ATLA Shorts

How to Dig for Diamonds - Chapter 5

            “So, how do we do it?”

            Sokka glanced at her, surprised. They’d just gotten back from another grueling digging session, and Sokka’s bones felt like jelly. He didn’t know how much longer he could survive this place.

            “Do what?” His eyes slid closed even as he spoke, and he heard Azula sigh.

            “Escape, stupid.”

            Her words barely registered in his exhausted mind. He felt a sudden warmth near his face, then felt her breath on his cheek, brushing over his ear.

            His heart started to beat faster, a rhythm that he didn’t understand. Where was this coming from?

            “Don’t you want to get out of here?”

            The combination of her words and the feel of her breath on his ear woke him up, and his eyes shot open. Sliding them to the side, he caught her gaze--for the first time since he’d found her here, her eyes weren’t listless. They were bright and blazing--she was wide awake.

            He wondered how long it had been since she’d been this alert, this focused on the world around her.

            Probably seven years.

            Slowly, he sat up, almost afraid of disturbing her hold on herself. Something in the way her eyes bored into him was doing strange things to his heartbeat.

            “Of course I do.”

            He kept his voice low, his face close to hers. The others had made it clear that they didn’t want anything to do with this.

            “So. How do we do it?”

            “Why does everyone expect ME to come up with the plans?”

            She chuckled, a deep, almost raspy sound that brushed across his skin in a not unpleasant way.

            “Because you’re not good for anything else?”

            He scowled at her, but it was halfhearted. “Okay, fine. I’ve been thinking about this. I thought maybe we could find a way to get a message to Aang, but that won’t work. They’ll just kill us if they find out. We need to actually escape, and I think we can--”

            “You kids are actually gonna try this craziness?”

            Their heads whipped around at the sound of Don Zu’s voice, and Sokka nodded. After a second, Don Zu grinned crazily. “Then count me in. I’m gonna die down here anyway, may as well do it sooner than later!”

            Slowly, the other men gathered around, nodding their agreement. All except Quan. He stayed in the back, away from them, but Sokka didn’t think anything of it. Looking around, the Water Tribe genius grinned. “Okay, here’s the plan…”

            Quickly, he outlined his idea, and after a few tweaks from Azula--which earned her sulky looks from Sokka--they agreed on it.

            “What about you, Quan?” Don Zu looked at the prone figure of the younger man, in his corner in the back. Quan made a muffled snorting sound.

            “You’ll get yourselves killed. I don’t want a part of it.”

            Out of the corner of his eye, Sokka saw Azula frown sharply. Her amber eyes glinted, and Sokka made a negative gesture at her. “Azula, don’t--”