Days had passed since the torching of the Southern Earth Kingdom, but the forest fires had continued for days, spreading throughout the land like a wild plague. The black, twisting columns of smoke obscured the skies for miles around, spreading as far as the open ocean, raining so much ash and soot that the waves and beaches of the Earth Kingdom shore turned grey.
Out in the turbulent seas, miles away from shore, a single vessel broke the surface, almost hidden amongst the turbulent waves. It was metal plated and fairly well-armored, and it had been one of the few weapons the Water Tribes had left that was effective against the Fire Navy fleet. A Wolf Tail Submarine.
It had been Councilman Sokka's idea to use the submarines to sneak an invading army into the Fire Nation during the Black Sun past their blockade, and it had worked spectacularly. Thanks to this innovation, and the Mechanist's skill, the Water Tribes had rendered the ironclad ships of the Fire Navy useless. The lesson was not lost to the Wolf Tail Raiders, and they had spent the past two decades harassing Fire Nation shipping lanes for supplies, avoiding detection by hiding underneath the ocean waves, hunting in their own sub wolf packs. The newly installed air tanks in the subs too, allowed them to remain underwater for days on end, especially with the diving chambers that allowed waterbenders to enter and exit the submerged sub at will, often carrying supplies with them from the surface.
Sokka had been the first one to step out of the airlock hatch, adorning his dark blue wolf armor and sheathed sword. He took a moment to stretch himself as he emerged, standing on the platform of the sub and catching the first fresh breath of sea air he had in days. The sight of the very ocean itself brought a nostalgic smile to his face. It had been a while since he had set off in the field with his Wolf Tail Raiders, what with him staying behind in Yue City to act as councilman while the tribes elected a new chief after Chief Arnook passed on. But to a seasoned warrior like himself, the spray of the waves and the smell of salt air was all but second nature to him and he relished this chance to see his old comrades in the Earth Kingdom again, and the new Avatar.
He couldn't believe it at first when he saw the statue of Avatar Kuruk light up with his own eyes all those weeks ago, and in reality, neither did the tribal council. Although Chief Unalaq was all but convinced of the Avatar's return, like Sokka, several of the tribal leaders were skeptical at best, considering that almost all of the known Water Tribe peoples now resided within Yue City. Whoever was unfortunate to be born a water bending Avatar outside the safety of the tribes wouldn't last long, they argued. But soon enough, the arrival of the messenger hawk from Toph Bei Fong sealed the deal, and confirmed what Sokka suspected all along.
The Avatar had truly returned.
Now all he had to do was find a way meeting up with her in the middle of a war zone, as well as come up with a way to bring her back north underneath the nose of the Phoenix Empire's imperial airship fleet and navy, all without being caught in a process. It was probably as bleak as it sounded, he thought with a slight smirk.
That problem however, would have to, a screeching sound echoed in the sky, and Sokka watched with a smile as a familiar winged friend dove towards him, landing gracefully on his outstretched arm.
"That's a good boy, Hawky." Sokka said softly, cooing the red messenger hawk with his best bird impression as he detached the note from its talon. Although messenger hawks were slowly being phased out, with the Phoenix Empire developing something called a 'telegraph' (which Sokka made sure to steal on one of his raids), sometimes nothing could beat a simple messenger hawk, especially when they didn't have the luxury of building telegraph poles across the Earth Kingdom like the Phoenix Empire had.
As he read the note from Toph, Sokka could hear the footsteps gathering behind him on the metal plating of the sub. They were four Wolf Tail Warriors, led by Commander Hahn, with whom Sokka had a somewhat uneasy working relationship with. It probably all started back at the Northern Water Tribe, when Hahn was supposed to marry Princess Yue and become the chief of the tribe. Those plans fell through very quickly for him, and Sokka had a sneaking suspicion that Hahn held it against him ever since. But even so, Sokka couldn't deny that in the last two decades, Hahn had at least proven himself a competent warrior, whenever he wasn't a total arrogant jerk of course.
