Despite having lived in the Avatar’s mansion for just over two years now, it still took Kyoshi twenty minutes to find her way to the Avatar’s personal garden. The mansion was a labyrinth of stone and wood, and while the compound was considerably smaller than the temples Kyoshi had grown up in, it was much more compact, winding halls and small crannies crammed into every space imaginable. After years of living at the estate, Kyoshi still found herself getting lost. She was sure there were parts of the mansion she had never even stepped foot in. The Avatar’s garden, however, was one of the places she frequently visited.

Unlike the rest of the mansion, the garden wasn’t accessible to guests, only to Avatar Yun, his teachers, and his closest companions, as well as the garden staff. The small, walled garden featured an array of flowers and plants from all four nations, a cleared, open area of grass meant for meditation, and a bubbling creek. It was the ideal place to escape from the hustle of everyday life at the mansion, and was the closest reminder Kyoshi had to her home. The more time she spent at the Avatar’s mansion, the more she missed the Eastern Air Temple, where she had grown up.

Kyoshi sat down in the clearing, under the gentle shade of the cherry tree, and assumed a meditative posture, her fists positioned in a way so that her arrow tattoos would point at one another. As Kyoshi mediated, she focused on the soft sounds of the garden around her, and the gentle spring breeze filtering through the tree branches.

“There you are!” Rangi called as she entered the garden, her armor jostling as she jogged up to Kyoshi. “I swear, you probably come here more than Yun does.”

Kyoshi opened her eyes and looked up at her friend. Silhouetted by the afternoon sunlight, it was hard to distinguish Rangi’s features, but her pointed shoulder armor and top knot gave her away. Kyoshi smiled. “Hey, Rangi! What brings you here?”

Rangi plopped down on the ground in front of Kyoshi. “Have you seen Yun? I’ve been looking for him since lunch.”

Kyoshi shook her head. “No, I think he’s been training with your mother.” Hei-ran was both a master firebender and an experienced teacher, it made perfect sense that she was chosen to teach the young Avatar his second element.

“I checked the training grounds and no one was there.” Rangi huffed. “I thought you might know where they are. Do you think he might be with Master Kelsang?”

Kyoshi could only shrug in reply. It had been a while since she had last seen either her father or Yun. “Do you want my help looking for them?”

Rangi reluctantly nodded and stood up, waiting to respond until Kyoshi had followed. The firebender put her arm around Kyoshi’s and led her to the garden’s exit. “Come on, let’s go.”

Rangi and Kyoshi received respectful nods and smiles as they walked through the more public areas. Both prodigies in their respective elements and official companions of the Avatar, they earned a level of respect amongst the crowd Jianzhu usually hosted. Despite the pleasant smiles and greetings, Kyoshi couldn’t help but feel out of place amongst the Earth Sages constantly gathered in the mansion.

Kyoshi glanced over the public garden. It held many of the same features Yun’s private garden did, though it was larger, and much more crowded. Visiting dignitaries milled about the garden, making small talk amongst the flowers. While many of the guests hailed from the Earth Kingdom, Kyoshi spotted a few red and blue coats amongst the hydrangeas and fire lilies. Theoretically, she and Rangi would fit right in amongst the crowd.

Moments after they entered the garden courtyard, Kyoshi and Rangi were stopped by one of the many dignitaries. The man wore a crisp, dark green robe and couldn’t have been much older than either of them. “Greetings, girls! I’m Aiguo Sang, though I’m sure you already know that.” He greeted in an overly confident, sing-song voice.

Kyoshi glanced at Rangi, who was in the midst of sighing in defeat. “We’re kind of in the middle of-”

“You know, I am the governor of the Gangbei Province.” Aiguo continued ignoring Rangi’s comment. “And our city has been absolutely prospering lately. It’s incredible! I can’t take all the credit, though, I have to thank our new port for that. It’s amazing what a little city infrastructure can do!”

Kyoshi glanced at Rangi, unsure what they had to do with this issue. “Actually, we were looking for the-”

“Rangi! Kyoshi!” Yun smiled as he ran across the gardens to them, stopping only feet from Kyoshi. His fine green robes were rumpled and covered dirt, his hair a mess. “I was looking for you!”

Kyoshi laughed and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “We were looking for you!”

“I was just training with Jianzhu.” Yun shrugged. “We went out into the countryside so we wouldn’t disturb anyone with the noise.”

Kyoshi nodded. From what she had seen, earthbending was the loudest of the four bending arts. She watched as Aiguo disappeared back into the gardens, his plan apparently foiled by the presence of the Avatar.

“You should’ve told us where you were.” Rangi huffed, crossing her arms in front of her in defiance. “We spent the last thirty minuets looking for you.”

Yun shrugged and smiled. “Well, I’m here now!”

“Do you know where Kelsang is?” Kyoshi asked.

“I think he’s with the rest of my bending teachers.” Yun put a hand to the back of his head. “Oh! I have news for you two!”

“Really?” Rangi asked. “What is it?”

Yun took a moment to glance around the garden. Kyoshi was sure she saw a flash of worry in the boy’s eyes. “We should probably go inside for it, it’s kind of private.”

Kyoshi exchanged a glance with Rangi, then nodded. “Alright. If you say so.”

Yun led Kyoshi and Rangi inside, to one of the mansion’s many private libraries. While not the most secluded area of the mansion, it was far better than the public garden.

Kyoshi sat down on one of the couches as Yun closed the door behind him. Rangi stood behind her, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently.

Once Yun had assured that the door was closed, he marched in front of Kyoshi and Rangi so they could both see him. A beaming smile was written across his face.

“We’re going on a trip!” Yun beamed. “All of us!”

“Where are we going?” Rangi asked as she moved around the couch to sit next to Kyoshi.

“And why couldn’t you tell us in the garden?” Kyoshi added.

Yun put his hand to the back of his neck. “We’re going to the Coral Isles, to investigate a… weird spiritual occurrence. Jianzhu thinks that if I’m there, maybe I can resolve the issue. Since it won’t be dangerous, you’re all allowed to come with us!”

The Coral Isles were an archipelago located south-east of the mainland Earth Kingdom, only a day’s trip away fr0m the Eastern Air Temple. Once, Kyoshi had visited the islands with some of her fellow airbenders. “What sort of spiritual occurrence?” She asked.

Yun hesitated to respond. “I’m not exactly sure, I’ll have to check with Jianzhu. I’m sure it’s nothing. At least nothing I can’t fix.” His words were laced with worry.

“Alright.” Rangi said, her voice affirming and direct. “We’ll come with you. When do we leave?”

“In about a week.” Yun replied, now sitting down on the seat opposite them.

Kyoshi smiled. “Alright! I can’t wait!”

Even though he had just sat down, Yun stood up and brushed some of the dirt off his robes, much to Rangi’s apparent disgust. He walked to the door. “Ok, sounds great! I’m going to go tell Jianzhu, I’ll get back to you when I know more!”

Before either Kyoshi or Rangi could reply, Yun disappeared into the hall, leaving them in the library alone.

“So... the Coral Isles…” Rangi trailed off. “Have you ever been there?”

Kyoshi nodded. “Yeah, once when I was twelve or thirteen. I wonder what the spiritual issue is…”

“Yeah, me too…” Rangi stared at the wall then abruptly stood up. “Anyways, I’m going to go find out more information about this. See you later?”

Kyoshi nodded but stayed seated on the couch. She smiled at Rangi. “See you later!”

Once Kyoshi heard the sound of Rangi walking down the hallway, she stood up and left through the same door, setting off to find her father.