Khan lounged lazily against the mountain of fur that was his rhino-panther watching the Fire Nation coastline slowly shrink into the horizon. Another hour or so and the sea would completely swallow it up and he'd finally be free of all his old problems that would never again be a nuisance. No more pain in the ass family members that would belittle and take his existence for granted. No more forced fire bending training that he didn't need or want, the fire benders in the army taught him well and anymore he'd learned on his own. Most of all no arranged marriages, the ultimate form of imprisonment to his families selfish machinations, more his mothers really but no one else backed him when he refused to accept his fate. Noble families were funny like that, quick to rally when threatened against outsiders but would be so quick to sell out their relatives if it meant gaining something significant. Khan often wondered how nobility existed in this modern day era, not that it mattered to him anymore because as of two hours ago this morning he was no longer of the Lee family and no longer a noble as far as he was concerned. Now it was just him and his best friend.
Shieva purred in a way that meant she was not happy being at sea and it showed by the way her tail curled up and her ears drooped sullenly. Then the way her stomach growled, well it was a good thing they were right next to the guard railing. Khan sat up and scooted up, he scratched her ears with one hand and slowly rubbed her belly with the other in an attempt to comfort her.
"Relax Shi-shi just relax girl, we'll be in the north pole soon and you can stretch your legs again." He said reassuringly although truthfully the merchant ship he'd bought passage on was at least two weeks away from the northern water tribes shores provided storms or pirates didn't slow them down. He wasn't going to tell her that of course. "Think of all those tasty fish you'll be eating."
Shieva groaned putting a paw over her face. Khan kicked himself, figuratively speaking, should've guessed anything relating to the sea was going to upset her. Had have to be careful not to mention the northern water tribe anymore for the duration of the trip. One the merchant seamen came up to them, she was a tall solidly built woman with streaks of silver in her short cropped hair, judging from her tan skin it was safe to assume she had seen many years at sea and would clearly be quick to call it home then any place on shore. By the looks of her nothing scared her but a four hundred pound rhino-panther made her stay at a distance.
"Is he gonna be okay? We're not cleaning up the mess if he loses it all over the deck." She said keeping her voice low.
"She, will be fine won't you girl?" Khan gently patted her on the head.
The whine Shieva let out would suit a cub rather then an adult rhino-panther.
"Right, the mop and bucket will be over here come with me and I'll show you can grab them from just in case." The way she stood meant she wasn't leaving until Khan got up and followed her.
Slipping off his back pack Khan got up leaving it leaning against Shieva "I'll be right back okay, try and rest." he took about half a step before he felt something holding him back. Glancing over his shoulder he found his companion pulling at his cloak with her mouth. Ever since they were little the rhino-panther never liked being unable to keep an eye on her human and the feeling was mutual for Khan. "Don't worry I'll only be a minute promise." He winked and smiled.
Shieva purred giving the cloak one last tug before letting go and laying her head down. The sailor started walking and Khan followed right beside her, she lead him through a door and down a short flight of stairs through a hallway and then arrived at a broom closet.
"Door's always unlocked so don't be afraid to come down here and get it when the time comes to clean up after your pet. Better yet grab it now just in case." She opened the door.
Khan did thinking it would be wise and followed the sailor back the way they'd come. Getting back to the deck they found the wild cat leaning over the guard rail the noise she was making was not in anyway pleasant.
"I'll leave you to handle that later kid." The sailor said with a grimace and walked away rather briskly.
Khan went up to his companion setting the mop and bucket aside "Let it all out, you'll be okay." he patted the furry part of her side because the rough leathery hide was rough on the hands. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed his backpack laying open on the floor. That wasn't right he'd had it closed up tight. Giving Shieva one more rub he hurried over to it and starting looking through its contents. A few changes of clothes, a heavy fur jacket when it got cold, a blanket for sleeping, some jerky and dried seaweed and a journal he kept for writing. Everything was in here except for. "Grandma and grandpas rings they're gone!" he suddenly felt very very ill, like having a really nasty stomach flu ill.
Those rings were made of gold, diamonds, amethyst and rubies they were worth a small fortune but more importantly they were all that remained of the only two people that cared about how he felt and what he wanted. Grandpa Jariah Lee and Grandma Aishi Lee were Khans mothers parents but unlike their estranged daughter they didn't act like the world owed them everything for nothing nor did they have an enormous chip on their shoulder. They were level headed good trustworthy people who loved all their grandchildren but seemed to favor Khan the most out of all them, he'd always found that odd. Up until they both passed away in a fire at their summer vacation spot on Ember Island. Neither of them were fire benders and the investigators labeled it as an accident. Fighting back tears Khan thought 'I have got to find those rings now!'
He closed the bag up tight and slipped it on his back, he wasn't going to risk anything else being stolen while he was away again. Khan figured someone stole them but the question was who?
