The Kyoshi warriors stood silently, heads bowed in shame. Though they bore no wounds on their skin, their spirits carried the weight of failure and defeat. They had trained all their lives, sworn to defend their island with their lives, yet now, bound in defeat after facing their first real opponent, they watched helplessly as their chief submitted to a young man, some would even consider a boy, from the Fire Nation scum. Some among them, especially the younger ones, glared with unspoken fury, the fire of rebellion still flickering behind their eyes. But for now, they held their tongues.
Without so much as a glance back, Tai Lung spoke, his voice calm and commanding.
"Since they've surrendered, release them. There's no need to keep them restrained. We honor our word. You will live as you always have. But make no mistake, if you choose to pick a fight again, we won't be merciful."
The soldiers obeyed at once, loosening the ropes and stepping back. The girls didn't thank him, they simply stood, rubbing at their wrists, their pride as wounded as ever. The chief, standing awkwardly nearby, gave them a pleading look, silently urging them to comply for the good of the village. They all saw it. The unspoken desperation in his eyes made their fists clench tighter.
Tai Lung took a few steps forward and added, "We came here to rest and resupply. Nothing more. We need food."
The chief's face drained of color immediately. He raised his hands in a gesture of desperation.
"Have mercy, please… We are just a small village…"
Tai Lung interrupted with a wave of his hand. "No need to be wary. We will pay you a fair price."
Still, the chief hesitated, clearly distraught by these words. Before he could find a response, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"I knew it," Suki said, stepping forward. "Your people are here to destroy our village."
Tai Lung turned to her, genuinely confused "Can't you understand human language? I said buy food. Buy. Not steal. Not burn."
Suki's eyes burned with emotion. "The village barely has food because of the famine," she snapped. "And now you want to buy what little we have left? What is there to understand?"
Tai Lung went quiet. His golden eyes studied her for a moment, then shifted to the chief.
"Is this true?"
The chief gave a weak nod. "We're barely able to feed the villagers as it is."
Tai Lung let out a long breath and turned his back to them "Then there's nothing more to say."
Without another word, he walked away. Behind him, the Fire Nation soldiers followed, leaving behind a stunned group of villagers and warriors who had expected fire and fury for the request denial, yet witnessed restraint and clear code of honor.
At the edge of the village, Han looked at Tai Lung with a frown "You do realize we still need to resupply, right? We're nearly out of food on the ship."
Tai Lung nodded. "We'll fish from the sea."
Han raised an eyebrow. "You mean the same sea that welcomed us with an oversized fish? You want to hunt that?"
"Not necessarily," Tai Lung replied with a faint smirk. "Anything will do. We just need enough to last until the next port."
Han gave a thoughtful nod. "It's your call, Captain. But… usually we just take what we need from villages, if we have to."
Tai Lung didn't slow down. "It's dishonorable to steal. Let alone terrorize and steal from helpless villagers."
"You know, your flames and words terrorized them the most" Han said with a smile.
"If they knew we can end them anytime but chose peace without abusing them, I believe they wouldn't have stupid ideas or cause us trouble" Tai Lung replied, then the group fell silent.
When they reached the coast where waves lapped lazily at the shore. Tai Lung began removing his armor, piece by piece, until he stood in simple cloth wraps beneath the sun. His hair rippled in the sea breeze, his back to his men.
"I'll dive and see what I can find," he said, his tone final. "You take the ship and prepare to pick up whatever I bring in."
Han turned to the crew. "You heard the Captain. Let's move."
As the soldiers scrambled to follow orders, Tai Lung stood at the edge of the water. With a deep breath, he dove into the sea.
From afar, the villagers and Kyoshi warriors watched the Tai Lung and his crew move, they weren't entirely sure what kind of Fire Nation soldier this crew was, their behavior didn't match the stories at all.
___________
Hours passed after Tai Lung's departure into the sea. Just before sunset, a commotion stirred near the edge of Kyoshi Village. Han and a few Fire Nation soldiers returned, dragging behind them three makeshift carts, each loaded with a massive, glistening Elephant Koi. The bright orange scales shone in the dying sunlight, drawing gasps from the villagers and Kyoshi Warriors alike.
The soldiers stopped in the center of the square, drawing confused and wary stares from the people around.
Han spoke plainly, "Captain Lung hunted these himself. We had more than enough for our crew, so he sent the extra to you."
Without waiting for thanks or reply, Han and the others turned around and began walking back toward the coast. As they moved out of the village's boundaries, one of the younger soldiers scoffed quietly.
"This village doesn't deserve the captain's kindness."
Han just shrugged, his expression relaxed. "Our captain follows the teachings of his academy more than most. He reminds me of his father. Admiral Lung is also a man of honor and fairness."
Back in the village square, the mood shifted. For the first time in days, smiles returned to weary faces. Children peeked from behind their mothers' legs, wide-eyed at the enormous fish. Adults, once stoic and guarded, showed tentative joy.
"I can't believe this is happening," the village chief muttered in disbelief. "The Fire Nation… is helping us?"
One of the younger Kyoshi Warriors voiced the thoughts on many minds. "I thought they were evil conquerors… that all they knew was terrorizing and killing."
The Kyoshi leader crossed her arms and frowned. "I fear they are plotting something."
Another warrior scoffed. "Plotting what? That young leader of theirs took all of us down, and without even bending. And did you see his fire? Blue. That wasn't normal firebending. There's no way we could fight that."
Her comment was met with silent, solemn agreement. The captain of the Fire Nation soldiers wasn't just a soldier in their eyes, He was a monster.
___________
At dawn the next morning, the Kyoshi Warriors gathered quietly and departed the village, heading for the coast. The Fire Nation ship was still docked nearby. The warriors had two intentions: to keep watch over the foreigners… and to thank them for the food they had delivered.
As they approached, one of the girls spotted movement near the jagged rocks that lined the shoreline.
"There," she whispered, pointing.
The girls crept closer and their eyes widened. It was him, the person who had bested them all the day before. Tai Lung stood shirtless in the pale light of morning, his breath slow and focused. With no fire, no bending, he drove his fists and legs into the rugged stone, shattering the edges with every strike.
The warriors stood in awe. The sheer force he was using… the power behind each motion. It was brutal. It was scary.
And it made yesterday's defeat all the more haunting.
They realized in silence, he had gone easy on them more than they thought. Had he truly given them the same treatment of these rocks… they wouldn't be standing here now. Bones would have broken. Limbs might have shattered.
Then, without warning, Tai Lung stopped. His breathing didn't even sound labored. He turned and raised an eyebrow when he saw them.
"What are you doing here so early?" he asked as he walked toward them, sweat glistening off his body.
The Kyoshi leader stepped forward, her voice awkward and unsure. "We… wanted to thank you for the food you gave the village yesterday."
Tai Lung's eyes narrowed slightly. "This early? And with so many of you?"
The girls tensed, their expressions shifting from calm to concerned, perhaps even fearful, except for one.
Suki met his gaze evenly. "How did you hunt the Koi fish… with the Unagi around?"
Tai Lung tilted his head. "Unagi? Is it the oversized eel?"
Suki nodded. "Ever since it showed up, we haven't been able to fish in the sea. It attacks any boat in sight."
Tai Lung responded simply, "It attacked our ship yesterday. After we repelled it, it kept its distance."
Suki's eyes widened. "You… repelled it?"
He didn't reply. Instead, he turned to the Kyoshi leader.
"We're leaving the island as soon as the rest of my crew is up."
With that, Tai Lung turned and walked away, leaving the stunned warriors behind.
___________
Not long after their early morning encounter with Tai Lung, the Kyoshi Warriors remained at the coast, quietly observing the Fire Nation ship. There was sudden movement, soldiers running about in swift, coordinated lines, preparing the vessel for departure. The sails unfurled, the anchors pulled up, and the ship began to drift away from Kyoshi Island, slowly vanishing over the sea's horizon.
The girls stood in silence, their expressions conflicted.
They had grown up on stories, tales etched into their minds, stories of Fire Nation brutality, of villages razed to ash, of children taken from their homes, of entire bloodlines wiped out in the name of conquest. The Fire Nation were monsters, every soldier a soulless killer draped in red and black.
But those men… the ones on that ship… they were nothing like the stories.
The girls exchanged glances. They attacked them first, unprovoked, and yet none of them were hurt. No burns. No lives lost.
Instead of retaliation, they had shown restraint. Instead of demanding supplies, they had offered to buy them. And when the village couldn't provide, they simply walked away.
And then, they brought back food.
Suki thought to herself [They gave us food, For nothing in return]
She wasn't alone in her conflicted thoughts.
The girls watched as the ship grew smaller in the distance. Just as it reached the edge of the bay, the water beneath it rippled violently. The surface of the ocean surged and with a thunderous roar, the Unagi emerged, towering above the waves, its serpentine body coiling with fury. It roared at the Fire Nation vessel, ready to strike.
The Kyoshi Warriors' eyes widened in collective horror. The sea monster had returned.
They tensed instinctively, but then remembered Tai Lung's words.
'We repelled it.'
Now they would witness how.
In the next breath, a streak of blue lightning tore through the air, lancing from the ship with unnatural might. It struck the Unagi mid-roar.
There was a split-second of silence before the beast howled in pain, its body convulsing as arcs of energy danced across its wet flesh. Then, with a final cry, the creature collapsed back into the sea, lifeless. The water calmed, the terror that had plagued their shores for months… gone.
Just like that.
A shiver ran down the girls' spines. No words were spoken, the power they had just witnessed shocked them. The Fire Nation killed the sea monster effortlessly.
Suki swallowed hard. They all knew who had done it.
The young captain.
They had attacked him without reason.
Had he been like the fire soldiers in stories… if even a fragment of those tales had been true…
Their entire village would be ash.