Hey! I thought of this a couple days ago. I'm just telling you now that there is going to be twist and turns. Also, this is a Zuko/OC story. Sorry about any spelling, grammar, etc. mistakes. Comment if you want!

She could feel the breeze in her long dark hair. The air smelled of pine and bark and very faintly of ash and smoke. The breeze was light almost a whisper, but still very there. She could feel the bark at her back, rough and chipping, and it kept her grounded, reminded her of the situation.

She leaned against the bark at her back and looked down at the fire nation soldiers surrounding a fire and setting up camp. They were so oblivious to their surroundings; maybe it was because they were hiding in the branches of tall pine trees and not on the ground. At any other time, years before, she would've thought that climbing up in trees was crazing and you would never catch her doing such a thing. She had quickly gotten over her fear of heights when she joined the freedom fighters.

She looked to her side and saw Longshot looking down at the camp as well, his hat shading his face. He stood against a tree a few feet away from her. She always thought there was something mysterious about Longshot, maybe it was the way he looked when like he was always calm. She turned her gaze to the other side and saw Jet who was too staring at the Fire Nation camp with disdain and hate. She could always she the emotion in Jet's eyes even when he wasn't looking directly at her. Unlike Longshot, Jet turned his head toward her, as if sensing her stare, and smiled at her before winking. He grinned before turning back toward the camp.

She gave him a smile after he looked back at the camp. The pine tree's leaves shaded as cover for them.

"Ok I get it. Look guys I'm tired too, but the important thing is that we are safe from the fire nation."

As soon as they heard voices everyone's stance changed, tightening and stiffing. She saw Longshot out of the corner of her eye take out an arrow out of his quiver and slid it into its place in the bow. She took out the dagger from its sheath and turned it around in her grip.

Three people immerged from the bushes. Two of them-a boy and a girl-looked similar and wore blue. She could tell they were from a Water Tribe by the light blue covering every bit of skin except their faces –as if it was below freezing-and by the blueness of their eyes. They were definitely from a Water Tribe and possibly related. The third wore yellow, red, and brown robes and clothes. He was rather small, but looked strong and had an arrow occupying his head along with a Lemur nestled against it. She knew immediately that he was the Avatar.

She thought about the irony of the situation for them.

The Fire Nation soldiers immediately took notice and crowded around the group.

"Run!" The Water Tribe boy yelled they took off their sleeping bags and possessions, hurriedly.

Longshot slid against the back of the tree until he was sitting on a branch, his legs swinging over, and his bow and arrow still pulled into position in his hands.

The Fire Nation soldiers ran and crowded around them, one shooting fire from his palm. It hit the bushes behind them and the three leapt away from it.

"We're cut off." The older boy said, oblivious to his burning sleeve.

"Sokka, your shirt!" The younger boy said as he pointed.

Sure enough his shirt sleeve was set on fire. He cringed away from it and yelled before his assumed sister bended water onto it.

They backed up against the fire as the Fire Nation soldiers drew closer looking rather furious.

The Avatar and the girl took a fighting stance while the older assumed brother stood in front of them creating a barrier.

"If you let us pass we promise not to hurt you." Sokka said boldly.

She shifted against the tree until her back was no longer touching it. She twirled the dagger in her hand.

The younger girl said something to him that couldn't be heard to anyone else except him, looking rather incredulous before her brother whispered something uncertain to her.

"You promise not to hurt us?" The leader said looking amused.

Just then Longshot released the arrow and watched as it glided through the air and struck down the leader.

"Nice work Sokka. How'd you do it?"

"Uh...Instinct?" Sokka said looking both uncertain and with pride.

The waterbender looked up into the trees and spotted Jet.

"Look!" The waterbender said as she pointed up at a figure standing on a tree branch, smiling.

Jet reached in the back of his belt and pulled back with two long swords, curved at the end. He dropped down the back of the tree branch only to be caught be his curved swords before he swung himself off and landed on two soldiers. He continued to dodge and thrash the soldiers with his curved swords.

"They're in the trees!" One solider pointed out observantly.

She walked to the edge of the tree and jumped off, flipping herself in the air, clutching the dagger's hilt in her hand. She landed on a soldier's back, bending her knees so she wouldn't lose balance. Immediately after she landed she tossed the dagger at a soldier who was trying to throw The Duke off of his back. She faced straight ahead and caught a glimpse of one solider coming toward her and there was another behind her-she could feel it. She pushed off of the soldier's back just in time for the soldier's expected soldiers to fall into each other instead of tackling her.

She landed beside the pile of soldiers. She glanced around and saw arrows and the rest of the Freedom Fighters flying out of the trees.

Longshot was at her back and she could feel his quiver against her back. She really wished she would've brought her bow and quiver full of arrows with her.

Longshot was often her ally in battle, always at her back. It was easier for them. Longshot was an archer and she threw daggers. If Longshot didn't grab an arrow fast enough she would throw a dagger at the enemy in front of him. Is she didn't see the enemy Long shot would take care of it. She was also an Archer, but sometimes she left it to the professional, Longshot.

Other times Jet was her ally in battle as well.

She tugged an arrow from Longshot's quiver and stabbed a soldier with a sword at neck range; all he would have to do was follow through with the swing. The soldier's eyes went wide before he staggered away, holding his wounded stomach.

She saw another soldier creeping up behind the Water Tribe boy. She grabbed another arrow from Longshot's quiver and through it at the soldier's back. He arched and fell to the ground, crawling away, just as Sokka turned around and looked at her.

"Aw! I was going to get that one!" Sokka yelled in frustration.

"Right, because you have eyes in the back of your head!" She said back at him and smiled when he looked even more frustrated.

She turned her head forward and saw a bright flame pushing toward her. She ducked the fire along with Longshot before she titled her head back and bent her back so Longshot could see. Longshot peered over the bent body and shot the firbender in the shoulder.

He cringed and staggered out of the bushes. Longshot stood up and offered a hand. She smiled at him before taking the hand.

"Thanks." She said to him. He nodded before she set out to find her dagger.

She walked toward the fire and found her dagger laying a couple feet away, halfway doused with blood. She picked it up and wiped the blood on her red and dark brown leather armor.

She walked over to a smooth long rock and sat down on it before stretching one leg out and pulling up the cuff of her boot.

"My name is Jet and these are my Freedom Fighters: Sneers," They saw a tall, slightly chubby person with tan skin and green and yellow armor, "Longshot," They saw a tall, slim, pale boy with blue and white armor, and a bow and quiver full of arrows at his back, " Smellerbee, "Indicating a short pale girl with brown ruffled hair and thin red, blue, and brown armor, holding two swords crossed and wearing a brown headband with red paint in streaks on her face, " The Duke, "Indicating a small young boy wearing green, yellow, and brown armor with a yellow circular hat tapered at the end and a long wooden staff, " Pipsqueak, "Indicating a rather tall and round boy with yellow, green, blue, and red armor, " and Madeline." He indicated toward a girl with long dark red and brown leather armor. She was tall, slender, and lithe and had long dark black hair against her pale skin. She was currently hunched over her legs, putting a dagger into her boot.

A short moment later when she was finished she glanced at them and leaned back against the bark at her back. Her eyes were dim amber with flecks of light brown in them.

"Hey. Feel free to call me Maddy."

"Actually, "She said as she turned her head toward them." I'd prefer it if you called me by that. Jet is still the only one who calls me 'Madeline' and I think it's just to irritate me." She said as she narrowed her eyes on Jet.

Jet laughed.

"Well it is your name, isn't it?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that I want anyone to call me by it. I mean the name Madeline is so stupid." She said as she pulled something that was small, long and wooden out of her pocket and reached to the back of her hair before sticking it in the middle and twirling the hair around it around. She stuck the wooden stick further in her hair once she was finished putting it up.

She pushed herself off of the bark at her back and the rock underneath her. She walked with a panther's grace toward them.

"Just call me Maddy and ignore Jet."

"Hey!"

She rolled her eyes and smiled at them.

"I'm Katara and this is my brother Sokka and our friend Aang." She said with a small smile.

"You are a waterbender, correct?"

"You're good, really good." She said once she got a nod from Katara.

Katara smiled at the praise, her blue eyes glistening.

She turned toward Sokka who had his arms crossed over his chest. He looked rather funny when he was pouty and frustrated. He looked everywhere but her.

"Sokka, I think I remember you." She said as she thought it over and Sokka looked at her with a raised eyebrow and looked thoroughly confused because he knew he had never seen her before.

Her eyes beamed with realization.

"Oh, yeah! I remember now. I remember you from when I saved your life back there a few minutes ago!" She said with a grin.

His rage was back and he was glaring at her.

"I…You didn't...Why…I didn't need your help." He finally managed to get out.

"Right, because you could see that soldier at your back." She said with amusement.

Before Sokka could lash out, well try to, Jet intervened thinking that this wouldn't be the best idea for their first meeting.

"Haha. How about we try to get along with people we've just met, Madeline?" He said more than asked as he put a hand on her back.

"I just wanted a 'Thank You', but I guess that's too much to ask around here. Anyway, you're Aang, correct?" She said recalling when she had heard Katara call him earlier.

Aang nodded with an easy smile.

"Well there's no need to tell you how amazing you are." She said with a glittery smile.

Aang colored a slight crimson underneath the praise and Madeline felt the hand on her back press harder.

"Um...Thank you." He said when he turned his head up and lost some of the color.

Aang wasn't sure if anyone else noticed the burning glare that Jet was sending him, but he did.

"No problem. Well, I'm going to go help the other Freedom Fighters. Nice meeting you all." She said as she slipped out of Jet's grasp and walked toward the camp.

Jet looked at Madeline's back as she walked away and sighed.