The Traitor Princess

Chapter 54 - The Runaway

At their campsite, Aang was preparing to spar against Toph and Katara. They decided not to add Eziri just yet. The firebender wanted Aang to get a better handle on his last element before training with all three of them.

While Aang was off doing his training, Eziri challenged Sokka to a spar. They both found large sticks so they could work on his sword fighting. Eziri didn't want to admit it, but Sokka was definitely more skilled than her. Although Zuko had been trained on broadswords, Eziri never really had formal weapon training with a master. Her knife skills and archery came from practice on her own and with Zuko's crew. Sword Fighting was a bit out of her comfort zone.

Regardless, she knew Sokka was excited about his new skill and thought it'd be good for him to practice.

And so there they stood, circling each other with their sticks raised and smug smirks on their faces. Sokka was feeling confident for once. He had yet to actually win a spar against his girlfriend and he thought he finally might get the chance.

"What are you waiting for, Southern Water Tribe? Scared you didn't get enough time with Piandao?"

Sokka scoffed. "Bold words for someone who's about to lose."

"I don't know if you've realized, but I don't lose often."

Sokka's smirk grew. "I guess there's a first time for everything." With that, he lunged forward and swung for Eziri's torso. She backed away just in time and spun around to smack her stick against his, attempting to disarm him. Sokka blocked her attempt and their sticks collided with a soft crack.

Sokka sucked his teeth. "Amature move, love."

Eziri laughed and went to swipe at him again but he blocked her once more. "If you think the pet names are gonna distract me, you're sorely mistaken, love." She mocked his tone of voice, causing him to playfully scowl. Sokka then swung quickly and moved his stick in a circular motion when it collided with hers. The action caused Eziri to lose her grip and her 'weapon' went flying out of her hand. If her hands weren't so damaged, she might have been able to keep her hold. She cursed under her breath but didn't forfeit just yet.

Instead, she tried to swing forward with her fist. Sokka used his forearm to block and grabbed her wrist with his free hand, spinning her around. He then pulled her flush against him so her back was against his chest. He moved his stick up by her throat, aimed to strike.

Eziri huffed in annoyance and tapped his arm to give up. He smiled smugly but didn't release his hold right away. Instead, he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. With a small squeeze to her wrist, he let go and stepped away.

"I guess you're decent." Eziri mumbled as she brushed nonexistent dirt from her clothing.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Sokka had a shit-eating grin.

Eziri rolled her eyes but couldn't help the slight upward twitch of her lips. "I said you're decent." She jogged over to grab her stick and pointed it towards him. "But that was just round one. Let's go again."

—

The couple ended up sparring until the younger members of the group got bored and tore them away. Eziri only managed to win once and that may have only been because Sokka's 'sword' broke in half. But with every win, Sokka gave her a soft kiss and a smug grin. His cockiness drove her crazy but it was easy to forget with the way her heart warmed at all his little gestures of affection.

A small part of her wished to watch Sokka and Zuko spar. Sokka still had more to learn before he was as good as her brother, but she could just picture all the little snide comments Sokka would make and the angry scowl Zuko would wear the whole time.