SCAR TISSUE | MAKO ²

𝟬𝟵. beyond the wild

     "Yes!" Varrick glanced at either of them. "How did you know?"

     "I saw a vision of her taking spirit vines from the swamp."

     "Taking apart nature is bad enough," Cloud said dryly, not liking the thought of the very sole reason they live in peace getting torn apart. "Spirit vines? I think that'll have more bad side effects."

     "If she figures out how to harness their power, we are all doomed," Varrick said grimly.

     "She might use the weapon to attack Republic City," Raiko agreed worriedly. Then he turned to the other leaders with resolve. "The only way to protect ourselves is with a preemptive strike."

     "My airbenders won't be part of an unprovoked attack!" Tenzin said, raising his voice.

     "Does it count myself?" Cloud quipped. Her uncle shot her a look, and she sheepishly hid behind Mako. 

     Fire Lord Izumi stood, her tone hard, and left no argument. "Neither will the Fire Nation."

     "But, Fire Lord Izumi, Kuvira is a threat to the world! She has to be stopped!"

     "The Fire Nation has spent too much of its history. And I refuse to drag my nation into another one unless there is no other choice. If you attack Kuvira, you'll do it without my army."

     "Fine. I'll hold off any plans of attack," Raiko sighed, not happy with the decision but knowing he had no other choice. "We'll go on the defensive and fortify security on the borders."

     "In that, you'll have my help," Izumi said, her expression softening. She briefly made eye contact with Cloud, the only other person she really knew in this hall because of his son. The airbender smiled at her.

     As the council meeting ended, everybody began to leave. Cloud managed to drag Mako away from the prince as they all caught up to Bolin outside the city hall. The boy looked a bit dejected when they saw him, but he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on, expecting them to reprimand him or yell at him for siding with Kuvira. But instead, his old friends did the complete opposite. 

     "Bolin, I'm so glad you're back," Mako sighed in relief. "I was worried about you."

     "He barely even slept." Cloud smiled sadly, ruffling the younger boy's hair.

     "We all were," Korra murmured.

     They all hugged him, Bolin melting under their embrace. He needed it more than he could admit.

     "Thanks, guys. Mako, I'm so sorry about the way we left things. I'm such an idiot. You tried to warn me about Kuvira and I ran off anyway, like an idiot," Bolin sighed, disappointed at himself. Cloud tried to give him a reassuring smile. "You were right and I'm just an idiot. I hope... that... I'll be able to earn your trust again. You, too, Cloudy."

     Cloud clasped his shoulder. "You never lost mine, Bo."

     "Nor mine." Mako nodded.

     "If anyone has lost people's trust, it's me," Korra muttered, glancing down with shame. "Ever since Kuvira kicked my butt, no one even wants me around."

    Mako placed a reassuring hand on Korra's shoulder. "We want you around." Then he turned to Bolin; equally reassuring. "And Bolin, you're not an idiot. You were just doing what you thought was right."

    "Cloudy, what did you do to my big brother?" Bolin shot the airbender a suspicious look but there was a hint of a grin on his face. Mako opened his mouth to argue as Cloud chuckled at his assumption. However, Bolin just laughed. "Aww, I love you guys. And I really wanna hug again."

     "You know I can't say no to that," Cloud beamed before she quickly pulled everybody into a giant warm hug once more. 

      Now, if Asami was there, the old team would be complete. For a second, everything seemed perfect and that was enough for the rugged group of young adults who had to grow up too fast.

     As usual, something just has to go wrong. Not even an hour later, Jinora's spirit projection appeared and cried out at them for help. Cloud looked like she'd just seen a ghost and they had been living with literal spirits for years. The vines were alive and they were taking her baby cousin. She didn't even let Mako and Korra talk as she blasted into the sky and flew away with her glider to find her cousin.

     By the time she got there, it was too late. Jinora was gone. The vines had become aggressive, and Cloud had to run out of the spirit wilds with a few civilians before they could hurt them. The sunlight greeted her, along with a few familiar faces. Lin looked relieved to see her come out after she'd been told about the situation. Her expression faltered, noticing how Cloud looked uncharacteristically miserable.

     "I couldn't get to her in time," Cloud said, her voice breaking slightly. "Jinora's gone."

     Lin hesitantly placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "We'll find her. We will."

     Eventually, the police force arrived, and Lin moved away, barking orders at her men. The tour group that Cloud managed to save had been whisked away to safety and away from the area. She stood within a safe distance from the entrance of the wild, keeping her eyes on it as if she were expecting Jinora to suddenly walk out of it safe and sound. Her grip on her staff tightened.

     "Cloudy!"

     The airbender quickly turned around, hearing the sound of Mako's worried voice as he ran up to her. Before she could say something, he wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her into a tight hug. Cloud threw an arm around his neck, letting the other that held her glider fall behind his back. Her eyes fluttered close, feeling a sense of relief and calmness with his arms wrapped around her body.

     "Mako," She mumbled.

     He pulled away from her and put his hands on both her shoulders. The firebender gave her a worried look. "Please don't do that again."

     "Do what?"

     "Just suddenly fly away without a word?"

     "I'll try."

     "Hey, you two," Korra called, approaching the couple. Her eyebrows slightly raised. Then she turned to Cloud with a determined look. "Hey. There's no way we're leaving Jinora in there, okay?"

     "I know," Cloud smiled half-heartedly. "I trust you, Korra."

    "Good," Korra breathed. Her words meant a lot to her than they would ever realize. She glanced at Mako who stood determined next to his girlfriend. This time, she smiled even a little. "Let's go get her."

     "You coming, fireboy?" Cloud asked, making sure he wasn't being forced or anything.

     "It's Jinora," Mako said firmly as if that said enough. It was enough for all of them. Cloud's eyes softened. She definitely noticed how good he was with her little cousins. Then again, I guess, taking care of his brother when he was younger, had taught him every way to deal with kids. "Let's not waste any time."