Chapter 2: Fortunes?

The voice belonged to a man that Katara gradually recognized: a stout middle-aged Earth Kingdom high-ranking government official in thick green robes and a long beard. Lee was his name. He'd visited them twice before, demanding them to pay back the hefty amount they'd secured from him over three years ago. The last time he'd been here, he'd warned them that he would have to think about proceeding legally if they didn't pay him back in time, and true to what he said, he brought along an official with him.

"You must excuse him, Princess Katara. He's been quite stressed out, you see," said the lean man next to the official. He then bowed in greeting. "By the way, I'm Donghai, financial advisor and close friend of Mr. Lee here."

Katara whispered something to Kohana and ushered him inside their igloo. Before long, the two guests were seated on the most comfortable pelts in the igloo and were given what little food other than fish was remaining. Kya and Kanna were to handle the matter, but Katara was stubborn and insisted on wanting in on the conversation.

"It's my first time trying authentic seaweed rolls," Donghai said with attempted cheerfulness. "The Water Tribe cuisine in Gaoling isn't nearly as flavorful."

Kya forced a smile before briefly looking at her openly abrasive daughter and mother in law, wordlessly establishing that she would be doing most of the talking.

"If it's possible, may I have a second helping, ma'am?" Donghai asked. "Lee, what do you say? Care to try some more of this ambrosia?"

Lee gave a grunt in the affirmative.

"Look at these pigs," Kanna muttered to where only Katara and Kya could hear. "What are they here for, the food or the transaction? They know we're not in the best of situations and still show up to devour everything we have. We're a big, growing family. Can't they see we have needs?"

"It can't be helped," Kya sighed and smiled anyway. "Of course, sir. Just a moment." When she made it into the next room, however, she was greeted by Kohana, who had been stuffing the last of the rolls in his mouth this entire time. He flashed a sheepish grin at his mother through his inflated cheeks.

Oh dear.

"I tell you what? You could come down to Gaoling and open up your own restaurant!" Donghai blabbered in the meanwhile. "You will definitely win millions of hearts. The experience pays well, too. Charge a hefty price for your delectable cooking, and you'll be the finest chefs in the city!"

"It doesn't sound terrible, but we know the value of food too much to charge hefty prices and go as far as snatching it from the mouths of the poor," Kanna said. "And you know how city folk can be. We offer our hospitality, but they always expect more. They don't consider our needs or the fact that we're starving." Clearly she was talking about how the two of them were hogging every last morsel in the igloo.

The advisor laughed nervously and seemed to have caught onto that. He cleared his throat and called out much to Kya's relief, "No thank you, ma'am! I'm afraid we're running out of time." And immediately he whipped out a few documents from his satchel.

"You remember me when you need my money, but you don't remember me when I ask for it," Lee began the transaction in a rather unorthodox fashion, simultaneously continuing to lick his fingers clean of the seaweed sauce. "Poor or not, you have a responsibility that you need to keep. Unless if you want me to keep reminding you in other ways, which I'm sure you wouldn't be able to handle given my influence."

"Now now, Lee, that's not proper protocol," Donghai chided, but it can't be concluded that he was a nice man; he would be insofar as the transaction gets settled once and for all. Otherwise, he was just another one of their seemingly infinite creditors. "I, uh...I see the men aren't home this time around, ma'am."

"They left early in the morning to run a few errands," Kya said. "They should be back by sundown."

"I'm surprised your husband is still running around," Lee remarked. "With that useless leg of his, he can only do so much."

To which Kya's patience faltered, replaced by a deep glare. "You do realize you're talking about the esteemed Chieftain of the South."

"Some chief. Can't even feed his family by himself, and he claims he can feed his nation and get them out of their misery. How pathetic."

"You are sitting in my home, eating my food, and receiving my hospitality," Kya raised her voice. "I advise you to show your respect."

"Respect? Hmph. Your poverty hasn't toned down your pride, I see. Let's not forget that you're the ones who are indebted, not me."

Katara was ready to slap him with a tendril of water, but Kanna gave them both wary looks. He's not worth our time. Not to mention, he was a government official. Getting into trouble would only mean negative consequences for them.

"Alright, Lee, settle down. If you do all the talking, what am I here for?" The advisor turned back to the chieftess. "I'm afraid we can't stay until sundown. Your older son... He's not back yet from his trip, I suppose?"

"He's here. He's off hunting and fishing in the next village."

"Oh, I see." He then gathered his documents together. "As concerning as it is for me to express my reason for being here...I can only say that I understand the situation of your tribe. I really do," came the generic statement of attempted empathy. "But Mr. Lee has been facing certain financial issues himself...even if not to your extent. I feel that he's right to raise the concern for money."

"We would've been in a much more dire situation if it wasn't for your assistance, and we can't be more grateful, but you must understand. We need more time. We are in no position to give—"

"That is not my concern," Lee grumbled. "I don't care about what you did with my money or how well it served your purpose. It's been two long years, and I can't wait any longer."

"I assure you that Sokka will have everything taken care of as soon as he meets with the Department of Commerce at Ba Sing Se," Kya said calmly.

Donghai widened his eyes. "Ba Sing Se, you say?"

"Yes. His most recent works involve advertising our tribe's mineable resources: gold, iron ore, and several minerals."

"Gold?!" Donghai and Lee exclaimed simultaneously.

"The officials in Ba Sing Se will not resist the chance," Kanna jumped in calmly. "And once the partnership is finalized, we will arrange the money and contact you first."

Lee certainly seemed pleased. "How much longer do you need?"

"Sokka's leaving for Ba Sing Se the day after tomorrow," Katara answered. "A two week trip just to get there. He's been waiting for an official audience with the Earth King for the past two months, and it could take another week just to secure a partnership."

Donghai suddenly leaned over to Lee and whispered something in his ear. Lee nodded in the affirmative and said to them, "Why waste his time travelling two weeks when he has a suitable partner three days away? Instead of paying us off in cash, you know you could just partner with us for this."

Katara came close to blurting out a distinct, "no." These people insult them one minute and try to hoard their opportunities the next? The same opinion was shared by Kanna and Kya, but they didn't let their anger overpower the benefits that came with partnership. This meant their lives would take a turn for the better. Had Hakoda and Pakku been home, they would've agreed to this at any cost.

"We intend on having more than one partner anyway," Kya said. "Ba Sing Se is one of them. Possibly the Fire Nation capital if we can secure an audience with Fire Lord Iroh next. It wouldn't hurt to consider Gaoling as well."

Katara's frown deepened. Are they serious?

"I suppose we have a deal, then," Donghai said, quickly taking some notes on paper before shoving the documents back inside his bag. It was easy to see that they were drooling over this transaction despite their efforts in maintaining dignified indifference.

"We'll give you three more months," Lee said, standing up. "Within this time, we expect to hear back from you. If not, we'll return immediately and collect the money paid with interest. Otherwise, we'll have to seize your property until the debt is completely paid off."

"I guarantee you that won't happen," chimed in a voice the chief's family knew too well. It was Chunta, the only medicine man in the span of forty neighboring Southern villages including theirs and, true to his name, a deceiver in some of his schemes. The man was scrawny, nothing but bone and a very tiny layer of skin that made people question if he really was a member of the Water Tribe of all nations. He was not of the conventional "eerie, creepy" type in the class of shamans and was more of a mix between a well-wisher and a recurring pain in the blubber than an actual threat, but still he had the tone of a roaring hyena-leopard that added onto his brash confidence at times. "Everything will be settled by tomorrow morning!"

"What?!" the ladies screeched. Kohana peeked out from the other room at the commotion and hastily wiped his mouth.

"And who are you, good sir?" Donghai asked. "A near relation, perhaps?"

"Of course I am!"

"No, he's not!"

"Aw, you're too kind," Chunta chuckled at the women. "But really, Madame Kanna, you expect your grandson to be involved in a transaction with these filthy pigs?"

"Watch your mouth," Donghai flared.

"What in the name of the Spirits are you even doing, Chunta?" Kanna hissed. "This does not concern you—!"

"Stop doubting and start trusting, ma'am!" the shaman went on, ignoring the red-faced officials. "I can see it now. By this time tomorrow, your entire fate will be turned right-side up! These heathens will come crawling to your feet! Chieftess Kya, please, at least you should consider my words."

"What is this now, some kind of drama?" Lee bellowed, greatly annoyed by the simultaneous outbursts. "I thought we had our transaction established already. We take pity on you and generously offer to compromise, and you not only shove it aside but get this savage to insult us like there's no tomorrow!"

"That wasn't the intention, sir," Kya started, but really they could care less. They weren't too worried about the insults as opposed to the missed opportunity for monetary benefit and the potential negative consequences. "Please, don't listen to—"

"Enough. We wasted a lot of time here as it is."

"Lee, wait!" Donghai panicked. "Think about the gold...er...golden opportunity—"

"I am not going to stoop low enough to ignore these insults and come lapping at these savages' prospects like a dog!" He glared at the women. "I will be back tomorrow, and I will have every last inch of this property and every single one of your valuables seized!"

"Not even in your dreams," Chunta shot back. "The Spirits are on our side!"

Much to their dismay and Kya's immense anger, the official spat on the ground next to a small snowy indoor-shrine housing two figurines, one black in the figure of a muscular man and one white in the shape of an elegant woman. "Well then, let's see what your gods are gonna do about it." And he stormed out, dragging his nearly-wailing friend along.

"What on earth, Chunta?!" Katara demanded. "I might have been perfectly fine with you turning down their offer, but insulting them? Now those idiots are going to come back."

"Now now, don't fret, honorable ladies, I'm aware of what I've done—"

"Oh are you?" Kanna said angrily.

"Please, I could see it in your eyes that you didn't want to make the deal with those mannerless brutes."

"Yes, but you didn't have to make things worse!"

"We're not on the offensive to get to decide everything," Kya said. "That's why we were agreeing to their offer. We also have a child in the family. How can we expect to go on this way?"

"Ah, but you're missing the point! Your little one is your lucky charm. Things are changing for the better on his special day!" The shaman waved at Kohana and offered him the usual pouch of kelp cookies, a treat that the little boy eagerly accepted every time.

"They're going to be back tomorrow to take action," Katara said. "If we get kicked out and have everything taken away from us, where are we going to stay? You think it's easy to create a hut just like that with all of our benders toiling out there on the ships?"

"Nothing like that is going to happen, I promise you! Here, have a seat and I'll explain—" his stomach suddenly rumbled. "On second thought, why don't we wait until the men get here? The news I'm about to share requires all of your attention."

All he received were collective facepalms.

The members of the chief's family were seated in a circle around a small fire with their shadows dancing against the large igloo's walls and bouncing off of hung pelts. Seated between Hakoda and the shaman was Pakku with Kohana lounging in his lap. Hakoda was holding his wife's hand while Kanna and Katara were leaning against the other side of the wall, bonding over their notions of ridiculousness that greatly mirrored Pakku's. Sokka had not arrived yet, but it was understood that he would be late on hunting nights. Tonight was especially anticipated thanks to everyone's rumbling stomachs, save for Kohana who had nibbled on the cookies and leftover seaweed rolls and of course, Chunta, who had hoarded the few fish they had left. Even so, Chunta had commenced his ritual and spewed forth everything he'd noticed with regard to the planets and celestial positioning and loads of other such mystical things.

"So you're saying that overnight, thirty years' worth of hard work will be paid off," Pakku said skeptically. "And we'll be rewarded with ten times what we deserve?"

"Yes yes yes!" Chunta said excitedly as he flipped through his charts and scrolls. "According to Sokka's birth chart here—"

"Forget about the birth chart, Chunta," Hakoda sighed. "You've been saying this same thing ever since Sokka was born."

"Look, my friend, I know I made some false predictions in the past—"

"Some false predictions?" Kanna jumped in and raised her eyebrows.

"Alright, a lot, but all of you can't deny that I was wrong when I predicted that Prince Sokka would eventually become the main breadwinner for the family. Or what about each time I predicted the gender of your children, Chief Hakoda? I also foretold you that you would have a another son after the princess was born, and you didn't believe me. And look who's with us today," he smiled as he pat Kohana's back. "You see? I wasn't wrong on the more important issues."

"But you're not always right for us to put our blind faith in you," Hakoda said. "Thanks to your performance earlier, we're having to look forward to another skirmish with our creditors. As if Sokka doesn't deal with enough already."

"Trust me on this one, please! Now is the time for us to feel excited for our new Golden Age! Just have a look at Sokka's birth chart. It's remarkable for him starting tomorrow morning and onwards in terms of career and wealth. The stars are aligned perfectly for him, which means prosperity will come knocking at your door with Tui's grace!"

"Tui seems to be too occupied with other things to notice our plight," Pakku said sadly.

"No no, She has never forgotten us. All of this suffering is only for a lifetime of happiness for you and your children! You see, it's not just abundance of food and money we're talking about. There's also an abundance of love!"

Kanna coughed. Pakku sighed. Everyone else just looked at him with more skepticism. Kohana, oblivious as he was, lazily wandered over to Kya and plopped into her lap, yawning against her shoulder.

"As in marriage, folks," Chunta clarified to which Kya and Hakoda perked up and shared hopeful looks towards one another.

"Marriage?" Kya mused. "You mean…"

"You guessed it. According to their horoscopes, Prince Sokka and Princess Katara will find their perfect matches this year!"

Pakku and Kanna were more experienced with such immediate exclamations from Chunta; they merely shook their heads, deciding not to get their heads wrapped around the possibility just yet. This shaman had foretold Hakoda's marriage to Kya in a similar manner several years ago, and while it did happen, it took six whole years for that to be finally fulfilled.

Noting the elders' lack of change in expression, he pressed, "Trust me. This will certainly be of interest to all of you. There is a great certainty of two highly successful marriages by this time next year."

At any rate, there was still a flare of excitement among the adults, a dash of hope that sought to get past melancholy barriers. The technical age of marriage was sixteen years, but for obvious reasons, especially those revolving around the difficulty of feeding a large family, marriage had been one of those topics that was long suppressed in Katara and Sokka's futures— even if tradition frowned upon stalling the sacrament— and presented a sense of impossibility. Hakoda and Kya didn't even think about addressing their older children with that issue because they, too, felt it would be a distraction considering their situation. While the stubbornly traditional tribesfolk around the siblings' ages were long married and had children of their own, Sokka and Katara remained as the outliers. With Katara at twenty-one and Sokka at twenty-three, their ages presented a challenge of finding suitable partners for them both. Sokka would most likely be married to a much younger woman of sixteen if he didn't find someone his age whereas Katara would go through a bit more difficulty, for it wasn't possible for her to find a suitor her age in the tribe, at least.

Even so, it happened to be that Katara's horoscope was perfectly fine from the start with her totem being the otter penguin, so there hadn't been too much of a concern with regard to her future and who she chooses to marry. Sokka's horoscope, on the other hand, presented quite a problem with his totem being the wolf which, due to its highly spiritual connotation, was extremely rare (if not impossible) for any individual's totem and meant the person possessing it would be a loner. It was also thanks to his time of birth being at midnight on the Winter Solstice (the Day of La), which was highly unusual to begin with because he was a nonbender and extremely agnostic and yet was born on the most powerful day in Water Tribe culture (that, too, which was impossible). Such conditions made things very difficult, and Hakoda and Kya had been disheartened when they'd learned of this. Now, it was unusual how the same man who spilled this to them when Sokka was no more than three was now disproving it with such a positive claim.

"Please. Like we're ready to bring anyone else into this mess," Katara sighed, but the man smiled knowingly in her direction.

"The princess seems to be most enthusiastic, so I'll start with her," he chuckled, ignoring her flustered look. "Let's see here...it seems Princess Katara's soulmate is not from the Water Tribe—"

"What?" Clearly Pakku, the traditionalist, had been paying attention as unconcerned as he appeared to be. "How can we accept a man who doesn't know our customs? I want my great grandchildren and all future generations to be as traditional as possible. We can't just forget our roots and—"

"Grandpa," Katara huffed. "You're taking this way too far."

"Defensive of your husband already, Princess?" Chunta joked, stirring a laugh from the others. "But don't you worry, Master Pakku. Just because the man is not Water Tribe doesn't mean he's not one of us. He is someone who will have great respect for our culture and traditions. He is someone of very strong influence politically and spiritually. Extremely powerful but nevertheless a pacifist. He has a big heart and will certainly take her to cloud nine, I assure you! He's also a bender! What more can we possibly need?"

"And where exactly is this young man?" Kanna asked with more doubt than blind optimism, which quickly changed to amusement as she saw her granddaughter trying to cover up her reddened cheeks in the dark shadows. True enough, even the slightest crack of possibility sent Katara drifting in fantasies of her future husband. Kanna shared a quick glance with Pakku, sharing his somehow increasing enthusiasm even in their skepticism.

"I can't tell you certain specifics, but I know that he will meet her in the very near future!" Chunta said.

"So Katara's going to get married and have babies? Like Cousin Sheeba?" Kohana mumbled in the haze of sleep, causing more laughter in the group. The waterbender blushed more furiously.

"Right you are, Prince Kohana," the shaman smiled. "And your brother will, too."

Again, a sliver of hope swirled in Hakoda and Kya's expressions. What more could they ask for if their son had chances of finding someone to spend the rest of his life with? The certainly couldn't imagine him as a loner wandering place to place in trading missions for the rest of his life.

"It's always a hit or miss with you, Chunta," Katara covered up her embarrassment with nonchalance. "This time, it's a definite miss. You're just trying to escape our wrath with your sweet talk."

"Suit yourself, my dear, but when it actually happens, I will come to your wedding and look at you and say, 'I told you so.'"

As Kohana sagged in his mother's arms, Kya gestured for Katara to tuck him in, and the waterbender gladly took the chance to escape more impending embarrassment.

"I thought you said Sokka would have trouble finding someone suitable," Hakoda said.

"Up until last week, that's what I thought, too, but then I received a large sum of money and an anonymous birth chart through correspondence so that I could analyze it and send it back through the messenger sparrow. The gender, time of birth, location, and other information were given. Strange to say, the young Water Tribe woman, whoever she is, has a very unique horoscope as well. She is not compatible with anyone else, either, because no matter how hard I tried, I could not calculate her totem."

"That's impossible. Everyone in the Water Tribe has a totem."

"Not her. Strange to say, she appears to be a perfect fit for your son. Just as Prince Sokka shows all signs of having received La's blessing, this woman shows all signs of blessings from Tui. It's a match arranged in the heavens."

They all dwelled on his words for a few moments. Kya broke the silence. "If there really is a suitable girl out there, that would be wonderful," she said. "But we have to be able to find her. She could be in any village. She could even be in the North, and if she is, consider this match broken. You know how Sokka feels about the North. And this isn't just a matter of horoscopes. Sokka has to like the girl, and she has to like him."

"It will be quite a passionate affair, I assure you...er, not like an affair affair but...you know what I mean. They will be mutually devoted to one another. I even sense a very large family for them in the future! You can't say that's possible without love involved."

"But Sokka still has to like her—"

"Chieftess Kya, did you ever hear of La turning Tui down? Oh, goodness, even saying or thinking such a possibility is sinful." He bowed before the Tui and La figurines in the shrine. "I examined the woman's horoscope thoroughly, and I can see that she's a very kind hearted soul, a very gentle, motherly spirit. She perfectly compliments your son. She will bring out the compassionate side of him. You will be amazed at how influential she becomes in his life. Don't you worry a bit. This will surely happen."

"I can't help but think of this as sounding ridiculously positive," Kanna said.

"How can a situation that hasn't changed the past thirty years take a sudden turn for the better overnight?" Hakoda pressed. "Are you sure about what you're saying. Chunta?"

"The charts never lie, sir. Please, give me a chance, and you'll see for yourself. The prospects really are very good this year in all areas. "

"You better hope they are for your sake," Pakku grumbled.

"The Spirits are watching from above, and they've sealed your prosperity. Nothing's going to change that."

"Leave the topic of marriage aside," Hakoda said. If nothing happens by tomorrow morning—"

"No what-ifs, Your Highness," Chunta guaranteed. "You will see for yourself."

"Well even if nothing happens, we'll have to rely on Sokka to handle it."

"Not necessary at all. Speaking of our prince, why isn't he back yet?"