Kai acted as coach from the sidelines as Aang trained with the two other benders. They'd blindfolded him and spun him around a few times, forcing him to rely solely on his mind's eye for guidance. Three pillars of stone flew toward him and he dodged them with ease. But his mind's eye also had to help his oversized ears work harder. Aang could hear water flowing through the air. A whip controlled by Katara lashed out in his direction, he was able to redirect it and smack the water bender against the wrist. And then, just to impress Toph, he sent an unexpected boulder hurdling her way. She stopped it midair.
"Nice job, Twinkle Toes." She said. "Visualize, then attack!" Toph sent the boulder flying back toward him. Aang did what the badgermole would do and burrowed into the ground.
The boulder missed Aang by a long shot and hit Katara square in the chest, knocking her on her ass and covering her with dirt. She stood up and dusted off her dress, scowling. "Maybe you should take your own advice, Toph!"
"What's the matter? Can't handle a little dirt, Madame Fussy-Britches?" Toph mocked. But she was soon the butt of the joke when Katara splashed her with a refreshing wave of cool water.
Sokka had been hiding behind a small hill, readying himself for his sneak attack, but the girlfight going on in front of them demanded more attention. He bumped Kai's hip with his own when he joined her. "What's their deal?" He asked, standing a bit closer than he might've a few days before.
Kai shrugged her crossed arms and leaned her shoulder against his side. They couldn't get too comfy around the others, not that they ever really had alone, either. They hadn't had a moment to even talk about their kiss or what it meant since fleeing from Shiva, the metal man.
"They've been pushing each other's buttons all day." She said. "Now's your chance. Aang's not paying attention."
Sokka looked down at her with determination written all over his face. He tiptoed slowly toward the avatar, who still had his back turned to them. But as excitement overwhelmed the boy, he lifted his space sword and took off full speed ahead.
"SNEAK ATTAAACK!" Sokka yelled. Aang didn't bother turning to look at him as he waved a wall of earth into his path, stopping the warrior dead in his tracks.
Kai smacked her face from second hand embarrassment. "Sokka.. sneak attacks don't work if you yell it out loud." The wall disappeared and Sokka fell flat on his back.
"I think your training's done for the day, Aang." She said as she approached Sokka. The battle between earth and water still raged in the mud pit near them, but that wasn't Kai's quarrel to settle. She kneeled next to Sokka and patted him firmly on the cheek until he opened his big blue eyes.
"Any feedback?" He asked.
She huffed a small laugh and straightened back up. "Yeah. Do better." With the stomp of her foot, the bed of earth below him forced him to stand. Sokka chased after her as she walked nonchalantly away from the other three.
"Hey! Where are you guys going?" Aang yelled from a distance.
"Into town!" She shouted back as Sokka caught up. "Do your avatar thing, figure out why Katara and Toph can't get along. We'll be back before dinner!"
Aang turned back around to see the two girls at each other's throats and covered from head to toe in mud. He sighed dramatically, this may be his toughest mission yet.
*****
Sokka followed closely behind Kai as she strolled through the outdoor farmer's market. Fire Nation crop was in season this time of year and the produce stands were overflowing with hearty fruits and vegetables -- but food of such quality came at a price.
"Ugh, why are we even here?" Sokka complained while holding his grumbling belly. "We only have two silver coins left and I'm STARVING!"
She swiped a ripe red apple from the trough, tucking it close to her side. Sokka saw the thievery and he assumed everyone else did, too. "What are you doing?!" He whispered through a clenched jaw, grabbing her wrist. His fingers fit completely around it.
She turned to face him and pulled their hands between the two of them, keeping the stolen goods concealed. "You're hungry. We're broke. I'm feeding you. What issue could you possibly have with that?" She mumbled, watching Sokka's eyes glance over her shoulder at the merchant.
Kai knew that he hadn't noticed. No one had. She could see that just with the bump of her bare foot against the ground. He reluctantly let go of her wrist and she swiped another, along with a pineapple just to test her luck.
"How are you so good at this?" Sokka asked as he continued to stroll along beside her, keeping a close eye on her sneaky fingers. Not a single soul noticed all the things she slipped into her dress. A bag of jerky, raspberries, she even pickpocketed the switchblade from some unsuspecting man's trousers.
She smiled up at him. "I was homeless for three years, Sokka. Petty crimes paid for what petty jobs couldn't."
Sokka'd almost forgotten about that portion of her life — about the fact that she had an entire existence before their friendship started, really. Even after a year of traveling on the back of a bison and sleeping on the ground, he still had never really considered himself "homeless". He'd always had somewhere to lay his head at night, even if that place was just a travel pillow.
"What was that like?" He inquired. "If you don't mind talking about it."
Kai dipped between two produce stands, leading him toward the trimmed grass behind the market where they could picnic. "It was.. an adjustment, for a while." She said.
Truth be told, Kai loved her days after being dismissed by her father. It'd been tough at first, making friends when the only one she'd ever had was also being hidden from the world. It was hard not knowing if your next meal would come from a kitchen or a compost pile. But she'd met so many generous people along the way that'd shown her the kindness that her father lacked. And then others taught her more useful skills, like how to survive when the generous people were few and far between.
"But it was so much fun." She said. They sat in the grass and Kai unloaded all of the stolen goods. She tossed the bag of jerky to Sokka and his greedy little fingers scooped it up in a pinch.
"Fun?" He asked. "Fun how?"
It was a hard feeling to explain, the way she thought about those years now that she was looking back on them. It almost made her feel almost nostalgic, like she was missing out by tagging along with the avatar and his gang. But she hadn't really been doing anything in particular besides wasting time until the universe told her what to do next. Maybe that was why she'd enjoyed it so, because back then, the universe rarely had orders for her.
"I was free for the first time. No rules to follow, no invisible boundaries that I wasn't allowed to cross, no training schedule." And then there was the darker side to her freedom, the things that most people didn't consider a privilege. "When someone hit me, I was finally allowed to hit back. I could cry when I was sad and lash out when I was angry without having the life beat out of me for it afterwards." She laughed and shook her head. "I remember the first time a boy looked me in the eyes and said hello. Spirits, I thought that's what love felt like."
Kai still thought of that boy sometimes. His father had just been captured by fire nation soldiers, along with every other earth bender in his village. They'd both been in desperate need of a friend.
Sokka's mouth went slack mid chew. He lost his appetite for a moment as the mental image of a young Kai, beaten bloody, flashed before his eyes.
"I.. I didn't know —" Sokka stammered repeatedly. "I didn't know it was, uh.." His chest heated with anger and his cheeks flushed a rosy pink from embarrassment over his response.
It dawned on Kai then that Sokka didn't know her. He knew who she was now, who she was becoming, and he knew who destiny had attempted to "fate" her into being, but he didn't know any of the things that'd molded and whipped her into the person that sat before him. Maybe he didn't want to know. Maybe it was better that way.
"It, uh.. I guess it sounds a lot worse than it felt at the time, really." She said. Her own discreet way of apologizing.
Sokka wanted to know more. He'd watched her from afar for months, watched over her, just like he did the three other members of their gang. That was his role, the protector. But she'd never needed protecting. He'd always been enamored by that.
"Tell me." He said with more strength in his voice this time. "I wanna know. Go ahead, tell me your worst."
Kai looked down at the selection of fruits in front of them and her mind swarmed with foul memories. They brought the metallic taste of blood back into her mouth. She wanted to be rid of it immediately, so she chose an apple and bit into it.
"No." Was all she said. Plain and simple. Kai knew what her "worst" was.
"Kai, I wanna—"
"I said no, Sokka." She growled, and that two letter word echoed in her mind.
When she looked up at Sokka with a predator's stare, like a lion peeking through the tall grass in the Sahara, he could see that she wasn't actually looking at him. She was looking right through him, as if he wasn't even there. His face was hot again.
The apple began to feel heavy in her hand and Sokka was aware of that. He noticed every little change in an instant; the way her shoulders were tense but her fingers went slack. He saw the hairs on her arms stand on end like a wild dog readying itself for a nasty fight, yet her bottom lip trembled slightly with fear. Without thinking, he reached out to touch her and she flinched. Sokka froze with his hand midair. The atmosphere between them was thick with unwelcome tension.
"I'm not gonna hurt you.." He said and slowly continued moving his hand forward until it met her cheek. "I'm sorry. Okay?"
Sokka had only intended to touch her briefly in an attempt to bring her back down to earth, but she leaned into his touch. Kai dropped the apple and rested her hand overtop his, securing it on her face.
"How about I tell you my best instead?" She said, trying her damndest to sound like she hadn't just been dissociating completely.
"You don't have to tell me anything, Kai."
"These three ladies took me in once. They were only a few years older than we are now." She said. "They were so fucking radiant and alive. I wanted to be just like them, in love with life and myself and everyone around me. They'd sneak me into taverns and drag me to fairs. I danced for the first time with those three. They took care of me during my first hangover."
Sokka felt her lips curve into a smile on her cheek. He tried to lower his hand but she wouldn't let him just yet. When she finally did, her fingers curled between his and they rested between their laps.
"Why'd you leave then?" He asked.
Kai rolled her eyes. "The township we were in was backwards. They didn't want a bunch of women living together, so they told us to split."
A brothel. That's what they'd thought the women were running. Nevermind the fact that no one had a shred of evidence to back such a claim up. But that village was the girls' home, not Kai's. She left so that they could stay together.
"What about yours?" She asked and dropped his hand, picking back up her apple. "Your best day since leaving home. Go."
Was bringing up past girlfriends to the girl you're currently courting tacky? Immediately he thought that maybe the answer was his days with Yue or Suki, but those had also been some of his worst. He brought his fingers to his chin in deep thought.
"This might sound corny, but.. probably our kiss. Every other kiss I've had has been a farewell, even if I didn't know it yet. Ours was just... just nice."
Sokka caught himself glancing down at the girl's lips, they were wet with sweet apple juice. His chest felt heavy. Spirits, he wanted to kiss her again, he'd wanted to even before their first one ended. Kai's mouth turned up into a subtle smile and he knew that he'd been caught.
"You don't have to ask for permission." She said. Sokka was the nicest guy to ever court her — if whatever they were falling into could even be considered such. And he was savvy. But he was nervous and too courteous to take the reins like some of her other suitors. She could sense both his fear and desire simultaneously. "I like when you kiss me, Sokka. I want you to kiss me whenever you feel like it."
She didn't expect him to act so quickly on the offer, but Sokka immediately leaned in as she was lifting the apple to take another bite. He wanted to taste the juice that was still lingering on her lips, and he did, though only briefly.
It was just a simple kiss, one that was over too quickly for her to reciprocate. He pulled away from her and asked, "You said whenever, right?"
Kai smiled and tossed the fruit, her appetite was insatiable to it now. Her sticky fingers found their way to the side of his face and pushed through his hair lovingly, pulling his face back to hers. Sokka moved his body closer and kissed her like he'd dreamed of doing for days. When their foreheads met, his heart fluttered wildly with untamable butterflies.
Kai's mind wandered to thoughts she shouldn't have been having. Is this the furthest he's gone with a girl? Soft, innocent kisses. She asked herself. Is it too soon to ask him to touch me? Because fuck, do I want him to touch me..
He did it on his own before she could feel guilty for wanting such a thing so quickly. Sokka placed one gentle hand on her waist while the other rested on the ground between them for support. She could feel his heartbeat raging and his warm blood pumping.
Kai played with his soft locks while he kissed her. She really did love his grown out undercut. His thick, dark hair complimented his darker skin tone, and his icy blue eyes tied it all together. She sat her free hand on the ground behind her and leaned back, pulling him by the back of the head with her.
Sokka's hand slipped further behind to the small of her back and she felt his lips freeze for a moment. He was scared that he'd pushed her too far by exploring her body further.
But she couldn't stand the thought of him not kissing her.
"I'm not made of glass." She whispered to him with her forehead still leaned against his. "You can touch me."
And Sokka dove back into her, kissing her more firmly this time. He pressed further into the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. His lips parted and she finally got her fill of his taste, that watermelon and mint that she'd only smelled and sampled once before. Sokka's tongue dipped into her mouth, brushing against hers.
Kai'd never melted over a man before. She'd had crushes and desires like everyone else, she'd swooned like a schoolgirl over guys her age and ones far older than her, but never had she become putty in their hands. Even when she let them think that they were in control, she always secretly had them wrapped around her finger. Not now. Sokka's gentleman-like patience made her want to give herself to him simply because if anyone deserved it, it was him.
So she did. She sunk into his kiss and relinquished all control for the first time.
*****
The two of them floated back to their camp with the few groceries they'd stolen. By then, their lips were kissed raw and their skin was marked by the other's invisible fingerprints. Sokka's hair was tousled, he didn't bother fixing it.
As they rounded the curve of the trail they'd been following they could still hear shouting in the distance, "Could you for ONCE stop being such a sourpuss and lighten up?!"
It was Toph's voice that was raised, but Katara's followed shortly after, "Oh, I'm sorry! You think I should be more like you? Like some wild child?!"
Kai huffed and rolled her eyes. "They're still fighting?"
When she and Sokka finally made it back to camp, the war was still raging. They saw the reason for it now, the few stolen groceries they carried with them was nothing compared to what sat in baskets around the fire. Fruits, vegetables and goods galore.
"I don't think so. I think you miss them, but you just don't wanna deal with that, so instead you act like this crazy person!" Katara yelled, minding Sokka and Kai no attention.
Kai rushed to her friend's defense. She placed a protective hand on Toph's shoulder and glared at Katara. "Stop. You're bringing up stuff that you know nothing about."
"You're defending her?!" Katara asked, but Kai wasn't. She didn't even know what the fight was about just yet. "These scams put us all at risk, and we don't need that. We've already got some third-eyed freak after us! We have enough money, so just stop!"
Toph shook her shoulder free of Kai's grasp and continued to stand her ground. "We're FINE, Katara! No one even knows that we're pulling scams!"
Just as she said it, Aang cleared his voice. He stepped into the semi circle and pulled a piece of parchment out of his back pocket, unrolling it but holding it away from Katara so she couldn't see. "Actually.. I found this when we were leaving town. It looks like some of those scammers caught on pretty fast.." He said as he turned the paper around.
It was a wanted poster with a cartoon scribbled on the front that very accurately resembled Toph. Katara flared with anger and the rest of them braced themselves for the explosion.
"You aren't doing anymore scams, Toph." Kai snapped before the water bender had the chance to start in on her again. Toph opened her mouth to object, but she was abruptly shut down. "Katara's right, they're already drawing too much attention to us. Lay off of them until we get to our next stop."
"What? You, too??" Toph said with disappointed surprise. "But you used to pull scams all the time! You told me all about the stealing and —"
Kai's calm, pale eyes flared to life. "You're not me. I told you to stop, so STOP! And I don't want to hear another word about it!"
Sokka, Toph and Aang all took a step back after the outburst. They'd never heard anyone talk to Toph like that, besides Katara, but at least that was typical of her. Toph's brow furrowed with anger and she clenched her fists so tight at her sides that her knuckles began to turn white. "You don't think I can take care of myself!" She shouted. "Well, I can! Besides, you did it, you have no right to tell me to stop!"
"Nobody was looking for ME, Toph!" Kai shouted, a small tremor deep underneath her feet followed after. "I didn't have a bounty on my head, you do! I didn't have parents that were searching every corner of the Earth for me, you do! I didn't have a single fucking thing to lose if I got caught, YOU DO!"
Katara was standing behind Kai now with her hands perched on her hips, as if she were on the winning team. Toph glared back and forth at the both of them. Her bottom lip quivered for a moment and for the first time ever, she shouted back at Kai. "The two of you are just like them! You're just like my parents! Well guess what — You're NOT my mom and you're NOT my dad! I'll stop when I want to and NOT when either of you tell me to!"
Toph began to stomp away, each of her footsteps leaving a deep imprint in the ground below her. Katara was feeling very proud of herself right about now, having Kai on her side and all. "Don't you walk away from us while we're talking to you!" She yelled after the girl.
Kai snapped in her direction. "Or what? You'll send her to her room? She's right, you're not her mom, so stop acting like it."
Katara's face fell and she slumped away feeling defeated, leaving toward the bottom of the hill that Toph was already sitting on top of.
After a long period of silence between Aang, Kai and Sokka, the avatar finally spoke up. "Should we.. say something to them? I don't think this fight is gonna get resolved on its own.."
Kai looked over her shoulder toward the cliff where Toph was dangling her feet over the edge. She was hurting, Kai'd been able to feel it since the catacombs incident — when Toph clung to her for life out of fear of being abandoned again. "Toph's pretty pissed at me right now. Sokka, you'll probably have more luck with her."
"Right. I'll go talk to her." He said and placed a reassuring hand on Kai's shoulder. "But you should go to Katara. I think you hurt her feelings, but only because she respects you."
*****
Kai found Katara submerged in a pool of water at the bottom of the cliff. She'd been crying, her cheeks were red and puffy and her eyes were bloodshot.
"Mind if I join you?" She asked quietly. Katara nodded but didn't say a word. Kai stripped and entered the cool water, dipping her head under and reemerging in front of the girl.
"Let me guess. You came here to tell me to lay off — that I'm being too tough on Toph and that I need to give her space." She scoffed. "I don't know how you deal with her sometimes."
Kai smiled. Spirits help this girl if she ever had any daughters, she'd be in for a rough few years.
"You are being too tough on her." Kai said. "But you're doing it out of love, so I get it." Katara glanced up from her reflection in the water. "She doesn't know what that's like, Katara."
"But, her parents.." Katara started.
"Her parents locked her up because they thought she was weak. They refused her proper training because they couldn't accept her for who she was. When you try to parent her —" Katara tried to interrupt at the accusation but Kai continued to speak. "And you do try to parent her, you do it to all of us, she thinks you're doing it for the same reasons that her mother did. Because you don't believe in her."
The water bender sighed, "I guess I never thought of it like that.. How did I fix this then?"
"Your mother loved you, right? You know that without a doubt."
"Of course!" Katara snapped. She'd begun to stand in the water from the shock of being asked such a thing.
"Toph's doesn't. Or at least not who she really is, that's why we're so dependent on each other. Toph and I never had parents that loved us the way your parents love you and Sokka." It physically pained Kai to admit such a thing, and it hurt Katara just as equally to realize that what she was being told was the truth. "I know that I'm too lenient with her, so maybe she needs a little bit of your tough love. But you need to love her the way that your mother loved you, by guiding her into doing what she wants safely instead of expecting her to just behave. She's been expected to behave her whole life."
Katara sighed and another tear fell down her cheek. The pain of losing her mother was tormenting enough.. But the thought of her mom having not loved her? That was unimaginable. Kai pulled her into a hug and brushed through her hair. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'll take your side the next time you and Sokka are arguing to make it up to you, sound good?"
She huffed a laugh against Kai's shoulder and nodded before pulling away. She was just wiping the fallen tears from her cheeks when the perfect form of an apology popped into her head.
"Let's go.. I think I know how to make this better."
*****
Katara and Kai left a trail of water behind them as they walked back to camp. Sokka and Toph were already there, and Toph seemed to be in better spirits than she had been all day.
Kai nudged the girl closer to Toph, silently supporting the plan that they'd cooked up back at the pond. "Hi, Toph. Um, I wanna.."
Toph held up a silencing palm. "Katara, stop. You don't need to apologize. I was the one being stupid. These scams are out of control, and I'm done with them."
"Actually, I wasn't going to apologize. I was gonna say.." Katara looked over her shoulder at Kai and smiled before continuing. "I wanna pull a scam with you. The ultimate scam."
Sokka, Toph and Aang's jaws all fell while Katara and Kai smiled with pride.
"Are you kidding me?! You know I'm in!" Toph shouted excitedly. She bounced into Katara's arms, pulling her down into a tight hug.
Sokka snuck over to Kai and bumped her side, looking down at her, impressed. "How in the hell did you manage that??"
Kai snaked her arms around his waist. The others were too preoccupied to mind them any attention anyways. Sokka pulled her under his wing, slinging his arm over her shoulder.
"Just some girl talk, that's all." They looked at the two benders who now seemed to be the best of friends. Katara was laying out her plan for Toph, who listened intently. "You didn't do so bad yourself." She said.
"Alright, let's go! If we do it now we can be back before sundown!" Katara said. She really seemed to be into the idea of pulling a scam of her own. She walked with Toph back up the beaten path that led toward the village where there was a heft bounty out for her.
*****
The two girls were gone for a long time. The sun hadn't quite begun to set, but it was getting close. Aang was keeping himself preoccupied by stirring Katara's cauldron of soup, but the meal wasn't even close to being done and none of them knew the rest of the recipe.
"Do you think this scam should be taking so long?" Kai asked Aang since he was the one that'd gone scamming with her earlier.
"I was just thinking the same thing.. We better check it out." He responded. "Appa, you keep an eye on dinner. Don't let it burn."
The three of them traveled down to the village to find it barren. It was like a ghost town, shops had been boarded up and it was almost like no one had lived there in years.
"Where do you think they might be?" Sokka asked quietly. Still, his voice seemed to echo through the empty streets.
"Where do you think anyone is?..." Aang asked.
Suddenly, the pressure in Kai's ears dropped into a high pitch whistle. She turned and the world around her seemed to move in slow motion. Shiva stood on the top of a nearby building, his head tilted back as he prepared to strike. "Watch out!!" She yelled, grabbing the two boys and pulling them out of the way just in time to not be blasted into the spirit world.
The three of them rolled behind a statue of Fire Lord Ozai, Sokka holding his head. "It's Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Man!"
"What? His name is Shiva."
Shiva turned the corner of the statue and the pressure dropped again. They took off weaving through the streets and alleys, trying to evade his attacks. Their zig zags proved effective for a bit, but soon Sokka and Kai were being knocked back into a wheelbarrow together while Aang got the worst of the blast and hit the cobblestone ground.
"This guy is too good! He shoots fire from his BRAIN!" Sokka yelled, silently scanning over Kai for any more serious injuries.
"We need to split up." She said. "He can't chase all of us. Aang, you stick to the rooftops. Sokka and I will try to distract him."
"US??" Sokka asked and helped her out of the farming equipment. "But HE'S the avatar!"
Shiva emerged from the dispersing smoke he'd produced and Kai grabbed Sokka by the wrist, pulling him along with her as Aang used a wind gust to take off into the sky. The wheelbarrow they'd just crawled out of was dissipated in the next instant.
Kai did all she could to fight off the assassin and simultaneously keep Sokka safe. She knocked him off his feet more times that she could count and sent slabs of concrete headed straight for him, all one handed. She hadn't noticed that her right hand was intertwined with Sokka's so tightly. They slid around the corner into a dark alleyway just as the air surrounding them lit up again with fire.
The two of them tumbled to the ground. The smoke that filled the air was heavy and dark, this whole village would soon be up in flames.
"Sokka, I don't know what to —" She said, already out of breath, but was cut off by a pair of warm lips smashing against hers. Any doubt that she had about herself disappeared and never showed its face again when her eyes reopened.
Sokka sat beside her like nothing had even happened.
"What was that for?" Kai asked.
He shrugged and pulled her to her feet. "You told me you wanted me to kiss you whenever I felt like it. Well, we might die, so I felt like kissing you one last time." He peeked around the corner for a moment and then back over his shoulder. "Is that still okay?"
Even through the stress and smoke and smog, Kai managed a smile. If there was any time that she wanted to be kissed, it was right before she died.
"I think he's.. Gone." Sokka said. Another loud blast erupted in the far off distance.
"He's going after Aang, we have to help him!" Kai said. Sokka grabbed her by the wrist and took off in the direction of the explosion, but it was hard to find in the winding maze that was hidden by thick smoke. Shingles and concrete crumbled around them as more blasts rang out from above. Kai felt the ground beneath her shake, sending a supersonic pulse through her body. She got the slightest glimpse of Aang's small body being thrown around like a rag doll.
Kai redirected Sokka and led them through the piles of debris. They finally found him. Aang sat holding his beaten body at the foot of Ozai's statue, Shiva stood before him with his head already reared back and third eye glowing red on his forehead.
Sokka gripped Kai's shoulders, assuming that there was nothing else they could do. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed down the lump in her throat.
"Aang, get up!" A voice yelled from behind the assassin.
Kai and Sokka opened their eyes to see that Shiva's head was now encased in a block of ice. He struggled to free himself as Katara and Toph darted toward the air bender. Toph felt the other two gang members as her feet hit the ground and she turned toward them. "Kai, Sokka! Come on, let's get out of here!"
But the ice had already melted. Shiva shot another blast from his head and Kai forced a boulder in his direction. It exploded, sending shards of rock flying and raining down on them. One small pebble was all it took for them to make their escape. It hit the assassin's third eye and the next time he tried to bend with his mind, he found that he couldn't. His chi was blocked. But he tried again, and the air around him ignited, blowing himself back against one of the only remaining walls in the village.
*****
It was late in the night when they got to their next camp. Appa landed and the crew got to work setting up their pop-up homes.
"Katara.. Do you mind if I sleep with you tonight?" Kai heard Toph asking from afar. "I need you to write some things down for me.. I wanna send a letter to my parents."
Kai stopped unpacking her bedroll and nudged Sokka, motioning for him to take notice of the truce that was going on behind them.
"I'd be happy to help, Toph." Katara smiled and then turned to Aang, who'd been sharing a blanket with her throughout the night recently. "You don't mind, do you, Aang?"
"Of course not! I think Appa misses having a cuddle buddy, anyways. Don't ya, buddy?" He said, and the bison roared in agreement.
"Is that okay with you guys?" Toph asked, speaking to both Kai and Sokka.
Sokka looked down at Kai and cocked an eyebrow. He found himself wanting to kiss her an awful lot lately.
"I think Sokka and I can hold down the fort for a night." Kai said, and laid her palette out a little closer to his this time.
A/N - Just FYI, I rewrote this chapter like three times because I didn't like it. I'm super excited about the next chapter though. Thank you to everyone still reading and just tuning in!