Fan 'n' Flame; Earth 'n' Sword

Three's Company: Chapter 2

"Another couple of minutes," Sokka mumbled into his sleeping bag as he turned away from whatever poked him. He had been having an odd dream about an elephant koi and a dragon, and was about to drift back into it when a few more sharp jabs to the back of his head snapped him awake. "Alright, I'm up!" Sokka snapped as he whipped around and found Momo staring back at him, making light chirping noises. He was about to make a grab for the winged lemur when he heard Aang calling for him.

"We're nearing Tienhai's Cliff, we should be at Old Iron soon," Aang told him once he had sat down on Appa's head next to him.

"Thanks for taking the time to drop me off here," Sokka said as he laid back down. He gave Appa a pat and a scratch and received a loud purr in response

"No problem. It's nice to get away from Katara for a few days," Aang said, looking back and seeing the grin on Sokka's face.

"Uh oh, trouble in paradise?" Sokka teased, giving Aang a small shove with his foot.

"Nothing to worry about, or in your case cheer about," Aang laughed, pushing his foot away. The corners of his mouth turned upward. "Although I think I'm beginning to understand why the Air Temples were segregated."

Sokka sat back up and barked with laughter . "They're a handful, and my sister is probably the worst of the lot, tied in first with Azula," Sokka told him, wrapping his arm around Aang's shoulders. "When they start complaining or talk about their feelings, just smile and nod. Throw in a couple of "you're right" every few minutes and you should be fine." Aang chuckled as he shrugged Sokka's arm off.

"I've learned taking advice from you tends to be the wrong thing to do, especially when it comes to relationships, but thanks anyway." Sokka rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Just give it a try, you'll see how effective it is, worked wonders whenever Katara would start screaming at me," Sokka said, stepping back into the saddle to pack up his sleeping bag.

"And I'm sure you did nothing to cause that. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes," Aang called back to him as Appa began to descend. Sokka slung his bag over his back, along with a tube that contained the painting for Toph. Aang leaned onto the edge of the saddle and bent his head back until he was looking at Sokka. "How do you even know that Toph will be here?"

"I had received a timetable from Earthen Fire about some check up of their main factories. We received one because of the oil extraction plant back home," Sokka explained while he strapped his sword to his belt. "Toph is apparently meant to be on this trip, so I found the letter and figured where they would be."

"Why would Toph be on this trip, doesn't she have a metalbending academy to teach?" Aang asked as they landed just outside the town. He could see a couple of people poke their heads out of the nearest buildings, looks of disbelief on their faces..

"I haven't a clue," Sokka said with a shrug as he climbed over the saddle and slid down Appa's arm. "It's probably something she has to do as an executive partner."

"Maybe she wants to spend some time with that Satoru guy, she seemed pretty smitten on him last time we were here," Aang suggested, grinning at the thought of Toph being in a relationship.

"I'll make sure to let Toph know you said hi. Thanks again" Sokka said quickly, looking away from Aang and shifting his items around to get comfortable.

Aang raised his eyebrow at Sokka, opened his mouth to speak, but slowly closed it. "No problem. See you in a couple of weeks. Yip yip," Aang yelled, giving Sokka a wave as he flew away.

Sokka gave a small wave back as he checked everything was secure before he started walking. He was caught off guard at the size of the town. He could have sworn there had only been at most ten buildings plus the refinery since he was last here, but now it must have been at least triple that.