"You will be involved in a great battle; an awesome conflict between the forces of good and evil, a battle whose outcome will determine the fate of the whole world!"
Meng was troubled… an understatement, considering how badly made her curd puffs recently. The young girl meekly apologized to her many times on how absent minded she was with her chores… but she knew the real reason behind the distraction.
Unlike the other Earth Kingdom villages, their hometown did not offer any military or commercial advantages that could draw the Fire Nation's attention. Except for the giant wall formed by dry lava surrounding their village thanks to the timely intervention of the young Avatar, the area itself was unremarkable, with its citizens leading peaceful lives.
But that does not exempt them from rumors of travelers and visitors of neighboring towns. The Fire Nation won the war, and that the Avatar died in battle in Ba Sing Se. It was such a surprise for her, as she did not foreseen such a thing sooner.
The first thing the people did was to head to her house and asking for her fortune to determine the truth behind those rumors. And she had done so… with much relief as the townspeople felt when the bones revealed that he was alive. She briefly frowned, an expression she knew that Meng must have saw, when she felt Aang's energy seemed… weaker somehow.
She kindly placed her hand on Meng's head, encouraging her charge to tell her what's wrong.
"As soon as you said that he's alright, everyone went back to what they're doing as if nothing happened." Meng said, trying not to let her voice show too much bitterness. "Aren't they worried? Don't they remember how he saved us a few months ago?
"Don't they care?"
She pulled the child into her embrace as Meng cried; it was one of those times when she genuinely wished that people shouldn't rely on her fortunetelling too much. "It will be alright." She assured her. She was not telling her this as the fortuneteller, but as family.
"It will be alright."