Fan 'n' Flame; Earth 'n' Sword

Three's Company: Chapter 5

Sokka stared at the ground as he leaned against the outside of the airship, trying his best to avoid eye contact with Satoru. Satoru glanced up from his report at the warrior every now and again. His mouth formed a thin line as the minutes wore on.

"Wonder what's taking her so long," Satoru said aloud, looking up once more at Sokka. He got a simple shrug for an answer. Another few minutes of silence, except for the sound of Satoru's writing, passed between them. "I spoke to Honghui about the crystal mining helmets," Satoru mentioned.

"And?" Sokka muttered, looking at Satoru with feigned uninterest.

"He loved it," Satoru told him, smiling as he stood up. "We're planning on having all of our mines implement them. Thanks by the way." Sokka gave a curt nod and went back to looking at the ground. Satoru frowned as he titled back and forth on his feet. "Are you okay?" Sokka's head snapped up, his face difficult to read.

"Yeah I'm fine, why?" Sokka asked as he pushed himself off the airship and crossed his arms.

"You just seem a bit..." Satoru trailed off, struggling to find the right word.

"I'm fine," Sokka repeated, staring past Satoru at nothing. Satoru slowly nodded, and with a quiet sigh, decided that he shouldn't press any further. He grinned widely when the door to the airship opened. He raised a quick eyebrow when he noticed Sokka had similarly perked up. He turned to the short earthbender. "Took you long enough."

"Be glad I even got up; was planning on falling right back to sleep," Toph told him as she stretched her back, reaching towards the sky. "Do we have to do much walking?"

"We-"

"It should be maybe five minutes if we keep a good pace," Sokka cut Satoru off, glancing at the small map on the table.

Toph's head dropped. "We can't just fly in on the airship?" she complained. "I want to go back in and lie down."

"There isn't really a place for us to land," Satoru said as they began to walk into the forest.

"Can't I just make one?" Toph asked and she demonstrated by stamping her foot and sliding it sharply. Rock and dirt was pushed to the side, creating a smooth piece of land in front of them. She stopped walking, waiting for their response.

"You should look into the road business, Toph," Sokka called back to her as he and Satoru continued down the road. She stood there defiantly, suppressing her smile when Satoru looked back and waved. Her face dropped in defeat and she reluctantly trudged after them. The two slowed down for her, and Toph slotted between them. She leaned one way or the other, talking to both Sokka and Satoru as they walked.

"Magnificent," Satoru remarked as he looked up at the glistening black waves, some just reaching their apex, while others defied gravity where the cooled lava threatened to come crashing down at any moment.

"I'm impressed," Toph admitted, lightly tapping her foot to get a better idea of the waves. "Can't believe Twinkle Toes did this."

"You should have seen him during it!" Sokka told them, ignoring the disappointed look Toph threw his way. "Of course, without my plan there wouldn't have been a path for the rest of the lava to flow safely away." Sokka pointed out the large trench as he explained to them why he was the real savour of the village. Toph made a small flick of her head and a few seconds later he found himself at the bottom of the trench, lying flat on his stomach, while Toph laughed down at him. After Sokka climbed out of the trench, refusing Satoru's hand in the process, they made their way into the village.

The village was somewhat busy. Various stalls sat along the streets, calling to anyone within earshot to come browse their goods. Alongside many were large caravans; travelling merchants. The three watched in amusement as two separate vendors called for them, heckling the other and claiming that their rival's wares were of the worst quality. Their eyes widened as the two traded insults, which slowly turned to veiled threats.