Responses to Reviews:
RonaldM40196867: No. The dread of knowing about a bad thing that happens in their future might drive people to madness.
Zigzagdoublezee: Yes, yes she was. Thanks to Roku and Sozin, the course of history and the Avatar Cycle itself has shifted; Korra probably wouldn't be the Avatar in the future in this timeline.
As Always, Please Review!
Suki settled herself down opposite Wu, and stared at her, intrigued. The fortune teller had unnerved Yue, and now Suki had come to see what all the fuss was about.
"Hello, Suki," Wu was sipping some tea coolly, gently blowing on the top of it as she regarded the Kyoshi Warrior over the rim of the cup. "Settling into the group alright?"
"Fine," Suki said suspiciously.
"I know why you've come here," Wu said. "For adventure, to serve the Avatar, for revenge... and for love. I hope you've got enough of all four?"
Suki had got more than enough of the first three, at least, and the fourth had never been so much of a priority anyway, especially once she had worked things out with Yue about it in Chin Village. She did like Sokka, but she also didn't want to rock the boat within their group with a war on. Teamwork would be essential to their victory, and she absolutely did not want to jeopardise it.
That way, only trouble lay.
And, she reasoned, she had dedicated herself to the Avatar's service anyway. If that meant standing aside for the sake of the Avatar's love life, then that was what she must do.
But that wasn't why she'd come here.
"What did you say to Yue?" Suki asked, brushing past the fact this stranger seemed to know some very personal things about her. "She seems... worried now."
Instead of immediately answering the question, Wu took another sip of her tea and then changed the subject.
"Do you believe I can do what I claim? I know your friend doubts me."
"What, see the future?" Suki asked. "We do not have fortune tellers back home. Avatar Kyoshi had no time for them."
"And you?"
Suki considered for a moment.
"If you're a fake, you're a very good one."
Wu chuckled.
"I assure you, I am no fake."
"Then please tell me what you said to Yue," Suki asked again.
"Don't worry, I didn't tell her she was going to die or anything..."
"She's going to die?!" Suki yelped in horror, going to stand up. She needed to warn everyone! The spirits only knew what Yue herself must be thinking, she needed someone to be there for her-
"No no!" Wu held a hand up. "I said I can't be sure, because I cannot. Something about her future is different somehow, compared to anyone else. It is blurry at best. Believe me, if I had seen doom within those flames, I would tell you."
Suki relaxed a little at that.
"Well, you must understand that's not exactly reassuring."
"I understand all too well," Wu said. "The dread, the desire to do something to stop my words from coming to pass. Some think they can avert my prophecies; they never can. And with the added pressure of being the Avatar on top of that..."
She eyed Suki.
"But she's not the only member of your little group who would know about that."
"Well," Suki said, "As a Kyoshi Warrior I have heard the stories, we all have."
"Not just a Kyoshi Warrior though," Wu continued. "You have a much more personal connection than that, don't you. Do the others know you're directly descended from Kyoshi?"
Suki folded her arms, recognising the attempt to impress her with knowledge.
It had worked, at least a little, but that was not the point.
"What's that got to do with anything? And how did you know that? I mean, I wasn't trying to hide it or anything, it just never came up..."
"I have my ways," Wu grinned. "And besides, your group has a lot of that sort of heritage. Your nomad friend, for instance."
"Rinzen? Is he descended from Kyoshi too?"
"No," Wu nodded, "but his grandfather was Aang."
"Really?" Suki blinked. "He kept that quiet."
"Perhaps it never came up," Wu told her, echoing her own earlier statement.
"What about the others?" Suki raised an eyebrow. "You're going to be telling me Sokka and Katara are descended from Avatar Kuruk next."
But Wu shook her head.
"I do not believe they are. Now, if you wouldn't mind..."
She gestured to the pile of bones. Suki, who had been told what to expect by Yue, picked one up and tossed it in. As it began to smoulder, she looked expectantly at the fortune teller.
"You seem to know more about the past than the future," she observed. "Do your bones tell you that as well?"
Wu smiled.
"Understanding the past and understanding the future are not so different," she said. "One is essential for the other."
Suki gestured to the fire with a fatalistic grin that disguised some anxiety about what Wu might say.
"Go on then," she said, "tell me all the doom and gloom that's in my future."
Wu looked at the bone, and then up at Suki.
You have embarked upon a journey of discovery," she said. "You will see the world, just as you wish. Perhaps more of it than you have bargained for. And you have taken upon yourself a great burden; It will not always be easy, and may require sacrifices. But you will play a key role in helping the Avatar, come what may."
"But will we save the world?" Suki pressed.
"Like I said to Yue," Wu said. "I cannot tell you who will win this war. That is directly tied to your friend's destiny, and I have a very hard time determining what that will be. I can only tell you what I know; that there will be a great battle, and fairly soon."
Suki frowned, disappointed. But she did have one further question.
"What about my home?" She asked. "Kyoshi Island. What happens to it?"
"You wish to know about your home?" Wu confirmed. "The Fire Nation shall not touch your people again, as far as I can see."
Suki relaxed.
"Good," she said. "As long as they are safe."
She stood up.
"Thank you, Wu. I think I need to think about what you've told me."
"I think you do," Wu nodded. "And I think your friend needs you. Go to her."
Suki bowed, nodded, and turned to head for the door.