Sailing the south sea, Prince Zuko meditated in his quarters in front of four candles, controlling the rate that they burned at with his breathing. His eyes remained closed until his door creaked open. "The only reason you should be interrupting me, is if you have news about the Avatar." Zuko said, already aware of who was at the door.
"Well, it's news, but you probably won't like it." His uncle Iroh said.
"We're lost aren't we?" Sokka asked, pantsless, as he read over the 100 year old map Korra had found in Appa's saddle.
"Uhhhh." Korra looked around, seeing nothing but water for miles. "Well, I guess you have to be well and truly lost to go someplace you've never been." She shrugged.
"Of course, the girl with the flying bison doesn't know how to read a map… How typical." Sokka said.
"Do you want to be the navigator or something?" Korra asked.
"Can you read a compass?" Sokka asked.
"Yes, I can read a compass." Korra said with an eye roll, as Sokka fished around in his bag.
"Aha." Sokka said, as he found the magnetic navigation device, and crawled past his sister to sit on Appa's neck with Korra. "Ok, so have we been traveling in a straight line since we left The Southern air temple?" Sokka asked, as he looked over the map.
"Uh… I think so." Korra shrugged.
"Right, well if we kept the same course, then Kyoshi Island should be dead ahead of us." Sokka said. "And hopefully by then Katara will be done sewing my pants back together."
Katara looked up and eyed her brother. "I'm sorry, do you have a problem with how long it's taking?" She asked.
"I mean, yeah, a little. It's pretty cold out, I'm sans pants, and you're a girl so you should be good enough at sewing to be done by now." Sokka said.
"Right, and as a boy, you should be good enough at reading a map for us to not be lost in the middle of the sea." Katara said.
"Exactly… Wait." Sokka said.
"Actually, I think I can see land." Korra said, as she held a hand to her brow up to block the sun.
Katara and Sokka looked up into the distance to see an island not too far from them.
Just as Korra landed Appa, she jumped off, and pulled her arms over her head. "Alright, inland we go." Korra said, as she started walking, the other's trailing behind her.
"So, Kyoshi Island huh?" Katara asked.
"Is this just like every other uninhabited piece of land we've stayed at so far, or is there something that makes this place special?" Sokka asked.
"Well, there's a few villages further inland, so maybe we can sleep inside for once." Korra said.
"You said this place's name before, in the Air Temple, Kyoshi… She was one of your past lives, right?" Katara asked.
"Something like that, but I don't know anything about her other than she's got a group of warriors and the island named after her." Korra said.
"Warriors named after a woman, right." Sokka said.
"Oh come on Sokka, she was an Avatar." Korra said, as she turned and looked back at Sokka before she felt like an ant bit her on her left arm. Sliding her hand up to where the pain came from, Korra found a small splinter of wood lodged in her exposed left tricep, and as she pulled it free, she became woosy. "Oh." She said, before collapsing face first into the snow and dirt.
Shortly after, both Sokka and Katara felt tiny wooden darts hit them in the cheek and forehead respectively.
When the three woke up next, they found themselves with bags over their heads, and their wrists tied to a study pole behind them.
"What happened?" Katara asked, as Korra pulled against her ropes.
"We got ambushed, that's what happened." Korra said, giving up on the rope pulling.
"You three have some explaining to do." A voice said from in front of the three.
"And if you don't answer all of our questions, we're throwing you in the bay with the unagi." A feminine second voice spoke, slightly to the left.
"Show yourselves cowards!" Sokka demanded. The bags were removed from their heads and Sokka looked around, finding an elderly man in blue, and several girls in green robes and face paint. "Who are you, and where are the men who ambushed us?" He asked.
"There were no men, we ambushed you. Now tell us who you are, and what you're doing here." The girl in the front ordered.
"Wait a second, there's no way a bunch of girls ambushed us." Sokka said with a chuckle as Korra sighed.
"A bunch of girls huh?" The leader in green asked, grabbing Sokka by his parka.
Korra rolled her eyes. "Sorry, don't listen to him, I haven't kicked his ass yet." She said, catching the leader's attention. "My name's Korra, and this is probably going to sound crazy, but I'm the Avatar."
"That's impossible, the last Avatar was an Air Nomad, and they disappeared almost 100 years ago." The lead girl said.
"Yeah, well, I reincarnated. Water is the next nation in the cycle." Korra shrugged.
The old man narrowed his eyes at the three. "Throw these imposters to the unagi."
Korra groaned. "Just can't take my word for it." She said, before inhaling deeply, and then blowing out all the air she could, causing a gust of wind to blow several of the girls in green back off their feet, earning astonished looks from everyone. "See, air bending and everything." Korra said with a smirk.
The three were quickly unbound, and welcomed into the village, and as a special treat, the next morning a breakfast feast was prepared in Korra's honor. A breakfast which Korra indulged in with much gusto, wolfing down as much as she could.
"Well someone's hungry." Katara commented, as Korra stuffed almost a fistfull of pork sausage in her mouth.
"Are you kidding, I haven't eaten since yesterday." Korra said as she chewed. "Gotta get more protein to sustain this kinda figure." She flexed her right arm.
"Right…" Katara said, fixated on Korra's bicep, as it strained against the patterned arm band she wore.
Korra looked over at Sokka, and noticed he wasn't eating. "What's wrong, man?" She asked.
"Not hungry." Sokka grumbled.
"Upset that the Kyoshi warriors kicked your ass?" Korra asked.
"They snuck up on me." Sokka said defensively.
"Hey, whatever works." Korra said.
"Exactly, it's a cowardly womanly thing to do, and that's why it doesn't count." Sokka said, as she stood up, and left the room.
Korra picked a little bit of animal fat from between her teeth with her tongue, then spat it onto the nearest plate, before she wiped her hands on the back of her pants, and stood up. "Alright, well I'm going to go make sure your brother doesn't get himself tarred and feathered." Korra said.
"Thank you… And we should really leave before word gets around that we're on the island. Staying in one place for too long might be dangerous with the Fire Nation looking for you."
"Right, gotta stay light on our feet." Korra said, as she pointed at Katara, before leaving the room.
Korra caught up to Sokka as he walked up a hillside trail towards the Kyoshi Warrior dojo. "What're ya' doin'?" Korra asked, now in lock step with Sokka.
"I'm gonna show these girls a thing or two." Sokka said.
"Oh yeah, this is gonna' be funny." Korra said to herself.
The two entered the dojo, and the lead girl, along with five other warriors, stopped going through their motions, to take notice of The Avatar and Sokka. "Sorry." Sokka said. "Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lessons. I was just wondering if there was anywhere around here to get in a workout."
"Well, you're in the right place." The lead girl said. "I'm sorry about yesterday. Had I known Korra was The Avatar, we wouldn't have attacked you."
"It's alright." Sokka chuckled. "I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you're a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."
Korra made eye contact with the leader of the troop, and sucked her lips in, waiting for the inevitable, as she tried not to laugh. "I would hope no." The lead girl said. "A big strong man like you, in pitched combat we wouldn't stand a chance."
"True." Sokka said as he crossed his arms. "But after all I'm the best warrior in my village."
"Best warrior huh?" The lead girl asked. "You wouldn't mind showing us a thing or two then?"
"Well…" Sokka said, looking back at Korra who gave him a grin and two thumbs up. "I guess I could." Sokka stanced up, and pulled a fist back. "Ok, so this one is a little tricky, but try to stop me." Sokka charged, swung his left fist instead of his telegraphed right, and was promptly grabbed by his incoming left fist, the left side of his hip, and his momentum was turned against him. Flipping head over heels, Sokka was tossed clean onto his back in one fluid motion.
Korra burst into laughter, as Sokka rubbed his head. "Hawhat happened?" Sokka asked.
Korra coughed twice into her fist to stop laughing. "You got your ass kicked by a girl in pitched combat." She said, still chuckling a little, the other girls laughing at Sokka, who grew red in the face, before Korra held a hand out for him to take. Humbled, Sokka accepted Korra's assistance.
"You wouldn't mind teaching me how to do that, would you?" Korra asked. "I know that sounds weird, since I'm The Avatar and all, but… I kinda suck at bending right now, and I'd really appreciate learning a few non-bender fighting techniques."
"I'd gladly show The Avatar the ways of the Kyoshi Warrior. I'm Suki." The leader of the troop said, as she gave a bow to Korra.
"It's nice to meet you, Suki." Korra bowed back to the shorter girl. "But, I have another request on top of that." Korra said.
"Oh, and what would that be?" Suki asked.
"Would it be ok if Sokka was permitted to train as well?" Korra asked, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know he's been a jerk, but I got a feeling we can beat it out of him."
"Hmmmm." Suki hummed. Sokka looked down at his feet. "At the least the art form would instill a little respect… But if he's going to learn the ways of Kyoshi, then he's going to have to follow all of our traditions."
"I'd… I'd be honored." Sokka said.
"How do you fight in this?" Sokka asked, as he pulled on the long skirt of the Kyoshi warrior's dress he wore.
"Yeah, I'm not exactly sold on this either…" Korra said, having worn a full skirt probably three times in her life. "The overcoat and armor's fine, but I don't feel comfortable moving my legs in a skirt this long. It creates a lot of drag."
"It's the uniform Kyoshi created for us nearly 365 years ago." Suki said. "The silk layers provide resistance to piercing thrusts, and allows for the use of hidden pockets. It also conceals the wearer's legs, which can give an enemy information about your next strike, as all power in attacks, and all movement in redirection starts in the ground."
"Mind game type stuff huh?" Korra asked.
"Exactly." Suki said. "Our art is all about using an enemy's momentum against them in defense, and striking when opportunities present themselves in offense."
"Sounds kinda like a mixture of water bending and earth bending… You know, but with fans and swords instead of water and rocks." Korra said.
"The two forms are actually where Kyoshi drew inspiration from when creating our art." Suki said.
"Huh… I never would have known that." Korra said with a raised eyebrow.
As the hours went by, Sokka progressed through the unarmed forms of the Kyoshi Warrior martial practice, as Korra, like she did with many physical things, had advanced past him, and was beginning to learn how to properly align the edge of a fan for cutting with it.
Suki had the two students practice their respective forms on each other, being a basic fan strike, and a basic unarmed block, and observed as Sokka successfully kept the fan blade away from his neck.
"Not bad you two." Suki said, before footsteps in the snow outside alerted them to someone rapidly approaching.
The village elder came into the doorframe. "The Fire Nation has landed on our shores! Girls come quickly!" He said, before taking off.
Suki bolted out the door, Korra shortly following, only after grabbing the nearest sword from off it's stand, Momo flying after them from his spot lurking up in the rafters. Sokka stomped his foot. "I'm not a… Oh forget it, I'm wearing the dress." He said, before picking up his skirt and running to catch up with the girls.
At the village entrance, four komodo rhinos, and their seven riders, came to a stop just past the gate, and the statue of Kyoshi. Prince Zuko shouted out to the village, as people ducked into their homes. "Come out Avatar! You can't hide from me forever." After a moment without a response, Zuko looked to his left and right. "Find her."
Three of the rhinos advanced, as the fourth lagged behind slowly, The Prince keeping his eye out for any signs of movement, before turning his attention to the rooftops, as four figures dropped onto his men, pulling three of them from their mounts. The fourth, wielding a sword, sliced at a spearman, only for him to block the attack with the shaft, as the girl landed on his steed, and kicked him in the chest, which sent him flailing off of his rhino and onto his back. Pulling her sword free, the girl locked eyes with Zuko, and he saw through the disguise she wore. Those pale blue eyes, the high ponytail, and her tall figure.
"You." Zuko said through his teeth.
"Ready for round two?" Korra asked, before she jumped off the back of the komodo rhino, and ran along the awnings of the village's buildings to reach him. Jumping off the last awning, Korra swung her blade down, as Zuko shot a blast of red flames at her. Her armor let her power through the gauging attack, as she brought the blade down. Zuko rolled off his ride, before ducking down as Korra swiped at him, her blade skimming a shaving of bronze off the ornamental crest of his helmet.
Korra dropped down, as Zuko rolled back, and swept the ground, his feet trailing fire. Wading through the attack, her skirt being singed near the feet, Korra pressed forward, and swiped at Zuko twice more, only for him to block the attacks with his arm guards. Thinking creatively, Korra spun, and jumped up into a sweeping kick, sending a wave of air out that knocked Zuko onto his back. "You know, originally I didn't want to hurt you, but you really need your ass kicked. So have you had enough yet?" She asked, raising her sword again.
"Hardly." Zuko said, as he stood up, and created two fire daggers. Lunging forward, Zuko swiped at Korra, who ducked, and dove into a roll away from a flurry of quick attacks, before she saw an opening, and swung her blade into Zuko's back, hitting his armor plate and knocking him over.
On his face, Zuko rolled over onto his back, and spun his feet around, gaining momentum, before propping himself up on his hand, and kicking outwards. Zuko trailed fire behind his feet as he spun faster, sending several waves out wildly in every direction. Jumping into the air with the assistance of her airbending, Korra slowly descended, the skirt slowing her fall, letting her look around. The other warriors fended off the soldiers in the village, as the wood and thatch buildings began to burn. They were slowly losing, not the battle, but the war for the town and the civilian's safety.
Landing softly, Korra looked up to the sky as Appa, with Sokka, Katara and Momo all aboard, flew overhead and landed near the statue of Kyoshi. "Come on Korra we have to go!" Sokka shouted.
Looking between the burning village behind her, and her friends just beyond Zuko, Korra grit her teeth. "No…" She muttered. "Not yet." Sheathing her blade, Korra gripped the scabbard it was now housed in, before pulling a single fan free from her cloth belt. Korra closed her eyes, and sucked in as much air as she could. As her eyes shot open, Korra bolted forward at an inhuman speed, the skirt of her uniform flapping behind her, as she ran with all the power of the wind, passing Zuko so fast that he was caught in her jetstream, and fell over.
Exhaling, She deployed the fan in her hand and swept it along with her as she ran, pulling the air around the village with her, sucking it away, before spinning and directing it all back towards the raging fires with all the force of a hurricane, taking enough oxygen away that the flame could no longer feed itself, and as the wind died down, the fire died out.
Nearly everyone caught in the gale had fallen over, and by the time they were picking themselves up, Korra had already closed her fan, and jumped onto Appa. She smirked making eye contact with Zuko. "Catch me if you can, Short Fuse!" She shouted mockingly as the bison flew west towards the sunset.
Zuko stood up, and looked around at his bedraggled men. "Back to the ship. After the bison!"
High above the sea, Korra smirked to herself.
"That was crazy! How'd you learn to put out a fire by fanning it?!" Sokka asked Korra.
The Avatar shrugged with a small smile. "An old friend taught me."