A/N; Thank you to my one, lonely reviewer :)
If you have any ideas for this story, please let me know. -grins-
Ooooh, and I own nothing! If you guessed that, you're a champion...
WARNING; There is a small amount of cussing in this chapter. Two or three words... it IS rated T, guys.
-Rain
Jet narrowed his eyes, plucking the strand of grass he had taken to chewing on from his mouth and dropping it from the tree. Silently he leapt from branch to branch, knowing the tree patterns like the back of his hand. He finally came to a stop and leant against the wide trunk of the tree, peering across the canopy to see the large Fire Nation camp- an easy target at this time of night.
The campfire was dying down to embers, the tents zipped up and horses safely secured. Jet felt someone land on the branch beside him, and glanced across to find Min grinning at him.
"Hi, Scowlers." She teased softly, poking him in the arm. At ten years old she still looked like a child, as did he, but they had seen and learnt more than anyone twice their age. They'd survived two years on their own, gathering food and stealing whatever they could find. They had a shelter amongst the high branches in the deep forest, and it was growing every day.
"Shh." Jet breathed, shaking his head. He pointed to the camp, and Min smirked. She brushed back a strand of her long brown hair and leapt on to the next branch. Soon they were flying through the trees like wild children, forgetting for a moment that they had the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Jet smiled as he heard Min's carefree laugh. They should've been given more time to be children, instead of being forced to grow up.
--
"Let me go!" the boy screamed, watching his father's bow being ripped apart by a laughing soldier. He had been taken from his village when the soldiers came, 'old enough to fight in the Fire Nation Army'. 12 years old and an orphan, the boy thought bitterly, and about to be trained for the army. I won't do it!
"Stop breaking my bow!" he yelled, struggling against his captors. They merely laughed.
"You won't need a bow in the Army, boy! We'll give you a sword and stick you on the front line with the others, how about that!? Haha!" a slightly round, stout man chuckled, tossing the wrecked bow at him.
Tears flowed freely down the boy's face, the blazing camp fire reflected in the little wet trails they left. He stared down at his father's most prized possession, the only thing he had left of his deceased family...
"You bastards! You horrible soulless men! Scum of the earth!" the boy spat in front of him, shaking horribly.
"You shut your mouth boy!" a soldier snarled, his sword suddenly at the orphaned boy's throat.
"Kill me then! Add to your sins! Your nation is nothing but a pile of shit- you should be ashamed to call yourselves human!" the boy snarled, jutting his chin up and feeling the blade nick his throat. Beside him, the other captured children whimpered in fear. The man's eyes narrowed, pushing the blade an inch closer.
"Do not speak- you will regret it." His voice was deathly quiet, dangerous. "If you insult my homeland again-" the boy cut him off by spitting in his face. There was a moment of complete silence, and the small boy's whimpering beside him grew louder. Suddenly, the sword was removed from the boy's neck.
The soldier scoffed, wiping the spit off his face, and then he struck. The boy winced, waiting for the pain to come...
But it didn't.
Beside him, the younger boy howled in agony. The other kids screamed in horror, but the twelve year old just watched in silent anguish.
"I told you not to speak." The soldier sneered, "Now his death is on your shoulders." The boy closed his eyes, shuddering horribly as they dragged the body away.
The other children were soon taken away- the first carriage was ready to depart. He was to be left there and travel on foot with the soldiers. He had 'a lesson to learn'.
He didn't care- he'd killed someone, just by talking... he slid to the ground, fighting the tears that threatened to fall.
Right then, he made a vow- he would never talk again.
--
Jet crept into the camp, Min following close behind. They began raiding the camp- silently stealing food supplies that would last, an odd weapon and even a crate of dynamite. One by one the items were carried up the tree, packed in to the bags they had brought.
The crate of dynamite waited at the top of the tree while they grabbed smaller things of use- they'd have to carry it back slowly, using their combined strength to heave it all the way back to the hideout.
Light snores could be heard from all around them, and finally after tense minutes of grabbing anything they could carry, they were ready to leave. Jet glanced around, making sure they hadn't been spotted, when he noticed something strange.
A boy a few years older than he was, and considerably taller, was lying on the ground outside a Fire Nation tent, tossing and turning restlessly. Jet motioned for Min to follow him as they tip-toed closer.
"See his clothes- he's one of us!" Min hissed, pointing. Jet nodded, moving forward and tapping the boy on the shoulder. He woke up with a start, eyes widening in terror.
"We're friends." He mouthed, untying the boy's binds. Slowly the boy got to his feet, still looking shaken. Min took his hand and offered him a reassuring smile.
"Come on." She whispered. The boy tore his hand away, stumbling backwards.
"Hey! What's going on out there?" Min and Jet scrambled for the forest, leaving the boy stranded and alone. The killer from before left his tent and saw the boy free of his binds, and immediately ran forward and shoved the boy to the ground. Min winced and Jet squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"We'll get him." He mouthed fiercely.
The boy didn't make a sound- he just lay there as he was tied up again and snarled at.
"You're a long-shot. Most kids we take don't make good soldiers- they're too weak! You showed defiance- I like that. I guess we'll find out whether you'll make it as a Fire Nation soldier, or whether you'll die like your friend did before." He jabbed a finger into the boy's chest, yawned and re-entered his tent.
A few moments later, Min rushed out and all but dragged the boy into the thick forest, ignoring Jet's calls for her to come back. Jet cut the binds with his knife, and the three shimmied up the tree without much difficulty.
"Who are you?" Jet asked bluntly, his eyes demanding a response. The boy backed up against the trunk, still not speaking.
"Jet!" Min scolded, smiling warmly at the boy. "Can you tell us your name?"
There was a hesitation, and the boy shook his head. Min frowned slightly. "Well, we'll figure it out later. Let's get out of here!" they gathered up their things and started to leave, but the boy didn't move.
"Meet you at the hideout, okay?" Jet murmured to Min, who nodded and began the long journey home- backpacks not weighing her down in the slightest. Sighing, Jet turned to the boy.
"Do you want to go back to the soldiers?" he asked, frowning. The boy shook his head hurriedly. "What, you can't give a proper answer?" he demanded, taking a step forward. A hesitation, then he gestured to his throat. Jet closed his eyes briefly.
"Look, our families were killed too. Min and I are doing whatever we can to stay alive, okay? Join us, or be a punching bag for those soldiers. Your choice." Jet turned to leave, hearing a tentative footstep behind him. Together the two boys stole away in the night, leaving nothing but a few severed pieces of rope behind them.
--
He decided liked Min okay- she was nice. Jet was less friendly, more focused on surviving and practicing his swordplay. Min showed him her earthbending, which he liked.
His mother had been an Earth Bender.
A few days after he had come to stay with them, Min got tired of having nothing to call him. She was fed up, and made him write in the dirt what his name was. He shook his head- ever since he had caused that boy to be killed, he wanted nothing to do with his life as a village boy, including his name. The loud, arrogant Raio was gone- a silent boy in his place. A new personality, a new name.
"Well, what do you like to do?" Min asked, fed-up. He hesitated for a moment, then smiled.
Archery.
Her eyes lit up. "Finally! Jet- our friend here's gonna show us his stuff." Jet, who had been watching, went to get a bow for the boy, as well as some arrows. He tossed them down, watching as the boy caught them easily.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, the boy drew back an arrow and sent it flying, watching proudly as it hit a tree a few hundred yards away.
"Woah! That was a long shot!" Jet crowed, coming to stand beside him. "Can you do it again?" Shrugging, the boy reloaded the arrow and let it go- it hit the tree just a few feet above the first arrow.
"Another long shot!" Min smiled, laughing. "Hey- Longshot. It's better than 'Hey- you!' I suppose. What do you think?" the boy nodded- it seemed fitting. An archer who needed a new name- perfect.
"Longshot. Welcome to the Freedom Fighters." Jet put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled. Longshot smiled back hesitantly, but couldn't help the worry in his heart.
Would they still accept him, even if they knew what he'd done?
A/N;
My little take on why Longshot is so silent. Wasn't really a Jet-centric chapter but oh well, it's all adding up to the Jet we know today ;)
Thanks for reading :)
-Rain