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Kyoshi sat kneeled on the ground, her robes cascading around her in a circle. She was exhausted. Not from recent duties, but from her many years of life. The air was beginning to feel a little thicker nowadays and her body was slowing down as she had finally allowed it to decline and age over the past fifty years. She mostly did this so Rangi would feel less alone as she aged. Kyoshi had taught her the practices from Lao Ge but for some reason, the technique had only lasted so long.
Outside of the natural effects of now aging, various ailments and injuries had finally caught up to her. Not a day went by where her large body didn’t creak and groan at every movement. She used a wooden cane to assist her walking, though her adventures in recent days were to and from the front porch of the mansion to sit and watch the grounds.
It wasn’t much of a mansion now though. After the event with Yun, her, Rangi, and the Flying Opera Company took to demolishing the oversized compound. They spent months removing every evidence that Jianzhu’s masterpiece ever once existed. Marble, wood, stone were all moved, destroyed, and vacated to somewhere far away. After they were through, it was an empty plot of land once more.
Rangi then hired some local carpenters to build a large enough house that could hold them, a few guest suites, and any workers, as well as a suite for Hei-Ran whenever she would visit for extended periods with them. Hei-Ran eventually moved in during her final years.
Once the project for the house was moving along, they set their sites of rearranging the acreage. New training pads were built with only the finest materials as Rangi would allow nothing less. Kyoshi grinned and chuckled to herself. She spent many days there getting yanked around by her fiery love. The stance training never ended, even deep into their time together.
They drudged the old pond and put in something larger. It housed many koi fish and turtleducks over the decades. Many evenings were spent there, picnicking and enjoying each other’s company. She remembered looking over at Rangi one day during one of their many talks by pond and spotting her first few grey hairs. It made her smile, knowing that they had stuck to each other longer enough to witness this happen. Rangi, on the other hand, panicked at the first sign of aging.
They planted an abundance of trees around the perimeter to add privacy. There was now a worn path next to them from the many mornings they would take walks together, hand-in-hand, enjoying the perfect silence of the sunrise. Years down the road, they were joined by Koko, who always ran ahead of them. She smiled at remembering her daughter when she was five years old, running and giggling down the path as Rangi playfully chased her.
Kyoshi closed her eyes for a moment before opening them to look at the headstone in front of her. Her eyes took in the writing that made her body grow weak in sadness even though it had been three decades since.
“I miss you still, everyday.” The old, tired voice still sometimes surprised her. “But, I think it’s finally time to come back to you, especially if the spirits did as I asked of them.”
Kyoshi sat back and crossed her legs, carefully placing her skirts around her. She adjusted her tunic and her headdress before placing her hands in her lap, right hand in left palm, her thumbs circling upwards to meet each other. These battle ready robes were what she became known for over the centuries. The world had finally become at peace with itself meaning many, many years had passed since she last had to wear them.
Her journey had been tough at first and she thought it would never end. Orphaned by her parents and adopted by the greatest monk she had ever known. She had been a servant, serving unknowingly to the wrong Avatar. Only for the discovery of her being the true Avatar to send aftershocks through the Four Nations.
The woman had watched her friends die both in vain and in peace. She maneuvered through civil wars, daofei leaders, political magistrates, and overeager warmongers. But, she had also found true love in an unexpected person and found friendships stronger than the tides of the ocean. She had a beautiful daughter that her and Rangi poured love into. Kyoshi gave Koko everything she had wished she had as a child.
A smile of amusement fell on her face as she thought about shifting Yokoya off the peninsula of the Earth Kingdom, making a whole island by herself. When she had returned back to the village, Rangi berated her for not handling the situation in a more diplomatic manner. Kyoshi had sent Chin several warnings to stop his movement through the Earth Kingdom that he should have guessed what would happen if he marched into her territory. None of that mattered anymore. She personally loved remembering when the two of them walked to the shoreline and Rangi observed how far Kyoshi had pushed the land mass. “Impressive,” was the only remark as her wife stood there otherwise speechless.
She remembered creating her own group of warriors, which had later named themselves the Kyoshi Warriors in honor of their creator. The Avatar still had not come to terms with the name, feeling that it was too much but Rangi insisted they keep it. Her wife quickly pushed her out of the way of training and developed a very militaristic regimen for the Kyoshi Warriors. It was as if the Fire Nation Army had come to them personally. Each and every warrior had passion for the training though and the tradition continued through the years.
Her green eyes stared at the headstone in front of her. It was more of a small monument than a normal grave marker. The large block of marble had been carved into a likeness of her Rangi, her right hand held waist level, an all too surreal flame made of gold jutting upwards. She had made sure that the sculptor did not make the face too stern so there was still warmth and happiness in the expression with a slight curl in her lips. The rest of the body stood at attention, forever guarding the grave that was scheduled next to her.
When Kyoshi knew it was time to move forward with the next Avatar Cycle, she commissioned the same sculptor to begin on her own marker. He had finished it a year ago and she had stared at it everyday since, feeling welcomed by its stare back. Her eyes gazed up at the likeness of herself. Never in her 230 years of life did she ever expect this. In her much younger years, she often expected to get buried in an unmarked mound, left to be more forgotten than she had been.
The marble cuttings of her skirts swooped and flowed. Her right hand rested on the fans in her obi as her left hand stood clenched in a fist by her side. The headdress had been made of actual gold and attached to the marble. It was more than she asked but she admitted to herself that she enjoyed the extra touch.
Her attention went back to Rangi’s grave and she smiled mischievously. There were still a few more words to say to her. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but we made a promise when we were teenagers that I said I would keep until the day I died. So, I just wanted to remind you one last time... that after over 200 years, you still hold the title for the worst breach of manners in the Four Nations.”
Kyoshi snorted in amusement to herself. No one else in the world would ever think those words to be her last and that was fine. She’d rather they stay intimate and sincere between her and her Firebender.
She closed her eyes one last time and relaxed her back and shoulders, sinking deep into the ground. It was time. With ease, she drifted into a deep state of meditation, slowly calming her heart rate. Lao Ge had taught her more than just how to live forever, everything came with an opposite after all. She was tired and ready for the next Avatar to pick up where she left off.
A heavy weight pressed on her shoulders and down into her spine, but was soon removed. It felt as if she were floating now. She drifted in a blank meditative state for what felt like an eternity until another wave of relief came pulsing through her. Then, she felt the ground below her again.
A bright white and blue light filtered into her closed eyes so she opened them to see the spirit of light and peace before her. Raava floated there, looking much like an iridescent kite.
“Avatar Kyoshi, you have seen much in your long tenure. It has been an honor watching you grow from very humble beginnings and into the human you are now. You have created peace among the humans and spirits once more and because of you, the world has been in a great era of peace. Humans will come to celebrate and praise you for centuries.
“But, now it is your time to rest for eternity. Because you have shown yourself worthy, you are able to choose your next destiny. What will it be, Avatar?”
Kyoshi stared Raava down with a gentle sternness. “I asked for a favor thirty years back.”
Raava dipped and swerved a little. “That favor was granted when the human came to me. She obviously meant a lot to you and feeling your love towards her was one of my favorite parts of our journey together.”
A smile emerged onto Kyoshi’s face. “Then I will choose to live in the Spirit World,” she stared, trying to hide her overabundant relief and excitement.
“Very well,” Raava said. “I will continue your legacy into the Avatars that follow you.”
Kyoshi felt a sharp pain in her chest and tensed up. She did all she could from screaming as her soul felt as if it were ripping in two. Her eyes flooded with light and she could once more feel the power of thousands of Avatars before her pulsing in her body. She could hear their voices and a rumbling deep in her soul.
Slowly, they ripped away from her and the last face she saw was Kuruk’s. There was nothing else. There was no more pain. That was it, the end of her era as the Avatar had finally arrived. A small amount of relief filled her but oddly enough, she was filled with mostly sadness. She had come to find her own path as the Avatar and now, it was over.
The world around her became pitch black and she closed her eyes in fear of what could possibly be next in her final journey to the Spirit World.
She waited. Nothing happened.
Kyoshi carefully opened her eyes. The new brightness caused her to blink repeatedly until everything finally came into clarity. It was a familiar site she had visited many times before, but this time, there was someone standing a few paces away from her.
It was a look that Kyoshi was familiar with and that brought an immediate smile to her face. Topknot. Loose hairs. Arms crossed with one hip to the side. A dissatisfied, straight lipped stare that eventually turned into a large grin. The woman looked as if she was thirty again. “You took too long.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” The voice that came from her was young again as well and her throat no longer felt scratched from overuse.
Kyoshi stared back at Rangi and was immediately overfilled with happiness. Finally, she had her little fire back. The old Avatar stood up and took a few quick strides forward before encapsulating the love of her life into the stronghold of her arms. It sent a rush through her to feel this one person again.
Rangi’s arms wrapped around her waist as if she was never going to let go again. Kyoshi kissed the top of her head, making sure to avoid the pin in Rangi’s iconic topknot. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I have missed you too.” Rangi squeezed her even closer and buried her face into Kyoshi’s chest. “I have missed your arms around me and your lips and your scent. I’ve missed your hands in mine and your body.”
They stood there in silence, reunited at last and ready to spend their second lifetime together.