Chapter 2: Night

After that day, Jet and Longshot stayed together. They found an untouched landing outside of some abandoned sheds that weren't big enough to concern the Fire Nation but too small to house any family. They were perfect for the boys in that way. They weren't fun to stay in during the day when it was too hot, but during the cool nights they liked just laying there. Jet would sometimes talk about his family and Longshot would simply respond 'I understand' as he kept a view on his bow and arrow. One night, Longshot said he missed his family, too.

For a few years they'd had to switch between living off the land or stealing leftovers from any temporary camps in the area. Then one day when returning to a particular camp, the people were gone but they had left behind a considerable amount of things, almost as if they were in a hurry.

"Why do you think they left?" Jet asked.

Longshot just looked around and then his eyes fixed on something less obvious, something Jet hadn't found before.

"What is it?"

He walked toward the bushes that seemed to be covering something. That fact that things were laid out haphazardly and the sheer abruptness of this group's departure pointed toward some kind of immediate need to leave, but who in a rush would have time to hide something in the bushes? Were they planning to come back? Longshot got close enough to the bushes to maneuver and see what it was. There were two handles to what looked like to be swords, but there was an extra metal guard around the side of the handles. Their sheaths were covered by a tarp, adding to the mystery of what kind of weapon this was. Even the very end of the sword was sharpened. He quickly shot a cautious look at Jet, which prompted him to stop in his track.

"What is it, what did you find?"

Longshot simply stepped back and pointed, his eyes never leaving the discovery. But as Jet laid eyes on it, his shock turned into curiosity.

"Oh shit, do you know what this means?" Jet said excitedly. "We can defend ourselves!" The look on Longshot's face turned into confusion as he motioned to his bag of arrows. "I know but, we don't know how to use those yet. My cousin showed me how to hold a sword." Jet reached for one of the handles but right before he was able to touch one, Longshot's cold hand stopped him. Jet looked up only to see his serious face nodding for him to stop. "No, trust me." He said going to touch it again, this time meeting no resistance.

As Jet made contact with the sword handle and began to pull out the weapon, both boys looked in awe. The sword was longer and skinnier than expected, but at the end curved into a hook.

"What is that?" Longshot spoke cautiously, taking a step back. The sounds of his voice was almost startling.

"I don't know but it's super weird looking." His amazement was never ending. Even the outer rim of the curve was fit to cut and slice. Every part of this rare weapon was meant to be multifaceted. This was a weapon made for someone who didn't have an array to choose from and who made the absolute most of what they had and something about that felt special to Jet, a boy who had just lost everything he could value. "We found it so it's ours now." Jet resheathed the sword and took it under his arm. He began walking toward another part of the camp when Longshot's voice startled him again.

"Are you sure? That's someones." Jet paused for a moment, mulling over what he wanted to say.

"Were those arrows always yours?" There was a long silence and Longshot's face went from solemn to soft. "Look, we have to take what we can get. When we learn how to use these, we'll be unstoppable together." He nooded in acceptance.

They went back to their sheds not long after that, as they didn't like coming back after sundown. Going through their routine of laying out whatever food or abandoned itmes they found, Jet found himself constantly touching the sword handles every so often, as if to make sure it was still there. That was a particularly quiet night for what felt like an unspoken reason.

Then came the point when it was darkest and Longshot's grip on his bag of arrows would loosen as he fell asleep. Jet turned under his blanket and looked at the darker silhouette of his newest possession. This was the hardest part of the night, when he would lay awake because it was too dark to do anything. He'd slept fine when he was alone, but ever since he found a travel companion his mind couldn't let his tired body fully rest, not until his eyes were too heavy to keep open anymore. Memories replayed in his mind more vividly than he would want. Hot tears make contact with the ground his head laid on. There were some nights where these memories would show up even in his sleep, so he stayed awake until they stopped. But they always came back again.

Tonight he didn't feel sleepy at all. His eyes stayed glued on his friend and his new prize. If he learned to use this weapon, nobody could take anything from him. He reached out and unsheathed the sword, still surprised at the size just like the first time he saw it. He could hear his mother's voice to leave things where he found them. The wind blowing just above his ear felt like her hands. The ants on his feet felt like burning embers. He wanted to fight.