Smellerbee was looking at Hikari indifferently, "Why is Jet bleeding?"

     "He's bleeding because he's stupid," the older girl pouted.

     "Since when do people start having nose bleeds from being stupid?"

     "It's a new phenomenon, you'd actually be surprised." Seeing the disapproving look from Longshot, the older raised her hands in defense, "I'm just saying, if he could learn to keep his mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened."

     Hikari or, as known to the Freedom Fighters, "Lian" had found herself as company to this trio of mismatched warriors. It was nice to be in good company again. It made traveling more fun and put her in a better mood for the most part.

     Smellerbee was the best company out of the others. While she had been upset to hear that the older originally thought she was a guy, it had put her in a small tantrum. They had developed a sisterly relationship. The younger was learning how to be more lady-like, but still retaining her full-tomboy ambitions.

     Longshot was almost un-nerving. He was just slightly taller than Jet, but was totally quiet. He made up for it by being chivalrous and kind. They had gotten close enough that she had learned to read what he was saying. Like at this moment, he was scolding her for punching the last subject in the nose.

     Jet.

     Jet was an absolute pain in the butt. He was very flirty and enjoyed getting a reaction from "Lian". She had told him time and time again to stop with the flirtations, but he never listened. He was nosey, sly and he had just taken it to far by making fun of her sneezes.

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     The group had made a stop to rest. Thankfully, there was a river just a short walk off of the road. Smellerbee and Longshot had offered to fill canteens while the other two went through supplies and rested.

     It must have been something in the air because it seemed like Hikari could not stop sneezing. After setting her bags down, another high pitched sneezed broke through her line of defenses. Two more passed and then left her to sniffle.

     "You sneeze like a bunny."

     Hazel eyes landed on Jet, "What?!"

     The male brunette smirked followed by a playful shrug, "It's cute when you sneeze like that. Weird, but cute. It's just like a bunny."

     "How do you even know how a rabbit sneezes?!"

     "I'm just saying."

     The girl was ticked off. She knew it was just fun and games for him, but it irked her to no end. He thought her reactions to his advancements were amusing and she was getting sick of it. She was ready to voice her notion for him to stop when she sneezed again. It happened three times in a row.

     Jet chuckled, "Just like a bunny."

     Then the next thing he knew, he was on the ground with a bloody nose.

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    He was holding an old handkerchief to sop up the blood that was still pouring, "Can you not talk like I'm not here?"

     "How about this." His abuser jabbed a finger in his chest, "Stop with the flirting. I have said it time and time again. I'm finally making some ground rules. You have got to listen when I ask you to stop. It's not funny and I'm sick of you making fun on me. I am telling you to stop with the flirts and let me have my space."

     "Geez, Lian. You didn't have to break my nose."

     "It's not my fault you didn't listen." Longshot placed a hand on her shoulder and she sighed, "Fine, fine. I'm sorry your nose is broken, but I'm not sorry it got you to finally listen."

     Smellerbee had taken over cleaning up the blood, "She got you good, Jet. The ridge of your nose is already bruised." The younger girl looked over with hopeful eyes, "Can you teach me how to do that?!"

     Lian smirked, "I don't think Longshot would allow that."

     The quiet boy smiled slightly at her words.

     "Darn it!" The female Freedom Fighter pouted, "I wanna learn to hit like that."

     "Maybe I could teach you later," Hikari suggested.

     "Hey! I don't need another girl to break my...." Jet saw the deadly glare he was receiving and resorted to pouting, "I leaned my lesson, so stop giving me that look."

     After some rest, they were all back on the road again. The time they had traveled together had been incredibly short, but the brunette was growing a little attached to them. Sure, it was annoying. At the same time, they had been helping her look for her parents. They were treating her as one of them, helping her, and she was touched by that. Maybe she had refused to become a freedom fighter, purely to get on Jet's nerves, but they still traveled with her and offered their friendship.

     They managed to stop in another village. An old widow was kind enough to offer them her home. After asking around, and once again getting no leads, Hikari sat quietly, looking down sadly at her cup of tea. This was beginning to look hopeless.

     The trio sat on the other side of the room, allowing the girl to have some space. They knew that she was beginning to be let down by what little progress had been made. Surely there was something they could do to make her feel better?

     Smellerbee looked at her leader, "I feel bad for, Lian. She's hasn't found anything on her parents."

     "I know. And even with our help there's been nothing." Jet pulled out his straw, "I wonder if they're even alive."

     "Don't say that!"

     "Well? What do you want me to say?"

     "Maybe you could let her come with us," the young girl suggested. "Maybe they're there."

     Longshot nodded. Even thought he had not known Lian long, he admired her. She stood up for herself against Jet's unwanted advances. She was very much sisterly to both himself and Smellerbee. It could not hurt to invite her to join them in making themselves a new life.

     They all watched as she pushed her cup away and put her head into her folded arms. She was starting to lose hope, they all knew that. Maybe it would cheer her up if they invited her along for the ride.

     The leader of the misfits got up and sat down next to her. Lian had barely touched her tea. He had never known her to turn it down. While she never finished her cup, she drank it in fond memory of the man who had saved her.

     "I know this is getting you down," Jet began, "but you can't give up just yet."

     She shifted her head so she could look up at him, "What makes you think that?"

     "You haven't touched your tea."

     "Well aren't you sharp?"

     He rolled his eyes, "I am a freedom fighter. I notice these things about my men."

     "I've told you, I'm honored by the offer, but I won't accept."

     "That doesn't mean I can't keep trying."

     The girl sat up, running a hand through her hair. Jet did not mind admitting that he had a crush on Lian. When they had first met, he thought she would just be a damsel in distress and become infatuated with her savior. Instead, she had tried to blow him off, had given him a bloody nose and was ready to take on whoever dare challenge her. He was drawn to her. No doubt about it.

     "I haven't given up, yet." He watched her sigh deeply, "There's still a lot of ground to cover before I give up. Even then, that doesn't stop me from feeling a little defeated. The Earth Kingdom is huge, it's going to take a long time."

     "You know, my freedom fighters and I are going to Ba Sing Se." Jet placed a hand on her shoulder, "There's a chance you may find them there."

     Hikari looked at him. For once, he was not trying to hit on her. He was being genuine about helping her. Maybe Jet was a pain in the butt, but at least he could be a little sweet when it counted.

     Did she want to go with them though?

     While the freedom fighters were her friends, she was also a stranger to them. She had not been entirely truthful with them. It almost hurt to think she had pretty much lied. All she had done was twist her story to were she had been traveling with an older man and his nephew. They did not know that those two men were the Fire Nation prince and his uncle.

     There was still a lot of ground to cover. The up side was that Ba Sing Se was also a lot of ground to cover. There was also the possibility that her parents were in another direction. There was a lot to think about. Would it be wise to go, or not?

     "Thank you for offering, Jet." She smiled slightly, "Let me think about it. I'll give you an answer tomorrow."

     "Alright..." If it was not for the lighting, she could have sworn his face was gaining color, "I hope you'll decide to come with us." He stood and pat her shoulder before walking away, "Get some rest."

     But what was rest when you had a big decision to make? The question kept turning through her head all night. Hikari spent a lot of time weighing out the pros and cons of what going with the freedom fighters would do. Before she knew it, the sun was filtering in.

     Thankfully, she had gotten some sleep, but that did not stop her mind from going back to her main problem. Since the others were still sleeping, she decided to restock on the supplies she needed for traveling.

     The little village was alive. Thankfully, the stall owners were out. The girl was looking over the nuts and fruits.

     "Hey, did you hear? The Avatar's been spotted in the Earth Kingdom!"

     "Last I heard, he had freed some of the people from Omashu."

     "He was recently spotted close by riding his bison!"

     Hikari froze in what she was doing. Aang must be looking for an Earthbending teacher. If he was close, did that mean Zuko was still after him?

     Zuko and Iroh...

     She missed them.

     When she got back, the others were awake. Jet seemed to lighten up when she entered.

     "Hey, Lian! Where'd you go," Jet asked.

     Smellerbee smirked, "Yeah, Jet was about to go looking for you."

     The boy in question blushed further when Longshot nodded.

     The older girl grinned, "Thanks for your concern, but I was out getting supplies."

     "So does that mean you've made a decision," the boy with the straw asked.

     Hikari rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah I did. I decided I'm going to go on my own way. I can't thank all of you enough for your kindness. You've been a big help, but I think it may be best if we part ways for now. Who knows? I may see you again in Be Sing Se!"

     The younger girl frowned, "Awe! Are you sure, Lian?"

     "This kept me up most of the night. My mind is made up. Honestly, I'd like to hit the road as soon as I can too." Longshot went up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll keep out of trouble. You can count on it."

     "You should listen to Longshot though, he's right. You need to stay safe."

     Jet smirked, "No joke. But knowing you, you'll be just fine."

     Lian grinned, "You bet I will!"

     They all left the house around the same time, after giving thanks to the widow for her hospitality. After giving the group a hug, they parted ways, each person going down a new road, leading them to separate destinations.

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A/N: GUESS WHO ISN'T DEAD!!!

I'm finally on summer break and I decided to give this story a quick update. I know the chapter is short, but I promise that the next one will be much longer. I wanted to wait until I finished writing this story, but I have to face it. I can't stick to one thing for a long period of time. I jump around.

So, I hope you guys liked this chapter and...yeah.

Ta-ta for now!

-Muse