...The Major slipped into the smithy with little fanfare but the sound of his boot-heels on the floor. He'd read about Sokka's change in policy and it was something he worried about, for he was not a man rich in much. But he had a few things. Trinkets, most with sentimental value. And he had the buttons on his uniform, if it came to it. He'd paid for many a thing with similar silver buttons after the company had been stranded in the retreat from Corunna.

He stood at the counter, calling out: "Sokka, lad? You in?"