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Two: Cards On the Table

A/N: Happy holidays, everyone! Thanks for the reviews on chapter one. I'm glad that this little story has gotten such a good reception right off the bat!

It had been a long time since Aang had been free to just meander, to fly to a place simply for his own benefit – for fun, even – and not to attend to any crises brewing or troublemakers lurking in the Four Nations. The Avatar had no pressing visits or duties at the moment. Tenzin and Lin, it seemed, had planned their falling-out most serendipitously.

Aang chided himself for the thought. Of course Tenzin was hurting, and he hadn't planned it to make life easier on his father. But still, the sense of unhurried travel stole on Aang's heart, lightening his mood. He flew on the back of one of the younger bisons, dubbed Tuuli, who still needed a bit of training but was more than strong enough for the journey to the Foggy Swamp, southern Earth Kingdom, no detours necessary.

And then, true to Aang's element, at some point he got the whim, "Well, as long as I'm in the area…" and he made a detour.

The destination: Makapu Village, home of Aunt Wu. The most estimable Seer of Clouds had gone to her rest long ago, but the village still had its fortuneteller to guide them and lead them – Wu's onetime apprentice, Aunt Meng.

There was only a faint trickle of smoke from the volcano that day. Aang saw the deep furrows of cooled lava that he himself had stilled over fifty years ago were still visible. He scanned the streets until – there!

He coaxed Tuuli to land in front of the fortuneteller's house. And, of course, the fortuneteller was waiting for him.

Aunt Meng bowed deeply. "Welcome to Makapu Village, Avatar Aang." She wore her black hair – now well on its way to silver – in two large buns on either side of her head, and her robes were, like her predecessor's, simply made but with the finest materials. When she straightened up her eyes twinkled. "Did the Lady Katara send an emissary for her fortunetelling?"

"She chose to stay home this time. I'm your client today," Aang disembarked from Tuuli's back, "if you would do me the honor."

"The honor is mine." Meng beamed, showing the gap in her front teeth.

She led him into the house. Its interior had been somewhat updated from Aang's last visit, but still it retained the old fashioned style from before the Earth Kingdom opened its doors to the world. It was also more cluttered – a hallway leading off to private rooms was crowded with toys, scattered and abandoned. A small, dark-haired boy darted through, picking up toys by the fistful. When he spotted Aang he stopped, stared bashfully, and then sprinted away.

Aang indicated the boy – or the direction in which the boy had vanished – to Meng. "Your…?"

"Grandson," she corrected. "One of four, so far."

"Oh. How nice." Aang knew he should have been more appreciative, but at the moment it seemed a monumental effort.

The main chamber for clients was still kept atmospherically – and dimly – lit. The incense was an invigorating cedar scent. While Aang sat down and arranged his robes carefully, Meng took out wrapped bamboo sticks, animal bones, and pebbles. She said, "I of course learned all of Aunt Wu's various crafts, but while she always determined the method of soothsaying, I let my clients decide which sort they prefer."

The collection of items she spread out before Aang seemed hodgepodge and random – a single book, a cage of white mice, an inkwell standing by a saucer… Meng noticed his staring and added, "I can also slaughter bird entrails, if you like."

"No," Aang shook his head quickly. Then he pointed to a deck of what looked like playing cards. "What about those?"

"Ah – a good choice. Taro cards are suited to a wide variety of subjects. The images they show can awake imagination and prompt new ways of seeing the situation. Shall I use those?"

"Please do."

She clapped her hands, and a door slid open. A bright-eyed young girl hurriedly shuffled in, collecting the other sets of tools. She made quite a picture, hurrying out the door with her arms full of supernatural geegaws. She closed the door behind her by an act of extreme, elbow-oriented ingenuity – followed by a loud Crash!

Aang flinched, but Meng only smiled calmly. "She'll learn. Now, if you would kindly shuffle the cards… and tell me, what problem plagues the Avatar himself?"

He had a knack for card shuffling, and set to it at once. "I don't come to you as the Avatar. Today, I'm just an Air Nomad. I… want to know about my son's future. The future of the Air Nomads resets on him. He's the only one who can really carry on our culture and bending, yet I wonder… what is his path? Will the future I want for him come to pass?"

"What is your son's name?"

"Tenzin."

Meng beamed. "What a beautiful name. Now… draw five cards, please, and lay them in a cross shape."

The cards seemed to sing to Aang's fingers as he laid them down. He felt braver, confident in Meng's abilities. When Meng turned the cards over, they found the Five of Water at the base of the cross, and the City Lord and Exam Master on either side of the center. Above those was the World-Spirit card, which showed a young girl dancing atop what Aang recognized as a lion-turtle. Meng turned over the center card and Aang gasped: it showed an Air Nomad, aged and wise-looking, bearing a glider aloft, and was titled The Sovereign of Air.

He pointed to it. "What does that one mean?"

"The Taro deck, rather like playing cards, is divided into four suits, based on the four elements. Since the Air Nomad genocide," she hesitated over the word, and couldn't meet Aang's eyes, "the cards such as Lady of Air and Student of Air are usually used to represent non-benders. But in this case, I think that the card's old meaning should be read first." She winked. "The Sovereign of Air indicates a wise man, keenly intelligent and sober. A natural, impartial leader."

Aang nodded at each line. "And what about the other cards?"

She pointed to the Five of Water, which showed a Water Tribesman, under a waning moon, weeping over an empty pool. "Ah, I think that this card indicates your Tenzin as he is now – heartbroken, sad, suffering from a loss – and yet to realize that though he has lost much, much still remains to him."

"Is the loss permanent?"

"Sorry?"

Aang squinted at the card. "My son has… look, he and his girlfriend of more than ten years have broken up. He said that they'd broken up permanently. I'm not sure; they've had a lot of spats over the years." Meng nodded but said nothing, until Aang felt compelled to add, "They fought over having a family together. It seems that L—that the young lady refuses to change her mind about having children."

"Does she not want them?"

"No."

"Good for her." Aang looked up at her, surprised. Meng went on, "It's brave for a woman to realize what she truly wants, especially when it counters so much of what the world says she should want, and to cling to it. It's entirely her decision to make."

"I never said it wasn't. Meng, do you really think that this is a permanent break-up?"

Meng considered. "I've never even met your son, or the girl he's broken up with, but remember this: the question of children isn't like the question of what house to live in, or what traditions to follow. It's better that they had this falling-out, now, than if they had gotten married and only then realized that they had differences."

"But he can't not have children—"

"And if she doesn't want children, then they won't be married."

"And what if he decides to go back to her anyway, and what about the Air Nomads?"

Meng answered. "In that case, he would lose much, but wouldn't he keep something of, perhaps, greater importance?" She nodded to the cards, and Aang again saw the Five of Water with its imbalance and sadness staring up at him.

He frowned. "What can I do to change his mind?"

"Is that really your place?"

She smiled at him, and he sighed. "It's… no, it's not my place. And I'm not here to ask about his personal life. What else do you see?"

She indicated the wider spread. "I see your son having a great destiny, not as a warrior, but as a guide and teacher. I see a city to which he will bring justice, a school of students eager to learn at his feet. And, excelling even him, I see his star pupil." She tapped the World-Spirit card. "This card usually signifies the Avatar. I think your son is well aware of his many responsibilities, and will not shirk them. He enjoys teaching and leading. I think that he will leave behind a fine legacy."

"I see."

For a long moment neither one said anything. Then Meng slowly said, "I don't see anything about a family of his own. Would you like another reading?"

Aang let out a sigh. "No, thank you. Though I would like a cup of tea."

The tea was served. They passed a very pleasant hour talking about the spirit world, fate and free will mingling, and the different nations' method of fortunetelling.

"You're going to see the Swamp Tribe? How nice. Good luck finding the village, though – I hear it's very tricky to navigate."

"I'll be flying," Aang said with a smile. "I don't think I'll have trouble."

"You know, Ihana, the servant you saw earlier, is descended from the Swamp tribe."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. Her mother's family moved into the village some, oh, fifteen years ago, and her mother married and fell in love with a native Makapu boy. We've never had a Water Tribe family in Makapu before."

"The world is opening up," Aang said. "We're all more closely connected than ever before."

"I know, and it's delightful. You know one place I'd love to visit before I die? The old Stone Circle. It's out in the Western corner of the Earth Kingdom, near Omashu. It's an ancient site for hermits and mystics."

"I see the appeal." Aang stood up to leave. Meng followed suit.

She guided him outside, pausing to choose her words carefully. "Aang," she said, "this is, I am sure, something you already know, but a bloodline is by no means the only measure of a man's success. I am sure that your son will be admired and deeply honored for generations, on account of his own deeds, and not his ancestry. And even the fact that you are the Avatar does not make the future you want for him, the right future for him."

Seeing the look on his face, she added quickly, "I know that this is not what you came to hear, but it is what I can tell. And you shouldn't put all your faith in an old woman and some printed cards." She grinned.

Aang couldn't help but grin back. "Maybe it was I needed to hear." He bowed. "Thank you, Aunt Meng. Clear skies and gentle winds to you."

"And the same to you, Avatar," she answered, returning the bow. "And come back sooner next time. A decade is a long time to keep a woman waiting!"

He laughed as he mounted Tuuli. "Try a hundred years!"

As he flew away, Meng kept waving until he was out of sight. Finally, she dropped her hand, squinting against the afternoon sunlight. "Best of luck— first of the Airbenders."

A/N: The cards featured here are, of course, Tarot cards. They're meant to correspond to the Five of Cups, King of Swords (Sovereign of Air), Emperor, Hierophant, and, of course, the World.