CHANGE | CHAPTER TEN
"𝐈 found out," Korra exclaimed as Lin turned back in alarm, finding the team and Suyin, now in her Zaofu attire, inside the airship. "Why you're so against coming here? Why didn't you ever tell me you had a sister?"
"Half-sister," Lin corrected.
"Same mom, different dads, so what?" Suyin retorted. Then she put her hand over her heart like she was hurt. "We're blood, Lin, and after thirty years, the least you could do is say 'hello'."
"I have nothing to say to you," Lin retorted, bitterness on the tip of her tongue.
The group ventured back to Suyin's home. They ended up standing near a field with metal columns, where a metal disc ricochets between, with two familiar-looking players on each side. A grin appeared on the airbender's face when she noticed the identical twins whom she had met before when they were younger.
"Those are my two youngest, Wei and Wing," Suyin said, smiling warmly. "They're playing a game called Power Disc. They invented it all on their own."
They watched as Wing shot the disc to his twin, who redirected it, ricocheting it between multiple columns. Wei fired the disc back, ricocheting against a column as Wing leaped to intercept the disc, but failed to catch it, which slammed into a net.
"Oh, nice power, Wei," Suyin praised, the defeated twin grumbling and pounding his hands on the ground.
"Ha! Wing goes down!" Wei laughed. Then he noticed the familiar airbender standing next to his mother. His face lit up and he waved at them. "Oh, hey, Cloudy!"
"What's up, Wei!" Cloud grinned, waving back at the guy, which earned a slight frown from the firebender beside her, but she didn't seem to notice it.
"I'm so proud of those two." Suyin smiled as they walked away. The group headed to a gallery filled with metal sculptures, where a sculptor worked on one of the sculptures with his metalbending. It was a long-haired boy with the side of his hair shaved. "Huan, I'd like you to meet the Avatar and her friends. And your Aunt Lin."
Korra smiled enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you."
"Hey," Huan said nonchalantly without looking back at them, which made the Avatar confused but Cloud just snickered under her breath.
"Wow, that's a really nice... banana?" Bolin tried to compliment him, but they only looked confused and unsure at his choice of words. Even Cloud was tempted to laugh but restrained herself. "Yes, very, very lifelike."
Huan sighed like he was disappointed and turned to Bolin, speaking with irritation laced in his tone, "It's not a banana! It was inspired by Harmonic Convergence; represents the dawning of a New Age. Obviously."
However, Bolin was quite convinced it was a banana, but he didn't push it further since Huan didn't look too happy that his work of art got mistaken as a simple banana. The group walked away to find the person they came for, and that was the new airbender, Suyin's only daughter.
Cloud couldn't help but glance around every time because of how refreshing the mountains and green plains looked. She could really use some fresh air. She walked behind her friends next to Naga who had Pabu on top of her head. They went towards a slightly younger teen reading a book on a bench. The brunette smiled at the sight of the girl whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
"And this is my daughter, Opal," Suyin introduced as the teenager turned her attention to the group, eagerly standing up from the bench.
"Wow, Avatar Korra. I can't believe you're here. You are so amazing," Opal gushed as she went towards Korra who stood next to a certain earthbender.
Korra smiled. "It's great to meet you, Opal."
"Opal," Bolin chimed in. "That's a beautiful name."
Opal blushed and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks."
"I'm Bolin," He introduced himself, extending an arm out, his palm ready for a shake.
"Opal." She shook Bolin's hand. "But, uh, you already knew that."
Cloud tried to stifle her laugh, grinning at the back of their heads. It was so obvious that Bolin found her cute. Even Korra glanced back and forth between the two with amused curiosity as Bolin looked off awkwardly before Lin stormed towards them like she was pissed off. As usual.
"Great. We've found the airbender," Lin grunted, looking grumpy as always. It was a permanent look on her face, just as much as the grin on Cloud's. "Let's take her back to the airship and get out of here."
"And the woman apparently trying to abduct you is your aunt, Lin," Suyin retorted as she went near her daughter.
Opal was ecstatic to meet the older woman, but Lin wasn't cooperating and continued being a cold and irritated aunt who wanted nothing to do with her sister. Although she doubts that's what she actually feels on the inside. Everyone has troubles, and maybe this one was Lin's, but for her to overcome it, she had to comply with the truth and forgive the past.
Suyin was surprised when she was told that they needed to leave with her daughter, and she completely disagreed. She didn't want her daughter to leave for selfish reasons. It might take some convincing, but Cloud was sure that they could change her mind. Lin wasn't too happy about staying in Zaofu for a day, but she had no choice. As stubborn as she was, Korra was just the same.
The airbender had slipped away from her group after they settled into their respective guesthouses. She bounced across the land, looking like a joyful bunny with that small smile on her face. Walking past the edge of the tram trail line, Cloud stared at the waterfall in front of her, briefly imagining what it'd be like to control the water. She was contented with her airbending. It was just plain curiosity.
Letting out a light sigh, she flicked her glider open, about to soar into the air towards the waterfall when someone called out her name. She almost tumbled over the edge when someone grabbed the collar of her shirt. Cloud yelped in surprise, closing her eyes as briskly turned around, slamming the end of her staff on whatever or whoever it was. The unknown creature let out a painful grunt.
"Cloudy!" A familiar voice exclaimed, and that made her open an eye, before opening her other too when she realized who it was.
"Mako!" Cloud's eyes widened as she stepped forward, grabbing his head and bringing it down to her height as she checked the damage. "I' 'm so sorry."
Mako continued to rub the spot on top of his head, wincing when he felt a bump. The airbender was still holding him down since they weren't the same height, and Cloud was pretty adamant about finding the damage. However, when she realized it was only a bump━she sighed in relief and stepped back, crouching over the ground to pick up her glider before letting her arms drop to her sides.
"Don't sneak up on me," Cloud scolded him.
Mako slightly tutted his lips as a small frown appeared on his face. He tried to defend himself. "I called out your name!"
"I'm a bit jumpy, remember?" Cloud sighed, glancing down. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Sorry again."
"It's fine. Come on," Mako shrugged. "Suyin called us for dinner."
The two walked side by side in silence on their way back to the dining room. Her arms swung back and forth on both her sides, even if she was holding a glider. It wasn't like she would accidentally hit someone, but the firebender next to her begged to differ. While she might be an airbending master, he also knew how clumsy his friend was.
He kept glancing at her every now and then for a lot of reasons including the threatening object in her hand. But soon enough, he started to relax when he noticed how calm she was. Even though she wasn't grinning, it almost looked like there was a lingering smile on her face. He always liked that about her.
Mako never noticed those kinds of things before. Not until at this moment. He wasn't sure about what he was feeling, but it was strange. A good kind of strange. Sure, he literally dated two of his friends, and it wasn't long ago when he broke up with Korra, but for some reason, every time he was around Cloud, it just felt different.
Maybe because she knew him like the palm of her hand, and he knew her better than anybody else. They'd been there for each other when no one else was. Their relationship was deeper than what others see. It was like, she had a string somewhere under her left ribs, tightly knotted to a similar string in him.
And just for a moment, Mako had imagined his life without her and realized he would've never gotten to this day if it wasn't for Cloudy.