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storypaint) wrote2014-10-26 07:17 pm
storypaint) wrote2014-10-26 07:17 pm
Entry tags:
[Avatar: The Last Airbender] the esthetic of lostness (Sokka/Suki)
Title: the esthetic of lostness
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Length: 701 words
Prompt: fic_promptly: A:TLA, Suki, the South Pole
Pairing: Suki/Sokka, Katara/Aang
Other: n/a
Excerpt: It's not that she expects Sokka to revert to the sexist jerk he was when she met him, expecting her to be at home while he provides. It's more that she isn't sure if she can carve out a life here when the whole wide world is waiting. And she doesn't know if he would be willing to leave, or if she could ask him to. He always speaks of his home in the same way Suki speaks of Kyoshi -- there is nowhere like it, and even when she goes away, her feet always know the way back.
Suki does not hate the South Pole, like she worried she might. It's cold, even in the summer, but it's not unbearable. The people are friendly and welcoming. It's wonderful to see Sokka in his element.
It is the expectations she worries about. She's staying with Katara and Sokka and their father at the moment, but she's already had half a dozen friendly inquiries as to when she and Sokka are going to stake their own tent. Not if, when. Most of the young women her age are married already, and the only reason there aren't more children running around is that the men have been gone for so long. They are kind women and they lead difficult lives on the tundra; they spend a lot of time preparing for the winter so it makes sense that they rarely leave. But this is not the life that Suki wants. She misses soft green grass.
It's not that she expects Sokka to revert to the sexist jerk he was when she met him, expecting her to be at home while he provides. It's more that she isn't sure if she can carve out a life here when the whole wide world is waiting. And she doesn't know if he would be willing to leave, or if she could ask him to. He always speaks of his home in the same way Suki speaks of Kyoshi -- there is nowhere like it, and even when she goes away, her feet always know the way back.
Sokka is away hunting with his father this afternoon and it's Katara that finds Suki sitting out by the shore with her arms wrapped around her knees. Her butt is getting cold, but she doesn't move when Katara sits down beside her.
"It's beautiful," Katara says, looking out onto the water. The sky is low on the horizon and streaked with purple and gold. The sunsets here are truly remarkable. It's Suki's favorite thing about being this far south.
"It is," Suki agrees. "I bet you're glad to be home."
Katara sighs. Aang left two weeks ago to help Zuko deal with another pocket of resistance in the east Fire Nation. He's promised to come back when he can, but they both know it will be a while. Aang's responsibilities haven't diminished since the war ended; they've only changed. Katara has also been thrown into this waiting, and Suki is a little ashamed of herself that she hasn't realized before.
Katara is quiet for a moment. Then she clears her throat. "Sokka and I never left the South Pole before we met Aang. We never thought we'd ever go anywhere else. I never realized how small our village was."
"It's really nice here," Suki says, feeling awkward.
"It is," Katara agrees, "but it's not all there is, and I want to see the rest. Will you come with me?"
She gets to her feet, ground crunching underneath her, and she offers Suki a hand. Her fingers are warm in Suki's grip.
When Aang comes returns, their bags are packed-- Katara's, Suki's, and Sokka's too. Aang is tired and smells like ash, but he hugs them all hard. A couple of days later they make their goodbyes and clamber onto Appa. Aang turns them into the wind and they rise up into the sky. They are headed toward the Earth Kingdom to see if Toph wants to come with them. She is probably already tired of visiting with her family, they have all thought but have not said.
Suki is sandwiched in-between Katara and Sokka. The three of them are all looking back at the group waving from the shore and waving back. A weight is gone from Suki's back. Just because the war is over, it doesn't mean that they have to go back to their own lives, to try to fit their new selves into old places. They will come back here often, and they will go to Kyoshi, and the Earth Kingdom and everywhere. They will be the nomads that the world has lost.
The South Pole fades into the distance. Suki watches until it is just a smudge, and then she turns to face north.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Length: 701 words
Prompt: fic_promptly: A:TLA, Suki, the South Pole
Pairing: Suki/Sokka, Katara/Aang
Other: n/a
Excerpt: It's not that she expects Sokka to revert to the sexist jerk he was when she met him, expecting her to be at home while he provides. It's more that she isn't sure if she can carve out a life here when the whole wide world is waiting. And she doesn't know if he would be willing to leave, or if she could ask him to. He always speaks of his home in the same way Suki speaks of Kyoshi -- there is nowhere like it, and even when she goes away, her feet always know the way back.
Suki does not hate the South Pole, like she worried she might. It's cold, even in the summer, but it's not unbearable. The people are friendly and welcoming. It's wonderful to see Sokka in his element.
It is the expectations she worries about. She's staying with Katara and Sokka and their father at the moment, but she's already had half a dozen friendly inquiries as to when she and Sokka are going to stake their own tent. Not if, when. Most of the young women her age are married already, and the only reason there aren't more children running around is that the men have been gone for so long. They are kind women and they lead difficult lives on the tundra; they spend a lot of time preparing for the winter so it makes sense that they rarely leave. But this is not the life that Suki wants. She misses soft green grass.
It's not that she expects Sokka to revert to the sexist jerk he was when she met him, expecting her to be at home while he provides. It's more that she isn't sure if she can carve out a life here when the whole wide world is waiting. And she doesn't know if he would be willing to leave, or if she could ask him to. He always speaks of his home in the same way Suki speaks of Kyoshi -- there is nowhere like it, and even when she goes away, her feet always know the way back.
Sokka is away hunting with his father this afternoon and it's Katara that finds Suki sitting out by the shore with her arms wrapped around her knees. Her butt is getting cold, but she doesn't move when Katara sits down beside her.
"It's beautiful," Katara says, looking out onto the water. The sky is low on the horizon and streaked with purple and gold. The sunsets here are truly remarkable. It's Suki's favorite thing about being this far south.
"It is," Suki agrees. "I bet you're glad to be home."
Katara sighs. Aang left two weeks ago to help Zuko deal with another pocket of resistance in the east Fire Nation. He's promised to come back when he can, but they both know it will be a while. Aang's responsibilities haven't diminished since the war ended; they've only changed. Katara has also been thrown into this waiting, and Suki is a little ashamed of herself that she hasn't realized before.
Katara is quiet for a moment. Then she clears her throat. "Sokka and I never left the South Pole before we met Aang. We never thought we'd ever go anywhere else. I never realized how small our village was."
"It's really nice here," Suki says, feeling awkward.
"It is," Katara agrees, "but it's not all there is, and I want to see the rest. Will you come with me?"
She gets to her feet, ground crunching underneath her, and she offers Suki a hand. Her fingers are warm in Suki's grip.
When Aang comes returns, their bags are packed-- Katara's, Suki's, and Sokka's too. Aang is tired and smells like ash, but he hugs them all hard. A couple of days later they make their goodbyes and clamber onto Appa. Aang turns them into the wind and they rise up into the sky. They are headed toward the Earth Kingdom to see if Toph wants to come with them. She is probably already tired of visiting with her family, they have all thought but have not said.
Suki is sandwiched in-between Katara and Sokka. The three of them are all looking back at the group waving from the shore and waving back. A weight is gone from Suki's back. Just because the war is over, it doesn't mean that they have to go back to their own lives, to try to fit their new selves into old places. They will come back here often, and they will go to Kyoshi, and the Earth Kingdom and everywhere. They will be the nomads that the world has lost.
The South Pole fades into the distance. Suki watches until it is just a smudge, and then she turns to face north.