Something didn't feel right.
That's all Orzala could think about as she observed the kids around them. Her stomach twisted, and a sinking feeling settled within her chest. Her frown deepened. The last time she had gotten a feeling like this, she'd spent a day in the spirit world after being captured by Hei Bai. She didn't want another bad experience.
"Thanks for saving us, Jet. We're lucky you were there." The princess rolled her eyes as she listened to Katara. She wasn't trying to eavesdrop. Really. It wasn't her fault that they had decided to talk under her tree.
"I should be thanking you. We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning- we just needed the right distraction. And then you guys stumbled in!"
"We were relying on instincts," Katara said, flashing an irritated look toward her brother. Orzala tensed when she saw Sokka frown, his expression becoming hurt. He quickly covered it up, though.
"You'll get yourself killed doing that," Jet quipped, and the princess decided she had had enough. She pushed herself up with a grunt, brushing her raven hair away from her face as she glared at the boy. He gulped slightly, and she almost didn't notice, but she did. Her lips twisted into a small smirk.
"Or you can get killed by not listening to them. I should know. I got abducted by a spirit because these numbskulls wouldn't listen to me." Her smile turned sickly sweet, and she snorted slightly as the boy's face went white. Orzala pushed past him, taking quick strides toward Sokka and lacing her hand with his. She ignored the surprised look that he gave her, flashing one last wicked smirk over her shoulder toward Jet before walking away.
As soon as she turned away from his sight, she scowled. "I fucking hate that guy," she spat, and Sokka's eyes widened. The girl raised an eyebrow. "What?" Her voice was much softer this time, and he couldn't help but chuckle slightly, tightening his grip on her fingers.
"Have I ever told you that you can be scary as hell?" She paused, tilting her head to the side as she looked up at him. His heart tightened at the action, and it took everything in his being not to grab her face and exclaim how adorable she was. The raven-haired girl broke out into a large grin a moment later.
"Really? That's what I was going for." The boy guffawed, shaking his head.
"Hey, Jet!" Their heads snapped to the side, focusing on the kid who went by 'The Duke.' He held up a finger, and Orzala frowned at the slimy, yellow substance it held. "These barrels are filled with blasting jelly," the kid informed, and Jet smirked from his place in the shade.
"That's a great score!"
"These boxes are filled with jellied candy!" The large man, Pipsqueak, exclaimed.
"Also good. Let's not get those mixed up." The two nodded, loading their findings into a wagon.
"We'll take this stuff back to the hideout." Orzala saw Aang's face light up and immediately facepalmed. Before she could breathe a single word of opposition, the avatar had turned to Jet, eyes and smile wide with excitement. She sighed.
"You guys have a hideout?!" The airbender explained, and Orzala found herself scowling as Jet smirked.
"You want to see it?" The boy asked, his gaze drifting toward Orzala.
"No."
"Yes, we want to see it!" His dark gaze drifted down to Orzala's hand, which was still intertwined tightly with Sokka's. The Water Tribe boy stiffened as he frowned, an unexplainable fury building in his chest. Jet quickly covered his disappointment, however, turning to Katara with a smirk.
"Follow me then." The two boys exchanged a glare as he walked past, and Orzala felt herself frown as Sokka's gripped tightened on her own. Her gaze darted to Katara, whose expression she could only call 'lovestruck.' She groaned.
"Katara, come here, please." The waterbender snapped out of her daze, quickly glancing toward Orzala. She raised an eyebrow as she caught sight of her hand- still clinging to Sokka's- and the princess's face immediately flushed red. She jerked her hand away, ignoring the confused look she received from the boy.
Orzala looped her arm with Katara's, eyeing Jet warily as he walked ahead of them. "It's about Jet," she whispered, causing the girl to look at her happily. Orzala had to fight the eyeroll that wanted to consume her as Katara's expression glazed over once more.
"Isn't he dreamy?" She gushed, lips turning upward in a loopy smile. Orzala heard Sokka gag behind her, and bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"No. I don't trust him." The girl's eyes darted to her, eyebrows furrowing in a helpless confusion. Orzala would go as far to say she had been hurt by the statement.
"Why? He saved us, Orzala!" She hissed quietly, and her expression turned sour.
"I just have a felling-"
"Oh, great. More instincts. Isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place?" Orzala was taken aback by the pure venom in the girl's words, and she quickly released her arm. She stared at the girl before her dumbfounded, but it turned to rage as soon as it had came.
"Do you remember the last time this happened? I ended up in the spirit world because you wouldn't trust me!"
"You're just jealous," Katara growled back, and Orzala's eye widened as she raised an eyebrow. She raised her hand in a confused manner.
"What is it that I have to be jealous of?"
"Because Jet is more interested in me than you." Orzala literally cackled, and the Water Tribe siblings couldn't help but see the resemblance she bore to the Mad King. She stood straight after a moment, smiling sarcastically at the other bender.
"Yeah, ok honey. Like I care. Why can't you see the severity of the situation? This guy isn't trustworthy! Your brother thinks so, too!" Katara rolled her eyes, and Orzala grit her teeth. She went to say something else, but Sokka grabbed her arm, waving her off gently. He winced as she glared at him, but she remained silent for the rest of the journey. His grip never left her arm.
They stopped when they reached a small clearing, and the princess raised an eyebrow as Jet turned to them with a smirk. "We're here," he told them, and Orzala crossed her arms.
"Where? I don't see anything."
"Yeah, there's nothing here!" Sokka exclaimed, earning a glare from the boy. He raised an eyebrow, grabbing a rope and handing it to the eldest sibling.
"Here, hold this." Sokka looked at him strangely, but grabbed it.
"Why?" He didn't have to wait for an answer, though, because as he tugged at it, he shot up into the trees with a shriek. Orzala's eyes widened, and she whirled around to Jet, ready to fight him.
"What was that?" She growled, but he only smirked. He turned to Aang. The avatar declined the rope, claiming he would get up himself. Jet then turned back to her, offering up his hand. The princess let out a scoff. "In your dreams, pretty boy," she called as she stomped her foot. A rock shot up underneath her, sending her flying up into the leaves above them.
As her momentum slowed, she grabbed onto a branch, swinging swiftly onto it. Orzala caught sight of blue, and immediately followed it, knowing it would lead her to Sokka. The boy let out a screech as she landed beside him, shoving her when she stood. "Don't do that, Zala!" She only sent him a playful smirk. It faded fast when Jet came up beside her.
"So, you think I'm pretty?" He asked, and Orzala scoffed.
"It wasn't a compliment," she bit back, turning away from him with a huff.
"It's so beautiful up here." Now that, she couldn't disagree with. The girl had to admit, the seemingly endless network of homes in the tree was amazing. If they had been brought here on different circumstances, she might even be able to have fun. The princess couldn't help but laugh as Aang flew by on a makeshift zipline.
"Ok, I wanna try that!"
"It's beautiful, and more importantly- the Fire Nation can't find us."
The girl, Smellerbee, popped up beside Orzala, looking to Jet with a smirk. "They would love to find you, wouldn't they, Jet?" The princess cocked an eyebrow, turning back to the boy for answers.
"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee."
"Why would they want you?"
"I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble," he explained, flashing his ever present smirk toward Orzala once more. "See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back."
"We've been ambushing their troops, cutting off their supply lines, and doing anything we can to mess with them!" Pipsqueak told them, and Orzala allowed her lips to twitch up a slight bit. Sounds like fun to me. Her thoughts were cut short when Sokka began jumping up and down beside her, attempting to see over the tall man.
"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town."
"That's so brave," Katara told the boy, and Orzala rolled her eyes. She latched on to Sokka's wrist, dragging him around Pipsqueak and up to Jet and his sister.
"Yeah," he agreed sarcastically, glaring at Jet, "nothing's braver than a guy in a tree house." Katara shoved her brother back, shooting a glare toward him as she apologized for his behavior. Orzala scowled, sticking her tongue out at the younger girl.
"No problem," was Jet's reply. "He probably had a rough day."
"So you all live here?"
"That's right. Longshot over there, his town got burned down by the Fire Nation, and we found the Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a home." Orzala frowned, looking toward the two children in question. She would know how it felt- to be alone. After all, she had spent most of her life alone in the palace, save for a few guards and her grandfather.
Maybe these guys aren't so bad after all.