Koko knew something was wrong about the crew of the unnamed junk that had been stopping on Kyoshi the past few weeks. Koko didn't know why she knew, but the feeling in her gut was strong. Maybe it was how they bought and sold so little, and yet always seemed to have so much money. Maybe it was their general quietness, they had to be the only sailors who didn't spend much time in the town pub, or maybe it maybe it was the way they always avoided eye contact. They even kept their hands to themselves without anyone's fingers being broken. They were downright bizarre.
Of course, sailors were strange folk, and merely acting different was no grounds to arrest anyone. Koko made sure to keep a close eye on them during her shift, but she doubted they would do anything the day light. Other than tend to their ship and lurk around quietly that is.
"So, which one is it?"
Koko quickly turned her attention back to her partner. "What do you mean?"
"You been looking on and off at those sailors for a while...so, which one has caught your eye? Who's the high seas hottie?"
"Ty Lee! Honestly now! I have a boyfriend!"
"Oh, it doesn't hurt to look. I'm engaged, I still look. "
Koko just shook her head.
"Well, in any case, some of the other warriors and I were going to go relax at the barber shop after our shift, and maybe catch dinner later. Wanna come?"
"Thanks, but I already have plans."
Ty Lee shot Koko a wink "Well, have fun, but remember that doing more than looking isn't so ok."
Koko knew that Ty Lee wasn't really a dumb person. But she was very simple and straightforward, and hard to dissuade from an idea once she had it. It was best to not argue with her. "Sure, I'll keep that in mind."
After Ty Lee had gone home with the others, Koko snuck along the roof tops to get a good view of the harbor. Sure enough, several crewmen of the unnamed ship were slinking away, with shovels and torches, and one of them carrying a box. They took a windy road into the mountains, and ever were they vigilant. They investigated every sound, routinely stopped to look around and count their number. However, Koko was trained in an ancient and proud tradition of stealth. They would have had better luck finding a ghost.
It all became clear to Koko. These guys were smugglers. They would pick up the contraband, whatever it was, probably opium, and bury it. Then someone else would come pick it, either to use it themselves or to transport it further. Likely, no one knew who the other links in the chain were, and if someone was caught, no trail could be traced.
So, Koko decided to let them go tonight. She would wait, and then catch whoever was going to dig up the goods. She could arrest the smugglers next time. Every chain had a weak link, and Koko felt like seeing just how many she could break.
………………..
...
It has been years since Ty Lee had been to the Fire Nation. She didn't even consider it going home anymore. Kyoshi Island was her home now. It is more home than the Fire Nation ever was. Kyoshi is where everyone knows her name, instead of just being one of her siblings, or an attraction at the circus, or a tool to be used by Azula.
Still, everyone needed a little time away from home every once and a while. It would be nice to be someplace warm again. And to go swimming somewhere without a giant monster just off shore. Sure, the girls had said no one has ever been attacked any place but the harbor, but Ty Lee could never really enjoy the water anyway.
"Are you going to take your move or what?"
Ty Lee turned her attention back to the Pai Sho board. "Sorry Suki. I just got distracted."
"Or maybe you were trying to stall so I would quit before my inevitable victory." Suki made a move.
"Made that move pretty quick. Been thinking of that one for a while, haven't you?"
Suki merely smiled smugly.
"All that time, and you never saw this coming." With one move, Ty Lee exploited the gap Suki's move had left, all but assuring her victory.
Suki slumped in depression.
Ty Lee is far better at Pai Sho than a first impression might imply. Her simplicity meant she rarely fell for traps, and could smash some of the more complex plays with a simple counter. Additionally, her airheaded personality sometimes let her come up with really outside of the box tactics. Still, Ty Lee knew something wasn't right. Suki was good at this game. Real good. For all his planning abilities, even Sokka rarely beat her.
"Suki, are you doing ok? You seemed tired."
Suki sighed. "I guess I am just nervous about leaving Sokka alone for this trip."
Ty Lee snorted out some laughter before she could stop herself. "Come on Suki. He fought on the frontlines of the biggest war in history. I think he can survive two weeks without you, even on your serene little island."
"Pff. It was a war, I would be fine. He is finishing up one of his big inventions today. The only thing that could kill Sokka is Sokka...and he seems to like trying to. Remember the flying boat?"
"You mean that plane he crashed into the harbor and the Unagi was right behind him."
"Yes! I nearly had a heart attack." She reflected on that for a moment "Maybe Sokka was trying to kill me."
"Oh, he got out of that fine he turned around and..." Ty Lee couldn't finish, bursting out laughing at the humorous memory. To Ty Lee's relief, Suki joined in with a hearty laugh of her own.
"Right in its nostril.....ah....I still can't believe it happened."
"So, what is he working on anyway?"
"Oh, some kind of artificial hotspring or something. I hate when he works with engines. And he gets the water too hot..." Suki was looking worried again.
"You know what would calm you down? This ship has got one of those new moving picture thingies. We should go check it out."
Suki perked up. "That does sound like fun. What are they showing?"
Ty Lee pulled her brochure out of her blouse. "Love Amongst the Dragons is the soonest."
"Didn't Zuko try to ban that one?"
"Well, you know how he is about that play. After that is What do you Moon?, which is apparently 'a rip roaring spirit world comedy for the whole family'. I'll take it from your expression that's a no. The last one for today is...oh...Immortal...‘the first avatar finds love, fear, betrayal and courage as she faces Jiang Shi, the life stealing Immortal Emperor...endorsed by the Ba Sing Se historical society'."
"Now that sounds like fun. But it sounds like a long way away. What shall we do until then?"
Ty lee thought. "We could always go for another round of Pai Sho."
"A glutton for punishment, eh?" Suki stopped and looked up for second. "Hey, Ty lee..." Suki was blushing now. "Thanks."
Ty lee put her hand on Suki's shoulder. "Hey, what are friends for?"
………………………………………..
...
Despite the fact it happened every year for the past five Lin still couldn't get used to it. People celebrating the victory of the traitor Zuko over the glorious Ozai. Lin basked in the memory of Ozai's beauty, which was both masculine and feminine somehow, his elegance, and his majesty....and then contrasted that with Zuko's horrible and twisted form, his treason every bit as disgusting and obvious as the scar on his face.
Well, today at least the traitors would share her tears instead of laughing and reveling in their lack of vision. Lin knew the explosion would take her life as well, but that would be well worth it if, somehow, Ozai recognized her beautiful sacrifice. With that Lin lighted the blasting jelly...
"You have what I need?"
"Yes....good quality too. The coolers on my ship keep it fresh. You can go to heaven with just a bit of this."
"I don't need your sales pitch. I did order this special. The price we agreed on then."
"Well, that's just the thing. I think you underestimated what I had to go through to get this."
The cloaked man loomed over the ship's captain. "Don't play games with me. We had a deal. I don't tend to come back to those who break deals with me."
"Best of luck finding another ship with coolers then. Especially another one willing to come out here with merchandise like this." A moment passed in silence. "Five percent more for damages to the ship retrieving this."
"Personally, I think if you are that clumsy with your ship, that is your fault. However, I am in a hurry, so agreed. Best not to be seen by the Kyoshi Warriors. They ask too many questions."
"Pleasure doing business with you. You'll find where my men buried the rest of the goods on this map, and this bag is to prove that we aren't bluffing." The hooded man gave a quick nod, which managed in its brief existence to convey many a horrific fate for the captain if the goods were not all in place, and then he exchanged a sack of gold for a crude map and a sample.
The men went their separate ways. The man knew the Kyoshi Warriors were on the hunt for some smugglers. He would have to be silent and quick to avoid detection. Fortunately, he knew a few of the Kyoshi's tricks for himself. Only a few would be out this late, but they would likely be on the roofs, looking down into the streets. If he took the roofs himself, he would have a much better chance of avoiding detection.
The hooded man didn't get far until he heard a fan open up behind him.
"Nice trick...too bad Koko saw your buddies earlier. We have been waiting for a moment just like this. Now turn around and hand over the evidence."
The man did so. "Well, I hope you like a jail cell. Course we might just feed you to the..SOKKA!?"
Sokka flipped back his hood. "Hey Suki. Ummm...surprise?"
"What are you doing? What is that..."
"A kiwi-strawberry. I remember how much you liked them when we were in the Fire Nation...but we could never get any here because they would go bad on the trip over. Then I found out these guys had coolers in the ship...like on the Boiling Rock...and that they could bring some here without them going bad...and I thought it would be a nice birthday gift..."
"But the crew...they were sneaky...and...hands to themselves"
"Covertly delivering gifts is kind of their specialty. And they are all happily married men themselves..."
Suki just stood there with her mouth hanging open.
"Anyway, you always seem to find out about my gifts ahead of time, so I tried to be...sneaky this time."
At this point Suki had recovered. "I think you went a little over the top." She threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. "I appreciate the thought though."
"Shall we go get the rest of them?"
"Later...I kind of order some of the other warriors to capture the ship's crew..." She blushed "This is going to be awkward..."
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Ghashiun stared out into the desert. The stars were bright enough to navigate by, but a low layer of dust blown up by a soft wind provided good cover. In the old days Ghashiun would have gone raiding in conditions like this. However, age had changed him, as had nearly being killed by the avatar. Conditions like this meant a sand storm was coming, probably in a day or two.
His mind started cataloging all the preparations that would need to be made. The dune behind them would need to be solidified so it could provide some relief, and then everything would need to be tied down and covered with a tarp. Of course, he would need to make sure that every tent would have enough food and air to survive long enough for the people inside to dig themselves free in case anyone is buried. The sand sailors should probably be buried now so that they wouldn't suffer any erosion, the tribe was still desperately short of sand sailors so many years after the avatar's rampage, but there would be the trouble of making sure they could be found again. Last time, one of the markers had been blown away and it took three days to find the sailor in question.
"Interesting dunes tonight?"
Ghashiun turned to his wife and gave her an odd look. She had been the daughter of some big wig amongst the beetle merchants. The marriage had been political in nature, but Ghashiun had been pleased. They couldn't say he was in love with her, but she was beautiful, a good listener, a giver of sage advice and someone who could make him laugh, even when he didn't want to. Ghashiun was fairly certain she was fond of him as well, and after a rocky first week she had grown to rather like her new home. She still got homesick, so Ghashiun often traded with her family, even when he could get better prices elsewhere. Of course, there are always downsides, and she could be annoyingly cryptic and teasing at times.
"You were staring pretty intensely at the sand out there." she clarified. "Do you see anything?"
"Not really. I am just thinking there is going to be a storm soon. That means a lot of work to be done."
She sat down next to him. "Well, at least we have plenty of food this time around." She peered out into the endless sea of sand. "So, in a few days those dunes won't even be there anymore. The wind will have blown, the sand will have shifted, and we will be in a whole new world."
He nodded in agreement. "That reminds me. Not too long ago when we were at the Oasis, I ran into a man. He asked me how I could stand living in such chaos, barely surviving day to day."
She shrugged "I like it actually. Everywhere else, the land always looks the same. You take it for granted and get sick of it, no matter how beautiful the place is. But the desert is always new."
Ghashuin nodded again. But his own reply to the man had been different. In the desert, the goal was always the same: find food, find shelter, find water. Live another day. It is simple, but is rewarding. Elsewhere people became bored of their own existence and tried to give it "meaning", usually by meddling in the lives of others. He couldn't remember when the war had ended, since it had no impact on his life, but he remembered how happy everyone was. But everything he heard after that had been about someone trying to start the war again, or about plagues, famine and criminals reeking havoc on a weakened world. He had said this to the man, looked into his eyes, and asked "Who is it who really lives in chaos?"
The man had no answer.
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