Mixed Troubles - Sokka x OC

Chapter 22: Reunion

Hey guyyyyyyys! It's me, back again with a new chapter! I received some very pleasant comments about the last chapter, and I'm glad it increased some serotonin in your brain. I just hope you guys really enjoyed the cute, flirtatious dynamic between Sokka and Saf when they were high LOL. Anyways, the old Safiyah is back, which means this chapter is going to be FULL of angst and all kinds of stuff. The OPPOSITE of the last chapter. So as always, I hope you enjoy and happy reading!

Presenting......

|Reunion| 

Safiyah 

"Safiyah, aren't you going to come swim? It's so nice," Katara calls from the cliff she's standing on. 

"No, because I don't do swimsuits and I'm nice and cool here," I say. 

We've finally gotten out of the desert and we'd stopped at a canyon with a glistening lake. There's a small waterfall cascading softly, like background noise. I'm sitting on a large rock splashing my legs with Toph, who's smiling softly at the cool sensation. I feel like she appreciates the feeling of everything much more deeply than anyone else, and I can only imagine what gears are working in her head as she does so. 

I look over at Sokka. He's sitting on another rock, deeply concentrated on the new map he's acquired. I've avoided every single piece of conversation that regards the desert. I'm also anxious because I feel like I've made him uncomfortable with the way I've acted. But I wasn't in my right mind, he would understand that, right? But then again, the things I've said are just my true thoughts. It's funny that I needed something to mess up with my mind so that I would do what I really wanted. 

"Your heart's going so fast, what's got your mind?" Toph asks suddenly. 

I shift in my seat, recovering for the short circuit the question caused in my brain. "Nothing, I'm just overthinking about the future. I get ahead of myself of sometimes, you know?" Finding out more about the dreary tattoos is also constantly running in my mind and then I'm easily filled with the feeling of worthlessness because I don't have any clear information about them. 

"Why don't you go practice your bending? I heard you have some lightening to get along with," she suggests. 

"No, that can wait." 

"We're leaving for Ba Sing Se today. Once we get there, you're going to be surrounded by anti-fire benders, and you won't get to practice."

"Toph, it's fine," I urge. I've almost decided against trying lightening. I'm starting to wish my bending was back to how it was. My feelings about my new sub-bending has completely changed once I realized how I actually got it. One day, maybe I'll reach the peace I need and I'll finally be able to control lightening and the blue fire will disappear completely. For now, I'll just study the scrolls occasionally. 

Katara yells something indistinguishable, and she jumps into the water. A thick geyser shoots up and splashes everyone. The water knocks me back and soaks every inch on my body. I feel my hair wad up at my neck. Everyone laughs cheerfully except for Sokka. 

"Sure, five thousand year old maps from the Spirit Library," he deadpans. Along with his soaked maps, he's drenched. "Just splash some water on 'em." 

Katara apologizes while wringing out her thick hair, and she bends the water out of the map. I self-dry myself, and I join everyone gathered around Sokka. 

"So did you figure out what route we're gonna take?" Aang asks. 

Sokka spreads out the map and starts pinpointing different locations according to our travelling. "So we've just gotten out of the desert, which is here. And we need to get to Ba Sing Se, which is here. It seems like the only way is this sliver of land called the Serpent's Pass."