The Chief and the Airbender (Sooyoung)

Based on "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and LOONA

Story and Characters by Loo Loo

Written by Loo Loo

The waters crashed against the ship of Sooyoung, chief of the Northern Water Tribe, as it made its way towards the Eastern Air Temple.

She wore the familiar colors of the Water Tribe, thin blue garments with white trim, as the sun continued to berate them. Her unkempt hair flowed down past her thin shoulders and a couple of long, thin braids hung on each side of her face, stretching past her jawline.

As they drew closer to the temple, Sooyoung went around the ship, thanking her crew and making sure everyone was alright. They had spent months traveling the world. 

As much as her advisers tried to dissuade her, Sooyoung insisted on personally introducing herself to the leaders of the three nations. 

Their first stop was a pleasant one. The royal family of the Fire Nation was very welcoming, even if they were surprised that she was not much older than their daughter, Princess Jungeun. Sooyoung got along with her very well in particular, and the Fire Nation's messenger hawks made it easy for them to communicate. Sooyoung had written her a letter from the South Pole not too long ago and it would probably be a week before she heard back.

She knew a lot of the friendliness was a formality, but she couldn't help but feel a genuine friendship forming between them.

After visiting the royal family, she had gone to see Avatar Heejin who, for whatever reason, had still not begun to travel the world and train. Her parents were incredibly protective, and said that with the world in relative peace, there was no need to rush her into anything. The girl was very talented, particularly in her native element, and Sooyoung had spent some time training with her.

Even with all of the things on her plate, Sooyoung had still offered to be her waterbending teacher, but her parents declined because Heejin already had one. He was an old man born in the Fire Nation named Ukaji and he was good, but it wasn't long after meeting him that Sooyoung beat him in a duel. Still, he earned a little of her respect.

The most peculiar thing about Heejin had to have been her interest in airbending. Since she had no teacher, Heejin had been teaching herself. That at least showed Sooyoung that she might've been getting restless. Hopefully that restlessness would lead her to fulfill her duty soon enough. Sooyoung also offered to keep in touch with her, but her parents respectfully declined because of Sooyoung's "history" and not wanting Heejin to have any kind of bad influences around her.

After that, they had paid a visit to the western and southern air temples before heading to the Southern Water Tribe where Sooyoung appointed a new council to rule in her place.

Now they were on the shores of the Eastern Air Temple. Maybe it was because she had just come from the South Pole, but this temple had to be Sooyoung's favorite stop. The sun shone beautifully off of the white walls that stretched high above the three mountains they stood upon. Bridges connected each of the three sections to one another. Numerous airbenders were flying around on their gliders and flying bison. The beauty of the sight almost brought a tear to her eye.

This particular temple was all female, which was still odd to Sooyoung. The Air Nomads were segregated into male and female temples. The eastern and western temples housed females, and the north and south housed males. She had enjoyed the hospitality of the western air temple the most in her travels.

There was a small group of four nuns waiting on the shore to greet them with four sky bison with them. They all wore orange and yellow clothing and had blue arrow tattoos on their foreheads and tops of their hands, signifying that they were airbending masters. Three of them were elderly but one looked as though she was Sooyoung's age. She had never seen someone this young with the tattoos.

Each of them introduced themselves with a bow.

"Welcome master Sooyoung," one of the elders said, "My name is Tashi, it's an honor to meet you."

"I am Kala."

"I am Soo."

Finally, the young girl introduced herself. "I am Haseul, it's very nice to meet all of you. You must be very tired. Please, let us show you to your rooms. I think all of you will fit snuggly on our sky bison."

Sooyoung thanked them as she and her crew mounted the sky bison and soared into the air. She wasn't a complete stranger to this feeling, but that didn't stop that wide smile from forming on her face. If only she could have her own pet sky bison...

Sooyoung rode with Haseul and her sky bison, which she had named Hadong.  Along the way, a couple of questions popped into her head. How did she become a master so young? How powerful was she? Her hair was pretty short, so she she might've received the tattoos recently. 

Sooyoung pushed those questions aside. At that moment, she just wanted to unwind and enjoy the ride.

Sooyoung had wanted to meet with the elders immediately after arriving, but they insisted that she get her rest first. So, not wanting be rude like she had sometimes been at the other temples, Sooyoung and her crew and spent the whole morning sleeping in their guest rooms.

Wiping the drool from , Sooyoung got out of bed and stepped into the hallway where Haseul was sitting down, meditating.

Sooyoung raised an eyebrow and leaned down, snapping her fingers next to Haseul's face. She didn't move.

"Hey, you awake?" Sooyoung put a hand over Haseul's shoulder, hesitating for a moment, and lightly shook the girl until she opened her eyes.

Haseul smiled up at her and rose to her feet. "Oh, you're awake."

"Yeah... you too."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. It's just that I take any opportunity I can to meditate and sometimes I get so lost that I..." Haseul held open for a bit as if there was something on the tip of her tongue, then closed it and smiled. "Well I guess I shouldn't ramble. C'mon, they're waiting for you."

Sooyoung couldn't shake the feeling that there was something special about this girl. There was a powerful, mysterious aura she could feel. The two of them walked through the halls and made their way into a large room where the same three nuns were sitting. Sooyoung half-expected there to be a chair waiting for her before remembering where she was. There was a pillow set on the ground next to a small table with tea.

Haseul stood next to the nuns as Sooyoung took her seat.

"So what is it you wanted to discuss, master Sooyoung?" Kala asked.

Sooyoung took a sip of the hot tea and forced herself to swallow it despite it burning her tongue and . She took a deep breath and cleared , acting as if nothing happened. It has to do with the Avatar."

"The Fire Nation girl." Kala said.

"Yes... I visited her not too long ago and I'm worried that she's waiting too long to find an airbending teacher."

"And so are we."

"Well... I've already been to the Southern Air Temple and they refused to send any of their masters to train her."

"As they should." Tashi's voice was a bit harsher. "It is the Avatar's responsibility to seek an airbending master. We will also gladly wait for her here until she decides she is ready. The attitude towards airbenders in the Fire Nation is too hostile for us to to travel there, Avatar or no."

"Attacking an airbender without provocation is a crime in the Fire Nation."

"Just like how it was when Avatar Taeyeon was murdered?" Soo added.

"I think this a valuable lesson for you too, master Sooyoung," Tashi said. "A few words on a piece of paper can't erase centuries of discrimination."

Haseul joined the conversation. "There are still airbenders there who are afraid of being who they are. But they stay there because the Fire Nation is prospering. As long as they blend in with everyone else and keep quiet, they live pretty calm and peaceful lives. Not everyone wants to throw that away to be an Air Nomad."

Sooyoung guided the conversation back to where it started. "Still, I don't think anyone would dare to mess with any of the Avatar's teachers. Heejin is talented and she loves airbending."

"But not enough to come to us," Tashi said. "That's not love, that's curiosity. Like a child... playing with a shiny toy. The fact that she is this old and hasn't seriously begun her training tells me she is also a spoiled and lazy child. It's a shame, but the world is at peace and has been for decades. The last Avatar was an imbecile who thought rain clouds were tearbenders. We survived him, we can easily wait for the next reincarnation."

Sooyoung didn't know how to respond to that. The words were harsh. "With all all due respect master Tashi, I think the years of peace have made you and everyone else complacent. I think its important to do what we can to help the Avatar before something terrible happens and its too late. If not, then it will be in our hands to keep the peace."

After Sooyoung failed to sway them in her direction, they dropped the conversation and instead talked about her travels and the Air Nomad traditions. It turns out there wasn't really any specific reason why the temples were segregated, it was just an ancient custom. In contrast to that, the Air Nomads were a very open and accepting people. They were free to be in relationships with whomever they wanted, boy or girl, and there was no such thing as "coming out" about your uality. Oh, how Sooyoung wished the rest of the world shared this belief.

When they were done speaking, Sooyoung thanked them before bowing and walking out of the room.

After walking through the halls for a little while, she heard something behind her... the sound of faint footsteps. Sooyoung spun around, but she couldn't see anyone. There was a pillar not too far down the hall... someone was there behind it. But who could it be? It couldn't be any of the elders or the girls, they had told Sooyoung that they were meditating so everyone was in their rooms... One of her crew members? No. She didn't have a good feeling about this.

Sooyoung spotted a recently watered plant in a large vase next to her and lifted some water out of it. Then she gently lowered it and spread it across the floor, making it hard to notice before taking off down the hall and turning a corner. She stopped with her back to the wall, listening... then, she heard it. The sound of the er slipping and falling.

Sooyoung came out from behind the corner and only managed to see the back of the person as they ran off. It was a girl with brown hair... an airbender? 

After getting back to her room, Sooyoung did some stretching to keep herself limber. She didn't like spending too much time lying around, even if she was tired from all the travel. Just as she got done, she heard wet footsteps approach the doorway and stop. It was her again. She waited for a few seconds to see if the girl would say anything.

"Are you going to come in or just stand there?"

Then, from behind the wall, the girl finally showed her face. She was holding a bowl in one hand and a cup in the other. Sooyoung was taken aback by how much beautiful innocence her eyes seemed to hold. She was shorter than Sooyoung and had dark brown hair with bangs.

"Hi." Her voice was just as innocent as her eyes. "Um... I wanted to apologize for sneaking up on you earlier."

"No one sneaks up on me. Especially not you." Sooyoung hid a smile.

"Uhhh..."

She was clearly uncomfortable but Sooyoung didn't have the heart to keep the charade up for long. "I'm kidding. Here, sit down."

The girl let out an audible sigh as her lips curved into a tiny smile. She sat down and offered the bowl to Sooyoung. Inside of it were some dumplings and rice. "I thought you might be hungry," the girl said.

"Well you thought right. Thank you." Sooyoung smiled and took the bowl, immediately taking a dumpling with the chopsticks and opening .

"Wait!"

Sooyoung froze in place and stared at the girl. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just forgot to tell you. Those aren't dumplings."

Sooyoung raised an eyebrow at her and took a good look at what she was holding between the chopsticks. "They're not?"

"No... they're 'I'm sorry' dumplings!" The girl waved her hands back and forth with a big smile. "Take a bite and see what happens."

Sooyoung blinked twice at her, too hungry to find any words to say. She put the dumpling in and chewed.

"I'm very..."

After one bite, Sooyoung stopped again. "You're very what?"

The girl made a motion for her to keep eating, her smile even wider. As Sooyoung did, the girl kept repeating the word over and over with each bite. "Very, very, very, very, very..." Then, when Sooyoung swallowed, the girl said, "sorry."

Sooyoung could only let out a chuckle as she looked down at the bowl. "So is this, 'please forgive me' rice?"

The girl giggled. "No, that's just rice."

"Hm." Sooyoung had to admit that she was interesting. Not just with her little dumplings, but for happened earlier. Why wasn't she meditating? Why did she follow her? Sooyoung thought about those questions as she continued to eat. The girl just sat there like a proud parent watching their baby finish their meal. When she was done, the girl immediately took the bowl and set it off to the side before handing her a cup of apple juice, the same smile still on her face.

After drinking the apple juice, she took the cup from her as well and stood up, walking towards the door. "Well, I guess I should let you rest. It was nice meeting you."

"Wait a minute."

She turned around as if she expected her name to be called. "Yes?"

"Come back here and sit down. I want to ask you something."

"Oh, sure. Okay— ahh!" The bowl slipped out of her fingers but she caught it before it could hit the floor. The girl made her way back over and sat down on the same spot. "Yes? What did you want to ask me?"

"What's your name?"

"Uh, my name?"

Sooyoung nodded.

"My name's Jiwoo! But everyone calls me Chuu."

"Why does everyone call you that?"

"I... don't know why. People have just been calling me that for as long as I can remember, but I think it really fits me..." She threw her hands up in the air with her big smile. "Chuu!"

Sooyoung couldn't help but laugh. It really was refreshing to see someone so bright. 

"Okay Chuu... where are you from?"

"I'm from... here?"

"You were born here in a temple full of girls?"

Chuu giggled. "Well I don't know, I don't remember how I got here but it's where I've been my whole life. The nuns raised me here so they're like my parents... but my life's not that interesting I guess. I get really bored easily."

"Is that why you were spying on me?"

"Hey, I already apologized for that remember?" Chuu pointed directly at her. "You ate the dumplings!"

"I'm just a little curious," Sooyoung said, "Why didn't you just walk up to me and introduce yourself?"

"I guess I just wasn't... sure."

"Sure about what?"

"What they say about you. When everyone found out you were coming here, they started telling me all of these amazing things about you. How you were the first woman to be chief of the Water Tribes and how powerful you were. Whenever we have visitors I'm always one of the first people to greet them when they arrive, but when I first saw you I... you weren't at all what I was expecting and I wasn't sure about how I would even start talking to you so I got scared."

Sooyoung nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"So is it true?" Chuu asked. "All those things they say?"

Sooyoung smiled and took a deep breath. "Are you sure you wanna know?

Chuu hesitated a bit, then nodded with her eyes wide in excitement.

"Well I guess I should tell you a little about myself so you can understand." Sooyoung tapped her chin, thinking back through her short but eventful life. "I grew up in the north pole with two sisters and two brothers. I was the middle child so... I kinda got lost in the shuffle. My two sisters did better in school than I did and I wasn't allowed to use my waterbending for anything other than healing for a while. But then I met a girl who became my best friend. She introduced me to a group of female waterbenders who secretly trained in all forms of waterbending. Not just for self defense, but to express ourselves."

Sooyoung smiled down at the floor, the memories from her youth appearing in front of her. "Eventually, I discovered that I was good at it... really good. Me and my friend... well we drifted apart and um..." Sooyoung caught herself before she was overwhelmed with regret. "So anyway, when I turned sixteen the chief said his son wanted to marry me."

"Then what happened?" Chuu was now lying on her belly and looking up at Sooyoung while kicking her feet, completely engaged in the story.

"Well I told them that I would marry him under one condition... that they let me practice waterbending freely. I'm not gonna lie, I kind of expected them to just ask one of my other sisters after that, but they agreed. They even brought a waterbending master to train me... so I couldn't exactly say no."

Chuu gasped with her big smile. "I bet the wedding was just amazing."

"Well it was... something. I liked everything the marriage gave me and my family. It let me see all of the mistakes the former chief was making and it let me help people. Now that I was the wife of the heir, I had a little influence in how the Tribes were run.  Then, a couple of years later, the chief died of an illness and my husband became chief. My husband was an only child and we obviously never had any children, so when he passed away as well..."

"Ooohhh..."

"Yeah. But that didn't stop the other powerful families from claiming their right to power. They said it was outrageous that a woman could lead them and demanded that I step down. So you know what I said to them?"

"What did you say?"

"I said..."

"If you want me to step down, why don't you make me? I'll gladly take on any one of you in a duel. I will hand over my power to anyone lucky enough to get the best of me."

The families sitting in the palace burst out into laughter. One man offered his son as a challenger, then another one did, and so on. Sooyoung made arrangements with all of the challengers on a first come, first served basis and held the competitions outside of the palace. To the amazement of everyone in attendance, Sooyoung took care of every challenger with ease.

While the sons of the aristocratic families trained once in while for some mysterious battle that never came, Sooyoung had been busy practicing every single day. She didn't take her waterbending for granted, she loved the art... And that, coupled with her natural-born talent, made all of the difference. These weren't some seasoned masters she was facing, they were mostly boys. One was even twelve.

Still, the events of this day made their rounds and Sooyoung gained a lot more respect. As if learning their lesson not to underestimate her, the families then returned to her and challenged her again, this time with their best. Sooyoung could've easily declined, saying that the families already had their chance, but the fighting spirit inside of her wouldn't allow it. 

This time, she held a tournament over multiple days to decide who would be her challenger. Sooyoung had a stadium built for the occasion. Before the tournament, Sooyoung declared that the aristocratic families would get limited space and the price for entering would be triple what it was originally. Most of the stadium seating would go to the poor, who wouldn't have to pay anything to enter. The families were outraged... but they still filled up all of their seats. The man that came out on top was named Kurulok, the first man that had offered his son as a challenger. Their fight took place at sunset.

Sooyoung was confident that she would defeat Kurulok and she wanted the people to see it. The real people that made up the Water Tribes. Once they did, they would spread that story to everyone they knew. The story of how Sooyoung earned her place and how generous she was to them in her triumph. It was by far her toughest fight, but by the time the sun had set, Kurulok was lying flat on his back and Sooyoung was standing above him. The stadium full of the people she had let in cheered. There was nothing more the families could really do, they had been given an opportunity and squandered it.

Then, with the crowd still cheering, Sooyoung announced that all of the money from the tournament would be divided evenly to the poor in attendance. Sooyoung was chief and would remain so until the end of her days.   

"Wow..." Chuu couldn't stop shaking her head in disbelief. "That sounds amazing, you're so brave to stand up to them like that... And I'm so sorry about your husband, even if you didn't love him, it must've been tough losing him at such a young age."

Sooyoung blanked out again, staring at the floor and thinking about nothing in particular. She listened to the calm wind outside their window, feeling a little lighter now that she had told her story to this girl. "What you said earlier... about not being what you expected."

"Hm?"

"What did you mean by that?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I expected someone bigger, and not as... pretty?" Chuu laughed. "The usual visitors we get are other Air Nomads and I've seen other waterbenders but never anyone who looks like you. Your hair and everything about you is so different from everyone else. You look like someone who I'd never forget."

Sooyoung almost made a snarky remark like, "I wouldn't want to forget me either," but the look on Chuu's face held her back. Her eyes were innocence and admiration and her smile was comfort. When was the last time anyone had been this sincere with her? Could she even remember? Those words sparked something in Sooyoung and she thought back to her childhood with her best friend. All of the days they had spent together... laughing, crying, dreaming... they meant everything to her. Did she remember Sooyoung? And if she did, did she even care about her anymore? Why did the cruel world have to take the innocence from her? Where was she now? Where was Jinsoul?

"Oh no don't cry..." Chuu put her hand on Sooyoung's but she pulled back and covered her face. She shook her head. Why could she never get rid of that guilt? It had been digging away at her since that one fateful day. Whenever it got a hold of her, she couldn't seem to stop the emotions from spilling out.

"What's wrong? I can leave if you want me to."

"No, it's fine. I'm just being a stupid tearbender," Sooyoung chuckled to herself and violently wiped the couple of tears that managed to spill out from her face. "Stay. I enjoy your company."

Chuu sat down next to her on the bed. "It's not stupid to cry.  I cry sometimes too. I..." Chuu shut her eyes as if she was going to regret was she was about to say. "I have trouble meditating a lot of the time. I don't know why, but it's just so hard for me. I'm trying really hard to become the best airbender I can be but sometimes it gets so frustrating that I think about running away. Life here is nice and quiet, but whenever I hear stories like yours I feel like going out and seeing the world would be so good for me. I've just never had the courage to actually do it."

Sooyoung already knew what the next question was before Chuu actually said it.

"Would it... would it be okay if I go with you?"

The following day, before Sooyoung departed, Haseul had come to her and asked if she could show them her waterbending. Haseul said she was always curious about what a true waterbending master could do. There was a lot on Sooyoung's mind, never mind what Chuu had asked her the day before. So, with a crowd gathered behind her, she took the opportunity to do the thing she loved the most down at the shore.

Sooyoung listened to the sound of the tide moving in and out, closing her eyes and breathing deeply before stepping into the water. She didn't stop until she was completely submerged. Then, she took a long moment to simply stay still, listening to the muffled voices coming from above. Why couldn't she walk through life underwater? The feeling that it gave her... so serene. After that blissful moment, she swung her eyes open and soared above the surface in a water spout, a towering tornado that spun with the force of all her frustrations.

Keeping the spout spinning, she then lifted more water from the ocean, guiding it this way and that. She didn't know if this would entertain her audience and she didn't care. Sooyoung wasn't Sooyoung at that moment, she was whatever the water wanted her to be. Looking over to the shore, she noticed someone flying in her direction on a glider. Without even taking the time to see who it was, she formed the water into a ring and watched as Chuu flew through it... the infectious sound of her laughter circling around her and soaring up into the air.

Sooyoung grinned and spun the tornado even faster, rising higher and higher into the air. She felt her control slipping a bit, but she was too focused on following that little ball of sunshine to worry about it.

Chuu glided back down to her level and circled around again. "Did you think about what I said?!"

Sooyoung stopped her ascent and looked out to the horizon. She saw her ambitions and contemplated the unknown. If she didn't take her, she had no idea if she would ever see her ever again. Looking back at Chuu and staring into her hopeful eyes circling around her, Sooyoung almost dared to grant her wish. But there was no way she could ever put someone like her in the types of dangers she would probably face. After what happened to Jinsoul, she just didn't have the heart. She had thought about simply taking her and leaving her in a nice town somewhere, but that would be even more foolish. Chuu had never been anywhere else, she couldn't survive on her own.

"I can't take you!" Saying those words hurt much more than she ever imagined they would. "I'm sorry!"

Chuu didn't stop circling around her, but she had turned her face away. Eventually, she stopped her circling and glided back towards the shore. Sooyoung managed to catch a glimpse of her sobbing as she did. The grimy nails of guilt dug into her soul again and she lost control of the tornado.

Sooyoung didn't scream, she didn't panic. She waited until she was was close enough to the surface of the water and spun another spout that wrapped around her and softly guided her into the water.

It had been hours since they had left the temple. The sun had set long ago and Sooyoung couldn't stop thinking about what she had done as she stared down at the dark ocean. Chuu wanted to leave. It was probably the first time she had ever had the courage to tell anyone about that desire... And she let shadows from the past form her judgment of someone who had nothing to do with it? No... she did the right thing, she did. Chuu would grow up safe and taken care of by people with good hearts, free of conflict and worry. Even if she someday did run away somehow, Sooyoung couldn't be the one responsible if something happened to her.

Before leaving, Sooyoung told Haseul to give Chuu a message for her. "Tell her that she'll understand someday."

"Chief Sooyoung!" One of her crew members, a middle-aged man named Kamaru, called her over to his side of the ship.

She ran over quickly and looked up into the sky along with everyone else. There was some type of object flying towards them from the direction of the temple. A silhouette surrounded by the moon. It didn't take long for Sooyoung to realize what it was. "Oh no..."

"Sooyoung! It's me!" The familiar voice of Chuu yelled as she soared through the air, waving at them on her pet sky bison. It took a little while, but she eventually caught up to them and landed on the ship.

Sooyoung's mouth hung open and her arms were frozen in front of her in disbelief. 

"Hi everyone! I'm Chuu and this is—" Chuu tripped over herself as she was dismounting off her bison and she fell flat on her back, her staff smacking her in the face. "Ow."

Sooyoung immediately rushed over to pick her up and held her by the shoulders. She spoke in a low voice that signaled she was about to erupt. "Chuu... What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

Chuu looked at her as if it was the dumbest question she had ever heard. "Coming with you of course."

"What? No! How..." Sooyoung took a deep breath. "Why did you even bother asking me anything if you were just gonna leave anyway?"

Chuu tilted her head up as if in deep thought, before simply shrugging her shoulders and muffling an, "I don't know."

"This is a mistake. This is a mistake and you need to fly back right now."

"Listen, Sooyoung. If you don't want me on your ship that's fine, I don't want to be a nuisance to you. I know you have much more important things to worry about... But I'm not going back. After hearing what you told me, I realized I would be doing nothing but wasting my life there." Chuu smiled earnestly. "I want to be like you. I want to see what kinds of amazing things are out here waiting for me. I'm completely capable of taking care of myself. I'm ready for anything."

Just then, her sky bison's stomach rumbled, causing Chuu to jump away in fear.

Sooyoung was now a mute. She put her hands on her head, shaking it back and forth, wondering just what she was going to do with this girl and her big fluffy animal.

"By the way," Chuu said, "where exactly are you guys going?"

"Ba Sing Se," Kamaru said.

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter (sorry if there's any spelling mistakes or anything like that). Also, don't worry Haseul stans, this is far from the last time we will hear of her. Stay tuned for chapter 3 where things get REALLY interesting as we are introduced to Vivi and Jinsoul! Just what could those two be up to?