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The Avatar loved many men and women throughout her life. They all affected her one way or another – the serious young woman did not take such matters lightly. Each of her lovers was special. However, there was only one who really mattered.
Her name was Roshan. The youngest daughter of a minor noble, she was one of the few who would match Kyoshi glare for glare. An earthbender to the soul.
It was a long day, and Kyoshi was relieved beyond measure to see her temporary residence. It was one of the richest dwellings in the Ba Sing Se, a fact that left the young woman a little overwhelmed. She was still an awkward, freakishly tall young villager at heart.
Roshan delighted in bringing the gawky peasant girl out of her Avatar. The minute the tall woman slipped through the door of her private chambers, she found herself shoved into the nearest chair. The smaller woman was settled in Kyoshi’s lap before she could even protest. A warm, damp cloth passed over her cheek. “Let’s get that off.”
She leaned into the touch, closing her eyes against the delayed exhaustion. “They don’ pay me enough for this.” She swiped off her helmet and tossed it away blindly. Something shattered, but she was too tired to care.
When her makeup was mostly removed she opened her eyes to study her most devoted of followers. The young woman had her acorn brown hair pulled into two neat braids that trailed down her back, and was clad in a simple pair of pants and a loose shirt, green shot through with yellow thread. She was beautiful in a delicate way that belied both her talents as an earthbender and her stubborn nature.
Roshan kissed her newly bare temple.
“Poor, tired little turtleduck.”
“You dare make fun of your Avatar?” Her teeth snapped playfully just short of the smaller woman’s nose. Her perfect diction slipped away like another layer of her painted mask. “Didn’ ya hear? I bathe in the blood of my enemies.”
“Really?” Roshan hummed softly as she worked, moving to unlace the surprisingly intricate laces that held Kyoshi’s armor in place. “I remember someone who managed to overturn a whole cart of cabbages.”
Kyoshi passed a hand over her face. “Ugh, I was such a bumpkin.”
“You were a very cute bumpkin. And so brave.”
A sharper tug on the laces of her boots made the tall woman pause and raise a brow. “You’re… eager to get me out of my armor.”
“You don’t get to hide from me, turtleduck. You get to stay in this shell all day,” She rapped Kyoshi’s discarded breastplate with her knuckles. “I don’t want Lady Kyoshi in my bed.”
The Avatar only flushed in reply.
“Come, the servants drew a bath.”
———————-
Next time on Avatar: Legacy of Kyoshi –
Time is a river that flows unending, and we merely a boat in its tides. – An unknown Avatar, Year of the Seven Floods.
Kyoshi was suddenly irrationally thankful for the makeup and sturdy armor between her and this slip of a girl. “Why did you come with me? Surely your father –“
“You met my father.” The silence reigned for a moment before the girl - Roshan - shrugged. “Does it matter? One way or another I was born to be bought and sold.”