“What if she’s too chicken to enter? What if she forgets she couldn’t survive for long without me, because I got all the food?” Avani said and stepped up behind team b. “I was wondering when you’d show up, Kasai.”

As entertaining as it might be for the guys to watch their two female leaders focus on arguing with each other, it was beginning to annoy Mio. There weren’t two people here. There were two teams lead by two large egos apparently.

“You do realize there’s more than one person on the other team, boss?” Mio muttered. “Besides, it seems petty to put them all in danger over your rivalry.” Mio threw one of the bags of food she’d been dragging around through the forest at the feet of the other team. “I’m not carrying that anymore.” The airbender walked over to the crater, and began to air-jump down the side of it to reach the spirit portal. “When we get back from this excursion into the spirit world, I can introduce you to another female earthbender.”

Ryuu let out a long whistle, as if he was both impressed and surprised by Mio’s sudden outburst. He was, but he still kind of saw it coming. He’d expected her to do it when they were alone though. This had embarrassed Avani. He doubted she’d react calmly and rationally to it, no matter what the intention or the anger behind it was. When he looked at Avani, she seemed unsure of how to respond. “Let’s go, Ava.” Ryuu said, nodded to the other team and then followed Mio.

“Well, I…” 

Avani was drawing a blank. She figured she may have treated Mio unfairly by leaving her out of the last fight cause of her own personal rivalry, and because she’d let the airbender carry most of their belongings while she bragged about how she was the most physically fit. 

She bent down and was about to pick up the bag that Mio had thrown away, when she noticed it was lying right at Kasai’s feet. Avani stopped herself, because she didn’t want to create an even more awkward situation for herself. In her head, she saw it ending up with the two of them fighting over it, more harsh words, blows exchanged and touching. 

Avani straightened her back, blushed and looked at team b, but never directly at Kasai. “I guess it’s your lucky day, Lady Sergeant.” She created another rock and was soon surfing down the walls of the crater. 

“I’ve heard stories about the spirit portals.” She said when she reached Mio and Ryuu who’d arrived at it first, pretending like nothing had happened. “It’s the gateway to the spirit world, filled with undocumented wonders. According to some stories airbenders could enter it by meditating, but if you want to bend inside you have to enter it in the flesh. If I remember correctly anyway.” 

Avani was excited now. She’d actually get to enter the spirit world and explore it, for the first time in her life, but hopefully not the last. 

“I suppose if it’s throwing out dark spirits something must have been corrupted within, but I don’t think we need to worry about entering it. We probably defeated the group guarding the entrance earlier, or there should be some on this side still.”

She put her hand through the portal after a moment of brief hesitation, and then pulled it back out unharmed.

“I’ve always wanted to do this.” She said to herself, then stepped through the spirit portal and disappeared. 

Ryuu and Mio looked at each other, before Mio followed her boss into the spirit world. As a firebender with little knowledge about spirits or any advantages in the area like an airbender, he felt a bit overwhelmed at the thought of entering an entirely different world, but he couldn’t leave his friends in case they’d need him. He took a deep breath and followed them.