Post by Teяa253 on Sept 16, 2008 10:33:08 GMT 1
the next installment of my Sokka Hakoda/Katara Altina series...
if anyone finds anything in this one disturbing, guess what: no one cares.
THE HEART OF THE FLAMES
Sokka suddenly found him talking face to face with his own father Zuko. He knew that he must be in the spirit world.
“What would I do in a situation like this, son?” He asked, “Think about it.”
“Well,” Sokka stammered, “I think you would calm down, and try to understand her.”
“She has always looked up to you, Sokka, even since the time when she was just a little girl.”
“But what am I to do, father” Sokka asked, “she won’t listen to anyone.”
“She listens to you, Sokka,” Zuko replied, “and if you’re willing to open up to her, perhaps you will learn more about her.”
“What would you do if you were here?” Sokka moaned,
“I would do what I am telling you to do, son,” Zuko replied, “I would open up to her. It’s just something you should think about.”
“So,” said Sokka, “this is it then? I’m going back?”
“Yes,” Zuko replied, “I bid you farewell son, and applaud you on the way you’ve been taking care of my daughter. She’s a fierce one, and I can understand why your mother had trouble with her. Just have patience.”
Sokka found himself still gazing upwards, but suddenly there was a face looming above him. He started, and sort of fell backwards.
“Katara,” he exclaimed, looking her over. She was fully dressed, but was still barefoot; “I thought you said you were going to bed”
“What business is it of yours,” she snapped,
“Mine entirely,” Sokka replied bluntly, “I’m your brother, and I’m here to watch over you and keep you from harming yourself.”
“Oh” Katara said sarcastically, turning to show her right arm, which was still bleeding, “looks like you’ve done a FANTASTIC job at doing that. Good work, genius”
Sokka opened his mouth to speak, but then decided against it. “Patience” he thought, “Patience will win her back to the truth.”
“So what are you doing out here?” she said, her voice still lacking any sign of friendliness. Sokka actually did not feel inclined to answer, but decided again that he should.
“I was staring at the moon,” he replied, “It’s a waterbender thing.”
“Oh,” Katara exclaimed, “I thought it was the airbenders that were the spiritual ones.”
“What are you talking about, Katara,” Sokka exclaimed, “besides, you’re much like a stubborn earthbender yourself,”
This made Sokka feel better and luckily Katara did not react to it.
“Face it:” Katara replied, “I know you somehow went to the spirit world. My only question now is who’d you see? Are you the next avatar?”
“No,” Sokka replied, “I... I saw father.”
This made Katara stop dead in her tracks.
“You saw WHAT” she barked,
“I saw our father Zuko,” Sokka replied straightforwardly, and soon learned that this would set Katara off.
She tilted her head back as if she were mechanical, and then bellowed at the top of her lungs until she began to go blue in the face. She pointed her fingers towards the heavens, and Sokka saw her true prowess unleashed. Her fury fueled her firebending better than a comet. Huge columns of flames erupted from her fingertips, and they began to spark, and Sokka knew that this meant lightning.
He was right. It was actually a rather amazing display, but it hurt Sokka to see something that hurt his sister so much. He noticed her face and saw that tears were freely flowing down her cheeks, staining them.
“WHY,” she bellowed, “why did you get to see him and I didn’t,”
Sokka said nothing, but he soon learned that she had been talking to him
“ANSWER ME,” she roared, and Sokka actually jumped back.
“I have no answer,” Sokka responded calmly, “I cannot control these things either.”
Katara paused, and then slowly turned her head towards him. She took a few steps forward, her bare feet making no noise in the soft grass. She got right up into Sokka’s face, and glared at him.
“What do you want me to do,” Sokka asked, just as calmly as before; Katara still said nothing. Then suddenly she bellowed as loud as she could and began trying to attack him.
“KATARA,” Sokka shouted, fighting back for his own safety, “I’m your own brother. WHAT do you think this is going to accomplish?”
However, these words fell again on deaf ears. Katara was bent on attacking him. Luckily Sokka was stronger, and incidentally, the moon was full. His mother had taught him of bloodbending—the notorious dark technique, and Sokka had never hoped to have to use it, let alone on his own 15-year-old sister. And yet her rage was so extreme—the lust—the craze—of knowing that her brother had just seen her father whom she longed to see so very much, that she was bent on attacking.
“You leave me no choice, Katara,” Sokka said sadly, and suddenly jerked his fingers. Katara’s attempted lunge turned into a back flip. Sokka was forced to bloodbend his own sister.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!?!” she roared, and again tried to come towards him, but Sokka had full control. However, he did not want to force her and more than he had to, so he continued to only move her when she came at him with a desire to hurt him. She continued until she miraculously ran out of energy and collapsed. Sokka let her go and looked at her. He put much of his weight onto her, as she had pulled the fake strategy on him before, and had almost given him a scar like his father’s by doing so.
“LET ME GO!” she bellowed, “LET ME SEE MY FATHER!!!”
“KATARA,” Sokka bellowed in return, “I’m only doing what he wanted me to do! He told me that I was supposed to take care of you!”
Katara said nothing, and resigned screaming. Sokka listened to her breathing, and she was sniffling. She was actually crying—genuine sobbing. This might be his chance.
“Katara,” Sokka exclaimed, prodding her, and letting go of the scruff of her neck (something he normally would almost never do) Katara just continued sobbing. Although he kept his weight on her, he turned her face around so that she was looking him in the eyes.
“Katara,” he said, “are you okay?”
He was half expecting another sarcastic remark, but apparently something had hit her hard emotionally. She stared back up at him, tears flowing down her face.
“Come here,” said Sokka, and he picked up his sister and cradled her like a baby, “Katara, I love you. I don’t want you to hurt yourself. I just want to understand you. Give me a chance, please.”
He did not expect her to answer, and at first she didn’t. He began humming a soft tune to her, and her crying was reduced to sniffling.
“Sokka,” she said, and Sokka looked right into her golden yellow eyes,
“What is it, Katara,” Sokka asked with all sincerity in mind,
Katara paused, and Sokka noticed her eyes beginning to water again. He waited patiently until she answered his question.
“WHY COULDN’T I HAVE SEEN FATHER,” she wailed, and broke down crying again. Sokka knew what she meant when she said that. Unfortunately, she had no answer for her.
“I,” he stammered, “I don’t know, Katara. These things just happen. I did not choose him to come to me. In fact, if he had asked who he should talk to, I would have pointed him to you. You need him much more than I do. I understand how close he was to you. I loved him too.”
Katara began to cry again. Sokka could also tell that they were tears of pain. He gently took her inside and laid her on her bed.
“Katara,” said Sokka, “you’re hurt. Let me heal you.”
Katara said nothing, and then she slowly got up. In the light of the cabin, Sokka could see that while she had been thrashing she had cut and burned herself all over.
“You can heal my arm,” she said, “I... I don’t know what came over me.”
“I do,” Sokka replied as his sister removed everything but the guards on her hands and her undergarments, “you long for your family. The burning lust within you drives you to the point of insanity. You just want to see them again, and you want someone to understand that. Katara, that’s what I’m here for. Now lie down.
Katara lay back down on her back on her bed, and Sokka began massaging her body using his healing waterbending techniques. Her entire body was slashed, cut, and bruised, and yet the guards on Katara’s hands had done their jobs. Sokka lifted one of his sister’s limp arms up and noticed that although it was heavily scratched that it was not damaged, which means that Katara’s hands and wrists—the most damage-prone part of her body—were okay, so her left them on her.
Katara continued slowly sniffling, but also closed her eyes as she rolled over. Sokka may have been a strong man in order to keep his sister in balance, but he had his mother’s soft touch. She rolled over one more time so that she was face down again, and Sokka noticed that by the time he was finishing up healing Katara’s feet that she was asleep. The cuts on her arm did not fully heal. They had been too deep, so she still had 3 red slash marks on her arm.
Sokka began running his fingers gently through her hair, getting all the tangles out. She had the same thick, beautiful hair that her mother had, and Sokka enjoyed it. He continued to scratch her head until he was sure that she was asleep. Then he covered her up and got into bed himself. He had had another long, rough day, and he knew that his sister had too, and so he was hoping that they both would sleep. Sokka fell asleep quickly, being tired, but was also happy that he was finding a way through to his younger sister’s emotions.
Sokka ended up waking up before Katara did, and when he thought about why he did, it suddenly made perfect sense. Unlike his sister, Sokka did not go nuts and try to hurt himself. He glanced over at his sister and smiled to see that she was still peacefully asleep. One thing that he longed to see her do though, was to smile. Sokka longed to see his sister crack a smile, for it had been such a long time since she had done so. Sokka made breakfast, and as he was finishing the preparation, Katara stepped in, dressed but still barefoot, like she usually was when she was indoors. She looked groggy and tired, and Sokka knew this.
“Do you want some breakfast,” Sokka asked, “I made some for you,”
“Yeah,” she said, sitting down, “I’d love some; duh.”
These were her last words before she began wolfing her food down using her hands and face. She took a long drink of water afterwards and then belched loudly.
“Thanks,” she said dimly, and walked away, still hunched. Sokka did not like how her sister would never stand up straight. He knew she could, but she didn’t like to. However, Sokka wanted her not to be like that in 30 or 40 years, so he stopped to help her. He gently put his hands on her shoulders and straightened her out.
“Your father was a prince,” he said, “He would have wanted his daughter to walk upright and proud.”
Katara said nothing, and eventually slumped again, and Sokka did not want to press her too far. He knew Katara too well that, if you pressed her too far she would explode on you. The problem was that it was hard to tell what was “too far” and what wasn’t—unless you knew her.
“Sokka,” she said turning around, and placing her braced hands on his shoulders, “sit down a second.”
Sokka sat down but said nothing.
“Look,” she said, “um, about last night: I... I lost control. If you try to understand me maybe I’ll be able to become normal again, but for now, just bear with me, alright?”
“Alright,” Sokka replied, “I’ll be glad to.”
“Good, good,” Katara replied, “however, I’m gonna give you a fair warning right now—I might go nuts and try to attack you again. Just bear with me and do whatever it takes to contain me. I want to make my father proud of me, wherever he is.”
“Well,” said Sokka, “unlike your father’s story, you know that your father always loved you. Remember that, and help me to better understand you, and I’ll be more than happy to bear with you, okay?”
“Alright,” Katara muttered in reply, “now come give me a hug. You’ve advanced far enough for that now.”
Sokka smiled. Although Katara was not smiling back, he was glad that he had done what he did.
~Katara~
if anyone finds anything in this one disturbing, guess what: no one cares.
THE HEART OF THE FLAMES
Sokka suddenly found him talking face to face with his own father Zuko. He knew that he must be in the spirit world.
“What would I do in a situation like this, son?” He asked, “Think about it.”
“Well,” Sokka stammered, “I think you would calm down, and try to understand her.”
“She has always looked up to you, Sokka, even since the time when she was just a little girl.”
“But what am I to do, father” Sokka asked, “she won’t listen to anyone.”
“She listens to you, Sokka,” Zuko replied, “and if you’re willing to open up to her, perhaps you will learn more about her.”
“What would you do if you were here?” Sokka moaned,
“I would do what I am telling you to do, son,” Zuko replied, “I would open up to her. It’s just something you should think about.”
“So,” said Sokka, “this is it then? I’m going back?”
“Yes,” Zuko replied, “I bid you farewell son, and applaud you on the way you’ve been taking care of my daughter. She’s a fierce one, and I can understand why your mother had trouble with her. Just have patience.”
Sokka found himself still gazing upwards, but suddenly there was a face looming above him. He started, and sort of fell backwards.
“Katara,” he exclaimed, looking her over. She was fully dressed, but was still barefoot; “I thought you said you were going to bed”
“What business is it of yours,” she snapped,
“Mine entirely,” Sokka replied bluntly, “I’m your brother, and I’m here to watch over you and keep you from harming yourself.”
“Oh” Katara said sarcastically, turning to show her right arm, which was still bleeding, “looks like you’ve done a FANTASTIC job at doing that. Good work, genius”
Sokka opened his mouth to speak, but then decided against it. “Patience” he thought, “Patience will win her back to the truth.”
“So what are you doing out here?” she said, her voice still lacking any sign of friendliness. Sokka actually did not feel inclined to answer, but decided again that he should.
“I was staring at the moon,” he replied, “It’s a waterbender thing.”
“Oh,” Katara exclaimed, “I thought it was the airbenders that were the spiritual ones.”
“What are you talking about, Katara,” Sokka exclaimed, “besides, you’re much like a stubborn earthbender yourself,”
This made Sokka feel better and luckily Katara did not react to it.
“Face it:” Katara replied, “I know you somehow went to the spirit world. My only question now is who’d you see? Are you the next avatar?”
“No,” Sokka replied, “I... I saw father.”
This made Katara stop dead in her tracks.
“You saw WHAT” she barked,
“I saw our father Zuko,” Sokka replied straightforwardly, and soon learned that this would set Katara off.
She tilted her head back as if she were mechanical, and then bellowed at the top of her lungs until she began to go blue in the face. She pointed her fingers towards the heavens, and Sokka saw her true prowess unleashed. Her fury fueled her firebending better than a comet. Huge columns of flames erupted from her fingertips, and they began to spark, and Sokka knew that this meant lightning.
He was right. It was actually a rather amazing display, but it hurt Sokka to see something that hurt his sister so much. He noticed her face and saw that tears were freely flowing down her cheeks, staining them.
“WHY,” she bellowed, “why did you get to see him and I didn’t,”
Sokka said nothing, but he soon learned that she had been talking to him
“ANSWER ME,” she roared, and Sokka actually jumped back.
“I have no answer,” Sokka responded calmly, “I cannot control these things either.”
Katara paused, and then slowly turned her head towards him. She took a few steps forward, her bare feet making no noise in the soft grass. She got right up into Sokka’s face, and glared at him.
“What do you want me to do,” Sokka asked, just as calmly as before; Katara still said nothing. Then suddenly she bellowed as loud as she could and began trying to attack him.
“KATARA,” Sokka shouted, fighting back for his own safety, “I’m your own brother. WHAT do you think this is going to accomplish?”
However, these words fell again on deaf ears. Katara was bent on attacking him. Luckily Sokka was stronger, and incidentally, the moon was full. His mother had taught him of bloodbending—the notorious dark technique, and Sokka had never hoped to have to use it, let alone on his own 15-year-old sister. And yet her rage was so extreme—the lust—the craze—of knowing that her brother had just seen her father whom she longed to see so very much, that she was bent on attacking.
“You leave me no choice, Katara,” Sokka said sadly, and suddenly jerked his fingers. Katara’s attempted lunge turned into a back flip. Sokka was forced to bloodbend his own sister.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!?!” she roared, and again tried to come towards him, but Sokka had full control. However, he did not want to force her and more than he had to, so he continued to only move her when she came at him with a desire to hurt him. She continued until she miraculously ran out of energy and collapsed. Sokka let her go and looked at her. He put much of his weight onto her, as she had pulled the fake strategy on him before, and had almost given him a scar like his father’s by doing so.
“LET ME GO!” she bellowed, “LET ME SEE MY FATHER!!!”
“KATARA,” Sokka bellowed in return, “I’m only doing what he wanted me to do! He told me that I was supposed to take care of you!”
Katara said nothing, and resigned screaming. Sokka listened to her breathing, and she was sniffling. She was actually crying—genuine sobbing. This might be his chance.
“Katara,” Sokka exclaimed, prodding her, and letting go of the scruff of her neck (something he normally would almost never do) Katara just continued sobbing. Although he kept his weight on her, he turned her face around so that she was looking him in the eyes.
“Katara,” he said, “are you okay?”
He was half expecting another sarcastic remark, but apparently something had hit her hard emotionally. She stared back up at him, tears flowing down her face.
“Come here,” said Sokka, and he picked up his sister and cradled her like a baby, “Katara, I love you. I don’t want you to hurt yourself. I just want to understand you. Give me a chance, please.”
He did not expect her to answer, and at first she didn’t. He began humming a soft tune to her, and her crying was reduced to sniffling.
“Sokka,” she said, and Sokka looked right into her golden yellow eyes,
“What is it, Katara,” Sokka asked with all sincerity in mind,
Katara paused, and Sokka noticed her eyes beginning to water again. He waited patiently until she answered his question.
“WHY COULDN’T I HAVE SEEN FATHER,” she wailed, and broke down crying again. Sokka knew what she meant when she said that. Unfortunately, she had no answer for her.
“I,” he stammered, “I don’t know, Katara. These things just happen. I did not choose him to come to me. In fact, if he had asked who he should talk to, I would have pointed him to you. You need him much more than I do. I understand how close he was to you. I loved him too.”
Katara began to cry again. Sokka could also tell that they were tears of pain. He gently took her inside and laid her on her bed.
“Katara,” said Sokka, “you’re hurt. Let me heal you.”
Katara said nothing, and then she slowly got up. In the light of the cabin, Sokka could see that while she had been thrashing she had cut and burned herself all over.
“You can heal my arm,” she said, “I... I don’t know what came over me.”
“I do,” Sokka replied as his sister removed everything but the guards on her hands and her undergarments, “you long for your family. The burning lust within you drives you to the point of insanity. You just want to see them again, and you want someone to understand that. Katara, that’s what I’m here for. Now lie down.
Katara lay back down on her back on her bed, and Sokka began massaging her body using his healing waterbending techniques. Her entire body was slashed, cut, and bruised, and yet the guards on Katara’s hands had done their jobs. Sokka lifted one of his sister’s limp arms up and noticed that although it was heavily scratched that it was not damaged, which means that Katara’s hands and wrists—the most damage-prone part of her body—were okay, so her left them on her.
Katara continued slowly sniffling, but also closed her eyes as she rolled over. Sokka may have been a strong man in order to keep his sister in balance, but he had his mother’s soft touch. She rolled over one more time so that she was face down again, and Sokka noticed that by the time he was finishing up healing Katara’s feet that she was asleep. The cuts on her arm did not fully heal. They had been too deep, so she still had 3 red slash marks on her arm.
Sokka began running his fingers gently through her hair, getting all the tangles out. She had the same thick, beautiful hair that her mother had, and Sokka enjoyed it. He continued to scratch her head until he was sure that she was asleep. Then he covered her up and got into bed himself. He had had another long, rough day, and he knew that his sister had too, and so he was hoping that they both would sleep. Sokka fell asleep quickly, being tired, but was also happy that he was finding a way through to his younger sister’s emotions.
Sokka ended up waking up before Katara did, and when he thought about why he did, it suddenly made perfect sense. Unlike his sister, Sokka did not go nuts and try to hurt himself. He glanced over at his sister and smiled to see that she was still peacefully asleep. One thing that he longed to see her do though, was to smile. Sokka longed to see his sister crack a smile, for it had been such a long time since she had done so. Sokka made breakfast, and as he was finishing the preparation, Katara stepped in, dressed but still barefoot, like she usually was when she was indoors. She looked groggy and tired, and Sokka knew this.
“Do you want some breakfast,” Sokka asked, “I made some for you,”
“Yeah,” she said, sitting down, “I’d love some; duh.”
These were her last words before she began wolfing her food down using her hands and face. She took a long drink of water afterwards and then belched loudly.
“Thanks,” she said dimly, and walked away, still hunched. Sokka did not like how her sister would never stand up straight. He knew she could, but she didn’t like to. However, Sokka wanted her not to be like that in 30 or 40 years, so he stopped to help her. He gently put his hands on her shoulders and straightened her out.
“Your father was a prince,” he said, “He would have wanted his daughter to walk upright and proud.”
Katara said nothing, and eventually slumped again, and Sokka did not want to press her too far. He knew Katara too well that, if you pressed her too far she would explode on you. The problem was that it was hard to tell what was “too far” and what wasn’t—unless you knew her.
“Sokka,” she said turning around, and placing her braced hands on his shoulders, “sit down a second.”
Sokka sat down but said nothing.
“Look,” she said, “um, about last night: I... I lost control. If you try to understand me maybe I’ll be able to become normal again, but for now, just bear with me, alright?”
“Alright,” Sokka replied, “I’ll be glad to.”
“Good, good,” Katara replied, “however, I’m gonna give you a fair warning right now—I might go nuts and try to attack you again. Just bear with me and do whatever it takes to contain me. I want to make my father proud of me, wherever he is.”
“Well,” said Sokka, “unlike your father’s story, you know that your father always loved you. Remember that, and help me to better understand you, and I’ll be more than happy to bear with you, okay?”
“Alright,” Katara muttered in reply, “now come give me a hug. You’ve advanced far enough for that now.”
Sokka smiled. Although Katara was not smiling back, he was glad that he had done what he did.
~Katara~
