Chapter 1

"You can't let anyone know what you can do. Do you understand? They'll...they'll hurt you. So promise me you'll keep it a secret. No one can know." She nodded her head in understanding, tears pouring down her cheeks, twigs in her hair, and the whole world burning before her. "Good. Now you have to run. Get as far away from here as possible. I'll make sure no one follows you." He looked over his shoulder, noticed soldiers heading their way. He turned back to her one last time, his own tears falling, as he shouted, "Run!" She turned and fled, her small legs carrying her as fast as they could, as the sounds of earth against fire raged behind her.

.

"What's your name?" He looked so nice. Big and strong and brave, when she felt none of these things.

She parted her lips to reply, but her name wasn't what slipped out. Instead, she said, "Smellerbee."

He smiled. "Nice to meet you Smellerbee. I'm Jet. And this is Longshot." He nodded to the other boy next to him, tall and silent, a bow strapped to his back. She stared at him, and he quirked an eyebrow, almost as if he was asking 'How'd you end up here, all by yourself?' She said nothing as Jet spoke again. "You don't have to worry anymore Smellerbee. We'll take care of you." She looked back at him, hope all too evident in her dark, amber eyes. She wouldn't have to be alone anymore. She could have a family again. Deep in her stomach, she felt that familiar warmth suddenly flare, sparked by Jet's words.

She just could never tell her secret.

-0-

There was a fire. Their little hut/cave they had spent days making and hiding and perfecting went up in flames. Perhaps it was simply a misplaced candle, or cloth left too close to their small, makeshift stove. It probably wasn't Smellerbee's fault. Most likely wasn't. But this logic failed her when she and Longshot were trapped inside, Jet desperately trying to find a way out for them, the smoke filling up, clogging their senses. She was going to die. Longshot was going to die. And it was all her fault.

Smellerbee growled. She refused this end. If she was going to go down in fire, then at least if would be against the Fire Nation! There was only one way out, and that was blocked by wood and flames. Coughing, wheezing, she stumbled towards it, pulling Longshot behind her. She batted away the tongues of yellow heat, forcing them back, creating her own path to the door. And with one, solid kick from Longshot, the door was jarred open, and out they staggered, gasping for fresh air. Jet, visibly relieved at their appearance, helped them away from the smoldering wreckage, and towards the small stream that was nearby. She and Longshot took greedy gulps, forcing the water down their throats to help soothe the pain.

The worst part was how much Smellerbee longed for the fire. She wanted to go back, sit by it, watch it flicker and eventually putter out. She never let herself go, and it was like heat was building up within her, begging to be released. Like always, she forced it back down.

She couldn't escape the look Longshot gave her. We shouldn't have gotten out of there alive.

She looked at him with sorrowful eyes. I'm sorry.

Her silent companion simply closed his eyes, still breathing deeply. Jet was near freaking out beside them, at how close his two friends came too death. Not realizing how they were even alive at all.

Eventually, Longshot opened his eyes and turned back to her. He nodded, ever so slightly. It's okay. He glanced at the fretting boy next to him. And I won't tell Jet.

Smellerbee couldn't stop herself from throwing her arms around him, burying her face against his shoulder. He calmly held her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. The tears came, and she couldn't hold them back, so down they fell, which caused even more concern for Jet.

"Aw, man, please don't cry-" Longshot gave him a look that instantly shut him up. Eventually, he stopped fidgeting and simply sat by his friends. Smellerbee stayed burrowed in Longshot's chest. He knew. He knew, and he didn't care. Just like another did, once.

-0-

Smellerbee's fists where shaking at her sides. She felt her anger churning over in the pit of her stomach, sparking and boiling hot, threatening to spill out as she stomped across the bridge connecting their little village in the trees. She knew she shouldn't be so hard on the Duke -spirits knew he was only seven- but did he have to be so damn infuriating? She'd rather like to set him hanging upside down by his feet and see how he liked it. But she just knew that if she stayed near that boy a moment longer, she'd blow. So she went to find Longshot.

Her silent companion was making arrows, effortlessly sharpening the tips and attaching feathers. His eyes were focused solely on his work, but when he looked up and saw her troubled face, he immediately set the half-finished arrow aside, and raised an eyebrow. What is it?

"The Duke!" Smellerbee finally snapped. The candle on the table Longshot was working on flared up. "He's just...He's so..."

Childish. Longshot nodded, telling her he understood. He's just a kid.

"I know that!" Smellerbee ranted. "But that doesn't mean he has to test his traps on me! Or use me to see if his stink bombs are potent enough! Or-" She paused when Longshot placed a hand on her shoulder. Breath, he seemed to say. She suddenly noticed how hot it was in the room, and immediately forced large gulps of air into her lungs. "The worst part is that Pipsqueak never does anything about it. He even helps him!" She sighed and sat down, taking the chair Longshot was previously using. For a long while, she simply sat, taking deep breaths, while Longshot waited until she was ready to speak again.

"It's getting harder." Smellerbee said this with closed eyes and clenched fists. "I get angry so easily and...when I am, I can just feel it." She looked up hopelessly at Longshot and said desperately, "I don't know how much longer I can hide it."

Longshot took the seat across from her and gave an slight nod, a resigned look in his eyes. If you decide to leave, I'll go with you.

"What?!" Smellerbee cried. "But this is your home!"

He shook his head. Jet and I promised to look after you. Jet may have forgotten this, but I certainly haven't.

Smellerbee smiled ruefully. "Thanks Longshot. That...that means a lot. But I don't plan on leaving. At least not soon." He gave her a slight incline of his head and a minuscule smile. Family? Smellerbee nodded. "Family," she agreed.

-0-

The old man made her uneasy. He was friendly, cheerful, and overall pleasant to be with (besides the fact he at first mistook her for a boy). Despite this, Smellerbee couldn't help but feel uncomfortable near him. He was...warm. And she felt almost drawn to him. And that frightened her. She didn't really understand what it was, or what it meant. But when Jet invited his nephew to join them, she protested. She didn't want to be close to these people. She was positive the old man kept looking her way, but she could've just been paranoid.

To her great relief, the nephew -Lee was his name- declined Jet's offer, and returned to his uncle. Smellerbee gave a relieved sigh, and Longshot flashed her a questioning look. "I'll explain later," she whispered as Jet returned.

"I think that man is a firebender," he said lowly, shooting back distrustful glares at the pair.

Smellerbee frowned. "Just because Lee turned you down? Jet-"

"No, no, not because of that!" Jet snapped. "Look at the old man's tea! A minute ago he said it was cold. And now its steaming!"

Smellerbee hadn't been close enough to hear the uncle anything of that sort, so she had no idea if Jet's claim was true or not. Even if it was, however, it was a little far fetched. "Maybe he just meant it was too cold for him. Maybe he likes it boiling hot, or something," she suggested, still feeling uneasy. She had a weird feeling in her stomach. Like it was gurgling, almost grumbling, but something else entirely. She felt warm.

Smellerbee glanced around Jet to look back at the pair. The uncle suddenly turned, ever so slightly, and caught her eye. He smiled warmly and almost...knowingly? Smellerbee shook herself and forced her attention back to Jet, who was rambling that he was sure they were firebenders.

"And I'll prove it!" he promised snappily, sending one last glare over at Lee and his uncle, which went unnoticed. Lee was, however, arguing about something with him.

Smellerbee exchanged looks with Longshot, who gave a near silent sigh and simply shook his head. Here we go again. He also arched his eyebrow at her, almost as if asking, You okay? She wasn't entirely sure which part he was talking about. But at the moment, she didn't really think so, not about anything. Longshot abruptly tapped her shoulder, and she realized she was growing very warm. Smellerbee forced herself to take several deep, calming breaths, and the soft chill of early spring returned.

Jet noticed none of this, so caught up as he was with his new 'project.' They weren't even in the city yet, and already it looked like their plan to start over was already botched. She probably should've suspected something like this would happen though. Jet was the kind of person who needed an objective, and not only that, he needed an enemy. Deciding Lee and his uncle were firebenders gave him both. Smellerbee just hoped this wouldn't turn into the 'Gaipan incident.'

-0-

Jet wasn't going to let this firebender thing go. Smellerbee and Longshot started to worry about him. Stalking was never a good sign, in their books. Stealing spark rocks to try and force someone to firebend was even worse. Did Jet not realize how creepy it was that he stared into their apartment all the time?

And that wasn't even the worst part. No, the worst was that Smellerbee was thinking that maybe he was right. It was all because she had visited that tea shop they worked at. It seemed Jet wasn't quite as subtle as he thought he was, and Lee had confronted him about it. When she and Longshot heard about this, they decided that one of them should probably go and do damage control. Since Longshot was the only one who had a job (she was too young, so no one wanted to hire her, and Jet just wasn't trying), and she was much better with words than him, Smellerbee was unofficially elected to go. Despite how much she really didn't want to.

Lee recognized her when she came in, so she cut right to the chase. She apologized, and assured him they were doing their best to get him to stop. "Jet's just really paranoid and...a bit crazy." Smellerbee almost felt like she was betraying him for doing this, but he had been acting crazy recently, and it would do no one any good if Lee or his uncle decided to inform the guards that they had a stalker. Then there was also the Dai Li. Smellerbee didn't know much about them, but what she did know sent shivers down her spine. And from what she had gathered, if Jet kept going on about firebenders, then they would be the ones to step in.

"We're not firebenders, okay," Lee told her gruffly in a low voice. "Just...get Jet to stop bothering me." He walked off, to return to his work, when his uncle stopped him.

"Are you not going to invite the lovely young lady for a cup of tea?" he asked his nephew. The old man turned to her and said, "Come, my dear. Have a seat."

Smellerbee cautiously sat at an empty table, stating, "But I don't have any money."

"Oh, that's quite alright," he assured her, setting a cup of steaming tea before her. "It's on the house."

"Oh." Smellerbee looked down at the cup and said, "Uh, thanks, Mr..."

"Just Mushi is fine," he told her. "And you are quite welcome." Off to the side, Lee rolled his eyes while he served another table. Mushi simply smiled and said, "Quite an interesting tea, that is. It's a type of Black Tea, made from a very special plant. The Fire Flower." He then abruptly left, leaving Smellerbee with her drink, eyes widened to the size of saucers.

When she finally returned to the tiny apartment all three of them were living in, Smellerbee was absolutely convinced. Now she just had to decide what to do about it.

-0-

This was crazy, and she knew it. But Smellerbee was already here, and she wasn't going to turn back now. Tentatively, she raised her fist and knocked on the door. Thanks to Jet, she knew exactly where Lee and Mushi lived, but that reassurance didn't help her racing heart. She was crazy. Absolutely insane. Even worse than Jet, and that was saying something.

It was Mushi who answered the door. And despite his pleasant, "Why hello Miss Smellerbee! What brings you here at this hour?" she was quite convinced he wasn't at all surprised to see her.

It took Smellerbee about three seconds to realize she had no idea what to say to him. What had she even come here for? She should be reporting these two to the guards. No, that wouldn't work, she had no proof. What she should do is get Jet, get Longshot, and get as far the hell away from these people as possible.

After a good solid minute of Smellerbee simply awkwardly standing in the hall, Mushi said, "Why don't you come in." With absolutely nothing better to do, she did just that, finding herself in a pleasant apartment that smelled like tea. Of course it smelled like tea.

"Sit down," Mushi offered, gesturing to the table, while he went to the stove and put a kettle on. He began to grind up herbs and other leaves as he asked once more, "So what brings you here?"

"Um..." She really had no idea what she was doing here. And now she was starting to doubt herself. What if she was wrong? Not only would she be enormously embarrassed, but she ran the risk of revealing her secret.

Mushi set a cup of tea in front of her, and Smellerbee frowned. How had he heated the water so quickly? She glanced at the stove, and didn't see the spark rocks anywhere. She looked up when Mushi sat across from her, a cup in his hands, as he raised an eyebrow at her. She had yet to answer his question.

Smellerbee glanced down at her tea one more time before blurting, "I have a question!" There was a pause, and she realized she needed to go on, so she said, "About tea, I mean. I mean, about the tea you gave me earlier." Where she was going with this, she had absolutely no idea. But the words were tumbling out and didn't seem to be stopping any time soon. "I mean, what's a Fire Flower? Well, I guess its a type of flower, but why does that make is so interesting? I mean, what does-" She paused at the very amused smile on Mushi's face. "Um...I mean-"

"I'll tell you a secret," Mushi said before she could go off rambling again. He leaned close, a mischievous glint in his eye, and Smellerbee felt the familiar warmth in her belly flicker. "There's no such thing as Fire Flower tea."

Smellerbee blinked. "Huh?"

"That was simply normal, Pu-erh tea," Mushi explained.

Again, Smellerbee blinked. "So why did you say it was made from the Fire Flower?"

Mushi grinned. "I thought it would grab your attention. Which it seemed it has."

Smellerbee eyed him carefully. "Why do you want my attention?" she asked him cautiously.

He winked at her, and leaned back in his seat. "For one, you seem quite the interesting character. I can tell you have a bit of a heated spirit."

Smellerbee gripped her cup. She had yet to take a sip, though Mushi had completely drained his. He stood to get another. "Quite like my nephew, actually," he continued as he poured himself more tea. "He was always a bit...hot-headed." He returned to his seat and said, "But I'm sure you're not like that. I'd bet you keep your cool in the face of fire."

Okay, so either this guy was just really weird, or he was really laying it on thick. Smellerbee decided to just get on with it. So long as she was careful, the worst that could happen was that he would think she was really weird.

"Jet thinks you're a firebender," she blurted out, all subtlety going out the window. It wasn't really working anyway.

"Ah," Mushi said. "Yes, I do know this." He frowned. "He has taken to following my nephew around. I would rather wish he would stop."

"I just want to know why he would think you're a firebender in the first place," Smellerbee remarked, her hidden meaning not hidden at all. Are you a firebender Mushi? Are you?!

"It is quite a curious thing, isn't it," Mushi agreed. "I have been thinking back to all my encounters with the young man, trying to figure out if either I or my nephew did something that would lead to this suspicion."

Smellerbee frowned. Was that a confession? It was really hard to tell. "He said it was because you heated your tea, or something," she offered. "After the ferry ride and while waiting for the train. You bought a cup of tea and said it was cold, but then he saw steam rising from it a moment later."

"That is a bit suspicious," Mushi admitted. "If it is true, of course. I myself cannot seem to recall this event. I do remember my nephew being upset with me about something. I think it had to do with me flirting with the woman at the ticket booth." Smellerbee honestly could not decide if he was lying or not. The way he said it, almost as if he were admitting that maybe he had done something a little questionable. It is a bit suspicious...if it is true, of course. What does that even mean?! Smellerbee was losing her patience. And fast.

"And what about you, Miss Smellerbee?" Mushi asked. "Do you think I am a firebender?"

This was it. This was the test. Now all she had to do was answer correctly. Unless he really was just some weird, old tea-enthusiast and she had read this all wrong. Though even if that were true, this could still be a test, which meant that no matter what, she couldn't get this question wrong. Although, this question is pretty important, whether a test or no, and she really shouldn't answer wrong-

Augh! She was stalling now, and Mushi was looking at her expectantly, waiting for an answer. Smellerbee had absolutely no idea what to tell him. She needed to think on it more. Desperate for more time, she asked, "Where's you're nephew?"

"Oh, he's still cleaning up the tea shop," Mushi replied airily. "Hopefully I won't find the whole place burned down tomorrow." Okay, that was definitely not helping. "Knowing him, he'd probably knock over the wash bucket and get all angry. He has such a short fuse. Sometimes, when he's really upset, I swear I can see steam coming out of his ears." Mushi looked extremely amused with himself. "I'm often the one putting out the fires he leaves behind," he added, before chuckling to himself softly.

Smellerbee had just hit the end of her fuse. "Are you a firebender or not?!" she cried, before immediately clamping her hand over her mouth.

Mushi only smiled. "What do you think?" he asked in turn.

"I don't know!" Smellerbee growled. "You make no sense! Just give me a straight answer!"

Mushi's smile turned into a grin. "Well I can certainly say there is at least one firebender in this room." He nodded to the candle on the table, and Smellerbee realized it was flickering with her outburst.

"I would advise more caution in the future," Mushi said as she stared at the small flame. It was returning to its normal size as she calmed herself, and then was just a candle once more. "Someone might notice."

"I've already had trouble with that," Smellerbee growled at him. "It's like I can't help but bend, especially when I'm angry." All secrets were long since pried open, so Smellerbee saw no reason against saying this.

"Denying your bending is like denying a part of yourself," Mushi said. "You will eventually have to bend, if you want to keep your own sanity."

Smellerbee's shoulders slumped, and finally looked up at the old man. "But I can't. I'm in the middle of Ba Sing Se. How am I ever supposed to bend here?"

"Well there are already two other firebenders surviving quite successfully," Mushi told her with a wink. It took Smellerbee a moment to realize that this was the confession she had been looking for. Quite anti-climactic.

"So you and Lee..?"

Mushi nodded. "You can probably see where my nephew gets his temper from now. That boy can be as snappy as a dragon sometimes." He chuckled to himself, and Smellerbee wondered why he was still alluding to fire when she already knew he was a firebender.

"So..." she trailed a bit, suddenly feeling awkward. "What do I do then?"

Mushi stroked his beard. "It sounds like you need a master," he mused, a bright twinkle in his eye. "A master would be able to teach you how to control your bending, so you don't have any more slip-ups." He nodded towards the candle again. "And I think everyone should be able to learn their element," he added with a smile.

Smellerbee looked at him with raised eyebrows, eyes widened until they were like two little cups of peach tea. "Are you..." she breathed, not even daring to finish her question in case she was wrong.

"I am," Mushi replied with a clever little grin. He looked positively pleased with himself, as if he had planned all this out from the beginning. It honestly wouldn't surprise her if he had. "Do you accept?" he asked when she simply stared at him with her lips parted in surprise.

Smellerbee stared at him for a moment longer before nodding. "Yes," she whispered. "That would...I mean...thank you." She shouldn't have said yes. She should have turned him in. Or at least run like hell. At least ask why in Oma and Shu there were two firebenders in Ba Sing Se. But she didn't. Those questions could wait for later. Especially since Lee chose that untimely moment to walk through the door.

Okay, so note number one: all those random little hints Iroh drops related to fire or whatever were not intended for Smellerbee. Iroh was literally making puns to himself about firebending for his own amusement. Because I can totally see him making a large multitude of puns to random people while in Ba Sing Se, with Zuko just banging his head against a wall somewhere nearby.

Alright, so now my actual author's note.

First of all, this was a FCP writing challenge prompt (write a one-shot about one of the minor characters), and I chose Smellerbee after this plot-bunny popped into my head. It actually started out as "What if Smellerbee really knew Iroh and Zuko were firebenders, but decided they were harmless and tried to steer Jet away from them for their own sake?" And then that turned into, "What if Smellerbee was a firebender?" In the series, it's obviously more light-hearted since it's a kids show and all, but in reality, there would most likely be more than a few bastard children in the the Earth Kingdom. All the raids, all the mingling, and the harshness of a lot of Fire Nation soldiers makes it very easy to see a woman being raped and producing a half-blooded child. So that's Smellerbee. And she just has the unfortunate luck to inherit her real father's bending. If you notice, her eyes are almost amber-ish (really dark amber, I know I'm pushing it). At the very least, she does't have traditional Earth Kingdom green. Which, I know, neither does Jet or Longshot...I think actually all the Freedom Fighters have oddly dark eyes...hum...possible plot-bunny is literally forming as I write these words. Anyway, Smellerbee's a firebender!

In the beginning, there's a brief little thing of young Smellerbee running away from lots of soldiers and fire and someone telling her to run. I actually have her whole backstory in my head, which I will most likely write about in another chapter. I am planning on continuing this, although only the first chapter is for the competition. For this reason, there will not be another chapter until after the deadline date for the FCP writing contest (December 28th). But I spent half the night last night planning out the whole story, and I already know exactly what I'm going to do.

I did kind of leave off on a cliff-hanger. If you want, you can just read this as the one-shot it's meant to be and wonder what happens next...or you can check back December 28th and read the next chapter *wink wink, nudge nudge*

If you're wondering on ages, in this head-canon, Smellerbee is around 13, Jet is 16, and Longshot is around 17. The relationship between Smellerbee and Longshot is purely platonic. He is like an older brother to her, and they are family.

Whelp, that's it. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and will tune in next week for my update! Merry Christmas everyone!