Sokka was at the camp for a couple of days, and yet he still didn't know about his father's relationship with Elodie. Even though it was annoying that the couple had to sneak around again and that everyone had to watch what they said to make sure they didn't spill the beans, Elodie tried to be as understanding as she possibly could. Hakoda had not seen his children in two years, so she was sure he didn't want to ruin the happy mood by revealing that he was dating a woman who was quite a bit younger than him (and not from their world). She didn't want to be the typical young woman dating an older man with children like in movies. The ones that get mad when he was to put his kids first or that she wants his kids to call her mom. So, she just let Hakoda have some space with his son.
Elodie had a couple more conversations with Sokka during his time there. He seemed to be a really nice and easy-going kid, which made her feel a little bit better about her and Hakoda's predicament. Their first conversation was about Elodie's new abilities. He was excited when he found out she was a waterbender and he enthusiastically explained that his sister was a master at the skill and wouldn't mind teaching Elodie how to actually use her bending, since Elodie hadn't figured any of that out. Their second conversation was rather amusing for Elodie but very embarrassing for Sokka. The teen had come to Elodie for some advice about girls. Elodie answered his questions while only teasing him a little bit. Sokka seemed to like her as a person, so she hoped he felt the same when Hakoda finally broke the news to his son.
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Elodie was currently trying to find more firewood in the foresty area behind the bay. It was higher up than the bay, but there was a path that went up the cliffside that made getting there relatively easy. Konoye had accompanied her to get out of doing some chores, but Elodie put him to work by carrying some of the wood she found.
The two were headed back to camp, their arms full of lumber, when Konoye asked her, "So, are you hurt by Hakoda not telling Sokka?" She instantly knew what he was talking about, and she shook her head, "Nope." Konoye gave her a look, "Really? Your significant other hasn't told his son about you even though Sokka's been here for a couple of days, and that doesn't make you feel anything." Elodie sighed, "Sheesh. What do you want from me?" Konoye just kept on giving her that look and she rolled her eyes, "Fine. It doesn't feel great that Hakoda hasn't told Sokka about us, but I can understand his hesitation." Konoye shrugged, "Well I think that it's better to come right out and say it. He would probably be more upset that his dad hid it from him." Elodie deadpanned, "I don't remember asking for your advice, genius." Konoye shoved her with his elbow, "Well you got it."
The two didn't talk about her and Hakoda's current situation the rest of the way back much to Elodie's relief. When they reached the camp, there was no one lounging around like there normally was. Instead, everyone was rushing around and Elodie sighed, she knew what this meant. They spotted a Fire Nation ship. Elodie took Konoye's firewood from his arms, so he could go get ready for battle. She hated it when the men had to go fight. There had been no deaths yet, but she didn't know if she could see anymore of her comrades terribly burnt. It had only happened a couple of times, but seeing it just once was one too many times.
As Elodie went to put her load down, she saw Hakoda and Sokka gearing up for the fight and her stomach dropped. Would she even be able to kiss Hakoda goodbye like she normally did? They wouldn't have time to sneak off somewhere so Sokka wouldn't see them. The thought made her feel even more queasy than she normally did when the crew went to go fight. She was very aware that there was a chance she wouldn't see some of the men again after they went to go face the enemy's ships, and the thought made her extremely anxious.
Elodie tried to push the negative thoughts out of her head as she sat the firewood down and hurried to Zokkik's tent. She immediately started helping the healers prepare for the worse. They hoped that no one would be seriously injured, but if someone was, they needed to be ready. A couple of moments of preparation could be the difference between someone living and dying.
Tiluq, who was one of the other healers, said as they finished getting ready, "We should test to see if you have the ability to heal." Elodie looked confused as Zokkik nodded, "I didn't think of that. It would be really helpful if she could." Zokkik saw Elodie's confusion and explained, "Some waterbenders have healing abilities, but it's pretty rare. There's a small possibility that you have that ability." Elodie asked, "How do we find out?" The healers seemed stumped at her question, so they decided to figure that out later.
Once the men were almost ready to go, Elodie was given the task of putting some first aid things on the ships (like bandages, burn creams, etc.) that the men could use in an emergency. The men started to load the boat that she was currently on, so she encouraged them to kick some butts. They all seemed to appreciate her comment, but also seemed occupied talking about a... flying bison? Whatever that was.
She was headed back to her post when she suddenly felt familiar arms around her waist. She turned in said arms and saw her lover's face looking down at her. She relaxed in tan arms before suddenly coming to her senses, "I'm guessing you told Sokka about us. How did he react?" Hakoda chuckled sheepishly, "Actually I didn't tell him... he just left, so we don't have to hide our affection now."
Elodie wanted to say, "You had all this time and you still didn't tell him before he left." But she didn't. She tried her disappointment and tried really hard to understanding as he simply nodded, "Oh. ok." Hakoda had been around the female enough to know that she was not happy. He sighed softly, "I'm sorry, Elodie. I promise I will tell him the next time I see him." He leaned down to give her a kiss, which she returned. After the short kiss, Elodie smiled softly at him, "It's ok. I know it must be difficult for you. We'll talk about this later since you have a ship to catch." Hakoda looked over, and sure enough, the ships were waiting for him. Elodie kissed him one last time, "Don't die please." He chuckled and said before rushing off, "I wasn't planning on it, dear." She rolled her eyes playfully at the nickname, then headed to the healer's tent.
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Once they were all finished with their duties, the men tiredly went to their tents, eager to get some sleep. Elodie, however, was waiting for a certain warrior. He and some of the other men that were in charge were discussing some things in his tent, so Elodie was sitting by the firepits waiting for them to be done so she could finally cuddle with her man.
She had been staring off into space when Hakoda's figure stepped in front of her. She looked at him with a small smile as he kneeled in front of her, "Do you forgive me?" Elodie pushed her hair out her face, the cool wind blowing it around, "There's nothing for me to forgive." He leaned in to give her a kiss, but she dodged it while trying to hide a mischievous grin, "You stink." "Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow and Elodie watched him as he crouched down as if he was going to-
Elodie let out a yelp as he pounced on her (gently) making her fall backward off the log she was sitting on. He then proceeded to pepper kisses over her face as she protested, "Hakoda! You really are so sweaty. And, you're getting it on me!" He grinned, "Guess we'll have to get clean then." She laughed at his suggestive words, "You're in an awfully good mood."
The two played around for a while, before settling down. They just laid in each other's arms contently for a long while. As Elodie started to doze off in Hakoda's embrace a low growl/bellow awoke her. She opened her eyes to see a large six-legged buffalo land on the sand. She rubbed her eyes, "What the-"
Hakoda was up and rushing over to the bison in an instant, Elodie following after him. She was even more shocked to see several children getting off of it. A young black-haired girl, Sokka, and a crying girl that looked similar to Sokka holding a sack in her arms. 'Wait,' Elodie thought, 'That's not a sack. That's a kid!'
She had a feeling things were fixing to get complicated.
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