Kelsang was painfully aware of the stares he received as he made his way through the town. The people of Yokoya Port, despite living on the intersection between three different nations, never seemed all too welcoming of outsiders. The town was so small that news passed almost instantaneously, and by the time Kelsang had landed Pengpeng in the surrounding woodland and entered the village proper, the entire town knew that an Airbender was visiting. Due to being such a small town in such an isolated part of the Earth Kingdom, the people of Yokoya didn’t often receive visitors, especially from the other nations. That, at least, explained the stares.

After a few moments spent wandering the town, Kelsang found who he was looking for-a gruff-looking farmer by the name of Yamato. The man had two daughters, ages six and eight if Kelsang was remembering correctly, and worked as a farmer.

“Hello, Yamato.” Kelsang smiled as he approached the farmer, giving a polite bow.

Yamato returned the bow only out of custom. “I suppose you’re here to pay me?”

Kelsang sighed and dug around his robes, trying to find the large sack of gold he had promised the farmer. “And to check on Kyoshi.” After handing the cloth bag to Yamato, he asked, “Is she alright? Is she being fed well?”

Yamato smiled disingenuously. “Don’t worry, she’s fine! Kyoshi, come over here!”

Moments later, a small, frail girl emerged from the house Kelsang and Yamoto stood in front of. She was frailer than Kelsang remembered- her blue tunic ill-fitting and threadbare. Nevertheless, she was still recognizable as the girl Kelsang had come to think of as a daughter.

“Kyoshi!” The airbender greeted, bending down to make eye contact with the young girl. Despite having grown since Kelsang had last seen her, she still had a child’s stature. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come to see you sooner.”

“It’s alright.” Kyoshi replied, swinging back and forth on her feet as she spoke. “I’m glad you’re here now.”

Kelsang put his hand on Kyoshi’s hand. “Come on, let’s go walk.” He glanced at Yamato for any sign of disapproval. The farmer simply shrugged and returned to the inside of his house.

After Yamato had disappeared, Kelsang turned back to Kyoshi. The girl- now almost nine years old, had taken his hand off his shoulder and now held it in her own. Taking the cue, Kelsang smiled. “Alright, alright. Let’s go.”

Kelsang had to slow his natural walking pace to match Kyoshi’s, but he didn’t mind. It did nothing but help him enjoy the scenery of Yokoya more.

“Kyoshi,” Kelsang mused as they walked. “Are you being taken care of?”

The young girl nodded, but answered hesitantly. “Yes. I think so.” Kyoshi paused. “I don’t really know.”

Kelsang sighed a weary sigh. Yamato was not feeding the child Kelsang was paying him twenty gold a month to feed. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t come earlier, Kyoshi. I really am.”

Kyoshi gave him a frail smile. “That’s ok. You’re here now.” The light in her eyes faded as she stopped walking and stared at the ground. “I have a secret I need to tell you.”

Kelsang paused before responding. While he knew Kyoshi’s parents had abandoned her in Yokoya, the rest of her past was shrouded in a veil of mystery. “You do?”

Kyoshi nodded and took Kelsang’s hand into her own before leading the both of them to the side of a road and through an alleyway. Whatever Kyoshi’s secret was, it was becoming clear to Kelsang that it was too important for her to say in public.

The alleyway Kyoshi led Kelsang to was small and secluded- ideally the perfect place to confess a secret, at least to Kyoshi. Despite it being between two houses with very open windows and in the part of town that always smelled like fish, Kelsang couldn’t help but understand the comfort the surrounding walls brang- it was certainly more reassuring than confessing things in the middle of the street. In this moment, the alleyway could’ve been a separate world entirely, created just for this.

Kyoshi stared at her feet in worry and clutched her braided hair. She didn’t say a word until Kelsang once again put his hand on her shoulder. “Kyoshi, what did you want to tell me?”

Kyoshi took a breath to prepare herself for her confession. “You know…. How you’re an airbender?”

Kelsang nodded, anticipating Kyoshi to confess to being an earthbender, or maybe even a waterbender. Even though she had attended the Avatar test he and Jianzhu had held over a year ago, Kelsang had assumed the girl to be a nonbender on the sheer basis he had never seen her bend.She wouldn’t have been the only nonbending child taking the Avatar test that day.

Kyoshi closed her eyes. “I’m an airbender too!”

“You are?” Kelsang stammered. Given the conversation, he should’ve considered that result to be a possibility, but for some reason he oversought it. He remembered the stories he had been told about Nun Jesa and how she had left the Air Nation for a life of crime. Even though he had only met Jesa once or twice, it was easy for him to spot the resemblances between her and Kyoshi.

Kyoshi nodded and glanced at the alleyway’s entrance. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

Kelsang shook his head. “No, no. I’m not mad. I’m just a little surprised, since this is the Earth Kingdom.”

Kyoshi nodded in understanding, the worry slowly fading from her face.

“Could you show me some of your airbending?” Kelsang asked. If Kyoshi really was an airbender- which she most likely was, Kelsang did not know the girl to lie- then the next step would be to take her to the temples. She’d be safe there.

Kyoshi gave a hurried nod and put her hands in front of her as Kelsang took his own off her shoulders. It took a moment, but within a minute's time Kyoshi had created a spiraling orb of air between her hands. It dissipated when she looked up at Kelsang, causing her to flinch. “I’m not that good…”

“No, no.” Kelsang put his hand on Kyoshi’s cheek. “Kyoshi, do you want to come with me to the Southern Air Temple?”

The Southern Air Temple was nothing like anywhere Kyoshi had been before. It was on a mountain in the sky, to start. It was bigger than anywhere she had been before, too, though the village of Yokoya wasn’t that big in the first place. Even now, sitting in a small library filled with scrolls she couldn’t read, she couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the small details carved into the walls.

Kyoshi stood up and walked to the room’s open window, gazing out at the temple gardens below, watching the airbenders mill about their lives in their robes of orange and yellow, the colors of the sunset juxtaposed against the now mid-morning sky. What seemed like hours ago, Kelsang had brought her here on Pengpeng and presented her to the Council of Elders. Standing before the Council, Kyoshi had reluctantly displayed the same airbending she had shown Kelsang. Afterwards, Kelsang had taken her to the library, explaining that he needed to talk with the elders about her. He had looked relieved when Kyoshi agreed to sit patiently until they came to a conclusion.

Entranced in watching an outdoor music class taking place, Kyoshi barely noticed when Kelsang knocked on the door and opened it. She turned around and sat as politely as she could, patiently awaiting his response.

Kelsang smiled and sat next to Kyoshi, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Kyoshi, I have good news!”

Kyoshi looked Kelsang in the eye but didn’t make any verbal response.

“You’re going to be an Air Nomad, Kyoshi!” Kelsang smiled and enveloped her in a warm hug. Kyoshi nearly cried at the sensation, it had been so long since someone had hugged her.

Kyoshi looked up at Kelsang. “Really?” The truth seemed too foreign to be real. “Am I going to stay here?”

Kelsang gently shook his head. “You’re going to go to the Eastern Air Temple to train with the nuns there. I’ll be there as much as I can, and I can assure you that you’ll be safe there.”

It took a while for the truth to truly settle. “I’m going to be safe?” Kyoshi asked, aware of the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Yes, you are.” Kelsang put his hand over her head, pulling her closer to him in a warm embrace.

Kyoshi let herself cry in relief as she leaned into Kelsang’s hug, relieved in the safety of the air temple and the security of the life she had infront of her. She was safe.