CHANGE | CHAPTER THREE
𝐓he flying bison, Oogi, flew down and landed on Kyoshi bridge, and the four of them jumped off the bison, Cloud finding herself next to a certain firebender. The latter briefly stole a glance at her while Korra walked up between him and Lin, quietly assessing the situation on the bridge. She furrowed her brows in confusion and looked up at the bridge, becoming curious when she noticed a man with dark hair holding onto the railing.
He seemed to be trembling in fright. If he was really an airbender like they were all saying then he shouldn't be too worried about falling. But Cloud understood him. He might be a late bloomer too, or he was just scared of heights. Either way, he could find a way to get past it. The metalbenders approached him and took a fighting stance as if that'll make everything much better.
"Come down immediately, or we will be forced to take action," The current police chief said through a megaphone.
"Stay back! I'm dangerous," The man exclaimed. However, the metalbender cops still attacked him. But he managed to defend himself using an air dome (which left Cloud flabbergasted), knocking off all the metalbenders. He quickly apologized in shock. "Sorry!"
The metalbenders fired their cables toward the bridge before swinging back to the ground. Korra grabbed her glider and flew to the top of the bridge. Cloud reached for her own, but froze when she realized she wasn't holding anything. Not anymore. It made a small frown appear on her face.
"You okay?" She heard a voice to her left, and she looked at Mako with a small nod.
"Yeah, fine." Cloud shrugged. But it didn't convince the firebender although he just kept quiet. He'd talk to her later.
It all happened too fast, one second, Daw, the man who was on the bridge, started to fall but then Korra saved him, causing the crowd to cheer. Cloud left Mako's side to approach the newly found airbender, bouncing lightly on her feet as she found herself standing next to her uncle.
"Daw, this is Tenzin and Cloud," Korra introduced them, and Cloud sent him a small wave with a smile that reached her eyes. "They're going to help you."
Tenzin bowed. "It is absolutely my pleasure to meet you, Daw. I have never met a new airbender before. Well, at least not one whose diaper I didn't have to change."
"Actually, I just fell off a bridge so I could use a fresh diaper right about now," Daw said nervously, making the oldest airbender raise an eyebrow at him.
"So, is this the deal?" Cloud turned behind her and noticed Raiko marching towards them as a metalbender cop opened the fence for him. "We have a crisis every other day now thanks to you."
"Listen, I know you're having a tough time getting used to these changes and I'm sorry for that, but you and everyone else are going to have to learn to live with it," Korra said hardly. "The vines and the spirits are here to stay."
"Well, you know who's not here to stay?" Raiko said angrily, the crowd gasping at the decision. "You! I order you to leave this city. You've caused nothing but trouble since you arrived."
Korra scowled. "Don't worry, I was already leaving."
Cloud shook her head in disbelief and before anyone even realized it, the furious brunette was already stomping her way towards President Raiko. Abruptly stopping just behind him, she slightly raised her foot upwards and airbend a gust of wind towards him, tripping the man so she could reach for the back of his shirt and drag him back. The man silently shrieked in shock but he couldn't do anything else.
"Hey, old man! I am so done listening to your whining so quit it! You're the one making everything worse, and Korra's just trying her best to help us all," Cloud hissed, pointing a finger at his face, not even caring that everyone was staring at her. "What did you do, huh? Complain to the press all the time? Get it together, sir. You're the president, not an actor."
As soon as she ended her rant, a certain someone grabbed her by the back of her shirt and started dragging her back towards her uncle.
"You know, Cloudy, you're too impulsive sometimes." Mako shook his head, a little amused and worried all at once.
But the girl was too busy glaring at the president as the firebender who was holding her, dropped her on her feet in front of Tenzin, who sent her a look that she obviously ignored.
After a hundred and seventy years, there were new airbenders in the world again. Something that Cloud never thought would've happened, but something she always wished to happen. It caused her to forget about her broken glider at least for a moment as she focused on finding her fellow airbenders instead. Tenzin told her that she needed to act serious now since she was a master, and it was also her duty to teach other airbenders.
Grumbling under her breath, Cloud stuffed her clothes inside her rucksack. All of a sudden, three knocks came from outside her door.
"Come in," She muttered.
The door slid open. Surprisingly, it was Tenzin who entered her decent space of comfort.
"Cloudy," Tenzin said, sounding the same as always. "I have something for you."
With his words, the female airbender looked up, a smile threatening to appear on her lips but she tried to maintain a nonchalant expression. She studied her uncle, scrutinizing him from head to toe, and noticed he was hiding something behind him.
"What's that?" Cloud asked suspiciously.
Tenzin shook his head in amusement and to answer her question, he revealed what he was hiding behind him. Just like that, her face lit up like a thousand volts going through a light bulb. He swore the sun would be jealous of how bright she looked right now.
There he held, a familiar-looking orange glider━the same one that most of them have━although her old one was an exception because of the drawings on the staff, and the color was way much lighter.
"Uncle!" Cloud gasped, tackling the man into a surprising hug that almost made him fall.
But he quickly wrapped his arms around his lovely niece. Tenzin chuckled slightly and held out his hand which held the glider after they stopped hugging. "I heard from two little birds that you broke your glider so I figured you'd want a new one."
Now standing outside, Cloud was back in her natural state, bubbly and outgoing. She held her new and improved glider tightly in her left hand, a permanent grin on her face as she watched an airship preparing to land at Air Temple Island. A couple of Air Acolytes pulled the airship with ropes while Cloud's whole family, including Korra, all stood together as the airship landed. The doors slid open and Asami appeared standing just inside the ship.
"Did someone order a fully equipped Future Industries airship?"
"It's perfect! Thanks, Asami."
"I figured if we're going to Ba Sing Se to search for airbenders, we should do it in style."
The kids were ecstatic to see the airship and when Ikki summoned an air scooter, Meelo followed with Poki, the ring-tailed lemur on his little shoulder. The oldest cousin chuckled in delight as she stood behind beside her two female friends. All the kids except Jinora weren't coming since they were too young to be on the mission.
"While you guys are gone, Pema and I will hold down the fort." Kya smiled, picking up Rohan, and bounced him gently up and down. "Who's excited to spend some time with your Auntie Kya?" She cooed but the baby vomited on her shirt in response.
"Aw, he likes you," Pema teased.
Kya waterbends the vomit off of herself as Mako appeared out of nowhere, walking past the airship. As soon as a certain bubbly airbender noticed the firebender, she bounced towards him, briefly hearing their conversation. Korra wanted him to come but he kept saying he couldn't. As stubborn as he was, Cloud was way much more stubborn, and she wasn't going to let him pass unless he went with them.
Cloud rushed after the firebender who was leaving the premises alone. His shoulders were down. Even if she couldn't see his face, Cloud had a feeling he was feeling a little sad. His footsteps were lagging and she didn't have a hard time catching up to him. The way he stiffened ever so slightly told her he knew it was her behind him.
Cloud smiled slightly, halting his walk when she appeared in front of the cop. "Hey, fireboy."
"Hey, Cloudy," Mako cleared his throat and sent her a nod. "I mean, Cloud━Cloudy... Cloud."
She narrowed her eyes at him curiously, checking his actions and the way he continuously darted his eyes around anything but her. Mako was nervous but for some other reasons she didn't know yet. Cloud stepped closer and placed her warm hand on his forehead, taking the firebender by surprise as he slightly stumbled back.
"W-What..." Mako stuttered, but Cloud was too oblivious as she went near his face and closely scrutinized his expressions.
She quickly jumped back when she heard Bolin's voice calling out his older brother's name from afar. Mako composed himself as the female airbender gave him a sweet smile that reached the corner of her eyes, slightly crinkling in delight. He never realized how adorable she looked until now. His Adam's apple slightly bobbed, almost nervously as he shifted on his foot, avoiding her gaze.
"See you on the airship!" Cloud beamed, making an air scooter before zooming away from him.
Mako furrowed his brows, sputtering, "I-I never... I didn't..."
The bubbly girl vanished from his sight, leaving him with a feeling he couldn't quite explain. What a complicated girl. Mako thought, shaking his head in slight amusement. Turning his attention to his little brother who was approaching him, probably about to convince him to come. He had already made up his mind anyway. Cloud was already so sure he would come and he didn't want to disappoint her.