So I'm back. Hopefully. As my creative juices have stopped flowing, this is too kind of restart them before I dive into my redo of Recovery, the sequel to Shot of Faith. If you haven't read SoF (my new self-determined acronym for Shot of Faith) yet, then I highly reccomend going back and reading it, otherwise this story will probably be Greek to you. (Give it up for cliches!) Anyway, please review because even if I am only doing this to get back into the swing of things, I do write it for you lovely people and I figured it would be nice to get some insight on what Del and Zuko do on vacation.
The owner of the shop looks up as his door opens and two strangers dressed in full black cloaks walk in. He swallows nervously at their menacing figures, but they simply slide into the booth nearest the door. He watches his only employee, his youngest daughter, begin to nervously walk towards the customers to take their orders, but he catches her arm and shakes his head at her, approaching the strangers himself.
As he approaches, one of the strangers shakes back their hood, and the owner halts as honey-colored hair spills out, framing the face of a pretty young lady with vibrant green eyes. She murmurs something to her companion, who replies back tersely. Finally, the owner is close enough to distinguish their words. The girl pleads, "Zuko, the point of a vacation is to relax."
The other cloaked person, Zuko, replies, "Not relaxing is what has kept me alive." The girl starts to reply, but then the owner is by the table and they both fall silent. Zuko turns away from the owner, sliding down in his seat. The owner can't see his face, but can tell that the man is sulking by the wrinkle of his nose and the curve of his back.
"What can I get for you?" the owner asks in a slightly tremulous voice. The girl with the unnatural hair smiles gently at the owner, who notices how long and black her eyelashes are, and how her cheeks have a natural pink glow to them.
"Just a green tea for me, please," the girl chirps. The owner starts to turn to Zuko, but the girl just shakes her head. "Oh, he hates tea."
"I don't hate it. I'm just sick of it," Zuko mumbles. The owner nods and begins to walk away.
"See, Zuko? He didn't even recognize my hair, and everyone knows it by now. I'm telling you, this place is so remote they probably didn't even know a war was going on," the girl whispers to the sulking man. Then the owner walks back into his kitchen and can no longer hear them. He tries to make their brew quickly, curious to eavesdrop on their conversation longer. Of course he, and the other islanders, know that there was a war, and that it is now over, but they were so unaffected by it. He begins to wonder if Zuko and the girl with honey hair are criminals on the run.
His daughter tries to take the cup of green tea from him, but he shoos her away, ordering her to sweep up the filthy back room. He sweeps out of the kitchen, disappointed to see that his enigmatic customers are no longer absorbed in conversation. Zuko's hood is still up, and his arms are crossed. The angle of his body makes it clear he is not in the mood to talk. The girl has her elbows propped up on the table, her head in her hands. She sighs deeply, but when she sees the owner with her tea her face brightens considerably.
"Thank you!" she coos, pressing the proper amount of money into the owner's hand. "Also, I believe Zuko has changed his mind. He'd love a slice of pound cake." The owner smiles and nods, also telling them about their half off flour rolls. The girl politely declines, and the owner backs into the kitchen. The pound cake is sitting on the counter, already sliced, so the owner simply lifts a piece onto one of his nicer plates.
He's thrilled to see that the girl is talking again. He cannot hear her until he has stepped closer to their table. "—if you're going to be like this," she says grouchily. This time, when he sets down their order, she does not thank him, simply hands him his money without looking at him. The owner walks slowly away, hoping to catch more of their conversation.
He is not sure, but before he walks back into the kitchen, he thinks he hears Zuko mumble, "I'm sorry."
So there you go. Most of them will be short like this but I hope you enjoy. Review!