The sun crept in through the open window of a small hut, located just toward the back of a small village on Kyoshi Island. Its warming rays struck the sweet face of a young woman who was sleeping peacefully in her bed. She could feel the sun kissing her cheek as she awoke from her rejuvenating rest. As she rose from her bed, a slight breeze flew in through the window, forcing a few loose strands of chestnut brown hair to fall into her face. She gently pushed them behind her ear, rising from her bed as she did so. As the young lady donned her forest green kimono, the sun caught the gold button on the right arm, illuminating the beautiful insignia which bore the symbol 京 (jing). After she had put on her kimono and fixing her hair with the assistance of her headdress, she proceeded to paint her face in accordance with the tradition of her village. As she completed her tasks, she took a moment to mentally prepare herself for the mission she was about to embark on today. "I am a proud warrior of Kyoshi Island. It is my duty to protect this village and its people!"
She emerged from her hut, her sweet red lips glowing with vitality, her eyes evincing a disposition of pride and bravery. Our young heroine took notice of the other warriors of Kyoshi gathering in the center of the village. "Are you ready Suki?" One of the newest and youngest recruits said, motioning for her leader to come and join the group. "I'm coming!" She hollered back, making her way to the center of the group.
The throng of warriors at the center of the village was truly a sight to behold; the green kimonos with their golden insignias shining brightly in the sun, the face-paint giving each of the girls a stark contrast between a woman's beauty and a warrior's ferocity. The sight truly appeared to bring the spirit of avatar Kyoshi, their founder and protector, to life.
Suki took her place at the head of the group, preparing to deliver her speech. "Warriors of Kyoshi, you all heard the great battle that took place last night. Our leader, Ojayii, is worried that this fighting could pose a grave threat to our village; so it is our responsibility as its protectors, to find the source of this uproar and deal with it as we see fit. Is everyone ready?" After the final words of her speech, there was a huge cry of approval from the girls, signaling to Suki that they were indeed ready to begin their mission. "Alright, let's move out!" At this command, the warriors began marching into the forest toward the sounds of fighting that had shaken everyone within earshot the night before.
They had marched until evening and had grown rather weary. Coming upon a tiny clearing, surrounded by bushes covered with small, bright red berries; Suki decided that this would be a great place to rest for the night. "Listen up girls!" Suki shouted so everyone could hear her. "Everyone, we will camp here tonight. Collect some of these berries if you are hungry; we leave as soon as the dawn arrives." After finishing her speech she decided to go and collect berries along with a few of her friends.
As Suki and her friends moved a little deeper into the forest, one of the girls tripped and fell into a small trench. "Are you okay" Suki asked, her voice filled with much concern. "I'm fine, just slipped and fell into this hole." "That's no ordinary hole." Suki thought to herself. She looked around the area, noticing several other places where the Earth had been upturned. She also took notice of several trees that were either snapped in half or completely uprooted. "This is it!" She shouted to the small group that was with her. "This is where the fight happened, and judging from the looks of it, I would say that this was not made by fire nation soldiers as we had assumed." "But how do you know that it wasn't fire-benders?" One of the other warriors asked, a look of confusion evident in her expression. "Because if you look closely there are no scorch marks anywhere. Also if it were indeed fire nation soldiers I am sure that much of this forest would have burned to the ground." Before the girl who had ask the question could show her approval of her leader's explanation, another warrior had called for Suki to look at a clump of hair she found in the bushes. After Suki had closely examined it, she looked around the area, seeing that it was everywhere. Inspecting the thick clump of white hair closer, a picture of Appa suddenly popped into her mind. "No, it couldn't be." She said out loud, following a path of hair with her eyes up to the top of a small hill. Her concern and curiosity took over; she followed the path of hair to a steep hill. After pulling herself up so she could look beyond it, she saw something in the opening of an old shrine that made her shriek. There was Appa; wet, fettered, and cowering in the corner. She jumped onto the hill, making her way toward the giant bison. Appa took a threatening stance, growling as a warning to this potential threat to leave him at once. "Oh no," Suki thought to herself. "I have to get help." At that moment she cautiously approached the poor creature, laying food she had gathered in front of him. "It's going to be okay Appa. I have to leave, but I am going to be back soon with help." She said this in a very kind and concerned voice. Suki quickly made her way back to the camp and gathered the rest of her warriors together in order to try and help this frightened creature.
The Kyoshi warriors returned a few minutes later at the base of the hill for a quick briefing. Suki took her place in front of the group to give the eager warriors their instructions. "No sudden movements. He has been lost for awhile and he looks like he's hurt. He's shy around people and scared. Stay low and stay quiet." One of the girls spoke out in a voice filled with quiet restraint. "I can't believe you found the Avatar's bison. Didn't you just see the Avatar a few days ago?" Suki looked down at the concerned girl. "Yes, so he can't be too far from here. It's our responsibility to get Appa back to him safely." She began to climb the hill. "This could be our most important mission yet."
When the warriors arrived at the summit, they found Appa resting quietly in his shelter. When he heard them coming, he quickly jumped up and began growling and backing deeper into his bulwark. Suki, sensing Appa's hostility towards them, quickly commanded the girls to give him space. When they were all at a safe distance, Suki began to approach Appa. Speaking in a very calm voice, Suki began trying to reassure Appa that everything was going to be okay. "Appa, it's me Suki. I'm a friend." Suki saw that her kind words were helping to ease his fear. "I want to help you. You're hurt; we can help you feel better." She continued to cautiously approach the frightened beast. "And we can help you find Aang." She said, knowing that his would be sure to win over Appa's trust. It worked. Appa lied back down and allowed the girls to care for him.
When they had finished, Suki looked over Appa. "He looks just as good as he did when Aang last came to visit us." As she approached Appa's mouth she was soon greeted by a huge wet tongue. She laughed as she wiped the saliva from her face. "I am so happy that he is feeling like his old self again," she said out loud. Suddenly, Appa's ears perked up and he quickly turned toward the forest. The girls unhesitatingly reacted to Appa's alarm, moving with him as a bolt of lighting was hurdled toward them, striking a tree and causing it to land next to the group. At that moment, Suki and the others noticed three mongoose dragons, ridden by three young women advancing toward them. The rider in the middle was the first to speak. "My, my, my, you're easy to find," holding up a piece of Appa's fur in her hand. "It's really astounding my brother hasn't captured you yet." Suki and the other Kyoshi warriors could already tell that these three were a terrible threat to both Appa and themselves. They quickly made a "V" formation, protecting Appa, and drawing their shields as they did so.
"What do you want with us?" Suki shouted to the middle rider, who she assumed was the leader. "Who are you? The Avatar's fan girls," the middle rider returned menacingly, ignoring Suki's question. Suddenly, the rider to the right of the middle one spoke up, giving an odd facial shift as did so. Suki was surprised at this rider's rather cheerful disposition as she spoke. "Oh! I get it, good one Azula." Suki soon deduced from her statement that the leader of the group was named Azula. "If you're looking for the Avatar you are out of luck!" Suki said, sounding fierce in her speech. At that moment the rider to left of Azula spoke out in a monotonous voice: "I knew this was a waste of time." Suki was stunned at the phlegmatic nature evinced by this other rider. "This is an odd group," she thought to herself. Suddenly and without either warning or provocation, Azula jumped from her dragon. "That's okay. Anyone who is a friend of the Avatar's is an ENEMY OF MINE!" She sent a bolt of lightning hurdling towards them. The girls quickly protected Appa with their shields. Suki, feeling the power behind the blast that came from Azula, suddenly felt extremely nervous. "These are not ordinary fighters," she thought to herself. "We may be in trouble!"
The Kyoshi warriors quickly scattered in order to intercept the oncoming attacks made by the two other accomplices of Azula, leaving Suki to defend Appa. She looked around her watching as the other two fighters easily took out her team. "What am I gonna do? I can't let them capture Appa." Suddenly a second bolt of lightning came flying toward her. Suki quickly blocked it, but in the process set fire to the fallen tree next to her. Appa began to growl cowering at the sight of the burning log. "Afraid of fire I see. That's good, you should be." Azula said in a cold and terrifying tone that sent chills down Suki's spine. "I have to get Appa out of here, I WILL NOT allow them to take him." "GO APPA, FLY AWAY FROM HERE!" Suki shouted at the terrified bison as she unsheathed her sword and lunged toward Azula. "I WILL NOT LET AANG DOWN!" She yelled to herself; her adrenaline now rising to its maximum. Just before the blade reached the chest of Azula, the fire-bender performed an amazing feat of acrobatics, dodging the blade and sending Suki's sword flying into the trunk of a nearby tree. Suki was in shock, but quickly regained her footing, drawing her shield and once again facing Azula. Azula was unimpressed and quickly sent yet another lightning blast which distracted Suki, giving Azula the perfect opportunity to knock her feet out from under her. Suki fell to the ground. Azula turned her attention to another warrior who had managed to withstand the onslaught.
Suki suddenly noticed Appa returning to help them. "THAT DAMN BISON," she swore as she got up. Grabbing a flaming stick, she used Appa's fear to her advantage, driving him away from the fight. "GET OUT OF HERE!" She yelled. "YOU HAVE TO GO AND FIND AANG. WE'LL BE OKAY!" Suki thought about the statement she had just made. The latter part of it ringing in her ears, causing a lot of uneasiness within her. She watched as Appa hesitantly flew away. Drops of sweet began forming on her brow as she watched the bison fly away. "What do I do?" She screamed in her mind. Before she had time to even consider how she could save her team from this grave situation, Azula sent a blast of blue fire toward her. Suki grabbed her fan and quickly prepared to confront her doubts. "Don't you know that fans only make flames stronger?" Said Azula, speaking in such a taunting way that it began eating at Suki's hope, which was already beginning to dwindle. Demoralized, Suki took her fighting stance and faced Azula. Unfortunately, before Suki had a chance to meet Azula in combat, she felt a painful blow hit the back of her neck. Her whole body went numb and she fell over, paralyzed. "How could I let my guard down?" She thought, feeling a powerful sensation of unconsciousness begin to take over her. She tried to fight it, but her body and her will were both weak; she collapsed out on the battle field.
A few moments later, she woke up in a daze. She tried to move but found that she was still paralyzed. After much exertion, Suki discovered that she could still move her head and with a great amount of effort she turned and faced the three attackers. She saw that their captors had lined the other warriors up with their backs against a fallen log; many of the girls were either unconscious or paralyzed. Suki had been placed directly in from of them, forced to stare into the eyes of her frightened and helpless comrades. Her eyes soon met with the young girl who had called out to her the other morning. Suki saw that she had been crying, her eyes blood red and her jaw quivering. The young girl's stare soon met Suki's. Suki tried to force a smile that would hopefully reassure her that everything would be okay, but Suki's doubt was so overwhelming that it forced back any emotion that she possessed at the moment. The girl's stare soon left Suki's eyes and instead focused on the ground before her. This had a profound impact on Suki, making her realize that this is the first true life or death battle that she and the other Kyoshi warriors had actually been in. Every other time there had been someone who could protect both her and the warriors under her command. Haunting words began to flood her mind: "Don't worry, I will go easy on you because you are girls; wait, we got taken down by a bunch of girls; It is the mans job to hunt and to fight, women should stay at home and do things like cooking and cleaning." "Maybe it IS true, maybe we should not be out here; maybe we are weaker than men." She began to recall war stories from her childhood. "It's funny. Every story I have ever heard regarding the courageous acts of men at war have always told how they welcomed death; how they marched in with nothing but their honor and the love of their families; and with only that, proudly died to defend them both.
Suki's thoughts were soon interrupted by the cold, sinister voice of Azula. "Well, I see you are finally awake." Suki couldn't look her in the eye. Azula spoke in a voice that very closely resembled baby-talk: "What's this, are the big bad girls afraid of us." "Where is your sense of honor," said Azula abandoning the baby-talk and switching to a more severe tone. Azula was met with only silence from Suki and her disillusioned group. "You disgust me." Azula spat in Suki's face. "You know, I do believe I can think of something that might help revive your warrior spirit." Azula walked over to the young girl Suki had been staring at earlier. "Tell me, what are your dreams? What do you hope for most in life? Come now, you are young—you must have some dreams." The young girl never took her eyes off the ground. Azula became enraged and kicked the poor, defenseless creature. "ANSWER ME, OR I WILL KILL YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS!" The girl looked up at Azula, her face filled with such an overwhelming fear that the pupils in her eyes were almost nonexistent. "TELL ME!" Azula screamed. "I…I want…. I want to marry someone… in my village. I…I want to start a family with him. I want TO BE HAPPY!" She screamed the last part of her answer. Suki, listening to the reply of the young girl, soon became preoccupied with her own dreams. The thought of Sokka and their first kiss came into her mind. She pictured how he had looked in the Kyoshi robes and face-paint. Soon, beautiful dreams of the two of them with a family flooded her mind. Tears began to form in her eyes, but before she had time to even notice them she heard the most terrifying sound that anyone in the world could experience. It was a scream; a scream of a poor, helpless little girl being engulfed in flames. Suki watched this horrific scene; the form of the beautiful girl who had just shared her soul with all of them, slowly transformed into an unrecognizable corpse. The screams from the other Kyoshi warriors echoed throughout the entire forest. This once proud group began reducing themselves to animals; screaming for mercy, falling into convulsions on the cold ground. A few of them tried to run, but were met by the pitiless daggers of the dark-headed captor. Suki too, had succumbed to her animalistic instincts. She lay in the fetal position screaming with quiet intensity I don't want to die…I don't want to die…I don't want to die…I don't want to die, the speed and volume of the repetitive plea increasing with each utterance. Thoughts of Sokka, of her parents, of her friends, all filled her mind. Her mind was becoming so stressed that she was on the threshold of insanity. Azula watched Suki as she went into a fit on the ground. Enticed by the power she now felt over her prisoners, Azula sent a bolt of lightning at Suki, sending the poor girl's entire body into convulsions, a bit of foam could be seen pouring over her sweet red lips.
This addition of pain into the volatile mix of emotions forming in Suki's mind finally did it—the line between sanity and insanity was severed. Suki limply fell onto the ground, but not for long. Azula stared in wonder as this girl began to rise; her limbs moving in sick, awkward directions; the lack of control over her body evident in every exertion. Suki's eyes, which were now fixed in a blank stare, met with Azula's. As Azula stared at the inhuman thing that now stood before her, she was overcome with nausea, and struck Suki once again, trying to rid herself of the atrocious sight. However, this time Suki let out a huge shrill scream; Azula and her two friends, who had been watching close by, jumped back in fear. Suki had taken on a completely different appearance; her once calm countenance was replaced with only a look of pure, uninhibited loathing of everything around her.
Suki ran toward the tree her sword was trapped in and effortlessly removed it. Wielding her sword, she approached the three girls who had caused her so much terror and pain. Azula and her companions looked at the poor, twisted human that stood before them and laughed. "You think you can stop us all by yourself?" Azula said with a wicked laugh. "You might as well ru…" Before Azula could finish, Suki made a quick stab at the tall, dark headed girl who stood next to Azula. She was quick to dodge, but the sword still gently pierced her side. She let out a shriek of pain as she felt the warm, red liquid rolling down her hip. She turned toward Suki, enraged by the insane girl's attempt at her life. The dark headed woman, in a fit of hysterics, sent a mirage of knives toward Suki. Azula could not believe her eyes as she watched Suki become gored by the myriad of steal objects her accomplice had thrown at her. "She didn't even attempt to dodge," Azula thought to herself. Suki just stood there, laughing as she pulled a few of the blades out of herself, dark red stains beginning to show on her Kimono. Suki charged once again at the group, this time aiming her sword at Azula. Azula quickly countered before Suki even had a chance to get close to her by sending a jolt of lightning at her assailant. There was a cry of pain from Suki as she was hit, but it didn't stop her. She was only inches away from Azula's torso, but a quick interference from the fast hands of the cheery woman, clad in pink, put a halt on Suki's charge. Suki fell onto the ground in front of the three women. "Ty Lee, make sure this thing cannot do anymore harm," Azula cried. "Will do," she said in her normal, cheery tone. Ty Lee walked over to where Suki lay and grabbing the paralyzed girl's arms, gave a massive tug. There was a sickening, cracking sound as Suki's arms fell uselessly to her side.
Suki let out several huge screams, wiggling on the ground like a wild serpent. The three girls stared in amazement; they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Suki had made it to her feet and was now blindly charging toward the group. She didn't make it far; a solo knife came flying at her, piercing her forehead:
A little girl is seen running through the wood in a long white dress; she trips and falls scrapping her knee. The young girl feels the tears building in her eyes, she begins to weep. "Are you okay?" A concerned woman wearing Kyoshi warrior attire yelled, running up to the little girl and scooping her up into her arms. The little girl put her arms around this woman's neck, burying her head in her shoulder. The woman took the little girl over to the edge of the island. The sea roared ferociously as the breakers came crashing against the side of the island. The wind was blowing strongly causing the little girls long brown hair to blow into the caring woman's face. The woman sat along the edge holding the little girl even closer to her—she began to sing in a sweet and gentle voice:
"The wind blows gently, the sea is calm.
My little girl's sleeping, safe and warm.
Do not fret my lovely child—
My love will always be.
Little robin in its nest,
Sleeping soundly against its mother's breast.
Do not fret my lovely child—
My love will always be.
Suki fell onto her knees, staring toward the sky. Looking up in the trees she saw a little robin, sleeping peacefully against its mother. "Mamma," she cried, tears falling from her cheeks. She fell forward onto a soft bed of grass. A gentle wind began to brush against her face, easing her unimaginable pain, and allowing her to fall into a peaceful, eternal sleep.