Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the last Airbender or any of its characters. I own Koima and Col.

Chapter 15

The Bounty Hunter

Earth Nation Port…

I sat on the railing watching as the crewmen pulled crate after crate of supplies on board the ship. I helped as much as I could, lifting the lightest stuff, Iroh also gave me the job of marking down the amount of supplies we bought and the money we spent. I sat and counted the crates, marking the tally down on a piece of parchment using a blank ink quill from the feather of a Kesol hawk.

"42…43…44…" I counted, "45! That's all!" I announced. The men sat down and groaned with relief, "Thank Agni…" "…. My arms are about to fall off!" "….I think I pulled something…."

Uncle Iroh and Zuko came on board, Zuko looked at the moaning men and smirked, "Put the crates in the storage room under the deck! Move it!" Zuko commanded. The men stood up and grumbled, slowly making their way back to the crates. I jumped off the railing and handed Zuko the scroll, "They're all here."

Zuko looked at the scroll and frowned, "Uncle!" He growled. I noticed that Uncle Iroh was backing away from Zuko, "How much tea do you actually need?"

"Eh?" Iroh coughed, "That much nephew…" I couldn't help but smile. Uncle Iroh took the scroll away from Zuko and tucked it into his sleeves, no doubt to hide the marks that showed how many musical instruments that he had bought for Music Night.

Just as we were turning to go back inside, I saw something coming towards us at an alarming rate….a big, brown, hairy…Shir Shu!

"LOOK!" I pointed. Zuko and Iroh turned in time to see the huge beast leap onto the ship, scattering the crewmen in a fit of panic. The rider was a woman, long black hair, black clothing, and a red tattoo of a snake on her right shoulder. She carried a mean looking whip that she cracked about the Shir Shu's head. She looked about twenty or in her late teens.

"What is the meaning of this!" Zuko demanded, his shock wearing off quickly and was replaced by anger. The woman wrinkled her nose when she looked down as Zuko, "Looking for a stowaway. Stand Back!"

"There are no stowaways on my ship!" His words went unheeded by the impressive woman. Iroh was gazing up at the woman, his eyes full of…longing? (blink)(blink) "Uncle Iroh?" I tapped him on the shoulder, but he didn't hear me. "Oh Agni…" I sighed.

The Shir Shu sniffed around widely, trying to get a scent, his head turning in all directions. Then, He ripped up a party of the deck and hurled it away. The three of us ducked in time to save us serious injury from the flying piece of metal. The Shir Shu stuck his head in the hole it had made. A moment later, a man in Earth nation wear crawled out and ran away from the Shir Shu. The Shir Shu's tongue lashed out an incredible distance and caught the man in the neck. Even I knew that nothing can withstand the potency of its paralyzing venom. The man instantly seized up and collapsed on the deck floor in front of us.

Zuko stared at the man with amazement, "H-He's paralyzed!" Iroh was shocked beyond words. The woman jumped off the Shir Shu and picked up the man by the shirt with one hand, "The venom will wear off in an hour." She smirked, "In just enough time to turn him in and claim my reward." A bounty hunter eh? I smiled, Not even Master would mess with this woman!

"How did you know there was a stowaway?" Zuko stared at the beast with wary eyes. The woman threw the stiff man onto the saddle and patted the beast's furry side, "My Shir Shu can smell a rat a continent away." She leapt onto the Shir Shu and cracked her whip and the beast and her jumped off the ship onto the docks. Iroh, Zuko and I ran to the rail and watched as she disappeared.

"Interesting…" Iroh said, stroking his goatee thoughtfully, "Veeery Interesting." Zuko and I looked at each other and sighed, shaking our heads.

:;:;:Zuko:;:;:

"Uncle! We can hire her to find the Avatar!" Zuko held up the Water tribe girl's necklace, "It tracks by smell! We can use this! She's always around the Avatar! This is my chance to finally capture the Avatar!

Uncle Iroh nodded, "I would like to see that young woman again…" He thought of the beautiful bounty hunter that had stolen his heart. Zuko bit back a retory, his Uncle was infatuated with that woman. Zuko thought back to the beast, "That Shir Shu…I've never seen one before…"

"I have."

They looked at Koima, who had brought their supper to them in the Navigation Room.

"You have?" Zuko said.

Koi nodded, "Yes. There were a lot of them around my village. Sometimes we use the venom in their tongues to make darts so we can paralyze wild hogs and Platypus bears so we can harvest their eggs. They are excellent trackers when you tame them."

Zuko was surprised by Koima's knowledge of the animals, "What else do you know about them?"

Koi shrugged, "The obvious stuff. Never yell at them, Never touch their tails…had a friend who did that once, he couldn't move for two days. Never ever call them stupid or an idiot, Oh, and one more thing…don't get stuck with their tongues." She added with a small smile.

Uncle Iroh smiled, "Let's bring her along Prince Zuko. She can probably save our hides out there." He chuckled. Zuko thought about it.. She would be nice to have around and with her knowledge about animals, she would probably save them from any accidents.

"Yes." Zuko nodded, "We will leave after dinner. So be ready or you're staying here." Even though Zuko would wait forever for her…

Koi nodded and left. So did Iroh, claiming that he was going to take a shower and trim his goatee. Zuko looked at the necklace in his hand, the blue stone glinted in the firelight. This was his best chance to find and capture the Avatar…. he would not mess this opportunity up!


I have a splitting headache… that's why I can't type anymore. I want y'all to review on my best friends story. Her name is Liz (FyreFaery) The story is called, "Cat fight or Puppy love" Please review. It is a great story that I have read and I know you all will enjoy it also. I'm going to work on the summary for her. I won't be here next weekend. (TWO NEW AVATAR EPISODES THIS FRIDAY!) I'll be in Alabama on some Church thing with Lizzy…..I'm not religious, I'm going there so Lizzy won't be alone. I'm a back-slider…I haven't prayed in a long time.. only for my parents which isn't working. I'm gonna go take a nap, either that or shoot myself so the it will end the pain. LOL. PEACE! R&R on mine and FyreFaery's!