"I didn't really think about it at the time. It seemed like the right thing to do, to stop Chin. I was already a thief, and a fighter. I was even the leader of street gang at the time. We were constantly at war, so how different could it be on a bigger scale? I learned the answer to that question the hard way."

-Jae Dinn, High General of the Fire Nation

She moved fast, with deadly grace through the trees. The last few days had not been easy, with her running over the countryside in order to catch up with her target. The dagger never left her grip the entire time, and she was grateful for this later; she ended up have to fight off a platypus bear on the way.

Thanks to years of navigating through the streets of Laisan, Jae Dinn managed to keep from tripping over roots and loose stones. The moonlight filtered through the trees, giving everything a silver hue while she ran. She was counting on the convoy to be slow at this time of year, since it was summer and everyone in the Fire Nation was traveling from place to place.

Eventually, loud, raucous voices reached her through the woods. She knew that this was the convoy that she was looking for. The soldiers who were attending it were probably camped for the night, so she had time to get some sleep before morning. She flipped the dagger over in her hand a few times out of habit, and then took off the pack she'd brought with her and placed it on the ground. She could afford to stay relatively close to the train, since they were unlikely to have scouts.

Sighing with relief as she sat upon the cool ground, she reached into the pack for her basic necessities- some bread that she'd grabbed from the Dragons' supply before she left, a rough, woolen blanket that she'd nabbed from one of the fabric shops on the main street. She wondered if it might have been a good idea to bring a saddle for Dromo, but she'd decided that such a burden would only slow her down.

She took out the only other little item she'd brought with her. Tassi had insisted that she take her little fire charm necklace with her. Jae Dinn stared at the silver flame that reflected the moonlight. It was Tassi's pride and joy, her first theft as a Dragon.

Despite being tiny and innocent-looking, Tassi had quick hands and was very fast, her small size allowing her to easily weave through large crowds. Jae Dinn had noticed these skills when she'd been walking about the city, looking for possible members. Impressed by the girl's talents, she'd brought Tassi into the group in order to benefit the lot of them. Still, eventually her relationship with the little girl changed, and they soon loved each other like sisters.

Jae Dinn remembered the day when she took the other teenagers out stealing one night, only to discover that Tassi had snuck out with them, determined to get something this time. She'd seen the charm sitting in one of the stalls, and had had her heart set on it instantly. The others had scorned her for not choosing something that could be useful to them, but they had fallen silent after receiving a glare from Jae Dinn.

She had felt the pride a mother feels for their child when she saw Tassi meet at the rendez-vous point, the fire charm clutched in her fist. She had ruffled the girl's hair fondly, joining in the praise that the other thieves gave her.

Jae Dinn clasped the charm around her neck, feeling it rest against her skin. It felt strangely warm, and it comforted her as she put her head on the ground, wrapping the blanket tightly around her. Her eyelids fell, and she could feel herself drifting off.

The chirp of a parrotjay awoke her, first with its awful sound that grated her ears, and then with the call that all parrotjays learned when they were young, from watching humans get up in the morning.

"Wake up!" it screeched, almost causing Jae Dinn to jump in surprise. Spirits, she hated those birds. She sat, groaning at the stiffness in her back and neck. Out of habit, she checked to make sure that the dagger was still in her grasp.

The hilt was right where it should be.

As always, Jae Dinn didn't sheathe it, switching to a backhand grip while she packed everything away. She finished off the last of the bread, reasoning that, no matter how things went that day, she wouldn't need it. A few quick gulps from her water skin, and then she shot a small, concentrated flame at the pack, setting it alight.

Getting close to the convoy wasn't all that difficult. She used her dull, factory worker clothes to her advantage, easily staying hidden in the foliage. Soon, she had a clear view of the road, and the train of wagons that sat, motionless, among it.

The parrotjay had also woken up the camp, and it was bustling by then. Drivers were hooking up the ostrich horses to the wagons, thought four deer ox were needed for the giant cage in the middle. Jae Dinn's mouth twisted into a frown when she beheld the cage. How could they treat Dromo that way?

Inside, a dragon keened mournfully, its green eyes shining with unhappiness. Her gut clenched when one of the guards prodded him, laughing when he flinched. He'll pay for that later, she thought angrily, flipping her dagger over again. Dromo's emerald scales gleamed in the morning sun, shimmering as he shifted uncomfortably.

Suddenly, his head perked up, and he looked straight at her. She shook her head frantically, indicating that he shouldn't draw attention to where she was crouching, waiting for the right moment to rescue him. He got the message, thankfully, and looked back down at his silver claws.

Breakfast was now being distributed, and several dead turtle rabbits were tossed unceremoniously into Dromo's cage. He snapped them up, quickly gulping them down and shuddering with disgust. Jae Dinn knew that he wasn't overly fond of the shells on the turtle rabbits.

Her grip on her knife tightened, and she prepared herself to slip into the train. Most would think of her as a servant, probably a cook's assistant sent to slaughter some more livestock for the morning meal. That would explain the dagger to any who would wonder why a teenage girl would walk about armed.

She crept behind one of the outer wagons, before emerging out into full view. As she had suspected, no one gave her a second glance, although her flaming hair drew a few unwanted pairs of eyes. Dromo kept glancing at her out of the corner of his own eyes, looking anxious.

She reached the door, wondering how on earth they'd managed to squeeze him through there. A heavy padlock sat on the latch, and she casually leaned against it, placing a hand on it. It soon began to glow red-hot, and she wrenched it open, glancing around. Still, no one looked at her.

She met Dromo's eyes, silently telling him that it was time to go. Without a second thought, she wrenched open the cage door, and he shot out.

At once, shouts rang through the camp, and soldiers ran from all directions. Jae Dinn shot some uncontrolled fire at the guards, trying to slow them as she pelted towards Dromo. He crouched slightly, allowing her to pull herself up so that she sat just behind his enormous horns.

He roared in defiance as firebenders tried to subdue him with their own fire, and leapt into the sky, his wings pushing down as the air rushed by Jae Dinn. She felt the same fierce joy of freedom as he climbed into the sky, away from the people who had imprisoned him. She gave her parting smile to the guards- a sly grin that was one of the things that soldiers had used to identify her back in Laisan. Their shocked faces receded, soon backing out of sight as Dromo climbed even higher.

Jae Dinn closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being able to get away from it all. It didn't stop her from feeling guilty for leaving the Dragons behind, but she knew they'd be better off without her. There'd be wanted posters all over for her rescue of Dromo.

One of his whiskers snaked back to touch her forehead, showing her brief flashes of his capture. She ground her teeth when she saw how they'd used a trick to tie his paws together, immobilizing. He sympathized with her being forced to leave her gang, and she provided comfort to ease the days he'd been a captive of Fire Nation forces.

Then he sent her a questioning feeling, followed by a picture of a world map. Jae Dinn shrugged, knowing he would sense it. She told him to get away from the Fire Nation. His consent was the last thing she felt before he withdrew the contact.

She drew in her breath sharply as reality crashed in around her once again. She realized that they were flying around the puffy white clouds, the sun bearing down on them. Jae Dinn relaxed a little, thinking back to when she'd first found Dromo.

The guards had decided to conduct a massive search for her, stating publicly that she was an annoyance that needed to be stopped. She told the Dragons that she'd be lying low for a while, out of town, in order to avoid drawing any attention until the man hunt ended. The craggy area where she hid out was intriguing, to say the least, and she wasn't bored. Exploration took up most of her time, and she familiarized herself with the countryside in case she needed to stay there again.

It was in one of the caves hidden in the hills that she'd found Dromo. A strange rumbling sound emitted from it as she passed, and curious, she'd looked inside to find a dragon about the size of a large pantherlynx.

The dragon had backed up, fright in its green eyes as Jae Dinn warily came forward. She had hesitantly offered it some of her dried meat, which he sniffed suspiciously. It was obvious that he was frightened; the tension in his muscles showed that. Before he took the food, however, one of his whiskers waved forward.

"Hey, what are you"- she was cut off as his mind invaded hers. Surprised by his sharp intelligence and overall curiosity, she let him probe her mind to see if she was trustworthy. Upon making the decision that she was all right, he snapped up the meat, licking his lips. She had left after that, promising to come back.

And come back she did, bringing a little food each time. Gradually, he stopped searching her mind for treachery, coming to trust her. She noticed that he was still growing, and continued to visit even after returning to Laisan. It had been a relief when he started catching his own food, though; she'd been stealing a little too much those days.

Life was good back then- ruling the streets, caring for her gang, the daily visits to Dromo- it settled into a routine that she was comfortable with. Tassi had followed her one day, and Dillan found out soon afterwards. She didn't mind; if anything, it made her job easier.

Then the trouble had begun. Renko, one of her most skilled subordinates, began to be a bit rebellious. At first, it was small things- stealing a little more than he was supposed to, attacking guards before she ordered it. Jae Dinn had chosen to ignore, thinking it was just a phase in his life where he was hot-headed. That had been her mistake; he was soon openly challenging her, and gathering other Dragons more loyal to him. Eventually, he attempted to take over, but the majority of the group was still with her.

She had exiled him after that, and the Hawks were formed.

Since then, things started to go downhill. The Dragons struggled to find time to both steal for themselves and fight off the Hawks, who constantly raided them. Eventually, Jae Dinn divided the group into the thieves and fighters, which eased up the pressure, but only very slightly.

Now all of this had happened. She knew that Dillan could handle it, but she knew it wouldn't be easy for him. She sighed, and took in her surroundings once more.

They were above the ocean now, and she could see the sparking blue water beneath them. Up ahead, thought, worried her; dark storm clouds were building up. Dromo pushed his whisker back again, communicating nervousness.

"Go underneath it," she said aloud, and he obliged. She knew that it would be a lot worse if he went straight into the storm; hopefully they could make it to land before then.

Then the wind came upon them, buffeting them left and right. Dromo roared against it, beating his wings hard as he tried to push through, but he was tossed around easily. Jae Dinn clung to his horns for dear life, when a drop of wet hit her forehead.

The next thing she knew, rain was pelting her from head to toe. She shivered slightly as the wind picked up; she couldn't tell up from down. Dromo screeched this time, and she realized that they were going down.

"There!" she yelled, just barely able to make out a land mass over on their right. He flapped toward it, fighting the elements all the way. The last thing Jae Dinn saw was the ground rushing up to meet them before blackness closed over her.

Isa opted to stay in her water tribe dress, but the woman changed into a tunic and dark pants, which would be easier for her to move around in. The disdained glance she cast at her garb infuriated Isa, and she gave a venomous glare in return.

Waterbenders who were not participating in the fight froze some of the surface water next to the ship, creating the perfect arena for a fight. Isa knew that the woman thought that a dress would be a hindrance to her, but she had fought in this ever since she was a little girl. She knew how to move around in it.

Isa chose to simply jump down from the ship and land in the water, fully clothed. Most on the ship gawked at her manner, while inwardly she grinned. Isa had always loved to swim.

The other woman elegantly created an ice board, and she rode a wave over to the platform. Several people clapped at this display of power. That was just fine; she didn't want people to know her abilities yet anyway.

Back on the ship, Okanu turned to Syan. "Your friend seems outmatched, doesn't she?" he commented, his green eyes calculating.

Syan gave a small smile. "Don't worry about it," he replied. "She knows what she's doing." He had sized up Isa's opponent, and immediately knew that the arrogant woman was doomed from the start. There was just no way she could defeat Isa.

"All right!" called Wanu, raising his arms up from where he stood. "This is a challenge made by the young waterbender, Isa!" he called out, indicating the hot-headed teen. Isa just frowned and stared at her adversary, observing everything she could about her. "The recipient of this challenge is the lovely Southern Water Tribeswoman, Nessari! The first to get knocked into the water is the loser!" Nessari waved dramatically to the crown on the ship, getting a few cheers for herself.

"Take your stances!"

Nessari took a customary Water Tribe stance. She stood, with her arms lifted slightly, ready to use the water as soon as she was given clearance. Isa took a similar stance, though hers was wider, in preparation for defending herself. Her azure eyes were focused, the way Syan sometimes saw her in training, but there was also a hint of frustration there.

He knew that could lead to trouble. She really had to learn to calm down, or it would come back to bite her later.

"Fight!"

At once, Nessari brought the water surrounding her up into a huge wave, which raced hungrily towards Isa. Syan forced himself to ignore the protective instinct he felt, and watched.

Isa let the wave come, and then brought her arms together in a way that looked like she was about to take a dive. The water split just before hitting her, moving to each side. Her retaliation was a quick water whip that surrounded Nessari's fist, yanking the woman towards her to catch another water whip to the face. Isa looked smug for a moment, which quickly turned to alarm when Nessari flung several icicles at her, which she just barely managed to dodge.

Nessari gave her a show-off smile, infuriating Isa. The girl pulled up on the water beneath her, creating the octopus around her. She sent four of the tentacles at Nessari, who quickly took control of them and shot them right back, turning them to ice again. Isa blocked these with the rest of her ice, and then shot the rest of the octopus forward. It quickly transformed into many ice spikes, heading straight for her opponent.

Nessari created a wall of ice to deflect them, quickly turning it back to water and throwing it at Isa with such force that Isa tumbled backward, head over heels. Her braid came undone, and her black hair spilled over her face while she panted on her knees. Syan screamed silently for her to get up.

"She's in trouble," said Okanu.

Nessari strode forward confidently, a slight sneer on her face. Syan scowled, wanting to jump over there and fight her himself, but he knew that she had to do this. She said something to Isa, who didn't respond. At least, not at first.

Then, out of nowhere, she brought her arms up, so that she now stood upon a column of ice. She stayed there for a split second, and then pushed down- hard.

The pillar came crashing down, creating something of a shockwave on the ice arena. Nessari screamed in surprise as she flew off, into the water nearby. Isa grinned, brushing her hair out of her eyes and looking straight over at Syan. He smiled in congratulations.

Cheers rang out all along the ship. With Isa's spunk and humor, she was well-liked by the other recruits. She surfed once around the ship in victory, before launching herself back onto the ship and landing next to Syan. Nessari had just climbed up the ship's side, and was scowling at her.

"Not bad," she spat out reluctantly. Isa glared back, letting out a 'thanks' through gritted teeth. Syan put his hand on her shoulder, in order to steady her.

As Nessari walked away to get a towel, Isa turned back to Syan, eyes shining. "Thanks for worrying," she said.

"How'd you know?" he asked her, bemused.

"I could tell," she replied, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Behind him, Okanu snickered as Isa strode away. She was wrapping a spare blue ribbon around her hair now, tying it back into a ponytail. She left some of her bangs hanging at her sides, however.

"Seems someone has an admirer," said Okanu casually. A cocky smirk was on his face.

"I've never really thought about it," replied Syan honestly. It was true; he had never looked at Isa that way, always seeing her as more of a sister than anything. Looking at her now, he could admit that she was attractive. Plenty of boys had liked her, but he'd never been jealous of any of them.

He wondered if that was beginning to change.

Soon enough, the anchor was pulled up and they were moving again. There was nothing to do but sit and socialize with the others. Okanu quickly became Syan's companion as he did this, with Isa joining him after drying off. She was great at talking to the others, soon becoming a favorite for her enthusiasm and bravery. Thanks to her, they soon knew almost everyone on the ship. The exception was a silent teen who stayed in the shadows.

Syan soon wandered over and found himself next to him. He glanced sideways, taking in his features. He wasn't very old, and dressed in mostly black garb. The only thing that was unusual about his garb was a red cloth that covered his face.

Syan realized what he was.

"You're a Yu Yan Archer."

A nod.

"Did you leave because you felt like the rest of us?" piped up Isa, coming out of nowhere. She tilted her head to the side, curiosity in her eyes.

He hesitated, then nodded again. Isa seemed suddenly determined for some reason, and she turned back to the archer.

"I saw some sworddolphins earlier," she said cheerfully. "Come look at them with me!" Without waiting for an answer, she pulled the Yu Yan Archer along with her towards the edge of the boat.

Slowly, over the next few days, their group began to take shape. Syan quickly established himself as the non-violent, mediating member, but he was also mostly the leader. Isa quickly became the fiery-tempered girl who fiercely defended every one of them from people who wanted to poke fun at them. Okanu was the observant, confident young man with a cockiness that affected everyone around them, and the archer- who Isa somehow managed to find out that his name was Bein- was the slightly menacing, silent member.

They did almost everything together- eating, training, and talking. Bein's display of his skills left the other three slack-jawed, Isa and Syan dueled each other (which many told them that they loved to watch), and Okanu did little except practice using his sword- which was a short, light weapon with a thin, straight blade. He'd opted to give other three some lessons as well.

On the fifth day since the fight, Syan spotted landed in the distance. Wanu had told him that they were approaching the Earth Kingdom.

All he felt was apprehension at what he would find there.

Koko slowly turned the set of fans her mother had given her in the hand. She was leaving, she knew that much. What she wasn't sure of was whether or not she should bring the only thing Kyoshi had ever given her with her.

The golden fans were beautiful, really. She loved the way they caught the light when tilted at a certain angle. She loved how they could be both beautiful and deadly at the same time. They were the only possession she treasured, above all others.

She proceeded to shut them and place them carefully in the sack, which was knitted from the coarse, tall grass that one was able to find just outside the village. She also stuffed in some bread, dried meat, and some roots she had gathered the day before. Koko knew the basics of travel and survival from her father.

The last thing she slid inside was a pouch, fill to the brim with coins. Since she was a little girl, Koko had saved up to prepare for the day when she would leave. She'd always known that she would leave one day; she could never be happy just staying on the Ajari peninsula her entire life.

She glanced around the room once more; she had made it as neat as possible. As for travel clothes, she had elected to wear something simple. Just a dark green tunic, some black leggings so that she could move around more easily, and stout brown boots. The wear would be good if she got into a spot of trouble while she was traveling.

Shouldering the pack, she turned to the entrance- and very nearly had her heart stopped.

Yuan stood there.

"Thought you could just leave, eh?" he said, a slight grin on his face. Koko scowled at him, but was relieved at the same time. A part of her had felt guilty for leaving the people she loved behind.

"For your information, genius, I am not just leaving," she snapped. "I'm seeing the world."

He held up his hands in defense. "Hey, I know. I don't blame you for wanting to go. But, ah, there's a little catch… if you don't want your mother to find out."

"You wouldn't," she growled, glowering at him darkly.

He held her gaze. "I would," he said clearly, "if you refused to let me come with you."

Koko sighed inwardly; she should've expected some kind of demand like this. A part of her wanted him to just go away and leave her alone. She could take care of herself.

On the other hand… it would be a lot better if she had a companion on her travels. Yuan had been her best friend for as long as she could remember, a comrade that she could always rely to stand up for her. She made her decision then.

"You can come," she said. "Hurry up and pack."

"Already took care of that," he replied.

She nodded, striding quickly out the door. She made sure not to look back.

"Then let's go."

Author's note: I know that Koko's section was a little shorter than usual. I'll try to give her more of the story as time goes by, but I'll be introducing two new characters soon. Can you guess which nation they're from? Oh, and one more thing: REVIEW!