Omashu! A city of the Earth kingdom known for it's sophisticated mailing system. After the war, instead of tearing it all down, the structures and airships left by the fire nation were put in to good use by King Bumi. By hiring firebenders, and now metalbenders, to man the airships, he has developed the mailing system the city was known for to greater heights. The OPS or Omashu Postal Service now delivers mail to all over the United Republic of Nations. All of this happened only for the shipping business to eventually be consumed and controlled by Varrick Global Industries, owned by the business mogul Varrick.
As the years went by, the city of Omashu became more populated and needed to expand their territory from their hill, up to the mountains over The Cave of Two Lovers.
The Cave of Two Lovers, a once desolate and dark corridor, is now filled with tourists and vendors, forming a commercial town underneath the city Omashu. Lights lining the ceiling and walls. Trade of every kind can be seen.
There, a young earthbender is making a living by guiding tourists in this confusing place where one can easily be lost. From the essential Tomb of the two lovers, to famous establishments such as the Jasmine Dragon who claim they inherited the recipes from Iroh himself.
"The Cave of Two Lovers is famous for having anything and everything from all over the world!" The young earthbender said to the tourists he was guiding.
"Republic city might be the central of innovation, but Omashu is still the center of Trade because of our famous postal service. Every product from every nation goes through Omashu and sold here!" He exclaimed as he gestured towards the stalls and establishments lined up, signalling the tourists that they can now explore the stalls.
"Remember to come back here when it's time!" He reminded them.
"Haaa.." Haru, the tour guide, sighed as he watched the tourists enjoy the attractions of the cave. 'Must be nice.' He thought in envy.
'If I had that kind of money...'
Haru's dream is to leave Omashu for Republic City and join the Republic City police force. Not just for wealth but also to follow in the footsteps of the hero Toph. He already has some mastery of earthbending but he still needs to learn if he has the aptitude for metalbending, and then learning it. Both have separate fees and will require a quite a sum of money.
Haru brought out his wallet and made a wry smile. "Just a little bit more, Dad." He muttered as he looked at a picture of his younger self with his father. His mother died when he was not old enough to remember, but his father raised him and even taught him earthbending. He was also the one who passed on the dream of joining the Republic City Police while telling him tales of Toph Beifong, from the before Team Avatar, up until after she retired as Chief of Police.
Unfotunately his father did not have any aptitude to be a metalbender.
He got a job as a train operator and got stationed in Omashu where he eventually had a family and brought up Haru.
Haru's father died when he was just about to graduate school. An unfortunate incident of trying to stop train robbers and getting killed. He was an unsung hero in the case because although he got killed, the earth kingdom soldiers were able to get there on time and caught the robbers.
The railway company of the Earth Kingdom gave him compensation for his father's death, which could have helped him go to Republic City and make his and his dad's dream come true. But the neighborhood thugs were somehow able to find out about it and harassed him with false claims about his father's debt. They had someone with authority who protected them and he lost when he raised the issue to city hall. He had to hand over what he got from the compensation the Earth Kingdom gave for his father's death and some of their family's life savings. He was left with only his house and the money left just enough to finish school so had to find work immediately after.
As Haru was reminiscing about the past, there was a commotion nearby that caught his attention.
A crowd was forming in front one of the stalls, so he drew closer to find what it was about.
"He's too suspicious! I'm telling you!" A middle aged lady wearing glasses was raising her voice at an earth kingdom soldier as she was pointing to a man with unkempt hair and facial hair.
"And I'm telling you that he has the right papers and a permit!" The soldier argued back to her.
"Can't you still do something?! I've practically known you since you were little. This man is a stranger!"
Haru looked towards the man that was being persecuted by the lady. Behind the man was his stall, a bunch of eye lenses and eyeglasses frames were displayed there. "That's the man that started doing business here almost a month ago." He said to himself.
He also recognized the woman that was protesting the presence of the man. Madam Shu, the only optometrist in town, until, of course, the strange man showed up. Apparently, the customers started flocking to him because of the lower fees for his service and the quick delivery of his product. To compare, Madam Shu's eyeglasses would be ready for pick up a week after consultation. The man's work would be ready the next day. Cheaper, and faster.
"Ugh..." the soldier groaned as he noticed the crowd was increasing. "I really can't do anything about it." He said to Madam Shu.
The strange man wore an apologetic smile through it all and he began waving his hand. "Don't worry. I'll only be here for another week. I won't cause you any problems after I leave." The man declared to deescalate the situation.
Madam Shu started to calm down after hearing what he said. "Only for another week?" She asked to confirm.
"Yes. I promise." The male optometrist assured her with a smile. "I'm a traveller after all. I'm just staying here for a while to get some funds for my trip."
Madam Shu, looked at him in doubt before turning around and retreating.
The soldier and the optometrist sighed in relief. "My apologies, Sir Lang." The soldier apologized to the optometrist.
Lang, the optometrist, waved his hands to the soldier. "It's alright. No harm done."
As the soldier left the scene and Lang went back in his stall, the crowd also dispersed.
As Haru went back to wait for the tourists to finish their shopping, his curiosity towards the strange man grew.
The sun was setting. It was closing time but some stalls would still be open at night, and many people would still enjoy the Cave of two lovers at night. Meanwhile, Haru is now at the opening of the Cave after seeing the tourists off.
He stretched his body to relax his stiff muscles as he watched the beautiful red orange sky. Even though a lot of bad things have happened in the past, and even though his future as a metalbender is still unsure because he still has to take the aptitude test, he's still hopeful.
Haru was about to go on his way when he noticed Lang, the optometrist from earlier, with his bags, walk out of the Cave and into the forest just outside of Omashu. It wasn't his first time seeing Lang go into the forest, but it didn't make him less curious about it. Rumours say ever since he came to Omashu, he's been staying in the forest. He didn't stay inside Omashu and rent a room as travellers do.
He was about to shrug off his curiosity but the next scene he witnessed made him stop. Madam Shu, with two of her employees with a big built, went into the forest in the direction where Lang went.
Haru is aware that people die all the time in the forest. There were no guards, and it's outside of the city's jurisdiction. It's one of the risks one should know about when going there.
'Lang should be aware of the risks of being alone in the forest.' Haru said to himself many times, still, he couldn't stop himself from following them into the forest to stop the unjustice that was about to happen.
Knowing people dying in the forest is common and knowing you could stop it from happening are two very different matters.
He carefully adjusted his weight with every step as he followed them in. Cautious of every twig or stone he might step on and alert Madam Shu and her men.
As soon as Madam Shu and her men reached a tent with considerable size, assuming it's where Lang is staying at, Haru hid himself behind a tree.
"Alright, Haru. You've been training for this." He gave himself a pep talk. "You'll be doing this anyway when you become part of the police force. No big deal. Gulp." Swallowing his saliva, hopefully, along with his anxiousness, he positioned himself away from the tree and hid behind a bush with a clear line of sight towards the tent. "This is it." He muttered to himself as he saw the assailants nearing the entrance if the tent. Before he even got to rush at them, the man that was about to enter the tent whilst unsheathing his dagger, was punched in the face, crashing to his butt.
Everyone was shocked.
Lang stepped outside of his tent wearing a nonchalant expression as he gazed at his enemies.
"A-attack!!!" Madam Shu stuttered as she gave out an order.
One of the men rushed at Lang with his own dagger but Lang moved his head, dodging him with ease and even grabbed his arm, twisting it. The dagger in his hand dropped as he lost all his strength from Lang's grip. When he got on his knees, Lang raised his other hand and struck the man's head, knocking him out. *Thud*
The man the was on the ground after being punched earlier got up and rushed at Lang once again, but Lang grabbed the man's arm and pulled him closer as he kneed him three times towards his stomach. *Thud.* The man got knocked out.
Madam Shu's mouth agape, lost all the strength in her legs and collapsed.
Lang looked at her with a nonchalant expression but to her, at this moment, it was a very scary sight.
"A-a-aaa-Aahhhh!" Madam Shu made primitive sounds out of fear of the man in front of her.
Lang slowly walked closer towards her as she tried to move away from him, dragging her back on the ground.
"S-stay back! Please! Don't kill me!!" She managed to say.
"But weren't you going to kill me earlier?" Lang replied.
"N-n-no! I-I was just- I- just- going to treaten you for your secrets!"
"What secrets could that be?" He leaned over closer to her.
"H-how you make your e-e-eyeglasses so fast!"
"Pfft..." Lang covered his face as he laughed at her.
Meanwhile Haru was contemplating behind the bush about what he should do. 'Of course he was skilled! You're an idiot, Haru! No one would travel alone if they can't at least protect themselves!' He chastised himself.
Lang stopped laughing but he was still looking at Madam Shu. "Would this..." Then something more amazing happened. The two daggers of the men that were unconscious flew into his hand, and also melded into a short sword. "...satisfy your curiosity?"
"Gasp-!" Haru quickly held his hand over his mouth for fear of getting found out.
And Madam Shu uttered the same thoughts as him at the moment. "A metalbender..."
"So?"
"That explaines the frames. B-but still... the lenses-"
Her words got cut off by the blade in Lang's hand swiftly moving and just barely stopping at her neck. "Be satisfied with just that." Lang stated as a threat to stop her from asking anymore questions. "I'll let you go now if you promise not to tell anyone about what happened here."
Madam Shu nodded eagerly.
"Alright." Lang, then drew away the blade from her neck and dropped it on the ground.
Haru couldn't move or he will be caught. So he waited and watched until Madam Shu's men gained consciousness and left with her. Lang just sat down on a rock formation he made as he watched them leave.
After a while, Haru was getting impatient of when he should leave but...
"You still haven't left." Lang suddenly said.
Doubtful that Lang was talking to him, Haru kept still.
"I know you're there." Lang turned his head towards the direction where he was hiding.
He got caught.
Haru gave in and slowly revealed himself while lifting his hands up.
"You're one of the tour guides. Were you with them?" Lang asked him.
"No. I followed them here to stop them."
"Were you confident you can stop them?"
"N-no. I learned earthbending from my father but never really had the chance to use it to fight."
"Hmmm..." Lang scratched his chin and looked at him dubiously.
"I'm telling the truth." Haru immediately replied.
"I know." Lang said with conviction.
Haru wanted to protest as to how can Lang be sure of what he said is true but decided it there's a more important matter to talk about.
"You're a metalbender." Haru said.
"I am."
"Teach me."
Lang raised his brow at him. "That's not really how you ask someone properly to teach you. And Why should I?"
"Please."
"Even if you practice your manners now, there's still the question of why?"
"My dream is to become a police officer in Republic City. I s-still don't have the money yet for the fees..." Haru looked away in shame for a moment but soon fixed his gaze in Lang's eyes with determination "But I'll give you what I saved up so far! You need money for your travels right?"
Lang looked back in his eyes and contemplated for a while. "...Let's say I accept your money. There's still too many problems. We still need to test your aptitude for it and I'm leaving in a week."
The creator of metalbending, Toph, didn't discover it that fast.
"I'll come with you!" But Haru persisted. Leaving everything behind just to get closer to his dream.
"Hmmm..." Lang still deep in thought as he looked at this eager young earthbender in front of him. 'He's very honest. I can feel his earthbending is strong too. He really may have the talent for metalbending. But...'
"No." Lang still refused.
"What?! Why?" Haru protested.
"There's still many things you don't know about me. You don't want to get involved."
"What do you-"
Just as he was about to ask Lang's secrets. Both of them heard some noise coming from the outskirts of the forest. They can even slightly see the torches getting nearer.
"It's the Earth Kingdom soldiers." Both of them correctly deduced that Madam Shu and her men flipped the story on Lang. With bruises to prove it. "This is not good. I have to leave Omashu now." Lang hurriedly put out the campfire he made and started packing up his things. "Sorry, man. I guess there would be no chance of me teaching you after all."
"Hey, wait! There's no need to leave yet. I'm a witness. No matter what they may have said we can prove it."
"That's not the problem. The investigation would prolong my stay here. I can't be held here."
"Fine, then I'll come with you." Haru stated stubbornly.
"Annoying." Lang suddenly rushed towards Haru as the blade that was dropped earlier on the floor flew towards his hand and stopped at Haru's neck. "Do you really want to die? How do you even know if you can trust me?" He said.
"You won't kill me. If you really know how to take a life, you would have killed them earlier and this would never have happened."
"Tsk!" Lang drew the blade away by bending it into a bracer on his arm. "So, it's my fault now?"
"That was so cool! I can't wait to do that too!"
"You're still coming with me, then?"
"Yes, I can't let this kind of opportunity slip away.
Lang grabbed his head in frustration. "Whatever! Who cares!" He stomped his feet towards his things.
"So..." as he watched Lang continue to pack his stuff. "Why can't you stay in one place for long? Y'know, since we're gonna be travel buddies and all. You're not really a murderer, are you?" He chuckled nervously
Lang stopped packing his stuff which startled Haru a little bit. "...I'm not a murderer." He said as he frowned. "I was framed."
"O-oh..." Haru said "So that's why you're always travelling."
"Not really."
"Wha-"
*Thud* A bag coming at Haru cut him off. "We need to hurry." Lang said. "And one more thing..." The wind began to stir as Lang moved. The air blew the tent upward and it began to fold itself.
Haru was stunned. "H-how..." He recognized those moves. "Y-you can airbend too!"
He paused for a moment to organize his thoughts.
"Oh my god! You're the avatar!" It's a simple known fact that the Avatar is the only person that can bend multiple elements.
Lang, with a smile, walked towards him slowly. He gently placed another bag on top of Haru's arms and patted him on the shoulder.
He answered with a saint-like smile...
"Not really."
"What do you mean?!"
Haru dropped the bags and grabbed Lang's collar as in frustration mixed with disappointment. He became nervous for nothing.