"Kai, Do you actually know the way to the Northern Air Temple?" Jinora asked, staring down at the valleys in-between the peaks of the Huan Mountain Range. At least she thought it was the Huan Mountain Range.
Lefty flew between the vast summits of grey stone, covered in a thin sheet of grass. The valleys below were lush and divided by a raging river running, snaking its way through the countryside. They had no sign of civilisation for the past hour or so. No chance of asking someone for directions.
Kai turned back toward Jinora and nonchalantly replied "Of course I do. I have done this trip before. I know where I am going." He pointed down to a nearby cliff in the shape of a crescent. "See that's... Banana Pass, and that must be Zhang River." Kai said unconvincingly.
Jinora looked puzzled and stated, "I thought that was Crescent Moon Mountain, making that Rarent River. That means we must be heading south-east instead of north-east." She craned over the edge of Lefty's saddle for a better view of the terrain.
Kai stammered for a second but then responded, "Well that was appa-Rarent to everyone!"
Jinora giggled. "Wow, that was something ... special."
"I got this," Kai replied, turning his attention back to the reigns.
Jinora was not convinced and reached around in her bag for the map. "Do you want me to bring the map over there?"
"Are you kidding me? I am like the master of directions, this is actually a shortcut." Kai retorted proudly. Jinora walked over and sat down next to him, placing the light brown parchment between them. Jinora looked up at the sun, shining a warm glow through the cool breeze. She leaned over putting her head on Kai's shoulder. Kai's gaze went back and forth between the map and the scenery. He pulled on the reigns; Lefty roared in recognition and changed course. The skies were peaceful and serene. The gentle breeze rolled through the valleys and up the mountains, shaking the countless leaves in wave-like motions.
"I was wondering, how are we going to find this 'secret sanctum'? We didn't know it existed until just now." Kai asked.
Jinora sat up and replied, "The acolytes in the Eastern Air Temple found an old manuscript which spoke of this secret sanctum, my father believes it stores precious air-bending texts. We need to save this priceless information, or else it will be lost."
"That's why you are so eager for this mission, to get some new books," Kai smirked
"Hey, that's not the only reason. I also get to spend time with my favourite person?" She objected.
Kai looked around. "Really, where is he? Are we going to meet him there." Kai joked. Jinora kissed him on the cheek.
"You must think you are the funniest person ever."
"I wish Tenzin thought so too
"He likes you fine, he's just a tad protective. He did allow you to come on this mission." Jinora deflected
"I didn't expect that at all. I was expecting a mission that would involve me sitting patiently on a mountaintop for the rest of my teen years."
"You are an amazing air-bender, definitely in the top five. After Dad, Korra and myself, there you are." Jinora said
"Oof, listing it like that doesn't help." Kai laughed. "Did he give you a weird prep talk before we left?"
Jinora blushed, sheepishly replying, "How did you know?"
"Well, I am a master mindreader. How else did you think I learned any air-bending without paying attention?" Kai confidently retorted. Jinora smiled and looked him in the eyes.
"And Pema gave me one. She kept using euphemisms and I had no idea what she was talking about until it clicked." Kai continued.
"Euphemisms? Lucky you. My 'talk' was one of the most awkward conversations I have ever had."
Kai roared with laughter. "I can imagine it now."
Jinora persisted "We sat there in silence for ages and then he got straight to the point. Then we just sat in silence again. I had no idea what to say." This ignited another fit of laughter in Kai, who dropped the reigns to grab onto her for support.
Kai wiped tears from his eyes, "That is priceless. Who do they think we are?"
"We are proud members of the air nation, respectable and wise air-benders," Jinora said in a snooty tone.
"Quite, Master Jinora, we learn to detach from the material world and focus on spiritual meditation," Kai said in an equally exaggerated and snobbish tone. They looked at one another trying to keep their composure, before both cracking up into laughter. Several hours past. Kai relaxed back into the mundane task of driving onward. Jinora sat with him for a while, before pulling out her book again and moving back to resting on their pile of luggage.
For Kai, the tedious hours passed. Much to his annoyance, a terrible cramp began forming in his leg. "I need to stretch my legs; I have been driving for hours. Wanna come with?" Kai groaned, standing up and looking back to the saddle where Jinora was quietly reading.
"Maybe later, I just got to an interesting part in the story," Jinora replied, keeping her gaze locked on the words. Kai took a couple giant steps across the saddle and looked over her shoulder at the novel.
"I see. Pretty interesting, but-" suddenly he snatched the book from her grasp. Jinora jumped to her feet, glaring in Kai's direction.
"Hey, can I have that back?" She protested
Kai stepped to the edge of the saddle, unclipping his wingsuit and replying in a taunting tone replied: "Sure thing Honey, just come and get it."
He kicked off the saddle before she could finish in a gust of wind launching into the sky and disappearing into a cloud. Jinora rolled her eyes and somersaulted in pursuit. Kai looked back, to see Jinora racing toward him. The rush of air past his ears was deafening. Kai, heart pumping with adrenaline opened his arms and careered past a monumental cloud. They were like little birds amongst the high rises of Republic city, firmly in the shadow of such titanic structures. Jinora was not fazed by his course change, tucking her arms by her sides and darting at colossal speeds toward her target. Running out of options, Kai penetrated the cloud castle to evade detection. Jinora noticed his plan and instead of getting lost chasing him through the snowy smoke, she went past the cloud to wait below it. She opened her wingsuit, slowing her descent greatly, causing some of her hair to blow into her face.
A long moment passed until finally, Kai emerged from the airborne accumulation of water molecules. He emerged casually reading the book with one hand and resting the other behind his head. He turned to look at Jinora grinning, "Fancy seeing you here. Come here often?"
Jinora manoeuvred over to him and latched onto his torso. "Honey? I'm not an old lady yet."
"I will cross it off the list." He casually replied.
"There is a list now? Surely there is an easier way to find pet names."
"We will just have to experiment, and see what sticks." He brought her face close to his and passionately kissed her. He closed his eyes, enjoying the moment as they plummeted towards the ground.
"Have you had enough exercise now? Perhaps we could get back to the task at hand." Jinora said.
"We still have a solid couple hundred meters until we hit the rocky ground below. But if you insist." Kai stuck his fingers in his mouth and released a shrill whistle. Moments later an excitable Lefty roared his way over and caught the descending duo. Jinora stood up and clipped her wingsuit back on.
"I swear you are just like my siblings, asking me to drop whatever I am doing and play with them," Jinora exclaimed, taking her book back from Kai's grasp.
"If they didn't you would sit in your room all day," Kai responded
"That's not true, I do tonnes of stuff," Jinora replied hesitantly.
"If you aren't doing air bending training or hanging out with me and the gang, you are in your room," Kai explained as he sat himself back at the reigns, turning over his shoulder to continue the conversation.
"Well, you don't do anything either," Jinora argued
Kai paused for a moment in thought before saying "I could have sworn I did stuff. Ever since the air nation has been helping around the world I haven't really had time for anything. Here's an idea we should get new hobbies."
"How about gardening or painting? A lot of people like those." Jinora offered.
"I don't have the patience for them. You know that. You would be better off with snail turtle racing." Kai responded. "Talking about racing, we could learn to drive satomobiles. Asami could hook us up and everything." He said with zeal.
"Eh, not really my cup of tea, racing around the streets in a metal box. You can, but I would rather watch." Jinora said. "What about dance? Opal did a lot in Zaofu. That would be fun."
"In your own words, 'not my cup of tea'. What about sailing?" Kai inquired.
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"And because we are air-benders, we can cheat. We could be the fastest boat on the water."
"Unless there are some water-benders sailing as well."
"That's why we gotta bring Korra."
"Definitely."
An hour passed and the sun had almost completed its descent. Kai was scanning the landscape for somewhere to make camp. They could rest and reach the Northern Air-Temple by brunch. "How about that spot down there?" Jinora asked peering over the edge of the saddle.
"Which one?" Kai asked, looking down at the green forest below.
"That that clearing past that river. You see it?" Jinora pointed down at a circular patch of grass amongst the canopy of treetops.
"Yeah, it looks great. Yip yip Lefty." Lefty began his descent gently falling through the air before crashing down onto the ground. Both the passengers were jolted by the crash.
"Lefty. You were never a fan of gentle landings, were you?" Kai said leaning over to look Lefty in the eye.
"Hello? Do you want to give me a hand?" Jinora asked, lifting two duffel bags.
"Sure thing," Kai answered.