The Winds of Change
15
Taking the Plunge
The canopy above shivered and rustled as you strolled beneath it, each leaf whispering with a soft, dry voice. You tilted your face upward, feeling a deep well of peace overflow within you. Nature, in all its pure simplicity, was the perfect balm for an open wound.
The solitude helped. You hadn’t had a moment to yourself for the past week –the Freedom Fighters were under the impression that you required constant supervision after your recent breakdown. If they thought you were suicidal, well, that demonstrated their distinct lack of common sense. You hadn’t survived this long just to go and off yourself.
You reached the river momentarily, noting that it flowed with invisible strength, the surface calm while currents seethed beneath. It looked incredibly refreshing.
Stepping out of your soft sandals, you pulled your blue shirt over your head (white flowers sewn into the bottom by some very insistent sewing girls). The blazing afternoon sun, for once unobscured by looming greenery, warmed your bare skin.
You wore short white trousers that reached to about mid-thigh, along with the bandages wrapped around your chest. Together, this made up the traditional swimwear of Fire Nation women. Or as close as you could get to it with the materials at hand.
Normally you would have swum without the hindrance of clothing, but with Freedom Fighters littering the woods like so many curious squirrelmunks, there was no telling who might drop in.
Padding across a bed of rounded pebbles, you slipped your toes into the cool water, sinking down in the soft sand.
You were just about to wade in when a tan blur shot past you and, with a loud whoop, leaped into the river. The resulting splash drenched you from head to toe and you jumped backward with a gasp. Goosebumps popped up along your arms, turning your shock into irritation.
Smellerbee’s head broke the water’s tranquil surface and she cackled gleefully, “Come on in, slowpoke! The water’s great!”
“I like to get in on my own time,” you grumbled.
“Aw, c’mon!” She splashed you again, red paint dripping from her chin as the marks on her cheeks dissolved in crimson streams. “I know you’re not a wuss like Sneers, Rukisha. Unless....you’re afraid to swim?”
You? Afraid of water, the weakest element of them all? Hardly.
With a playful growl, you lunged forward to take the icy plunge, the water meeting your skin like a glacial blast. You shrieked and Smellerbee let out a burst of laughter that was smothered when you dunked her head underwater. The splash fight continued for several minutes until both of you, still in fits of giggles, took a seat in the slightly warmer shallows. It was only then that you realized something glaringly obvious.
“Uh, Smellerbee? Shouldn’t you put on some clothes?”
She rolled her eyes and flicked water at you, saying, “That’s no fun! What’s the point of swimming when you’ve got a bunch of fabric weighing you down?”
“If we’re talking practicality, you’ve got a point,” you said dryly. “But take your buzzing beehive of comrades into consideration. What would you do if, say, Sneers walked out of those bushes just now?”
“You’re so paranoid, Rukisha,” the girl said with a scornful laugh. Still, she eyed the tree line uneasily and announced only seconds later, “You know, maybe I’ll go put something on.” With one more furtive glance at the silent forest, she jumped up and bounded toward her abandoned pile of clothes.
You laughed quietly, remembering how living with a pack of men could make a girl forget she was so very different from them. But men were still men. They weren’t going to overlook such a vivacious young woman. Not for long.
Once Smellerbee returned in her underclothes, she introduced you to the art of dirt-slinging by rubbing a handful of the fine, gritty river bottom sand into your hair. The ensuing battle lasted until both of you resembled muddy beaver-rats and, laughing, jumped in to wash it off.
“Some of the guys said they were going to the falls this afternoon,” your friend informed you, eyes shut as she floated peacefully beside you.
You took note of the sun’s position as you moved steadily downstream, letting the current take you where it wished. “I didn’t know there were waterfalls around here,” you said speculatively. “I wonder if they’ve gotten there yet. It’s an hour past noon.”
Your eyes met in the same instant, identical smirks spreading across your dripping faces.
“We’ve got to do something,” Smellerbee announced with rabid zeal, pounding her fist into the water with an air of finality.
You faced her, treading water as the current carried you. Anyone watching would have seen two disembodied female heads drifting downriver. “First of all, who’s going to be there?”
“Um, Duke, Sneers, some other guys....probably Jet-”
“Let’s get ‘em,” you said abruptly.
“You and your grudges,” she said with a long sigh. “I was so sure you’d get along well with him after that Fire Nation fiasco, and he finally figured out you weren’t the embodiment of evil.... do you have any idea of how good a team the two of you would be?” Before you could answer, she sighed wistfully and added, “And you and Jet would have made such pretty babies....”
Your shriek of rage sent a resting gaggle of goose-eagles into panicked flight, and Smellerbee’s triumphant laughter echoed soon after. You managed to get her in a headlock, dunking her underwater several times before she consented to take it back.
Spluttering, she giggled and said, “But you’ve got to admit, a half dozen little terrors waving hook-swords and blowing fire out their butts would be hilarious.”
“You with your mouth stapled shut would be hilarious,” you said flatly.
She wisely changed the subject.
It was all Smellerbee’s idea to hide at the top of the falls and pelt the boys with rocks. While the idea was primitive and far from imaginative, it appealed to you on a very basic level. Why get creative when you could drive them crazy while being too high up for them to reach you? You wondered innocently if guys turned red like lobsters when the water suddenly heated up, and your friend was entirely too enthusiastic about the suggestion.
“There’s a bank of rocks right at the waterfall’s edge,” she told you. “They’re so close together that we couldn’t squeeze through them if we tried, so there’s no danger of falling off. We can climb up onto them.”
“Then you can collect the projectiles,” you added, “and I’ll get ready to heat the water. It’ll take a while to build up enough energy to get the right temperature when it’s flowing so fast.”
With that decided, the two of you swam with the current in order to get there faster. But soon enough, there was no reason to waste the effort. The river was now flowing at an alarmingly fast pace, choppy and wild instead of serene. It took most of your concentration just to keep your head above the surface.
“Smellerbee,” you shouted, “do you see the rocks yet?”
“No,” she answered, raising her voice above the growing roar. “I don’t understand. They should be straight ahead!” She went under for a second, and then re-emerged, gasping.
“You okay?” You asked.
“Just peachy.”
A strange sensation made your ears buzz, an incessant thunder that drowned out every other sound. It vibrated in your chest, pulsing and pounding. You saw the mist rising just ahead, and sudden realization made you groan.
“The rocks are underwater,” you told Smellerbee, whose eyes widened in horror. “The water level must have risen since the last time you were here. We’re going over!”
“Crap,” she squeaked.
Surprisingly, the idea of plunging off the edge of a waterfall didn’t scare you to the point of a heart attack. Instead, a thrilled sort of excitement made you almost look forward to it. You knew it was messed up, but that knowledge didn’t change anything. You supposed there was only so much fear a person could handle in a lifetime before it just stopped working.
Well, if you were lucky, maybe there wouldn’t be anything for you to splatter against below.
“See you at the bottom,” you hollered.
And then you were shooting over the edge, screaming at the top of your lungs while Smellerbee did the same beside you. A cluster of people caught your eye as you fell, and even through your belated terror you picked one of them out instantly. The expression on Jet’s face was almost worth the trouble.
You remembered at the last moment to plug your nose, and then you jackknifed into the water feet-first, sinking down below the surface. The impact rattled every bone in your body, and you could feel your heartbeat in your throat, pulsing frantically.
Your feet touched the cool surface of a rock, slippery with algae. You floated in a stunned sort of stupor while the water swirled around you. Wondering why your chest hurt so much, you watched a stream of glittering bubbles dance upward toward the distorted reflection of sunlight. So pretty. You decided you could float there all day and watch those bubbles.
Then there was a shadow, a tug on your arm, and your ears popped as you climbed to the surface. Through the confusion, you were vaguely miffed that someone was towing you when you could swim just fine yourself.
Upon emerging from the depths, your lungs dragged in huge, gasping breaths while the rest of you remained limp. An arm cinched tightly around your waist, keeping your head above the water as you were moved steadily toward shore.
Then your feet touched the sandy bottom and you forced your legs to bear your weight. The arm around your waist loosened as you did so, and suddenly Jet’s face was inches away from yours, his dark eyes anxious and wild.
He took your face in his hands, saying quickly, “Are you alright? Did you hit your head? Does anything hurt?”
Moving his thumb across your cheek, he brushed his other hand through your hair and along your scalp, checking thoroughly for injuries. All the while, his face was taut with worry.
You looked at Jet incredulously and then pushed his hands away, stepping backward with unsteady hesitance. “I’m fine,” you said sharply, eyes darting to where Sneers was holding Smellerbee while she upchucked gallons of water.
“Breathe, girl, breathe!” Sneers shouted frantically, shaking her even after she had obviously recovered. Her eyes narrowed.
Smellerbee whirled around and punched Sneers hard in the chest. “Cut it out, you idiot!” She snarled as the boy staggered backward.
You moved to restrain your friend before she could do any more damage, and Sneers took refuge next to Jet, rubbing his sore chest.
“I was just trying to help,” he complained.
“But of course they didn’t need our help,” Jet said with a blank face. “They had the situation totally under control.”
“Because jumping off waterfalls is such a safe and practical sport,” Sneers added, throwing his signature glare at a pouting Smellerbee.
“Don’t forget the breathing underwater part,” Jet said. He looked at you with a raised eyebrow, frowning slightly. “They were having a blast just sitting there at the bottom. I’m sure they could have kept it up all day.”
“Without asphyxiating,” Sneers reminded him.
“Oh, of course.”
You were pretty sure you could see the sarcasm dripping out their ears.
“We get the point,” you snapped. “Now if you’re through patronizing us, why don’t you two run along and play like good little boys?”
“Or rude little punks,” Smellerbee grumbled.
The boys froze suddenly, although you doubted it was Smellerbee’s statement that gave them pause. They looked at each other with wide, round eyes before turning their sheepish faces back toward you and your friend.
Jet rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously before saying, “Well, if you ladies don’t mind turning around for a few seconds, we’re just gonna go....put some pants on.”
Oh, dear Agni.
Something must have changed drastically in your expression, because Jet reddened slightly, ducking his head as he and Sneers fled toward shore. The other guys who were watching at a distance howled with laughter, also moving to retrieve their discarded articles of clothing.
You took a stunned Smellerbee by the shoulders and firmly turned her around. The two of you faced the thundering waterfall, your makeshift waterslide.
This really shouldn’t have been so awkward for you. After all, when a girl had command of a platoon of male soldiers, privacy wasn’t really an option. The inexplicable embarrassment you felt remained a mystery.
“Hey, Rukisha?” Smellerbee asked in a small voice.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for making me wear clothes.”
Nodding curtly, you reflected that the worst possible situation had indeed been avoided.
“Hey, Rukisha?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you notice that Jet has nice abs?”
You glared at the rushing wall of water before you, refusing to rise to the bait. “I honestly hadn’t noticed,” you answered stiffly. “But I’m surprised you did. I figured you were too busy staring at Sneers.”
The girl flushed, folding her arms over her damp chest bandages. “Was not,” she protested. “Are you insinuating something?”
You shrugged innocently. “I don’t know. Is there something to insinuate?”
“No!”
“Then your hissy fit is pointless.”
Smellerbee gritted her teeth, practically vibrating with frustration. Really, she should know better than to get into a battle of wits with you. Then, out of nowhere, she sent you a devious smirk and said, “You think Jet’s sexy with his shirt off.”
What the crap?
“That’s an idiotic comment to make,” you hissed under your breath, pressing your hands to your eyes as if that would keep away the image of the rebel leader’s lean, chiseled torso. You remembered how much darker his skin was than yours, the perpetual tan of an Earth Kingdom native, just like all the other Freedom Fighters.
Smellerbee giggled, eyes still dutifully trained on the thundering falls. She was enjoying this. “Ha!” She exclaimed gleefully. “You like Jet’s body!”
“You little runt,” you growled, spinning toward the girl, who just laughed harder when she saw your wrathful embarrassment. “I find that psychotic jerk in no way attractive, nor even the least bit appealing! He is the equivalent of a pus-oozing, flea-bitten toad, and I certainly do not like his body!”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” somebody said behind you, and you didn’t have to look in order to know that it was the topic of conversation himself. Unfortunately, you did look. Jet’s face was comically woeful. Smellerbee giggled and Jet’s lips twitched with barely restrained amusement.
Much to your horror, your eyes immediately strayed down to his bare chest, where they lingered much against your will. As you jerked your eyes away, Jet said impishly, “I deeply regret that I’m not up to your standards, but you should know....I find you stunningly attractive.”
Your temper was completely and irrevocably lost. “Oh, you’re funny,” you growled, turning to wade slowly toward shore. “Hilarious. I’m laughing so hard I can’t control my bending.” Your fingers skimmed the top of the water, sending out ripples that sizzled faintly.
Both Jet and Smellerbee sent out shouts of alarm when they found themselves being cooked in scalding water. You listened to their panicked splashing as they charged toward shore, noticing with glee that their skin was now tinged a faint pink. Served them right.
You stalked past Sneers, who was studiously prying a splinter out of his foot, and Duke, whose intense concentration as he built up the walls of his sand castle brought a reluctant smile to your face. Longshot was nowhere in sight, so for lack of his company, you made your way around the rim of the circle of water, away from everyone else.
There were mountains of rock ringing the tiny lake, rising into the air like crumbled gray monoliths. You placed your hand against a large boulder, delighted to find that its rough surface blazed with heat from the sun. Finding footholds among the rubble, you moved upward until you reached the warm, bright summit. The sun touched your pale skin, sending shivers of delight up your spine. You stretched out on the hard surface, reveling in the all-encompassing warmth.
For a moment you imagined you were in the Fire Nation, where heat and sunlight were never in short supply. An imaginary dry breeze carried with it the salty breath of ocean water and the ever-present tang of sulfur. You hung onto that daydream as you dozed, serene and peaceful. You didn’t know how long you lay there, sunning yourself like a komodo-snake among the rocks. You didn’t even notice the presence beside you until he sighed.
Easing your eyes open reluctantly, you resisted the urge to shut them again when you saw Jet. Of course it had to be him. He was reclined back on his elbows next to you, sunlight splashing across his upraised face and closed eyelids, glimmering over his bare chest. A half-smile lingered on his lips, his expression one of pure contentment.
You were slightly thrown by the idea that he was enjoying this as much as you. He didn’t seem the type to appreciate the simpler aspects of nature, the beauty that most people took for granted.
Jet shifted position and you blinked, realizing that you were staring. You frowned and scooted away several inches, unnerved by his proximity. Alerted by the whisper of cloth and skin across rock, the rebel leader opened his eyes to glance in your direction.
“It’s awesome, isn’t it?” He asked softly.
You took in the sun-lit pool, the shimmering green reflections of trees dancing with every stray gust of wind, the cascade of water plunging over the towering cliff with a muted rumble.
“Yes,” you whispered. “It is.”
“We come here as often as we can,” Jet continued. “It’s good for everyone to have a chance to relax. Some have to stay behind to guard the camp, but they don’t really mind, since they’ll have the whole day to themselves tomorrow to do as they wish. While they’re out, me, Smellerbee, Longshot, and Sneers will take guard duty. When those three are on watch, there’s no need for the others to bother. They’re very talented kids.”
He laid back and patted the rock, saying, “This is the spot where I usually come to have a little time to myself. It’s funny you should find it too.”
“I can leave,” you said quickly, eager to get far away. Because as long as you didn’t look at him, as long as you pretended he was someone else, you were put at ease as he talked, his voice low and soothing. It was almost pleasurable....and that was very dangerous.
Jet looked alarmed. “No,” he said, putting an arm around you and resting his chin on your shoulder. “Stay.” He looked way too comfortable in that position, his eyes half-lidded and his body totally relaxed against yours.
You stiffened at the contact, shocked that he had the gall to act so familiarly with you. Letting your skin heat up in warning, you snarled, “Get your hands off me.”
“Certainly,” Jet said, surprising you. He didn’t look bothered in the least as he released you, standing up to stretch his arms out in front of him with a lazy yawn. He moved away to the edge of the rock, giving you space as he gazed at the water below. You studied his unmarked arms, free of the painful welts that had dotted it just the day before. It was with some satisfaction that you realized that your brief period of medical training hadn’t been for nothing.
True to his perceptive nature, Jet noticed your focused attention. “I meant to thank you for that,” he said, peering down at you fondly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you said.
Jet only quirked a smile. “It’s not a bad thing, you know.”
You frowned. “What’s not?”
“Caring for someone.”
Your heart skipped a beat as a surge of horror flooded into it. How could Jet have misconstrued your actions to this extent? You couldn’t care less if he was in pain or at death’s doorstep. It was your conscience that wouldn’t permit you to ignore a person’s suffering. Even if that person deserved every bit of pain he received. Your decision to help Jet stemmed from a sense of duty that had been ingrained into you since childhood, not from even a shadow of affection.
You couldn’t help feeling defensive as you watched him follow the emotions that played across your face. “Don’t mistake pity for sympathy,” you gritted out. You wrapped your arms around your knees, pulling them close.
Jet just shook his head bemusedly, moving to crouch down in front of you, invading your personal space once more. “You’re so stubborn,” he said with a rueful grin. “Is that natural to all firebenders, or is it just you?”
He reached his hand slowly, carefully toward your face, and for once you didn’t flinch away. This seemed to please him. You didn’t rightly know why you felt so strange....you wondered if you should run away, smack him, or just sit there. Jet took a stray lock of your messy, half-dried hair and tucked it behind your ear, his every movement gentle and cautious. And yet, when his fingers brushed the sensitive skin just below your ear, you sucked in a startled breath and snapped out of your stupor.
“Don’t do that!” You exclaimed, batting his had away and letting a few stray sparks leap up to nip at his fingertips. He needed a reminder to keep his hands to himself.
Jet rose obediently and stepped back over to his side of the rock. He grimaced and rubbed his hand gingerly. “Ouch,” he grumbled. “That stung a bit.”
“Good,” you declared with a huff.
Jet glared at you, turning his back resolutely before he could see the surprise that flitted across your face. You felt elated all of a sudden, almost giddy with satisfaction. You had made him angry! At last! Your readiness to bring out that darker side of Jet should have alarmed you, but you reflected ponderously on how you were almost....more comfortable with it. He was certainly more predictable when angry, and at least you could be sure of the outcome. Pain was preferable to this new, pleasant and teasing attitude of his that had your thoughts running in circles around themselves. You didn’t understand his sudden, intense interest in you, and you couldn’t help but fear the unknown.
The rebel leader still wasn’t looking at you, as if that could make you feel guilty. If only he would take a hint and leave you in peace. He would obviously need some help. You snorted scornfully. Then you rose in one smooth motion, glided over to him on silent feet....and shoved him off with an exultant “Ha!”
As Jet disappeared off the edge of the rock, you marveled at your abrupt actions. Agni only knew what had gotten into you, but the echoing splash as Jet hit the water erased any doubts as to your sanity. The sound was pleasing any way you put it.
Quickly dropping onto all fours in order to peer carefully over the edge, you didn’t bother hiding a smirk. Jet surfaced immediately, his hair soaked and disheveled and hanging in his eyes as he blinked up at you in complete and utter disbelief.
Then it was like the sun rose behind the storm clouds of Jet’s grey eyes as a wide grin stretched across his face. It was infectious. You tried valiantly to keep a straight face, frowning sternly as he treaded water below you without losing his amused and joyful expression. You lost the battle. Suddenly you were grinning back at him, laughter threatening to bubble up in your chest for no reason at all. It was a strange feeling.
Jet’s smile turned smugly victorious and you looked away, abruptly wanting to flee to a place where he couldn’t see you, couldn’t look at you that way. So you backed up a few steps and took a running leap, launching yourself off the rock and over Jet’s head. You felt the familiar weight of his eyes on you as you dove into the water with surprising grace, and once you went under, you swam as far as your lungs could take you.
The afternoon passed quickly thereafter as the boys, inspired by your impulsive leap, lined up to see who could pull off the most spectacular dive. You and Smellerbee judged them all enthusiastically from the shoreline, pronouncing Duke the winner after much deliberation. The two of you fawned over the boy, quite within range of the others, exclaiming over his impressive victory. His little face was red by the end of it, his chest puffed out in pride.
You were aware of Jet and Sneers sulking several feet away, watching enviously as the two of you lavished attention on the junior Freedom Fighter. By unspoken agreement, you and Smellerbee made more a show of it than was absolutely necessary.
You had enjoyed yourself thoroughly that afternoon despite the day’s earlier mishaps. In fact, your troubles were entirely forgotten as you lost yourself in the fun and easy comradery, leaving you practically euphoric.
It was only natural, therefore, that something should go terribly wrong.
The trouble came in the form of a young Freedom Fighter, a tall boy with tawny hair and the build of a runner. Darting out of the trees, he didn’t stop for breath as he raced over the beach and straight to Jet.
“It’s Maya,” he gasped. “We’ve looked and looked, but we can’t find her anywhere.” The boy’s face was deathly pale as he added, “We think she’s been kidnapped.”