Simon was wobbly beside her, as if trying to walk against the ocean current himself, one hand clutching his stomach while the other dragged across the wooden walls until they were heading down the ramp, the breeze strong enough that it carried sea salt with it. Clary ran her tongue up along the roof of her mouth, stunned to find the rustic taste inside. There was snow sticking to the ground, a few men from the ship carrying full crates back and forth to a cargo hold while a woman wearing the royal blue that usually clung to a Water Tribe's matriarch was directing them around. All the information in the world had only been given to her from her mother's word of mouth, but also in the form of scrolls and tomes depicting multi-cultural society far away from their little village in the far, southernmost region of the world. She feels as if she's seen this woman in pictures before, though she knows she hasn't. That strong jawline, lips a tight line as she directs the foreign men back and forth, allowing none to pass too far into her Tribe, near her people. Her hair was braided, thick black strands bound together with one neatly tied strap at it's base, the lose hairs even beyond that weren't straying from the bunch.
Once their feet touched the snow she could feel it was dry, raising the ground inch by fallen inch, and she shivered almost violently, not truly dressed for the snow considering she hadn't had the time to plan for it. "Are you cold?" She asked Simon, teeth chattering enough to make her vision vibrate around and around. "I'm cold." Her pale skin prickled, hair's standing up and little bumps all over.
"Freezing." He agreed almost instantaneously, arms coming up to cross over his chest, no longer concerned about his sea-sick stomach.
Before either of them could stop to grab something from her bag she watched that stone woman approach them, boots as thick as bricks leaving prints in the ground with every purposeful step. "Excuse me," She began, her voice matching her face. Hard. Business. Unafraid. Clary froze, letting her bag fall down into the crease of her elbow again and she could see Simon avert his gaze from the matriarch in her peripheral. The redhead, on the other hand, put on her warmest of smiles, trying to seem as kind as she could possibly be after losing her whole life. "No one is to come off the ship and into my Tribe. That's what your ship's workmen assured me." This was no question and she didn't want to hear that it was a misunderstanding, that much was clear.
"Hello, I actually just wanted to-"
"To what? There is a war going on as I'm sure you've noticed. I cannot just have people coming in and out of my Tribe. How would I know if either of you were firebenders, sent to my Tribe to try and assimilate us for your cause of... devastation?" She sent both arms outwards, palms facing upwards in an exampling expression. As if she was daring them to defy her concerns. "So as you can see, I've already aided your people enough. Sending our food off with you so you may journey safely and alive to wherever you're headed. You're welcome."
The pair looked taken aback, though Simon less so and more like he just saw something very interesting off on a glacier. Despite being born into the Fire Nation Clary understood this cause for concern. She had just witnessed what they could do, what they could accomplish in just a night with some torches- and if they had a bigger village and more time who knows what else they would be able to destroy. These people here have families too. They have lives and goals and wish for this war to end. Clary didn't want to get them killed too, in case they had been following the ship she and Simon got on, she wanted to travel, figure out how to end this, how to get a grip on all of the elements. She couldn't defeat her father as a one-trick pony could she? She needed a new trick, an arsenal of weapons and tactics. You cannot fight fire with fire, and while she was here all Clary wanted to do was find someone to teach her waterbending. She wanted a Master, she wanted to be able to do more than move the snow around or make small waves. She could create a bonfire with an ember but what about a hurricane with a puddle?
She shook her head, that polite smile falling away, "Why don't you try asking me instead of accusing?" With her left hand held out she crouched down, prepared to do the only trick she knew how to do- in a very small dosage of it. She gathered a fistful of the snow, her fingers numbing almost immediately, bones chilled. She straightened herself back up, fist still facing the ground and when she opened it the snow stayed in place, looking as if a rough cotton cloud, and drops of water began to fall, pooling itself into little crevices back in the ground until all of the snow was gone from her fistful. Her own little rain cloud. "I'm a waterbender, not a firebender."
Despite that obvious trick of the element, the Water matriarch didn't seem to be moved but rather more suspicious of the girl in front of her. Her raven brow quirked, "No one else on that ship is a bender... why aren't you with your Tribe?"
"Oh," The stutter step had Simon facing her now, that friendly light brown wide with anxiety, awaiting her pending answer. "I, well, my mother raised me alone ever since I was five..."
"Your mother must have disrespected her people." It was an easy dismissal, as if finished with this entire conversation while also insulting her mother with no knowledge about her character. "You and your friend cannot stay, you must leave when your boat does but until then... go." The words seemed to pain her and yet she pivoted, head turned towards the Tribe, dark eyes as hard as coal. "Purchase whatever you need to or... whatever it is you're seeking. If I hear you've caused trouble there will be more than hell to pay. I don't have time to watch children right now, there are much more important matters I must attend to."
"You won't have to watch us!" Simon spoke up, hands clasping together and this excitable smile lighting up his previously terrified expression, trying to get the woman on their side but she only seemed disgusted to hear him speak. "We're so responsible, I haven't even been grounded before."
"I didn't ask." She spoke plainly, voice deceivingly light. Before she could begin to change her mind there was a voice behind her, a women's, calling her momma. She turned completely, hands clasping together but that tight look loosened just a smidgen, the corners of her mouth barely turning upwards as two people approached, also dressed up in that royal blue.
There was a man and a woman. The girl looked as if she was no older than Clary's eighteen. She had the same raven locks of the stone woman, hair free and curled as it traveled halfway down her back, a small braid pulling one lock around to the back of her head where it was pinned down elegantly. Her cheek bones were high and her lips were a dark red, yet Clary could assume it was such a natural look on her, even as it seemed to clash with her dark blue, woven top. The man looked related to the women, sharing that dark hair color and earthy toned eyes. His face did not carry a smile like the girl with him, he matched the elder woman. Stoic with a tight lip and disapproving brow. He was tall, towering over everyone else and Clary could feel his heavy gaze like a punch to the gut. He belonged in the cold, chilling blue tones of his thick coat.
"Who are these people?" The man asked, his voice deep and unamused while his hands were clasped together behind his back and his shoulders slouched just the slightest bit as he looked down at all of them. "No one is supposed to get off."
"Perfect timing." The elder woman began again, not answering his question. "I want you two to accompany these people around. Make sure they get back on board when their ship is preparing to leave the docking bay." And right as the older boy nodded at her she stalked off, walking past Clary and Simon to get to the port, calling out at one of the men carrying cargo, demanding to know what's taking so long. Clary shudders, that horrible scalding aura leaving pulled a weight off of her but there was another added, no sparkling smile from the man like there was from the girl.
"I'm sorry about our mom, she's stressed right now. There's been a lot of Fire Nation ships passing through lately and we've all had to be on lockdown... everyone stay inside and play nice. All of that." The girl laughed, a playful flip of that gorgeous hair over her shoulder like talk of the war was the simplest of conversations. "This is my brother Alec, and I'm Isabelle." She let a hand come out in front of her, gesturing first to Clary with that petite, tanned hand.
She just shook it politely, not really looking at the brother, Alec. "I'm Clary. Nice to meet you." Once over with the same gesture was given next to Simon and he... floundered.
"Hi I'm Simon, Simon Lewis. Nonbender, but totally... impressed by the waterbenders. Not that I know if either of you can bend. I mean it's not a rule or anything, I know it doesn't always work like that. My mom was born in the Earth Kingdom! She can't bend!" He used the wrong hand at first, bumping it against hers awkwardly and then had to quickly switch it around until he was shaking it wildly, up and down, up and down, making Clary woozy just looking at it. The redhead subtly gripped his elbow, pulling his arm back after an awkward amount of time and he stammered, this slight cough but it was clear in his eyes he was thankful for his friend. "Nice to meet you." He finished, nodding sadly, almost like he was chastising himself on the inside.
Isabelle only laughed, seeming very amused, but Alec did not. "We're not here to be friends with you. Get what you need and leave."
"Alec," His presumably younger sister shot him a look of disapproval. "I'm sorry about him."
"Don't apologize for me."
Clary scoffed at that, this harsh glare in his eyes that she just shot back at him. She couldn't understand why he was so put off by someone he didn't even know. His mother had already granted her entry in the Tribe, what else did he need to hold reservations about? "Yeah, no need Isabelle, he clearly just wants us to go so he can take that stick out of his ass in private."
The other girl laughed, a delicate hand coming to cover her mouth while also stepping forward to grab Clary's arm, looping her own in there and bumping her head against hers with muted giggles flowing from those ruby red petals. Simon made an impressed noise too, clasping his best friend's shoulder while Alec stepped forward, staring down at her like she was garbage- her gaze did not falter. "I would keep my mouth shut if I were you, this isn't exactly a place where you have any free reign and I doubt you want to be thrown out on your ass."
"Your m-"
"I don't care." He cut her off, his hazel eyes were more like two pitch black voids.
Her nose scrunched in distaste, watching him carefully as he stepped aside and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for them to go into the actual populated part of his home, seeing no more interest in speaking with her. Isabelle began to tug her along, this sympathetic look being given to her sibling as they all started off. "Okay... well first of all you need new shoes. How are your toes okay in the snow? You can't wear sandals here, you'll get frostbite." She spoke matter-of-fact. Clary took a brief moment to glance down at her shoes, though of course they were thick boots, the deep snow not able to penetrate them like they could Clary's flimsy sandals, the snow able to spill over and touch her skin.
"I'm not going to be here that long, you know. I don't really think I need to get anything like that."
"Of course you do. Even if you're not staying here who says you'll never be in the cold again?"
"And who says I don't have snow boots in my bag right now?"
"Do you?" There was a wide grin on both of their faces at that and they stared at each other for a second, slowing their walking speed a tad until they both broke off in laughter, Clary looking awfully guilty. "That's what I thought, come on." The girl glanced back as they started up their previous pace again, sneaking a peak at her brother and when Clary did the same she felt slightly uncomfortable, seeing the way he trailed behind while she took his sister hostage, his eyes anywhere but on the people in front of him.
"Alright, alright." She gave in with an uneasy laugh, looking straight ahead, her stomach churning though she knew she had no reason to feel guilty for snapping at him. He had been rude first, unapproachable and slightly aggressive. It was what he deserved.
There were a few igloos, all the way off from the mainland, Clary could see some large dog/polar bear hybrids chasing each other, tongues hanging out and grazing against their greyish chins as they left track after track in the snow to try and tackle the others down for fun. Surrounding them now though as they came into the population was chunky, wooden buildings covered with thick tarps made of real fur on the roofs and tacked down on the walls. Warmth came from a central bonfire that stood taller than Alec, little embers flying past them on the breeze. People looked as they walked past, staring down Clary and Simon like they were a threat, blue coats pointing towards them in every direction. "We're popular." Simon joked, leaning over slightly to look at their beautiful guide. "I'm guessing visitors aren't all that common around here."
"It's the middle of a war." Alec spoke up from behind them, tone of voice something scoffing and obvious like he should know this.
"...I can see why tourism has decreased then."
The matriarchs son only looked further away from them now, if possible. Just a hair from being turned away from them completely.
The market area wasn't large, just ten or so stalls in a large circle, acting as a center of sorts. Everything was locally handmade it seemed, except maybe the thicker blankets with worn earthen tones, Clary wonders if those came from Ba Sing Se. "Shoes first." Isabelle announced, her other arm winding past the redhead to snatch Simon by the sleeve and tug him around to her other side, now having the two of them on both of her arms. "See anything you like?" She cocks her head at the two of them almost simultaneously, that sparkling smile never slipping- she was made to charm.
The Avatar could hear Alec scoff quietly, this fake, bitter laughter. She rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored him, "Uh," she wondered briefly how many coins her mother put in her bag; if any at all. She slides her arm out of Isabelle's so she could unbutton her bag and sift around inside, hands running through cloth after cloth until finally she heard a jingle, a small velvet piece of fabric tied together with a string hitting her hand. When she lifted it out of her bag she was pleased to find it rather heavy. Her mother must have put all of their money in her bag in case they got separated... it sent a ripple of pain through Clary's chest.
"Here," The other girl now held a pair of snow boots in her face, trying to pull her out of the trance she had been sucked into. "These will do. I know a coat too, try those on and follow me." She pushed them into the girl's hands and while she tried to juggle things Isabelle dragged Simon off to another stall. She could hear him stammering a little bit, saying he didn't have boots yet and Isabelle just giggled like she wasn't really listening to anything he was saying.
Out of the corner of her eye she could still see Alec a few feet behind her with his arms crossed and his eyes pointed at his sister, carefully watching her and ignoring Clary's existence. She wanted to ask why he didn't just follow his sibling but she knew the answer already: he was told to watch her like she was some thieving child. How ridiculous.
She set her things down in the snow while she kicked her sandals off and quickly tried the boots on, pleased to see that they fit, though with a little extra room but that was preferred to the alternative of them being too small to breathe in. The immediate warmth that hit her chilled toes made her sigh. She moved to dig through her bag for some socks and then put them and the boots on again but after that she could happily put her sandals away and indulge herself in this heat. "How much are these? They're so warm." She asked the elderly woman at the stall, her wrinkles crinkling upwards in a soft smile.
"Ten coins," The elder answered, happy to see Clary immediately begin to pull out the correct amount. "I make them all, I'm glad you like them."
"I do, here's twenty... I want these too for my friend." She dropped the coins in her hand and then reached for a pair for Simon who had likely been too bewitched by Isabelle to grab some. "Thank you."
"Thank you." Even though everyone seemed suspicious of her this woman acted kind. Perhaps it was the money.
Before following after her best and new friend she turned abruptly, eyes landing guiltily on Alec. She marched towards him, bag of coins in hand and her head pointed high so she could meet his sharp gaze. As she got close he finally looked at her, chin turning down as dark hazel stared into her emerald. "Alec," she began, this heavy breath being pulled inside of her chest as he said nothing and only waited with an unimpressed look on his face. "I'm sorry... about what I said. You're obviously not happy about having to watch me and I get it but I didn't do anything to you."
"If you know you didn't do anything then why are you taking things a stranger is saying so personally and behaving like a child?"
"How am I behaving like a child, you don't even know me?" She shot back.
"And I don't want to."
She sighed, mouth tightening as she bit down on her tongue hard enough to taste iron. "I tried." She spat, shooting daggers back at him before spinning around to walk over to the others. She could hear Alec trailing behind, the snow crunching under both of their weight.
"Here, Simon." As he turned around to smile at her she handed off the boots, laughing gleefully as he hurriedly put them on and sighed like he had just stepped into a sauna after a long day. She put his other pair of shoes in the bag now too, "You like?"
"I love. It's like a little piece of heaven on my feet."
"And here's some for your arms!" The raven haired beauty cheered, handing two baby blue coats off to them, soft wool or some kind of fur padding the insides of the sleeves and hoods. "Put your money away Clary, these are a gift from me. Welcome to the southern Water Tribe and all that."
"You don't have to do that, but thanks."
"I know, aren't I just a saint?" Isabelle chuckled, rolling her eyes softly at the redhead as if saying not to worry about it. As Clary smiles and shoves her money away, finally buttoning her bag back up, she hears Alec laugh again but this time it seemed genuine- though his eyes were only on his sister.
"When did they change the definition of the word?" He quirked a brow playfully even if she could still hear a hint of irritation in his tone.
Isabelle gasped, walking over to him with a purpose under her feet and her brother raised his crossed arms, blocking his face from any blow so she punched him hard in the chest, this thick echoing sound as her fist connected. "Shut up, are you done pouting?" Just the question caused him to slide that frown back on his face, his sister sliding her arms around his torso and pressing their bodies together in a one sided hug, her head staring up at him with her chin digging into his chest.
"I'm not pouting." He responded flatly, the very definition of pouting. He patted her back just twice before prying her off of him and crossing his arms again, keeping her from hugging him.
"Fine, stay upset all you want but I want to take them to the caves."
"No, Izzy." He protests right away, giving her a warning look while the guests just stared at them, Clary wondering what the caves were. "We don't have time, this isn't supposed be you having fun we were told to watch them and then send them on their way so they get on their damn boat in time."
"What caves?" Clary jumps in and earning a swift eye roll from Alec. "I want to see them, I've never been in a cave."
"And you won't ever be."
"Yes you will." Isabelle defies his wishes, ignoring the way he huffs like he was on the verge of throwing the biggest tantrum. "Alec and I used to play in them when we were little and pretend we-"
"We're not going. They'll miss their boat, Isabelle." He traded that previous nickname in for his sister to something stern, "Mom will kill you."
"You won't let her." She waved her sibling off, reaching again for Clary and Simon, attaching herself to both of them and gliding past the market stalls, all of the people still watching them walk by. For a moment she didn't think Alec was going to follow, Clary's head craning just slightly to watch him struggle with a decision, mouthing a few curse words before stomping off too yet this time he didn't trail behind. He was very tall, and his longer legs allowed him to catch up easily.
"When we get there you have five minutes." He stood next to Simon, on Isabelle's opposite side to Clary, though not directly next to him and rather a few feet to the side.
At first Clary had thought Alec was just being unpleasant by putting them on a strict time limit but by the time they could see the large stone structure off in the distance it was after they trekked up small hills of snow, the land underneath them lost and their feet making constant crunching the whole way, and long empty stretches were past them, it had surely before a half an hour or more and Clary remembers being told that their boat was only staying for an hour or so. How long had they spent in the market place? She was trying to count up all of the minutes they had left in her head but by the time they were walking inside of the large, stories high, curved stone archway, she had forgotten all about it. Clary and Simon practically broke their necks trying to look all the way up at the frozen water crystals hanging harmlessly from the very top, some of them hanging down low enough to be three or four feet above Alec's head. The breeze flew around them and made this eerie whooshing sound as it blew past them, their clothes and hair swirling in slow circles around their still bodies.
"Oh my god, how did you guys find this place when you were little if it's so far from your Tribe?" Clary was mesmerized as her best friend walked past to look everywhere he could while they still had the time.
"We didn't, our brother did." Alec answered, albeit he wasn't rude, just swift like he was counting down the minutes right then.
"Jace. He used to run away and explore all the time," Isabelle began to answer her like a human. "He used to give our mom a heart attack. He'd be gone for hours and when he got back she'd scream about how worried she was." She looked almost forlorn for a moment, this barely audible sigh falling from her lips as she glanced around. Almost as if experiencing a memory. "He found this one day and brought Alec and I with the next... then we spent almost every day here." She kicked up some clumps of snow near her feet, some emotion sparkling in her eyes.
There was a question trying to leap off of Clary's tongue but she didn't want to be rude or upset her new friend. "Where... is your brother?" She asks carefully, head turning slightly towards Isabelle.
"He's at a southern Air Temple." Alec answered once more, a slight noise of warning as he answered this though. Clary looked over at him now as he was crouched down, not looking at them, and playing with some frozen droplets of water. He melted them and then froze them again into new lopsided shapes. So he was able to waterbend.
"He's an airbender." His sister supplied nonchalantly even though it was likely she knew that there would be a new question on Clary's mind now.
"Aren't airbenders extinct?" Simon beat her to the punch, all of them looking over at him as he was examining the frozen crystals sticks up out of the ground, one finger poking the sharp tip of one close to him.
"Obviously not." Alec was unimpressed with this comment, straightening himself out and kicking at his freshly made lumps of ice.
"But the firebenders killed them all they said. Went in and burned them in their own temples." He tilted his head in thought, "So why go to an Air Temple? Even if you're an airbender, they're all supposed to be empty."
"I'm not an airbender, so I don't know. But my brother is and he's alive and at an Air Temple, is that too hard for you to grasp?" Alec shot a look at Simon irritably, stalking off towards the front of the cave as if he's prepared to leave right now and Simon just flipped him off behind his back: causing Clary to laugh and try to cover it up with the palm of her hand.
"So... how old do you think this thing is?" Clary asked Isabelle conversationally while also trying to get that look of despair off of her face. It looked like she was missing her other brother. Was he about as pleasant as Alec was?
"Probably thousands of years... hey, Simon. Want to see something cool?" She smirked over at him, apparently finding her own way to lighten the mood rather than discuss the age of some big, hollow rock.
"Uh, yes, yeah- sure." He made a gesture with his hand like he was enthusiastically encouraging her to continue.
"I used to do this when I was little maybe it'll be bigger now..." She spoke to herself, legs in a stance that was greater apart now, her palms facing upwards as she did this flick of her wrists, body turning left and then back again as she shot her arms up, the cave rumbling in protest to something as the large water crystals began to shake, melting into a light rain before Isabelle made a sound of concentration and lifted her arms down and then back up again, transforming that light rain into a more lively snow. Simon and Clary were laughing gleefully and catching cotton swab sized flakes on their tongues and in the palms of their hands.
The three of them were covered in white fluffs of joy until the structure groaned again, this time in a response to seemingly nothing- Alec was rushing forward and that caught Clary's eye, "Izzy!" He shouted, hands thrusting out to take control of falling crystals, the things prepared to impail his sister. He melted them and knocked her to the side, many buckets full worth of water hitting them and the ground, soaking through their heavy coats. Isabelle yelped as he knocked into her, the two of them falling over a spike in the floor, slicing open Alec's hand as he landed on top of Isabelle.
She gasped for breath as he groaned, cradling his hand to his chest as she began to forcefully shove him off out of reflex. "Are you okay!?" Clary called out to them, prepared to head over to them until she heard a ripping noise, like the sound of the earth tearing open during an earthquake. She looked up in horror as the cavern seemed to collapse in on itself at the very peak of its arch. Clary watched as the first enormous piece broke off and came collapsing down on the four of them.
"No!" Clary screeched with her hands up like she could possibly catch this caravan sized boulder and folding in on herself, the last thing she saw was Simon do the same, hands covering his head, and Alec rolling back on top of Isabelle and covering her face with his hands, even the bloody one- prepared to take this whole heavy blow for his sister even though they would both perish.
The very moment the heavy, cold rock touched Clary's hands, still held up high, she felt it completely disappear from her touch, as if transported away, and she looked up immediately, this nervous pounding in her chest like she was about to look up and see it falling all over again. The boulder wasn't the same, instead it was broken up, hundreds of small floating pieces just sitting there and hovering in the air all over them, no piece bigger than a small rock.
"How did you do that!" Alec demanded to know, breaking Clary out of this seemingly impenetrable layer of awe and making all of the small stones rain down on them, a few smacking her in the head but that was nothing compared to her previously about to become a human version of toothpaste being squeezed out of its casing. "How the fuck did you do that Clary!"
She dropped her hands and let her arms become limp at her sides, falling down on her ass while Simon rushed over to her and threw his arms around her, his body still shaking with the fear of almost being crushed to death. She looked over at Alec and didn't know what to say, just breathed jaggedly. She didn't truly know how she had done that, the only earthbending she's been able to accomplish before was in a sandbox when she and Simon were children, barely there little walls for their doll house, never before had she demolished a building sized boulder into pebbles. "I... I-" She tried, shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders like she was at a loss for words. Of course she was well aware of her status as the one and only Avatar, but how she truly did that was utterly lost on the small girl.
Alec rolled off of Isabelle and helped his sister up off of the icy ground. She wiped dirt off of her pants, her legs trembling slightly while Alec's whole body was unwavering, only angered rolled through him and Clary couldn't figure out why, as he approached her she watched the way small crimson drops fell from his cut palm. "You're a liar! You're not a waterbender, tell me how you tricked my mother." He pressed, standing in front of her with a harsh glare.
"Excuse me? I just saved your life and you're yelling at me for it?" She scoffed, her mouth falling open in shock. Simon pulled away from the hug and instead gripped her arms from behind so he could help her stand, his fingers curling in on the coat surrounding her and making sure to stay there until he knew she was steady. "Gee, thanks Clary for saving me, otherwise my sister and I would have been mush." She tried to mock his voice as best as she could, earning the first glare from Isabelle since she'd gotten here.
"He's right, I don't know how you did that, Clary. I saw you waterbend for my mom." Her tone was hard, matching her brother's and in that moment, identical dagger-sharp glares, she could see how they were related (if looks weren't enough). "How can you be a waterbender and an earthbender? That's not possible."
Before she could make something up or release a breath of defeat Simon was coming to her defense, stepping in front of her as if she needed protecting and squaring his shoulders. "That's what's on your mind? Not the fact that you just almost made us soup? I want to show them the cave, wanna see something cool?" He mocked her childishly, just as Clary had done to Alec moments ago. "Who knew we should have listened to The Thing instead." He scoffed, gesturing to Alec fearlessly.
Isabelle looked taken aback, "I didn't mean to and I didn't lie! I told you I wanted to show you guys and Clary agreed, all we're asking for now is honesty."
Simon took a breath, prepared to retort, but Clary put a comforting hand on his arm, nudging him gently to her side instead of looking as if still hiding behind him. She loved Simon and was grateful to have him here, on her side, but Isabelle was right... and if their boat was gone by now the only way a favor of another could be done now was with trust. "I'm sorry, Isabelle, I am, but I couldn't just go around telling everyone who am I, it's no one's business but my own." The dark haired girl's face shifted from hostile to curious, listening carefully with what looked to be a more open-minded approach now that they were back to a level of calm rather than adrenaline pumping terror. "I... I'm the Avatar."
There was a beat of silence, no one making any move to speak until Alec laughed something aggressive. "Get out."
"Alec," Isabelle tried but he held a hand out, cutting her off.
"Get out of our Tribe and go wherever the hell that boat was supposed to take you, the Avatar? I don't need the Fire Nation knocking down our door and killing our people because you just needed to stop here for some fucking snow boots. My whole family is here!"
She flinched, the elder male encroaching on her space and trying to stare down at her with some kind of intimidation. "I'm not trying to hurt anyone!"
Isabelle snaked in between them, both of her hands on Alec's chest as he just looked down at her, barely bothering to change that horrible, nasty look on his face that made his lip snarl. "Alec, wait." She shifted herself slowly until she was able to create more space between them, nudging her brother back just a few more inches. "If Clary's the Avatar we have to let her stay!"
"What?" The three of them asked at once, all of them some kind of stunned.
"Clary..." She faced her now, one hand on her forearm while the other gently pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and knocking it off of her shoulder until it was pooling in the hood of her coat. "If you're the Avatar you're the only one who can stop this war. The Avatar is supposed to keep the peace between the elements! You can stop the Firelord! Maybe our Tribe can help you get to where you need to be to do it."
Before the obvious eldest could retort, Clary moved to decline herself. "No, Izzy I can't," The nickname she'd heard Alec use slipped out while she was overwhelmed with admiration. "I wish I could but I... I don't really know how to bend every element. I can only firebend and... do very, very little waterbending, and I really don't know how I did that to that rock. Please don't get me started on airbending because I don't even know how to go about that."
"You can't even bend all the elements?" Alec seemed appalled.
Izzy ignored him, throwing an irritated glance over her shoulder before turning back to Clary. "Jace is learning how to master airbending right now... and Alec and I learned waterbending from a Master in the North Pole! We can at least go and try." Her voice held a tone of begging as she bounced up and down on her toes likes she was truly excited of just the idea.
"Izzy," Alec gripped her arm, turning her around to face him now. "We can just give her a map and send her on her way to the North Pole, and some... random Air Temple. We don't have to go with her and do anything. We don't even have to do that."
"Alec aren't you sick of rolling over for the Fire Nation? You say it all the time and now we have an opportunity where we can do something about it and you don't want to?"
"We can't just leave. Mom needs us here."
"Mom will want to know she's the Avatar, she'll understand! She'll want us to go!"
"You clearly don't remember who our mother is." His eyes widened at her, like he was pretending to be afraid of what she was saying... and maybe he was.
Clary decided to jump in again, grabbing a hold of Isabelle's arm, yet instead of turning her new friend around again she pulled herself and got next to Alec, ignoring the look he gave her. "You know where a Master waterbender is? And you really think Jace would help me airbend?"
"Yes!"
"No."
The two siblings answered simultaneously, causing both of them to sigh. "Yes, to both of those things. We should go, Clary. We could teach you every element in time to kick Fire Nation ass before they take over and help every family they've destroyed and every village they've burned. All those airbenders... Jace will never know his birth family or where he came from because of them. He'll teach you airbending and then all we'll need is an earthbender!"
"Luke." She and Simon said at once, her best friend playfully punching her in the arm when they did so. "I know an earthbender, he used to live with my mom and I until the Fire Nation attacked where his family was living in the Earth Kingdom and he had to go back and help them."
"Is he even alive, then?" Alec deadpanned.
"Yeah, he writes to us." Clary responded right away without any malice in return, too busy dreaming up all that could be done to help her stop her father, which brought her mind wandering over back into the lying territory from before brought up by her friends. Would they need to know that her father was the Firelord or would that only put Alec further on the opposition side of this argument? She didn't see him warming up to her any quicker with that information right now- not that she needed Alec's approval for anything but she didn't see Isabelle coming with if he didn't either. And yet honesty was the best policy, wasn't it? "But... guys there's-" Clary was cut off though not by Alec nor falling rocks this time, instead by that disgustingly familiar sound of heavy, flying ships going past them. They all looked up through the hole in the cave, seeing the tail end of the metal ship go by, that dark red emblem of the Fire Nation printed on it staring down at them as it goes by.
"Oh, shit." Alec drops his hand from Izzy's arm and the four of them run out into the blasting chill of the snow, feet hitting the ground at a quickened pace as they see one ship headed towards the southern Water Tribe and another already preparing to land. "No!" He shouts, flying past them and running downhill towards the tribe, kicking up snow behind him until he decides to let it move him, taking his hands and flicking them in a semi-circle until all the snow around his feet has shifted into it's liquid form and is carrying him at a pace he wouldn't be able to reach on his own.
"Come on!" Isabelle cries, a desperate tone clawing it's way out of her throat and Clary thought, just for a second, that this is what she must have looked like just the other night. When everything was about to be ripped away from her.