Chapter 28 [~|~] The Fortuneteller

A.N. Sorry for the delay! My internet has been out for the last few days, so I was unable to post the new chapters,  but I hope you enjoy them!


Azara looked up from the fire as she heard loud splashing coming from the river. She spotted a fish that was continuously jumping out of the water and wiggling in the air. "He's taunting us!" Sokka snapped, snatching up his fishing pole and running to the river. "You're so going to be dinner!" Swinging his fishing pole, Sokka let out a disgruntled noise when he realized there was no line on the pole. "What happened to my fishing line?"

"Oh, I didn't think you would need it, Sokka," Aang replied, holding up a necklace made out the fishing line. A small reddish pink flower was placed in the center of the woven band. Azara had to admit that she was fairly impressed by Aang's weaving abilities.

"Aw, it's all tangled!" Sokka whined, walking over, and looking upset.

"Not tangled. Woven! I made you a necklace, Katara. I thought since you lost your other one . . ." Aang smiled as he held up the woven necklace, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

"Thanks, Aang. I love it!" Katara praised, walking off to put on the necklace.

"Great, Aang. Maybe instead of saving the world, you can go into the jewelry-making business," Sokka huffed, still sounding annoyed that Aang had taken his fishing line.

"I don't see why I can't do both," Aang shrugged as Katara walked back over.

"Stop taunting me!" Sokka snapped, turning back to the fish.

"So, how do I look?" Katara asked, posing with a hand lightly touching the necklace. Azara glanced over at Aang, hiding a chuckle at his dumbstruck expression.

"You mean all of you, or just your neck?" Aang stuttered out, causing Azara to smile at him, finding his poorly concealed crush on Katara to be both amusing and adorable. 

"Smoochie, smoochie, someone's in love," Sokka teased, causing Aang to flush red. Azara watched as Sokka made kissing gestures at the fish, who wiggled out of his grasp and smacked him across the face before diving back into the water.

"Serves you right for teasing Aang," Azara commented, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Stop teasing him, Sokka. Aang's just a good friend. A sweet little guy, just like Momo," Katara continued, causing Aang to wince and hang his head. Katara walked off as Azara placed a hand on Aang's shoulder.

"Hey, it's ok. She liked the necklace," Azara spoke, trying to cheer up Aang. "It was really sweet, Aang, I'm sure she's thankful." Before Aang could respond, a loud roar shook the forest.

Running through the thicket, Azara spotted a man being attacked by a platypus bear. Instead of freaking out, the man calmly dodged the swings. "What are you doing? You have to get away!" Azara shouted, waving her arms frantically.

"Oh, it's no trouble, no trouble at all," the man replied calmly, dodging another swing. The man ignored the other suggestions the group yelled at him until Aang jumped in front of the man. The platypus bear was about to attack when Appa walked up behind it. Roaring, Appa startled the platypus bear, who laid an egg before scampering off.

Sokka ran forwards, scooping up the egg into his arms. "Mmm, lunch!" Sokka held the egg to his chest before turning to the calm man. "Lucky for you, we came along."

"Thanks, but everything was already under control. Not to worry. Aunt Wu predicted I'd have a safe journey," the man shrugged, a wide smile on his face.

"Aunt who?"

"No, Aunt Wu. She's the fortuneteller from my village. Awful nice knowing your future," the man explained, the same calm expression on his face.

"Wow, it must be! That explains why you were so calm!" Katara exclaimed, clasping her hands together at the thought of a fortuneteller.

"But her prediction was wrong! You didn't have a safe journey; you were almost killed!"

"But I wasn't! Alright, have a good one!" the man nodded, before moving to walk off. "Oh, Aunt Wu said if I met any travelers to give them this." The man handed Azara a wrapped parcel before walking off, humming a tune. Azara raised an eyebrow before unwrapped the package to reveal an umbrella.

"Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes. It could be fun," Katara shrugged, turning to the group.

"Oh, come on fortunetelling is nonsense!" Sokka grunted, throwing his arms in the air. Turning to stare at the umbrella in Azara's hands, he shook his head again. "And why would we need an umbrella? Look at the sky, it's not going to rain!"

"You said that last time and look what happened," Azara snapped, turning to shoot Sokka a look. Suddenly, the skies opened and started to rain. Azara opened the umbrella quickly, holding it up as Aang and Katara ran under.

"That proves it!" Katara pointed out, looking at her brother with a smug expression.

"No, it doesn't! You can't really tell the future!" Sokka huffed, holding the egg above his head in an effort to stay dry.

"I guess you're not really getting wet, then," Katara smirked at her brother. They started to walk down the path when Sokka yelled out behind them, the egg dropping on top of his head. Azara looked back, shaking her head at Sokka stubbornness. "You can come under the umbrella when you admit that Aunt Wu was right," Katara offered, glancing back at her brother.

Sokka grumbled something under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't worry, I'm sure the rain will wash that off," Azara called as they continued walking down the path.

"Look, I'm going to predict the future right now. It's going to keep drizzling," Sokka spat sarcastically before standing up, his arms crossed smugly across his chest. The rain continued for a few moments, before stopping, the sun coming out. 

Azara shook out the umbrella as Aang and Katara stepped out from under it. Closing up the umbrella, she smirked as Sokka grumbled in frustration.

"Not everyone has the gift, Sokka," Aang replied, trying not to laugh. They continued walking, eventually reaching a small village at the base of a snow covered mountain. Walking through the streets, Azara spotted a building with a sign that read Aunt Wu: Fortuneteller.

"Aunt Wu has been expecting you," the man with white hair stated, opening the door, and allowing the group in. Slipping off her boots, Azara stood in the entrance way as a girl around Aang's age, possibly younger, walked over.

"My name is Meng. I'm Aunt Wu's assistance," she explained, sounding bored with their presence. Azara glanced over at the girl, whose eyes widened as she gazed at Aang. Looking between the two, Azara almost laughed at how Aang could not see how the girl liked him, despite being put in the friendzone himself earlier that morning.

Meng gestured to the pillows on the floor as she continued to talk. The group walked over, each sitting on a pillow. "Can I get you some tea or some of Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs?"

"I'll try a curd puff," Sokka replied, but the girl had not moved her gaze from Aang.

"Just a second. So, what's your name?" she asked Aang, who looked up at her awkwardly.

"Aang," he spoke flatly, leaning back on his hands.

"That rhymes with Meng! And you've got some pretty big ears, don't you?" she smiled as Aang, who shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Don't be modest, they're huge!" Sokka insisted, smacking Aang on the back.

"As is your mouth," Azara muttered, elbowing him in the side as Aang covered his ears in embarrassment. Meng walked off to grab the curd putts, but not before winking at Aang as she left.

"I can't believe we're here in the house of nonsense," Sokka huffed, resting his head on his hand.

"Try to keep an open mind, Sokka. There are things in this world that just can't be explained. Wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into your future?" Katara asked, staring over at her brother with an unimpressed expression on her face.

"It would be nice to have some curd puffs," Sokka retorted as Meng returned, bean curd puffs in hand. She tripped over her own feet, causing her hands and the tray to land in Aang's lap. The airbender gracefully caught and steadied them, the two of them staring at each other awkwardly.

"Enjoy your snack!" Meng blurted, before running off. As Meng left, an older woman, presumably Aunt Wu, walked into the room. Her expression was tranquil as she stared at the four seated teenagers.

"Welcome, young travelers. Now, who's next, don't be shy?" she spoke, an encouraging smile on her face. Katara quickly hopped up and followed her out of the room while Sokka munched loudly on bean curd puffs.

"So, what do you think they're talking about back there?" Aang asked after a moment, looking concerned as he stared at the opening Katara and Aunt Wu had disappeared through.

"Boring stuff I'm sure. Love, who she's going to marry, how many babies she's going to have," Sokka shrugged, sounding completely uninterested. Aang hopped up quickly, saying he had to go to the bathroom before strolling out of the room. When he turned the corner, Azara turned to Sokka.

"Don't you see it?" Azara nudged him, gesturing at where Aang had just disappeared from.

"See what?" he mumbled, focusing more on the food in his lap.

"Aang obviously has feelings for your sister," Azara pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Sokka shook his head, putting the plate down on the ground.

"No, he's definitely interested in that girl. The one that brought the food," Sokka insisted, looking over at Azara who rolled her eyes.

"I'm not even sure he remembered her name." Before she could say anything else, Aang strutted back into the room, a confident smile on his face.

"Did you have a good bathroom break?" Azara teased, causing the airbender to stop walking and look flustered.

"Uh yeah, bathroom . . . right," Aang laughed nervously as Aunt Wu and Katara returned to the waiting room.

"Who's next?" she asked as Katara retook her seat.

"Okay, let's get this over with," Sokka sighed, getting up and doing some stretches.

"Your future is full of struggle and anguish, most of it self-inflicted. Though there will be a few light spots on an otherwise dark path," Aunt Wu replied emotionlessly, her face unimpressed.

"But you didn't read my palms or anything!" Sokka retorted, sounding frustrated.

"I don't need to, it's written all over your face," she shrugged, causing Azara to bite back a laugh at Sokka's facial expression.

"I guess I'll go then," Azara smiled, standing up and following Aunt Wu into a separate room.

Aunt Wu shut the door and motioned for Azara to sit on one of the mats. "You are Azara, Princess of the Fire Nation, yes?" she asked, taking a seat next to her as Azara nodded. "Give me your palm." As Aunt Wu stared down at her palm, Azara found herself starting to sweat as the silence continued. "Most interesting."

"What? What is it?" Azara questioned, her nervousness growing by the second. She didn't know why she was so interested. On one hand, she agreed with Sokka that the future was nearly impossible to predict. On the other hand, a part of her was really interested in what the future had in store for her. 

"This line here signifies that you're full of wisdom, a teacher and a leader," Aunt Wu explained, tracing the line with her finger. "But, then there's this line. Conflict. Your life is full of much strife and difficult choices."

"Yeah, okay," Azara nodded, a little disappointed that nothing new was revealed. Of course, her life was full of conflict, you didn't need to be a fortuneteller to know that. And in terms of difficult choices, Azara had already made the most difficult one—to leave her nation and help Aang. "Anything else?"

"Well, that's the interesting part," Aunt Wu sighed, pointing at another line. "Your family line is very patterned. There's many breaks in it. Your family life has been full of discord. I see you have a burdensome relationship with your parents and siblings."

"That's putting it mildly," Azara muttered to herself, resting her head on her other hand. Nothing Aunt Wu had told her had given her any new information. Hell, someone off the street probably could have told her most of that information. 

"However, your love line is very strong. While your family life was not the most stable in the past, you will have love and happiness in your future with a long, prosperous marriage and children," Aunt Wu concluded, causing Azara to look up in surprise. 

She might not have fixated on her future as much as Katara, but there were times when her thoughts drifted there. "Really?" she stuttered out as Aunt Wu nodded. "I'll get married? And have children?" Azara stammered out as Aunt Wu patted her shoulder reassuringly, a kind smile on her face. 

Admittedly, given her family history, Azara had assumed a stable, long term relationship filled with love was not an option for her. In her mind, the best realistic case scenario for her was to marry some general's son who she didn't love, but was at least tolerable. So the idea that she would be able to marry for love was startling.

"Yes, it shows here that you'll be married to a strong and brave warrior," Aunt Wu continued, pointing out the line. "Your relationship will certainly have it struggles, but your love for each other will be capable of surviving even the most strenuous circumstances."

"Is there anything else?" Azara asked before she could stop herself.

"Hmm," Aunt Wu hummed, staring down at her palm further. "I see opposites."

"Opposites?"

"Yes, opposites. It could mean that your personalities are opposing, perhaps your backgrounds. Something important and integral to who you are," Aunt Wu nodded as Azara stared at her palm.

"Thank you, Aunt Wu," Azara murmured as she followed Aunt Wu out of the back room.


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