Scar Tissue ━━ Mako ²

𝟬𝟴. memory lane

     She grew up on the ships floating on the seas, traveling all around the world and helping those who needed help. She was living the dream.

    Then at five years old, her airbending fully manifested and Bumi made a decision to take her back to the Air Temple Island. She stayed there for another five years where Tenzin trained her to become an airbender. At ten years old, she was the first airbending master after Tenzin and had proved herself to deserve it with her inventions. She was smart and unpredictable but she earned her tattoos and Tenzin was proud to be the one who acquainted her as a master.

    Then at fifteen, Cloud made a selfish decision to come back to her father in the seas. An airbender and a military personnel in one person—what could go wrong? Besides, the United Forces will always be her root. That's where she had come from, that's where she found who she was before her airbending came. She wouldn't be the person she is now without it. While she had duties to maintain and rules to follow, Cloud was simply too uncontrollable to be fixed in one thing only. She had to be let free. Like the wind.

     She spent long tedious years training until she successfully led an army to victory, which earned her the captain title. At nineteen, Cloud met the youngest general in the force on one of her assignments, and they instantly clicked. Like they'd know each other in another life. It didn't take long for one of them to confess and it was a great relationship, truly, but destiny had other plans for them. 

     Cloud could still remember the first time she'd met him. The memory still fresh in her mind. 

     "You could fall, you know," A voice spoke, a hint of concern in his distinctive voice—deep, slightly rough, a unique timbre that she'd heard before. 

     Cloud balanced on the railing at the bow of the battleship, the maroon uniform of the United Forces clung onto her body and had a few buttons let loose, which let the wind slightly blow them away. Her head tilted ever so slightly, glancing at where the voice came from. Two brows raised when she noticed a familiar man standing a couple of feet next to her.

     "Oh, yeah?" Cloud hummed. Much to his concern, the soldier moved and turned around to face him as if she wasn't the least afraid of falling. He took a step forward, clearly bothered by the way she was standing on tiny metal railings with nothing to hold onto. A laugh bubbled from her throat. "Calm down."

    "Do you have a death wish or something?" The young general furrowed his thick brows, inching forward to make sure she wouldn't accidentally throw herself overboard on the harsh waters.

     Cloud shrugged, her hands clasped behind her back. There was a hint of a smile on her face, and the golden hour made her blue eyes lighter, much beautiful. Light freckles painted her nose and cheeks, and for a second, Iroh was mesmerized. Just admiring the way her long brown hair was getting blown away by the wind.

     "Is that a dolphin?" She suddenly quipped, and before he could stop her, the girl suddenly purposely slipped off the railings. 

     Iroh's eyes widened and he quickly threw himself over the railing, gripping the metal hard as he looked down below, only for the girl to suddenly launch into the air and back on the battleship next to him. His grip relaxed although he still looked concerned. He looked at her, only to see her with a bright grin on her pretty face. Cloud dusted off her uniform, feigning innocence as she kept smiling.

     "You're crazy," Iroh breathed in amazement.

     Cloud stepped forward, chuckling. "No, I'm Cloud."

    "I'm Iroh," The young general smiled boyishly, lending out a hand for her to shake.

    When she told him that she had been thinking about leaving the force, they both knew their relationship wasn't going to work. Because Iroh was loyal to his duties, and while he loved her very much, Cloud cannot simply be contained. So he supported her with everything she wanted just like she always did with him. He let her fly, and he stayed behind, keeping watch from afar.

    Now, at twenty-four, Cloud had never felt so contented. She had an amazing partner, her lovely friends, and a unique family. While she may had to leave a few things behind, things and people she treasured, she still found a way to include them in everything that she is now. Everybody that ever knew her had a part of them in her. They were never really gone. No matter how far away, and no matter how much time passed. They made her who she was, and that was never going to change.

     Cloud woke up to a start. It felt like someone just ripped her heart out of her chest. She wasn't the best with her spirit and meditating side, but she knew what danger felt like. She had to catch her breath, trying to stay quiet in the dim light of the bedside lamp, and the moonlight escaping through the curtains on the big windows of the room in Asami's mansion. Beside her, Mako stirred in his sleep, shifting around to face her, only to realize she was sitting up.

     "What's wrong?" Mako asked groggily, opening one sleepy eye. Then his gaze fell to her hands, clutching her abdomen where a scar from when she got stabbed by Ming-Hua sat hidden underneath her shirt. He sat up, concerned. "Does something hurt?"

     Cloud cleared her throat, shaking her head. "No. It's just..."

     "What?" Mako asked softly, grasping her hands which stayed on her lap.

     "You know I'm not very connected with the spirit world, not like Jinora, or Korra," She told him, and he nodded ever so slightly, waiting for what she was going to say. "Yeah, well, I think something really bad is happening out there right now."

     Mako frowned, suddenly thinking of his brother. He fiddled with her hands uneasily. "Do you think it's something you should tell everybody else?"

     Cloud hesitated, looking at the crack between the curtains. She sighed. "I think I should go back to the city."

     "We can all go together tomorrow," Mako told her. "It's a bit late, don't you think?"

     "All right," Cloud muttered with a heavy feeling in her heart. The time was ticking, but she knew rushing things wouldn't help either.  "Tomorrow then."