Chapter Text
Day 5,800 in the Era of Yun
“Hei-Ran.” Hei-Ran frowned as her friend appeared through the training grounds gate alone. He was coming back from an unsuccessful mission to see why Yun was late, most likely out of love for their young student. The nice-guy went to gently remind the boy of his training, rather than let Hei-Ran drag the slacker to the training grounds by his ear. Her disappointment and frustration were not lost on the airbender, and he shrunk in size with every step he took towards her. Kelsang’s mountainous frame appeared to be the size of a foothill by the time he reached her.
“Kelsang.” She looked down on him from her shorter height, making him slink down in his own body even further. “Where is my wayward pupil?”
“I need you to promise not to over-react.” He pulled on his collar nervously.
“No.” Her eyes narrowed, dozens of scenarios played out in her mind; dozens more existed still, knowing that mischievous boy.
“Alright.” He stroked his beard, stalling for time. He needed to find a way to make Yun look noble and soften the blow, “Yun has chosen to stay in the infirmary by his friend’s side during her recovery.”
“Which friend is recovering from what injury?” He really only had two, and if Kelsang was so jittery, Hei-Ran could guess which girl it was, but she wanted to hear it out loud.
“Now Hei-Ran, children will be children.”
“What did she do?”
“Stumbled while preforming her flamingo crane dance....on the roof... and broke an ankle, and maybe a wrist.” He ducked and covered his head like he expected a fireball to fly at it. Though she was tempted, in the end it really wasn’t the arrowhead’s fault. He may have laughed at Rangi’s attempts to gain Kyoshi’s attention. He may have likened her to a bird trying to attract a mate. He continuously waved off any frustration Hei-Ran had, and gently reminded her that Rangi was just ‘that age’ where people did stupid things to impress their crush. He called it a ‘natural part of growing up’.
But he never encouraged her daughter, either. Kelsang used neutral jing when it came to their children and promised to continue to do so until one, or both, came to him for advice. His tendency to just sit passively to the side and let the girls sort it out was grating on the mother’s nerves. She felt her blood rise from a simmer to full boil.
“That tears it.” She fumed dangerously, steam leaving her nostrils. This was the final offense. It was the raindrop that snuffed out the flame, the crack that made the statue crumble, the degree that melted the ice, the gale that tore the glider; every nation had their own way of expressing her currant emotional state.
Poor Kelsang shouted indistinctly at Hei-Ran as she stormed away. He even used his bending to speed his feet so he could reach the door first and calm her down before she spoke with the children. Unfortunately for him, he sped to the wrong door. The airbender assumed she would be going straight to the infirmary, as any sane person would. Except, she was not feeling very sane at the moment, and she was heading for the massive library.
“Hei-Ran. What are you doing?” He was trying to solve a great mystery. Not only did Hei-Ran not go directly to Rangi, but she wanted to catch up on her reading?
“What happened, exactly?” She asked evenly, almost as if she didn’t care, as she grabbed a scholar’s pack and headed for the poetry section of the library. The former headmistress didn’t even care for poetry. She said it was a fine art for people who enjoyed wasting time.
He had to shake away some rocks in his head, clearing it of debris before he could answer. Then he told her about Rangi training on the roof, Yun playing a childish prank which had unintended consequences. But he’d spoken with her healers, and they assured him that with rest and a few more healing sessions, she’d be good as new.
While he explained, his old friend was searching through the poetry scrolls. When she found one that she liked, it went in the pack. Many were being carelessly discarded on the floor in a very unmilitary like fashion. Kelsang was not ashamed to admit he was a little afraid. It was like watching an Air Nomad leaning over a war table, unnatural and truly disconcerting.
“Now, may I ask again ‘what are you doing’?”
“What was that you said you used to do at Rangi’s age when a boy caught your fancy?” She frowned as she opened a scroll, finding it to be completely distasteful and immediately adding it to the pile in the sack, “Sneak up to his room and read him explicit poetry?”
Kelsang’s eyes grew far too big for his face, his mouth hit the ground and a sweat formed on his brow; Hei-Ran had finally gone mad. He could do nothing but stand quiet as a statue and watch over his friend’s shoulder as she scanned another work, one he knew to be sweet and innocent, and toss it aside. It joined it’s comrades on the floor with a light and pitiful thud. The next one was not so innocent, judging by that particular poet’s lurid style and fascination with the female body, it joined the sack with the other scrolls. After five more approvals, and many more laying without care on the rug, Hei-Ran nodded to herself and closed up her bag.
Kelsang decided that it might be best just to stay out of this.
The healers were the best that would leave the Northern Tribe for a nowhere place like Yokoya. After all, the honor of serving the Avatar could only go so far in filling the staff positions when they were practically a world away from their families right now. These healers might not be the best in the world, but they should not be underestimated. They were practically artists in their craft.
Rangi’s arm would not even bare the scar, assuming her mother didn’t kill her for that foolish stunt. She’d been practicing her forms on the rooftop between Yun’s mansion and the training grounds; at a time she knew that he, and more importantly his servant, would be passing by after his breakfast. As a soldier, Rangi knew the balancing act was dangerous, especially with the snow covering the roof and the early winter sun warming it, turning it to slush. But the look on Kyoshi’s face would make the risk worth the reward.
And it really was. The firebender pretended not to see them as she went into the advanced set. She stole glances at Kyoshi, who was watching in awed fascination at the dance the young firebending master was preforming, her precision, intensity. Rangi was focused on giving her best, putting the most powerful and the most graceful all to shame. All just to see Kyoshi look at her the way she was right now, and soon for the look in her eyes when she jumped down and brushed it off like it was nothing.
What she hadn’t noticed as she concentrated on her forms, and Kyoshi, was Yun. And the wink he gave their tall friend as he made a snowball in his hands. His aim was true; It hit her in the face, knocking her off balance. While she tried to regain her footing, she slipped on the slush and toppled off the roof.
Yun laughed at first, like he’d never even considered that his bodyguard could be hurt. This was Rangi, and she could not be so easily injured by the things that damaged mere mortals. Kyoshi on the other hand, paid no heed to the comical ‘thud’ of the armor plumping in the snow. The guard had barely hit the ground when a large hand grabbed her shoulder,
“Are you okay?!” Kyoshi’s worry would have melted Rangi’s heart if she weren’t so furious and humiliated.
“Fine.” She seethed through her clenched teeth, assessing the damage to her body. Her ankle did not look healthy, it was twisting in an unnatural angle. Kyoshi and Yun both followed her gaze. The avatar immediately regretted his childish action and started to sincerely apologize before his tall servant spoke over him in the very public courtyard; an act that under normal circumstances would get her fired and thrown out before she could say ‘bouncing badgermoles’.
“Spirits. I’ll carry you to the infirmary.” Kyoshi insisted, picking her up in a bridal carry before Rangi had a chance to act tough and insist that she needed no help. The blush spread to her ears the entire way, as all of the guests and servants could see her in this undignified position. Once Yun learned firebending she was going to challenge him to an Agni Kai and burn his eyebrows off!
Her rage had made the room hot, unbearably so. The healers took off their outer robes and hung them up as they attended to her ankle and wrist. She took no notice of them and the healing process as she glared daggers at her Avatar. To the boy’s credit he stood tall, taking it like a champ as the waterbenders worked their magic. Though for appearances, he waited until after Rangi was put on bedrest and the healers excused themselves to apologize properly. His words were sincere and sad as he vowed never to do such a foolish thing ever again.
“I will never intentionally hurt you.” He promised and explained that he’d thought the snowball would do no more than throw her off rhythm, maybe make her breathe a little steam, but never fall. And when she had fallen, he hadn’t thought it would do more than knock the wind out of her. So, he laughed like she had when he’d dodged the wrong way in training and took a flame to the gut. Rangi listened and decided that missing eyebrows would not hinder Yun’s Avatar duties in any way.
Her plans for revenge were brought to a halt, however, when Kyoshi’s resolve faded. The heat finally got to her and she put her outer robe with the healers’ on the cloak hooks. The tall servant returned to Rangi’s bedside in a sleeveless tunic that showed off all her glorious muscles. Yun, ass he could be, noticed her train of thought derailing and decided to have fun with her. Or perhaps he was trying to be nice and take her mind off her injuries. Either way, the broken bones would soon be at the back of her mind.
“Well, I can see why Auntie Mui sends you to pick up all the heavy supplies.” He grinned, grabbing Kyoshi’s arm and straightening it out to observe the muscle structure. Rangi couldn’t help but stare at them, “We may have to add a few of her chores to our training exercises, Rangi.”
“You will not get up before dawn and carry water to the kitchen.” Kyoshi rolled her eyes, taking her arm back, “And you wouldn’t chop wood or go to the village for supplies.”
“Well, maybe not now. It’s too cold to be up before dawn like you. But in summer, I don’t know, I could be persuaded. After all, an Avatar must never lose sight with the common people.”
“Yeah right.” Rangi huffed, knowing damn well why Yun would be willing to get up early to help Kyoshi do servant chores. The summer sun would make Kyoshi wear less clothing, and Yun would want to see her muscles flex as she drew water from the well and carried heavy burdens. Not that she herself hadn’t helped here and there for a similar reason, but that was beside the point!
“Yun. What happened here?” The gentle, yet booming voice of Master Kelsang drew three sets of eyes to the doorway where a mountain of a man stood with worry etched in his face, “Are you alright, Rangi?”
“I fell.” She looked to the floor, humiliated with the confession.
“It was my fault, Master Kelsang.” Yun could be an ass, that was true, but never let it be said that he didn’t own up to his mistakes, “I was playing around, and accidently pushed Rangi off a roof.”
Of course, then they had to explain the whole situation, and Rangi had to explain why she was on the roof in the first place without revealing her motivations. Kelsang listened patiently, his eyes darting between the injured girl and the girl sitting by her side. Rangi realized to her horror that Kyoshi’s father knew. Suddenly, breathing was an unobtainable skill.
She waited for the revelation to come to light. Naturally, he would think his daughter had the right to know that someone was interested, right? Rangi didn’t know if she could handle her crush learning of her feelings like this; this way left no room for nuance, no way to convince her that it was all a misunderstanding if things went wrong. Kyoshi had never spoken of women who loved other women, favorably or otherwise, but the Earth Kingdom was rather backwards thinking about them. What if Kyoshi was just as bigoted as the common Earth Kingdom citizen, and blind to Rangi’s attraction to women?
On the other hand, Kelsang never kept his attraction to men a secret, and Kyoshi never spoke ill of him. But was he the exception? Did Kyoshi simply tolerate something she found to be disgusting out of love for her honorary father? Rangi hadn’t been sure and wasn’t brave enough to ask. She had decided early on to play it safe, showing off whenever she could and waiting for Kyoshi to make the first move. Or give her an indication to stop. She could handle Kyoshi only seeing her as a friend, but she didn’t know if she could bare losing her completely. Now she was facing that possibility because of the airbender’s fatherly responsibilities.
“Well balance is important, but next time I suggest you ask Yun to raise up a balancing beam.” He gently patted her good hand with a knowing smile. Rangi’s lungs began to work again. Why hadn’t he snitched her out? “Yun don’t make it too high, and maybe put some sand underneath should anyone fall. And never play a prank on anyone who’s in a perilous position again. She could’ve been seriously hurt.”
“I won’t, Master Kelsang.” He nodded solemnly.
“Hei-Ran is not happy with you for being late for training, and I doubt this will improve her mood.” The kids paled, they had considered Rangi’s mother, but only as a distant problem. Now it was pushed to the top of the predicaments list. Yun had caused Hei-Ran’s daughter to get hurt. But then, if Rangi hadn’t been showing off so stupidly, Yun would not have had the chance. The only one who didn’t need to fear for their life was Kyoshi, who was suddenly imagining how dim the world would be without her friends in it.
“I accept my punishment for harming my friend, and I will accept my punishment for missing training today. I could not in good conscience leave Rangi right now.” He said bravely, anyone who didn’t know him well would miss the tell-tale signs of his overwhelming fear of his Firebending Sifu.
“I will let her know.” His large hand patted the boy’s shoulder sympathetically on his way out of the infirmary.
“I’m dead.” Rangi said, staring at the door like her mother could storm through it at any given moment and burn her alive.
“You’re dead?” Yun asked sarcastically, “I’m gonna be a Fire baby before the day’s over!”
“She’s not going to kill the Avatar! You’re too important! I have cousins to replace me!”
Kyoshi watched helplessly from the sidelines as her two friends fought over who Hei-Ran would kill. Personally, she thought they were debating the wrong points. It wasn’t a question of ‘who Hei-Ran would kill’, but rather ‘who Hei-Ran would kill first’. Her money was on Rangi, probably for disrupting the Avatar’s training schedule more than anything. Fire Nationals were so picky about maintaining their schedules.
The room heated several degrees in what seemed like an instant. Yun and Rangi’s arguing ceased. Three heads remained deadly still for a moment, and then slowly turned to the doorway, afraid to see what stood there waiting for them. Hei-Ran, and she was composed as ever. Not a good sign at all.
“Avatar Yun. You feel so powerful that you can live without your bodyguard?”
“Sifu I swear it was an accident.”
“Enough!” She barked, and he snapped to attention, “You will run laps around the Estate’s inner wall.”
“Yes, Sifu.” He said meekly, slinking slowly to the door like a kicked tigerdog pup, “How many?”
“You will run until I tell you to stop.”
“Yes, Sifu.” There was no doubt she would be taking her sweet time about releasing him, hopefully he would be done before Master Jianzhu got back from his trip this evening. He wanted a little time to recover from one punishment before he received another.
“Kyoshi, you may leave now. I want to speak with my daughter alone.”
Kyoshi gave one last look to Rangi, as if to say, ‘It’s been lovely knowing you’, before she collected her robe and made herself disappear.
“So, did you finally impress her, or shall you try to do your forms on a bison’s head in the clouds and see if that works?”
“I wasn’t trying to impress her, Mother, I wanted to work on my balance. The height and danger were a motivator.”
“It was a chance to show how fierce and graceful you are; nothing more, nothing less.” She snapped, throwing the scholar’s pack at her daughter. The teenager only seemed to register it enough to catch it on her stomach; her eyes stayed locked on her mother’s “You’ve gone too far this time, young lady. I give up.”
Rangi couldn’t stop the tears from running down her cheeks. Her mother had always been hard on her, but she’d always understood why. Hei-Ran had thought she had great potential and wasn’t going to let it go to waste. She’d believed in her daughter. Now Rangi had forced her to abandon hope, and she felt like cutting her hair in shame.
“Take those,” she gestured to the pack that Rangi had been ignoring, “and after you’re cleared by the healers, go stand outside Kyoshi’s window and read them to her. With any luck she’ll invite you into her bed so you can get this out of your system.”
Rangi had been sure she heard that wrong. She must have. Her mother, Hei-Ran of Clan Sei'naka, had told her to do what? For a single moment, her brain had frozen solid, unable to make a single cohesive thought. And then it sped at lightening speed with many different possibilities. The only one that made any sense at all was that Hei-Ran was testing her, and yet, her mother wasn’t one for mind games.
“Mother, what are you saying?” Because she hadn’t actually meant for her to go to Kyoshi’s room and....do things with her.
“You know very well what I’m saying. Let’s just hope a night of passion can cure you of this foolish behavior.”
Hei-Ran left her child wide-eyed and frozen stiff in shock, but she heard the rustling of the pack as she closed the infirmary door behind her. Rangi didn’t know what the scrolls contained, but she would soon. Whether or not the girl used them to her advantage was out of Hei-Ran’s hands. Hopefully, one way or the other, the girls would sort this out and she would not be forced to intervene further.
Kelsang was in the hall and not even trying to hide the fact he’d been listening in.
“So...”
“Either say something or don’t.” she sneered, clasping her hands behind her back and walking away, leaving him to catch up.
“Hei-Ran, I know you’re worried about Rangi’s behavior, but is this really the best course of action?”
“This plan will not backfire. Either Rangi is so embarrassed that she will stop trying to woo the girl, Kyoshi will turn her away and be done with it, or they can get it out of their systems and move onward.”
“Move onward?” To what, Kelsang wondered silently, would they move to? Yun, while a good boy, was no match for Kyoshi- nor was she a good match for him. And there were no other teenagers in the estate. That left the children of Yokoya. And neither held any affection for the people of that village. Of course, there was always another option for one of the girls, though Kelsang prayed he was wrong. It would break Kyoshi’s heart before she even completely understood why. “Do you have a marriage for Rangi in mind already?”
“I have several prospects in mind, obviously.” She was a bit insulted that he would even think that she hadn’t been thinking of her child’s future since the day she was born. What kind of mother would she be if she hadn’t? The list had narrowed since she’d noticed her daughter’s indifference towards men, but that would be no problem. There were still plenty of prospects, there were many fine young noblewomen in the Fire Nation who would find Rangi to be a suitable wife. “But that is not what this is about.”
“You’re so sure that’s all it is?” He worried now, and he could see why Hei-Ran didn’t approve of Rangi’s flamingo crane dance. His daughter was a servant and an orphan with no fortune or land. And if anyone were to look into her background even further than that to find a disgraced airbender and a daofei, it would only get worse. She could never hope to be good enough for a Noblewoman like Rangi, “What if they are in love? Will you still marry her to someone else?”
“I don’t believe there’s a need to worry. It is a crush of convenience, and they will grow out of it.” By now Hei-Ran faced the truth and only lied to others about the children. The lack of options may be why there was this mild love triangle going on, at least where Yun was concerned. She really didn’t know Kyoshi well enough to judge her motivations, but Rangi would try to gain the tall girl’s favor if there were a thousand pretty girls around to impress. This didn’t mean she was wrong, though. Rangi’s heart was burning for the girl, that was true. But her heart was still young. It was going to grow up, and most likely snuff out the flame as it did.
“I think it might be all it is at the moment, but I think there is potential there.”
“There are three teenagers in the estate. Two of them have crushes on Kyoshi, and Kyoshi can’t seem to decide which one she’s more interested in. It’s a tangled mess because there is a severe lack of options for them here. Once Rangi starts traveling the world with Yun, this love will fade into memory.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Though he was beginning to hope Hei-Ran was right and their feelings would sizzle out into a sweet memory of young love.
“Oh, and how many of your old flames do you still pine over?”
“My past affairs are different. I always made sure he knew that we would be involved only for the moment. And I think that gives me the experience to know the difference between a tryst of passion and something deeper.”
“I do know something of childish infatuations, myself, Kelsang.” And this is what she saw in the girls.
“I know. But Kyoshi is not Kuruk.”
“I know that.” If anything, Rangi was the Kuruk of this relationship, she was the one pulling ill-advised stunts to get attention even if it made her look like a fool.
“And Rangi is not you.” Neither was Kyoshi, the girl didn’t even seem to realize Rangi was flirting with her. At first, Hei-Ran had been glad to hear that the actions were not returned for many reasons. Time proved her to be a fool, if Kyoshi flirted with Rangi as she had done with Kuruk, then maybe her lovesick daughter wouldn’t be trying dangerous feats to get noticed.
“No, and I would very much like to keep it that way.” It didn’t matter which girl filled which role in the relationship, Hei-Ran didn’t want it to end like her own childish love had. Oh, Rangi wouldn’t be as dishonorable as Kuruk, and perhaps Kyoshi would take the inevitable loss better than she had, but it would still hurt them both. Why should she and Kelsang entertain thoughts of being in-laws?
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t have helped her.”
“Rangi broke her ankle, next time it may be her neck. If Kyoshi reciprocates, fine. Hopefully, they can enjoy a season or two as lovers before they grow apart. If she doesn’t, then Rangi will stop making a fool of herself.”
“Until the next girl catches her fancy.”
“I’ll deal with that when the time comes.”
“What if she doesn’t meet your standards for your daughter-in law either?”
“Kelsang,” she sighed, stopping to put a friendly hand on the monk’s shoulder. He was a hopeless romantic at heart, and he wanted the best for Kyoshi. Her daughter was the best anyone could hope to find, but the world simply didn’t work the way they wanted, “They will grow out of this. It would be easier to accept that now.”
“What if Junsik had been a lowly commoner?” It was a low blow, one Kelsang regretted making, but on behalf of Kyoshi and Rangi, he had to. Something in his bones told him this was special. And even if it did fizzle out, so what? What if Rangi’s next love was a kitchen maid or a farmer’s daughter?
“He wasn’t.”
“You were lucky, my friend. And even your luck was helped by Kuruk. How many times did he decree your way out of your engagements?”
She went to open her mouth about duty to the Avatar, and a husband getting in the way. It might have been true, but that was never her main motivation. She had wanted to travel the world with her friends, and her love, and she simply hadn’t been ready to settle down. Then she’d started teaching and she met Junsik, and they went to their respective clan elders to make the match.
“What would you have me do, Kelsang?” she spoke like a viperbat, hissing every word, “Deny my people’s customs and my clan’s interests to let my daughter marry a poor servant?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Kelsang had a look he rarely had, one of unabashed anger. His red face offset his blue arrow, and his teeth clenched.
“So Kyoshi’s good enough to warm Rangi’s bed, but not share it?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“You’ve given Rangi permission to lay with her, but you won’t even entertain the notion of marriage.” And when he put it like that, there really was no other meaning to assign to her words, was there? “Kyoshi is not a tool to be used and cast aside!” a harsh gust of wind messed up her clothing and hair as he stormed away.
She went to her room and tried a calming exercise, increasing and decreasing the power of five candle flames to the rhythm of a lullaby. The fires would not obey her correctly, becoming too strong at the wrong moments, and she was missing beats entirely. Why had she said that out loud?
Underneath the titles, Hei-Ran understood that Rangi and Kyoshi were really not so different; they both served the Avatar. Her entire clan was made up of highborn servants. But that title, that family line did make all the difference. Kyoshi was a fine girl from what she could tell, but how could she convince the clan elders to accept a poor girl with no lineage or title? Her only connection to importance was a father (an unofficial one at that) who was a companion of Avatar Kuruk, and soon to be Airbending Sifu to Avatar Yun. It wasn’t enough.
It was wrong to encourage Rangi to lay with the girl, Kelsang had her on that. She’d simply wanted to make sure that her daughter didn’t die trying to get a date, but she used Kyoshi as a pai sho tile without any regards to her feelings. So, her first objective was to stop Rangi from following her irresponsible advice.
Kelsang was in with Rangi right now, there was no mistaking his laugh, loud and boisterous and joining Rangi’s to make a racket that carried down the hall. She would forever be grateful that the monk was too good-natured to take his anger out on her daughter. She heard the laughter dissolve into gasps for breaths. What was so amusing? After a moment of indecision, and a look to either side to make sure no one saw her, she leaned in to put an ear to the door.
“Did it ever work?” Rangi asked, her words broken by her body’s need for air.
“Truth be told, and I’ll ask you not to repeat this to Jianzhu or Hei-Ran, only about half the time. I can’t say I blame the ones who sent me away, what with the way I appeared outside their window that late at night. I must’ve looked like a prowler!” So, all these years he’d been exaggerating and none of his friends ever doubted him. Interesting.
“Did you ever get attacked?”
“Several times.” He admitted with embarrassed amusement, the kind you looked back on and remembered fondly, “Once I got blown right off my bison, I wasn’t able to grab my glider on the way off, either! After a really long fall, screaming all the way mind you, I found myself being dangled; my legs caught in a bison’s bite.”
“No!”
“I still have the scars.” There was no immediate reply, Kelsang was probably showing her the bison tooth scars on his calves. The ones he had once told her were from a wild bison attack. Looking back, Hei-Ran probably should’ve seen that as suspicious, but Kelsang just had such a trustworthy face. “See there?” He continued, “You’re not alone in the ‘I’ve done dumb things to impress someone’ club.”
“You didn’t tell Kyoshi about me did you?”
“No. I would never. It’s not really her business, is it?” She could see him stroking his beard in her mind’s eye, “Your feelings are yours, and yours alone. It’s up to you to decide how, when, or even if you tell Kyoshi about them.”
“So, you’re not going to tell me about hers, are you?”
“Tough and smart.” He chuckled, “Her feelings are hers. You’ll have to ask her yourself.”
Rangi groaned and Kelsang chuckled harder.
“Before or after I’m supposed to read her the poetry?”
“May I make a suggestion.” He must have gotten a go ahead in gesture, as Hei-Ran heard him continue, “Everyone has their very own love language, the way we communicate our affection to the people we care about. If I were you, I would take time to figure out what my love language is before I go waxing poetic. You might find a better way of expressing yourself.”
Hei-Ran knew Rangi’s love language didn’t involve poetry at all. She was pretty physical with her affection, that was clear.
“I don’t know how.”
“Well, maybe it’s just not the right time. Soon, you’ll find yourself knowing just how to say what you feel. Until then, please do everyone a favor and stay away from dangerous maneuvers. You’re worrying your mother sick, and if I see that crazed look in her eyes one more time, I’m going to run away.”
Her daughter agreed, and the woman in question walked away. Her next objective was a little bit of soul searching.
Later, the firebending instructor watched with apathy as the avatar’s legs finally gave out beneath him without the ability to get him back up on his feet. Kyoshi also watched, she struggled to keep herself from rushing to help him.
“Take him to his room.” She ordered neutrally, more for the antsy servant’s sake than Yun’s. The freckled girl picked him up as if he weighed nothing and carried him to his room like a bride, sidestepping her mountainous father on the way into the Avatar’s mansion.
“It’s a pity that such strength goes to waste.” She mused, not finding it wise to jump right into the earlier topic. “If the girl were a Fire National, she wouldn’t be so misplaced as a servant; or cast aside at all. If no family would take her, she would be made a ward of the Junior Corps and trained to tap into her full potential.” Hei-Ran imagined a soldier of that size and strength would give any enemy second thoughts about attacking.
“Nothing is wasted as long as she’s happy.” Kelsang said sagely. Though he often had to remind himself of this fact; her earthbending was truly a waste of magnificent talent. Imagine the people she could help, bending new houses for the poor in minutes, tilling a whole field for a farmer’s widow so that her children could plant seeds, creating new cart paths for the rural areas so they could get to markets. But her fear paralyzed her. That was the real pity.
“It’s not my place to argue.” She wouldn’t win, anyway.
“I’ve been thinking about our earlier conversation.” Yes, they both must have been thinking about that. It hadn’t been a very pleasant or productive day.
“I should apologize for the things I said.” As hard as it was, Hei-Ran felt she had to swallow her pride and admit that she was in the wrong this time.
“I won’t ask you to. Not unless you mean it.”
“I do mean it. I’m sorry Kelsang. In the end, every honest person from a housemaid to the Avatar is a servant of someone else. It was wrong of me to suggest one is lesser than the other.”
“I accept your apology. But what about the girls?”
“If Junsik wasn’t noble, I wouldn’t have married him.” It was a hard fact for her to face, but it was the truth none the less, “I would have let my elders pick out a match as is tradition and lived a long miserable life. I don’t want that for Rangi. Or Kyoshi.”
“Neither of us do.”
“I won’t lie to you, I still believe nothing serious will come from this, but if it should- I will find some way to work it out.” Though she still had no idea how to do so. The problems still existed, Hei-Ran’s lesson in equal treatment had not changed the world in an instant. But there was a way; there had to be.
“I believe there is more than a childish infatuation between our daughters, and I’m willing to make a bet.” He placed one of the few possessions allowed to an Air Monk into her hands. His bison whistle, “If our girls ever announce their engagement, you give this back. If they do not, you keep it.”
“I don’t think you understand how betting works.”
“I’m betting that I’ll have this back soon enough.” He said so cheerfully even Hei-Ran had to smile, he was so- so Kelsang; that was the only way to describe him. The man would not be deterred. She put the whistle in her belt pouch, and later put it in her desk drawer; not forgotten but certainly never at the forefront of her mind.