Still…

Zuko shook his head. I can't believe I still have that nonsense running through my head. Go away!

Still…

He sighed.

"Something troubling you, Nephew?" Iroh bit into the papaya he had purchased for lunch, and made appreciative sounds. He and Zuko sat on a bench near the market square, seeking peace and quiet from the Avatar and his friends, who were still bickering.

"Nothing."

"If you say so." Iroh took another bite. "Ah, what a wonderful fruit!"

Zuko's stomach rumbled. He had yet to eat. Perhaps a papaya would be a good idea. Or maybe a mango. He would decide when he got there. He got up and went to the market stall, only to find it shuttered. "What?!" A man came out from the stall. Zuko glared at him. "Why are you closing in the middle of the day?"

"For the cloud reading, of course!" The man walked past Zuko to the middle of the market square. Zuko turned and saw many others joining him, gathering in a large crowd in front of the shrine there. The Avatar and his friends also showed up, looking around.

Zuko and Iroh joined them. Iroh finished his papaya while Zuko tapped the nearest person on the shoulder. "Excuse me, what is this 'cloud reading' that's happening?"

"Oh! It is a yearly tradition of this village," the person explained. They pointed to the volcano that stood above the village. "Every year for as long as this village has stood, there has been a yearly tradition where someone goes up to the volcano to see if it's going to erupt or if the village will survive." They turned with a smile. "Ever since Aunt Wu came to the village 20 years ago, we've replaced that tradition with a tradition of not doing that. Aunt Wu tells us instead!"

Zuko's eyebrow rose. "How are the clouds supposed to tell you that? I know clouds act differently based on rising heat, but this close to the ocean, there are so many other things that could be messing with them. The clouds could tell you there's a lot of heat from the volcano when it's really from the ocean! How is Aunt Wu supposed to know which is which?"

The person shrugged. "She has her ways, and she's never been wrong!"

"Give it a few more centuries and maybe that'll mean something," Zuko muttered. He looked around at the Avatar, his friends, and everyone else who was gathered here. "Seriously? I can't believe these people. Aunt Wu can't possibly know what she's talking about."

"That's what I've been saying!" Sokka said.

Iroh laughed. "Ah!" He gave the core of his papaya to Momo. "Your reasoning is good, Nephew. But perhaps there is something about this region that makes the clouds reliable. We haven't been here for 20 years; it isn't our place to say." Zuko looked away.

The reading began soon after. Aunt Wu walked up to the shrine, joined by her very strange-looking helper. Zuko was suspicious of the white-haired man. It just didn't look right on a man who looked so young. He dressed all in black too, which made him extra suspicious. And then there was the way Zuko had yet to hear him say anything. I'm keeping an eye on that guy, he decided.

Whoever he was, the white-haired helper didn't appear to be directly influencing the reading. He stood to the side of the shrine in proper formal pose, saying and doing nothing. Like a royal attendant. Aunt Wu looked up at the clouds passing overhead, which weren't influenced by any human forces, and consulted a book to find out what they meant. Zuko didn't see how that could be suspicious. The attendant might have access to the book, but it would be useless for him to rewrite it unless he could also know what the clouds would look like at the exact moment Aunt Wu looked up at them. Maybe he was harmless. At least, he probably wasn't influencing the cloud readings.

Aunt Wu predicted good news for the upcoming year: a good harvest, good luck for twins, and the village not being destroyed by the volcano. The entire square erupted in cheers at the last prediction, hugging each other and praising Aunt Wu. Katara clapped along, looking spellbound. Apparently she only hated firebenders. Nice to know it really was one single thing that she was treating him so harshly about. Zuko couldn't believe the hypocrisy. These are the same people that are trying to have harmony with the entire world, and they hate the Fire Nation more than any other? Gah!

Katara disappeared after Aunt Wu, which was good. Zuko didn't think he could stand any more of that shoved in his face. He convinced the Avatar and the other boy to wait, bought something to eat, then walked with them. Iroh followed. While Zuko was buying lunch, he had started a debate with the nonbender boy.

"There are many things in this world that are related to each other in ways that can't easily be seen," Iroh was saying. "Like what my nephew said about rising heat from the volcano, and the clouds. It is possible Aunt Wu has genuine insight."

"Okay, rising heat, that's fine," Sokka admitted. "But what about everything else?! How can she possibly know who's going to marry who, or what they'll look like, or any of those other things? She's making it all up! I'll show them!"

Iroh shook his head as Sokka walked up to a passing man and grabbed his shirt. "Hey, you! I bet Aunt Wu told you to wear those red shoes."

The man nodded. "Yes. She said I would be wearing these shoes when I found my true love."

"Why would you want to do that to yourself?" Zuko wondered aloud.

Sokka glared at him for interrupting. The man looked confused. "Do what?"

"Let me guess. You've been wearing them all the time since Aunt Wu told you that," Zuko guessed.

"Yes, every day!"

"Why would you do that to yourself?" Zuko repeated. "How many times have you worn those shoes and you haven't met your true love?"

The man looked down at his shoes. "A lot…"

"You could wear those shoes hundreds of times by the time you find your true love." Zuko narrowed his eyes. "Why bother? If Aunt Wu is as all-knowing as you think she is, it wouldn't matter anyway. You could wear them once, and you'd spend the whole day knowing that was the day for sure. If you wear them all the time, then you'll have the same odds all the time. You'll never really have anything to look forward to. Wouldn't it be more exciting to wear them only sometimes, like normal, and then they would actually be special?"

The man blinked. "But if I do that, then when I wear my brown shoes, I'll know that it won't happen." He looked down, brows furrowed. After a few seconds, he shook his head. "No; I would rather have a little bit of hope every day than none at all some days and lots of hope other days." Having decided that, he held his head up and walked on in perfect confidence.

Zuko stared after him. His understanding of what was going on in this town changed, shifting like the lens had been rotated. "He wants to," he realized. "It doesn't matter whether he believes Aunt Wu is right or not. He chooses to do what she says because he wants to."

Sokka walked up and stood beside him. "You mean everyone in this town wants to delude themselves?"

"They find it comforting." Zuko looked around. Everywhere, townspeople walked in perfect confidence, so sure that their lives were not up to random chance. They probably had never felt like he had, never felt that forces beyond their control could just do things to them and they'd have to put up with it. Zuko's throat closed. He was envious. "I'll, uh, go see what Katara's doing. See you guys later."

Behind him, Sokka muttered, "He's kidding, right? There's no way the only other reasonable person here can be going over to her side."

"I don't see what the problem is, Sokka," Aang said.

Iroh patted Sokka's shoulder. "My nephew is in much need of comfort these days. What harm can visiting a fortuneteller bring?"

.

Zuko requested the room with the floating flowers this time. Aunt Wu led him into that room, sidestepping around the little girl as she carried clean cloths. When they got to the room, the little girl was hard at work using those cloths to mop up spilled water from the bowls. "Just a minute!" They waited by the door as she moved aside cushions, bowls, and even some of the items on the shelves to dry them. What could... Oh no. Katara must have been mad. He tried to picture how mad, and winced.

Finally, everything was dry and put back in place. Aunt Wu gestured ahead as if nothing was the matter. Zuko took a seat on the right cushion and looked into the bowl of water there. The flowers were undamaged. Aunt Wu looked exhausted. "What do you want me to look for?" she said in a groan.

Zuko continued to stare at the flowers. Something about them was interesting. He didn't know what. "I…" What was it? I thought of what I wanted to ask before I came here. What did I think of? "Um… What do you use these flowers for?"

"Sorters," Aunt Wu answered. "Sometimes a fortune is unclear. The path of life can branch, and both branches can seem just as likely. But if you take both options in your hands and place them in the water, the water will favor one of them. Water is good at revealing what is hidden."

Zuko looked away from the bowl. Hearing about the properties of water was making him angry. I don't need to hear any more about water. I don't need to think about it at all! That reminded him of what he had planned to ask about. "Yeah, well, I'm not here to ask about that. I want to know just one thing."

Aunt Wu sighed. "What is it?" She asked that in the voice of someone who either just crawled out of bed or just decided to crawl in.

I'm glad I really only have one question. What did Katara put her through? "I want to go somewhere and do a dangerous thing. I know I'm going to do it; I have to. But my uncle is worried for my safety." Zuko leaned forward. "How injured am I going to get?"

Aunt Wu stared at him blankly. "You want to risk your life?"

"Yes."

Aunt Wu looked completely baffled. "Well… A reading of your life line should do. Your right hand, please."

"I'm left handed, but okay," Zuko muttered.

"Oh. Your left hand, then."

Really? If it makes a difference, why didn't she ask first? Zuko held out his left hand while rolling his eyes.

Aunt Wu traced his life line with a series of shuddering gasps. Her eyes bulged in horror. "Oh, dear. This is bad. Very bad!"

"How bad?" Zuko asked.

Aunt Wu traced his life line again. "You will be brought to the edge of death!" Her voice could make someone hallucinate a crash of thunder, even though the room was bright and sunlit.

Zuko's face relaxed as he took back his hand. "That's all? I won't actually die?"

Aunt Wu worked her jaw up and down, temporarily speechless.

Zuko thought of something else, and held out his hand again. "Wait! How is it going to happen? What kind of injuries will I have? The kind that would terrify Uncle, or something invisible?"

Aunt Wu only needed to glance at his hand. "...The scary kind."

"Oh, no." Zuko dragged a hand down his face. "Great. Thanks, anyway."

Aunt Wu stayed sitting as he got up and went to leave the room. As he opened the door, Zuko paused and turned. "Aunt Wu?" he asked lightly. "Have a good rest." The door shut on a very befuddled Aunt Wu, who wondered again if her precognitive powers were failing her. She had, in her youth, predicted things in her own future. Now, it seemed, she lacked that power. Surely she could not have failed to predict these wrecking balls disguised as children if she had still been able to.