Chapter Text
“Water…”
The word came like dirt on his tongue, and his world was spinning like a carousel he couldn't get out of. Sokka weakly pleaded to his sister, but Katara looked just as weak and sick as he felt. Yesterday’s storm had struck Sokka straight to his knees, catching a nasty cold that scratched past his throat. So no one was surprised when Katara grew sick in no time, too. Now, the fever was burning him alive from the inside out. He dragged his face against Appa’s fur in hopes of finding comfort in more warmth.
“I don't have any, Sokka. Momo should be back any minute…”
Katara’s voice was a ghost of itself. She was curled into a shivering ball a few feet away, pale from the sickness. She coughed before letting out a groan against the animal's fur.
Sokka didn't argue. Arguing took breath, and breath was expensive at this very moment. Instead, he shuffled in the sleeping bag, defying the laws of gravity that wanted him flat on the fur. He forced himself up onto unsteady feet.
“Sokka, lie down. Aang is gonna be back soon.”
“No. Stay here. I’ll get the water.”
“Sokka...”
Her eyes were half closed, her vision a hazy mess of heat.
“Just stay put.”
Sokka muttered as he wobbled on his own two feet.
“I'll be right back. I promise. Just… don't move.”
He turned on his heel. The hill beneath them was steep; an arched spine of uneven stone surrounded by water. Behind him, Appa let out a low, vibrating groan of disapproval. Even the bison knew this was an impulsive mistake. But Aang was taking too long with the medicine, and Katara’s lips were cracking.
He moved down. One heavy step after another. Pebbles clattered under his boots, tumbling down the mountain face. Down below, the dark shape of a river ripped through the ravine.
Strong current.
Deadly.
But it was water.
Sokka shifted his weight for the next step. His heel found a smooth stone. No traction.
The world tilted.
He didn't even have time to gasp before his feet swept out from under him. Gravity won. The descent was a flash of grey rocks and sudden, violent impacts, ending in a thud against the back of his skull.
Then followed the drop.
He hit the deep river like a bag of stones, followed right by white bubbles that turned into something beautiful as they lapped and crawled onto his limbs. Cold flooded his senses, shocking the fever right out of his muscles. The current consumed him completely, dragging his sick, heavy body down into the black void of nothingness.
Air vanished.
Light died.
He was drowning.
𓆝 …