Dragonfire | Mako

THIRTY

Kaida walked with her head held high, her shoulders pushed back, her eyes sharp as she briefly nodded at a few soldiers she passed by on her way to the edge of the camp. Iroh was walking beside her in a manner almost identical to her own. One of his arms was tied close to his body and he was prohibited from moving it but despite his injury he was as proud as ever. The siblings appeared regal, untouchable by mere men. Then they reached the edge of the camp, a sky bison and a company of four people in front of them, and Kaida smiled.

She appeared as if she was stripped of her heritage then as she rushed forward and with a wide smile, opened her arms at the same time a woman dressed in blue did, and with identical laughs the two women embraced.

"I'll miss you, Korra," she told her as she squeezed her tighter before pulling back, her eyes bright. "I'll return to Republic City as soon as possible."

"We don't have to wait for you to visit us in Republic City," Asami spoke up as Korra pulled back, letting Kaida embrace Asami in return. "Perhaps we could visit you in the Fire Nation."

Kaida chuckled as she pulled back only to be attacked by Bolin. She hugged him back with a laugh as she turned to Asami. "The gates of the palace are open for you whenever."

"I don't want to believe we have to leave again you so soon," Bolin complained as he pulled back with a pout before a second thought came to mind and his eyes brightened. "When we visit you in the Fire Nation do you think I could take a ride on your dragon?"

She grinned as she exchanged a look with Iroh, her amusement mirrored on his expression. She turned to Bolin once more. "I don't know, Bolin. Grandpa doesn't let many people around Druk and Druk is selective too. I'll see what I can do, though."

Finally, she allowed her eyes to trail over to Mako and at once her expression softened as she crossed the space between them and almost jumped in his arms. He held her close as she let out a small sigh. "I'm going to miss you a lot."

"We'll see each other soon, Kaida, I'm sure of it," he murmured, his arms around her tightening in response. "But I'm going to miss you too. I'll write you letters."

"I'll reply as soon as I get them."

He smiled slightly as he pulled back and paying no heed to Iroh standing a few ways away, he leaned in and kissed her. It was short and as he pulled back, he didn't let her go just yet as he pressed a kiss on her forehead, meeting Iroh's slightly narrowed eyes as Kaida hugged him close. Iroh's gaze jumped from Mako to Kaida and then back before he turned to Korra.

"The bandits surrendered early in the morning-"

"I'm surprised they kept fighting for four days," Bolin cut in as he frowned, "I thought they would have given up by now."

"What matters is they did give up sooner or later and thanks to you, we don't have many casualties and we can go home. I can't express my gratitude for you coming to our aid enough times."

"We couldn't have ignored Kaida's cry for help," Asami pointed out as she stole a look back at Kaida who was talking to Mako in a hushed tone, smiling all the while as he listened carefully, their arms still tight around each other. It brought her to smile at the sight as she turned to Iroh to see him watching the exchange as well. Her smile widened. "Besides, it's been a while since we've all had the chance to be the team Avatar everyone knows."

"Yes," Bolin grinned, "team Avatar got back in action! It's not the same as working in the police station, is it, Mako?" There was no reply and Bolin stole a look behind him, his eyes narrowed as he noticed Mako and Kaida talking among themselves once more. "Mako!"

Kaida turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Excuse me, he's kind of preoccupied right now."

Korra and Asami hardly managed to keep themselves from laughing at Bolin's incredulous expression while Mako didn't bother hiding his grin at his brother's reaction. Kaida raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge as Iroh let out a brief sigh, pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke up.