Seasons of Kyoshi
Part 3: A Kyoshi Autumn
Many mourned the loss of summer but Suki, especially this year, the year of her wedding to Sokka, was glad to see it go. The sea was churlish, dark blue and grey, the waves rough, the whitecaps predominant. Trees began their preparation for the cold months of winter, their leaves changing from green to magnificent shades of orange and red and yellow. The woods seemed afire with colour. Acorns and chestnuts littered the soft soil of the forest floor.
Long brown grass blew in the strong winds, making the fields look like tiny oceans of their own. The occasional sumac bush added splashes of orange or maroon and the odd raspberry cane, dried fruit clinging to its stems, peppered the open areas with bits of deep red.
The air was fresh and crisp, fragrant with wood smoke, especially in the evening. The cool embraced Suki, breathing new life into her despite the deep sleep that the plants and even some animals headed toward. It was her favorite season, had been since she was a child.
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Sokka's hard work, and Mai's, had paid off. The wedding was set for the following day and the Water Tribesman was preternaturally calm.
"You've got nothing to worry about, Suki. It's all taken care of." He puffed out his chest a bit, displaying pride in his accomplishment.
"I'm not worried, Sokka. My dress is perfect. The weather is incredible. Our friends and family are here. And I'm marrying you." She beamed at her lover. "Now, how about we take a walk?" The outside called to Suki. Soon enough, winter would close in and while she enjoyed that too, it did not have the same allure.
So they strolled, arm in arm, stopping to talk with curious villagers eager for a wedding. The Avatar along with Katara stood near a wooden footbridge Small children, entrance by Appa, gathered round the beast while Aang airbended them up, two at a time, allowing them to see their village from a different perspective.
"Hey," Katara waved, beckoning the couple over. When they were close enough, the waterbender embraced Suki and then her brother. "I'm so excited about tomorrow. It took you guys long enough."
"Remember, it's nothing fancy," Sokka warned her. "You'll have to wait until the Fire Lord's wedding for that."
Everyone gazed out at the humble Fire Nation ship anchored just outside the shallower waters of the bay. It waited to take Mai and Zuko back to the Fire Nation as soon as the festivities were over. The young Fire Lord couldn't afford to be away from his duties for more than a few days. At least, that's the way Zuko saw things. Mai had pushed for a week and been denied.
"I feel bad for them." Suki sighed. "Maybe they should just elope and have the huge ceremony after. What difference does it all make anyway?"
"They have to appease all the hoity toity nobles and the council and anyone else who thinks that tradition is more important than how Mai and Zuko feel. It sucks, but that's the way it is." Sokka's face fell as he explained his friends' dilemma but brightened again as his thoughts turned back to his own wedding. "But that's not going to stop me from enjoying our wedding."
"Well, I'm relieved to hear that, Sokka."
Sokka whirled about. "Why didn't you tell me that Mai and Zuko were right behind me?"
"It was too much fun not to." Suki put a comforting arm around her almost husband. "Don't worry; you didn't say anything to offend our royal friends. Did he, Mai?"
"Please, you've never spoken with my mother, have you? Now she offends me."
"Out for a walk too?" Aang inquired. "It's a beautiful day."
"We don't have much free time together, so we're enjoying every minute," Zuko answered. The Fire Lord gazed at his wife with a look unintentionally intimate. Mai's pulse picked up while everyone else felt slightly uncomfortable.
"Um, yeah, well, that's nice." Sokka cleared his throat and started to walk again, tugging Suki along with him.
Suki glanced over her shoulder. "Thanks again for lending a hand, Mai. We appreciate it."
"I was bored." Mai snickered and whispered to her lover. "I think you chased them off with that smoldering look."
"Oh," Zuko uttered, pink-faced. "Sometimes when I see you, everyone else ceases to exist."
"And Sokka got the oogies from you calling me 'sweetie'?" Shaking her head, Katara gave Aang a perplexed glance before turned back to Appa.
Mai and Zuko continued on their walk, taking the opposite direction from Suki and Sokka. With both couples feeling amorous, four would be a crowd.
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Suki's house was far too tiny to fit all the girls along with Katara and Mai and Toph. So rather than get ready there, her dress and a mirror and makeup and hair paraphernalia were all moved to the spacious dojo. A few of the Kyoshi Warriors paced about outside, making certain that Sokka did not get a sneak peak. He had a good idea of what the dressed looked like, but had not seen its final incarnation.
"I don't mind if he sees." Suki placed her hands on her hips. "Really, I mean it."
"No, you need that moment, Suki, when he lays his eyes on you in that dress, all perfect and gorgeous, walking toward him." Ty Lee was almost in tears contemplating a wedding without such a moment.
"Um, all right, Ty; relax. He won't see me until the ceremony. I promise." Suki flashed the young woman a brilliant smile.
The other Kyoshi Warriors were accustomed to the Fire Nation girl's enthusiasm for life in general and romance in particular. It had eluded her so far, but she enjoyed seeing the love lives of her friends flourish. Her effervescence was what made Ty Lee Ty Lee; and the warriors loved her for it. Every member had embraced the chi blocker and each of her quirks fully. They all had quirks of their own, after all.
The dress, a filmy green thing with a yellow silk sash, fell to just above Suki's ankles and revealed a bit of pale shoulders. It was lighter, sheerer than anything Suki had ever worn, and part of her felt daring. Another part felt a slight bit inappropriate. Nevertheless the dress was exquisite, lovelier than anything she had ever laid her big blue eyes upon.
Mai noticed her friend's discomfiture. "There's an under dress of sorts right here that covers the important parts." She smirked. Sokka wouldn't be long taking that off. "It's a slightly paler green and contrasts prettily."
"I'll take your word for it, Mai." She gave the raven haired woman a grateful smile.
Suki pulled on the first layer, Mai helping, making certain that nothing tore. Once that was smoothed and then smoothed down once more, the real dress went on. Everyone but Mai, who knew what the dress looked like, gasped. Ty Lee put a hand over her mouth before sighing at the romance of everything. Toph wished that she could see the dress and the bride, really see them. The earthbender felt everyone's happiness and enthusiasm, could hear it in their voices, but the rest was a bit of a mystery.
"Here, let me tie the sash." Mai, between functions attended while she lived at home, and her association with Zuko now, knew a lot about formal dress. "There, it's perfect." She stood back and admired her handiwork. "Sokka won't know what hit him. I mean that."
Her playful side getting the better of her, Suki spun about, and the green silk ballooned outward, encircling her in its richness and beauty. She felt like a princess and the smile that graced her face was far prettier than any dress could ever hope to be.
Another warrior, Suki's good friend for years, fixed her hair. It had already been curled, loose ones that bounced whenever the bride moved. Lanfen adjusted the tresses and then placed a simple hair pin, gold, in the shape of a flower, on one side.
"Oh, Suki; I'm so happy for you. Sokka better know how damned lucky he is."
"If he doesn't, I'll show him."
The girls smirked and giggled while Suki applied just a touch of makeup. It might be her wedding day, but she wanted to look like herself, not some strange, carnival version of Suki. The girls gathered around and inspected the red head, all of them giving their final approval.
"You guys look great too."
And they did; from Mai in her maroon sleeveless dress to Ty Lee in her pink skirt and matching tunic. As befitting the simplicity of the wedding, no one wore anything overly ornate and no one wanted to outshine the bride.
"Sokka will be waiting," Lanfen reminded her friend. She handed Suki her flowers, just two, sunflowers, the perennial variety* that were found here and there on the island. The soft, subdued yellow petals matched her dress perfectly.
Heading out of the dojo, the women walked, Suki in the lead, along the path to the village's main street. People stood outside their homes, cheering and waving, some throwing flower petals. The good will of her fellow villagers thrilled Suki. She smiled and waved back, calling out greetings to some of her favorite shopkeepers.
The men waited near the sea where a dais of sorts, a small wooden platform really, had been built expressly for the wedding. More sunflowers were scattered across the wood, cheerful dots of colour. A canopy of green silk waved in the gentle breeze. Upon a small table sat a delicate tea set, the oldest one in the village.
Sokka, dressed in a pale blue outer tunic and pants with a white shirt beneath, deep blue sash and new boots, black, wore an enormous grin and joy emanated from the young man in pulsing waves. Suki stepped up onto the platform and reached for her fiancé's hand. She was calm, happier than she could quite believe, but steady and eager to begin her life as Sokka's partner.
"Hey." He spoke in quiet tones. "The dress is so beautiful on you. Thanks for saying 'yes'."
"Did you doubt?" she asked just as softly.
"Maybe, a little, but that's just because you're too good for me."
Suki wanted to swat him but the timing was a bit off. "That's just stupid," she chided. She wouldn't pay any further attention to his insecurities. "Everyone looks so good; your father, Bato, Piandao, Mai and Zuko, everyone."
"I don't see anyone but you." It wasn't mere flattery or sweet words. Sokka's entire focus was Suki. Everyone and everything else looked more like smeared paint or something seen through a dirty window. And right now, they just did not matter.
Her cheeks a faint pink now, Suki directed her attention to the village elder. He would marry Sokka and Suki in front of their best friends and beloved family members. He would marry one to the other and so they would be joined for the remainder of their lives. Neither of them could wait to begin.
*yes, they do exist and they are lovely
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A/N: It feels a bit like a cheat not describing the actual wedding. But I've done my share of those and with enthusiasm for this story sort of wavering (me and reviewers), I simply couldn't be bothered. I do hope that the chapter was enjoyable anyway.