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𝐓he young airbender could almost feel her stomach getting swarmed with butterflies as the ship got closer to the very familiar island before them. Even the clouds started to clear out, giving her a complete view of the Air Temple Island. She swore she had never missed seeing the temple as she does right now. It almost made her want to jump from the boat and swim towards the island herself because of how slow the pace of the boat was.
Besides, she could just use her airbending to dry herself. The only problem was that she couldn't swim, although she doubted that would be a problem since she could just propel herself up in the air.
Grinning from ear to ear, she pushed past the peaceful monks, slightly stumbling on her nimble feet. They weren't that peaceful anymore after she started to run around the big boat. The monks had been assigned to pick her up in the middle of the sea with the other battleships, and ever since then, the girl hadn't been shy to show how excited she was to get back home. Her sudden actions earned some frightened shrieks from the religious men as they moved aside to let the uncontrollable daughter of Commander Bumi get to the bow of the boat.
One of the monks shook his head at the airbender's antics. He didn't even need to wonder where she got all that energy from, having been around somebody who shared a lot of similarities with her before. He also knew very well that it was not getting drained from her any time soon. It would take decades for her to tire out.
Her eyes twinkled with pure delight when she noticed familiar faces waiting for her on the dock. Tenzin and his pregnant wife Pema had warm smiles on their faces along with their children. Then there was Meelo, the youngest of them. He had a grin twice as big as hers as he vividly waved his short arms from afar.
"Cloudy!" Meelo shouted as loud as his voice could get that made his parents and Jinora slightly jump from surprise. His father immediately told the excited boy to calm down but to no avail.
Cloud laughed in delight. "Meelo!"
She reached for her orange glider, suddenly flying out in the open without anyone's permission. The monks made noises of stress and apprehension as they watched her fly away into the horizon. Tenzin was far more frightened than his children━well, at least two of his children who were ever so excited to see their older cousin when they saw her launched into the air.
Closing her glider, her fall went smooth as she used her airbending to slow down her drop. However, as soon as she stepped foot on the land, Cloud found herself being hugged by her three delightful cousins. She was more than happy to return all of it, wrapping her arms around them as best as she could without missing anyone out from the embrace.
After the hugs, Cloud stood straight and faced the older people, raising an eyebrow at her uncle. The man grumbled under his breath before beckoning her to come toward him. A chuckle escaped her lips as she tackled the taller man into a bear hug, and then she turned towards his wife, Pema, giving her the same. Cloud had always thought the bigger the hugs were, the better it was.
"Cloudy! Cloudy! You gotta meet her! You gotta meet her!" Meelo exclaimed as he tugged her hand with his small ones, trying his best to pull her further towards the Air Temple. "She's awesome! But don't you worry, you're still my favorite."
Cloud turned towards Tenzin with a surprised expression on her face. "The Avatar is here?"
She heard him sigh deeply at the mention of the strong-willed Avatar. Also, she was pretty sure Korra was supposed to be at the South Pole. Before Tenzin could even answer her, Meelo had pulled her down, using his airbending to make her turn her attention to him. Cloud looked at him, a sheepish smile on her face upon seeing the stern look on his face. Meelo pursed his lips as if he was disappointed in her, his little hands on his hips.
"You know her?" Meelo demanded, raising his thick brows at her. "You know Korra?"
Cloud shrugged coolly. "I might have met her once."
"Enough of that, we all should get to the temple," Tenzin cuts in. "And Jinora, please guide your cousin to her room." He turned on his heels back to the house with Pema at his side.
The short-haired airbender smirked as soon as he turned his back on her, leaving her with her cousins. Cloud clutched her glider in one hand and looked down at the three children before her. Meelo, Ikki, and Jinora already had huge grins and smiles on their faces. They were now holding their own orange gliders as if they just read her mind.
Great minds think alike.
Without a second thought, all it took was three counts from the oldest cousin before the four of them flew up with their gliders, zooming above Tenzin, whose face flashed with horror. Then it slowly turned into a furious one. He looked like he was about to explode as he bellowed, "CLOUD! Meelo! Ikki! Jinora!"
Cloud glanced at the three kids who were probably going to become the greatest airbenders in the world, flying on either of her sides, laughing loudly like nothing could stop them from having fun. Not even Tenzin's furious voice screaming at them to come back fading into the distance as they flew away.
He'd probably end up losing all of his hair someday from the stress, but he couldn't ask for more. Literally. He already has to take care of a hot-headed, impatient Avatar along with his stubborn children. Then his niece, whose name was literally the same as the fluffs of white hovering in the sky, came along. A part of him hoped she had changed even a little from the last time he'd taken care of the girl. (By that he meant, he hoped she'd be a bit less like his brother).
His own children were already as chaotic as they could be. Jinora was not as bad as his other two children, but imagine what that would be like. Even just imagining it sent shivers down his spine. Tenzin sighed under his breath, only to find himself smiling contentedly as his children's and niece's laughter correlated with the wind.
