.: Chapter 4: Three Months Before :.
I was outside in the dead of night. Since the fiasco with the traitor – filthy boy – I ventured out less in the day. But things had gotten a little intense back at the tree house. Sneers still hadn't found our next target, and the Freedom Fighters had taken to sparring for fun. It annoyed me, that they could think about having FUN with the Fire Nation lurking around. Smells noticed how high-strung I was and made me take a walk.
I stared at the lights of the town below. I felt a strange longing in my heart – a longing for my old life, with plenty of food and parental love. It would be so easy to disappear. They wouldn't know until I was already far gone. I could set up a home, live out my life in peace, away from violence and fighting. I could change.
Until the Fire Nation wrecks it again. The thought crossed my mind before I could stop it, and my vision of hope was destroyed. They will never stop hunting me. I can never find peace anywhere. No one will find peace until the Fire Nation is eradicated.
The shifting breeze blew a sound to my ears. I whipped out my hook swords and leapt on a nearby bush, where the noise originated from. It heard me approach and gave a muffled scream. I overshot the bush and the thing – a person on two legs – ran out from under the bush. Fire Nation, I shouted to myself. I ran after it, slowly realizing I was chasing a child. They've sent another one to eliminate me. I jumped again, landing directly in front of the little girl.
"Oh!" She gave a shout of surprise and fell backwards. I glared at her and she cowered, hiding her face in her hands.
"Who sent you?" I demanded quietly.
"What?" she mumbled. She probably didn't get their name.
"Where's the weapon?" The girl dared to look into my eyes. I saw she had long black hair, and her eyes were a dark brown. "Where is it?"
"Mommy says that if I carry a weapon, I'll hurt myself."
"Don't play stupid. Where is it?" I snapped.
"Mommy says that stupid is a me—"
"SHUT UP!" I barked, putting my hook swords inches from her face. "Now, you are going to tell me who sent you and where your weapon is, or…" I broke off, amazed. The little girl was crying. I'd never seen a girl cry before; it just wasn't something my Freedom Fighters did too often. Thick tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You… are… so… mean!" she shouted between sobs. "Just like those mean boys in the village. They make fun of me because I'm a girl. And then I run away so I don't have to see them again and I find you. You're just like them! I hate you!"
"I hate you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. It had literally ripped from my mouth, a strange inhuman sound. It hurt to do that, but I wanted the pain. Pain was safer than sorrow. "I'm going to destroy your lives like you destroyed mine!"
But I'm not like them. They're evil.
She thinks I'm evil. Isn't that enough?
I stared at my swords for a long moment before I sheathed them behind my back. The girl wiped her tears on her arm and blinked up at me.
"I'm not mean," I retorted. Why am I even talking to her? She's a nobody.
Like I was.
"Yes you are."
"I'm just careful. The Fire Nation's trying to find me."
She looked at me with caged respect in her eyes. "Really? Wow. My village leader says that anyone who fights against the Fire Nation is a hero. Are you a hero?" The girl studied me for a moment, wisdom and trust and fear fighting within her. Trust won, and she stuck out her chubby six year old hand for me to shake. "I'm Rinpoche. But you can call me Rina."
I took it with a smile. "I'm Jet. Nice to meet you, Rina."
"So, are you a hero?" Rina demanded.
"Yep. I fight against the Fire Nation, anyway," I said proudly. Hero. The word bounced around in my head a few times. I guess I'm not worthless after all.
"Wow! I can't wait to tell my friends that I know a real hero! They're all going to want to meet you."
I stiffened. "You probably shouldn't talk about me. The Fire Nation could find me if you do."
"Oh." She seemed disappointed at my response, but her sunny disposition quickly broke through. "So, Jet, why is the Fire Nation so bad?"
Are you kidding me? "You mean you don't know?"
"Know what?" Oh, right.
"That the Fire Nation hurts everything."
"They can't hurt every—"
"They hurt my parents." Dead silence met these words. Maybe I'm being too harsh… but she needs to know.
"I'm sorry," she whispered eventually. "That sounds bad. I can't imagine life without my mom and dad."
"You get used to it," I sighed, and took a seat next to her on the ground. "Besides, fighting the Fire Nation is a full time job. I don't have time for anyone else."
"That sounds really exciting – fighting the Fire Nation. I wish my brother did something interesting." Rina made a sour face. "But all he does is shut himself up in his room and practice Earthbending. He just likes to remind me that I can't do it."
"You don't need to Earthbend to fight. I can't Earthbend. None of my Freedom Fighters can bend."
A siren went off in my head as Rina stared at me in awe. Careful, I'm saying too much!
"You mean that you fight the Fire Nation and you can't even bend! You're even more amazing than I thought!" She smiled, as if she'd suddenly gotten an idea. "Hey, can I help?" I stared at her, the adorable six-year-old girl who had no idea what she'd just asked to do. Who didn't know that she would give up her life and her bed and her family to live in a strange place. I didn't have a choice but to leave when I was eight. She won't be like me.
"How about we wait until you're older?" I suggested. "You wouldn't make really good friends with anyone anyway. They're all eleven."
Rina made a face. "Eleven year olds think they know everything," she agreed. "But I really want to help!" She made this weird little face that only small girls could do. Her eyes suddenly looked humongous and her lower lip trembled. Even I couldn't help it – I probably would have let her do anything… except join the Freedom Fighters.
"Why don't you be our spy?" I proposed randomly. "You let me know what's going on. You can definitely hear things in the village that we never could." My heart suddenly pounded with excitement at the thought. Sneers might have been good, but an inside connection was exactly what we needed to completely obliterate the Fire Nation forever. "Then, maybe once you're eleven, I'll let you help us fight."
"Oh, Jet, thank you so much!" Rina squealed. She threw her arms around me in a bear hug that caught me off guard and forced me to the ground. I smiled and helped her up. "Will you be my brother?"
I raised my eyebrows, gradually understanding the idea behind talking to younger kids. "You want a brother who lives in the trees and can only see you at night?"
"Yes!" she cried excitedly. I hauled myself to my feet and looked at the horizon; it was just beginning to lighten.
"Fine, then. But you'd better get home. I'm sure your parents are frantic right now." She wrapped her arms around my waist one last time before dashing off.
"Bye, Jet! See you tomorrow!"
As I watched her run off, I wasn't sure which made me happier: our new spy, or my new little sister.
A/N: Awww, see? Jet made a friend! :) I think it's important that he remember good does exist in the world... for now. Poor guy can't seem to catch a break though, so we'll have to see how this pans out!
I'm moving back to college later this morning... Life will be hectic but I will continue to update! If not for Tanya, then for anyone else who reads. Life marches on!