It took a while but I finally got this chapter written . . . there was something I had to say about the story, but I forgot.
Glass Half Empty
II
The first few fleeting seconds, Jet wakes within his bedding back in the forests with nothing but warmth and nature cadence surrounding him, but the hazy fog within his head clears and the reality of where he is and where he's going comes crashing down around him, and it leaves him . . . lost and stripped bare. Swallowing the bitter feeling back into the depths of his body, he pushes himself up into an upright sitting position, ignoring the aches in several of his joints and the stiffness of his muscles. Getting to his feet, he leaves the den of mingling and mangled scents of the refugees, exiting from the lower level of the ferry, he's hit with the biting cold of the mid-morning air. There are still people sleeping on deck and he wonders for a split second how anyone can sleep in such a cold setting with such thin sheets or no cover, at least he'd had furs to keep him warm during the forest winters.
Absently, his eyes start searching out the forms of Mushi and Li, he spots the former sleeping soundly but the latter is subsequently missing. Already scanning the fog blanketed deck, he spots a vague figure at the bow of the front of the ship, looking out over the calm waters.
Approaching the still figure, he's assured that it is indeed, "You know." he starts as he slides into place beside the smaller male, "As soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were." he doesn't miss the tension in Li's body, the subtle shifting or the way he glances at him from the corner of his eyes, "You're an outcast. Like me." the tension is still there but he seems to relax a little bit, "And we outcasts have to stick together. Watch each other's backs," he takes a quick look at Li, "because no one else will."
For a moment, Jet thinks Li will ignore him and remain silent or demand he leave . . . but something must have stuck for the dour young man parts with a line that seems to mean so much more than it would for someone who hasn't endured their kind of hardships, or for someone who knows Li better than Jet.
"I've realized that being on your own isn't always the best path."
They fall into silence, staring out over the waters together with Jet feeling no need to fill it with pointless banter after a line like that and Li most likely not wanting to talk at all. It takes moments for the walls of Ba-Sing-Se to come in to view, and it's just as grand as he'd imagined it would be, as Mushi had said it would be. Beside him, Li starts to shift in place so Jet glances at him.
"Bye."
Jet watches the Omega turn on his heel and disappear into the fog, most likely returning to his uncle's side. In Li's wake, he can barely detect something a little different in his scent, it isn't as flat as it had been the day before. Turning back to face the approaching walls, he knows he should feel excited, perhaps relieved, but all he can feel are those walls closing in on him and its terrifying . . . he doesn't take in the fact that Li had felt obligated enough to bid him farewell until they're all leaving the ferry and Li disappearing into the crowds with his uncle at his side.
G-H-E
They're stepping inside a large cavern like room with several booths lined up where workers look over identifications and permit entrance, Jet's eyes immediately fall on Li who looks nothing short of bored. Now that he knows of the other refugee, it makes it easier for him to pick out the anxious male from the crowds of droning colors bleeding together, despite Li wearing clothes just as drab as the rest of the thankful refugees. Jet wanted, he wanted closeness, he wanted someone who could understand him and his motives, someone who would not condemn him for his past actions, someone who would know what it was like to carry the heavy burden of secrets, and Li, he fit that bill down to a "t", Li like some kind of beacon in the colorless sea and he a mindless moth tantalized by the radiant light, but it was up to the terse male on whether or not he wanted to burn Jet or allow him to bask in the warmth.
Jet stares as Li and Mushi leave the line, he reaches up to toy with the steam of his wheat stalk, "I think Li would make a great Freedom Fighter." he turns to his two companions as he continues, "He's just trying to find his way in the world, like us."
And it's true . . . there was just something about Li that seemed to be missing, like he was missing a large portion of himself and he was just as lost as the others, trying to find that something to fill in that sudden gap in his person.
Smellerbee looks up at him, arms crossed, "You don't know anything about him Jet."
"I know he didn't get that scar from a waterbender."
"Besides," the girl continues, "I thought we were going straight now."
"We are." Jet assures, "And I think the new Freedom Fighters could use a guy like Li." he glances at Longshot, "What do you think, Longshot?" Longshot meets his gaze and Jet feels some part of him wilt underneath the other's stare as he manages to imprint his thoughts, he removes his stalk as he says, "I can respect that."
They get through quickly enough without any trouble and Jet really is minding his own business when his eyes happen to be drawn towards a certain area of the station, a certain spot where he spies Li and his uncle sitting on one of the circular benches. Li is angled so his torso is closer to his uncle, an unconscious safety net, with his arms crossed over his chest, keeping others from him, and his eyes watching whoever manages to get too close, suspicion and annoyance written within them, and once again Jet feels that incredible pull. His feet are taking him over to the two and he takes a seat beside Li, copying the other's body language in an attempt to show that he can relate, the other of course tenses but keeps that same scowl on his face as he sends a glance Jet's way.
"So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?"
No one gets to say a word, let alone an attempt, when a man advertising cups of tea interrupts them, sufficiently taking Li's attention away from him and to the tea-peddler, Jet feels a prick of annoyance at having been interrupted:
"Get your hot tea here! Finest tea in Ba-Sing-Se!"
"Oh!" Mushi waves his arm, catching the man's attention, "Jasmine, please!"
Li watches the tea provider leave, his eyes narrowed and suspicious, as if he were expecting the sad looking man to suddenly turn and spring at them, frothing at the mouth . . . it takes his uncle gagging and spitting the tea out for Li's attention to swing back to his relative. Mushi holds the cup away and exclaims, as if offended:
"Coldest tea in Ba-Sing-Se is more like it!" he points at the cup, glancing at Li who very much does not care about the state of the tea, "What a disgrace!"
It's then that Jet knows he isn't going to be able to convince Li of much with his crazy old uncle there to distract him, he had to strip Li of his security blanket before he could approach him with what he wanted, he sits up, scoots to the edge of the seat.
"Hey. Mind if I talk to you for a second?" behind him, he can hear Li sigh followed by his barely audible footsteps, he angles his body so he's facing Li a little as he walks, "You and I have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together." he stops and faces Li, "You wanna join the Freedom Fighters?"
Li doesn't show much of anything, but he does look away as if in contemplation before a frown darkens his face, he seems to curl in on himself, "I don't think you'd want someone like me in your gang, I'd slow you down, or have you forgotten of what I am?"
"C'mon Li, that didn't seem to make much of a difference between us." Jet tries, "You and I made such a great team looting the captain's food, O . . . ," he stops himself when Li bristles and a quiet snarl leaving the tense man, he quickly backtracks and omits the O word, a word which Jet was beginning to learn was a forbidden word around Li, " . . . ranks don't mean a thing." he then gestures to the people around them, "Just think of all the good we can do for these refugees."
"You don't seem to get it." Li hisses, he's glaring now, "I'm an . . . my rank means I go into heat for an entire week once a month. Do you know what heats do to the people around me?"
"Li . . . ,"
"I don't know you and I don't quite trust you, so forgive me if I'm hesitant with leaving my uncle for a group I've only known of for about a day." Li seems to look around a moment before turning back, "You do know what that means if people find out?"
"I saw a couple of Omegas walking around earlier." Jet states, he'd seen more Omegas within moments of being here than he has his entire life in the forests, "And they all seemed perfectly fine."
"That's because you're an Alpha." Li spits, he's scowling at Jet, all traces of self-deprecation gone from his body, "You can't pick up the nuances like I can. You can't see what they're hiding. And life out there, and in here, wasn't easy for them."
Jet remembers Li telling him how it wasn't always best to be on your own, he feels like he's been doused in ice water or rather something similar to the feeling of Katara sending whips of water into his chest and then freezing him to the tree.
"Were you . . . ?"
Li looks back at him, his eyes having wandered to a pair of Alphas who'd wandered too close, he seems almost confused before realization hits him hard, he takes a step away shaking his head, "No. No, nothing like that happened, but . . . ," I didn't make it easy. " . . . some threatened to."
The icy dread turns to a hazing rage, his eyes flit to Li's scar, "Is that how . . . ?"
Li notices and seems like he'd love nothing more than to disappear, or punch Jet, or both, "No." he seems to recover and turns away from Jet, "You don't need me in your gang."
Jet actually reaches out and grabs Li's wrist, stopping the latter from leaving, he sees Li tense and turn to give him one of the nastiest scowls he's ever seen before ripping his wrist from Jet's hold, "I could . . . ,"
"Could what?" Li hisses, he's facing Jet fully, "Protect me?"
Jet realizes that yeah, he was going to tell Li that he could protect him, keep him safe if he needed, do his best to leave Li not wanting for anything . . . Li seems to know this too for he sniffs disinterestedly and starts turning once more, whatever patience he'd had was gone, but before he takes the first step away from this, he glares at Jet from over his shoulder and spits.
"I can take care of myself."
With that, the indignant male storms back to his uncle's side, his uncle apparently having finished his tea despite the old man claiming it to be a disgrace. Mushi seems to murmur to Li, his eyes on Jet in suspicion, but Li is mad and makes a show of snapping at the older Alpha . . . Jet is stunned, his own Alpha half urging him to call out or even bring Li back, to protect the Omega with suspicious eyes and tension bleeding into the air around him, but the human half of Jet lets Li go because he understands that Li is his own person and no one was going to be owning him anytime soon. Not that Jet wanted to own him, he just . . . he didn't know.
This strange pull was . . . strange.
When the train comes and everyone starts to board, Smellerbee prods at his ribs, he turns his attention away from Li and Mushi. Mushi cooing over a baby that is beside him, and Li looking just as grumpy as ever, the baby having no affect on him:
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Jet says, because he doesn't know what is happening.
G-H-E
People.
That's the one thing that Jet is really fully able to grasp . . . he can't take a step without bumping into someone, he can't turn a corner without smelling someone, and he can't shut his eyes without hearing someone. Peddlers, refugees, low-lives, people from different walks of life, of different professions, they're all jam-packed within the lower ring like a pack of fish. And as he walks the streets with his only friends, he isn't sure if that's a good thing or not.
And the walls, Spirits the walls and restrictions.
"You owe me!"
Jet stops in place, turning to see what the commotion is, only to stop along with Longshot and Smellerbee when he sees a burly man grabbing the thin wrist of another younger man. The burly man is clearly Alpha as he reeks of Alpha pheromones, and the latter Omega as evidence of the rich, sweet scent rolling off of him.
"You were kicked out!" the Omega exclaims, trying to free his thin wrist, "We don't owe you service of any kind!"
The Alpha tugs harshly on the Omega's arm, the lithe man stumbling into him, the burly man sneers as he says, "I guess I'll just have to take what I want then."
And that sets Jet off because not only is the man threatening rape, but no one was going to do a single thing until the guards appeared, which it seemed like they wouldn't in time.
"Hey." he says, stepping out of the ring of onlookers. All eyes are on him now. "Let him go."
The burly Alpha growls, "Mind your own damn business kid."
"Coming from someone like you who can't seem to take "no" for an answer, I think I'm the more adult one in this situation." Jet revels in the way the other man starts to square up, indignation written across his face. "The guy said he didn't owe you anything."
At this, the man remembers the Omega he'd been holding onto, he yanks him around as he spits, "He owes me a night! I paid good money for him!"
"You were violent!" the Omega snaps, desperately clawing at the man's hand, "The Mistress of the Brothel kicked you out!"
"Shut up!" the man shakes the younger male, before turning his angry gaze to Jet, "And you! You'd understand more of what's happening if you popped your knot!"
"I have." Jet says easily, and he has for the simple stress release but he assumes there must be some kind of difference with Omega's, an Alpha's other half. Of course his mind immediately falls upon Li. "But I don't bully people into it." he forces Li out of his thoughts and offers a lupine grin, "It'd be kinda sad if that was the only way you could get it, don't you think? What does that say about you as a person no one wants to touch?"
He's in rut.
Jet thinks a second after the burly Alpha shoves the Omega away and charges . . . Jet side-steps and gets behind the man before he can turn, he wraps an arm around the man's throat and grabs his own wrist, locking the man's head in place, he kicks the back of the man's knees, making the man fall to his knees, he goes down easily enough with the taller Alpha. The burly Alpha struggles but stops when Jet tightens his hold. Any second and the man will pass out.
Ah.
There he goes.
Releasing his hold on the man, he stands, watching the man slump forward in an undignified manner. Cheers erupt from the crowd that he had once been a part of and guards soon enter the scene demanding to know what had happened, the people immediately take Jet's side and the unconscious Alpha is taken away. It feels good to have helped . . . he wonders what it would have been like if Li were with him to help.
"Thank you." someone at his side says, Jet turns and notices that it's the Omega, he also spots the subtle presentation moves the Omega is making, "Why don't I repay you for your kindness?"
Jet opens his mouth to respond, but stops halfway the second he spots two familiar faces within the crowd. The second his eyes meet Li's, Li turns and starts walking away. The young Alpha is brought back to his own body when he feels a gentle touch to his arm, he turns to the Omega he'd just saved and offers a charming smile.
"You don't need to do that." he says, "I only did what I felt was right."
The Omega is about to reply but Jet is already walking away, both Smellerbee and Longshot following shortly after him. Exiting the dispersing crowd, he scans the area and manages to spot both Li and Mushi. Feeling a little lighter, he starts approaching.
"Jet." Smellerbee says in warning.
Jet pauses a moment, "What?"
"I don't think you should bother Li."
"I'm not bothering him." Jet says in way of defense. "I'm just going to talk with him."
Smellerbee frowns nonetheless, "Fine." she huffs, "But Longshot and I are going to look for jobs since we'll need the money." she turns away, "Come on, Long."
Jet watches Smellerbee leave, Longshot giving him a nod before he follows after her. The tan male frowns at the back of his friends and follows after the uncle and nephew duo. It isn't too hard to find Li as he seems to stick out like a sore thumb, tense and all. Jet eases into place beside Li.
"Hey."
Li tenses, "Hi."
Jet watches Mushi converse with the florist, "How's the city treating you so far?"
"Great."
Silence.
"That's it?"
"What do you want me to say?" Li hisses, "I hate this place and these people."
"You just got here." Jet says, amused with Li's dour attitude . . . he absently wonders if Li would ever try to repay someone like the previous Omega. Jet makes a show of looking around. "I don't think it's too bad."
Li finally looks at him and seems to study him a moment before turning to look back at his uncle, the old man having purchased a bouquet of flowers, "I'm not sure if you expect me to believe that or not." Jet blinks, so Li continues, "Back at the ferry, you said that we were the same. Outcasts. If that's true, then this place is just as suffocating to you as it is to me." Jet stares, completely gob-smacked before he starts laughing, his sudden laughter earning Li's ire, "What?"
"Okay." Jet chuckles, "I'll admit this place isn't all that great. But I've only been here for a few hours so I can't say."
Li continues scowling at him but turns away in the end.
Mushi is approaching them soon enough, the old man in high spirits as he presents the vase.
"Jet, hello!" Mushi hoists the vase he'd gotten higher in his hold, "We just bought some flowers to liven the place up~!" he then sends a sly smile Li's way, "Just in case someone brings home a special someone~."
Li, for the most part, looks mortified at the suggestion but the look quickly gives way to annoyance, "I'm not bringing anyone home."
Jet watches the two interact and has to wonder what it would take for Li to consider someone acceptable enough to take home. Jet knows he has some redeeming qualities: he's strong, knows how to fight, can provide for others, knows how to take care of children. Would any of that be enough for Li?
Pause.
Jet rethinks his train of thought . . . that would make so much sense, his interest in Li . . . the tanned Alpha glances curiously at the two, Li becoming incensed with something his uncle is saying while Mushi takes it all in stride, most likely used to Li's prickly attitude . . . he was attracted to Li.
"Why don't you and your friends join us for dinner, Jet?"
Li interrupts with a snappish, "He doesn't need to eat with us."
But Jet doesn't take offence, he now understands that that's just the way Li is until he can somehow get closer to the other boy, "Sure." he says, "That'd be nice."
Li hisses but Mushi speaks over him, "Great~!"
Jet realizing that he has an attraction for "Li" is best.
