Raina

A lot of time passed. The rest of fall and the whole of winter passed. It got extremely cold at night, and I found myself sleeping with Longshot on a daily basis, so as to not freeze to death. We didn't try to raid the Fire Nation camp again. First of all, we couldn't find them again, and second of all, it was too risky, especially in the winter.

Jet came up with a name for the group one day in the middle of the night. He came bursting into our hut and shook me awake. He told me, in my groggy, barely conscious state, that he had had an "epiphany" and decided that we would be called the Freedom Fighters. I had no idea where that name came from, but it had a nice ring to it. So I just nodded and told him to leave.

Most people here didn't remember the exact date of their birthdays. There was really no way to tell exactly what day it was anyway. So as soon as one of us would notice that the seasons were changing from winter to spring, we would celebrate our birthdays together, as one group. At least most of us remembered our age. I turned fourteen, Jet turned fifteen, Sneers turned seventeen, and, he never told me this, but I was almost certain that Longshot was fourteen as well.

Almost every night I had nightmares. And every time I did, Longshot was there to comfort me. No matter what time of the night it was, or how long I was wide awake from the nightmares, he would stay with me. He was my best friend. I fell in love with the warmth and friendliness he brought to me. And more than once, I even wondered if it was really him I was falling in love with.

.oOOOo.

I bolted upright and shook my head. Get it together, I scolded myself. I quickly gathered my thoughts and returned to reality. My name is Raina. I'm fourteen. I'm a Freedom Fighter. My mother is dead… At this, I started to cry. I hadn't cried over a nightmare in a long time, but the thought of my mother being dead was horrible. I wiped my tears away and buried my face in my hands. Not five seconds later, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It had become a routine thing for Longshot to do. I turned my head to him and he immediately took me in his arms. I started to pathetically sob softly into his chest.

I pulled away and looked at him. He just smiled sweetly and brushed away my remaining tears with his thumb. I smiled back at him and pressed his hand to my cheek. I closed my eyes and breathed I his comforting scent, then reopened them and pulled away, rubbing my face with my hands.

"Thanks," I said flatly, rubbing my eyes. I glanced up into his big brown eyes and smiled. I then reached up and kissed his cheek. I quickly looked away to hide my flushed face. Then, I saw Jet standing in the doorway, and I immediately wondered, how long was he there?

I stood up. "Hey…Jet," I said awkwardly, rubbing my shoulder. I glanced at Longshot, who was still on the floor, then back at Jet, who was casually leaning up against the doorway.

"Wanna go for a walk?" he asked.

I hesitated a moment, examining my options. Stay in the hut with Longshot, in awkward silence for the rest of the night, or take a moonlit walk with Jet. I went for the latter. "Sure," I said. I turned to Longshot. "Go back to sleep. I'll be back later."

I leapt off the edge of the balcony with Jet. "Look at you two," he said as we started walking. "Talking to each other like you've been married for years."

"What do you…" I shook my head. "Never mind." We went down to the lower level and down the rope to the forest floor. "So what do you want?"

"I just thought you'd like to know that we found another Fire Nation camp." I felt my eyes widen with interest. Jet grinned charmingly down at me, and I realized that he must have had a growth spurt over the past seven months. He was now much taller and much more broad shouldered.

"And?" I pressed enthusiastically.

"And…" Jet sighed and put his hand on my shoulder. "I think this camp might be where your dad is."

I felt a fire spark in my stomach, and I felt like running someone through with a sword. "Come on, then," I said, grabbing Jet's hand and dragging him through the trees.

"Where?" he asked, confused.

"You're taking me to that camp," I told him. "And I'm going to kill that bastard I used to call my father."

"Whoa." Jet tugged his hand away from me and put his hands up in front of his chest. "Language, little lady," he said teasingly. I punched him lightly in the shoulder. "And, anyway, do you really think that's a smart idea?"

"Of-" I hesitated. "Of course it is."

"You're not the smartest, are you?"

"What?!"

"Calm down for a second." Jet put both hands on my shoulders. "It wouldn't be smart for you to just go bursting in on those soldiers."

"What do you mean 'you'?" I said. "I'll have you with me."

"Well…sure," he agreed. "But it's just not the right time."

"Then when is the right time?" I demanded, shoving his hands off my shoulders. "When my dad decides to kill a few more people?"

"Basically."

"Jet!"

"Kidding! Look, we'll wait a few more days, just so we can really get a feel for what we're up against. Okay?"

I sighed, frustrated, but I didn't object any further. "Okay," I said reluctantly. "But…if we do encounter my father, don't confront him." I turned my back to Jet as I felt my eyes begin to blaze with anger. "I want to be the one to deal with him."

"Whatever you want," Jet agreed, to my surprise. I turned around and arched an eyebrow. He just shrugged. "I know you're tough enough to handle your dad."

I grinned at him. "Thanks," I said.