"A Fortune Followed'

CHAPTER VII

Sighing, Ti reluctantly turned away from the scene. Tears threatened to sting her eyes, a prospect that made her blink furiously before swiping a sleeve across her face.

She wasn't sure what was worse: Having met the Avatar and his entourage of close friends and knowing that she would have to remain here with her grandparents till they went up to rest with the gods in the heavens. She'd probably inherit the farm and would have nobody to sell it on to- it wasn't as if economy was high at the moment.

Hearing her name shouted in the customary bark, she rolled her feline eyes before making her way down to the field where Khan was giving an ostrich-horse a brush-down, neat piles of down scattered around it. Scrambling over the wooden gate into the field, Khan acknowledged her with a brief nod before snapping a concerned gaze back to his prize beast. Running a wrinkled hand over the creature's long face, it pushed its velvety muzzle deep into his palm, affectionately.

"Can I help you grandfather?" She spoke, her tone a little irritable- she surely hadn't come over to see Khan give the creature a cuddle!?

"I have a job you can do for me toda-"

"- Grandfather!" She blurted, her face pained. Khan took a startled half-step back, his piercing emerald gaze searching her face for a sign to show him that she was joking. He found none. Clenching his jaw in anger, he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as Ti carried on speaking.

"Don't you think it's time you let me leave this place to see the world!? I haven't been anywhere except for this place, you worry about me when I go to Toyoshi!" Turning her face away from his, she looked to the ground, her hair falling down over her shoulders as she did so. "Seeing the Avatar and his friends today, they look so happy. They look so free, they know who they are and what they want. It made me realize just how much of a stranger I am of myself…"

Khan's eyes widened then softened. Lowering his arms to his sides, he unattached a loop of rope from around his waist. Knotting it precisely and steadily, he fashioned a crudely made halter for the ostrich and slipped it onto its head. Closing his eyes, his nostrils flared with indignation, a thick vein submerging along his temples.

"Here's your first test of independence. This creature's sick, Ti. He has perfect breeding and I've striven to look after him since he was first born. He's lost his appetite and won't accept any food I've offered. I want you to visit the animal mage in Toyoshi, see what she says. She's an old friend, show her that locket I gave you and she'll look at any of our animals for free." Holding out a reluctant hand, Ti took the lead rope from his hands with a roll of her eyes. So this was Khan's way of giving her independence. What a stretch.

"I think it's important that you do this. It's an important task and I know you won't let me down."

Smiling weakly, he looked at the chain around his granddaughter's neck before looking back to her face, a defiant expression permanently fixed on it. Without a word, she jerked the creature forward, walking by its side as she led it through the nearby gate. Looking back to Khan, his arms were crossed across his chest, a look of wistfulness on his face, no doubt looking back to the days when Ti obeyed him with doting love and charm.

Compared to Ba Sing Se, Toyoshi was barely a blip on the map. A small village, the effects of its years of Fire Nation disturbances had taken its toll. Tiles were slipping, the paving busted along the roads. Windows were smashed and the occasional scorched wall was not unusual. Once idyllic, the circular shaped village still had an odd charm about it, the architecture of each building endearingly small-scale. Luxury was hanging-baskets of flowers outside a shop window. Built in a spiral, the streets constantly curved till it reached the Town Ring, a large circular space often eerily empty. It was here where most villages did their shopping; the prices were low, just like the quality of the items. Pick-pocketers on every corner, scammers eagerly luring unsuspecting fools in. Standing in the doorframes of some houses were women, their profession obvious due to their customary scantily clad appearances.

As Ti led the ostrich-horse through the streets, she narrowly avoided sleeping homeless people and steered well clear of the opium dens scattered about.

This was the kind of duty she was going to have to perform day after day for Khan to even consider letting her broaden her knowledge of local places. Hearing a laddish jeer from across the road, she briefly glanced over to spot a group of men a little older then her, their faces smiling as they mentally undressed her. Her cheeks blushing furiously, Ti's nostrils flared in anger as she quickened her pace, desperate to be away from such dregs of society.

The task was easy. She knew the place like the back of her hand. To get to the animal-mage she would only have to follow the path in front of her, no twists or turns, merely a straightforward route, the outcome of the journey equally tedious.

"Care to have your palm read, miss?"

Ti was shocked out of her thoughts by a surprisingly sweet voice that penetrated her very mind. Snapping her head around, she was met in the eye by a boy of about her age. Cloaked, his hood was up, an almost feminine face visible from the shadows, rounded and seemingly innocent despite his dark clothing. Sitting on a mass of coloured mats with his back against a wall, a birdcage containing a strangely large budgie balanced precautious on a small table beside him.

A look of enchantment grew on Ti's face. Before Khan had become so worked up with his farm he had on occasion taken her to visit the town's fortune-teller, Madam Sachiko, a child prodigy who had been murdered in one of the first Fire Nation raids. The memories had blurred into rough shapes and scents, none taking to much sense or logic, but still beautiful memories at that. This young boy in front of her did not seem to have the same ethereal presence as Madam Sachiko, but had an endearing quality in his tone and expression that made Ti want to leap forward, palms exposed, to hear of her future. The tug on the end of the frayed rope held in her hands brought her back to reality.

"I can't… I don't have the money, I need to take this sick ostrich-horse to the animal-mage." She answered, her large, feline eyes disappointed. Leading the beast on, she heard the voice chirp up again.

"So if the horse is so sick, it won't be much use anyway! Perhaps you could sell it on to that dealer…"

An expression of mischievous playfulness grew on the boy's face that reminded Ti of Aang greatly. She bit her lip, her eyes flicking over to the wagon belonging to the dealer, an assortment of random cast-outs and caged creatures spilling over the wooden edges. A whole ostrich-horse would give her a fair amount of money- enough to get her palms read at least… Khan would kill her. His prized ostrich-horse in the hands of a dealer! It would break his heart but maybe it was the only way to detach herself from him. He babied her, and Ti was sick of being so held-back. Clenching her hands into fists, she weighed up her options.

Looking back to the boy, she gave a weak smile before leading the creature over to the dealer.

Five minutes of persuasion had resulted in a cupped handful of silver and copper pieces which Ti had readily pocketed before running back across the street towards the palm reader, a bright smile on her face.

"How much!?" She panted, her emerald eyes alight with excitement.

" Hm… Lets say three silver pieces? Its not like you can't afford it…"

Ti's eyes momentarily widened. Three silver pieces? That could buy an awfully large amount of food; the palm-reader was blatantly ripping her off!

"Two?" She suggested, holding up two dull coloured pieces.

"Three." He finalised, his tone trembling with suppressed annoyance. Taking a deep breath, Ti reached into the pocket of her dress once more and pulled out the third piece of copper. The palm-reader grabbed it eagerly, his leather-clad hands a blur as he dropped it down his boot. Pulling his hood further down his face self-consciously, he shuffled nearer and held out both hands, gesturing for her to reveal her palms. Pausing before she outstretched an arm, she was surprised to find a bout of nerves course through her. This was it. The conclusion to whether her future life would be the one that she had feared or not.

Taking the girl's hand between his own, the palm-reader let his shaded eyes scan the flat planes and creases of it. Blinking down at the kneeling figure, Ti attempted to catch another glance at his face, it had been hard to get a good idea of what he looked like.

"Your life-line looks long and healthy and very, very safe." Ti's lips parted in protest before she let her gaze drop to the floor. So her fears were confirmed.

"-That is, if you take one of the many routes." Continued the mysterious stranger, the flimsy material of his hood fluttering in an ominous gust of wind sent down the street. Ti's eyes widened in relief, a smile growing on her lips.

"Go on!" She urged.

"The second route foretells lots of... Excitement? And adventure. And peril!" He continued, glancing up to watch her reactions to each word. Seeing a slight look of anxiety cross her face, he carried on.

"Peril if the wrong choices are made, that is! If you make the right choices then there will be no peril!"

Ti frowned, this seemed a little flaky in her opinion, he was merely telling her what she wanted to hear! Frowning uncertainly, she spoke warily.

"So can you tell me something that will happen sometime around now?"

The palm-readers face lit up underneath the shadows, invisible to the girl's view.

"I can indeed. I can also tell you that a certain troop of people visited you recently… They are not to be forgotten, they may well be the… the foundations for an epic adventure!" He tilted his head back a little to reveal a plump pair of lips parting to reveal straight ivory teeth. Ti blinked in disbelief, her breath held as she awaited the next prophecy depicted from the lines of her palms. The palm-reader took an almost thespian intake of breath, a hand lifting from her palm as it was held close to his face. Leaning forward, he spoke in a harsh yet somewhat delicate whisper.

"They are in grave danger. Nobody can save them but you, I can read of your power in your palms…"

Ti's eyes widened in horror. Reeling backwards, she clutched her hand to her chest, her tone sharp and fringed with panic.

"Where can I find them!?" She exclaimed, her eyes wild.

"We'll have to ask my Kanari.." Standing from his kneeling position, his full form was revealed. Fairly small, his whole body was engulfed by the thick cloak, any shape covered effectively. With his back to Ti, he opened the birdcage letting the huge budgie hop onto his gloved wrist. Holding a balled fist briefly to it's hooked beak, it gave a twitter before flapping it's Prussian blue wings and taking flight into the sky. Turning back to Ti, he spoke once again in his mellifluous voice.

"She'll lead you there, follow behind. I don't think you'll have trouble keeping up with her!"

Knowing fully well there was no time for questions, Ti turned and sprinted in the direction that the bird was flying, her boots clattering lightly on the flagstone floor, her thick auburn ringlets floating behind her…

******

The palm-reader gave a spritely giggle and turned to face the figure emerging from the doorframe of an empty house behind her.

"So it worked out right?" The figure asked in a husky voice, his face concerned behind the layers of shadows.

"It worked out perfectly!" The cloaked palm-reader enthused. Throwing back the hood of his cloak, the face revealed was anything but a boy's. A thick chestnut braid was released as the hood dropped, a playfully angelic face now fully visible. Fluttering her thick eyelashes to the dark figure in the doorway, she tilted her head quizzically. He really was cautious!

"So how does that overgrown budgie stunt work?" He asked.

The girl chuckled before unclenching her hand and revealing a small scrap of grey cloth.

"This sock belongs to the Avatar. I stole it from his whilst he was having a water-fight with that Water-tribe girl!"

The man raised an eyebrow from inside the gloom.

"And how did you manage to achieve that?"

"I squeezed up the coal-shoot! I am pretty flexible!" She giggled, bending back her long fingers in display to her companion who grimaced in disgust.

"So they were bathing and you secretly took his sock?"

"Yep! They were having so much fun splashing each other that anybody could have done it, even you!"

The man rolled his eyes; it was so hard tolerating the girl's exuberance to every topic he mentioned.

"And you gave your budgie the scent?"

"She's a Kanari! And she's not mine! I stole her from that merchant before the girl arrived."

A small snort of approval was made by the figure at her words. Annoying as she was, she did have her use; she was definitely brighter then her appearance suggested.

"So your Kanari is leading her to the Avatar as we speak?"

"She is. She's so clever!" Exclaimed the girl, blinking back into the darkness.

"And isn't that what she wants? How does that help us in any way!?" He shouted, his tone fierce.

"Azula and Mai have taken a few fire-bending troops to welcome them! Its clear that they're gonna return to the last camp they created in Miyako woods! The blind earth-bender made it pretty homely! They only went to that farm to get some decent rest, they're making a U-turn back the way they came!" Explained the girl, smiling innocently. Taking a moment to process the information, the hidden figure felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. It was a good plan. There was only one problem.

"And what if the Avatar and his friends decide to go a different way back? What if they don't walk into the arms of Azula?"

"They will. We took an earth-bender captive and made him block the other ways out of Toyoshi with huge boulders. They have no choice." She smiled sweetly, her arms crossed smugly. Letting the sock drop to the floor, she unfolded her arms before shrugging of the cloak.

"Now help me get out of this cloak, the breast-bind is killing me! If only you knew how much I've had to suffer on your behalf!" She giggled, the heavy cloak dropping to the floor as she felt a warm pair of hands untie the knot on the back of her neck. Turning, she let her hazel eyes lock with a piercing pair of golden ones.

"We better go join the others-"

"-You never answered my question earlier… Why do we want that girl?"

"Because she's a bender of such rarity that up to now everyone thought it was just a myth!"

"And how did you find out that?"

"I've been tailing the Avatar and his gang for a while now. When they arrived at the farm yesterday, I took a bit of extra time to look around. I discovered some pretty interesting things; I saw some very interesting powers… She doesn't know about the strength of her powers yet, it's under Azula's interest that she never finds out." The girl stretched luxuriously as she managed to free herself from the constricting chest-binds. Who would have thought pretending to be a boy would have been so agonisingly painful?

Away from the shadows, the figure was in fact a young man, only just beginning to lose the awkwardness of adolescence. He could feel his palms burn, the harnessed power causing his arms to tremble.

"Lets go."

Playfully skipping beside her companion, Ty Lee felt an onrush of excitement take over. She was eager to fight, eager to bring down the Avatar knowing that she had the returned prince of the Fire Nation by her side.

Seeing the blurred shape of a tiger run up the hill to the dense forest of Miyako woods, Prince Zuko felt a small smile grow on his face. It was time to restore his honour.

Author Notes: Well that was a pretty long chapter! Hope you made it this far… Thanks go to Loner for his help with 'de-cluttering' my original plot- though he helped more with ideas for the next chapter. ^^

Daise/Memory Storm x