Chapter Two- The She-Wolf
She was sent to protect them, but she failed. She was sent to retrieve Him, but she was unsuccessful. Now she may have lost the only thing she had left. And one banished prince may be standing in her way. One problem, he's looking for the same thing she has been for the last hundred years. Her choice now is to follow or kill this thirteen year old royal pain in her tail whom reminds her of a life she left behind.
"Uncle!" Zuko roared as he ran down the mountain side. He dodged the occasional rock with ease. The young banished prince was only thirteen and his kind nature had been masked by anger. However, Iroh noticed something on his nephew's face that he hadn't seen in months, excitement and happiness. At that moment it wouldn't matter what Zuko would tell him, he was smiling.
"Uncle, I've found something," he stated as he slid to a halt.
"There are lots to be found, prince Zuko," Iroh teased.
"This is… Different," the prince stumbled for the right words.
"How different? What did you see?" Iroh asked, genuinely interested.
"An animal. It wasn't like anything I've ever seen. It was huge! Its head was as big as I am and its paws," Zuko trailed off it thought.
"Interesting. What did it look like?" The retired general asked, trying to keep the prince talking about it.
"Enormous! The first thing I saw was these dark green eyes. Then I heard it growl and it was like the cliff was going to break off the mountain. I was going to run back down, but then I thought it might be a dragon, you know, like in hiding. So I turned to face it again and there it was at full height. Its fur was like tiny feathers, it looked so soft. It was like a silver white color and had black markings," Zuko stared off into space again, trying to remember every detail, "It was actually beautiful, for a beast."
Iroh chuckled, "it sounds as if you were talking about a girl."
"What!" Zuko growled out of embarrassment.
"Come, let us see this beast of yours." He ignored Zuko's growls and started up the cliff his nephew had just climbed down from.
"It was guarding something, Uncle," he yelled to Iroh before he walked too far.
"So, you want to leave it alone?" he asked.
"No," Zuko pondered aloud, "what if it's guarding the avatar?"
Iroh smiled, "of course, prince Zuko, soon we will know." He went along with Zuko, but wished his nephew could find peace in this life. It had only been a few months since he was banished, and they had already visited the western and the northern air temples. The western was empty and the northern was occupied by an inventor and some earthbenders. They had been inside the southern air temple for three days now and were scheduled to leave today.
"Hurry, Uncle!" Zuko yelled over his shoulder.
Iroh stopped, "How did you get in front of me?" Zuko shrugged and continued up the mountain. When both were at the top of the cliff, Zuko revealed to him a red tarp and inside lay the remains of many fire nation soldiers and the skeleton of one very powerful air monk.
"Where is this beast you spoke of?" Uncle Iroh whispered to the prince. Zuko's eyes darted wildly around the room.
"It was here," Zuko mumbled. A rumbling warning growl shook the cliff side, "This is what happened last time."
"I can hear it, but I can't tell where it is," Iroh stated calmly. Then, as if on cue, an enormous wolf stood from behind the rock the monk's bone rested on.
"Now can you tell where it is?" Zuko asked sarcastically. Iroh's eyes flashed at the size of the wolf, but otherwise stayed calm.
The wolf towered over them, its description was exactly as Zuko had told. Its eyes darted from Zuko to Iroh and back. Fire formed around Zuko's clenched fists as he stepped back into a fighting stance. The wolf's lips curled into a snarl.
"Be careful, prince Zuko, don't do anything you'll regret. You don't know anything about-" Iroh tried to talk his nephew down, but was interrupted and ignored.
"Where is the avatar, Beast?" Zuko snarled back. The wolf's ears flicked forward at the mention of the avatar, but laid flat in offence at the name Beast. She leapt forward over the monk and opened her mouth to show Zuko her dagger-like fangs up close then leapt through the tarp and out of sight. Zuko was frozen for a moment after he almost had his head bitten off, but when he recovered he spun on his heels and ran outside. "Uncle, let's go!"
Iroh sighed, "Uh, Iroh, how do you keep up?" He muttered before joining his nephew on the cliff. Zuko was angry again, back to normal. He was peering over the edge of the mountain expecting to see the she-wolf, or, he hoped, the avatar.
"It's gone again," Zuko started, "it must be found, Uncle."
"Yes, but, prince Zuko, it's getting late now. We can stay another night and resume our search in the morning, yes?"
Zuko didn't say anything; he just continued to stare over the edge. Finally after a few moments of silence he nodded and together they journeyed back down to the campsite. All the while a pair of dark green eyes followed them.
