Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 31: Good Fortune
It was approaching midnight, and the darkness that enveloped them was deep. Clouds had rolled in, covering up the thin sliver of a moon that had been providing their only light.
"I swear, if he gets captured again, I'll kill him," Zuko fumed.
"Not if I get to him first," Mai quipped. "How long does it take to find frozen frogs anyway?"
She tapped her foot against her ostrich horse's side and then randomly took out a blade, throwing it at a nearby tree. She moved the animal forward, retrieved the knife and then repeated the sequence over again. Zuko made a small light in the palm of his hand so that she could see her surroundings a little more clearly.
Firebending in the Earth Kingdom, dressed all in black, like bandits and thieves tended to do, was probably not the best idea, but the prince was fairly certain there was no one on this forsaken path but them. He began to play with the fire then, moving it from one hand to the other, twisting the flames into shapes. It felt good to bend. He'd done far too little of it lately. He thought of Aang then, and his need to learn firebending. Who would teach him; would Iroh or would he? Jee could do it too for that matter.
"Hey, Mai, do you think we should be teaching Aang firebending yet?"
Mai guided the ostrich horse back to where Zuko was and just looked at him, the tiniest hint of amusement on her face.
"Don't you remember? It's one element at a time, and Aang is still working on water."
"Yeah, I remember, but those avatars had years. Aang's only got a few months."
"Well, is it better to have him really good at water and air, or merely adequate at water, fire and earth and good at air?" Mai wondered.
She stopped when she saw the familiar flash of orange and yellow blazing up the steep incline and onto the path in front of them.
"I got them!" the airbender declared triumphantly. "Let's hurry. If they unfreeze they won't be any good."
Aang took off down the path toward the abandoned village, quickly leaving them far behind.
"Oh, thanks for waiting," Mai called after him.
She and Zuko did their best to keep up.
Katara and Sokka were sucking on the frozen frogs by the time Mai and Zuko made it to the village. Aang was encouraging the pair, repeating the herbalist's words, and watching with wide eyes as the frogs slowly thawed and began to move around. The green legs, sticking out of their mouths, began to jerk and twitch. Mai put a hand over her mouth and swallowed hard.
"Okay, now that is revolting!"
"They're just frogs," Aang grinned and turned to look at the young woman. "See!"
He held one out to her, snatching it up from the stone floor.
"I know what they are; that does not negate my disgust. Zuko, if you ever put a frog in my mouth, I'll have to kill you."
"Okay, no frogs," the prince reassured her. "But if you're delirious, you won't know, will you?"
"I'm certain there will be some sort of amphibious aftertaste," she insisted. "I'll know and then you will die."
"She's kidding, isn't she?" Sokka asked as the fuzziness began to clear from his brain.
Iroh felt the boy's forehead. A pleased smile crossed his face and he hummed happily.
"You'll learn that Mai has her own brand of humor."
"Dark," Zuko continued.
He nudged Mai playfully and she gave him one of her famous eye rolls.
"Now that Sokka and Katara are feeling better, perhaps they would enjoy hearing the story of Aang's rescue," Iroh stated. "I know that I would."
"Uncle, we have much more serious things to discuss."
Zuko's face was shadowed now and he pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to get rid of a headache.
"I'll make some fresh tea then and you can give us all the bad news."
Over steaming hot green tea, Zuko and Mai related Zhao's plan to invade the Northern Water Tribe and kill the moon spirit, essentially eliminating waterbending as a threat. Katara gasped and looked horrified. Waterbending was just now becoming an essential part of her life. The more she learned and the better she became, the more integral to her very being bending was. She thought about no longer being able to manipulate her element, making it curl and twist and lash out, adhering to her will, her spirit. It was a powerful feeling and it left Katara breathless with the need to learn more sometimes. If that were ever taken away from her, she might just wither up and become nothing but a dried husk instead of a vital young woman.
"Well, that changes some things, doesn't it?" Iroh looked deep into his teacup. He swirled the liquid around, watching the tiny waves as they rose to the top of the cup and then receded. "We weren't planning on going to the North Pole. We have no way of getting there, after all. But now, now we need to find a way. I won't sit back while Zhao attempts to destroy an entire culture. That won't happen again."
He raised his head then and looked piercingly at Aang. The Avatar returned the older man's gaze and then nodded.
"We'll find a way for you then," he started firmly. "Someone has to have a boat, right?"
"Dad," Sokka whispered. "If only we knew where he was or how to get in touch with him. I know he'll want to go to the North Pole too. We'll need everyone we can get to help."
"He's somewhere in the Earth Kingdom?" Jee asked.
"Yeah, he and the rest of the men left two years ago to help in the war. We haven't heard from him."
"That must be difficult," the firebender sympathized. "I hope that we run into him somewhere."
"Yeah, that would be great." The young warrior pulled out his boomerang and ran a finger along its sharp edge. Hakoda had made the weapon for him when he was seven years old. It had stayed with him, even at night in bed, from that day. He missed his father intensely. Not knowing where he was or what kind of danger the man was in ate at Sokka, though he rarely let those feelings of worry show. He hid a lot behind his silliness; that carefree grin and oddball humor covered up a lot more than he was willing to reveal.
Katara put an arm around her older brother's shoulders. "He's strong and he's smart. Dad is fine. I just know it."
Why was Katara always comforting him? He was older; shouldn't he be comforting her? That's who she was, though; someone who took care of people. Since their mother was murdered in cold blood by Fire Nation invaders, Katara had become like a mother herself, perhaps unconsciously hoping to keep their mother's spirit alive. Sokka had a brief image of a beautiful face, so kind and warm, humor in her blue eyes, always ready with a hug. He felt his eyes mist up and embarrassed, swiped at them with his free hand.
"Katara's right, I'm sure," Jee added.
"Mmmhmmm," Sokka agreed. "Yeah, we still don't know how to get you Fire Nation people to the North Pole. And, might I add, they're going to love you guys up there."
"We'll put in a good word for them," Aang reminded everyone. His voice was positive and he looked at his new friends happily.
"Just make sure you put in that good word before they waterbend us to death."
"Ha, you're funny, Mai; almost as funny as Sokka." Aang slapped his knees, startling Momo, who, happy that Aang was back, clung to the boy's shoulders with a death grip. "Oh, I'm sorry, Momo. It's alright. I'm safe now thanks to Mai and Zuko."
"That reminds me, young Avatar; I don't mean to sound harsh, but I hope you learned your lesson, about listening to good advice, I mean. Zuko told you there would be grave danger and yet you flitted off without a care. My nephew and his betrothed were put in danger because of your poor choice. Please, use more caution in the future."
The former general's face was serious and he looked directly at Aang, trying to import his crucial message with the power of his amber eyes. Aang looked ashamed, a blush rising to his cheeks. He stuttered a reply.
"I, I'm s, sorry. I should have listened but I wanted Katara and Sokka to get better. I'll try harder from now on."
"That's all I can ask," Iroh nodded approvingly. "How about we all get some rest now. We have a long journey ahead of us still. Tomorrow we continue northward."
The group parted then, Iroh and Jee going to their little camp and Zuko and Mai returning to the house where they had slept the night before.
"I never asked you about seeing Zhao again," Zuko mentioned when they entered the broken down building.
"It felt good to make him hurt. And when I saw that burn, a burn that Ozai gave him for screwing up, I felt vindicated a bit. Does that make me bad?"
Mai looked at Zuko searchingly and waited for his reply. She put a hand on his forearm, willing him to stop and consider her question.
"You're not bad, Mai. He tried to kill us and he's promised to do terrible things to you; no wonder you felt good. I did too. I'm glad that you hurt him. Zhao is a coward and he has no honour. He's cruel and he's sick. We all want to stop him."
"I hope that we can," Mai whispered. "Things are really serious now."
It was midmorning by the time everyone was ready to leave. They headed north, skirting around Pohuai and the path that led to the stronghold. It made their journey longer and more difficult, but with Zhao nearby and plenty of troops at his disposal, it was better to play things safely. Appa flew as low to the ground as he could, bumping off tall trees occasionally, and placing broken branches in the path of the others.
They made a simple camp that night and rose with the sun the following morning, making good progress. The night after that, the group made camp by a tiny lake. Mountains, tall and covered in green surrounded them. The river that flowed into the lake began near the summit of one of the peaks, a small trickle gradually becoming many feet wide, rapids here and there.
Grateful for the cool, clean water, everyone washed up as best they could without disrobing and Aang and Katara got in some waterbending practice. Sokka battled with a fish that appeared to be smarter than the boy. Frustrated and soaked, he whined until Aang airbended the moisture out of his clothing.
"I hear something," Aang cried. "It sounds like a platypus bear is attacking someone."
Mai and Zuko exchanged a confused look. How could Aang determine that? It didn't matter. The Avatar had leapt to the rescue, bounding over boulders and leaving the camp behind almost instantly. Only the breeze he left behind gave any indication that he had ever been there. Mai sighed.
"I suppose we have to follow him, don't we?"
"Of course; he might be in danger." Katara looked indignantly at Mai. "It's our job to protect him."
"It's his job to be more careful," Mai countered. "He's too quick to dart off somewhere without thinking."
"Come on, Appa," Katara urged. "Let's follow Aang."
The impressive beast bellowed loudly and lumbered forward, not nearly as graceful on land as he was in the air. The waterbender made a point of ignoring Mai.
"Whatever," the raven-haired girl muttered.
She gathered up her belongings and stepped onto her ostrich horse, waiting for Zuko to do the same.
Aang was right about the platypus bear and the attack. The group joined Aang in time to see the boy chase the angry animal away, saving the life of an older man dressed in Water Tribe blue and white. He repeatedly mentioned a woman named Aunt Wu who lived in his village and apparently told fortunes and predicted the future. Katara was excited about visiting the village while Sokka was characteristically skeptical.
"You won't regret it, I promise you. Without Aunt Wu, no one in the village would know what to do."
"Sounds creepy," Mai interjected. "Can't you make your own decisions?"
"Ah, Aunt Wu has won over many a cynic with just one reading. She is amazing. You must come."
"What does this Aunt Wu look like?" Iroh inquired with a wink. "Perhaps I could get a reading too."
"Uncle!" Zuko chastised.
"What is it, nephew? Why should you and Mai have all the fun?"
Iroh was doubled over with laughter now and Jee joined in. Zuko's reactions were so predictable and it was so easy to upset him that sometimes Iroh simply couldn't resist. Mai's lips twitched too and when she caught Iroh's eye, she laughed.
"Take it easy, Zuko. He's just playing with you."
"Disgusting," the prince muttered under his breath.
Iroh clapped a hand on Zuko's shoulder.
"Love isn't exclusive to the young; you'll do well to remember that." Zuko shook the friendly hand off and stomped away down the path. "What's with him?"
Mai stared after her betrothed, a bemused look on her face. "I don't know. Sometimes he's just grumpy." She decided to hang back and let Zuko walk alone. Perhaps he needed to think about something. She would ask him later on in the day what was bothering him if anything.
The village was surrounded by evergreen forests and a large snow capped mountain loomed in the background. The dirt path became carefully laid sand coloured stone and several well maintained buildings came into view. They weren't the typical Earth Kingdom green, but a neutral sort of beige instead with roofs of brown and yellow. The only green roof sat atop Aunt Wu's establishment, the largest building in the entire village.
"Aunt Wu is expecting you," a man dressed in black greeted them. "Step inside. She would love to tell your fortunes."
"Oooh, yes," Katara agreed and barged right in.
Aang and Sokka followed while the others continued on through the village, looking for a place to spend the night.
"I like the looks of this rooming house," Jee declared with a smile. "And Mai, there is a bathhouse too."
"I'm sold," she stated succinctly. Dreams of warm baths with soaps and oils, soft cloths and shampoos were already filling her mind. "Did you hear that, Zuko? Bath-right now if we want one."
"Yeah, I heard. That sounds good."
The prince's voice was calm now and his posture was loose and easy
"Moody much," Mai muttered and reached for her betrothed's hand. "Let's go see our room."
A bath and a change of clothes later, the four Fire Nation natives wandered out into the town square. A crowd was beginning to gather.
"What's going on?" Iroh asked a young man who was rushing to the front of the covered stage.
"Aunt Wu is going to read the clouds," he answered excitedly. "It happens every year at this time."
"And that means what exactly?" Mai turned to Zuko and made a strange face. "Is everyone here crazy?"
"Hey, wait up you guys. I had my fortune read and it was awesome."
Aang barreled into them, almost knocking Mai off her feet. "Oh, sorry, Mai; I'm just excited. Aunt Wu said that if I trust my heart, I'll be with the one I love. Isn't that great?"
"So, she really put herself out on a limb, did she?"
Mai shook her head and then looked at Sokka who appeared equally dismissive of the whole fortune telling thing.
"I know, right," the warrior agreed. "She's so vague that all her predictions can't help but come true."
"Sokka, you're just upset because Aunt Wu said your future would be full of struggle and anguish, most of it brought on by you."
Katara had sidled up beside her brother and gave him a resounding smack on the back of the head.
"What was that for? I don't have to believe in that stupid hocus pocus just because you do."
"No, but you don't have to be disrespectful either."
The waterbender gave him another smack. Sokka turned huge, imploring eyes on Zuko.
"Are you sure that your sister is worse than mine?"
"I'm sure," Zuko replied authoritatively. "Katara is a dream compared to Azula."
"Gee, thanks, Zuko; what a compliment."
"I didn't mean it like that."
Zuko looked to Mai for help. She simply shrugged and walked on toward the stage.
"Hey, Mai," Katara called. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
She trotted to catch up and when she did, tugged on the sleeve of Mai's tunic.
"What is it?" Mai didn't relish talking with the girl about stupid predictions but decided to be kind anyway.
"Well, Aunt Wu said that I would marry a powerful bender and I wonder if you have any ideas about who that might be."
"Um, how would I know that? What about Aang? Isn't he the only powerful bender you know who isn't either taken or ancient?"
"Oh, well, yeah, I guess so, but Aang's just a kid." Katara sounded almost disappointed.
"Kids grow up," Mai reminded her sagely. "Give him a few years or less even."
"I can't imagine it," Katara breathed out softly. "He's sweet and kind and everything, but….."
"Wait and see; that's my advice."
Mai left Katara behind then, found Zuko and linked arms with him. This cloud reading thing might prove amusing.
Mai and Zuko watched dumfounded as Aunt Wu stood on the stage, cloud reading book in hand, and stared up at the sky. Looking every bit the performer, she assessed the cloud shapes and then announced their meaning. Apparently crops and twins would both have good years ahead.
"Ooh, ooh, ooh, she's going to make a prediction about Mount Makapu next," an excitable man squealed from behind them.
Mai turned to look at the man. "Wait, you let Aunt Wu tell you whether the volcano will erupt this year or not?"
"Why, yes. We used to walk up there and check the volcano ourselves. But ever since Aunt Wu moved here twenty years ago, we haven't bothered."
"And that doesn't worry you?" Mai continued.
"We're still here, aren't we?" the man answered with a wink. "Aunt Wu knows everything."
"Wow," Mai whispered to Zuko. "It's like their brains have been sucked out."
Coming from the Fire Nation, both Mai and Zuko knew the danger of volcanoes; it was drilled into them from an early age. And every active one was checked regularly. The fate of their people did not fall into the hands of a soothsayer. Aunt Wu made a dramatic flourish and then announced, "And a cumulus cloud with a twisted knob coming off the end of it-the village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year."
The crowd burst into raucous applause. People clapped their friends and neighbors on the back, and headed off to celebrate.
"I think I'll see if the lovely Aunt Wu can give me a reading now." Iroh strutted up to the stage and began to blatantly flirt with the woman. Mai and Zuko and Jee could hear her giggling and watched as she flirted back just as brazenly.
"Agni," Zuko gasped. "They wouldn't, you know, would they?"
"Like the man said, love isn't just for the young." Jee was laughing now, both at Zuko's traumatized expression and Iroh's antics.
"Just don't think about it," Mai advised. "I'm trying not to."
The older couple walked back to Aunt Wu's place. Iroh didn't come out for a few hours.
"Your uncle's reading sure is taking a long time," Aang remarked to Zuko later the same day. "Katara wants to get another one."
The entire group was having lunch at their rooming house. They all sat around a large table and chattered about non- important things. Saving the world didn't come up for once. But romance did.
Zuko snorted and then coughed. "Yeah; long reading, that's it; my uncle is a complicated man."
"Say, Zuko," the Avatar said quietly. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
He pulled gently on the firebender's shirt and ducked his head down close to Zuko's bowl. The Avatar kept stealing looks at the waterbender.
"What is it?" Zuko snapped irritably. "And get your head away from my soup."
Aang shifted his head a bit and then began to talk. "Well, you know something about girls, right? I mean, you and Mai are, well, you kiss and stuff and you're going to get married one day."
"Yeeeah, okay, but I don't know much. I mean, Mai and I just sort of, it's like we were made for each other. I didn't court her or anything. I mean I really liked her and she really liked me. We were betrothed from the time we were little. Then I got banished and she ran away to join me. We were sort of forced to work everything out and we've grown up together and gotten really close."
Zuko's face was red now and he couldn't believe that he was talking about all that with a young boy, a curious young boy.
"That's great, but did you ever get her anything or do something special for her? See, there's this girl I like a lot and…."
"Look, find out what she likes and get it for her or do something nice like pick her some flowers."
"Have you ever picked Mai flowers?" the boy asked.
"Um, no; but that's not the point. Mai's different."
"She's a girl isn't she?"
Zuko couldn't help himself. He pictured Mai without her clothes; oh yes, she was most definitely a girl. Scrubbing his face with his hands and turning even redder, Zuko snarled at Aang.
"Stop! I can't help you, all right. Just figure it out for yourself."
Aang turned big, hurt, grey eyes on him and then shifted over in his seat. Katara gave Zuko a disappointed look from across the table.
"I'm sorry, Aang. I'm just not good at giving advice."
"It's okay. I think I'll get her something pretty."
"Good, good. I'm sure that Katara will like whatever you choose for her."
"Hey, I never said it was Katara," the boy grumbled.
"Lucky guess," Zuko muttered. "Lucky guess."
Iroh finally showed up looking both pleased and exhausted. He went straight to his room for a nap. Katara paid another visit to an equally tired Aunt Wu, who, with increasing frustration, gave her prediction after prediction, carrying the girl right into old age and death. Aang meanwhile wandered about the town with Sokka, the Water Tribe boy trying to dissuade everyone from Aunt Wu's influence, and the Avatar trying to determine what gift to get for Katara. When Aang saw a young man give his beloved a panda lily, he made his decision.
"Sokka, we need to climb up the mountain. That's where the panda lilies are."
"And I would care why?" Sokka asked. "It's a volcano, Aang. Volcanoes are dangerous."
"Yeah, but this girl is worth it," the Avatar assured him dreamily.
"Fine, fine; the things I do for you guys. You'd better not forget it either."
Aang scampered up the mountain while Sokka lagged behind. Once at the peak, Aang found more than just the rare panda lily. The volcano wasn't dormant. It was, rather, very, very active. Lava churned and bubbled, steam rose and it was ready to blow soon. If it did, the town would be destroyed, melted away by the intense heat of the thick red liquid.
"Sokka, quick, look," Aang yelled back to his friend.
The Water Tribe warrior struggled up the rest of the slope, grunting and gasping for air.
"I really should work out more," he gasped with a hand on his chest. "What is it, Aang?"
"The volcano, Sokka, it's going to erupt. Come look!"
The Water Tribe warrior stared down into the fiery pit below. He was transfixed for a moment before shaking himself alert again.
"Crap, you're right. We need to warn everyone. Let's go."
Aang dropped the fire lily he had picked. It fell into the volcano, burning up instantly.
"We'll use my glider, Sokka. It's faster. Just hang onto me and you'll be fine."
"Sure, and when I fall, splitting my head open on those jagged rocks, be sure to tell Katara that."
He screamed the entire way down the mountainside.
Once back at the village, the boys set about warning everyone, first telling their friends, pointing at the grey smoke rolling in thick plumes from the mountaintop.
"You mean to say that Aunt Wu isn't perfect."
Mai stood with her arms crossed and stared up at the imposing peak. When the volcano did erupt, it wouldn't take long for the lava to make its way down the side of the mountain. It would be merciless and destructive and uncaring of who or what got in its way.
"Now, now, she does her best," Iroh defended her. "The villagers need to leave very soon or else we need to divert the flow of lava."
"Divert the flow," Sokka repeated. "That's a great idea."
He had that look in his eyes, the one he got when everything came together in his brain. When you looked deep into the blue of his irises, it was like cogs were turning and steam was rising,
Villagers were gathering in the square now observing the mountain calmly as if they believed that somehow Aunt Wu's prediction would still hold true.
"Hey, everyone, you need to get out of here. Aunt Wu was wrong."
"You've been waiting for this moment, haven't you, you science and reason lover," a woman in the crowd shouted derisively. "We have faith in Aunt Wu. Nothing will happen to us."
"Can you believe these people?" Zuko asked Mai. "What in Agni's name is wrong with them?"
"They've forgotten how to think," she answered promptly.
"No one is listening," Aang declared. His face was downcast and his shoulders were slumped.
"They're too busy listening to 'you know who'," Sokka explained.
The woman in question mingled with her many fans, looking up at the sky thoughtfully with a smile on her face.
"Yes, and that just gave me an idea. We're getting Aunt Wu's cloud book and Katara and I are going to make some clouds. Just you wait and see."
He grabbed the waterbender by the hand and ran to the fortuneteller's place. They came out a few minutes later, book in hand, ran to Appa, hopped aboard and manipulated the clouds, turning one into the symbol for volcanic doom.
"Look Aunt Wu," Sokka cried out with mock desperation. "Something is happening in the clouds". He tugged her by the arm and dragged her over to the stage, then pointed up to the sky.
"Oh my, that shouldn't be happening. The village is doomed."
"No, we came up with a plan," the young man informed her. "We need to divert the lava flow."
Aang and Katara were back on the ground now, ready to help.
"Listen to Sokka everyone. He can be pretty smart sometimes," the Avatar advised.
The Water Tribe warrior beamed with delight momentarily and stroked his chin, feeling the two persistant hairs that grew there.
"It's not really my idea, but that doesn't matter. Are there any earthbenders here?"
A few people raised their hands.
"We need lots of shovels too and I'll bet that Appa can move a lot of dirt. People, the lava is headed for the village, right?" Everyone nodded. "We need to dig a deep enough trench to divert the lava away from us and into the river. Got it? Now follow me."
Sokka led everyone, including Mai, Zuko, Iroh and Jee to the outside of the village where everyone dug the best that they could.
"So much for being clean," Mai sighed.
She wiped at her sweaty forehead with filthy hands, leaving a streak of mud behind.
"You look…cute," her betrothed noted. "Your mother would most definitely not approve."
"That puts a completely different light on things. Dirt isn't so bad after all."
Lava was flowing rapidly from the volcano now, rushing toward the village. The trench might not hold it all.
"Everyone, leave," Aang ordered, suddenly sounding much more like an Avatar than a playful boy. "It's still not safe."
Dropping their shovels, the villagers ran en masse to the opposite side of the trench, safe from the molten river. The lava took out the village gate and swept down through the cemetery before reaching the trench and slowing its onslaught. Ash began to fall then, coating everyone's shoulders and hair with bits of dark gray.
"I don't think the trench will hold it all, Aang," Sokka said urgently. "We should leave."
The small group stared at the lava as it headed toward them. Despite the danger and despite the devastation that the flow could leave in its wake, it was beautiful. It called to Zuko's internal fire and he supposed that it called to Iroh's and Jee's as well. He could stay rooted to the spot and watch forever. Zuko thought about the volcanoes back home and longed to assume a bending stance to discover just what he could do with the fiery liquid. Mai's hand on his shoulder snapped him to attention.
"We need to go, unless you plan on being consumed and leaving me alone."
He nodded and took her hand. Everyone left but Aang. Katara called to the Avatar but he was absorbed with saving the village now, all his concentration and considerable power being channeled into stopping the flow and then cooling it. He forced the lava up into a huge wave, inhaled deeply and then blew out, airbending as he did, and turning the raging hot liquid into stone. The village was saved.
"That was pretty amazing," Mai conceded. "Maybe there's hope for us after all."
"Yeah, sometimes I forget what a powerful bender that kid is."
Katara and Mai both looked at Sokka and smiled.
A/N: I suppose that was a bit of a goofy chapter, but as Mai said, things will get very serious now. Next up, our FN friend's will have a quick encounter with Jeong-Jeong and find their way to the North Pole.