Wandering Firebender

Ninety Three: Delicate Time

"How long do you think you guys will be gone?" Elio asked Cindra curiously, slinging her pack over his shoulder and carrying it for her.

"Uh...I don't know exactly. If I had to guess, at least a week or two? I guess it depends on how things go once we get there." Cindra guessed.

"Alright. Well do you have enough stuff packed in here?"

"Yep! I'm all set. And plus once we get home, I can get some more things, you know?" Cindra said with a smile.

The two of them stepped outside onto the training area within the Fire Lord's palace grounds. As they waited for Cindra's ride to arrive, Elio set her pack down on the floor next to her feet.

"Here you go. So are you looking forward to being home again?" Elio asked.

"Of course," She answered with a smile and a nod. "The journey's gonna be long but once I'm there it'll be nice. I can't wait to see mom and dad and Ansel again."

"Be sure to say hello to your family for me too." He added.

"If they don't ask about you first haha I definitely will." Cindra commented with a laugh.

"Ha yea well...I asked about them first so you'll have to tell them that." Elio said with a dry chuckle. Cindra shook her head and rolled her eyes with another smile.

"I'll be sure to let them know that you're still a dork," She teased before taking a step closer and kissing him on the cheek gently. "Take care of yourself while I'm gone, okay? Don't think I forgot about your sleep." She reminded him as she patted a hand on his chest.

"I...y-yeah I will." He replied with a short nod.

At the sound of a bellowing bison, the two of them looked to the side now and saw Appa coming in for a landing right in the middle of the training area with Aang, Katara, and Sokka already sitting on top of the saddle.

"Rise and shine! Ready to get going?" Sokka was the first to wave her over as he called to her.

"Yep! I'm ready," Cindra nodded. Elio helped her carry her bags to Appa. Aang used his airbending to lift her luggage up the rest of the way and Katara made sure that her things were secure.

"Oh thanks!" She said appreciatively.

"No problem!" Aang gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright! We got a long way to go and not a lot of time to get there so hop on!" Sokka said with another exaggerated wave of his arm.

"Guess that's my cue," Cindra said, giving Elio one more hug before climbing onto Appa. "Take care, Elio!" She waved down to him.

"Take care, guys. Be safe!" Elio waved back.

"You can count on us. Appa, yip yip!" Aang flicked the reins and Appa flew up into the air.

Cindra held on tight and kept her body close to the saddle as Appa lifted them upwards. The journey to the North Pole had begun. Once Appa had settled in the air, Sokka wasted in no time in bringing up a conversation about their objective.

"Alright! So Zuko wants us to get into some peace negotiations with the chief and his advisors. They're gonna be tough to convince so we need to know forwards and backwards what we're gonna say when we meet with them." Sokka began.

"Oh yeah. I guess you're right." Cindra said, agreeing with a little bit of hesitance.

"Do you always have to get straight to business every time we're going somewhere? We're barely in the air." Katara pointed out teasingly.

"Well there's no time like the present," Sokka replied dismissively before continuing. "Now Aang, you're the Avatar here so you should take point in this." He suggested.