Suki wasn't a bender, but she still found her own way of duststepping... HEADSTEPPING.
I'm willing to bet all my money that the Kyoshi Warriors incorporate these acrobatic moves due to lasting influence of the Flying Opera daofei group. This particular sequence that Suki executes is almost certainly the non-bender version of element-stepping - the trademark ability of the people who taught Kyoshi and acted as her friends and guides when she was young and hurting. It makes me sentimental to think that they all live on in Kyoshi's legacy, through the bravery of the living agents of her memory.
Perhaps this is another reason Suki was able to go toe to toe with Ty Lee, a Fire Academy-trained girl. After all, Rangi was a trained soldier from that very institution, and her fighting style would have influenced Kyoshi, and subsequently the Kyoshi Warriors.
tldr; the kyoshi warriors are a living testament to all the people Kyoshi cared about, and all the people who cared for and helped her in turn. Whether they know it or not, they are an active archive of people who loved and lost but kept fighting - all those centuries ago.
Pairing: Rangshi (Mostly Rangi crushing and Kyo showing signs of attraction) and also showing Kyoshi’s crush on Yun (as little as I can cause I’m biased~!)
Rating: T
Summary:
Ever wonder what Kyoshi, Rangi, and Yun were like before the whole Iceberg incident? How they first met? And so on? Aka, little episodic adventures of 14/15/16 year old Yokoyan Trio.
Canon compliant, end game pairings in the actual novel u_u
Other Sites: AO3
A/N: Hello it’s been awhile! Welp, I didn’t think I’d be uploading this till I was good and ready with my buffer! TT0TT And for a New Years Eve treat to welcome to New Year to boot???? O_O Thank you all for sticking with me! TT0TT Whether it was this fic, or another one, thank you! ;w; <3 I hope I can deliver more Rangshi next year (hopefully life doesn’t mess with me too much then ;w;)
Anyway, this chapter….it got too long so I had to split it in half uwu;; We’re also going back to the beginning and seeing it from Rangi’s side. More notes at the end. uwu7
___
The overwhelming flavor of salt and fish bit at her every sense. It invaded her nose and even the air coveted her tongue as a late spring breeze cut through the air. It was chilly in Yokoya, a small town at the very tip of a peninsula in the Earth Kingdom. Besides being near the sea, it was nothing like the Fire Nation she'd known.
Downtrodden farmers, poor crops, meager fishing boats. It all lacked the prosperity that the Fire Nation had. It wasn't really their fault, the cold waters were more treacherous than the perpetual warm waters of her home country. The colder waters also made it harder for humans, especially non-waterbenders, to deal with. The limited weather window and lack of rich volcanic ash probably didn't help their crop yield either. So it all made sense. Poor weather and location made it harder to obtain goods to trade and sell, not having a lot of goods to trade and sell made them destitute, and thus the cycle continued. And probably would continue until there was no one left in this podunk village.
But regardless, if what they had wasn't enough, they should've thought of other alternatives! Move away to more prosperous lands or acquire new skills! Or even sell their skills! They only lacked avenues because they were too stubborn to think of new paths. The only ones they could blame were themselves.
Because of this, Rangi Sei'naka had no sympathy for the Yokoyans.
Her clan was small, they didn't have a lot in terms of land, so farming was out of the question. They had to sharpen their skills until they were useful. If they weren't useful, they would fail, and then they would die. They would have amounted to nothing in the long records of history.
They would be nothing.
And so, by this logic, to Rangi the Yokoyans were nothing. So she would treat them as such.
Not that she had to deal with them. Her new duties were going to be confined to the Avatar's mansion, as she was assigned to be the Avatar's personal bodyguard! No need to deal with any riff raff.
When Rangi received word that the Avatar had been found, she was relieved. When she found out her mother and current headmistress of the Fire Nation Academy for Girls, Hei-Ran, was assigned to be his firebending master; she was thrilled, yet worried. However, when the news was followed up with the announcement that she'd be his personal bodyguard? All the worry in her vanished in an instant, like alcohol to fire. In fact, she almost combusted in pure joy!
It was a relief, not that she'd say it out loud, but she was glad she and her mother could finally escape the damn rumors that hounded them for years within the confines of the Fire Nation. Between this freedom and her finally finding a purpose… Her life felt like it was finally coming together. That it finally had meaning. That it wasn’t all for nothing.
"I trust you understand your duties," her mother said beside her. They were walking away from the air bison. Upon Master Jianzhu's letter where it was revealed the Avatar was found, he arranged one of the nearby nuns from the Western Air Temple to fetch them so they could all arrive in a timely manner.
Rangi's head was set firmly forward when she answered. "Of course, protect the Avatar at all costs." It was simple, but dire. She wouldn’t ever mess it up.
She noticed her mother's curt nod out of the corner of her eye. "Yes. But you may also have other duties in the meantime. Jianzhu will fill us in when we meet up."
Rangi fought and lost her battle to not frown. Other duties? What other duties could she possibly have that's more important than serving the Avatar?!
Her mother didn't seem bothered by her brief dip in mood. "You won't need to be on high alert all the time. The mansion will be surrounded by guards and the Avatar's Masters. You'll need something to do in your down time."
By which you mean, I'll need something to do to be useful. Rangi thought bitterly.
The duo walked up various hills that was a ways away behind the skeleton that would be called a mansion. She and her mother were to meet Master Jianzhu, Master Kelsang, and the Avatar there. It was an informal introduction, not that they could have a formal one with the mansion in a rush to be built. They were lucky to even have some bedrooms and a functional kitchen built already.
They were on the last hill when her mother spoke up again.
"Rangi…" she began. Rangi could've sworn she heard some hesitation in her mother's voice, but that couldn't be possible. Her mother never hesitated. Not with her teachings, not with her guidance. And not…even with her family… "I've heard… I've heard that the new Avatar is very similar to Kuruk."
All Rangi could do was nod. She was wondering where her mother was going with this.
"Which means he's… Well, sometimes the Avatar can be a bit…flirtatious…" Rangi frowned at that. She'd heard similar, more disparaging things said about Kuruk, but her mother had told her to ignore them. So shouldn’t she ignore this too?
Rangi shook her head. No, this and that are different. Being flirty isn't…inherently bad…right? Rangi wasn't really sure. It's not something she really had to…deal with yet. Most of her interactions, especially amongst her peers, were…well… Let's just say that the Gaijin and Zhang tribes had fought less bloodier battles…
Her mother cleared her throat. "What I mean to say is… I won't hold it against you if you fall for the Avatar."
Rangi looked at her mother like she'd grown a second head under her robes, and blinked. Was…her mother thinking of romance? Her? And the Avatar? Well, she was older now… But had it finally arrived at that point in her life where she would need to help support the clan in that way?!
Rangi allowed herself to picture the scenario for a moment, and shuddered. No. She had no time for something as frivolous as romance. She had her duties to focus on. That would be enough of an excuse, would give her the most time…to…
Plus, dating the Avatar didn’t seem like the smartest idea. Sure it had the highest status but… The cons far outweighed the pros.
"I don't think that will be a problem, mother," she said simply. "I know how to keep myself focused. I won't stray."
That, and Rangi had yet to meet a man who could woo her.
She heard her mother sigh through her nose, and it set her teeth on edge. Was…that not the right response she was supposed to give? A bead of clammy sweat rolled down the back of her neck. Maybe she ought to start thinking of her clan’s duties now too. But she wasn’t in the Fire Nation, how would she find a way to woo a potential suitor? If they weren’t the Avatar, she’d at least have to find a husband in the Fire Nation, anyone else would have people looking down on her and her family.
She could feel a newfound weight forming in her chest. She was supposed to be free when she came here, not feel trapped in another way. But before she could spiral any farther, her mother spoke again, her words quickly vacating her current dilemma and bringing forth a new one.
"Duties or not, do play nice with the boy," she drawled. "And try to make some friends."
Rangi flinched at that, then anger flooded her being. But trepidation and the need to be on her best behavior overriding her anger at her mother. Who's fault is it that I don't have any friends to begin with?!
But still… Friends? Her mother wanted her to make friends? With whom? How many people her age would be on the compound? And would they want to be friends with…her? This wasn't exactly in her wheel house.
"Friends? With who?" She tried to dryly laugh it off, to cover up her nerves. No, she was an elite soldier! An elite warrior! She’s not the type to get nervous!
Another sigh from her mother. "The Avatar is the same age as you." Ok the Avatar then. "And I believe Kelsang says he has a girl your age working here as well."
A girl? Her age? He had a daughter?! Was she an Air Nomad? Working here? Odd. Was that allowed? And she was allowed to befriend her? Someone below her station? Should she even care? Her duty was more important after all.
She had so many questions, and she hated feeling put out like this. They should've talked about this on the fly over! Well, they did talk about various things but this seems like something she needed to know now!
But before she could voice even a single complaint, they'd reached the crest of the final hill.
Master Jianzhu and Master Kelsang were standing there, they'd look the same as they usually did when they visited them. Master Kelsang with his jovial smile that instantly warmed and comforted her. He appeared to be carrying something round of some sort.
Master Jianzhu had his normal severe expression, like someone ran over his prized deer dog and was forced to keep a neutral face about it. And—
In between them was a boy. Long brown hair pulled into a ponytail, jade green eyes that dazzled in the sunlight. His long green robes swayed in the grass of the same color. He had some baby fat on his cheeks, but hints of a strong jaw line being formed. He had a crooked grin that was— Well, it was a crooked grin.
He was a boy alright. And..handsome by most people's standards?
"Hei-Ran, Rangi, this is Avatar Yun," Jianzhu announced when the duo finished their ascent.
Hei-Ran and Rangi bowed formally and introduced themselves. Yun beamed at them and bowed with his own greeting. "I'm so excited to meet you!"
He bounded over to Rangi, and took her hand in his. "I'm particularly excited to meet you. Master Jianzhu didn't mention that my bodyguard would be so beautiful."
Rangi felt a chill run down her spine as his lips pressed into the back of her hand.
Don't kill him. He's just trying to be friendly. And he's the Avatar.
Yun looked back up at her expectantly, then instantly began to sweat. He quickly straightened himself up, hands up in surrender. "Sorry, it appears I overstepped."
A vein throbbed in Rangi's forehead, but she kept her cool. She smiled and said through her teeth, "Just a tad, but I'll look past it."
It was much of a relief as it was disheartening. A relief because it meant she wasn’t at risk for falling for the Avatar.
I don't know what my mother was thinking. Me and the Avatar? As if. Dating the Avatar is probably a nightmare or, at least, really bad for my health. She could only imagine how worried sick she'd be the entire time. Yes, it was better for her to not date the Avatar.
But it still shook her. If the world's most powerful bender, and handsome boy couldn’t woo her… What could?
Don’t think about it. If and when the time comes and you haven’t found anyone… Well, an arranged marriage is always on the table. While she’d rather be with someone she loved, like how her mother and father were… Or, at the very least, someone she liked or knew… No, it didn’t matter. There were only two expectations of her in this life, protect her charge and do right by her clan. Everything else could be disregarded.
A loud, boisterous laughter rang through the air and broke her out of her thoughts. "He's the spitting image of Kuruk," Master Kelsang boomed merrily.
"Maybe a bit too much like him," Master Jianzhu said. Despite his chidding, he was fighting back a smile of his own.
Her mother coughed, and Rangi could've sworn a curve at the tips of her lips went upward!
The trio of Masters, old friends of Kuruk. Rangi wondered what they could possibly be feeling right now. This boy was once their old friend, and now it's like they have all come together once again. In a weird way, she felt like the outsider watching in on this little reunion.
A few more exchanges were made between the Masters before they turned the two teens.
"Why don't you two get to know each other?" her mother suggested.
Kelsang held up the ball in his hands. It appeared to be an old kuai ball. "Or play! Nothing like getting to know someone and having fun at the same time!"
The two teens looked at each other and shrugged. It didn't seem like they were getting shut out of anything important, just a bunch of old fogies who wanted to catch up. Rangi took the ball from Kelsang and held it with both hands. She looked at it appraisingly. Then Yun hit the ball up from underneath, it zipped past her face and lobbed over her head. She watched it arc in the air as it was caught by the boy, midair in the crook of his knee where he ran to catch it.
"Let's see how skilled you are, my dear bodyguard!" Yun laughed before letting the ball drop to the ground, and started dribbling it away with his feet.
Rangi gritted her teeth, but stopped herself from gunning after the boy. She looked back to her mother, asking for permission. Hei-Ran just nodded her head once, and Rangi was off.
Yun was kicking the ball down the plateau, he looked back and started running faster when he saw Rangi was chasing him. Rangi ran right past him and attempted to steal the ball diving after it, but he rolled it away from her.
"Ah-ah! You can't use your hands!" he grinned. "Ya gotta use your feet! Like this!" He juggled the ball in complicated patterns. Rangi realized it was similar to another Fire Nation sport, but not kuai.
"That's— This isn't how you use a kuai ball!" she complained, missing each and every attempt to steal the ball from him. She was used to keeping the ball afloat in the air and kicking it that way, not dribbling it on the ground.
"Oh? Really? What's kuai?"
Rangi lunged and missed again. Something was off, she wasn't bad at this sort of game. "Ah! Ugh, it's a game with a net—"
"So is earthbending ball!"
Rangi glared at the ground, and realized…he may have been using both his feet and earthbending to keep the ball to himself. The little cheat. "Well kuai isn't 'earthbending ball'! The net is in the air!"
Yun stopped and tilted his head to the side. "Then how do you score? Hit it up into the net?"
Another lunge. Almost got it that time!
"No! You hit it over the net, and if it lands on the ground on the opponent's side then you score a point!"
"Huh… Weird. Ah! Wait, not weird!" A shocked look hit his face briefly, as if he realized he offended her. "Sorry, Sifu said I should be more open. What I mean is— I kinda like it, you'll have to show me sometime!"
Rangi stopped her struggle. Playing kuai would be a…logistical issue. "I mean…we need more than two people."
Yun put a hand to his chin. "Well… Do we need more than three people?"
"We need four on each side minimum." Then she thought it over. "Maybe we can reduce it down to two or three on each side? I'm not sure how the rules would change— Ah! Hey!"
Yun started running off with the ball. "My bodyguard should be more attentive!"
"You're cheating!" she yelled after him. Not that it made much sense, there were no rules for him to cheat against. But it still wasn’t honorable!
"You weren't looking! Not my fault!" he beamed at her.
Rangi growled. She wasn't going to take his sneaky, underhanded tactics laying down! She sprinted after him and saw an opening. She let her toe slip past the middle of his legs and punted the damn ball into the sky. It curved in the air, and the two teens sprinted after the leather ball as if it was the world's most valuable gem.
Everything rode on who got the ball first. Honor! Glory! The ball!
The ball soared through the trees and landed in a nearby bush. Rangi practically dove into the shrub to retrieve it. Her hand clasped around the leather and she yanked it upward as she stood up.
"Hah! I got it!" she yelled in triumph, the object of both their desires raised highly above her head. "I got it! And—"
She stopped her little victory and looked around. Yun wasn't there. Her heart sank faster than an unagi diving into the deepest ocean depths. What was she thinking?! How could she take her eyes off her charge like that? How could she feel driven to winning some stupid…game? Was that what they were playing? A game with arbitrarily no rules? How could she feel competitive over something as silly as that?!
She sprinted off, backtracking from where she had been. He couldn't have gone far! Maybe he just ran off somewhere?
Her mind started to spiral. If he'd been kidnapped… Oh no…
In her panic she could feel her heart start to malfunction. Instead of consistent pumping, it hammered in her with one powerful, slow beat at a time. A sledgehammer of dread attempting to break out of her ribcage, one slow, painful swing at a time.
One.
Her eyes scanned the area frantically as she ran, the seconds that passed had been the most horrifying she'd experienced yet… And when her eyes finally fell upon the familiar green cladded boy, she almost popped with relief.
For a moment she was terrified, he was laying on the ground on his stomach. The only thing that kept her from going into a frenzy was that his head was propped up.
As she approached him, she realized they'd found the edge of the hill and it appeared he was gazing out over it. Looking at something.
"Why the hell did you run off—" she began, forgetting her station.
Yun jolted upward and grabbed her by the shoulder and put a finger to his mouth. "Shhh! Look!" he whispered, mischief in his eyes. He pointed in the direction he wanted her to follow.
Two.
Her eyes followed his finger's path. It landed on the back of a woman, or perhaps a very tall girl? She was hunched over, dressed in a maid’s uniform, picking flowers. Possibly for the mansion.
So he was…peeping on a girl? No, no, that couldn't be it. The Avatar would never do that.
"I don't get it, why are we watching a maid pick flowers?"
He tapped her shoulder excitedly. "Not just any maid, she's Master Kelsang's! She's the only other person around here that’s our age!"
Oh, it was the girl her mother hinted at earlier.
"I— Ok? Why are we whispering?" The girl was well away from them, they could just talk at a normal volume.
Yun’s face fell. "I…don't think she likes me. Ok, to be fair, I did kinda sorta scare her a bit! Not a lot! She's a bit skittish! …I think? "
Rangi gave him a dubious look. "And, so, what? You're just going to stalk her?"
"No! I— I'm trying to figure out how to befriend her!"
Rangi felt like she was in some bizzaro world. The Avatar having a hard time making friends? Oh, if he couldn't do it, then she was certainly a lost cause. Not that she cared. She did just fine without friends.
"And if I— we, befriend her, then maybe we can play kuai-whatever ball together!"
He seemed to have forgotten they needed at least one other person. Unless he planned on Master Kelsang filling the role? That could work… No, focus! Who cares about us playing kuai ball?
"Why?" Rangi couldn't understand why he'd want to hang out with a maid. Seemed below his station. He should be with only the upper elite and powerful. Cultivating his power and influence. Not skattling about with someone on the lower rung. It wouldn't be good for his image, nor could they provide any benefit to him. It was best if he just helped the weak and needy and kept moving on, to keep them at a distance. It was the more productive way of doing things.
He turned to her with the most serious expression she’d ever seen him have, at least, since she met him only minutes ago. "Because she's cute."
An uncharacteristically cold breeze blew past the duo.
Ah, mother was right. He's a womanizer.
"H—hey! Don't look at me like that! It's true! She's really cute! I mean it! You'll understand when you see her!"
Rangi rolled her eyes at him. What the hell was he talking about? "Why would I understa—"
Three.
The girl's body turned slightly as she went to grab another flower, her hair blew away as a breeze went by, revealing her face. Rangi felt her heart stop, time froze. It was only for a moment, but it felt like a shock to her system. While the girl was still fairly far away, Rangi could still make out some of the girl's graceful features. The way her long arms and hands handled the flowers with delicate care. Her long neck, which gave her a graceful and eloquent appearance. And then there was her long hair. That was almost enviable, most Fire Nationals would kill to have hair that long.
Yun had been right, she was really cute.
Her heartbeat's slow thumps had stopped and were replaced with a wild hammering. Her palms started to sweat, and she felt nauseous? Yes, nauseous in a weird giddy sort of way. Like when she was excited for the Great Harvest Spirit to visit and leave sweets under her pillow as a child, except it was amplified to a dangerous degree.
The sensation was too new to her, she was in the middle of thinking she was dying.
A hand flew to her chest plate in a panic. W—what's going on with me—
She shook her head and tried to clear it. Her eyes drifted back to Yun… Who was grinning dumbly at the maid. He had a dreamy look in his eye and—
Rangi, for some strange reason, did not like it.
"D—don't just stare at her! It's unbecoming!" she chastised, trying to push aside her own nerves. She tried to tell herself that the reason she was upset was because he was being rude. Very un-Avatarly.
Yun visibly perked up. "You're right! I should just ask her to join us!"
Rangi nodded. "Yes, good. You should ask— Wait! No!" The last thing Rangi wanted was to get closer to this girl, not when she was feeling like this!
Too late. Yun quickly turned around, cupped his hands around his mouth, and started yelling at the top of his lungs. "Kyoshi! Come up here and play ball with us!"
In an instant, the maid, Kyoshi it seemed, shot up to her feet. She quickly skittered away to a nearby exit, flowers and basket in hand, not even bothering to spare a glance back. Much to Rangi's despair and relief.
Yun's smile and hands dropped. "Aw, she ran away… Again!"
The twinge of annoyance at the Avatar's infatuation with the maid, flared up inside her again. It took all her effort to keep it mostly under control.
"Q—quit bothering someone trying to do a job, dummy!" Rangi was surprised by the words that came from her mouth. She'd just talked back to the Avatar! She'd…she'd… She'd have to do an hour of horse stance for penitence.
"Aw, don't tell me I have another all work and no play pal," Yun sulked.
Rangi could barely hear him though, her eyes were still trained on the spot she'd watched the maid vanish from.
_____
Rangi fought back a yawn. She had to look serious and in charge. Master Jianzhu was having a meeting with his personal guards and his staff. He was giving very detailed instructions: How he wanted things to run, how she and her mother would fit into everything. How she would be in charge of helping keep the schedule and other such things intact.
This must be what mother said about 'other duties.'
She tried not to be too sour about it. She was still the Avatar's bodyguard. That didn't change. She just…had… She just had more responsibilities. She was more useful! She should wear it with pride! She wasn’t worthless at all! She wasn’t nothing!
So why did it feel like she wasn't being taken seriously as a bodyguard?
No. You'll exceed expectations. No matter what they throw at you. She told herself. Time and time again she'd have to prove herself. And time and time again she succeeded. She could do it. It was no issue.
What was an issue…was that the maid— Kyoshi, her name is Kyoshi— Rangi shook her head, surprised she'd latched onto the name so quickly after hearing it once. As if her brain was ravenous to learn it and then never relinquish it.
Yes, the issue was that Kyoshi wasn't at this meeting. No matter where she looked, she could not see the tall teenage girl anywhere. And that annoyed her greatly.
She bit the inside of her cheek. She had no idea why it annoyed her. Rangi reasoned, as one does, that it was obviously because it showed that this Kyoshi lacked punctuality!
She bit the inside of her cheek again. No, maybe it wasn't the maid's fault. She cycled through the names of the ledge she was able to sneak a peep at before the meeting started. There were a lot more names on there than who was standing before her.
She noticed only the stoutly head chef was in attendance, the rest of the kitchen lot were at their stations. It must only be a meeting for the guards and the seniors and heads of staff. Which meant, Kyoshi didn't need to attend. Which meant…she could stop looking for her in the crowd. And being annoyed…
Ignoring how she felt her mood sour at the thought, it was quickly replaced by a hair raising sensation. Someone was watching her!
Rangi turned her head slowly, as to not draw attention, and her eyes finally landed on the damn culprit—
She flinched slightly, her heart stopped for a moment before it hammered violently in her chest again. The person who was staring at her was…that maid! Kyoshi! She was a ways away, but Rangi could see that the girl looked transfixed. She felt her skin heat and prickle delightfully out of nowhere. Then it flared up even more when a deep blush spread across the other girl's face.
Before Rangi could even unpack all the emotions in front of her, and maybe even the meaning behind Kyoshi's gaze, Kyoshi flinched after realizing she'd been caught. Then, in an instant, she scurried off with the basket of flowers she'd acquired.
It wasn't until her mother cleared her throat, that Rangi realized she'd been staring at the corner Kyoshi had rounded out of sight…a tad longer than she needed to.
___
Rangi hadn't even been in Yokoya for twenty-four hours yet, and she had a problem.
Kyoshi.
First, Avatar Yun brought her up (well, her mother too), and then Rangi kinda saw her twice and that made her feel weird. Then Yun kept bringing her up throughout the day as they lounged around the mansion. Then her mother mentioned to Kelsang how he should introduce the two teens to Kyoshi. AND THEN Master Kelsang had to awkwardly explain that Kyoshi essentially didn't want to.
Rangi would've taken it personally (she was taking it personally), if not for the fact Kyoshi was also snubbing the Avatar (seriously what was her issue?). She would've figured it was because Rangi was a Fire National, she'd seen how other people in the estate were looking at her. Some places had issues with foreigners, this place was no different. But again, she declined meeting the Avatar…twice apparently! And he wasn’t a Fire National. She shouldn't take it personally (she was taking it personally).
It didn't help that she had to attend to Avatar Yun's whining about her for the past two hours. All while getting her ass kicked in pai sho.
I'm good at pai sho, why is he beating me?! Why is he such a monster?!
"Kyoshi doesn't want to play pai sho with me," he sniffled. He placed a tile down that led to Rangi's section being annihilated from behind.
Ugh, the Backstabbing Lay Rock Maneuver. I should've seen it coming…
"You asked her?" Rangi knew the answer. They'd been going in the same damn circle for hours.
Why were they so obsessed with this girl? Wait, no! Rangi wasn't obsessed. It was Avatar Yun. Why was he so obsessed? Rangi was perfectly fine ignoring the other girl. Perfectly fine ignoring her occasionally passing by the window behind Yun. Perfectly fine not telling Yun she kept seeing her. Perfectly fine keeping her stolen glances to herself and–
Why the hell doesn't she want an introduction?! She thought, slamming a tile down. Yun easily took out her ships after that. Ugh, this is her fault. Now I lost my fleet because I was thinking about her! Seriously, where are her manners?!
"No, she always runs off before I can ask," he sniffled again. It was the same answer every time.
Rangi sighed and groaned. "Seriously, how long have you been trying to hang out with her?"
He was only just found, right? It couldn't have been for very long.
"I only met her, like, two days ago…" Yun pouted. "So not…that long…"
Rangi put her head in her hands. Was this what she was going to be like in two days? Oh, spirits save her.
__
Rangi was wandering the estate that night as she was finally given permission for a break. She'd just eaten a delicious meal moments prior and wanted to walk it off before bed. The meal was reminiscent of her country's cuisine. Master Jianzhu was generous enough to import stalknose mushrooms for her! Sure it wasn’t exactly like the Fire Nation, but it was as close to tasting like home as she was going to get.
It was a great meal, and a great break from the weirdness of the day. She should've been basking in her new duties, reveling in being the Avatar's bodyguard! And yet, it was apparent her services weren't needed all the time. And new, pesky, unnecessary thoughts and interactions were taking up her head and valuable time instead!
She was enjoying herself on her nighttime stroll when she heard a beautiful melody playing nearby. Someone's laughter.
The lovely sound tickled her brain, and she couldn't stop her curiosity from getting the better of her. She quickly and quietly snuck around and dove silently into a bush. From there she could see the source.
In front of her, in the distance, was Kyoshi and Kelsang. It appeared that Kyoshi was washing the dishes for the night (for a brief moment Rangi wondered if she was holding one of the dishes she used), and Kelsang was being his usual goofy self and making the girl laugh. He had a sudsy beard and was using airbending to delicately move the artistry from his face onto hers.
"Stop! You're going to get us in trouble with Auntie Mui!" Kyoshi giggled. The suds started popping all around her.
With the suds gone, Rangi could see her face a bit more clearly. Kyoshi was smiling, a crooked grin dancing on her face. Asymmetrical yet perfect in every sense. Broad and beautiful and—
Rangi slapped her cheeks together to get herself to focus.
Her head felt fuzzy, like it was going under very warm and pleasant water. She remembered something similar in her survival training in the corps. It might've been about poison or toxins. She realized she needed to evacuate that area, it wasn't good for her.
She quickly ran out of there, the sweet sound chiming after her the whole way.
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A/N: With Rangi’s POV I want to find a balance of the Fire Nation Koolaid she's drunk and is trying to fight off/unlearn it (as well as the abuse she had to go through and her need to justify it), and her inherent desire to….be good. To go against those things.
So I feel like she's gonna flip flop a bit. And have a contradictory mindset. Which, tbf, I think there is something like that going on in RoK/SoK. Rangi wants to do good, but she has a short fuse. She wants to help people, but thinks "maybe the fire nation can help spread their prosperity" in RoK (so she's drunk some koolaid and needs some growth). She's constantly put on a pedestal by Hei and Kyo, but we know she's like…not perfect (and I love her for it!)
But yeah, I feel like she's going to be….contradictory in her thought process. Either because 1) Kyo's the exception/biased, 2) she's going through development and deprogramming, or 3) has some logical fallacies (she believes in defending the poor, but fuck Aoma cause she has beef). That kind of thing. Let's see how I can handle it TT0TT (tbh, Rangi's the one I'm most excited to write for this one, Kyoshi for lore but Rangi it's cause I wanna explore that lil topknot and how she came to change TT0TT)
The Pai Sho move name was based off of a chess move (apparently) called the "Backstabbing Lay Priest" and yes I did squeal with joy when I found out that was apparently a real move. fjskalfjdklaf I chose the rock pai sho tile because I'm on the nose (really it's because there was no monk tile or I would've named it the Backstabbing Lay Monk TT0TT)
“Why isn’t Rangi in love at first sight?” What do you mean she totes is uwu She’s just not aware of it yet owo;; I usually lean towards “Oh yeah Rangi wanted to climb her like a tree the first time she saw Kyoshi” but I also like the idea/theory that….Rangi was equally clueless about her feelings, like Kyoshi, and it’s not until Kyoshi kisses her she’s like “Oh that’s what I’ve been feeling.” I’m going to meet myself half way and have Rangi be oblivious for a BIT, but I swear she’ll understand her feelings at some point TT0TT And relatively soon I swear. I just wanna marinate in the confused gaynst ~030~
The vibe is unaware lesbian who is comphet for duty because….she’s had to repress herself her whole life cause of the FN and that place was not a good breeding ground for….positive interactions with her peers. I feel like she wasn’t in a place to have a crush, or even have one she was aware of. (considering the bullying she was subjected to, and the culture being highly focused on duty and protecting the family’s honor). I also wanna explore the FN’s homosexuality, specifically with the Se’nakas (esp when it comes to foreigners -eye emoji-). In this case, homosexuality is obvie open and normal in the FN, but considering Rangi comes from a small clan…. There could be *pressures* to “continue on the family lineage”. Maybe it’s unspoken, or Rangi just feels like it’s her “duty” as the only child of her family. Or both, but the latter def feels like Rangi. But I thought it’d add an extra layer to this, and maybe an extra layer to her keeping quiet about her crush? -thinking emoji- We’ll see where it takes us uwu;;
(sorry if I’m yapping too much, it serves as both a note for me to look back on and cause I….like to write these fics cause I wanna explore aspects of the franchise…. And this idea sailed across my way and I was like “instead of making a new fic, it could work just fine here” uwu;;)
