Zuko's Betrothed

Girlfriend

I sit with Iroh and Zuko for one of Iroh's many, many lessons of relaxation. Zuko never could do that unless Iroh incorporated it as some kind of training. It was quiet except for the sound of Iroh slurping his tea "Ahh! See, Prince Zuko? A moment of quiet is good for your mental well-being," Iroh told Zuko as he poured a small cup of tea for his nephew. Zuko actually halfway listening for once begins to raise the cup to his lips before being jostled around and spilling his tea. He grunts in frustration and returns to his usual cranky demeanor before standing, Iroh and I following behind him onto the deck of our ship. 

We find ourselves face to face with a woman on the back of none other than a xierxu, the exact animal I'd told Zuko of weeks ago. "Get back, we're after a stowaway!" she shouted to us as her creature began sniffing all over the deck. "There are no stowaways on my ship!" Zuko tells her as we march towards her. Her creature tears into the deck floor sending metal flying toward us, forcing us to duck down. This forces us into fighting stance unsure of what to expect next for the woman and her beast. 

a few seconds after the beast begins sniffing around a man crawls out from the hole in the ship. He screams as he attempts to flee the beast, but he's not fast enough. The xierxu uses its tongue to paralyze him, he drops down to the ground without a second thought. "He's paralyzed," Zuko states astounded by the sight "Only temporarily, the toxins will wear off in about an hour, but by then he'll be in jail and I'll have my money," the woman explains tossing the man onto the back of the xierxu. 

"But, how did you find him on my ship?" he asks and I hit his arm lightly "That's a xierxu the creature I'd told you about, they can smell a rat a continent away," I explain as the woman looks back to me with a smile and pats her beast. "Well, I'm impressed," Iroh says staring at the woman as she cracks her whip and the xierxu takes off, leaping off of the ship. "Very impressed," Iroh adds stroking his beard and I roll my eyes.

"Zuko, we need that xierxu," I tell him urging him to understand and he nods without argument "That thing could finally lead us to the Avatar," Zuko agrees and we get ready to head out to find the mysterious woman with Iroh. We spend the day searching, until we find ourselves at a sketchy dive bar. With the woman in the middle of a crowd. She's in the middle of a tough arm wrestling match, that she seems to be winning with ease. "Out of my way! Step aside, filth!" Zuko shouts as he pushes past people in our way, 

"We need to talk to you," Zuko demands the woman as he approaches her. "Well, if it isn't my new friends, angry boy, nerd girl, and uncle lazy," she greets barely sparing us a glance Iroh chuckles at the woman's quip. She slams her opponent's hand down to the table with a slap, causing a wave of cheers to spark through the bar. "Your beast trashed my ship, you have to pay me back," Zuko demanded as coins were tossed to the woman from every corner of the room. 

"Well I'd love to help you out, but I'm a little short on money," she tells us before shouting out to the bar "Drinks on me!" Zuko scowls at the woman and grabs her wrist. "Money isn't what I had in mind," he tells her and I grab his hand forcing him to relinquish his hold on her. "Please, let's discuss this deal, outside," I tell her gesturing outside with a light jerk of my head. She sees the glint of my small Fire Nation crown and starts to see things our way. 

When we make it outside Zuko raises up the water tribe necklace we'd discovered "I need you to find someone," Zuko tells her and the woman who I'd discovered was named June smirked. "What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you?" she asks and I feel a twinge of jealousy flare up but I couldn't understand why. "As his girlfriend, I can assure you it's not the girl we're after. It's the little bald monk she's traveling with," I tell her and she smirks wider "whatever you say," "If you find them, I'll consider the damage to my ship paid for," Zuko tells her.

"Plus your weight in gold," I add on knowing her entire motive for coming out here with us. "Make it his weight," June haggles pointing a finger at Iroh who laughs at her proposal. "You've got a deal," Iroh tells her, and she take the necklace from Zuko. We all pile on as she allows the beast to take in it's scent. Then we're off, and I can feel Zuko tighten his arms around me.