A Different Destiny

Chapter 27

So this (most of) was actually written a few months ago but I kept going back and forth on whether or not I liked this chapter. I still may delete it and rewrite??

TW: death of young character

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Katara blanched, while Gua had seemed like a fairly open person from their first interaction; this took things to a whole new level.

They sat there in silence, Gua didn't say anything more. He stared at Katara intently, waiting for her to react.

She didn't know how to react. A few months ago, she might've reacted in horror and instantly jumped to conclusions. But now she just wanted to know more. He obviously wanted to share or he wouldn't have brought it up.

Gua was baiting her, sharing just enough to pique her interest but not enough for her to even begin to understand the situation. There was no way of knowing who the heroes and villains were in this tale that ended up with his little sister dead without asking for more.

Lately she had quite the taste for risks.

She returned his intent gaze, not backing down. "I'll bite. What happened to your sister?"

Gua nodded as if to confirm she had passed some hidden test.

"You may have noticed this village hangs on to its very existence by a thread, especially with the war. Generations ago, Chen Bao was the hidden northern gem of the earth kingdom, more than ten times the people it has today."

For a moment, Katara's mind flashed to the Zuko and all the empty huts they had seen at the edge of town. While some, like the one Katara and Zuko squatted in, showed some recent signs of habitation most had been overgrown with nature, some even beginning to crumble under the weight of time and disuse.

For some reason it was easy to picture Chen Bao as a bustling town, the houses filled with neighbors and children running barefoot down the paths towards the sea.

"My family was once what they called 'old money' in town. Years ago, maybe even hundreds, my great-great-great-not sure how many 'greats' to be honest made his home in the middle of this town and the family never left. The first few years my ancestors were here, there wasn't much- similar to how it is now. But then ore was discovered in a nearby mine and suddenly Chen Bao was some place to put on the map.

We were the biggest trading port between here and Omashu."

Katara kind of doubted that but let him continue, she couldn't help but wonder where this was all going. Gua had mentioned watching his sister die, and unless he was some kind of spirit and she hadn't noticed, he looked to be about her age. It couldn't have happened that long ago.

Sensing Katara's wonder, Gua laughed and acknowledged the context. "You're probably thinking, 'when did I ask this kid to tell me his whole frikkin life story?' All in good time, but I'll move things along."

Katara only nodded in reply.

"My family's initial prosperity made it all the more difficult when the war happened, closing off much of our trade. The smart families fled the village realizing it was worth less than dirt with its port closed. According to my mother, three of my great great whatever uncles even l left the village to fight on the war front thinking they could help return things to normal sooner. They never came back and our family sank back into the mud."

Gua shook his head in disgust. Katara felt for him, "The war has torn apart countless families." It seemed almost too simple of a response but it was the truest that she knew.