[One year before the Brevon Crisis]

On the balcony of their newly‑constructed treehouse deep in the heart of Dragon Valley, a two‑tone viridian wildcat in a loose black crop top and baggy dark green shorts leans on the rail and looks out over the treetops, her ears twitching in response to the birds singing, the wind rustling the leaves, and the snoring of the dragoness napping on a futon, having fallen asleep on her back. After nearly two weeks of nothing but construction from dawn to dusk, Carol Tea is as exhausted as her friend Sash Lilac, but despite her best attempts, sleep refuses to come.

A sudden break in the snoring prompts Carol to look over her shoulder into the den of the treehouse, but Lilac hasn't woken, only rolled onto her side, allowing her airways to open fully and bring her snoring to an end.

Carol watches her friend sleep for a few moments before turning back to the rich verdant view from the balcony and letting out a sigh of contentment. It's been a lot of work to get where we are now, but it's worth it to make a fresh start.

[Four years before the Brevon Crisis]

Deep in the wilderness, many miles from the city‑states of Shang Mu, Shang Tu, and Shuigang, lies a tiny kingdom that few in the Origin Kingdoms know of, yet continues to influence the development of their societies as much as it has done for its entire millennia‑long existence: Yěmāo Shìzú Wángguó, the Kingdom of the Wildcat Clan, ruled by its queen, the Yěmāo Nǚwáng.

Unlike the rulers of the vastly larger, wealthier, and more populous Origin Kingdoms, the Yěmāo Nǚwáng resides not in a Palace or a Town Hall but in a modest two‑storey traditional home that looks no more important than the rest of the homes. Its regal status is marked only by a small crest over the front door that bears the ideograph 茶, signifying it as the home of the Tea family that has ruled over Yěmāo Shìzú for its entire existence.

The current Yěmāo Nǚwáng, Camilla Tea, is mother to three sisters: the eldest Corazon a.k.a. Cory, the middle Coraline a.k.a. Coral, and the youngest Caroline a.k.a. Carol. As is traditional for the Tea family, each daughter trains as a noble and honourable shinobi from a very young age before joining the Red Scarves at age twelve to both further develop as a shinobi and to learn important lessons about Avalice and its history that simply cannot be learned at home. Of the three sisters, two are already members of the Red Scarves, with the youngest a mere eight years old, with four more years of training before she can follow her sisters into the wider world.

As with her sisters, part of Carol's fitness, strength, and agility training regime involves navigating a punishing assault course built by their mother Camilla and designed to help develop the vital skills for their intended futures as clandestine guides for Avalician civilisation. However, the youngest of the three sisters is struggling badly, and has lost count of the number of times she's ended up face down in the mud after her continued failures to traverse the monkey bars, which are only the second obstacle. The endless failures perpetually fuel her frustrations, and she's not the only one who's disappointed.

"You continue to allow your frustrations to control you," Camilla comments in a stern yet motherly voice, the middle‑aged wildcat's outfit a form‑fitting black tank top, forest green leggings, black fingerless gloves, and black running shoes, her two‑tone viridian fur showing a few hints of grey. "Get up and try again."

It takes some effort for Carol to pull herself free of the sticky mud, and when she does, her fur is completely saturated and so badly matted it resists her efforts to clean it, and her loose black tank top and forest green shorts are soaked and clinging to her body. "Do I have to?" she asks, crawling from the thickest mud to somewhere she can stand without sinking.

"Yes," Camilla confirms.

"Can I get cleaned up first?" Carol pleads as she gets to her feet and brushes the mud off her black fingerless gloves.

"Such opportunities are rare in battle. You must learn to deal with it."

"But‑"

"Enough. Try again."

Carol knows she's not going to win this argument. "Yes, mother," she sighs in resignation as she trudges her way back to the start of the assault course, the mud saturating her fur weighing her limbs down, a soft squelching in her black and green shoes accompanying every step.

"Quicker."

"Yes, mother." Carol ups the pace until she gets to the start of the assault course, where she takes a moment to compose herself before having another attempt.

A couple of minutes later, Carol is back to lying face down in the mud after failing to traverse the monkey bars.

"Try again," Camilla orders.

Carol once again extracts herself from the sticky mud and returns to the start of the assault course, this time not even attempting to clean any mud from her fur.

A couple of minutes later, Carol is back to lying face down in the mud after failing to traverse the monkey bars. "How many more times do I have to try this?" she asks once she's yet again extracted herself from the mud.

"Until you succeed or the sun sets, whichever comes first," Camilla answers.

Carol checks where the sun is. I don't know if I can keep doing this for another three hours.

Three hours later, Carol is once again extracting herself from the same mud she's extracted herself from all afternoon.

"I had hoped you would make progress today," Camilla sighs. "I was wrong."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Carol apologises.

"Being sorry won't help you in combat," Camilla advises. "Tomorrow you will do better."

"What if I don't?" Carol asks.

"Enough," Camilla instructs. "Get yourself cleaned up and ready for dinner."

Carol trudges back to the house in silence, not wanting to anger her mother further.

Half an hour later, with her sticky mud finally out of her fur and her mud‑laden clothes in soak, Carol joins her mother in the dining room wearing a fresh loose black tank top and forest green shorts.

"How are you feeling?" Camilla asks as Carol takes her seat.

"Like a failure," Carol answers, poking at her sushi.

"Less poking, more eating," Camilla instructs. "You'll need it tomorrow."

"Why bother?" Carol snarks, continuing to poke at her food. "I won't do any better."

"Not with that attitude," Camilla sternly comments. "I've taught you better than this."

"You're not helping," Carol retorts, regretting her mistake almost immediately.

But Camilla isn't angry. "Caroline, please listen to me. I know you're frustrated, and I know you're struggling to handle the fact you're unable to match your sisters, but do not make the mistake of thinking I'm expecting you to match them. Not all Teas are born equal, and if your destiny is to be shadowed by Corazon and Coraline, then your only option is to accept it."

"If I'm not destined to be as good as my sisters, why do you keep pushing me as hard as you do?" Carol asks.

"Because I want you to fulfil your potential," Camilla answers.

"My potential to fail," Carol grumbles.

"Caroline, that's enough," Camilla sternly instructs. "A defeatist attitude is unbefitting someone of the Yěmāo Shìzú. You're far more capable than you give yourself credit for. Believe in yourself, and you will improve."

"I dunno," Carol sighs, though her mood does seem to be lifting a little as she is now eating.

"Everyone faces difficulties that appear insurmountable," Camilla advises. "True strength is refusing to surrender to those difficulties and fighting until they're overcome."

"And what if they prove impossible?"

"Nothing's impossible."

"What about running faster than the speed of sound?"

Camilla cannot help but smile in amusement. "OK, I admit that that's impossible," she concedes. "Then again, I'm not talking about violating the laws of physics."

"You're talking about overcoming the odds, no matter how long they are," Carol replies.

"Exactly," Camilla confirms. "And this is why I push you so hard."

"I know," Carol admits with a sigh. "It's just…"

"It gets to you."

"Yeah."

Camilla is silent for a few moments. "Maybe I do push you too hard," she admits. "Lately I've been so focussed on trying to help you realise your potential, I've been neglecting the fact that you're only eight years old."

But Carol's not fooled: she knows the real reason her mother's pushing her so hard. "You're worried about Cory, aren't you?" she asks.

"She has become… difficult to understand," Camilla admits. "She's not taken Coraline's rapid ascension well, and her discipline has suffered so badly I fear that she may fall beyond recovery. But that's no excuse for being so strict with you."

"It's OK," Carol assures. "I know you're only pushing me hard because you want to stop me going the same way."

Camilla smiles warmly. "I'm glad you understand. Tell you what: you can have tomorrow off."

Carol's mood lifts considerably. "Really?"

"Yes," Camilla confirms. "A day of rest and relaxation may be exactly what you need to make progress in your training. And to be honest, I could do with a day's rest too."

"We can do fun stuff together," Carol suggests.

"What do you have in mind?" Camilla asks.

Carol shrugs. "Dunno yet. Is there any more sushi?"

Camilla notices Carol's just cleaned her plate. "There's some left, yeah. Was going to put it in the fridge for tomorrow, but we can always make more."

"Thanks!" Carol beams before dashing off to the kitchen, returning a couple of minutes later with all the remaining sushi.

"Not gonna save any for me?" Camilla asks, pretending to be disappointed.

"Sorry," Carol blushes. "Do you want some?"

"Nah, it's fine," Camilla smiles. "You need it more than I do if you're gonna grow up big and strong."

"Thanks," Carol smiles before tucking into her seconds.

Two days later early in the afternoon, and it's immediately clear that the day off has done Carol some good, as she easily traverses the monkey bars that proved impassable to her just two days prior. However, the half‑dozen consecutive rope swings that follow prove too much for her, and she again finds herself face down in the mud.

"Well, at least I made it further this time," Carol comments once she's extracted herself from the mud.

"Excellent," Camilla compliments. "Next time, make it further still."

"I'll do my best," Carol promises as she returns to the start.

A couple of hours and many failed attempts later, Carol finally makes it to the sixth rope. However, the mud clogging her fur prevents her from getting a good grip, and she slides down the rope and lands feet first in the mud, quickly sinking to her waist. "Uh‑oh."

"If it's any consolation, you're not the first to get stuck there," Camilla reminds. "Both Corazon and Coraline did exactly what you just did the first time they got that far."

"I remember finding it funny at the time," Carol recalls, trying and failing to pull herself free. "Now I understand why they were both mad at me after."

"I did tell you not to laugh. Now get yourself out of there."

"I'm trying, but nothing's working," Carol replies. At least I'm not sinking any deeper.

"Then get creative," Camilla instructs.

Carol continues her attempts to free herself, but everything she tries fails, culminating in her making the situation worse by placing her hands in front of her and trying to push herself free, only for her arms to also sink and get stuck. "Um… Help?"

"Can you move at all?" Camilla asks.

"Nope," Carol answers. "Hurry please: this mud's really cold."

"Back in a minute."

Carol watches her mother return to the house and disappear inside, emerging a couple of minutes later with a stack of duckboards that she uses to build a path from the edge of the mud to Carol.

"Did you think about anything you tried?" Camilla asks, placing duckboards around and under Carol to form a suitable platform.

"Not really," Carol admits. "At least I didn't panic."

Camilla gets into position and wraps her arms around Carol's torso. "Only because you knew I'd help you out," she replies as she lifts her daughter free of the mud and places her on the duckboards. "What would you have done if I wasn't here?"

"I… I'm not sure," Carol admits, helping her mother gather the duckboards on their way back to the edge of the mud. "I guess I would have panicked eventually."

"And you know what happens when you panic."

"Yeah…" Carol tails off, unwilling to think about the consequences of panicking. "Thanks for helping me."

"You left me no choice," Camilla replies.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Carol apologises.

"I hope you've learned from your mistakes."

"I have."

"Good."

"Do you want me to try again?"

Before Camilla can answer, the phone begins to ring. "Looks like we'll have to cut it short today," she sighs. "Return these to the storage room and get cleaned up," she instructs, handing the duckboards she's carrying to Carol. "And make sure you clean all the mud off them this time."

"I will," Carol promises.