It hadn't been more than five minutes after Jet had left that another visitor appears at the threshold of your tent. You turn your head when you hear footsteps come to a halt at your hut, while a figure blocks the sunlight. Sitting up instantly, you try to get a better view of the person. Unfortunately, the sun strikes the figure from behind, bathing the front of it in shadows, so all you can make out is the silhouette of a girl. "...Hi," you address her politely.
"Who are you?" the girl asks in a gravelly voice, gesturing to you with a nod of her head.
You tell her your name and she slowly enters your tent. The contrast of sunlight and shadows subsides as she draws nearer and your eyes adjust, her features slowly being revealed. The first thing you notice are her dark, dagger eyes, followed by her other sharp features...her jaw, her chin...almost every edge of her could only be described as...sharp. Her raven hair, barely passing her chin, sweeps over her right eye. Her visible eye is lined with charcoal, her lashes are long, her lips are pursed judgingly, her black-gloved hands sit upon her hips, her fingers exposed. She's dressed in black; her sleeveless shirt reveals her muscular arms and the slimness of her waist, the bunchy fabric wrapped tightly around it. She wears black pants tucked into dusty black boots with a sword case displayed at her hip. You can tell right off the bat that she isn't somebody you want to mess with.
"You staying for good or something?" She shifts her posture, putting her weight on her right hip. You can just make out a scar below her left cheekbone. She obviously doesn't hide it with her hair because she's too proud to.
"Uh...I...guess? Maybe?" You give a small chuckle but you obviously can't get her to crack a smile.
The girl scoffs, "Don't expect anymore special attention from him after today."
"Who, Jet?"
"Yeah," she responds as if you should have known. "Why'd he decide to bring you here anyway?"
You feel as though you're shrinking under her judgemental glare. You hide your insecurity by holding your head high and keeping a calm tone. "I don't really know. He just wanted me to join you guys. Practically begged me," you chuckle. It's obviously an exaggeration but you don't know what had come over you. You just can't stand her belittling you and something inside you had told you to make her jealous for some reason. Instincts?
She rolls her eyes, "He's probably been out in the sun too long." You give her a fake smile and pretend to acknowledge her 'joke.' For the first time she smiles back, but it's nothing but snide. "Well if you think you're gonna stay here," she continues, "You better earn it. We don't need any burdens."
As she turns to leave, you chirp, "I didn't catch your name."
Pausing for a moment, but without looking back to you, she replies, "It's Hikari." And once she's gone, the sun's in your face again.
All of the breath escapes from your lungs in a long sigh. You should've known not every freedom fighter would be as friendly as Jet. But even still, you have trouble excusing Hikari's bitterness. You don't have much time to figure her out before your thoughts are interrupted yet again; this time by a girl bursting into your room in a fit of giggles.
"Classic 'Kari. Hey, sorry 'bout her. She's...yeah. I'm Nori, my room's next door so I heard all that. You're..._?"
"Hey," you reply with a smile, relieved to distract yourself from your previous acquaintance. "So...what's her problem?" you whisper, leaning forward toward Nori. You both share a chuckle and your new friend shakes her head.
"Just avoid her. She and Jet had a thing and she got clingy so he dumped her. But if you ever ask her what happened, which you shouldn't, she'd tell you the opposite."
You nod, putting the pieces together. "So she's the jealous type."
"Yup," Nori responds before sitting beside you on your cot. "Aaaand her room happens to be right across from yours," she laughed.
"Great," you scoff and turn to Nori. She wears a dark green sleeveless shirt atop a long-sleeved brown one. Her brown pants are tucked into the wraps that travel down her calfs to her small brown shoes. Several blades hang from her belt as well as from a strap tied diagonally across her torso. Like everyone else in the hideout, her attire is ratty and her armor is sparse and eclectic. Luckily her presence isn't intimidating like Hikari's. Instead, she has a cheerful forest sprite-like face, playful brown eyes, and short brown hair, shorter and scruffier than Hikari's.
"So...where's your weapon? Can I see it?" she asks eagerly, looking around for some sort of spear, blade or mallet.
"Huh? No I- I don't have one," you reply in confusion.
Nori's eyebrows furrow, "Well then how come-"
"...No I mean...I don't...I'm a bender." Your voice becomes quieter with each word. You still aren't used to being so open about your bending.
Nori's eyes light up, "Really? That's awesome! You're the only other bender besides ol' 'Kari."
"She's an earthbender too? Why does she have a pair of-"
"Swords? Well it's always good to have a few weapons on ya." Gesturing to her knives and darts, she continues, "I throw some of these, stab with others. Nice to have a variety."
"Oh. I don't have any of those..."
"No problem, we've got plenty. Want me to show you?"
"That's okay...Maybe later."
"Sure. How bout a tour anyway? If you couldn't tell, I'm reeeally bored right now," she chuckles.
The tour does eventually lead to the armory, where you find yourself face to face with more weapons than you'd ever seen in your entire life. Some, strangely enough, are familiar to you. Nori explains that a lot of the Freedom Fighters' supplies are stolen from Fire Nation soldiers. Definitely seen some of those in the last raid. Not to mention the fact that your village is patrolled by the 'fire fuckers' day and night. That explains why the weapons seem so familiar.
By the time the sun had begun to set, you'd seen just about all of the hideout, which is like a small village itself. Kids of all ages run around taking care of chores, flying across zip lines, and still finding time to act like normal children. It's loud and busy all throughout the day and into the night.
"You hungry?" Nori asks as the summer air chills slightly, the rich sunset hues pouring through the hideout.
"I was just gonna ask when dinner was," you chuckle, noticing that it's probably the third or fourth time you and Nori had shared a thought.
"Now. We all eat together, up there," she points toward the large platform in the center of the hideout. "There's always enough for everyone, but with the better foods, it's first come first serve."
You shrug; you aren't a picky eater but you hurry to keep up with Nori. When the two of you join the sea of freedom fighters, Nori snags two gourd bowls as the kids on dinner duty hastily fill them with rice, pork, and some kind of vegetable that you don't recognize. After snatching a plum for each of you, she asks you to grab a couple of chopsticks.
Handing you your bowl and plum, Nori introduces you to her close friends, Kira and her twin brother, Kenji. As you join them on the wooden floor, you remember that Jet had told you to find him at dinner. You would hate to seem ungrateful for Nori's hospitality, and her friends seem really nice, so you stay. The thought that Hikari had been right about Jet forgetting about you dampens your spirit but you're easily distracted by Kira and Kenji's questions. They're just as excited about your bending as Nori had been.
"Veeeerrry carefully," you chuckle when Kenji asks how you'd practiced all your life. "Opportunities were rare, but I never let them pass me by."
"Hikari's a pretty good earthbender," Kira chimes in, "Maybe you guys could spar together." You and Nori exchanges looks.
"Yeah...maybe," you respond sarcastically, addressing Nori instead of the twins.
"So how do you like it here so far?" Kira asks, not noticing your satire.
"To be honest, I've never seen anything like this place," you set your small cup of water onto the wooden floor, "I still can't believe I ran into Jet, and now..." your gaze wanders around the hideout, "I'm where I've always wanted to be, ya know?" Part of something important, you want to say. Part of the cause.
"We get it," Nori says with a smile.
"To victory," Kenji proclaims, raising his cup.
"Hey, don't start toasting just yet," you hear a familiar voice interrupt from behind you. Whipping your head around, you see Jet's silhouette approaching, taking care not to step on anyone. "I wanted to make a speech tonight, ya know, introduce our newest recruit." The boy grins as he shakes your shoulders from behind you before standing beside you.
"He means embarrass " Kenji chuckles.
"C'mon, it's like initiation," the boy with the wheatgrass jokes, tossing an arm over your shoulders. "You don't mind, right?" He turns his head toward yours, and you're almost taken aback by the proximity of your faces; you can feel his breath as he speaks. The sprig of grass in his mouth smells fresh, like he'd just picked it.
"Uhh I guess not..." you chuckle, shrugging.
"Wouldn't have mattered; I'd have done it whether you liked it or not," he flashes a smirk, a small chuckle passing his lips. You're caught off guard at his sudden shout, "ATTENTION!...HEY! EVERYONE!"
The chatter hushes instantly at the sound of the leader's voice.
"Evening gang," he begins calmly, a warm, proud smile gracing his face as he looks upon his comrades as if he hadn't just released a bellow that had echoed through the trees two seconds prior. He seems to be pretty comfortable at your side, for his arm remains draped across your shoulders, holding you close. "As you may have noticed, we've got a brand new addition to the Freedom Fighters. This here's _, from the village. She's an earthbender," he turns to glance at you proudly before turning his attention back to the crowd. You drop your head, your cheeks flushing furiously. "Let's give her a warm welcome, guys." The hideout erupts in applause and hollers, as if Jet had been determined to make this as embarrassing as possible for you. "Alright, alright," he chuckles, holding up his free hand. "As you were."
Releasing his loose grip on you, Jet turns to face you, shoving one hand into his pocket as the other holds his wheatgrass, the rest of the freedom fighters returning to their dinner and conversations. "See, that wasn't so bad." Offering a smile as a peace offering, he continues, "So. Make sure you get a good night's sleep because tomorrow we're gonna assess your skills, so I know what I have to work with. Sound good?" You nod, and he continues. "Seriously though, we get up pretty early around here. And since I don't have anything to do tomorrow morning, I figured you and I could head into the woods and find a clearing where you could practice. Don't wanna hurt anyone, in case your bending's not under control," he teases. You open your mouth in protest, but nothing escapes except for,
"Deal."
"Great. See ya tomorrow." With that, he turns on his heels and leaves you to your new friends.
"Lucky," Kira whines, "You get to skip your morning chores."
"I have chores?" you inquire.
"Everyone does. We switch off every week. You can join our shifts if you want," Nori offers.
"Sure," you reply.
"This week we're on forest patrol."