The Thief |Sokka

ELEVEN

The celebration for Zuko's coronation was the most extraordinary one because not only a new Fire Lord was rising to power, but the ceremony also signified the end of a war that had left most of the people scarred, one way or the other. It was the start of an era, the end of another, and while no quest remained and no worry stained her mind, Jaya celebrated like this would be the last time she ever would.

The music playing was unfamiliar but that didn't stop her. She knew the rhythm, and that was enough.

She stood in the middle of a crowd as she danced with abandon. She had lost her shoes some time during the day and her hair had escaped the low ponytail she had set it in earlier in an effort to keep it off of her face. She turned and turned and turned as the cheering got louder around her. Suki was kneeling in front of her at the very first row, cheering and clapping her hands along with the rhythm. Jaya briefly stopped in front of her, outstretched an arm forward with a smile wider than she had ever seen, her eyes twinkling with something that wasn't mischievious but purely happy. Suki was so distracted by the sight of her smile she almost forgot what she was asking her to do.

"Oh – Oh no, I don't dance."

"Come on, Suki!"

"I'll dance with you," Katara's voice cut in and Suki turned her head to see her rising from the ground. When she looked back at Jaya, she noticed her attention had shifted from her to Katara. "Although as your healer I have got to note all this jostling is no good for your recovery."

Jaya laughed as she rose. "I think it's quite fine actually. I feel no pain!"

She started swaying to the beat once more and Katara mirrored her with a sigh after a moment. The crowd cheered once more and the celebration continued.

Hours later, as the sun started to set, Jaya collapsed against the stairs where Suki was sat along with Sokka, Katara and Toph. The dance was still going on, the festivities going strong even though they had started hours ago. She couldn't keep on pushing herself any more, though. She had grown tired and she had started to feel the ache in her ribs once more. Still, when she turned to the four members of her company, she sent them a smile just as wide as all others she had sent before.

"I think that's enough for today."

Suki laughed as Sokka sent her a teasing smile.

"But why? The sun hasn't gone down yet."

"And it can go down without me," she laughed as she leaned against a column. "I really did lose my shoes. And my hairpin."

"They will be found," Katara assured her, "probably during clean-up. Were they even yours?"

"No," she shook her head, "they were the shoes given to us by the Boiling Rock. Now I think about it, good riddance."

Suki laughed and reached forward to squeeze her knee reassuringly. "You know, I think it could have been worse. At least we ended up meeting each other that way."

"The highlight of my time in prison, that was," she admitted with a soft smile at Suki.

"Is it weird to say I miss your boasting about the many prisons you escaped from?"

Jaya threw her head back as she laughed, her whole body shaking as Sokka spoke up.

"What's up with that by the way? I wanted to hear about those stories but you no longer speak of them."

"I can tell you all the stories in the world," she retorted once she had stopped laughing, the corner of her lips curled upwards into a smirk. "I have stopped boasting because there is no reason to assert dominance over anyone here. So I am simply being." The moment of her being serious was over as soon as it started as she leaned forward to look at Sokka properly and showed him one of her usual smirks that had ended up characterizing her throughout her travels whenever she was wanted for every wanted poster had it. "Rest assured, if you ever need a reminder of my skills in evasion I will be more than happy to jog your memory."