Chapter Text
The sun is the first to greet the waking world; rising over white-capped peaks and elegant summits. The lush valley below glimmers with morning dew, almost shining as golden and orange light bids it welcome to the new day. Slowly, the vale comes to life. Livestock meander on the green fields, guided by their shepherds. Lights come on in every house in the village; families wake up one by one to start their day.
The Mountain Clans are awake.
Children run up and down the pathways of the village; laughter from villagers of all ages fills the air by the time the sun lifts its head fully over the mountaintops. Life in the secluded mountains goes on as it always has.
The people of the Mountain Clans have been here far, far longer than most can recall. They prefer to keep their existence a sort of secret from the rest of the outside world. (Namely, the Fire Nation. They are not welcome.) Even though they are technically on Earth Kingdom ground, to the rest of the Earth Kingdom, well...they might as well not exist.
It's peaceful this way. No worries about trade from other nations, rulers trying to take over; it's a blessing, really. Mostly everyone in the clans agree. There are three clans, though they all share one common name, technically. And, of course, they share a habitat as well: their beloved mountains.
There's the Valley Clan, Summit Clan, and Alpine Clan. As the names suggest, it is where each clan respectively resides in the mountains.
The Valley Clan has the largest population altogether. Their people live in wooden houses, with some growing up to three stories tall. Five, including the Matriarch's home. They herd the livestock, grow the most crops, and specialize in celebration. A festival of any kind is a big deal among their numbers. The people in the valley have skin of rich brown and cocoa, from days out in the warm sun in the fields. Their hair grows long and coils and twists, but is kept neat with elaborate hairstyles. This clan is the most "social" of the bunch.
The Summit Clan, as their name proposes, make their homes at the peak of the mountains that surround the vale. They are the "protectors" of the other clans, so to speak. Fiercely loyal, and known for their prowess with a spear and a bow and arrow.
They specialize in textiles; providing the other clans with fur clothes for the harsh winters that blow through the mountains. They live in homes carved out of the mountain, protected by the ancient stone from the biting winds of the peaks.
The Alpine Clan resides in the thick forest that surround the valley. They make their homes in the trees, in strung up houses suspended in the leaves. They keep to themselves, most of the time. They specialize in hunting, and are well regarded for their stealth prowess. They move as silent as a falling leaf; hence why they're the expert hunters of the forest.
Outsiders who aren't welcome don't make it far past the treeline.
All in all, the three clans live in harmony; and call themselves the Muwe. They work, live, and breathe as one unit; dependent on one another, always there for the other. That's what makes them so strong. The Valley Clan is where the Matriarch resides; a queen in relation to other nations' standards. The Muwe have always been ruled by a Matriarch; a woman born from a strong bloodline, embodying the spirit of the sacred massif herself. The people of the mountains are very, very devoted to their faith.
They worship a divine being, Milhima, who they believe crafted the mountains just for them. They didn't always live in the mountains, however. As their rich, brown skin and coarse, sturdy hair implies; they used to live in a place where there was more sun. The desert.
They don't talk about it anymore. It's a delicate subject.
But, it's nothing to dwell on. They're happy where they are now And that is all that matters. The Muwe are protected by their beloved mountains, which surround them on all sides. They go about their lives peacefully. Everyone is happy! Why wouldn't they be? They have everything they need. There's no reason to venture beyond the mountains. That would be silly. There's nothing for them out there, anyway.
At least, that's what Camara's mother has told her.
She doesn't really argue back with the woman; doesn't see a reason to. And, well, her mother is the Matriarch. So, she is somewhat forced to listen to everything she says.
Camara leans her upper body over her top bunk, peering down at the soul that rests below her. Her twin brother, Fahim. Snoring as loud as an earthquake. A dignified picture, as one can surely imagine.
She throws her pillow down at him without a second thought.
"Get up," she says, leaping off of her bunk. She lands on the floor with a thud.
Fahim groans from where he's still laying. (He has not bothered to move the pillow that is covering his head.)
"Whyyy…it's so early," he whines, "It's like not even noon."
"And this is why you're unfit to rule."
Camara yanks the blankets off of her brother, and the pillow as well. She claps her hands loudly by his ear; making him exclaim in protest and try and shut his eyes tighter.
"Come on! Up, up, up!"
After another minute, Fahim begrudgingly drags himself from his bunk. He looks like death, Camara thinks. Well, it's not worse than he usually is in the mornings. High praise, if it's coming from her.
Camara is already dressed (having got up an hour before, being too restless to fall back asleep), and leans against the doorway of their room as she waits for her brother to get ready.
She can already feel that it's going to be a long day.
"Have you awoken the sleeping beast?" comes the voice of Rozabelle Ivanov.
Rozabelle (or as everyone calls her, Rose) was taken in by the Xaymaca family from Ba Sing Se. Why? Camara isn't totally sure, to be honest. She has bits and pieces of the story; a mother who was unfit to be one, and a father who sent her away. How that man had connections to the Muwe? Camara could care less really. Rose is her best friend (adopted best friend?), and she's plenty help around the village. She fits in as one of their own.
"With effort," Camara huffs in reply.
"I heard that, y'know."
Camara just rolls her eyes at her brother, "Come on, we have work to do today. Like every day."
"Fine, fine! I'm coming."
The three of them make their way down the hall, with Camara sliding down the stair banister to reach the first floor. Fahim takes the steps two at a time, with Rose being the only one to normally take the stairs.
"Good morning," the voice of Mother calls out as they all reach the first floor, "Eat something. I'm sure your father has some work for you today."
Being the princess of her village doesn't bar her from work, Camara thinks wryly.
After a hearty breakfast of meats, fruits, and pastries (that Camara stole most of), it's off to the flower fields.
Baba had said that at least for the morning, their work was light. Gather flowers for the upcoming festival, try not to injure themselves or anyone else, and try to be back by high sun. Easy enough.
Fahim whistles an old tune as the three of them trek the dirt trails out of the village, hanging behind the two girls. It's quiet today. Only the chirping and rustling sounds of nature are there to accompany them. Rose and Camara talk idly with each other, about nothing in particular.
"Do you ever wonder what goes on beyond the mountains?" Rose asks, picking a fallen leaf out of her flame colored hair.
"Nope. Not really," Camara shrugs.
"It's none of our business, anyhow." Fahim jogs up next to them.
"Wow. You two are exciting."
"Ohhh, c'mon, Rosie! Don't be like that," Camara chirps, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulder. "I mean- We don't need to worry about what goes on out there, y'know?"
Rose just sighs heavily, and pushes her glasses further up on the bridge of her nose. "Sure, sure. Whatever."
That conversation ends there.
Finally, the three of them reach the flower fields on the edges of the village.
Vibrant hues of every color of the rainbow greet their eyes; blooms of every shape and size just waiting to be picked and arranged.
It ends up Rose and Camara are doing the flower picking, and Fahim has abandoned his basket somewhere in the foliage to practice his cloudbending. Up in the mountains, it's easy, where they sky nearly touches the world.
Fahim stands on a tall boulder, hands clasped together as he concentrates. He draws a deep breath from his chest, extends his hands in front of him. He closes his eyes, and tries to feel the energy of the air through his veins. Then, as he lifts his hands to the sky- A small pinecone hits him square in the forehead.
"What the- Hey!"
"Focus, numbskull."
Camara is standing in front of him, hands on her hips. Rose is at her side, tossing another pinecone up and down.
Fahim frowns, and rubs his forehead. "Not cool, man."
"Y'know what would be cool? If you actually helped us do what you're supposed to be doing. Which isn't cloudbending," Rose replies.
He huffs, and hops off of the boulder.
"This is boring," he mutters, snatching his basket off the ground.
"We didn't ask if it was," Camara hums, throwing a small pebble at her brother.
Fahim's head snaps towards her. He points a finger at her, "Do that. One more time."
Camara smirks. She takes the pinecone from Rose's hand, and throws it. Fahim dodges, having seen it coming this time.
"THAT'S IT!"
Fahim always was easy to rile up. Well, when Camara was the one doing it.
Within moments, the twins are rolling around on the ground, crushing flowers as they go. Rose watches from the sidelines as they hurl insults and punches alike at each other; doing nothing whatsoever to stop them. It's too entertaining.
"YOU ALWAYS DO THIS, CAMI!"
"It's not my fault you can't take a little heat!"
"SHUT UP!!"
"YOU SHUT UP!"
Fahim pulls her curls, Camara smacks his shoulder; baskets lay on the grass, now forgotten.
Rose finds a fallen log to sit on nearby, watching the chaos.
As the two of them continue to brawl on thr ground, she sits there in silence. She crosses her legs, drumming her fingers on her thigh as her other hand rests under her chin. They'll be done in a few minutes. Probably.
She huffs her bangs out of her eyes.
"Guys, as entertaining as this is, we should probably-"
A loud crash coming from the other end of the field abruptly ended Rose's sentence, as well as Fahim and Camara's fight.
"…The hell was that?"
For once, Camara agrees with something her brother said.
She got up first, suddenly very enthusiastic.
"C'mon! Let's go check it out!" Camara has already started jogging in the direction of the sound, and is quickly tailed by Fahim and Rose.
Camara skids to a halt when they arrived at the scene, eyes going wide as she took it in. Rose looks surprised for once, too. Fahim was busy dramatically catching his breath.
It was…certainly a sight none of them had expected to see.
A sky bison, for starters. Weird. Very weird, as a matter of fact. And three people on top of it! Well, children, technically. Two boys, one girl. Were kids allowed to fly sky bisons? Whatever, A question for later.
The three individuals look dazed, having landed pretty hard.
But, before any of them could get a word out, Rose's hand shoots out; sending three vine tendrils their way. Almost immediately, they were restrained and held up in the air.
"Rose!" Camara hisses through gritted teeth.
"What? We don't know if they're dangerous or not."
"That kid's bald."
"Fahim!"
Camara is about to scold the two of them some more, but, she was very graciously interrupted.
"Hey, hey, hey! Watch it!"
The outcry came from one of the boys. Watertribe, maybe. And he looks less than pleased about being suspended in midair. As one would be.
"Didn't you see we just crash landed here?! Give us a minute before you kidnap us!"
"Sokka, not right now!" came the voice of the girl. Siblings, no doubt. So, the one boy's name was Sokka…
"Listen, Katara! You don't know what they're capable of!"
Sokka and Katara. Brother and sister, from what could be easily seen.
Camara leans in towards Rose, "Maybe we should let them down…?"
"And give them a chance to run? No."
Fahim leans in as well. "Maybe we should at least hear them out?"
Rose's jaw ticks, and she sighs heavily.
"Fine."
With that, she puts her hand down, and the vines retract almost immediately. Letting the three of them fall to the ground.
Camara and Fahim both yelp, and dash forward without a second thought. Camara catches Sokka, and Fahim dives down and catches Katara. Fahim was about to dart over to catch the other boy, but he seemingly…floated to the ground? Huh. Well, less work for him, then.
Fahim sets Katara down on her feet, before backing up to give distance.
Camara more or less drops Sokka with an "Eugh!", and scrambles back to join her brother.
Sokka groans, and rubs his lower back as he stands up from the ground.
"Thanks for that," he mutters. Camara gives a sheepish thumbs up.
Rose still stands a little farther back, eyes narrowed as she stared at these newcomers. She doesn't trust them. Not yet, at least.
"Who are you?" she asks, finally moving up beside the twins, "Why are you here?"
The others hesitate for a moment, before the other boy (the bald one, as Fahim pointed out) stepps forward.
"We just…landed here. If this is your home, we don't mean any harm, we promise," the boy says. He holds his hands up, "My name's Aang. And this is Katara and Sokka. Oh, and Appa, my bison."
Appa gives a low bellow from behind them.
"…Uh huh." Fahim looks skeptical.
"Listen, we're trying to get to the North Pole-"
"And clearly, we are lost!" Sokka exclaims from behind Aang.
The North Pole? Why would they want to go there?"
"The…North Pole?" Camara asks, "Why would you wanna go there, of all places?"
"I second that," Fahim chimes in.
The group share glances amongst each other, as if debating upon sharing their goal is truly worth it. Ultimately, they decide upon telling them. Katara is the one that speaks this time.
"Aang has to go there so he can master waterbending," she begins.
"Ooooh, Cami can do that!"
Camara elbows Fahim in his ribs. "Keep going, please."
"He's the Avatar, and-"
"What's an Avatar?"
The group looks at Camara like she has either lost her mind, or transformed into a turtleduck. Camara just shrugs.
"It's just a question."
"You're saying…you don't know who the Avatar is?" Sokka says incredulously.
"I don't either," Fahim mumbles, leaning his arm on his sister's shoulder.
"Doesn't ring a bell," Rose adds.
Sokka looks thoroughly gobsmacked. "Do you people live under rocks?!"
"No. We're surrounded by them, though." Camara gestures to the tall mountains that do in fact currently surround them on all sides.
"The point is," Katara jumps in, "We need to get Aang there. Preferably, as soon as possible. The Fire Nation is currently after him, and-"
"The Fire Nation?!" Fahim exclaims. Camara mentally facepalms.
"Fahim. Shut it."
"But- But did you hear what she said???"
"Yes, I have ears."
"Instead of going back and forth," Rose cuts in, "Since they're not trying to kill us right this second…how about they come back to the village?" She pauses. "The bison can come, too. It'll be more convenient to explain there."
Aang perks up, "Really? If it's not too much to ask?"
Camara shrugs. "Eh, why not?"
She grabs her flower basket, and slings it over her shoulder. She nods along for them to follow, as Fahim and Rose are already making their way back to the treeline that leads to the valley on the other side.
"Follow me. And try to keep up."