Writer's Note: Mergh, this took way too long to write again. Sorry for those of you who were waiting for it. I lost two jobs and am having a bitch of a time with my new one, so the time and inspiration hasn't really been there for me. It's only recently that I've renewed my drive for the story, with interesting results.

I'd like to promise that the chapters will come faster now, but I have no idea what these next couple of months will bring me, so who knows?

Three

The year she turned eight was a year that held a lot of surprises for Suki.

The first was the fact that, after two years of sporadic visits and occasional stays, Fonil, Suki's father, had actually come home and stayed for more than a month,. It was a drastic change, and it took time to get used to, but the women of Suki's family were always of the strong, adaptable kind, and within no time, it felt like he had always been there.

Fonil was a quiet, private man, prone to spending hours in his office at the back of his house, poring over medical texts, formulas, and the like.

Suki was shy around Fonil, not out of personal dislike, but because it was so strange to have an adult male in the house on a regular basis.

However, Suki's love of the sun was something from Fonil, and because of this, their paths would cross, first out of awkwardness, but then out of expectation.

At first Fonil would try very hard to engage in conversation with his youngest daughter, with mixed results.

"So, you start school this year?" he asked over their shared breakfast.

Suki scrunched up her face in displeasure. "Yeah, and it's really boring."

Fonil was surprised. "Boring?"

"Yeah," she agreed, her voice muffled by the toast in her mouth. "Everything they teach is stuff I already know. It's boring. And everyone else is so stupid."

"You shouldn't say things like that about your peers," Fonil said, his soft voice somewhat stern.

Suki's gaze met his, utterly bemused. "Dad, they don't even know math," she elaborated, a few crumbs falling from her lips.

Fonil blinked slowly. "Oh. That is...sort of strange. Aren't parents supposed to teach that before sending their children to school?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. She got to her feet and, without another word, ran out to greet the sun, leaving Fonil somewhat out of the loop.

That was one of the more successful days, until a week before Suki's birthday, the day she would turn eight.

She was lying in the grass, her eyes closed and her fingers threading in and out of the new spring grass. She had been blissing out on the feel of the sun and the grass when a shadow fell over her. She tensed, thinking it was Ranku (who, since Burin tossed him away, hadn't bothered her since), but she was surprised to find that it was actually Fonil.

"Oh! Dad!" she cried, starting to sit up. To her surprise, with a big sigh, Fonil flopped to the ground and lay down next to her, shutting his eyes and breathing in deeply. She blinked, somewhat confused, but when a whole minute passed without attempts at awkward conversation, she lay back down and shut her eyes as well. She was surprised to discover that Fonil was actually really good company, especially when he stayed quiet.

It was the start of a wonderful morning routine, one that lasted a week. It was broken the day of Suki's birth.

The day had started out like any other birthday for Suki: raining. Suki woke to the sound of heavy rain upon the roof instead of the sun in her eyes, and she was actually okay with it; it always rained on her birthday. It was a hazard of a springtime birth, yes, but it also allowed her to sleep in a bit longer than usual.

While the sound of the rain was enough to wake her, it was the smell of breakfast that roused her from her bed. It was her favourite breakfast: eggs, turkey-duck sausages, waffles, and hashbrowns. Happily, Suki leapt from her bed, stepped around her sisters, and ran down the stairs. She didn't bother to dress of brush her hair, figuring that her mother was the only one awake and that she would have time to do it later.

Suki ran into the kitchen with a smile and a squeal, expecting her breakfast already served and ready for her nestled in a circle of presents, as was the tradition.

What she found, instead, was her father, mother, and two Kyoshi Warriors in the kitchen.

Suki stopped in her tracks, feeling the blood rush to her feet. She stared, speechless, in the doorway of the kitchen, unable to move or to even think properly.

"You see, ladies?" Fonil said, smiling at his frozen daughter with fondness. "What did I tell you? Make Suki's favourite food and she'll come running."

Suki realised, slowly, that these two Warriors weren't strangers.

Burin grinned, patting her middle. "A girl who knows the importance of good food is a girl I can understand," she chuckled.

"Oh, my, she's gotten taller," Duree said behind her hand, her eyes a pair of happy crescents. "I owe you ten silver coins, Burin."

Amako, sensing Suki's distress, set the spatula aside and walked over to her, placing a hand on the top of her head like a cap. Slowly, Suki looked up, bewildered, and her mother smiled. "Happy eighth birthday, Suki," she said softly. "Apparently we're not the only ones who wanted to celebrate it with you."

"Hey there, Brave Suki," Burin said cheerfully, her smile wide. "Didn't I tell you we would see you in a year?"

Suki realised suddenly that she had, and that somehow, she just hadn't really processed it. She blinked slowly. "But...how did you know it was my birthday?" she wondered, her voice small.

Duree giggled. "We heard the perfume seller call you 'Amako's girl'. It doesn't take much to put it all together and ask around."

Fonil met Suki's eyes. "I told them. I was on my way home when our paths crossed."

Amako raised an eyebrow at her husband. This was apparently news to her as well. He shrugged, smiling at his youngest girl. "I knew the moment I saw your little yellow paper fan that you were smitten."

Suki reddened, especially when both Burin and Duree giggled. It was only when she looked closely at them that they weren't laughing at her, but with her. She smiled faintly.

Amako gently took hold of Suki by her shoulders and steered her over to the table, sitting her down. "Eat," she commanded. Suki picked up her fork shyly, looking at the Kyoshi Warriors from under her lashes. She ate slowly.

Burin waited until Amako was seated before speaking. "Basically, we're here because, above all, we want Suki to come with us to Kyoshi Island."

Suki almost choked. She looked up in shock.

Amako and Fonil, however, were far calmer. "For what reason?" Amako asked easily.

"We want her to train with us," Duree replied, her face unusually sombre. "We want her to be one of us."

And now Suki was choking.

After a few slaps on the back and a drink of milk, Suki gasped out, "You want me to what?!"

Duree giggled, but Burin met her eyes straight-on. "Join us, Suki," she replied.

Suki felt something deep within her quiver, but with what, she had no idea.

"Why do you want someone from outside of the island?" Fonil asked, sounding puzzled. "Don't you usually train the girls raised there?"

Burin smiled, rubbing the back of her head a little. "Do I look like a Kyoshi girl?" she wondered. When no one answered, she went on. "Outsiders are recruited all the time, especially if they have the guts and the stuff." She jerked her thumb towards Suki. "Your daughter has it. We saw it for ourselves."

Amako narrowed her eyes, turning to her youngest daughter. "Were you and Ranku fighting again?"

Suki blushed, looking away. "He started it," she mumbled.

"It's true," Duree agreed. "We saw the whole thing. He ambushed her, but even though it was clear she could have taken him, she asked him to leave her alone, instead. Asked him. As in, exercising all of her options first before resorting to violence."

"That, and that alone, is the true marrow of what makes the Kyoshi Warriors," Burin agreed. "We use our opponent's force against them, and resort to aggression and violence when all else fails. Suki is, at heart, already halfway there. It would be a waste to leave her here."

The words were blunt, and instantly Suki felt both shame and sadness fill her from them. Shame, because it was true and there was much more than just this simple town, and sadness, because in the end, somehow, she knew that she would have to leave it all behind, and that her family would not have such a luxury.

Suddenly she wasn't too hungry. She pushed her food away.

Fonil reached over and placed his hand on her head, gently, and when she looked up, she saw that he was smiling kindly. Despite everything, she felt herself smiling back a little.

"And I assure you, we acknowledge that, with only some mild indignation," Amako replied easily. "But she's our little girl. While both Fonil and I can see this strength in her, we're loathe to let her go."

Suki opened her mouth, desperate to say something, but unsure if it would only make things worse. She was about to shut it when something desperate, something eager for so much more, overrode the impulse.

"I'm not a bender," she blurted, too late realising that she was eclipsing something Burin was about to say. She went on anyway. "And I'm not good at medicine. And I hate domestic stuff. I want..." and here her throat closed up, because she could see that her parents already knew what she wanted, and it hurt them, just a bit. But she had to say it; they had to know. "I want to be something more."

Duree smiled, and Burin nodded slowly, her grey-blue eyes sombre. "So did I," Burin said, her face so serious it was almost shocking. "I, too, grew up just like you did: average, ready to spend my life within a village, learning only what was needed to keep going. My future was set."

She smiled, closing her eyes and reaching up with a gloved hand, brushing a few short locks off of her forehead. "I had no idea that it wasn't what I wanted until I saw what could be more. And then I knew."

Duree nodded slowly. "Suki, we saw you seeing us. Just a little. We knew. If you don't come now, you will regret it and always wonder. It will kill you."

Burin, at those words, smiled wider and looked away.

Suki stared, her heart racing. She wanted, so desperately, to go with them. To be a Kyoshi Warrior, to be strong and brave, to never have to worry about being a victim again.

But could she just leave her family? Leave everything she knew?

Amako smiled faintly, and Fonil took her hand. Her lip trembled, and Amako's eyes wavered.

They knew. She was going.

It was now only a matter of when.

"Yes," Amako said, her voice wavering. She sat up straight, looking Burin right in the eyes. Even though Suki knew that Burin was much younger than her mother, for some reason, it was almost looking at two equals. "Suki has our permission to go."

Suki shut her eyes, her face hurting. She was smiling, but also crying. She knew her future was set, but in a whole new way.

"That's wonderful," Burin replied, sounding like she meant it. "Now, since she just turned eight, we fully do not expect her right away. Obviously she needs time to prepare, and so do we." Burin met Suki's eyes, and the younger girl blinked her tears away. "We're not going to stay long today, because it's your birthday. However, we will be back in three months. Is that okay?"

Slowly, Suki nodded. Three months seemed like an awful long time to wait for something this exciting, but she also knew that once they were over, she would miss the time spent and wish for it back.

Maybe...

With a look to Duree, Burin got to her feet. Duree shortly followed, smiling brightly at Suki. "We will leave you to your birthday, Suki," Duree said cheerfully. As the two Warriors made their exit, Duree reached over and ruffled Suki's hair. Suki blushed.

"Wait," Amako called out. "I'll walk you out." She stood up and followed them, muttering something to Burin in a low voice as they left.

Fonil squeezed Suki's hand, and she looked up. His face was sad, but his eyes shone with pride. "Well, Suki," he said softly. "You're a little warrior now, are you?"

It wasn't the words, or their meaning. It was the whole weight of what had just transpired in such short time that seemed to crash into her. With a wail, Suki threw herself at her father and buried her face into his neck, sobbing. He held her tight, stroking her hair and making shushing noises.

She was happy. But it was a kind of happiness that was always doomed to be coupled with unrelenting sadness that always came with change.

"What's up?" a drowsy voice suddenly said from the doorway of the kitchen. Father and daughter looked up to find Ritu standing there, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?"

Suki started wailing again. It was probably the worst, and best birthday, she would ever have.

The three months went by in a daze. It was spent making arrangements for Suki's new life: packing up anything she needed, getting a place on the merchant ferry to Kyoshi, settling a few things about her education, and so on.

It was also spent desperately, with Suki trying to absorb everything around her, thinking each time she did something average, This is the last time I'll do this…this is the last time I'll do that…

And when those months were over, and she had managed to say all of the goodbyes she had wanted to, and when her sisters clung to her with wails of their own (Niya's sobs surprised Suki to the core; she had never seen her cry before then) and threatened to come and get her if she didn't write, it was time to go.

With her parents, she boarded the ferry. Her eyes were fixed on the small village port for the whole time until it was nothing more than a speck in the distance.