Book 2: Earth (Sokka x Reader Love Story)

Book 2: Chapter 18: That's A Fine Mess We've Gotten Ourselves Into

I keep thinking over the week about what I wanna say to y'all, but the second I come to update, I forget everything.

I do remember one thing. It is not a great thing. So university has started, and I've got so many projects over this month and next month, which means I won't be able to get the chapters done in time. I'm planning to write the whole of Book 3 before I publish it, but I don't want to hope too much. I'll be posting the last chapter (WOO WTF WHAT A JOURNEY!) next to next Sunday. I'm excited for that, at least.

So yeah, by the end of November (Again, wtf, end of the year already??? I'm having too many crises together it's killing me holy shit), I will properly resume the weekly schedule and fuck your lives up. Your support and love is so good for my health, thank you all, and I hope y'all are taking care of yourselves (DRINK WATER BEEP BEEP!) and I love you!

I'd like to call this chapter: "How many times I switch POVs. Please forgive me."

*

"I'm sorry," General How says after minutes of silence. "We don't keep the exact addresses of refugees, but we do record the ring they are assigned to."

(Y/n) feels a pinch in her forehead. "Well, could you tell me which ring Master Shang Fu lives in?"

General How nods and plucks a thick ledger from the shelf behind him. He spreads it over the map pinned to the desk and begins flipping through the pages quickly. The book is full and has a pile of loose sheets tucked into the end, and he takes those out. "There is the list of refugees from the past two months. Hopefully, you can find him."

She eyes the nearly thirty sheets of parchment or more, double-sided and written with tiny letters, each side having two columns, and the worst part, she thinks as she begins scrolling through the names, is that they aren't in alphabetical order.

However, they are listed according to the rings of Ba Sing Se, so she skips the upper ring and delves into the pages of the middle ring first. And by god, it's still exhausting.

Hours later, slumped in the meeting room with a large magnifying glass in hand, because an hour into it her eyes started burning, (Y/n) is startled from her work as General How and Katara walk in. Katara looks concerned. "Any luck?"

(Y/n) shakes her head, sighs, and thumbs the parchment, wishing she could rip them all apart and stomp on them and set them on fire. "this will take me forever. There must be another way to find him. I'm only on page ten!"

General How rubs his chin in thought. "We really should get those alphabetized."

Katara pours a glass of water and presses it into (Y/n)'s hand. She pats her back. "Why don't you get some rest?"

"I can't rest now. Who knows how long it'll take me to find him?" And who knows what's going to happen in her absence? She doesn't say. They're getting into some dangerous territory, but there is a push to keep searching until she finds what she needs.

"Perhaps you should ask around," General How suggests. He unrolls a map on the large table.

"That's a great idea!" Katara says, "Check the restaurants and vendors; they're bound to know something about your Master."

(Y/n) jumps to her feet and stretches. "It's the easiest option I have anyway, thanks. Enjoy your... planning."

"We will!" Katara waves as (Y/n) struts out with renewed hope.

She enquires around the shopping district of the upper ring, but so far, the citizens looked at her snootily or evaded her skillfully. So, she gives up the upper ring and catches a train to the next ring. It's much less clean and much seedier, but it isn't the worst thing out there. In fact, in the daytime, the streets bustle with vendors and residents going about their lives, so she navigates the area until she reaches the most crowded area, a food court of sorts where there's a line of restaurants and bakeries and tea shops.