smoke and frost | sokka x oc ✔️

CHAPTER 28 | ba sing se

"I CAN'T BELIEVE we finally made it to Ba Sing Se in one piece!" Katara said.

"Hey, don't jinx it!" Sokka exclaimed. "We could be attacked by some giant, exploding Fire Nation spoon. Or find out the city's been submerged in a ocean full of killer shrimp."

"You've been hitting the cactus juice again?"

"I'm just saying, weird stuff happens to us!"

"Don't worry Aang." Katara said. "We'll find Appa."

"It's such a big city." he replied.

"He's a giant bison!" Sokka said. "Where could someone possibly hide him?"

The train took them through the inner wall. They saw the city, filled to the brim with houses and walls. It looked very packed. "Oh."

A woman with an eerie smile greeted them. "Hello! My name is Joo Dee. I have been given the great honour of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se." Joo Dee explained. "And you must be Sokka, Katara, Kasumi and Toph. Welcome to our wonderful city. Shall we get started?"

"Yes." Sokka said. "We have information about the Fire Nation army that we need to deliver to the Earth King immediately!"

"Great! Let's begin our tour." she beamed. "And then I'll show you to your new home, here. I think you'll like it."

They were pulled through the city in a small carriage. Joo Dee, Sokka and Kasumi were sitting on one side, while Aang, Katara and Toph sat on the other. It was kinda cramped and Sokka and Kasumi were very close to each other.

The first place they went is the lower ring. It was full of messy streets cluttered with stalls. "What's that wall for?" Katara asked, talking about the large wall cutting the ring off.

"Oh, Ba Sing Se has many walls." Joo Dee stated. "There are the ones outside, protecting us, and the ones inside that help maintain order." Kasumi looked out of the window and saw people in dull clothes, purchasing fruits and cloth.

"Our newest arrivals live in this ring. As well as our craftsmen and artisans, people that work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively." She looked at a man holding a sharp sword. "You do want to watch your step though."

"Why do they have all these poor people blocked off in one part of the city?" questioned Katara.

"This is why I never came here before." Aang said. "I always heard it was so different from the way the Monks taught us to live."

The next place they visited was the middle ring. It had pretty bridges and clean streets. "This is the middle ring of Ba Sing Se, home to the financial district, shops and restaurants and the university."

Sokka was practically jumping, moving Kasumi around as well. "Oh, we met a professor from Ba Sing Se University. He took us to an ancient underground library, where we discovered information about the war that is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL FOR THE KING TO HEAR!" Sokka exclaimed. Joo Dee put on her eerie smile again.

"Isn't history fascinating?"

The last place was the upper ring. It was covered with pristine, uniform gardens and ornamental arches. The houses looked large and they were painted with red, green, white and gold. "The upper ring is home to our most important citizens." Joo Dee said. "Your house is not too far from here."

They went past a large orange terracotta wall. "What's inside that wall?" Katara asked.

"And who are the mean looking guys in robes?" Sokka added.

"Inside is the royal palace. Those men are agents of the Dai Li, the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se. They are the guardians of all our traditions."

"Can we see the King now?" Aang queried.