After Ozai: Book Two (Kataang FanFic)

Chapter Seven: Tension

 "So, are we just not going to talk about what happened earlier today? You realize your sister has gone completely mental, right? Like, this is worse than when Aang had gotten shot down and she wouldn't leave his side." Urgently, Sokka elbowed Toph in the ribs, hushing her quickly as Sokka looked out into the distance, watching Katara violently slosh the water around with her masterful waterbending. Today had been quite different for Sokka. He had watched his own sister worryingly as she raced from ship to ship, sinking each one of them with ease. Her aggressive demeanor mixed with her powerful bending created an unstoppable force, capable of sinking dozens of ships within only one afternoon. Since then, they had escaped towards the southern half of the Fire Nation in an attempt to lay low. However, Katara's violent waves crashing against the rocks had done more than make just a small racket. Toph and Sokka had gone over a mile away from where they had left Katara, Momo, and Appa, and throughout the entirety of their walk, they could still hear the harsh waves crash against the rocky shores.

"She's just got a lot on her mind right now, Toph. I mean, you saw Aa.-" Sokka halted his speech and slapped his forehead, causing a slight giggle to escape Toph's lips.

"You know what I mean. I'm sure when you were helping Katara you could feel just how frail Aang was. So, combine that with her motherly instincts, and this is what you get."

"Would you even call it 'motherly instincts' anymore when it comes to her and Aang? To me, this seems more like someone missing the last piece that makes them whole. Look, I'm not one for the lovey-dovey stuff, quite frankly I think it's gross whenever she's around him or you're around Suki, but you can't deny the fact that they deserve each other. And once we ended the war I figured that everyone would be able to find peace and finally live their lives. I guess I was wrong." Sokka gritted his teeth as a somber expression engrossed his face. Like Toph, Sokka too thought that defeating Ozai would prove to be the end of everyone's suffering. Sadly, it seemed that ending the war was only a brief intermission to the overall suffering of the world around them.

"You think one of us should talk to her? Maybe she just needs to let off some steam." As Toph began to rise from her feet, Sokka watched Katara throw three aggressive ice spikes towards a nearby tree, all of them hitting in the exact same spot. Instantly, Sokka pulled Toph back down towards her spot, his eyes wide due to the scene playing in front of him.

"You know, I think we should hold off on that. She's capable of letting off steam without us even being around so I'm sure she's fine." Sokka followed his subtle warning with a nervous chuckle that echoed throughout their surroundings, causing something to finally snap in a certain waterbender's head. Hastily, she snapped her head towards them and sent a massive wave of water in their direction.

"Toph! Help!" As Sokka turned to run away from Katara's attack, Toph gripped onto his ankle with a cuff made of solid rock. Once she locked him towards the ground, she encased herself with an orb of dirt and rock, leaving Sokka alone in the wake of the oncoming water. Out of any other options, Sokka sighed and turned briefly towards the water, only to become fully drenched within its cold grasp. Soon after, the water around him seeped back towards Katara, dispersing itself back within the pool of water around her.

"What was that for?!" Angrily, Katara marched out of the pond and approached him and the laughing earthbender. Angrily, she bunched his wet tunic in her fist, raising it to fully grasp Sokka's attention.

"How dare you laugh with the given situation! Do you know how much danger Aang and Suki are in?! Do you even care?!" Slowly, the blood within Sokka's veins began to boil.

"Are you really questioning whether or not I'm worried about Suki? Of course, I am! I'm worried about Aang as well! Both of them are extremely important to me and I wouldn't be the person I am today without them! Like you and Toph, they mean the world to me! Do you honestly think that I would be so inconsiderate that I wouldn't even bother to think about their safety? They've been on my mind ever since we realized they left us! Aang is our friend too, you know? Just in case you didn't remember, you... and I found him. I've been by his side the whole way too!" As he finished his cries, Toph scrunched her face and hissed through her teeth. You idiot, Sokka. Why would you say that?!