Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𝐀 certain airbender soared above the streets of Republic City, her trusty orange glider was held tightly in both of her hands as she flew just ahead of Tenzin and the others who were riding his sky bison. At the sound of a familiar howl, she glanced down at the streets, trying to find the source of it. Unmistakably, she saw Naga with a very familiar someone slumped over her back.
"Korra," Cloud mumbled as a worrisome expression flashed on her face.
She maneuvered her glider to the right and drifted downwards to the ground, landing in front of the polar bear dog with her exhausted owner. Tenzin and the others touched down not long after she did, and she stood back, letting them run up to her. Lin and Tenzin bombarded her with questions but Mako shoved them aside before Korra could answer.
"Give her some space!" He reached up and pulled Korra in his arms as he began walking towards Oogi.
Cloud pursed her lips, her pale blue eyes landing on Asami who looked pained at the sight of them together. She couldn't blame her. Mako surely has his way with girls. She shook her head in disappointment and trudged towards the girl, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Asami glanced at her, but Cloud didn't need words to understand what she felt.
Now Cloud sat on a flat-edged rock with her legs outstretched in the courtyard on the Air Temple Island, Naga, and Pabu curled up next to her on the ground. She held a fistful of nuts on her left hand, constantly throwing small pieces on the ground for the lemurs to feast on.
Somehow, sleep still hasn't taken over her. She had a lot on her mind, but after a lot of contemplating, she did one thing she could think of. Cloud decided to call her extroverted father because he was the only one who knew how to cheer her up.
She trudged in the empty hallways of the women's dormitory, noticing that there was light at the end of another hall where the girls' rooms were. Mako must be there. Cloud shrugged. She found herself in the other building where the telephone was, and she quickly sat on the chair in front of it. Hastily, she dialed the numbers she memorized and waited for the other person to answer her call.
"Hello?"
Cloud almost choked on the peanuts that she was munching on, but she quickly swallowed them before it could happen. She cleared her throat. "Hi?"
The person on the other line tried to hide his amusement. "Cloudy?"
She hastily placed the telephone on the table face-down. Then all of a sudden, she smacked her own flushed cheeks. She knew that voice. All too well. Cloud let out a deep breath before grabbing the device again and putting it up beside her ear.
"Yes." Cloud nodded. Then realizing he couldn't see her, she shook her head. "It's me."
"I haven't heard your voice for a while." Iroh II, the young general of the United Forces, let out a small chuckle. She couldn't help but smile at the tone of his voice. Strangely, he wasn't in character tonight. The overly serious man on the deck, and the soft one behind closed doors.
"Why?" Cloud joked. "You missed me too much?"
"Of course. Everyone missed you here. Especially your dad." General Iroh chuckled a little, then smiled faintly as his voice quietened a little. "Imissed you."
"I missed you, too," Cloud said gently, a small smile slipping on her lips. Before she left, it was clear she was never going back and he was loyal to his position in the force. So they made a mutual decision to separate. On good terms. Then she remembered she was supposed to talk to her father. "Speaking of my amazing dad, where is that silly old man?"
"I'll call him for you," Iroh said, then added in a soft tone, "It's really nice to hear your voice, Cloudy."
Cloud smiled slightly. "It's nice to hear yours, too, Iroh."
The telephone beeped a few times as it was put on hold, and when it came back to life, the sound of her father's excited voice entered her ears. "Cloudy! My beautiful, amazingly, terrifying daughter. Papa's here!"
"Dad! Terrifying wasn't necessary."
"Sure, it was! You should hear what my comrades are saying about my amazing daughter!"
As usual, the call went on for hours and hours, with so much laughter that calmed her nervous heart. There was something about her father that just made her feel safe, and the pure happiness that he showers her with was nothing compared to a glass of vegetable smoothie. That says a lot since she really loved her smoothies. There was simply nothing else that could top her love for her dad.
The day she dreaded the most had come to life just right after, maybe a few minutes after Tenzin left. The sight of Equalists airships flying over ahead of the city began to multiply. She stood in the courtyard, near the same flat-edged rock she was previously sitting on while Lin stood a few steps from her with Tenzin's children and the White Lotus sentries.
"All right, kids, time to go inside," Lin said hurriedly.
Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami rushed outside to see what was going on as Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo walked back into the house. She heard Korra ask the former chief of police what was going on, but the answer was pretty obvious right in front of them. Cloud began to worry for her uncle even though she knew he could take care of himself, but that didn't stop her from worrying.
"We're going to the city, you coming?" Mako asked as he and the three others walked towards the boat.
"Yeah." Cloud nodded. Then she raised her hand that held her glider that almost seemed like her personal partner-in-crime. "But I'm going to check on my uncle first."
Mako walked up the ramp, although he stopped halfway, glancing back at her. "Be careful."
"You too." Cloud flashed him her signature grin before propelling upwards as she flicked the glider open, soaring below the clouds and into the air. Mako watched his childhood friend disappear into the horizon with an unfamiliar feeling bubbling in his guts. Something was about to go wrong.
