not from around here | Zuko X OC

| chapter eighteen |

Saki, Zuko and Iroh were sat at a table, drinking tea. This was something Saki and Iroh did regularly and thoroughly enjoyed, so having Zuko join them made them both very pleased.

"Aahh! See Prince Zuko, a moment of quiet is good for your mental well-being." Iroh told his nephew.
Saki nodded in agreement and took a sip of her steaming tea.

Zuko raised the cup to take a sip, but the ship suddenly jerked. The vibrations caused tea in the cup to go flying, soaking Zuko's face and hair.
Saki giggled as Zuko grunted in frustration, pushed his ponytail back, and rose to see what the commotion is about.

Running into the deck Saki saw several of Zuko's firebenders stand poised, ready to attack.
A large beast suddenly leapt onto the deck, a young woman mounted on its back.
The firebenders fled from the beast in fear.

"Wow..." Saki muttered, looking at the woman and the huge beast.
"Get back! We're after a stowaway!" Yelled the woman.
"There are no stowaways on my ship." Answered Zuko, sounding offended.

"Yeah but if you knew that for sure, they wouldn't be a stowaway. But if you don't know, then they are, so therefor, it is impossible to be one hundred percent sure." Saki pointed out.
"Shut up." Muttered Zuko, rolling his eyes.
"I'm just saying!" Saki exclaimed defensively.

The beast tore off a chunk of the metal deck flooring and hurled it in Saki and Zuko's direction.
Alarmed, they ducked for cover, and the firebenders and Iroh moved to the side. The metal piece hit the doorway leading to the main compartments of the ship with a clang as they turned around to watch it.

Zuko looked on in frustration while the firebenders and Iroh took a firebending stance.
In the interior of the ship, a gaping hole was present where the metal flooring once was.

The beast stuck his head inside and began sniffing around. It raised its head out of the hole. The stowaway appeared, dashing away from the scene.
The beast shot forward in hot pursuit of him. The members of Zuko's ship watched as a giant and long tongue extended out of the beast's mouth and struck the man. He fell onto the deck, paralyzed, and with a terrified look on his face.

"He's paralyzed." Muttered Zuko.
"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." June told us.
"So cool..." Saki muttered wondering over to the beast with shining eyes.

Zuko extended an arm and grabbed her wrist.
"Stay back." He warned.
"But I wanna pet him." Saki protested.
"Don't be stupid." He snapped.
She pouted and crossed her arms.
"How did you find the stowaway on my ship?" Zuko snapped up at the woman.

"My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away." She said confidently.
"So cool..." Saki said again. "Can I pet him?"
"Saki! No!" Whisper shouted Zuko.
"I wasn't asking you, meanie." Saki muttered, elbowing him.

The woman mounted the giant thing as Saki stared in wonder.
"Well, I'm impressed." Iroh started.
June cracked her whip.
"Very impressed." Smirked Iroh, grinning whilst stroking his beard.

Zuko gave him a disgusted look and Saki opened her mouth, leaned forwards and pointed at the back of her throat, signalling that she was gonna throw up.

ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ

A little time passed and Saki could see that Zuko was still deep in thought.
They were on the deck, Zuko staring out at the horizon, and Saki sat on the floor enjoying the nice weather. She stood and walked over to the Prince, standing next to him and staring out at the sea too.