A/N: This is my first foray into the world of writing Avatar fanfic. I signed up for a prompt table for the LiveJournal fanfic50 community, so I have to write fifty pieces of fanfic for Avatar based off of fifty different words and phrases. Basically, this story is going to be fifty one-shots about whatever characters and situations taunt my muse. However, I'll say up front that I am a canon shipper, so my ships in this will be Aang/Katara, Mai/Zuko, and Sokka/Suki. Not all prompts will be shippy, though. This first one, for example, is not romantic at all. It's also not at all what I expected to write, especially to start this out.

Disclaimer: Avatar does not belong to me. Obviously.

Prompt #33: A New World

Characters: Suki, Mai, Kyoshi Warriors

If there was one place Suki had never expected to be in her life--not as an enemy, and certainly not as a friend--it was the Fire Nation palace. There was something absolutely uncanny about walking down the hallways displaying Fire Nation colors, symbols, and portraits. A year ago, it would have been a place of nightmares for her. It still taunted her with wisps of childhood fears. The fears had turned to wariness and caution as she got older, and there was a hint of that still.

She had to consciously ease the tension in her shoulders and firmly tell herself that there was no need for worry. Zuko had been crowned Firelord several days earlier, and though she might not have been close to him, she had still lived and worked beside him for quite a while. Everyone in the palace seemed aware of this; she caught more than a few whispers and respectful nods as she made her way down the corridors. She wasn't sure whether to feel honored or just uncomfortable. She hadn't expected anyone to pay attention to her, except to maybe question what she was doing there. She was just…her. Her role in ending the war and securing Zuko's throne hadn't been very big. What had she done? Her only real contribution to the last big battle had been to crash an airship, and all she had really been trying to do was save Sokka and Toph from a very long, deadly drop.

It was all just weird. Very, very weird.

Suki stopped when she reached a hallway with massive portraits hanging on the walls. She recognized one of the former Firelord Ozai, and assumed the other paintings to be Ozai's predecessors. The one that really caught her eye was the one of Zuko. He looked exactly as he had several days before, dressed for his coronation.

"The court painters don't waste any time."

Suki tensed and instinctively reached for her fan as she whirled to face Mai. The other girl had come up so quietly that Suki's well-trained ears had caught not even a hint of noise.

"Oh. Um…hello." Nice. Very smooth, Suki thought, grimacing inwardly.

Mai stepped forward to stand beside Suki, arms crossed and gaze fixed on Zuko's portrait. Suki forced herself to relax. This still wasn't easy, rearranging enemies to friends in her mind. While she hadn't really thought of Mai as an enemy since she had helped them all escape from the Boiling Rock, apparently her instincts hadn't yet caught up with her mindset. It was still a little odd to have Ty Lee as part of the Kyoshi Warriors.

"Change is always going to happen," Suki's grandmother had always told her, "and unless you can learn to change with it, you will find yourself getting left far behind. You will be unable to move because you are stuck in your own ideas of what you think should be, and not what really is."

If you could see us now, Grandma, you'd know how many changes I've been through! Suki shook her head and glanced sideways at Mai. "I never did get a chance to thank you."

Mai met Suki's eyes. "Thank me?"

"You saved us all at the Boiling Rock."

Mai was silent for a moment, her narrowed eyes still fixed on Suki. "I didn't do it for you."

"I know." Suki offered her a small smile. "But you still saved us." She paused. "I'm about to have a training session with the other Kyoshi Warriors. Do you want to come?"

Mai opened her mouth to speak, but then seemed to reconsider what she was about to say. Finally, she shrugged a little. "Whatever. It will probably be boring, but I did tell Ty Lee I would come see her this morning."

"You mean you don't just miss the outfit?" Suki tugged on her warrior's outfit, her smile widening at the disgusted look that Mai gave it. She continued walking down the corridor, away from the giant portraits on the wall. Mai fell into step beside her, silent as a shadow, and they headed for the larger room the Kyoshi Warriors had been granted during their stay at the palace.

They arrived at the room and Suki reached for the door. She stopped when Mai spoke. "I never said thank you, either."

Suki frowned in puzzlement. "For what?"

"Helping Zuko."

Suki's hand dropped away from the door. "I really didn't do much."

"You helped him get here."

The two girls locked eyes, and some sort of understanding passed between them. For that moment, it didn't matter that they were from different nations and different social standings. It didn't matter that they had wildly different personalities, ambitions, and dreams. For that moment, they were just two girls who realized that maybe the things they had in common could be more powerful than their differences.

Suki grinned, wide and genuine, as she opened the door, and the voices of the other Kyoshi Warriors filtered out into the hallway. She waved Mai into the room and followed her inside.

Then Ty Lee was calling Mai's name and tackling her friend, and the other girls were coming over to talk to Suki. Suki glanced over at Mai once more, and found her listening to Ty Lee chatter with the smallest smile on her face.

The changes in Suki's life hadn't always been easy, and she knew that building a new world was going to be a daunting, painstaking task. Her part in it might always be small, but she would do whatever she could to continue piecing it back together. And as long as she kept an open mind and remained willing to see that anyone could change, she also knew that she would have friends both old and new to rebuild it with her. What good would a new world be without hope of redemption and second chances?

Not one I want to help build. Suki held up her hand and the room instantly quieted. "Come on, girls. Let's get started."