I was running. I could smell the smoke. It was on my clothes, in my hair, in my lungs. It was all over, even though it was miles from the fire. The fire had passed long ago. It had been out for hours, but i could still smell the smoke. I hadn't managed to save anything worth while. No food, No money, None of my family.
Just a stupid bow, my hat, and my blanket. I was only seven. My baby blanket was red for bravery and I was a coward.
I was running. I couldn't feel the ground under me anymore. I ran on nothing. I didn't have any air in my lungs, only smoke. I didn't have any shoes, only bloody skin. I didn't' have any strength left and so I collapsed under a tree. Big Mistake.
There was a thunk and a flurry of dark clothing and crimson streaks. She bore a scowl and a pair of ragged blades. She couldn't have been more than seven herself. But I'm not going to lie; she was scary.
"Food and money," She hissed turning her blades threateningly. She hadn't been training with those blades for long. She wasn't entirely comfortable with them yet. "Now!"
I notched an arrow and aimed at her. She didn't move. I can't really blame her for laughing at me. My hands were shaking so badly I wouldn't have hit her anyway. She threw her head back and laughed hysterically. I fired and missed her by a good two feet.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to tell her to quit laughing. I didn't.
There was another thud as a second figure dropped from the treetop. He was tall. Maybe about nine or so? I don't know. I don't even think he knew. He was chewing on a piece of grass. I guess it made him feel in charge. I dropped my bow and bowed my head so they couldn't see me so close to tears.
My dad had told me that boys don't cry.
"What did ya find Smellerbee?" He asked looking me over. I felt his eyes from under my hat. I guess the girl shrugged. Because then, he turned on me.
"What's your name kid?" He asked. I didn't answer. He got mad. He grabbed my by the shirt and pulled me to my feet.
"Hey." He said angrily. Oh the cliches he was using. "I asked you a question."
I said nothing.
"Can you not talk?!" He demanded. I looked him in the eye. He didn't get it. "Are you fire nation? Or are you just to dumb to answer?" He had really expressive eyebrows. He still does.
"Jet-" the girl, Smellerbee, said, "I don't think he can talk."
Jet hit me in the stomach. It hurt. Tears fell from my eyes. I think that was the last time I cried.
The girl got mad.
"Jet! Cut it out!" She said. She dropped her blades and tried to pull him off of me. "Jet!"
She screamed at him and eventually pulled him off of me. I fell to the ground. Smellerbee held Jet off and yelled at him.
"He can't talk!" She said. One short finger was pointed at me crumpled on the ground. "Look at him; He's got no food, no money and he's burned!"
Jet wasn't very perseptive. He was passionate. Not a good combination. I guess that's what Smellerbee was for. She was a good person. I could tell.
Jet was quiet for a moment. He didn't know what to do.
"Can you talk?" He asked stupidly. I shook my head. "Oh." He offered me a hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet.
Smellerbee swore at Jet under her breath and spat.
"Fire Nation burn your village?" Jet asked. I nodded.
"Well, duh." I heard Smellerbee whisper.
"Got any place to go?" He asked. I shook my head.
"Wanna be a freedom fighter?" He asked. I looked to Smellerbee. That's what they were. They were freedom fighters. Slowly I nodded. Jet smiled. Smellerbee smiled too.
I like her smile.
Much later that week, Jet asked me to keep watch with Smellerbee. I wanted to thank her. I had to. I realized in the short time I had been there, that it took a lot to stand up to Jet.
I wanted it to be special. And that wasn't because I was a love sick puppy dog. Okay. Maybe it was.
I thought about flowers. Girls liked flowers, right? I found some pretty ones in the woods by the hide out. But i didn't pick any. They didn't seem like Smellerbee.
She would have liked a nice sincere "Thank you." But I couldn't do that. It made me sad.
So there we were. We sat on the ledge and let our feet dangle off the edge. I kept one hand on my bow. How would I say thank you? I had to think of something.
She told me about Jet. About what happened to him. About how he thought I was going to be a great Freedom Fighter and how she agreed.
It hit me then. I leaned over and kissed her cheek.
I can't even begin to explain the butterfly a boy gets when he kisses a girl for the first time. I can't describe the feeling of flying over wide oceans it gave me as she gasped.
However, I can explain the emmense embarrassment I felt when she hollered and scrambled away from me. She looked at me as if I were some kind of rabid animal. She couldn't even speak. She just up and went.
I finished the watch by myself.