Chapter 55

“Avatar Kyoshi” A woman called as she rushed beside her. It was one of the women from last night, and by the looks of it she had just come from the markets. “You can call me Kyoshi honestly-“

“They’re here on the edge of town, I saw Chin’s flags- they’re here”

A small part of Kyoshi was hoping that as she responded to the call that Chin would be there waiting for her, it was about time the rat hunt continued.

“You have no business here” She shouted as she reached the group. Though smaller than expected, still causing chaos among shops nonetheless.

“You’re the one with no business here Avatar, search entertainment elsewhere” A soldier shouted back.

This is literally my fucking home you morons, if I am to be anywhere this would be the place.

She watched for a moment, while being ignored. It appeared like they were trying to persuade people to join the army.

“This village is not yours to claim” She uninterrupted walking up to the apparent leader of the group. “Where’s the shadow in charge of this whole circus?”

“I’m right here”

Kysohi looked down at him unimpressed, “So your claiming to be Chin then”

That had gotten him a strange look from his colleagues. “I am not Chin the Conqueror” He enunciates the last bit of the title. “But I am one of his trusted commanders”

“Are you now?”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a pair of soldiers banging on a door, almost to the point where she was sure it would give way any moment.

But when she had turned to talk to them, they seemed to take that as the cue to fight. Or rather to run. only throwing a feeble stone wall up in efforts of slowing her pursuit.

Bringing the wall safely in the street she took off. Following the shouts of towns people pushed about in the hurry, it was the only instinct to follow.

Eventually they had made their way into the woods, Kyoshi knew it probably wasn’t worth the time, but these men could give her answers.

Entering the woods it had gone quiet before a late area of earth started to fall below her. She knew the trick too well, though it was a fair shot. Especially making the sunken area larger so much larger.

But instead of falling victim to the pit, Kyoshi was able to bend enough air to send her up and through the air to fall beside the pit.

Rolling over she started looking for the culprits, not overly enthusiastic that she had to roll through the dirt in the pursuit. She had been sure to change into a fresh tunic after she heard that Rangi would be back. But maybe there would be enough time, afte this was said and done.

Only there would be no time. In front of the surrounded group that was once disturbing the town, her firebender stood. Proud as ever.

“Need a little help” Rangi called, grinning slightly.

“I thought I had it handled fine actually.” Kyoshi shot back.

“Well the way you so gracefully fell through the air just now like a flightless bison had me questioning things”

Kyoshi wanted to run to her, to absorb Rangi in her arms but there was too big an audience. One that was not as small as she thought it once was.

“You’ve made some friends I see”

A small group of people appeared behind Rangi, mostly women, and a couple children. Kyoshi would’ve guessed they were like most of the people at the mansion now.

People-women who weren’t promised anything under Chin’s reign , and so a lot of them had fled with their children when their husbands left for the capital.

Rangi was in the middle of starting to tell the soldiers off, ordering them to leave the village alone as she gave them an open path in the opposite direction. When something caught her eye, or someone, and for a moment she forgot about the men she was chasing earlier.

“Where did you find this girl?”

It was the same girl that had found Kyoshi in the woods, and the same one that she had had dinner with over the past couple of weeks. Here she was again, now standing like a small shadow of Rangi’s. 

“Maybe 20 minutes ago I figured she belonged to the village” Rangi replied calmly.

“She’s been in the village a couple of weeks now, but I don’t know where she from, or anything about her really”

“Her name is Koko, you knew her that long and you didn’t ask her name?”

Kyoshi slumps, for a month, for over a damn month she had known this girl and like a shadow she never answered her. But I guess since Rangi’s just that impressive and special then why not? She repeated sarcastically in her head.

“Hello again Koko” Kyoshi smiled, crouching down to see eye to eye with the child. “I can see you met Rangi now”

A light had glincined in the girl’s eyes, telling Kyoshi she had listened to her when she talked to her in the evenings when they ate.

“Lady Rangi” The girl said quietly looking up to the firebender.

Rangi 2, Kyoshi 0.

“Kyoshi”

Rangi’s voice had broken Kyoshi out of her competitive intermontalog.

“Kyoshi” Rangi called more firly, pointing to the smoke rising in the distance.

“Shit” Kyoshi hisses as she takes off towards Yokoya. Boots sank slightly as she ran through the mud once more. She hadn’t realized how deep in the wood they had gone.

This was a trap. And I fell for it, so easily. That’s why they ran.

The closer she gets the stronger the smell of smoke got, some filling her lungs. For a minute she saw the balanced nation, but those nightmares would have to resume another time. She fought off the memories as hard as she could, continuing to run to the town, expecting the streets to be engulfed by flames.

Earlier soldiers were trying to get men to join, if they had refused maybe this wasn’t the first time they had come around.

But then she remembered a previous conversation, they had been ratted out, her camp had been ratted out. She remembered what the women had said to last night. Home. They thought of this place as a home, and now it was in danger. 

Running was no longer enough, using the earth to push herself faster until she reached the village edge as well as the gates to the mansion.

Flames ran in every direction across the mansion grounds, people running all over. The sound of shouting and screams filled the air as the fires crackled, as Kyoshi broke.

Falling to her knees all she could do in that moment was watch. She had brought all of these people here, for it to be their home, and in the end they were probably safer without her.

They had lured me away on purpose, and I took the bait with a blind eye.

A scream tore from her throat as a flame escaped her mouth. The feeling of losing control over her powers that she had not experienced in many years. As she slammed her fists down on the ground the earth cracked, leaving small craters.

This was their home.

A twist of air began to form around her as she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. But it barely registered at first.

“Kyoshi” Rangi called, sounding out of breath.

She managed to turn her head to see her wife behind her, holding the child in her arms with the rest of the people of Rangi’s group filing in behind her. Koko probably couldn’t keep in the hurry, and so Rangi had taken it upon herself to carry the child all this way, now shielding her from the winds of Kyoshi’s creation.

Eventually she must have given Rangi a look that did something right because the firebender removed her hand to pass the child off to another woman giving the group instructions Kyoshi could only hope to hear.

But all she could process at the moment were screams, and the sound of the fire engulfing the building and everything that stood in its way.

“Kyoshi, get up” Rangi called, looping her arms under Kyoshi’s helping her get up. Her words may have sounded harsh to others but to Kyoshi, she could hear in her voice how the scene in front of them hurt her as well. “We need you”

But the only thing that Kyoshi wanted now more than ever was to find the one that was responsible for it. It was the only thing that kept circling through her head as the following moments went by in a blur as the fire started to subside and people got out of harm’s way.

When a villager identified the man he claimed to have started the fire. The men wrestled across the dirt road, one in a soldier’s uniform, the other in simple merchant clothes.

For a moment Kyoshi didn’t care for answers, she needed a solution.

Drawing a fan from her sash, she was able to muster a strong and refined enough gust of wind to pull the accused soldier out of the wrestle and at her feet.

Rangi must have seen the red behind her wife’s gaze, and in a moment she had put her body between Kyoshi and the soldier. “Kyoshi don’t please, it’s not worth it. He’s not worth it”

A short breath of air left her nostrils, feeling oddly hot. Like if Kyoshi opened her mouth instead it would have been flames as before.

As Rangi stepped to the side Kyoshi seized a fist full of the man’s uniform in an instant. “Tell Chin-“

“The conquer.” The man called to correct, but Kyoshi didn’t give him the time.

“Tell that rat’s ass of a man to meet me at the peninsula bridge tomorrow morning, or I’ll slam all his doors down on the spot.”

‘What are you demanding here Avatar?’ He managed to croak.

“This was the last home he took, his reign ends tomorrow” She said coldly, releasing him. “Go. Warn him”

As the man scrambled out of sight Kyoshi became quickly aware of her new audience. Some people gave her questioning looks, other men starting to mutter things to one another.

“She doesn’t know what she’s doing”

“She won’t protect us”

“At this point we’d be safe with Chin”

“I’m not going to stand on the losing side”

“She’ll doom us all”

“She already has-“

Kyoshi stood and faced her crowd, trying not to sink the earth beneath them. “Of course you’d say that” She said quety.

“What was that Avatar?”

Rangi just raised her eyebrows, she had stopped enough murders for one day. If these guys pissed Kyoshi off at this point that’s on them, they could dig their own graves and lay in them.

“If you want to join that tyrant go for it. Why are you still here pointing fingers at me?” She shouted. “I can’t do anything right for you, so why don’t you try your luck elsewhere”

“Is this supposed to be you trying?” A man yelled back, pointing to the now incinerated mansion. “You’re just mad you lost a mansion, well some of us have real things at stake.” He continued to argue.

“Yeah well I guess I fucked up then didn’t I?” She called, a fake smile falling over her features. But her words sounded broken.

A hand appeared on her shoulder, only it was too soft to be Rangi’s. When she turned it was the woman who offered to watch the wall for her that night.

“We know you’re trying,” She whispered. “And we can rebuild, a home is within the community after all right?”

With a breath Kyoshi’s back now faced the men, and she looked around to see all the women from last night, along with most people from the camp.

“I promise I will deal with it properly tomorrow” She vowed as they all began to set up a camp much like the first one Kyoshi was brought to.

Some of the men were actually brave enough to flee to Chin, like he would save them, and Kyoshi was happier for it.

Tomorrow. She thought as Rangi laced their fingers together. Tomorrow, Chin will be nothing more than a blot in history.

I’m not sure how I wrote this that quickly, either way hope you enjoy and have a good day/night <3