When Sokka and Naia returned, there was a whole army of Water Tribe soldiers sitting on a patch of grass. Almost all of the invasion force were sitting, awaiting directions. Sokka gulped nervously.
"Don't worry," Hakoda reassured his oldest son. "You'll do great."
Sokka took a deep breath, grabbing the scrolls from his father's arms and walking on the makeshift stage (courtesy of Toph). "Good morning, everyone!" Sokka said, slightly yelping because he almost tripped. He nervously coughed. "So, as you know, today we're invading the Fire Nation. I mean...I know you know that because otherwise why else would you be here. Anyways..." He trailed off. He put one of the scrolls up for display on a slab of wood, but realized it was the wrong one and had to change it out three times. "The Fire Lord's palace is here and Aang is going to fight the Fire Lord and the fire benders won't have any fire to use so that's good for us! Um...let me start at the beginning. Katara and I discovered Aang frozen in an iceberg. Now I didn't like Aang at first but I grew to love him and then we went over to the Souther Air Temple and then—"
"When he says the beginning he really means the beginning," Katara commented.
"He's unraveling," Naia whispered.
Hakoda gave Naia and small nod, signaling her to stand up with him. They both walked onto the stage, Hakoda placed his hand on Sokka's hit tjeshoulder. "Thank you, Sokka," He said. "Why don't you take a break?" He said softly. Sokka's face fell as he walked down the stage. "Let me clarify a few points for everyone. Today is the day of Black Sun. I want to thank you all for your self sacrifice and your courage. There are two steps to the invasion: a naval stage and a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, we have to get past a major obstacle: the Great Gates of Azulon. Once we get past that, we hit the land and we hit it hard. We must secure the plaza tower, then we hit the palace as the eclipse begins. It only lasts eight minutes, which isn't a lot of time for us. However, I have complete faith that we can do this," Hakoda finished, looking towards Naia.
"May the great ocean and moon spirits watch over us and protect us during this important battle today. All of us have been training for months for this very moment. It's time we show the Fire Nation that we believe in our beliefs as much they believe in theirs," Naia said, repeating the phrase that Yue said to her right before she gave her life to save the world. "Once this battle is over, the avatar will have defeated the Fire Lord and this era of war and violence will finally be over," Naia said triumphantly. The crowd started to stand up and cheer. Naia smiled at the crowd and also at Hakoda.
The rest of the group separated and put on their armor. Naia polished her katana and put it in her sheath, as well as filling up her water skin with as much water it could hold. Once she was all ready, she looked through the crowd for Sokka but couldn't find him. After searching for him everywhere, she spotted him down at the beach. She climbed down the cliff side, walking towards him. "Hey, I was looking for you. Everyone is almost ready to leave."
"I messed up, Naia," Sokka said sadly, refusing to look at her. "The invasion plan was my moment of truth and I completely flopped it. I just...fell apart," He shook his head, a tear sliding down his cheek.
"No, no, no," Naia said, trying to console him. He stepped closer to him and used her thumb to wipe his tear. "That speech wasn't your moment of truth. It was just public speaking, and nobody is really good at that," She reassured him.
"You are," Sokka retorted. "You didn't stutter at all. Everyone was so inspired after you ended your speech. And my Dad explained the plan perfectly, like a real leader should."
Naia chuckled. "Sokka, that's because I've been doing this since I was little. I'm a princess, remember? My father had me speak at every event where most of the tribe was there. And your father has been chief of the Southern Water Tribe for years. He's used to speaking in front of everyone and explaining military plans to them. Your moment of truth is not standing in front of some map, it's out there on the battlefield. And I for one think that you are going to prove yourself as an intelligent warrior."
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silver soul | avatar, the last air bender
Fanfiction"it's incomplete without you, the silver soul is running through, it's a vision, complete illusion" Princess Naia of the Northern Water Tribe was sheltered for most of her existence. She was deeply unsatisfied with her life, as she was given the nat...
