~*~
I realized I'd lost track of the time when I saw the full moon was now replaced by the sun.
I was sitting near the river, just listening to the sound of the waterfall, drowned in my own thoughts.
Everyone was waiting for Yuta to wake up. Hopefully soon. Because Sora refused to fly when it wasn't Yuta who guided her.
Yuta and I were supposed to face the dark with tomorrow. But with his condition like this...
I let out a long sigh.
We also had to change our destination now since Yuta was hurt. We were set to go to Omashu, Mark's hometown, a city that remained untouched by the witch. But now we were going to head to the Northern Water Tribe. So that Yuta could get better.
I heard rustling sound of footsteps coming towards me.
Didn't bother to look who it was, I let out a long sigh. "Is Yuta awake?"
There was a long silence, so I took it whoever it was, wasn't going to answer. "If not then, please. I really want to be left alone right now."
"You called me here,"
It wasn't a voice I recognize.
I turned around in alert. There was a middle aged man. Wearing Air Acolytes traditional outfit. Instead of hair, there was a blue arrow on his head.
I shuffled from my sitting position and jolted up to gave him a salute. "Aang!"
Aang was the Avatar before Korra. One of my past lives.
"You've finally connected to your spiritual self." He said with a small warm smile.
"But how?" Was all I managed to say.
"When we hit our lowest point, we are opened to the greatest change." He said. "And I think I know why I'm here,"
"Why is that?"
"The world has changed. Back in my time one of the Avatar's sole duties was to protect the people from the threats inside the bending world. But now you also have to protect them from things beyond this world, this dimension. Although what I had to face was completely different from yours, our situation is actually rather similar than you thought." He explained. "No matter how things may seem to change, you must never forget who you are. So I'm here to give you my wisdom, Juli."
I wasn't expecting this to happen then, but I slowly explained my situation to Aang.
~
I felt something constantly poking my cheek, which made me open my right eye. I took a glance at the person, who cowered away in surprise.
"What are you doing?" I said in confusion.
"Sorry, you wouldn't wake up!" Mark reasoned out.
"Yes because I for once succeeded in something as an Avatar." I said as I got up from my sitting position to stand up.
"Yuta is awake!" Mark told me and he led me back to the camp.
Mark had built a small hut from the ground for Yuta, after Ten was done healing him. I was about to go inside the hut when Ten was just exiting.
I wasn't planning to exchange any words with him, because I'd got nothing to say to him, but he stopped me from getting by grabbing my arm.
"It's not... a pretty sight." Ten warned me.
"I know." I said quietly, without looking at him.
"Are you...?" Ten trailed off.
"I'm okay, Ten." I tried to smile, before finally looked at him in his eye. "Just wanna see him. I'll be quick."
With worry plastered across his face, he pressed his lips and nodded at me. "We'll be on our way soon. Make sure he finishes the soup."
I nodded my head back at him as a yes and then proceeded my way into the little earth hut.
"Hey," I greeted him as soon as we made eye contact.
He...
He'd looked better.
The third degree burns were completely healed and weren't visible anymore. So were the wounds that were all over his body.
But then I saw a wound that I didn't notice last night when we were healing him.
Now everything makes sense. Now I know why he wasn't breathing last night.
"Hey," he greeted back giving me a small smile.
I looked away from his eyes as I approached him to sit next to his sleeping bag. He was casually drinking his soup with a spoon, but seemed like he was struggling a bit.
I extended my hand, asking him to hand me the bowl. He stopped his attempt, hesitated for a fee seconds, before finally giving in to hand me the warm bowl.
I moved to sit closer to him, and to face him. Then I fed him.
He has two wounds. Wounds caused by lightning bolts. The fact that he'd survived both...
I fed him in silence, and I avoided his eyes while I could feel his never left me.
"Say something," he finally said.
I ignored his words and just kept feeding him. Only a few scoops left.
Yuta held the bowl that was in my hand, and pushed it down to the ground next to us. I saw his hand was coming to my face and I hit it away from me immediately.
I felt my eyes getting warm, but I still wasn't saying anything.
He pulled me into a hug. I fought back a bit hoping he'd let go but of course I knew he wasn't.
"You stopped breathing," I sobbed. "Your heart stopped beating too."
He didn't reply anything to that.
"You promised." I reminded him.
"I know." He mumbled. "But I had to do it. I needed a closure,"
Now I really pushed him so that I could finally look at him in the eye. "But going alone? You know what Victor is capable of. I honestly don't understand—"
"Yeah. You don't."
"Yuta," I took his hand. "I lost my mother too."
"I almost had him," Yuta ignored my words. "I swear, I'm going to kill him the next time we—"
"Yuta," I raised my voice a bit a cupped his face to look at me. "Just listen to what you're saying..."
He might be a demigod, but he grew up in an Air Temple. Yuta was someone that wouldn't dare to hurt a fly. He was even a vegan. And to listen to him talk like this...
Yuta pushed my hand away from him. "I'm not sorry, and I'll do it again. Even if it kills me."
"If it's easy, don't do it. Because it's always easy to do the wrong things." I recited what Mai told me before we left her.
"What?" Yuta shot me a confused look.
"It's not about having to look for a closure anymore, now you just want a revenge."
"So what if that's what I want? It's what he deserves."
"Jinora wouldn't want you to do this." I said. "I didn't have to tell you this but you know that what you're doing right now is against all of the things you were taught in the Air Temple—"
"I don't care anymore, Juli."
"You probably know this already, because Jinora told me this herself: revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."
"It doesn't look like I have a choice if we are going to face that bastard anyway in the battlefield tomorrow."
"Yes, you do! You do have a choice to forgive,"
Yuta looked away, "that's impossible."
"I know it's hard. But that's the point. It's easy to give in to vengeance but it's hard to forgive."
Yuta stayed silent.
"Look at me," I cupped his cheek to make him face me again. But he was avoiding my gaze.
I leaned forward and pulled him into my arms. He stayed silent but then I felt my chest soaked with his warm tears. He continued to sob silently.
"It's alright, Yuta." I whispered. "No one's here. Just let it all out." I said as I gently rubbed my hand on his back to make him relax a bit.
~
Xiaojun had helped me to install rein on Naga's horns so that I could guide her.
"Want to help me get up there, princess?" Taeyong looked up at me and smiled.
I smirked at him, "this doesn't sound right." I jokingly said. "Doesn't it usually play out the other way around?"
Naga growled at Taeyong. I patted her head gently.
"Naga, what is wrong with you?" I chuckled lightly. "It's just Taeyong. Now could you please lower down your head so he can come up?"
Naga finally gave in and lowered down her head. But only a bit.
"Moreee...." I encouraged.
She then came lower.
"Just a bit more, please?"
Finally she rested her head on the ground and I gave Taeyong my hand before pulling him up.
As soon as he sat behind me, Naga abruptly picked her head up high from the ground. Almost tossing Taeyong off her head but he tightly held on to me.
My heart was beating so fast I was afraid it was coming off my chest.
He rested his chin on my shoulder. "I could get used to this." He whispered and then proceeded to leave soft kisses on my cheek, then down my neck. And I could feel him smiling while doing that.
I grabbed his hands on my stomach, "Taeyong, everyone could see us—"
"So?"
"Taeyong," I smiled as tilted my head in attempt to get away but he just kept attacking my neck.
I gasped, "Taeyong, not now."
He hummed on the crook of my neck, "you like that, love?"
"Not you two getting horny at a time like this,"
Of course it was Ten.
I looked away from him as soon as I saw him.
Ten threw a long plastic tube up in the air and I caught it. I opened it to find a scroll then wasted no time to open the scroll. It was a map of the four nations.
"In case you lost us up there, doing whatever you two—" Ten cringed. "Just don't get lost, Mushy."
I smirked. "Thanks."
Ten walked back to Sora, and Taeyong and I waited for her to take flight.
When Sora took flight, I tapped Naga's head twice and she also took flight.
Didn't know how I'd known that, but I did.
And that moment I also found out that Taeyong has a fear of height. And that he should've gone with the other guys on Sora instead of riding on Naga, with his feet dangling in the air above the clouds.
~
"Jules!!"
"Juli!!"
Jennie, Rosé, Wendy, Jisoo, Seulgi, and Irene had waited for our arrival at the royal palace.
As soon as I got down from Naga, Jennie put a big coat on me as I shivered due to the freezing temperature.
Then they all squeezed in for a hug altogether at once.
I felt so warm.
Taeyong cleared his throat.
"Oh right,—" Rosé threw another big blue coat at Taeyong without paying much attention.
I was worried there for a second because Taeyong almost fell back, but regained his balance back.
"—You gott a new frieeeend!!" Rosé exclaimed as she pointed at Naga.
Seulgi walked over to Naga and Naga lowered down her head for Seulgi to pet her. "I thought I would never get to see a dragon in my lifetime."
I told them how I found her in the woods and also told them her name.
When I heard footsteps on the snow, I turned around to check who it was. I held back the urge to tear up, because I was so thankful that I could finally see,
"Renjun!"
I ran to hug him.
"Glad to see you too." Renjun said. "Aren't you supposed to be in Omashu?"
"Yeah, but something came up." I said and looked over the other side where the healers were trying to help carry Yuta off Sora. "He needs the best healers right now."
"Oh," Renjun muttered.
"So we meet again,"
I looked on my right side and it was none other than the earth prince himself.
I smiled at Yangyang, who was opening his arms wide waiting for me to come and give him a hug too.
Renjun slapped his arm, "errr..... what are you doing?" He said out of confusion.
I see that they're friends already.
I chuckled at the scene, before walking up to Yangyang and gave him a quick hug. "Good to see you again, Prince Yangyang."
"I told you to just call me Yangyang." He smiled as he kissed the back of my hand.
"Oh shut the fuck up." Renjun said and made a gagging sound.
"Juli," Ten called me as he was approaching us. "The chief is waiting for us."
I followed Ten but no one except me was coming with him so Ten stopped in his track and turned around.
"By us I mean all of us." Ten said. "Because it seems like we're still going to the Fire Nation tomorrow, no matter what."
~*~
A/N:
Soooo I put on the new cover that I made. I was happy at how it turned out for a while but now I'm not so sure anymore. Watcha guys think. Might probably make another one later bcs i feel like this isn't it.
I'm actually excited that im finally THIS close to finishing something that I write 🥲
I just realized I probably say this at the end of every chapter... but idk whats up with this chapter 💀
CHEERS!!