𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗: 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘 𝐃𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐌𝐀
❝𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍, 𝐈𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘 𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐔𝐒, 𝐈 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐃.❞
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A lively night has fallen over Ba Sing Se with Zuko and Sora making their way toward a restaurant near the outskirts of the city. Zuko wasn't entirely sure where he was being taken, but Sora insisted that the restaurant they were going to was small but surely the best around.
"We're almost there, I think."
"You think?"
"I've never actually been to their restaurant."
"How do you know if it's good then?"
"I just do!" Sora retorted, before stopping to think for a moment. "...Can you keep a secret though?"
"Who would I even have to tell?"
She smiled weakly at his sarcasm before taking a more mellow expression, "Well, I wanted to take you there because I know the couple that owns it. I met them a long time ago on the road."
"That's the secret?"
"No, no. It's that the chef is a fire bender; that's the secret."
Zuko and Sora soon arrived in front of a small restaurant in the corner of the street. They were dining alone if not for an old couple opposite their table near the window. It wasn't too soon until a woman, the waiter, stopped by Zuko and Sora's table to give them a menu. The woman's outstretched hand revealed a long, burn scar. She smiled, then left.
"She didn't recognize me." Sora sighed, slightly embarrassed, "It's fine though. I met them a long time ago."
"If they aren't so significant to you than why are we eating here?" Zuko crossed his arms.
"Well! You see!..." Sora quickly interjected, afraid he would step out and leave, "I guess it was also because I wanted to tell you their story; it meant a lot to me when I first heard it."
Zuko looked at her silently; Sora's actions were reticent, but her eyes stared out toward the window as if remembering better times. Everything that she had said about the chef and his wife seemed to be tainted with a touch of bittersweetness—like she was remembering a happy memory that was long gone. And Zuko knew exactly how that felt, which is why he recognized it in an instant and decided to listen.
"They were caught in this terrible forbidden love." Sora chuckled, then lowered her voice to something barely above a whisper, "The husband, he's the chef, grew up in the colonies and fell in love with his wife there, but he was Fire Nation and she was from the Earth Kingdom. When I met them on the road a long time ago, he told me he eventually became forced to do something he never wanted as a soldier."
Zuko eyed the waitress from before, eyes lingering on her scar.
"His wife was caught earth bending, and he was forced to detain her--hurt her," Sora continued, "but it ended up hurting him more than he could have ever believed."
"Is that it?"
"Well, the end of the story is that they chose each other instead of what others chose for them. And here they are now in Ba Sing Se--happy and in love. That's why their food is good and always will be good! Because it's what they chose; it's what they're happy about. They serve their love."
"... Your logic doesn't make any sense. Being sappy doesn't mean you make good food."
"I am offended on their behalf." Sora retorted, "Don't you find it meaningful? Or beautiful? I've been sticking by that story for years! He chose what made him happy, and out of that passion, he crafted his destiny! That was what the point; that was the moral!"
"And let me guess, because of them, it inspired you to follow your own happiness, right?" Zuko rolled his eyes.
"Well, yes." Sora pouted, upset with his straightforwardness "I perform because I want people to remember that fun and happiness still exists and that they can find it with the Duchess Phoenix. It makes me happy to see other people happy. Though I don't think you'll ever get it... does what you do even make you happy?"
Zuko furrowed his eyebrows as if telling her that she was walking on thin ice.
Slightly more hesitant, Sora continued slowly, "--Finding the Avatar, I mean. Does it even make you happy?"
"Restoring my honor does." He said sternly, "That's all that matters."
"If you think about it that way then, how do you know if any of that even connects at all?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"What if finding the Avatar isn't what restores your honor?"
Zuko huffed, "It's my duty to. I was exiled so I could do this; it's my destiny."
"Well then, if destiny dictates us, I wonder if destiny is any good or bad," Sora argued, upset with their crossing of words.
"...Are you saying I'm evil for wanting to capture the Avatar?"
Sora looked away from him, feeling a bit sorry, "If the Avatar is turned over to the fire nation, the Fire Nation'll dominate the world, right? That's the point. That may be good for you, but for others, it's terrible."
"Well, if the Avatar succeeds then my father dies, and that's good for you, right? It's terrible for me."
Caught in their heated discussion, they hadn't realized the waitress that had been waiting near their table to take their order. The woman smiled sheepishly but proceeded to ask them anyway if they were ready to order. Zuko and Sora looked at each other embarrassingly before telling the waitress what they wanted. Hopefully, she didn't hear any of that is what both of their faces read. After, they sat in uncomfortable silence until Sora finally spoke.
"Destiny is a weird thing. A wise guy once told me that people should always have an open mind about destiny because usually, they aren't what we think. Sometimes, I wonder if destiny even exists at all. You know, maybe we just decide for ourselves, and everything is random."
Zuko's interest was piqued, but he still couldn't care less for more bouts of confusing wisdom than what his uncle already shoved into him daily.
"Hm, but I guess the question shouldn't be if it's real, though, right? It should be if we know what we want to do with our lives." Sora looked up at him expecting a reply.
Zuko stared back, "...Am I supposed to say something about that?"
"Uh, yes, maybe?" Sora said sarcastically.
Zuko sighed deeply before deciding to reply (albeit tiresomely), "Okay, you're right. It's because regardless if we decide it or not, it only matters if we know what we want to do with our lives."
"Yes, exactly!" Sora beamed, too excited to see him engaging with her to notice that he had just repeated what she had initially said, "I'm glad we agree on something."
Their food arrived shortly after, laying upon them another uncomfortable silence. It was impossibly awkward. They eventually ate but it was only in silence. It didn't help either that they were further from the crowds; it was just as quiet inside as it was outside. After a few more minutes, Zuko finally decided to speak about what he had been wondering about.
"Why are you so obsessed with destiny anyway?"
"I don't know." She replied, mouth half stuffed, "Aren't you?"
"Not really. I already know mine."
"You're sure?"
"Yes." He replied as if saying I just said so.
"Well, I thought I knew mine years ago until I didn't." Sora explained absentmindedly amidst her chews, "You should keep an open mind; maybe you're like the chef. After all, you're only going after the Avatar so you can get back into the Fire Nation, right? Seems pretty impossible anyway."
This irked Zuko, releasing the flood of annoyance he had been trying so hard to hold back for manners' sake like a string stretched too far and breaking. Perhaps it was because of how she was so carelessly judging him--food stuffed into her mouth. Perhaps it was the judgment itself, but why would he be upset if it was anything short of true? Perhaps it was the dilemma about destiny that upset his inner compass so dearly or perhaps it was just hearing that his ventures were bound to be fruitless. Either way, it didn't matter. He was irritated.
"Why are you so obsessed with me, anyway? I know you're not Shei; I get it. You don't have to keep seeing me." He argued, "Why do you care so much about what I do with my life?"
"I never said you should do anything." She defended.
"Then shut up! I don't need to hear half-baked wisdom from a washed-up circus freak."
"Where did that come from?" Sora stood up. raising her voice, "You know, at least I care about what I want because, apparently, you only care about what the Fire Lord does!"
"You don't even know anything about me!" Zuko shouted, "It's what I want too."
"You know, somehow," Sora chuckled, almost mockingly, "I'm really struggling to believe that."
Another heavy silence met them as they stared icy daggers at each other. Clearly, they were coming from two different emotional centers. Sora felt one way and Zuko another. Perhaps they were eye-to-eye, but neither wished to step down to reach the other. Who's to say who was right though when all points were based on assumptions?
"I don't care," Zuko walked to the exit, "about what you think."
"Gee, I guess that explains why you care so much about what everyone else does then."
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"My destiny...Is to capture the Avatar, so I can restore my honor. That's my destiny. That's..."