Dragonfire | Mako

TWENTY-ONE

"We came as soon as we heard, is everything alright?"

"Asami, Mako, Bolin, thank you for coming. It's Kaida."

There was a pause as the woman turned to the side, blinking furiously to take in her surroundings as she heard a rather familiar voice speak up.

"Kaida? I thought she left to go to the Fire Nation three weeks ago."

Mako.

Kaida pushed herself up so she was leaning on her elbow as she took a brief look around the room Korra had showed her to a short while after she had reached Air Temple Island. She had claimed she needed to rest and now Kaida had slept for a while, she could tell she felt some kind of a difference. She looked outside briefly to see it was a few hours after noon. Slowly, she sat up.

"She came early this morning at dawn with her grandfather's dragon."

"She rode a dragon?!" This was Bolin, no doubt, Kaida realised as she got to her feet. She hadn't changed before going to bed, she had only taken off her shirt, leaving her in her flannel. Her shirt and scarf were put on a small desk in the corner but she didn't pay any mind to them as she moved to the door.

"Yeah, both she and the dragon are exhausted. It has been sleeping ever since she got here and she should wake up any second now. I'm surprised she didn't wake up at noon but I doubt she'll be able to resist the pull of the sun for much longer."

Kaida opened the door of her room, a smile forming on her lips as she noticed Korra, Asami, Bolin and Mako standing just out of it. "Maybe if you didn't decide to have a conversation right outside my room I could have resisted the pull of the sun for a while longer."

Bolin pulled her in for a tight hug the moment she had finished her sentence. Kaida couldn't help but laugh. "We've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too," she murmured as she cast a look over his shoulder at Mako. He sent her a small, soft smile she returned before she pulled back to face Korra and Asami as well. "Why don't you come inside?"

She retreated in her room as she sat down on her bed and let her hair loose, running a hand through her hair in an effort to make herself appear somewhat presentable even though she had just woken up. She patted the space next to her in case anyone wanted to sit. Asami took her up on her offer as Korra cleared her throat.

"How much of what we said did you hear?"

"Everything," she admitted as she looked up at the Avatar. "I came because I need your help. I don't have anywhere else to go to."

"It must have been pretty important if you came here all the way from the Fire Nation on your grandfather's dragon," Asami frowned as she peered up at her from beneath her eyelashes.

"Yeah, grandpa will not let this go lightly, not anyone just takes Druk without telling him," she agreed as she turned to Korra. "I came about my brother. Have you heard?"

"The public doesn't know," she pursed her lips, "but I've told everyone in this room. President Raiko heard and told Chief Beifong. She told Tenzin and I and that's how we know General Iroh got captured by the bandits in Omashu."

"And he probably has been in their hold for a week now," she pursed her lips as she looked at her lap. "The army won't march to Omashu to save a few men, not even if among these few men is the General. Someone else has got to help them or else Iroh's fate is sealed."

"Iroh is an experienced General," Bolin spoke up, "and so are the people he's fighting with. Isn't it a bit extreme to march into battlefield?"

"They sent us a letter home, Bolin," she muttered as she looked up and for a moment, her fear and desperation could be seen as clear as day. "A Commander sent that letter to prepare us for the news that would be delivered by a newspaper that my brother is dead. Even though there's no proof he's dead they still believe he is. You understand I can't just accept that when I can find a way to help, do you?"