To put it bluntly—Charlie was seriously getting sick of all these forests. Every time they landed in one, it was like a beacon for trouble. This time, the clearing they'd landed in was surrounded by a blanket of red, leaves beginning to dry up and create mounts on the forest floor. The afternoon sun casted an orange glow between the trees, shining specks of light around them.

Appa had immediately collapsed to the floor, rolling over to rest after a long flying streak. From where they stood, there was no water nearby for Aang and Katara to practice waterbending, so the four sat around chatting lazily about the past week. It had been non-stop, one life-threatening adventure after the other. It wasn't until Sokka joked about getting kidnapped by a giant, angry panda that Aang shot up in realisation from his bed of leaves.

"Charlie!" he shouted quickly, shocking the others. "I can't believe I forgot to ask you! When I was in the Spirit World back in Senlin village, you could see me, right? How?"

She blinked in surprise, remembering how she'd seen what she could only assume to be a future version of Aang after being trapped in that cave with Sokka. It had honestly slipped her mind. "Yeah, I could see you. I don't know, I figured it must be some sort of psychic thing." Actually, Charlie figured it had something to do with the fact that she wasn't from their world, but she wasn't going to tell them that. "But when I saw you, we hadn't even gone to Senlin village yet."

"Okay, there's no way that Aang travelled back in time," Sokka stated, shuffling closer to them.

"I don't think I did," Aang admitted with furrowed brows in contemplation before holding up his finger. "But I did notice something weird. When I came back, Katara said we'd been gone for almost twenty-four hours."

Katara nodded slowly in agreement. "That's right, Charlie and I were waiting for you the whole day."

"Right!" Aang said, leaning forward. "But for me, it didn't feel that long at all."

Charlie raised her eyebrows at Aang, sharing a look with Sokka. "Are you saying that time worked differently in the Spirit World or something?"

"Maybe?"

"Okay, you've both gone crazy," Sokka said dryly after a beat of silence. He picked himself up and dusted the dirt off his pants. "I'm gonna hang out with Momo."

"Where is Momo?" Aang asked, noticing the lacking presence of the lemur. Charlie quirked her lips slightly downwards and shrugged.

Just then, a familiar screech echoed throughout the forest. The four shared a look and shot up, running in the direction of the sound. It didn't take long until they slid to a stop under three cages suspended in the air by ropes attached to the trees. Momo chattered in glee, seeing Aang propel himself towards the branch and metal crank that trapped him. He quickly unlocked the crank and lowered the cage to the ground, where Katara and Sokka pulled the bars open to free Momo. Aang landed softly on the floor with a smile, but the whimpers of two more animals trapped in the metal cages grabbed his attention.

"Alright, you too," Aang said, jumping up again with a twist.

Sokka reached behind his back and unsheathed his boomerang. "This is gonna take forever," he complained before throwing the weapon with precision, cutting straight through the ropes and sending the cages to the ground. The metal bars broke with the force, and the monkey-like animals were quick to escape into the forest.

Aang slid back down the tree, leaving a trail of dust behind him. This had to be the start of an episode, she just couldn't remember which one. The timeline for the earlier season had gotten jumbled in her head, being mostly stand-alone episodes, so it took some time to prompt her memory.

Sokka squatted besides one of the fallen cages, inspecting the frame. "These are Fire Nation traps," he explained, brushing the tips of his fingers along the cool metal. "You can tell by the metal work. We better pack up camp and get moving." He stood up with a serious expression, scooping up Momo with one hand, who grumbled in dismay after dropping the red berry he was eating.

Charlie followed him back to the camp where they repacked their sleeping bags and braided the loops of the saddle back onto Appa's back. Katara passed her pack to Aang, who sat on the crook of Appa's neck, preparing to jump onto his saddle when Sokka jumped between them.

"Nope, no flying this time," he said, taking the pack back from Aang's hands.

"What?" Aang asked with a quizzical look. "Why wouldn't we fly?"

Sokka placed the pack on the ground, holding his hands out. "Think about it—somehow Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa, he's just too noticeable."

"What? Appa's not too noticeable," Katara denied immediately, placing her hands on her hips.

"He's a gigantic fluffy monster with an arrow on his head!" Sokka flailed his arms in Appa's general direction to emphasise his point. "It's kind of hard to miss him."

Appa groaned in annoyance, turning his head away from Sokka. "Well now you've hurt his feelings," Charlie jokingly admonished. He rolled his eyes theatrically with a light scoff.

"Sokka's just jealous 'cause he doesn't have an arrow," Aang assured, giving the bison a pat on his head.

"Look, I know you all want to fly but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk," Sokka said, taking on a more serious tone.

"Oh, so you're a psychic too now?" Charlie quipped with slight patrony, cocking her head to the side.

Katara planted a hand on her hip and gave him a playful sneer. "Who made you the boss?"

"I'm not the boss, I'm the leader," Sokka corrected, jutting his thumb at his chest. Katara let out a spluttering scoff.

"You're the leader? But your voice still cracks," she drawled out in amusement, raising an eyebrow at her brother.

"I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior!" he replied, somewhat defensively. His voice also cracked, which Charlie found ironically funny. "So, I'm the leader," he finished in a deeper tone.

"How old are you?" Charlie asked curiously, leaning against Appa with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I turned seventeen in the eighth month," he stated proudly, widening his stance.

Charlie's lips twitched, unable to force away her smile. "I turned seventeen in the sixth." When Sokka's jaw dropped in realisation, she turned to face Katara and Aang with a radiant smile. "Guys, great news, I'm the new leader of the gang!"

"Well—I'm the oldest guy," he corrected with a splutter, crossing his arms in defence.

"That's sexist."

"No it's not!"

"Girls can be leaders," Charlie argued, waving a dismissive hand in the air. "I mean, just look at Suki."

"How do you know about Suki?" he queried with widened eyes.

Charlie only looked at him blankly. "Do you ever get tired of asking how I know things?"

"If anyone's the leader, it's Aang," Katara said pointedly, giving him a shy smile. "I mean, he is the Avatar."

"Are you kidding? He's just a goofy kid," he complained. The three turned to look at the airbender who was currently hanging upside down on Appa's horn in boredom.

"He's right," Aang agreed with a nod.

Sokka leaned down to pick up his pack, slinging the leather straps over his shoulders. Katara crossed her arms again in annoyance. "Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader?" she asked rhetorically, giving Charlie an exasperated look before shooting a glare to her brother. "I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl."

"I—I've kissed a girl!" Sokka spluttered out, tightening his hands around the straps. "You just… haven't met her." He averted his gaze to everywhere except his sister.

"Who? Gran Gran?" she pressed, leaning forwards to catch his eye. "I've met Gran Gran."

"No, besides Gran Gran," he shot back, frantically waving his arms.

Katara blinked and remained unmoving, flicking her eyes to Charlie. "Is that true?" she asked, thinking the psychic would be able to answer.

"Depends what you count as a kiss," Charlie admitted with a small shrug. Sokka let out a perfunctory laugh while Katara's jaw dropped with a strong gasp.

"You mean he has?!" she asked in utter shock.

"I told you!" he said, pointing his finger at her.

"Slow down, man, she kissed you and it was only on the cheek," Charlie said, holding up her hand.

"It counts!"

"Hardly."

Sokka let out a theatrical groan, flinging his head back in annoyance. "Let's just get back to the point. My instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot, and a leader has to trust his instincts."

Katara pursed her lips and looked back at Charlie. "You're the psychic, do you agree with the oh wise leader over there?"

When she looked at Sokka, he wore an almost unfamiliar expression. She'd not seen it before, but it was the expression she imagined he was making in the darkness of the cave when they'd been trapped together. His insecurities of losing his role as a leader was weighing him down. The look made her shift in discomfort, as if she had to say something to fix it.

"Uh, yeah actually." They looked at her in surprise. Even Sokka's mouth had dropped slightly open, not expecting her to agree so easily. "I'm getting a strong vibe that we should walk."

"Who knows, walking might be fun," Aang said with a look of determination as he slung his make-shift backpack over his shoulders, gripping the straps in excitement.

"Walking stinks," he complained loudly as he stomped through the leaves crowding his feet. "How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?"

Charlie raised an eyebrow at him judgmentally. "It's been ten minutes."

"Ten minutes too long. I miss flying," he mumbled, pouting his lip. "And this pack is heavy! I'm tired of carrying it."

"You know who you should ask to carry it for a while," Katara began in a devious tone, her eyebrows raised sardonically. "Sokka's instincts!"

A wide smile split across Aang's face. "That's a great idea! Hey, Sokka's instincts, would you mind—"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Sokka said snappishly. "Look guys, I'm tired too, but the important thing is that we're safe from the—" He brushed aside the red, leafy foliage of a tree, finding a small army of men staring at them from around a campfire while frozen half-way through their meals. Weakly, he muttered out, "—Fire… Nation."

Charlie cleared her throat awkwardly. "Hi there. Don't mind us, just passing through."

The soldiers rose to their feet, swords and fists raised. "Run!" Sokka shouted, dropping his pack and taking off. Charlie spun to sprint back the way they'd come from, but a soldier sent a blast of fire between them which ignited the tree, blocking their path. "We're cut off! We need a new plan."

She felt a heat radiating from her side. Looking over, Charlie's eyes widened when she saw Sokka unaware that his sleeve was aflame. "You're on fire."

"Thanks Charlie, but—"

"No, literally." Charlie pointed out his arm, watching as he let out a wimpish scream and leaned back in what looked like an attempt to detach his shoulder from his body. He was quickly doused by Katara, who'd pulled a line of water from her pouch. When they looked back up, the soldiers had backed them into a corner, sandwiched between a wall of fire and twenty swords.

"Everyone behind me!" Sokka ordered, holding out his arms.

"I still vote we run," Charlie supplied over his shoulder. Aang and Katara stood defensively with their hands up in bending stances, ready to fight. Her comment was promptly ignored.

"If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you," Sokka stated strongly.

Katara leaned slightly closer to her brother. "What are you doing?" she whispered from the side of her mouth.

Sokka gave a tense shrug. "Bluffing?"

One soldier took a step forward with a scoff, inching closer into their defense lines. "You promise not to hurt us?" he said with narrowed eyes, a smirk crawling on his face. In a blink, his face fell and he collapsed to the floor.

"Nice work Sokka!" Aang cheered immediately, dropping his hands. "How'd you do that?"

"Uh, instinct?" he stuttered out.

Katara gasped, so Charlie followed her hand where she pointed into the trees above. There on a thick branch stood Jet, clad in strips of leather armour. He drew his dual hook swords and jumped down, using the curve of his weapons to swing and propel himself onto the backs of two soldiers. He stood on top of them for a moment and smirked, the leaf stem twitching between his lips.

He sprinted forwards, staying low to the ground so he could hook each of his swords around the legs of two more soldiers. He fluidly swiped them off their feet where they flipped over and crashed to the ground. Jet landed in a squat, holding one sword in front of him and the other out behind. "Down you go," he said with a casual smirk.

Sokka stared at him, completely perplexed, while Aang and Katara smiled widely. Charlie hated to admit it—especially after everything she knew about Jet—but he was actually a skilled fighter. He easily disarmed another band of soldiers with the help of his ragtag friends, who'd jumped down from the trees in ambush.

Soldiers came towards Charlie, but she didn't even have time to raise her fists before an arrow shot at him, knocking the swords from their hands. They hesitated in confusion but were quickly thrown to the ground by a giant Freedom Fighter whose shadow towered over them. The soldiers scrambled into the forest with a fearful whimper. When she looked back towards the others, Jet had just disarmed a soldier's spear. He flung it through the air where the hilt collided with another soldier's head, knocking him out cold.

When he dropped, Charlie saw Sokka standing behind him with his club raised, ready to strike. "Awh, man!" he muttered in disdain, dropping his arms lamely, finding Charlie staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "You saw that, right?! I almost had him."

"Sure, Sokka." She rolled her eyes when he let out an exacerbated groan.

Aang slid next to Jet with a look of awe. "You just took out a whole army almost single-handed," he said in wonder.

"Army?" Sokka scoffed loudly and raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms. "There were only like, twenty guys."

His quip was ignored as Jet walked ahead slightly, giving a nod to his team. "My name is Jet," he said, turning back to face them. "And these are my Freedom Fighters—Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, the Duke and Pipsqueak."

Aang walked over to the smallest one with a childish laugh. "Pipsqueak. That's a funny name."

The giant Freedom Fighter next to him leaned down to look at the boy. "You think my name is funny?"

The airbender blinked before a bright smile spread across his face. "It's hilarious!"

Pipsqueak glowered down at him for a moment before the two burst into genuine laughter. He went to give Aang a light-hearted clap on the back, but accidentally sent him face first into the mud, only to continue laughing.

"Let's check out what supplies they left behind—tell me if there's anything worth keeping," Jet instructed, gesturing to the three tents lined with the Fire Nation insignia. The group nodded at their leader, making quick work of their search.

As Sokka watched on with a grimace, Charlie noticed Katara watching Jet from the corner of her eye, who'd moved over to relax against a tree in the shade. She rolled her eyes, stepping in front of Katara to block her view of the boy.

"What's up, Katara?" Charlie asked, seeing the waterbender trying to peer around her.

"Huh? Nothing, why would you ask that?" she breathed out nervously, ending her sentence with a small laugh. Charlie cocked an eyebrow in disbelief when she went back to staring at Jet. "Isn't he so cool?" Katara asked, completely in awe.

"Not really, no."

"Did you see him take out all those soldiers on his own? It was amazing," she gushed with wide eyes, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet with her hands held in front of her.

"Don't be coy, Katara," Charlie admonished. "I'm sure you could have taken them. Just because he's a boy and he's your age, doesn't automatically make him cool."

"Well, I never said that," Katara murmured. "Besides, it's not like I get a crush on every guy we come across."

Charlie folded her arms and lifted her head slightly. "Didn't you have a thing with Haru?"

"No!" Charlie blinked, staring at her blankly for a moment. "O—Okay, maybe, but this is different," Katara argued, bringing her hands to her chest. "I get this feeling that he's a really nice guy."

"Okay Katara, you go ahead and trust your instincts. See where they lead you," Charlie offered casually with a smile, waving as she strolled back to Sokka.

"What was that about?" Sokka asked Charlie, narrowing his eyes at Jet when Katara shyed up to him.

"Katara having a crush on another one of the trouble boys we seem to bump into so often," she drawled out.

Sokka wrinkled his nose in distaste. "What?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, glancing over at the couple. "Turns out, Katara thinks instincts are more reliable than basic reasoning. Only when it benefits her, of course."

"So I take it you had another vision or something? You don't seem to like Jet too much," Sokka said, nodding his head towards the boy.

"You got that right," she mumbled bitterly.

"Good, I don't trust him. There's something off about that guy," Sokka admitted with narrowed eyes. Their conversation lulled and they tuned into what Katara and Jet were saying.

"We were relying on instincts," they heard Katara drawl. Jet's eyes flicked briefly to Charlie and Sokka.

"You'll get yourself killed doing that," Jet commented slyly. Sokka pursed his lips in frustration, roughly pulling himself away. Charlie went to follow him, but got distracted when she saw the Duke peering into a barrel.

"Hey Jet, these barrels are filled with blasting jelly," he informed their leader, dipping his finger into the gooey yellow substance.

Jet glanced over from where he leaned against the tree, Katara standing shyly next to him. "That's a great score."

"And these boxes are filled with jellied candy," Pipsqueak added, holding up a wooden crate.

"Also good. Let's not get those mixed up."

Charlie drummed her fingers against her thighs in consideration before continuing after Sokka. She grabbed the pack she'd dropped earlier, along with Katara's as the love-struck waterbender was currently too preoccupied.

"We'll take this stuff back to the hideout," the Duke said as Pipsqueak lifted the crates and barrels into their wooden cart.

"You guys have a hideout?" Aang asked in excitement.

Jet curled his lips into a smile. "You wanna see it?"

"Yes we wanna see it," Katara replied without hesitation, clapping her hands together in a pleading motion. Charlie scrunched her nose when Jet gave Katara what looked like a genuine smile. It felt sleazy to her, probably because of the calculated and systematic purpose behind it. Getting Katara's attraction was strategic, whether he knew it or not yet. With her on his side, Aang would follow blindly.

Charlie and Sokka brought the packs over to Appa and strapped them on his saddle again before rejoining him with the rest of the group. Sokka was silent—obviously uncomfortable around Jet. Charlie bit her lip but didn't say anything. She wasn't even sure her words would comfort him at all, so she decided against it.

"Woah, who's this?" Jet asked, staring at the bison with raised eyebrows.

"This is Appa, my flying bison," Aang introduced, patting the fur between his eyes. When Jet moved closer, Appa grumbled loudly, causing him to take a cautious step back instead. "Sorry, he's not used to seeing so many new people."

"That's alright," Jet assured, holding his leaf stem between his fingers like a cigar. Charlie rolled her eyes when he finally turned away.

She clapped her hand a few times against Appa's side. "Good job, buddy."

"We should head off, just in case any of those soldiers come back," the Duke suggested, taking a seat in the cart.

Jet nodded and looked at Katara over his shoulder. "It's not far from here. Walk with me?"

"Sure!" Katara blushed and hurried next to him, where they fell into an even walking pace in front of the group.

"So what are you four doing this deep in the forest?" Jet inquired casually. Charlie narrowed her eyes at the back of his head. He turned around to look at them and Charlie gave him a glowing smile.

"We're on our way to the North Pole," Katara explained, holding her hands behind her back. "I'm a waterbender, so Aang and I are looking for someone to teach us."

"Waterbenders, huh? Interesting." He turned away and Charlie dropped her features again.

Feeling a presence at her side, Charlie turned to find Smellerbee staring up at her. She wore a dark blue bandana around her forehead and donned two red stripes painted across each cheek. She wore the same leather armour strips as Jet around her arms, also covering her chest and legs. "Hey," Charlie said with a nod.

"Hey," Smellerbee replied in a raspy voice. "Your hair's cool."

Her hair was undoubtedly a ginger mess. Because of her layers, it naturally poked up in all directions, and a few weeks without a brush was no help. Nonetheless, she appreciated the comment.

"Thanks. I like that war paint thing you've got going on," Charlie said, gesturing to her own face.

"Thanks." Smellerbee nodded and moved back over by Longshot's side. She was kind of weird, but Charlie liked her.

"She seems nice," Charlie said to Sokka who tore his eyes away from Jet.

"Smellerbee's a girl?" Sokka questioned, eyebrows raised high into his hairline. "How can you tell? She doesn't look like a girl."

"Sexist."

"How is that sexist?!"

"What's a girl supposed to look like, huh?" Charlie pressed with a tilt of her head.

Sokka stumbled over his words, opening and closing his mouth a few times. "Wha—I don't know, just… girly?"

"Weak argument. Try again."

"Try aga—okay, uh, tall. Longer hair or something, I don't know," he tried, waving his hands in the air, looking back to Jet.

"I'm literally the same height as you. So by your standards, all I need to do is cut my hair and boom,I'm a boy." Charlie opened her hands in front of her for emphasis, the corner of her lip involuntarily twitching into a smirk.

"Fine, it was sexist and I'm sorry," Sokka said suddenly, not taking his eyes away, which were glued to the back of Jet's head. Charlie blinked in surprise with a small shake of her head.

"So I appreciate the sentiment, but that was super boring," Charlie said dryly. "Usually our arguments involve a bit more back and forth before you come to that conclusion. It takes all the fun out of it when you agree straight away."

"Where are you going with this?" Sokka asked, raising a brow at her.

"What's got you so distracted? I mean, other than the obvious," Charlie tapped her finger against her open palm, not-so-slyly gesturing towards Jet. "You seem more droopy than usual."

Sokka stayed in contemplative silence for a minute. When he averted his gaze to the floor, Charlie couldn't help but frown. "Do you think I'm a bad leader?" he asked quietly, trying not to grab any attention.

Charlie raised her eyebrows. "Why would I think that?"

"I was just wondering," he brushed off with a casual shrug. Charlie bit her lip and looked ahead where Jet strolled easily through the red-leaved forest, Katara staring up at him by his side. She knew what this was about. Sokka was really questioning his ability to take care of their little group, hurt when he saw how easily Aang and Katara clung to Jet.

"If it's any consolation," she began quietly with a tease. "My psychicness is telling me your instincts are right this time." Sokka looked over at her, but didn't have time to respond before Jet and his Freedom Fighters reached a stop.

"We're here," Jet announced, tilting his head back to look at the leaves hanging above.

"Where? There's nothing here," Sokka said, looking around the trees.

Jet leaned over towards a giant trunk stood, grabbing a rope that was camouflaged into the bark. "Hold this." He passed it to Sokka, who held onto the loop on the end.

"Why?" Sokka questioned, eyeing the rope in his hand. "What's this do?" He let out a high-pitched scream as he shot up into the trees, pulled by the rope which tangled around his wrist. Charlie snorted when his torso got stuck in a bushier part of the tree, leaving his legs frantically kicking to escape.

Jet offered another rope to Aang, who kindly denied, using his airbending to propel himself into the trees. Instead, he turned to Charlie with the rope extended in his hand. "Sorry, I didn't get your name," he admitted.

Charlie shrugged, a small frown playing on her lips. "I didn't give it to you." She grabbed the rope from him and looped it around her hand, letting it tug her upwards into the leaves. She couldn't be bothered watching the display between Jet and Katara, especially without the cheesy 'dreamy' effect and violins that at least made it funny.

She ended up jumping off the rope and onto a wooden landing around the circumference of a tree. Ladder-like steps were attached to the trunk, leading all the way down to the ground, and up to separate platforms where ziplines and bridges joined the trees. Aang and Momo had already made quick use of them, zipping back and forth. Pointed tarps covered the smaller platforms, acting as shelters for the kids to relax beneath.

Next to her laying flat on the landing panels was Sokka, topped off with a red leaf sticking out of his hair. Charlie glanced around, finding Jet with Katara with the rest of the Freedom Fighters a few platforms away. She pursed her lip—it was no accident, he was trying to split them up.

Charly lightly kicked Sokka's side and gestured for him to get up, which he did with a grumble, then they quickly made their way over the bridges towards the group. When they caught up, Jet had already started educating Katara on their plan to rid a nearby village of the Fire Nation. Katara blushed, flattering him with comments of bravery, then Sokka made a dry quip about how there was nothing braver than a guy in a treehouse.

When Jet made eye contact with Charlie, seeking her input, she just smiled sweetly and told him she wasn't inclined to trust a guy who munched on leaves for a living. The expression that morphed on his face was one that Charlie was happy to remember. It was also the moment she was pretty sure Jet decided he didn't like her, which was an added bonus.

Sokka had snorted a laugh while Katara apologised on their behalf. At some point, Charlie cursed under her breath when she realised Jet had separated Katara from them, looking around to find they weren't walking with the group anymore.

"Sokka, I'm gonna go check this place out, see if I can get any intel," Charlie whispered to him, careful not to alert the other Freedom Fighters. Sure, they were nice, but their loyalties lied with Jet. If they caught her snooping where she wasn't supposed to, there was no telling what Jet would do. She didn't like that he was unpredictable—it irked her and made her feel unsteady, like she was constantly a step behind. Luckily, Charlie had a bit of an unfair advantage that she wasn't afraid to use.

Sokka gave her a strange look but nodded, his eyebrows low. "Be careful, I don't trust these guys," he muttered back.

"Don't worry, just keep them distracted for a while," she told him, eyeing the group ahead of her. "This shouldn't take long."

As the group began crossing another bridge, Charlie looped back around the platform, using the tree trunk to make sure she stayed out of sight until they were too far away to notice. She peered around, finding no one around. By her head, she noticed a slab of wood roughly nailed into the bark and looked down, finding the slab was one in a line, leading all the way to the forest floor. It was the make-shift ladders she'd recognised from earlier.

Charlie slipped through the hole in the platform and climbed back down to where they'd entered from. It took a good few minutes, clearly the inferior method of transportation in comparison to the rope pulley system they had going on. When she got close enough to the ground, Charlie jumped off the last few slabs, landing in a crouch.

The cart was still there, filled with four barrels of blasting jelly, and four boxes of jellied candy.

By the time Charlie was done, the cart was tipped on its side, now empty of its contents. It looked like an accident, if anything. She could easily blame it on the animals. At first glance, it appeared as if the barrels had rolled off the path and down the hill right next to it, but that was a diversion. Charlie had actually hidden them in the bushes opposite the cart, making sure the red foliage camouflage the maroon wood enough to be unnoticable.

Charlie backed up from the scene, climbing carefully up the ladder. She'd been gone for too long—Jet would start getting suspicious if she didn't hurry back. Making it to the same platform she'd come from, Charlie walked in the direction she last saw Sokka heading.

It wasn't long before someone appeared next to her, grabbing her arm just above the elbow.

"Charlie! Where have you been?" Sokka hissed out, dragging her around a tree trunk so no one would overhear them. "Do you have any idea how annoying it was being stuck with Aang, Katara and Jet? They won't shut up about him! And then Katara asked where you where so I told her you were brushing your hair which is obviously a lie because everyone knows you don't do that—"

"Woah, slow down man, it's fine. I had to do something important but it's done now," she explained, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you okay? Why are you so freaked out right now?"

"Wha—because you clearly see through Jet's cool-guy attitude,which currently makes you the only person I can trust and so I kind of need you here," Sokka blurted out immediately, frantically waving his arms as he spoke.

A small grin formed on her face. "You need to give yourself more credit. You could easily sort Jet out on your own."

Sokka scoffed lightly with an exaggerated eye roll. "Yeah, right."

"No I'm serious, I have eighty-three percent confidence in you," Charlie smiled out, crossing her arms.

Sokka's eyebrows pressed together. "Eight-three? Why's that so low? What about the other seventeen percent?"

She shrugged casually and cocked her head to the side. "Human error. The Butterfly Effect. Who knows what will actually happen when it comes down to it."

"Aren't you psychic?" Sokka asked dryly.

"Don't question the science of future, okay, things change," Charlie quipped, holding up a finger.

"It's not even a science—" Sokka was cut off by a rustle and a thump beside them. The two jumped apart in sync to appear less like they were hiding behind the tree. They found themselves staring at the shining grin of their favourite airbender, where he'd landed after jumping off a zipline.

"Hey guys!" he chirped out, bouncing on his feet. "Where have you been? Jet just gave us a tour!"

Charlie and Sokka shared a look, which worked out to be a silent agreement to not tell Aang anything just yet. It was too early for them to start making assumptions without any solid proof that Jet wasn't a good guy, and Charlie had a feeling that Katara wouldn't be as trusting of her 'psychic' act as usual.

"We've just been hanging around, taking in the place, you know?" she lied easily, waving her hand around.

Aang nodded eagerly. "Isn't it great?"

"Super," Charlie drawled with a blank expression.

"Where's Katara?" Sokka asked, trying to change the subject.

"She's with Jet."

He gave an exaggerated eye roll at the mention of the other teen. "Of course she is," he muttered under his breath.

Oblivious to Sokka's dismay, the young airbender smiled brightly. "Let's go see what they're up to!" he suggested, bouncing freely across another connecting rope bridge.

Charlie and Sokka shared a mutual look of understanding before following after Aang and making their way towards the direction of Katara and Jet. Even with the fast-pace Aang was leading, she still dragged her feet as if they were strapped down by metal boulders. She never liked Jet's character that much anyway, but after having met him, Charlie was dreading it even more.

This chapter was getting way too long, so I decided to split it and post it across two chapters. It gave me more time to make it better, though! Also i hope you like the dynamic i'm going for between Jet and Charlie, they really just hate each other and make sly commentary whenever possible. Also with the blasting jelly cart—Charlie just enjoys to slightly inconvenience people she doesn't like.

Aaand I might take two weeks to post the next chapter, too. I'm right about to start my exam period, but after that I should be good!