Chapter 44

Okay so a little split pov, also just a heads up when it goes it goes to Kyoshi’s pov that’s’ a mostly in her head. Anyways enjoy!

Atuat had arrived that morning just as Hei ran had said. She wore the same smile as always, she didn’t seem all that concerned with the whole thing. Maybe that’s because she knows she can fix this. Rangi thought to herself as she followed behind her mother into space where Kyoshi was.

Rangi sat in a chair in the corner of the room as Atuat worked. Atuat was talking with the other healer that had come by that morning and was going over the notes with her all while Rangi sat and steeped in her thoughts.

Eventually Atuat stood and faced Rangi with a sadder look in her eyes.

“What’s wrong, you fixed her right? Everything’s fine now.”
Rangi asked.

But Atuat shook her head. “There was nothing more to fix, every bruise and scrape has been taken care of. The healers did an amazing job, nothing I wouldn’t have done myself”

Rangi blinked as she noticed a small figure creep into the room. But she tried to ignore it. “So then what now?” She tried to focus on something else but the only other thing that she could think of was that part of Rangi now mad at herself for not thinking of sending word for Atuat earlier.

“There’s nothing more to be done, I’m afraid, this part is on her” Atuat said simply.

“What do you mean?”

“Her body is now fine, everything is healed, we could put her back in the tub to maybe help with blood flow but that’s about it.” Atua had repeated as she looked back over Kyoshi who was back in the bed.

“and?”

The healer had turned back to Rangi, stepping closer than she had the first time. “Now she has to decide if she wants to save herself I’m afraid. We have done all we can this part up to her”

Just as quickly as the shadow had come the first time it now leapt across the room landing at the foot of Kyoshi’s bed. It was the spirit fox that Kyoshi had found, and now it had come back.

….
The thoughts swirling around Kyoshi’s head felt cold for a long while. She couldn’t pick up anything from the outside world. It was strangely silent, and peaceful?

Eventually her thoughts started to feel warm again. She clung onto the image of Rangi’s face before she blacked out the best she could. There was so much fear but she was still so beautiful.

It was still cold, and suddenly she saw hills. Before she thought about it too much more she saw a figure and began to walk towards it and up one of the hills.

As she reached the top of there were dozens of chairs set up orderly with a path down the center. As she went to trace the engravings of the chair out to the left nearest to her it suddenly reminded her of time at the mansion.

One night Kyoshi had decided to take the long way back to her room when she noticed a faint glow from another direction. She decided to walk towards it, thinking that there may have been a malfunction with some torches or something.

But as she got closer the more she noticed how the flames danced across the walls, and as she rounded the corner she saw the cause of the flames.

It was the girl around her age she had been hired alongside her mother as Yun’s or really the avatar’s bodyguard. Rangi was her name, if Kyoshi recalled correctly.

Kyoshi watched from a spot overlooking the courtyard where she admired the flames that danced through the air. At this point she had only interacted with the firebender a handful of times, and all she knew from that was that Rangi was uptight, direct, oh and very serious.

As time went on Kyoshi interacted with the firebender more, which led to the conclusion that Rangi did not like Kyoshi. At all.

All she did was yell pretty much. When she had eventually talked to Yun about it he just brushed it all off as usual.

“Just give her time” He had said. Kyoshi just frowned as she placed flowers into a large vase in the center of the room as Yun lay sprawled on a couch. “The more time I seem to spend around her the worse I think it gets”

“If it makes you feel any better I think that may just be how she is. Just give her time, she may warm up,” He said calmly.

But no matter how many times Rangi had yelled or gotten upset. Which again seemed to be becoming more and more frequent. Kyoshi always went to watch her train in the evenings.

She had even gone as far as to try and finish her evening chores more quickly so that she could watch more of the dancing flames. There was just something about the way Rangi commanded the flames. They were always under her exact control with complete precision. It didn’t seem like a single flame could go out of place without permission.

The feeling of nervousness started to increase as time went on as well, but that was surely because she didn’t want to imagine what would happen if she got caught. Which was much sooner than she would have liked.

One night she had been a bit late on her chores, so she decided not to go up to the paths above the courtyard but rather to stay down on earth’s level peering from behind a corner.

“I know you’re there” the firebender had called out. Kyoshi’s face got hot, she had finally been caught so she stepped out into the open.

“Look I’m sorry I know it was creepy. I mean like- I’ll just leave now- I’m sorry-” Kyoshi tried to explain quickly as she used her arms to guard her face almost like she expected Rangi to shoot flames at her that very second.

“It’s fine” Rangi had said firmly as she spun to face her. “So then let’s see it”

Kyoshi was now deeply confused as sort of wished that Rangi would just chew her out like normal. “See what exactly” She felt stupid for asking.

“You’re an earthbender right? Let’s see what you got, it’s only fair”

Well shit, Kyoshi thought. Why didn’t she just yell like normal?

“I can’t”

Rangi crossed her arms. “what do you mean you can’t, you’re an earthbender and we are surrounded by earth. I don’t see how it’s that complicated.”

“I can only move like big rock, nothing small or persise. Even the rock that I can move I don’t even think I have full control over it”

Now it was Rangi who looked confused. “Did your instructor never teach you to move small rocks before the big ones?”

“I never had a teacher growing up” Kyoshi explained.

This concept was new to Rangi, what did Kyoshi mean that she never had a teacher? She knew that not everyone went to like school or academies but to never have a teacher.
“What about Yun?” She asked, trying to almost make a bad feeling inside her chest go away. It was almost like sudden sadness that she couldn’t quite pick out the reasoning for.

But Kyoshi just shrugged “A little bit but why would he waste time on someone like me?”

“Well you should still learn” Rangi insisted, Kyoshi just raised an eyebrow.

“It’s honestly fine, why would I even need it, we have strong heros like you protect us”

Her words brought a quick flush to Rangi’s face. “For like basic stuff, self defense to start.”

But Kyoshi only shrugged, “it’s fine it’s not like I have time to train anyways. Besides, why would someone like me need any of that anyways?”

Kyoshi felt like she suddenly left the memory of her and Rangi back at the mansion. Spirits, is that how it really started?

She found herself back at the chairs as she looked over the hills that seemed to go on forever. But it was peaceful. There were no problems that she could think of, there was no one yelling at her, no nations that needed saving. She knew that those  problems were still out there, for the time being they were not here, and Kyoshi was.

She quickly found herself walking up another set hill, as she approached the top she again found a collection of chairs set up in an orderly fashion. Row after row with a column down the middle.

This time Kyoshi had reached out to touch a chair to the right and she then saw one of her first saves as the avatar. A young girl and her sister that had been caught in a raid of the earth Kingdom. The images were so clear it felt like Kyoshi’s was reliving the memories.

She pushed up the next hill though her legs never felt they grew tired or that they ever could. She touched a chair to the left, again a memory of Rangi appeared.

When the flashback subsided she spotted the shadowy figure once more, and went after it. Again and again she climbed the hill, saw the chairs and proceeded down the hill until the figure had stopped. But that wasn’t the only thing, now there was someone seated in the front row.

Someone who she recognized.

“Kelsang?”

…

It was now the third morning since Kyoshi had been out, so she had til the end of the day until Rangi had bigger problems. Rangi sat on a chair besaide Kyoshi as she looked back over the spirit fox that seemed to think the end of her bed was the perfect place to nap.

“Your fox is back you know” She called out, Atuat had mentioned that maybe talking could wake her, if she heard enough familiar voices. “it won’t leave”

“It’s probably waiting for you to wake up too. So that’s one more for the list.” She continued.

All throughout the early morning Rangi talks to Kyoshi like she is awake and could respond to her at any moment. Eventually Atuat walks back on and suggests a final round in the healing tub for some help with blood flow, since she had been immobile for nearly three days now.

Rangi had of course agreed, and went to get a new tunic for after it was done, hoping that anything at this point, even clean clothes, could be enough for her to wake up.

As Rangi rummaged through some clothes she found some folded pieces of paper tucked into the corner of the drawer. There were three letters each one had a name, Hei ran, Jinap, and Rangi.

She took them downstairs so quickly that she had forgotten about the clothes she initially went to retrieve. She ran into the kitchen to find the two other people addressed on the paper.

At the sight of Rangi running into the kitchen at first Jinpa had thought that Kyoshi must have woken up, but that thought was soon gone as he saw the letter being handed to them. “What are these?”

“Kyoshi, she wrote them all. She must have before we even left to deal with the portal.” Rangi explained.

Hei ran opens her first there wasn’t a lot written but it had said what she needed to see nonetheless.

To Hei Ran,
make sure they don’t hold on to me too long if I’m gone, make sure they let me go. Help Rangi find the next avatar if she wishes and train them to the best, better than me. Senik’an’s are never any less. And above all thank you for your blessing. Your daughter is the reason I would be able to leave happy.

Hei ran had to blink back tears for a second, not allowing them to fall freely. “I think-” She cleared her throat. “I think that she always knew that the possibility she would end up like this like it was bound to happen. Or rather she had prepared.” Hei ran had said finally as she neatly refolded her paper.

Jinap had a suspicion that he knew what was inside the letter now after Hei Ran’s words but opened his anyway.

To brother Jinpa,
If I’m too far gone, if I’m already gone, please let me go. Make sure they let me go. Have a small party if you wish, whatever you think will help everyone through it. Just please watch over Rangi, and thank you, for everything.

He stared at the letter a moment longer before he looked up once more. “Yes, it appears that Kyoshi did always have this outcome in mind. She thought of it as-” He tried to fight and lost to the tear that ran down his face. “This was always her plan, or atleast what she was ready to do”

Then all that was left was Rangi, those words had only scared her both from her mother and the monk. But she had to know what Kyoshi had written to her as well.

To my only Rangi,
You will know when it’s past my time, your instincts are never wrong. So when that time comes and I’m gone please let me go, for your own sake please. I’ll be waiting for you in the next life. Find and train the next avatar, make them something great, greater than me. Make sure they have armies and a palace to live in-

Rangi couldn’t finish it. She didn’t want to.

She contemplated burning it, but then the horrendous feeling passed through ehr. What if this is the last thing Kyoshi ever writes to me?

She settled on crumpling though,  giving her a small taste of satisfaction. But this didn’t change anything.

“Do you think Kyoshi wants to die?’ Rangi asks. But it doesn’t feel real that she’s saying it aloud. The whole room turned each still with their letters in hand.

“No” Her mother had been the first to speak up.

“Because of what she told me, I don’t think she will leave you, not yet” Hei ran took a breath. “If anything I bet you’ll be the reason for her wake, just wait and see”

But Rangi had a hard time believing her mother’s words. “Then why did she write these?” Rangi asked, holding the crumpled paper up.

“These don’t mean anything,” Hei ran said simply as she appeared to collect herself.

“And what if you’re wrong” Rnagi shot back harsher than intended.

“I have watched as you two became the only thing in this universe to matter to each other since you met. I know I am not wrong.”

…

Kyoshi knew who it was before she was able to approach, it was Kelsang the first person she remembered ever caring. She wanted to run to him, but every time she got within ten feet of him he was suddenly back at that distance.  As she now stood by the chair he was once in he was now ten feet away to the side,

The shadow stayed put at the front of the gathering of chairs. But now that seems to be the last thing on Kyohis’s mind. As Kelsang was no closer after years of only having to try and remember where he was.

“Am I dead?” She blurted out, it seemed like if Kelsang was here she had to be.

“No, not yet at least, and no time soon hopefully” His voice was the same as she had remembered, his smile the same too.

“Then where am I, and why are you here?” She continued to question.

Kelsang looked around a moment to Kyoshi, the chairs and then to the shadowy figure in the front.

“You tell me?”

His words puzzled her as she looked over the scene once more for herself, she stopped for a moment longer to look at the shadow, it was actually familiar. Someone she knew well.

Then she looked back to the chairs all set up and the aisle that she stood in the middle of. “This is a wedding,” She paused. “My wedding. To Rangi” Kyoshi watched the shadow figure as it stood there, it was just Rangi’s height. For a second she Kyoshi evens swore that she could make out the firebender’s top knot. But in the end Rangi wasn’t there, wasn’t here, and Kyoshi was.

“Go, you’re of no use here child” Kelsang said as she tried to shoo her from afar.

But then Kyoshi remembered all the problems that also resided back from wherever this was. “And what if I mess it all up?” Kyoshi suddenly found herself crying. She tried to step forward towards Kelsang like she had as a child but he just moved further back.

“I think your absence would do more damage than you think. The world needs you, they need you, she needs you Kyoshi”

Eventually Kyoshi nods. “You promise I won’t mess it up”

He sighed, “You will mess up, and that’s okay child I can promise that. But you will never truly mess things up with what truly matters to you”

Kyoshi walks over to the edge of the hill before it starts to slope down again looking over the endless green hills once more.

“Oh one last thing” Kelsang said, his voice sounded like it was getting closer. When Kyoshi ahd spun back around she was within arms reach of him. “I’m very -” But she had begun to back and off the hill so that she was falling but without a fear of hitting the ground.

She didn’t get the chance to hear the end of Kelsang’s words and maybe she never would but she felt like she knew what he was going to say, what she had hoped he said. “proud”

And suddenly her eyes were ambushed by sunlight streaming in the window.

Hehehehehehe FEELINGS, EMOTIONS. I definitely was not close to crying when writing this, but yes the next chapter will be fun. So I hoped you enjoyed<333

Side note does anyone remember what Kyoshi’s spirit fox’s name is, I read the books so long ago I can’t remember. I’ve both read and written too much fanfiction to keep my facts straight (: