Chapter 61

“Avatar” Kirima called as the two came into view. “Topknot” she finished promptly, earning a glare from Rangi.

“Why’d those guys have to come all the way down here, what was wrong with the temperate earth kingdom?” Rangi asked, tucking her hands under her arms.

“I believe they are probably trying to run from her” Lao Ge replied, gesturing at Kyoshi. Who without her makeup, and fans on display instead bundled from the trip down looked like she couldn’t hurt a fly.

The whole group seemed to be thinking the same thing, all giving Kyoshi variations of the same look.

“What?”

They all just shrugged as they started off to the village. Rangi giving them the lowdown on what’s been going on lately, or at least since the last time they were all together like this.

“We missed the wedding?” Kirima interrupted.

“It sort of just happened one day.” Kyoshi explained speaking up, it being amongst one of her favorite topics.

“Would have been nice to at least have been informed then” Kirima said as they walked into the village.

“Why, you don’t seem like the type to get gifts” Rangi shot back.

“Of course not, but I would have paid to see you a blubbering mess. Which I’m sure you were” Kirima continued to instigate.

“I was not a mess, I was just fine. Happy, but fine” Rangi said shortly.

Down play much. Kyoshi thought to herself, now deciding to stay silent.

“So you were there right monk? How much did topknot cry?” Kirima asked, choosing a different source for information.

Jinpa took a second looking between the water bender, and Rangi before simply shrugging. “I will neither confirm nor deny. But I choose life”

Kirima, though unsatisfied with her found answers, decided to move on. “Well then, were your past lives or whatever mad at you with the portal thing? Or were we all right when we said it would all work out”

Kyoshi’s glaze suddenly locked on the floor. “I’m not sure” She admitted.

But the water bender just raised an eyebrow, “You’re not sure it’s been what years?”

“It just hasn’t come up okay?” She said flatly, now looking up into the sky. “But we have work to do here, so let’s just focus on that for now.”

The sky was surprisingly clear above them, as a cold wind sifted through the huts.

“So plan? If there even is one” Lao Ge asked.

“There is not.” Kyoshi replied simply.

“We were promised pirates” Wong chimed in.

“You weren’t promised shit, we said there could be pirates. But the important note was that some of Chin’s men were thought to be moving south” Rangi corrected with a huff. “And there would be a lot of them.”

After asking around the village they had found the chief’s counsel hut. Jinpa had set up a meeting in advance before they left the earth kingdom.

“They don’t seem to want to take land here” the Chieftain began, as Kyoshi’s group gathered around a low table. “Or at least none of ours”

“So they are here then?” Kyoshi prompted, referring to Chin’s leftover men, that she told him they suspected of moving to the south.

“Could be” He said, motioning for something, before a scroll and quill set we placed in front of him.

“This the flag I keep seeing around town, they always have them flying from their ship”

“That was Chin’s wasn’t it?” Rangi asked, Kyoshi nodded.

“But they’re not causing any issues?” Kysohi asked, something didn’t feel right about this whole thing.

“The only issues I have is they have these fights, or like induction ceremonies from what I’ve been told. They do them off of the boats at the time and place of their convenience. Those have been making messes, and causing disturbances, taking care of those… I would definitely owe you a favor.”

She nodded once more, “What kind of disturbances with the fights, have they gotten villagers involved?”

But the Chieftain shook his head. “There’s been structural damage, here I’ll even show you.” He said rising from the fur rug that covered the interior of the hut.

The group walked a little ways away from the center, and off to the side where Kyoshi caught sight of a massive ice crack.

“This is the problem I have with them, their fights have driven destruction to our community, we have elders, children that live here. Plus it is hardly fair to everyone else whose homes have been destroyed.”

“And you haven’t interfered at all?” Kyoshi asked, looking down the length of the fractured ice. Kicking a small clump of snow down it, to vanish at its surprising depth into the darkness.

“They like to ignore me at the moment, or anyone else who tries to make conversation for that matter. But with numbers like that I didn’t need some bigger mess to deal with”

With that he left to go back to where Kyoshi assumed the earlier part of the meeting was.

“We might need a legitimate plan” Kyoshi admitted.

“I’m still not exactly sure of the issue.” Rangi said, earning confused glares from everyone. “I mean I know the fights are causing disturbances, but what are they trying to do here? If they wanted to start a fighting tournament this would be hardly the place. There’s not exactly a huge pool of people out here”

“I vote, we try to find some food,” Kirima intervened.

“Or a place to stay,” Wong added, kicking a clump of snow.

“We have the tents, those should be fine” Lao Ge said firmly, as they sat circled by Pengpeng.

“Plus we have a complementary furnace.” Kirima piled on.

“I am not a furnace.” Rangi defended. “I could decide to keep my warmth to myself.”

“Wow, not even sharing with Kyoshi. The cold’s really gotten to you huh?” Kirima smiled back.

“I’m starting to regret inviting you, Kyoshi and I could have probably done this ourselves. Right kyoshi?” Rangi asked, looking over her shoulder. “Kyoshi?”

“Did she head back to check on PengPeng?” Jinpa questioned, starting to head for the bison.

When they were back with the bison, there was still no sign of her. Pengpeng even seemed to try and turn to look, and lifted her tail for good measure.

“How the fuck did we loose her, she like 7 feet tall” Rangi said a scowl across her face.

“I don’t know, how do you lose your own wife Rangi?” Kirima shot.

The firender shot her an unimpressed glare. “Hey while you all are here, she’s all of our natural disaster to watch.” Rangi replied, starting to head off in the direction of large boot prints. So she had come back to check on PengPeng first, then inevitably got distracted by spirits knows what.

“How much you wanna bet she’s trying to intervene with the maybe pirates right now” Wong asked, as the group followed behind Rangi.

“I bet she’s trying to split a glacier in two or something” Kirima added. “Care to make your wager Topknot?”

The sun was setting lower across the horizon, to the point where Rangi contemplated casting a small flame for light soon.

“She might have gone off to meditate” The fire bender suggested, looking around. There was nothing out here, nothing that could have caused Kysohi to run off. This whole place was just a huge cube of ice after all.

She got distracted by her own thoughts, that checks out.

“Right now? That seems like a bit much, plus I thought she really didn’t care for that stuff. I mean she can’t sit still to save her life.”

Rangi found herself smiling briefly at Wong’s remark. “She’s been trying to get into contact with her past lives” The firender recalled. “Probably wanted somewhere quieter.”

Though she didn’t have to go this god damn far away.

As they turned around a large chunk of ice they could see Kyoshi standing in the middle of the opening.

“Kyoshi, the hell are you doing out here” Kirima shouted as they approached.

“I saw Lek” She said, still not turning around, instead looking out into the snow. Everyone momentarily froze in place.

“How is she already broken? We just got here” Wong whined, walking in front of Kyoshi, starting to shake her shoulders. “Kyoshi, look at me you can’t go ghost hunting now”

“I’m not seeing ghosts,” Kyoshi snapped, tossing Wong off of her. Leaving him face down in a pile of snow. “My fox or like there’s a fox, Lek. The fox that showed me the meditation spot of Yancheng’s. He’s here,” She explained.

“I don’t see him,” Kirima chimed in, looking across the landscape.

“Well he was here,” Kyoshi said defensively. “I just lost track”

Rangi and Lao Ge seemed to be sharing the same expression of surprise, seeing Kyoshi start to snap at her friends.

“He’ll probably be back around, normally he’s at your heels” Rangi added, taking a step over Wong to Kyoshi’s side.

Kyoshi let out a short hot breath, her fists tightening.

“We should head back if he’s not out here anymore” Rangi commented once more, resting a hand on Kyoshi’s shoulder. To which she nods before turning to look at Wong who remained dramatically flailed on the icy ground.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to toss you that hard.” She mumbled offering him a hand up.

Wong shrugged once back on his feet. “It’s fine, but did you have to name the fox Lek? I thought you lost it there for a minute.”

“If you have another name I’m all ears.” Kyoshi replied as she walked to the front of the group heading back to the village.

“She’s off” Jinpa whispered to the fire bender, as they followed at the back of the group.

“I don’t know exactly where what went wrong,” Rangi admitted. “Has she spoken to you about her past lives lastley?”

The monk shook his head, and Rangi let out a long sigh. “Apparently she hasn’t been able to connect with them in a while now. I think she hopes she’ll find some kind of answer here”

“Do you think she was just seeing things then?” Jinap asked carefully, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Is it shitty if I say I’m not sure?” She replied looking up the front of the group where Kyoshi was sandwiched between Wong and Kirima, Lao Ge just behind them.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m not sure either,” He added.

A couple of minutes had passed, and Kirma and Kyoshi were pulling nearby snow to bend at each other in the form of small snowballs. It had started to ramp up when Kirima had pulled what seemed to be an icy blade, and Kyoshi ended up countering it by pulling snow to stop it mid-fight.

The two seemed to continue to spare as they walked when the ice cracked all the way back to Rangi and Jinap in the back of the group.

“Hey watch it, it’s not fair to rope others into your little sparring match” Rangi snapped, speeding up to catch Kysohi and Kirima at the front of the pack.

“It wasn’t me,” Kirima defended.

“Don’t look at me either” Kyoshi replied as well, holding up her hands as if to surrender.

The firender looked between her two suspects, before something clicked in her head.

“I bet there’s another induction fight” She called, picking up the pace, following the ice’s fracture to lead them to the source.

Running across the snow fields proved to be more difficult than simply wandering out here. Each stumbling as their feet punched through the occasional snow bank, they eventually found the crowd.

Chin’s flags waved proudly, they looked a little different now though. There was a streak of blue in the corner that wasn’t there before.

It looked like they had created some sort of arena on the far side of town, composed nearly all out of ice. Looked like the work from more than one water bender the way it was made.

Kyoshi marched forward, like she was going to bring all the walls down at once. But Rangi yanked on the back of her tunic causing her to falter.

“We are not going to march in there with no plan” Rangi corrected. “We need to figure out what’s going on here.”

With careful precision she melted a long slit along the lice wall. Large enough for one or two people to peep through at a time.

“These look like Daofei fights” Gao le commented quietly, stepping to the side so the next person could see.

“I don’t think that guy is joining,” Wong commented, taking his turn at the peephole.

“How can you be so confident, we’re only assuming what’s going on here” Rangi debated.

“I say that because one of the guys is out cold” Wong replied, stepping away from the wall now too.

Kyoshi remained quiet and still in one spot while people rotated through the other spot.

This was exactly like the Daofei fights, she thought. If a newcomer beats said opponent then they get to join, if they fail well…

She had discovered the reasons behind the ice cracking, the final blow was delivered by a man who sat on a foolish throne. Surrounded by who Kyoshi assumed were former men of Chin’s. So they’ve potentially found a new leader, and are having deadly auditions to join.

As the defeated body remained on the icy floor while cheers erupted that had seemed to be the final show for the night as people started to leave.

Kyoshi quickly used some snow to fill their peephole as the group shuffled further behind the building.

There was a ship after all too, so Kyoshi felt like they may still be able to be counted as pirates. But it was docked, and remained that way as some of the men boarded, while others remained at a large fire nearby.

Far enough away to move freely once more, Kyoshi took off into the arena. “Where are you going now?” Kirima called.

“That man’s still alive, he’ll be our best shot at more info” She called back.

Rangi, though reluctant, saw the validity in her plan, and followed. Stopping a couple steps before Kyoshi inside the open air ice arena. I thought this man was long gone after a final strike like that.

“Come to finish the job?” The man called weakly, hearing the group of footsteps approaching.

“Tell us what you know about those men, and I’ll heal you” Kyoshi said, kneeling beside the man’s body.

“And if they come back to get the body?”

Kyoshi took out a fan, causing a large chunk of ice to rise blocking the entrance. “We can cover that for you, what do you know?”

But the man’s eyes had gone wide at the sight of Kyoshi’s fans. “You, you’re the avatar” But his tone sounded like an insult. 

“I am”

It must have been an act made possible with adrenaline in his condition, that allowed him to turn over to the side. Using the momentum to take a swing at the crouched Avatar.

Too bad Rangi was quicker, by the time the man was able to lift his arm to start to swing she had kicked it back, pinning the limb down under her boot.

“This could still be a peaceful interaction, I would advise against testing your luck.” She warned.

“I’ve done nothing wrong here, nothing against the law you cannot harm me for that” He tried to defend, as he struggled to get his arm free.

“You don’t have to like the Avatar, no one here is forcing you. While you may be within the bounds of the law, attempt another attack against her and you will wish I am simply a persecutor of the law.” Rangi replied, as Kyoshi rose beside her.

“Who are those men you were trying to join?” Kyoshi asked, taking a step closer once more.

“Who said I wanted to join them?” He rebutted.

Rolling her eyes Kyoshi continued on. “We know how induction fights work, we were watching the whole time for the record. There’s no need to be bitter because you failed to make the cut.”

“The guys from the earth kingdom seemed easy enough” The man said under his breath.

“Chin’s men, the ones who brought the horrendous flags?”

But he hesitated to answer at first. “Heal me first, then you’ll get your answers”

“Prove you have actual information, and I’d consider it.”

He looked down at his wounded limbs, and sighed. “They were men of Chin, they came down here about a month ago.”

As he spoke, Kyoshi healed the majority of the man’s major injuries until he was able to stand. Which also happened to be the time he had run out of viable information.

“At least we were able to confirm they were Chin’s men” Lao ge spoke as they headed back to the village.

“And he hates the Avatar,” Kirima added.

“It sounded like they’re trying to use this place to rebuild an army to take over more land,” Kysohi spoke. “We’ll make contact with the group tomorrow”

“And the plan?”

Kyoshi shrugged, “Fight for more information, that seems to be the way they like to do things”

The snow continued to crunch under their feet as they reached the sky bison. “I doubt the man we saw on the throne was incharge, so we just need to climb the ladder,” Kyoshi reasoned.

“Why do you think that?” Wong prodded. Taking down the bundle of tents and sleeping stuff.

“He hesitated, before the last hit.” Rangi finished, “he seemed to question his own actions”

After setting up their little group of tents most of them started settling in.

A couple of them including Kyoshi ahd sat around the fire longer, as the sky darkened for the night. Jinpa, with his scrolls and work as Kyoshi, Wong, and Kirima exchanged casual conversations.

Rangi was happy to undress from all the various layers that were required to walk around here, rolling her shoulders in the absence of her armor. 

Until she noticed it was alarmingly quiet outside, not even the sound of the crackling fire reminded so even that had been put out, and there was no Kyoshi in the tent.

Mumbling courses Rangi stuffs her feet back in her boots and opens the tent flap at the same time she hears the sound of someone falling down in the snow.

She was in no way surprised when she saw it was Kysohi face down in the snow.

“We’ve done this before haven’t we?” She asked, walking over to her. A blanket pulled around her shoulders. Referring to their trip to the water tribe together. “At least you don’t reek of booze this time”

As Kysohi sat up, and turned to face the fire bender there was a surprise in her arms. She had caught the little fox spirit. 

“I told you he was here” She said proudly.

What am I supposed to do with her? Rangi thought letting out a long sigh. “Just get inside already”

Kyoshi pouts at the firender. “You can bring the damn fox too, just get inside.”

She held it like it was a plush she had won at the fair. The fox seemed like it couldn’t care less regardless.

“And they all thought I was crazy” Kysohi whispered as she was pushed inside the tent.

“Well that can still be up for debate” Rangi mumbled, closing the tent flap. “Has he told you anything then?”

“He doesn’t speak you know, not in any way I can understand at least” Kysohi replied, as she put the fox down. It had looked around for a moment before finding a leftover blanket to sleep in.

“So he just leads you places then, correct?” Rangi asked, crossing her arms.

“Pretty much”

“Then you can take off all your layers, and come to bed. I don’t think the fox is going anywhere now” The fire bender tried to reason.

But Kyoshi just stood there and watched the sleeping fox, while Rangi lost her patience. Going over and starting to peel the various warm layers off her herself.

“You wore your chain mail, we were traveling all day.” Rangi pestered after coming across the heavy layer.

“Well you never know, we did end up spectating a fight today” Kyoshi argued, untying the sides. “Besides you always wear your armor”

Rangi’s face flushed. “That’s because it a part of my uniform, I am still technically bound to protect you as your bodyguard not just as your wife”

“Like when you nearly broke that guy’s arm, that was a bitch to heal by the way” She retorted, finally pulling a clean clothes.

“You came up with the conditions of that deal yourself, so that was on you” Rangi replied crossing her arms once more, her defensive expression faulting at the sight of Kyoshi nearly bursting out in laughter. “What’s so funny?”

But Kyoshi suppressed laughter just morphed into a goofy crooked smile.

“Why does your face look like that?” Rangi continued to question, whacking Kyoshi in the shoulder.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of arguing with you,” She said finally.

Rangi froze for a minute, how could Kyoshi’s words still fluster her like they were 16 again?

“Well that’s a good thing then, cause I’m always right anyways” She said at least yanking Kyoshi down into the bed.

The planning and plotting that went into this chapter almost took me out cause I had to set the scene for this little South Pole arc but it was fun. I also missed writing Kirima and Rangi’s beef, it’s so funny. But the gangs back together!

Anyways as always feel free to let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas for the anniversary special on June 2nd. Hope you enjoyed and have a good day/night <3