𝑨𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕

𝑴𝒐𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆

Chapter Forty three
Sokka

"How did none of you hear what I just said?" I exclaimed, feeling exasperated.

Isamu chuckled, scratching his head. "I've been zoned out for the past two and a half hours."

Suki, busy braiding a piece of Inara's hair, shrugged. "I got distracted about halfway through."

Inara, not looking pleased about her hair being braided, offered her reason bluntly. "Ignoring you was a conscious decision."

I couldn't help but smack my forehead in disbelief.

"I'm saying we should have a battle between us non-benders! A battle of the unbending, if you will," I declared, nodding my head with satisfaction at my choice of name.

Isamu's face lit up, and he clapped his hands in excitement, while Suki raised a skeptical brow and Inara sighed in resignation.

"That is greatness! We should totally do it," Isamu chimed in eagerly. Surprisingly, in this moment of compliance and lack of snark, he seemed tolerable.

"I don't know, guys. We shouldn't be causing trouble. Elora needs to focus on training, and we all need to focus on doing our part in ending this war, not wasting time," Suki says, shaking her head in disapproval.

"What do you think, Inara?" I inquire.

"No," she responds simply. "Can I go now?"

"Oh, come on, guys, let's have some fun! This could also count as training; we need a whole lot of that," I try to convince them, glancing over to Isamu for backup. But he's over by the fountain, checking his reflection in the water. I almost roll my eyes at his vanity.

"I get it, it's fine. You two are just scared you're gonna lose," I say, waving my hand dismissively. I'm lying through my teeth; I know they're more than capable of putting me on my ass. But I've become more of a challenge over the past few months, especially with my sword training.

Suki and Inara exchanged a knowing glance before they both turned to me with a determined expression.

"Fine, let's do this,"

✾ ✾ ✾ ✾ ✾ ✾

Excitement buzzed through the air as everyone gathered to witness the impending chaos. My girl, ever my staunch supporter, wore a grin that matched my own. I knew she found chaos entertaining even if she often fake championed for peace.

With a confident crack of my neck, I positioned myself in the yard, facing off against Inara, Isamu, and Suki. Our friends took their seats to watch the spectacle unfold. We had offered Duke and Teo a chance to join do to them being nonebenders as well, but Teo politely declined, citing obvious reasons, while the Duke preferred the role of spectator, claiming to enjoy watching us throw each other around.

Sunshine assumed her role as the announcer, standing tall in front of us. We had chosen her as our rule-setter, but her inclination toward favoring me disqualified her from being the judge. Instead, Chit Sang stepped into the role.

"Listen up, everyone," Sunshine declared, commanding attention. "The battle will begin with two pairs: Sokka against Isamu, and Suki against Inara. The winners of each match will then face off to determine the ultimate victor. Inara and Suki, you're up first."

As Isamu and I settled into our seats, Suki and Inara took their places in the center of the yard, ready to commence the showdown.

"This match will start off with just combat, and when I give the word, you'll reach for your weapon of choice," Chit Sang explained, gesturing towards the table where everyone had laid down their weapons to give us more options than our usual armaments.