Surprises
"Shut that thing up will you?" he grumbled.
"Babies cry, Zasi." a meek voice in the dark replied over their baby's screaming.
"Well, it's ruining my sleep get it outta here."
"She's hungry and I barely have anything to feed her."
"Wen, for the last time I don't care I'm trying to sleep. Leave it for the platypus-bears, toss it off cliff for all I care get it outta here!" he got angrier with each word finishing his outburst nearly touching noses.
"Y-yes, Zasi."
An old woman looked down into a bassinet smiling brightly at the smallest baby she'd ever seen, wide eyes looked up boring into her soul. She looked up at the woman coming into the room and held a parchment letter out to her.
"Oma, take this letter to the Avatar's Estate at once do not dawdle, young lady."
"Yes, Mother Tesho." the girl bowed and left quietly.
"Oh you need some meat on your bones," the baby had an iron grip around her index finger and pulled to suck on it, "don't worry, little one, you'll be taken care of soon enough."
Kyoshi woke to a few soft knocks at the door, she glanced outside and saw the sun starting to peek over the mountains. She gently removed herself out from under Rangi, momentarily surprised to see her still in bed but recalled the harsh training session they'd had the day prior. She sat up on the edge of the bed to gather herself combing a hand through her semi-tangled locks. She sighed at the delightfully cold wooden floor under her feet, Rangi always put off a lot of heat when she slept. She made her way quietly to the door and opened it to find Jinpa. Dread coursed through her, he never came to her this early if it wasn't very important. A bit of relief began to creep in when she realized he was fully dressed but not freshly shaven like usual. Telling her it wasn't life or death since he'd taken the time to get dressed first but it was more urgent than a clean shave.
"Good morning, this came for you the young lady said it was urgent. I believe it has something to do with the letter you had me send a couple weeks ago," he said handing her a letter his eyes were tired. She felt a pang of guilt, in his tiredness he'd forgotten to address her properly not that she minded his lapse in manners.
"Good morning, thank you," she greeted quietly as she took the letter and opened it to skim the lines quickly, "will you draft another letter to Capitol Island accepting the Fire Lord's invitation, please? Say our schedule cleared unexpectedly and then take the rest of the day off, Rangi and I will be going on a short trip."
"Consider it done. Have a good time and thank you," with that Jinpa turned and left.
Kyoshi set the letter on the bookshelf by the door and turned to go back to bed. Around the tri-fold bamboo screen she found Rangi awake propped up on her side.
"Was that Jinpa?"
"Mhm," Kyoshi nodded lifting the covers.
"What did he need so early? Is it serious?" Rangi asked scooting toward her as she settled under the covers again.
"Nothing urgent. I gave him and us the day off," Kyoshi leaned in for a slow, soft kiss.
"Oh?" Rangi's eyebrow arched playfully as their lips turned up in a grin.
"Before you get carried away, Mistress Rangi. You and I are taking a little adventure today."
"Are we now, Avatar Kyoshi? Where to?"
"You'll see."
They ate breakfast and dressed quickly for their day. Kyoshi in a white linen tunic and long, dark olive green pants, Rangi in a similar set but dusty red as her color. Both wore a cloak over their clothes for warmth in the brisk morning air. They'd stopped in town to pay a few merchants, something Auntie Mui or Foma would've usually done due to their busy schedules. What perplexed her more were the knowing smiles from the merchants and the lack of merchandise. The preparations and stops they'd made before they set out on their hike really didn't give Rangi much to go on as far as trying to guess Kyoshi next move. While "preparedness carries the day" she would've liked to know what exactly she was preparing for. They'd been walking down a dirt path in silence for about an hour, the sun was high above their heads in the sky, when Rangi became too restless to keep quiet not knowing the plan. She really had tried her best to just let Kyoshi lead them but her fuse was becoming shorter by the minute.
"Where are we going?" she asked Kyoshi who had insisted they needed a backpack, with who knows what inside, not just a water skin for a hike in mid-autumn.
"Hmm, an hour and 15 minutes. I didn't think you'd last this long," Kyoshi's voice was even and calm, it ticked her off just a hair.
"Answer," Rangi got firmer.
We're going to see someone," Kyoshi winked at her with a smile.
"Who? Someone we know?" curiosity curbed her anger.
"Just someone."
Rangi dropped the subject with a huff, that being the only significant information she'd been able to get out of Kyoshi since she'd come back from talking with Jinpa that morning. She racked her brain with the potential list of candidates but became more confused than ever as a home came into view in the distance. She looked at her wife with squinted eyes and a furrowed brow, Kyoshi just looked back with a beaming smile that hadn't left her face all day. Kyoshi stopped by a tree with a large rock at it's roots and climbed on top motioning for Rangi to join her. Once Rangi sat comfortably beside her she grabbed her hand and gently caressed it with her thumb.
"Okay, do you want to know why we're here?"
"Duh, that's all I've wanted to know since we left the house."
"Well, I had Jinpa send a letter for me about a couple weeks ago after we'd talked about having a child. So, I asked the woman that runs this place to let me know if a baby were to turn up to write back, because we want one," Kyoshi explained shyly.
"There's a baby in there waiting for us to take them home?" Rangi grinned like she'd seen Kyoshi doing all morning.
"Yes, a little girl about a week old and they said she's very little because she's a bit malnourished. But, Mother Tesho seems to think she's got a fighting spirit," as Kyoshi spoke sense of unfamiliar concern bled into her chest.
"Oh no, how awful, poor girl," if asked to put words to her feelings in that moment she couldn't. Some strange mixture of excitement, nervousness and unbridled rage for the experience the young girl had already gone through so early in life.
"So, do you wanna do this? I don't think we've been spotted yet so we can still turn back and go home," Kyoshi looked at her with hopeful eyes bringing her out of her thoughts.
"No, I want to do this. I want to give that beautiful little girl the best life she could ever dream of," Rangi pulled her wife in for a long kiss through the biggest smile.
"Okay, good I just wanted to give you an out cause this was a surprise, but this was totally happening," Kyoshi mentioned as their lips parted.
"An out? Nonsense. Now where's my baby?" Rangi jumped down and placed her hands on her hips looking around.
Kyoshi giggled at her seriousness, "This way I think."
Nervous energy flowed through each of them as they were led by a young woman from the front door to an office of sorts. Scraps of parchment were strewn across the desk and the various surfaces in the room. It took every bit of poise Kyoshi had in her to not immediately start tidying the room. A woman sat behind the desk writing into a large book, her hands shook in her old age. The young woman, Oma, as she'd introduced herself, cleared her throat to acknowledge their arrival in the doorway.
"Mother Tesho," the woman looked up with a glamorous smile and waited for Oma to finish, "Avatar Kyoshi and Mistress Rangi have arrived."
"Avatar, welcome! We are so pleased to have you here! Please, come in there are a few things we need to get in order before we go see the child," she motioned for them to step inside, her voice was sweet and grandmotherly with a bit of rasp to it. Oma stepped aside to allow the women entry and quietly snuck off to her other duties.
Mother Tesho gestured at a pair of chairs in front of the desk for them to sit in, "We don't often get infants but when we do they are typically girls, that's not going to be a problem is it? Were you hoping for a son?"
Rangi spoke for both of them, "We have no preference."
"Good, as you read in my letter a girl was brought to us yesterday evening. We don't have much information about her other than what we can see, the woman that left her said she wasn't the mother but was there for the birth. I have to say I'm tad suspicious of her story. Either way, baby is only a week old and mother died during birth. The father wanted nothing to do with the child that killed his wife, so she wound up here. Tsk-tsk-tsk, such a traumatic start to a young life. It was probably for the best," she finished with a somber look on her face that lasted only a moment before her eyes lit up again, "I have to say we were expecting you tomorrow, we've not had time to clean the little lady up. But that can wait I suppose if you'd like to leave sooner rather than later?"
"We would like to take her as soon as possible. It'd be nice to get home before dark," Kyoshi had found her voice.
"Very well, all I need you to do is sign on this line here and we can go to the child. We had to name her to make things easier on ourselves," Mother Tesho stood and turned the thick book around to them. She grabbed a brush and pointed to a line in the middle of the page just below the words, Baby Hon-Ja.
Quickly she and Kyoshi signed their names next to each other and gave the brush back to Mother Tesho. She turned her book back around to check their work, with a small nod she set the set the brush to the side.
"Good, please follow me," she was quick for an old lady, they hadn't expected to have to catch up to her even with her head start, "We will give you a tin of the formula we use and the recipe as well as feeding instructions but you probably won't need that for long."
"Why not?" Rangi asked.
"There's no cry quite like a hungry babies, you'll know it when you hear it," she replied not even glancing back. She came to a stop just before a doorway and turned to look them in the eyes, "Are you ready?"
They're eyes met for a brief moment and both nodded returning their gaze to Mother Tesho, "Good, right this way."
Warm sunlight fell into the room through the small window in the back of the otherwise dark room. A bassinet stood alone in the center, Mother Tesho motioned for them to join her at its side. A tiny bundle lay sleeping inside. They both stood in awe of the marvelous creature, silence surrounded them until Mother Tesho broke it.
"Would you like to hold her?"
"Yes," slipped out of Rangi's mouth before any thought formed. She realized in that moment she'd never held a baby before. Before she could back track, worried she'd drop her, she felt Kyoshi large hands on her shoulders guiding her closer to the old woman reaching into the bassinet.
"Hold her head up juust like...that yeah you've got it," Mother Tesho guided her arms to the correct cradling position. She smiled down at the child in her arms and knew she never drop her, no matter how old this baby got she'd be safe right here. The baby began to shift and whimper gearing up to a scream but, Rangi was faster. She stroked the baby's cheek and shifted her weight from one foot to the other in a soft sway, immediately the child calmed.
Emotion flooded Kyoshi as she watched her wife hold their baby and comfort her like she'd done it her whole life. She felt privileged beyond belief to be there in this moment, to have these two beautiful beings in her life. Nothing could wipe her smile from her face, nothing.
"You're a natural," Mother Tesho commented watching the scene unfold, "you have good instincts. No wonder the Avatar keeps you around."
They all chuckled quietly to avoid waking the baby again. Kyoshi stepped up to close the distance between her and Rangi's back.
"I'll give you both a moment while I pack somethings in a bag for you," Mother Tesho made a move for the exit and sparked Kyoshi's memory.
"Oh, wait I have this will it fit everything?" she turned, took off the back pack she'd had draped off her shoulder and held it out to the old woman.
"Yes this should do nicely. I'll be right back," Mother Tesho took the bag and disappeared.
"She's beautiful," Kyoshi whispered into Rangi's ear now back in the position she'd held previously. She placed a hand on the babies head and stroked softly.
"She really is," Rangi's voice sounded watery but no tears escaped, she took a deep breath.
"I don't think that name suits her do you?" Kyoshi confessed.
"No it doesn't. What should we change it to?" Rangi shared the feeling.
"Hmm, I have been thinking about it lately. I like the name Ren?" Kyoshi suggested.
"Mmmm, no. She doesn't look like a Ren to me. What about Soran? I've always liked that name." Rangi countered with her proposal.
"No...she doesn't look like a Soran either. I guess we'll just have to think on it?"
"Yeah, I guess. What are we gonna call you, my little firefly?" Rangi whispered to their daughter and placed the gentlest kiss on her forehead.
Their daughter, Kyoshi's head swam with the thought, their beautiful, perfect daughter. She pressed her cheek to the top of Rangi's and marveled at how gentle her wife was with their child, the sight brought her joy of which she knew no bounds.
"Alright ladies, I do hate to rush you out of here but the other children will be awake from their naps soon and we would have quite a time settling them for dinner if they knew the Avatar was around," Mother Tesho mentioned casually as she came into the room with their bag stuffed to the brim.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Mother Tesho. We should be leaving anyway if we want to make it home before dark," Kyoshi accepted the bag and replaced it on her back.
"You're very welcome, Avatar Kyoshi, Mistress Rangi. Would you like me to show you how to wrap her up on your chest? It's easier on the back and handy when you need to get chores done around the home," she offered holding a long piece of fabric in her hands.
"Yes that would be great, thank you," Rangi answered.
"Alright this is what you do."