"Sokka for the love of the spirits, I'm telling you, we're here," I was currently sprawled out on my stomach, looking through the maps we had gotten from the library with Sokka. We were trying to find the quickest route to the entrance of Ba Sing Se and could not agree on where we were on the map. While we tried to figure that out, we let the kids play and relax in the water nearby.
"And I'm telling you (Y/N) that we're here."
I huffed, "Sokka, you're dead wrong. You have absolutely no sense of direction!"
"I have no sense of direction!? You're one to talk. Wasn't I the one who had to guide you back to camp the other day after you got lost looking for berries?"
I blushed, knowing he was right and definitely got myself lost, but there was no way I was going to admit that, "For the last time I was not lost! I just found a shortcut!"
Sokka looked at me with a doubtful expression. I crossed my arms and stuck my tongue out at him. He then shoved me, and I shoved him back harder. This continued until we were practically wrestling on the boulder we were once sprawled on. I had Sokka in a chokehold, waiting for him to tap out and admit I was right.
That is, until I heard Katara yell, "WATERBENDING BOMB!"
She jumped into the water below, causing a ginormous wave to land on me and Sokka, leading me to let go of the boy's neck. Toph and Aang laughed at Katara's antics and I smiled. It was nice to see everyone having a good time after our whole debacle in the desert a week ago.
"Sure, 5,000-year-old maps from the Spirit Library. Just splash some water on them," Sokka complained, his voice laced with obvious sarcasm.
Katara walked out of the water and wrung her hair out, "Sorry," she then waterbent the water from the scrolls.
"So, did you guys figure out what route we're going to take," Aang asked as everyone circled around me and Sokka as we laid our map out.
I nodded at Sokka to explain, "Okay, we just got out of the desert, so we must be around here. And we need to go to Ba Sing Se which is here," Sokka pointed to these places on the map, "It seems like the only passage connecting the south to the north is this sliver of land called the Serpent's Pass."
"And you're sure that's the right way to go," Toph asked, apprehensive of Sokka's navigation.
"It's the only way. I mean, it's not like we have Appa to fly us there."
I smacked Sokka's arm and when he looked at me in disbelief. I rolled my eyes, "Shut up about Appa. Can't you try and be sensitive?"
"(Y/N) it's okay. I know I was upset about losing Appa before, but I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se and telling the Earth King about the solar eclipse," Aang spoke in a hushed, monotone voice.
I hesitated before speaking, "Okay, I'm glad you're . . . doing better."
Sokka spoke up, "Then to Ba Sing Se we go. No more distractions."
As if on cue a man's voice called, "Hello there, fellow refugees!"
We all turned to see an older man and two women. One of the women was obviously pregnant and looked like she was going to burst at any moment. We all walked up to the trio of new people, Aang being the first to question them in a kind tone.
"So are you guys heading to Ba Sing Se too?"
"Sure are. We're trying to get there before my wife, Ying, has her baby," the man answered, placing comforting hands on his wife's shoulders.
Katara smiled, "Great! We can travel through the Serpent's Pass together."
The trio looked at us in shock before Ying exclaimed, "The Serpent's Pass? Only the truly desperate take that deadly route."
I looked at Sokka, a shit-eating grin adorning my face, "Deadly route? Great pick, Sokka."
He flicked my forehead, "Well, we are desperate."
"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay. Ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."
Ying chimed in, "And it's hidden so the Fire Nation can't find it."
"Peaceful ferry ride or deadly pass," Katara pretended to ponder our options.
Sokka gave her a deadpan look and I laughed before we all began to follow the trio.
I poked Sokka's side, "I told you a place called 'Serpent's Pass' wasn't going to be good."
"Shut up," he grumbled and I flicked his ponytail.
As we walked, I took to my duty as the eldest of the GAang and went one by one, making sure that everyone was okay, asking if they were hungry or needed to stop and rest. Whenever I got to Aang, I pulled him back behind the group slightly as we walked at a slower pace than everyone else.
"How are you holding up Aang?"
The boy gave a weak smile, "I'm fine (Y/N), you don't need to worry about me."
I gave him my trademark stare, the one I knew would get him to tell me the truth. I paired it with a stern, "Aang."
His smile fell, "I just feel so helpless, I don't know if Appa's hungry, hurt, or scared. I hate it (Y/N). You have no idea how this feels."
"I do Aang, more than you know," I looked into his eyes, hoping he got the message.
His mouth made an 'o' formation, "How did you cope with it? Not knowing if he was okay or not?"
"At first, I didn't cope well. While you first responded with rage. I first responded by falling into a depression. My thoughts would only be of the people I left behind, and it put me in an unhealthy mindset that seemed inescapable," I took a breath and smiled, "But, Isano and Wei, the people who took me in, they helped me overcome it. Taught me it was okay to express my emotions and to rely on others again. I know it'll take some time for you to feel like yourself again. So, if you ever feel your emotions getting out of control or even if you just want to talk"
Tears welled in the younger boy's eyes and he pulled me in for a tight hug, "Thank you (Y/N). I love you."
"I love you too kid," I felt tears prick at my eyes as we pulled apart.
We walked side-by-side the rest of the way, Aang stayed silent for the most part. I didn't mind, I knew he had a lot on his mind right now. Before we knew it, we had entered the port for access into the Full Moon Bay.
I looked around the room, there were nearly a hundred people crowded together. Mothers, fathers, children, and the elderly, all congregating together because of the misfortune that has befallen them. Most in earth kingdom attire, some sporting bandages. Everyone looked exhausted, many opting to sit on the floor for some kind of relief before entering Ba Sing Se's walls. My heart ached for these people, this must anguish and unnecessary harm was caused by my own nation.
"I can't believe how many people's lives have been uprooted by the fire nation," Katara remarked as she glanced around the room.
Than explained, "We're all looking for a bit of life, safe behind the walls of Ba Sing Se."
We made our way to wait in line to get our tickets for the ferry. The line was extremely long and I knew we'd be waiting for quite some time. This, however, did not stop Sokka from complaining the entire time we were waiting. Finally, we made it to the front after the man before us was denied a ticket. To make matters worse, his cabbages were destroyed right in front of his face.
Aang approached the woman at the podium, who appeared to have a permanent scowl on her face, "Um, four tickets for the ferry to Ba Sing Se, please."
"Passports?"
"Um, no one told us we had to have passports."
Sokka stepped in, "Don't you know who this is? He's the Avatar."
The woman spoke harshly "Ah, I see 50 Avatars a day. And by the way, not a very impressive costume," we looked over to where the woman gestured to see a group of about eight people dressed as Aang. The woman scowled at Momo as he chirped from Aang's shoulder, "Besides, no animals allowed. Do I need to call security?"
Aang backed up slowly, "That won't be necessary."
"I'll take care of this," Toph walked forward and slid a paper on the podium, "My name is Toph Beifong and I need five tickets."
The woman gasped, "The golden seal of the flying boar! It is my pleasure to help anyone in the Beifong family."
"It is your pleasure. As you can see, I am blind and these four imbeciles are my valets."
"But the animal-"
Toph cut the woman off, "Is my seeing-eye lemur."
"Well, normally it's only one ticket per passport, but this document is so official. I guess it's worth four tickets."
The woman stamped out tickets and Toph took them, "Thank you very much."
Sokka and me fist-bumped and he cheered, "All right! We scammed that lady good!"
I nodded and was about to agree before he yelped and was pulled behind us and turned around. The young girl who had yanked him was dressed in a security-getup, "Tickets and passports, please."
Sokka spoke shakily, "Is there a problem?"
"Yeah I got a problem with you," she jabbed his chest with her finger, "I've seen your type before. Probably sarcastic, you think you're hilarious. And let me guess, you're traveling with the Avatar."
"Do I know you?"
"You mean you don't remember? Maybe you remember this," before I could step in, thinking this girl was about to knock Sokka's lights out, she kissed him on the cheek.
Sokka's face immediately lit up, "SUKI!"
The two embraced and caught up. All the dots suddenly connected and I remembered Sokka telling me about this Suki girl before.
It was a clear night, everyone else was asleep and I had opted to take a turn flying Appa, not feeling tired much. I was enjoying the peaceful quiet of the night, the only sound being the light wind whipping against my face. Well at least it was peaceful until I heard Sokka crawling up beside where I sat.
I decided to not be annoyed, for once, and instead asked, "Couldn't sleep?"
"No, Yue is very bright tonight, huh?"
I looked up at the sky and she was right at her peak in the sky, her light illuminating Appa's back as we flew, "Yeah, she's beautiful."
"Yeah . . ." Sokka trailed off, a sad expression taking his face over as he stared at the moon.
I tried to lighten the mood, "So, would you say she was your first kiss? Or was there a line of damsels just waiting to be kissed by the Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe?"
He laughed, "No damsels, the only person near my age in the village was Katara and she's my sister so, yeah no way that's gross. But I wouldn't call Yue my first kiss."
"Oh really? Who was then?"
Sokka's cheeks turned red as he sighed, "A Kyoshi warrior, her name is Suki."
"You and a Kyoshi Warrior? You've gotta be shitting me," I laughed as he shoved me lightly.
He then spent the next hour recounting each encounter he had with Suki. He described her incredible fighting ability and sharp wit. How she was able to convince him that girls could be just as good, if not better, at fighting than boys. He then began to get mushy, describing her beautiful eyes and how he'd never felt that way about a girl before.
I had to shut it down before he got too sappy, like he did when he would talk to me about Yue in the North Pole, "She sounds awesome, way too cool for you though."
"Please, if anything we're equally cool," he flexed his 'muscles' and I laughed before he curled up beside me on his stomach, "You're a good friend (Y/N)."
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Where did that come from?"
"The heart," he gave a dramatic sigh and I slapped his forehead.
"You're an idiot."
"Oh my spirits, I didn't even introduce myself. Hi, I'm Suki," I was thrust out of my memory by Suki offering her hand to me as we walked to a place we could wait before our ferry arrived.
I took her hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you, I'm (Y/N). You're a Kyoshi Warrior right? I was actually trained by an ex-Kyoshi warrior for about six years."
She grinned, "Really? Who?"
"Isano? I don't know if you-"
"ISANO? Oh my spirits she's a legend. Well, to me at least. A lot of the older warriors don't condone her rebellious nature, but one fellow warrior told me about how she supposedly mastered multiple styles of combat from different nations."
I nodded, "She did. She told me she bought books on their fighting styles and would spend entire nights teaching herself the moves."
"Which I assume she taught you," Suki assumed and I nodded, "You're so lucky. You'll have to teach me some of her moves whenever we get the chance."
"I can't wait," I smiled before noticing Sokka walking closer to where me and Suki were. I decided to mess with him, "You know, I understand why Sokka talks about you all the time, you're super cool."
Suki's ears turned slightly pink, "Really? He talked about me?"
"Oh yeah. Suki this, Suki that. Suki had the prettiest eyes, Suki has-"
"HEY SUKI! Wanna know a little fun fact about (Y/N)? She's originally from the fire nation and fled from there to live with Isano when she was twelve. She's also madly in love with Prince Zuko," Sokka made kissy sounds with his mouth and I facepalmed.
Deep down, I hoped Suki wouldn't think differently of me from Sokka's blunt telling of my life story. Much to my surprise, Suki laughed and spoke teasingly, "Prince Zuko? Really (Y/N)? Didn't peg him as your type."
"I'm not in love with him. It's just a complicated situation. You know childhood friends to enemies and all that. I won't bore you with the details," I waved a hand dismissively.
We made it to the waiting area and the rest of the GAang were beckoning Suki over to talk. Before she went to join them, she whispered in my ear, "I definitely want the details at some point girl."
I grinned and nodded, Suki throwing me a wink before answering Katara and Aang's bombardment of questions. I was glad to have made a new friend, especially such a cool one, not to mention one close to my age. I looked over and saw Sokka trying to get me to notice his pouty-face.
"Not cool, (Y/N). Not cool AT ALL."
I rolled my eyes before sitting down on a nearby bench, "I was right, she's definitely wayyy too cool for you."
I listened as Suki explained how her and the rest of the warriors ended up here. Turns out, after the GAang had left Kyoshi Island, they wanted to find a way to help people so the warriors had escorted some refugees here and have been helping out with security ever since.
"So, why are you guys getting tickets for the ferry anyway? Wouldn't you just fly across on Appa?"
The air grew tense and Katara spoke, "Appa is missing. We hope to find him in Ba Sing Se."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Suki spoke, genuinely. She turned to Aang, "Are you doing okay?"
I saw everyone looking at Aang with a pitiful expression and shook my head, this is not what he needs right now. Hostility laced Aang's voice as he assured, "I'm doing fine. Would everybody stop worrying about me?"
Suddenly, Ying's voice sounded below us, "Avatar Aang, you have to help us! Someone took all of our belongings, our passports, our tickets. Everything's gone!"
Ying began to sob and Aang assured them, "I'll talk to the lady for you."
I waited with Aang in line and once we walked to the podium and explained the situation to the same crass woman from before she yelled, "NO PASSPORTS, NO TICKETS," stamping Aang on his forehead rather harshly.
"But she's pregnant, and all their stuff was stolen. You have to make an exception," Aang tried to reason with the woman
"No exceptions! If I just gave away tickets willy-nilly to anyone there would be no more order and you know what that means – no more civilization!"
"What if we gave them our tickets," I tried to reason.
"NO."
"But-"
The woman cut me off, "Next!"
Me and Aang made our way back to where the trio and Toph stood. Aang faced the couple with determination, "Don't worry, you'll get to the city safely. I'll lead you through the Serpent's Pass."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe we gave up our tickets and now we're going through the Serpent's Pass," Sokka complained as we all walked to the entrance of the Serpent's Pass.
I crossed my arms, "I can't believe you're still complaining about it."
"I'm coming too," I heard Suki's voice behind us and saw her running towards our group, donning her full warrior-gear and makeup.
She ran up to me and we high-fived, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"
"Are you sure that's a good idea," Sokka interjected.
"Sokka, I thought you'd want me to come."
"I do, it's just-"
"Just what," Suki placed her hands on her hips, apprehensively.
"Nothing, I'm glad you're coming."
Suki walked past where Sokka stood and came back over to where I was. As we began walking, I looked behind me and raised an eyebrow at Sokka to which he responded with a dismissive raise of his hand. I had no idea why he was acting so weird about Suki coming with us. I decided not to worry too much about it and instead opted to ask Suki about her uniform and what each piece symbolizes.
We chatted for the entire walk there, she was so easy-going and genuinely nice to talk to. Although we'd known each other less than a day, I feel as if our somewhat connected backgrounds and the questions we had for each other made us become fast friends. We discussed our training, our weapons of choice, and even just talked about our favorite foods.
"Don't even get me started on the fire cakes, me and Zuko used to sneak into the kitchens just to steal some as a midnight snack," I was explaining to Suki my favorite dishes from the Fire Nation and she was smiling, listening intently.
"This is the Serpent's Pass," Sokka questioned, "I thought it would be more wind-y. You know, like a serpent. I guess they misnamed it."
I looked around us and observed the pass. All it was a single, thin string of land surrounded by water on both sides. The strip of land varied in height, some rising so on an incline only to decline moments after in a sharp point. On the side of these jagged hills, was a ledge just thick enough for us to fit. Despite this, it seemed relatively passable, not as dangerous as I had pictured but I wasn't going to be easily fooled. I knew there was a reason this place was avoided by all refugees.
Ying walked up to the archway that served as the entrance to the pass, "Look at this writing. How awful."
"What does it say," Toph asked.
I walked closer to the pole and recited the inscription, "'Abandon hope."
"How can we abandon hope? That's all we have," Ying buried her face in her husband's shoulder.
Aang spoke up, "I don't know. The monks used to say that hope is just a distraction. So maybe we do need to abandon it."
"What are you talking about," Katara asked, surprised at Aang's words.
"Hope isn't going to get us into Ba Sing Se, and it's not gonna find Appa. We need to focus on what we're doing right now and that's getting across this pass."
"Okay . . . if you say so," with that we all began our journey on the Serpent's Pass.
It had been a few moments of walking and so far, everything had gone well. We were walking single-file on the small ledge on the side of the pass. I looked into the water below, waiting for something to jump out. So far the water had barely even rippled, but this didn't stop me from keeping awareness of our surroundings.
"The Fire Nation controls the Western Lake. Rumor has it, they're working on something big on the other side and they don't want anyone to find out what it is," Suki explained as we all watched as a Fire Nation ship sailed past us.
Suddenly, I heard Than yell and turned my gaze to see a rock had given out and he was about to fall into the water below. Toph was quick to act, creating a platform of rock to bounce him back onto the ledge. He assured his wife that he was okay. The platform Toph created fell into the water, alerting the Fire Nation ship.
"They spotted us. Let's go, let's go," Sokka yelled.
A large fireball was heading our way and no one moved as Aang flew into the air and used his staff to swat the fireball back at the ship. It hit the ship's engine, causing smoke to billow from it. This did not deter the ship's passengers as they sent another fireball our direction. It hit the space on the pass above us and a large amount of rocks were heading down towards where Suki was. She gasped and I watched as Sokka pushed her out of the way of the rocks. I yelled his name, worried he was going to be crushed and ran over to where he was. I abruptly stopped once I saw that Toph had bended a shield to protect Sokka from being squished.
"Suki are you okay," Sokka yelled as he ran to help her up, "You need to be more careful! Come on!"
We all ran till we were out of the ship's range, slowing to a walking pace once we realized we were safe. Soon, it was sunset and we had found a large clearing on the pass that we chose as our campsite for the night. I had made the group an easy soup for dinner from some supplies we already had, it was basically just a broth with some vegetables. Since there were more people than usual traveling with us, there was only enough for one serving per person and I hoped the rest of our food would last us until we made it to Ba Sing Se. I had offered Ying my bowl of soup but she had refused, insisting that I needed to eat and not to worry about her. Now, I sat near the ledge of our campsite, keeping an eye on the waters surrounding us for any more Fire Nation ships.
"Suki, you shouldn't sleep there," I heard Sokka reprimand the girl from behind me, "Who knows how stable this ledge is. It could give way at any moment."
"Sokka I'm fine! Stop worrying!"
"You're right, you're right. You're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself," I was beginning to think he was done being weird until he yelled, "WAIT! Oh, never mind. I thought I saw a spider. But you're fine."
I turned around and saw he was patting Suki's shoulder as she looked at him with an annoyed expression. I cleared my throat, "Sokka, could you come here real quick," he strolled over to where I sat and plopped down beside me, "Okay, what's your deal?"
"What do you mean," he questioned, eyebrows raised.
I rolled my eyes, "Why are you treating Suki like she's a delicate flower made of glass? You keep freaking out about her safety."
"Oh so I shouldn't be worried about my friend's safety?"
"That's not what I'm saying, you can be concerned for her safety, sure. But you're taking it way too far. I'm surprised she hasn't drop-kicked you by now," Sokka gazed at the water below, refusing to meet my gaze, "This is about Yue, isn't it?"
He finally looked up at me, his eyes wide, "What are you talking about, I don't even-" I gave him a deadpan stare and he smiled sheepishly, "How'd you know?"
"I unfortunately know you too well," I laughed when he rolled his eyes. I let my laughter die out before turning serious, "Look, I know you're worried about Suki getting hurt because of what happened with Yue. You want to protect her. But you need to realize that Suki is not Yue and you'll only drive her away by acting like this."
"But what should I do? I can't help wanting to protect her, I'm so scared of losing someone again."
I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Losing someone is horrible, and I know the toll it can take on a person's mind. But you can't keep the fear of losing other people from controlling your life. I think the best thing you can do right now is talk to Suki about what's been worrying you."
"You're right," he stood up, "Thank you (Y/N), you always know what to say."
"I try."
I watched as he walked off and sighed. All this deep conversations and travel sure does make a girl tired. I yawned and got up to find my sleeping bag, checking on Ying before finding a place to sleep for the night. As I laid my sleeping bag down, I smiled at Aang as he passed by me. He didn't return my smile, but I knew he was going through a lot right now and that, even though we had a nice conversation before, it would take him a while to come back around. With that, I laid down and almost instantly fell asleep.
I had slid a note under Zuko's door earlier in the day to meet me at midnight by my room so we could hang out. I hadn't seen him in the past two days and I was getting extremely bored, especially with Ty Lee being away on vacation and mother being busy with planning some event. I had spent the entire day reading and avoiding Azula, bored out of my mind.
I watched as the dark-haired boy rounded a corner and his face immediately lit up, barreling towards me before enveloping me in a hug. I laughed as he spun me around before immediately shushing him, looking around to make sure no one heard.
"(Y/N)! I missed you! These past two days have been the worst. All I did was training and lessons all day," Zuko complained in a whisper-yell.
I smiled, "I missed you too! Now we can finally play!"
"Well, what should we do first," he questioned and I began to think of things to play when my stomach growled, cutting off my thoughts. Zuko grinned, "To the kitchens it is then."
He grabbed my hand and we began to 'stealthily' make our way to the kitchens. Our feet lightly pattered on the floor of the palace as we tried to be as quiet as possible. We both were not supposed to be out this late and we weren't supposed to be in the kitchens either, since that was a place for the servants only. Nonetheless, we continued our journey before finally making it to the kitchen. Luckily, it was empty and we began scouring the room for some food.
I opened a box that was on one of the tables in the room and smiled, "Zuko come over here!"
He came beside me and watched as I took the magnificent fire cake out of its box. Fire cake was one of my favorite sweet dishes. It was a simple cake, spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and a few other spices, lightly glazed with a sweet frosting. My mouth practically watered at the sight and Zuko went to get us plates. I grabbed a knife and then grabbed the plates from Zuko, cutting each of us a slice and placing them onto the intricately decorated plates.
"We should eat these by the pond and bring the turtle-ducks some bread," Zuko nodded at my suggestion and we made our way to the courtyard.
There weren't many guards in the palace courtyard, most of them opting to keep watch from the watchtowers that littered the palace grounds or they were stationed outside of the room of the Fire Lord (since he was top priority, not his family or the other people in the palace). So me and Zuko were able to peacefully sit by the pond and enjoy our cake.
"You know what would make this cake even better?"
"What," Zuko asked, tilting his head.
"If it was a little warm, that's when fire cake is the best. With the frosting slightly melted and the heat really brings out the flavors of the spices too"
"Give it here."
Zuko motioned for my plate and I pulled it away, "Why? You already have yours."
"Just trust me," he set his plate aside and took mine as I hesitantly handed it over.
I watched as he held his hand above the cake, not touching it, his palm began emitting a warm glow. "Oh yeah," my cheeks heated up, completely forgetting that Zuko could firebend. I often found myself doing that and realized that Zuko never really used his firebending around me. Why, I had no idea but I figured I'd just keep the thought to myself. Zuko handed the plate back and I grabbed the slice and took a bite,"This is perfect, thanks Zuko."
"Anything for you (Y/N)"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We all stared in disbelief as the stretch of path before us was submerged under water, making it to where we'd have to cross to continue our journey.
Katara walked forward, "Everyone single-file," she parted the water on both sides of the path and we began slowly making our way under the water, "Aang I need help!"
Aang used his water bending to aid Katara in creating a large air-bubble for us to walk in as we traveled underwater. The sea swished and swayed around us, fish of all species swimming past our bubble. We all watched the sea life in amazement until a large shadow came across the side of the bubble.
"What is that thing," Katara questioned when suddenly the creature shot through our bubble.
Water began flowing in all around us, Ying and Than screamed in fear. Toph acted quickly and shot the rock beneath us upwards. We made it out of the water and were now all standing on a single platform of rock, being circled by the creature from before. We all watched in horror as the giant serpent-like creature raised its head from the water, sending an ear-splitting shriek our way.
Sokka yelled, "I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpent's Pass," the creature shrieked again and Sokka turned to Suki, "Suki, you know about giant sea monsters! Make it go away!"
Suki pulled her arm from Sokka's grasp, "Just because I live near the Unagi doesn't mean I'm an expert!"
"Wait, I know this creature, it's called a serpent! I read about them in a book once," I explained to Sokka.
"The name of it doesn't really help! Did the book mention anything on how to kill one?"
I stuttered, "Uh-um no, but they can grow to be one-hundred feet long," I gave a fake smile as everyone stared at me with 'are you serious' expressions, "Hey! I was trying to help!"
Sokka rolled his eyes before grabbing Momo and lifting him up, "Oh great and powerful serpent, please accept this humble and tasty offering. Thank you."
"Sokka," reprimanded Katara.
The serpent let out another loud screech and Aang used his staff to send a gust of wind at the creature's face, "I'll distract it. Katara, get everyone across."
Katara created a bridge of ice connecting us to the other side of the path. She jumped into the water and went to help Aang distract the serpent. I busied myself with helping Ying and her family get across the bridge safely. She held onto my arm tightly as I aided her back to solid rock. Sokka and Suki had also made it to the rock with us, but I looked back and noticed Toph was still on the rock platform from before.
"Toph, come on! It's just ice," Sokka yelled, trying to coax the girl over to where we were.
I watched as Toph hesitantly stepped onto the ice, but she immediately withdrew back onto the rock, "Actually, I'm gonna stay on my little island where I can see," suddenly the serpent landed on her 'little island' and the rock crumbled causing her to begin making her way across the ice, "Okay! I'm coming."
She slowly began to shuffle her way over to us, Sokka offering praises as she did so, "You're doing great! Just follow the sound of my voice!"
"It's hard to ignore!"
Just then, the creature landed on the ice bridge in front of Toph and the entire thing shattered. Toph screamed and fell into the water, "Help! I can't swim!"
"I'm coming Toph," Sokka yelled, but before he could act Suki jumped into the water with no hesitation, making her way towards the girl.
Suki had no problem rescuing Toph from the water, despite her heavy gear, and she quickly swam back over to where we were. I pulled Toph from Suki's hands and guided everyone higher up on the pass. We all watched as Katara and Aang were able to land a blow to the serpent, sending it swimming away in defeat. We all cheered for them once they rejoined the group and quickly resumed our journey.
After another half-hour of walking we had finally made it out of the pass. Now all that laid in front of us was the expanse of land before the wall and then we'd finally be in Ba Sing Se.
"There's the wall! Now it's nothing but smooth sailing to Ba Sing Se."
As soon as Sokka finished his remark, Ying held her stomach and cried out, "Oh no!"
"What happened?"
"The baby's coming!"
Sokka started freaking out, "What? Now? You can't just hold it in or something?!"
"Sokka, calm down. I helped Gran Gran deliver lots of babies back home," Katara reassured him.
"This isn't the same as delivering an arctic seal," Sokka yelled, "This is a real human thing!"
Katara scoffed, "It's called a baby and I helped her deliver plenty of those too. Aang get some rags. Sokka, water," the boys immediately got to work as she gave orders, "Toph, I need you to make an earth tent – a big one. Suki, (Y/N) come with me."
I followed Katara and Suki into the tent, unsure of what to expect. Sure, I'd read plenty of books on birth and the procedures, but rarely did those books have a visual guide. I had no idea what to expect to happen, but I was going to try my damndest to make sure this baby came out safely.
Ying was panting hard as her contractions were causing her loads of pain. I had been told to be ready to help Katara pull the child out once she started pushing. Katara praised the woman, "You're doing great, Ying. Sokka, where's that water," she yelled out of the tent before turning back, nodding at me to get ready, before turning back to Ying, "Now get ready to push. One, two, three, push!"
Ying groaned and a small portion of the child's head could now be seen. I heard a large thud behind me and turned around to see Sokka passed out on the ground from what he saw. I rolled my eyes and took the water from Sokka's limp hands, returning back to Katara's side.
After about an hour of pushing, the baby was born. The child's wails could be heard all around the tent as Katara exclaimed, "It's a girl!"
Sokka and Suki entered the tent and we all circled around the new mother and father as they held their whining baby girl. Toph remarked, "She sounds healthy."
I nodded, "She's beautiful."
"And so squishy-looking," Sokka added.
I looked over to Aang who stood in the entrance of the tent and he had a gentle smile on his face. I turned back to Than as he asked his wife, "What should we name her?"
"I want our daughter's name to be unique. I want it to mean something"
Aang walked towards the couple, "I've been going through a really hard time lately. But you've made me hopeful again."
Ying smiled, turning to her husband, "I know what I want to name our baby now – Hope."
"That's a perfect name. Hope," Than agreed.
We soon all left the tent to let Ying and her family rest in privacy. I stood beside Aang and noticed Katara standing alone near a tree, I nudged him and gestured over to her. He understood what I was saying and made his way towards her. Meanwhile, I stood with Sokka, Toph, and Suki and we all discussed the journey, making small talk. Once we saw Aang and Katara's little moment was over, we all walked over to them.
"I promise I'll find Appa as fast as I can, I just really need to do this," Aang prepared his glider for takeoff.
Everyone said their goodbyes, I approached the boy last. I pulled him into a tight embrace, "You have to promise to stay safe, okay?"
He smiled, "I promise."
We all watched as he glided into the air, receding into the clouds beyond where we could see. After he left, we all gathered our things and prepared to leave. I was kneeled on the ground, gathering my supplies before hauling it onto my back. I knew Suki was going to have to part ways with us soon and wanted to say goodbye before she left. I looked around and saw her and Sokka practically making out a little ways from where I stood. I nearly gagged at the sight but nonetheless walked over to them and cleared my throat.
"Oh, (Y/N)! Sorry, I didn't see you there," Suki apologized.
I grimaced, "First of all, that was gross. Something I definitely did not want to witness in my lifetime was Sokka's attempt at kissing a girl."
"You're just jealous you can't kiss Zuko," Sokka wiggled his eyebrows. He then began imitating me in a high-pitched voice, "Oh Zuko you're so bad, but I love it. Oh my feelings for you are so complicated. Kiss me you rascal," he then proceeded to make a fool of himself and pretended to make out with an invisible person.
Suki took action before I could and smacked the boy's head. We said a short but sweet goodbye, making sure the other promised to stay safe. She also made me promise to show her some fighting moves once we met again and I agreed, as long as she showed me how to use a fan in combat, to which she happily accepted. She gave me a firm handshake before she turned to give Sokka a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. I placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder as we watched her figure slowly retreat back the way we came. I knew we'd meet the fierce girl again, it was only a matter of time.