (feat. slight Suki x Reader) (WIP)

🌸 Worries and Wounds @thenewlarislynn​

[sokkas-sword]

Hi!! Would you be willing to tag me in flickers? It a great story - for a second I thought she was Honda run into Jet & co in chapter 2! Can’t wait to read more

Of course!! And I’m glad you like it so far!

[sokkas-sword]

flickers (chapter two)

sokka x female reader

summary: after spending some time healing from her injuries from the dam incident, y/n begins travelling across the earth kingdom to see if she can help in the war

warnings: injuries, fighting, mentions of death 

wc: 6.1k (a CHUNKY chapter i’m ngl)

masterlist

prologue - chapter one --- chapter three

a/n: im really bad with the timeline of the show so sorry about that but lets just pretend it matches up and move on // also this is a proper filler chapter that im not a huge fan off and yet i still spent ages on it so i guess i hope yous still enjoy? // also i aim to write more over my christmas break but with the horrible amount of work i have to do for my exams in january combined with this being the first time im seeing my family since august i’m not sure how much i will actually be able to write but fingers crossed :)

She woke up with a groan, her whole body was completely stiff and everything hurt. Forcing her eyes open she was met with the canvas of a tent, the shadows of a campfire outside providing a small amount of light in the small space.

She sat up, the thin sheet that was covering her falling off and revealing her body in its underwrappings, large, dark bruises covering the majority of her skin. But it was her right leg covered in a bandage that grabbed her attention - it wasn’t bleeding anymore so Ria must have stitched it up, but she couldn’t stop the impulse to poke it. Unsurprisingly, as her finger made contact with the bandaged area, she hissed in pain, mentally scolding herself for her own stupidity as she pulled away, especially as whenever she has an injury she seems to do the exact same thing, never really learning from the mistake.

Before she could think about standing up, Ria’s face poked into the tent, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw her awake, “Oh, you’re up! How are you feeling?”

“Like I had a fist fight with a badger mole and lost miserably.”

The healer laughed, coming into the tent fully and handing her a satchel of water, “I was really worried you know, it was lovely what you did for that woman and animal, but-“ she flicked y/n’s forehead lightly, “never do something so stupid again please.”

“Not sure I can make that promise.” She flashed a smile at her friend who only rolled her eyes, face sobering slightly as she went to unwrap the bandage to change it.

Silence enveloped the pair as Ria examined the wound, apparently satisfied with the lack of infection and the stitches as she nodded to herself.

“Alright it looks good,” she said, “but you’re still going to have to be careful with putting your weight on it for a few weeks, and preferably don’t get into any fights or run into a town that’s about to be flooded with water.”

She playfully glared at her older friend, ready to say something in return when another head looked into the tent, one of the town’s elders if her memory served her correctly.

“The meeting is about to begin Ria,” he nodded towards y/n, “she can attend too if she wants.”

And just like that he left as quickly as he arrived, leaving her to look at her friend in confusion, “What meeting?”

“Well you’ve actually been unconscious for about a week-“

“What?!”

Ria held her hand up to stop her from interrupting, “Yes your injuries did a number on you, but the town has been hosting meetings most nights since the dam incident, trying to figure out whether we try and rebuild next to the river or if we travel somewhere else to live. We’re currently using all the tents we could find for our camp, but there are too many people at the moment - some have already left or are at least planning to.”

She stood up accepting her friend’s help as she tried to dress herself in a light green tunic, like usual the long sleeves and trousers covering the old scars from training and now the new bruises too, “What about the fire nation soldiers?”

“Oh they left on the first night, they had one use for our village, and now it’s not there they couldn’t have cared less about us. Can’t say I’m not relieved they’re gone though, so far you’re the only person from the Fire Nation I’ve met who is actually nice.” She gave a playful wink, causing y/n to smile - she had told her about most of her past, leaving out certain moments obviously, but even after learning this Ria had still been kind to her, their age gap of around 10 years just causing the woman to treat her like a little sister.

She had once had an older brother, Chenu, but he had died when she was about 11years old, fighting as part of the fire nation army. She could remember how he cared for her and made her feel loved before he left, but almost everything else - his voice, his laugh, what he looked like - were all very distant memories. Looking back on this time, she knew that this is what caused her family to truly splinter apart, it hadn’t been great before Chenu’s death but when they received the news, her mother barely spoke for months, whilst her father - he only became more cruel. Only getting worse as the years went on. But nothing compared to when her mother also died, a year before she ran away, succumbing to a sickness that had spread through the capital city, and her father, seeing that he was just left with his daughter, had become the evil man who still haunted her nightmares. She shivered at the memory of her father, Spirits knew what he would do to her if she ever saw him again after running away from home, he had always seemed to dislike her, even if she was a prodigy in multiple forms of combat, including her firebending and sword. No, the only time he’d ever seemed slightly proud of her was when she was welcomed into the home of the Fire Lord to train with his two children, Zuko and Azula.

She was around the same age as Zuko so originally had spent more time with him, becoming quite close in the process, and she probably considered him the closest friend she had ever had in the Fire Nation, and maybe, if he hadn’t been banished, it could’ve turned into something other than friendship. But she was a different person to who she used to be, and she’s certain that after a few years of banishment, the same would go for her friend - and she knew that they wouldn’t ever be able to work in that way, but it didn’t stop her from missing him on the days where her mind strayed away from the present.

Azula, on the other hand, had been a very different relationship for her. The princess, although two years younger, was as talented, if not more, at fire bending and so they had spent many days sparring with each other. At first, Azula had seemed to like her, maybe even considering her a friend, but as the years went on she became crueler and more violent, actually injuring y/n on purpose on a few occasions. So although she had wanted to connect with the girl, there wasn’t much she could do, other than keep training with her. It didn’t help that Azula had seen that she preferred her brother to her, their sparring sessions with his broadswords and her sword and dagger always filled with laughter and teasing instead of the serious attitude she had with the princess.

She became sad as she wondered what had become of Azula in the capital city - no mother, no brother, no uncle, only a cruel father who was probably shaping her into a tool in this war. And that was where the similarities between the two girls began and ended - the princess still suffered through this manipulation and awful parenting, where as she had escaped, busy on working to improve herself in any way she can, keeping her anger at bay where possible in case the monster her father had helped create resurfaced.

Ria’s fingers snapped in front of her face, jolting her out of the memories, her eyebrows scrunched in worry for her friend.

She gave a small smile, “I’m good don’t worry.”

Ria didn’t seem to believe it but left it alone, beckoning her to follow her to where the meeting would take place.

Y/n was silent the whole meeting, not feeling like she could input her thoughts on what the village should now do, and she hated to say it but she was considering leaving - making it easier for them with less mouths to feed and she had been thinking about heading to a bigger place, maybe even Ba Sing Se for a while now. Bumping into the avatar and friends had reignited a fire in her she had almost forgotten about - she wanted, no needed, to do more to help, she couldn’t just sit by any longer and watch this war play out. The only thing holding her back was Ria - the closest thing she had to a family currently, but she had learnt all the basic medical training and even some more advanced techniques from the woman now and y/n knew that no matter how happy she was here with her friend, she had to do more in the fight against the Fire Nation.

Whilst she was weighing the advantages and disadvantages to leaving in her head, the meeting had come to an end, Ria looking at her with concern once again, as if she could see the inner turmoil her friend was facing.

She still had a few weeks until she had to make her final decision anyway, her body needed to heal, there was nothing she could do until she could walk comfortably without holding onto the healer for assistance.

———

The last few weeks had come and gone without many issues - more people had left the camp but no Fire Nation soldiers made an appearance and so those left from the village had been mildly happy. Construction had begun on their ‘replacement’ village - this time the buildings were being built next to the river, but not close enough they would have to worry about flooding again.

However, as the villagers moral increased, y/n felt worse and worse as the days passed - not physically, no, she was almost back to normal, her leg no longer hurting underneath her full weight, but emotionally and mentally she had been struggling.

Whilst the villagers had been rebuilding, she had been on bed rest, and then when she was slightly healthier, the villagers had pushed her to the sidelines - it wasn’t their fault, with no earth bending she was almost useless and her other skills weren’t exactly useful with no soldiers around. And so a week into this process she had made the definitive decision she was going to leave as soon as she was healthy enough. She had decided to head to Ba Sing Se - she could either work in a medical centre in the city to help in that respect, or find a way to fight the Fire Nation however she can along the way. The only thing she hadn’t decided was how to tell Ria she was leaving.

And today was the day she was going to have that conversation. She approached the healer who was busy looking over the plans for the new layout of the town and deciding where to put all the shops or her healing building. She had really found her voice in the past few weeks, even many of the town elders had begun listening to her opinions and instructions, and y/n couldn’t help but be proud of her friend.

She looked up from the parchment in her hands, smiling when she saw y/n approach her, “Hey”

“Hi,” she sat opposite her friend, “What task have you taken on today, oh great leader?”

Ria stuck her tongue out at her, “I’m just trying to figure out how many houses we should build - like, should we do enough for the people here now, or make more just in case other people come and live here?”

“I am definitely not the person to ask these questions to,” she chuckled, “but if you want my opinion, I’d say you can always build more later on as it’d be better to get everyone here now into a house before you think about other people.”

She nodded her head, looking back at the document before speaking again, “You’re not going to be needing a house are you?”

Y/n choked in surprise, was she that obvious? “No I don’t think so, what gave it away?”

“You’ve been more quiet than I’ve ever seen you these past few weeks, and even though I don’t want you to leave, I understand this isn’t the life for you.”

Ria smiled sadly at her, taking her hand in hers, “But I will always be here if you need me, Spirits knows this town might fall apart without me staying here at this point so you’ll definitely know where to find me,” she let out a small laugh, “where are you going to go?”

“I think I’ll head towards Ba Sing Se, try and help with the war in whatever way I can, I just-“ she steadied her breathing, “you’ve helped me in so many ways, including dragging me out the darkness I was submerged in when we met, and I don’t want to leave you, I’ll miss you.”

There were tears falling down both their cheeks now, neither of them strong enough in this moment to keep them in, “I’ll miss you too hun, so much. But you will always have a place here with me if you need it - always have a friend in me no matter where you are.”

The two pulled each other into a tight hug, “We will see each other again, I’ll make sure of it. I love you Ria.”

“Love you too my little apprentice.”

They both laughed into each other’s shoulders before pulling away, y/n standing to go to her tent to collect her things, wiping her eyes as she turned away.

———

She had said goodbye to her friend almost a month ago now, and trekking across the Earth Kingdom on her own had given her way too much time to think.

She had originally planned to head straight to Full Moon Bay to catch the ferry to Ba Sing Se, but at the very beginning of her journey she had seen how some towns and villages were truly struggling during the war, and so she had been stopping when she could - maybe to stick up for a defenceless person some soldier was attacking, or to offer the small amount of knowledge she possessed about healing when she came across anyone who might need it. And that was how she ended up in a small town near Omashu, the complete opposite side of the Earth Kingdom to Ba Sing Se.

The town was small, it reminded her a little of Gaipan before everything had happened, the people there seemed happy enough, but there were a few Fire Nation soldiers dotted around making sure people were kept in line that seemed to keep the people on edge. She hadn’t even planned to stop here, then again she never really did, but earlier that morning she had come across two children, around the ages of 5 and 8, and they had been crying for help. The 8 year old boy had fallen down a steep cliff, breaking his ankle, unable to move very far, and the 5 year old girl was too young to be relied on to help.

She had no idea why they were almost a mile or so out of the village but only a person with no heart would have left them there, and so she had approached cautiously, not wanting to scare them. Learning their names to be Ichiro and Aki, she quickly improvised a splint for the boy’s ankle, listening to them talk about their lives. The two children were very chatty - they were siblings and apparently Ichiro had wanted to show his little sister a ‘cool hide-out’ he had seen when he’d come out here before. She learnt about the rest of their family too, they had two older brothers, one was 14, the other 17, and both were busy working in the nearby mine and their mother was too ill to move from her bed apparently.

Her heart broke when she heard this, knowing all too well what it was like to see a mother bed-ridden from an illness, but she was mainly thankful she had come across the children. Who knew when it would be discovered they were gone and not where they should be - something even worse than a broken ankle could have happened, and so here she was, Ichiro on her back and Aki walking by her side as they told her the way to their home.

It was almost evening by the time they arrived, she had barely knocked on the door before it was swung open by a boy her age, his skin was pale, his brown hair fell down to his broad shoulders, and she could tell he had been running his hand through it frequently. He was tense as he looked at her, but before he could do anything Aki was engulfing him in a hug, shouting his name, “Rai!”

She smiled as she watched the little reunion, saw the boy, Rai, relax into the hug, squeezing his little sister tightly before spotting Ichiro peeking over y/n’s shoulder, and his smile became even brighter.

Removing himself from his sister’s hold he moved to help get his little brother from her back, and as soon as that weight was removed she almost collapsed in relief, how in all the spirits names had I managed to carry him for that long?

Rai eyed the splint on his brother’s leg, quickly glancing at her before turning to his siblings, the smile no longer on his face “Where have you two been?! When Jiro and I got back from the mine you two weren’t here and Mum didn’t even know you were gone - you had us worried sick! We were about to go and look for you.”

The two children looked down at their feet, shoulders sagged with guilt, “It was my fault,” Ichiro spoke up, “I wanted to show Aki the place you showed to me the other week, but I fell down a small cliff face and got hurt so we couldn’t get back. I’m sorry.”

It was clear the young boy was doing his best not to cry in front of his brother, but the shake to his voice proved the opposite and all anger fell from his older brother’s face, “Hey, it’s okay, you’re back now and that’s what matters - and I have a feeling she might have something to do with that.” He had nodded in her direction as he spoke, she had taken a few steps away, not wanting to intrude on their family moment but as soon as she saw this she moved forward once again, giving a small awkward wave.

“Oh right! This is y/n - she’s so great, she found us at that cliff, gave us some food and water, helped my leg slightly with what she called a ‘splint’ and then carried me all the way here. We didn’t even stop, so that means she’s like super strong. And I really like her so can she stay for dinner? Pleasseeee.” The boy was talking about a mile a minute and y/n, unlike his two siblings, was struggling to process every word he said, although she had heard and enjoyed the compliment about her strength. Normally, she wouldn’t want to impose on a family, but she was hungry and the improvised splint she’d given Ichiro was not her best work; and she found that she liked this family so far, they clearly loved each other and it made her feel warmth in her stomach that she hadn’t felt since she last saw Ria - so even if it was for one night she wanted to stay.

“If you have medical supplies I can also treat your brother’s ankle properly in repayment for the food.” She smiled at the three siblings, the eldest being more sceptical about her, but like always, the wants of the youngest prevailed and she was invited in.

The younger siblings ran (or limped in Ichiro’s case) to what she assumed was the kitchen, and probably where the other boy was as excited shouts were heard moments later, Rai turned to her as they walked into the small house.

“I’m Raiden by the way, although you can call me Rai.” The boy held out his hand for her which she happily took, smiling and giving her name again.

“Okay well the medical supplies are in the kitchen where my other brother Jiro is, so you can quickly meet him before you help Ichiro if that’s alright?”

“Yeah sounds good,” she smiled at him, “you have a lovely family by the way, I haven’t smiled as much as I did today with your siblings than I have in a long time, it was nice.”

There was a brief flash of sadness on his face before it was replaced with a grin, “Jiro and I are certain they’re the embodiment of chaos but at least someone who isn’t family likes them.”

She gave a small laugh as they entered the kitchen, Jiro smiled at her, apparently already filled in about the situation by his younger siblings. They briefly introduced themselves to each other before he turned to start making dinner, ordering his sister to fetch the ingredients he needed and Rai went through the cupboards looking for their medical supplies.

“Alright,” he handed her the box, “you can set up on the chairs over there, and I will get some water for you.”

She bent down to hold the young boy’s waist, helping him to move over to the chairs Rai had pointed at, and as soon as he was sat down she began to work. She could feel eyes on her, watching her movements as she removed the splint, cleaning the dirt off the leg and examining how bad it was, and honestly, it could have been worse. It wasn’t even a full break, more of a small fracture, so if the boy was careful it could heal as good as new within 6 weeks.

She relayed this information onto him, and Rai who had come to stand near them, as she made a new brace, using bandages to hold it into place as best she could. Both of them thanking her profusely when she stood back up.

She enjoyed dinner thoroughly - Jiro had made a vegetable stew with rice that was easily the nicest meal she had had in over a month, not exactly hard to accomplish as she was not a talented cook but it was still delicious, and the two youngest siblings had bombarded her with questions about her life, initially they were nothing too personal, but when they started asking about her family and past she had frozen. Rai sensing that she had become uncomfortable had quickly turned the conversation to what him and his brother had done in the mine that day and when their eyes met across the table she gave him a small smile in thanks.

It didn’t take long for the evening to come to an end, they had stayed at the table chatting for at least an hour or two, Rai disappearing for a bit with a bowl of food to what she assumed would be for his mother, and now the two youngest were being sent to bed, Jiro helping his little brother walk to their room. This had left her and Rai in silence, not uncomfortable or awkward, just an easy silence as they began cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.

“You don’t have to help you know.” He eyed her wiping down the table from where he stood at the sink.

“But I want to, and it’s the least I can do for being given such a nice meal.”

“Carrying my injured brother whilst watching over my sister and then treating said injured brother is definitely enough repayment, which I don’t think I thanked you for earlier actually, so thank you, so much, I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I had lost them.”

“It was no problem really.” She smiled at him as she finished wiping the table, turning away to look at the room properly.

Her eyes caught on a stand holding a falchion sword, she approached it and was too busy admiring the metal work on the golden hilt that she didn’t even notice Rai come to stand next to her until he spoke.

“It was my father’s sword, he, um, died in the war but the sword made it’s way back to us, I have my own so I never use it but it’s nice to have a piece of him you know?”

Her heart clenched in her chest, will she ever stop coming across people who have been hurt by the fire nation?

“I’m sorry.” She didn’t know whether she was apologising for the actions of her nation, for the loss she recognised in his eyes or because he seemed to have taken up the mantle of main caregiver in the house, especially with his ill mother. It was probably all of the above.

“It’s okay, I can tell you’ve experienced loss too, you don’t have to talk about it though if you don’t want to.”

“Um my brother died in the war as well when I was young and then a few years ago my mother succumbed to a sickness that spread through our city.”

He looked at her with sadness before taking her hand in his own, showing he would listen if she wanted to talk, but instead she remained silent. She had never been overly talkative about her emotions or past so even though there was a small part of her that wanted to someone about it, especially someone who could understand, she didn’t. And she felt that if she did let her wall down slightly, she was scared that in her emotion she would let something slip that could indicate where she was from and this was not a risk she wanted to take with the nice earth kingdom boy that night.

They spoke for a couple hours more that night, y/n only ever giving half truths to the questions he asked, but he was just happy to talk to someone his own age, the fact that he found her beautiful was an added benefit.

She was laying on a sleeping mat they had lent her as she though back on the evening, she smiled as she thought about her and Raiden’s intertwined hands as they spoke, at the small kiss on the cheek he had given her before retiring to his own room. It was bittersweet really - she was going to have to leave tomorrow, even though she wished she could stay with this family for slightly longer, but it was for the best, for both her and them. They didn’t know who she was, not truly, and they certainly wouldn’t like her if they did. So yes it was best to leave before anyone got attached.

Her mind thought of her mother’s kind eyes as she fell into asleep, her dreams showed her memories she cherished but like normal it didn’t take long for the dreams to take a turn - her father shouting at her, her mother’s funeral, the fire nation citizen with blood pouring out of his nec-.

She sat up, her grip on her dagger tight as she tried to calm her breathing before she could disturb anyone in the house, and like usual, when she turned to the window the sun was already beginning to rise, her body was consistent with rising with the sun at least. The sun wasn’t what caught her attention though, no it was the glint of a fire nation soldier’s helmet that pushed all thoughts out of her head as she jumped to her feet.

She couldn’t be here, what if the soldiers recognised her? Not necessarily by name or looks, but she had been fighting multiple soldiers on her journey across the earth kingdom, there’s the slim chance they were looking for her. Quickly grabbing her weapons to attach them at her side along with her bag, she considered leaving straight away, but worried for the family she left behind so instead headed to the room she knew all four siblings shared.

As quietly as possible she moved through the room, only wanting to wake Rai, hoping he would tell his siblings where she had gone when they woke up and found that she had left.

She shook his shoulder as gently as possible to wake him, and when she was met with his confused brown eyes she held her finger to her lips indicating for him to be quiet as she began whispering, “I just saw some Fire Nation soldiers,” his eyes widened but as he opened his mouth to speak she put her hand over it, “don’t panic I think they might be here for me, but even if they aren’t, me being here is putting you and your family in danger so I have to go, I just thought I should say goodbye first.”

She removed her hand from his mouth and as she turned to leave he grabbed her hand whirling her to face him, “I have a feeling nothing I say will make you stay, so at least be safe,” he pulled her in for a quick hug, “I’ll tell the others when they wake up where you’ve gone. It was a pleasure meeting you y/n.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you and your family as well, and I hope to see you again one day, but I have to go.” She locked eyes with him one more time before turning away and leaving the small house through a door facing away from the street and soldiers milling about.

She watched the soldiers from behind a building - they didn’t seem to be doing much, no knocking on doors and demanding to search the few houses in the villages and she didn’t know whether she should leave and disappear into the nearby forest or make herself known and let them chase her away from the village and hopefully they wouldn’t return. Of course if they did know she was there, and they recognised her, there is always the option that they would hurt the people of the village for knowing her? Ugh, why is every decision I have to make so annoying?

In something that could be considered luck in its own twisted way, her decision was made for her. She had been too focused on the soldiers in front of her, that she had ignored all her training and now one was stood behind her holding a knife to her neck.

“What do we have here?” He snarled into her ear, his dirty breath wafting towards her nose and it took everything she had not to gag.

She didn’t answer him, instead used all her strength to step down onto his foot, and in his shock she swung her head backwards, his nose breaking at the contact. The knife at her neck had drawn blood at this movement, but it wasn’t deep from what she could feel and as the soldiers she had been watching turned at the commotion she knew now was not the time to worry about the cut anyway.

She ran towards the forest, the group of soldiers chasing after her, all shouting obscenities. The cut on her neck was now losing more blood, and that combined with her heavy bag and tiredness was slowing her down. She had no idea if she could outrun them like this, so instead when she came across a small clearing she dropped her bag, removed her sword and daggers from their sheaths and stood in a fighting stance, ready for the soldiers to catch up.

It didn’t take long for them to stumble out of the bush, one of them even tripping over a tree root as he headed towards her and she couldn’t help but laugh at him, maybe this would be an easier fight than she originally thought.

There were 5 of them in total, including the one whose face was now covered in blood from her earlier assault on him, only two of them didn’t take out a weapon - they must be the firebenders of the small patrol then. She may have been outnumbered, but she was certain she could still beat them, even without using her bending, and as the adrenaline ran through her veins, a confident smile appeared on her face as she jumped towards the first bender.

She used the flat side of her blade to move his arm away from her as he tried to shoot a blast of fire, simultaneously bringing her dagger across his other arm cutting through his uniform and as he winced in pain, she took her opportunity to kick him in the face, sending him sprawling to the ground. One down, four to go.

The other soldiers looked at her more apprehensively now, but it didn’t take them long to shake it off - this time the soldier who had tripped over the root charged at her, his sword raised above his head, ready to strike.

She easily sidestepped out the way, turning to kick him in the back with enough force that he fell and didn’t get back up, a second later she ducked, a fire blast sent from behind her singing the top of her hair. She ran at the fire bender, rolling to the ground to avoid the ball of fire he sent her way, and using the momentum of her roll she barrelled into his legs, knocking him face first to the forest floor. She didn’t have too much time to enjoy the sight as the final two soldiers approached her, anger written on their faces.

They attacked her at the same time, her arms aching as she used her dagger to block a strike from the one with the bloody nose, swinging her sword at the other who swiftly stepped out of the way. Kicking the guy from earlier in the gut, satisfied to see him take a few steps back in pain she focused on the other one. It didn’t take long for her to disarm him, twisting her dagger in the hilt of his sword until he dropped it, taking advantage of his lack of weapon’s y/n brought the hilt of her sword down onto his head and watched his eyes roll back as he collapsed.

A growl above the trees distracted her long enough for her last adversary to swipe his knife from earlier across her back. She gasped in pain and quickly turned to face him - that was twice now he had been able to injure her and she was beyond annoyed at herself for allowing that to happen.

“You put up a good fight I’ll give you that, but now it’s time to give up little girl.” His face was smug as he lunged at her.

She ducked under the arm he swung at her, but before she could kick the back of his knees, he had turned around again - he was light on his feet for someone so bulky and maybe if he wasn’t so aggravating she would be impressed.

She snarled at him before jumping at him again, she blocked his sword with her dagger whilst she brought her sword across his thighs, and once he fell to his knees, she brought her own knee up towards his face again, another crack could be heard as her joint made contact with his face. And just like that he was as unconscious as the rest of the group.

The adrenaline left her system almost immediately and it took all her remaining energy to remain standing - both her neck and back were bleeding and her arms were shaking with the weight of her weapons. She knew she had to move away from this area before any of the soldiers got back up but maybe she could spare a few minutes to rest?

Before she even got the chance to sit down, the growl that had distracted her during the fight sounded again - louder this time and as a large shadow was cast over the clearing she was in she reached for her weapons before realising that the shadow belonged to the avatar’s sky bison.

taglist: @kaylove12​ @bestyearsof5sos​ @neemonroe 

strikethrough means i couldnt tag you :(