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𝐂loud couldn't remember how long since she dressed in gala clothing, but one thing was for sure, she did not miss it. She wore an Air Nomad attire, but this time in a different style; a vivid shade of scarlet dress with a scarlet cape and gold shawl. As soon as she entered the City Hall building, she was greeted by bright lights and modern music mixed with the loud chatters of the people around her. She was about to follow her younger cousins who ran off somewhere when a couple of well-dressed men appeared in front of her.
She tried to look past behind them, standing on her tip-toes, but Tenzin and the others soon disappeared from her sight and amongst the crowd. The airbender huffed under her breath and looked at the men with boredom etched on her face, standing there like she had no other choice.
"Captain Cloudy? Is that really you?" One of them acted surprised, grabbing her hand to place a chaste kiss on it, which made her grimace on the inside, subtly rubbing the back of her hand on her dress after.
Clouudu cleared her throat and forced a smile on her face that looked more like a grimace. "It's Cloud. And yes, clearly."
The other men chuckled at her as if something was amusing about what she said. Cloud tried to just go along with it and choked out a forceful laugh that sounded a lot more like an uncomfortable cough.
"Not a lot of men have the chance to meet you in person, Captain," Another one of them said, raising an eyebrow at her as if that would suddenly attract her to him. Cloud gagged at the thought.
"Well, that was before, boys," The same man from earlier laughed, and it earned a few chuckles and snickers from the others. "Imagine the look on Iroh's face when he realizes that she finally got out of his control."
Cloud stiffened for a second at the mention of the General of the United Forces, and she clenched her fists that were hiding beneath the ruffles of her dress. She didn't like the way they were speaking about him. They were clearly jealous of the man who had done more than them.
"First of all, it's General to you." Cloud glared at him, surprising the four men who stopped laughing. "Second of all, I was never in anyone's control, so excuse me because I would rather hang out with dogs than have you breathing on my face."
Cloud walked off as soon as she finished talking and tried to find a familiar face. Soon enough, she found Korra with Tenzin in front of Hiroshi Sato and her beautiful daughter, Asami Sato, with a familiar firebender wearing that same red scarf. She tried to fight off the smile that threatened to show on her face.
"Cloudy? Y-You look━" Mako gulped, briefly studying the airbender as she approached them.
"I know." Cloud grinned.
She didn't stay long enough to hear the rest of his words as Mako's throat closed up. He watched her disappear into the crowd of people, a strange feeling in his gut. Beautiful. Cloud was beautiful.
On further note, Korra had no choice but to join Tarrlok's stupid task force from the fact that she was tricked. All Cloud could do was stare at the stairs in silence, her anger from earlier had been replaced with concern towards the female Avatar. Tenzin, who was beside her, looked down in disappointment at being powerless. Mako and Bolin were confused, having no idea what was happening.
The next day, Cloud flew behind a furious Tenzin, the two using their own orange gliders after hearing about Korra's plan to challenge Amon to a duel. Tenzin and his niece landed on the dock where Korra, Tarrlok, and several others were. Her expression immediately hardened at the sight of the Northern Water Tribe councilman.
"Korra, this is madness," Tenzin said firmly.
Korra didn't look at him as she wrapped a rope loosely around her arms and hands. "Don't try to stop me and don't follow me. I have to face Amon alone."
Cloud sighed and turned to the girl while Tenzin berated Councilman Tarrlok. "Korra, you don't have to do this alone."
The younger girl stopped for a moment, glancing at her. Her voice was firm when she spoke like nothing could change her mind. "I have to."
Cloud watched with a distanced expression on her face as Korra guided the boat out from the docks to Avatar Aang Memorial island using her waterbending. Feeling defeated that she couldn't convince her friend. The fact that she thought she had to do it alone made it worse because she never wanted her to feel that way.
"We'll be watching the island closely," Tarrlok told them. "If anything goes wrong, I have a fleet of police airships ready to swoop down."
"Yeah, and that surely makes us feel a lot better," Cloud jeered before walking off. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.
