Courtesy Disclaimer- I do not own ATLA.
Mai looked to her left with only her eyes, restricting her face and body from any other form of movement. She saw the back end of a small, brown rabbit-fox as it leaped into the brush surrounding them. Mai took a deep breath, drew her arm back, and pitched a shuriken from under her sleeve directly at the woodland creature.
The shuriken glided through the air with the precision and speed of a bullet. Mai took note of the way the thin rays of light that managed to break through the surface of the treetops bounced off of the now airborne object. Right as the shuriken was about to hit the rabbit-fox, Mai heard a metallic cling that caused her to furrow her brow slightly. The rabbit, startled by the sudden noise, hastened its pace and quickly vanished from sight. Mai stepped forward to analyze the scene in front of her, only to find her shuriken in the dust. She picked up the silver, star-shaped object and looked at it more closely. Mai tilted the star towards her, and as she did so she noticed a long scratch on the surface of the object. She had begun to squint her eyes to observe it more closely, but something in front of her caught her attention. Mai reached forward and picked up an arrow, one she assumed was what had been what deterred her shuriken from her target.
She quickly turned around and saw the silhouette of a tall, lean figure. Before she could second guess herself, she sent several shuriken flying in the figure's direction, pinning it to a nearby tree.
Mai ran towards it, making sure that it wouldn't escape the confines of her shuriken before she was able to identify the person. Mai took note of the figures small frame, which was shrouded by thin clothes and whose head was covered by a large hat. Once she was close enough, she grabbed the person by its neck and tilted its face towards her. His expression, which was not unlike Mai's, remained perfectly stone-faced.
"Who are you?" She quietly asked the boy with her eyes narrowed.
He didn't respond, but he instead removed himself from her grasp and, in one smooth motion, pinned her to the tree where he was previously held captive.
Mai's eyes widened in shock, but her face otherwise remained expressionless.
Who is this scrawny kid anyway? Mai thought to herself.
As he held her to the tree, thousands of ideas raced through her mind. Of all the things she was thinking at that very moment, the one that stood out to her wasn't that she may not live past this instance or how she was going to get out of the predicament she currently found herself in. The thought that stood out the most to Mai was this scrawny, mysterious young man had done something no one had done to her before.
Mai looked back and forth between his eyes, trying to identify even the slightest hint of inconsistency to his emotionless countenance.
The seconds continued to pass, yet neither of the teenagers moved a muscle or spoke a word. They only stood in the dark forest, the sounds of nature seeming to grow mute as the air of silence grew thick around them.
Mai closed her eyes, then took a second look at the boy in front of her. Upon this second observation, Mai noticed things she hadn't took note of beforehand. She noticed the way his lips remained tensely pursed together, and the beads of sweat that had formed in various positions on his face. Mai looked past his face and saw the worn bow he wore on his back, made of wood that had been worn down to a smooth surface from being used so frequently. She imagined what kind of tree it had been made from, she wondered if it had been made from a branch of a tree that grew in this very forest. Mai looked at the thin fabric covering his body, and wondered if those were the only clothes he owned. She saw his hands, and looked at the callouses that had formed there from working. Mai looked at his bony wrists, and was reminded of how thin he was. This made her wonder if he even had a home, or a place to eat. She wondered if he had a family or friends.
She wondered if he would want to be her friend.
Mai began to open her mouth, but was at a loss for words. What could she even say to this stranger? How could she possibly find this boy who had her pinned to a tree even remotely attractive? This boy had gone from a mysterious figure in the woods who cost Mai her dinner to a mysterious boy in the woods that Mai wanted to eat dinner with.
Mai closed her mouth, deciding that it was best if she didn't mention her newfound fondness for the boy at the moment.
"I'm Mai." She said, grabbing the boy's wrist from her shoulder and wrapping it over his head, causing him to fall over and giving her a chance to slip away from him.
She looked down at him and began to run back towards her camp, but decided to take one look back. She saw him beginning to get up, he had one hand on his knee and one on his bow. She flashed him a quick and very slight smile before running full speed away from the scene.
Once Mai believed she was far enough away from him, she slowed her pace. She looked around and reminded herself of how much she hated the outdoors and having to hunt for her own dinner.
She sighed loudly, it was better than living in the house with her boring parents.
As her pace had finally slowed down to a walk, Mai stopped to reposition the knives she kept in her dress. As she bent forward, she heard the air behind her whistle. She grabbed two of her knives and rolled to her left. She did this just in time to see an arrow whiz by her and get stuck in a nearby tree. She looked in the direction of where it came from, but saw nothing but trees. After a moment, Mai walked toward the arrow, preparing to compare its likeness to the kind of arrow the boy had been using earlier.
The arrow was identical, aside from a small piece of parchment attached to its end. Mai took a second look around before unwrapping it and examining its contents.
"They call me Longshot."
Mai looked back in the direction of the arrows origin, trying to mimic Longshot's emotionless expression he had exhibited when they were face to face. She failed at this, however, and caught herself smiling down at the small piece of paper.
"This certainly is a long shot." Mai said as she dropped the paper and navigated through the forest back to her camp, hoping she would get sent to hunt more often.