A/N; Alright folks I'm not going to sugarcoat this. If you've seen the show or spent any time reading ATLA fics you already know how this chapter is going to be. Buckle up.

(also some swearing in this if anyone cares)

Sokka P.o.V.

"This ship is sentimental to me. It was built by my father."

Sokka stared up in awe at the boat, still unable to process everything that had occurred the previous evening. Finding evidence of his tribe, meeting up with Bato, telling stories around the fire... even almost confessing his feelings to the girl he liked.

It was all very surreal.

"Is this the boat he took you ice dodging in?" Sokka asked the man.

Bato nodded. "Yeah. It's got the scar to prove it," he chuckled. "How about you, Sokka? You must have some good stories from your first time ice dodging."

Sokka's face fell, remembering how young he was when his dad had left. "He never got to go," Katara explained for him. "Dad left before he was old enough."

"Oh, I forgot you were too young," Bato admitted nervously.

"What's ice dodging?" Aang asked in a confused tone.

Surprisingly, Azami responded. "It's a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members," she explained to him, shocking the three southerners. "When you turn fourteen, your father takes you out in his boat and you along with a few others have to navigate through icebergs without the father's assistance. Usually there's three positions, awarding either the mark of the Wise, the Brave, or the Trusted, if completed successfully."

She paused, looking at the jaw-dropped expressions on the faces of the three Water Tribe members. "What?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "I spent most of my life studying different cultures."

Bato gave her an impressed look. "It's true Sokka was too young at the time, but considering that he's fifteen now..." his voice trailed off, and a smirk grew on his face. "You know what? You're about to see it for yourselves." Sokka's eyes widened as Bato placed a hand on his shoulder, and he smiled up at the man.

If only his father could see him now... he was finally going ice dodging!

The three boarded the boat, and started to head out. How they were supposed to go ice dodging without ice was beyond Sokka's understanding at the moment, but he trusted Bato. Overall, he was struggling to contain his excitement, but he was also nervous.

He would only get one shot at this. If he failed, he could in theory earn another attempt, but they'd have left Bato behind by then, and he had no idea when he'd be able to return home, or if he ever would. He was basically fighting in a war after all.

As they moved out to sea, Bato began to walk the four through the process. "Ice dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery, and trust," he explained. "In our village, it was done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs."

Sokka's curiosity was piqued. "How are we supposed to ice dodge without ice?" he questioned, still seeing a gaping hole in all of this.

Bato smiled, pointing ahead of them. "You'll be dodging those."

Glancing ahead, Sokka started to feel his nervousness rising at the sight of a cluster of jagged rocks sticking out of the water. Getting the boat through unscathed would be a serious challenge.

He gulped, unable to quell the twisting in his gut.

A soft hand gripped his shoulder, and he looked over in surprise to see Azami standing next to him. "Hey," she said softly. "You've got this." He smiled back gratefully, and taking a deep breath he readied himself for the challenge ahead.

"Sokka, you steer and call the shots," Bato instructed him. "Lead wisely. Katara, you secure the mainsail. The winds can be brutal, so be brave. Aang, you control the jib, as without your steady hand we all go down. Your position is about trust."

Aang blinked a few times, and his forehead started to bead with sweat. "I know that!" he insisted. "Why wouldn't I know that? I'm the Avatar, I know about trust!" Azami gave him a weird look, but Sokka just decided that the kid was nervous.

"Lastly, Azami," Bato continued. "Your job will be to assist where needed, at Sokka's command. You must provide support wherever it is needed, as we cannot always do things alone." She nodded in response, and Bato looked satisfied. "For this to be done right, I cannot help. You pass or fail on your own." He sat down at the bow of the ship, watching them.

Sokka looked ahead as they approached the rocks, and he felt a strange sense of calm come over him. He knew what to do.

"Aang, ease up on the jib!" he commanded them. "Katara, steady!" They approached the rocks, and Sokka tried to move the rudder, but it was fighting him. "Azami, I need a hand over here! Help me push this thing!"

She ran over, helping him push the rudder, and the boat started to turn. "Aang, less sail!" he shouted. "Katara, give him room!"

They made it through the first pair of rocks successfully, but this was far from over. Looking ahead, Sokka saw that they were rapidly approaching an even tighter cluster. "Aang, helm to lee! Helm to lee!"

"What does that even mean?" Aang cried.

"It means turn the dam boat!" Azami screamed at him as she and Sokka continued to struggle with the rudder.

By some miracle, they actually got through everything alright. "Great job!" Sokka encouraged them. The group all smiled at their success, but it wasn't to last. Looking ahead, Sokka felt a twinge of fear at the sight of an impassable array of rocks. There was no way to get the boat through there.

"There's no way through!" Katara exclaimed, her eyes wide with fear, but Sokka felt a rush of determination.

"We can make it!" he insisted.

Bato gave him a worried look. "Sokka, you've already proven yourself! Maybe we should-"

Sokka interrupted him, confidence overriding any amount of judgment. "Aang, I'm gonna need air in that sail," he instructed to them. "Katara, I want you to bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks. Azami, you take control of the sails, keep them steady."

The three nodded and got in position, and Sokka hesitated a moment, before giving the order. "Now!"

All three got to work immediately. Katara started to bend the water as quickly as she could, Aang started to fill the sail with his airbending to give them some extra speed while Azami clung onto the ropes for dear life, keeping the sail from flying out of control. Sokka remained steady on the rudder, hoping his plan would work. Please work, he prayed.

It was close, but they managed to sail over the rocks, and Sokka let out a sigh of relief as they sailed back out into open waters.

"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks," Bato recited as he dipped his fingers in a bowl of paint. This was really happening! Sokka cheered to himself. "For Sokka, the mark of the wise," Bato commented as he painted a half circle on Sokka's forehead with a dot underneath. "The same mark your father earned."

He then stood before Katara, repeating a similar process. "For Katara, the mark of the brave," he continued as he drew a crescent moon on her forehead. "Your courage inspires us."

Stepping in front of Azami, he smiled. "For Azami, the mark of the loyal," he stated as he painted a yin and yang symbol on her forehead. "You stand by others when they need you, without thought for yourself."

Lastly, he approached Aang, placing the same half circle on his forehead as Sokka's, minus the dot. "And for Aang, the mark of the trusted. You and Azami are now honorary members of the Water Tribe."

Azami's face lit up and she bowed to Bato, but for some reason Aang lowered his head with a look of... was that shame?

"I can't," he sighed. Sokka just gave him a skeptical look, and Katara seemed oblivious to his actions.

"Of course you can!" she smiled at him.

To everyone's surprise, Aang wiped the mark off his forehead, looking downcast. "No, you can't trust me."

"Aang, what are you talking about?" Katara asked in a confused tone.

Sokka glanced nervously at Azami as her eyes widened in fear watching the young airbender. She did know him longer, so maybe there was something she understood that he didn't. Aang looked down sadly, pulling some crumpled paper from his robes. "A messenger gave this to me for Bato," he confessed, handing Katara the paper. "You have to understand, I was afraid you-"

Sokka glanced at the paper as Katara opened it, and he instantly exploded with rage when he saw what was on it. "This is the map to our father!" he yelled at Aang. "You had it the whole time? How could you? Well, you can go to the North Pole on your own! I'm going to find Dad."

He saw Bato looking extremely uncomfortable out of the corner of his eye, but right now, he didn't care at all. The feeling of betrayal rushing through him was immense. How could Aang do this? How had he been willing to stay with this lying, manipulative child just a few hours ago instead of going to his family? "Now, Sokka, I think you should-"

Sokka cut Bato off, unable to believe what was happening. "Katara, are you with me?"

Katara glanced sadly at Aang, before shaking her head slightly. "I'm with you, Sokka," she declared, walking over to join him.

Sokka nodded in satisfaction before turning towards Azami. "And you?" he demanded. "Are you coming with us?"

Azami was holding her hands to her chest, her expression looking heartbroken. There's no way she'd leave us for him, is there? "Sokka, I..." she whispered softly, her tone miserable. "You know I can't."

Anger flared through him, overriding any part of his brain telling him to calm down. She really was going to abandon them, even after he opened up to her last night. "You're seriously going to defend him?" Sokka exclaimed in an indignant tone, before an even worse thought crawled into his mind. "I bet you knew about this and helped him cover it up, didn't you?!"

"What?" she cried, taking a step towards him, her eyes pleading. "No! I swear I didn't know anything about this!"

Sokka snorted in disbelief, a strange feeling running through him. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted a firebender," he scoffed. "The second you get the chance, you turn against us."

Azami's eyes widened in shock, before she rushed forward and grabbed Sokka by the hem of his shirt, pinning him against Bato's boat. "You want to say that again?" she hissed at him.

Sokka glared at her. He knew, he absolutely knew  that he was being unfair and she wasn't responsible, but in that moment he didn't care. He selfishly wanted Azami to stand by him, when he'd never even had the guts to really confess anything to her, and now he was taking it out on her. He knew it was wrong, but it just felt good to hurt someone the way Aang had hurt him.

"Your brother was right about you, you know," he snarled. "You don't have an ounce of loyalty in you. You don't deserve that mark... and you'll never be one of us."

Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she threw Sokka to the ground before marching back off to the monastery. He slowly rose to his feet, feeling a savage sense of pleasure in what he'd accomplished, yet at the same time he felt like he'd just been punched in the gut. He stupidly kept hoping she'd look back or even stop, but she never did.

Azami P.o.V.

Why. Why the absolute hell had she opened up to him last night? Of course he didn't care about her, it should've been obvious. The one time she lets down her guard, the one time she actually confides in anyone else, and this happens. Well, she thought bitterly, remember to never do that again.

Those stupid old fools of the Gan Zhangs or whatever the fuck they were called. They convinced her to open up. To trust someone. You need people you can rely on. People you can open up to.

What a load of bullshit.

She stormed back into the abbey, furiously dabbing at her eyes to keep them dry. She absolutely would not show that kind of weakness to anyone ever again. And she certainly wasn't about to cry over some racist hormonal teenager. She was stronger than him, and even if it only proved a point to herself, she didn't care. She'd show everyone that he hadn't gotten to her.

Ignoring the questions of the nuns, she instantly started to pack up hers and Aang's few belongings, casually tossing aside anything that belonged to the siblings. She wasn't really mad at Katara, but she had sided with that bastard, and Azami had a point to prove. Sorry, Kat.

She obviously didn't blame Aang at all. She was a little frustrated with him for not telling her that he felt this way, but then who was she to judge? She'd just declared that she wouldn't ever let anyone into her problems ever again. Sokka and Katara had both treated him horribly ever since Bato showed up, so it was only natural that he reacted so strongly.

Like did they not understand that Aang had lost everything? Were they really oblivious to the fact that the three of them were the only family the airbender had left?

Once she'd gotten packed, she quickly threw everything onto Appa's saddle before sitting herself down on the bison's head, waiting impatiently for the airbender to return. The sooner they get out of here, the better.

She heard footsteps approaching, and she glanced over to see the three Water Tribe members approaching, with Aang not far behind. She just rolled her eyes and glanced up at the sky, eagerly anticipating the time when she would never have to see the siblings again.

Aang climbed up into the saddle behind her, a downcast look on his face. Azami could feel Sokka's eyes on her, but she furiously kept her gaze elsewhere. She glanced over at Katara, who walked up to them sadly. "Good luck," the waterbender muttered.

"Okay," Aang responded in a defeated tone. "You too."

Katara then turned to look at Azami, who only raised an eyebrow in response. "Azami, I-"

"Save it," the firebender snapped. "I hope you and that prick are happy." She flicked Appa's reins, and the bison turned to leave. Feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred in that moment for the siblings, she glanced back over to glare at them both. "Good luck with your waterbending," she nastily taunted the girl, before turning back around. "Yip yip."

The bison took off before either sibling could reply, and Azami didn't look back once.

Sokka P.o.V.

You idiot. You absolute, colossal idiot.

Sokka had to comfort Katara, who seemed on the verge of tears after the two benders left. Normally he would be beyond pissed with Azami for hurting his sister like that, but instead he was only pissed at himself. And rightfully so.

He was still furious with Aang, and didn't regret his decision to leave, but he had gone out of his way to deliberately hurt the girl that had finally opened up to him only hours before. It had taken her months of dealing with nightmares and internalizing everything to finally trust him, and he threw it in her face. All because of that strange anger flaring through him earlier.

He had a word for it now, though.

Jealousy.

He hadn't really appreciated how powerful that emotion was until now. He'd felt so sure that Azami would stay by him - despite the fact that he knew she needed to stay with Aang - because of what reason exactly? One heart-to-heart conversation and now he expected her to throw herself at him?

I reiterate - you are an absolute, colossal idiot.

Her attitude about the whole thing was very clear, though. She was done with him. So, resigning himself to that fact, he continued on with Bato and Katara as they left the monastery behind them.

After a few minutes of walking, they heard a pained howl in the distance, causing them to stop. "That wolf sounds so sad," Katara muttered.

"It's probably wounded," Sokka agreed.

"No," Bato stated as he turned around to face them. "It's been seperated from the pack. I understand that pain. It's how I felt when the Water Tribe warriors had to leave me behind. They were my family, and being apart from them was more painful than my wounds."

Sokka remembered clearly the day his father left. He watched as the boats left the Tribe behind, leaving him alone.

That's why Aang had hidden the map. He'd lost his entire family once already, and the thought of losing his new one too... it was probably too much for him to bear. He reflected on the past twenty-four hours, and he sighed as he realized how left out and abandoned the airbender must have felt. Of course he'd taken the map, he was probably convinced that he'd be alone again if he shared it.

"Sokka?" Katara's voice rang out.

Being a man is knowing where you're needed most.

He shook his head, a determined look steeling his resolve. "We need to go back," he declared before turning to face his sister. "I wanna see Dad, but helping Aang is where we're needed the most."

Katara smiled at him. "You're right." The two said their farewells to Bato, with him having left the map to their father in Sokka's hands, and they headed back to the abbey.

Azami P.o.V.

"I'm an idiot, Azami."

She shook her head, trying to reason with the airbender. "No, you're not," she insisted to him. "They treated you terribly, and when you were afraid they left you, not the other way around."

Sighing, she leaned down next to him on Appa's saddle, gently pulling him into a hug. "Look, I'm not saying I agree with what you did," she admitted. "But it's okay to be afraid of being alone. And just so you know, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying with you no matter what."

He smiled up gratefully at her as she released him from the hug, before he sighed and headed over to take up Appa's reins. "I guess it's just the four of us then," he muttered.

Before he had the chance to leave, the head sister from the abbey ran up to them, looking panicked. "Avatar, you must leave!" she cried.

"Okay, I get it!" Aang snapped. "Everybody wants me gone."

She shook her head. "A group of people came looking for you."

Both Aang and Azami's eyes widened, and all thoughts about leaving were forgotten. "Who?" she demanded, locking eyes with the nun."

"A fierece looking woman with a horrible monster," she frantically told them. "And a young man with a scar."

"Zuko," Aang frowned.

"The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you," she explained.

Aang looked confused for a moment. "A necklace?" he questioned, before his eyes shot open in fear. "Katara!"

He quickly took up the reins, and they quickly took off, heading back to the abbey. Azami climbed up onto Appa's head to join him. "You fly ahead!" she yelled over the wind. "You'll get there faster!"

Aang just nodded in response before taking off. Well, not exactly what Azami had planned for today, but it beats a miserable ten-hour flight north. She could definitely do with letting off some steam. Look at this, Sokka, she smirked. Time for the princess to save the knight in distress.

By the time the two arrived, a quick glanced showed a massive Shirshu heading straight for Aang. Oh no you don't, she thought to herself before having Appa fly right into the creature's side, knocking it into a nearby building. She glanced back quickly to see Aang fighting with Zuko, and two sisters dragging the paralyzed bodies of Katara and Sokka away.

Deeming them all safe enough for now - Zuko was child's play for Aang - she returned her attention to the Shirshu and its owner. Both the creature and the woman were lying unconscious at the moment, but that wasn't going to make her lower her guard. To her surprise, she saw Iroh slowly creep up to the unconscious woman.

"Uh, Iroh?" she called out to the old man, and he froze, looking at her like a deer caught in headlights. "What are you doing?" The man chuckled nervously before slowly backing away, a sheepish grin on his face. Okay, that's disgusting, Azami shuddered. Note to self. Teach your nephew that being a creep is wrong.

Sadly, the woman started to get up, and she whipped her Shirshu awake as well. Azami had been distracted by Iroh, so she was surprised when she felt Appa leap into the air without her command. He didn't get far though before the Shirshu lashed him with its tongue, causing the Bison to crash down, paralyzed temporarily.

Azami flipped off, a line of blue fire trailing her foot as she swung her leg out. The Shirshu jumped out of the fire's path, and Azami grinned as she felt Appa get up to stand beside her. The woman whipped her pet, causing it and Appa to race headfirst at each other. As soon as they made contact, the woman was thrown off, whipping Appa as she fell.

Oh HELL no.

You can hurt Aang, Katara or Azami, and she'd get pissed. Right now, she'd barely bat an eye if Sokka got hurt. But absolutely no one messes with the adorable fur ball known as Appa.

Her vision started to turn red, and Azami lunged after the woman. She didn't think as she let out blast after blast, the woman desperately dodging and weaving to try and avoid her attacks. She felt herself get hit by a lash at least once on the face, but she didn't care. All she cared about was that a few seconds later the woman was panting heavily as her clothes smoked, her form crumpled against a wall.

She glanced up in shock as she felt a slight amount of rain come down for a second, and looking over she grinned at Aang who was clearly winning his fight against Zuko. Azami raced over to give the Avatar a hand, and within a few seconds they had overpowered the prince, easily defeating him.

The problem was the Shirshu. The thing was still fighting Appa, and it seemed as though it had lashed the poor Bison enough to finally paralyze it for a little while. "Guys!" Katara's voice called out, and Azami and Aang both glanced over to see her and Sokka both standing again. "Help us break these perfume bottles!"

Azami frowned, unsure as to what good the perfume would do, but if Katara had a plan she'd trust it. She shrugged as she quickly blasted several perfume bottles with firebending, causing them to break open and the perfume to spill everywhere.

Aang and Katara quickly bent the perfume all over the Shirshu, and the thing went absolutely insane. Its tongue started to lash around everywhere, managing by some miracle to avoid every member of the Gaang while simultaneously hitting both itss owner and Zuko, paralyzing them before it raced out of the abbey.

Katara and Sokka walked up to Aang and Azami. The waterbender was smiling, while the male had a much more guilty expression. Good.

Azami wasn't about to spoil the moment, however. They had come back, and Aang really needed this right now. Katara gave Aang a quick hug, before glancing over at Azami and gasping slightly. "What?" the firebender demanded.

"Um..." Katara muttered. "Your face is kind of bleeding. Can I heal you real quick?"

Azami shrugged before walking off with the waterbender, realizing she wanted to talk alone. Once they were out of earshot of the two boys, Katara pulled some water out of her flask and started to gently heal Azami's face. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," she offered in a sad tone. "I shouldn't have just stood there and done nothing."

The firebender sighed. "It's alright, Katara," she muttered. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry too. I was angry at Sokka and I took it out on you when you didn't deserve it."

Katara gave her a nervous smile. "So we're still friends?" she asked in a hopeful tone.

Azami smiled back. "Always. We'll get past this no problem."

The waterbender sighed in relief, before removing the water. Azami reached up to touch her face, a sense of wonder still filling her at the flawless skin that was left behind. What she wouldn't give to have that ability, to actually help people instead of just hurting them.

The two returned to the boys and they all climbed on Appa, saying their farewells to the sisters before flying off. Azami zoned out for most of the flight, but she felt grateful as she watched the other three make up with each other. It was especially nice to see Katara's reaction when Aang gaver her necklace back.

Her problem wasn't going to be so easy to fix, however.

After hours of flying, they finally set down to camp for the evening. Azami had barely spoken a word since they left the abbey, and thankfully the three had given her space. Night fell, and before long Aang and Katara had both fallen asleep, leaving Azami and Sokka sitting around a campfire once again.

Disturbing the peace, Sokka decided to try speaking to her, and Azami instantly tensed up at the sound of his voice. "Azami, can we talk?" he asked in a hopeful tone, and she didn't bother to give him any sort of acknowledgment. "Look, I just... I wanted to say-"

"Save it," she growled, turning her gaze away from both him and the fire. "You've said enough. Can't you just leave me alone?"

"I'm trying to say that I'm sorry!" he protested.

Azami turned to glare at him, and he recoiled slightly. "Oh, really?" she snapped, struggling to keep her voice low so she didn't wake the others. "You're sorry? Well, I seem to recall you saying the same thing back in Omashu. You clearly didn't mean it then, so why should I believe you now?"

Sokka looked like an abused puppy after her response. "What can I do to make it up to you?" he asked in a small voice.

She shook her head in disgust, before standing up. "How did you think this was going to go?" she demanded. "I open myself up to you after months of dealing with everything on my own, and you immediately rip my heart out and then think you can make everything better with a fucking I'm sorry? Just LEAVE ME ALONE!" she yelled at him, before marching off.

He really wanted forgiveness that easily? He really thinks he can just play with her emotions like that, as if this is some sort of sick game, and then just "make it up to her"? No. There are things you can forgive. Things you can move past.

This wasn't one of them.

She would never forgive him.

A/N; Yeah like I said at the start, I think we all knew this wasn't going to end well. Is this the end of the SokkaxAzami ship? 👀

I mean you read the title so obviously no but like damn does it have a long road to recovery ahead. Welcome back to square one of their relationship everybody! :D

Jokes aside though sorry not sorry if I made you mad with this.

I feel no pity or shame at all >:)

See you guys in the next chapter lol (also fun fact for you I wrote this entire chapter in one sitting, no breaks from start to finish :P)