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Walk it Out

Chapter 2-2:

Moonlight Lady

"…Sahhhhkkaaaaaahhhh…"

…

"…Saaaaahhhkaaaaahhhhh…"

"Nnnghhhhh…"

…Sokka stirred, hearing a voice beyond the void.

It was warm…it was female…and, most of all…it was…beautiful.

It called out to him, almost in song, with two notes, high and low, tugging at his heartstrings and pulling him back into consciousness.

"…Sahhhhkaaaahhhh…" it called again.

He stirred…back to life…back to consciousness.

There was a heavy, dulled, almost vibrating pain radiating throughout his left forearm. He soon remembered that this was the arm he…fed, to the dog. With a mass of aches and pains strewn throughout his body, it wasn't too hard for him to awaken. It did, in fact, feel like he was returning from the dead. His body told him so.

"Unnnghhhhhh…" he groaned, as he blinked his eyes into consciousness. As his vision restored itself slowly, he painfully pulled his arm in front of his eyes to view the wreckage. It was an awful, bloody, shredded mess. His hand…as much as he tried, he couldn't move it. In fact, with every attempt to do so, the vinework of lacerations began oozing life. It was futile, even foolish, to say the least.

He carefully dropped his damaged limb, thinking that everything happening right now was reasonable...aside from his possible resurrection, that is. He soon began taking in his surroundings, trying to remember where he was and how he got there. He was lying near the crest of a large sand dune. Apparently, another light sandstorm had kicked up, as he could see the flurries of dust and sand passing by in large wisps and clouds.

…So why couldn't he hear it? More importantly…why couldn't he feel it?

It was odd, but, as he observed the strange phenomenon that was happening before him, he noticed that the wisps and clouds of desert sand seemed to pass around him. There was a bubble of near absolute peace that covered him, with only the faintest whispers of the harsh, desert wind to be heard. What's more, there was a strange, soft light that was leaking its way down from over the hill, somewhere above his head. Sokka was weak and surely weary, but, he just had to find out what in the world was going on.

He slowly rolled himself over to rest upon his belly and looked upward, towards the top of the dune. Yes indeed, there was a light coming from somewhere past the hill…and he suddenly noticed something else. As he put a hand forward to try to push himself up into a kneel, he heard the sand crunch a little louder than before, and, the handful of sand he was holding…wasn't sand. It was white. It was 'cooling'…but it wasn't cold. It felt like snow, yet, it wasn't. It looked like snow…yet it wasn't. Sokka was utterly dumbfounded. Just to be sure, and convinced that he had nothing to lose in trying anyway, he drew the snow up to his lips…and licked.

"…Ohhhhhhh…" Sokka moaned, as a strange, wonderful feeling spilled through him. He supposed that he could call it 'snow' as it surely felt like it, but, as he ingested some of these strange, icy crystals, he didn't feel the sensation of freezing, but of cooling…soothing…tingling…and…healing. "What is…hhhh…goinghhh…onhhh…" he panted, still weak, yet, he could feel some strength trickling through his veins, restoring him.

"…This way, Sokka. Follow the trail I've left for you…" the strange, soothing voice called again. Then, as Sokka looked up over this strange, icy trail, he saw that the path above it had somewhat clear skies, through which he could see the stars twinkling in the firmament. However, the winding sliver of sky wasn't fully clear, as the view was laced with…auroras.

"…In the middle of the…desert?" Sokka spoke, unaware that he spoke out loud.

Sokka wondered, reasonably, if he really was dead, or at least dying, and was hallucinating at the edge of forever. Or, perhaps, this was the gateway to his forever…he just didn't know. All he knew was, with each moment that passed, as he involved himself more in this strange, fantastic pathway, the better he felt. That alone was reason enough to move on.

He hadn't the strength to stand, but, at the very least, he could walk on his knees. So, he trudged forward, feeling like he had two gigantic feet, slithering on two very short legs beneath him. He strode the strange, icy path, tingling and feeling better and better with each dragging step, until he actually could feel the strength to stand. And when he did, he found himself just tall enough for his vision to break over the crest of the dune. The beautiful curtains of light were leading him onward, on a long…but not too long, winding road to a bright, shimmering surface in the distance. From the looks of it, it had to be water. "Come, Sokka. I am waiting for you." the voice called warmly, almost seductively, to him again. He swore this lady's voice sounded very, very familiar…but he just couldn't place voice to face at that moment. He mulled this over, soon delighting in the cool, healing touch of the 'snow' beneath his feet, as he took his first steps on this path, feeling like he'd just been born.

The moon shined brightly like a freshly polished, silver dollar, as it hung in the distance. Its rays spilled and splashed across the silhouettes of dozens, even thousands of sweet, furry pine trees, composing the most refreshing skyline he had ever seen. And as he rounded a slight bend, the final leg of this long, winding road, he came to the shore of a beautiful, crystal clear lake, whose surface sparkled and danced with the reflections of the moon above.

"Hhh…hhhohhh…whhatterrr…" Sokka huffed through his barren, broken lips. He stood, frozen in time for a moment, as fresh, joyful tears spilled from his eyes.

He stumbled forth, letting his woeful body topple straight into the lake, and it greeted him with the coolest, sweetest, most comforting chill that he had ever felt, since he left his home in the south. "Agagagagagagagagagagaggagagagaagagaaahhhhhhhh!" he gurgled and blasted his gleeful howls into the lake, all before he started screaming and wagging his face around like a madman. He then raised his face to the point where only his lips were touching the water…and slurped the slurp to end all slurps, from here 'till the end of time…

*Shhhhhlllooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooppppp…PP!*

The sound he made, filling his mouth like a water balloon, rose from low base to high treble, as if his cheeks were a swiftly filling water jug. And with one mighty *GULP!*, he felt as if icy shards of lightning shot straight through his veins. His torn and tortured body, especially his arm, began glowing with a radiant, ice blue light, and in mere seconds…he…was…healed. Nothing could explain the feeling he had at that time. There was no comparison. It was better than sex.

He looked with so much ecstatic disbelief upon his freshly healed arm. It looked as if it had never been harmed. He looked down his left flank…then down his right…he was completely and utterly found in prime health. "…Ohhahahh…hahahah! HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAHHHHH!" he began crying and laughing at the same time. He ran even farther into the depths of the crystal waters, dancing with an utterly ridiculous prance, wanting to drown himself in its healing power…which, of course, was a mistake, as, just for a moment…he forgot that he couldn't breathe liquids. "GUGGG…GAHHHGGGGG!" he choked as a big hit of water tried to follow a path of low resistance…into his lungs. He blasted it out, thankfully, and then began frog kicking himself backwards towards the shore, so he could cough and nearly puke himself silly.

As he stood there, hazily, gagging and trying to get any remaining fluids out from places inside, where there wasn't quite supposed to be any, he began hearing the distinct sound of laughter. It wasn't harsh, mocking laughter, but, that of a beautiful kind, one of amusement and…adoration. It seemed to come from all around, but, if one thing was certain, it was definitely coming from…the sky. More specifically, it was bubbling and babbling, crisp and clear, from the moon itself.

"…Oh…" Sokka said, as he suddenly realized why the lovely, lady voice sounded so familiar.

He could feel her presence upon his skin, icy cool, soothing, yet comfortably warm. It was increasing in magnitude by the second, surrounding him, as he knew she was coming down, getting closer and closer. The heavenly light that emitted from this being was enfolding his body now, like the wings of an archangel. He had no choice but to turn and see. His eyes rose from her sweet, naked feet, upwards across a twine of beautifully flowing robes and ribbons, and into a face that was so warm and tender that he felt it a sin to even be staring at her, directly.

"Hello…my sweet, sweet Sokka." she said with the most perfect, subtle gesture of a smile.

"…Y…Yue…" Sokka replied. A single name spoken, rolling off his lips, like a wish come true.