(A/N)- I know I have criminally neglected this fic and I apologize. I've been off in other fandoms and working on other things and preoccupied with life. But I humbly offer you a chapter update.

Let's have a little bit more of Fortuneteller goodness, shall we?

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar I would have never let Netflix get their gross hands on it.

Cloudbending

It was embarrassing really, that he'd asked Aunt Wu about his romance prospects. Sokki would have burst into laughter, if she had found out, and he'd been dreading her million and one probing questions to grill him, even though she supposedly didn't believe in "all this monkey-hogwash". He was quite relieved when she was immediately distracted by the fortuneteller's proclamation of her own fate.

"You will have chronic foot in mouth problems with all of your relationships," the woman had told his sister wearily. "And you will suffer much misfortune, most of it self-inflicted."

It had been hard to hold in a giggle at the way Sokki's face had turned fuming red at that.

He wasn't sure where she was now, probably off sulking in embarrassment, which was all the better for him. He was lingering outside Aunt Wu's doors again, wanting to ask her more questions.

About her. The girl she'd seen for him in his future. His potential future wife.

It was such a silly thing to be worried over. He knew that. But at the same time so many of Sokki's groaning, "Ugh, you're never going to get married!" complaints whenever she'd failed to teach him to use a weapon, the worried whispers from some of the women in the village about him... More than once he had wondered if he'd even make proper husband material at all.

So that was a relief at least, to know there would be someone for him.

He tried to picture her in his mind. The long hair framing her kind face. Soft eyes. Steady hands and confident smile. His mental picture looked a lot like Angka, actually.

A pang went through his heart at that.

Ah, Angka... he sighed inside his head.

She would have no trouble finding a husband. She was cheerful, fun to be around, really cute, actually, if he was honest with himself. They hadn't even been in town a day and she already had boys crushing on her; he had not failed to notice little Ming desperately waving his short arms to try to catch her attention in the crowd.

He sighed again, this time out loud.

He wasn't jealous. There was nothing to be jealous of. Angka was the Avatar. She was amazing and strong and wonderful and the embodiment of hope for the world... and she would never go for someone like him.

She deserved better, anyway.

His self-pity was interrupted by Angka herself, running up to him frantically with Sokki not far behind.

"Katar!" Angka called.

He pulled himself out of his own head, turning to Angka and his sister. "Where've you two been all morning?" he asked.

Puffing a bit as she made it up the steps, Sokki leaned forward on her knees a moment and then straightened once she'd caught her breath. "Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano!" she said in distress.

Katar rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you'd love to believe that, Miss I-Will-Self-Sabotage-Every-Relationship-I'm-In."

"Would you shut up and just listen you big numbskull!" she snapped. "The village is in serious danger!"

Katar had a snarky comment ready, but a rumble and distant quaking from the peak had him snapping his eyes up towards the summit, blanching when he saw the putrid black smoke pouring from the volcano's apex.

"Oh no..." he breathed, his mind dissolving with horror.

-ATLA-

They didn't really have to talk about it. Angka knew that Katar was having the same kind of worries she was; that if Aunt Wu could be so devastatingly wrong about the volcano, how many other of her predictions were wrong?

At least... Angka hoped he was worrying about the same thing. It seemed the entirely wrong thing to focus on when they had a village to save.

But there it was, flitting through her head persistently nonetheless.

Angka was pretty convinced by now that Aunt Wu hadn't actually seen love in her future. She'd only said it to try and make Angka feel better. The thought of Katar's mysterious kind and beautiful powerful bender being someone else did make her heart clench a little bit. Would she really have to give up these feelings so soon after realizing she had them? Would he have to let her down gently, like she'd just let poor sweet Ming down? (And really that had blindsided her, she was still having trouble wrapping her head around the idea of someone having a crush on her, gangly awkward prepubescent body and all.)

In the end, she guessed it was okay. Katar was still her friend. She would still fight to protect him, to be the hope that burned in his heart. She could still inspire him and try to cheer him up whenever he was getting into one of his downward funks.

And, she thought, sneaking glances towards him as his arms flowed in graceful arcs, sending her a stream of cloud that she took with her own bending so very easily, their movements perfectly in sync, when they were alone together like this... comfortable, trusting, like it was the most natural thing in the world...

Maybe she could pretend.

Just a little. Just for a moment.

She thought she could be all right with that.

-ATLA-

His heart had gripped with paralyzing fear for a second when he'd realized Angka wasn't running behind them, away from the flowing lava.

But then he watched, amazed, as she called the wind into currents around her, practically floated above the burning maelstrom for a moment, sweeping the air in a wide arc that raised rivulets of lava above the lip of their ditch.

Another breath, another burst of air and the wind cooled the superheated rock into solid stone. A protective shell curled around the edges of the village, and the lava behind lapped up against it harmlessly.

Angka straightened as if the effort had cost her nothing, calmly returning her hands to a meditative position and exhaling softly.

Katar could do nothing but stare at her back in amazement.

Wow... he thought.

She really was something, wasn't she?

Could he even protect her at all, if this was what she was capable of without him?

Sokki stood at his shoulder, marveling as well. "Man," she said, shaking her head with wonder. "Sometimes I forget just how powerful she is."

"Yeah..." he agreed absently, and then his mind stood up and paid attention. "Wait—" he blurted, snapping his head towards his sister. "What did you just say?"

Sokki shrugged. "Nothing. Just that Angka is one powerful bender."

Katar's heart ticked with some strange excitement inside his chest. His eyes slowly returned to Angka, watching the ashen breeze lift her hair, rustle her clothes around her arms and shoulders.

There were dots connecting in his mind. A notion beginning to form.

Angka was a powerful bender.

His vague, formless idea of the girl Aunt Wu had seen in his future, the one that looked so much like her, started to take on more of her features.

Could it be?

His pulse stuttered and his cheeks dusted with pink.

Was it her?

(A/N)- Katar angsts all She's So High Above Me re. Angka, who unbeknownst to him is also pining and having all sorts of conflicted feelings, Angka is a badass and Katar gets the heart eyes, and Sokki triggers the epic Realization Moment for Katar. I dunno about you but I feel like a lot was accomplished this chapter, lol.

ALSO decided to once again delve into some of Katar's insecurities and issues with the traditional Water Tribe gender roles, which if you'll remember stem directly from his trauma and crippling fear of failing to protect the people he loves. Katar understandably has concerns about his life prospects given that he's averse to weapons and is more comfortable in a supportive, nurturing role and thus would not be as traditionally desirable to the average Water Tribe girl. (Not that there really were any his age in the Southern Water Tribe but still.) That is going to come to a very hard head once we get to the North Pole and lemme just say I'm looking forward to those chapters and leave it at that. :)

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.