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How many weeks had passed now? Moana couldn't tell. All alone in the vast ocean, cold and ever so silent. She was starting to question the path her heart wanted to take. This ridiculously wet and lonely journey in an attempt to bring peace for her people, for Motunui. Burdensome would be an understatement.
Moana grumbled at the creaking floorboards of her ship. Pecking noises erupted from her left as her feet swung with the waves.
"Not now, Heihei…"
The floors creaked louder—not loud enough for her to turn around. To which she should have.
"… Hei Hei?" she finally perked up. Never mind, she should've never turned her head around.
A splash. Then a cold splatter on the sails, on the ship, and especially on Moana. She had just dried her hair a minute ago. And now, soaked and cold once more, her eyes glared daggers towards… a boy?
Her instincts were quick. Too quick.
"Um, hello—" the boy croaked.
One swing and one sturdy oar was all it took.
"Who are you? What are you? Why are you here? And why—" She took a deep breath.
"ARE YOU ON MY BOAT?!"
The boy stifled a sneeze from the cold breeze. He wasn't fully unconscious—not fully able to move around as well. He tried flailing his arms around, but the rope was knotted too tight. And to be frank, he was more interested in the knot than he was concerned with being tied up.
"Okay, okay," he repeated.
"First of all, pipe down with the questions."
"Second of all, can you pull on my feet please? It's cramping—"
"OW! I SAID PULL, NOT CUT OFF!"
Minutes passed in tense silence. Probably because Moana's grip on the oar was too tight. As though she wanted to hit…
someone.
"My name's Sokka," the boy finally muttered. He couldn't be bothered explaining more than that. Sokka was also in disbelief. One moment he was with Appa and the team. The next he was knocked into the sea by some jerk bending guard. And now he's here with a girl that wanted nothing more than to smack him square in the face.
Of course he didn't want any of that action. He's had enough punching and bending.
The sun arose with nefarious red. Its reflection bounced back onto Sokka—and his tranquil nose picking. A habit he picked up on after spending too much time with a certain Earthbender. He'd never admit to that, of course.
His foot (the one that wasn't cramped) tapped with a rhythm that matched Hei Hei's pecking on the floorboards. None of which were pleasant for Moana.
She couldn't sleep during the whole night. And she couldn't risk putting herself in such a vulnerable state with a dopey looking stranger who looked a little too interested in eating Hei Hei.
"How did you get here?" She finally asked. The tension only thickened at her hoarse voice.
Sokka squirmed at the tight rope that clung to his arms. It was doing its best to restrain Sokka from grabbing Hei Hei by the neck.
"How would I know?" he grumbled with intense focus on a certain bird.
"—was fighting so fiercely, y'know." He did some slicing hand movements with a sprinkle of 'kachow' somewhere in his grunts.
"And then some jerk bender pushed me off Appa—he's a bison."
More poofy hand movements. Albeit muffled by the restraints.
"Next thing I know a tide splashed me in here!"
Jerk bender? Appa? Doesn't ring a bell for Moana, but the splash part? Plausible.
"Fighting? Like some crabs? Coconuts?" she listed, trying to make some sense of his nonsensical spouts. But now they were both confused.
"Who fights coconuts??? 'Course not! I'm talking about—y'know," his voice drops to a whisper.
"Firebenders," he gritted like it was the most obvious thing in the world. To which, for him, it was. For Moana? Not even the faintest bells.
"Firebenders?"
Sokka stared back at her like she was crazy. Maybe she was somewhat lost in the head.
"Do you live under a rock?"
Moana scoffed at his words. She held the paddle up to his neck with a threatening glint.
"You're the one who showed up out of nowhere—ON MY BOAT!"
Sokka pointed an accusing toe in her direction.
"You're the one bending the ocean and crashing me here in the first place!"
Moana furrowed her brows in confusion. Bending the ocean??? What was that supposed to mean?
Unfortunately, there was no time for another altercation. Up ahead from where the sails caught in the wind—an enormous tide was creeping up on the ship. Above it was a horizon in a shade of wounded gray. Clearly not a pleasant afternoon.
"I'm too young to die!" Sokka flailed his body around. He reached to tug against the rope restraining him. With his trusty boomerang now in tow, he gritted the tool against the rope, eager to escape.
But to where, you may ask? He didn't know either. But what he did know was that drowning while tied up to a boat wouldn't be a peaceful death. Not the kind of passing he wanted to be remembered by. Drowning was never an option in the first place.
"Sakka—"
"It's SOKKA!"
"Whatever! Just hold on to the mainsheet!" Moana grumbled at a sudden realization.
"Do you even know what that is—"
"Obviously!"
Neither of them wanted to lose during a fit of back and forth. But now was clearly not the time for them to get sassy. And to their misfortune, the huge wave now loomed directly above them. It was an ominous sight that made their breath hitch. Time was running out and so he tugged Moana closer by the waist. Instinct—Sokka claimed.
But it was all too late.
Their vision blurred as water filled their system with unwanted haste. Screw it.
They both tried to swim back to the surface—and yet, as their limbs swam with urgency, the waves could only tug them deeper into the ocean.
It was—for lack of a better word—relaxing. Ease soon fell upon their bodies before a sudden sharp pain shot up their chest. And before either of them could protest against the ache, everything went black. It was cold, and everything turned to ineffable numbness. Maybe drowning wasn't all that bad. At least—that's what Sokka wanted to believe.
"Sokka…"
"Sokka—"
He strained his eyes open. Everything was blurry; he was practically breathless—and awfully numb and aching in all the wrong places. Geez, how long was he out for?
Moana wasn't having any of it. They had toppled over on the wet shore, unconscious, but the numbing in their back told them everything they needed to know. They must've crashed aggressively in here, apparently. Their limbs now felt like jelly, and somehow not a single bone in their system wanted to move.
Grains of sand clung haphazardly on different strands of their hair. My goodness, was it icky—and awfully sticky from the drying salt water that coated their skin.
Pua and Hei Hei only heaved near Moana. She held both of them against her, scared they were hurt from the sudden and uninvited turbulence.
Sokka's lips trembled slightly at the cold, his eyes blearily adjusting to the harsh sun.
"So now it's sunny!"
Sokka's whiny voice croaked with embarrassing signs of puberty. Half of it was probably from the fact he had just drowned earlier. How long ago was it? Who cares! He almost died—in the ocean, that is. An absolute disgrace for the son of the Southern Watertribe's chief. Sokka sighed.
It took them another ten minutes to sit up. First step in trying to get out of this sandy island. But Moana could only stare back at the trees behind them in worry. Trees, once a vibrant shade of green, now blended in with the corrupted area. Black, gray, and rotting. Yielding no signs of life on an island that was supposed to be alive.
"Te Kā."
"Firebenders."
The two gritted simultaneously.
"What in the spirits are you talking about?" Sokka raised a brow at her direction. This was clearly done by the Fire Nation? Who the hell was Te Kā?
Moana huffed and ignored his blatant confusion. She was convinced that this guy was somewhat lost in the head.
That's what they both told themselves.
In a minute of silence, dread washed over Moana. Her shoulders slumped, the waves now barely touching her feet. A frown now etched in her face as she proceeded to stare back into the corrupted island.
How were her people doing? How were her parents back in Motunui? She didn't want to think of the struggles they were enduring. The hunger, the uncertainty. It was all too painful.
Sokka felt the same. Although there were no answers as to why he was here in the first place, he understood the loneliness that comes with not being home. That's what he assumed Moana was dealing with. She looked no older than he was, and he was certain that no person in the right mind would traverse the ocean all alone in a small boat. Especially with this weather that was clearly indecisive.
Plus, you couldn't risk accidentally trespassing on the Fire Nation's territory. That would be an awful death wish to have.
"What island are you from?" Moana suddenly questioned.
"Southern Watertribe. And you?"
"Motunui."
"Never heard of that before," they muttered in tandem. It was like they were always in sync with the backhanded comments.
Now was no time to bicker. There was never time for it anyway.
The sand was damp as they walked across the beach with urgency. Neither of them opened their mouths, knowing full well that it'll lead to another session of pure childish quarreling. Pua was with Sokka, and Hei Hei? On his head. Thankfully he was no longer interested in turning these guys into meat-bearing meals. It was tempting, but they were practically little friends at this point.
But Sokka was all for another argument. "Why are you alone anyway?"
"I wasn't. I was with this obnoxious demigod." Moana rolled her eyes before kicking a stray rock towards the sea.
"So where is this obnoxious demigod?"
"Gone."
Sokka reckoned that more questions could lead to another kick in the shin. She reminded him of Katara, but with Toph's personality. In the most terrifying way possible. He didn't know why she was so aggressive with him.
Well—he guessed having some random dude spawn out of nowhere, in the middle of NOWHERE, was kinda weird. Kinda. He was Sokka of the Southern Watertribe, he's a reliable person when it comes to sailing. Maybe? But hey, who wouldn't want him on their ship?
Moana, apparently.
The two had spent another hour mulling about everything and anything. From saving their people to struggling with some friends along their journey. Perhaps they're not that much different from one another.
"I get that," Sokka hummed.
"Being the child of the village chief is cool and all, but the duty that comes with it? Not so cool." He shrugged, tugging at the rope tighter.
Conveniently, the ship settled fine along the shore. A few misplaced planks and ropes were easy to deal with. No food was left, however. And that was more torturous than whatever they were suddenly dealing with.
To their luck, a singular coconut tree settled near the water. Not a single sign of rotting—not visibly, at least.
Before Sokka could even walk towards the trunk, Moana was already nearing those sweet-looking coconuts. Using this weird boomerang thing she found earlier, she scythed the coconuts down towards the ground, effectively landing them near Sokka's feet. Gosh, he was sick of it.
"H-hey! That's my boomerang, give it back!" Sokka shouted. He snatched it off her hands once Moana landed back onto the ground.
"You remind me of my sister," said Sokka.
Moana paused before turning to him, mainsheet now in hand. Their coconuts were stored with Heihei in the ship's compartment. Could never risk it with a wandering chicken.
"Thanks?"
"She was quite frankly annoying—" Sokka pursed his lips after receiving an elbow right in his stomach. How rude.
They both pushed the ship back into the sea. It was time to set sail and hope for the best; no more storms now, hopefully.
"Climb on," Moana called. She gestured him into the boat. But to her surprise, no response. For once, he was silent.
She turned back. Sokka held her wooden oar, ready to climb, but somehow unable to move. It wasn't a dilemma or a sudden change of mind—he was paralyzed. From head to toe. He couldn't stammer a single movement.
Moana stared at him, worried and clearly spooked out.
"Sokka?"
Moana stumbled as the waves rocked underneath. She was moving. The boat was moving.
The tides were carrying her—away from the island, away from Sokka. It wasn't the wind, it wasn't her deliberately trying to leave him on a dingy island. Neither of that.
Moana's breath shook as she grabbed onto the ropes.
It wouldn't steer.
The boat moved farther, and farther away. And in that moment the same scene flashed before her eyes.
The island warped into the same view as Motunui. Sokka stood there, not moving. Unwavering as the ominous and familiar darkness swallowed him whole.
"Sokka…"
"Sokka!"
"So—"
Sokka flinched and lunged forward to sit up. He could move now. What happened back there?
"Mo—Katara?"
"Sokka, you've been out for a week…" The waterbender rushed to calm him down. Surrounding the bed was the rest of the team, Toph now seemingly asleep with Momo on the floor.
"Where's Moana?"
Katara stared at him in confusion.
"Moana?"
Sokka's eyes widen at the sudden realization. Was it all a dream?
Sokka stammered. "My boomerang."
Katara wasn't convinced. But his nonsensical words were the last of her worries. He'd been in a coma for a week almost. And at the last minute of this seemingly quiet evening, Sokka shook as though he was getting a fever. Similarly, he's had the same reaction from when he was getting nightmares as a child.
Sokka's head throbbed. He tried to sit up near the edge of the bed. Katara had left to fetch some dinner. Zuko and Aang gave up on explaining what happened to Sokka after he was pushed into the waters. He wasn't understanding any of the information anyway.
He needed something to drink. Not cactus juice, that's for sure.
Sokka stumbled forward to reach over a nearby kettle of water. His feet were fluid and far from stable. And since the universe constantly had a bone to pick with him, he fell over.
Sokka winced at the hard surface of the wooden floor. Who left their stuff on the ground now?
Wait a minute, an oar?