I was still waiting for Luke. Some of the guys from my platoon were celebrating our first encounter with the enemy. Calling it an encounter was a tad bit generous, however. Besides, it wouldn't be recorded, and it would stay off the books. Zor'ak made sure of that. I had seen Gan wandering around the camp and told him that he and Luke were invited, but it seemed like the message hadn't gotten back to Luke. I figured they'd deserve some form of celebration too after what they went through 3 days ago. We all heard the news and were pretty pissed that the 15th armored beat us to it. Chief among them was our Major General, Commander Zor'ak. Envious, jealous, glory-hungry commander that he was, he knew how to avoid the authority of his superiors, something that me and the men of the 31st platoon were practicing today.
I was still working on my drink, a sub-par Earth Kingdom wine we found during our "engagement" with the enemy when our platoon commander, Lieutenant Zean'in stood on top of the nearest table in the feast tent, quite drunkenly raised a glass, and in a whispered yell, obviously mocking the "cloak and daggery" Zor'ak insisted upon, toasted to us stating "To the 31st Platoon and the first un-successful, un-engagement, of our un-existence!"
I raised my cup along with everybody else in the cramped tent of over 40 soldiers, all still dirty from the engagement for a lack of decency or general hygiene in the camp. Maybe if we had stuck around, we would have set up properly facilities by now. Raava knew I would kill for a proper latrine pit right about now. We had been setting up this camp for the first two weeks of our time here. Despite it being a completely illegal operation, our guys needed it. We were bored out of our minds. At least the 15th armored got to go on patrols, and like Squad 5, see some action. But us? We were infantry. Infantry was the type to get that kind of job. Damn. A year ago, I never would have thought I'd be in a Fire Nation siege encampment, drinking with Fire Nation soldiers, waiting to see some real action. We were still waiting. Sure. We acted like what we did this morning was actually significant. We walked up on an abandoned farm on the outskirts of the city, surrounded the building as though we were besieging it, moved in all organized like, and found 3 Earth Kingdom scavengers who when they tried to fight us, we killed. I wasn't even in the building, but even that was enough to take me out of the boredom for a small while.
I knew that Zor'ak planned on putting more of us out there, but he damn sure was taking it slowly. I guess it would look rather suspicious if an entire brigade left the camp in the middle of the morning for Raava knows why reasons. Still. We were bored. I looked down at my cup and saw the drink was almost gone. Only other good thing about that morning was that the scavengers had good reason to be in that farmhouse. We guessed whoever had left was in a rush because they left anything they didn't need behind ranging from silver and copper pieces that we divvied evenly, and a nice keg of Earth Kingdom wine. It was unlabeled, so I guessed they made it on the spot and sold it within the walls to make a living. I was just waiting to see the inside of that damn city. See what the hell I was fighting. At least then I would have something to look forward too, but damn, the weeks are just dragging by. I finished the drink and set it aside. I was going to look for Luke.
I left the tent with only a few voices calling after me. I knew the names of my squamates at this point but was still working on those of my platoon. I knew the names of all the Citadel recruits who were also put in that platoon, but I still needed working on the others. Zihe's bandage was off and Luke had done one hell of a number on his poor face. I didn't stop to ask if he held a grudge because I was partly certain that he associated Luke with me and while I could take Zihe on rather easily, I didn't want to make a scene. Yet. The divisions in the camp were divided with the 15th armored taking the northern half and the 22nd taking the southern half. My platoon's shared tent was near the center of the camp unfortunately, so we got a lot of foot traffic as opposed to Luke's unit's tent that was at the northern edge of the camp in a nice isolated area. Guess that's what happens when you have tanks and get there first. Next time I'll break an arm and get assigned to armored. Would mean a lot less marching, but, from what Luke had told me, a lot worse smells which I wouldn't have imagine possible.
Another plus of the armored was the unit tents. Instead of having tents assigned per squad or platoon, they divided their tents by unit, only sharing with other tank mates. Now that I thought about, I wasn't sure it was much of a plus considering Luke shared his with Gan and Gi Gu. Gan was alright. I didn't talk to him much back in Citadel as he was with the age group right under mine, but I heard he was surprisingly professional and got in a fight. Not great at hand to hand combat, but a good driver and kept cool under pressure. I could say the same for Luke. Maybe not in terms of professionalism, but even back in the Citadel slums, you could see that he knew his way around the fight even when he was 3 sizes shorter than somebody. He knew enough to avoid and dodge and get away, which, of course, being 3 sizes smaller than someone, is never a bad idea. I could tell he hated it though, being one of the younger and smaller ones. He knew how to dodge, weave, and avoid a fight by instinct, but he knew inside that wasn't him whenever I saw him. I knew that he wanted to fight, to stop dodging and hit back. He was making up for it now, though. Being taller and healthier and stronger is what really got him to where he is now. And knowing how to control fire with your mind doesn't hurt too, I guess.
Gi Gu on the other hand. He wasn't somebody I would want at my side. He was awkward, annoying, aggravating, bratty, craven, dumb, and other words going in alphabetical order that I didn't have the energy to think of. He got scared easy, had very little self confidence and for good reason, but despite that, never took blame for mistakes he made. Not out of self-righteousness, but seemingly because he blamed it always on other factors out of his control. I had no idea how a mind like that worked. He wasn't like Luke. I knew that Luke had used to be smaller and more scared but that wasn't him anymore. He knew his limits but knew his capabilities too. Aden was an idiot in many regards. Death wouldn't change the way I thought about him. I never hated him, but he wasn't the smartest person I had ever met. He had been right about one thing, however. If Luke had discovered his abilities while still with the Hornets, we would have owned Citadel. Hell, we probably could have snuck back into the streets before we left for the war, formed a new Hornet gang, and started a new reign of badassery. I chuckled to myself then as I made my way through the northern section of the camp, letting the night conceal the 22nd infantry patch on my shoulder lest it initiate any conflict. No. It would never work. Sure, we would get enthusiastic kids to our side hoping to learn Fire Bending too, but Empires always fall and that one would too. There was no future in Citadel. At least not on that side of the wall. For all the shit it led too, I doubted I would be alive still if Luke hadn't made that offer to Zar'un.
Speaking of which, I had expected to find Luke asleep at this hour in the night, but he wasn't in his tent, he was around 100 feet away to the North, on the outskirts of the camp, lighting up some fractions of the night with blasts of fire that looked bigger and badder whenever I saw him.
"That's looking good" I commented from around 20 feet to his left as I approached him in the field.
He exhaled, wiping off the sweat from his brow. It was a cool night, a final winter breeze making its way through the camp, but I imagined his proximity to the Fire and constant movement didn't care. "Thank."
"What do you even do to practice? I don't see any books you have on you for forms to go over, or-"
"Mostly making up my own forms. Not the kind of stuff you see people doing in dojos or celebrations, but stuff that actually applies. I imagine, say, a number of enemies in different directions, and try to hit all of them while staying light on my feet so they don't hit me."
He had no actual targets. We were in the middle of a field. No way to tell if he hit or miss. Or hell, maybe he could just tell. "You could probably ask your quartermaster for some training dummies. I imagine he'll be glad to lend whatever the only firebender in the division needs."
"Does the 22nd have any Firebenders?"
"Not that I know of. We're really running dry in this part of the Earth Kingdom. I heard most of them are either with the Dragon of the West or the Southern Water Tribe."
"Damn."
"What? Don't like being unique?"
"Would really like somebody to practice with. Ever since Master Jeong Jeong left Citadel, I've had nothing new to practice. No forms, moves, anything. Jerk could've at least left a book or something."
"Wow. You didn't call him an asshole. Just a Jerk. I'm proud of you."
"Fuck off. If I respect somebody, I call them a jerk. If I don't, they're an asshole to me, asshole."
"Funny. Put the fire away, grab a sword and I, as your elder, will teach you some damn respect."
Luke chuckled, shook his head, and said "Fuck it. Why not. Never know when the spirits will decide I don't deserve fire anymore."
"Exactly my thinking."
"But I need you to get the sword. We in the 15th aren't allowed them. 'Won't fit in the tank' they say"
"That's dumb."
"Welcome to the army, Danev. Where the hell you been?"
I came back later with two sparring swords and Luke was practicing more firebending when I got back. He wasn't letting up either. I wondered if that battle with the Earth Kingdom had done a number on him. It sure as hell looked that way. I tossed him his sword and he caught it by the hilt. By the way he fooled around with it in his hand, searching for a proper grip, I could tell where his priorities had been lying and I couldn't say I blamed him. If I learned I had the power to control fire too, I doubted I would be fooling around with sharpened steel either.
We stood across the field, facing each other, 10 feet between us when I made the first move. I lunged forward with an obvious strike at his left just to see how familiar he was with the sword. Rather than shifting his torso to the left as I would have done, he shifted the sword to his left hand, angling the blade to swipe my blow to the side with minimal effort on his part. My blade, of course, was deflected to my right and was forced to quickly retract it, sliding steel against steel with a satisfying scrape as I brought my weapon back to a ready position for just a split second before blocking his attack to my own left with his right hand. He was preferring a single-handed grip on his sword which I could understand. It was a smaller and lighter blade and while I had him beat in terms of strength, he had me when it came to speed.
I brought my blade down to try to meet his side, but he brought his own blade down proportionately, blocking my attempt to do so. He abandoned the effort and pulled back, returning to a ready stance. He was still fighting, but I saw his right arm was weak, explaining his shift earlier to his left. I've been learning to read my enemies better. When it came to a fight, you had to know the strengths and the weaknesses of your enemy and how to exploit them. Reading was the theory and exploitation the execution, both of which I was working on. I had my theory ready and now it was time to test it. I brought a two-handed blow to his right, putting all my weight behind it. He saw and dodged out of the way, not ready to meet such a heavy blow. He an attempt to swing to my right side while my sword was still drastically to my left but was too far out of range and missed with my taking a single step back. I tried the same again and brought another two-handed swing to the same side, closing the distance between us. He tried the same once more, this time getting closer bringing him to where I wanted him. I brought the sword to meet his just in time, sending it far away from his own body, leaving him exposed long enough for me to bring one final two-handed strike to his side. He brought his armed right hand to his side just in time to meet my blade, but to know avail. The blow sent him falling back into the ground with the sword far away. He made an attempt to get up, but by the time he had both hands on the ground, my sword was at his neck. I beat him.
"Hmphh." He chuckled, laying back down on the grass. "Good job. Next time I ought to challenge you to an Agni-kai."
"Hell's that?" I asked, sheathing the sword and offering him a hand to help him up.
"A duel between fire benders where- ahh!" he yelled as I tried to pull him off the ground, falling back to the ground."
"Shit!" he murmured, getting up on his own."
"Fuck, man. You alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just took a grazing from an arrow the other day. Stupid archer grazed my shoulder." He moved the shoulder piece of his sparring armor and revealed the tear in the undershirt and the scabbing wound on his shoulder that was no pleasant sight to behold."
"So what the hell happened there? Everyone's talking about it was a hundred different stories."
"Earth Benders dug up from the ground, ambushed us, digging our tanks into the ground while fucking non-benders crawled up the tanks, ripped the hatches open, and firebombed those inside. Smart move. Destroy the crew and the vehicle so even if they lose, they cripple our limited supplies. Won't be surprised if a similar thing keeps happening these next few weeks."
"You expecting more attacks?"
"Lots more. Attack would have worked too if Gan didn't force Gi Gu out of his seat. He almost got us killed."
Luke sat down at the base of the hill that led up to the tent he shared with that very same crew he spoke of now, continuing his story. "Gi Gu has no idea what he's doing. He's scared easily and doesn't know how to survive. He's a risk to not just himself, but all of us."
"Hey. At least you guys got out."
"Heh. For whatever good that's worth. It wasn't that day, but it'll be another, eventually. I'm just trying to postpone that."
"We all go eventually. Just make sure when you do that it's not in this shithole. Can't see anyone wanting to die here."
"I'll drink to that."
"Speaking of which, why didn't you come to the party?"
"What? For the 22nd? I'm good. Besides, I'm not a person for social gatherings. I prefer my solitude. And also, I'm 12. You should not be offering me an invitation to a drinking party."
"It's not a drinking party."
"I could hear you idiots from my tent for Raava's sake. Your lucky Zahckrael's too busy figuring out how to get in contact with The Dragon's host to worry about you idiots."
"Fair enough. So what? You get promoted for the battle?"
"You mean the battle where 2 tank crews deserted, one got burned alive, and another one got crippled?"
"If it's the same one as where you killed a bunch of earth benders and archers, then yeah."
"Well. I did. Private First-Class Luke 'whateverthefuckhislastnameis'. Guess you don't outrank me anymore."
"Shame, but I am probably going to get promoted for our tense engagement with the enemy this morning."
"Who put up the bigger fight? The scavengers or the farm?"
"Hey! That farm was falling apart all around us! It did not meet code and put us all at a risk of dust-related allergies. I'm a war hero!"
"Wouldn't be surprised if you got a medal either. They even gave Gi Gu a medal for distinguished service."
"You're kidding."
"Nope. Guess almost getting an entire friendly tank crew killed is merit for commendation now."
"You say anything?"
"Hell no. I'm not a snitch."
"Well. Good. I'm guessing he got promoted too?"
"Private First Class Gi Gu. Catchy, huh?"
"That little shit is the same rank as we. Damnit."
"Oh don't worry. News of your heroism on the battlefield will spread."
"I hope not. That battle was off the books."
"What? You and the farm?"
"Wasn't supposed to happen. Lieutenant General wants us solely working on setting up the camp. We're supposed to avoid enemy engagements. Zor'ak didn't take kindly to that so he's having us run patrols and missions on our own. It's dangerous and dumb, but it's good for morale. Makes us feel like we're in the same war as you guys."
"Don't get too excited. It's not as fun as it seems."
"Yeah. I guess. You know what time it is?"
"Time for me to get some shut eye. Got up early this morning."
"More firebending?"
"Can never get enough."
"I imagine. Well. In that case. Goodnight."
"To you too."
With that, I stood up, gave a small wave, and walked off. Luke wasn't the same kid in Citadel. Now, he was a soldier. For better or worse.