Fic: Target Practice Fandom: ATLA
Title: Target Practice
Author: witblogi
Fandom: Avatar The Last Airbender
Pairings: Sokka/Suki, Mai (some implied Mai/Zuko)
Rating: pg-13 (Sokka is a 16 y/o boy after all)
Words: ~1500
Warnings: uhh knife throwing...Sokka's mind wandering into his girlfriend's shirt etc etc
Summary: Sokka discovers he and Mai share a love for throwing sharp things
Suki was lightning fast with her fans, even without her full uniform, the balanced and measured weight of her headdress, the freedom afforded of her robe, she was still far too close to slicing off Sokka’s wolf-tail for his comfort. Luckily, his sword training was paying off and the fact his wolf-tail was even still there attested to that.
“You’ve learned some.” She grinned from where her last stance had planted her, fans still outstretched against his sword, chest heaving, sweat glistening along her clavicle, gathering to almost almost form a gentle trickle down into the shadowy place between her-
“Oh.”
Sokka blinked hard, turning to face the entrance of the training room, pointing out of reflex with his sword at the intruder. Mai to her credit didn’t flinch, merely held the door still and surveyed the duo already using the space.
“Sorry.” She muttered already backing away, her glossy hair swinging as she turned sharply.
“Wait!” Suki collapsed her fans with a flick of her wrists and took a few steps forward, “It’s okay, we’re almost done anyway, you can have the room.” She offered hesitantly. Things were still...tense between Mai and the group. Reconciling their two sides was difficult, Ty Lee and the other Kyoshi warriors seemed to be doing well, her naturally enthusiastic and cheerful personality weaving into the fabric of the others easily. She was already showing Aang how to walk on his hands and balance on his staff without the aide of air bending.
But Mai on the other hand was still a mystery, and a bit of a recluse. She slipped silently into rooms only to startle the others with her somewhat snappy commentary, or she was hanging around Zuko like a shadow spirit. No one had really had the chance to get close to her.
Suki had confided in Sokka she felt obligated to try and include the other girl, having aided in their escape from the boiling rock, and Sokka had to agree. Without Mai, who knew where they’d be.
“Might as well get to know each other anyway, us non-benders have to stick together, right?” he tried, swinging his new (but never improved upon) sword around casually. Mai merely stared at them both for another moment, and Sokka was almost certain she would leave as silently as she had come but instead she turned and slowly entered the room with them, pulling off her outer cloak to hang by the door. Beneath she wore what Sokka could only assume was some kind of training dress robe uniform? It still looked nicer than anything he’d ever owned and certainly was far more clothing than what Katara or even Suki trained in. She seemed content to mind her own business, setting up her own targets and going through warm up forms for whatever sort of target practice she was about to perform.
Suki nudged him with her elbow, giving him a glance and a jerk of her head that said they should leave her alone, finish their own sparring. So, they set themselves up again, Suki swiping some of her sweat away and re-gripping her unsheathed fans and Sokka churning his sword in a loose figure eight with his wrist, keeping his elbows loose and knees bent.
“Should I go easy on you?” he asked Suki teasingly, she merely laughed as she always did and lunged.
After several minutes of delivering and blocking blows mixed with their usual banter and teasing, they decided to call it quits when he finally managed to back her into the corner. Stealing a kiss from her over the blade of his sword was all too easy and she pushed him away laughing.
“Okay, I give. Lets hit the showers, you smell like a Tigerdillo.” She made an exaggerated face and swiped up her towel, sashaying out of the room with her weapons and dignity intact. Sokka sighed dreamily looking at the place she’d disappeared, but his revery was interrupted by the sound of five blades sinking into the wooden paneling of the training room in rapid succession.
He spared a glance at where Mai was still working, now prying her arsenal out of the walls and targets she’d set up. He noticed her aim was impeccable, almost as good as his with his boomerang. Idea springing forth in his mind suddenly, Sokka grinned and sheathed his sword. Carefully examining all of his coveted weapons he selected his new boomerang - more accurately Bato’s old boomerang, but he had never been good with it, and this baby was practically brand new.
Boomerang the Second would be as cherished and well loved as the first. Sokka tested the flex of it in his hands throwing a small loop of the room before catching it again and approaching Mai with purpose.
“Mind if I join you?” he waggled his boomerang in explanation as she yanked the last of her blades from a particularly rotund dummy’s head.
“Knock yourself out.” she replied in her usual dry tone, busy with pulling her sleeve back to reveal a holster already glittering with stored blades.
“H-how many blades do you carry?!” he gripped his boomerang a little tighter to himself and watched as she shook her sleeve back down over the holster and looked once more like a proper Fire Nation maiden.
“No one gets to know that.” she murmured, before another volley of stilettos came flying from her fingers as if by magic- blade bending.
Not one to be intimidated for long, Sokka tried a few throws into her various targets, then some vertical retrievals, before finally feeling at home with the blade enough to wait for her next throw of five - and promptly whipped his boomerang out fast enough to catch all five little blades as they sailed. It knocked them out of the air, spraying the floor with steel, before sailing comfortably back into his expectant hand.
Mai rounded on him, explanation demanded in her eyes as he grinned at his boomerang.
“Ever thrown one of these before- knife lady?” he asked letting it shine in the light as he held it up. Mai folded her arms, hair perfectly in place.
“No.”
“Too bad, they’re very useful.” Sokka breathed on the blade and rubbed a smudge off with the front of his tunic, “But, it can be kind of tricky-”
“You can do it, it’s probably not that hard.” she huffed, her bangs ruffling before her.
“Hey!”
“Oh, don’t be such a baby. It was just a joke.”
“Joke or no, I bet you can’t hit any of your targets with ol’ Boomerang the Second.” He held it up with two fingers, eyes closed, chin held high waiting for her- She snapped the weapon out of his hand and examined it.
“What’s so hard about this?” She flicked her wrist and Sokka winced, ducking as the boomerang soared completely out of range, clanging dully into the wall before dropping to the floor. Mai looked stunned, he bet it was probably quite a while since she’d last thrown an knife that didn’t go exactly where she wanted it to.
“It’s okay, I was terrible at it at first too.” He retrieved the boomerang and placed it in her hand for her the proper way, “See, you throw it like this, on an angle, think of it like part of a propellor for a boat or a war balloon.” He pulled her arm along in the proper direction. Letting her go and taking a few steps back, he nodded for her to try again.
The throw was better, it still wobbled and fell out of the air half way through its arc, but it had at least gone in the direction she’d aimed it.
“Better-” Before he could get it however she was already striding across the space with determination in her steps. Sokka grinned to himself and proceeded in correcting her stance, already taking a shine to being a teacher.
-
The dining room in the Fire Palace that night had certainly never been used like this before; judging by the look on Zuko’s face when he entered to see the entire long table covered in food and surrounded by people, friends, family, in every colour and with every talent.
Mai slipped in behind him, unnoticed as the others absorbed him into their conversations immediately, catching up with the scarcely seen new Fire Lord.
Sokka took it all in but only half heartedly, he was busy, food was calling. It was only a moment later when the seat beside him was filled with Mai, folding herself elegantly down, silk robes barely rustling that he really paused to take in what was happening.
She had never directly inserted herself into any of their groups before, and now here she was, already reaching for the massive teapot provided and looking as though she did this everyday. Others seemed to have noticed as well and were slowing their actions and hushing their conversations. If Mai noticed, she didn’t show it, and instead turned slightly to him while she delicately poured her own tea.
“Thank you for the boomerang lesson. I should teach you to throw proper knives sometime.” She looked at him slyly out the corner of her eye.
“Heh, no problem, I’d like that.” He muttered around his food and was promptly scolded for it by Katara, Suki, and his father. He finished chewing, swallowed and grinned sheepishly at Mai, who merely smirked into her teacup in return.
Author: witblogi
Fandom: Avatar The Last Airbender
Pairings: Sokka/Suki, Mai (some implied Mai/Zuko)
Rating: pg-13 (Sokka is a 16 y/o boy after all)
Words: ~1500
Warnings: uhh knife throwing...Sokka's mind wandering into his girlfriend's shirt etc etc
Summary: Sokka discovers he and Mai share a love for throwing sharp things
Suki was lightning fast with her fans, even without her full uniform, the balanced and measured weight of her headdress, the freedom afforded of her robe, she was still far too close to slicing off Sokka’s wolf-tail for his comfort. Luckily, his sword training was paying off and the fact his wolf-tail was even still there attested to that.
“You’ve learned some.” She grinned from where her last stance had planted her, fans still outstretched against his sword, chest heaving, sweat glistening along her clavicle, gathering to almost almost form a gentle trickle down into the shadowy place between her-
“Oh.”
Sokka blinked hard, turning to face the entrance of the training room, pointing out of reflex with his sword at the intruder. Mai to her credit didn’t flinch, merely held the door still and surveyed the duo already using the space.
“Sorry.” She muttered already backing away, her glossy hair swinging as she turned sharply.
“Wait!” Suki collapsed her fans with a flick of her wrists and took a few steps forward, “It’s okay, we’re almost done anyway, you can have the room.” She offered hesitantly. Things were still...tense between Mai and the group. Reconciling their two sides was difficult, Ty Lee and the other Kyoshi warriors seemed to be doing well, her naturally enthusiastic and cheerful personality weaving into the fabric of the others easily. She was already showing Aang how to walk on his hands and balance on his staff without the aide of air bending.
But Mai on the other hand was still a mystery, and a bit of a recluse. She slipped silently into rooms only to startle the others with her somewhat snappy commentary, or she was hanging around Zuko like a shadow spirit. No one had really had the chance to get close to her.
Suki had confided in Sokka she felt obligated to try and include the other girl, having aided in their escape from the boiling rock, and Sokka had to agree. Without Mai, who knew where they’d be.
“Might as well get to know each other anyway, us non-benders have to stick together, right?” he tried, swinging his new (but never improved upon) sword around casually. Mai merely stared at them both for another moment, and Sokka was almost certain she would leave as silently as she had come but instead she turned and slowly entered the room with them, pulling off her outer cloak to hang by the door. Beneath she wore what Sokka could only assume was some kind of training dress robe uniform? It still looked nicer than anything he’d ever owned and certainly was far more clothing than what Katara or even Suki trained in. She seemed content to mind her own business, setting up her own targets and going through warm up forms for whatever sort of target practice she was about to perform.
Suki nudged him with her elbow, giving him a glance and a jerk of her head that said they should leave her alone, finish their own sparring. So, they set themselves up again, Suki swiping some of her sweat away and re-gripping her unsheathed fans and Sokka churning his sword in a loose figure eight with his wrist, keeping his elbows loose and knees bent.
“Should I go easy on you?” he asked Suki teasingly, she merely laughed as she always did and lunged.
After several minutes of delivering and blocking blows mixed with their usual banter and teasing, they decided to call it quits when he finally managed to back her into the corner. Stealing a kiss from her over the blade of his sword was all too easy and she pushed him away laughing.
“Okay, I give. Lets hit the showers, you smell like a Tigerdillo.” She made an exaggerated face and swiped up her towel, sashaying out of the room with her weapons and dignity intact. Sokka sighed dreamily looking at the place she’d disappeared, but his revery was interrupted by the sound of five blades sinking into the wooden paneling of the training room in rapid succession.
He spared a glance at where Mai was still working, now prying her arsenal out of the walls and targets she’d set up. He noticed her aim was impeccable, almost as good as his with his boomerang. Idea springing forth in his mind suddenly, Sokka grinned and sheathed his sword. Carefully examining all of his coveted weapons he selected his new boomerang - more accurately Bato’s old boomerang, but he had never been good with it, and this baby was practically brand new.
Boomerang the Second would be as cherished and well loved as the first. Sokka tested the flex of it in his hands throwing a small loop of the room before catching it again and approaching Mai with purpose.
“Mind if I join you?” he waggled his boomerang in explanation as she yanked the last of her blades from a particularly rotund dummy’s head.
“Knock yourself out.” she replied in her usual dry tone, busy with pulling her sleeve back to reveal a holster already glittering with stored blades.
“H-how many blades do you carry?!” he gripped his boomerang a little tighter to himself and watched as she shook her sleeve back down over the holster and looked once more like a proper Fire Nation maiden.
“No one gets to know that.” she murmured, before another volley of stilettos came flying from her fingers as if by magic- blade bending.
Not one to be intimidated for long, Sokka tried a few throws into her various targets, then some vertical retrievals, before finally feeling at home with the blade enough to wait for her next throw of five - and promptly whipped his boomerang out fast enough to catch all five little blades as they sailed. It knocked them out of the air, spraying the floor with steel, before sailing comfortably back into his expectant hand.
Mai rounded on him, explanation demanded in her eyes as he grinned at his boomerang.
“Ever thrown one of these before- knife lady?” he asked letting it shine in the light as he held it up. Mai folded her arms, hair perfectly in place.
“No.”
“Too bad, they’re very useful.” Sokka breathed on the blade and rubbed a smudge off with the front of his tunic, “But, it can be kind of tricky-”
“You can do it, it’s probably not that hard.” she huffed, her bangs ruffling before her.
“Hey!”
“Oh, don’t be such a baby. It was just a joke.”
“Joke or no, I bet you can’t hit any of your targets with ol’ Boomerang the Second.” He held it up with two fingers, eyes closed, chin held high waiting for her- She snapped the weapon out of his hand and examined it.
“What’s so hard about this?” She flicked her wrist and Sokka winced, ducking as the boomerang soared completely out of range, clanging dully into the wall before dropping to the floor. Mai looked stunned, he bet it was probably quite a while since she’d last thrown an knife that didn’t go exactly where she wanted it to.
“It’s okay, I was terrible at it at first too.” He retrieved the boomerang and placed it in her hand for her the proper way, “See, you throw it like this, on an angle, think of it like part of a propellor for a boat or a war balloon.” He pulled her arm along in the proper direction. Letting her go and taking a few steps back, he nodded for her to try again.
The throw was better, it still wobbled and fell out of the air half way through its arc, but it had at least gone in the direction she’d aimed it.
“Better-” Before he could get it however she was already striding across the space with determination in her steps. Sokka grinned to himself and proceeded in correcting her stance, already taking a shine to being a teacher.
-
The dining room in the Fire Palace that night had certainly never been used like this before; judging by the look on Zuko’s face when he entered to see the entire long table covered in food and surrounded by people, friends, family, in every colour and with every talent.
Mai slipped in behind him, unnoticed as the others absorbed him into their conversations immediately, catching up with the scarcely seen new Fire Lord.
Sokka took it all in but only half heartedly, he was busy, food was calling. It was only a moment later when the seat beside him was filled with Mai, folding herself elegantly down, silk robes barely rustling that he really paused to take in what was happening.
She had never directly inserted herself into any of their groups before, and now here she was, already reaching for the massive teapot provided and looking as though she did this everyday. Others seemed to have noticed as well and were slowing their actions and hushing their conversations. If Mai noticed, she didn’t show it, and instead turned slightly to him while she delicately poured her own tea.
“Thank you for the boomerang lesson. I should teach you to throw proper knives sometime.” She looked at him slyly out the corner of her eye.
“Heh, no problem, I’d like that.” He muttered around his food and was promptly scolded for it by Katara, Suki, and his father. He finished chewing, swallowed and grinned sheepishly at Mai, who merely smirked into her teacup in return.