Cycles
iRed Zero

I really hope it makes sense.

Their first encounter had not been pleasant. Threats had been issued for being in an obviously restricted area without an appropriately stamped and sealed invitation. The smaller girl held a dagger up to the other's throat, catching the older girl by surprise.

Luckily Suki was aiming only for intimidation. It was her job to guard the king and none, no matter how oddly their faces were painted, could see him without the proper authorisation. The matter was settled later after a small skirmish between the two stopped only by the king's advisors.

Kyoshi was more than willing to attend to her business; she detested fighting and unhappily accepted that it was part of the job of being a living god. She tried to befriend the smaller, deadly warrior but Suki would have none of it. Her rare green eyes always narrowed whenever Kyoshi tried to bridge the gap in their personalities with a peace offering. Suki was fierce where Kyoshi was passive. They were perfect opposites. Yet somehow it changed.

If asked, Kyoshi would answer – with a faraway look in her eyes as if reliving the memory – it was the time she and Suki, along with a band of bodyguards, escorted the earth king to the fire nation to discuss something of political import. Before reaching even the ports, their relatively small caravan had been attacked. Suki and Kyoshi had to work together to defend the precious monarch, a task that required trust. True to her warrior's heart, the trust Suki placed in the avatar was now firmly as much a part of her as the dagger she always carried.

Whenever Kyoshi had time to spare from her duties to the world's nations and her village, she'd visit Suki at her family estate – her father having been promoted from a lowly country official to a highly ranked advisor after Suki's appointment to the king's guard. The new Bei Fong family rejoiced in its good fortune and speedily adopted the winged boar as its symbol – "I always thought something like this would happen when pigs fly," Suki told Kyoshi, her green eyes twinkling mischievously, "of course I didn't tell Father that. I told him they were your favorite animal, wonder what he'll do when he finds out …"

The girl, younger by nearly five years, was stunted in height and quite petite but as the youngest and smallest member of the Bei Fong family she was forced to develop a very loud and booming voice and a pushy attitude that earned her more than a few scowls and venomous whispers in the palace.

Kyoshi didn't mind though, the meeker older girl knew she needed to develop more confidence in herself and be a more imposing force. As the avatar, she wasn't nearly as strong as she knew she should be (and had been), most of the fear and respect she had was generated by her previous incarnations – of which she couldn't remember the slightest thing.

While Kyoshi was at the Northern Water Tribes negotiating a treaty between the sister tribes, Chin had begun his dominance of the Earth Kingdom. Weeks late, Kyoshi was perturbed by the large amounts of land he'd conquered – never mind they were mostly largely unsettled areas. Though she was confident the king's standing army was capable of taking Chin on, something felt wrong to her. The need to return home to the Earth Kingdom was almost overwhelming. What if her village had been destroyed while she was gone? Kyoshi anxiously made her way home. Her village, as of yet, was untouched, but its people were very worried, Chin was marching dangerously close to their territory.

Would Chin come here to this small village? It served as nothing more than the Avatar's birthplace – fueling a small but steady tourism industry that helped keep people alive. Was that enough of a reason for the great conqueror Chin? Kyoshi wasn't too sure; demolishing the Avatar's home would have a political advantage over the people. If the Avatar couldn't protect her home, who would protect them? They would more easily submit to the invading force.

Kyoshi hurried to the castle, determined to help guard the king. To ensure his claims and quell any opposition he'd have to remove the current monarchy and many nobles. Kyoshi wasn't about to let that happen. Besides, a small voice in her head said, she'd get to see Suki again. As she got closer she heard villagers whisper the king had survived an attack by Chin but he was now in hiding and had lost a good portion of his army.

When she arrived at the castle, she found it in ruins. Whole walls had crumbled under the assault, mangled bodies peeping out through the remains. Outside the throne room she found Suki, bloodied and mangled. Kyoshi knelt at her side, half cradling the decaying corpse, running her trembling fingers over the open gashes in Suki's midsection. Bitter tears flowed down her cheeks and she shook as she let out a choked sob. Suki was gone. It was too late. Slowly she covered the surprised yet fierce paling eyes. She didn't think she could handle looking at them again. Kyoshi tried to console herself by thinking Suki went the way she wanted to go. She had protected her king until the end.

They were their own independent island now, severed entirely from the rest of the world. Kyoshi had never quite gone back to normal after losing Suki. She was no longer a meek and awkward young girl, but a full-grown woman. With her sudden show of power and rage the world realized once again the Avatar was not to be underestimated.

Kyoshi refused to leave the island, only being persuaded to go to the mainland when Suki was officially interred on her family grounds. She didn't remember the name of the area but as she kneeled at the grave, she called it Gaoling. Jail.

Long after the Avatar was gone the name persisted, it's original name long forgotten. Suki was not forgotten either. Out of reverence to Kyoshi they refused to let Suki's memory die. Every so often a young village girl would be named after the young warrior, one of them eventually starting the Kyoshi Warriors in tribute to the first Suki.