A/N: I may skip some of interactions with Kyoshi and the FOC…. Partially cause I wanna focus on Rangshi stuff *w* But also because a lot of the dialogue I feel like will be similar regardless if Rangi was there or not (aka dynamic would be different, but the information that needed to be transacted would be similar enough that'd it'd feel a bit repetitive and weird to copy it).

Also sorry it took a bit longer to post this, I wanted to flesh out ch 6 a biiiiiit more before going onto ch 7. And again I need a bit of a buffer. TT0TT

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Kyoshi stared intently at the prison floor through her fingers, hearing the water from the cell drip down in a maddening rhythm. She cradled her head in her hands in an attempt to soothe herself. It was very clear that she had messed up.

The past few days-no weeks- had been disaster after disaster. First Kelsang thinks she's the Avatar, then the whole fight with the Fifth Nation, then everyone thinking she could be the Avatar, then there was Jianzhu sneaking her and Yun away to talk to some evil spirit, then that evil spirit confirming she's the Avatar, then Jianzhu let's that evil spirit takes Yun, then Jianzhu threatens to control her, and THEN he killed Kelsang.

Kyoshi leaned her head back, bumping it against the wall. She winced as she hit the tender new formed lump on the back of her head, courtesy of the local police.

Then Kyoshi ran away with Pengpeng to find her parent's old daofei gang, only to find out it can barely even be considered a two-bit smuggling operation. She almost got killed starting a fight with them, if not for the old man called Lao Ge stopping them in time, by pointing out her mother's fans. Then she let slip she had a flying bison, and then the cops came, and now she's here. Maybe it would've gone down smoother if she didn't misplace her mother's journal?

I hope Pengpeng is alright. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if anything happened to that bison.

I must be the most pathetic Avatar in existence. She folded her head into her hands once more. Trying to ignore the throbbing pain caused by the lump on her head, as well as the other inmates making mocking jeers at her or each other.

This wouldn't have happened if Rangi was here. Kyoshi wished her firebending friend was at the mansion when she ran back to the Avatar mansion to get her stuff. Kyoshi was so out of it, she had hallucinated her pacing back and forth at the entrance, and even went as far to join her on her trip. Only realizing the spirits were playing a cruel joke on her, when she woke up the next morning to see she was the only occupant on Pengpeng's saddle. I might've been able to convince her, if she'd really been there.

Well she was probably going to see Rangi again soon. Kyoshi was in a jailhouse that was owned by Governor Deng, and that stout, red-nosed man was in Jianzhu's pocket. She'd be in a caravan on its way to Yokoya by next morning.

I doubt I could convince her now, let alone if I'm sent back. Kyoshi clenched her fists. Jianzhu probably got his hooks in both Rangi and her mother, Hei-Ran. It would've been easy, both the sway he wielded, and his history with Hei-Ran as Kuruk's companion. And the two tag teaming Rangi? Well…. Kyoshi was at every disadvantage possible.

But she couldn't shake the faith that her Rangi, her beautiful and virtuous friend, would be able to see through the lies and deceit, and help her. Rangi was too righteous to let someone control the Avatar like that….right?

Kyoshi bit her lip, unsure of what to do next.

"So what's the game plan, kid?" a semi-familiar voice asked next to her.

Kyoshi jumped in surprise, and turned to see one of the Flying Opera Company members, the old grandfather, Lao Ge.

"But-how did you-?" Kyoshi began, trying not to yell. She saw him motion his foot, and the remnants of a hole in the floor started to disappear. "But why?"

Why would anyone break into a jail? Unless….

"To get you out, kid!" the old man said cheerfully.

Kyoshi still looked at him confused, "Again, why?" She thought she'd made a horrible impression. Even with her parentage and her flying bison, she didn't think it was enough to make them want to help break her out. Yet,here he was, helping her again.

"Well, the bison won't let us ride her if you aren't there," he said. "Plus I convinced them to do a favor for Jesa and Hark's one and only daughter. We owe you that much."

Something akin to warmth started to fill Kyoshi's chest. She couldn't believe it, but in the lowliest places of the earth, with the lowliest sort, they would be the ones to grant her a helping hand.

"Plus it seemed fun!"

Or they were perhaps just thrill seekers. Whatever, Kyoshi could work with it. Not that she had much of a choice.

"So what's the plan?" she asked him in a hushed whisper.

"I'm going to create an opening, Kirima will try to assist from the top as you run, while Wong and Lek try to lure the bison as close to the town's edge as they can. It will be in the same direction as you left her."

Kyoshi imagined the scenario playing out. The waterbending woman, Kirima, running along the rooftops and air with her mist-stepping. The two other earthbenders, one an older man named Wong, and the other a younger boy named Lek, coaxing Pengpeng out. It all seemed….

"That seems like a reckless and not well thought out plan!" Was Pengpeng even going to move without her there? She was lucky enough that Pengpeng would listen to her, but someone else?

"Well it's not like we have much time to plan and execute," he shrugged. "You're going to have to work with what you've got."

"If you're holding them off, how are you going to get back?"

"I'll meet you there," he waved his hand, unconcerned. And then he smiled at her, "I might even beat you to it."

"Hey! Who are you, how'd you get in here?!" a voice yelled from across the room. A guardsman started making his way over to their cell.

Lao Ge winked at Kyoshi, then he stood up and raised his arms. Earth shot out of all the ground by the iron bars in every cell, entwining with them. The then trusted his arms downward, yanking them out of their sockets and buried them in the ground below.

Then he stomped his foot, and three small boulders levitated out of the ground. He lifted his arms into the air in a triumphant pose and yelled, "PRISON BREAK!"

He hurled one boulder at the guard, knocking him down, and then the other two at the front entrance. The two boulders collided and created a large opening as dust swirled in the air. The other prisoners jeered as they sprinted out of their holdings.

Kyoshi coughed as the dust messed with her vision and lungs.

"What are you doing, kid? Get going!" Lao Ge yelled to Kyoshi, as he began to manhandle some oncoming guards. It fascinated Kyoshi how he was so exact with his movements, despite being so elderly.

Not wasting anymore time, she nodded and ran to the hole. Guards started leaking in from the outside, but they were dispatched with swift blows of rock from the inside jail, or something from outside. One lone guard somehow missed being caught in the crossfire, and stood in Kyoshi's way of freedom.

She braced her shoulder and slammed past the guard, sending him flying, and dove through the hole, into the dusty fray.

Kyoshi emerged outside the jail, dust blocking her vision. She raised her arm up to protect her eyes, attempting to see where Kirima, or just any of the other Flying Opera Company members, were.

As she turned her head it felt like time started to slow, and Kyoshi forgot where she was at for just a moment. Through the gaps in the dust, a familiar topknot came into view, as black as the starless night.

The dust started to disperse, and she was finally able to see the person she'd been wanting to see most in the world.

Rangi! She was there, not a figment of her imagination like before, but really there. The last light in Kyoshi's life. The last remnant of what was once good before it was all taken from her.

Rangi stood there, her bronze eyes wide and dark circles rested under them, but they were still clear enough to piece Kyoshi directly to her core. She looked exhausted, but she was ok.

An unstoppable smile broke across Kyoshi's face as she looked upon her dear friend. Rangi, you're here! You're alright! You're-

Rangi ignited a fireball in her hand, and her face twisted into the fiercest scowl Kyoshi had ever seen.

Kyoshi took a step back, tears welling up in her eyes. No! Not you too! Please, anything but you!

Rangi charged at Kyoshi, and Kyoshi threw her arms up instinctively when the ball of fire came at her. Surprisingly for Kyoshi, a giant earth wall shot up in front of her, blocking the blast.

Ok, there's a wall, m-maybe I can talk to her! It's not like she can get through it!

"Rangi-" Kyoshi started to yell, when an explosive noise rattled her ears in front of her, and she nearly caught a barreling firebender tackling her way through the very thick wall.

She can get through! Kyoshi started running away, not even bothering to look for Kirima. She was going to have to figure out a different way to say her piece.

Kyoshi could hear Rangi behind her, and attempted to slow her down by throwing up more walls. Nothing she did worked, Rangi either gracefully moved out of the way, or she blew right through them. Despite Kyoshi's terrified state, a part of her couldn't help but be impressed by Rangi's bending prowess.

As Kyoshi turned a corner she almost ran into a group of men fighting, she quickly pulled a maneuver from last night and blasted a Kyoshi-sized hole through a building to avoid them.

"You're just so good at earthbending all of the sudden!" She heard Rangi yell at her, distain leaking into her voice. She's mad because I can earthbend?! Wait, no that makes sense, I didn't exactly disclose my whole issue with her. I haven't disclosed anything with her. Kyoshi was going to need to stop doing that, if she wanted to keep her friend.

"Rangi please! I can explain!" Kyoshi yelled back. I'll explain anything and everything from start to finish! Just give me a cha-oh boy! She ducked a fireball just in time.

"Silence! You can 'explain' all you want back in Yokoya!" This caused Kyoshi to stop her dead in her tracks. Rangi wasn't just upset with Kyoshi, she really was trying to capture her, she really was working with Jianzhu. She felt a hard ball form in her throat, it felt heavier than the weight of the world. No, I can't lose her too! If I just tell her the truth, if I just explain. She turned around, and attempted to grab Rangi by the shoulders. To shake some sense into her, make her see reason.

"Where we'll deal with the likes of y-!" Rangi continued before quickly dodging out of the way of Kyoshi's grab, and moved to the side. Rangi looked at her with wide eyes, it reminded Kyoshi of a skittish cat. She put her hands up in a surrender-like pose, trying to show Rangi she meant no harm.

"Rangi, I can't go back to Yokoya!" she begged. Her mind whirled trying to figure out what to say next, but it was hard under all the pressure. And she wasn't sure exactly what Rangi did and didn't know. What she was or wasn't told. Or if it was safe to just yell about her Avatarhood in the midst of all this chaos and witnesses.

"Then you should've thought about that before you did what you did!" Rangi put her fists up in front of her face, and charged at Kyoshi. Kyoshi tried to push her away, but missed, and got a punch straight to her ribs for her effort.

Before Kyoshi fully registered the blow, she doubled over instinctively, her vision darkened and she had a hard time breathing. Her thoughts started converging and blitzed past her at the speed of light.

What does she mean by that?

Why is she so good at being violent?

Please Rangi, just listen to me for one second!

What 'I did'? What did I do?

Did she have to punch so hard?

I can't be stopped here, I need to get my revenge.

What has Jianzhu told her?

Yun, was this about Yun? Is she upset I didn't protect Yun?

Kyoshi felt something surge through her, triggered by that last thought. Her pain and grief from losing Yun started to overwhelm her, and she realized this was what Rangi was probably feeling too. Her resolve to avenge Yun, and to set the record straight with Rangi gave her enough energy to stand back up.

She felt a weight latch onto her back, and in an instant was struggling to breathe. She could feel Rangi's bicep tighten around her windpipe, and her vision started to splotch in unison. Rangi what are you-?!

Kyoshi's eyes widened, as she felt her vision start to glow, and a new found power started to course through her. NO! If I give in then-! Memories of how she flattened the mountain side when she attacked Jianzhu flashed through her mind. If that kind of power hit Rangi, and at this distance then….

Kyoshi started grabbing at Rangi's arm as she fought back the glow….and the ever growing voices shouting in her ear.

"You need to let us take over!"

No! You'll hurt her!

"If you don't she'll knock you out and bring you back to that man, is that what you want?!"

Not if it means hurting-no-killing her!

"She's clearly chosen a side, you need to fight back!"

I'll do it my own way!

She felt one calm and cold voice get in close to her ear, "Has it occurred to you that she might be trying to kill you?"

A part inside Kyoshi shook, like the earth was crumbling right beneath her feet, and she was about to fall into the grand crevices. Was Rangi trying to kill her?

Jianzhu wanted to control her, so it wouldn't make sense for him to order Rangi to do her in. Did his lies backfire? Was Rangi just taking justice into her own hands?

Kyoshi mentally shook her head. No! Rangi wouldn't do that! Not without reason. Not unless she wanted revenge- Kyoshi's eyes widened in realization, as the fragmented thought formed and shattered and formed again. Did Rangi want revenge? But why would she-?

Kyoshi felt her brain waver, her train of through completely derailing and crashing under the lack of oxygen. The seconds that had passed felt like an eternity, she wasn't sure how much longer she could stay conscious.

Revenge? Then…same…as me….

If Rangi saw her the way that Kyoshi saw Jianzhu, as unfair as the cards that fate might've dealt Kyoshi, she realized she couldn't blame Rangi. How could she? She'd be a hypocrite. If Kyoshi's airways weren't blocked, she probably would've laughed at the situation.

"SHE'S TRYING TO KILL YOU!" the voices all screamed in unison.

I…..don't…care…. She weakly laughed at them. While she didn't want to die, and she didn't want her blood on her friend's hands. She wasn't willing to trade her life for Rangi's.

Kyoshi would rather welcome Death with a warm embrace than live with her hands forever stained with Rangi's blood. And if it was Rangi's hands that took her life, then she would be honored by the act.

Kyoshi found the strength to push back both the voices and the light, and prepared herself to be consumed by the ever growing darkness.

You know what's really funny? She said as the voices grew distant. I think I'm about to beat your record, Kuruk. Heh, by seventeen years I think…..

Kyoshi was just about to let the abyss consume her, when she felt the weight violently ripped from her. Air instinctively tore through her greedy lungs, and the vision started to come back.

"-not! Leave the kid alone!" A garbled voice slowly came into Kyoshi's earshot. An actual, human voice this time.

Kyoshi looked up and behind her, her hair falling in front of her face. There was Rangi, suspended in air by the waist, cradled in a water whip. The source of the water coming from what seemed to be a nearby rooftop, held by another semi familiar face. The waterbender of the Flying Opera Company, Kirima. It looked like she wasn't on the rooftop itself, but instead walking on thin air. Just like Kyoshi saw her and the other earthbenders do during their previous chase against the police.

Kyoshi tried to call to them, but was unable to get anything but a rasp out.

"Why don't you pick up on someone your own size?" Kirima yelled cooly, before whipping Rangi up into the air, completely out of sight.

Kyoshi found her voice too late, her scream came out like crinkling paper, "nO!"

Images of when Aoma threw the jar of pickled spicy kelp flashed in her mind, but instead of the jar shattering on the ground she thought of Rangi.

Kirima looked back at Kyoshi, confused. "No?! What do you mean 'no'? She was trying to kill you kid!"

"ShE's mY fRiEnD!" Kyoshid defended.

"If that's your friend, I'm afraid of what your enemies are like!"

Kyoshi coughed from the strain, causing her throat to clear up just a bit. "Please, we need to catch her!"

"Cat- Damnit, this is what I get for helping you!"

Kyoshi and Kirima looked up at the sky, trying to see if they could see the descending firebender. Kirima got a blanket of water spread out, hoping to catch her in the net. "I'll have you know this isn't enough! She's still a goner!"

Kyoshi stood underneath, childishly hoping she might be able to catch her. The voices in her head told her it was a stupid idea, and that she'd just get them both killed instead. Kyoshi ignored them, she'd rather try something than nothing.

Kyoshi couldn't help but hate how many past Avatar's seemed ok with wanting Rangi dead. She'd need to make a point to make sure she went against their wishes in the future.

It wasn't long until Rangi came into view. They saw her twisting and turning in the air. Beads of fire spouted from her arms and legs, it caused her to change courses drastically. Kyoshi and Kirima moved to accommodate the landing point.

Just before Rangi was about to hit the water net, her feet and hands exploded with fire, causing her to stop on her own. She floated there, looking like she could easily slip into the ranks of the Flying Opera Company. She'd invented her own fire version of mist and dust-stepping after only seeing it for a brief second.

She stared down at Kyoshi, her face was cool yet fierce. The flames highlighting and darkening certain features of her face, giving off a powerful look. Kyoshi could only stare back breathlessly in absolute reverence, her heart constricting in new, yet familiar, ways. Is there anything she can't do?

Kyoshi barely registered Kirima's shriek of horror, followed by her lifting the water up and dousing Rangi and her flames out. Kyoshi ran and caught Rangi before she could hit the ground and hurt herself.

Rangi groaned in her arms, reaching up to wipe the water off her face. Kyoshi couldn't help but notice her wet hair and how it clung to her friend's face. She'd never seen Rangi with wet hair, and couldn't help but think it made her look even more attractive.

As Rangi opened her eyes, a familiar annoyed look resting on her face, Kyoshi couldn't help but lose herself for a moment. "That was am-" Kyoshi started to compliment, but was hit with a crushing reality of what was going on at the moment. As well as a swift headbutt to her jaw, courtesy of Rangi.

The shock rattled both her teeth and brain. Wow, her head is hard. She thought numbly.

Kyoshi heard a crash, and then someone tugged at her arm. She began following before she even looked to see what was happening. "That's what you get, you big softie!" Kirima shouted at her.

As they approached a corner, Kyoshi looked back and saw Rangi chasing after them with the same ferocity as she did in the beginning of their encounter.

"Tui's gills! She just doesn't give up does she?!" Kirima yelled, as she yanked Kyoshi around a corner. "Quick this way!"

They popped out on a main drag, where prisoners and lawmen were waging a mini war. Kyoshi could see salvation in the distance, the Flying Opera Company had coaxed Pengpeng out of hiding. She lightly floated in mid air, ready to take off as soon as she could. She thought she could see Lao Ge's wispy hair peeking out from the saddle too.

The two started sprinting through the carnage, slamming and flipping bodies out of their way as they barreled through.

Kirima got just ahead of Kyoshi, using her strange mist-stepping to climb onto the saddle. Kyoshi opted to lunge for the tail, "Go! Now Pengpeng! Yip yip!" She yelled, not wanting to waste another second near the ground.

Pengpeng groaned in affirmation, happy to see her temporary companion back.

Just as Kyoshi pulled the whole top of her body onto Pengpeng's tail, she felt a weight lace around one of her legs, pulling her down. Kyoshi looked down and saw Rangi clinging to her leg. Her face was scrunched up as if bracing herself for something. It was the first vulnerability she'd shown their entire encounter.

Panic and fear thrummed through Kyoshi's veins with each breath and heartbeat, a symphony of terror playing just for her. They were ascending faster and faster, there was no way for them to shake Rangi safely off. What was worse, was that Kyoshi wasn't exactly in a good position to pull either of them up.

Damnit, why couldn't I be in more shape? Kyoshi cursed to herself. She tried to anchor one of her arms down, before risking reaching down to grab Rangi. Just hold on, I'll get us out of this!

Kyoshi felt the hand that was anchoring them both slip, and she caught herself before they could both fall. She looked down to see Rangi looking right back at her, worry crossing Rangi's face.

Before Kyoshi could cull her worry, she witnessed a water whip smacking Rangi directly in the face. So hard that Kyoshi could hear an audible crack over the winds, and Rangi's grip released off of her.

"Rangi! No!" Kyoshi screamed in horror.

"Will you just GIVE UP?!" She heard Kirima yell.

Kyoshi watched in horror as her last remnant of humanity that she had left tumbled and hurled to the ground. She almost dove after her, if not for the water wrapping itself around her and pulled her up to the saddle.

"Quit screaming! You're up here now!" She distantly heard a deep male voice, probably Wong, yell. Was she screaming? Why couldn't she hear it? Why was he so muted? What about Rangi?! She tore away from someone's grasp and almost flung herself over the saddle, only being held back by more arms and hands.

Relief and horror welled up into her chest, when a familiar voice pierced through the fog in her hearing.

"Don't think you can run from me, Kyoshi! I'm going to get you if it's the last thing I do, I swear!" Something shattered inside Kyoshi as she heard her friend's declaration.

"Wherever you go, I go!" Was the last thing Kyoshi heard, before they got too far away. And it was a promise that both terrified and comforted Kyoshi.

"Ok, kid, it's time you explain yourself!" Kirima yelled over the wind at Kyoshi.

Kyoshi barely heard her, her mind was still on Rangi. "Ok." Was all she could muster as she sat there with her head in her hands.

"What in the spirits did you do to piss off your ex?" Kirima asked.

Ex, huh? Kyoshi's heart panged. She didn't want to think of Rangi as her ex-friend, or her ex-anything. She couldn't believe Jianzhu got to her. No. She should've expected it, considering she left Rangi behind. It was her fault, she caused the anguish in Rangi's voice. "I don't know!" Was all she could strangle out, as she wasn't sure what Rangi knew, or what Jianzhu told her.

Kirima rolled her eyes, and threw her hands up in the air. "A jilted lover is angry at their fool, and the fool just doesn't know why!" Her voice dripped with sarcasm at the end. "Typical!"

Kyoshi blinked, and then lifted her head from her hands to finally look at Kirima. She was beyond confused. "Lover? W-what? Who?" I thought we were talking about Rangi. "I'm sorry, what are we talking about?"

"YOU, YOU DOLT!"

For the short time Kyoshi had known the Flying Opera Company, which wasn't very long, maybe about thirty or fifty minutes; she didn't think it was possible for the waterbending woman to get….angry. She acted like she was too cool for anything, and valued amusement over other emotions. But here she stood in front of Kyoshi, red faced and vein bulging.

The majority of the male members of the team looked like they were cowering in the corner. This must not have been a normal occurrence, but it was definitely a feared one.

"You, and that psychopath that was chasing us!" Kirima threw a finger at the open air, in the direction of Chameleon Bay, implying Rangi.

Kyoshi stood up, she wasn't going to let anyone talk about her friend like that! "She's not a psychopath! She's….she's….. She's just passionate! She's very driven!" And angry. But everyone got angry, Kirima didn't need to be mean and single Rangi out.

Kirima rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, real passionate! La's fins! Why did we have to get caught up in some lovers' tiff?" She started massaging her temples.

There it was again, that word. Kyoshi was about to ask again before her eyes widened in realization. She'd finally connected the dots. Her face started to heat up as she spluttered out her next words. "Wa-wait! Lovers?! Y-you don't mean-Rangi and I- Oh no you're mistaken! We're friends! J-just friends!"

Kirima shot her an 'are you kidding me?' look that could rival Rangi's. "Yeah I'm not buying that bull pig of an excuse. I know what a jilted lover looks like, that-" she pointed again for emphasis, "-was a jilted lover."

If Kyoshi's face wasn't the color of a red fire lily, then it was now. She clamped a hand over her chest, afraid that her heart might spill out of it, like a bottle overflowing. She'd done such a good job keeping those feelings she had for Rangi locked away, she couldn't have that forbidden bottle spilling out now. Not with everything that was going on.

"N-no! That's not wha- W-we're not-" Kyoshi tried to find the words, but her eyes were spinning.

Kirima put her hand up. "Ah ah! I don't want to hear any more lies and excuses. I'm not the type to give you grief over who you love." She pointed her thumb at the boys behind her. "And these idiots won't either if I have anything to say about it!"

The guys shook their heads in unison, Kyoshi wasn't sure if it was because they believed the same as Kirima…. Or they just feared her wrath.

Kyoshi, tired, sat down and resumed her position from the start of the conversation, with her head in hands. They just aren't listening! Rangi wouldn't like someone like me, not like that! If Kyoshi had known that was a possibility, there was a good chance she might've made some kind of move in the past. Who am I kidding? No I wouldn't've, I'm too pig chicken-wait that's not the issue!

Kyoshi took a deep breath, it didn't seem like they were going to take 'no' for an answer. It wasn't like she was going to be able to face Rangi again, not with what she had planned for Jianzhu. It wasn't something she wanted to think about at that moment, but there was a very good chance she was going to have to let Rangi go for good.

And if she did….well…. She might as well support the lie, if it'd get them off her back at the very least.

She let out a long sigh before speaking. "Fine. You got me." Was all she could admit, she wasn't about to say words she wanted to speak to the wrong people. Those were meant for Rangi only.

"Finally!" Kirima threw her hands in the air.

"Ugh, why would someone so gorgeous like someone like you?" Lek groaned. Wong promptly smacked him upside the head.

"Why in the spirits is your ex after you? I thought it was your boss." Wong questioned.

Kyoshi bit her lip, great now she needed to weave the lie into the truth. "He is, Rangi is unrelated….in a sense."

"Let me guess: You left her behind because you didn't want her to get caught in the crossfire?" Kirima offered.

Well if anyone was going to come up with a convincing lie for Kyoshi for free, she might as well take it. "Yeah, that's basically it."

"But that girl is tougher than marble, you sure you don't want her along? Full offense, you kinda suck." Lek smirked at her. Kyoshi and the boy had gotten off on the wrong foot, and it looked like it was going to remain that way. But at this moment, she couldn't help but agree with him. She wished she could've brought Rangi along.

Kyoshi cursed to herself, that's what she gets for accepting a lie without thinking of a follow up. "She wouldn't side with me if she knew what was going on." Kyoshi looked down dejected, the truth was better in this situation, but it still hurt. "He's a very convincing liar."

Something in Kyoshi's tone made the rest of the group go quiet. The heaviness hung thickly in the air, as the older members weighed how to continue the conversation. But all that was cut short by Lek's holler of excitement.

"Oh, who cares?" he yelled, as he jumped over the saddle to take up Pengpeng's reins.

"'Who cares'? Uh, we do Lek! We need to know what's-" Kirima tried to chide him.

"It's just some old, rich guy, and an angry ex-girlfriend! Nothing we can't handle!"

"Lek, listen, you didn't see this girl-" Kirima waved her arms a bit frantically. Had the encounter with Rangi really shaken her up that badly? Kyoshi tried to see Rangi from Kirima's perspective, but failed. To her, it was just normal Rangi. Albeit, a little angrier than usual.

"Does she have a flying bison?" he countered. Kirima just blinked in response. "Cause she doesn't look like she has a flying bison!"

Kyoshi realized his thought process, "I don't think she really needs one-"

"What are you talking about? There's no way she or anyone else can catch up to us without one!" He had a gleam in his eye that grew shinier each time a bison was mentioned. "So let's not worry about that and focus on the good!"

Lek clapped his hands together and then threw a fist up in the air. "The Flying Opera Company is back in action!"

Kyoshi slowly stumbled back to where they laid camp a few hours before. It was near a dried up creek in the middle of nowhere. They had flown until they felt like it would've taken anyone at least a day via ostrich horse to catch up to them.

Wong had tried to start a fire, but failed and they all gave up entirely. With no fire, and little food, the majority had decided it was best to call it quits for the night and go to bed. Kyoshi, however, had decided to meet the one member of the group that'd yet to go to bed, Lao Ge.

Or as she confronted him: Tieguai the Immortal and the Assassin. She'd asked for him to become her Sifu, teaching her in the arts of becoming a killer. Just one step closer to bringing her revenge upon Jianzhu. After learning her first lesson from him, she'd decided to head back to camp.

And that's how she got into this predicament. With no fire, or at least embers, she was having difficulty navigating the forest to the camp. If only she knew how to firebend. Has there ever been an Avatar that sucked at bending all four elements? She wondered to herself.

Unease was beginning to take rest in her bones. Alone in the woods, with a known assassin running around. Oh, and spirits forbid Rangi or Jianzhu find me. No, that wasn't a recipe for disaster in the slightest.

She braced herself with each snapping of twigs she heard, thinking she was going to be tackled or stabbed at a moment's notice. But it appeared Lady Luck was on her side for once, because she stumbled within earshot of a snoring flying bison.

It wasn't long until she found the campsite, and everything was as it was when she left. She approached Pengpeng, looking for a spot on her fur she could cuddle up to that wasn't near another daofei member or Pengpeng's mouth.

She found a spot near the tail, but hesitated to sit down and get nestled in. Images of the day flashed through her mind, specifically of when she tried and failed to pull both Rangi and her up.

Gritting her teeth, she walked away from Pengpeng to a nearby clearing, and started doing push-ups.

Damnit, I need to get stronger! She gritted her teeth harder as she slowly lowered herself down and up, letting herself fall into the mind numbing repetition. She kept going until the moon faded in the sky, a point where night and day met and collided, and exhaustion finally took hold of her.

A/N: Kyoshi: She's mad at me! ;w; No!

Wong/Kirima/Most people: Mad? MAD? She looks like murder incarnate tf you mean "mad"?

Lek: Ok but I'm with the idiot, she do be hot.

There's like 3 different perspectives on Rangi going on at once I dunno I think it's funny.

I'm not sure if I'll be doing a lot of "a part of a prev chapter but from this person's perspective" but I felt this one was important. *proceeds to maybe plan the next two chapters in a similar fashion* Hmmmmm mmmhmmmm. Well we'll see how this plays out fljaskfjla