Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Fish in The Pond
"Come out, Avatar", Prince Scarface yelled from atop his Komodo rhino. Rhinos and riders flanked him on either side as they stood facing a deserted street. A street that had been full of everyday life just this morning. Though the invaders weren't fooled into thinking no one was home.
Lining the street were houses and businesses. Some were a combination of both. And inside them were terrified people who wanted nothing to do with the Fire Nation. Just like how my people were when the Fire Nation made the South Pole a target in their war.
The only ones not taking shelter were the Kyoshi girl warriors… and me. If the dress can be overlooked. Suki's strategy relied on guerilla tactics. From either side of the street, either darting behind the buildings or balancing on snow-covered rooftops, we were unseen as the fire Nation soldiers progressed. Holding our breaths; we went unheard.
Once the rhinos and their burdens reached a specific point in the street, the warriors on the roof jumped; in a coordinated attack. Fans unfolded, they dislodged riders for rhinos to announce our presence and disarmed who they could. It was probably an amazing sight I'd love to see; witnessing fire scum get knocked on their butts by a bunch of gi… I mean warriors.
But I couldn't just watch. As Suki charged Zuko's rhino, I followed. Dodging between fireballs, Suki leaps off the ground. Her fans were poised and ready; holding them in the very same offensive position she'd only just taught me an hour ago.
Being airborne though… unless you're an airbender, that always leaves you vulnerable. Weaponizing his mount, Zuko pulls the rein so hard that when the Komodo rhino turned its tail whipped through the air. Thusly knocking Suki out of it. With no time to recover, Suki landed on her side. Her arms sprawled out with no way to defend herself.
I was a few feet away. Close enough that I could read Scarface's intentions as he drew back a fist. But far enough away that I worried I wouldn't get there in time. Red hot flames flew in Suki's direction. Her panicked eyes pushed me forward faster. When I made it, I could feel the heat engulfing the air as the brightness of the flames was nearly blinding. Holding the fan like I had been taught and brandishing it like I had been taught, I waved the fire away; causing it to disperse. A fan is definitely more effective against fire than a boomerang. Who knew?
A short, but tense moment passed where Zuko glared at me and I glared back; my stance at the ready. Thank La the fire prince couldn't hear how fast my heart was pumping blood.
Around Suki and me the other Kyoshi warriors handled Zuko's men. I could hear the grunts and blows that are a part of fighting. But there were no screams. Maybe that meant no one from the Fire Nation had gone into the houses. Hopefully.
The moment ended not by any move either one of us made. But by another Kyoshi warrior leaping from a roof and tackling Prince Scarface from his rhino onto a porch behind him. Free of the weight, the rhino wandered off without guidance.
The girl who tackled Zuko had him pinned with her fan, and… and that wasn't going to hold him for very long. "I guess training is over", I said to Suki as she started to climb to her feet. Running to help the other girl, I left her to follow when she could.
The girl pinning Zuko didn't move until we were able to corner him. But before any capture could happen, Zuko sprung up and forced his feet under him; an angry scowl on his disfigured face. Performing a sweepy twirly fiery leg thing, Suki was knocked into a pole. The other girl was blown into the house by the force and I… I was on my own.
Zuko's leg came at me once. I jumped over it; flames and all. Like a children's top, Zuko circled back around and I jumped again. No problem. The third time, Zuko changed rotation and I was knocked down before I had fully landed. My breath left me as my head smacked against the wood of the porch. Ow. Was that just me, or did that sound louder than necessary?
At least, Scarface didn't stick around. Jumping over me, Zuko re-entered the street. "Come out, Avatar. These little girls can't save you". A funny thing to say considering Aang was younger than them… sort of. In the time we were busy getting our butts kicked, Zuko's men were able to retaliate. Smoke was heavy in the air as roofs and homes burned. Now… Now, I could hear some screaming.
"Why do you cower b-" Whatever the prince was going to say, he was cut off when a stone sailed through the air like a dart and pegged him on the side of his head. Fists balled and growling like a wolf, Zuko turned to find the source.
Rising to my feet, I did the same with Suki right behind me. It wasn't hard to find who was responsible. She was standing in the center of the street; a burning house on either side of her. Her face was twisted in concentration as she held one arm out in front of her; holding a slingshot. Her other hand was pulled back by her ear; the sling was already loaded with another stone. My eyes widened as I recognized her straight away.
I wasn't the only one. The yellow-colored hair was a dead giveaway. "You!" Zuko snarled as he took a step in her direction.
"Kaya!" I yelled; waving my fan around to get her attention. "Get out of here!" What did she think she was doing? What did she think she could do?
But Kaya didn't hear me. She stayed focused on the approaching prince. When he took another step, she released another stone. This time aiming for his forehead. With an angry snarl and flared nostrils, Zuko waited until he was in range before batting the stone out of the air with a lighted fist. He didn't stop moving forward; eyes locked on Kaya.
Kaya stood stationary; her feet planted as she loaded up another stone from a pouch fastened to her hip. The tip of her tongue was poking out between her lips as she concentrated to line up a shot. "Kaya!" I yelled again. The grip I had on the fans I was borrowing tightened to the point that my knuckles ached. She'd only been training for three days at this point! What did Kaya think she could accomplish by making a stand like this? This was bad. This was… I… I needed…. Gah! Why was I such a fool?
A fool. It's what I called myself throughout the night as I tried to fall asleep. By that point, the girls already returned from the bathhouse and managed to find sleep themselves. A fool. It's what continued to echo in my head as we ate breakfast the following morning and everything left to go about their day. Aang to ride the stupid Unagi. Kaya to her lessons with Suki and the fan-waving brigade. And Katara… off to do whatever she had planned. All morning, I called myself a fool as I wrestled with a plan for what to do.
It took me longer than it should have to trudge my way through the village and back to the dojo. The sun was already high in the sky by the time I reached it. The whole way there, I walked with my shoulders hunched and my head down; kicking any stone I came across. What would Dad say? What would he want me to do? What would my mom have wanted me to do?
Just as it was yesterday, the dojo was full and no one paid me any mind as I climbed the stairs and poked my head in. Suki led her warriors; her back towards me. She formed a move and the others copied; fan poised in their hands. Kaya wasn't with them which had me confused at first. Considering that the yellow-haired girl left that morning saying she was going to see Suki... er... sort of. That's what we thought she meant. All Kaya had really said was just, "Suki".
But a quick survey of the whole training hall solved my confusion. Kaya, with the same girl from yesterday, was off in a corner. She was standing with one foot in front of the other as she held a slingshot in her left hand while the right pulled back the sling part. "Good, you remember", the girl helping her said. "Just raise your elbow a bit more", the girl corrected, moving Kaya's arm herself to create a correct form.
"Um… Hey, Suki", I woke up the nerve to interrupt before I lost it entirely and had to spend the whole day referring to myself as a fool.
The response was almost immediate. The girls copying Suki lowered their fans and dropped out of their stances while Suki turned to face me. "Want another dance lesson?" she asked as she folded her arms and scowled.
Even with all that makeup caked on, it was an impressive scowl that had me looking at my boots. "No…" I started to say with an awful taste on my tongue. "How do I say this?" I asked myself; raising a hand to rub the back of my head as I thought. "I just want to say… What I mean is…"
Upper lip curled back, Suki barked, "Hurry up! What do you want?"
Her volume was loud enough that it attracted the attention of Kaya and her friend. Picking my head up, I saw Kaya release the tension in her slingshot and turn towards the commotion. Her friend did the same. Though their expressions didn't match. While her friend copied Suki's crossed-armed posture and unhappy face, Kaya stared with wide eyes as she worried her bottom lip. At least it wasn't the same way she'd looked at me last night.
"Suki", Kaya's friend said before I could muster my nerve again. "If you're stuck dealing with this buffoon, I'm going to take Kaya outside and work with the long-range targets", the friend said once her eyes had done a sweep of me and continued to find me unsatisfactory. Dropping her crossed arms, she placed an arm around Kaya's shoulders. Just like she had done yesterday when I interrupted.
"Thanks, Wen Di", Suki said without looking away from me as the other girl stirred Kaya passed us and out the door. I raised my shoulders to my ears as they passed me; not knowing what to make of Kaya's expression, and feeling like I shouldn't guess her feelings when she can't tell me herself.
"Well," Suki said once Wen Di and Kaya had made it down the stairs. "What is it?"
Exhaling deeply through my nose, I lowered myself to my knees with my heels under me. Keeping my hands in front of me and in contact with the training hall floor, I bowed until my nose was touching the floor in between my hands. "Yesterday, I was wrong. I shouldn't have mocked your efforts. If you can forgive me, I would be honored if you would teach me".
There was a tense moment of silence. From my position, I could see anything. Not Suki's reaction or that of the girls standing behind; watching us. "You want to learn from a girl?" Suki challenged after the moment passed. Though I was relieved to hear her voice lose some of its sharp quality.
"I was wrong", I admitted again. I'd say it as many times as I needed to. Anything to stop feeling like a fool. "Things are different where I'm from. But I shouldn't have assumed… I'm sorry I insulted you and your customs".
Through my close contact with the floor, I felt when Suki shifted her weight inched away from me. "We usually don't teach boys", she stated; sounding neither hostile nor goading. More like she was just stating a fact.
It felt safe… or safer. So, I raised my head; hoping to show how serious I felt about this. "Please make an exception. I think… I think there's a lot I can learn from you".
Suki relaxed her posture and her arms fell to her sides. "Alright", she said. This time her voice matched the tone she used when speaking to Kaya. Although, she used a normal speed when talking to me. "But you have to respect our traditions".
Yes! I thought as I sprang to my feet. This was good news. "Of course," I agreed before Suki could change her mind or any of the other girls could protest.
"And I don't want to hear any complaining", Suki continued.
"You have my word".
Suki smiled. It was a smile that had me gulping nervously. It was a smile that led to me wearing a dress with make-up covering my face. What would Dad say about this?
As I found out firsthand, the Kyoshi fighting style was very flowy. Like dancing. But I had the sense to keep that thought to myself. The other girls had been dismissed to handle their own responsibilities once they got their fill of laughing at me. Not it was just me and Suki in the training hall. She had me running through the different motions, fans in each of my hands, as she corrected from the sidelines. Sometimes my feet weren't spaced apart enough. Sometimes my balance was off. Most of the time, I wasn't using the fans the way the moves required.
"You're not going to master it in one day", Suki commented as I tried again; ignoring the cramping muscle in my left calf. "No one could do that".
We had been at it for a while. Shadows were forming in the corners of the hall as the sun had moved from its position when we'd first started training. But I wasn't ready to stop. I needed to make amends and prove myself. And this was the only way I knew how to accomplish that. "I think I almost got it", I said even though that wasn't true.
Coming to the end of the sequence, I widen my stance, and snapped the fan shot. It was supposed to be like a finishing blow. But instead of keeping a firm grip on the fan like I would have done if it were one of my hunter knives, the fan slipped from my grasp and sailed out of the window. Flying similarly like a boomerang, it smacked into a tree off in the distance; disrupting snow resting in the tree's branches. From outside, two voices could be heard. One was a surprised squeak from Kaya. The other was her friend, Wen Di. "If you were trying to do that, you missed the target". Wen Di called; sounding unbothered. Since I first arrived at the training hall, Kaya and Wen Di had been outside working with a slingshot. Apparently, the Kyoshi warriors had targets set up for varying levels of difficulty to be able to practice with such weapons. Since Suki started teaching me, we've listened to Kaya and Wen Di work just as hard as we were.
Walking over to the window, Suki looked out. Making it easier for me to hide my embarrassment. Though the makeup also helped. "Fighting is not just about strength, you know", she said as I stepped closer. "We were taught to use our opponents' strength against them by redirecting their force and thinking flexibly to counter their rigidity". Suki stepped to the side. Now we both could stare out the window.
From there I could see Kaya and Wen Di still at it. Wen Di stood next to Kaya, playing with my lost fan in her hand as Kaya focused on a target several yards away. Suki and I watched in silence as Kaya released the sling part of the slingshot. With a nearly silent twang sound, a small rock soared through the air before smacking into the posted target; nearly dead center. As Wen Di congratulated Kaya on the good shot, Kaya didn't pause. She found another rock and repeated the process. Again, hitting the target close to the bullseye. How long had she been practicing?
"She's good at it", Suki remarked. "Someone must have taught her before. Aiming, I mean. The slingshot was new to Kaya when I introduced it yesterday. But once she figured out the make and weight of it… well, she makes hitting those targets look easy. I think I'll start her on moving targets tomorrow".
I grunted in agreement. It was a noise that felt out of place when wearing this dress. "We didn't teach her anything about aim", I mused out loud. "Must be something from before we found her…" My thoughts wandered. And Suki allowed it as we watched Kaya kit the same target over and over again until she ran out of rocks. For not the first time, I wondered about what kind of life yellow-haired people led. What did they learn? And why?
"I want to try again", I told Suki; turning away from the window.
"Okay", Suki agreed as we moved to the center of the training hall to give ourselves enough room.
Suki charged before I barely fell into a ready stance. She had her right arm extended; targeting a soft spot where my shoulder connected with my arm. But I was ready. I was ready without really having to think about it. Protecting the soft spot, I curled my left arm across my chest and when Suki stepped in to strike, I pushed back. Her momentum worked against her, and Suki fell; landing on her back.
She blinks at me in surprise from the floor as I blinked back at her. "Huh", I vocalized. The voice in my head was much louder. That was awesome!
The surprise melted off Suki's face as quickly as the snow outside was as she hurried onto her feet. "I did that on purpose", Suki declared; her hands clenched into fists. "You needed a win".
My lips twitched into a smile I couldn't help. So, this is what training with someone… someone who was on the same level was like. It felt nice. "I got you!" I said as I pointed at Suki with a grin. "Admit it".
Pointing was a mistake. Not willing to miss an opportunity, Suki grabbed my finger and twisted until my knees were bending in pain and I was making sounds; asking for release. This wasn't what I had in mind!
"Okay", Suki related, only letting go once she was satisfied. "You got in a lucky shot. Let's go again". And so, we did. Again, and again. Always with the background sounds of Kaya hitting targets and her new friend cheering her on and offering advice.
Kaya wasn't taking advice anymore. She let another stone fly. Again, Zuko batted it out of the air as if her effort meant nothing. Again, Kaya didn't move. Forget moving targets. The next thing Kaya needed to learn was a sense of self-preservation.
Scarface was getting closer and closer to Kaya. Still far enough that she could fire rocks. But close enough that I feared for Kaya's impending capture. "Kaya", I yelled again. She really needed to run. Why wasn't she? I needed to…
Before I could charge forward; before I could make any attempts to intercept Zuko from reaching the yellow-haired girl, a much-needed distraction called out. "Over here!"
In the opposite direction from where Kaya was, stood Aang with his staff in hand. He was a welcomed sight. Especially since the only other things to see at the moment were Fire Nation soldiers and burning houses.
Prince Scarface paused in his pursuit of Kaya as he turned on his heel to face Aang. As the avatar, Aang remained Zuko's main priority. And even though Aang is my friend, I couldn't be more thankful that capturing him was more appealing to Zuko than hunting down Kaya.
As Zuko sent fireballs after Aang, and Aang dodged like the airbender he is; even blowing Zuko into a building for his efforts, Kaya finally moved. She ducked into one of the houses she was standing in front of. Okay, that was… it wasn't good. But it was better than a few moments ago. "I'm sorry", I said as Suki and the other girl started to regain themselves. "I'll help bash some fire nation heads along the way but I need to get to Kaya and find my sister". Aang was already up in the air by the looks of it; Zuko was temporarily subdued. It was time we figured out what we should do. But it wasn't something we could accomplish when scattered.
"We understand", Suki assured me as the other girl rejoined the battle. Out on the main street, one of the Kyoshi warriors knocked a Fire Nation soldier flat on his back through the strength she placed behind her fand. "Go".
I started forward; planning on starting with grabbing Kaya. Since I at least had an idea where she was. But a last-minute thought had me turning back to Suki. "I just want to say-"
"There's no time", she cut me off.
I kept going anyway. "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like your just a girl when you're a warrior. I see that now".
As if forgetting the fire and fighting happening around us, Suki's face, despite the make-up, visibly softened. "I am a warrior", she said as she leaned in; pressing her lips against my cheek. It was the first kiss I ever received from someone I wasn't related to. When Suki pulled away, I was still due to shock. "But I'm a girl, too. You can be both, you know". Well… yeah, now I know! "Now, go!" Suki ordered. "Find your family".
And I did. Finding Katara, my sister, anxiously waiting on the back of our flying bison. Then Aang, our friend with his pet lemur, and finally Kaya… my fiancé. Who I've never kissed before… Kaya, who Suki didn't know was my fiancé… Oh, La! That foolish feeling was back again.
As I internally panicked about my unexpected girl problems, Aang filled me in on the plan. We were leaving; fleeing Kyoshi island in the hopes Zuko and his men would follow us and leave these people alone. It didn't feel right to risk them having to fight this battle alone. But we couldn't think of what else to do. And so, Appa flew with all of us on his back. We kept our eyes on Kyoshi island, watching the smoking and breathing in relief when was saw what looked like Zuko's ships leaving Kyoshi's shores. They'd be okay, Suki and her people. Hopefully.
Kaya and Katara started to relax. But I couldn't. Not as an unexpected realization kept repeating itself in my head over and over. I wasn't stuck in the South Pole anymore. Kaya wasn't the only girl out there. It… was a puzzling thought. And a small part of me hated myself for it… Kaya wasn't the only girl out there.