whaaaat? two chapters in one day?
haha, i was pretty excited for this one so i somehow ended up writing it all after I finished with the last one x3
hope you enjoy~
Chapter Nine:
I don't think this is a gamble
"No!"
Kinri growled, lashing her tail and arching her spine at the horrible object that her person was shoving towards her face.
"Get in the bag!"
"NO!"
Flames burst from her jaws and Zuko yelped as the bag caught fire, flinging it away from him. It landed in the sand and they watched it slowly become a pile of ashes.
"Kinri..." Zuko started with narrowed eyes, but the deep laughter of the Uncle interrupted him.
"It is quite alright, Nephew."
Her person turned to stare at the older man incredulously while Kinri puffed out her chest, proud of the way she escaped confinement in that horrible thing.
"But Uncle, we can't just waltz in there with a dragon! Everyone will notice!" Zuko snapped, pointing angrily towards the Misty Palms Oasis that rose out of the sand a mile or so away.
The old man chuckled, reaching out a hand to scratch underneath Kinri's chin. She let out a content rumble, not protesting when he picked her up and held her gently in his arms.
"Now, Zuko," Iroh began, absentmindedly stroking the creamy fur between her horns, "when was the last time anyone has seen a dragon?"
Her person shuffled awkwardly in the sand, the reins of the ostrich-horse clinking as it turned its head to watch them with impatient black eyes.
"Uh...since before you...slayed the last one?"
Shock and confusion rippled through her at those words, and she looked up into the wrinkled face of the Uncle. That couldn't be right, she had seen that one dragon in her memory...and the old man couldn't have slayed her kind, he was too nice. And old. Definitely too old.
His face twisted into a frown as thoughts and memories clouded his mind, before he sighed and gazed down at her with twinkling eyes.
"...Mm, though apparently it wasn't the last one."
Her person just looked confused, and was about to ask more before Iroh continued.
"Kinri, would you mind staying under Zuko's hat for now? These people might not know what a dragon looks like, but anything gold will surely capture their attention."
She blinked at his words, looking over at her person, who was watching her apprehensively, as if she would somehow set his hair on fire if she didn't like the suggestion.
Well, it was better than being shoved into a bag, and this time she would be with her person!
The old man held her out and she scampered onto Zuko's outstretched hands, crawling up his shirt and curling into a cozy ball on top of his head with a haughty flick of her tongue.
The straw hat settled over her, blocking out the sun somewhat, though she could still see through the woven material of the hat.
"Finally," The ostrich-horse grumbled, stomping one of its talons and sending up a plume of sand, "I thought you guys would never stop talking. I'm so thirsty I could drink an entire river!"
Kinri rumbled in amusement as they started towards the Oasis, Zuko leading the impatient ostrich-horse by its reins.
.
They had tied the hybrid to one of the shaded stalls, a block of ice keeping it busy as they walked towards a sandy mound that chattered noisily with voices as they drew nearer.
Movement caught her attention and she peered through the straw hat, her gaze landing on two men who watched her person and the old man with malicious eyes.
Her lips pulled back into a snarl, but they had entered the building, and the two men disappeared from her sight.
.
Zuko glared around at the suspicious looking men that loitered around the tavern. He could feel Kinri's talons scraping lightly at his scalp and he fought the urge to shudder.
"No one here is going to help us," Zuko sneered, "these people just look like filthy wanderers."
"So do we." Iroh pointed out with a grin from his seat at the opposite side of the table, several empty ice cups sitting in front of him. "Ah, this is interesting. I think I found our friend."
Zuko turned to look at where the old man was pointing, following his finger to land on an older man seated at a Pai Sho table.
"You brought us here to gamble on Pai Sho?" Zuko said in disbelief as his uncle got to his feet.
"I don't think this is a gamble." Iroh countered easily, and the prince stood with a scowl and followed the older man towards the Pai Sho table.
.
Those men were back.
Golden eyes narrowed in the shadows of the hat as she glared at the two figures seated at the far wall of the building.
She clenched her person's hair in her talons, assuring herself he was still there.
All of a sudden she was shooting upwards, and then Zuko and Iroh were moving.
She tried to calm her racing heart, but when one of the suspicious men stood she nearly pulled her person's hair out with how much she was tugging on it.
"Ow!"
She stopped when the man sat back down, and when a hand reached up to the hat and promptly squished her against Zuko's head.
"Is everything all right?" She heard the muffled voice of the Uncle as the hand retreated and she could wriggle upright again.
"...yeah." Her person mumbled, and she felt guilty for only a second before she remembered the men and whipped her gaze around to stare at the two once more, daring them to move.
.
"May I have this game?" His uncle asked as they approached the Pai Sho table.
"The guest has the first move." The man replied evenly, motioning for Iroh to take a seat.
Iroh smiled as he sat, placing the lotus tile in the center of the board.
"I see you favor the white lotus gambit." The other man observed, looking down at the Pai Sho table, "Not many cling to the ancient ways."
Zuko watched as the man bowed, cupping his hands in front of him while his uncle did the same.
"Those who do can always find a friend." Iroh added wisely as he stared at the other man calmly.
"Then let us play." The older man concluded as he reached forward, placing a tile on the board.
Zuko stared in confusion and curiosity as the two started to place tiles faster and faster, and the prince pulled up a stool and sat, continuing to watch the two. Then his eyebrows drew together as the last tile was placed, forming the shape of a lotus flower.
"Welcome, brother." The man said to Iroh, "The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."
Zuko grit his teeth in frustration as he faced his uncle, "What are you old gasbags talking about?"
"I always tried to tell you that Pai Sho is more than just a game." Iroh smirked, rolling a Pai Sho tile over his knuckles before clutching it in a fist.
"It's over!" A voice snarled impatiently, and Zuko whipped around as a man stomped over to the Pai Sho table. "You two fugitives are coming with me!"
Zuko's hat jerked violently and would have fallen off had the string not kept it on his head. He gasped as it suddenly grew hotter and he slammed his hand down on top of the hat, stopping Kinri from setting the thing on fire.
"I knew it!" The Pai Sho man declared loudly, pointing an accusing finger and him and his uncle. "You two are fugitives with a giant bounty on your heads!"
"I thought you said he would help!" Zuko snapped, muscles tensing as he prepared himself for a fight, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"He is." Iroh muttered calmly, sending the man a knowing look. "Just watch."
"You think you're going to capture them and collect all that gold?" The man demanded loudly, capturing the attention of the other men in the tavern.
"Gold?" One man questioned, getting to his feet, and at the word more and more men started to stand, some brandishing weapons.
"Uh..." The thinner of the two men faltered as he looked around at the growing crowd, "maybe we shouldn't…"
The other man ignored him, smirking as he stepped towards Zuko and Iroh, but was stopped when two men jumped between them. He scowled in annoyance before swinging his leg around and throwing the men away with an earthbending move.
The thin man noticed one of the attackers charging him and shifted into an earthbending stance, sinking the person into the ground.
In the confusion, the Pai Sho man had gestured for Iroh and Zuko to follow him, and the three slunk out of the rowdy tavern, unnoticed in all the chaos.
.
The moon shone brightly overhead while the man led the two of them to a flower shop on the other side of the Misty Palms Oasis, he stopped to peer surreptitiously into the night, and not finding any followers in the dark, shut the door behind them.
"It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the White Lotus." The man acknowledged, bowing to Iroh. "Being a Grand Master you must know so many secrets."
"Now that you played Pai Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is someone in this club gonna offer some real help?" Zuko demanded as the man walked off towards the back of the room with Iroh and Zuko trailing after him.
"You must forgive my nephew," Iroh said apologetically, glancing back at Zuko, "he is not an initiate, and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts."
The man nodded in understanding, and knocked twice on the door, a small closed off window sliding open halfway, revealing the cautious eyes of a man.
"Who knocks at the guarded gate?" The man asked mysteriously.
"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries." Iroh answered, smiling as the door creaked open, spilling light into the shop.
Zuko started to follow them into the room, but the door slammed shut in his face just as he reached it. He stepped up to the door, glaring silently as the little window opened and Iroh looked out at him.
"I'm afraid it's members only." Iroh said, "Wait out here."
The window slid shut again and Zuko's eyebrows twitched in annoyance as he stepped back, crossing his arms.
A strange smelling potted plant with curling vines and flowers caught his attention, but before he could sniff it, his hat, which had been resting silently on his head until now, jumped and writhed furiously, nearly choking him.
"Okay, okay! Geez!" He cried out, yanking his hat off before he was strangled to death. The dragon shot out into the air, flapping wildly around him as if checking to see if he was hurt anywhere, then settled on the table with the potted plant.
"Happy now?" He glared at her but she didn't seem to notice, and he sighed, crossing his arms again as he leaned against a pillar, watching her look curiously around the shop before padding over to the plant.
She sniffed at it, then stared at it for a moment with a wrinkled expression and promptly shoved it off the table.
"Kinri!" Zuko exclaimed as the pot shattered against the ground, reaching forward to snag her off the table. She saw him though, and with an excited chirping she leaped off the table and darted around the shop, evading his outstretched hands as she jumped from flowerpot to flowerpot.
He dove to catch one of the falling pots, sighing in relief as it landed safely in his hands, but another crashed down a few feet away and he growled, leaping to his feet and searching with narrowed eyes for the impish little dragon.
.
Kinri grinned cheekily, watching her person between two flower pots on a shelf where she was hiding.
This game was so much fun!
She couldn't remember the last time she was able to play with her person like this...
His eyes fell on her bright scales and she chirruped gleefully, dancing around his grasping fingers and jumping onto his head before pushing off and flying up to one of the wooden beams that held some of the potted plants up with strings.
"Kinri..." Zuko said slowly, his voice low and barely containing his frustration as he stepped closer, holding his hands out in front of him, "just come on down from there, nice and easy now..."
Golden eyes blinked innocently at him and Zuko smiled in triumph as she leaned towards him, only to grunt in surprise as she plowed into his chest, sending him sprawling on the floor.
.
With a groan Zuko opened his eyes to see Kinri peering down at him from where she sat on his chest.
"Bad dragon..." He mumbled wearily, and needle-like fangs glinted in the light as the golden dragon grinned, leaning forward to lick the tip of his nose with a forked tongue.
He couldn't help the smile that twitched at his lips, and he reached up to pat her head fondly. Despite the mess she just put him through, he couldn't find it in himself to get truly mad at her.
A yawn overtook his body, the fatigue from the day's events catching up with him, and the ground beneath his back felt more comfortable than anything right then.
He fell asleep there, with Kinri curled up on his chest, watching over the boy protectively as he slept.
this chapter was inspired by my cat, who knocked a box of stuff off the table and watched me clean it up xD
thanks for reading~! ^-^