AUTHORS NOTE: I hope you are enjoying thus far… There isn't really a lot of information about Suki, and I'm trying really hard to do justice by her character. Well, here's chapter two… please review!
The next morning, Sokka came into my tent. Katara had already left to practice bending, but I didn't want to get up. I knew that we would leave in a couple hours to pick up Toph, but that didn't mean I had to wake up. Sokka wasn't dressed for the day either, but still wearing his loose linen pants he had picked up on the way out of the fire nation. His chest was deliciously bare, and when he laid down besides me, I was filled with his scent, and a sort of peace came over me as he wrapped his arms around me and snuggled into my blankets.
This was what I got when he felt bad, and I loved it.
"Good morning, Suki." He whispered, kissing the top of my head.
"Good morning." I replied, smiling and looking at his face. He wasn't ready to wake up, either, so we didn't speak anymore. Soon, he was asleep, and I was fast on my way.
Katara entered our shared tent, and when she saw us, I saw the look of surprise on her face. She blushed a little, but stayed quiet. I guess she didn't want to wake us up, which was nice. She probably guessed that Sokka had freaked out again- Katara was the one who I had gone to on advice for how to handle the situation, and she had been the first one to know about Sokka's method of making up. She had said that she did not want to know, but I was glad she did, otherwise she may have broken this apology party up.
I fell asleep moments after her exit.
I was the one who woke up first. I sat up slightly, just watching him sleep. He wasn't a pretty sleeper, it was true, but he was peaceful and steady. He didn't really snore as much as he used to, and whenever he was holding me he didn't move more than he had to. I stretched and kissed his cheek, then his other cheek, his nose, his forehead, his chin, and then his lips. He began to wake up when I sat up, and his hands grabbed my wrists and pulled me back down.
"Do we really have to get up now?" He whispered, not opening his eyes. I kissed his cheek again, then replied yes.
"Ugh… Oh, fine." he sat up too, and let go of my wrists so that he could rub his eyes. When he opened them, they were filled with grogginess and tenderness.
"I love you Suki." He leaned over and kissed me, then stood. He helped me up, and then wrapped me in his arms.
"I love you too, Sokka. Now go get ready. Katara was in here earlier, packing." He nodded, then left.
I looked around me, then fished my earth kingdom robes out of my bag. They were one of my two pairs of normal clothing, and I loved them. I was hoping to get more when I went back, since I had made a little bit of money helping small towns rebuild. After pulling the shirt and ankle length trousers on, I tied the robe part over, fastening it in the back wit ha one loop bow. I placed my fans into the modified pockets in my sleeves, and then I finished packing my bed roll and other possessions. I had so little that all of it could fit into one small bag. I thought of the other Kyoshi girls whose parents visited and corresponded with them, who gave them gifts on their birthdays. I had nothing from my parents. I took a deep breath, and decided that the greatest gift they could have given me was giving me to the Warriors. They had allowed me to become strong.
Katara bid me good morning, offering me a bowl of fruit. I took it, then carried my bags over to Aang, who was loading Appa up.
"Good morning Suki!" He said. He floated down and took my bags, then jumped up again. "heard you slept well!" I blushed a little. So Katara had told him… Oh well. It wouldn't be any sort of secret for much longer, especially with Toph there to feel out everyone's moves. Better they know now, I guess.
"Yep! I slept great. How about you?" I decided to reply with an easy acknowledgment of this fact and then move on.
"Uh… Just fine, I guess." He sounded a little confused, so I figured I had been successful. I left him then sat down on a large rock and ate my breakfast. After that, I washed the bowl in the stream that camp was next to, and placed it on the bolder again. I didn't know where to put it.
Katara and I disassembled the tent, then gave it to Aang. Sokka was the last one left, and he was soon approaching us with his tent and bags in hand. He didn't struggle anymore, like he used to. He had become much stronger over the year.
"Well good morning, Sokka!" Aang said. Maybe he was trying to get a reaction out of Sokka since I hadn't given him one. Sokka smiled at me.
"It has been a good one, indeed." I looked down at my feet, a little blush falling over my cheeks. We finished packing, then climbed onto Appa and set off.
The ride was long and dull, but we managed to make it to the little island Toph had secluded herself on. It was sincerely the smallest island I had seen in a very long time. Finding the little house she had made was easy- I spotted it from the air.
It was a giant sandcastle. She had mastered sand bending too. The structure was ornate- a building made out of material she understood, so she could see every detail. It was covered in swirls and other designs, including what I recognized as the flying boar from her family's crest, and a neat border of Earth Kingdom insignia.
The thing I failed to see was the small village behind her palace. There were lots of men loitering around, some sifting through the sand, others practicing their mastery of it. As soon as we were flying over, they were up and prepared to attack us. But Toph's voice stopped them.
"No, you idiots! These are my friends! Stand down!" She had apparently learned how to pick up even more minute vibrations. Sokka had told me that in the desert, she had had issues seeing, and that's why she couldn't prevent Appa's kidnap- the sand benders had been able to sneak up on her. When the library had begun to sink, she had had to choose between her friends and Appa. She had saved their lives, and they were all grateful.
Aang stepped down first, and Toph immediately recognized his light foot steps.
"Twinkle Toes!" She ran out and gave him a hug. They laughed together for a second, then separated. When Katara dropped out of the saddle, the same greeting happened. Sokka jumped down, and I followed close behind. While Sokka landed heavily and as though out of practice (he probably wasn't used to stealth landings anymore… well, sneaky anything had never really been his thing), I landed almost as lightly as the avatar did, and he defied gravity. I was a little proud.
"Sokka, and Suki! Ha, its been a while, hasn't it?" She said, hugging me as well. I knew Toph wasn't one for affection, so she had to have missed us pretty bad. And she and I had never actually gotten close… I though she resented me because of Sokka. I guess not!
"It sure has! I see you've mastered sand, Sifu Toph." Aang said. She smiled.
"course I have, Twinkle Toes! I am the greatest earth bender in the world, after all." She loved to toot her own horn, but she was the greatest. Nobody else could handle the Dai Li like she did.
Rumor had it that during their time on the island, she had beat the stupid out of them. They were terrified of her, and they were more scared of her than they were of death. They also were rumored to be even more threatening and powerful, but only on her command. The earth king, Kuei, had ejected them from Ba Sing Se in a second- when they arrived by boat ( we weren't actually picking Toph up, but we were joining her), they would be back for the first time in a year. I wasn't sure if any of them had children or families, but if they did, they would get to see them. They were also going to be acting as the Avatar's and Fire Lord's body guards during the festival.
"Come on, I'll show you my castle. The boat is going to be here for us tomorrow morning, so I built you guys some temporary lodgings inside." Toph told us. I think she was really excited to have this thing that she had created on her own, this place where she was at a greater advantage than any of us. She was excited to show us her fortress, one of her favorite accomplishments.
"Toph, I like your sand castle! Its so… sand castle-y." Sokka said. I rolled my eyes behind his back.
"Um.. Thanks." She replied. Sokka wasn't good at jokes most days. When he didn't try he was really funny. We walked through a curtain, like they had covering the doors in the South Pole, and into a gorgeous throne room type thing. She had mimicked the lay out of the earth king's palace, and created one giant, ornate room. The main wall was covered in the same sort of piping, and designed after a badger mole as well. She seemed to have made it more wild, because the pipes, upon closer inspection, turned out to be vines. The pillars that held up the sand ceiling were tree trunks, and their tops were the ceiling. When Toph said mastered, she meant it. Every single leaf was detailed perfectly, all the vines looked natural, everything worked out well. We were all impressed.
"This is my room. Here is Katara and Suki's, and here is Aang and Sokka's." She stamped her foot and motioned her palms upward, and suddenly, the walls opened. Katara and I walked in, and found a room covered in cushions. On the left wall, there was a giant water nation symbol, and below it, hung on a peg, was a vial of water. Katara rushed over to it and opened it.
"It's spirit water!" She held the string of the vial tightly and ran out the door. I looked into my corner and found new plate armor. When Azula and the other girls had stolen our uniforms, the had managed to destroy my armor, and our smith was no longer able enough to make armor. I've been using uncomfortable practice armor since then. After disrobing, I removed my Kyoshi uniform from my bag and replaced all the beaten and scratched plate armor from the loops inside of the dress, the put it on. I ran out to the main room again.
"Toph, how did you know?" I asked her. She smiled.
"you like it? I didn't really know what to get you, so I sent a messenger hawk to Sokka. He said that new plate armor would be good. So it fits alright? I had to use my memory of the old armor's shape, so I wasn't too sure."
"it's perfect! Ha-ha, thanks so much!" I didn't really want to hug her, so patted her on the shoulder. She punched me in return, So I guess I had become worthy of this little girl's affection. I went into Sokka's room and looked at him. He too had gotten new armor.
"Suki! Can you help me with this?" He asked. I nodded, and he pulled his shirt off. "Here are the pads, they have to go on first." He slipped his arms into the holes of the blue piece of fabric, and I laced it up. Next he handed me the chest and back plate, which I tied on the side. He placed his shoulder piece over his head, then the helmet.
"How do I look?" He asked, flexing his bare arms. I laughed, because he didn't have bulky muscles. He had strong sinewy ones, that were a little to skinny for flexing like that.
"Fierce!" I replied, still laughing a little. "How do I look?"
"You got new armor too? I can't even tell!" He smiled. " But that's because it attaches to the inside. Its plate armor, fortified steel, just like mine. Toph made them herself!" My eyes widened for a moment. The girl had skills!
Aang was still in the corner, looking at his gift.
"Well, what'd you get, Aang?" I asked him. He turned, and we saw him holding a square of earth.
"What is that?" Sokka asked.
"It's a secret box! It can only be opened through earth bending." I put it down and did some sequence of moves, and then the box literally fell to pieces. Laying in the rubble was a medallion and a message. Katara and Toph soon entered.
"What are those, Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked. He looked at her.
"didn't you put these in here?" He asked, incredulous.
"no. All I did was make the box. I though you might like a place to hide your secrets." She shrugged. "It's kinda hard shopping for the avatar, who is also a monk, and can have anything he wants."
"The box is awesome." He agreed.
"What does the scroll say?" Katara asked, sitting herself beside Aang.
"Aang,
We are so proud of you. You have officially become one of us, and we believe that you deserve this medallion. Wear it with pride.
Also, we had to tell you that we are not gone. We are wherever you are… But you must discover us. We are waiting for you.
- Giatsu" Aang looked up at us.
"The monks… aren't extinct! My people did not all die!" He exclaimed happily. He then picked up the medallion and placed it over his head. "We have to find them, guys."
