After breaking camp the next morning, Kyoshi and her companions set off in the direction Lao Ge had wandered. Though the old man himself remained out of sight up ahead, the lack of underbrush made his idiosyncratic tracks easy enough to follow along the forest floor.

As Kyoshi walked hand-in-hand with Rangi, she noticed her partner's distant stare. "I know that look," she said, giving Rangi's palm a supportive squeeze. "What's on your mind?"

Rangi blinked a few times as if shaking off a daydream before meeting Kyoshi's attentive jade eyes. "Oh, nothing...it's silly." At Kyoshi's softly insistent gaze, she sighed, looking askance. "I just can't help feeling we're on the cusp of losing...this. Us." She motioned vaguely around them. "Each time some new disaster pulls you away, it gets harder to recapture."

Kyoshi paused, turning fully toward the proud warrior she loved and lifting her chin with a gentle finger. "I promise you, nothing could ever sever what we have between us." She leaned down until their foreheads touched, heedless of Kirima's pretended retching sounds behind them.

Just then, a piercing scream echoed through the trees ahead, shattering the quiet woodland ambience. In a blink, Kyoshi and her companions shot into motion, crashing heedlessly through the underbrush toward the source.

They skidded into a rocky clearing, where Lao Ge stood calmly gazing down at a cowering peasant woman. His hands rested casually atop his walking staff as she pointed a quivering finger. "M-monster!" the woman choked out.

Following the woman's gesture, Kyoshi spotted movement between two large boulders. Her eyes widened as a bizarre creature emerged, no larger than a rabbit-cat. It had light brown fur, almost blonde, with a foxlike face and a pair of wings sprouting from its back. Strangest of all was the arrow-shaped tail that started white but shifted colors as they watched.

"Why's it changing colors?" Wong whispered.

Kirima shook her head. "I have no idea, but it's adorable! Can we keep it?"

Kyoshi stared bemused as the odd creature hopped nearer, now sporting a bright pink tail. Meeting its beseeching gaze, she felt an unexpected rush of...joy? Somehow she knew intuitively that this unusual animal meant them no harm at all. But how? And why did it fill her with such profound yet inexplicable delight?

As the creature's pastel tail shifted to a pleasant sky blue, Kyoshi slowly knelt in front of it, compelled by some strange magnetism. Behind her, she heard Rangi hiss, "Don't get too close!"

Ignoring the warning, Kyoshi extended a tentative hand. The furry being eagerly sniffed her fingers, then nuzzled into her open palm, emitting a musical purring sound unlike any normal animal. Its bushy tail transitioned into a warm goldenrod hue.

"Well aren't you a curious fellow?" Kyoshi murmured. She could feel energy subtly pulsing from its little body. Almost like...

"It's bending!"

Kyoshi turned at Wong's exclamation. The floating pebble next to the creature's wiggling rump confirmed it was indeed an airbender of sorts. She glanced back just as the peculiar animal thrust its whole face insistently into her palms, begging for more affection.

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Kyoshi couldn't help but chuckle as she scratched under its chin. Airbending animals did exist after all. What other wonders might dwell in these woods? Still gently stroking its downy neck, she extended a questioning look toward the cowering peasant woman who'd screamed earlier.

The frazzled villager opened and closed her mouth wordlessly before finally stammering, "No one...no one's ever seen beasties like this 'round these parts before! Thought it must be some demon who escaped the Spirit World to put a curse on us all."

Kirima made a show of rolling her eyes dramatically. "An actual magical creature appears, and your first instinct is witchcraft? Typical." Still, her expression softened a degree as the little furball spread its wings hesitantly, then closed the distance between them in a few short bounding glides to sniff Kirima's boots.

"Well aren't you just a precious little blessing then?" Kirima cooed, admiration getting the better of her as the glowing creature danced playfully around their feet. Its stubby tail shifted to a vibrant violet when she giggled at its antics.

Wong shook his head in amusement. "I've wandered these lands many times and never once crossed paths with...whatever that is. I'd wager something has stirred its kind from hiding after all this time."

Rangi crossed her arms. "The question remains why we've found this one alone. And why does it seem so unusually attached to you?" She raised an eyebrow at Kyoshi.

Lost in thought gazing at the energetic furball leaning into her ankle, she replied absently. "I'm...not sure. But something tells me our destinies are intertwined."

As Kyoshi scratched behind the creature's ears, eliciting contented squeaks, she racked her brain trying to recall any legends that might explain its origins. She'd poured over so many dusty tomes and scrolls documenting the history of strange creatures and spirits. Why couldn't she remember reading about rainbow-tailed winged animals appearing in Earth Kingdom forests?

While the others speculated excitedly about potential airbending powers, Kyoshi focused inward, mentally sifting through her arcane knowledge. She visualized shelves lined with books, scanning titles for anything related to magical animals, then paused. Tucked away on a half-forgotten shelf was a small volume with a symbol embossed on the spine—the same arrow marking this fluffy friend's backside.

Kyoshi's eyes shot open. "I know what this is!" Five faces turned to her expectantly. "It's called a Spirit Companion. Extremely rare creatures are born when powerful friendships transcend mortality through reincarnation."

She couldn't suppress a grin as understanding dawned. That profound joy she'd felt upon seeing this creature wasn't mere chance. Somewhere, somehow in the cosmic tapestry binding all living things, their souls had touched before.

Lao Ge twirled one end of his moustache thoughtfully but remained silent. Kirima simply muttered, "Of course you two have an actual fairy tale creature wanting to be best friends forever." Ever the skeptic, she raised a dubious eyebrow. "But what good does the fuzzball do, anyway?"

Before Kyoshi could admonish her lack of vision regarding magical entities, the Spirit Companion itself supplied an answer. With a faint popping sound, six perfect replicas of the creature appeared in a circle around it, identical down to each blonde hair on their foxlike heads. One clone arced through the air straight at Kirima, who instinctively threw up her arms.

But rather than the expected impact, a warmth blossomed in Kirima's chest, soothing tired muscles. Her chronic shoulder ache from an old injury disappeared instantly. By the time she lowered her guard, the clone had vanished along with two others. The original remained lovingly cradled in Kyoshi's arms, trilling happily while the last three replicas frolicked around the campsite.

Wong's mouth hung open in unabashed awe. "Incredible. Your instincts were right, Kyoshi. We should consider ourselves profoundly blessed to stand in the presence of such benevolence." He offered the Spirit Companion a formal bow, which it returned in kind.

Rangi squeezed Kyoshi's hand, one corner of her mouth turning up. "Only you could attract the magical embodiment of friendship without even trying." While attempts to rein in destiny might fail, some threads are clearly bound closer than laws allow. Perhaps fate hadn't fully abandoned them after all.