𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘵𝘩

Doing The Right Thing

I skip along to work, already fifteen minutes late. It's not as if the boss cares too much for me. There's no customer Iroh can't wrangle in there on his own.

I see Zuko ahead and skip over, ruffling his hair. "Hey, Lee." I notice a flyer he's holding. "What are you looking at?"

"How do you lose a sky bison in a city like this?" He shoves the flyer in my face, and I recognize the animal on the flyer as the avatar's bison. Poorly drawn, but passable as an animal.

"You don't," I say. Though the cheery tone doesn't change, I'm serious. "The ones in charge probably aren't too happy with a sky bison or avatar in this city, because things like that will mess up their stupid, lying system. So they'd hide it somewhere around the agricultural walls, the countryside. There's a lot of underground stuff. It's the earth kingdom, after all. It's probably where they took Jet too." Then I walk inside.

"Ah, Lan Fan!" Iroh bustles over to me. "We've just been given our own tea shop. I get to name it and everything!"

"Really? That's great!" My shift is finished with a smile on my face.

~

"Tea'se me," I play, lying on my back as Iroh packs his things, throwing a ball at the ceiling. We're brainstorming tea-shop names. "Pun intended."

"Not the feeling I'm going for," Iroh says then Zuko walks in.

"Ah! We were just thinking of what to call my tea shop," Iroh says. "How about 'The Jasmine Dragon'? It's dramatic, poetic... Has a nice ring to it!"

Zuko holds up the flyer from this morning. "The avatar is here in Ba Sing Se. And he's lost his bison."

Iroh takes the flyer with a pinch of concern and frustration. "We have the chance for a new life here. If you stir up trouble, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us."

"Good things that are happening for you!" Zuko lashes out. "Have you ever thought that I want more from life that living in a simple apartment and a job serving tea?"

"There's nothing wrong with peace and prosperity," Iroh counters as I sit up. "I suggest you think about what it is you want from your life. And why?"

"I want my destiny," Zuko says.

"What that means is up to you," Iroh says. Zuko only shrugs him off, stalking out in his usual dark, brooding manner.

"Coming from him it sounds like some pre-determined fate. Like it's all scripted," I say, sighing and lying back down. "It's your family, isn't it? All the fate and destiny stuff... that's because you think you're nothing without your power it's hard not to try and go back."

"Well how would you define destiny?" Iroh asks with a spark of curiosity. It's always that way when it comes to discussions like these for us.

"Something you've decided to be your end goal, and you constantly work towards your entire life. It can always change because you're the one in charge." I think about it for a moment, then add, "Well I guess that's the way he sees it too, but he now believes that the avatar is the only destiny he can have. Avatar, then back to being a pretty princess for a some-what corrupt nation. But who am I to judge? I have the same option laid out in front of me..." I lean forward over my knees, shaking my head.

"No, you're right. But not entirely. Zuko's destiny is not one he's chosen to work toward. It's someone else that forced it on him," Iroh says.

"And I absolutely have no influence," I sigh.

"Alright, I'm going to change the topic a little. What do you believe your destiny to be?" Iroh asks.

I freeze up for a moment, not expecting to be asked the question. Or answer it. "I don't believe in destiny."