Author's Note: I forgot to mention this in the summary, but this story takes place in same universe as my other story The Last Firebender. You can think of it as a prequel.
Wangpo sat on the mud wall, staring down at Daeshim, her feet dangling over the edge. "Well… Maybe I do know something, but… You know? I could really use some cookies."
Forty minutes until he had to go. Wangpo had been the first of his cousins he'd been able to find and was the oldest of their generation. If anyone knew why mild-mannered Father was so despised, it would be her.
"If I make you cookies, you'll tell me then?" Asked Daeshim. "On your honor as an Air Nomad?"
It was too bad he didn't have any paper. Contracts needed to be written and signed to be legally binding. A verbal agreement could be easily broken.
"Sure." Wangpo giggled and smirked.
"On your honor as an Air Nomad?"
"On my honor." Wangpo scowled.
"As an Air Nomad."
"On my honor as an Air Nomad," Wangpo frowned. "I'll miss you Sheemy. It sucks that your parents didn't even ask you how you felt about moving."
Daeshim shook his head. He wouldn't talk back to Wangpo, she was his elder and it wasn't his place, but his parents knew what they were doing. Father was a wise man. That's why he ran the most successful dye shop in the city. Father knew what he was doing. He must.
Daeshim ran into Wangpo's house and started collecting supplies from various cupboards: granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, sodium bicarbonate, flour, and a tiny bit of processed cacao. All measured in precise quantities, and mixed in a bowl with an unfertilized egg and a half cup of butter. He ran to the back of the house, collected four logs of wood, and set a fire in the brick oven. He sprinkled some flour onto the oven's base, and counted for seven heart beats. Still white. Not enough wood. He tossed another log onto the fire, and tried the flour again. This time it browned. He hated the oven, so imprecise, he'd heard from travelers that some ovens in the Fire Nation ran on natural gas, and could set a repeatable temperature.
"You're so weird Daeshim," Wangpo said, giving him a bucket of dirty river water. "Mother never does all this when she cooks. She just throws things together, and adjusts until everything looks right."
Daeshim tried not to scoff, as he filled an old bucket to a cut with a 'c' next to it. He set the water near the wall, and let it leak. Cooking took to long to be counted by heart beats. "That works for her. This works for me." Father had always warned him against following his Aunt's artsy fartsy ways. Sure sometimes it worked well, but for repeatable results you had to record every step of your process.
"Where's the fun in doing the exact same thing, over and over?" Asked Wangpo. "You're like a robot."
Once you could repeat your results you could change them. Some changes were good. Some were bad. This led to optimization. That was why Father was the best dyer in the city. Repeatable processes.
"You're thinking something weird aren't you?" Wangpo rolled her eyes. "I can pull the cookies out of the oven myself. When the bucket runs out of water right?"
"Yes."
"C'mere then, let me tell you your parent's dirty little secret. Why your father is so ashamed he's trying to move to a place nobody knows him."
Daeshim leaned in, until he could feel his cousins warm, moist, sour breath on his neck.
"The truth is they're cousins."
Daeshim blushed and pulled away. "That doesn't make sense! You're just making things up! I knew I should've made you sign a contract!"
"I know right?" Wangpo laughed. "You're a nice kid Daeshim, but I'd never look at you that way."
"Why would they be moving because they don't have two sons?"
"That isn't what I said." Wangpo dropped her smile. "It isn't your fault Daeshim. There's no need to be ashamed of who you are."
But Daeshim was already running. Already crying. Why would Father want another son? What had he done wrong? Why did Father want to replace him? How would going to the Fire Nation even help with that? Nothing made sense anymore.
But of course, in the back of his brilliant mind, Daeshim still understood the world in exacting clarity and one small detail was undeniable: His father wasn't perfect.
Author's Note: As always, thanks for reading. If you enjoyed the chapter please like, follow, or subscribe.
