ZERA'S TALE » Sokka x OC

1.10

Aang was having another nightmare.

Zera awoke with a start when Momo bounced over her chest, causing her to jolt upright in her bedroll and bump her head against Sokka's as he sat up at the same time.

"What's going on?" She panicked, looking around the dark campsite for any threats.

"Did we get captured again?" Sokka fretted beside her, his boomerang and jawbone knife both raised in defense.

"It's nothing, I just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep." Aang told the group, curling in on himself. Zera grunted a quiet affirmation and laid down again, knowing Katara was better at comforting people. The last time Zera tried to make someone feel better, it ended with them both crying even harder. Dealing with emotions was not in her wheelhouse.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Sokka mumbled and flopped back down in his sleeping bag. He felt a sleep-heavy arm fall over his torso, accompanied by soft whining as Zera tried to pull him closer for his body heat.

He huffed out a soft grunt in reply, wiggling closer to her despite how comfortable he already was. Zera had been acting distant for the past few weeks, so Sokka cherished these small moments— usually on the cusp of sleep— where he could almost fool himself into thinking they were back to normal.

Aang and Katara were talking about Aang's recent uptick in nightmares, prompting Sokka to ask Zera if she wanted to hear about his dream.

"Tell me tomorrow when I can really appreciate it," she whispered sleepily, her lazy fingers twirling a small lock of Sokka's wolftail in a comforting motion.

"Mmkay, g'night." He forced out through a yawn, leaning subconsciously into the feeling of her fingers in his hair.

"Night, Sokka," she mumbled back, his yawn making her yawn in response.

☽ 〇 ☾

The next morning, the sun rose with a cloudless sky and an empty ration pack. After finishing with the packing and cleaning up, the group set off in search of a marketplace to restock. They didn't have to fly too far, finding a harbor tucked away in the side of a small mountain range where there were various stalls selling produce and other wares.

At the moment, a merchant woman was trying to sell Katara on an overripe watermelon while the others picked out different fruits and vegetables. Katara was shaking the melon close to her head, frowning at the sloshing noises from within.

"Swishing means it's ripe! It's the ripe juices swishing around, eh?" The old woman haggled, coming around to the front of the stand.

"I think it's true, Katara. Swishing means it's ripe." Aang commented from her side, watching the interaction curiously

"I just realized we're out of money anyways," Katara told the merchant, setting the melon back down and starting to walk further down the pier with Aang.

"Ack," the old woman scoffed, snatching baskets full of fruit from Zera and Sokka as they passed. They followed Katara and Aang away from the stand, passing by the merchant, who lashed out and kicked Sokka in the rear on his way by. In a flash, Zera was pinning the merchant against her stand, her forearm pressed against the woman's throat.