A/N: Random fun fact(s) of the day: This story grew out of a request by my beta to borrow my interpretation of Suki's Kyoshi Warrior team. I offerred to give her a profile and character document covering the girls, my personal head canon on how KW training is handled and other such relevant facts, and it quickly snowballed from there. Caelum and I discovered we liked learning more about these girls, and I discovered they had a fascinating tale of friendship and overcoming the odds to tell us. That profile/character document was sent, but it was rather quickly followed by what would eventually become this fic. The Formation of a Team answered why Suki and her team are such different people, and how in the world they got to be such good friends in the first place. Soon after, the girls decided to tell me how they managed to become a team, in addition to friends, and that story will be told in The Confirmation of a Team. That will be a separate fic, after I've finished posting this one, and will also answer why Suki and the elders were so ready to believe Aang, Sokka and Katara were Fire Nation spies in Suki's introduction in Season 1.
But, to pull back from the tangent here...I'm not cruel enough to through you over a decade into the past of the Avatar world right off the bat. Some introduction is needed, with a familiar character we know has a connection to the Kyoshi Warriors, most specifically, the ones that were not named in the show proper (can also be read as everyone but Suki!). So we start our story in a small Fire Nation prison on the outskirts of the capital, not long after the Boiling Rock. There's a lonely girl known as Ty Lee who desperately needs someone to tell her she did the right thing in betraying her princess...
A standoff.
Two girls. Once friends, now enemies.
Lightning crackles. Daggers gleam.
I have to make a choice!
Stances solidify.
Golden eyes snap with rage. An aura teems with the intent to kill.
NO! She's our friend!
One falls.
She stands stunned. A friendship that never was dissolves around her.
Rough hands grab her shoulders. She is made to face the one she betrayed.
Can it be betrayal if she broke the trust first?
"Put them somewhere I'll never have to see their faces again. And let them rot."
Something changes.
Fiery golden eyes and crackling blue lightning are all she can see.
Ty Lee jerked upright on her futon, breath a panicky flutter in her chest as she clutched at her heart, eyes wide. Frantic gray eyes scanned her tiny cell, seeing only the bare metal walls, and the thin blanket she had thrown to the floor in her panic.
As her heart rate slowed back down to normal, Ty Lee shivered and pulled the blanket back up and wrapped herself in it, fighting down tears. She had made her choice at the Boiling Rock and she would not regret it. Friends didn't attack one another, and they shouldn't make you choose between people you cared about either.
When had Azula forgotten that? And how had Ty Lee missed it? How had she been so completely oblivious to the steady darkening of Azula's aura – which had started as a healthy deep red, if somewhat marred by the black of a grudge never released -and the creeping feeling of sickness that accompanied it? The feeling that was so strong around Fire Lord Ozai had been getting steadily stronger in his daughter, and Ty Lee had missed it. Had missed her only opportunity to keep her friend from sliding down that path.
How?
Ty Lee's lips curved in a sad smile as she answered her own question. "I didn't want to see. I didn't want to admit Azula would ever hurt her friends. Would ever be that much like her father. But…we were never friends, were we?" Suddenly weary in more than body, Ty Lee lay back down and closed her eyes, still clutching the thin blanket to her as if to ward off evil spirits. "We were just more tools in her power games."
From the moment Ty Lee stepped into the prison yard, she knew she would have no friends here. The war prisoners saw only another hated Fire Nation citizen and her fellow countrymen and women saw only a girl of noble descent who had betrayed her princess. The guards had made sure that knowledge was well spread.
No one saw Ty Lee.
So she kept to herself, trying hard not to be noticed. Trying hard to convince herself it didn't matter that everyone in this prison hated her. She had made the right choice.
She walked with her back straight, refusing to wilt before the weight of the heated glares sent her way by her countrymen. The war prisoners seemed disgusted that yet another Fire Nation citizen had been inflicted on them. Ty Lee let her gaze skip across all of them, never lingering on anyone for more than a few seconds.
So when Ty Lee's gaze skipped across familiar features at the same time that a mostly low-voiced argument reached her ears, she was startled enough to stop and listen.
"I swear, if he does that one more time…"
"Tali, please, calm down. It doesn't matter. Let it go."
"Yes, it does matter, Subira! We might be prisoners but that doesn't mean we aren't human anymore! We have the right to be respected, at the very least as warriors in our own right!"
"I agree. It's disgraceful the way he acts. How the other guards can tolerate such behavior from one of their own, I can't understand. Someone needs to put him in his place."
"Rajani, you're not helping."
"Well, sorry if I want to defend my pride as a Kyoshi Warrior-"
"I'm not saying you shouldn't!"
"Sure sounded like it."
"Quit behaving like a child, Rajani."
"I am NOT a child!"
"Subira! Rajani! You're acting like Min and Intan did when they were five!"
"Hey!"
Ty Lee blinked at the familiar girls, something in the voices further triggering her half-recognition. There were five girls clustered in a close group. Two of them-a young girl with a gentle but stern face and a younger girl with sharp features-had detached themselves from the main discussion to argue with a stern and uncompromising looking older girl about their behavior. One of the other girls was glaring daggers at a prison guard standing some ten feet away from her, while the final girl just sighed and cast a glance towards the sky in a 'what can you do?' sort of way. Ty Lee's half recognition solidified as she got a good look at their faces – they didn't look all that different without the face paint, really. They were the Kyoshi Warriors, missing only their leader, whom Azula had sent to the Boiling Rock almost immediately after her capture.
It would be a very good idea to keep away from that group. They would without a doubt remember her role in their capture. But the acrobat's natural curiosity got the better of her. What had happened to make the Kyoshi Warrior – Tali? - think she and her teammates were being disrespected?
Looking back and forth between the glaring girl, and the smirking guard, Ty Lee had a sinking feeling that she knew the answer already. Did no one in the Earth Kingdom play power games? Or were they all too straightforward for that?
She could see what was going to happen before it did. The guard let another barbed comment fly in the direction of the girls, anticipation glinting brightly in his eyes. The Kyoshi Warrior Ty Lee thought was called Tali stiffened and clenched her fists, mouth opening to retort, and the disgraced Fire Nation girl moved before she could think about it.
One quick grab of an arm halted the other girl in her tracks. "Don't," Ty Lee whispered, speaking rapidly to conceal the fear that spurted through her. What was she thinking, throwing herself into the middle of these girls? They hated her; they probably wouldn't mind hurting her! Still, she kept talking. "He wants you to attack him." The other girl glared at her, freeing her arm of Ty Lee's grip with a sharp jerk and backing a few steps away. Her teammates had taken battle ready stances and Tali fell back among them even as she motioned for the rest of the girls to stand down. She wasn't happy to see Ty Lee, but at least she was still listening. Ty Lee took a breath and hurried to explain. "Upsetting you will give him more standing with the other guards. Just ignore him. It'll hurt his reputation more than anything else you can do."
Ty Lee fought to maintain eye contact with the Kyoshi Warrior and willed her to believe what she was warning her about. That the other girl remembered Ty Lee from their last confrontation was painfully obvious. What was less obvious was if that would damage any chance Ty Lee had of helping her.
But…I gave up my life when I defied Azula at the Boiling Rock. I have nothing to lose anymore. I did so much I regret now, including what I did to you and your team.
"Why should I believe anything you say?"
You shouldn't. I took so much away from you. Your freedom, your family, your friends back home, the ability to make a difference for your people…
"Because it's the only way I can say I'm sorry."
Three days had passed, and Ty Lee was beginning to get nervous. The Kyoshi Warriors imprisoned here with her might not have their leader anymore, but Taliba was an able second and the rest of the Warriors followed her lead in Suki's absence. And while Taliba seemed content to watch Ty Lee from a distance for now, all it would take was a word or gesture to the other girls and Ty Lee's stay here would be even more miserable than it already was.
Taking several deep breaths, Ty Lee tried to clear the negative vibes out of her aura. Taliba wasn't the kind of girl to let her team take petty revenge for something that couldn't be changed. There was no reason to worry that any of the Kyoshi Warriors would try to force her into a situation that would end badly for her.
At least, Ty Lee didn't think so. All those side-long glances were starting to wear on her nerves.
"Alright! Everyone inside! Yard time is over, get moving!"
Sighing, Ty Lee did one last handstand to complete the subdued routine she had been practicing. She was grateful for the time they were allowed outside, even if it was just one measly hour. She left the out-of-the-way corner of the prison yard she'd settled herself in and made her way to the door nearest her cell block. She didn't have a long way to go, as her cell wasn't far from the doors that led outside - and it was two doors down from the one the Kyoshi Warriors were always ushered through.
A slight commotion to her left made Ty Lee look around and stop - shocked and apprehensive - as one of the Kyoshi Warriors made her way to Ty Lee's side. Subira, wasn't that her name? Ty Lee just knew that this girl had a very good reason to wish her harm. The last time they had met, Ty Lee had jabbed her in the back so hard it would have been impossible for her to move at will for at least three days.
"Ty Lee," Subira said with a gentle smile. "You've changed a lot since the last time I saw you. You've chosen a side finally, and become a better person for it. I forgive you."
Ty Lee's wide eyes tracked back to the other four Kyoshi Warriors, who had formed a subtle but firm barrier that temporarily prevented any of the guards from coming over to force Subira back to her cell. All of their expressions were open and forgiving.
"I…" she started, unsure of what to say. Subira simply smiled at her, bowed politely, and then left to rejoin her team.
Ty Lee barely made it to her cell before tears of relief and regret broke through her rigid control.
She had never known how much she needed forgiveness for what she had done under Azula until Subira had offered it.
"So…you weren't always meant to be Kyoshi Warriors?"
Sauda giggled and shook her head. "No. The Warriors train all the girls who want to learn to fight the same way. The trainees who are chosen to be Kyoshi Warriors simply get more specialized lessons after the formation of the team. But any trainee can become a member of the Watch."
"Boys can be trained for the Watch as well," Huan interjected in an off-handed manner. "But they're trained by Master Serik, along with any earthbenders."
"Aren't any earthbenders Kyoshi Warriors too?" Ty Lee wondered.
"No," Taliba spoke up in a lecturing tone of voice, as the others girls smirked at each other, sharing a private joke. Ty Lee suppressed a spurt of jealousy for their easy familiarity with each other. What she had lost with Mai and Azula could never be regained, and it had been by her own choice. She would not regret it. She made herself listen as Taliba explained. "The original Kyoshi Warriors were all non-benders. Avatar Kyoshi chose them in part because of that. 'The traditional forms of non-bending fighting should not be lost.'" Taliba quoted, while her team nodded. "Avatar Kyoshi made that a stipulation for all future teams as well. We're taught to fight, but more than that, we're taught how to take benders down without any of the advantages of bending."
"I see." Ty Lee smiled hesitantly at the girls around her. "I think it's awesome your people have kept those traditions for so long."
Taliba gave the smallest of smiles to the Fire Nation girl, and Ty Lee felt as if, even though she could never be as close to these girls as she had been to Mai and Azula, she might very possibly be making a new set of friends to replace the ones she had lost.
"Rurik. I miss him most." Orange and yellow swirled in a chaotic yet oddly fluid manner around Rajani as she spoke. Maybe it was something to do with being homesick? Ty Lee had never seen such an aura before.
"Not Rajya?" Huan's raised eyebrow reflected the upwards curling motion of her aura-a lovely deep red color, which was interspersed with other varying shades of red. Ty Lee cocked her head to one side, bemused. She hadn't been aware one person could have so many different shades of red in their aura. Azula certainly hadn't...
"No. I miss her too, she's my sister, but Rurik is…he's my big brother."
"Huh…"
"I understand, Rajani." Taliba said. "I miss my big brother the most too."
"Which one?" Sauda piped up. Taliba smiled sadly, her eyes far away. Gray swirls tinged the edges of her silver-golden aura, rotating slowly around her, perfectly reflecting her nostalgic expression.
"Either. Both." The second in command of the Kyoshi Warriors laughed a bit. "I'd have said, before we entered the war, that nothing would make me miss Tariq's big mouth, or Shahin's idea of 'sibling bonding'. But now…"
Subira, being closest to her leader, leaned toward her friend. Her aura - a compassionate blue - followed suit, and as Subira gripped Taliba's shoulder with a sympathetic look, the soft blue glow wrapped itself around Taliba's gray-tinged silver and gold aura. Taliba smiled wanly at her, the gray at the edges of her aura lightening the slightest bit.
Ty Lee blinked in confusion. She had never seen anyone's auras act like that before. It was almost like they were hugging.
There was silence for a few minutes, before Huan smiled.
"I miss listening to Min and Intan twin-talk at me to try to get out of trouble."
"Oh really?" Suada piped up over the laughter of her fellow teammates. "Last time they did it, didn't you say that you were going to throw them to the Unagi if they tried that on you again?"
Huan's aura dimmed slightly, denoting embarrassment, but none of it showed on her face. "Oh? And what about you, Sauda? I seem to recall you lamenting over the lack of opportunities to swim, not so long ago…"
Sauda made a face at Huan. "We're on an island! There's a whole ocean not two miles from here! How can I be the only one who wants to swim in it?"
The gray grief in all the girls' auras seemed to lighten a bit at this lament, and Ty Lee wondered why it made them happier. But then she remembered the way Sauda had said it - sincere, but over the top and humorous. Purposely teasing back at Huan. This must not have been the first time Sauda had complained about not being able to swim. Maybe it was a familiar complaint? Maybe the girls were happy to hear something familiar.
"Come on, cut it out," Sauda said, pouting playfully at her teammates, her aura sparkling with laughter. "It's Subira's turn anyway," she pointed out. "What do you miss most?"
Subira stopped laughing abruptly, before her face broke into an ironic grin. "I miss Ziv calling me Ira."
The laughter of the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors stopped as if it had been strangled. Each aura had the odd stillness that denoted total shock. Ty Lee furrowed her brow in confusion. What was wrong with a nickname?
"There is no possible way you just said that," Sauda managed. Huan and Rajani nodded in dumb agreement.
Taliba leaned forward, feeling Subira's forehead with the back of one of her hands. "Do you have a fever? You've always hated that nickname."
Subira batted her friend's hand away with a smile. "I'm not ill. I just…" she shrugged, the odd blending of brown and gray that meant confusion shifting through her aura. "I miss hearing him say it. I miss seeing Menuha slap him for getting me all riled up. I miss Ziv making all those elaborate apologies that everyone knows he doesn't mean, because he has too much fun making me mad at him. I miss him goofing off to make everyone laugh. I miss him." She sighed. "I don't have brothers, unlike most of you. Ziv is the closest I have, and he…he might infuriate me by shortening my name, but he's my sister's husband. He's family."
Ty Lee was starting to feel awkward now. She was part of the reason these girls missed their homes and families. She had been avoiding that thought by watching the Kyoshi Warriors remember happier times, and laughing with them at the odd things their siblings had done.
But that didn't mean that she wasn't aware that she didn't have the right to share in this conversation, even if the girls didn't seem to mind. She had caused their imprisonment, in part anyway. She really should just get up and go find an out-of-the-way corner to spend the rest of yard time in, doing some of her easier acrobatic routines.
That would be the proper thing to do.
Ty Lee was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice she had been asked a question until Sauda waved a hand in front of the Fire Nation girl's face. Ty Lee blinked. "What?"
Sauda giggled. "What do you miss most about home, Ty Lee?"
The acrobat sat for a moment, taking in the open, honest curiosity on all five girls' faces. Evan Taliba, who had been the last to forgive her.
They really wanted to know. They wanted her to be part of their conversation. Swallowing back tears of relief – and a little shame, she didn't deserve this - Ty Lee answered.
"I miss the coffee forests. And climbing in the trees until it was too dark to see." She smiled nostalgically at the memory of three little girls all playing as if they weren't anyone important. Even Azula. "I miss my friends."
Sauda traded a look with Rajani, before moving to sit next to Ty Lee. Leaning over, she hugged the girl. "You can be our friend, Ty Lee."
Peeking out from the shelter of Sauda's arms, Ty Lee saw Taliba nod in response to the questioning looks Huan and Subira gave her.
Within another minute, the Kyoshi Warriors had rearranged themselves so that Ty Lee was surrounded on all sides by smiling faces and sympathetic arms.
And despite the tears that tracked down her face, Ty Lee couldn't be happier.
"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this?" Rajani asked, slightly apprehensive. Ty Lee nodded.
"All we have to do is make sure the guards don't see us. And if we just do small things, they won't."
Tali grinned rakishly. "I'm up for it." She plopped down on the ground by Ty Lee, gesturing for the other girl to sit as well. "If any guard sees us, we're just a few girls having a nice, quiet conversation. We're not causing any trouble at all."
Ty Lee giggled. "Right." She held out a hand, and Tali immediately offered her wrist. Ty Lee traced a path up the Kyoshi Warrior's arm, feeling the other girls watching intently. "This is the main chi meridian in the arm. Doesn't matter which one. They're the same. You can block the chi in a lot of places, but these are the best ones…"
"Do you have any idea what's up, Ty Lee?" Tali whispered in an undertone as the guards – unaccountably twitchy today, as they had been all week – began herding them back to their cells. Ty Lee bit her lip.
"I don't know what today is, so I don't know how soon, but a comet is coming at the beginning of the wet season. I think you call it the fall," she murmured, speaking quickly. They didn't have much time before they were forced apart. "It gives a firebender a lot more power. The Fire Lord wants to use it to end the war. Just like Fire Lord Sozin used it to kill the Air Nomads."
Tali's stricken expression was the last thing Ty Lee saw before she was thrust into her cell.
Sighing, Ty Lee balanced carefully on her left hand, exerting strict control to keep her legs straight and her right arm curved gracefully to the side and up.
It had been two days since she had told Tali about the comet. The winds had been ever more steadily coming out of the east for the past few weeks. The wet season was almost here.
The comet must have come by now, the acrobat knew. That's why we've been kept in our cells. Some of the prisoners here are firebenders, they'll feel the comet. I hope Kyoshi Island wasn't destroyed. That would break the girls' hearts…
And the fascinating interplay of colors in their auras would be overshadowed by the gray grief that was only an accent for now.
It would be so sad if that happened to them. It would be so horrible. And they don't deserve that, any of them.
All five girls were dealing with being imprisoned better than Ty Lee had expected they would, but it was a tenuous coping at best. They held out hope because they knew their home was as safe as any other place in this war and the Avatar was alive and free. If Kyoshi Island fell…No, she wouldn't think of that. She –
"Absolutely not!"
The shriek, in the warden's unmistakable slightly nasal voice, startled Ty Lee enough that she wobbled slightly in her handstand. Flipping back upright, Ty Lee wondered what – and who – had infuriated the warden so much. It wasn't that it was difficult, but he wasn't usually so…loud, in his outrage.
This conundrum occupied Ty Lee until her cell door clicked open and the warden scowled in at her.
"Get out. You've been spoken for."
By who? Azula had ordered her locked up for life. She wouldn't have taken it back, not after Ty Lee's defiance at the Boiling Rock.
Her confusion was cut short as Sauda bounced into her cell, smile wide and incredulous and her aura…
Her aura.
It was almost blinding with the fierce sparkle that joy brought. There was no gray tinge anymore. It was gone as if it had never been.
Did that mean…?
"Ty Lee, come on! You have to show us around! None of us have been to the Fire Nation capital before!"
The Fire Nation lost the war.
"So, how badly is Pavel going to flip when he hears about your Water Tribe boyfriend?"
"Huan! He's not my – I mean…it's just…"
"Oh! So you did get somewhere with him!"
"Sauda!"
"Do we need to run tactical interference with Pavel then?"
"Taliba!"
Ty Lee only barely managed to keep her laughter internal. The reunited Kyoshi Warrior team had barely waited to get inside the royal transport Zuko must have provided – it was so odd to think of him as Fire Lord now – before they started teasing Suki. It was difficult to tell which girls' aura was brighter. They intertwined so tightly that Ty Lee couldn't tell where one began and another ended.
Even if she couldn't tell them apart, it was nice to see her new friends so happy.
"What? Pavel wasn't impressed with Sokka. What makes you think he's going to be ecstatic to hear you're dating him now?"
Ty Lee wasn't sure, but she thought the glimmer of repressed laughter was coming from Rajani. The others weren't trying very hard to hide their grins.
"Not to mention he's an outsider," Rajani put in severely, but her mouth kept twitching as if she wanted to smile. Suki glared at both of her friends.
"It is not my brother's choice who I chose to spend time with and-"
"Oh, is that what you call it? 'Spending time,'" Huan drawled, her own grin small, but most definitely not hidden. Suki blushed, but continued determinedly.
"-it doesn't matter that he's not Kyoshian. He's brave, and loyal and smart…" Suki trailed off, a look of mild horror on her face as she blushed madly and her friends snickered uncontrollably. Suki threw her hands up into the air in exasperation, but her mouth was twitching into a smile as well.
Their auras were all so bright. They were all so different, but they worked together so well.
"How'd you do it?"
Ty Lee didn't realize she'd spoken aloud until she became the focus of six sets of curious eyes.
"How'd we do what, Ty Lee?" Rajani asked. Ty Lee blushed a bit, but answered anyway.
"I mean…you're all just so different, that's all. But you work together without even thinking about it." Like Azula, Mai and I used to do. "I was just curious how all of you got this way."
There was silence for a few moments, and a flurry of glances full of silent meaning were exchanged. Tali grinned widely after one such exchange with Subira and Suki, and spoke.
"It started with tradition."
Huan groaned and slapped the younger girl upside the head while the others snickered. This only served to confuse Ty Lee even more. Huan seemed to pick up on this and she turned away from her attempted staring match with a snickering Tali.
"You see, Ty Lee, the eldest daughter in my family has always become a Kyoshi Warrior. It's tradition." Huan ignored the resurgent giggles of her teammates, even as Ty Lee tried valiantly to contain her own giggles. She apparently succeeded, because Huan continued. "So when I was eight, my mother walked me to my first day of training…"
A/N2: Now, seriously, this story will contain a multitude of OCs, but before you all run off screaming about Mary Sues, let me say this. All of the OCs in this story are such by default. They are people that HAVE to exist, but are never mentioned or named or seen in the Avatar-verse. Suki must have had parents, do we all agree on that? By association, her teammates must have parents as well. And you will never convince me that every single one of the Kyoshi Warriors are only children. Even if we only look at Ozai's Girls: Azula is the youngest of two, Ty Lee youngest of seven and Mai is the eldest (albeit by several years) of two. I know very few only children in real life, and there is usually an outside reason why there was only one child. Therefore, several of the girls have siblings.
My beta Caelum and I have been talking about the KW girls and their families and friends since I named the other five girls on Suki's team for my story An Unexpected Reunion. Feel free to go look at the publish date for that story, notice it was in June of last year and then back that date up about a month and a half, to when I actually named these girls. So, these characters have been around for well over a year now, and Caelum and I have rather ruthlessly squashed any Mary Sue tendencies we've found. The girls are not perfect. They have flaws and annoying personal traits and they get mad at each other for silly reasons when under stress ("You're acting like Min and Intan did when they were five!" for example). By no means are these girls perfect. Neither are their siblings, friends, and parents perfect, as will be seen in future chapters.
So, if my logic and the brief preview of my OCs in the above chapter has not convinced you of the absence of the Mary-Sue variety of OCs in this story, then I bid you a good day (or evening, depeding on when you read this) and wish you the best. For those of you that have decided to keep on and give this rather massive undertaking of mine a chance, welcome and feel free to ask questions! There are many things Caelum and I have hashed out that don't get mentioned explicitly in this fic. Just one example, to determine the size of Suki's training class in KW training, Caelum and I had to figure out how big Kyoshi Island was, how many people lived in her village, and how many villages might exist on the island. (And believe me, the Avatar wikia page does not give sufficient detail to figure this out! We looked; several times!)
As you might have noticed, I am very much excited about this story. I'm not usually so verbose in my A/Ns. This has been my pet project for over a year and I'm interested to see how many people I can get interested in it. And for those who like random trivia, the original draft of this story? 30 something pages, and the second draft grew to 60 something very quickly! With the addition of a prologue to provide some sense of familiarity for my readers, it's even larger now. I expect it will only grow larger as I edit the other chapters into fic publishing form.
Cyber cookies aren't good enough for anyone who has read through my massive A/N. I shall give you all a cyber award! Review so I can send it to you! *grins*
