Koete ↠ Sokka

Chapter 3: The Hair Tie - Part 1

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this one's a rock," Charlie drawled out from her position on the ground. She lay on her side, hand propping up her head as she leant on her elbow. With her free hand, Charlie held a small rock between her thumb and pointer finger, which Sokka had mistaken for a nut on his hunt for food. She let go of the rock, letting it drop to the ground with a small thump.

The four had made camp in a small clearing atop a large flat stone surrounded by tall pine trees, allowing the golden sunlight beam through. A small stream of water trickled down the front of the stone and connected to a small river, which Charlie stayed away from, resting at the back of the site. Aang sprawled out on an uprooted tree, his hands behind his head, while Katara folded the blue clothing she'd just finished washing in the stream, having pulled the excess water out to dry it. Sokka sat next to his sister with Momo relaxing on his shoulder after they returned from his search.

Katara looked at the small pile of assorted rocks and nuts spread on the floor with distaste. "Charlie, when do we next find real food?" she asked with a pleading look on her face. Charlie looked away from her fallen pebble and up at the waterbender. "You know, something that isn't rocks," she clarified, shooting a sarcastic smile at her brother.

"Hey! It was only one!" Sokka yelled in his defence, flailing his arms. Charlie chucked at his antics before readjusting her position to lie down on her back. Trying to get comfortable on a slab of stone wasn't the easiest thing to do.

"How should I know?" Charlie said, replying to Katara. She stretched her arms out next to her as Aang jumped off his log and shuffled closer.

"Well, you're a psychic, aren't you? Use your fortune telling abilities!" Aang cheered, not noticing Charlie tense at her slip up.

"Oh, right." She could feel Sokka's suspicious gaze on her and was quick to look over and hold eye contact. "Hey, don't judge, I'm new to this too." It was technically a lie, but it sounded believable enough to her. "And it's not like I can just make a market fall out of the sky."

A loud bang shook the group. Charlie quickly sat up and looked around the forest, trying to find the source of the noise. It was then that she realised that the next episode of the series must have been starting.

"On second thought," Charlie started, remembering the details of the small Earth Kingdom village which had been overrun by the Fire Nation. "There is a market nearby!" A second, louder bang caused the ground to vibrate, making Momo squeal. "And whoever's doing that will take us there," she stated confidently, smiling at the rest of the group.

Katara gasped in realisation, quickly standing up with Aang. "That means no nuts for dinner!"

"Hey, Momo and I worked really hard for those nuts," Sokka moaned in the background, staring defeatedly at the pile left on the ground.

Katara was first to move, followed shortly after by Aang, who shouted, "Let's go check it out!"

"Right, let's just run towards the creepy loud noise in the forest, because that's obviously the most reasonable option here," Sokka drawled out, but the others were already too far away to hear him. "Aaaand they're gone." Charlie chuckled at him and stood up, brushing dust off of her pants. She gestured her head in the direction of the sound where Aang and Katara had run off towards.

"Come on, Sokka, would you really prefer nuts over meat?" Charlie asked, smiling at the conflicted boy left mourning over his failed attempt at foraging.

"You make a good point," he said while standing up, arms weak by his side. "Let's go." The two quickly caught up to Aang and Katara, who had taken a position hiding behind a fallen tree trunk. Charlie and Sokka squatted beside the two, peeking over the log to see a guy earthbending rocks around him. Charlie recognised him as Haru from early on in season one.