Tokka Week 3-1- Shopping

“What about this one?”

“Mmm…” Katara’s foot rang out an impatient tattoo on the wooden floor as he examined the piece. Ran his fingers over it. Held it up to the light; peered at it. Set it back down. “Nope.”

Katara was tempted to pull her hair out. Forget that, she thought, choking back a silent scream. Pull his hair out.

“Sokka. We can’t keep doing this. We’ve been searching for almost a month!”

“Really? Seems longer than that.” He gestured to the jeweler, who took away the tray with a frown and set down the new one his assistant had held ready: the last of his stock. “I just want to find… something perfect for her.”


Katara sighed. She understood, but was still running out of patience. When she’d volunteered for this back home, she'd been so excited. Sokka, getting engaged to Toph? Who wouldn't be? But that was when she'd believed it would be a simple matter of picking out the right stone for the necklace from their own stores. But Sokka had rejected each and every one. A search of the Earth Kingdom markets, while allowing him an opportunity to replace the bag they’d lost in the desert with a blue one, proved just as unfruitful. And now, deep within the bowels of the Fire Nation’s markets, Katara had just about had it.

Sokka held yet another jewel up to the light, searching for flaws. She held her breath- then almost screamed as that piece too was returned to the tray. She was about to suggest that they call it quits for the day when she heard his breath catch.

Amid the colorful array before him, almost as if it had just fallen there, lay a pure black stone. He picked it up, eyes wide.

“Where… what is this?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The jeweler glared at the timid man behind him. “My assistant here must have mixed this up with our higher class gems. I’ll just put it bac-“

“NO! What IS it?” Sokka protested. Katara couldn’t blame the man for his confusion. To her, the stone looked like just a…

“It’s a piece of coal, sir.”

Katara didn’t understand Sokka’s sudden wide grin. “Oh, no, it isn’t. It’s the solution to my problem.” He flew up and darted out of the shop, leaving Katara running to catch up, two confused persons staring after him, listening to the siblings’ shouted conversation fade away as they departed. The forgotten piece of coal lay where Sokka had tossed it in the middle of the tray.

The jeweler turned to his assistant, a puzzled look on his face.

“Do we know any jewelers called Piandao?” The smaller man shrugged.

“Must be from the colonies.”