NINE | GIRLS IN GOLD AND GREEN.
( the warriors of kyoshi, part one )

don't you think that it's boring how people talk?

making smart with their words again, well, i'm bored.

"I'M MEDITATING, KASUMI."

"Does meditating require a box of expired sweets?"

A dozen candles lay on a table on the far wall of the room. They all had identical, flickering flames, providing light that was sometimes sparse, and sometimes plentiful. It depended on the grumpy, scowling Prince controlling them.

Kasumi watched with mischief as Zuko turned from his seat to face her. He had tried his best to ignore her as he absorbed on the altar before him, focusing on the old meditative firebending practice he's recently taken up. Too bad she always knew how to garner his attention.

"Run out of biscuits, I see," Kasumi noticed, nodding to the box of Fire Nation wafers in his hands. "How stale are those, by the way?"

"Leave me alone," He grunted. The flames spiked, shadowing his long face. "The only reason you should be in here is if you have news of the Avatar. But that's something I wouldn't expect you to have in store."

Kasumi snorted. "Not entirely correct, your highness."

Zuko let out another growl. His flames flicked up again. He had spent quite a bit of time in here recently, since their newest . . . arrival on the ship. "Well? What is it then?" He asked impatiently.

"You'll find out once you actually give me what I came for. I didn't come in here just to entertain you, Zuko. I wanted to talk to you."

The candles evened out at this, red tips dissolving yellow, then shot up and down again. Her voice was composed. Serious, even. The thought of it flustering him made her snicker.

"You're giving Pearl a rather cold welcome," she said finally, taking a spot at the cherry-wood table that was furthest from Zuko. She could barely see herself with the dim fire that didn't reach the corners of the room.

The flames licked up for a moment. "I am not," he said gruffly.

"Yes, you are! You've barely talked to her! Poor girl cried herself to sleep yesterday and you didn't even say goodnight!" She huffed when he didn't react to her. The candles were stagnant. "Although I'm sure any talks with you wouldn't make anyone feel any better."

Zuko and his flames let out a huff. "I don't have to be nice to her."

"But you should be! She's a human being!" She retorted, giving the back of his head a nasty glare.

Soon she was faced with his eyes instead. When he whirled around, the room got significantly brighter. "No, I shouldn't! And you shouldn't either! She's not here for a sleepover, or for a fun vacation at sea, Kasumi! She's here because she's supposed to be learning a lesson!"

Kasumi prided herself as an intelligent girl. But this one time, she had to admit she couldn't piece together what Zuko meant. She furrowed her brows, "What do you mean, a lesson?"

He looked at her like she was stupid. After a pretentious pinch to the nose, he continued, "Zhao sent her here as punishment. She should technically be here as a prisoner. Pearl's facing the consequences of her actions and you're dishonouring her father by pretending like she belongs here!"

"What?" She said, standing up. It was a revolting truth. And a dumb one. Did Zhao expect them to make his daughter's life miserable after he shoved her away from him? "What kind of lesson is that?"

"One she has to learn. Your father sending you to board with a bunch of Fire Nation exiles has less than positive implications. And like I said, you're dishonouring Zhao by pretending she's here for a good reason. She's not a reward. "

Kasumi flung her hands in the air. "You think I care about honouring that pig? Don't you hate him? He challenged you to a duel and tried to hurt you when you won!"

Zuko glared at her. "I may not like him, but I have enough common sense to respect his decision. Pearl disobeyed him, and he trusted this ship to carry out the punishment." His words betrayed the bitter, almost resenting flickers in his eyes. The candle flames weren't settling either.

Kasumi hadn't liked Commander Zhao from the moment she saw his putrid face, but now she liked him even less. "Some punishment," she scoffed. "If he expects me to straighten her out, he's about as smart as a bag of rice."

"You don't know a thing about punishment," Zuko seethed.

Kasumi almost laughed, but she was more offended than she was amused. Zuko just wanted to be left alone. That was all; he didn't really mean it. She could tell by how bright the room was getting. "Are you serious? My father exiled me to this ship too, you know! That was my punishment, and now I'm stuck here with you!"

"Well you haven't learned your lesson, so I wouldn't know." He retorted. "Maybe he should be harsher next time!"

That made her fingers curl. Without thinking, she spewed, "Oh, so have you learned yours?"

It was a very poor choice of words as soon as she said it. The room dimmed. And suddenly she was reminded of Zuko's scar stretching across his eye, brightened by the kisses of flame. She stared at it until he noticed her watching.

She hadn't been there when he got it. She often didn't remember how he got it.

"You don't get it," he said, gruff and stern. "You won't."

A stir in her belly made its way up to her throat. She swallowed to push it back down. Her slippers stepping back echoed through the stillness.

"Tell me your news of the Avatar before you go," Zuko said. Kasumi stopped in her tracks.

She gulped. Now she really didn't want to tell him the news. "Oh . . . well, we have no idea where he is."

The candles burst so bright it burned her eyes.

"WHAT?"

She squinted, already making her way out of the room. "Iroh said there's been a couple sightings, but no one's been able to track him down. Sorry. I don't know how we're going to find him . . . he's some kind of master of evasive maneuvering."

—☯︎︎—

"YOU HAVE NO idea where you're going, do you?"

Aang turned from Appa's head. Crystal and a pants-less Sokka were peering over a shared map, each with concerns of their own. Katara was at the front of the saddle, stitching up the split in Sokka's seams when his pants were ripped by a passing eaglemonkey. Crystal thought the animal was funny. Sokka tried to kill it.

"Well, I know it's near water!" Aang answered cheerfully.

Sokka gazed down at the endless stretch of ocean beneath them. "I guess we're getting close, then."

Crystal sighed, smoothing out the wrinkles in the map. It was a miracle nobody had found them by now. If it hadn't been for Sokka's nagging, they would've taken the most obvious route at every turn. Since he hadn't been spending his time talking to her, now he'd diverted his energy to coddling the others. And pouring over maps. And ripping his pants.

Aang tried to show Katara one of his airbending tricks. She ignored him. (Crystal clapped but she didn't think it had the same effect.) "Katara, you didn't even look!" Aang frowned.

Her eyes flitted away from her stitching for a moment to see Aang. "That's great!" She said with halfhearted enthusiasm.

"But I'm not doing it now!"

"Stop bugging her, airhead. You need to give girls space when they're doing they're sewing," Sokka said lazily, waving Aang off.

Both girls shot Sokka blazing looks.

"Excuse me?" Crystal glared.

"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?" Katara raised a challenging brow at her brother. With that look in her eyes and the sharp needle between her fingers, any sane person would stay at least six feet away from her. Sokka, however, was not sane, and kept talking like a pile of bricks.

"Simple," he shrugged, far too unbothered for the girls' liking. "Girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things."

Crystal gaped at him, but unfortunately she wasn't surprised. He said things like this all the time. Usually she let it pass, but since he already wasn't talking to her, she might as well wring his skinny neck until he choked on his own brain. "I'll keep that in mind next time we go fishing," she snapped. He flinched away from his relaxed position.

"All done with your pants! And look what a great job I did!" Katara chimed, ripping the thread out of the needle with vigour before hurling the unfinished pants into Sokka's face. Crystal couldn't resist giving her a high five.

The tips of Sokka's ears were pink as he wrestled with the holes of fabric, struggling to get the pants off his head. "Wait, I was just kidding! I can't wear these! Katara, please!"

"Relax Sokka, where we're going, you won't need any pants!" Aang chuckled, steering Appa with a little more purpose. It seemed they'd reached their destination.

Crystal grimaced. "Um, is that supposed to be a good thing?"

Appa landed on a formation of islands made of rocky mountains. It was the first piece of land she'd seen in about three hours. They landed on a shore with pale grains of sand under their feet, spindly trees, and bushes growing between boulders.

"Ooh, this place is nice," Crystal hummed as she slid off Appa. She could see the ocean in front of them again, but it looked much less boring now that she was on solid ground. Waves lapped at the shoreline of shrubbery and sand, and she walked closer to meet them.

"We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?" Sokka asked. Crystal's head lolled back at the thought of sailing over the same shade of blue for another ten years.

Surprisingly, Katara agreed with him. "At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring."

"I hate that they're right," she said to herself, watching a wave crawl up the shoreline to touch the tips of her boots.

"But Appa's tired already! Aren't you, boy!" Aang nudged his giant friend, who didn't move an inch. "I said, aren't you, boy?"

Appa yawned half-heartedly.

"Yeah, that was real convincing," Sokka scoffed at a very smiley Aang. "Still, hard to argue with a ten-ton magical monster."

Crystal stared out at the vast sea. Something sentimental stirred in her for the first time since the start of their journey. There were lots of places in the Southern Water Tribe where you could sit and watch waves roll by as far as the eye could see. She'd seek those spots out when she needed some quiet, away from the tatters of war that hung over her little town. This view reminded her of home.

The giant fish leaping out of the water, however, did not.

"Woah, what's that?" She jumped back, watching a great blur of orange come up from the sea and under again.

Aang raced up to her side, pointing at the trail of the big fish. "That's why we're here—elephant koi, and I'm going to ride it! You guys have got to watch me!"

By the time Crystal could ask how he knew about this place, Aang had already stripped of his outer-garments and was excitedly diving into the water. "Cold!" He shrieked, before immediately going back down.

Crystal and her friends glanced at each other. Sokka made a crazy-person gesture. The fish came up again, and this time Aang was gripping fiercely onto the fin on its back. Now that she could see the fish more clearly, she understood Aang's enthusiasm. It was a very pretty fish.

Katara smiled wide, and Crystal joined her in giddy whoops and cheers as Sokka did his best to look unimpressed. "C'mon, Sokka, he looks pretty good out there!" She nudged him.

He only gazed at her briefly before turning his head away. It was a little surprising she talked to him after clearly not wanting to yesterday. "Are you kidding me? The fish is doing all the work."

"Appa, don't eat that!" Katara blurted. She slipped out of Crystal's grasp and ran off down the path they came from.

Crystal didn't mean to be selfish, but if it came to a random fish or the greatest travel companion in the world, she knew who she'd pick. "What did Appa eat, Katara?" She yelled after her friend, scrambling off to follow her.

Turned out he'd taken a giant bite of a strange prickly bush, ripping the twigs and leaves off their trunk and wedging them in his mouth like a head of broccoli. Crystal was pulling the last of the bunch out when Sokka started screaming, "There's something in the water!"

One tug on Crystal's parka and she and Katara were running back, sharing worried looks and anxious squeezes. Once they got back to Sokka, his eyes squinting ahead, he said, "Aang's in trouble."

Crystal saw a big black shadow slithering beneath the water. Then she found Aang, a little speck on the koi fish's fins. Whatever was lurking near him could probably swallow him whole. "What is that?" She asked, drowned out by all the other cries to beckon Aang back to land. They waved their hands and yelled as loud as they could, but he was so far away that they couldn't tell if he heard them or not.

She screamed. Aang had just been launched off the koi fish, and it looked like it hurt. Thankfully his little head bobbed up from the water a minute later. Phew, still alive.

She took her breath back when a massive, spindly fin rose from the water, casting shadows over Aang. "That thing is huge!" She clamped a hand over her mouth. "Aang, run!"

He was off like a rocket. It was almost unbelievable how fast he swam away from that monster, barely a blur in the water until he soared right out and crashed into Sokka's chest. Must be an Avatar thing.

Crystal rushed over to help Aang up. She didn't catch the look Sokka gave her when she didn't notice he was keeled over against a tree. "Are you okay?" She asked, putting her hands on his shoulders.

He sent her a shaken smile as he grabbed his clothes. "Um, yeah. I think so."

Crystal couldn't help herself, and she ushered him into a tight hug once he'd put his clothes back on. His wobbly arms timidly wrapped around her, face pressing against her parka. "Thank you," he murmured.

"What was that thing?" Katara swallowed, glancing back at the water. Waves smoothed over the horizon, with no monster fish in sight.

"I don't know!" Aang replied, slipping out of Crystal's hug to survey his other friends. Her heart warmed a bit at that. Aang really was a nice kid. One of the nicest people she'd ever met, probably.

Grunting, Sokka finally stood up and shook the dirt off his hands. "Well, let's not stick around to find out. Time to hit the road."

"Yeah, he's right," Crystal sighed, looking back over her shoulder at the chilly shoreline. "Goodbye, sand. Goodbye, bushes. Goodbye, fish—agh!"

Something tackled her to the ground. And blindfolded her. And tied her up. The screeches from her friends told her they weren't doing any better. She screamed, whirling around like meat on a skewer, until she was pushed down with a thump.

"Or . . . we could stay a while," Sokka said somewhere beside her.

Crystal had never been blindfolded before. Her sudden lack of object permanence was terrifying as her attackers jostled her and her friends off the ground. She thought her feet would fall right through the floor any second. Someone had a firm grip on her forearms tied behind her back, steering Crystal somewhere else in this blanketed darkness. Grunts from Sokka and Aang's heavy breaths told her that they were all still together, at least.

Crystal squirmed as she walked, trying to twist her arm away from this person's death grip.

They only held firmer, yanking her a little when she wouldn't stop moving. "Watch it, blondie."

The fabric of her blindfold wrinkled as her brows scrunched together. That voice grunting in her ear sounded like . . . a girl.

Her heart was skipping every couple beats as they continued tugging her along. She swore her ears were playing tricks on her to make up for her lack of vision. They sure didn't drown out Sokka's whining though, who was busy telling his assailants he'd kick their butts after he "untied himself from these stupid ropes." Sometimes she wondered how she tolerated him all these years.

After more walking against her will, Crystal was pressed against something hard as more rope was tied around her waist. She could tell by the shoulders squashing both her sides that the rest of her team had been tied here as well.

"You four have some explaining to do," a stiff voice drawled at them.

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the Unagi!" A second voice added.

There it was again. That girl.

"Show yourselves, cowards!" Sokka blurted, so close it hurt her ears. If she knew where his shin was, she'd kick it.

Thankfully she wouldn't have to wait long. Her blindfold was pulled off, revealing the starkness of the sun, a white-haired man, and . . . and girls! She was right!

There were about ten girls standing in front of them, with matching pointed glares. Their makeup and outfits were all the same, too. Their faces were painted white, with red curves above their eyelids and a black outline to complete it. They all wore big, long dresses with a breastplate sewn to them, as well as sturdy gloves and green headbands. Crystal felt a little giddy looking at them. Those dresses looked so cool, perfect for fighting!

"Who are you? Where are the men that ambushed us?" Sokka barked, straining the ropes. Crystal noticed she was between Aang and Sokka, and Katara was next to her brother. So they were all here.

"There were no men. We ambushed you," the girl with the familiar voice rang out. Her headband was larger than those of the other girls' and her hair was shorter. She was very pretty. "Now tell us, who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Sokka looked amused beside her, and she already knew he was going to say something moronic. "Wait a second, there's no way a bunch of girls took us down!"

There it was.

The girl with short hair surged forward and grabbed the collar of Sokka's parka. "A bunch of girls, huh? The Unagi's going to eat well tonight," she seethed.

Crystal was starting to think the ropes were making her a little light-headed.

Katara pulled forward. "No, don't hurt him! He didn't mean it! My brother's just an idiot sometimes."

"All the time," Crystal coughed. When Sokka gave her a nasty look, she prodded him in the shin. The short-haired girls' eyes flew over her for a second before letting Sokka go.

"It's my fault. I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi," Aang said mournfully.

"How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies?" The old man accused. "Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far, and we intend to keep it that way."

"This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!"

The residents of the island that had gathered gave Aang equally skeptical looks. Crystal side-eyed him as well.

The old man laughed, "How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries!"

Avatar Kyoshi . . . wasn't that the Earth Avatar two cycles before Aang?

"I know her because I'm the Avatar."

The old man's mouth hung open, and the warrior girl's painted eyebrows went up so high they almost hit her headband. "That's impossible. The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago!"

Aang smiled. "That's me!"

If he kept being so adorable, Crystal would have to adopt Aang herself.

"Throw the impostor to the Unagi!" The old man shouted.

Crystal shrunk against the wooden pole she was tied to as the warrior girls unsheathed their golden fans. It was the coolest, most terrifying thing ever. If there was one way she had to die, she wouldn't mind it being this one.

"Aang, do some airbending," Katara whispered.

Just as the tip of a fan grazed Crystal's nose, Aang broke from his binds and flew up into the air. The girls looked up. Soon gasps rippled through the crowd, the townspeople looking thoroughly awed, as Aang landed gently on the ground.

The old man was the most slack-faced of them all. Crystal thought he might've peed his pants. "It's true . . . You are the Avatar."

Crystal saw Aang stand a little taller. "Now, check this out!" He whipped something out from his shawl, and she thought it might've been a mighty gust of wind or a floating dust bunny, but instead it was that same marble trick he tried to show Katara on the ship. He was even more enthusiastic about it this time when the crowd cheered for him so loud she had to purse her lips to stop herself from giggling. One guy even started foaming at the mouth.

She surveyed the quaint, vibrant town as the girls in green untied her from her ropes. These people really didn't get enough action, did they?

Thanks to them, they were about to get a whole lot more.

—☯︎︎—

IN ALL HER dealings with her belligerent father, of all the places he'd left her or made her go, Pearl never imagined the ship of a crown Prince would bear her the guilt that it did.

In any other circumstance, she would be joyful. Time spent away from her father, in the company of some lovely people instead? It was a no-brainer. Iroh had been very kind to her when he stopped by the camp, and Kasumi even more so. The raven-haired spitfire was the closest thing Pearl had to an acquaintance. Getting to reconnect with her in a new state of their lives would've been so fulfilling (and perhaps would quell her ravaging loneliness).

That was not the way things were going, obviously. Pearl wasn't here as a guest or by invitation. Three Fire Nation exiles had become four. He pushed her away from him. He sent her here to repent. She was no more a guest than that coal burning in the hearth in front of her. She was just another weight he'd pushed this ship to carry. A crate in the cargo hold.

Her hands looked like oil paintings again. That's when she knew it was time to take a deep breath and grab a tissue from the small table beside her, dab at her eyes, and try to think of other things even though she wasn't supposed to. Even though she was supposed to live with this misery she'd dealt herself.

So far all she did on the ship was bring her trunk into one of the ship's empty rooms, eat a solemn dinner of fish and noodles, and muffle her tears in her hands as she curled into a bed that wasn't hers. Kasumi talked to her a couple times. She seemed happy Pearl was here, at least. Last night Kasumi pulled her all around the ship, showing her all the things she needed to know and even taking her to the ship's bow, where the sun had set and the stars were bright and it was so, so beautiful. Pearl wanted to paint every stretch of it. But she wasn't here to paint, she was here to reflect, so she walked back inside before anyone noticed her hands blurring like she did.

Now she was sitting in what looked like the ship's designated common room. It was a cozy place. There were plush sofas and cushions scattered atop a small patterned carpet, and a fire in full bloom—one that the benders on this ship kept going, no doubt, in spite of the coal. It was a small room, but it was as good as any when it came to stewing by yourself.

"Pearl, dinner's ready in about fifteen minutes. It's fish again, blegh, but apparently it's from somewhere exotic so it won't taste like feet this time."

Pearl crumpled the tissue and stuffed it under her leg. She turned around and smiled, hoping that her face wasn't so harrowed that it drove anyone away. But thankfully it was just Kasumi, who at this point Pearl thought was the least likely to abandon her—an odd realization.

". . . Can I sit?" Kasumi asked. Pearl's cheeks warmed when she remembered she hadn't even said anything yet.

"Mhm," she managed to nod, pressing her fingers together to stop their shaking.

Kasumi draped herself on the couch closest to Pearl. She looked especially elegant today, in a strapless maroon corset over a long-sleeved ruby dress. The bruise on her cheek had bloomed spectacularly.

It was tense for a moment. Pearl had a feeling neither of them knew how to maneuver this conversation. And then there was that ache again, that ache of disconnection, that longing to know someone as a best friend and a confidant. Someone you could trust. She was already daydreaming that Kasumi could be that for her, but it was a small chance considering Pearl's track record. Not many people stayed long enough.

"So, how are you settling in?" Kasumi asked, leaning towards Pearl in earnest. That alone made Pearl's heart stir. The ghost of a smile peeked on her face.

"I'm, um, I'm good," she said timidly, looking around. "It's a very lovely ship. Spectacular views."

Kasumi nodded and wrinkled her nose. "Too bad the guards ruin the scenery. Their uniforms are so ugly."

"So ugly!" Pearl blurted. She didn't mean to say it, but Kasumi's roguish smile made her more at ease.

"Bet we could design better ones in our sleep."

Her chest warmed immensely. We. "Yeah, I think we could."

There was a silence that felt comfortable. Felt safe. Pearl loved and loathed the feeling, because on one hand it felt nice to have someone engage with you, and on the other, she wasn't supposed to be feeling comfortable at all. Her father would only get more upset at her if he saw the way she was treating her punishment. Shameful girl. Maybe I should keep you here longer.

She peeked back at Kasumi. Her bruise seemed to stretch shadows on the side of her face with the hearth's fire flickering up and down. Pearl followed Kasumi's intense gaze of concentration to the fireplace. There, the flames licked high and low. They seemed unnatural when they were small one minute, and stretching beyond the hearth the next.

Pearl looked back at Kasumi and the crease between her brows, the sharpness of her eyes, the tenseness of her wrists on her lap. Her eyes narrowed and the flames burst higher. Oh.

Pearl's heart skipped a beat. Kasumi didn't even have to move to control her fire anymore. Now, it bent to her like a moth to an unyielding flame. She marked that down in her memory as something to note.

After a few more moments of smoke and silence, Kasumi adjusted the sleeves of her dress. Oh, right! "Kasumi, how's that aloe vera been treating you?" She asked politely, still watching the flames as they returned to their natural state.

"Wonderful, thanks for asking! I might need some more in a week or so, though. It really is a lifesaver."

Kasumi's smile was far more strained than the last time. "Um . . . what did you say you were using it for again?" Pearl asked timidly.

"Oh, my—my arm itches a lot," she swallowed, waving a hand in the air. The strength in her voice returned when she continued, "And it does wonders for the face, did you know? No more red spots for me!"

Pearl felt something was amiss here, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was overshadowed by the joy she felt when her knowledge had actually helped somebody. And they appreciated it.

Kasumi cleared her throat and smoothed down her skirt. Pearl was worried she spoiled the mood somehow. "I know things here haven't been super interesting yet, but just you wait," Kasumi smiled easily again, and the glint in her eyes returned. "Sooner or later Zuko will hear a rumour about the Avatar and we'll be probing a field somewhere or fighting some Water Tribe losers. It's tons of fun, especially when Zuko loses."

Pearl gulped. Fighting Water Tribe losers didn't sound like something she was qualified for.

Just as Kasumi stood with a mumble about checking on the food, the entrance to the common room was disturbed.

Zuko burst in, looking angry and also a little . . . anxious. "The Avatar's on Kyoshi Island. We're arriving there tomorrow and bringing out the rhinos." His gaze strayed adamantly off Pearl, and was only looking in Kasumi's general direction. "Get ready," he ordered, then disappeared promptly.

A devilish grin wormed onto Kasumi's face. "Well, I guess it's sooner," she said, turning to Pearl. She watched with wide eyes as Kasumi offered her hand to help pull her up. "Come on, you heard him. Let's get ready!"

Pearl hoped this turned out to be a probing-through-fields scenario.

—☯︎︎—

KYOSHI ISLAND WAS so welcoming in the morning. Vendors were setting up their stands, and parents milled about outside their houses to enjoy the peace before their kids woke up. Workers climbed up the long ladders that led to the statue of famed Avatar Kyoshi, ready to scrub her down and give her a good touch-up. The sun had only just covered the ground in light. Looking around, Crystal couldn't remember the last time she had woken up this early.

When Crystal woke about twenty minutes ago, the sky still held traces of the dark and all her friends were asleep. She was antsy, and curious, so she took some food off the table set up in their room and left to explore. The only one she'd spoken to so far was Appa. He was munching on some hay outside and she scratched beneath his chin for a while before continuing further into town.

She leaned against a tree near the edge of the village and yawned. Her eyes led her to what looked like a dojo. Inside, those girls in green from earlier were chatting with each other and stretching. Judging by the way they were warming up, they probably only got here a few minutes prior to Crystal.

She was instantly captivated. They looked so happy. So full of adventure. And before she knew it, she was peering through the entrance to admire up close.

"Hey there."

She lurched and knocked her head against the doorframe. "Ow—um, uh, hi," she fumbled, rubbing her temple and pretending to ignore the warmth in her face. "Didn't see you there."

The girl with the short hair gave her a grin. She was closest to the entrance, and had obviously noticed Crystal's ogling. "Didn't see you, either. What are you doing up this early, traveller?"

Crystal awkwardly shifted further into the dojo as the brunette girl began cracking her joints and moving items off to the side. "I was just, uh, browsing," she said. Some of the other girls cast her strange looks as they talked to each other. She swallowed thickly, feeling way too bashful all of a sudden. She was suddenly aware of her hair—which was definitely way too bright for all these pretty brunette girls. Maybe she should just leave. "So . . . what do you guys do here?"

"This is our dojo. We train here," the girl shrugged. "We're Kyoshi warriors, so it's our job to protect our village."

Crystal nearly choked. "Wait, you guys are warriors? You guys—you guys do all the fighting and the protecting and stuff?" She marvelled, scanning all the strong women mingling in front of her. "That's so cool!"

The short-haired girl had a genuine smile at Crystal's enthusiasm, gesturing for her to come further inside. "Thanks! I'm their leader, actually. Suki. Please, come in."

"I'm Crystal," she replied, shaking Suki's hand in earnest. Suki took her wrist and led her inside.

"You're with the Avatar, right?" Suki asked her. "And that idiot with the ponytail?"

Crystal blew a hot breath of air, still enraptured by the dojo. "Yep. I'm stuck with 'em."

Suki chuckled passively. "That bad, huh? I thought travelling with the Avatar would have its perks."

"Oh no, Aang's the best. It's the idiot with the ponytail I cant stand. . . Sorry about him, by the way."

Suki was stretching herself now, responding between breaths. "No worries. He sure seems like a handful." She stretched her arms up into the air and shook herself out. "Is he always like that?"

"Nope," Crystal sighed, tired of talking about of Sokka like this. "He's my best friend. But we fought a bit a couple days ago, and it's been kind of weird ever since."

"Did he apologize?"

"Well yeah, but—" she huffed, plopping down on a bench against the wall. "I don't know. I don't know if he knows what he's apologizing for."

"Hm. I get that," Suki nodded to herself, a more playful expression dawning her face. "If it makes you feel better, I can give him a good ol' talking to, if you know what I mean." Her mouth tugged up as she opened her fan and hit her fist against it.

Crystal laughed, and it was a good feeling. "Thanks, but no thanks. He might pee himself." Her eyes wandered around, curiosity still not quite soothed. "Do you mind if I stay and watch for a while? I really like the way you guys fight."

Suki's smile lengthened. She hummed for a moment, inspecting Crystal with a raise of her brows. After a second she decided, "You know what, how about you participate, too?"

Crystal shot up like a rocket. "Really? Like really, really?" She grinned, grabbing Suki's wrists. The prospect of exploring this new warrior-girl world herself was enough to have her practically squealing.

"Mm-hm. You'll wear the facepaint and everything. We've never trained an outsider before, but I think we can make an exception."

"Suki, I would be honoured!" Crystal beamed. She'd never lived somewhere where girls getting to fight was not only supported, but encouraged. The Kyoshi Warriors were the foundation of this town! And now she was getting a chance to be formidable and wild and powerful just like they were.

"Alright! Girls, we've got a new guest for today!"

When Suki applied her makeup in long, delicate strokes, and fitted her in a uniform of her own, Crystal felt . . . empowered. The other warriors were just as cool as Suki and had no apprehensions about letting her train with them. They all had kind, strong faces that made her heart fuzzy. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time. It was nice to be back with girls again. Girls who were brave, and girls who liked her.

The fighting was just as interesting. She hadn't learned much about combat in the Southern Water Tribe. Only the men fought, and the basic knowledge of spears were exclusively passed down from father to son. The only way she'd learned any semblance of fighting was from Amka, who knew how to use heavy clubs to defend herself when necessary and taught Crystal after she begged for the better part of a year. Not even Katara knew how to fight. No one ever bothered to teach them—no one thought they needed to.

As Crystal adjusted herself to fans and gloves and patience, she missed Amka more than ever. She would love it here. I have to bring her sometime.

Suki was taking Crystal and her fellow warriors through an exercise when another visitor arrived. Crystal frowned when she noticed who it was. This would not go as smoothly as her entrance did—and that was saying something.

"Sorry, ladies. Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson. I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout."

Sokka's gloating expression made it clear that he did mean to interrupt, and he was in no way sorry. Crystal crossed her arms as the Kyoshi Warriors broke composure.

"Well, you're in the right place," Suki purred. She angled her head to glance at Crystal. "Your idiot's here."

"Criss?" Sokka raised his brows as he followed Suki's eyes. It must've been easy to pick her out of the crowd, with her straw-blonde hair and significantly worse posture. "What are you doing here?"

For a moment she almost felt embarrassed, but then she remembered the power of the fan clutched in her fist. "Taking a dance lesson," she shrugged, feeling smug. "It's actually turning out to be very useful."

Sokka looked bewildered as he glanced from her back to Suki. "Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you were friends with the Avatar," Suki amended.

He took a second to respond. Crystal thought there might've been a trace of pink in his cheeks as he began to stretch obnoxiously, purely for the sake of showing off. "It's all right. I mean, normally, I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."

Some of the girls around her giggled silently into their fans. Oh, if only he knew.

"I should hope so," Suki replied, hints of mischief in her voice. "A big, strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance!"

"True, but don't feel bad," Sokka said cockily, rolling his neck. "After all, I'm the best warrior in my village."

Suki gasped, "Wow. Best warrior, huh?" She turned her head again. "Crystal, that true?"

Sokka seemed to tense. She could shatter his ego as easily as she could inflate it. Good thing the bigger the break, the more fun it was. And he definitely needed to be taken down a notch. "Oh, yeah," she waved off, nodding vigorously. "By a mile."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sokka throw her a puzzled glance. How could he be so smart sometimes, but so incredibly stupid?

"Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration, then?" Suki asked and shared a knowing look with the other girls.

Sokka's grin vanished. "Oh, well, I mean, I—"

"Come on, girls!" Suki rallied. "Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?"

The girls couldn't contain their snickers this time, and feigned politeness as they giggled, Crystal among them.

Sokka's eyes narrowed for a second, but he was too proud to notice he was falling into a trap. "Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to," he smirked again.

"All right, you stand over there," he instructed Suki, who had been doing nothing but standing since he walked in. His condescending tone only grew thicker as he continued, "Now, this may be a little tough, but try to block me."

Suki disabled him with her fan before he even got close to her shoulder. Crystal snorted into her glove. He gritted his teeth and stumbled back, forcing a very tense smile. "Haha, good," he laughed hollowly. "O-of course, I was going easy on you."

"Of course you were," Crystal quipped before she could help it.

He glanced at her again. His pained smile vanished, and he looked back at Suki with building frustration. "Let's see if you can handle this—!"

He charged at Suki again, and this time he was flung across the room. Suki barely batted an eyelash.

"Ugh, that does it!" Sokka yelled, standing to run at Suki again with even more rage than the last time, only to be swung around like a fishing line and have the belt of his tunic tied around his hand and foot. He yelped and hobbled around as the warriors watched with amusement. Soon enough he fell flat on his stomach. The first thing at his eye level was Crystal's boot.

He didn't look at her, but she watched with a twisted sense of glee as his cheeks turned brighter than she'd ever seen them. He finally looked as embarrassed as he should be.

"Nice one," she grinned.

Sokka scurried out of the room with his tunic still flaying loose. A worm of guilt stayed with Crystal in his wake, but it was pushed off. The girls were laughing and giggling and for once she felt truly respected. She couldn't help the toothy grin on her face. "Good work, girls!"

This was going to be fun.

____________________________
A/N. . .

SOKKA: oh no! i accidentally messed up the invitations for crystal's birthday! it was supposed to say birthday party!
SUKI: what does it say?
SOKKA: crystal's bi
SUKI: that works too

HELLOOO everyone it's been a while!! i'd tell you all where i've been but i'll save that for the next author's note since it's a double update!! it's the least i could do for being gone so long but i promise i had my reasons

i feel like i've lost over like... half of the audience for this story and it makes me really upset :( please stick with me it'll be worth it i swear and if you're reading please show your support i want to keep this book fun and interactive bc it's the best part of putting these chapters out <3

next author's note will be longer because i suggest reading both these chapters at the same time since there's very little separation, so i hope i'll see you all there! please keep commenting and interacting i don't want this book to die😭😭 next chapter is gay af so get excited!!

—perrie