"Um... hey everyone! Yeah so please, please take a seat... and thanks for coming to our first cast meeting of The Tale of Omashu."
Aang was sitting next to Suki and Sokka on the first row of the auditorium, but he was certain that even the kids in the back rows could also hear the shakiness in Haru's projecting voice. There must've been forty students in that theater, and it was clear that Haru was not much of a public speaker.
"Most of you already know me, but I'll just introduce myself again... I'm Haru... and this is my first time directing a show... ever... so thanks again for auditioning, guys... I can't tell you how excited I am..."
He went on to provide a monologue about how he had loved theatre since he was a little kid, and didn't think he was cut out to being a great actor... until two years ago, when he had decided to walk in and audition for Mr. Jeong Jeong's original one-act called Fire: the Blessing of a Curse... and how his strong determination gave him the lead role as a reluctant Firebender. He added the details on what it was like during those rehearsals... and telling the story seemed to calm Haru's uneasiness about leading the first meeting, but as much as it sounded inspirational, some kids in the background were beginning to whisper another conversation off-topic. Even in the front row, Suki had to nudge Sokka on the shoulder to keep him from snoring asleep.
Aang, on the other hand, took in every word of the Earthbender's story, while every other minute he was turning his head towards the entrance door, wondering if a particular girl with hairloops had decided to skip her Water Tennis practice.
"Anyway, the point is..." Haru finally concluded with complete ease, "Acting is a lot of fun, but rehearsals need to be taken seriously. I know that some of you have done some theatre before... but this always has to be done with a team effort. If you slack off with your line memorization, or if you don't show up to practice, that doesn't just affect you... it affects everyone else in the play as well. Okay? Chan? Ruon Jian?"
Haru was calling up to the group of kids still talking amongst themselves at the back of the theatre, and they immediately stopped at the harsh, assertive sound of Haru's voice. Aang noticed that one of them had been that girl named Ty Lee, who had been leaning her face so close to an unknown young man, that they must've been ready to make out. Suddenly, Aang turned his head back to the stage, feeling uncomfortable.
Once he got their attention, the young girl named On Ji suddenly got up from her seat, holding a large box with both arms, and moved towards the front of the audience to stand next to Haru. She was smiling out to the audience, and all of a sudden Aang didn't know which way he should turn his head to calm the inner anxiety he was feeling. Instead, his eyes looked straight down to the floor, and Sokka wondered what the hell was going on with the kid, since he didn't look at all excited about having the lead.
"This is On Ji, by the way..." Haru exclaimed to everyone, and Aang frowned... as if saying he knew that name well enough, thank you. "...she's playing one of the villagers, and she's gonna be my stage manager for the show–"
"Ooooooh, Stage Manager..." came the voice of Chan from the very back, and On Ji fought the urge of blushing with a slight frown to her face. "I get it, I get it. She'll manage... your stage."
"Shut up, Chan!" Sokka turned his head to the back of the audience, and Aang noticed the disgusted look on his face.
"Chan, we don't need any of your dirty jokes right now..." Haru was frowning as well, but a bit unsure of how to handle this particular situation, since it was obvious that the kids were slowly getting bored and restless out there in the audience. He placed a comforting hand onto On Ji's shoulder and continued.
"I just wanted to say that this girl's gonna be helping me with the schedule of rehearsals, any reminders or last-minutes bits of news... and eventually she'll be running all the back-stage duties... so if you have any scheduling conflicts, please go to her. She's the most punctual girl I know."
"Haha... punctual..." came another voice from the back of the audience.
"Shut up, Hide!" Haru bellowed, and a few of the students laughed from his quick reaction. Strangely, On Ji seemed to be getting used to all those jokes, keeping a stern face about her.
Aang heard her clear her throat, and promptly, he heard her familiar voice take existence once again. "Okay, so I made a copy of the script for each of you to take home today... and I attached next week's rehearsal schedule for all of you to keep."
On Ji set the box down to the floor and began to take out thick packets of paper, one by one, letting the first row of students pass them down to along the seats of the back rows.
As she did so, Haru continued to speak.
"Please write you names down on these scripts, guys. And don't forget to start high-lighting your lines today."
Aang looked at each packet as he passed them over to Sokka, and every so often he was able to glimpse at some pages in the script... realizing that just about every one of them had dialogue for Shu. He not fathom how in the world he was going to memorize so many lines, or worse... how he would be able to remember all of them in front of Katara!
Finally, all the packets had been passed out, and Aang was leafing through his own script, feeling his eyes get dizzier and dizzier by the many lines that were supposed to be Shu's. As he looked at the rehearsal schedule in the front... he wasn't surprised to see that Oma and Shu were being asked to come in every single day, along with their understudies.
"Alright, well that's pretty much all I had for you guys today... please look at the rehearsal schedule and jot down when you need to be here!" Haru placed a lot more emphasis on that last topic with his voice, before clapping his hands for a dismissal. "Thanks, everyone!"
At that a chorus of student voices erupted lightly as they got up from their seats and started packing up to leave the auditorium. Aang saw On Ji lift the empty box while handing a few extra scripts over to the director, as he was putting his papers together on the stage.
"Oh wait, Sokka..." Haru then called out to his classmate as he was talking to Suki and approached him with a script. "Since Katara couldn't be here today, would you mind giving her this?"
"Yeah, sure thing– " Sokka responded simply, receiving the script at hand, and it made Aang's heart jump suddenly with an idea.
"I can give it to her!"
Aang heard his young voice say this cheerfully, making Sokka flinch over to him with slight surprise.
"But she's at water tennis practice right now..." Sokka said carefully to the boy, whose silver eyes seemed to grow wider and wider every second.
"Don't worry, I can give it to her the next time I see her!" Aang said promptly, which made Suki look over at the boy, mesmerized by his determination.
"But...she's my sister... I see her every day!" Sokka was getting a little freaked out by the way Aang was looking at him so hopefully, that he looked over at Suki. She was trying hard not to giggle at this adorable little kid, and her eyes told him that he should just follow along with what the boy wanted. Sokka sighed, with a slight gurgle of disgust.
"Ugh, whatever. Here you go..."
"Thanks!" Aang received that script like it was a passing of a certain torch of approval.
Sokka and Suki left the auditorium hand-in-hand, and Aang wondered if he was bound to have moments like that this year, with a certain lovely girl with hairloops.
He tied his red bandana more securely, straightening himself up to finally leave, when suddenly a young boy with dark jaw-length hair and Fire Nation garb approached him. His eyes were tainted light brown, and he didn't look more than thirteen as he smiled and waved awkward hello to the airbender.
"You're Aang, right?"
The boy with the bandana raised an eyebrow at the question, then promptly nodded his head as he lifted his school bag to his shoulder.
"I'm Kuzon," the other young boy returned soon after, extending a hand. "I guess I'm your understudy..."
Aang wasn't exactly sure to feel about this, knowing that this kid's sole purpose was to prepare for the worst case scenario... possibly becoming the new Shu with the opportunity to kiss the love of Aang's life. But the airbender smiled nonetheless, remembering Gyatso's recitation of their philosophy... you should not judge people before you get to know them.
Calmly, the boy shook hands with his understudy, in his mind telling himself that he should take extra caution with his health and well-being, for the sake of Katara.
"Pleased to meet you," Aang said humbly. "Though I should warn you, I hardly ever get sick. I'm also a nutritious vegetarian!"
"Um... that's nice...?" Kuzon replied, slightly puzzled as he released his hand and put both of them back in his pockets. "I wasn't really expecting a big part like that, but I guess it'll help my memorization skills; maybe it'll help me study for Ms. Ursa's exams?"
As the two kids began to exchange comments about Ms. Ursa's history class, they seemed to agree that the class was utterly boring, but having a lovely lady like Ms. Ursa teach it did not seem to make it all that bad. They left the auditorium seeming to understand each other, and Aang was glad that the boy didn't see Shu as competition.
On Ji was going up the auditorium steps to get her things, and as the two boys past her, Aang could see through the bangs in front of her eyes that she wanted to say something. Whether it was meant to be for Kuzon or to him, the airbender couldn't tell... but the young boy figured that if they were all going to be working closely together... they might as well get along.
"Great job handling those stupid boys up there," Aang commented, admiring her courage.
"Thanks, " On Ji muttered, she held her black schoolbag over her shoulder, all of a sudden becoming interested in her shoes. "Chan and Ruon Jian are such second-graders sometimes. Them... and Hide."
"Mm-Hmm." Kuzon agreed, sounding as if he'd known those boys for as much as On Ji did. The three of them walked up the remaining steps of the auditorium together, waving a goodbye to Haru as he was still packing up to leave. "Hey, didn't you and Hide go out for a while last year? What happened to that?"
Aang blinked. Did he hear that clearly? He was trying to remember that face of the young troublemaker... who had not a half-hour ago been caught practically making out with Ty Lee in the back of the auditorium. On Ji dated that guy?
"Yeah..." On Ji was not at all comfortable to look at the boys' faces as she walked up with them, feeling a sense of regret in her voice. "He seemed nice at the time, and... I don't know... with all the attention he gave me, I guess I couldn't help it. It's hard to explain, but he did seem to like me for a while."
The kids left the auditorium for the outside courtyard, and Aang noticed On Ji's brown eyes fighting off the urge to glimmer with tears. He wondered what sort of terrible thing Hide had done to her to make her feel this way. The two boys listened as the girl finished her story, with her eyes still looking at the ground.
"But then I caught Hide kissing one of the older girls under the bleachers after a water tennis match last year, and... well I guess I wasn't the kind of girl he wanted."
"Aw, that stupid kid... On Ji..." Kuzon consoled her, giving her a slight hug with one of his skinny arms at her side, while Aang just frowned thinking about that incident. Much to their surprise, On Ji did not seem to weep... but from her composure, Aang could tell she was still recovering from that heartache. "I'm sorry; it must've been a long summer."
On Ji just laughed it off. "Not really," the young girl smiled faintly, receiving the hug from her classmate. "I forced myself to forget about it by staying busy. The sort of the thing I'm doing this year... with exams, the school newspaper, interpretive dance, Omashu... you know?"
Aang smiled with support, but the way she spoke so optimistically so suddenly bugged him; and as he looked over at Kuzon's puzzled look, he knew he had to say something.
"That's great, On Ji, but are you sure that--?"
"Anyway, I'm heading over to Ms. Ursa's review session for our History test next Wednesday," her voice changed the subject in a flash. "Did either of you want to come? She said there would be snacks."
Kuzon and Aang exchanged looks for a second, and the young airbender immediately remembered how he wanted to give Katara her script after she was done with her water tennis practice that day. He hesitated a little, feeling his stomach rumble with hunger as he scratched the back of his neck in thought.
Finally he said what he felt. "Sorry... I was actually gonna go to the water tennis courts."
The girl smiled and nodded, knowing that the boy meant well. But Kuzon then flinched, realizing he was still hugging On Ji at her side: "Um, I guess I can go with you...?"
On Ji laughed, feeling a little bit better after such an awkward conversation and hugged him classmate tightly with her own arm. "Thanks, Kuzon. We'll see you later, Aang!"
"See you guys!"
Aang waved a hand holding the script to his two newly-made friends as they headed off towards the school building, laughing with disbelief as he heard Kuzon's voice say "what kind of snacks did Ms. Ursa say she'd have?" in the distance. It was hard thinking about Toph's words of wisdom about love... when all the boy was anticipating was to see the warm smile of Katara as he would hand her the Omashu script.
As he passed a familiar oak tree, he noticed that Smellerbee, Pipsqueak and Longshot had also decided to stay after school, rehearsing a certain hip-hop dance routine that Aang had watched them do every single lunch period that week. The airbender happily found Momo lurking on the branches of that oak tree and hurried over to pick him up and greet his friends briefly.
"Hey kid," Smellerbee greeted indifferently as she stopped her dancing momentarily.
Aang smiled and waved, already feeling more welcome into the oak tree clan. "I didn't know you guys practiced after school, too."
Pipsqueak stretched his arm muscles, saying "We don't usually... but there's a Hip Hop festival in Gaoling this weekend, and we wanted to show the critics what Praying Mantis High has to offer."
"Yep, represent!!" Smellerbee threw a fist in the air happily, and Longshot walked over to hug her enthusiasm with one arm around her stomach playfully. The girl'd deep eyeliner and make-up could not hide the glimmering or the blushing in her cheeks.
Aang all of a sudden felt awkward and turned back to Pipsqueak entirely, as Momo jumped off the treebranch nearby and landed lightly on the boy's shoulder.
"So where's Jet?" the boy asked, looking around. "Isn't he part of the routine?"
Pipsqueak wasn't the only one who reacted so discomforting at the question, since Aang could see behind him that Longshot had also looking utterly annoyed.
Smellerbee spoke for them all, with her mouth slightly tilting for a frown. "He's not coming."
Aang could not follow. "Why? Is he okay?"
The girl crossed her arms as if she were upset or disappointed, looking at the ground as if she were about to stomp on it violently with her Hip Hop movements.
"He's fine; he's just planning out his funeral."
And the airbender raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what Smellerbee was talking about.
"May I help you?"
Her annoyed, grimacing tone of voice couldn't have been more clear, hearing the familiar strut of a young man approach her from the corner of her eye. A small canvas was set up properly in the school courtyard near the vast woods of the Earth Kingdom, and Mai sat there on a smooth stone, pretending that this young man had not broken her concentration.
"Actually I was just wondering..." Jet began coolly as he approached the side of her canvas, catching a glimpse of the work before settling his nervous gaze on Mai. "... do you take commissions?"
Mai blinked from her canvas immediately over to Jet, with disbelief. "Excuse me?"
"I'm serious," Jet held a hand over his heart, showing that he wasn't making fun of her. "I've been thinking about getting my portrait painted, in black. It does seem to be your favorite color, coincidentally..."
"Go away," Mai finally heard herself say clearly to the young man's face, but all too bewildered to look at him straight in the eye. From the way Jet had noticed it, she seemed to be looking at the back of his head, but nevertheless... the boy could feel his boldness draining.
"Okay, I'm sorry if the color thing offended you," Jet's charismatic voice went down a few notches, but he still managed to add a suggestion. "But I was just saying that... I'd be honored if you could paint my portrait."
Of course, Jet had no idea what he would do with a painting of himself, but in all honesty that didn't really matter. He continued to speak as the girl's copper eyes studied him skeptically, letting the small seconds pass by sweetly.
"I'm picturing... me, with a giant Platypus Bearskin hanging over my shoulder like a cape... looking out into the Eastern Sunrise..." Jet then promptly took hold of his most prized weapons and held them out with a fierce waving motion. "... with my hooked swords tilted upwards, like I'm ready for battle."
Mai was already leaning her head onto a palm with disbelief, boredom, and perhaps the sincere belief that this young man was indeed a nutcase. With all of that determination he had to try and talk her out of her afternoon painting session... he had to be.
"What do you think?" Jet asked her, raising his eyes slightly as his hooked swords remained as if they were ready to battle the sky.
The slender, dark girl could not take any more of this ridiculous talk, and with her copper eyes thinning, she turned back towards the canvas to remember why she was there. Perhaps picking up her paintbrush again would be enough to make him leave...
"Sorry, but I don't sell out to other people's requests," she answered him indifferently. "And I think that's a stupid idea."
Jet frowned with mocking disbelief, replacing his hooked swords back into the respective shield.
"Way to be brutally honest...but I completely agree," he exclaimed and smiled to ease the tension he was feeling in his mind, and the shaking he was sensing in his knees. His newest plan was just beginning to brew, looking over to Mai's canvas once again to see what she was painting.
Mai brooded, lowering her paintbrush down once again to look at Jet. "Are you finished?"
The boy wasn't looking at the canvas anymore, but at the young girl's eyes as she stared at him so threateningly like that. His mind was urging him to pour out his feelings to her right then and there... telling her how much he adored those pretty thin lips and those radiant eyes that stayed hidden from the rest of the world behind her silky black bangs.
He was amazed that he'd built enough courage to just talk to her, despite being naturally bold individual... Mai always seemed to outrun him, and he knew... his heart knew that it was not the time to overwhelm her with feelings, especially since they had barely exchanged conversation. Jet had to find some way of getting through to her as his own self... without having him be rejected every single time... so that she could finally get to know this young Earth-dweller.
"Actually, I had another question..." Jet proposed obscurely to her, admiring how she sighed in return. "Do you always paint with just black ink?"
"No," was Mai's simple reply, taking out a fresh little glass cartridge of blue ink from one of her hidden pant pockets.
Jet waited a few moments for further explanation, but when seeing that she was once again trying to ignore him, he decided keep talking. "That's a shame... because trees are so much more colorful than that."
Mai did not seem to enjoy undulation or curves of detail in her paintings, and yet there was something so fascinating about them. The way she portrayed those tall Redwoods of the Earth Kingdom emphasized in vertical lines... almost mimicking the straightness of Mai's own hair. She added branches and leaves by the use of dots and smaller lines that corresponded to the most minimal detail that Jet had ever scene. Her technique reminded him of watercolors, except that she only used a few select colors, and she placed most of the artistic imagination to the viewer.
It was this simplicity that made Mai an artistic prodigy. Jet could practically see the leaves of the tree move on the painting... but it puzzled him so much to see them lack their natural color... and lack their natural ability to move with a breeze. They all seemed... utterly dead.
"Hmm..." came Jet's thoughtful and cunning voice, feeling that it was time to help Mai discover the vast beauty to the Earth Kingdom redwood tree.
And with a flinch of his wrist, the boy snatched the art prodigy's ink cartridge from her hand ("HEY!")... and broke off into a run within the entrance to the woods. Jet's agile heart drove him to find the tall Redwood trees hidden in the forest... and as he heard the small pitter-pattering of feet chasing him behind... the boy smiled, realizing that his plan was working out smoothly.
In his graceful tree-dwelling fashion, Jet raised his two hooked swords and caught the smallest branch that was nearby, swinging himself onto it like a spider monkey. He didn't look back at all, because his ears were enough to catch Mai's deep growling and know that she would continue his pursuit.
"Give me back my cartridge, Jet!"
The boy blinked, mesmerized from the hearing of his own name.
He slowed down and turned slightly to see Mai's twisted features, her silky hair moving along with the wind as she ran to catch up to him from the ground. Jet's heart almost melted as he saw the girl spread her arms out and practically leap herself onto the same branch he swung onto... in all the gracefulness of an exotic blue crane.
"Oh, really... is it that painting really that special to you?" Jet teased, his heart beating like a drum. "Then maybe you should get to know the subject matter a little more..."
And with that, the boy resumed his running... using his hooked swords to swing from one branch to another, gradually getting further away from the ground. Mai did not stop in pursuit, keeping her eyes focused on the moving boy as she leapt gracefully from branch to branch to get to him. The forest's breeze was passing through their faces as they ran, and Jet could not help but feel at home, in his natural playground jumping along the branches.
"You doing alright back there?" Jet called to her as he ran.
"SHUT UP!" Mai shouted in complete frustration, unaware of the height she was running in
Those few minutes of pursuit in the woods lasted as long as an hour anywhere else, with the young boy driving the girl into unfamiliar terrain. In his eyes, they were playing like little tree monkeys among the branches of redwood, oblivious to the danger that would occur with a sudden drop. Jet yielded his run into a complete stop, then, breathing heavily from the pursuit and looking back to see where Mai was.
She was not so far behind, leaping easily onto another branch without breaking her eye contact with him. In a matter of seconds, she was standing on the same branch with him, breathing heavily through her nose and staring at him incredulously.
To the boy, she looked strikingly beautiful.
"Funny, I didn't really see you as a nature girl," Jet said, panting under his breath.
"That's because I'm not, you idiot." Mai hissed, her voice utterly exhausted from the chase. She then extended one of her hands to him through her long robe sleeves. "Now, give me the cartridge."
Jet smiled. "You see I would give it to you if I had it, but the truth is... I don't."
"Liar."
"What makes you think would I lie to you?" Jet brought up sincerely, cryptically.
Mai didn't say a word, but just glared at the boy, silently telling him that she'd had enough with all of his stupid games. She kept her hand extended, waiting for Jet to just give it up.
Instead, the boy kept his mischievous smile to the girl.
"Check your pocket," he advised to her quietly, which made Mai's extended hand suddenly flinch into an ease.
She blinked, wondering if this was another one of his tricks so he would dash off again, and carefully followed along with what he was saying. It couldn't be possible, she thought to herself, not taking her stern eyes off of him as her hand moved over to the fabric of her pants to feel anything inside.
And suddenly, Mai's eyes rose up in utter bewilderment, slowly reaching in to her pocket. With a intake of a gasp, her closed fist revealed the same little glass cartridge she had been pursuing.
It was inside her pocket the entire time.
Jet did not keep himself from grinning over to her eyes as they slowly calculated what he had done... how the boy must've slipped the cartridge into her pocket at the fraction of a second before she had reacted and turned to chase him.
Of course, his past reputation of a free-dweller had taught the young man many tricks... including the most complex form of pick-pocketing for the sake of survival. It did not take a philosopher to understand how ever since he had first caught sight of Mai, the boy had no longer desired the life of a thief. This time, however... he believed he had used his past techniques for the greater good. Jet finally felt that he was beginning to reach the girl of his dreams.
"You know, I don't mind if you follow me... but you should really stop chasing people without a motive." Jet teased her under the shade of the large Redwood tree they were still standing under. "It gets a little creepy."
Mai threw a surprised, disgusted, utterly dumbfounded glance at the young man who stood before her so sincerely with his arms crossed. She could feel her heart beating rapidly... whether it was from rage or embarrassment... or irony... the girl could not decide.
Jet was merely amused, his wispy brown hair slightly moving from the breeze. After a few moments of letting the natural sounds of the wild take in their awkward position, the young man bowed his head once more and took a step backward.
"Well, since it was so easy for you to chase me over these trees, I guess you won't have a problem finding a way down." Jet was trying really hard to sound sincere, without letting himself laugh at the idea of it.
In just as much grace as the girl had shown with her leaping... Jet then grabbed a tight hold of his hooked swords once again, and leapt off the branch to another one, swinging off into the vast realms of the woods. He was a young man of the wilds, and the trees were his playground, as familiar to him as the voice of his little brother.
Jet left the young girl standing in her own self-reflection up in the giant Redwood, still holding the cartridge with a loosening fist in her hand.
She tried to locate that boy in every which way she turned, but all of a sudden, the extreme distance from the ground had caught her attention, and right then and there she realized just how far she had climbed to the trees. It was no less than sixty feet, with nothing but branches that paved the way into a challenging obstacle getting down. Mai's ears caught the sounds of birds both close and distant from her, and the breeze passed through her hair and made the leaves sound so threatening.
Part of her was already feeling locked, frightened... realizing how she had never been alone in such a wild place before.
That sense of entrapment was breaking inside her, into tiny little pieces, and getting lost into the darkness of the woods. They leapt onto the branches that surrounded her, filtering into the hundreds of leaves so quickly that the girl could not keep up with their freedom piece by piece.
Mai's copper eyes suddenly began to glimmer from the intensity of these new sounds, of this estranged sense of peace, letting her hand with the cartridge fall limply at her side. She felt defeated, and yet enlightened at the same time... and after a long moment's breath, Mai lowered her body and sat down, hugging her knees on the Redwood branch to recollect what had just happened to her.
Far off in the darkness, in the shadows of the nearby tree branches... the young boy watched the girl slowly accept her surroundings, seeing her sad, curious face turn from one sound to another up there in that small branch by herself. He watched her close her eyes, taking in the breeze and the sounds that invited themselves into her imagination... which he hoped would eventually become great inspiration for her art.
She needed to set herself free, Jet thought. There was something in that girl's mind that kept her empty, making her paint only through assumptions and sight. It was something that had broken the relationship between her and Zuko, and was concealing her from the rest of the world.
Jet watched the girl with intriguing eyes, knowing her well enough that she'd eventually find her way down from the Redwood without any help. It was then that the boy knew he had to keep his distance from her, because she had to take in this ultimate reality on her own, and learn to help herself.
It didn't matter how long it would take for him to approach her again. Reflection could never be rushed.
Oblivious to the minutes that passed between them, the boy remained as a ghost among the darkness... keeping a close watch to protect the girl he adored, making sure she would return to her canvas safely.
A/N - Faithful readers, I apologize for the delay! First it was break, and then a few Avatar one-shots I couldn't get out of my head (shameless plug: read them. They're awesome!). I'm also sorry about the lack of Kataang interaction, but there will be more in the next few chapters, I swear. Plus I have another MaiJet moment which probably won't show up until much later, but hey... I'm just trying to remind myself what I'm working for. –MM