"I have never met such a weakling of a leader, so out of balance with his own tribe that he would be afraid of their disapproval. But I cannot blame you, I understand what you must be feeling."
Cailu only stared at the man in disbelief, he couldn't understand that he had promised to help the stranger because now it seemed that the man didn't even care to listen to anything he said. Just a few moments ago Cailu had admitted to not being the true leader but just a cover someone else hide behind. And now he got insulted for being a weak leader that couldn't do anything without the approval of the tribe? Apparently the man hadn't listened at all to what Cailu had said either this morning or last evening. Cailu almost regretted making such an agreement, after this he didn't even feel like helping the man with his quest to save the world. But it was not Cailu's decision. He could only ask Ara to do it, if she decided it wasn't worth it that was the end of the story. And after all this he almost hoped she would say no to stepping in to be some sort of a peacemaker so everything could return to normal.
Before leaving for the trip Cailu collected everything he needed to make the trip by himself, he knew for sure that no one would want to accompany him. Why would them? They hated him. And he was glad to just be rid of them and their judgement now finally. The other thing that made the steps he took a little easier was the fact that he finally had decided to do was right - at least that was what he himself believed. He knew that Ara would think so too. But a part of him just hoped.
When he announced what he had planned to do to the guards no one tried to stop him, they just promised to take care of the village while he was gone and that was all he had hoped for. Once done with all the preparations Cailu sat up on his pitch black stallion and took off towards Northpass.
It took him a while to get there but since he didn't carry any heavy luggage or had any carriages with him it took him only a couple of days instead of almost a month. Sure, when he finally arrived at the mountain he knew it lied upon he did have some trouble finding the actual entering, the well hidden road that led you safely to the tribe. He knew better then to try to get up without it, it was nearly impossible for an outsider like him, too many dangerous animals and paths. But after a while of searching and memory training he finally knew where to go.
As the village itself started to become visible between the foliage Cailu finally could breathe normally and relax, just knowing that he wouldn't need to be lonely anymore made the pressure that had been lying above him vanish. When he met the guards that had been visiting his own village he got showed to the shaman tent where they told him Ara would be located at the moment. To him all of the tents looked the same and he couldn't understand how people could want to live in tents all year round since the winters must be cold up here like in Murtovaara.
But he didn't ask about it to the guards, instead he just bent down and entered the tent. Like the guards had told him Ara really was there and to his surprise she looked more alive now than before. With a wide smile he sat down beside her, "Ara... You look much better now..."
"Cailu? What are you doing here?" Instead of Cailu's great excitement about being reunited Ara only showed confusement. He hadn't told anyone in advance that he would visit them.
"Uhm... Well it's complicated..." The man started to nervously fiddle his hands before retelling what had happen some days ago. He knew her opinion about stepping in into the other's war but she surely must see what problems could lie in front of them now. But Ara listened carefully to what he said without disturbing him. When he was done the silence lied above them both like a cloak, no one said anything. But finally Ara only nodded.
"Yes, perhaps we should talk to them... But we won't do anything further than that. We listen to what the Water leader has to say and that's all. Understood?"
Cailu once more started to fiddle nervously as if he had something more to say but didn't dare to say it. When he finally collected all the courage he needed he glanced up towards her, "I think we should stop this. You should take your rightful place and show everyone that it was you was our leader all along. I'm not good at it and... Everyone need to know. Now is a good time to let everyone know the truth. You seem stronger, you would be able to handle yourself. I will always be beside you to protect you either way."
After a discussion about if it was a good thing to do or not they finally agreed upon letting the rest of the world know about the Air tribe secret. They bid farewell to the Shapeshifter tribe and the guards from Airedale that had held Ara company while she had lived inside Northpass. And finally they was on their way to visit Lakeshore for the first time since they had taken over the power after Ara's father’s death.
Before they left Northpass they had asked them to send a note telling Azure about their visit however. The bird flew off into the distance towards Lakeshore and their leader. Now Cailu only hoped that everything would go as smoothly as possible so they could avoid any sort of trouble.