An Argument Between Friends
Yay, pretty fast update!
Okay, so how many of you like Moro? Just curious...
And, in case you're wondering, this is not the chapter where Jet tries to drown the town. That's next chapter. Sorry for disappointing you. If you were disappointed.
I swear, you guys are going to hate Katara by the time this chapter is over. Maybe Tora. But probably Katara. Maybe not though.
Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar... just own Tora, Moro, and Kui. Which is awesome.
Edit: New version! Changes in the chapter. Some of them are subtle, but they're there. Watch out for them.
"We're here." Jet said, stopping us in our tracks. We were just standing in the middle of a bunch of trees.
"There's nothing here." I said snarkily.
Katara shot me a glare, and Jet just glanced back at me. Damn that twig of his... I'd like to set it on fire... probably not a good idea... but I can dream...
"Hold onto this." He ordered, holding out a rope with a loop on the end to Sokka.
"Why? What's it do?" Sokka asked, before the rope looped around his wrist and yanked him off his feet, pulling him far above us into the tree leaves until he disappeared.
"Where'd he go?" I asked, glancing at Jet.
He didn't answer me, but he offered a similar rope to Aang, who had Momo on his shoulders. The Airbender declined, and airbended himself into the trees, disappearing where Sokka had disappeared.
"Tora?" Jet held out his hand to me, smiling. I didn't say anything, I just grabbed a rope I saw on the ground and yanked on it. I couldn't help but feel pride when I saw his perplexed look.
Then suddenly, I wasn't on the ground anymore. I was literally flying up into the air. When I looked down, I couldn't help but feel sick, and clung to the rope even tighter than before.
When I finally made it through the leaves, I rose through a hole in a floor. It was a platform that was built on the tree branches underneath me. I promptly let go of the rope and stepped onto the platform, breathing in. Yes, I could ride a bison that was flying miles above the earth. No problem. But the rush of suddenly hanging in the air, with nothing but a rope keeping me from falling to my death - it was a little jarring.
After I had fixed myself, I took a look around. There were platforms and little huts built into the branches of the trees surrounding us. Bridges and zip lines connected them all. There were a lot of flights of stair.
Katara and Jet rose out of the hole in the floor just seconds after me, Jet holding onto Katara around the waist, and Katara's hand was on his chest. I smirked when I noticed the faint blush on her face. The blush faded as she stared in amazement at the scenery around us. Nearby, Aang shot down a zip line. "This place is awesome!" Seems like the place Aang would like.
"It's so beautiful." Katara said in amazement.
"It's beautiful, but more importantly, it's hidden from the Fire Nation." Jet added.
Smellerbee suddenly dropped down from above us, finally speaking. Now I think I knew she was a girl. "The Fire Nation would love to find you, wouldn't they Jet?"
"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee." Jet replied, smirking.
I rolled my eyes. So arrogant... he's just oozing it...
I realized they were walking away, and quickly followed them. Sokka had appeared next to me, looking more annoyed than me.
"Don't like him either, huh?" I whispered, so only he could hear me.
"Yup."
"Why does the Fire Nation want to find you?" Katara asked Jet from in front of us.
"You could say that we've all been causing them some trouble. See, they took over the Earth Kingdom village nearby a few years ago."
Pipsqueak suddenly spoke up, making me jump. How the hell did a guy that large sneak up on me?
... Come to think of it, how did a guy that big get up here on a rope?
"And we ambush their troops, cut off their supplies, and do whatever else we can to mess with them." Pipsqueak said proudly.
"One day, we'll get the Fire Nation out of here. We'll free that town for good." Jet finished.
"That is so brave." Katara gushed. I rolled my eyes again.
"Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a treehouse." Sokka remarked sarcastically. I snickered, and we both instantly raised our hands up in an arch in sync and high-fived.
"Don't pay any attention to those two." Katara said scornfully, glaring back at the two of us.
"Don't worry 'bout it. They've probably had a rough day." I tried very hard not to snap at Jet that it was him and his attitude (and that damn twig of his) that caused my day to become rough.
"So, you all live here?" Katara asked him.
"That's right. Longshot's village was burned down by the Fire Nation soldiers." I glanced at the silent boy. His head was down, and he was staring at the bridge under our feet. "We found The Duke trying to steal from our food supplies. I don't think he ever had a family."
I glared furiously at him, and obviously he must have sensed something, because he looked back. "How can you say that? How can you talk about something like that to complete strangers? Don't you even care?"
Jet looked angry, and he opened his mouth when The Duke suddenly spoke up. "It's alright, Tora. I don't really mind."
"Well, I mind." I huffed, walking ahead of them all, making sure to flip my hair as I passed Jet so it would smack him in the face. I felt satisfaction when I heard the small smacking noise. "And I can't wait till we leave!"
~~Water~~
Moro watched Tora storm away from the group, smirking a little. She liked that girl. She had a spark.
Moro also hated how Jet just told people things that should have been personal and private for the person it was about. He did it all the time. When they had found The Duke, Jet had comforted him and told the kid how they had found Moro.
The girl shook her head, ridding her mind of these thoughts. Don't think about that. She told herself. Don't live in the past. Live in today.
She smiled, remembering what her father had told her once. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. She had taken those words to heart, and refused to dwell on the past, or wonder about the future. She stayed in the present, cherishing every single moment of life she had.
Because, before you knew it, it would be gone.
She followed the firebender, walking along the tree branches silently. When she finally caught up with the girl, she dropped silently behind her. Then she spoke. "Hello."
Tora promptly jumped about a foot in the air, and spun around. When she saw the girl, she let out a breath in relief. "Please don't do that. It's already bad enough having the silent giant around."
Moro cracked a grin. That seemed to describe Pipsqueak perfectly. "So, you're a firebender, right?"
Tora gave a start in panic, before she smiled. "What do you mean? No, I'm not. How could I be a firebender? You saw me waterbend-"
Moro interrupted her. "Yes, I did see you waterbend. But it was rather obvious."
"How so?" Tora demanded, challenging her.
"Well, your eyes are yellow - a color that no other nation besides the Fire Nation have - you're pale skinned, you have a Fire Nation styled necklace, and you were wearing a Fire Nation tunic when I saw you get off that creature with the six legs. And if that wasn't obvious enough, Kui told me he smelled smoke and ash on you."
She nodded along... until the last thing Moro had said hit her. "Wait, he told you?"
"Kui and I have some sort of special connection. We understand each other. When Kui thinks something he wants me to hear, I hear it, and vice-versa." Moro explained, fiddling with her hands as she spoke. It wasn't a complete lie.
"Oh. Well, that's… weird. But cool!"
They were silent for a few moments, before Moro spoke again. "You know, this probably goes without saying, but you should not do any firebending while you're staying with us."
"How come?"
Moro gave her a look like she was stupid. Which Tora did not like. "It doesn't matter to Jet if you're travelling with the Avatar or not. Hell, it wouldn't matter to him whether or not you stopped the Air Nomad genocide. If you're a firebender, you need to be taken care of."
Tora nodded, suddenly looking a little concerned.
"But, hey, don't worry about it. You just gotta be careful."
Tora pulled her knees up to her chest, before she smiled. "Jet thinks pretty highly of himself, doesn't he?"
Moro grinned. "Yeah, he does."
"He really thinks that what he's doing is helping to stop the war?"
Moro shrugged. "Pretty much."
"And he thinks that he's important enough to have assasin's sent after him?"
Moro looked at her. Tora shrugged. "Just guessing."
"Yup."
"I knew he was arrogant, but I didn't know he was that arrogant!"
For some reason, the two of them found this rather funny, which caused them both to laugh for a while, until Tora finally stopped. "Moro, how did you come to the Freedom Fighters? I know about The Duke and Longshot. What about you?"
Moro went silent. "All I can tell you now, is that it was caused by hatred."
~~Water~~
Tora's point of view
Later on, Katara came and found me. And she was ticked.
"What is your problem, Tora?!" She demanded, her face flushed with anger. "Why did you storm away earlier?"
"Because." I answered, plucking a yellow leaf from a low-hanging branch above me. "Jet was being a jerk. I put him in his place."
"You didn't have to say those things! Jet was just being nice!"
"Jet was being annoying, inconsiderate, and arrogant!" I snapped, losing my patience. "He was annoying because of that damn twig in his damn mouth! He was being inconsiderate because he told us things that were confidential and private between him and the person he was talking about! He was being arrogant because he actually thinks that what he's doing is actually helping to stop the war!"
"What he's doing is helping to stop the war!" Katara yelled, her hair loopies bouncing in her rage. "He's freeing that Earth Kingdom town so it's people can live free!"
I laughed mockingly. "Yes, freeing a little Earth Kingdom town from a few Fire Nation soldiers will end the war! If he really wanted to actually do something, he wouldn't be hiding up here in the trees with a bunch of kids with little weapons! He'd be out there, doing it! Like we are!" (Wow, that sounds really mean.)
"They aren't hiding! Jet is following his destiny! Like we're helping Aang following his!"
"He shouldn't be following his destiny! And neither should Aang! They both should be leading their destiny! Besides, Jet is practically like a terrorist on the Fire Nation! Frankly, I don't see what he's doing is helping the townspeople either!" I yelled, clenching my fists.
"Yes, he is! He wouldn't be fighting the soldiers if what he was doing wasn't helping the townspeople!" Katara countered, her blue eyes flashing.
I scoffed. "He's not helping them! He's hurting them indirectly! The soldiers probably think that it's people of the village stealing their stuff and ambushing their troops and stuff like that, so they're blaming innocent people and hurting them! Or, what if the supplies they have is for the people of that town? Whenever Jet steals them, they can't get them! Ever think of that? What if some of that stuff he stole was medicine for the sick or injured? Jet would be indirectly killing them!"
Katara took a step back. Her eyes narrowed. "Jet wouldn't do that."
"Yes he would!"
"Need I remind you that this wouldn't be happening if the Fire Nation hadn't started a hundred year war against the other Nations? You're people started this war! It's their fault!"
I gasped, taking a step back as well. That was a low blow. I stared at her in disbelief for a moment, before I clenched my fists even tighter. "You think I don't know that?" I whispered. "You actually think I don't know that? You think I don't notice the glares we get whenever we go through an Earth Kingdom town? You think I don't notice the glares I get from Fire Nation soldiers - my own people, as you so "tactfully" put it - whenever they see me travelling with people from the other Nations? I'm considered a traitor by my own people - even if I'm not legally a traitor, I don't have a wanted poster yet - and I'm hated by everyone else just because of something I didn't cause and can't control! The only people who don't hate me are you guys, and the few people we've met! And frankly, I'm not even sure if they trust me completely! Not even back in the South Pole!"
"Tora, how could you say that?" Katara gasped. I could see the sudden guilt appear in her eyes after she said what she said. "Gran-Gran and the others love you! You know that."
"No, I don't! I don't remember what real love feels like! I don't have any family members around me at all! Not like you! You're father is still alive! You're Grandmother is around you all the time, and she doesn't hate your guts because you're a "half-breed", as my grandmother called me once! The only family member I have left is my father, and he's miles and miles away, I can't talk to him at all, I haven't seen him in two years, and I don't think I would want to talk to him even if I could!"
"I haven't seen my father in ages, and that's because he's out fighting the Fire Nation! He's out protecting us! You're father isn't! He hasn't protected you in years!" Katara screamed, losing all her patience.
A silence filled the air between us. You could practically feel the tension. Katara was breathing heavily, her eyes narrowed in a glare. My eyes had widened, and I knew how Aang had felt when Katara yelled at him about the waterbending scroll. Only, a million times worse.
I started walking backwards, away from her. I had to get away from Katara... someone I had considered my sister in all but blood for at least two years. How could she say that? How could she?
I suddenly realized I was running. She's right. I thought. She's right. Her father is protecting them. My father sent me away because he was bullied by a couple of jerks. He doesn't care.
Yes, he does. A small part of my mind thought.
He doesn't!
Does.
Doesn't!
Does.
Doesn't!
Does times infinity.
"SHUT UP!" I screamed, punching a tree. I immediately regretted this decision, as I felt splinters and pieces of bark cutting into my skin, not to mention the incredible pain I felt from hitting the tree's tough skin.
I promptly fell onto my knees, holding my fist in pain.
"Are you alright?"
I looked up, and saw the source of the voice.
My first thought was green. Because the first thing I saw was a pair of green eyes staring at me with concern. Then my eyes found the rest of the person's body.
It was a girl, either my age or a few years older. Her hair was black and curly, tied back into a messy side-bun with two chopsticks. She was wearing a long white skirt with green flowers imprinted on the lower left side. Her shirt was green as well, with a baggy waist and baggy sleeves that exposed her shoulders. She had a green wrap tied around her waist and trailing down to her ankles. She was only wearing a pair of black flats on her feet, and her ears held a pair of small gold hoops.
"I'm fine." I lied.
"No, you're not!" The girl exclaimed, grabbing my uninjured hand and pulling me to my feet with surprising strength. She then started dragging my by my left wrist. I, too startled and hurt to do anything, let her.
The green-girl brought me to a small hut with a long curtain for a door. She pushed past it and pulled me into the hut. She then forced me down into a sitting position on the bed. "Don't move." She ordered, turning around and digging through some of her stuff. After she shuffled around for something, she pulled out a roll of bandages and a small canteen. When she saw my stare, she explained. "I haven't needed the water for a while. The Freedom Fighters are especially careful not to get too hurt. If they get injured, then I just patch them up using these." She held up the bandages a little bit, before she set to work.
First, she carefully plucked the splinters and pieces of bark from my knuckle. She drew blood, but it didn't alarm me. Then she pulled out the cork of her canteen. After doing some graceful hand movements, a small stream of water slid out of the top. She covered her hands in the water, making some odd looking gloves, before she took my injured hand in hers.
There was a cool feeling, then suddenly all the pain left my hand. When the stranger let go, she unwrapped a couple of inches of bandages and cut it off. Then she started wrapping them around my hand and my wrist. When she saw me staring again, she shrugged. "Better to be safe than sorry."
"You're a waterbender?" I asked.
"Have been my whole life." She smiled proudly. "I'm Amaya."
"I'm Tora."
"I know. You're that girl who told off Jet earlier, right?"
I shrugged. "That would be me."
"Good for you. I've been wanting to tell him off for a while. He just never listens to me if it doesn't have to do with healing."
"So you're the healer for the Freedom Fighters here?"
"Pretty much." Amaya nodded. "I don't go on missions very often. The only time I went, Smellerbee was sick, and I didn't really do anything. I just made sure nobody got hurt too bad."
"I wonder if Katara's a healer..." I wondered. Thinking of Katara made me remember our fight. My face darkened. I was brought back to earth when Amaya said something. "Sorry, I wasn't listening. What'd you say?"
Amaya smiled. "I said, Moro says your a firebender and a waterbender. Is it true?"
I glanced around nervously. Amaya saw this. "Don't worry. I'm pretty secluded from the others. They know I like my privacy. They can't hear us here. And besides, if it was really important, they would have come in by now." I still felt uneasy, so Amaya went to check around. When she came back in, she said that there was nobody there.
"Yeah, I am a firebender and a waterbender." I let out in one breath. It felt good to tell someone that. I hadn't really felt the need to say it in a while. Everyone I travelled with knew it already. And I don't really tell Earth Kingdom people I'm a firebender unless they either a: don't care, or b: figure it out themselves. I usually prefer the first one.
"That's really cool!" Amaya commented, putting her canteen and her bandages back with her
stuff. "How is that possible?"
I shrugged. "Well, I don't know how it's actually possible, but my dad had waterbending in his blood, and my mom was a firebender." I prayed silently that she wouldn't ask about the "was" part.
I was lucky. She didn't ask.
There was suddenly a loud banging noise, followed by someone yelling, "Soup's on! Everybody, dinner's ready!"
Amaya grabbed my arm and pulled me along. "C'mon, dinner's ready!"
"I gathered that information."
She smiled at me, and I smiled back.
~~Water~~
A few minutes later, I was sitting next to Sokka, as far away from Katara as I could, and next to Moro. Katara and I would glare at each other every few seconds, before going back to normal for a minute, and then back to glaring.
"Where'd Amaya go?" I asked Moro.
"She's serving dinner today." Moro said, pointing towards the green-girl.
Amaya suddenly appeared holding a large black pot, and she dropped some brown... mush looking stuff onto all of our plates. "It's stew." She said, seeing our expressions.
"Thanks, 'Maya." Jet smiled at her. I noticed a faint blush appear on her face as she set down the pot. Not Amaya too.
Suddenly everyone started chanting. "Speech! Speech! Speech!"
Jet stood up on the table, holding his glass and smirking. "You want a speech?"
Everyone started yelling in confirmation.
"Then you'll get one."
More cheering.
"Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine!" He yelled, raising his glass. Everyone cheered again. Jet then spoke about how he had a feeling of joy or something when he watched The Duke ride a Fire Nation soldier like a hog-monkey. The kid in question got up on the table, appreciating all their cheers as he raised his hands over his head in triumph. Jet then said that the Fire Nation didn't think they had to worry about some ragamuffin kids hiding in the trees. "Maybe they're right." Got that right. My opinions didn't really seem to match the other's opinions, because they all booed. "Or maybe..." He suddenly leaned over, and it seemed like the light from the lanterns gave him a devilish and scary look. "They are dead wrong!"
"And that's not even the slightest bit terrifying." I muttered to Amaya and Moro, who both laughed a little, but hid it in the form of coughs.
Jet got off the table, and the sound of the cheers diminished into the noise of chatter and dinner being eaten.
"Hey, Jet." Katara said, smiling as he sat down next to her. I noticed how close he was to her. I didn't like it. "Nice speech."
"Thanks. You know, I was pretty impressed with you three." He gestured to Aang, Katara, and me. I was surprised that he wasn't more upset with me from earlier. Doesn't change anything. "That was some nice waterbending I saw earlier today."
"Well, Aang's the Avatar. Tora and I could use a little more training." Katara said, looking down and blushing. I narrowed my eyes. Just a few days ago, she was upset that Aang was better than her. And what gives her the right to say that I need more training? Even if it is true...
"The Avatar, huh? Very nice." Jet commented, taking a drink, while somehow keeping the twig in his mouth. While he did this, he was also smiling, like he was thinking about something.
"Thanks, Jet!" Aang said cheerfully. The kid didn't really seem to have a problem with the rebel leader, like Sokka and I did. But he wasn't so obnoxious about him either, like Katara was. He was somewhere in the middle. Which was a good place to be, I guess.
"You know, I think there's a way you three can help us out tomorrow." Jet said.
"No." I said immediately, taking a bite out of my mush. It was surprisingly good.
"Because, as unfortunate as it is, we have to leave tonight." Sokka added, standing up and walking away.
Good!
"Sokka, you're kidding me!" Jet exclaimed dramatically, sounding wounded. "I needed your help on a mission tomorrow morning!"
Sokka, it seemed, couldn't stand the idea of being offered a place in a mission. He stopped walking away and reluctantly turned his head back to them. "What kind of mission?"
Jet smirked. "We're going to be searching the forest for any Fire Nation troops. Having some Water Tribe knowledge would be very useful."
Sokka finally sat down again. "Fine. We're leaving right after, though!"
Jet suddenly turned to me. "Tora, if you don't want to help Aang and Katara, there's always room for one more person. You could join Sokka."
I glared at my food for a moment, before I finally looked at him. "Fine." Then I turned to Amaya and Moro. "Do either of you mind if I slept with one of you tonight? I'm not in the mood for facing Katara."
Amaya smiled cheerfully. "You can sleep in my room."
"Thanks."
"How come you don't want to face Katara?" Moro asked, yanking off a bite of some dried meat.
"We had a... disagreement earlier. Some things that SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SAID were said..." I said part of my sentence loud enough for Katara to hear - she shot me a glare - before going back to my normal voice. "That's all." I explained, plucking a leechee nut from one of the plates in front of me.
Okay, sucky way to end this chapter. But I couldn't think of another way.
I swear, I wasn't planning on adding Amaya when I started this chapter. She just sort of... happened.
Next chapter: Jet shows his true colors.
And just so you know, Katara and Tora are still mad at each other. Who wouldn't be mad at Katara after what she said?
And, by the way, I had Katara say those things because I wanted her to. I mean, a crush on Jet made her blind to the fact he was a complete jerk, and made her doubt her own brother. First loves can make you do things you wouldn't normally do.
Not that I speak from experience or anything.
And those of you who are wondering about Moro's background, don't worry, it will come up in the future. In this story, but in the future.
Edit: So how'd you guys like this new version? I liked it better than the old version – and I'm not just saying that because the old version could help in getting the story deleted.
Also, you guys – don't worry. If this story is deleted (and I'm working hard to make sure it isn't) I'll change some things around and repost it. So don't you guys worry, alright?
So my plan is to work on a chapter a day. First I'll work on this story, and then I'll move onto my other stories – but I'm going to work on working on both stories very fast.