Chapter 9

The night was mostly silent as they both laid there in bed asleep. The wind was ever so slightly blowing outside, but other than that everything was still.

All of a sudden Kyoshi started turning in the covers, enough so that she woke up Rangi. Who turned over to Kyoshi trying to see if she was alright.

She was breathing deeply, beads of sweat covering her face as Rangi tried to shake her awake. “Kyoshi…” She whispered. But nothing changed, her breathing only quickened as she started to thrash, as if she were fighting someone. “Kyoshi you’re okay” Rangi said shakily, not fully sure what was going on.

Suddenly Kyoshi’s eyes fluttered open with a blue glow. Before Rangi could do anything she was thrown out the bed, as a orb of wind surrounded the avatar.

Not good, Rangi thought. She tried to grab a pillow and throw it in Kyoshi’s direction but it was too light and just went in the other direction.

Slowly Rangi climbed back on the bed, and was able to reach Kyoshi. She made her way beside her, taking Kyoshi’s hands, to ensure that she didn’t start bending any other elements in her sleep.

“Kyoshi you have to wake up, everything is okay!” Rangi yelled over the sound of the wind howling around the room.

She tried again to shake her awake. “You’re safe, Kyoshi you’re safe!”

Suddenly the wind stopped as Kyoshi fell limp in her arms sobbing. Rangi pulled her closer once she was sure Kyoshi was awake. “Everything is okay, you’re safe” She tried to reassure her.

Kyoshi sat there shaking, looking around the room frantically. “Rangi?” She stuttered. “You’re okay, I promise. You’re safe Kyoshi”

“But… those people… and you…”

“Everything’s okay” Rangi tried to reassure her again.

Kyoshi placed her hand on Rangi’s cheek which she leaned into. “I’m okay, nothing happened. It was just a dream” She smiled dimly.

She nodded as they laid down again, Kyoshi taking Rangi’s hand under the covers. “It’s okay, just try and get some sleep.” Rangi whispered, kissing the top of Kyoshi’s hand.

Eventually Rangi was convinced that Kyoshi had fallen back asleep, but she couldn’t have felt more awake at that moment. She knew Kyoshi had some experience with nightmares in the past, but to trigger the Avatar State? That ment that she must have felt like she was in some real danger.

Rangi turned to look at Kyoshi sleeping beside her, her breathing patterns more stable than before. “Kyoshi…” Rangi whispered so quietly she could barely hear the words leave her own mouth.

She knew this wasn’t the first time, but Rangi also knew this wouldn’t be the last either. Just let me take some of this weight off your shoulders. Rangi thought as she tried to close her eyes once more.

Rangi felt reluctant to ask Kyoshi the next morning what she was dreaming about last night. She kept trying to piece something together, something that could have triggered the avatar state.

“I know this can’t all be easy for you” Rangi began as they walked down a hallway that seemed to stretch forever. “What’s not easy?” Kyoshi replied.

Rangi paused for a moment trying to figure out a way to word this right. “All this spirit stuff, it’s a little too close to heart, don’t you think?”

“Yeah a guess it isn’t it?” Kyoshi let out a faint laugh, but it sounded sad to Rangi. “I know I’ve told you not to blame yourself for what happened, but you’re still allowed to feel sad about it” Rangi explained, trying to test so see if this could have possibly been what the dream was about.

“I think a part of me will always feel responsible for what happened, start to finish really. I mean like who else is to blame?”

“But it wasn’t all your fault, you-“

“It will help me focus to protect all these new innocent lives at stake.” She gave Rangi another smile. What Kysohi had said in honestly hurt the firebender. Now all she could think of was why it was her? Why did Kyoshi have to be the avatar? Why did it all have to fall on her shoulders? Did she think that Kyoshi made a great avatar? Of course but she feared that one day it would take too much from her, that she would give too much.

That afternoon Kyoshi went off with Jinpa to some meeting. Rangi insisted on going but Kyoshi told her that she should try and spend some time with her mom before things got too crazy.

So now she stood in front of a vast book case, staring out the window. She spotted Kysohi walking into a tea shop not too far away. That was the only reason she agreed to stay here, because she could in fact see the place where the meeting was being held.

Rangi’s thoughts fell back to the bookcase as she started to scan for books on chakras, or anything like that. There was a blue book on the bottom that she thought would do the trick.

She assumed this book had been opened once, maybe twice before. Probably the first time her mother bought it. Rangi sat down on a long couch as she started to scan the pages.

Although she excelled at her studies none of this really seemed to make sense in her head. She understood that there were seven chakras in the body and they were all connected somehow. But that was about it.

Maybe she was being foolish by not wanting to get Kyoshi involved. Maybe her mother was right.

Rangi closed the book abruptly. Perhaps she could find a way to get Kyoshi to help her without relating it to herself. By involving it in training somehow. That could possibly work.

When Kyoshi got back Rangi started to tell her the plan. The one she created anyway.

“I know you have been concerned about your training lately, so I was thinking maybe there could be another way to help you get stronger, you know if you want to anyways”

Kyoshi smiled, with a light laugh. “What did you have in mind?”

Rangi handed her the book she was reading earlier. As Kyoshi sat down she started to scan the pages. She looked so determined, Rangi thought, and here they were just studying.

“Okay I found something with the energy of the bodies and bending the elements” She said pointing to a paragraph.

“It’s all about the energy circulating throughout the body, and how it can be used properly,” Kyoshi continued. “Could that have been why you started bending the elements so late?” Rangi asked curiously.

Kyoshi tapped her chin recalling the time Hei Ran tested her ability to produce a flame, as well as failing immensely.

“Possibly, but I think it has to do with this” She said pointing to an image drawn at the corner of the page.

It showed all the possible energy paths of the body. Rangi gave her a confused look. “Okay so these are all the energy paths right?”

Rangi nodded. “And if one of the energy paths is blocked then it makes it hard for it to go anywhere.”

“So you’re saying that it could potentially stop a person’s bending abilities? I mean like when you were younger…” Rangi tried to recover. “So your energy paths could have been blocked?”

Kyoshi scanned Rangi’s face, all of this seemed a bit too lined up, a little to spot on. “That’s probably what happened.”

“So how do you think you fixed it?” Kyoshi raised an eyebrow. “I’m honestly not sure, it was like a slingshot, I just needed to find a way to release that energy properly.”

Just great, Rangi thought. What was she supposed to do with that sort of an answer? That wasn’t any help.

“Didn’t you learn about any of this in the academy?” Kyoshi asked, closing the book. “Maybe a bit, but most of it was about fire nation history, and then of course firebending if you were eligible.” She explained.

“Sounds like fun, I mean was it fun? I mean, interesting atleast?” Kyoshi stuttered. Rangi exhaled thinking about her time in the academy and how desperately she wanted to get out of there. Kyoshi caught sight of the face Rangi made. “I’m sorry, I was just curious, I just… I never really experienced any of that.”

Rangi recalled that Kyoshi told her she never actually went to school, after she was abandoned, the townspeople barely fed her. Let alone took the time to educate her.

“Yet you don’t seem to have any trouble reading or writing. You would think that you had a very rich education by my standards.”

Kyoshi smiled. “Kelsang taught me mostly. He said that if he couldn’t be a proper earth bending teacher then that was the least he could do.”

“You’re truly amazing, I mean after everything you’ve gone through…” Rangi began, she still couldn’t believe the person Kyoshi was after everything that she had gone through.

“I wouldn’t say that, I would just say I met the right people.” She said, suddenly pulling Rangi into a tight hug.

“Kyoshi let go” Rangi fussed. “Mmmmm no” She said, burying her face in Rangi’s hair.

“Rangi would you come in here for a second” Hei Ran called from down the hall. Reluctantly Kyoshi let go as Rangi stood up brushing herself off. “I’ll get you next time.” Kyoshi mouthed.

As Rangi walked off down the hall another hawk landed in the window. Kyoshi felt like she had a good idea of what was inside, but nonetheless she still went over to retrieve it.

It was just like she had thought, you would think she was setting towns on fire but the amount of threats she had been receiving. The only thing she had actually done in the fire nation so far was deal with those men who had attempted to attack her and Rangi in the streets.

She thought about telling Rangi about the letter,  but something stopped her. Rangi already knew about the letters that had come previously, so what was the point in telling her about another. She simply tucked it in her sleeve and started out the door to the training area.

This wasn’t the first time she had done this. She had maybe 5 or 6 since they had come here, there just didn’t seem to be any point in telling her about them.

Rangi entered another room where her mother was sitting, pouring herself a cup of tea. “I still haven’t figured it out, if that’s what you were wondering” Rangi said abruptly. Her mother sighed, “And are you still sure keeping Kyoshi in the dark is the best solution?”

“As of right now, yes” Rangi replied, looking at the ground. She honestly wasn’t so sure anymore, maybe she was just being stupid and stubborn.

“I think you were right about the energy paths though” She said looking back up. Hei Ran’s expression perked up. “And?”

“I don’t have anything else really, I just have to find a way realine the energy paths” Rangi tried to explain.

“That’s what I said before”

“I know”

Rangi knew this wasn’t any progress, but she felt like she was getting closer, closer than before. Before Hei Ran could respond a hawk landed on the window, with a bright red scroll tethered to its leg.

Rangi carefully undid it by scanning the letter. “It’s an invitation…” Rangi began keeping her head down as she started to walk out of the room.

But when she walked back into the study she noticed Kyoshi wasn’t there.

The book had been placed back in its initial spot. Rangi wondered how Kyoshi even knew that’s where it went, she most likely noticed the empty space on the shelf. Of course she noticed the empty space on the shelf.

When she found Kyoshi she was in the training ground focusing on controlling a steady stream of water, using it as an extension of her arm.

Rangi walked up behind her, waiting for her to notice. Eventually she got impatient and took one of the fans from her sash, startling the Avatar in the process.

“How do I look?” Rangi joked, opening the fan dramatically. “Like someone a couple inches below the height requirement” Kyoshi replied with a smirk.

Rangi narrowed her eyes as she stared up at the avatar. “Watch it rocks for brains,” Rangi warned. Kyoshi shook her head as she bent the rock below Rangi so that they were standing eye to eye. “Better?”

“I just came here to inform you that you’ve been invited to a party at the palace.” Rangi said, crossing her arms.

“You know I don’t do well at those sorts of things,” Kyoshi replied bleakly. “That’s why I’m here, you wouldn’t last a minute out there alone.”

“Oh I’m aware”

“Do you remember what the fire lord looks like?” Rangi teased.

“And so you remember the rules concerning throwing the tables off balconies?” Kyoshi huffed.

“I told I’d never let you forget that”

“You falsely assumed the fire lord” Rangi argues

“And you could have hit him,” Kyoshi replied, sinking the piece of earth to its regular position.

“I guess we’ll call it even, unless of course something else happens.” Rangi teased once more. “That’s not funny it was so bad”

“So you admit yours was worse then?”

Kyoshi laughed to herself. What was she gonna do with her?

So I’m not really sure where September went but a month has already gone by. Sorry about that, but thanks for sticking around, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter❤️