The Fire Prodigy {ATLA}

{9}: The Shirshu

"Aahh!" Iroh said, smiling as he sniffed his cup of newly brewed tea. "See Prince Zuko, a moment of quiet is good for your mental well-being."

"Hard to get quiet around Zuko," I said teasingly, earning a glare from the prince.

However, our moment of quiet lasted very little. Because the next thing we knew, were were surprised by a huge furry beast hopping onto the ship's deck, sniffing around frantically. The crew tried to flee from it, but it didn't seem interested in pursuing any of them.

"Look out! Argh!" One of the men said, as I barely managed to dodge the beast's tail.

"Get back! We're after a stowaway!" a woman mounting the beast said.

"There are no stowaways on my ship," Zuko told her firmly.

The beast, which I now realized was a shirshu, tore of a chunk of the metal deck and stuck it's face inside. After a few seconds, a man appeared running out of the newly created hole, running fast away from the shirshu. Its long tongue stuck out and lashed at him, making him fall onto the deck, seemingly paralyzed and terrified.

"He's paralyzed," Zuko noted.

"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 said, stepping down from the shirshu and picking the stowaway from the floor.

"But how did you find him on my ship?" Zuko questioned.

"My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away," the woman explained briefly, before slinging the man onto the saddle.

"Well, I'm impressed," Iroh said, as we watched the woman crack her whip and instruct her shirshu to start moving. He began scratching his beard in a disturbing way, staring at the woman in the distance. I gagged. "Very impressed."

"I have an idea," Zuko announced.

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"So your brilliant idea is to drag us to a random pub full of scoundrels and fugitives?" I asked with a frown, as we arrived at the nasty bar in search of the woman with the shirshu.

"Out of my way! Step aside, filth!" Zuko said, pushing every person out of the way rather harshly.

"He means no offense! I'm certain you bathe regularly!" Iroh apologized after him.

We finally reached the main table, where the woman was arm wrestling with another man.

"I need to talk to you!" Zuko said.

"Well, if it isn't my new friends: Angry Boy, Pretty Girl and Uncle Lazy."

Iroh let out a laugh at her insult, just as she grunted once more and slammed her opponent's arm on the table.

"Your beast trashed my ship. You have to pay me back!" Zuko said.

"Well, I'd love to help you out, but I'm a little short on money," she said, before turning to the surrounding crowd. "Drinks on me!"

"Money isn't what I had in mind. I need you to find someone," Zuko said, pulling out the Water Tribe necklace.

"What happened, your girlfriend run off on you?" the woman asked sarcastically, before looking at me and laughing. "Oh no, nevermind. She's right here."

"I'm not... Whatever. Look, we're after someone she's with," I said with a sigh.

"If you find them, I'll consider the damage to my ship paid for," Zuko offered.

"Heh, forget it," she insisted, as we followed her outside the pub to the back, where she had stationed her shirshu.

"Plus, we'll pay your weight in gold," Iroh offered, making both me and Zuko narrow our eyes at him.