The Mahaha Tribe Arc 5:

She walked in as he was laying hay for his friend, preparing to say goodbye as he acknowledged this mission may be prolonged if he was to believe that what Kaisa told him was true. She must've recognised how he felt about parting ways with Appa, even for a short period of time - there's no other reason as to why she'd be here, now; the sun hadn't even risen yet, not that they'd see it properly through the blizzard anyways.

"It's only for like a week," she murmured. "You'll see him soon, you know."

Aang only hummed in response, patting the sky bison's head as he groaned in appreciation before leisurely eating his meal.

Suki shuffled to stand beside him, also patting Appa's head as she spoke, "There's something different about you." Unabashed, she voiced her observations while regarding him with concern-consumed eyes, "You've been acting strange, distant." The Kyoshi Warrior turned to face him completely, her limestone coloured cloak flapping alongside the unrelenting blizzard's breeze, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," he lied.

"Don't give me that," she frowned slightly, her annoyance growing the more neutral his expression became. "Why are you afraid to show your true feelings?" He didn't respond, but simply returned to retrieving hay for Appa while the bison continued snacking. Now, with his back to her, Suki began barking at him, "Something's got you scared… or nervous. I can tell. I know."

"Well, if you know, then you know," he commented cryptically. "What do you need me for?"

"Don't get smart with me." The Kyoshi Warrior warned, frustrated to no end. She'd noticed that he'd been on edge ever since hearing about Bhoot Pahaard - or the Mountain of Ghosts. Something about what Chief Hakoda said awakened the usually suppressed and dormant, cynical and distant side of him. She knew he meant well, that it was a manifestation of his need to protect; his guilt made living, breathing… staring right back at her as she barked at him. He meant well, she understood that. But she didn't like this side of him. The Aang she cherished, her best friend: the goofy, funny, peaceful, mischievous, outgoing and outright too-energised-for-his-own-good airbender was who she needed during a time like this. Someone who could eradicate the sadness and despair and confusion within her with just a genuine smile and a natural laugh.

Why did this Aang have to show up? What was it about this mission that had gotten him so freaked that he felt the need to get serious…? Really serious.

"This is not a time for you to grow distant. You heard Sokka last night, we'll need perfect coordination, communication and cooperation if we're to make it out of this alive. And we can't do that if our leader is shutting us out."

"Am I not communicating with you now?" He raised an eyebrow, clearly challenging her.

"You're talking, yes," she snarled. "Your mouth's moving, yes. You're saying words, words that have no meaning. You're reserved - we can't have that." He wouldn't meet her eyes as he glanced away, staring at the arrow atop Appa's head while the bison continued snacking. Her face softened slightly, her words losing all their bite as she shuffled closer and laid a hand atop his shoulder, trying to look up into his troubled, grey orbs - she was still getting accustomed to the fact he was now taller than her, only by a few inches, but taller nonetheless. Softening even more as she saw his eyes sparkle with fear, her left hand naturally went to his right cheek, panning his head to the side so she could see his true expression. She noticed a crack in his facade, and whatever she saw, whatever emotion was there, it scared her too. "What are you afraid of?" The Kyoshi Warrior asked softly, slowly caressing his cheek with her left hand while her right held onto his shoulder. "What's gotten you, of all people, so spooked?"

Sighing in defeat, he stared into her eyes as he answered slowly, "I have no idea… and that's what scares me even more." Not the response she was expecting - and it had actually caused her to shiver too - but Suki supposed it was better than what she was getting before. "This mission, just… something about it; I have a bad feeling."

"I do too," she murmured while unknowingly taking a step closer, their positioning now much more intimate, though it was unbeknownst to them as it just felt natural. "But as long as we look out for each other," she whispered, "we'll be okay."

Despite the blizzard numbing them to no small degree, the short distance between them did nothing to lessen the warmth they felt within themselves; their proximity terrifying yet exhilarating. It only intensified the more they got closer, shuffling that extra inch forward, slowly shutting their eyelids. However, before they could lose themselves in that comfort, they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat, rather loudly, actually.

Eyes opening in shock, Suki launched backwards, away from the airbender, as she faced the intruder who'd just entered the stables and likely caught her and Aang in a rather intimate position. And to her dissatisfaction and dread, it was the one person she had hoped it wouldn't be.

"Am I interrupting something?" Sokka asked somewhat worriedly, though he masked his apprehension with amusement, using his usual, sarcastic tone.

"Uh - No! No, nothing!" Suki let out a fake laugh which she hoped was convincing and didn't actually make things even more awkward - which it definitely did - while she brainstormed strategies to help her escape this embarrassment.

"What's up, Sokka?" Aang asked nonchalantly, acting as if Sokka hadn't just found him standing a little too close to his ex-girlfriend… in the stables… alone… minus the flying bison who was watching the whole ordeal and snacking as if it were a corny drama show.

"Ummm… we have a visitor," the meat-obsessed man stated, still attempting to recover from the surprise of finding his best friend and ex-girlfriend in a seemingly intimate hug.

"Who?" The Avatar asked as he shuffled towards the warrior.

"Your girlfriend," he joked, which caused Aang to blush and Suki to frown.

"Who?" She asked; intrigued, and only intrigued.

"Please…?"

"No," Aang stood his ground, his arms crossed over his chest as the girl frowned.

"Why not?" She pouted - it was cute, but he wasn't going to fall for her tricks. "Why can't I come with?'

"You just got out of the Hospital last night," he listed, "so, I doubt you've fully recovered, you're way too personally invested in this mission, and you're new to team dynamics." He raised an eyebrow while waiting for Sokka, Suki and Haru to arrive at their rendezvous point. "Do I need to list more reasons?"

"Dr. Najak told me I was fine," she countered, "I trained earlier this morning and barely broke a sweat, because of my personal investment I possess the determination required to see this mission through no matter the cost, and if you ask the Chief or Master Pakku, you'll know that I've worked within many teams in the last few years; participating in and even leading covert operations against Ozai Loyalists scattered across the Tribes, Earth Kingdom and the seas." Although impressed, Aang still wasn't convinced; he mostly wanted to ensure her safety, and he couldn't guarantee that if she participated in this mission. "I'm not a child, Avatar Aang… or a novice waterbender. I'm a master; I can take care of myself."

"I don't doubt that," he admired her defiance and determination, it reminded him of his own waterbending sifu. "The problem is… we're jumping head first into the unknown here. Sure, we have our suspicions… but in actuality, we have no idea what we're dealing with when we climb that mountain, and even though you've escaped before, you still aren't completely sure of what you saw or felt up there. No one on this team has experience facing evil spirits besides me - if that is what we're dealing with. Taking all that into consideration, it would be too dangerous to bring you along."

"But-"

"Let her come," Kaisa was cut off by none other than Sokka as he, Suki and Haru arrived together with their bags and kits slung over their backs. "I spoke to my Dad and he said it'd be best to bring her along, since she's the only one out of all of us who's been up there and actually survived an encounter with… well, whatever is on that mountain."

"And what do you think?" Aang asked as he turned to the Southern warrior.

"Although I share the same reservations as you, I can't deny there are obvious advantages to bringing her along," he shrugged. "And, apart from you, she's the only one out of all of us who has the innate ability to identify spirits. Her keen senses and prior knowledge of the mountain can be of use to us. Plus, she seems capable of fending for herself," grinning slightly, he nodded towards his friend beside him as he joked, "well, she seems more capable than Haru, at least."

"Hey!" The earthbender frowned while Suki and Kaisa giggled together.

Chuckling softly, the Avatar hesitantly conceded as he nodded and slung his own bag, filled with minimal supplies, over his back. "I guess you're right," he turned to look into Kaisa's hopeful, sky blue eyes as dawn was finally upon them, the faint traces of sunlight shining through the unrelenting blizzard and onto their faces. "You can come along, Kaisa."

Squealing in delight, she lunged forward and embraced the Avatar tightly, her arms overlapping his own as she practically squished him. Sokka and Haru laughed at the image while Suki plastered on a smile, confused as to why she felt anything but amusement.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She squealed, digging her face into his black cloaked chest for a solid five seconds before she remembered who he was and shot backwards. "Sorry, A-Avatar Aang," she smiled sheepishly, twiddling her thumbs in what seemed to him as a nervous habit while she tried to hide the reddening of her cheeks by dipping her head.

He smiled, amused as he shook his head, he picked up her bag for her and handed it over, "It's alright. You got everything you need?"

She nodded, and behind her, Sokka shuffled forward while joking, "Operation Ghostbusters is a go!"

Laughing good naturedly, Kaisa donned the hood of her parka as she, Aang, Sokka, Haru and Suki officially left the Capitol while exiting through the heavily guarded, massive front gate. The path ahead was flooded with snow, the environment around them consisting of nothing but dark wood and blinding whites. Even now, as they embarked on their journey, Aang couldn't shake the sense of dread stirring within him, feeling as if, on that mountain, he'd uncover something he didn't know could exist… or ever existed, a concept so foreign to the folk of the South Pole, let alone a simple, moody monk like him. Regardless, he drowned that dread deep within him and pressed forward, every step he took a battle against the solidity of the snow bombarded grounds. If the strategically cut trees around them didn't highlight a path, then they'd surely be lost by now. However, as Sokka led the way with Kaisa beside him, Aang looked to his left at Suki and Haru, feeling slightly guilty. Neither of them had asked for this, they simply wanted to visit Ba Sing Se and Gaoling for Toph's Metalbender Academy Graduation Ceremony, but due to their connections with him, they were also thrusted into this whole ordeal.

He wanted to stay optimistic, for them… for himself… but when he envisioned drops of crimson red within the blank white just beneath his feet for a moment before it faded, he felt that same sense of dread rising from deep within him.