Chapter 17

Back to Rangi pov, aka the hot pocket, and let me tell you something she is definitely boiling hot, or gonna be soon. Shout out to @SavannahNachtranb your comments made me laugh so hard

Somehow the meeting going over security breaching felt like the most tiring part of her day. Though in all honesty she wasn’t sure how present she was for the duration of it. But as soon as the meeting was declared over she was the first one out the door.

How could her head be so busy with so much right now. All she had focus on was the meeting point in a week. Until then there was nothing she could do. There is nothing I can do. Rangi repeated to herself.

As she made her way back the house she stepped into a meditation room, and began to set up the candles. Meditation should be good, could do her some good, that’s what it’s used for. To clear your thoughts. But it felt like her time in that room truely accomplished the oppposite. More possibilities wirled around in her brain.

She had no control.

“Your quite quiet tonight” Hei Ran commented.

“I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all” Rangi replied, poking at her food slightly before picking it up. The evening was quiet. There were no big dinners since the incident at the party, so Rangi was left to have dinner with her mother.

“She really has done a number on you” Her mother commented contently beganining to eat her own meal. “And why do you say that?” Rangi snapped. Hei Ran shot her a disapproving look, as she straightened up. “Sorry”

“The thing is I remember when you told me that you were certain that you would be perfectly content never making a single friend, that they were only liabilities, I believe is how you phrased it” Her mom laughed lightly at the memory. “It wasn’t exactly a pleasant school experience” Rangi commented quietly.

“But still you always wanted to be left alone, until she came around”

“Why do you bring this up?” Rangi asked looking up from her plate.

“Well because even before you and Kyoshi were together you have always spent a great deal of time together. And even when you were apart you would write.”

“Yeah, but it’s only a week. I can do a week”

“I know you are strong enough, I just have a feeling you’re still struggling with it, she left quite quickly. Normally when she flees this quickly you are right by her side ” Hei ran replied softly. If only Rangi was able to reciprocate the same tone.

“What do you want me to say here exactly? That I hate feeling powerless when it comes to Kyoshi, that every time she pulls herself into danger my first and only instinct is to find a way to pull her out. That I am absolutely in the complete darkness here and I can’t shake the thought that something terrible is happening right now and I am doing nothing to stop it. That if I probably had any more two senses then I should have gone after the second I knew that she was gone. But I still respect her wishes, becasue for once she does have a fucking plan. But that still doesn’t make me hate the plan any less and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it without putting her or her stupid plan in jeopardy.” Rangi huffed slamming her hands on the table as she stood up.

“For Rava’s sake she has made me weak” She commented to herself. “I’m going for a walk” Rangi proclaimed as he left the room to find some open air.

The air smelled of rain, as she made her way across the porch. Why was this so difficult for her? She knew Kyoshi could take care of herself- well enough that was, she was strong enough, she had been getting stronger everyday in fact. It was one of the things Rangi had admired about her, she was always looking to grow, and to improve. Training wise that was.

“The fuck were you thinking Kyoshi” She whispered to herself. “I hope you think my sanity is worth all this” She contiued walking over to some stones, perching herself on one.

“Always have to run off, well at least tell me something first” The firebender removed the pin form her hair, the same one Kyoshi had given her the night fo the last attack before the party. “Idiot”

She wasn’t sure why mumbling to the darkness seemed to help, but it did. “Always have to be the damn hero, no matter the cost. I mean like did you even know the risks?” She asked herself as she admired the pin.

As the night grew cooler Rangi produced a small flame in her palms, staring at it intrigued. As if it were her first time seeing a flame up close.

“Normally I would find Kysohi wandering around this late” A comment crept out the darkness starting the firebender, causing her to shot flames in the general direction of the noise.

Jinpa leap back. “Last time I sneak up on you” He commented as he moved closer.

“Need something?” She asked, not bothering for pleasantries. “No, no. Not really anyways.” He trailed on. “I normally go on walks in the evening. It helps me to clear my mind” He went on.

A flame continues to burn in Rangi’s palm. “Might keep your sanity intact a little while longer.” He offered

” How long have you been here?” Rangi asked, becoming increasingly aware of exactly how long the monk was there. “Always just long enough” He shrugged.

“I’m not crazy by the way” Rangi commented as she followed Jinpa down the path.

“No crazier than anybody else here” Jinpa replied, with a light laugh. “True” The firebender agreed.

“So there are some accounts I have to settle soon, think you can help me?”

“Sure”

“First of all what do I tell people about Kyoshi? She left a little abruptly, Although most of her schedule was already cleared. Except for one meeting in a couple of days.”

“She said to say she was in recovery after the attack, she thinks that the people won’t care. Just send out a note asking to reschedule, it should get there in time.”

Jinpa laughs at her response. “If they knew the real Kyoshi any better they would know that Kyoshi taking time off to rest was an obvious lie. But they don’t so hopefully that will slide.”

“Is that it then?” Rangi asked, trying to match the monk’s pace. “I think so” He replied, pulling a scroll out of his robes. “Light please”

Rangi produced a flame once again allowing for Jinpa to read the scroll as they walked.

“I think that all checks out for now”

Rangi nodded in approval. “Something on your mind?”

She thought for a moment, the only other thing that kept replying in her head other than Kyoshi’s note was what the man had said in the cell. She didn’t need his confirmation to tell her that she had messed up somehow. But she provided it nonetheless.

These feelings, this wasn’t Jinpa’s problem, nor her mother’s. Although she had sort of put them on her earlier. It was her’s, and she was fine with it being like that.

“No nothings wrong”

“Really? I know we haven’t spent the most time together but you still seem off…”

Why was everyone saying that? She thought to herself, she used to hold her masks so well, and now they all seemed to be slipping all too easily.

“Just a lot has happened, that’s all.” Rangi quickly explained. “Probably best if I head back, I have some stuff to check on in the morning”

“Alright, well you know where to find me” He replied as they went their separate ways. Rangi was almost mad at herself, how could Jinpa seem so relaxed when Kyoshi did stuff like this. She was sure this probably wasn’t the first time she had done something like that, and even though it might actually cost Rangi the remainder of her sanity, she knew this wouldn’t be the last of it either.

Yet everyone seemed so calm, they all buyed into Kyoshi’s plan. But so did everyone else, and the plan made sense. So why was this all so hard for her to swallow still?

The following day Rangi began to bury herself mostly in security work about the palace that night. It was honestly the first time she had done work like this in a while, but she was happy for the busy work to fill her day.

She had surrounded herself with different scrolls and books, along with security schedules in a study area when Jinpa had come through the door.

“The people who wanted to meet with Kyoshi, they’re early.” Jinpa explained, as he stepped into the room with an arm full of scrolls.

“Didn’t they get the note?” Rangi asked, thinking of the conversation they had before. “They weren’t supposed to be here for a couple of days, so the letter would have had plenty of time.”

“I’m afraid that they probably had left too far in advance to receive it, but they seemed eager to get the meeting started.” Jinpa said, setting down the scrolls to crotch his head.

“And what do you want me to do about it, I’m just security if you boil it down” She replied blandly.

Jinpa shot her a skeptical look. “We both know you are more than that”

This statement actually caused a bit of heat to rise in the firenders face. “Still I’m no master at the subject.”

“Please just at least meet with them? Maybe you can get them to come back another time” Jinpa pleaded, before picking back up the collection of scrolls.

“You know I’m not supposed to be a diplomat. This is not in my job description” Rangi called as she left the room.

Making her way across the rainy grounds Rangi wished she had asked Jinpa more about who they were, or what they were doing. Stupid, Rangi thought to herself. She knew better than to go into a situation like this blindly. Too late for that.

The firebender entered the room trying to project her usual level of confidence that lately her presence feels it had been lacking. Taking a deep breath she tried to release all the tension building in her finger tips.

“Here in Avatar Kyoshi’s absence, Lieutenant Rangi” A man called as she stepped deeper into the room. That monk had already arranged for her to come, even before their conversation. Dang monk. Rangi thought, before she knew it she was shaking a woman’s hand. “‘It’s nice to see a familiar face.”

Rangi finally looked up and brought herself back to the room long enough to realize. “Wren?”

Her cool eyes felt like they had pierced her heart for a moment, and not in a good way. Like a rock stake though your insides. Well fuck

“I guess you weren’t too good for me after all” The woman cooed. A frown quickly swept over the firebenders features.

“You too know each other?” One of the men to Wren’s left called.

“The firebenders that came into to town that one time in search of the best healing, Rangi here was among them”

“That’s lieutenant” Rangi called under her breath. “Right, how could I forget, it must have been the long trip.” She replied.

The only thing that was now going through Rangoi’s head was how badly she wanted to run her head through a wall, or Wren’s; she wasn’t picky.

“If you’d rather meet with Avatar Kyoshi we could arrange a better time, we sent a letter asking to reschedule later but it seemed you probably left long before it could have gotten there.”

Wren looked back to the other two who just shrugged. “I think meeting now is best. There’s a reason we left early.”
Rangi just shrugged, “Very well then, how can we help you?”

The woman just smiled, taking a seat at the table, Rangi followed, crossing her arms as she sat. “Out of curiosity, is there a reason why the Avatar isn’t here?” One of the men asked.

Rangi took a breath. “Due to some of the previous attacks she is on medical rest, but should bale to resume her duties shortly”

“Is it really that serious? We are all healers here, I’m sure that we could provide some aid-” Wren tried to offer.

“No, that will not be necessary. Let’s just get to it, what brings you here so urgently?” Rangi replied. The last thing she wanted even if Kyohsi was here was for Wren to lay her hands on her, whether anything happened between them or not.

“We have some valuable information concerning the spiritual attacks that might be of use” Rangi thought for a moment, if she really did have some information that ment there was no getting rid of her nearly as soon as she would have wanted. Maybe it would be her own head that she would run through the wall after all.

Alright hope you all enjoyed this chapter, things should really be taking off now. Hopefully I can update some more before school starts again, but I will still be publishing throughout the semester! Also let me know if there anything you want to see in the upcoming chapters!!!