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𝐀 young airbender sat on the grass with her legs crisscrossed, constantly glancing around her surroundings in boredom. The bottom of her left cheek now donned a two-inch scar, covered with some poultice and a small squared cloth to keep it from infection. It was quite deep and it hurt like a bastard. She also had been thinking about where the two brothers had run off to. It was the next day, and they still weren't back, which was worrying enough.
However, her worries all washed away when she caught sight of the brothers suddenly appearing from the stairs after noticing Pabu who started chittering and running in their direction. Mako and Bolin were panting like they'd just run a three-hundred-mile marathon. Cloud immediately rushed toward them and stood before them as she watched them catch their breaths.
"Mako. Bolin."
"You're okay. Where have you been?"
"We chased Kai. Train. Slipped away. Lower Ring. Slept in trash pile. Met our family. Grandma tears. Mako scarf," Bolin gasped out at once, still not over from catching his breath. He threw Pabu onto his head, and mimicked Hou-Ting's royal headgear, slumping onto the floor after his last three words. "Earth Queen. Lying."
"Can you interpret that?"
"The Earth Queen's been secretly taking away airbenders and forcing them into her army," Mako explained, casting a worried glance at Cloud's way.
Cloud felt her blood boil at the thought of her fellow airbenders being forced to do something that was against their nature. A scowl flashed on her face. "I'm going to find that pesky queen and force her to release them—"
"She was lying. I knew it! I swear, the next time I see her━" Korra quipped angrily, feeling the same thing as she was but was cut off by Asami, who whispered, "It's the Queen."
Korra calmed down and looked at the Queen who was carried in a sedan. Cloud gritted her teeth from annoyance and kicked her foot upwards. Her glider fell into her hands. She was about to stomp towards the Queen to give her a mouthful when she felt someone grabbed the back of her shirt and dragged her towards his side.
"Let me go," Cloud huffed, clawing at the air as if she was trying to reach the Queen.
"Not right now, sunshine," Mako murmured, shaking his head, setting her down beside him but not completely letting her go as he kept a wavering hand close to her lower back.
"I can't let her do that to my kind," Cloud muttered.
"We won't," Mako reassured her.
"Quick! Pabu. Shirt," Bolin whispered hurriedly. Pabu jumped inside his shirt, chittering in protest. "I know. Sorry. Kinda sweaty."
Hou-Ting stopped a few steps from them, the same conceited expression plastered on her face like the first time they met her. However, her secretariat practically has doom etched across his face. Cloud suddenly felt bad for the old man. He obviously didn't want to be a part of whatever scheme the Queen ran in Ba Sing Se.
