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𝐓he air was warm but fresh as the trees around the entire island, and the fragrance of different flowers wafted around her. Cloud sat on the floor of the pavilion on top of the island, facing the vast sea. Faint circles of freckles could be seen dotted over cheeks as the sun shone on her face. Her short brown hair was placed into two half pony-tails, letting the cold gush of wind do the rest of pushing her hair out of her face.
Cloud was meditating for the millionth time. Getting lost in the world of meditation was one of the things she loved even though she wasn't very good with it. There was something about it that calmed her heart. It makes her think about the beautiful things on earth and simply just appreciate them.
But there was one thing she was completely unaware of. Her little cousin and the Avatar were in deep trouble.
However, she was interrupted when someone suddenly tripped in front of her. Opening an eye, she furrowed her eyebrows at the younger boy who laid on the ground, quickly fixing himself as he rolled over to his side, leaning against his hand like nothing happened. As if he hadn't just tripped in front of her.
An awkward grin broke out on his face. "Hiya, Cloudy."
"Hey, Bo?" The airbender sent him a suspicious look, not moving the slightest.
"Mako's in jail," Bolin deadpanned.
Cloud didn't look surprised. "What'd he do now?"
Bolin had left first, saying something along the lines of Nuktuk mustn't be late. Cloud didn't even care that she was alone and scrambled up her feet and back inside the house to grab her staff before setting off into the air. She noticed a couple of airships flying overhead as she flew closer to the prison where Mako was being kept for a crime he did not commit. For some reason, Mako was always the victim of that kind of thing even though he was a literal cop.
When she landed on the ground in front of the prison, she clipped her glider shut and quickly marched inside the building. The guards and officers simply sent her a respectful salute. A metalbender officer, Song, guided her to the firebender's cell.
"There's another visitor for you," Song grunted, emphasizing the second word as he opened the cell door.
Cloud sent him a nod and entered the small vicinity of doom, her striking airy blue eyes immediately turning into slits as they landed on a certain boy. She briefly threw her arms up in disbelief as if she doesn't get herself in the same trouble as he does sometimes. "Mako, what in the world did you do to get yourself in here now?"
"Me?" Mako exclaimed, standing up to face her height although he was much taller than she would ever be. "I didn't do anything! Varrick framed me!"
"Varrick?" Cloud raised her eyebrows, becoming more confused in a matter of seconds. "Why would he frame you?"
His eyes narrowed but he answered her question. "Varrick knew I had figured out he was hiring gangsters to pose as Northern soldiers to get Republic City to join the war. That's why he had me arrested."
"Oh." Cloud made a not-so-surprised face. "I had that hunch, too."
"Are you kidding me?" Mako almost gasped in frustration. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Cloud merely shrugged. "Well, listen here, sweetheart. This, is, exactly why I didn't say anything."
"Still," Mako grumbled, crossing his arms against his chest as he faced the gray walls. "You could've told me. A war isn't really what we need right now."
"Fair enough," Cloud muttered, knowing how bad it was to have a war. She hated wars. It takes a lot of people. "Sorry I didn't tell you."
"It's alright," Mako sighed, turning around to face her. His shoulders were slightly drooped. "Let's just hope somebody stops it before it gets worse."
The airbender decided to stick around for a bit even though she was told she had to leave. Well, she did leave for a couple of minutes and came back with a bunch of different foods in her arms. Nothing was keeping the girl away from the firebender. Mako was just surprised, but nonetheless, he accepted the food she brought. Just like old times, I suppose,
The two ate in silence as if eating in a metal cell was the most normal thing to do.
A few moments later, the door opened again. They looked at the newcomer and realized it was just a certain earthbender. Bolin entered the room and Cloud stood up from the bed and grabbed her glider from against the wall. She patted the firebender's arm assuringly, the latter kept his eyes on her until she completely left the cell, constantly sipping off what was left of her green smoothie.
"Cloudy?" A familiar voice entered her ears, one that she'd been longing to hear. There was only one thing she could think of. Her family was home.
"My beautiful family!" Cloud beamed and tackled her uncle into a big hug, doing the same thing to the others. She froze when Korra revealed herself from the shadows. "Korra?"
"Hey, Cloudy." The Avatar slightly grinned, sending her a small wave.
"Korra!" She exclaimed and ran towards her, pulling her into another bear hug as she buried her flushed face onto her shoulder. "I missed all of you."
"So did we." Korra smiled after breaking apart from their hug.
She walked back to her family, standing next to Tenzin and watched in pure confusion when Korra ran towards Mako as he arrived, finally out of prison, and she pulled him into a kiss. Cloud was bewildered and narrowed her eyes at the boy, before glancing at Asami who looked hurt and betrayed.
Mako tried to explain their situation but in the end, he was the one who took it back and lied to her, saying their fight wasn't bad like they never even broke up. Cloud was tempted to lightly smack the back of his head, thinking that maybe she could fix his mind. She briefly caught his eyes, and Mako almost looked apologetic but she was too disappointed to care.
Her gaze hardened and she slightly shook her head, subtle enough that the others did not notice their exchange. Mako sighed under his breath, knowing he was in the wrong this time. But he liked Korra, at least he was sure of that, and a part of him was afraid to be left alone. This time, he had a bad feeling his decision was going to bite him back later.
