Chapter Six: The Island Of Kyoshi, Part Two
Soft, pale moonlight filtered weakly through the trees as the shadowed figure left her post and discreetly melted into the shadows, following in the direction the distraught young Avatar had run. Her blue civilian's dress swished lightly around her ankles as she walked through the grass, and the cold dew that had been forming up on the blades caught at her hem and stained the geometric pattern in uneven blotches. She paused, taking a steadying breath and put a hand on her freshly wrapped ribs before taking a slower, more cautious pace as she passed the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo and climbed the hill before her, replaying the whole overheard conversation in her mind and snorting derisively. Sacrilegious numskull. Didn't he know he was wrong to speak to the Avatar, the bridge between the worlds and bringer of justice and peace, so disrespectfully? Who cares if he's feeling snubbed?
Respect for one's family and their betters was paramount here on Kyoshi Island, and so far Suki remained thoroughly unimpressed with the Avatar's brother- even after hearing him beat himself up for saying what he did. She left after it had become quiet in the room (it sounded like he was speaking to someone other than himself, the weirdo) with the half formed plan to find the Avatar and apologize for her brother, and see if she could help in any way.
Suki frowned to herself as she paused once again, cursing the hinderance of her ribs as she stopped to think about her hasty actions. What was it she was really doing? Offering comfort and apologizing for that moron of a brother seemed a little bold, come to think of it. Was it right to go and talk to the world's most powerful being without asking the permission of Oyaji or the sages?
Don't be stupid, She scolded herself with a snort, pushing herself forward and ignoring the persistent twinges. No one else had heard the row- someone had to make sure things were set right, and that stupid donkeygoat of a boy certainly wasn't going to be able to fix it at this point.
Cresting the top of the hill at last, Suki let out a relived breath, leaning against the great oak torii that acted as a gateway as she looked up at the lone building before her. She was strangely unsurprised that Avatar Katara had sought out refuge inside the sacred shrine dedicated to Avatar Kyoshi. Perhaps something in her recognizes a familiar place, even if she doesn't know it, She thought, a little awed at the idea. After all, legend had it that this was originally Kyoshi's house before her death.
Placing her fingers to her forehead and lips, the warrior reverently touched the gilded sacred text engraved on the inside pillars of the torii before quietly entering the shrine's tidy grounds, and finally the dim interior of the shrine itself.
What she found there shook every one of her preconceptions of the Avatar and it's current incarnation.
The Avatar had not, as Suki had imagined, been storming off in a rage that needed to be quenched and soothed before someone got hurt. Instead, the water tribe girl had curled up in a miserable ball underneath the area where Kyoshi's robes hung on display, with her face buried in her knees and her long, heavily wavy hair shrouding the rest of her face from view as she... cried. She looked ridiculously young and small in the moonlight that streamed through the doorway, and for a moment it was hard for Suki to believe that she was only a year younger than herself. The picture struck her as different than what she'd imagined for the Avatar, and it made her extremely uncomfortable. The past Avatars in all the sages' stories never seemed to cry- she had assumed whenever they got offended, someone was going to be on the wrong end of the Avatar Spirit's powerful rage. It never occurred to her that Avatars could even be capable of crying like a little kid. She certainly never imagined Avatar Kyoshi crying over anything, no matter how hurt she might have been.
Looking at the younger girl as she wept, however, made Suki realize that Katara was just a kid, not just the human packaging that held the Avatar Spirit. She was fully human with human emotions alongside the mysterious, deeply layered part that made up her Avatar Spirit. She's no different than Koko, or even myself. She realized, a little startled by the idea, She has a right to cry, and it shouldn't be strange to see her get her feelings hurt by stupid older brothers.
Realizing she was staring (and intruding on a good cry to boot), Suki debated whether or not to leave the girl alone. However, a creaky floorboard made up her mind for her as she took a step back, and she winced as the water tribe girl startled violently. Katara's head shot up with a gasp, her wet blue eyes widening fearfully before she scrambled to her feet and started to raise her hands in obvious warning. Suki hurriedly raised her own hands in a soothing gesture despite the sharp bite of fire it sent along her ribs. "It's okay, it's just me!"
The younger girl blinked, and seemed to need a moment to remember who Suki was before she lowered her arms, her embarrassed blush visible even within the dimness of the room. "Suki?" She rasped, quickly wiping her face with her sleeve and guiltily looking away from Suki's gaze. "What... what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?"
A sardonic smile crossed Suki's face as her right hand unconsciously strayed to her tender left side. "I was, but I was released after I got wrapped up, and I had a personal mission to find your brother and make him pay for my dessert he stole." He took my favorite kind too, the bastard... "Kamajii said that I should be fine, as long as I don't get airbent at or enter into any fights."
"Oh." Katara stepped closer towards Suki and the door, and Suki was disheartened to see the underlying misery in the younger girl's features, even with the obvious overtones of concern as the girl grimaced apologetically. "Sorry again about airbending at you like that. I hope you didn't end up getting any broken ribs."
She casually waved it away, though the effect was rather unconvincing as she fought a wince at the pain that simple motion caused. "Nah, they're just bruised. Thankfully my chest plating took a lot of the force, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been." The Kyoshi Warrior frowned a little as she decided to come clean with why she was here. "I was on my way over to where you and your brother were staying when I heard you guys fighting. Are... are you okay?"
Obviously not, but it was the only thing Suki could think of to say to break this awkward spell between them.
Katara looked mortified. "You heard all of that?"
"...Yeah. Sorry."
"It's... it's alright. I suppose someone else could have heard it too, with how loud it got at the end." Katara's gaze traveled over the relics in the shrine, studying them intently in an attempt to get a hold of herself and her wavering emotions. Her hand absently reached out to touch Avatar Kyoshi's war fans on their current resting place on the wall, and Suki swore she saw the tiniest glow flicker deep within the water tribe girl's eyes- so faint and brief, she wondered if it was merely a trick of the moonlight. Katara herself seemed to be unaware of it as she continued in a dejected murmur. "Sokka was right, you know. He has nothing to be jealous over."
The words stunned the young warrior, as effectively as if they had been plastered to a stone wall and had abruptly slammed into her. "But, you're the Avatar! It's the greatest honor in the whole world!"
The water tribe girl's lips twitched into a curiously grim smile. "I know. As the Avatar I'm supposed to be a hero, and I guess by title alone you would think I would be. Back at home though, we had celebrations whenever our hunters and warriors got back from a successful hunt, along with a boy's Ice Dodging, or to celebrate a holiday. Being honored here like this, with a feast and everything even though I haven't done anything worth mentioning yet... well..."
She trailed off helplessly. Her gaze, though shrouded in literal shadows from the dim light the moon provided through the doorway, seemed to darken as she finally looked at the panoramic painting covering the entire back wall that was highlighted by the moon's glow. Her previous life seemed to be benevolently addressing her people with a hand raised, as if bestowing a blessing or benediction. "I'm not the beautiful warrior woman Kyoshi must have been." Katara mumbled morosely, "I have done nothing worth honoring at all. I'm not a hero."
Suki paused and bit her lip as she wondered how she could possibly help the situation, and after a few minutes, an idea occurred to her and a smile spread across her pale features. She laid a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "You know, you might not be a warrior just yet, but you will be the greatest warrior alive when you've mastered the elements! That alone is honor enough, and it's even more of an honor that you will be ending a war that's lasted almost a century! Besides, we all need time to learn, and to grow. That's why I train so hard myself, because the leadership of the Kyoshi warriors will pass on to me someday." She nudged Katara forward, and the two walked back out of the dimly lit shrine and into the open air. The moon's pale glow reflected on the ocean below the cliffs and threw everything into sharp contrast, and it highlighted the growing excitement in the islander's eyes as the idea rolling around in her head tumbled out into the open. "If you want, you could stay here for a bit before you go- the Kyoshi Warriors have a lot of techniques that Avatar Kyoshi herself used in battle, and some are based off of waterbending. We could teach you before you head out to the North Pole!"
Suki's enthusiasm was enough to chase away the last of Katara's self pity, and the idea proved too tempting to pass up. "You guys would really do that?" She asked, hope brightening her countenance.
The Kyoshi Warrior grinned back as they passed under the torii and left the shrine behind. "Of course! We normally don't train outsiders, but as the Avatar I'm sure you are the exception. Besides," Suki's smile grew into a rather wicked looking smirk, "We'll even teach your brother a few lessons as well."
Day 249, on board the Interceptor
We are three days away from enemy General Fong's base, the only thing that stands in our way to the HangZhou inlet that our troops will need to gain direct access to Omashu. My men are preparing themselves for battle, and I'm most confident that the Interceptor will be the best ship to spearhead this advance. Given the reports I've received from my scouts, the Earth Kingdom base will not be any match for our trébuchets or fire benders. It almost saddens me to think of the poor General's loss.
Our firebenders have been training rigorously as per my orders under Lieutenant Cheng. Private Pao, a newer recruit, was moderately burned during tonight's training and is currently in the infirmary. I am told he should make a full recovery, though his skin will undoubtedly be scarred. Hopefully, this will not harm his chances of scoring a wife later when we return home, victorious.
Pausing to dip his high quality fireferret brush in the ink, Captain Zhao smirked at the last sentence. Pao's thoroughly scorched backside would be a most unpleasant surprise for any maiden to find on her wedding night, though the poor fool would otherwise make a good, if dreadfully dull, husband. Taking a sip of his cooling tea, he set to completing the entry in the log before heading out to the deck to practice himself, and make sure the trébuchets were in good order.
Tonight's supper was plainer fare than usual, due to our shortage of fresh meat; spicy ocean kumquat sauce on a bed of rice, with a side of pickled winter melon. We will have to restock higher quality tea as well, since we are now reduced to using a suspiciously substandard Orange Peko. Perhaps Ginseng and Jasmin should be added to our tea stores. Once the battle is over, I will see to it that we keep the inlet clear, and allow ground forces to take control of this area properly.
Captain Zhao, long live Fire Lord!
"You can't keep avoiding him forever, you know."
Katara's features, already arranged into a frown of concentration as she worked a set of airbending forms out in the yard in the dim early morning light, deepened into irritation at Aang's gentle scolding.
"Watch me."
Aang called out a different form, and Katara slid from the 'Lion Turtle Embraces the Ball' to a set of rapid fire jets of air from her hands called the 'Seven Star Palm Strike' with practiced ease, though the dark circles under her eyes and the slightest sluggishness in her movements testified at how little sleep she had gotten during the night. Aang had anxiously waited over an hour for her last night before she came sneaking back in, and though she had was significantly calmer, it was highly apparent that she was going to hold a bitter grudge against her brother for a long time, having cataloged and filed away every one of his words for future reference during the time she was gone. She had wearily murmured something to Aang about talking to one of the warrior girls before she fell asleep, her back turned stubbornly away from Sokka's sleeping form.
Five hours and one horrifying comet themed nightmare later, Katara was now employing the use of the dawn's relative privacy to go and escape her brother (and the villager's stifling attention) by practicing her bending before breakfast would inevitably force her to face both her brother and her overly enthusiastic fans. Oyaji had passed by a few minutes ago, pausing to watch with palpable awe before he went on his business, but now the yard was devoid of everyone except the two young Avatars.
Aang sighed, and tried once again. "What I mean is, you need to forgive him sometime. We'll be leaving here sooner or later, and trust me, a bison's back is a pretty small place to be when you're mad." He stood, and absently began to dance in a random hopping pattern along the sharped points of the log fencing that framed the yard, studying her with a slightly pleading expression as he paused, balancing with one foot in the air, on the sixth pole. "He said he was sorry, and he even told me he was sorry once you left!"
"I don't care," Katara ground out, sending a particularly harsh gust of wind at the ground, sending dust and grit in all directions before balling her fists and dropping her form to sulk childishly, "He wouldn't have said those things if he didn't mean them, deep down. I can't just forget about it, like it was never said."
"No, but you can forgive him."
She shrugged, huffing a sigh and turning her back to him. "Same thing."
"No, it's not." Aang twisted his body around until both feet were resting on the fencing before he floated down and walked over to her side. He met her tired, bitter gaze and managed to hold it, having had years of practice in getting her to willingly hear what he had to say. "There's no such thing as 'forgive and forget', Katara. The Monks always said that was not only impossible, but foolish, because you'd be trying to lie to yourself that whatever was said or done to hurt you never happened. You'll never be able to forget things... but you can forgive them. That's the whole virtue of forgiveness- you do it willingly and freely, even though you were hurt." He frowned a little when he noticed her expression darken, and threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "Okay, maybe not right now, but before we leave. We've only just started our trip! You can't be angry for weeks on end!"
If Katara had gotten more sleep, and had a clearer mind over the matter, she would have reluctantly agreed and let it drop. Thankfully, before she could open her mouth and carelessly ask him what he knew of forgiveness and being hurt, she was interrupted by a muffled fit of childish giggles coming from just beyond the yard. Looking up, Katara noticed a knot of little girls not too far away, all ranging from five to ten years old, staring at her quizzically and hiding their giggles as they caught their new found heroine seemingly talking to herself. A little girl (who looked remarkably similar to Suki when she was wearing her civilian's dress) stepped forward as soon as they realized they had been caught staring, tossing her cropped auburn hair and flouncing her skirt in what the the child assumed was a most grown up fashion. "You can airbend really good!" She chirped boldly, tiny hands propped on her hips and her head held high. "Do some more bending!"
The rest of the girls flocked closer, emboldened by the brash little girl who Katara would know later as Koko, all echoing the same wish to see more bending, and asking if she could do more than airbend.
"Can you do earthbending?" Asked the tallest, clasping her hands together delightedly.
"Do some firebending!" The one with the ponytail cried, "Mama says it's bad for anyone to do it, but said that you can do it, and when you do it it's okay!"
"Show us all your bending! There's no one on the whole Island who can show us anything!"
"Yeah, you're from the South Pole, show us some waterbending!"
"Yeah, make it rain, or do bubbles for us! That'd be fun!"
Katara couldn't hold back her grin- she hadn't realized how much she missed having to look after some of the little kids back home. Maybe these girls wouldn't be quite so rabid in their adulation as their parents and elders, and prove to be normal little girls. And it wasn't so grating to be asked to give a bending demonstration by her new little fan group as it was by everyone else... maybe because the girls were innocent in asking, and not eying Katara and judging her abilities and seeing if they would be enough to win the war, as she suspected some of the adults were doing. At least none of them are foaming at the mouth, She thought, fighting a chuckle at the thought.
She glanced over at Aang, and he gave her a cheery thumbs up. "Why not? It's been a long time since you've done bending for fun instead of training. You could use a break!"
Katara smiled at him gratefully, stuffing their earlier disagreement into the back of her mind and resolving to talk to him later, and apologize for being a brat. She turned to the little girls and decided to have a little fun with them. "You know, funny you should mention bubbles..." She grinned slyly, wiggling her fingers behind her back and summoning the soapy water from the wash basin she had brought out earlier (for the purpose of washing away the sweat and grime of bending practice before breakfast). She streamed the water forward with a little curling flourish that elicited some oohs of wonder. "I just happen to have some soapy water right here, but I'm not good enough to make it bubble by myself yet." Her eyes sparked with mischief as the water danced in lazy swoops above the giggling girls' reaching arms, and Aang smiled at the (too rare) sight of her cutting loose and truly having fun. "You guys think you can help me?"
A half an hour (and thousands of bubbles) later, Katara was summoned by Oyaji's wife, Rin, to breakfast. The elderly hostess' mouth dropped in shock at the sight of the Avatar running around the yard with young children like a child herself, laughing breathlessly and producing scarlet bubbles colored by the sunrise from the water swirling around above the children's heads. Katara had strands of dark hair escaping her braid and bun and framing her face, and one of her hair loopies had somehow caught on one of the girl's waving hands and had come partially undone, leaving her a very odd sight to see as she cheerfully shooed the kids away to their respective homes. She grinned apologetically at Rin, grasping the quiet woman's arm in the proper water tribe greeting. "I'm sorry, I almost didn't hear you," She panted, trying to sweep back her hair into something more presentable with her free hand and smiling brightly, "You said breakfast was ready?"
Rin's mouth worked like a gaping fish for a moment before regaining her usual demure composure, silently reminding herself that the girl was Water Tribe- she didn't know the proper etiquette of the Island. "Ah...ahem, yes. Your brother is already bathed and at the table, as are the rest of the family. Perhaps we should wait for you to..."
She trailed off, her faded green eyes doing another unsubtle once over, and Katara blushed as she realized what a mess she looked to their tidy hostess. "Um, maybe, if you don't mind. I brought the wash basin outside with me earlier, so I can wash my face out here and try to get my hair done up in a few minutes."
Rin nodded graciously, and turned inside, her long silvery tail of hair swishing gracefully as she left. Katara rubbed her arm self consciously, grimacing sheepishly at Aang. "I think I got a little carried away. Sorry."
"Don't be!" He laughed, sweeping his foot under the stray hand towel lying beside him in the dirt and deftly flipping it up in the air to catch it before tossing it over to her. "That was great! I wish I would have thought of bubble bending while I was still alive, it would have been so hilarious to see bubbles being blown at the Monks during meditation hour!"
Katara's smile grew as she dipped a corner of the towel in the now thoroughly soapy water and scrubbed away the dust that caked her hairline and cheeks. "Actually, you're the one who inspired me to try it." She admitted.
Aang blinked at her in surprise. "Really? Me?"
"Mmhmm. You make bending fun, and since air and water are kind of similar in the way they can be bent, I thought of trying to combine the two to show you that I can make bending fun too." She bent the excess water off her face, and tried (without much success) to get her hair back in order. "It's one of the things I was practicing on my own to surprise you with, though I ended up using it a little early for the kids." She glanced at him, suddenly feeling inexplicably shy and anxious to know what he thought of it. "Did you... did you like it?"
Aang tilted his head, looking a little confused. "Of course I did- didn't you see me join in and play too? It was the most fun I've had since we pranked Old Man Jarko, and that was a ton of fun!"
Katara's blush seemed to be permanently painted on, and she huffed a little at herself, irritated at the weird, contradictory feelings bubbling up inside her chest. Get a grip on yourself, of course he would like it. You're acting like Pinga did when she had that ridiculous crush on Tului!
She shook herself at the idea, and did her best to banish the strange feelings as she desperately latched onto what he had said. "That's, uh, that's good! I'm glad we can have fun together, even around others who can't see you." She sobered a little as she stood to go inside. "We've had a rather depressing trip so far, huh?"
Aang nodded, his eyes shadowed at the reminder of the Temple as he followed her. "You said it! We need to make this trip a fun one. Maybe you can calm down some of the adults during breakfast and start to actually enjoy this place."
'Enjoying the island', as the children found, would prove to be an effort, though the reasons for each one were vastly different.
For Katara, she was constantly hounded by people, and constantly asked questions she was not at all prepared for. Breakfast brought on a round of questions from Oyaji and Rin regarding the war, and what Katara planned to do about it; and as the day dragged on the bold questions from the townspeople only grew worse. Aang began to get as frustrated with the incessant questions as she did, and when Katara finally snapped and told a man to come back with his stupid political questions when she became an adult, Aang flinched as if he'd been struck. The man backed away, sputtering an apology and scurrying away, and she turned in a huff and tried to find a quieter place to explore on the island while Aang trailed slowly behind, feeling a little sick. He realized with a slow, sinking feeling he had never told his friend about the comet, or the thrilling bit of news that she would have to master all four elements and end the war within two year's time to prevent the world from becoming irreversibly ruined. He ran a hand over his arrow, groaning softly to himself as it sank in. How will I even begin to to tell her something like that?
The question of how and when he should bring it up to her ate at him for the rest of the day. He finally left Katara's side by late afternoon and went on a visit to the Spirit World to ask for guidance, feeling desperate. Perhaps Roku, or Yangchen, would give him the wisdom he needed.
As for Sokka...
"The Avatar was here just a few minutes ago. You are so lucky to have the Avatar in your family!"
"Yeah yeah, I get it." Sokka deadpanned with a sigh, having heard a variant of this most of the day. He shivered as a mildly cold breeze made it's way down the market lane. "Can you tell me which way she went?"
The vegetable vendor, a heavyset middle aged man with a great shock of salt and pepper hair peeking over his headband, jerked a thumb over his shoulder, towards the fragrant pines that framed the pathway that led up to the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo. Sokka wilted. "Really? She went to visit the girls?" He asked, feeling his once hopeful mood deflate by the second. Crap. This trip is just getting better and better, isn't it?
The man adjusted his fur caplet as another, stronger, chilly wind blew in. He turned to look toward the rapidly graying sky with a worried expression on his round face before nodding to himself and turning to make the necessary preparations to close up shop for the approaching storm. "Indeed. She mentioned something about wanting to watch the girls while they practiced. Hopefully she'll see that our warriors are the best on the island!" He tossed Sokka a free-of-charge eggplant, and glanced at the steadily darkening sky. "You best be finding her quick, lad. We get storms this time of year, and gale force winds aren't uncommon. We've got very little time before this one hits."
Momo, perched comically on the boy's head like a great misshapen, bat eared hat, chattered and curled his tail tightly around Sokka's neck as if to anchor himself there, obviously sensing something about the oncoming weather that he didn't like. Sokka choked and wheezed as he tried to pry the tail loose, and absently thanked the man before swallowing his pride and venturing (staggering) into what he had already dubbed as 'enemy territory' to find his sister and try to clear the air and apologize. He frowned as he finally tugged Momo's tail loose. Might as well try again. With this storm we're not going anywhere fast, and she's been avoiding me since breakfast.
The idea of seeing those infuriating girls again, though, was not high on his list of 'things to do', and as he trudged towards the dojo, he heard the dim sound of female voices coming from inside. Momo's bright green eyes stared into his own as the lemur looked upside down at Sokka as the boy paused uncertainly at the doorway, and the lemur chittered in a way that seemed to say 'Go on, buddy, you can do this'. Sokka irritably waved the lemur out of his face and took a deep breath before entering the 'den of witchery'.
As (mis)fortune would have it, Katara was already starting to become real chummy with the girls, and had begun inspecting a pair of fans that Midori chick had given her with great delight when he walked in. "You would really allow me to keep these? They're beautiful!" She cried, opening one and waving it experimentally with an enthusiasm Sokka hadn't seen since before Mom died. "I can practice airbending with these! Thank you!"
Midori favored his sister with a look of patient amusement. "Well, Avatar Kyoshi used her fans in all her bending forms, and legend has it she created this island with them somehow. We know that you will bring honor with these fans just as she did."
A noise escaped him at the idea of a past lady Avatar using fans to create Kyoshi Island (what did she do, carve it away from the mainland with an epic slice?) and Sokka's mood plummeted further as every eye landed on him, freezing him to his spot within the was he ever going to apologize to her in front of all these girls!?
"Oh... hi Sokka." Katara said, looking at him with cautious curiosity, snapping her fan shut and straightening self consciously. "What are you doing here?"
The look on her face suggested that she thought he was coming here to taunt them while they practiced, and he fidgeted as he wondered how he was going to get this over with. "Ah... um, well, I was coming here to find you. I haven't seen you all day."
Momo echoed that last part with a happy sounding 'mirrr!' and flew over to her shoulder. She scritched the pale fur of the lemur's belly, and raised an eyebrow at Sokka. "Ok... why didn't you wait for me back at Oyaji's? We were going to practice some forms before supper, which is only an hour away."
Sokka opened his mouth to protest that he had waited for her, at lunchtime, only to discover she was busy eating a packed lunch as she explored the island. However, he didn't get a chance to say anything when that one girl he met last night, Suki, stood up from her place in the corner and stalked over to him with a grace that a thirteen year old girl with bruised ribs shouldn't possess. "No no, it's alright if he stays here on the sidelines with me for a bit, right Midori?" She said, all sugary sweet words, "After all, the water tribe boy and I have some things to talk about."
Things? What things?
Sokka warily backed up a step as he noted the near predatory gleam in the girl's dark blue eyes, but it was too late to leave without looking like an idiot. He gulped, looking for an escape, but it seemed that the universe was going to drag this thing out nice and slow, for it's own entertainment.
Though everything in his head was screaming it was a bad idea, he decided to blurt out the first thing that came to mind. "Listen, I don't know what you want to talk about, but how about you sit down before you hurt yourself and let me talk to my sister, alright?"
He waved a hand at her, as if to shoo her away like an annoying fly (she really was), but the next second he cried out in pain as she caught his fingers on his back swing and forced his wrist backward with a sharp, calculated motion that had him dropping to the floor within half a second. "I'm sorry, what did you just tell me to do?" She snarled, sticking her pale face (strangely pretty, without that ridiculous makeup caked all over it) into his, while he glared back. "I am a warrior, not some squirreldog you can order around! Give me some respect as a fellow warrior... unless you were just being a blow hard and lying about being a warrior at last night's feast."
A round of 'ooohs' came from the other girls gathered, and Katara, although uneasy looking for a moment, seemed to decide that this was just and fair, and let it play out on it's own.
Sokka's face flushed furiously. Stupid girls. Why did they always take what he said wrong? "I am not a liar!" He hissed, yanking his hand from her grasp and standing stiffly, "I am a warrior who passed my trial of hunting an enormous monster that comes out of the ocean to eat women and children! As a man, it's my duty to become a warrior, to protect and provide!" He drew himself up haughtily, crossing his arms and trying to ignore the way his voice cracked at all the wrong times. "What do you girls do, except play dress up and hide away on your Island and keep to yourselves, jumping people without asking questions, and expecting my sister to solve the War problems for you?"
Suki's face turned scarlet with rage, and a disgruntled and offended murmur coursed through the crowd at Sokka's words. Midori's eyebrows nearly rose above her hairline, but before she could intervene as leader, Suki stomped forward, pointing a finger in his face. "We protect our family and friends by keeping this place neutral! We are the only thing that keeps this island Fire Nation free, and-"
The wind that had been picking up over the course of the conversation blew more insistently, and the sound of thunder that had been quiet enough to miss earlier was now loud enough to cause everyone to look up. "Looks like this will have to wait." Midori said decisively, sending a pointed look that prompted Suki to (grudgingly) back down. Katara laid a hand on his shoulder, worriedly looking outside the open doorway at the ugly storm front rolling in. "Come on, we all should get back. It looks like the rain is going to beat us if we don't hurry."
As if her words summoned them, fat raindrops started to fall, and within half a minute it was a raging downpour that only a summer or autumn storm could conjure up so quickly. Everyone traded glances, wondering if they should make a break for it despite the weather or sit tight until it passed. Sokka clearly wanted to leave, while Suki just as clearly was out for blood and wanted to stay put and finish what had been started. A brilliant strike of lightning decided for them, and the deep rumble that followed shortly after told them that the storm was traveling towards them at a furious rate. "Okay, new plan. We wait it out here." Midori said, flicking an interested glance at the two bickering teens.
A look of fear came across Sokka's face as a look of satisfaction came over Suki's. "Good, this will give us plenty of time to show this 'warrior' exactly what it is we do here on this island." She said, far too smug for Sokka's taste. She looked down her nose at him, her smug smile falling away as she became dead serious. "Now you listen closely boy, you know your sister has a duty to fulfill as the Avatar. She knows she has to defeat the Firelord before Sozin's comet comes back, and if she doesn't, the whole world will be destroyed from its power! She only has two years to get ready, so yes, we want to know what she plans on doing."
No one noticed the blood draining from Katara's face, and Katara herself had no idea what was said beyond those horrifying words. Suki continued, unaware of the affect she was having on her new friend. "Now as for you, you arrogant little jerk, we are training for when our village needs protection, and whether that's ambushing someone we think is a threat or outright killing enemies in our land, we don't care. So either help us out in that or step aside and let us and your sister -the real warriors- do the job for you!"
Suki's words had hit Sokka and Katara like a slap in the face (though for different reasons), and even the other warriors were surprised at their youngest member's sharp tongue. A sharper, louder thunderclap shook the dojo as Katara blinked in shock at Suki. "What... what do you mean I have only two years left?"
Author's Note: Okay guys, thanks to my dear husband's help and input, this is going to be a three part chapter, so hang in there! Lots of rewriting went into this chapter. Possibly one of the more irritating chapters to write, simply because I kept thinking up something better as soon as I would be halfway through a scene, lol. That, and this month was packed with real life stuff that couldn't be ignored, like going up to see family/having someone stay with us, baby shenanigans, ect. So, in short, I'm super sorry that this is late, and even sorrier that this isn't filled with mind blowing action. This has a lot of set up for future things, so pay close attention to the hints dropped here and there.
Katara's airbending forms are real, just to let you know. 'The Lion Embraces the Ball' is a Ba Gua Zhang form, and the 'Seven Star Palm Strike' is a variant of a Kung Fu form I have seen preformed (though it probably would be closer to firebending, now that I'm rewatching it). They're very cool, and I wanted to have some authenticity to the forms here.
The idea of Suki knowing about Sozin's Comet is actually based on the fact that the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes would have declared war on the Fire Nation for their crime of using the annual comet for genocide. Every child in the Earth Kingdom at least would be taught about it in their lessons, and tactically, anyone training their young ones to go to battle would be wary of the idea of it ever happening again, and inform their youngsters.
In honor of Kyoshi Island's uniquely Japanese flavor, I slipped in two references of Myazaki's film Spirited Away. Can you find them?
Torii: A type of gateway found before a Shinto shrine, used alone or with multiple Torii to mark where the ground becomes holy. If you rewatch the episode Avatar Day, Kyoshi's shrine has one at the top of the hill it is built on. Suki's action of touching engraved sacred text is not Japanese (so far that I know), but a tiny private nod to my Jewish heritage. :)