The trip back home from the Coral Isles seemed longer than the initial trip. Kyoshi suspected it, technically, was, thanks to a storm that had gathered in the middle of their journey. The rain was heavy and cold, but not dense enough to prevent travel, so they persisted onwards, under Jianzhu’s direction. Thankfully, it was only a short, few hour-long trip- just enough time for Kyoshi to think.

She was grateful that her friends- she was once again travelling with only Yun and Rangi- had elected to share her silence, and least in part. When the rain had started, Yun had made an off-hand comment about wishing he could already waterbend so that he had a chance of staying drier. Rangi had scoffed in disarmament, most likely upset about getting wet herself, and the topic had been dropped sooner than it had been brought up. Kyoshi figured they all wanted to think, after what had happened.

It had known her name. The skytalon- if Jianzhu’s name for the spirit were to be believed- had known her name. It had called her by her name- though, looking back on it, she couldn’t recall the scream forming into the distinct syllables of her name, only that it had called her. She must’ve been remembering the event incorrectly, there wasn’t any other answer. It couldn’t have known her, there wasn’t any explanation for it.

Kyoshi drew her attention to a matter far more trivial, but one still filling her with dread. The hairpin she had bought for Rangi in the market still lay in her pocket, wrapped in silk to protect the fine material, like an unsaid promise not fulfilled. She had been hoping to present the girl with the pin sometime during the journey, though she never had a set plan in the first place. What had once been a spark of hope now fell apart, the rain running down her scalp washing it away like a block of sugar. She didn’t even know if Rangi would like her like that!

Kyoshi turned back to her friends for a brief moment. By now, they had been travelling for a few hours and were only half-an-hour away from Yokoya. Rangi looked to the distance, facing away from Kyoshi. Yun leaned against a sack of grain, and Kyoshi would’ve guessed he was asleep if she didn’t know better. Both of them, like herself, wore raincoats of woven straw and simple, conical hats to match, to keep the rain out of their eyes. All together they looked like a group of farmer’s children, rather than the Avatar and his companions. Farmer’s children who had somehow gotten a hold of a sky bison, that was.

Yun must’ve noticed her staring and tilted his head upwards, just enough so that Kyoshi could just see the deep green of his eyes. “Hey, Kyoshi.” He said monotonously, just loud enough to be heard over the storm.

“Hey.” Kyoshi replied. She glanced ahead. “We’ll be reaching Yokoya soon.”

“That’s good.” Was the only reply Yun gave. It was clear there was something on his mind, but Kyoshi decided against pursuing the subject.

Kyoshi looked out onto the horizon, any semblance of their surroundings hidden by the dense clouds. “I think I’m ready to be home. I’m sick of the rain.”

After landing in the stables and dismounting, Kyoshi was pulled aside by a stablehand and ushered into the house. Before she could ask any questions, she was handed off to one of the house staff and taken to the estate’s private bathhouse, where it was explained to her that she should freshen up after a long day’s trip, in the storm. They explained, in softer tones since the women knew Kyoshi by name, that this was all very unexpected and they were having all the travellers bathe and rest before seeing the healers, and they just hoped she wouldn’t catch a cold. Kyoshi nodded and obliged, assuring the women that she would freshen up, before ushering them out of the room so she could be alone.

A hot bath had already been drawn, much to Kyoshi’s pleasure. After taking off multiple layers of rain-heavy garments- taking extra care to place the hairpin apart the pile of wet fabric, Kyoshi submerged herself in the tub. It was reaxingly warm, compared to the cold rain of the outside. She took a moment to utter simple thanks to the spirits for giving her such luxuries as people that cared for her and a hot bath waiting at the end of a long trip- she knew from experience that they weren’t common much elsewhere.

After cleaning her hair, body and face, Kyoshi stood up to dry and dress herself. Thankfully, the house staff had laid out one of her robes over the stool, folding it neatly to minimize the risk of it accidentally getting wet. It was one of her simpler outfits- made for the winter Kyoshi thought they had just left. After drying off her hair- a quick process, thanks to its short length- and getting dressed, Kyoshi tucked the hairpin she had bought into her sash and set off for the rest of the mansion, to find her friends.

Of all the people she could’ve intercepted, Kyoshi ran into Jianzhu in the hallway, nearly colliding with the man because of oversight.

“I’m so sorry!” Kyoshi dropped into a quick, apologetic bow. “I didn’t see you.”

Jianzhu shook his head. “No, no, it’s quite alright. Simple mistakes can be forgiven.” He paused. “Kyoshi, would you join me for tea? I’d like to speak with you.”

Kyoshi hesitated before responding, though she couldn’t tell why. There wasn’t any reason she had to be nervous. “Uh, sure, I guess.”

A smile grew over Jianzhu’s features, and he motioned into the door closest to them. “Come, follow me.”

Jianzhu led Kyoshi into the small room- which she discovered to be a parlor upon entering it. He led her over the tatami and sat her down in the center of the room for a formal tea ceremony, according to the local tradition. Before sitting down himself, Jianzhu rang for tea, and was soon answered by one of the staff. Before long, a tea set was brought to the tea room and placed in front of them.

“How do you prefer your tea, Kyoshi?” Jianzhu asked. As the host, it was his duty to make the tea. He was probably the better of the two of them, anyways, with more experience in both diplomacy and life.

“Spiced, if you have it.” Kyoshi stated, awkwardly and forced. “Or in the Air Nomad style.”

“I’ll go with the former, as I’m still unsure how exactly to prepare it in the Air Nomad style.” When met by Kyoshi’s stare, Jianzhu gave a simple gesture of his hand. “Your father never bothered to teach me, there was always something else going on.”

Within moments, both Kyoshi and Jianzhu held steaming cups of tea, waiting for each other to have had enough to speak first.

“We haven’t spoken much before, have we?” Jianzhu offered as he set down his own teacup.

Kyoshi shook her head. She knew Jianzhu only by proxy, having been introduced to him by her father and hearing about him mostly from Yun. This was the first time they were speaking privately, or at all. “I don’t think we have.”

Jianzhu hummed in agreement. “Kelsang treats you well, does he not?”

It wasn’t a surprise to Kyoshi, that Jianzhu knew where she had come from. After all, Kelsang had never married, not to mention ever courted a woman, so there wasn’t much of a way he could procure a child the traditional way. She nodded.

“As I understand, you were born in the Earth Kingdom,” Jianzhu continued, “And yet, you’re an airbender. You must have perspectives on international affairs completely unique to yourself.”

Kyoshi shook her head and set down her own teacup. “I don’t think I do, that much. I don’t really consider myself to be part of the Earth Kingdom, at least not anymore. I was raised as an Air Nomad, so that’s the culture I identify with.”

“Ah, I should’ve figured as much.” Jianzhu nodded. “You know, your people are notorious for being great spiritual leaders.”

Kyoshi had to force herself to nodd. Even though she could tell where the conversation was headed, she didn’t like how indirect Jianzhu was being about the matter. It put her at ill-ease.

“So, what do you think we should do?” It was the question Kyoshi had been dreading.

“Well…” Kyoshi hesitated to answer. “Since Yun’s the Avatar, and he’s the one who can fix the issue, I think we should prioritize his spiritual training.”

“So you suggest we prioritize spiritual training over the initial mastery of the elements?” When Kyoshi nodded, he made a subtle recoil, slightly straightening his posture. “It’s unorthodox, to say the least.”

“The problem is spiritual, so we should focus on it to save the most people.” Kyoshi continued. “It’s just the right choice to make.”

“You think very efficiently, for an airbender.” Jianzhu commented, a lack of emotion present in his voice. “How would you go about teaching Yun in the matters of the spirits?”

“I hope it wouldn’t be up to only me, I’m not done with my training and am far from a master in that regard.” Kyoshi gave a forced chuckle, her sense of near-calm ruined by the memory of the skytalon. “I’d suggest finding a teacher for Yun, a reliable one.”

“Like your father, perhaps?” Jianzhu offered. “He was Kuruk’s spiritual mentor.”

Kyoshi dug her clenched fists into her thighs, recalling what her father had told her earlier. For whatever reason, he doubted his own abilities to teach Yun. “Maybe. Didn’t Kuruk have another spiritual mentor- Nyahitha?” The name rolled off her tongue, even though she had only heard it spoken once.

Jianzhu shook his head. “I would hardly call him a mentor, but I digress.” He paused, almost as if he was hesitating. “I do suspect Kelsang would hesitate though, as I understand you do. Has he told you?”

Time seemed to still as it waited on Kyoshi to respond. “Has he told me what?”

“Why he’s hesitant to teach the young Avatar.” Jianzhu replied calmly. “I doubt he has.” When Kyoshi shook her head, he nodded gravely. “It was years ago, when Daofei roamed the seas and countryside free of consequence.”

Kyoshi nodded. She knew of the criminals that held a reign of terror for the first decade-or-so of Yun’s era, before being all but wiped out by Jianzhu, the Architect. She even had a bit of personal experience with them.

“There was a group of seafaring Daofei- they called themselves the Fifth Nation- that threatened the waters south-west of here, in between the Southern Air Temple and the Eastern. If they had been allowed to succeed, they would’ve laid waste to both Air Temples and any nearby Earth Kingdom settlements. Thankfully, your father was able to defeat their fleet cleanly and efficiently, sending a clear message to what Daofei remained.”

A shiver went up Kyoshi’s spine. Despite never having heard the story before, she felt like she knew where it was going.

“Unfortunately, due to the customs of your people, your father’s brilliance was not met with what respect it deserved. I’m no expert on the politics that happen within the temples, but I know for certain he fell far from grace that day.”

Kyoshi stared at her hands- hands adored with the blue of her people. How had she not known this before?

“Are you alright, Kyoshi?” Jianzhu asked, no concern in his voice.

Kyoshi nodded, putting her hands to her eyes to catch any tears that escaped them. “I- I need to leave.”

Kyoshi ran, to the one place she could be sure Jianzhu wouldn’t follow her- the mansion’s kitchen. A dark, dim area built to be seen by staff and not the guests, he most likely wouldn’t even think to look for her there- given that he was looking for her in the first place, he had shown no hesitation when she abruptly left their tea ceremony. She couldn’t be too conscious, though, and the work would help her think.

Once she had descended through the service entrance and into the dusty basement corridors, Kyoshi was greeted, or rather, intercepted, by a pair of servants heading in the same direction as her.

“Oh, hey, Kyoshi!” One of the servants- a girl named Maho who was no older than Kyoshi- said, giving a slight formal bow. She glanced at her companion before continuing. “What are you doing down here?”

“I wanted to see if there was anything I could help with.” Kyoshi clasped her hands together in front of her as she spoke.

“Alright.” The other servant-Sano- answered before Maho could, gesturing for Kyoshi to follow them. As they walked, she explained, “We’re having another feast, for the Avatar’s return, so the help is welcome.”

Kyoshi hummed in response. “Sounds good.”

“I don’t know why Master Jianzhu keeps holding more feasts.” Maho complained. “It’s like he wants us to suffer more.”

“Don’t say that.” Sano replied, while Kyoshi stifled a laugh. “He’s doing his job, and we’re doing ours.”

“I guess you’re right.” Maho shrugged. “Still weird that he left for three days and comes back without prior notice.”

Kyoshi didn’t tell the other girls what she had seen while in the Coral Isles, assuming someone in a position would get upset at her sharing confidential information. Instead, she simply shrugged and smiled.

As soon as their party of three reached the kitchen, Kyoshi was ushered to the line and given a knife and the instructions to ‘chop vegetables’ for the dumplings. Not needing any further instruction, Kyoshi nodded and got to work, easily falling into a simple rhythm of work with the others. While she often helped prepare meals at the temple with the other nuns, but ever since she had arrived in Yokoya, she had been barred from the kitchen in compliance with the traditions of the Earth Kingdom. Kyoshi had taken the rule liberally, though, and had become friends with a number of the staff members of the years she had stayed at the mansion.

“Kyoshi!” A voice called from somewhere in the kitchen. Kyoshi recognized it as Rangi’s and briefly paused her work to face the girl.

“Hey, Rangi!” She smiled, waving with the hand that wasn’t still holding a kitchen knife. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” Rangi replied, crossing her arms in front of her. The firebender had changed out of her armor and wore a simple, dark red tunic.

“Chopping vegetables!” Kyoshi replied simply, gesturing to the carrot she had been in the midst of dicing. It was actually quite obvious why she was there.

Rangi put her hand to her temple. “You were supposed to see the healers! What if you caught a cold?” By now, she had drawn the attention of a few nearby chefs. “What if you get a cold?”

Kyoshi shrugged. “I’m feeling fine! Plus, I don’t get colds easily.”

Rangi stiffened and took Kyoshi by the hand. “You should come anyways, Yun wants to speak with us soon.

After giving apologies to the staff, Kyoshi complied and followed Rangi into the hallway. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to help out with the feast tonight.” Kyoshi smiled.

“You should have gone to the medics first.” Rangi huffed, losing her grip on Kyoshi’s hand as they transitioned from the dim service corridors to the main halls of the estate. “Even if you’re feeling fine, you should always prioritize your health.”

Kyoshi nodded. “Yeah, I probably should’ve.” She put her hand over her pocket, where the hairpin still was, but decided against it.

“What’s wrong?” Rangi asked. Her voice grew softer as she became aware of Kyoshi’s tension.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Kyoshi shook her head. “I was just speaking with Jianzhu earlier… it’s nothing.”

Rangi stiffened. “Oh. Alright, then. We should get going.”