Koete ↠ Sokka

Chapter 2: Omashu - Part 4

The battle ended in a tie. Aang had Bumi cornered, and the king held a giant rock above the both of them. Suddenly, Bumi had come out of the ground next to Sokka, Katara and Charlie, followed shortly after by Aang. "Well done, Avatar. You've passed my tests. Now you must answer one question," he croaked out, holding up a finger.

Aang stood up straighter. "That's not fair! I passed your tests, now let my friends go!" Charlie was slightly touched that Aang considered her a friend already.

"Just answer this one question, and you're free to leave." Aang nodded sharply, his gaze strong and unbreaking. "What..." the king began, building up the intensity. "... is my name." Aang's draw dropped at the question. "From the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes." Bumi then left the room, leaving the four to their thoughts.

"How am I supposed to know his name?" Aang spoke loudly with annoyance, throwing his hands up. He began rambling about the tasks and if they gave any clues.

"Oh, I got it!" Sokka announced, grabbing everyone's attention. "He's an earthbender, right? 'Rocky!'." No one responded. "Because of the rocks."

"We're gonna keep trying, but that's a good back up," Katara said before turning back to Aang.

The airbender then looked at Charlie with hopeful eyes. "You said you could help me with the last test, right?" Charlie nodded, quickly contemplating her options. She could give him a hint and he would work it out for himself, but that wasn't any fun, and she needed to gain their trust as a psychic.

"Yeah, it's Bumi." Aang's eyes went wide as Charlie bluntly named the king. "Like, your old friend, from a hundred years ago."

Sokka cut in, still feeling suspicious about her. "Wait, how can we trust her? She could be making it up!"

"Would you rather we go with your suggestion then?" Charlie teased, raising an eyebrow. "And why—how would I lie about this? It's crazy specific."

"Fine," Sokka said, sticking up his nose. "If it's wrong, you're taking the blame."

Charlie wasn't wrong.

Sokka huffed as the siblings and Charlie were released from their crystalline prisons. They all took their time stretching out sore limbs, allowing Aang and his old friend to reunite.

"Fine." Charlie mocked naisily, staring straight at Sokka, "If it's wrong, you're taking the blame."

"Hey! You totally could have been wrong, who could have known it would be Bumi of all people?" he replied in his own defence, flailing his arms for emphasis.

"Me! I knew! Asshole." Charlie couldn't help but laugh at the face he pulled, being a mix of surprise at her bluntness and anger at her snarky reply. Katara was obviously trying to hide her laughter and Aang was already leaving the palace, Bumi in towe. The troublemakers rode the mail chutes one last time as the siblings and Charlie exited the city, hearing a distant cry of, "My cabbages!"

"Hey, I'm not sure we ever got your name," Katara admitted, falling into step with Charlie. She thought back on their time together and realised the waterbender was right—Charlie knew their names already, but it had completely slipped her mind to tell them hers.

"Oh true. I'm Charlie, it's nice to officially meet you," she introduced herself with a friendly smile and a perfunctory wave, being sure to pronounce her name as clearly as possible.

"That doesn't sound like a name from around here," Sokka said, slightly behind the two girls. Charlie looked over her shoulder to see Sokka's expression. He didn't look as suspicious of her anymore, which she took as a good sign.