05. A Date With Despair

[angle_on_it]

[The concept of time is eluding Sokka. How long has it been since Fran forced him in fall to pieces? Five minutes? Fifty minutes? Five hours? He's got no idea, but it's nearly night now, and Sokka can't get the picture of Fran or those inky black figures out of his head long enough to crawl out of his safe place to go home.]

[Hunched down and

Comments

[Offline foreva!]

[angle_on_it]

...Aang?

[He looks up, eyes red from crying and expression taught, recognizing the voice. But as soon as he sees the young monk, the terror floods back tenfold and he tries to scrambles away, hands held in front of him in an attempt to stop the onslaught of bad visions he's expecting.] Not again, nonono...

[He shakes his head almost frantically.] Stop, just stop it!

[angle_on_it]

Over? [Sokka blinks, backed against against a wall and a hard place, no where else to go. Aang has a body, not a black inky mass, and while that starts to sink in, his despair remains. Sokka tells himself there won't be a wicked smile or recrimination from the airbender, but it's having a hard time soaking into the soil of his mind.]

[He turns away, unable to look his friend in the eyes.] Over. [His voice is quiet now, and he sounds mournful.] I really screwed up, Aang. I couldn't save them...

[AFTER he's home]

[kyasdaughter]

[Katara hadn't even been home when Aang had brought Sokka back; she had been out, studying the ridiculous rainbow sheep, trying to think of what practical uses might come out of them.

When she had heard about Sokka, though, her stomach had dropped, left her feeling sick. Tearing up the stairs, she didn't bother to knock on the door to Sokka's room, instead just shoving the door open.]

Sokka.

[Offline] D: SO SORRY FOR EMO SOKKA

[angle_on_it]

[He's balled up on his sleeping bag, awake but pretending not to be. He's not sure what to say to Katara. In fact, he's afraid to say anything at this point, worried he might just make things worse.]

[He can't ignore her, though. Voice quiet and defeated, he speaks up:] Didn't see the sign on the door? Says "Caution: Failure Ahead." [He turns away, back to the room, and stares dejectedly at the wall.]

/reaaaches for him

[kyasdaughter]

[And Katara lingers in the doorway for a second, frozen. There's worry on her face, written deep into it -- she's fifteen now, and has the feeling she'll have wrinkles by sixteen at this rate -- but at least Sokka is joking.

It's a depressed, self-deprecating joke, but at least it's still a joke.

She pulls a bit of water from the sling on her back, smacking the back of Sokka's skull lightly with it.]

Not funny.

[angle_on_it]

[He doesn't think so either.]

[Reaching back, he rubs at his skull. The hit hasn't hurt him -- it's more reactionary, but Sokka pulls his pillow over his head because of it. He mutters something, because he can't let the silence linger.] Need something? Or is this a social visit? [Despite how he's feeling, there's nothing bitter in his words to Katara-- just a vague and withdrawn tone.]

[offline] 1/2

[hardcorecute]

Rainbow sheep, rainbow sheep, lalala...

[She stops mid-song.]

Sokka needs a rainbow sheep!

[And, yes, this is only because he hasn't sent her a message about the rainbow sheep or come over to play with them. The silly-head must be sleeping in or something. Well, no matter. She'll bring a sheep to him.]

Rainbow sheep, rainbow sheep, lalala...

[And she chooses an extra friendly one and ZIPs it over to Sokka's place. Right in the window and-]

Hi, Sokka! I brought you a -

[offline] 2/2

[hardcorecute]

[The sheep is, quite literally, tossed aside. It lands with a disgruntled "Baah."]

What happened???

[Offline]

[angle_on_it]

[Privacy? What's that? Still, like Katara, Sokka can't be mad at Bubbles for showing up unannounced.] Ahh... bad dreams. [Or something like that.]

[He sits up, because he swears he heard a koala sheep, and sure enough, there's a rainbow koala sheep... without the koala. Weird. Rubbing his eyes, he blinks and just... stares at it.]

[Offline]

[hardcorecute]

Bad dreams? Oh no! Were they scary? Was the Boogie Man in them?

[And the rainbow sheep is wondering why it was tossed aside and is now being stared at by some gloomy kid. Talk about your bad days.]

[After Home - Video]

[buntails]

[Usagi's been stuck at home home bored, which means pestering her friends over the PCD of course! She clicks it on to send a message to Sokka specifically.]

Sokka! Sokka Sokka Sokka! [She'll be sympathetic once she realizes the mood he's in, but right now she sounds enthusiastic.]

[Video]

[angle_on_it]

[There's no mistaking that voice, is there? He considers passing on the opportunity, but it doesn't feel right. After a moment, he flops back on his sleeping bag and lifts the PCD up above him to view the screen. Sokka's looking less than happy, but at least he's not moping anymore.] Hey, Usagi. How are you?

[Video]

[buntails]

[Whoops, mood conflict.]

Hey... are you alright, Sokka?

[Video]

[angle_on_it]

I'm, ah... [He considers lying, but this is Usagi and she deserves better than lies, even good-meaning ones. Sokka doesn't want her to worry, but he knows she will anyway, and it's just better to be honest.] Shaken. But I'll be okay.

How are you?

Before.

[prodigalmight]

[It was probably his fifth walk that day but he still had the feeling that something wasn't quite right. But this time, he found his friend hunched over on his little mindless meander.]

Sokka? [He moves closer and stares a little harder. Yup. Definitely him. He moves quickly and is on his knees in front of him in seconds flat.]

Sokka, what happened?

[Offline] BRO

[angle_on_it]

[He's still rattled, still holding onto his legs and still looking spooked. Those blue eyes turn up and he looks at Bon, but doesn't really see him. At least, not right away.]

[Sokka reaches up, rubs his raw eyes and shakes his head.] It's not right -- no more. Don't, j-just don't go out there, don't.

[Offline] IT'LL BE OKAY MAN

[prodigalmight]

[Bon grabs Sokka by the shoulders and shakes him lightly. Whatever he was seeing, he needed to snap out of it.]

Sokka? Jesus christ...Sokka, can you hear me? It's Ryuji. It's Bon. C'mon man, whatever you're seeing, it isn't real.

[His first instinct was to try chanting, but he wasn't sure if Sokka was possessed or just lost in his own mind.]

[Offline] I HOPE

[angle_on_it]

No! [The shaking only leaves him looking more dazed and he stiffens, as if under attack, raising his arms and trying to push away from Bon -- to fend off his grasp.] Get away, go! It's- it's too dark, too black, and...

[He looks away, distressed, obsessed, downright confused.] ...the eyes. I-I can't--