Himoko's POV
I ran my fingers through my hair, untangling the knots that formed overnight. It was morning- I think anyway. My sleeping schedule is currently nonexistent and all I wanted to do right now is sleep for a good week. But with the life I now led, that wasn't going to happen surely.
The volcano was no longer a threat thanks to Aang and Sokka, Aang with his incredible display of airbending and Sokka using his smarts to get us out of the situation with no one getting hurt.
The other three were over by Aunt Wu, speaking to the woman about what they did in order to achieve this outcome. I felt sort of useless during the plan, everyone else had a vital part in it. All I could do was grab a shovel and strain myself to dig into the earth.
I was reminded of the throbbing pain in my arm, the doctor from the clinic had wrapped a small sling to my arm to keep it from moving. There was a torn muscle or two in my arm from digging, no doubt about that.
I stared at Sokka, watching him get aggravated by the old man that greeted us when we were dragged into this situation. It was amusing but- I had to figure myself out. It felt like bile was rising up in my throat at the mere thought of what Sokka told me, and what I told him in return. He confessed his feelings to me, something I didn't expect from a guy like him. Did I really leave such an impression on him? You never expect someone to like you until it is said right to your face.
I chewed on my bottom lip, not caring about the small pieces of skin I was pulling from the tender skin. I felt... Horrible about it. Sokka looked so dejected but his eyes told me that he was apparently expecting it. As if he knew it was going to happen.
With a small sigh, I walked over to the four, messing with the end of my sleeve as I walked.
"Oh Your Highness, how is your arm doing?" Aunt Wu questioned, noticing my presence.
"It will be fine. It will just have to rest plenty."
"With those eye bags of yours, looks like you will need to too." Katana remarked from beside me, a small smile playing on her lips. I let out a small laugh, poking her cheek. "You have some too, Katara."
"Woah, really?!" Katara touched her face, her fingers going over her slight eye bags from not sleeping. She was actually trying to see if she could feel them.
"Um yeah." I shrugged, watching her do it a few more times before puffing out her cheeks.
"We all need sleep." She looked to Sokka, seeing him arguing with some more villagers with his voice crankier than usual.
"Most definitely." I agreed, turning my attention back to Aunt Wu.
"Oh Aunt Wu, before I forget. I wanted to ask you something."
"Hmm?"
"Why did you say you were a traveling fortune teller when clearly you had a home to stay at?" I asked her, her eyes going slightly wide before softening.
"Princess Himoko, during the time of my travels between Ba Sing Se and Omashu, I was generally a helper in the war and if the Fire Nation found out where I lived, this place would not be standing." She informed me and I blinked. Yeah, I could see that being a possibility. But to lie to two Kings? That was gutsy.
"That's why you weren't concerned about leaving Omashu?"
"That was on different terms. More political propaganda than war. I gave advice when your grandfather did not wish it." This peaked my interest, along with Katara's who suddenly became engrossed in our talk.
"What do you mean?" The girl questioned.
"It had to do with his retirement of being King, you are the only one next in line. I saw something in the future at the time that held a possibility he didn't find fond of." She answered, her voice becoming distant as she began to recollect her memory from years ago.
"Which was-?"
"I promised to never tell you, I can only say to ask him yourself." When would that even be? We didn't know how long we were going to be in the North Pole, or how long this whole journey will be. It could take years- Well, Aang had a deadline. 'At Summer's End...'
Katara and I thanked her, walking away just as Aang was walking to her. Most likely to bid his farewell as well.
I grabbed my bag, throwing it up to the saddle only for it to land on the edge of it, sliding down Papa's fur and to my feet. I only had use of one hand, this was going to be difficult.
I mean, I could just take the sling off and say screw it and wreck my arm more-
"Here." I looked to the sound of the familiar voice, seeing Sokka flash me a small smile before bending down and grabbing my bag. It took me a few seconds to process what he was doing, and that made feel slightly useless.
"Sok, you don't have to-"
"I got it. You aren't supposed to be doing anything anyway with that arm of yours." I breathed air out of my nose, huffing. He swung my bag over his shoulder and climbed up Appa, putting the bag down. I could briefly see Alea's floppy ears popping up, startled.
"Sup." I heard Sokka say to her, receiving a small but loud chitter. Sokka climbed back down, grabbing the bags we received from the village (Mostly food and blankets), hopefully to last us until we get to the North Pole.
"Hey Sokka." I spoke up, choking down my fear. He slid off of Appa again, tilting his head to the side, "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry that I don't feel the same way." I apologized and he shook his head, resting his hand on my shoulder.
"I already told you, it's alright. I'm a big boy, I'm pretty sure I can handle rejection from a pretty girl." I blushed at his words, looking away when I heard him laugh at my reaction.
"I-I wanted to tell you something else..." Sokka stopped his laughing, watching me rub my arms nervously.
"I don't have a good grip on my feelings. I d-dont know how to feel towards someone else beyond friendship and family, well in a-a romantic sense... So I was thinking..." Sokka furrowed his brows at me as I looked back up at him, taking a deep breath to regain my calm composure.
"So, if you want. We can try this uh, 'dating' thing..." I trailed off, feeling myself about ready to run away without another word, but I couldn't do that to him. I caused him enough pain from my first rejection.
I swear he became a schoolgirl in that moment, letting out a high pitched squeal as he brought me into a hug, picking me up and easily twirling me around.
"Heck to the yes!" He placed me back down, nodding enthusiastically at me. "Y-yes?"
"Of course! But I mean if that is fine with you- I don't want to pressure you into doing this out of guilt and-" I kissed his cheek, stopping him from rambling more.
"If I wasn't comfortable with it, I wouldn't have told you so." He brought me into a hug again, kissing the top of my head rapidly as if he couldn't get enough.
I let a smile break through, happy to see he was happy. This could be fun, not awkward or anything. And it will give me time to see if I liked him back.
Later on Sokka helped me up on top of Appa's saddle, his gaze to me held so much now that I knew what he felt, how he wanted to be closer to me when we sat on the saddle. The question I wanted to ask Aunt Wu leaving my train of thought. I didn't need to worry about my future, all I had to worry about was what was happening right now.
"Goodbye everyone! It was so nice to meet you! Take care, Meng." Katara called, waving down at Meng "Take care!" She called back before Appa turned around, ready for take off. I waved to Aunt Wu with my uninjured arm, smiling brightly.
"Wish the best for you!" I called out, Appa taking off in the air without a second to spare.
---
I buried myself closer into the warmth, the blanket that laid on top of me clutched into my hold. I could feel cold air brushed pass my cheeks and through my hair, telling me that we were still in the air. I must have fallen asleep when Sokka and I were talking-
My tired eyes snapped open, realizing the warmth I was cuddling into was Sokka's warm body, his snores becoming more prominent once I was aware of my surroundings. A blanket was draped over us, Sokka using his rolled up sleeping bag as a pillow and I blushed, realizing that I was using him as my own pillow. I glanced down to see Alea sleeping at our feet. My eyes went to Katara's sleeping form on the opposite end of the saddle, back turned towards us. Then I looked to Aang, seeing him pilot us further north as much as he could before morning.
"How long have you been up?" I asked, startling Aang. He looked back at me, letting out a relieved breath.
"Uhh, a few hours maybe. I'm letting Katara rest."
"I can take over for the rest of the night." He quickly shook his head, "No no no! You are fine, I'm fine. Just- Just get more sleep, you need to let your arm rest more." I sighed heavily, but I couldn't just go back to sleep knowing that Aang was barely getting any.
"I have had plenty of rest, Aang. Let yourself sleep for a while, if I get tired I will be sure to land Appa." He looked conflicted for a moment, unable to see what would be right. My stubborn ethics were showing, stubbornness that I was proud to have.
"I will be fine Aang."
"Do you know where you will be going? Do you know how to fly Appa?" I nodded, flashing a smile his way as I pried myself off of Sokka, pushing his arm off of me that was wrapped around my shoulders. I stood up and walked over to Aang, taking a seat beside him. "I have watched you guys fly him hundreds of times, and we are always heading North so it isn't that hard." Aang reluctantly nodded, seeing that I was right before handing over the reigns to me.
"Go get some sleep, you need rest after the whole volcano incident." I told him.
"I know... Hey Himoko." He went to stand up but stopped himself. I looked over at him, brows furrowed.
"Did something happen between you and Sokka?" I couldn't help the blush that rose to my cheeks and warmed my neck.
"Oh uh... N-Not really-" He let out a giddy laugh, shaking his head. "He told me of his worries, but I'm glad that things worked out for you two." He told me before standing up with a small stretch.
"Thanks Aang..." I muttered, feeling him pat the top of my head before leaving me to get some rest.
---
"Hey Himoko, want breakfast?" I yawned tiredly, lazily looking up at Sokka who held out a bowl of something down to me. I briefly nodded, taking the wooden bowl into my hands before peering down at the liquid inside. Sokka took a seat next to me, his own bowl in hand.
"Did you sleep well?" I only nodded, trying to figure out what Katara made.
"It's just leftovers from what the village gave us, we are trying to make our food last longer this time around."
"Last time around you ate it all..." I whispered teasingly knowing that he heard me from the gasp he released.
"Rude!" I lifted the bowl up to my lips, slowly letting the soup into my mouth so I didn't burn my tongue. I licked my lips, the flavor was sort of bland but it was better than nothing at all. It wasn't like we had spices on hand.
"I am rude." I snorted and he rolled his eyes at me. We fell into a comfortable silence as we ate (drank) our breakfast, watching Alea and Momo play around, both chittering as Momo mimicked Alea's hops.
"This is... Actually nice." I commented, enjoying the gentle atmosphere. "Yeah." I heard him softly agree.
Shortly after finishing the soup we packed up camp and decided to walk through the forest to stretch out our legs and give Appa more of a break for flying all day yesterday and almost all night.
What we didn't expect though was to see a blade stuck into the ground. Aang ran in front of us and picked it up, his eyes gleaming.
"Hey look! A sword made out of a whale's tooth." Sokka walked up behind him, grabbing the blade out of the boy's hands
"Lemme see that." Sokka examines the blade, his eyes narrowed. I placed my hand on his arm, looking down at it.
"What is it?"
"This is a water tribe weapon. See if you can find anything else." Sokka told us.
"Did someone lose something?" Katara questioned.
"No, we found something." Aang replied with his head in a bush. I walked over to some broken branches and crunched up leaves, waving the leaves away with my air bending to see footsteps.
"It's burned." I looked to Sokka, seeing him throw away the charred up arrow.
"There was a battle. Water tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders."
"There is footsteps over here, Sok." I told him, watching make his way over to me. We began walking down hill, doing his best to see what happened here.
"The firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill..." We came upon a beach at the bottom of the hill, the sounds of water crashing against the dry land calming to the ears.
"So then what happened?" Aang asks him. Curiosity has peaked all of us, what would Water Tribe Warriors be doing here? We aren't near any rebel camps, were they drove here against their will?
"I don't know. The trail ends here." Sokka stated solemnly, but his mood quickly changed at the sound of Katara's voice.
"Wait, look!" I looked to Katara seeing her point to a boat with blue engraving and a Water Tribe Flag.
"It's one of our boats!"
"Really?!" My voice could have sounded mocking, but at the moment I didn't really care to notice, seeing the two siblings happy to see something familiar from home made myself feel happy.
"Is this... Dad's boat?" Katara asked, her fingers grazing over the wood.
"No, but it's from his feet. Dad was here." His smile was contagious, the sheer happiness between the two transmitting to Aang and I.
"That's great! Maybe we can find your dad." I told him and Sokka nodded in agreement.
"Yeah."
---
3rd Person's POV
"What are you doing still up?" Sokka heard a voice from behind him, snapping his out of his thoughts as he whirled around to see Himoko standing behind him, wrapped up in a blanket. He felt himself smile before his attention went back to the fire.
"Just thinking." Himoko took the free spot besides Sokka, offering a bit of her blanket to him which he declined. He didn't feel cold in the moment, the fire was doing just fine.
"About what?"
"My Dad mainly, but other things too... What has got you up?" Himoko shrugged, pulling her knees to her chest.
"I can't sleep for long. My mind tends to go into overdrive in the dream department. Ahem, night terrors..." She muttered the last part, Sokka catching it.
"Night terrors?"
"Uh yeah... I have had them since I was a kid. When Pappy found out he tried to make them lessen which barely worked but I enjoyed the stories he read to me each night before bed. They seemed to just worsen with age. Not much you can do about them."
"I'm sorry." She looked to him, shaking her head before looking back into the flames.
"Don't be. You can't control what my brain does in it's free time."
"I still feel bad that you have to deal with that everytime you sleep."
"It isn't every time. Only when I'm feeling stressed or bad thoughts plague my mind... It's weird how it works sometimes." She unconsciously bit her bottom lip, fumbling the skin in between her lips. Sokka let a small smile escape him, thinking of a cheesy line.
"No matter what, I will be with you from Dusk Till Dawn, you will never be alone as long as I am living." (Dusk Till Dawn by ZAYN and Sia anyone?).
Himoko giggled, hiding her face from him, "Since when did you get so cheesy?"
"Since I met you-" Himoko slapped her hand over Sokka's mouth, staggering him from continuing. He quirked a brow as he watched Himoko's eyes go to look behind them from over Sokka's shoulder. He wanted to ask what the problem was, but couldn't when he realized the position she was now in, her blanket was thrown off and left on the ground beside him, with Himoko now pretty much on his lap. His cheeks flushed wildly, watching her eyes scan behind them.
Himoko heard something moving in the forest, and it sounded close. She was distracted by Sokka's cheesy lines so it was no wonder she didn't hear the sound of movement earlier and mentally cursed at herself for it. Katara and Aang were still sleeping and were defenseless, their only line of defense being her and Sokka, A dude with a boomerang and a bender who couldn't even really bend her element without doubting herself. And she has been careful in terms of bending sound since her time at Avatar Roku's temple. Soooo.... They would be screwed.
She snapped out of her thoughts when the sound of a twig being broken caught her attention, and seemed even Sokka heard it as he whirled around up to his feet, his hand on his boomerang and his other on Himoko's wrist, keeping her behind him.
"Who's there?!" Sokka called out, eyes narrowed. Out of the shadows- Walked out a bandaged up soldier, his dark eyes widening when he spotted Sokka.
"Sokka?" Sokka lowered his tance, his hand leaving Himoko. "Bato?"
"Who the what now?" Aang asked, his face showing that he was still tired. Katara got up and sprinted over to them.
"Bato!" Bato grinned, pulling the two into a much needed hug.
"Sokka, Katara! It is so good to see you two! Oh, you have grown so much." Bato told the two siblings, their smiles widening even more if that was humanly possible.
"Hi, I'm Aang." Aang bowed and Himoko let out a breath of relief, happy to see it wasn't anyone to cause harm to them.
"Where's Dad?" Sokka questioned, "Is he here?" Katara also asked, giddiness enveloping her.
"No, he and the other warriors should be in the Eastern Earth Kingdom by now." Himoko furrowed her brows.
"Near Omashu? Are they planning to go South? Because I can send a letter-" The wind picks up and Bato accidentally cuts her off.
"Brr... This is no place for a reunion. Let's get inside." Bato puts his arms around Sokka and Katara, motioning for the two airbenders to follow.
They entered a monastery complex, the smell of perfumes hitting Himoko head on by the overwhelming fragrances. She covered her mouth and nose, hating the smell of any type of perfume from a incident that happened when she was younger where Karlie took her out among the streets of Omashu and somebody who was transporting goods into the city dropped a barrel full of perfume, and it so happened to be where Karlie and her where at. She reeked of the perfume for weeks, no matter how much Karlie bended the liquid out of her clothes and hair, it just seemed to cling onto her.
"After I was wounded, your father carried me to this abbey. The sisters have cared for me ever since. Superior, these are Hakoda's children. They've been traveling with the Avatar. I found them by my boat." The old woman, Superior turned to Aang and bowed.
"Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our abbey." Aang bowed back, smiling.
"Thank you! It's truly an honor to be here. If there's anything-"
"What smells so good, Bato?" Sokka questioned and Himoko made a face of disgust, "The sisters craft ointment and perfumes."
"Not to be rude, Superior. But perfume is not my forte." Himoko commented, still holding her sleeve covered hand up to her mouth and nose. She shook her head at Himoko, smiling at her.
"That's quite alright. Perfume isn't for everyone-" Her eyes widened, realization and familiarity passing across her eyes and face. Before she could question who she was, Sokka spoke.
"Perfume? Maybe we could dump some on Appa? Because he stinks so much! Am I right?" Silence, all except for Himoko trying so hard not to wack Sokka for making such a dumb joke, screaming internally on how she agreed to be this boy's girlfriend.
"You have your father's wit." Bato stated and Himoko finally broke, letting herself wack his arm finally. "I hate you so much right now." Himoko pouted with her eyes narrowed. Sokka winced at the impact but only smiled at her in amusement. Bato looked back at them briefly, spotting the way Sokka looked at Himoko. It reminded him so much of how Hakoda would stare at... He pushed back his thoughts and instead opened the door to his current home. They piled in, Sokka grabbing hold of Himoko's hand.
"Bato! It looks like home!" Katara pointed out, her smile wide and full of happiness to see the familiarity within the room.
"Everything is here, even the pelts! Himoko feel how soft this one is!" Sokka placed Himoko's hand on the animal pelt, letting her run her fingers down it. It was indeed soft, but she couldn't help but think of the animal that was skinned for it.
"Is it real?" Himoko questioned, reeling her hand back into her lap. Sokka saw the discomfort in her eyes and quickly discovered that it was hard to get words out to tell her that it wasn't real- Because that would be a lie.
"Yeah, nothing's more comforting than dead animal skins." Momo hops down and examine the head of a bear skin rug. The mouth of the bear closes suddenly, scaring Momo into climbing back up to Aang's shoulder. Himoko scooted back away from the animal pelt, sitting criss-crossed. Katara's hand opens the pot and then the camera zooms back to show her looking at Sokka to her left, with Baton sitting down on the opposite side of the fire. (A/N: I'm using the Transcripts and saw the typo for Bato's name and just died in my chair. -Coming from a Baton Twirler. I ain't changing it and just feel like calling him Baton for the rest of the chapter).
"No way! Stewed Sea Prunes?!" Himoko couldn't deny that the aroma that filled the room was much better than the perfume that she constantly smell outside, even then she could still smell a hint of it. But, just judging by what it was called, definitely not what she wanted to put into her mouth.
"Help yourself." Baton told them, gesturing his hand to the pot. Katara began dipping out the stew into bowls, handing them to everyone.
"Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things."Sokka digressed as Himoko poked at the stew with her spoon, wondering what else people down south ate. If Sea Prunes was one of many- She could only imagine what else there was of.
She was used to eating meat like pork and beef- Along with quite a bit of vegetable and lots of bread and various things made out of potatoes. It brought her to wonder what Aang would eat when the Air Nomads were still around- Since each Nation has their own food customs. Earth Kingdom- Well what she just listed off, North and South Pole were seafood items, and the Fire Nation ate things that had a lot of spice to it. What did Air Nomads eat?
"Bato, is it true that you and Dad lassoed an artic hippo?" Katara asked him and Himoko stared in confusion at her, 'A what...?'
"It was your father's idea. He just dragged me along. Well, the hippo did the dragging." Baton let out a hearty chuckle.
"What is an arctic hippo?" Himoko asked, but received no answer. "Hey, I ride animals too! One time there was this giant eel-!"
"So who was it that came up with the great blubber fiasco?" 'Blubber?' Himoko was becoming more confused as the conversation drawled on, but at the corner of her eyes she spotted Aang looking dejected. Her worries diminished for the moment when Baton let out a bigger laugh than the last.
"You knew about that?"
Katara smirks, nodding, "Everyone does."
"What's that story?" Aang asked them, hoping this time around he would actually get an answer.
"It's a long one, Aang- Some other time." Sokka told him, looking back to Baton. Himoko saw how even more dejected, sad even, that Aang got as he was left in the background.
"Are you okay?" She mouthed to him once he looked up at her, worry set in her eyes. Aang realized that he wasn't the only one receiving the treatment of being excluded.
"You and Dad had so many hilarious adventures." Katara told him with a light laugh. An idea formed in Aang's mind, standing up and walking over to the wall, making sure Himoko was watching him as he took the headdress of of the wall and placed it on his head, slightly dancing around in it. Himoko covered her mouth, making sure her bowl of stewed sea prunes rested comfortably on her leg so it didn't fall and spill everywhere. She kept her laughter to a minimum, not wanting to interrupt Baton.
"Not all of which were hilarious at the time, but everything's funny in hindsight-" Baton stopped once he spotted Aang wearing the headdress made out of animal skin. "Aang put that down, it's ceremonial and very fragile." Baton asked kindly, not noticing how Aang's mood depleted once he took off his head and placed it back onto the wall. He was just trying to make Himoko laugh... Himoko cleared her throat, looking down at her bowl sadly. She knew they probably didn't mean to make her and Aang felt excluded but it didn't mean it still didn't hurt.
"Was it you or Dad that put an octopus on your head and convinced Gran-Gran you were a water spirit?" Sokka asked, not noticing his girlfriend's sadness nor Aang's quiet form slumped up against the wall.
"Your dad wore the octopus, but-" He leant down some, his hand brought up to his face, "-I did the spooky voice." The three chorused in laughter, Himoko only managing to smile. She could feel her stew getting cold but paid it no mind, she had lost her appetite.
"Aren't you hungry, Himoko?" Himoko blinked rapidly, realizing that she spaced out. She looked to Katara, smiling with a shrug.
"Oh sorry, I guess I must still be tired..." Himoko muttered and Baton leant forward, offering to take Himoko's bowl.
"I will get you a fresh helping then." She went to politely deny but Sokka caught her off.
"If you are tired get some rest, I'm sure Bato wouldn't mind." Baton shook his head, "Yes, please rest."
"I-I will be fine. I'm used to this." She didn't mean her words to come out harshly, but they did anyway. Baton furrowed his brows, most likely now realizing why he found her familiar.
"No wonder... Aren't you Princess Himoko of Omashu?" 'Now he sees who she is...' Aang thought bitterly, but felt his mood lift a bit that at least one of them was gaining attention- And not to get scolded.
"Oh uh, yes." Himoko replied uneasily. She wasn't sure why Baton just noticed who she was, then again he had been practically ignoring her the whole time.
"Apologies, I didn't realize it was you until now." Sokka swung an arm around her shoulders, grinning widely.
"She is the best Bato, she is actually an airben-" Himoko elbowed him in the ribs, stopping him from continuing. Sokka winced, slightly glaring back at her.
"What's up with you and hitting me today?"
"Because you are being a bigger numbskull today." She glared harder, not appreciating that Sokka almost gave away her secret to someone she doesn't even know- At that point she didn't care if he held a lot of history with the man sitting across from them. It was her secret to tell. Not his. Baton blinked, seeing how tense the air between the two got, clearing his throat and decided to change the subject.
"There's something I should tell you kids. I'm expecting a message from your father." Sokka took his arm away from Himoko, diverting his attention to Bato.
"Really?"
"When?" Himoko ignored the feeling that began to set into her heart, feeling the heavy weight just get heavier.
"Any day now. Your father said he would send a message when they found a rendezvous point. If you wait here until the message arrives, you can come with me and see your father again." Aang straightens up, staring at the back of his friends, anxiety coursing through him. 'They are going to leave us...'. Himoko saw the happiness on Sokka's face, deciding that she couldn't stop him from going. She quickly found an excuse to leave.
"I'm going to go check on Appa and Alea." She got up and left without waiting for a reply from either of them, passing Aang on her way out.
Himoko's POV
The overwhelming smell of perfume hit me again once I left Baton's home, feeling the fear and sadness set in.
"From Dusk Till Dawn, huh?" I muttered bitterly. Continuing on my way, leaving the abbey to get away from everyone and the horrid smell before I could get a lovely headache. I couldn't quite understand why I was feeling so dejected, was it because I was practically ignored until Katara noticed that something was wrong? Until Baton realized what my status was? Or the fact that Sokka almost told him that I was an Airbender? Without my permission that he could do that? And how the three were treating Aang just rubbed me the wrong way...
Like I understand they hadn't seen each other in years but to suddenly cast your friends aside like that isn't something you do, instead you try to make them feel included and introduce them properly instead of being like-
"Oh, this is Aang, our Avatar Friend-" I deliberately mocked Sokka's voice, using my hand as him speaking, "-Oh by the way, this is my girlfriend who so happens to be royalty, and that she is an airbender!" I let out a groan, dropping my hands down to my side as I kicked the side of a tree, making sure to hit in the way so I didn't unintentionally break my foot. I leant against the tree trunk, elbows keeping me from knocking my head against the hard surface.
"Is that what they really see me as...? Is that what Sokka sees me as?" I breathed air out of my nose harshly, scrunching my eyes together and shook my head, pushing myself off of the tree and began walking again. Sokka and I have only been trying this... Thing out for what- Two days? And we were already having problems.
Maybe this was just bad timing?
I stayed away out in the woods for a few hours, deciding to clear my head more before heading back. I pushed all bad thoughts to the back of my mind, sniffing the air and reeling back at the smell of perfume. I could barely even smell the supposed ointments that were also there, all of my senses were just consumed by the reek of mixed together fragrances. How didn't this bother anyone else? I wonder what was the last time the sisters' had a bath, nobody would be able to tell that they hadn't bathed for months.
I entered the place, spotting the three were still around the fire and sharing stories, laughter bouncing off of the walls. I only sat down away from their cheerful laughter, deciding to stay quiet for a little bit to keep my emotions in check. No matter how bitter I felt in the moment, I knew better than too suddenly let my emotions run rampant. That's what I taught as proper etiquette- Even if barely used, it was still handy in different situations. I didn't want them to see how I was feeling, knowing that it will soon pass... Hopefully.
I listened to them speak to one another, seeing that Aang was no longer here. And with the warmth of the fire and cheerful atmosphere I was suddenly in, I found myself unintentionally drifting off to sleep. The exhaustion taking over my mind as I felt fatigue embrace my body. It was one of those where you could feel yourself falling asleep when you don't want to fall asleep, but end up doing so anyway. So nothing could stop the dream that I was no stuck in the slumber.
-
Pappy was sat at the dining table, chowing down on his various meats as usual with Karlie sitting next to him, scrolls displayed beside her and away from Pappy so he didn't take a peek to see what she was working on or spill his drink over the important scrolls that were older than Pappy himself.
This was classified as a laid back day for us, a day where we were free to do whatever we wanted. Pappy didn't have to attend to any demands of Omashu, his Royal Advisor taking care of that for the day- Karlie and I didn't train, letting Karlie to research more about the Air Nomads to her heart's content while I was just left to do whatever. I could have slept all day or journeyed out to the streets of Omashu. Everything could have been done today. I had all day after all so I was in no hurry.
"Pappy, if you eat too much you won't be able to eat lunch." I commented and he arched a brow, pausing from ripping into a piece of bread. He straightened up and pointed the bread at me, as if accusingly, "All benders need proper fuel in order for your chakra energy to be translated into the element you bend." He informed me and I rolled my eyes, Karlie following suit and remarked half-heartedly, "More like translating into heart disease..."
"HEY!" We both let out laughs, Pappy whacking Karlie with the piece of bread on her head. Karlie retaliated, sending a quick stream of liquid (Water, since we had finally gotten him off of his banana juice) into his face.
"Don't initiate a fight you can't win, old man." Judging by her smile and tone of voice, I knew she was kidding. Playful banter has occured between the two over the past few years since Karlie was given the job of being my teacher. It was always refreshing in a way and something you could never get bored or annoyed of. But before they could continue, Pappy's Royal Advisor entered the scene.
"My Majesty, apologies for the interruption." Pappy narrowed his eyes, taking a big bite out of his loaf of bread grumpily.
"The heck is it?"
"An unexpected visitor, Lady Wu." I could feel my 12 year old self jump in my seat, knowing what that meant. Fortune Telling.
"Well it better be dang important if she is interrupting a family meal." He gestured towards me. He nodded and bowed quickly before opening the door to the room, the face of Lady Wu coming into view.
You see, before she was called Aunt Wu, she was called Lady Wu because of her job as a carrier of information. Fortune Telling was seen by many as a scam and fake. But, so far with each visit she has yet to be proven wrong about what she saw in the futures for us.
"Apologies King Bumi for visiting without telling you ahead of time. It's... Urgent." Her eyes landed on me, making eye contact with I. I stared curiously at her, wondering why she looked to me instead of Pappy, as that was who she was originally addressing.
"Alright. Himoko leave the room please." I nodded, already halfway up and out of my seat to leave. Pappy didn't like when I was in the same room when war matters were being discussed, deciding even the day I first came here to not drag me into such matters until I was much older.
"King Bumi, this isn't about the war particularly... It matters with something relating to your grand-daughter. Please let her stay." The King let out a sigh, looking to me, "Do you wish to stay?" He questioned and I found myself nodding without a second's notice. Whatever Lady Wu had found out, it had to be important.
"Fine, carry on Lady Wu." The old woman nodded, sending a quick smile before her face became firm, tone shifting.
"I see Princess Himoko in a place filled of ice, fires burning and rage swirling the minds of everyone around her. Beaten and bruised with worry filling her mind of her comrades' conditions."
"I thought this wasn't about war?" Karlie asked her. Lady Wu turned towards her, nodding. "It isn't in particular. It is set during a fierce battle that could be history changing." She walked over to me, taking my hands into hers, feeling the undeniable warmth on her skin.
"Do not be afraid, Your Majesty. This battle you are in is in a unclear setting of time. It could be ten years before this happens, or even twenty. So it is nothing worry about as of right now- But what is worrisome if what you do during this battle."
"What I-I do?"I asked her, searching her eyes for confirmation. She nodded, her grip tightening for a moment in reassurance.
"But knowing of the sweet girl you are, I know that you will make the right choice." I could feel myself smile as the dream slowly faded away, the voice that came afterwards drifting and sounding as if under water.
-
"Hi..mi..ko." I furrowed my brows, squeezing my eyelids tighter.
"Oi, wake up sleeping beauty." The voice was clearer and not as quiet but I still refused to open my eyes, feeling myself into something. A blanket? I heard a deep tired sigh before suddenly the blanket was torn off of me, a whip of cold air hitting my body full on and I shivered. My eyes snapped open, forming into a glare as my vision realigned itself to see Sokka looking down at me, blanket in hand.
"Have a nice sleep?" I imagined setting him on fire- No scratch that. I wanted him to feel the loss of warmth I felt in that moment and throw him into the bottomless ocean.
"Until you woke me up." I muttered, letting out a small yawn and rubbing my eyes. Of course it had to be a memory sort of dream, if it was a nightmare then I wouldn't have been so annoyed. He rolled his eyes at me, tossing the blanket to the corner of the room and crouched down in front of me, poking my nose with his index finger.
"You are really pushing it, Sok."
"I know, come on you slept like a wildebear (wildebeest and bear) in hibernation. And that position couldn't have been comfortable." I only shrugged, ignoring the pain my shoulder from sleeping up against a wall.
"I sleep anyway when my body lets me..." My eyes looked around, seeing that nobody else was here.
"Where did everyone go?"
"Just outside."
"The worst place to be." I managed to get a chuckle out of him from my crack of a joke. I pushed myself up, looking down at my pants to see familiar hair on my pant legs.
"Was Alea sleeping on me at some point?" I questioned, dusting the hair off as best as I could. He nodded, "Yeah before I threw a blanket on you and she bailed.".
We headed outside, the smell of perfume not as strong as yesterday thankfully. Did I really sleep that long? It was fairly light out.
Sokka led me to where the others were, coming upon the sight of Baton's boat once again. (Yes I am still intentionally not spelling his name right)
We approached Baton and Katara when I spotted Aang being little away from us, his expression unreadable, but could it have been guilt? Regret?
"This ship is sentimental to me. It was built by my father."
"Is this the boat he took you ice-dodging in?" Sokka asked and Baton nodded.
"Ice... Dodging?" I questioned and Sokka nodded, apparently expecting me to know what it was.
"Yeah it's got the scar to prove it. Huh. How about you, Sokka? You must have some good stories from your first time ice-dodging?" Sokka frowned, Katara taking the initiative to speak.
"He never got to go. Dad left before he was old enough." A flash of pain and worry went through Baton's eyes, but was fixed with a look of calmness.
"Oh, I forgot, you were too young."
"What's ice-dodging?"
"It's a rite of passage for young water tribe members. When you turn fourteen your Dad takes you... You know what," He places his hand on Sokka's shoulder, a smile on his face, "You're about to find out." Sokka smiles back. We untied the boat from the shores and let it drift into the water before climbing on, Baton sailing us elsewhere.
"That helm looks different..." I muttered aloud, Baton hearing me as I stared at the helm.
"You know about boats?" I blinked, looking up and nodded, "Uh yeah-"
"She has sailed us away from pirates!" Katara informed him and I blushed. He seemed to have formed an idea in his head now, looking off into the distance for a moment before to Sokka.
"Ice-dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery, guidance, and trust. In our village it was done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs." Baton explained to the four of us.
"That is definitely safe..."
"How are we supposed to ice-dodge without ice?" Aang asks before I could. We were in a warmer climate, no ice in sight and it was Summer, so no Winter Cold.
"You will be dodging... Those." Baton points ahead of us to show the jagged and pointy boulders protruding out of the water. I gulped, realizing that I was on a boat right now in such conditions. The Southern Water Tribe were certainly hardcore in their culture.
"Sokka, you call the shots and direct, Katara, you secure the mainsail. The winds can be brutal so be brace. Aang, you control the jib, without your steady hand we all go down. Your position is about trust." I furrowed my brows in confusion, what was I supposed to do?
"And Himoko, you shall steer this vessel. If needed Sokka shall direct you to safeter routes. I put my trust in you to guide us through these waters because Sokka sucks at this." I snorted, watching a look of offense take place on Sokka at the corner of my eye, "Hey!".
I took my position at the helm, fingers gripping onto the wood of wheel and looked onward, seeing that we were steadily approaching the start of the jagged rocks.
"For this to be done right I cannot help. You pass or fail on your own."
"What if I suddenly ram us into a rock? Would you help then?" His eyes grew in size at my smart ass comment.
"I would prefer if you didn't test that theory." I shrugged, "Fair enough." Shortly after those words left my mouth, Sokka was shouting beside me.
"Aang, ease up on the jib! Katara, steady! Aang, less sail!" I was thankful that I wasn't the one directing, because my mind was already getting jumbled from watching the two benders scrambled around to meet Sokka's demands, "Himoko, steer more to the right!" I obliged, slowly easing over to the right.
"Aang! Helm to lee! Helm to lee!" Aang looked confusedly up at us, "What does that even mean?!" I squeaked out, my attention drawing back to what was happening in front of the ship and not on the ship. I turned my wheel, using the wind to my advantage and missing the protruding rock.
"Nice!" Sokka complimented. My happiness was short lived when the boat who thrown forward, the crashing waves behind us making us gain more speed than any of us wanted. We were heading straight to the cluster of jagged rocks, if we even attempted to go through them, the boat would most likely come out very damaged, or else ripping apart.
"There's no way through!" Katara yelled out in panic. I felt a hand grab my own. I glanced down, seeing the tan skin rubbing circles over the top of my hand.
"We can make it!" The boy stated determinedly, his voice bellowing and reminded me of a drama play.
"Sokka, you have already proven yourself, maybe we should-" Sokka cuts the man off, the wheels turning in his head as he thought of a way to get us out of this.
"Aang, I'm gonna need air in that sail!" Aang nods before Sokka yelled a command to Katara. "Katara, I want you to bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks!" Katara nodded determinedly. His grip tightened around my hand, "Just keep it steady, Aang and Katara got this." He whispered to me. His voice was comforting a she placed his hand on the small of my back. He waited a few seconds, eyes set on how close we were getting to the rocks.
"Now!" The two run away from the stations and began doing what Sokka told them to do. Aang releasing bouts of air against the sail and Katara bending the water beneath us almost expertly, having come a long way since the first time I met her. I felt as if we were being lifted into the air, my grip on the wheel tightening as I tensed up. My eyes looking to Katara, seeing her face full of concentrating with a bit of her tongue sticking out.
We were riding on a wave.
If it weren't for the perilous fear I felt in that moment, I would have made a comment about it.
The ship sailed safely over the pile of rocks, landing safely on the other side. My muscles relaxed, watching Baton's face go from surprised to pride, showing how proud he was without even having to speak a word.
"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks. For Sokka, the mark of the wise, the same mark your father earned." I stood in line as Baton previously instructed us too as he gave out markings to us for achieving not dying by drowning.
"For Katara, the mark of the brave. Your courage inspires us."
"For Himoko, the mark of the guide. Your guidance through the waves showed more than any words could hold." I felt the paint do a big circle onto my forehead, the wetness of it almost making me flinch.
"And for Aang, the mark of the trusted. You are now an honorary member of the water tribe." 'So I am an Air Nomad, Princess of the Earth Kingdom Omashu- And now part of the Water Tribe? What's next?! The flipping Fire Nation?!'
"I-I can't..." Aang suddenly spoke, his voice filled with guilt and worry. We all looked to him in confusion.
"What you mean?" I began, "Of course you can!" Katara finished, the same confusion and concern showing. Aang rubbed off his mark quickly onto his sleeve, frowning.
"No, you can't trust me." He backs away from us, his head hanging low so we couldn't look him in the eye.
"Aang, what are you talking about-?"
"A messenger gave this to me for Bato." He takes a scroll out from his pocket. My eyes widened as Katara drew a breath beside me in shock. "You have to understand, I was afraid you woul-" Aang didn't get a chance to explain. Sokka interrupts him angrily.
"This is the map to our father! You had it the whole time?! How could you?!" Sokka asked him, getting quite close to him as Aang cowered back, his face showing the guilt and pain he was feeling.
"Well, you can go to the North Pole on your own! I'm going to find Dad." He turned away and walked to his sister, who held the same expression as he did. I was stunned in silence, this couldn't have been happening.
"Now Sokka, I think you should-" Baton was cut off by the angry boy.
"Katara, are you with me?" Katara nodded, "I'm with you, Sokka."
"Sokka, listen to his explanation before getting your knickers in a twist!" I yelled, standing in front of Aang defensively. There was no way Aang meant harm by hiding this, there is always an explanation. He looked to me with a glare, but I could see pain in his eyes.
"Seriously Himoko?! You are going to side with him?!"
"I'm neutral in this cause I don't know what happened-" He cut me off, eyes going wide as if he was realizing something.
"You knew, didn't you?" I tilted my head, "Huh?" He walked to me as I stood firmly against the round, my feet digging into the sand.
"You knew that he had the map to my father- No wonder you were gone for so long."
"The heck are you talking about?" I could myself getting angry and annoyed, the feelings of hurt being pushing to the back of my mind. The surge of bitterness from yesterday coming to the surface.
"Don't even try denying it Himoko! You lied to me." He glowered down at me before turning on his heel and walking away. I clenched my teeth, curling my fists in anger. Why that little...
"YOU ARE SUCH AN OBNOXIOUS PRAT SOKKA!" My voice bellowed, the three flinching as waves of sound produced out of my mouth, the red lines reaching them. If I had gone any louder, their ears would have been bleeding.
They didn't look back at me, only continued to walk away as if everything up till now didn't mean a thing.
I winced, grabbing onto my head as a sharp pain hit the front of my forehead. I felt Aang place his hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him, seeing worry and sadness in his eyes.
"Are you going to leave me too...?" He questioned and I frowned, resting my free hand on top of his head. I lightly shook my head, blinking away any tears that tried to escape.
"Never. Never ever Aang." I told him truthfully.
We unfortunately had to go after them because Appa was there at the abbey, along with Alea. Looks like I would be the one taking Aang to the North Pole. Alone.
Aang talked to me on the way of why he hid the message, and I could feel as if I would have done the same thing if I was put into his situation. He didn't want to be left behind by his first two friends in a hundred years, the people who were first to help him on his journey, and I didn't come along until later on just because they decided to make stop at Omashu.
How things seemed to take a turn for the worst in just ten seconds.
Aang and I gathered our stuff quietly, Sokka and Katara seemed to have already taken their things off of Appa before we arrived, leaving us to just make sure Appa was ready.
That left us to the gates of the abbey, Katara staring at us with sadness in her eyes.
"Good luck." She told us shortly, Aang holding onto Appa's reigns as I sat on the saddle behind him, feeling as if it had gotten bigger without two extra bodies on it and their stuff
"Okay, you too." Aang told her. We watched her leave, Baton and Sokka following suit but I saw Sokka briefly glance back at me, but nothing was said, not even in our gazes to one another in that short moment.
"Guess I should be moving on." Aang told the Superior who nodded with a small smile.
"That would be best. Take care of yourself you two." She looked to me, bowing, "You are welcome anytime, Your Majesty." Usually I would have doubled back in surprised, but at this point my body didn't feel like it. I nodded, letting out a breath.
"You should look into another business option, perfume is just not your thing." I knew that she knew what I meant by it, the only good thing that came out of this was that I could leave this zone of horrid smells. Aang shakes the bison's reigns, Appa leading us away from the abbey.
"I'm an idiot..."
"No you aren't Aang- Sokka just didn't want to listen to your explanation. He needs to get his head out of his butt." I joked, seeing a small smile quick up before falling again into a frown.
"I'm sorry for ruining your relationship with Sokka." He apologized. I smiled sadly, shaking my head.
"It wasn't your fault. Never was and never will be." I told him.
We made it back to Bato's boat, the stillness in the air reflected our moods greatly. I wasn't going to leave Aang over such a small mistake on judgement, I was going to be better than how Sokka and Katara reacted. I get that it was their father but to Aang that meant they were going to leave him alone- I bit my bottom lip, pulling at the skin in between my teeth. He probably thought I was going to leave with them. But why would I leave him?
"Looks like we are actually a two man team..." Aang muttered and I smiled softly, moving up and resting my hand on his shoulder.
"Don't forget about Momo, Alea, and Appa. It's a five man team now." I told him, hoping to make him feel less lonely.
"Avatar, Your Majesty! You must leave!" I looked to the side to see the Superior running towards us, her face filled with panic.
"Okay, I get it. Everybody wants us gone." Aang told her and she shook her head.
"A group of people came to the abbey looking for you." My breath hitched at the back of my throat as I looked back into the forest, eyes darting along the tree line.
"Who?" Aang's eyes widened in alarm.
"A fierce looking woman with a horrible monster and a young man with a scar-" (A/N: WHAT IF I'M THE MONSTERRRRRRRRRRR) I tensed, knowing exactly who was here.
"Zuko!" Aang and I shouted. I stood up, looking further out into the woods as I strained my hearing to hear, hell anything at this point.
"The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you." I furrowed my brows, "A necklace?" I questioned, looking to Aang in confusion. But something seemed to snap in his mind in realization. "It's Katara!" We didn't waste a second before we hopped off of Appa and ran full speed away.
"Stay safe Superior!" I called back to her, briefly catching Alea looking after me from over the hilt of the saddle, her eyes sad as I left her again.
Aang opened his glider and I took the initiative to jump on with releasing a bout of air from my feet, giving me altitude as I grabbed on, feeling him kick off and up into the air. The wind pushed harshly against my face as I held on, ears straining to hear.
"Aang, over there!" I yelled and he switched directions, heading straight to the courtyard of the abbey. I looked down, hearing people speaking and the familiar voice of Sokka reaching my ears. He must have made contact with Zuko already.
It took a few more minutes than we wanted but we got to the courtyard of the abbey, Aang landing us on the metal tiles of one of the building's roof. I crouched down, my hand grabbing hold of my dagger in my pocket as I heard something enter the courtyard, bursting through the gate.
"What's it doing? It's just going around in a circle!" I looked down, spotting Zuko, a strange woman and a oddly familiar face of a old man sat on the saddle of the animal that looked close to a mole rat, but much larger and intimidating. The sisters that were in the courtyard has retreated away from them, hiding behind vases of the disgusting perfume. Aang initiated his glider again, ready to pounce with a short nod sent my way before going down.
"Aang!" I heard Katara as I stood up from my spot and jumped down, softening my fall as I fell into a roll. Aang focused on the lady, Appa appearing and smashing against the animal, sending it's owner and itself into a wall. I let out a small shriek in surprise when a bout of fire was sent towards me, which I quickly diffused with air bending out of instinct. My eyes narrowed, seeing that it was just Zuko.
"Sup, princely." I greeted him only got get fire shot towards me. I moved out of the way and charged forward, initiating in short hand to hand combat- Well, me trying to slice him with my knife and him dodging and sending bouts of fire my way with his own finesse. I crouched quickly when he did a roundabout kick, what I didn't expect was him to direct his attention to the two siblings who seemed to be unable to move. He sent a wave of fire towards them and my eyes widened in fear. I whacked Zuko with a wave of air, using unintended force as it knocked him to the ground as I boosted myself over to them, skidding to a stop as I swirled my hands around and sent streams of air into the fire, splitting it apart and away from the three of us- Briefly seeing Aang initiate his own combat with Zuko to keep his attention away from us.
I turned around swiftly, checking to make sure the two were okay.
"You two really do share the same blood, idiocy." I commented, lightly whacking Sokka upside the head making him wince but barely, still unable to move freely as of yet
"Y-You used airbending..." Katara pointed out and I nodded, taking a deep breath as I stood up from my crouched position.
"Don't move. I'm going to help Aang-" I heard Sokka scoff, "Is that supposed to be a pun?" I paused, realizing that it kinda was.
"Do you guys know what that animal is?"
"A Shirshu- I think anyway." Katara replied to me and I nodded.
"It's tongue somehow makes you unable to move, so be careful." Sokka told me as I turned around to leave. I looked back at him, giving him a dead look. I didn't say anything, only left with the information the two managed to give me.
I followed the sound of fire whooshing, coming to a stop as the two came into sight on the roof. (A/N: Disclaimer this part was hard as hell to write because of the confusing transcript, so I had to use the episode to try and make sense of it. So apologies if nothing makes sense.).
Zuko charges Aang, throwing a blast towards him but Aang dodges and flips over Zuko's head, landing safely behind him. They exchange a few blows, Aang sending an abundance of air towards him and pushing him up against the wall, soon falling down to the ground near where I was at. The Shirshu took Zuko's place and jumped over me and pursue Aang. Zuko quickly got up sometime when I was distracted by a literal 100 pound animal jumping over my head and grabbing a hold of me. pushing my arm behind my back.
"I would rather if you had stayed out of this." He muttered into my ear. I narrowed my eyes into a glare, looking over my shoulder back at him.
"And why is that?" I asked in a mocking tone as I struggled in his grip, wincing when I felt his hands begin to heat up in warning. My eyes darted, looking to Aang worrying but stopped when I spotted the old man- Who seemed to have been testing out the perfumes on top of one of the cases. My lips curled up into a smirk, "Nah, I don't need to hear your excuse." I commented as I used his weight against him, swinging him around and blew air out of my mouth, sending us straight back to where the old man was at. I ignored the heat I was feeling on my wrists. I pushed him up against the perfume filled barrel, releasing the toxins of the horrible smell making me cough, but the shock of both the smell of perfume and his body whacking against the wall did get him to his loosen his grip enough for me to pull away from him.
"Oh, it's lovely to meet you finally. Your Majesty." The old man greeted me kindly and I gave him a confused look. 'What?'. Zuko also seemed to be confused and taken aback by the old man's words as well. He shook his head, pushing himself off of the wall.
"Don't be so kind to the enemy, Uncle!" Zuko scolded, sending fire balls towards me as I jumped further and further away from him, grimacing at the stench that was no on me from the perfume. I was going to be reeking of this for weeks again.
"It is bad manners to be unkind to a Princess, nephew. Have I taught you no better?" Zuko's head whipped around and sent him uncle a scowl in spite. I ran off while Zuko was left to being pestered his uncle, leaving me to see if I could help Aang. That was answered quite easily when Appa did that work for me. I followed after Aang, unfortunately Zuko catching on and sent bouts of fire after us.
"You've got something I want!" Aang shouted, spotting something in Zuko's hand that wasn't there before.
They trade fists and elements as they practically danced around the well, Zuko even blowing the covering of the well off after Aang dodged skillfully. In this time frame Aang was trying to grab something out of Zuko's hand. Zuko let air out of his nose as he lunges at Aang but I slid in front of him, reaching my arm out and clotheslining him down to the ground, Aang sliding under me and grabbing whatever was in Zuko's hand and disappears down the well. I moved out of the way before Zuko could jump after me- Seeing that there was no need to as he was back to primarily going after Aang, sending a gout of flame inside the well as he hops on top of it, fueled with anger and frustration at the smooth transition Aang and I did without even having to say anything to one another. Not even a second later a water fall of water was sent spiraling out of the well, sending Zuko flying into the air and soon Aang landed in front of me in a superhero landing fashion, water from the well coming down on us like rain.
Oh yeah- Zuko was there too, with his face planted into the ground.
Zuko gets up with a shout of anger, running after Aang who ran past me but was stopped by Appa advancing on him. I looked over, seeing Sokka and Katara were finally up on their feet. The shrishu strikes Appa with it's tongue, Appa only delayed Zuko from getting to Aang. I ran over and jumped in front of Appa, sending bouts of air towards the shrishu, making it retract it's tongue back inside of it's mouth as Appa struggled to stay on his feet. I glanced back, eyes widening when I saw the familiar ears of Alea pop up. You have got to be kidding me-
I went rigid when the Shirshu's tongue whacked my left leg, rendering it useless, but surprisingly I didn't fall, but my leg certainly felt the effects of the paralyzing venom. I hopped on my right foot, keeping my balance as I stared at the woman and the Shirshu, narrowing my eyes.
"Just to let you know- My name is Princess Himoko of Omashu. The great grand-daughter of King Bumi of Omashu. Who you had just set your beast to attack- Meaning I could easily turn you in for treason." I knew it was dirty to play this card, and it becoming more dirty when I realized she was a Earth Kingdom citizen helping out Fire Nation in a time of war. "Also, treason for helping out the Fire Nation, a Prince and his uncle, royal family members. So I give you a fair warning..." I trailed off, feeling as if my right leg was about to buckle down underneath my weight.
"...If you attack I or my comrades anymore. I will not hesitate." She seemed to be in denial for a moment, but judging by the look on her face showed that she believed me. I shrugged, lifting my hand up.
"But that doesn't mean I am not allowed to attack you." I sent air towards her, pushing the shirshu back when suddenly gallons of perfume were dropped onto them. The Shirshu shakes off the liquid but suddenly looks around in confusion and lashes out, hitting Zuko with it's tongue who weakly falls to the ground, the lady got off of the saddle, trying to calm her beast down but to only get hit herself.
"June! Nooo!" The Shirshu runs towards us but makes a turn and claws at the wall as it tried getting up it, soon making it and running far away from here.
I let out a sigh of relief, finally letting myself fall to the ground but someone caught me before my knees could make impact. I glanced up, seeing Sokka smiling down at me as he brought a perfume vial up to my nose.
"Inhale it." I made a face of disgust, lightly shaking my head. "I already stink of it, it won't do crap." I stated making him chuckle. He put the vial in his pocket, opting to just carrying me on his back.
---
"You are in so much trouble young lady!" Alea cowered back, decided that Momo was now her protector. "You should have stayed on the beach where you were safe! What if Appa had crushed you when he fell over?!" I continued to scold her, hearing her let out whimpers and cries.
"Himoko, I'm pretty sure she is very sorry." Katara stated with a giggle. I sighed heavily, shaking my head and opening my arms up for the little bun.
"Fine..." I heard Alea make a happy squeak before barreling herself into me, leaving Momo's side and cuddled into my stomach. I wrapped my arms around her, lightly grazing my fingers over the fur on top of her head. Katara's gasp is what brought my attention back to reality.
"Himoko your wrists!" I furrowed brows, glancing down to see my sleeves had ridden up, charred from fire to reveal red marks.
"Oh, I didn't even notice." I muttered. 'Must have happened when Zuko had me in his hold...' I thought to myself. Katara grabbed my hands, lightly grazing over the burn marks that I knew were going to scar.
"How could you have not noticed it!? Burns are extremely painful Let me see if we have any bandages-"
"Already got some." My head whipped up, watching Sokka take a seat in front of me with a roll of bandages in hand. I didn't say a word as he grabbed my left hand and began to wrap bandages around it, securely tying it before moving on to the next one.
"The paralyze venom probably numbed the pain..." I thought outloud, could have also been adrenaline too from moment before I got whacked.
"You need to pay attention more." Sokka told me and I rolled my eyes, bringing my left hand up and flicking his forehead. "Ow!"
"You need to pay attention more." I mocked. He frowned, knowing what I meant by that sentence. What had occurred earlier that day. He continued to wrap the bandage around my wrist, careful to not tie it off too tight or cause friction against the burn.
"I'm sorry for what happened... I just assumed-"
"Sokka, if you really want to be in a relationship with me. You have to trust me." I told him honestly. He placed the bandage to the side with a soft nod, taking my hand into his. intertwining our fingers.
"I know... I just wasn't thinkin'... I'm so sorry Himoko." Sokka looked away from me in regret. I let out a small sigh, smiling softly as I leant forward and resting my head against his shoulder.
"As long as you don't continue to be a obnoxious, a prat, a idiot-" I began to name off words that described him but was silenced by Sokka wrapping his free arm around me and him speaking to me,"I'm your idiot." I blushed but couldn't help but chuckle.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing-"
"Don't ruin the moment, Himoko." He whined, pulling away and planting a kiss on top of my head, which initiated a squeal from Katara. I let out a small laugh before I realized Aang was speaking.
"So, where do we go?" Aang questioned, looking back at us. "Yeah, we could go and see your dad-"
"We are getting you to the North Pole." Katara interrupted me, sending me a small apologetic smile once she realized that she did.
"Yeah, we have lost too much time as it is."
"What about your dad?" I questioned and Sokka shrugged, "He is a big boy, he can take care of himself."
"Don't you want to see him though?" Aang asked, Sokka answering smoothly.
"Of course we do, Aang. But, you're our family too, and right now, you need us more." Sokka told him honestly, the sincerity in his voice showing what he truly felt towards the 12 year old boy before us.
"And we need you." Katara told him, finishing what Sokka was saying. Aang smiled sadly, but his eyes showed something different when he looked at Katara.
"I wish I could give you a little piece of home, Katara. Something to remind-" Katara shook her head, smiling.
"I will be okay." She digressed.
"Still, just a little trinket. Maybe something like... This!" He produced Katara's lost necklace dramatically, up on his feet and offering it to Katara with a big wide grin.
"Aang, how did you get that?" Katara questions him as she takes it from his hold and ties it securely around his neck.
"Zuko asked to be sure I got it to you." Aang joked and I snorted unattractively. These burns must be a nice gift too...
"Oh, that's so sweet of Zuko. Would you give him a kiss for me when you see him?" She asked and Aand nods, playing along.
"Sure!" Katara kisses his Aang's cheek, his face going beet red.
"Aww... Sok should I give my regards to Zuko as well for these lovely tattoos-" He envelops me in his arms again, squeezing me protectively to his chest but careful to not squish Alea in between us. (A/N: Would anyone like to draw this please? I tried too but I'm not good at drawing angles)
"No..." He muttered and I chuckled, letting myself relax. This was certainly a rollercoaster of emotions filled day.
To Be continued
I'm dead inside.
Happy Christmas Eve everybody! Instead of hanging out with the fam I decided to write a 34 page chapter- And that isn't a exaggeration. This was supposed to be updated over the weekend but I got busy with holiday stuff and just ran into the problem with the flipping transcripts because the fight scene made no sense to me so I had to find my dvd boxset of atla just to see flipping see what the hell was going on.
To those who are shipping my oc with the other characters, just to remind you. This is a OcXVarious book- Meaning there will be subtext and context for each character so it will show the chemistry between the two characters. Without really hurting canon ships.
A lot of people didn't like that Himoko rejected Sokka, but it was already planned that Himoko would go back to Sokka and tell him that she would like to try it out, which was supposed to be in the last chapter but since during the time I was too tired to continue writing, it had to wait until this chapter.
Will she stay with Sokka? Coming from a SukiXSokka shipper, that is a maybe, because I would also like to explore the other ships you guys have given me, like with Katara, Jet, Adrian, Zuko, and even Toph because I remember somebody in the comments at some point wanted to see that happen, and now I want to see how their own chemistry would work when we finally get to meet Toph.
SO FEAR NOT SHIPPERS, THERE MAY BE SOME YURI GOING ON WE SHALL SEE.
This also gave me an opportunity when it comes to Himoko being attracted to another person. Not to brag or anything, but coming from a Demisexual, we don't feel anything regarding to attraction to do the do (I have children reading this so I am not going to go into detail about that) and she could easily also be aromantic, or closer to asexual, hell even both as in aroace.
Now to this chapter.
It a lengthy one so I very tired so will try to keep this short.
I wanted conflict in this chapter, wanted to show the dynamics between Sokka and Himoko which resulted in Sokka not trusting her once she decided to defend Aang but also stay neutral because she had no clue what happened for Aang to keep the map a secret. Which just shows how long that had to go if they want this relationship of their to work, like Himoko said at the end of the chapters.
I wanted Iroh in this chapter because like... He de best uncle and who the hell wouldn't want him a their family member?! Like can I switch my ass of a uncle with Iroh instead? Pls?
There was a bit of Zuko and Himoko interaction but not a whole lot because the transcript barely let me have any freedom do what I want in terms of altering what happens in the story so Himoko fits in the universe better.
I don't know if you guys have realized this year but- There is only five more episodes left of Book One: Water, meaning only five chapters left of this book.
And technically this is also the last chapter of 2018 I will be writing, so that's a bit exciting. The rest of the month I will be on break from writing, enjoy time with family and cry in my room over the ending of Voltron again as per usual.
For the last couple of chapters, I want to put fanart in them! Just like what I did with Phoenix Fire but this time around, it will hopefully also flesh out into the next book which I already decided a name for, 'Sound Waves'. Including a book cover for it.
Each update is a month apart from one another, and sometimes two, depending on how much chapter I get done. So whoever wants to make fanart of this book (It could just be Himoko, Himoko interacting with the other characters, shipping fanart, or even Alea because she is a cute bun. Or even Himoko with Bumi or Karlie! You have many options on what you want to do!).
I want at least one person who is better at drawing people in angles to draw Himoko and Sokka at the end of this chapter because it was adorable to me and I really wanted to do it, but it turned out unsatisfactory because I'm such a critic of myself and can't help it.
Thank you all for reading and just message me if you made fanart of this fanfiction! Talk to you all later and Happy Holidays! Golden
Word Count without A/N: 12,228
Total Word Count: 13,334
Total Pages: 36