(Sometime between Avatar Day [S2:E05] and The Serpent's Pass [S2:E12])
Embers floated into the air as Suki prodded the fire with a stick. The other Kyoshi Warriors who'd decided to come with her were occupying themselves with the other tasks involved with setting up camp; Iseul was setting triplines and alarms to serve as an advance warning if someone came upon their camp in the night, Jae was setting up the tents and bedrolls while Eun and Nabi were filling their waterskins at the nearby stream. She was supposed to be starting dinner, but despite her efforts the campfire was less than impressive. You'd think that a half-breed could start a decent fire…
If she closed her eyes, she could still see it as if it'd happened yesterday, not months back. The Commander, Prince Zuko, summoning an arc of fire with a flick of his wrist, bright flames throwing that scar into harsh relief.
His own father… Suki shook her head as she added a few more small logs, slowly building the flame. What am I doing? He attacked Busan, hurt my friends. But still…
"Suki! Are you done over there yet?" Jae called as she left the last tent that she shared with the leader. "Tents are good to go, and I'm getting hungry!" At Suki's silence, Jae popped her head out of the tent and saw her staring distantly into the flame. "Hey, everything alright?" She asked as she approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder.
Suki shook herself out of her thoughts and tried to put on a brave smile. "It's nothing Jae. Forget about it." Before turning back to the fire, eyes captured by the dancing red tongues of flame.
Jae hummed noncommittedly, eyes thoughtful, as she returned to their tent. Moments later, she settled herself across the fire facing her as she restrung her yumi and examined the tension. "None of us care, you know. You can't control who your parents are – Spirits, remember the scandal when it came out that Eun and I are half sisters? It's no different."
Hands suddenly clenched into fists; Suki's blue-green eyes blazed as she glared at her fellow warrior. "Don't. Lie. To me. We both know that it's not the same. At least you're both Earth Kingdom. Me… I don't know what I am anymore." Her eyes fell back to the flames crackling in the hastily dug pit in front of her. "I'm the enemy, Jae."
"Chin's beard, Suki. Look at you." Suki's eyes snapped back up, anger lighting up her eyes before she took an audible breath and calmed herself. "I told you: we don't care. Don't you remember your oath that you swore when you took up the tessen and face paint? 'The Warriors are my family, my identity above all else. Until I marry, let no other bond be stronger than that I share with my battle-sisters.'" Jae carelessly threw another log onto the fire, sparks rising in a released thermal. As the red-orange sparks faded between them, Jae threw a disappointed look at her. "The oath meant something to the rest of us. Why are you so intent on being forsworn?"
"It's not that, Jae. Or maybe it is. I don't know. All my life, I've known what I wanted, and how to get it. Train hard, never give up and control my temper instead of letting it control me. It's gotten me this far. It's made me who I am. It made Haneul confident enough to leave in charge of you girls. Now…" Swallowing, she removed her rough leather travelling glove and reached out towards the flame, letting the occasional spark fly between her fingers. "Fire's in my blood as much as solid, trustworthy stone. It's just… we've been taught our whole lives that the Fire Nation is evil, that they're monstrous. But now I'm Fire Nation. And I trust you girls, and Elder Oyaji, I do. But if I'm not evil, then not everyone from Fire Nation is evil because their blood. They're people, Jae. From what the Elder told me, their leadership is irredeemable, but everyone else? The soldiers who attacked Busan, were they there because they wanted to be, or because they had to be?" Maybe I'm not destined to be evil?
Both women sat there looking at the fire for a few minutes in silence, thoughts heavy. Jae finally managed to break the silence. "Suki… just what did you and Oyaji talk about? If the Fire Lord had his way, we'd all be his loyal subjects, whether we wanted to be or not. Kyoshi Island would be another Yu Dao, or Gaipan."
"I know, okay!" Suki abruptly stood up, and buried her hands in her hair. "Did you see the prince's scar?"
Jae blinked, the question throwing her off. "Er, what? Yeah, looked pretty bad."
"It was his father. Fire Lord Ozai himself did that. Because his son, the Prince of Fire and Evil, didn't want to sacrifice a platoon of green soldiers as bait. He spoke out, and his dad stuck a flaming hand in his face." She slumped back to her rock and weakly met Jae's eyes again. "Sorry, I've just been letting that smoulder in my mind for too long."
Her sister's eyes were wide, firelight reflecting off of them. "Kyoshi's tits… I mean, I knew that the Fire Nation was evil, but that… how did Oyaji even know about that?"
"Would you believe if I told you Pai Sho?" At Jae's disbelieving snort and glare, Suki's lips arched into a small smile. "No, really. Apparently Pai Sho players are as bad of gossips as the men and women of net mending circles. Prince Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation three years ago until he could capture the Avatar. He has to prove that he has honor before he can go back home, Jae. And he left as soon as the Avatar did. He didn't even threaten any of the townspeople, or kill anyone. What if he doesn't want this war either? And if the Crown Prince doesn't care about the war… what about everyone else? There's got to be farmers, and fishers, and people who are just trying to get by."
Another long moment of silence is occupied by the gradually growing crackle of flame in between the warriors. "I think that you're giving the prince too much credit here, Suki. But I can understand that. You're trying to reconcile what you've learned with what you know. You're bound to be more sympathetic. And this has clearly been eating at you for ages."
Suki snorted. "You're probably right. No, you are. And don't worry, I won't hesitate to put down any Fire Nation soldiers that we come across. This is our land, and we can't let them walk all over us." She cracked her knuckles, and conviction finally lit up again in her mind. "But it does mean that not only will I feel good about stomping on the real monsters, but I'll be fully justified in doing it." Thanks, Jae. I might be the leader of the Busan Warriors, but you're the heart. I couldn't do this without you.
Jae smiled back at her. "Suki-" She was interrupted by the return of Eun and Nabi playfully bickering with the groups waterskins draped over their shoulders. She sent Suki a final imploring look before she nodded back. Don't worry, Jae. I'm good. You helped me figure that out.