Chapter 270: Let Her Be Free
A/N: I think remembering the Ty sisters can take a lot of time, so how about I add (number) after their name according to their births, like Ty Lee(7), since she's the youngest?
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Suki smiles proudly as she looks at the group of uniformed Kyoshi warriors. She admits she used her uniform's materials sparingly, not often using it to dress other girls, but now she can replenish most of it without issues! And what a sight it is!
Michi and others mingle with her previous team stationed on Kyoshi Island, chatting about each other's experiences. The Ty-Sisters attract the most attention, and the compliments of how good they look together barely bother them anymore. Unable to resort to her handstands or cartwheels in the armored uniform, Ty Lee(7) settles to skip toward Suki with a huge grin. "How does this look?" She twirls on her toes, and her arms spread wide as her sisters surround Suki quickly.
"You all look great," Suki smiles as the sisters interject whatever she plans on saying.
"But it's a bit heavy, no? It'll take too long to strip and go for a swim," Ty Liu(4) shakes her head and crosses her arms over her plated torso.
"Forget about swimming," Ty Lin(1) gushes excitedly. "Can I get a matching flute? It would look cute and practical!"
"A flute's not practical in bashing someone's head, bitch," Ty Woo(6) scoffs. "We need something bigger and longer!"
"Speaking of a big and long object," Poppy looks at the woman her age and recites last night's event softly, her story attracting other young Kyoshi warriors around them, including Suki's old group.
"I know," Ty Lum(5) grins. "We can organize a great choreography with metal fans and Lao's(3) Origami!"
"I can do that," Ty Lao(3) nods with bright eyes.
"And the music is our duty," Ty Lat(2) nudges Lin's(1) shoulder with a wide grin.
"And all I have is acrobatics," Ty Lee's(7) shoulders slump, unable to find anything noteworthy to match her sisters' excitement. Again, she is somewhat over her deeply rooted issues with her siblings. But it is disheartening that her sisters achieved so much aside from just acrobatics. Well, everyone except the sailor-mouth Ty Woo(6).
"Oh! Wait!" Ty Lee(7) perks up again and looks at Ty Woo(6). "You're as useless as me!"
Woo(6) deadpans at her sister before her fingers clamp on Lee's(7) cheeks as she hisses with a grin, "Who are you calling useless, bitch?!"
"Alright," Suki interjects and claps her gloved hands to attract the chattering ladies' attention, noticing a few of her teammates acting weirdly.
"What's going on?" Suki tilts her head in confusion as the young girls shake their heads quickly while casting fleeting glances in Poppy's direction. Sighing to herself and understanding they might have eavesdropped on a more intimate conversation than they expected, Suki pushes past any of their awkwardness and commands, "We have been training for many years. Let's demonstrate to our relatively new members how we usually practice!"
"Yes!" All of Suki's former teammates shout excitedly before one of them inquires in a shy tone. "Suki, can we meet the Plunderer?" Feeling one of her teammates nudging her, the girl adds quickly. "I mean, Nik, of course! We just heard a lot about him as the 'Plunderer' than the Hero."
"That's quite alright," Poppy smiles at the group of girls, chiming mischievously. "Did you know me and my daughter are the reasons he got that name?"
"What?" The girls' eyes widen!
"Amazing! I didn't know you were already a mother. Must be recent."
"No, she will reach 19th year soon," Poppy smirks, feeling quite happy at the indirect praise.
"Wow! And now you're one of us? You have to give us a few tips. I'm already engaged," One of the girls gushes.
"You did, Ria?" Suki's eyes widen for a different reason now.
"Uh, yeah?" Ria grins. "I thought I'd have everyone in our group beat, but who knew you and the Plunderer were a thing? Uh, Nik."
It's clear by their excitement the group of women found more excitement in Nik's legends as the Plunderer rather than the Nut Crushing Messiah and the Hero of Ba Sing Se.
Suki shakes her head again before unfolding her fans. "Get in positions or spar with me."
Almost everyone, including the lethargic Jin, gets in their positions as quickly as possible.
---
"It's good that you are back," Oyaji, the Village's Chief, looks at Suki with a smile as his left hand brushes his beard. "But you aren't here to stay, are you?"
Suki blinks, her voice stuck in her throat as the wooden and homely interior of the chief's house falls into silence. Shaking his head gently, Oyaji sets a piece of paper on the table, which Suki glances at quickly.
—"Let her be free."—
"This was on my doorstep three days ago," Oyaji reveals. "I believe it's from Avatar Kyoshi herself because accompanying this message was her headdress."
Suki stares at the piece of paper quietly for a few minutes. Then she questions with a confused expression.
"Avatar Kyoshi wanted me to be free?"
Oyaji half-shrugs. "To be honest, I wouldn't believe it myself. But she appeared on the island, right? After your group left, many bands of Kyoshi Warriors from other settlements on the island arrived here to pray at the Kyoshi Shrine again. And I hear from an odd trader or two that other spirits are very real. Something about them being one of the main reasons for the current madness that the Avatar and the Hero put an end to alongside Fire Lord Iroh."
Suki chews her lips with an odd sense of frustration.
Something about this note bothered her more than she wanted to allow it to.
"Chief Oyaji, I have an insensible request," Suki begins. "I ask you not to feel offended by my wishes because I don't mean any disrespect."
Oyaji chuckles, "The last time you were this formal was when you wanted to become a Kyoshi Warrior Sailor to raid pirates instead."
Suki smirks a little as she recalls the memory. Nodding slightly, she starts explaining without going too deep about Nik's skills unnecessarily.
Anyone aside from her would have tried to pitch the idea directly to her previous teammates. After all, all of them have a good impression of Suki and follow her commands to a 'T.' It is not absurd to believe she can persuade them. But if she does that, her village will lose its defenses should Oyaji remain reluctant to move other villagers. Suki couldn't do that to her home out of selfishness.
Of course, explaining things without sounding crazy is even more difficult. But Suki's reputation and history with Oyaji somehow work in her favor as the Chieftain believes Suki enough to reject her, at the very least.
"Suki," Oyaji begins with a frustrated sigh. "I cannot. There is a reason why Kyoshi Island managed to stay away from the war since its beginning. Our village is burdened with the grace of taking care of the Kyoshi Shrine and overlooking the Unagi Shore. And even if we move the villagers away, we will face conflict with people of other cultures inside Nik's... Land, as you put it."
Thinking for a while, Oyaji questions, "Is there no way for you to visit us instead? Nik's holdings can't be too far. Your Dragon is still feasting on copious amounts of Koi Elephant flesh, and you can even borrow a Sky Bison from Avatar Aang."
"I won't be able to visit," Suki smiles sadly. "Oyaji, I won't return once I leave."
The man looks at Suki deeply, somewhat feeling the hidden implications behind Suki's words.
"Then stay," Oyaji poses. "Or persuade Nik to stay."
"He won't," Suki shakes her head.
"He won't? Or you won't?" Oyaji chuckles bitterly. "You have made your mind, haven't you?"
Suki looks at the piece of paper again and nods.
"Avatar Kyoshi taught me and many other girls to stand up for ourselves. While traveling with Nik, I had the fortune of seeing him help others. He told me things about himself that are worse than what a woman will face in her entire life, and seeing him grow to this extent as a man gives me the courage to pursue a life I want besides being a Kyoshi Warrior."
"The younger you will admonish you, saying there is nothing better than being a Kyoshi Warrior," Oyaji laughs.
"I am a Kyoshi Warrior," Suki smiles. "And I will remain a Kyoshi Warrior as long as I live."
She lowers her head, "Please consider my offer. Our village is the most peaceful on the island compared to other settlements because we don't have to deal with traders and pirates on the harbor villages of the island. This peace will not be interrupted even after you move."
Oyaji's shoulders sink as he shakes his head, "No, child. I cannot do that. Kyoshi Island is my home. However, I will not stop you from asking the same from your friends and their families."
"I won't strip the village of its warriors!" Suki looks up and discards the notion completely when Oyaji shakes his head again.
"You won't. We produce warriors not because of training but due to our culture. Your teammates respect you. While many of them initially refused Mingxia's notion of traveling the Earth Kingdom, they grew to miss her, no?"
Suki recalls the previous leader of the group, who left the island, too. Though, their circumstances are different. Mingxia faced criticism from others for her decision, including Oyaji, who proclaimed that their Island's isolated nature is the reason they are safe. But Suki's departure was met with the arrival of Avatar Kyoshi herself. Others barely raised a voice during her time.
"Did you find Mingxia in your travels?" Oyaji questions suddenly as Suki shakes her head.
"I traveled to a few prominent locations in the Earth Kingdom but didn't encounter her."
The room descends into silence again, Suki's gaze somehow drifting to the piece of paper again as she focuses on the handwriting on the paper.
Something about this message bothers her again.
Oyaji nods with a complicated look flashing in his eyes before he musters.
"You should look for your teammates and explain the situation."
"I can't," Suki smirks, her blue eyes lighting with cathartic joy. "They grew too indisciplined to my liking and kept getting distracted by Michi and others. So, I sent all of them to collect dumpling weeds for the warehouse. In their uniforms."
"Hmm, so they will take some time," Oyaji regains a bit of his mood and offers, "A cup of tea, maybe? Or do you want to go looking for Nik?"
"I want to first check on Ignit before doing anything," Suki smiles brightly as she stands up and leaves, adding, "But I will return for tea. Thank you for hearing me out, Chief Oyaji."
As she steps out of the door, her smile fades completely, eyes reddening slightly. However, she looks in the direction of the Kyoshi Shrine with a somewhat complicated look.
'I finally understand what's going on, or I hope I do.' She sighs.
'Is it because of Nik that my travels in other islands are no longer peaceful too?' She muses while shaking her head. 'I should check on Ignit before seeing things for myself. A sudden note from Kyoshi? With her headdress?'
Suki shakes her head again. As she promised, she wouldn't let Oyaji's decision ruin things for her. But Oyaji did set her in the right direction, and she will ask her teammates to follow her once they return.
She descends the slope on which her village is built, walking between the lane created by two uniform rows of houses and stalls with the entrance of the settlement graced by a wooden statue of Avatar Kyoshi.
"Ignit should be a little farther from the entrance," Suki already hears Ignit scoffing down the food she prepares for herself by breathing flames. For some reason, Ignit never eats anything uncooked by her flames. But it's just one of her quirks that gives others more insight into the ways of a Proud Dragon.
***
Alternate Title: Kyoshi Warriors Simpling For Hot Mommies—Nik: You And I Are Not So Different After All; Poppy Earning Browny Points Under The Stares of Other Classified Milfs; Every Legend Has a Woman And Her Daughter Behind The Tale—Poppy, Probably; Girls Do Love a Good Plunderer; Nik Gonna Plunder His Way to Kyoshi; Suki's Requests; The Ways of the Kyoshi Island; A Predicted Rejection; Suki's Cultured Ways; A Punishment Worth the Crime?; The Proud Droggo and Suki; A Mysterious Note; Suspicious Suki
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