For You

Book One Chapter Thirteen: When We Two Parted

"When we two parted ways, a feeling as if the earth crashed on itself passed through my body. It'd shaken my spirit. The skies open and the air weighted twice as before. The skies cried. It poured of anger and screamed so loud... Yeah no, this isn't working Iroh."
You scratched your chin with the point of the brush as you read one of your poems. Well, what you've attempted to make so far weren't too good nor too bad, it was just... boring.

"You know the greatest writers didn't make their greatest masterpiece on the go, or just out of boredom kiddo." Iroh approached you while stroking his beard, "The greatest poems are those who are born from the purest and most complex emotions that words can describe. You just need to find the right words and the right flow, young Li. And those will come in time, that i am sure."

Speaking of emotions, you had a lot. A lot of things happened lately, Zuko has been particularly sweet but still resilient. Like when the other day you woke up in his room after dinner and he decided to go in the Captain's lounge to examine the maps. Just a few glances and evasive acts. He would ask of the men to prepare you some clothes and what not. It was like, he was here for you but from afar.

During the day time, he would train on the bridge and it wouldn't bother him for you to watch him, but no words were exchanged. Maybe a 'hi' or 'you should get back inside' were the most you could get out of a good day. Zuko was confusing. Too much at times.
So you decided to pick up on one of your old hobbies, writing. Something left by your mom. One of the rare "lady or court-like" activities she approved of. That and dancing of course. You had to get some distraction or you would go mad on the ship. You can't stand being useless and doing nothing all day, but given that Zuko is still on his getting his honor back by catching the avatar bullshit, being useless wasn't that bad right now.

"Its for sure not the emotions that are lacking." You chuckled, you crushed the paper into a ball and added it to the pile next to the barrel that was being used as a table.
"You seemed troubled, more than usual." Iroh added, sitting on the chair in front of you across the barrel. "Is it my nephew?"
"That and other things." Truth is, being cut from the world you've been accustomed to made you think a lot. You left the Fire Nation on a hunch. Joined the GAang which now either think you are dead or have given up on you. Then captured by your childhood crush, again. Now you're on a ship, going God knows where and drifting away from your purpose in this adventure in the first place. Stopping the war.

"You can speak of anything to me Young Li." He held your weary hands spotted with black ink. You felt his pure heart drenching you in a familial comfort you didn't feel in a long time.
"Uncle Iroh, I fear that... I am losing track of my purpose on this earth." You meant it, being close to Zuko was great but you didn't feel comfortable at all. You felt like you didn't totally belong. Maybe it was the timing, or that you weren't meant to be by his side. Then your thoughts shifted to Sokka, you had no idea if you belonged with him either. You had no idea where you should be and where you should go.

And that, was terrifying.

"Oh y/n..." Iroh sighed and felt a wave of empathy hit him. He saw a child struggling to find her way and you reminded him of your father. "I remember, a long time ago, your father came to me. He was a tad older than you are now, he too was struggling because he thought that he had to choose between his glorious purpose and his fate."

"Aren't these two the same? A glorious purpose and Fate?"
Iroh chuckled, "He considered giving up on his oath to the Fire Nation, for Yiazara your mother."

Your eyes widened at that revelation, your mother told you stories about their life at Ba sing se but never mentioned your father giving up on the Fire Nation for her...
"But He didn't choose..."
The old man shook his head with a smile, "He found out that the path he took to achieve his glorious purpose took him straight to your mother. Have him done anything differently 16 years ago at Ba sing se, you wouldn't be here today having the same crisis he had."