A/N: Heyyy! This is my first post of December :) I'd say this chapter is one of my best, and also the longest so far. Enjoy!
Response from chapter 14:
Vapor23: Thank you for your review! I'm glad that you think I shined in changing the story. I always try to pick the most interesting route for Akira, and usually, that's the route of the main story. I agree, Aang would not react well to his little sister in mortal danger. Thanks for your continued support, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
We were sitting around our camp, not really sound anything in particular. Suddenly, I heard a splash, and looked over to see a fish emerging from the water.
"Look!" Katara exclaimed, pointing to the fish. Sokka immediately stood and stared it down.
"He is taunting us," He said angrily, "You are so gonna be dinner," He quickly grabbed his fishing pole that was resting on our tent and began to run to the shore.
"Hey, where's the fishing line?" Sokka asked.
"Oh, I didn't think you would need it, Sokka," Aang stated, holding up the fishing line. It was woven and had a flower in the middle of it.
"Ah, it's all tangled," Sokka groaned after taking a closer look at the fishing line.
"Not tangled, woven," I corrected.
"I made you a necklace, Katara," Aang said, standing up, "I thought since you lost your other one…" He then revealed it to Katara, who smiled and took it from his hand.
"Thanks, Aang," She said happily, "I love it,"
"Great, Aang, maybe instead of saving the world, you can go into the jewelry-making business," Sokka said sarcastically.
"Good one, Sokka," I stated with a laugh.
"I don't see why I can't do both," My brother replied with a shrug. Suddenly, the fish emerged from the water once again, and Sokka threw the fishing pole at it.
"Stop taunting me!" He yelled, causing me to laugh. He then proceed to pull out his knife and chased the fish into the water. I watched as he struggled to get it.
"So, how do I look?" Katara asked. I turned around to look at her. The necklace looked pretty, and it suited her.
"It looks cute on you," I said before looking over to Aang, who was furiously blushing.
"You mean, all of you, or just your neck?" He asked, "I mean, because they both look great,"
"Smoochie smoochie, someone's in love," Sokka teased, making kissy noises at the fish in his hands. I snorted as I watched the fish smack him in the face with its tail.
"I, well-" Aang started.
"Stop teasing him, Sokka," Katara interrupted, "Aang's just a good friend, a sweet little guy, like Momo," She patted my brother on the head before doing the same to the lemur. I struggled to not laugh.
"Thanks," Aang replied sadly. Sokka emerged from the water, completely soaked. Suddenly, we heard the sound of growling. Momo quickly began following the noise, and we followed behind him.
"Someone's being attacked by a platypus bear!" Aang announced. I watched worriedly as a platypus bear towered over an old man. He dodged every attack it made.
"We need to help him," Aang stated. I nodded and we ran over to the old man.
"Well, hello there," He said calmly before dodging an attack of the platypus bear, "Nice day, isn't it?"
"Make noise, he'll run off!" Aang yelled.
"Play dead, he'll lose interest!" I shouted. The old man was still dodging every attack.
"Whoa, close one," He said with a laugh.
"Run downhill, then climb a tree!" Katara exclaimed.
"No! Punch him in the bill!" Sokka yelled.
"And then run in zigzags!" Aang added.
"Scratch all of that! Just continue dodging until he gets tired and run off!" I exclaimed.
"No need," The old man said calmly, "It's going to be fine," The platypus bear then swiped at him again. He ducked and it ended up scratching a tree. Aang leaped in front of the platypus bear and blasted air at it.
"Woah there," My brother said, getting into a defensive stance. The animal growled in response. Suddenly, Appa came behind it and growled, scaring it. The platypus bear went back into the water, laying an egg on the way.
"Mmm, lunch," Sokka said, picking up the egg. I made a disgusted face as I watched him sniff the egg.
"Lucky for you we came along," Sokka said to the old man.
"Thanks, but everything was already under control," He responded, "Not to worry, Aunt Wu predicted I'd have a safe journey,"
"Who's Aunt Wu?" I asked.
"She's the fortune teller from my village," The old man explained, "Awful nice knowing your future,"
"I wonder if this Aunt Wu lady could predict if I'll get with Sokka," I thought, a blush forming on my cheeks.
"Wow, must be," Katara stated, "That explains why you were so calm,"
"But the fortune teller was wrong, you didn't have a safe journey, you were almost killed," Sokka argued.
"But I wasn't," The old man responded, "All right, have a good one," He bowed and began to walk off before quickly stopping.
"Oh, and Aunt Wu said if I met any travelers, to give them this," He said, handing Aang a package. The old man then walked away. I looked to my brother, whose expression was that of awe. I then looked at Sokka, who was giving the old man a dirty look.
"Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes," Katara suggested, "It could be fun,"
"Oh, come on, fortune telling is nonsense," Sokka sighed. I watched as Aang teared the wrapping paper off of the package the old man had given him, revealing an umbrella.
"What do you know? An umbrella," He said, unfurling the umbrella and putting it over his head. Suddenly, we heard thunder, and it began to rain. I quickly scurried under the umbrella, watching as Katara made herself one out of water.
"That proves it," She stated.
"No, it doesn't," Sokka argued, "You can't really tell the future,"
"I guess you're not really getting wet, then," Katara said. Sokka accidentally dropped the egg, which was above his head, and it fell on him.
"Of course she predicted it was gonna rain, the sky's been gray all day," Sokka said as we walked.
"Just admit you might be wrong, and maybe Aang and Akira will let you under the umbrella," Katara sighed.
"Y-you can take my place, Sokka," I stuttered, my heart pounding, "I can just go under Katara's water umbrella,"
"It's fine, Akira," Sokka said, making me blush, "Look, I'm gonna predict the future now, it's going to keep drizzling," It continued to rain.
"See?" He asked. Suddenly, the rain stopped.
"Not everyone has the gift, Sokka," Aang stated. We then continued our walk.
We walked through the gates of the village, hearing turkey-ducks quacking as we did.
"Aunt Wu is expecting you," A man at the door to the fortune teller's place said.
"Really?" Katara asked in amazement. We then walked inside. Once we were inside, of the building, I marveled at how beautifully it was decorated. The walls were a nice yellow color, which matched with the wood floors. There were four pillows on the floor to the right of us. There were pretty vases everywhere you looked, and the lights were beautiful, too. I took off my shoes and set them on the ground near the door. Then, a boy and girl walked in. They looked like twins.
"My name is Meng, this is my brother, Meio," The girl said, "And we're Aunt Wu's assistants," They then both gasped in surprise, and I saw Meio making serious eye contact with me. I made a puzzled face and waved.
"Who might you be?" He asked. I didn't know what this boy meant. Why was he talking so weird and fancy?
"Uh, what?" I asked.
"What's your name?" He rephrased.
"Akira," I responded blankly.
"That's a nice name," He said, batting his eyelashes and blushing. This kid was weird.
"Can I get you some tea or some of Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs?" Meng asked.
"I'll try a curd puff," Sokka stated.
"Just a second," she said, putting up a hand, "So, what's your name?" Meng leaned closer to Aang.
"Aang," my brother responded.
"That rhymes with Meng!" She exclaimed, "And you've got some pretty big ears, don't you?"
"I…guess?" Aang asked.
"Don't be modest, they're huge!" Sokka said. I giggled when I saw Aang glare at Sokka and cover his ears.
"Well, Aang, it's very nice to meet you," Meng said, "Very nice,"
"Likewise," Aang responded. Meng and Meio then walked away, and I swore I could see Meio staring at me.
"I can't believe we're here in the house of nonsense," Sokka sighed.
"I think it's pretty great," I said, turning to him with a smile.
"Try to keep an open mind, Sokka," Katara said, "There are things in this world that just can't be explained,"
"Wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into your future?" She asked.
"It would be nice to have some bean curd puffs," Sokka responded. Meng and Meio then reappeared. They were whispering something to each other, I didn't know what. Just then, a girl came out from Aunt Wu's room.
"Oh, Meng! Meio! Aunt Wu says I'm going to meet my true love!" She exclaimed, "He's going to give me a rare panda lily,"
"That's so romantic," Meng said dreamily.
"I wonder if my true love will give me a rare flower," Meio added. I looked up to see that he was staring at me. Weird.
"Uh, good luck with that," I said. The girl whispered something to Meng and Meio, causing them to blush. Meng pushed her away before returning to our group. Meng tripped over her own feet, almost causing her to fall and drop the food. Aang caught the tray. The two looked up at each other, and Meng began to blush. Suddenly, Meio apparently got clumsy too. Because he walked over to me and "accidentally" tripped, spilling the water from the bottle he was holding. I'm pretty sure he was hoping for the same thing that happened to my brother and his sister to happen to us, but it failed miserably. I looked down at my soaked clothes and sighed. I then looked up at Meio, whose expression was a mixture of embarrassment and shock.
"I-I'm so sorry!" He stuttered.
"It's alright, I clean up easily," I responded before putting my fists together and summoning an air sphere around me. I was quickly dried, and Meio looked at me in awe.
"Enjoy your snack!" Meng said, taking Meio's hand and running away. I watched as Sokka snatched the tray of food from Aang's hands.
"Welcome, young travelers," A voice said. I looked up to see an older woman, who I assumed to be Aunt Wu.
"Now, who's next?" Aunt Wu asked, "Don't be shy," Aang looked over to Sokka, then me, then Katara.
"I guess that's me," Katara stated, walking away.
"Not bad, not bad," Sokka said, his mouth full of curd puffs, "Mmm! Mmm!" He then noticed how Aang and I were staring at him, and offered us some puffs.
"I'm good on puffs," Aang stated, lightly pushing the bowl away.
"Me too," I stated. Sokka then went right back to eating.
"So, what do you think they're talking about back there?" Aang asked. Ideas of what Aunt Wu and Katara were talking about swirled in my mind.
"Boring stuff, I'm sure," Sokka replied, "Love, who she's gonna marry, how many babies she's gonna have,"
"Yeah, dumb stuff like that," Aang said absentmindedly, "Well, I gotta find a bathroom," He then ran away.
"What do you think Aunt Wu's gonna talk to you about?" I asked, wanting to strike up a conversation with Sokka.
"Something stupid," Sokka replied, his tone that of boredom, "I can't believe that people actually believe this stuff,"
"I should probably switch the subject," I thought.
"That Meio kid really seems to like you," Sokka said, breaking the awkward silence.
"Y-yeah," I said nervously, blushing, "He seems nice, but kinda weird," Sokka nodded and then went back to eating, leaving us in silence again. I fidgeted with my fingers, wondering what to say next. This was so awkward. Suddenly, Aang came back, looking happy.
"Looks like someone had a pretty good bathroom break," Sokka stated.
"Yeah, when I was in there-" Aang began. I resisted the urge to throw up as I thought about what my brother was going to say next.
"I don't even wanna know!" I exclaimed.
"Who's next?" Aunt Wu asked, walking back into the room with Katara.
"Okay, let's get this over with," Sokka sighed, standing up.
"Your future is full of struggle and anguish, most of it self inflicted," Aunt Wu stated blankly.
"Nothing about a girl, seriously?" I thought, an annoyed look on my face.
"But you didn't read my palms or anything," Sokka said, his tone that of confusion.
"I don't need to," Aunt Wu replied, "It's written all over your face," I looked over to Sokka, who made an annoyed expression and picked at his teeth.
"You there, come with me," Aunt Wu said. I turned to see she was pointing at me. I nervously walked toward her, and we went into the fortune telling room. When we got inside, she instructed for me to sit down. The atmosphere in the fortune telling room was a lot creepier than that of the waiting room, but I didn't mind. I sat down on a pillow and Aunt Wu sat next to me.
"Give me your hand," She said. I outstretched my arm and she took my hand, examining it carefully.
"Hmm…I see," She said as she stared at my palm. I became nervous, wondering what my palms would read.
"I see something in your family line," Aunt Wu stated, her expression saddening, "A family member of yours will have something horrible happen to them, and you will be greatly affected," My eyes widened in shock.
"Aang's my only family member," I thought, "What's gonna happen to him?"
"What's gonna happen?" I asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure," Aunt Wu admitted, "But it seems far away," I sighed in relief, glad that whatever horrible thing was going to happen to Aang would be in the far future. Suddenly, an idea came to my mind.
"Can you read my love line?" I asked expectantly. Aunt Wu gave me a puzzled look, then sighed and took my hand again. She examined a certain line on my hand.
"I'm sorry my dear, but I can't read your love line," She sighed.
"What? Why not?" I asked, my once happy expression turning to that of frustration.
"It appears you're too young," She responded, "It doesn't say anything yet," I groaned and stood.
"Thank you," I grumbled frustratedly, "I don't need anything else," I then trudged away.
Aunt Wu and I emerged from the room.
"Okay, it's your turn," She said, pointing to Aang. My brother stood. As we crossed paths, I whispered to him.
"It's a scam,"
He gave me a puzzled look before leaving with Aunt Wu.
Later…
"Well, now you got to see for yourselves that fortune-telling is just a big, stupid hoax," Sokka stated.
"I can't believe I ever thought that stuff was true," I grumbled.
"You two are just saying that because Aunt Wu told you something you didn't like," Katara said.
"Yeah, what did Aunt Wu even tell you, Kiri?" Aang asked.
"It doesn't matter," I replied bitterly.
"That woman is crazy!" Sokka exclaimed, "My life will calm and happy and joyful!" Upon saying this, he kicked a rock, which then hit him in the head.
"Ow!" Sokka exclaimed, "That doesn't prove anything!"
"Well, I liked my predictions," Katara said happily, "Certain things are gonna turn out very well,"
"They sure are," Aang said fake-coolly, a smirk on his face. I internally groaned and rolled my eyes. Jealousy surged through me as I remembered my predictions.
"Good for you guys," I muttered.
"What did she tell you?" Katara asked Aang expectantly.
"Some stuff," Aang responded, "You'll find out," They then both walked away. I sighed and turned my attention to Sokka, who was grumbling about something.
"I can't believe they think all that nonsense is real," I said, walking up to him. Sokka turned around before responding
"Of course they do," He said, "That's because they got good predictions, while I got told I was gonna live a life of suffering!"
"Yeah," I responded, my mind going elsewhere.
"What did crazy lady tell you, anyway?" Sokka asked.
"Uh…" I began, "Some stuff, it's not really that important," I realized how much I sounded like Aang, and almost laughed at myself. Sokka nodded before turning his attention to something going on in the distance. I noticed that the town was all crowded around a pagoda. Sokka and I walked over to the crowd, meeting up with Aang and Katara.
"What's with the sky?" I asked, "And why is everyone crowded around the pagoda?"
"We're waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds," The old man from earlier explained, "To predict the fate of the whole village,"
"That cloud kinda looks like a fluffy bunny," Aang said, pointing to a cloud above us. I looked up to see that there was in fact a cloud that looked like a fluffy bunny.
"You better hope that's not a bunny," The old man stated, his expression fearful, "The fluffy bunny cloud forecasts doom and destruction,"
"Do you even hear yourself?" Sokka asked annoyedly.
"The cloud reading will tell us if Mount Makapu will remain dormant for another year, or if it will erupt," A lady explained, pointing to a volcano in the distance.
"We used to have a tradition once a year if going up the mountain to check the volcano ourselves," The old man said, "But ever since Aunt Wu moved to the village twenty years ago, we have a tradition of not doing that,"
"I can't believe you would trust your lives to that crazy old woman's superstition!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Shh! She's coming," Katara said hurriedly. I turned my attention to see that Aunt Wu was walking up, and everyone but Sokka and I began to cheer. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Meio looking at me, a blush on his cheeks.
"Hey, Akira," He started nervously, "Don't you think that cloud looks like a heart?" I looked up at the sky and saw a heart shaped cloud.
"Uh, sure," I responded.
"Do you think it's a sign?" Meio asked. I looked back over to him, a puzzled expression on my face.
"What do you mean?" I asked confusedly.
"Well…I- I just…" Meio stammered. The boy then proceeded to sigh and walk away, his shoulders slumped.
"Well that was weird," I thought.
"Bending arrow cloud," Aunt Wu said, making me turn my attention to her, "Good crops this years, nice big harvest,"
"Darn good news!" An old farmer said, hugging the woman next to him, who I could only assume to be his wife.
"Wavy moon shape cloud, let's see…" Aunt Wu continued, "Gonna be a great year for twins,"
"Yes!" A pair of twins said in unison while high fiving.
"And a cumulus cloud with a twisty nub coming off the end of it…" Aunt Wu said, "The village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year!" Everyone in the crowd, save Sokka and I, began to cheer.
Later…
"I can't believe all these saps," Sokka said angrily, his brow furrowed, "Someone really needs to scream some sense at them," I was honestly surprised that he had still not gotten over this whole village believing in fortune telling. I had calmed down and taken in the truth right after the cloud reading. And honestly, a large part of me still believed the fortune telling as true. I only had acted so bitter because I had been told something I didn't want to hear, and so I could fit in and seem cool with Sokka.
"They seem happy, Sokka," Aang stated.
"Not for long," Sokka replied, "I'm gonna prove Aunt Wu's predictions are nonsense," He then proceeded to pull a guy towards him and got all up in his face.
"Hey, you," Sokka said, "I bet Aunt Wu told you to wear those red shoes, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she said I'd be wearing red shoes when I met my true love," The guy responded happily.
"Uh huh, and how many times have you worn those shoes since you got that fortune?" Sokka asked.
"Every day," The guy replied.
"Then of course it's gonna come true!" Sokka yelled.
"Really you think so?" The guy asked expectantly, "I'm so excited!" Sokka groaned, then kicked a rock. The rock hit a turkey duck, and I watched as it attacked Sokka.
"I don't care what Aunt Wu told you!" Sokka yelled at a dirty old man, "You have to take a bath sometime!" The old man chuckled and then walked away.
"So, Sokka, you know some stuff about ladies, right?" Aang asked. I cringed.
"I'm out of here," I announced, walking away from the two. After I walked away, I began to stroll around the shops, browsing through every place. While I was looking at a set a teacups, I felt like there was someone behind me. I turned around to see Meio, his face flushed in embarrassment.
"Hello, Meio," I greeted monotonously.
"Uh, H-hey Akira," He began, "Umm, I w-was just browsing through the t-teacups too! What a coincidence that y-you're also here!" I gave the boy an exasperated look, knowing that he followed me.
"You followed me, didn't you?" I asked. He nodded bashfully in response. I sighed before speaking.
"Look, Meio, you seem like a really nice kid," I started, "But I don't like like you,"
"My heart's set on someone else," I finished. I watched as he looked down sadly.
"He's really handsome," Meio said. A startled look came onto my face when I heard this. How did Meio know I liked Sokka?
"He's cool, older, and he's from the Water Tribe," Meio continued, "I can see why you like him,"
"It's just really hard when you like someone, but they don't feel the same way about you," He finished. A knowing look came onto my face, and I put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Meio, I'm sure that one day you're going to find the most wonderful girl, or guy, and they are going to absolutely love you," He looked up, a smile forming on his face. I smiled too.
"Can we just be friends?" He asked.
"Of course," I replied before pulling him into a hug.
When I had finished talking to Meio, he told me that he had to get back to Aunt Wu's, or else she would get worried about him. After departing with him, I set off to find Sokka and Aang. I saw Aang at a fruit stand nearby, and Katara was there too. I walked toward them, almost laughing when I saw the weird pose Aang was in.
"So…papaya?" My brother asked Katara.
"Uh-huh," She responded, "Would you like some?"
"You know me, I don't really care what I eat," Aang said, taking a bite out of an apple. I cringed.
"Okay, then, see you later," Katara said before walking away. After she walked, away Aang spit out the apple and I laughed.
"Smooth," I said sarcastically. Aang's face contorted with frustration as he glared at me.
"Shut it, Kiri," He grumbled. I snorted and covered my mouth with my hand.
"Oh, a panda lily," A woman said breathlessly, making my attention turn to her. She was taking a flower from a guy, and they proceeded to kiss. I wondered if Sokka would ever give me a flower like that.
"Did you see that?" Aang asked me, his expression changing to that of happiness, "I bet if I give Katara one of those flowers, she'll be sure to like me!" I sighed, smacking my forehead, and watched as he got in between the couple.
"Excuse me, where can a guy find one of those things?" My brother asked, pointing to the flower in the woman's hand.
"The panda lily can be found on top of Mount Makapu," The guy explained, "Now can you please get out of our hug?"
"Uh, sure, sorry," Aang said sheepishly, his face turning red, "Thank you!" He then ran toward me.
"Let's go find Sokka, we're going to the top of that volcano," My brother stated. Normally, I would protest. But since Sokka was involved, I decided against it.
"I can't believe you're dragging us all the way up here for a stupid flower," Sokka groaned. He was climbing up the volcano, while Aang and I were jumping up it.
"Not just any flower, a panda lily," Aang explained, "I've seen it in action, and, boy, does it work,"
"Flowers are fine, once you're married, but at this early stage, it's critical that you maintain maximum aloofness," Sokka responded. This put my hopes for him getting me that flower lower by a lot. It also confused me, because what did Sokka mean by, "aloof"?
"But my heart is telling me to get this flower, and Aunt Wu said if I trusted my heart, I would be with the one I love," Aang stated.
"That's sweet and all," I said, "But are you seriously gonna come all the way up here just so you can get a flower that you believe will make Ka- someone, fall in love with you?" I asked. I made sure that I said someone instead of Katara, just in case Sokka didn't know Aang liked her.
"Don't tell me you believe in that stuff, too," Sokka groaned to Aang.
"Well, Aunt Wu hasn't been wrong yet," Aang stated, "Why should she be wrong about love?" He then proceeded to go back to hopping up the mountain, and I did so as well.
"There, on the rim!" Aang exclaimed, pointing to a panda lily on the rim of the volcano. He hopped up to it, I was following closely behind. I watched as Aang picked the flower and sniffed it. I then turned my attention to the volcano. The lava was unnaturally high, and I feared there would be an eruption.
"Uh…Aang?" I asked worriedly.
"Yeah?" My brother responded, turning his attention away from the flower.
"Look at the lava," I said, "Is that natural?" Aang looked down at the lava and gasped.
"Oh, no," He gasped, "Aunt Wu was wrong," He then dropped the flower in his hand into the pit of lava, and I watched as it burned.
"Those people all think they're safe, we've got to warn them," Sokka stated. I looked up at him, blush forming on my cheeks as I thought about what a great leader he was.
"There's no time to walk," Aang said, turning his staff into a glider, "Sokka, grab on," I turned my staff into a glider and quickly took off for the town, Aang and Sokka close behind me.
When we got back into town, we saw Katara standing outside of Aunt Wu's place, the door shut.
"Hi, Katara," Aang said, a hint of embarrassment in his tone as his cheeks flushed.
"Can you believe she won't let me in?" Katara asked angrily, "And after all the business I've given her?"
"But she doesn't even charge," I stated.
"I know, but still," Katara sighed, her tone calming down slightly.
"Well, we have other things to worry about," Sokka stated, "Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano,"
"Sokka, you tried to convince me she was wrong before, it's gonna take an awful little to change my-" Katara began to retort before being interrupted by the sound of rumbling.
"Well, that can't be good," I said, my tone that of worry.
"Oh, no," Katara gasped, looking up at the erupting volcano.
"Everyone, that volcano is gonna blow any second!" Sokka exclaimed as we ran to the townspeople in the square.
"Aunt Wu was wrong!" He yelled.
"Yeah, yeah, we know you don't believe in Aunt Wu, Mr. Science and Reason Lover," A woman in the crowd said mockingly.
"If you won't listen to him, maybe you'll listen to me," Katara said, stepping up to the crowd, "I wanna believe Aunt Wu and her predictions as much as you do, but my brother, Aang, and Akira saw the lava with their own eyes,"
"Well, I heard Aunt Wu's prediction with my own ears," The old man from earlier argued. Aang then jumped up to the top of a roof before speaking.
"Please listen to us!" My brother exclaimed, "You are all in danger, and we have to get out of here! You can't rely on Aunt Wu's predictions! You have to take fate into your own hands!" Suddenly, another rumble was heard, and I saw smoke coming from the volcano.
"Look, can Aunt Wu explain that!?" I asked, pointing to the volcano.
"Heh, can science explain why it rains?" The man next to me asked mockingly.
"Yes, it can," I responded, my tone calm despite the frustration bubbling inside of me. Everybody began to walk away, and Aang hopped down from the roof.
"They just won't listen to reason," Katara sighed.
"But they will listen to Aunt Wu," Aang stated.
"I know, that's the problem," Sokka grumbled.
"Well, it's about to become the solution," Aang said.
"What do you mean?" I asked, a puzzled look on my face.
"We're gonna take fate into our own hands," Aang explained, "First, I need to borrow Aunt Wu's cloud-reading book,"
Sokka, Katara, and I were keeping guard while Aang was "borrowing" the cloud-reading book. Suddenly, my brother hopped out of the window.
"You got it?" I asked. Aang nodded in response.
"Come on, Katara, we've gotta get into the sky fast," Aang stated. Katara nodded and they took off to find Appa.
Sokka and I were watching as Aang and Katara changed the shape of the clouds. Suddenly, Aunt Wu came up to us, and we took this as the perfect opportunity.
"Aunt Wu, look," I said, beckoning the older lady to come over, "Something's happening in the clouds," I pointed to the sky.
"That's very strange," Aunt Wu stated, "It shouldn't- oh, my!" Looking up, I saw a cloud in the shape of a skull above us.
"We could still save the village if we act fast," Aang stated to the crowd of people. He was standing near the pagoda, announcing our plan to the whole village.
"Sokka has a plan," He stated, gesturing to Sokka.
"Lava is gonna flow downhill to this spot, if we can dig a deep enough trench, we can channel all the lava away from the village to the river," Sokka explained.
"If any of you are eathbenders, come with me," Aang said.
"I'm an earthbender!" One kid exclaimed.
"I'm not!" Another, who looked to be the first one's twin exclaimed.
"Everybody else, grab a shovel," Sokka instructed. Suddenly, another boom could be heard, causing the crowd to gasp.
"Come on, we've gotta hurry," Sokka said. Everyone quickly began to scatter to get shovels.
Later, the trench was almost done being dug. I was watching the volcano intently as I dug into the soil using my shovel. Suddenly, with a loud boom, lava began to spill from the volcano.
"Dig faster, dig faster!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Everyone needs to evacuate!" I heard Aang command, "We'll come for you when it's safe," The people quickly began to run away. I hopped out of the trench and went to meet up with my friends.
I watched as the lava poured down the volcano, its color a mix of red, orange, and black. The lava quickly made its way over to the edge of the trench and began filling up the area. I was worried it would overflow.
"It's too much, it's gonna overflow!" Katara stated. There was another large boom that caused us all to yelp and jump back. Lava was now spewing violently, and the sky was cloudy and red. Huge rocks were falling from the volcano, landing in the lava and splashing the hot magma. Sokka, Katara, and I all began to run. I thought Aang was with us, but when I looked back, he wasn't. Instead, my brother was just standing there, right in front of the erupting volcano.
"Aang, what are you doing?!" I asked, my voice raised due to the loudness of the booms. I watched as more rocks fell and splashed lava extremely close to Aang. He lifted into the air using airbending, then proceeded to single-handedly put out the lava, turning it into solid rock.
"Man…" Sokka began, "Sometimes I forget what a powerful bender that kid is," I nodded in agreement. I had to admit it, I sometimes myself would forget how powerful Aang could be.
"Wait, what did you just say?" Katara asked.
"Nothing," Sokka responded, "Just that Aang is one powerful bender," I watched as Katara turned her eyes toward Aang.
"I suppose he is," She said slowly, her tone a mixture of amazement and disbelief.
"By the way, we kind of borrowed your book," Aang said sheepishly to Aunt Wu. The smoke had cleared and everyone in the village had gone back it. They were now celebrating the fact that they didn't die a volcanic death.
"So you messed with the clouds, did you?" Aunt Wu asked. I looked over to Aang, his expression was full of guilt.
"Very clever," Aunt Wu said happily with a laugh.
"No offense, but I hope this has taught everyone a lesson about not relying too much on fortune telling," Sokka said.
"But Aunt Wu predicted the village wouldn't be destroyed, and it wasn't," The old man stated, "She was right, after all,"
"I hate you," Sokka grumbled through gritted teeth, walking up to the old man.
"It's okay, Sokka," Katara stated, pulling her brother away, "Everything's gonna be all right,"
"Can I ask you something?" Aang asked Aunt Wu.
"Of course, honey," The older woman replied.
"You didn't really see love in my fortune, did you?" My brother asked sadly, "You just told me what I wanted to hear," I thought about my experience with the fortune teller, and wondered if Aang had actually also been to young to read for love as well.
"I'll tell you a little secret, young airbender," Aunt Wu stated, "Just as you reshaped those clouds, you have the power to shape your own destiny," I looked to Aang, a smile was forming on his face.
"Goodbye everyone, it was so nice to meet you!" Katara shouted, making my attention turn to her. She and Sokka were already on Appa, so Aang and I hopped on alongside them.
"Take care, Meng and Meio!" Katara said.
"Take care!" The two kids exclaimed in unison. We then took off into the sky, new adventures ahead of us, and old ones behind us.
I hope you enjoyed that chapter, make sure to review!!