Fire Nation capitol city
Sokka
Sokka walked next to Suki, who was wearing the traditional Kyoshi Warrior garb. The green uniforms and gold headdresses of the twenty girls around them stood out among the reds and blacks of the Fire Nation citizens around them, and so did Sokka's blue and white Water Tribe garb.
The Kyoshi Warriors were coming to the wedding for two reasons. First, the leader and second-in-command, Suki and Ty Lee, were good friends of the couple. Second, they were added security. The Kyoshi Warriors had developed a reputation for being the best, and the all-girl squad had been asked to help ensure that no one interfered with the ceremony.
The Kyoshi warriors had grown in the years since the end of the war. They started taking on apprentices from around the Earth Kingdom, and their fame grew. Being accepted into the Kyoshi Warriors was a huge honor and there were plenty of girls who wanted it. Serious applicants met with Suki and the rest of the warriors. They were tested in combat skills, quick thinking, and how well their personality would mesh with the rest of the warriors. The ultimate decision was up to Suki, as the leader, but she always involved the other warriors in the decision, listening to their input.
"I've never traveled outside the Earth Kingdom before," the young woman walking just behind Suki whispered. Weye, fifteen years old, was one of the new recruits and Suki's personal apprentice. Each new apprentice was assigned to one of the full Warriors by Suki, to be taken under the older girl's wing, and taught and instructed. The Warriors also regularly held training sessions together in fighting techniques, tactics, chi blocking, and more.
"It's so different, isn't it?" Suki agreed. "We stand out like sore thumbs. And you stand out even more, Sokka." She poked the muscular young man in the ribs. "The only boy in the group, and wearing blue to boot."
Sokka was about to make a sarcastic comment when he caught a glimpse of movement in the crowd ahead, a flash of blue. He leaned forward, and a moment later the people parted to reveal a woman in a light blue dress hurtling towards them. A black-haired woman wearing a green tunic with metal bands on her shoulders and upper arms sauntered after her.
"Sokka!" Katara cried, reaching them. Sokka stumbled back a step, laughing as he hugged his sister back. "Been a while, sis."
She pulled back, her face split in a wide smile. "You're early! We were just going shopping when we heard people talking about you guys walking up the street."
Toph came up alongside them and punched Sokka in the arm. "There's my boy," she said. "How's Boomerang?"
Sokka patted the metallic handle sticking up over his shoulder. "Never better."
Katara hugged Suki. "It's been way too long!" she said delightedly. "How have you been? And how's the leg?"
"I barely notice it anymore," Suki assured her. "The scar is hardly noticeable, too. Thanks to you." She gave Katara a warm smile. Suki had been hit in the calf with an arrow in a skirmish a year ago, but Katara's healing hands had helped.
"Ty Lee!" Katara hugged the Kyoshi Warriors' second-in-command. "How's it going?"
"Amazing," Ty Lee said warmly. "You know, I used to feel like 'part of a matched set' in my family. And at first it felt like that with the Kyoshi Warriors, too. But I've found that everyone has their own distinct personalities and we are all different. It does wonders for my aura!"
Katara laughed. "Don't ever change, Ty Lee."
