3: "Without a Plan, but with a Strategy; Part 3"

Suzu didn't know how long they had been walking, but it felt like forever. Her legs were already starting to go numb. Normally she could handle walking, but she had to have an occasional break. There had been no break yet. She knew Youta wanted to get out as quickly as possible, but her legs felt like jelly. It also felt like they were walking up an incline.

"So, how much longer?" she finally asked, having debated in her head whether or not she wanted to complain.

"Getting tired already?" he teased.

"I'm sorry, not all of us can be such muscular ladies," she mocked back.

"Ouch, you hurt my masculinity," he said, playing grabbing his chest.

Suzu figured it only to be a joke, as there was no need for Youta to actually be hurt by that. He had to be confident enough in his masculinity to dress up as a female while still identifying as a male. If he wasn't, there was no way he would be able to pull off. Even Suzu would have been able to see through his disguise.

"I was only joking," she said, nudging him a bit with her elbow.

"I know," he confirmed with a soft smile. "Well, you don't need to wonder anymore. We're here."

He pointed up ahead. Suzu hadn't been focusing enough to have noticed until now. Faint streams of light were coming down from an above source a few feet away. The beams were narrow, as if coming through cracks, but they allowed enough light to come in. Youta walked up and began to knock at the source of the light. As Suzu grew closer she realized it was a wooden cover that Youta was knocking at and the light was coming in through the cracks. Releasing the flame she had created, she began to help Youta push. With a bit of effort and a small click, the wooden shifted and slide off to the side, allowing the two to pass through the opening.

On the other side, Suzu was finally able to get some fresh air. She never realized that being underground was not a fun experience, at least not for a firebender. She was always afraid of something flammable showing up. There were a lot of minerals in the earth that could combust that she had to be careful of. Also being confined to a tight space, like the tunnel, was not enjoyable one bit. She preferred being above ground. And thankfully she was back to being on top of ground instead of being underneath it. They wound up in the middle of some wooded area. There didn't look like there had been people in the area for a long time. The ground was covered in freshly fallen leaves and unmanaged brush. The trees were tightly packed together, making Suzu wonder how they would be able to get out. Youta squatted down and placed the wood back over the hole, throwing some leaves over it to help disguise it. Suzu figured this to be pointless however, as it didn't look like people wandered anywhere near the area.

"Ready?" he asked.

Without words, Suzu responded with a simple nod. Youta patted her on the shoulder and began to walk over to the trees. There was a small opening between two skinny, but tall trees. He managed to squeeze through and waved for Suzu to follow him from the over side. She paused for a second before following him; like she really had a choice. She held her breath and pushed herself between the trees. If they had been any bigger, she might have gotten stuck. Thankfully she was able to get through.

Upon seeing Suzu get through, Youta continued. There was now a trail, winding through the trees. It was narrow, but still a trail. Youta led the way with Suzu close behind. She was unsure if one could get lost in such a setting, but Suzu was sure if it was possible, she would manage it somehow. They finally stopped after a couple of yards. The trail ended in a clearing, much bigger than the area they were just at. Large enough to occupy a good-sized group, which it looked like it would soon be doing. Upon stepping out from behind Youta, Suzu discovered they were not the first ones. There was already a handful of people who have shown up.

"Ah, Youta!"

A girl with dark hair that hung down passed her shoulders called out upon taking notice of Youta. She didn't seem to notice Suzu until the girl began to trot up to him. However when her olive green eyes met Suzu's golden ones, the girl hesitated. There was obviously no trust in her eyes directed towards Suzu, but still the firebender couldn't sense any distrust either. It just felt like the girl was trying to figure out how to treat Suzu and was being very cautious.

"Oi, Youta. Who's the girl?"

Behind the girl were two boys. The one who asked the question was the much taller boy. Suzu couldn't help but compare the two boys in appearance to Youta. Both had pitch black hair, much like Youta's dark locks. All three also had deeply tanned skin. While that was where the comparisons stopped, Suzu still felt the connections were there.

"This is Suzu," Youta said. "I told you guys about her."

Suzu remained silent. She didn't know what Youta had said exactly. Did he tell them she was a firebender or just that she was from the Fire Nation? Did he even mention he was from the Nation? She knew she should have asked more questions when walking and get more informed, but she wasn't thinking about it. Now she was regretting it all.

"Oh, nice to meet you," said the girl, finally walking all the way up to the two. "My name is Ilah."

Ilah extended her hand. With a bit of hesitation, Suzu took it. Ilah gave her hand a hardy shake; strength you would never expect to come from someone so small. When Ilah finally let go, the boys had already walked up. Suzu managed to get a better look at them. They looked a lot alike, giving them away as some sort of relatives. Suzu figured brothers, though they could be cousins. Cousins can look alike. The taller one had short, black hair that same thick texture as Ilah. As she saw before, his skin was a tanned, though now that she was closer, it wasn't the same deep tan as Youta. This boy's was a lighter shade. His eyes were a brighter shade than Ilah's, almost an emerald colouring. He had to be the older of the two. The five o'clock shadow and bags under his eyes gave him away. The shorter one looked a lot like him, having the same hair texture. However the shorter boy's hair seemed to spike towards the back, though it didn't look intentional. The younger boy had the same skin tone and eye colour, though appeared more youthful and less grumpy.

"Suzu," the older boy said, nodding with the simple greeting. "My name is Guan and this is Fei."

"Sup?" Fei said.

"Where is everyone else?" Youta asked.

Ilah turned to him, ready to answer, but Guan beat her to it.

"They will be showing up later," he answered. "We were sent ahead to try and think of a plan for when they get here."

"Well, we better figure something out then, huh?" Youta said, plopping down on the ground. "Shall we get started?"

A short chapter today. I have been having writer's block recently. It appeared to be unwavering. I was actually afraid I would not be able to get through this chapter. But here we are. I made it, thankfully. But jokes aside, I'm sorry for being gone so long. I hadn't updated any of my stories for a couple weeks now. My writer's block seemed to stretch across stories, not happy enough to delay just one story. While I was gone though, I did manage to get some things done.

1.) I got myself a DeviantArt and I have posted some pictures of characters. So far Suzu, Youta, Keiichi, Avaron, Ilah, Fei, and Guan. More will be on the way, along with other stories' characters.

2.) I wrote a non-SYOC story, which will be a first for me. It is a Wizard101 story revolving around a Pyromancer named Autumn Ashword. It has only just started and only has two chapters out so far. But I'm enjoying writing it, so more will be written soon enough, most likely. I would be grateful if you guys left a review or two.

3.) I made a WEBSITE. Well, let me clarify. I made website for this story. It was made with Wix through their free website maker, so it may not be the best. However it features character profiles for both the original characters and the canon characters. It also gives a look into the world of My Precious Bell and gives a better description for each of the four nations. There is also much more.

Links for my DeviantArt and the Precious Bell website can be found on my profile. Feel free to check both of them out. Also, don't forget to leave a review about the chapter. Tell me, are you interested about the new characters? Yes or no and why so. Lengthy reviews are great, but the short, upbeat compliment is fine as well. ;) Anyways, hope you have a nice day/night/whatever and see you next chapter.