𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐒 // zuko

June

june

_______________

In a feeble attempt to recall more things from her past, Saria barely left her room for days. All she felt was shame and regret. She betrayed her own father; she would never be able to return home.

Zuko and his Uncle sat in one of the ships quarters, Iroh pouring themselves cups of warm tea. 

"Aahh!" The old man exhaled, pleased with the lack of action in the last few days. "See Prince Zuko; a moment of quiet is good for your mental well-being."

Just as Zuko began taking his first sip of tea, the ship jerked suddenly. The vibrations made Zuko's tea to go flying and soaked his face and hair. He grunted in frustration before flipping his ponytail and storming out of the room to identify what was responsible for the disruption.

As he arrived on deck, Zuko quickly discovered a large beast climbing onto his ship.

"Get back! We're after a stowaway." A young woman was mounted on a shirshu, her slick hair covering half of her face. She was beautiful.

"There are no stowaways on my ship!" The beast began sniffing around the deck before tearing off a chunk of metal from the floor and flinging it in Zuko's direction. He jumped out of the way, saving himself from being hit. His face screwed up in frustration.

To Zuko's surprise, a man dressed in dirty Earth Kingdom attire appeared from the hole on the deck, frantically running away from the shirshu. Before he could run far, however, the beast lashed out his elongated tongue, causing the man to fall to the ground.

"He's paralysed..." The prince gasped, shocked.

"Only temporarily." The woman jumped off her beast and collected the helpless man with one arm, hoisting him over her shoulders effortlessly. "The toxins will wear off in about an hour. But by then, he'll be in jail, and I'll have my money."

"But how did you find him on my ship?"

She slung the stowaway onto the shirshu and mounted it, preparing to depart.

"My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away."

"Well, I'm impressed." Iroh pronounced as the woman cracked her whip, making the shirshu run off. Iroh and Zuko watched after her as she ran out of their sight.

"If her shirshu can track some nobody hiding on my ship, then maybe it can find the Avatar." Zuko thought aloud. Iroh hummed in agreement.

"We'll leave before nightfall." The prince turned around and began walking off deck.

"Should I see if Saria wants to come?" Iroh called after Zuko, who stopped and rotated his head towards his uncle, nodding slightly before proceeding to walk away.

Iroh followed him moments later and led himself to Saria's door, knocking quietly.

"Come in." Her head turned as she saw Iroh walk into her room, who was offering her a kind smile.

"How are you feeling? I'm certain your fever has worn off by now." The girl gave Iroh a returning smile before standing and walking in front of him, bowing respectfully.

"I apologise for yelling at you the other night. I was overwhelmed by my recovered memories and what happened that night. It was way out of line, especially considering the fact that you and Zuko saved my life. Please, I hope you can forgive me." She rambled. 

Iroh smiled once again and placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her up from her bow.

"There's no need to apologise, Saria. I can understand this is a difficult time for you."