Another day in the rest of my life. Suki sighed as she woke up, eyes on the same ceiling that she'd stared at for dragged herself out of bed and rolled her neck as she prepared to stretch before working out. One good thing about such a large cell was that she had space to move in it. The privacy was an expected bonus as well, letting her mind drift as she lost herself in her body's movements without fear of someone sneaking up on her.
We thought that we were the best of the best. We thought that our training prepared us to deal with any threat, bender or not. How could we have been so wrong? Azula and her cronies stomped us, and they made it look easy. How could we have failed Kyoshi so badly? She expelled a harsh breath as she completed her kata, fist quivering a hair away from the wall. Wiping the sweat-soaked hair from her brow, she ran her hand through the wet locks with the other to free her face from the obstructions. I'm going to get better. Next time we meet, after I break out of here, she'll be the one on the ground.
Suki's eyes snapped to her door as a hollow thud hit her door. "314, morning yard." The lock rasped out of position, and the guard stood by, an unimpressed expression on his face. "Move it."
She made sure to smile widely at him, all teeth. "Thank you so much, Mister Guard."
He grunted and waved his baton at her. "Get moving, or I'm going to lock you back in."
She was pretty sure that he wouldn't, but then again, this was the Boiling Rock. Even after only a few days, she'd begun to understand the rhythm of the place. Dissent was quelled quickly, and often with overwhelming force. Rogue firebending was always punished with the cooler (whatever that was) and in a twist that'd surprised her, the female guards were extremely attentive to watching their female charges.
All things considered, this isn't as bad as I thought that it'd be. She mused as she was escorted to the yard. It almost reminds me of home, if Haneul's punishments had been less creative and more brutal.
Suki took a deep breath in relief as she entered the yard, sunlight playing across her skin. The smell of the boiling lake made her wrinkle her nose as a weak breeze wafted through the plaza. From her vantage point, she could see three major groups of women outside as her guard stopped beside the door as Suki continued on.
The first group of women, only about a half dozen, seemed to hold themselves straighter than the others in a way that reminded her of Mai, though they lacked the sour-faced woman's easy and balanced stance. Even their clothes seemed to be of a higher quality than hers. Nobility, I'd bet. Spent their lives without struggle, and they've got people on the outside bribing management for preferential treatment.
Second group was the smallest at three women, but they were all tall, heavily muscled and scarred from head to toe. The biggest woman wouldn't have looked too out of place in an Earth Kingdom bar - Suki would peg her as a colony woman. So those are the badasses. Soldiers or mercenaries, I'd guess.
The final major group was the largest, and looked to be halfway between the two. Average clothes, and none of them seemed to inherit that aloof posture. On the same note, however, none of them seemed as overtly martial as the three women.
"Hey there tinder." A voice called from Suki's right, and she tensed before she forced herself to turn. A woman with the left half of her head shaved was seated at a table on the outskirts of the yard. Her dark amber eyes glinted threateningly in the half-light, and an intricate tattoo of a cherry tree surrounded by a storm of blossoms covered her left arm.
"What did you just call me?" Suki's spine straightened as her fists clenched and she turned to face her fully.
"Tinder. It's a term for the newbies. I've seen you out here the past few days, and you've avoided associating with any established cliques. You're either stupid, or clueless. Since you're ready to run or knock my block off, I'm assuming that you're clever. So it's got to be clueless. Come, sit." she pats the table, giving her the option of where to sit.
She slowly made her way over, choosing to sit across from the woman. This is a dangerous woman. "I wouldn't call myself clueless."
The woman laughed. "Oh tinder, you don't even know how much you don't know. I'm Giman. What's your name?"
"...Suki. My name is Suki."
"See, that's your first sign right there. That's absolutely an Earth Kingdom name. With your looks, no decent parent in the colonies would have ever thought of giving you something other than a super Fire name. So I'm thinking that you're either an orphan, or you're far more interesting than you appear."
Suki's head jerked back as she blinked. How'd she get all of that? "I'm starting to get the feeling that I shouldn't say."
Giman rewarded her with another laugh. "Yup. Definitely clueless, but smart. You're learning fast. If you won't tell, I won't ask. You'll find that that's a rule of thumb if you want to survive here. Asking for history here is just asking to spark a bonfire."
"So why call out to me, then?"
"Now you're getting it. I've found myself in a spot of trouble, you might say. Lady Suzuki over there" she nods at one of the noblewomen "has developed an issue with me, and I can't watch my back all of the time. And you've isolated yourself from the prison hierarchy. The second that you screw up or offend someone, and you will, you will die. Sure, whoever kills you will be punished, but that won't matter to you anymore. So I propose a deal. You watch my back, and not only will I return the favour, but I'll teach you the ropes."
She sat there silently for a moment, turning the proposition over in her head. It was a risky deal, but Giman brought up a valid point. If she caught anyone's attention, she was dead. It wasn't a question of ability or skill, it was a simple truth. She couldn't expect to fight off an entire gang; Guanyin's name, if Mai and Ty Lee were typical examples of Fire Nation warriors, then she wouldn't be able to take on a single opponent.
But… she had no idea what Giman's deal was, or what her issue with the (likely dangerous) Lady Suzuki was. Giman had no idea of her combat ability, so the chances that she was just looking for a body was high.
Suki did have a trump card, however. But it wasn't something to drop casually, especially when she wasn't at all sure about this woman. This was the most notorious prison in the Fire Nation. What could she have done to end up here?
"I don't know. Aligning myself with you would definitely give me enemies that I don't currently have." She ventured. "And I don't know you."
She sat back, hands raised. "That's fair. But you can't stay on the fence forever. Sooner or later, you're going to have to pick a side. Just remember that I offered. And I don't know you either. For all I know, you're some sort of serial cannibal."
The Kyoshi Warrior bristled before visibly calming herself with a measured exhale. Giman's keen eyes followed her movements, intelligence glinting in them as a slow smile passed over her. "Just don't wait too long, Suki. It could be the last mistake that you make." she got up and flipped her hair over her shoulder, not even caring to look back at the warrior as she moved away.