Well at least in part, Sokka was being metaphorical. It's not like he's seeing them. He's just seeing other things. But he's also seeing real things too, so... it really could be worse. It really could be full on cactus juice.

"It's... kinda hard to sleep, really," Sokka replies after a moment. "At least... for any length of time. Weird... dreams keep coming. Trust me, you don't ever want to meet a pink sabre-toothed elephant rattlesnake."

He vaguely shifts to look in the... vicinity of Toph. "You... alright?" Of course she's not. Sokka's concerned about the lack of a soul gem too, but... well, he has to ask.