Reborn In Water || ATLA

Teenagers

Jet Continued

"They gonna rip up your heads, your aspirations to shed, another cog in the murder machine. They said all teenagers scare the living shit out of me, they could care less as long someone'll bleed. So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose, maybe they'll leave you alone but not me." - My Chemical Romance

🌊 ⛰ 🔥 🌪

The group of four followed the Freedom Fighters deep into the heart of the woods. Katara and Aang took to the front, asking Jet questions a million miles a minute, totally fascinated by every word that he said. Sokka and Aelita walked alone in the back, the first still radiating sheer annoyance at being shown up. 

"We're here." Jet finally announced once they reached the base of several large and close-together trees.

"Where?" Questioned Sokka. "There's nothing here."

Jet walked over to one of the massive trunks and pulled out a rope with a knotted loop from the bark. "Hold this." He instructed Sokka, handing him the rope.

"Why, what's this do?" Sokka asked, still skeptical. The loop on the rope tightened around his hand and suddenly the young warrior was flying up into the leaves with a startled yell. He managed to get stuck in the tree tops on his way up, flailing his legs before finally being pulled higher away and out of sight. 

So, their hideout was in the trees. Aelita had to admit it was smart. Jet handed Aang a similar rope next but he turned down the offer.

"I'll get up on my own." The monk declared with a smile. With a twisting leap up and off the ground, the air around him carried Aang branch to branch until he too disappeared in the leaves.

"Show off," Aelita muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Boomed a deep voice from behind the Akira. Pipsqueak towered over her looking guilty.

"I can see why you'd be apprehensive of me. No hard feelings." Aelita assured him with a soft smile. She attempted to pat the giant boy on the shoulder but when she couldn't reach they both laughed. He offered her a large, outstretched hand to shake, his grip gentle when she took his.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I'm tougher than I look, don't worry." Aelita waved his worry off. This earned another throaty laugh from the beefy man and he handed her one of the ropes.

"Hold on tight and cover your eyes when you get to the top. If you don't, you might scratch your face going through the leaves." He explained and she nodded her head. 

Aelita turned to face Katara but her new friend was too busy to notice. Katara was currently wrapped around Jet, one of his arms around her waist and hers around his neck. Her cheeks were the brightest shade of pink they had ever been before at the intimacy of the touch. There were certainly no boys -no, no men- like Jet in the South Pole. They were rising up and through the air before she could say a word.

Mere seconds after their feet left the ground so did Aelita's. As she rose higher she covered her face like Pipsqueak had told her to and felt her body brush through the leaves and twigs. She found herself emerging through them, pulled through a square cut out of boards jarring out from the center of the tree. She landed on the crudely built but sturdy platform and let go of the rope. Aelita looked around in awe at what she was seeing. 

Similar platforms jutted out all around the massive treetops high above the ground, some connected by rope bridges. Beside her she noticed more planks nailed into the tree acting as steps that lead to another platform above. Some were like the ones she stood on wrapping around the tree while others only went halfway. Various ropes and pulleys cut every which way from tree to tree, looping up and down and connecting platforms. In between forked three branches were makeshift huts with wooded bottoms, some sidings, and cloth roofs. It was like a whole tiny village suspended in the trees.