A Joke
patreon
Avatar: Awakened Gamer
🕑 Added 2022-04-27 13:58:58 +0000 UTCChapter 113 - Sweet Sister
…
-Sokka-
My sister rushed toward me. I took her into a deep hug. "There, there," I rubbed her back reassuringly. "Did you miss me?"
"No I didn't," she said, even as I felt her tears staining my shirt.
What a strong-headed girl. There is nothing bad about admitting a loss every now and then, it builds character.
The people that were walking down the road and some shopkeepers gave us a side-glance, before continuing to mind their own business. In their eyes, we might seem like relatives or lovers, but it didn’t matter what they thought.
“What is up with the new girl?” she asked. Sending June a nasty side-glance.
C’mon now sis, don’t act like a control freak. That’s supposed to be my job in our family.
“Her name is June, and she isn’t someone who I will date. She’s probably into girls.” I added to reassure her. The feeling of June’s sharp gaze on my back meant that she might have heard that last part.
“One day you will be put into a bad situation because of these girls, believe me,” Katara wiped her face on my shirt. Hopefully, she didn’t wipe her snot, it’s hard to wash off shirts with cheap material like this.
“What can I say, my charming personality and good looks seem to draw in girls like moths to a flame.”
“Moths to a flame? Is that even a saying?” She looked me in the eyes, her pupils were a little bloodshot but else there was no sign she had cried. “What even are moths?” she whispered under her breath.
“Who knows. Some type of bug, I think. You know how I am, sometimes I say things without knowing what they mean,” I ruffled her hair, shuffling it into a puffy mess.
She pouted and tried to mess up my hair, but sadly for her, I no longer had that wolf tail haircut. Leaning back, I dodged her hands, because I was petty like that.
Siblings, we will inevitably get involved in each other’s love lives, so I will tolerate her comments. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t ruffle her hair until she got the message.
“Sokka!” she pouted. “Do you know how long it takes for me to fix my hair to look prim and proper like this?”
“Anyway. June, this is my sister, Katara.” I dismissed her comments. Better change the direction of the conversation before she starts gaining ground in the argument. “Katara, this is my friend and traveling companion, June. She’s a bounty hunter and has a big bear-like pet that is about Appa’s size. We usually hide it so as not to spook people out.”
Despite what I usually tell her, I don’t like losing arguments… Everyone is a hypocrite in their own ways. Despite moving to a whole new world, I have barely changed as a person. Except for my goals, they’ve changed.
I was still as petty as always and like to think that pettiness is what keeps me on my toes, and always ready to counterattack anyone.
“June,” Katara put on a well-practiced smile. I could see an afterimage of my fake smile pass over her own. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” June nodded, putting on her well-practiced fake smile too.
My sister and June continued their introduction. I approached Aang. “How did the journey go? Were there any problems along the way?”
“Not anything out of the ordinary,” Aang shrugged.
But I saw it in his eyes, the slight twitch of his hand, and how he didn't meet my gaze. Aang was hiding something. If I didn't know any better, I would kill someone like him without a second thought. Spirits haven’t been my best friends in this world, and the Avatar could prove a problem with that.
But I knew Aang, there’s no forcing him to kill someone. That nice personality makes him soft, and it isn’t something he can force himself to change. Like an old man with erectile dysfunction, he can’t just will himself to get hard. Aang too can’t just kill someone, kind of how line an old man can't get it up.
Okay, horrible analogy.
But that’s what makes Aang weak in my eyes. Unwillingness to kill. Or maybe he's strong because he lives life without killing? After all, it’s easier to slit someone’s throat than to deal with whatever they have cooked up and the problems they could cause.
It doesn't matter. If that's a weakness on my part, then I will embrace it, I can’t afford to have enemies ready to stab me in the back.
"Come, let's go, we will show you around," I mentioned to Aang, Katara, and June. When did I ever worry about the morality of things?
We walked and talked about small things as we arrived at the outskirts of Gaoling, away from any prying eyes.
"I don't think you know, but the Fire Nation is advancing faster and preparing for something big,” I spoke like always, with confidence in my voice. Which made things sound true even if they weren't. "We don't have the time to wait any longer, and I am planning to start the end battle sooner."
Aang and Katara looked at me wide-eyed in surprise.
June already knew this, so she didn't have any outward reaction. It was hard sometimes to piece together what the bounty huntress was thinking. That made our alliance exciting, but dangerous. Sometimes she looks at me like I am some fragile glass, and the next as if I am some terrifying monster she’s afraid of.
I wouldn't put it beyond June to try and betray me. She's a bounty hunter and it doesn't take an intelligent person to know who can pay more between me or the Fire Lord.
But she's scared of me for now, so that should keep her in line. Also, I needed her expertise a little more during this war.
"What about waiting until Aang learns the four elements,” Katara tried to reason with me. “Then we-”
“No,” I interrupted her. "We don't have the time to wait for Aang. Each day more and more people die, both due to war and starvation. The longer we wait, the more powerful the Fire Nation becomes."
"He is right," June added, surprisingly supporting me. She glanced at me for a split second, like she wanted to say something to me. But her gaze soon returned toward Aang and my sister. "Every day things become direr and direr. People are becoming more desperate and moving to Ba Sing Se, and it’s a matter of time until that place falls too.”
“Time in which Aang could learn the four elements,” Katara argued.
“And then what?” I asked her. “He learns how to use the four elements and then what? Tell me. WHAT do we do then? Just because one person can use four elements doesn't mean anything, it's better to have four people who can use their element well than just one.”
I know how someone’s upbringing in this world can have them think of the avatar as the miracle cure-all solution to any problem. But he isn’t. Aang is just a twelve-year-old kid, and Republic City during the Legend of Korra showed clearly how incompetent one person can be. Just because you’re a good person with good intentions didn’t mean that you weren’t incompetent.
Katara looked mortified by my words, but I can’t coddle her now. There’s a time for everything and she has known for a while now that I wasn’t just going to let Aang try and solve everything magically if there’s a better solution at hand.
Maybe she thought they were just words I said to sound tough. But this wasn’t something I could daddle on any longer.
Just like I was investing in the Earth Kingdom orphans, someone was investing in me with the Gamer Interface. Eventually, they would come to collect and I don’t want to be caught with my pants down.
Fuck, even now as I act calmly on the outside, I am downright terrified on the inside. Gamer’s Mind only makes things worse as it tries to calm me down. Games are fun when you’re the player, not an NPC or Cheat Bot that gives Exp to someone else.
“I will need an army,” my words came out calm like water in a pond. My Acting Skill activated itself and my voice seems to calm down my nerves a little. “I have a plan to gather an army and set off soon. Are you with me?”
Katara and Aang nodded absentmindedly, June looked me in the eyes for a second before nodding too.
Right, I need to prepare too. An incompetent commander will see more soldiers die by starvation and friendly fire than by the enemy.
I didn’t plan on being an incompetent commander who doesn’t plan anything. If I die anyways, I would rather do it on my terms.
