I know what you're thinking: an Avatar OC??! HERESY!!! (burn the witch!) But before you come at me with those ropes and torches, I'm posting this after writing it for an extremely talented friend who is drawing/writing a post-war Freedom Fighter's comic. If you have no idea who or what I'm talking about, get your bum right over to devART and go through SioUte's gallery right now! Her comic, Plight of the Freedom Fighters, is an epic of storytelling, focused on my most beloved Avatar minor characters.
As I said, she's making a post-war sequel, and asked me to contribute. Thus far, I've suggested a new character who will give the Freedom Fighter world more depth. She's based on me (dodges hail of rotten veggy matter), left over from an OC contest on devART, but never mind - this story is actually about Sneers, and his gallant rescue of a damsel in distress.
More or less. Please look forward to Plight of the Freedom Fighters 2 when it debuts!
Ages for this story: Sneers: 18; Jet: 17; Skillet: 19
Equitable Expectation
Or: How Sneers Met Skillet
It was, he supposed, a consequence of his upbringing – one could not expect a child brought up in the isolated, militaristic confines of a monastery of a renegade sect to be entirely comfortable associating with a rabidband of hooligans culled from every sacked city and devastated farming village in the leagues that separate Omashu and Ba Sing Se, could they?
Of course not. Thus, he felt completely justified in skipping out on the tiresome, noisy and annoying task of shifting the base of Freedom Fighter operations from their customary arboreal abode to the caves situated in the cliffs three miles to the north in preparation for the oncoming winter.
"Who does he think he is, General Kizune?" Sneers grumbled to himself, chunking another large rock into the torpid green-brown stream with a hollow thwup! "'We have to get ready for winter!'" he continued, mimicking Jet's argument in a falsetto the other boy most assuredly would never use, even after a bottle of fire-whiskey. "Feh!"
He settled back against the leaning trunk and gnarled roots of some deceased forest giant, too absorbed in his dark ruminations to really pay attention to the beautiful autumnal surroundings.
'You're the one who's supposed to plan for stuff like this.'
Jet's sharp (and appropriate) recrimination re-echoed in his head. 'So what if I think it's more important we use this lull in their activities to strike! That's what we're supposedto do! We can't afford to give them an inch!' Sneers argued with the Jet in his memory (and himself).
The Fire Nation division occupying the valley had, for whatever reason, settled into a pattern of near-catatonic inactivity. Even messengers and labor detachments had been few and far between in the last two weeks. Jet had taken the respite, not as a perfect opening to launch a strike against another supply depot, but as an opportunity to begin moving supplies to their winter quarters.
'Last year, we had to run some pretty risky raids just to stay alive,' he had reminded Sneers, 'I don't want to lose anymore of use because we didn't think to take care of it beforehand.'
What had made it all the more galling was the way Smellerbee and Longshot had shook their heads and whispered together as Jet shot down all of Sneers' counter-arguments.
"Fine then, if you don't want my advice, you certainly don't need my services as a draft ostrich-horse," Sneers had announced, storming away from the trio.
Jet had hurried after him, of course, insisting that he at least show the way to a new gaggle of brats. Sneers had complied only because to refuse point-blank would have encouraged Jet (or Smellerbee, or Longhost, OR Pipsqueak (on the orders of any of the others above)) to keep a watchful eye on him.
Thus, having safely delivered the batch of rugrats to their temporary home, Sneers strolled off in search of something more interesting to do.
Wandering aimlessly and chucking rocks into a stream would only occupy him for a little while, however, and only lead to tugs at what was left of his conscience.
"Something happen already," he griped, skipping a flat pebble across the stream, feeling bored out of his skull.
"KI-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!"
The scream reverberated through the forest, making the raccoon-squirrel who had been contentedly enjoying his mid-afternoon repast in the branches of Sneers' makeshift armchair squeak with surprise, dropping its half-chewed nut square on the young ex-monk's head.
"…I hate you too," Sneers informed the Universe.
(The Universe stuck out its tongue and flashed an obscene gesture, enjoying the boy's torment immensely)
"Fine, then!" Sneers grunted, hauling himself up the steep bank as another blood-curdling cry sounded as if in encouragement, "I'm coming! Sheez!"
"Aw, c'mon, sweety, just put it down."
"Like HELL I will!"
Sneers, sliding stealthily around the broad tree trunk to a firmer perch among its warren of branches, snorted sardonically. 'How cliché a set-up can you get?' he asked himself, looking down on the scene, 'This looks like an excerpt from a bad one-copper-piece action scroll!'
Five Fire Nation soldiers (obviously a scouting party) had accosted a young woman…
… who was currently trying to fend them off with a massive cast-iron skillet.
'Okay, so that's a little different,' Sneers amended. The young woman (who wore her brunette hair in ridiculously under-aged pigtails gone ragged from being snagged on low branches and brush) was terrified and trying to make a brave face in a hopeless situation. Her bare forearms and face were scratched and bleeding, her green tunic soiled with mud from when she had taken a fall in her flight. The skillet, her only weapon (though only a fool would consider it so), trembled in her rapidly tiring grasp.
The soldiers, knowing they had the upper hand in every respect, were taking pleasure in toying with her.
Only one was a firebender, Sneers quickly assessed, recognizing the subtle differences in armor. The firebender was older, of higher rank - no doubt the leader of the squad. He was standing back from the melodrama, looking bored and detached, allowing his men to have their fun.
Like the rest, he was oblivious to Sneers, crouched more or less above the main pack of soldiers and their unfortunate quarry. If Sneers was to come to the girl's rescue, he would have to take a risky jump up and out over the others in order to eliminate the most identifiably dangerous threat. Even then, five-to-one odds was not something one just leapt into, unless one possessed an inordinate hero-complex or a blinding deathwish for vengeance against the Fire Nation.
As Sneers fulfilled neither prerequisite, he bided his time, weighing whether or not to risk himself for the faintly attractive female who had blundered so carelessly into the arms of bored soldiers.
"I said, stay away from me!" the young woman shrieked, swiping at the soldier who, smirking at his comrades, had approached, reached out to grab her arm.
"Argh!" the man yelped, too slow in his overconfidence to avoid catching the full force of the blow on his on his outstretched hand.
The others guffawed at his error, goading him to callously shove the young woman to the ground. "We'll being playing rough later, bitch – don't be in such a hurry!" he spat.
Screaming and thrashing like a madwoman, the girl tried to fend him off as the pack crowded in for the kill. Even the squad leader leaned forward, his face contorted into an ugly mask of carnal glee.
The opportunity of least risk presented itself. 'Enter the hero,' Sneers intoned to himself, taking a few running steps down the length of the branches before launching himself like a missile fired from a crossbow.
It really was shameless, how easily he caught the firebender off-guard. He landed squarely on the man's shoulder plates, his weight and his free-fall combining into an instantaneously fatal force; the soldier had not so much as glanced in his direction, gave no grunt of recognition, even as his spine collapsed in on itself. 'So much for the superior training of the Fire Army,' Sneers thought, rolling free of the downed firebender to attend to the rest of the soldiers.
It was only when one of their number suddenly hurtled headfirst into the tree the young woman had backed up against that the soldiers had any idea they were under attack. Slewing around, the three left standing reached for their swords, expecting to find themselves face-to-face with a phalanx of Earth Kingdom soldiers. Needless to say, when they found that their assailant was only one, and a boy (a rather large boy… wearing armor… but still, just a boy) at that, they relaxed somewhat, their frightened, angry faces becoming sneering.
"And just what do you think you're doing here, boy?" the one who had attacked the girl demanded, clearly irritated at having his fun interrupted.
"Kicking your asses," Sneers replied, believing in the economy of words as far as enemies were concerned. He darted forward, low and fast, coming up under the soldier's negligible guard. Grabbing the soldier's already injured hand in a crushing grip, Sneers pivoted, swinging the taller man like a bat into the soldier to his left, sending their respective weapons flying as both men fell over in a tangle of limbs and armor.
"Look out!"
WHANG!
"Ow, dammit!"
Sneers spared a glance over his shoulder and sighed. 'What did she expect was going to happen when she hit a steel helmet full-force with an iron skillet?' he asked himself, watching the young woman clutch her hand and curse colorfully, the remaining soldier laid out stone cold at her feet, his helmet slightly dented.
"Thanks, but can you stay out of the way now?" he requested with slightly sarcastic politeness as the two men he had just dealt with finally sorted themselves out. One went scrambling after his sword while the other attacked with deadly intent gleaming in his eyes.
'Crud,' he sighed, dodging the soldier's fists and occasional kicks. The man was fairly decent at unarmed combat, hampered as he was by his armor. Sneers knew he was just buying time for his comrade to retrieve his sword, but that was not very comforting. 'Stand still and let me crush you, dammit!'
Mere seconds had passed - Sneers felt as though he was mired in a slow-moving eternity as he tried to keep his eye on the other soldier while dealing with the man in front of him. He could easily block and dodge, but battles are not won on the defensive. The opportunity to deal the killing blow continued to evade him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young woman, completely ignoring his helpful suggestion to not interfere and get killed, run full tilt at the other soldier, her skillet swinging. 'Idiot!' he yelled, angered enough by her disregard for common sense to absorb a blow in his solar plexus from his opponent. Gasping for breath, Sneers speared his fore and middle fingers in the man's exposed throat. The soldier choked, fell to one knee; Sneers sent him sprawling with a kick that crushed in his nose. Stomping on the downed man's throat one last time to ensure that he stayed down, he ran to save the young woman from her idiocy.
"I don't suppose you'll put that down and fight me fairly?" she was saying to the soldier who was pointing his sword right at her throat. Her skillet lay to one side, her empty hands raised in feeble defense against the deadly sharp point of the sword.
"Yeah right…" the soldier began.
WHANG!
"Oog…" he said, crumpling like a puppet cut from its strings.
"Hm, this thing is actually pretty useful," Sneers observed, testing the heft of the skillet he had used to dispatch the last pest.
"My hero!"
"Oof!"
"I'm sorry, I've just always wanted to say that," the older girl informed him, releasing him from a rib-cracking hug and smiling sheepishly.
"Whatever amuses you, just don't do it again," Sneers replied, handing her the skillet. He glanced down at the soldier's sword and briefly considered disposing of the refuse permanently. They had seen his face, after all, and if they were alive to report his interference to their commander, things might become difficult for the Freedom Fighters. 'Which means Jet will be forced to start fighting the Fire Nation again, instead of playing house,' he realized. For the first time in his life, Sneers turned his back on a still-breathing Fire Nation soldier. 'Well, this turned out to be a good day after all,' he thought cheerfully, focusing on the young woman who had handed him the perfect card to force Jet's hand. "Where are you headed?" he asked her. He noticed she was shivering and turning pale, despite the relatively warm sunlight that dappled down on them through the blood-red leaves above. She was probably going into shock – being assaulted never did any good for anyone's nerves. Generously, he draped his cloak over her trembling shoulders; he owed her a form of thanks, after all. "There's a village down in the valley about four miles from here, but it's crawling with Fire Nation soldiers. I think you've had enough of those for today."
She nodded wordless agreement, smiling gratefully as her hands numbly fisted into the coarse dyed hairs of the koala-sheep hide. "I don't really know whereI'm going. Preferably as far away from any of themas I can!" she said in a low voice, forcing laughter as she looked around the clearing at the unmoving soldiers. "What about you?" she asked, "Where do you live?"
"Not in the village," he answered, scrutinizing her. He had what he wanted from her, and she was unharmed. Thus, she was no longer his problem. 'I should get back to the others and tell them that playtime's over…'
"… can I come with you?" she blurted, biting her lip as soon as the words left her mouth.
"That's not possible," Sneers said immediately, knowing she would only slow him down, "I'm a wanted criminal. There are others like me. We've all got prices on our heads for resisting the Fire Nation occupation. It's not a life I recommend to anyone who is not completely desperate."
"I was trying to fight off five men with a kitchen utensil," she snapped, "How is that not desperate?"
'Good point,' Sneers allowed. "Fine," he sighed, tired of arguing. He should just leave her, but then… she seemed the type to stumble her way into trouble and get killed the second he turned his back. Sneers detested wasted efforts, and she had more or less become his responsibility when he decided to come to her rescue. 'I hate having a conscience,' he grumbled, walking away. The girl hurried after him.
"Look, you can't say that Lian-cho was a better general than Pao! He never even considered using a spy network! In fact, he considered intelligence-gathering a waste of time! Small wonder he lost the Battle of Jikai!"
The lookout, a gap-toothed little girl with large brown eyes and boney elbows and knees sharpened from her latest growth spurt, peered down wonderingly from her post high in the tree branches. Whoever was shouting was doing it at the top of their lungs.
"Lian-cho was betrayed by Prince Kotan, that's the only reason he had to withdraw! If the reinforcements from the Earth King's City Guard had arrived in a timely fashion, he would have completed the encirclement of the Pao's entire army and crushed him easily."
She recognized that voice – that was Sneers, the big boy who glared a lot and who helped Jet plan raids. He was not a very nice person; in fact, she was terrified of him just on principle. So, who would dare to arguewith him?
"'It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.' If Lian-cho had thought to take advantage of the Black Fire Lily Order's offer to investigate Kotan, he would have known the prince would betray him. Pao did, and he won the battle!"
"It's not as simple as that – Pao was on more familiar territory!"
"Even more reason that Lian-cho was a fool for not trying to use spies to better understand the terrain and his enemies, especially those he suspected might betray him!"
They finally came into view: Sneers, and some woman the lookout had never seen before. Her already wide eyes nearly started from her head. The strange woman was gesturing dramatically with the large frying pan in her right hand, her attention focused on Sneers, an angry scowl on her face. Sneers looked just as angry; he was shaking his fist as if to punctuate his argument.
'What on earth are they talking about?' she wondered as the pair came to a halt under her tree and began shouting names and dates and who-knew-what else back and forth at each other like two armies exchanging escalating artillery barrages. 'I should probably do something – they're loud enough that Jet's going to hear them all the way out at the caves!' Screwing up her courage and taking a deep breath, she took hold of the sling-rope next to her and swung down from her perch.
"… and anyone who's read Wei-tsing's Analects of a Summer Storm would know that unless you have due awareness of the original terrain, even the best earth-bending cannot mold the battlefield and steal the initiative from the enemy!" the woman blared, cheeks flushed and her free hand balled into a fist thrust against her hip.
"Clearly you haven't read Reflections on the Idyllic Mirror Streams by Huang, or you wouldn't assume that…!" Sneers was yelling when he was rudely interrupted by an intruder literally dropping in on their discussion.
"Excuse me, but can you guys keep it down?" the little snot-nosed brat drawled, scratching her cheek and flicking her attention back and forth between him and the young woman like she was watching a speed hand-ball tourney. "I'm trying to look out for Fire Nation soldiers and it's kinda…"
"If there were any Fire Nation soldiers in the vicinity, do you think they'd have just let us stroll through them?" Sneers demanded coldly.
"Um…" the girl replied eloquently, her goggle-eyes swelling even larger as she sidled away from him. The younger ones seemed possessed by an irrational fear of him. Well enough; it meant he had to devote less energy having to deal with their incessant whining.
"Don't worry, we didn't see any," his rescuee informed the girl gently. The little brat smiled shyly at her, which made the young woman positively beam. "I assume since we've run into you, we're close to where you live, Sneers?"
"Yes, this is a forward observation post; we're about two miles from the main base," Sneers replied grudgingly.
"Two miles?" The young woman raised impressed eyebrows. "That's a pretty wide perimeter to maintain, especially in a forest as dense as this one! How do you communicate between positions?"
"Easy! We whistle!" the little girl informed her excitedly, blasting into an impromptu performance as loud as a flock of gull-starlings.
"Yes, thank you for that, I didn't really need to use that ear," Sneers growled, rubbing the offended organ. The young woman was wincing as well, though she was still smiling.
"That's helluva a lot of lung power you have there, er…"
"I'm Pigeon!" she supplied, "What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm…"
"None of your business – we have to get a move-on!" Sneers interrupted, grabbing his debate opponent by the wrist and dragging her away, "Return to your position, and don't come back down until your relief says you can," he tossed back to Pigeon.
"Bye, Pigeon, see you around!" the woman called, waving cheerfully over her shoulder. "Oof!" she yelped, tripping over a tree-root, saved from falling on her face only by the grace of Sneers's steadying hand.
"Byeeeee nice lady!" Pigeon returned, yanking on the sling-rope. 'Gee, wonder if she's his girlfriend, and that's why he's so grabby... Ew, wait, what am I thinking?!'
"Wait, you want me to what?"
Sneers groaned into the palm of his hand. "I did say we live in the trees, didn't I?"
"Yeah, well, I thought that…" The young woman looked from the sling-rope up to the maze of branches far overhead, where masses of red leaves shielded the Freedom Fighter's base from prying eyes. "I thought you meant that you were… lower down?" She smiled sheepishly.
"You're afraid of heights," Sneers deduced.
"Scared to death of them, actually," she admitted, almost proudly, "Everyone once and a while, I can look over the edge of the cliff, just because I like feeling the rush of vertigo."
"… uh huh." Again, Sneers wondered about the wisdom of his decision to bring her along. Granted, she was an articulate speaker and obviously well-read; it was so difficult finding an intellectual challenge worthy of his time in this cultural wasteland. However…
"Fine," he sighed, holding his hand out to her, "Grab on to me. I'll make sure you don't fall."
Her eyes widened. "Um, are you sure?" she asked, pulling on one of her pigtails, "That rope doesn't look like it can carry both of us… waurgh!"
"Just don't wriggle around too much and it won't be a problem," he said through clenched teeth, yanking on the rope to signal that he needed additional assistance to ascend.
"Ooooohhhh boy…" she whimpered as the rope lifted them up, squeezing her eyes shut and clamping her arms around his shoulders so tightly his shoulders creaked. About halfway up, she let loose a sudden explosion of colorful expletives (half of which Sneers had never thought of).
"What's wrong?" he asked, trying not to sound impressed.
"…I looked down."
"Urgh..."
---
"Sneers! What's so important you had to send someone all the way out to the caves to drag me all the way back here!?" Jet demanded as he yanked aside the curtain to his quarters and stormed in, "We have important work to… you're not Sneers."
"Um, hi?" the young woman who had been sitting on his bed greeted, nervously bouncing to her feet, "Sneers said he'd be right back, so I just… uh… you must be Jet, right?"
"Yes… who are you?" Jet wanted to know. The Duke had not mentioned a young woman being what Sneers wanted to talk to him about. But then, the Duke could be a little spotty on important details. He took in her less-than-groomed appearance, sturdy build (was she taller than him?), and steadily reddening cheeks in one inquisitive sweep. 'Not from around here. Just what the hell is Sneers thinking, bring her…?'
"I rescued her from some Fire Nation soldiers who were prowling around the stream six miles east of here." Jet and the young woman started as Sneers made a somewhat dramatic flourishing entrance onto the scene. He smirked. "I was concerned about her safety, so rushed her here. I'm afraid they're still alive. A couple of 'em, anyway."
"Theysaw you?!" Jet raged, "Now they're going to go back to their HQ and probably launch another raid to try and find this place!"
"Well, maybe if I'd had some support, instead of having to handle five of them on my own and rescue a damsel in distress," Sneers pointed out.
"Hey!" the young woman yelped, glaring at him.
Sneers raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, fine, I was in distress! Sheesh, how embarrassing," she muttered, defeated.
"Also, she wants to join the Freedom Fighters," Sneers added.
"What?!" Jet exploded, "First, you go off and let everyone else work, then you pick a fight with a bunch of Fire Nation soldiers and let them walk away from it, and now you're expecting me to take on some strange woman you happened to pick up just on your say so?!"
"That about covers it," Sneers agreed.
"Um, I know I'm intruding," the young woman ventured, noticing how Jet was turning a deep shade of crimson in preparation for an apoplectic explosion, "but I think I can be useful. I can cook. I can also read and write very well, and I used to help teach at the school in my village, so I can take on some of the younger children here… as students. If they want to. If anything, I can look after them."
Jet took a deep breath and visibly calmed down. "Anything else?" he asked coolly, although in a much more polite tone than he had used with Sneers. Jet was always polite to women, Sneers noted sardonically.
"Um… I can do some basic treatment of wounds using herbal remedies; Sneers told me he and some others take care of that, but maybe I can share what I know. I… can sew?" She looked at Jet hopefully.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "What are your feelings regarding the Fire Nation?"
She inhaled sharply, her hazel eyes shimmering with what were probably tears. "I… they killed my mother and father. They were soldiers, so that I can understand, but… they also attacked my village. We weren't even a garrison town! My little sister… we got separated when I… when we had to run away. I've been looking for her so for so long… I've gotten lost. I don't know where to go. Today, if Sneers hadn't saved me, those Fire Nation soldiers would have…" She huddled her arms around her body and shivered. "If I'd had any pity for them… I lost it when those men looked at me like I was nothing more than a thing to satisfy themselves with. Those men… those animals… the Fire Nation set them loose on our kingdom. We haveto send them back to the sea, back to the foul muck they crawled out of!"
"I think I can see why you took her along with you, Sneers," Jet said quietly after a long, strained silence.
"Hm?"
"She's certainly got a way with words." Jet grinned darkly. "She might even be able to help others understand just what we're trying to accomplish out here."
The young woman frowned, confused.
"All right, you convinced me," Jet said to her, now the personification of cavalier chivalry, "But in the Freedom Fighters, we start new. That means you're going to need a new name."
"Eh? Like what?"
"You don't have to think that hard for one," Sneers said, strolling over to Jet's bed and lifting up the massive iron kitchen implement the newest Freedom Fighter had left there. "Right, Skillet?" He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.
Skillet quirked her lips and laughed. "Now that you mention it, no. Thanks, Sneers!"
Jet glanced between the two of them. "Wonderful. Welcome to the Freedom Fighters, Skillet. Now, can the two of you find some other room to be mushy in?"
"…!"
P.S. - After Skillet's induction, a new kitchen for the Freedom Fighters was constructed in a hollow so Skillet could cook without succumbing to vertigo and falling out of the trees. She still manages to run smack into low-lying branches, but she's a much happier person.