Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic
Story Title: The Silk Fan
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Suki
Summary: Little is known about Suki before she encountered Aang, Katara, and Sokka. With this fic, I plan to, based on what is shown in the series, flesh out the bare bones of Suki's background, history, and characterisation.
This chapter: Fans are used, birthdays are celebrated, letters are exchanged, and a familiar face makes its first appearance in recorded history.
Prologue
One, Two, Three
Four, Five
Five
They started with paper fans.
Suki tried to hide her disappointment, but was unsuccessful. Burin could tell, or perhaps she wasn't the only one staring at the two average paper fans in her hands with a look of dismay.
"Oh, honestly," Burin chastised sternly, her hands going to her hips. "You all probably thought that you would be starting with metal fans and full make-up, didn't you?"
Suki blushed; it had occurred to her. Around her, the other girls shared similar looks of embarrassment. Well, perhaps with the exception of Sakana, who looked oddly unsurprised. But then, her sister was one of Burin's own. She was probably told in advance.
Zayi looked both embarrassed and ashamed, while Mikku merely looked annoyed, despite the slight blush on her cheeks. The two other girls, whom Suki had met at the welcoming bonfire a week ago, looked the same way, but to different degrees: Iru, the smallest of them all, smaller than Zayi, was scarlet, but she held the fans in her hands tightly. Azaki's round, calm face was pink, but her eyes were steely and determined.
Each girl had their own personality, but it was no secret that they all had a kind of strength. It was no accident that they were all there, kneeling on the tatami floor of the training dojo, dressed in simple and loose grey-green gowns. They all were made of the same stuff - they just had to prove it.
"Basic fan technique comes first," Burin went on, her voice stern. "You slip through the moves, learning first with a regular fan. Once you've mastered it, then will you get metal fans, only to start all over again. You will have to adjust, relearn, practise, and do it again, before you master the art of Kyoshi!"
Her voice rose, and she stopped in mid-stride - Burin fell into pacing in front of them when she lectured. "Tessenjutsu - tesson fan martial arts - is not a game!" Her voice washed over them like a loud wave. Suki, unlike the other girls, leaned in towards Burin, her eyes wide. Burin usually scared the other girls when she went on tirades like this, but Suki learned early that Burin's best tips for training came buried deep within them.
"It's not a dance - although fools will think it one," Burin went on, grinning, her grey eyes flashing. "It's as beautiful as a dance, but like a rose, it has thorns that pierce!" And here she lunged out, one leg forward and bent, the other a pace back and straight. Her arms were held out before her, one straight and with her hand palm-out, the other bent and held close to her chest. "We use an aggressor's force against them, to force them away, and we win!"
"Okay," Sakana suddenly cut in loudly, shocking everyone else around her, even Suki. Her face was impassive, her eyes narrowed. "But how to we fight?"
Suki bit back a sigh. If she were to admit it, she knew that Sakana would have caused some kind of trouble somehow in front of Burin eventually. For the entire week, while Suki and the others learned basic stretches and warm-ups with Duree, Sakana complained that it was too easy. When the girls were sent to regular classes with the other village children or assigned chores, Sakana whined that as recruits they should be exempt from all of that. And if that wasn't enough, Sakana made it her personal vendetta to find ways to try and get even with Suki for pushing her on the first day. She hid in the outhouses to keep her out, scared her and made her drop her food, stuck burrs in her brush...the list was endless, and would probably have hundreds of more items added to it by the end of the year.
And now? It took all she could to keep herself from punching the older girl's lights out.
Burin, for a split second, looked as if she felt the same way - her left eye twitched a little - but it was so minuscule and gone in an instant that it could have been mistaken for a trick of the light.
"You want to fight, Sakana?" she wondered, her voice eerily calm. "Before you're trained properly, before you even wear paints?"
Sakana would have been stupid to rise to the bait, so she shut her mouth. However, her eyes were like liquid steel, and her fists were clenched upon her knees so hard they shook. Clearly, even when saying nothing, the answer was obviously yes.
"Come up here," Burin snapped suddenly, bringing up startled jumps from the girls before her. Suki, and indeed everyone else, watched as Sakana hesitated slightly, probably realising her mistake, before slowly sliding up from her kneel and to her feet. She made her way up to the front, where Burin, only mere inches taller, seemed to tower over the younger girl. Once she was before her, Burin snapped out, "Show me."
Sakana swallowed hard, at once going pale, and for an instant Suki felt sorry for her. Burin was, after all, terrifying sometimes, and now was definitely one of those times.
"Show me, Sakana," she repeated sternly. "You all have had your basic instructions from Duree, but since you seem to know more than everyone else, by all means, show me."
Sakana opened her mouth, then closed it. She made a gesture as though to move, then paused. Slowly, like a wave on the shore, her face turned bright pink, and she lowered her head, her shoulders sagging. "I can't," she whispered in defeat.
Suki stared in surprise. She was so sure - so sure - that Sakana would have gone through with her challenge and get whomped by Burin, all for the sake of her pride and stubbornness. But here she was admitting her folly...it was surprising, to say the least.
Despite herself, Suki felt a brief gust of respect for her tormentor.
Burin seemed to, as well, because instantly her aggression cooled. "I know you can't," she answered, her voice softer, but hard. "Sit down, now."
Sakana obeyed, her face scarlet and her head still lowered close to her chest.
"Becoming a warrior takes years," she continued. "One week of steady warm-ups is a mere thread of the hairpiece of tessenjutsu. Paper fans this early are a compliment," and here, to Suki's pleasant surprise, Burin smiled. "You've actually progressed further than anyone else I've ever trained, ladies. Be proud."
Suki wasn't the only one who went pink and smiled shyly, with the exception of Sakana, who merely shrugged one shoulder and didn't look up, like she already knew this.
"Now!" Burin's hands went to her sides, and she pulled out, to the delight of everyone, a pair of paper fans. They looked silly next to Burin's full uniform and paint, but she held them with the same grace and strength as if they were metal, and soon it looked less silly and more natural. "Everyone to your feet, fans in both hands, natural stance!" Instantly, the girls obeyed. The fans felt unusual after a week of training without them, but Suki didn't mind. After all, she knew she would get used to it eventually.
Hopefully, a small voice echoed, the faint cry of her doubt. She swallowed it, held it deep within, and it was silent.
Together, the girls followed Burin's lead, going through all of the warm-up moves that they learned, except now with the fans. It was awkward at times, especially since Suki had used her open hands as a way to balance herself, and more than once a girl fell, losing her footing. But Burin, instead of chastising like they had expected, paused long enough to allow the fallen girl to scramble to her feet before continuing on like nothing happened. It sent a message that was louder than her words could ever be shouted: Not only did it not matter that someone fell, but it was actually expected, and it was okay.
Suki fell twice; the weight of the fans, however slight, was still enough to throw her off-kilter those times. But she felt proud of herself none-the-less.
Once the lesson was over, she felt a little sore and a lot more tired. One by one, the girls filed out of the dojo, bowing to Burin on the way out. Sakana's bow was stiff, but it was there; that much was certain.
Suki was the second-last to leave, and she rushed her bow past Burin and dashed out to try and catch up to Sakana. Evening was falling by now, as the lessons in the dojo took place both mornings and evenings, sandwiching in regular classes and chores. The faint light of dusk soothed Suki a little - summer nights on Kyoshi were cool and calm, a reprieve from the heat of the day, and it gave her confidence.
"Sakana, wait!" she called out to the older girl, running as fast as she could to try and catch up with her long-legged paces. "Wait!"
She didn't, but Suki managed to catch up to her anyway. She darted past her and jumped in front of her, stopping her hurried flight and causing her eyes to flare in annoyance.
"Get lost, Suki-wag-a-tail," she sneered.
Suki ignored the insult. "I just wanted to say," she admitted breathlessly, "that-,"
"That, what?" Sakana snapped. "You're glad I was yelled at? You're glad I was humiliated? That I deserved it?"
Suki shook her head. "No," she said, meaning it. "I thought it was really brave, admitting you were wrong. It took guts."
The words were obviously not what she was expecting, as her mouth opened slightly, her cheeks going pink. Her eyes, always so clear and lovely and glazed with malice around Suki, went soft - confused - and it touched Suki.
But it didn't last. Her face crumpled with sudden rage. "Who cares what you think, you little rat-eel," she snarled. She pushed past Suki roughly, storming to her house and disappearing within, slamming the door behind her.
Suki's heart fell a little, but she couldn't forget that one, tiny moment that Sakana's eyes held the light of - yes, that was it - gratitude within them.
Suki turned and vanished into her own house, sore, exhausted, and ready to sleep the night away. She trudged over to her dresser and place the paper fans on top of it. She reached up and pulled out her hairtie, shaking her staticky hair free from its ponytail, and - first checking for burrs - proceeded to brush the knots and sweat out from it.
She turned to her bed, her eyes already drooping a little, brushing still, when her gaze fell on a square of white on her green bedspread - a letter!
Excited, Suki dropped the brush on the bed and snatched the letter up eagerly, flinging herself down onto the bed so hard that it creaked in protest.
It had been over a week since her parents had left the Island without her. It was strange, but Suki had been so busy that she had had little time to think about being homesick. She woke up early every day at dawn, had breakfast, practised with Duree, had lunch, went to school, did chores, had supper...only to train in the dojo again until dusk. Suki was usually so exhausted by the end of the day that she had little energy to spend on loneliness and homesickness.
But, she suddenly realised that it had been there all along - it was just buried. It had been bliss to have space of her own, but she also missed Ritu's snores and Niya's muttering in her sleep. She was happy to have independence, but sometimes craved a hug from her mother or a soft hand on the top of her head from her father.
She missed them, a lot. She lay down on her back, kicked her brush off the bed, and got comfortable. Then she opened the letter, the first of many weekly letters, the words taking her home across the water, just for a short sliver of time.
Darling Suki!
It's me, your mother...you probably could have assumed that safely, except that, when your sisters learned that I was writing to you, they felt the need to add their own at the end of this letter. How lazy and annoying. Regardless, while it's only been a week, I feel the need to update you anyway.
Your father has gone back on the road…Called to the north, close to Omashu - and beyond. Maybe he'll stop by to see you if or when he can. He won't be back here until far into next year. Hopefully he'll be back in time for the spring equinox. He does love boiled eggs.
Ritu and Niya are bored. As you know, the start of summer means a reprieve from school until the fall. I'm sure you have a different schedule, since Burin told us the new school year starts at the summer solstice - strange, but there must be a reason for it, right?
I will allow a little gossip, just to keep you entertained. There were rumours - unconfirmed - of a Fire Nation occupation in one of the villages to the west of us. That's hardly news, I know, but what is strange about it is that it's said - oddly - the village went along with the take-over! How strange! How could anyone in the Earth Kingdom so easily give in to the Fire Nation?
I will keep you updated on it, of course. How I wish the war was over...Nothing else is new, pet. Sales are made, days go by. Talk to you next week.
Write when you can!
-Mama
Underneath her mother's lovely writing was the similar writing of Ritu.
Hello Suki. I hate that you told Mother about the boy from school. But I miss you, I guess. He likes me, by the way.
DON'T TELL MOTHER, PLEASE.
And under it, Niya's intense, messy scrawl, written in all capitals, said this:
SUKI I'M BORED WITHOUT YOU. PLEASE COME HOME SOON BECAUSE RITU IS ANNOYING. FLUNK OUT OR SOMETHING.
PS. RITU'S BOYFRIEND IS DISGUSTING. AND SO IS SHE.
Suki giggled, feeling both the love and the loss that all of the words evoked. She hugged the letter to her chest, closing her eyes. With the words swirling through her mind, she felt the loneliness ease. She was grateful to her family for still thinking of her, and thinking of her so much.
Weeks went by like days, months like weeks. Each day, Suki trained so hard she had to drag herself home half-asleep. Each week, she was greeted by a letter from her mother. Each month she was surrounded by fellow recruits who liked her, were her friends - Mikku and Zayi especially, but Azaki and Iru as well - and who were learning to be warriors just like she was.
The townspeople treated her like one of their own, helping her out during her errands if she got lost and giving her snacks and treats like they would for the other girls. Pretty soon, Suki fell into routine so snugly that it was hard to imagine any other kind of life.
She was made for Kyoshi.
It was only when she got up from bed one morning and tripped on a stack of colourful boxes in her doorway that she realised it was her birthday - and that she had been on Kyoshi for almost a year. She was so surprised that she knelt down in her doorway and started crying, opening each present with blurred vision and a runny nose.
"Suki," Mikku called, walking past her house and seeing the younger girl hunched over her gifts with tears in her eyes. She walked up the steps slowly, leaning down to her. "Why are you crying? Are you having a meltdown?"
Zayi caught up to her and peered over her shoulder, her eyes huge on her face and clouded with worry. She slipped past Mikku and threw herself at Suki, giving her a huge hug, all the same. "Happy Birthday, Sukes!"
Suki nodded, hugging the girl back lightly, her hands full of wrapping paper. Zayi pulled away, her smile vanishing from her face. "Oh no!" she cried. "Do you hate your presents?"
"I..." and here Suki was at a loss. She looked down at her hands, wondering if the presents at home would be wrapped this extravagantly. She missed her family, but was also glad to have friends at her side. She longed for home, but was in love with Kyoshi. It was confusing.
"You know, I keep forgetting that Suki isn't a Kyoshi girl," Mikku broke in suddenly, her hand at her chin on thought. She met Suki's gaze as Zayi helped her to her feet. "You miss home."
Slowly, Suki nodded, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "I'm also happy, too," she admitted shakily. "I can't explain it. Sorry."
Zayi reached down and scooped up a couple of presents, ones that were opened, and zipped into the house, dropping them gently on the bed, before coming back for more. "It's okay!" she declared between trips. "We understand. Sort of?"
Mikku smiled halfway. "Sort of," she agreed.
It wasn't much, but it helped.
The rest of the day went by as usual, not breaking from the daily routine. If it weren't for the stack of presents and Suki's conflicted emotions, she would have assumed it was just like every other day.
At the end of the day, Suki trudged home, exhausted, but also melancholy. If she had admitted it to herself, she would have realised that, perhaps, she had expected something different, something special, just because it was her birthday.
But then, when the other girls had their birthdays, their days were the same, too. Why would she expect otherwise?
Realising - no, admitting - this helped her. I'm a Kyoshi girl, she thought, for the very first time. And Kyoshi girls don't get special treatment. She wasn't a visitor, a tourist, or even a novelty - she was already there, already a part, already a Warrior.
She missed her home, but...she also realised that Kyoshi was turning into her new home, all without her even realising it.
Burin, somehow, must have picked up on it. Or maybe Duree had told her, because Duree was one of the few that Suki knew could tell (she had given Suki a tight hug after lessons and wished her a good day). The next day, when Suki arrived at the dojo for evening lessons, Burin made a point of drawing her aside to speak to her.
"You alright?" she wondered softly. When Suki nodded, she gave her a small smile. "Liar," she accused. "But don't worry - it gets easier with time. We're new, but we're your family, too, Suki."
It was quite possibly the best thing she could have said, ever. The words supported her, helped her get through the haze of her conflicted feelings, and all because now she knew for sure - she just knew - that she wasn't alone or a coward or a weakling for feeling the way she did. Burin had felt it, too.
It helped, so much.
By the middle of spring and shortly after Suki's birthday, the girls had mastered their forms with the paper fans. Just like Burin said, Suki and the others had adjusted, relearned, and mastered the paper fans, to the point that Suki hardly remembered what her forms felt like without them.
To the joy and delight of the girls, it was time for spring break. This included both regular students as well as the recruits, and for the first time outside of the classroom, Suki found herself mingling with the other kids of the village. It was hard for the recruits to do so, for their time spent training was the same time the other kids spent playing, and thus they weren't used to it. During spring break, the recruits could pretend to be average for a few weeks, just like everyone else.
Despite this, Suki found herself clinging close to her fellow Warriors-in-training. Both Mikku and Zayi were like her best friends, and Azaki and Iru weren't so bad either. Sakana, however, spent her days with an entirely different group of girls, girls who shared the same kind of polished elegance that she did. Occasionally Azaki would spend time with Sakana - she liked everyone - but the other girls steered clear; there was something threatening about Sakana and her gang, and Suki above all didn't want to give the older girl more excuses to hate her.
Despite the break being about, well, taking a break, Suki couldn't help but be drawn back to the dojo for practise. She was, she realised, a creature of habit, and found herself craving the exercise.
Mikku teased her for it, but Zayi often joined her in the dojo, sparring with her or just keeping her company as she slid through the moves. It was nice, either way, to have that companionship.
There was one day that she was especially grateful for Zayi, because she had no idea what she would have done if she had been alone.
It was a miserable, rainy day. The thousands of drops that fell from the sky hit the roof of the dojo like soft little bells.
"Oooh," Zayi clapped twice, her eyes huge and fixed on Suki, looking overjoyed. "You always do that move so well."
Suki paused in mid-stride, her arm over her head, the other held out at her side for balance. "Which one?"
Zayi leapt to her feet and flicked out her fans, dipping into a stance. Suki lowered her arms and stepped back to give her space, as the other girl danced across the floor. Zayi was actually really good; despite her small size, her strength and agility made her moves solid and pleasant to watch.
When she finished, Suki was the one who clapped. Zayi blushed shyly and scratched the back of her head. "You're good at that, too," Suki said cheerfully. "Don't sell yourself short."
Zayi giggled. "You're such a merchant's daughter, talking like that."
Suki stood up straighter."I am a merchant's daughter," she declared proudly, bringing another giggle from Zayi. Suki smiled. She knew that a lot of the other kids thought that Zayi was stupid because of how excited she got, but Suki knew the truth - she saw it every day in the dojo, after all. Zayi was smart - smarter than her, probably - and she was quick and deadly. She learned faster than the other girls and usually needed to be shown how to do a new move once. Zayi was just...she was a very happy and upbeat girl, was all. She had a strong resilience to endure conflict and push past it, all while still being happy and optimistic.
Suki envied that. She wanted to learn how to do that.
A tentative knock snapped her out of her reverie. Both girls looked to the open doorway to find a soaked and miserable-looking boy with curly hair that was plastered to his head. "Can I come in?" he wondered, his voice soft. "It's really coming down!"
Zayi was instantly sympathetic. "Of course! Yuck, the rain is horrible today!" She darted over and helped the boy into the dojo, closing the door behind him.
Suki wrinkled her nose a little. The boy brought in a smell that was similar to a wet squirrel-dog.
Zayi looked around, then went to the back room of the dojo and reappeared with an armful of clean towels. The boy gratefully took them, using them to dry off shyly.
"I've seen you before!" Zayi admitted as he started trying to dry his hair. "You're...um..."
"Suihou," he replied, pulling the towel away from his hair and clutching it tightly to his chest. His eyes went wide, and seemed to be glued to Zayi.
"Right!" Zayi clapped her hands together once. "Suihou!"
Suki edged closer. She hadn't met him before, and was pretty curious, despite the underlying nervousness she felt about being near a boy - that much she had never been able to be rid of, leftover from dealing with Ranku.
"And you're Zayi," Suihou was saying. His eyes slid over to Suki, then widened in sudden surprise. He seemed to lose his trail of thought at the sight of her, and instantly she felt shy and self-conscious about it.
"You're...Suki," he said, his voice louder. When she nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes, he grinned widely. "Everyone talks about you when you aren't around! They say how you're an outsider, but still pretty good, and wow, I'm actually talking to you!"
During this tirade, Suihou's voice rose higher and higher in his apparent excitement. Zayi and Suki exchanged surprised glances, but a split second later got the real surprise of a lifetime; Suihou dropped the towels, threw his hands up in the air, and, apparently abandoning himself to his glee, started cheering over and over again until he actually frothed at the mouth and passed out onto the floor.
Suki stared, stunned. Anything she thought of saying dried up on her tongue.
Zayi, however, found it absolutely hilarious. Her giggles filled the dojo, her arms around her middle as she laughed, her eyes so tight tears ran down her cheeks.
If she had had any remaining doubts about being accepted, Suihou's explosive (literally) display dissolved them in an instant. She smiled, then joined in the laughs, unable to hold them in any longer.
Inside, her heart laughed, too. It can only get better, she thought. It can only get better.
Writer's footnote: Now Foamy has a name! Hahaha.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Suki
Summary: Little is known about Suki before she encountered Aang, Katara, and Sokka. With this fic, I plan to, based on what is shown in the series, flesh out the bare bones of Suki's background, history, and characterisation.
This chapter: Fans are used, birthdays are celebrated, letters are exchanged, and a familiar face makes its first appearance in recorded history.
Prologue
One, Two, Three
Four, Five
Five
They started with paper fans.
Suki tried to hide her disappointment, but was unsuccessful. Burin could tell, or perhaps she wasn't the only one staring at the two average paper fans in her hands with a look of dismay.
"Oh, honestly," Burin chastised sternly, her hands going to her hips. "You all probably thought that you would be starting with metal fans and full make-up, didn't you?"
Suki blushed; it had occurred to her. Around her, the other girls shared similar looks of embarrassment. Well, perhaps with the exception of Sakana, who looked oddly unsurprised. But then, her sister was one of Burin's own. She was probably told in advance.
Zayi looked both embarrassed and ashamed, while Mikku merely looked annoyed, despite the slight blush on her cheeks. The two other girls, whom Suki had met at the welcoming bonfire a week ago, looked the same way, but to different degrees: Iru, the smallest of them all, smaller than Zayi, was scarlet, but she held the fans in her hands tightly. Azaki's round, calm face was pink, but her eyes were steely and determined.
Each girl had their own personality, but it was no secret that they all had a kind of strength. It was no accident that they were all there, kneeling on the tatami floor of the training dojo, dressed in simple and loose grey-green gowns. They all were made of the same stuff - they just had to prove it.
"Basic fan technique comes first," Burin went on, her voice stern. "You slip through the moves, learning first with a regular fan. Once you've mastered it, then will you get metal fans, only to start all over again. You will have to adjust, relearn, practise, and do it again, before you master the art of Kyoshi!"
Her voice rose, and she stopped in mid-stride - Burin fell into pacing in front of them when she lectured. "Tessenjutsu - tesson fan martial arts - is not a game!" Her voice washed over them like a loud wave. Suki, unlike the other girls, leaned in towards Burin, her eyes wide. Burin usually scared the other girls when she went on tirades like this, but Suki learned early that Burin's best tips for training came buried deep within them.
"It's not a dance - although fools will think it one," Burin went on, grinning, her grey eyes flashing. "It's as beautiful as a dance, but like a rose, it has thorns that pierce!" And here she lunged out, one leg forward and bent, the other a pace back and straight. Her arms were held out before her, one straight and with her hand palm-out, the other bent and held close to her chest. "We use an aggressor's force against them, to force them away, and we win!"
"Okay," Sakana suddenly cut in loudly, shocking everyone else around her, even Suki. Her face was impassive, her eyes narrowed. "But how to we fight?"
Suki bit back a sigh. If she were to admit it, she knew that Sakana would have caused some kind of trouble somehow in front of Burin eventually. For the entire week, while Suki and the others learned basic stretches and warm-ups with Duree, Sakana complained that it was too easy. When the girls were sent to regular classes with the other village children or assigned chores, Sakana whined that as recruits they should be exempt from all of that. And if that wasn't enough, Sakana made it her personal vendetta to find ways to try and get even with Suki for pushing her on the first day. She hid in the outhouses to keep her out, scared her and made her drop her food, stuck burrs in her brush...the list was endless, and would probably have hundreds of more items added to it by the end of the year.
And now? It took all she could to keep herself from punching the older girl's lights out.
Burin, for a split second, looked as if she felt the same way - her left eye twitched a little - but it was so minuscule and gone in an instant that it could have been mistaken for a trick of the light.
"You want to fight, Sakana?" she wondered, her voice eerily calm. "Before you're trained properly, before you even wear paints?"
Sakana would have been stupid to rise to the bait, so she shut her mouth. However, her eyes were like liquid steel, and her fists were clenched upon her knees so hard they shook. Clearly, even when saying nothing, the answer was obviously yes.
"Come up here," Burin snapped suddenly, bringing up startled jumps from the girls before her. Suki, and indeed everyone else, watched as Sakana hesitated slightly, probably realising her mistake, before slowly sliding up from her kneel and to her feet. She made her way up to the front, where Burin, only mere inches taller, seemed to tower over the younger girl. Once she was before her, Burin snapped out, "Show me."
Sakana swallowed hard, at once going pale, and for an instant Suki felt sorry for her. Burin was, after all, terrifying sometimes, and now was definitely one of those times.
"Show me, Sakana," she repeated sternly. "You all have had your basic instructions from Duree, but since you seem to know more than everyone else, by all means, show me."
Sakana opened her mouth, then closed it. She made a gesture as though to move, then paused. Slowly, like a wave on the shore, her face turned bright pink, and she lowered her head, her shoulders sagging. "I can't," she whispered in defeat.
Suki stared in surprise. She was so sure - so sure - that Sakana would have gone through with her challenge and get whomped by Burin, all for the sake of her pride and stubbornness. But here she was admitting her folly...it was surprising, to say the least.
Despite herself, Suki felt a brief gust of respect for her tormentor.
Burin seemed to, as well, because instantly her aggression cooled. "I know you can't," she answered, her voice softer, but hard. "Sit down, now."
Sakana obeyed, her face scarlet and her head still lowered close to her chest.
"Becoming a warrior takes years," she continued. "One week of steady warm-ups is a mere thread of the hairpiece of tessenjutsu. Paper fans this early are a compliment," and here, to Suki's pleasant surprise, Burin smiled. "You've actually progressed further than anyone else I've ever trained, ladies. Be proud."
Suki wasn't the only one who went pink and smiled shyly, with the exception of Sakana, who merely shrugged one shoulder and didn't look up, like she already knew this.
"Now!" Burin's hands went to her sides, and she pulled out, to the delight of everyone, a pair of paper fans. They looked silly next to Burin's full uniform and paint, but she held them with the same grace and strength as if they were metal, and soon it looked less silly and more natural. "Everyone to your feet, fans in both hands, natural stance!" Instantly, the girls obeyed. The fans felt unusual after a week of training without them, but Suki didn't mind. After all, she knew she would get used to it eventually.
Hopefully, a small voice echoed, the faint cry of her doubt. She swallowed it, held it deep within, and it was silent.
Together, the girls followed Burin's lead, going through all of the warm-up moves that they learned, except now with the fans. It was awkward at times, especially since Suki had used her open hands as a way to balance herself, and more than once a girl fell, losing her footing. But Burin, instead of chastising like they had expected, paused long enough to allow the fallen girl to scramble to her feet before continuing on like nothing happened. It sent a message that was louder than her words could ever be shouted: Not only did it not matter that someone fell, but it was actually expected, and it was okay.
Suki fell twice; the weight of the fans, however slight, was still enough to throw her off-kilter those times. But she felt proud of herself none-the-less.
Once the lesson was over, she felt a little sore and a lot more tired. One by one, the girls filed out of the dojo, bowing to Burin on the way out. Sakana's bow was stiff, but it was there; that much was certain.
Suki was the second-last to leave, and she rushed her bow past Burin and dashed out to try and catch up to Sakana. Evening was falling by now, as the lessons in the dojo took place both mornings and evenings, sandwiching in regular classes and chores. The faint light of dusk soothed Suki a little - summer nights on Kyoshi were cool and calm, a reprieve from the heat of the day, and it gave her confidence.
"Sakana, wait!" she called out to the older girl, running as fast as she could to try and catch up with her long-legged paces. "Wait!"
She didn't, but Suki managed to catch up to her anyway. She darted past her and jumped in front of her, stopping her hurried flight and causing her eyes to flare in annoyance.
"Get lost, Suki-wag-a-tail," she sneered.
Suki ignored the insult. "I just wanted to say," she admitted breathlessly, "that-,"
"That, what?" Sakana snapped. "You're glad I was yelled at? You're glad I was humiliated? That I deserved it?"
Suki shook her head. "No," she said, meaning it. "I thought it was really brave, admitting you were wrong. It took guts."
The words were obviously not what she was expecting, as her mouth opened slightly, her cheeks going pink. Her eyes, always so clear and lovely and glazed with malice around Suki, went soft - confused - and it touched Suki.
But it didn't last. Her face crumpled with sudden rage. "Who cares what you think, you little rat-eel," she snarled. She pushed past Suki roughly, storming to her house and disappearing within, slamming the door behind her.
Suki's heart fell a little, but she couldn't forget that one, tiny moment that Sakana's eyes held the light of - yes, that was it - gratitude within them.
Suki turned and vanished into her own house, sore, exhausted, and ready to sleep the night away. She trudged over to her dresser and place the paper fans on top of it. She reached up and pulled out her hairtie, shaking her staticky hair free from its ponytail, and - first checking for burrs - proceeded to brush the knots and sweat out from it.
She turned to her bed, her eyes already drooping a little, brushing still, when her gaze fell on a square of white on her green bedspread - a letter!
Excited, Suki dropped the brush on the bed and snatched the letter up eagerly, flinging herself down onto the bed so hard that it creaked in protest.
It had been over a week since her parents had left the Island without her. It was strange, but Suki had been so busy that she had had little time to think about being homesick. She woke up early every day at dawn, had breakfast, practised with Duree, had lunch, went to school, did chores, had supper...only to train in the dojo again until dusk. Suki was usually so exhausted by the end of the day that she had little energy to spend on loneliness and homesickness.
But, she suddenly realised that it had been there all along - it was just buried. It had been bliss to have space of her own, but she also missed Ritu's snores and Niya's muttering in her sleep. She was happy to have independence, but sometimes craved a hug from her mother or a soft hand on the top of her head from her father.
She missed them, a lot. She lay down on her back, kicked her brush off the bed, and got comfortable. Then she opened the letter, the first of many weekly letters, the words taking her home across the water, just for a short sliver of time.
Darling Suki!
It's me, your mother...you probably could have assumed that safely, except that, when your sisters learned that I was writing to you, they felt the need to add their own at the end of this letter. How lazy and annoying. Regardless, while it's only been a week, I feel the need to update you anyway.
Your father has gone back on the road…Called to the north, close to Omashu - and beyond. Maybe he'll stop by to see you if or when he can. He won't be back here until far into next year. Hopefully he'll be back in time for the spring equinox. He does love boiled eggs.
Ritu and Niya are bored. As you know, the start of summer means a reprieve from school until the fall. I'm sure you have a different schedule, since Burin told us the new school year starts at the summer solstice - strange, but there must be a reason for it, right?
I will allow a little gossip, just to keep you entertained. There were rumours - unconfirmed - of a Fire Nation occupation in one of the villages to the west of us. That's hardly news, I know, but what is strange about it is that it's said - oddly - the village went along with the take-over! How strange! How could anyone in the Earth Kingdom so easily give in to the Fire Nation?
I will keep you updated on it, of course. How I wish the war was over...Nothing else is new, pet. Sales are made, days go by. Talk to you next week.
Write when you can!
-Mama
Underneath her mother's lovely writing was the similar writing of Ritu.
Hello Suki. I hate that you told Mother about the boy from school. But I miss you, I guess. He likes me, by the way.
DON'T TELL MOTHER, PLEASE.
And under it, Niya's intense, messy scrawl, written in all capitals, said this:
SUKI I'M BORED WITHOUT YOU. PLEASE COME HOME SOON BECAUSE RITU IS ANNOYING. FLUNK OUT OR SOMETHING.
PS. RITU'S BOYFRIEND IS DISGUSTING. AND SO IS SHE.
Suki giggled, feeling both the love and the loss that all of the words evoked. She hugged the letter to her chest, closing her eyes. With the words swirling through her mind, she felt the loneliness ease. She was grateful to her family for still thinking of her, and thinking of her so much.
Weeks went by like days, months like weeks. Each day, Suki trained so hard she had to drag herself home half-asleep. Each week, she was greeted by a letter from her mother. Each month she was surrounded by fellow recruits who liked her, were her friends - Mikku and Zayi especially, but Azaki and Iru as well - and who were learning to be warriors just like she was.
The townspeople treated her like one of their own, helping her out during her errands if she got lost and giving her snacks and treats like they would for the other girls. Pretty soon, Suki fell into routine so snugly that it was hard to imagine any other kind of life.
She was made for Kyoshi.
It was only when she got up from bed one morning and tripped on a stack of colourful boxes in her doorway that she realised it was her birthday - and that she had been on Kyoshi for almost a year. She was so surprised that she knelt down in her doorway and started crying, opening each present with blurred vision and a runny nose.
"Suki," Mikku called, walking past her house and seeing the younger girl hunched over her gifts with tears in her eyes. She walked up the steps slowly, leaning down to her. "Why are you crying? Are you having a meltdown?"
Zayi caught up to her and peered over her shoulder, her eyes huge on her face and clouded with worry. She slipped past Mikku and threw herself at Suki, giving her a huge hug, all the same. "Happy Birthday, Sukes!"
Suki nodded, hugging the girl back lightly, her hands full of wrapping paper. Zayi pulled away, her smile vanishing from her face. "Oh no!" she cried. "Do you hate your presents?"
"I..." and here Suki was at a loss. She looked down at her hands, wondering if the presents at home would be wrapped this extravagantly. She missed her family, but was also glad to have friends at her side. She longed for home, but was in love with Kyoshi. It was confusing.
"You know, I keep forgetting that Suki isn't a Kyoshi girl," Mikku broke in suddenly, her hand at her chin on thought. She met Suki's gaze as Zayi helped her to her feet. "You miss home."
Slowly, Suki nodded, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "I'm also happy, too," she admitted shakily. "I can't explain it. Sorry."
Zayi reached down and scooped up a couple of presents, ones that were opened, and zipped into the house, dropping them gently on the bed, before coming back for more. "It's okay!" she declared between trips. "We understand. Sort of?"
Mikku smiled halfway. "Sort of," she agreed.
It wasn't much, but it helped.
The rest of the day went by as usual, not breaking from the daily routine. If it weren't for the stack of presents and Suki's conflicted emotions, she would have assumed it was just like every other day.
At the end of the day, Suki trudged home, exhausted, but also melancholy. If she had admitted it to herself, she would have realised that, perhaps, she had expected something different, something special, just because it was her birthday.
But then, when the other girls had their birthdays, their days were the same, too. Why would she expect otherwise?
Realising - no, admitting - this helped her. I'm a Kyoshi girl, she thought, for the very first time. And Kyoshi girls don't get special treatment. She wasn't a visitor, a tourist, or even a novelty - she was already there, already a part, already a Warrior.
She missed her home, but...she also realised that Kyoshi was turning into her new home, all without her even realising it.
Burin, somehow, must have picked up on it. Or maybe Duree had told her, because Duree was one of the few that Suki knew could tell (she had given Suki a tight hug after lessons and wished her a good day). The next day, when Suki arrived at the dojo for evening lessons, Burin made a point of drawing her aside to speak to her.
"You alright?" she wondered softly. When Suki nodded, she gave her a small smile. "Liar," she accused. "But don't worry - it gets easier with time. We're new, but we're your family, too, Suki."
It was quite possibly the best thing she could have said, ever. The words supported her, helped her get through the haze of her conflicted feelings, and all because now she knew for sure - she just knew - that she wasn't alone or a coward or a weakling for feeling the way she did. Burin had felt it, too.
It helped, so much.
By the middle of spring and shortly after Suki's birthday, the girls had mastered their forms with the paper fans. Just like Burin said, Suki and the others had adjusted, relearned, and mastered the paper fans, to the point that Suki hardly remembered what her forms felt like without them.
To the joy and delight of the girls, it was time for spring break. This included both regular students as well as the recruits, and for the first time outside of the classroom, Suki found herself mingling with the other kids of the village. It was hard for the recruits to do so, for their time spent training was the same time the other kids spent playing, and thus they weren't used to it. During spring break, the recruits could pretend to be average for a few weeks, just like everyone else.
Despite this, Suki found herself clinging close to her fellow Warriors-in-training. Both Mikku and Zayi were like her best friends, and Azaki and Iru weren't so bad either. Sakana, however, spent her days with an entirely different group of girls, girls who shared the same kind of polished elegance that she did. Occasionally Azaki would spend time with Sakana - she liked everyone - but the other girls steered clear; there was something threatening about Sakana and her gang, and Suki above all didn't want to give the older girl more excuses to hate her.
Despite the break being about, well, taking a break, Suki couldn't help but be drawn back to the dojo for practise. She was, she realised, a creature of habit, and found herself craving the exercise.
Mikku teased her for it, but Zayi often joined her in the dojo, sparring with her or just keeping her company as she slid through the moves. It was nice, either way, to have that companionship.
There was one day that she was especially grateful for Zayi, because she had no idea what she would have done if she had been alone.
It was a miserable, rainy day. The thousands of drops that fell from the sky hit the roof of the dojo like soft little bells.
"Oooh," Zayi clapped twice, her eyes huge and fixed on Suki, looking overjoyed. "You always do that move so well."
Suki paused in mid-stride, her arm over her head, the other held out at her side for balance. "Which one?"
Zayi leapt to her feet and flicked out her fans, dipping into a stance. Suki lowered her arms and stepped back to give her space, as the other girl danced across the floor. Zayi was actually really good; despite her small size, her strength and agility made her moves solid and pleasant to watch.
When she finished, Suki was the one who clapped. Zayi blushed shyly and scratched the back of her head. "You're good at that, too," Suki said cheerfully. "Don't sell yourself short."
Zayi giggled. "You're such a merchant's daughter, talking like that."
Suki stood up straighter."I am a merchant's daughter," she declared proudly, bringing another giggle from Zayi. Suki smiled. She knew that a lot of the other kids thought that Zayi was stupid because of how excited she got, but Suki knew the truth - she saw it every day in the dojo, after all. Zayi was smart - smarter than her, probably - and she was quick and deadly. She learned faster than the other girls and usually needed to be shown how to do a new move once. Zayi was just...she was a very happy and upbeat girl, was all. She had a strong resilience to endure conflict and push past it, all while still being happy and optimistic.
Suki envied that. She wanted to learn how to do that.
A tentative knock snapped her out of her reverie. Both girls looked to the open doorway to find a soaked and miserable-looking boy with curly hair that was plastered to his head. "Can I come in?" he wondered, his voice soft. "It's really coming down!"
Zayi was instantly sympathetic. "Of course! Yuck, the rain is horrible today!" She darted over and helped the boy into the dojo, closing the door behind him.
Suki wrinkled her nose a little. The boy brought in a smell that was similar to a wet squirrel-dog.
Zayi looked around, then went to the back room of the dojo and reappeared with an armful of clean towels. The boy gratefully took them, using them to dry off shyly.
"I've seen you before!" Zayi admitted as he started trying to dry his hair. "You're...um..."
"Suihou," he replied, pulling the towel away from his hair and clutching it tightly to his chest. His eyes went wide, and seemed to be glued to Zayi.
"Right!" Zayi clapped her hands together once. "Suihou!"
Suki edged closer. She hadn't met him before, and was pretty curious, despite the underlying nervousness she felt about being near a boy - that much she had never been able to be rid of, leftover from dealing with Ranku.
"And you're Zayi," Suihou was saying. His eyes slid over to Suki, then widened in sudden surprise. He seemed to lose his trail of thought at the sight of her, and instantly she felt shy and self-conscious about it.
"You're...Suki," he said, his voice louder. When she nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes, he grinned widely. "Everyone talks about you when you aren't around! They say how you're an outsider, but still pretty good, and wow, I'm actually talking to you!"
During this tirade, Suihou's voice rose higher and higher in his apparent excitement. Zayi and Suki exchanged surprised glances, but a split second later got the real surprise of a lifetime; Suihou dropped the towels, threw his hands up in the air, and, apparently abandoning himself to his glee, started cheering over and over again until he actually frothed at the mouth and passed out onto the floor.
Suki stared, stunned. Anything she thought of saying dried up on her tongue.
Zayi, however, found it absolutely hilarious. Her giggles filled the dojo, her arms around her middle as she laughed, her eyes so tight tears ran down her cheeks.
If she had had any remaining doubts about being accepted, Suihou's explosive (literally) display dissolved them in an instant. She smiled, then joined in the laughs, unable to hold them in any longer.
Inside, her heart laughed, too. It can only get better, she thought. It can only get better.
Writer's footnote: Now Foamy has a name! Hahaha.