The air was freezing cold, and the breezes carried a shiver of sensations throughout the entire South Pole. Misty's breath clouded everyone's face as Appa floated down onto the snow and ice-covered ground.
Crisp~
"Moooo!"
Appa let out a soft roar as he touched the ice-cold ground under him. His weight immediately crushed the soft ice into ice harder than ice... Yeah, that made sense.
"So this is the South Pole... Not as cold as home with Gran Gran," Norrak chuckled as he clenched his hand, the familiar environment causing his mood to lift a bit.
Katara smiled at Norrak's words, her eyes glazed over with nostalgia as the faces of her family entered her mind. Their moments with Gran Gran, and when she married Norrak, were all precious memories for her.
"Yes, it's very similar to home... I wonder how Gran Gran and the tribe are doing right now... I hope they are doing well," Katara said, resting her head on Norrak's shoulder, the atmosphere around the two turning comfortable.
"Don't worry about them, Katara. They are not as weak as you think they are," Norrak reassured Katara, his hand wrapping around her and his palm gently rubbing Katara's arm.
"Yeah, you're probably right about that. We were raised by the tribe after all," Katara shook her head with a smile as she chuckled at her own words. She should've known not to doubt the people who raised her and Norrak.
"Uhm... Are we going to enter the scary-looking forest that looks more like trees made of ice or not?" Behind Norrak and Katara, Ty Lee crawled forward on all fours while pointing towards the forest.
"So that's the forest where the Spirit Portal is? It looks like a normal forest to me, the only difference is ice and snow," Azula jumped up from Appa's back and down onto the snow.
Azula's boots sank into the ice before melting as she started using Dragon Breath to heat her body up and stay warm. Azula's eyes narrowed as she sensed the air.
"Everywhere you look or touch, the energy is abundant and powerful. Is this the Harmonic Convergence's effect?" Azula turned to Norrak and asked with curiosity. She wanted to know if this could be used to become stronger.
"Yes, and I already know what you are thinking about. Harmonic Convergence does allow you to become slightly stronger as a passive effect. Still, once it's gone, the effects leave as well." Norrak stood up, floating down beside Azula, his boots sinking into the ice as well.
"Well, that's a letdown," Azula muttered with disappointment.
"Not to interrupt your conversations. But why exactly did you bring Ty Lee and me wiht you? I imagine we won't be of much help in the fight against Vaatu."
Norrak and everyone turned to Mai, who spoke up with a tone of confusion. Ty Lee was offended for a second since Mai implied she was weak, before deflating like a popped balloon since she was not wrong.
"Mai-chan... You didn't have to say it so harshly... But I am also curious as to why you brought us here, Nornor?" Ty Lee's sadness vanished as he turned to Norrak, with everyone now waiting for his answer.
"This is making me a bit sad. You girls are making it seem like you two did not want to come with Katara and me," Norrak placed a hand over his heart exaggeratedly, his eyes closed as he pretended to wipe away a tear.
"Stop joking!"
"Fine! The reason I brought you two is not to fight, but more importantly, to watch and bathe in the spiritual energy leaking throughout the fight," Norrak spoke, his joking face gone and replaced wiht a serious one.
"But why? We can't bend at all, so Spiritual Energy is practically useless to Ty Lee and me," Mai raised another question for Norrak, suspicion in her tone.
She didn't think Norrak would bring them to do anything to them, but she needed to know the reason before going in there blindly.
"Yeah, the spiritual energy is useless for you, but it might give you a chance to unlock Bending by being bathed in it," Norrak explained to Mai and Ty Lee wiht a patient smile.
"How do you know this will unlock or give us Bendings instead of hurting us?" Mai countered Norrak's words with narrowed eyes, confusion and suspicion in her tone as to how Norrak knows.
"I know-"
"What the hell is all this nonsense questioning? If you don't want to come into the Spirit realm with us, then stay here with Appa. No one is forcing you,"
Interrupting Mai with a mildly annoyed tone, Toph, who was lying on Appa's back, snoring from sleep, opened her eyes lazily, yawning as she sat up straight.
Mai was silent as she took in Toph's words. Her mind was confused for a second before looking at everyone. All the girls were looking at her wiht a weird look on their faces.
'I see...They all trust Norrak to the bone... No, they trust his words more than their own,' Mai felt a hint of guilt and reprenhension run through her as she felt a tightness in her chest.
The realisation that she didn't even have complete trust in the one to whom she already gave herself fully caused Mai to feel out of breath for a second.
"Norrak, I wanna apologise for all the questioning... I did not mean to make it seem like I did not trust you. I promise I will never question you again-"
Embrace.
"Huh?"
Mai barely muttered with wide eyes as Norrak wrapped his arms around her gently, her face etnly pressed against Norrak's chest, his masculine and sweet scent entering her nose.
"You silly girl. I don't want you to not have your own free will or thoughts. No one whom I love should do as I please without question, because then I don't know if that is love or servitude anymore," Norrak spoke up, chuckling at the slightly surprised looks on everyone's face, except for Azuila, who merely rolled her eyes.
"Did you girls really think I would be angry simply because you questioned me? That's quite cute in my opinion~,"
Mai looked up from Norrak's chest, her cheeks burning red hot, and misty clouds exiting her mouth as her lips slightly parted.
"Such sappy words... But it works, I guess," Azula spme, her palm resting on her hip as she turned around, taking a step forward into the forest.
"Wait for me, Azula!"
"Toph! Wait-"
Toph jumped up from Appa's back, wearing a warm coat from Norrak's wardrobe as she jumped down onto the snow. Norrak tried to warn her, but Toph already landed. The moment she landed, Toph let out a scream.
"AHHHHHH! It's cold!"
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