A/n Guess who has a follower! ok i over reacted a little but still, i have a follower and its nice. So this will be in the fortuneteller ep after that little filler before hand. I don't own A:TLA and expect small changes. and big changes and stuff I've just made up.
Chapter 3
We ran out of food. It's not really a problem for me as I would last days on a scrap of bread, or I would just steal some. But I have to prove that the old me has gone, that, when they do find out who I am, they will trust me. So here I am, searching for berries. Sokka claimed he was fishing, to me it looked like standing in a river and attempting to catch fish with bare hands. Idiot. Luckily I found a white berry bush, completely untouched by human hands. And it had loads of ripe berries. Unfortunately I didn't have anything to carry them with, nor were my pockets that deep. I took as many as I could, but it wouldn't last us long. I hope we find more white berry bushes, they had been helpful to me these past 3 years. Something caught my eye, deep within the white berry bush. A black berry. Highly poisonous and never dies. You have to eat it for the effects to take place and, depending on the amount you eat, it can go from making you dizzy or sick, to killing you. This one blackberry will just make some have a headache, but if I find more, I could use it as a weapon. It's better than my awful sword skills. I pick the berry and manage to attach it to some string I found. Tying to string around my neck I gathered the white berries and went back into the direction of the Gaang.
I rejoined my new companions, pockets full of berries and saw Sokka getting attacked by a fish he was "catching"
"Stop teasing him, Sokka. Aang's just a good friend. A sweet little guy, like Momo." I heard Katara say. It sounded like an awkward conversation so I intervened quickly.
"Guys I found white berries." I shouted. "Come on then Sokka what have you got to show for all fishing you've been doing?" His unamused face sent Katara and me down the giggle road. Aang didn't join us laughing at Sokka, which made me worry slightly. Was he distracted by something? We heard a loud noise in the distance and ran towards it. A platypus bear stood on it hind legs and looks to attack a man in blue.
"Well, hello there, nice day isn't it?" Granted the man was skilled at dodging the bears blows and seemed a little too calm. Sokka, Katara and a cheered up Aang started yelling ways to distract the bear, but he didn't listen. "No need to worry." How could this man be so calm when he was in the face of danger. I would very much not like to die by a platypus bear, but if we didn't do something then this man will die. I tear a bit off my blackberry and run to jump onto the bear. He let out a roar and I force fed him the small berry. He instantly got confused. Aang let out a bellow which confused the animal even more. I jumped off and ran away from the now sick bear.
"Mmm lunch." I heard Sokka say.
"Why weren't you scared?" I asked. Sokka was holding an egg while the bear had gone.
"Thank you, but there was no need to worry, Aunt Wu predicted that I would have a safe journey."
"Aunt who?" asked Aang
"No Aunt Wu. She's the fortuneteller from my village. Awful nice to know your future." A fortuneteller? I thought they were only in old woman's tales. Oh geez I bet we're going to go see her. My mind came back to the present as the man walked away.
"Oh and Aunt Wu said if I met any travellers to give them this" And with that he vanished. Katara seemed giddy
"Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and find out our fortunes, it could be fun."
"Oh come on fortunetelling is nonsense." Sokka argued.
"Well what do you know, an umbrella." The sky darkened and rain fell. Aang and Katara huddled under the umbrella. I pulled my hood tighter around my face. They tried to convince Sokka that seeing the fortuneteller would be a good idea. While I agreed with them part of me didn't want to go. My past was bad enough.
The rain had stopped but my hood stayed on. This village was either Earth kingdom or Fire Nation occupied, I wasn't going to think that I would just be forgiven because I traveled with the Avatar. Death by an angry mob-not fun. We entered the village and a man in a black robe approached us.
"Aunt Wu is expecting you." he said. This was officially creepy. Katara thought otherwise.
"Really?" We were lead to a big house in the middle of the village. The wooden door was open and we filtered inside. The black robed guy shut the door behind us and we sat on the cushions provided. Just then a girl about Aangs age walked in.
"My names Meng and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant." Pink robe, untidy hair but she seemed nice enough. She was staring at Aang a long time."Well hello there." Aww she likes him.
"Hello." And he's not interested in her. Oh dear I hope we don't stay for long, situations like this make me feel... awkward.
"You have some pretty big ears don't you." Poor Aang turned bright red. She's smitten. I watched her leave to get tea and curd puffs.
"I can't believe we are in the house of nonsense." I rolled my eyes. If Sokka was going to carry this on the whole day then later I will push him off Appa.
"Try to keep an open mind Sokka. There are things in this world that can't be explained. Wouldn't it be nice to have so insight to your future?" I agreed with Katara about not being able to explain things. I was a living example. "Thea you're quiet, ever since the Platypus bear." Katara looked at me expecting an expecting me to tell her that I was scared shitless about what Aunt Wu will tell me.
"It's nothing." I said, which wasn't exactly a lie. She opened her mouth to ask me some more when a woman in gold clothing entered. Saved by the bell. This must be Aunt Wu.
"Welcome, young travellers. Now, whose next. Don't be shy." Katara stood all too eagerly. Time ticked away and I blocked out Sokka's eating and Aang needing to find a bathroom. He came back a little while after.
"Looks like someone had a pretty good bathroom break." Sokka said.
"Yeah... when I was there."
"Aang! We do NOT need to know." I interrupted him. Boys will be boys. Katara came back looking happy.
"Ok whose next?" I rose.
"Me." I said. I followed the woman. I was nervous. What if she's not nonsense? What if what she says is true? My heart pounded in my chest. She was going to know my identity as soon as I walked into that room. She was going to see my future. Unless it was really nonsense.
We entered a dimly lit room and sat opposite each other.
"You can pull your hood down, I know who you are." She said. She was judging me, yet I sensed that she didn't want to cause any harm. So I pulled my hood down to reveal my white hair. "Thea Half-spirit."
"Is that what you call me now, I thought it was Thea the murderer."
"You have many names child, some you don't even know yourself. Tell me, are you planning to harm the Avatar?"
"Why don't you tell me?" She just wants me to lash out. She wants me loose control. I'm not going to let that happen.
"Fine," She was fed up? This woman confused me."Pick a bone." I looked at the bones and picked up the longest one. She threw it into the fire which then turned almost as white as my hair. "Never have I seen fire that white."
"I have." I said to her. My fire, the fire I used to bend, was white. Not a pure white like my hair or like the fire before me now. It was a mucky white. An unclean white.
"I see a great struggle inside you. And a great punishment." She was referring to the chains though she had not seen them."In your future, I see... incredible power." I sniggered.
"You must be mistaken, I had the power, it was taken from me." She shook her head.
"A power, better than before. You are destined for great things Half-spirit. I see someone else. A boy"
"Stop" I didn't want to know about Theo. That was his future, he had to survive, if he came back. I did not want to know what he will go through. Aunt Wu didn't stop.
"Someone you'll have to fight for, and ultimately leave behind. Someone who you would sacrifice everything for, who you have sacrificed everything for. Someone who will love you and you will..."
"STOP" I yelled. I didn't want to know anymore. I didn't want to know about what I will do to Theo. "I don't want to know anymore." She seemed startled, afraid even. "I don't want to know anymore." I repeated quieter. I was shaking, it took all my strength to stand. "Thank you.."
"There's more Half-Spirit."
"I said I..."
"I know what you said. But this you will want to know." She didn't sound like she was going to stop, so I listened. "I see a choice. A choice between duty and love." Great a riddle. I'll die figuring out a riddle.
"Let me guess, you do not know the decision."
"No, that is unclear. But I see struggle and hardship and reward."
"Can I leave now?" I really did not want to know more. It was my future, I didn't want to live with her words floating in my head. "Tell my friends I'll meet them later." Aunt Wu nodded her head and I escaped like an assassin of the night.
Thea Half-Spirit? That was the first puzzling thing about Aunt Wu. I've been called many things throughout my life. Thea the murderer, Thea the powerful, Thea white hair. This was the first time anyone had called me Thea Half-Spirit. She knew who I was, I suppose that comes with being a fortuneteller. Did I believe in such things? And then the white fire. I must admit, it was nice to see the white fire after three years. Even though it did so much damage, it was still beautiful. Then a power greater than before. What was I to become the greatest swordsman? Not a chance. There is no way for me to become more powerful than I was. I read books, I listened to old mens stories but none could tell me about a spirits punishment. I probably was on the wrong world for that, on the wrong world with no way to get to the right one. Then the reading about Theo. Someone you'll have to fight for, and ultimately leave behind. That's the future, I'm going to leave him behind somehow, yet fight for him before hand. Someone who you would sacrifice everything for, who you have sacrificed everything for. To be honest, he sacrificed everything for me. No rather because of me. But it is true- I would sacrifice everything for him right now if it would bring him back. Someone who will love you and you will... Kill? Betray? Destroy? Save? I didn't want to know. And what she mean will love me? Didn't he love me before? And then the choice I have to make. Duty or Love? Could that be to do with Theo? Will it be my duty to stop him? I don't know, I hope Aunt Wu was just nonsense.
Time drifted by, I noticed that I had been gone for a long while. I headed back to the village to see Aang walking out of Aunt Wu's with a book.
"Thea where have you been?" He asked. Then before I could answer his face changed. "Actually tell us later. We have an emergency." I followed him to Appa and Katara.
"Thea? There you are."
"No time Katara, we need to do this now. Aunt Wu told the people, by cloud reading, that the volcano wasn't going to explode but we found out that it will, today." Aang told me.
"So the plan is?" I asked.
"Katara and I are going to manipulate the clouds to look like a volcano-is-about-to-explode-cloud." Aang explained.
"Then I'll get Aunt Wu." I offered. They flew off on Appa, I ran to Aunt Wu's home. She was in the first room, drinking tea."Aunt Wu, come quick" I made myself sound out of breath to increase the direness of the situation. "The clouds they are changing." She immediately stood up and followed me to the centre of the village. In the sky a skull looking cloud had appeared, clearly the work of Aang and Katara.
"Oh my." Aunt Wu sounded terrified.
We started digging a trench. It would direct the lava away from the village and into the river. Sokka and his science. The volcano rumbled and erupted spewing out lava. Death by lava, lovely. Aang told us to all evacuate- no way was I leaving. Sokka and Katara stayed too and we watched with Aang as the lava flowed down to our trench.
"It's going to overflow." Katara was right, we didn't do enough. If only I had my earth and fire bending. Instead I saw Aangs air bending. a magnificent sight as he. Using the cold air he froze the lava into rock. A beautiful most amazing bit of air-bending I have ever seen. To be honest I haven't seen much but still, it was pretty awesome. To my left I heard Sokka say what a powerful bender Aang was. No kidding Mr. Science.
We returned to the villagers and handed back the cloud book. Sokka still tried to convince the people that they shouldn't base everything on what Aunt Wu says, but they argued that what she said was true. Of course, if we hadn't been there it wouldn't have been true- then fate would have taken a different course. Maybe. Aunt Wu beckoned me over.
"I have a gift for you Half-Spirit, to help you with your journey. I have no use for these, but you may." She handed me a box and retreated back to her home. It was a simple wooden box with one decoration. Inside- blackberries. Aunt Wu never ceases to amaze me.
After our good-byes, and a refill of supplies, we got back on Appa and traveled to our next adventure.
"what's on the box Thea?" Katara asked me. I looked down at the one decoration on my now treasured possession.
"It's a shepherd's staff. More specifically, it's the one that legends say was my fathers. Beside it is a winged wolf, a creature I have never seen before." Aang shook his head.
"I haven't seen one in either worlds." he said. It was a mystery. A winged wolf... surely there is no such thing.
A/N White berries and the poisonous black berry look like normal blackberries. chapter 3 done. Next chap is Balto XD
