Trust | Zukka

[ E L E V E N ]

That night, Sokka dreamed of black snow.

In his dream, he and Katara were back in the Southern Water Tribe on the day of the raid. This time, though, they were older.

Sokka was standing inside his family's tent, watching in horror as the Fire Nation soldier began to attack his mother.

Katara was blasting water and ice at the guard, but it wasn't working. Sokka heard her scream for him to do something.

Something in his dream told him to try waterbending, so he threw his hands out in front of him with as much force as he could. Instead of water, a weak puff of fire expelled from his palms. The Fire Nation soldier laughed before turning on Katara and his mother.

The last thing Sokka saw was a flash of blinding, orange light.

He woke up screaming.

"No!"

Sokka sat bolt upright in bed. He was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

"What happened?" Zuko was yelling. He flicked his wrist and a small flame formed in his hand, lighting up the room. "Is someone here?"

Sokka didn't answer. He felt like he was going to throw up. He sprang up from his mattress and sprinted outside, past the balcony and onto the beach.

He stopped short and braced his hands on his knees, taking slow, deep breaths. He was busy trying not to vomit into the sand when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Sokka?" he could barely hear Zuko's voice over the ringing in his ears. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Bad dream," Sokka rasped. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, you look terrific," Zuko said sarcastically.

"Just go back to bed, Zuko," Sokka grunted.

He wasn't as nauseous anymore, but he still felt dizzy. No dream had ever had this effect on him before. He slowly lowered himself to the ground. Zuko walked over and sat down next to him in the sand.

"Talk to me," Zuko whispered.

Sokka squeezed his eyes shut.

"I should've done something!" he blurted out after a few seconds.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked. "When?"

"During the raid."

"Is that what the dream was about?" Zuko tilted his head, scanning Sokka's face. "You were just a kid."

"I was older than Katara," Sokka answered miserably. "Older brothers are supposed to be the protectors."

"Sokka," Zuko said softly. "There's nothing you could've done."

"Maybe if..." Sokka hesitated. "Maybe if I could just fucking bend! Maybe then I could have done something."

Zuko didn't know how to respond.

"Is...is that what this is all about?" he asked finally.

Of course, Zuko was referring to the dream, and the screaming. But he was also referring to earlier, in his father's office, when Sokka had given him the cold shoulder. Zuko could see that he was hurting, but Sokka refused to let him in.

"What? No...I don't know," Sokka groaned. "In the dream, I could bend, but it was really weak."

He conveniently left out the fact that he could bend fire.

"So?" Zuko asked. "That was just a dream. It doesn't mean anything."

"You just don't get it," Sokka muttered. "Not that I expect you to."