Fate or Fortune

-Maya's Point of View-

"Sit down," Aunt Wu's old male assistant said as he pointed to a seat in front of the table. "I hope jasmine tea is to your liking," he said once more as he started brewing tea from a kettle.

"Jasmine tea is actually my favorite! Thank you," I replied. He continued making tea while I sat there in silence. After a few minutes, he was done and then he joined me on the table with tea in both hands.

"Careful, it's hot," he cautioned. "Thank you so much sir, uhm..." I tried to thank his kind gesture but I didn't know what to call him.

"My apologies... You can call me Yuan," he introduced. "Nice to meet you, sir Yuan. My name is Maya," I greeted back.

"Before I answer your question, Maya, would it be okay for me to ask where you got the emblem?" he suddenly asked.

I carefully placed the emblem on the table and answered, "I found this during our stay in Taku. It was near a fountain inside the ruins."

"I see..." he said as he stared carefully at the small piece of metal.

"When I first discovered that I could firebend at the age of 14, my grandfather started telling stories about our ancestors; about how we were once part of a powerful and feared tribe in the whole world. He said we were called the Fintan Tribe for we bear the ability to bend white fire," he started telling the story.

"And their people were called Fintan Soldiers?" I asked. He shook his head and smiled.

"My grandfather said that a person can be a Fintan, but not everyone is considered a Fintan Soldier," he answered. "Only those who were blessed by the white Phoenix Fenghuang were considered Fintan Soldiers."

"Blessed?" I asked in confusion.

"Fenghuang only selects the people whom she blesses with her eternal flame. The reason for that is what I do not know," he explained. "Legends say that a Fintan Soldier has the power of an army and that their fire prowess can be as hot as the sun itself."

Woah, does that mean I possess those?

"If you're a Fintan Soldier, then you must've been blessed by Fenghuang!" I exclaimed out of excitement.

"Indeed, I was blessed; but I wasn't chosen." His answer confused me.

"My grandfather on his deathbed, wished for me to relive the lives of our ancestors and bring justice to our tribe's mistaken legacy. But to do so, I needed to be blessed by Fenghuang. That's why he told me to go back to Taku, find the eternal white flame, and obtain the phoenix's blessing," he explained.

"After his death, I packed up and traveled from the mainland to the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom. On the way to Taku, I met a pretty woman who was helping people with the use of her fortune-telling abilities. You probably know who she is,"

"You met Aunt Wu," I said in awe. "It was love at first sight," he said with a soft smile on his face. 

"I stayed in the village she was in for a while and had my fortune told by her, to which until to this very day, I still could not forget.."

"She said that I was trying to fulfill a destiny that was not meant for me, and that indeed I will find what I'm searching for and I will be granted the blessing that I seek, but the cost is that I shall forever live in pain," he continued.

"That sounded like a bad fortune," I replied. He scoffed and said, "She told me to just stop the travel and go back to where I came from, but I didn't believe her at that time. I went on with my journey to which she offered to join."

"I didn't want to let her come for it was a journey into the unknown. But her persistence got to me. So together, we both went to Taku and found the hidden eternal flame of Fenghuang."

"Upon meeting the Phoenix, she told me that I was not strong enough to handle the power that comes along with her blessing. Naive as I was, I argued and pleaded with her to bless me; disregarding her precautions. And so she did, and I was blessed."

"Fenghuang declared me her Fintan Soldier and handed me a part of her eternal white flame. After that, she plucked out one of her feathers, carved the symbol of the white fire on it, and then crafted it into an emblem before giving it to me."

"So that means, this emblem that I'm holding is a part of the legendary phoenix?" I asked. "Yes, it is," he answered as he drew out a necklace underneath his shirt with a pendant the same as the emblem I had.

"After being handed the emblem, I thought that was it. But then, all of a sudden, multiple lightning strikes struck me down. I have never felt such great pain in my entire life. And even though I tried to bear with it, it still was too much for me to handle," he continued the story.

That was the same thing that had happened to me back in the ruins. Those lightning strikes were indeed painful and I felt numb a little bit after it.

"I lost consciousness and woke in the arms of Wu who was crying her eyes out. I touched her face to let her know that I was still alive, but I felt great numbness in my hands and every inch of my body was aching in pain."

"Wu helped me up and we left the ruins as fast as we could to look for a place where I could get healed. That's when we stumbled upon this humble village of Makapu. Wu brought me to the healers of this village and immediately they tended to my care. They tried their best to heal the pain I was feeling, but it was all in vain."

"Unfortunately, the lightning strikes had closed all of my chakra points disrupting the flow of the energy inside my body. The healers tried their best to unblock my chakras, but it was of no use. Then I thought, maybe this is the everlasting pain Wu talked about in my fortune."

"I am so sorry about what happened," I sympathized.

"We stayed for a few more days in this village after a week of healing. During our stay, Wu helped the people of Makapu greatly by telling fortunes and forecasting the fate of the village through cloud reading."

"The village people loved her and she also started getting attached to them. It was the first time she felt like she belonged to a family; since she grew up with shamans and fortunetellers. I didn't want to leave her, so I decided for us to stay and settle down in this village," he said and then he sipped from his cup of tea.

I also took a sip from my tea which has gone warm by now.

"What happened to Fenghuang's blessing to you?" I asked. "You were still able to bend white fire a while ago, that must mean it's still there right?" I added.

"At this point, it is rather a curse than a blessing..." he said sadly. "Even though I can bend white fire, I can only do so for a brief moment, or else my skin will burn. The fire is too hot for me to be able to handle. And even with the power of an entire army, if my body is always in pain, there's no way for me to be able to fight or even defend myself."

"Now I know the reason why Fenghuang only chooses her soldiers," he continued and then he hid his necklace inside his shirt.

"Seeing as how you're still fine despite being blessed by Fenghuang, I guess you're just no ordinary firebender?" Yuan said.

"I don't even know how to fire bend," I shyly replied. "It only comes out when I'm in danger or at times that I least expect it," I added.

"You just need to learn how to bend that is all. But I won't be able to teach you for I myself, am not an experienced bender," he laughed. "You'll need to find a master," he said and smiled.

I smiled back at him and said, "Thank you, sir Yuan, for telling me your story."

"I am honored to have encountered a fellow Fintan Soldier," he replied as he bowed his head down. I also bowed my head down to pay him respect. 

After that, we heard voices from outside the kitchen, and then Yuan said, "I guess your friend is already done with her session."

I chuckled a bit and then I took one last sip from my cup of tea. "Thank you very much for the tea. It tastes amazing," I said and then I stood up and went outside.

I found Aunt Wu slowly pushing Katara out of the house, while she kept on bombarding the old lady with bizarre questions. I followed behind them and listened in on their conversation.

"One last question! How warmly should I dress tomorrow?" Katara asked. 

Um... I don't think fortune-telling abilities should be used on things like that...

"You want me to do a reading on that?" Aunt Wu asked—fed up with Katara's ridiculous question.

"Yes, please! I need to be prepared just in case it gets cold," Katara answered.

Aunt Wu let out a big sigh. "It won't be too cold tomorrow, but if it gets chilly all of a sudden, you'd be fine as long as you've got a scarf... Bye-bye now," she said monotonously while pushing Katara out of the doorstep. I went out as well as soon as Katara was outside the house.

"Okay, okay! But, one more thing?" Katara imposed. 

Aunt Wu placed a palm on her forehead before answering, "Alright, what is it?" The irritation in her voice now very visible. Katara sure does not know how to read the room. 

"Should I eat a mango, or a papaya for breakfast tomorrow?" she asked.

"PAPAYA!" Aunt Wu shouted and then she slammed the door shut.

"Aww... but I hate papaya..." Katara muttered. 

"So, Katara, how did the fortune readings go?" I asked. "Oh, Maya, you're there... It was all great, except for the papaya thing," she answered.

"You don't really have to—" 

"Hey Katara!—Oh, hey Maya... I didn't see you there," Aang suddenly interrupted. What does he mean he didn't see me? I was literally in front of Katara.

"Hey Aang," Katara greeted sadly. "Yeah, Hi..." I greeted him as well. Katara started walking away so I followed behind her.

"So what I was saying is, you don't really have to eat papaya if you don't want to," I continued my interrupted speech.

"I have to," Katara rebutted. "Why?" I asked. "Because Aunt Wu said so," Katara answered fast.

She went straight to the village market to buy one papaya for breakfast tomorrow.

"Ugh... Papaya please..." she said uninterestingly to the fruit vendor.

"You don't really have to force yourself just because Aunt Wu said so. I mean, what could go wrong if you ate a mango tomorrow?" I continued persuading her.

"So... papaya?" Aang suddenly came out of nowhere. Has he been following us all this time?

"Yeah, would you like some?" Katara asked him. "Well, you know me... I don't really care what I eat," he said as he grabbed one of the random fruits from the stall.

"Okay," Katara said, and then she walked away again. I, however, just kept following behind her.

------------------------------------------------------

-Aang's Point of View-

I watched Maya and Katara walk away as soon as I was done talking. Feeling left out, I took a bite out of the fruit I grabbed from the stall and immediately spat it out as soon as I got to taste how bitter it was.

"Man... maybe aloof isn't my style," I told myself.

"Oh! A panda lily!" I heard a woman say in glee.

Ooh! Maybe that could work too!

I hurriedly scooched in between the two of them and asked, "Excuse me! Where can a guy find one of those things?" pointing at the black and white flower the woman was holding.

"Ugh... there's plenty of them at the top of the volcano," the guy answered. "But the ones in full bloom are usually those closest to the crater," the woman added. 

The guy held the woman's hand and said, "That's right, it's a bit challenging acquiring them so I was only able to get those growing near a vent," 

The guy looked at the woman. "The flower I got is not yet in full bloom, so I had to tend to it for a few more days before I could give it to you," he said. 

"It was definitely worth the wait," the woman said and then they shared a warm embrace.

"Okay! Thank you!" I exclaimed and then I went to look for Sokka. 

I found him trying to convince another villager to stop believing in Aunt Wu's predictions but I immediately cut their conversation short.

"Sokka! You've got to help me! C'mon, let's go!" I pulled him out of the village before he could even say a word.

We were already quite a distance away when he asked where we were headed and why.

"We're going to the top of the volcano!" I exclaimed. "WHAT?!" he shouted.

"I'm trying to get this rare flower. I'm gonna use it to confess my love! The guy said it only grows at the top of the volcano," I explained.

"WHAT?!" he shouted once more. "I'll explain further when we're at the top! Now come on!" I exclaimed and then as soon as we reached the foot of the mountain we started the hike.

Fortunately, this mountain isn't that high, and its terrain is easy to climb that's why we were almost at the top in just a matter of hours.

"I can't believe you're dragging me all the way up here for a stupid flower!" Sokka complained. "Not just any flower—a panda lily! I've seen it in action and boy does it work!" I corrected him.

"Flowers are fine—once you're married! But at this early stage, it's critical that you maintain maximum aloofness," he argued while continuing to hike up the volcano.

"But my heart is telling me to get this flower, and Aunt Wu said that if I trusted my heart, I'd be with the one I love," I answered.

"WHAT? Don't tell me you believe in that stuff too?!" he irritatingly shouted while proceeding to climb. I'm a few meters ahead of him.

"Well, Aunt Wu hasn't been wrong yet... Why should she be wrong about love?" I argued and then proceeded to go further up the volcano.

Even before I got close to the crater, I already saw a small plant swaying with the breeze. And there it was! The thing I was looking for.

"There! On the rim!" I shouted and then I hurriedly went closer to the plant. I plucked out one among the many growing panda lilies nearby and smelled it.

What a wonderful scent it has! 

I was overjoyed by the fact of acquiring the rare flower, that I failed to notice the dangers the volcano was about to bring.

As soon as I opened my eyes after savoring the sweet smell of the flower, I saw a lake of lava, brimming at the volcano's crater. 

"Oh no..." I said as I slowly stood up. "Aunt Wu was wrong..." I continued. The grip from my hand loosened making the flower slip from my fingers. It fell to the overflowing lava and got burned.

Sokka who was just behind me was rendered speechless by this massive lake of burning rocks. He was only able to come to his senses when he realized that the safety of the village was at stake.

"THOSE PEOPLE ALL THINK THEY'RE SAFE! WE'VE GOT TO WARN THEM!" 

"There's no time to walk!" I shouted as I flipped open my glider. "Grab on!" I pulled Sokka's arm and carried him over my back. 

We flew down the volcano straight to the village and into Aunt Wu's place where we found Katara and Maya standing by the front door.

------------------------------------------------------

-Maya's Point of View-

"Hi Maya... Katara..." Aang shyly greeted us as he and Sokka approached us. I was about to greet back but Katara interrupted.

"Can you believe she won't let me in?!" she shouted. Right... I had been trying to calm down this girl for hours because Aunt Wu wasn't opening her door for her.

She had been asking for unnecessary fortunes a while back; of course, Aunt Wu was bound to get fed up! 

"Katara, just give it up already. Maybe she's had enough of your fortunes for now," I pleaded. She scoffed and said, "After all the business I've given her?!"

"But she doesn't even charge..." Aang clarified. "I know, but... still!" Katara argued.

"Well, we have other things to worry about! Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Sokka, you tried to convince me she was wrong before. It's gonna take an awful lot to change my mi—" Katara was cut off when the ground suddenly shook due to an explosion coming from the peak of the volcano.

We all looked at it and saw big clouds of smoke coming out of the crater.

"Oh no..." Katara quieted down. I was also caught off guard, but in situations like this, it is important that maintain a rational mind and not panic.

"We have to warn the villagers! Hurry!" I shouted and then we all ran to the village square where many of the villagers were gathered.

"EVERYONE! THAT VOLCANO IS GONNA BLOW ANY SECOND! AUNT WU WAS WRONG WITH HER PREDICTIONS!" Sokka shouted.

"Yeah, yeah... We know you don't believe in Aunt Wu, mister science-and-reason lover," a lady said.

Sokka's been going around trying to prove Aunt Wu's predictions wrong, of course, they're not gonna believe him.

"If you won't listen to him, maybe you'll listen to me. I want to believe Aunt Wu and her predictions as much as you do! But my brother and Aang saw the lava with their own eyes!" Katara pleaded.

"Well, I heard Aunt Wu's prediction with my own ears!" an old man argued. 

This is really bad, their devotion to Aunt Wu's fortunes has blinded them from believing natural facts.

Aang suddenly jumped up on the roof of one of the houses and shouted, "PLEASE LISTEN TO US! YOU ARE ALL IN DANGER! AND WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE! YOU CAN'T RELY ON AUNT WU'S PREDICTION! YOU HAVE TO TAKE FATE INTO YOUR OWN HANDS!" After he said that another explosion came out of the volcano making the ground rumble.

"Look! Can your fortune-telling explain that?!" Sokka shouted while pointing at the erupting volcano. 

Someone from the crowd scoffed and argued with Sokka, "Can your science explain why it rains?" 

"YES! YES IT CAN!" Sokka shouted. He's really mad at this point.

"Nah... That's just a normal thing for us here. That volcano is active, so we do get these ground rumbling and smoke from time to time. So we're fine..." one of the people said once more.

"Please, you have to trust us. We might all be in danger if we don't act now!" I pleaded with them.

"Whatever! You guys are just wasting our time!" someone from the crowd shouted and then all of them agreed. Slowly the crowd faded and people went back to their houses and to the things they were doing.

Disappointed, all four of us gathered in the center to brainstorm on what to do next.

"They just won't listen to reason," Katara said. "The only thing they will listen to is Aunt Wu's words," I said as well. "I know! That's the problem!" Sokka grunted.

"Well, it's about to become the solution!" Aang suddenly said. "What are you planning to do Aang?" I asked.

"We're taking fate into our own hands!" Aang replied with a coy smile on his face.