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𝐂loud wasn't a stranger to wars and minor fights. Despite being one of the few original airbenders in the whole world, she was different than the others━well, not as different as she thought she was since her little cousin, Meelo, was pretty much a duplication of her. Not on the appearance, but more in the manner.
Yup. I think Meelo might've spent too much time with her than Tenzin would've liked. Even though she was literally years older than her cousin, they got along pretty well.
Cloud knew she was good with her own bending. She wasn't a prodigy, no, but when she loved what she was doing, her cleverness and creativity tended to come out of the blue━very much like her airbending. It wasn't until the age of five she got her ability. It came naturally, a little late, but she was extremely grateful until this day.
Years ago, it came like a wave. It was so sudden, like the gust of wind that touched her face as she stood on the deck of the battleship. Younger Cloud always liked the feeling of it, feeling more rooted and confident with the wind, and then suddenly, she was able to control the direction of the air with a gentle flick of her hands.
"The Avatar!"
Without even blinking or giving it so much thought, her arms moved on instinct and intercepted the deadly ice shards that Ming-Hua sent at them with an air blast of her own. Naga turned into a corner, and she briefly caught sight of the two fugitives running after them but was stopped by a blast of fire. Her heart clenched but she forced herself to turn her eyes in front of them and never looked back.
"They'll be fine," Asami assured her as the airbender grabbed onto her to keep herself from falling. The non-bender held Korra closely as the Avatar was still asleep and in the Spirit World.
"Yeah," Cloud muttered, her grip around her glider tightening at each second that passed. She wasn't too sure.
It felt like hours when it had only been a couple of minutes since they'd left the two brothers to fend with Ming-Hua and Ghazan. The polar bear dog ran up a hill outside of the town. Cloud craned her neck to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of the town. It was beautiful in the night. The sky was a dark hue of blue, and the air was serene despite the abnormal beating of her heart.
It was fine until an earth tent protruded out of nowhere and trapped them inside. Naga had no choice but to halt, and Cloud felt her adrenaline rush through her veins. Hell, no.They did not just run all the way there just to get captured by someone else.
The last thing she remembered was getting trapped inside the earth tent and getting hit in the head with a rock which ended her being unconscious. Ugh. Cloud winced as she started waking up, her head was buzzing with pain. Her throat was so dry. She really needed a cold smoothie. A strawberry smoothie sounds exceptionally good right now.
"Cloudy!" She heard a familiar voice speak from somewhere. Cloud looked up, her eyes landing on a certain black-haired girl across her. She noticed the restraints on her wrists and ankles, which made her look at herself and notice she had the same thing.
"It's not Zaheer, the Earth Queen's forces captured us," Korra said through gritted teeth.
When she looked at the Avatar, her eyes widened in disbelief. Korra was tied up by a straitjacket and had a muzzle over her face with a bunch of other restraints on her like they weren't sure one restraint would keep her contained.
An irritated scoff escaped from her lips. "That little weasel snake."
It was the next day, and it was safe to say Cloud hadn't slept a wink ever since they got captured by the Earth Queen's military forces. How in the world could she sleep with restraints on her and the reminder that her glider was gone? She wasn't happy anymore. The thoughts of cold smoothies long gone.
Cloud continued to grumble incoherent words under her breath despite the muzzle over her mouth. She kind of accidentally blew a raspberry at someone's face a little harsher than usual. He went unconscious from the blow, which honestly wasn't much since Cloud knew she could do worse.
Two soldiers held both of her arms as they guided her towards the Earth Kingdom airship while others did the same to her two friends. She also noticed that they were in one of those Earth Kingdom military bases in the middle of the desert. She briefly made eye contact with the captain of the Earth Kingdom airmen but he broke it off as quickly as he blinked. Maybe he recognized her.
After all, Cloud did have quite a reputation in the military world and practically in general.
"You have to let me out! The Earth Queen is in danger from a group of terrorists calling themselves the Red Lotus," Korra yelled. They ignored her. So she turned her eyes to the captain as she was pushed up the ramp leading into the airship. "I talked to one of them in the Spirit World yesterday. He's insane!"
"Screaming about terrorists in the Spirit World? You're the one who sounds insane."
The crew locked the three women in a cell room; Korra was locked to the wall and Cloud was locked to the floor. However, Asami being the clever girl she was, managed to persuade the crew to chain her to the railing on the wall. As soon as the ship crew walked out of the cell, Cloud huffed under her breath and folded her legs up to her chest, leaning her chin on her knees. The muzzle was so uncomfortable. She felt like an animal.
Korra struggled against her restraints but to no avail. "We have to find a way to get out of this prison before we get to the Earth Queen."
"Yeah," Cloud scoffed, harshly pulling her chains from the floor but she only ended up back on her butt. "I personally don't want to see that rat woman again."
"Don't worry, I have a plan," Asami huffed before standing against the wall and struggling. Then she easily pulled off the railing. She jumped to bring her hands in front before throwing the railing to catch it upright. "These airships the Cabbage Corp sold to the Earth Kingdom are way cheaper than the ones Future Industries built."
Cloud whistled in amazement. "Okay, 'Sami."
"Now that's just shoddy workmanship." Asami walked up to Korra and studied the restraints on her. "There's no way I can get these locks off. I need the keys." She looked at the floor before prying a panel open with the railing. "Give me five minutes, then start yelling for help."
"She's so cool," Cloud sighed dreamily as she looked at where the non-bender disappeared off to. Despite having no bending abilities, Asami Sato was one heck of a woman with a brilliant mind. What's the point of being a bender if you're dumb, right?
After five minutes, the two left alone in the cell decided to do what Asami had told them to do, and started yelling out for help, getting the attention of the same crew from earlier. Asami successfully knocked him out and released the two women with a key she snatched from somewhere in the airship. As quick as she took the muzzle off her face, a mischievous grin appeared on her face, and she stretched her arms and fingers.
"Nice work," Korra said and marched out of the room. "Now let's take control of the ship."
"Let's do that," Cloud smirked and followed after her with Asami close behind. She might not have her glider with her but that doesn't mean she was any less stronger. In fact, it just gave her a lot of reason to use her fist and punch someone else in the face. A good excuse, too.
