The Ruka Wild ↠ Book 1 > A:TLA [Avatar: TLAB-LoK Watty Awards 2018]

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

Ruka (1)

The doctor told me I'd be alright. I have to take it easy for a couple days and soon I'll be able to walk without the crutches he gave me.

Yesterday I spent most of the day with the doctor. He wanted to make sure nothing was infected and the stitches I had were done correctly.

Today, he let me go walk around the ship, but he'd be checking on me every few hours. Since I lost a lot of blood, I'll have to gain my energy back on my own.

Iroh told me to join him and Zuko for tea this morning. I walked to the room where he told me they'd be, a little slower than I would due to the crutches.

I knocked on the metal door and once I heard a 'come in', I opened it and peeked inside. I slightly smiled when I saw Iroh smiling at me with a cup of tea in his hands. "Ah, Ruka. Just in time."

I walked into the room and closed the door behind me. Iroh gestured his hands to the spot beside him, gesturing me to sit down. I shook my head, "I think I'll stand." I pointed to the stitched part of my thigh and he nodded.

Iroh grabbed a small cup and poured some tea into it. "Would you like some Ruka?"

"I'm okay right now, thank you."

Silence took over the room and it was relaxing to be quite honest. The room was dim and warm.

Iroh drank his tea with a wide smile, "Ah, see Prince Zuko? A moment of quiet is good for your mental well being." He poured tea into Zuko's cup and while he picked it up, there was a giant thud and the ship rocked.

The tea went all over Zuko's face and I lost my balance, falling down onto the floor on my butt. I looked to Zuko who was soaked and I tried to contain my laughter.

Zuko put his wet hair away from his face, growling while standing up and leaving out the room. Iroh went over and bent down to help me up, "Are you alright?"

I nodded, "I'm okay. Can you hand me my crutches please?"

Iroh reached over to the crutches that were now on the floor and handed them to me. I thanked him and followed Iroh out of the room.

On the deck, guards lined up aside Iroh, Zuko, and I while a woman and a giant animal she was running on got onto the ship. "Get back! We're after a stowaway!"

Zuko walked up closer to her, "There are no stowaways on my ship!"

The animal bit into the floor and threw the giant piece of metal at us. The guards jumped out of the way and we ducked. Zuko looked back to her angrily.

The animal looked down under the ship for a moment until a frightened man ran up onto the deck. As he was running, the animal ran after him while whipping out his long, skinny tongue and hitting the man several times.

The man fell the floor, unable to move. I slightly gasped, pointing to the man, "Is he..."

"He's paralyzed." Zuko finished, also a bit shocked. The woman walked over and grabbed the man from the floor. "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."

As she walked back to her animal, Zuko took a step to her, "But how did you find him on my ship?"

She looked over her shoulder at us while patting her hand on her animal, "My shirshu can a smell a rat a continent away."

"Well, I'm impressed." Iroh said.

The woman whipped at her shirshu and the animal jumped off the ship. We watched her go from the edge of the ship. "Very impressed." Iroh repeated while stroking his beard. Zuko and I looked to him oddly.

"Uncle, do you know what this means?!" Zuko said. "That we need a new ship?" Iroh replied. I looked back and saw the damages of the ship. "Oh, he's right."

"No, not that! I think we just found the answer to our problem." Zuko smirked.

"What problem?" Iroh asked.

"The Avatar!" Zuko yelled before storming off.

Iroh and I looked to each other and shrugged.