i keep coming up with all these other story ideas and i get so wrapped up in those that i tend to forget i already have one that needs to be updated,

i do plan on publishing other stories, but i'll try to keep this one on the top of my lists until i see it through till the end :3

enjoy~!

Chapter Fourteen:

Just stay out of my way

Kinri squirmed excitedly at the strange new scents and sounds that assaulted her the moment Zuko and Iroh had stepped foot into the bustling city. Even when Zuko tried to keep her still with a firm hand she couldn't help the little twitches of curiosity that ran through her scales.

There were just so many new things around her! The mouthwatering scent of cooking food, the bright glitter of coins being exchanged, a jewel here and a sword there. The only thing keeping her hidden, other than her person's iron grip, was the overwhelming amount of people.

They were everywhere, their voices loud and grating against her ears as they jostled around Zuko, with their sweaty, dirty scent intense in her nose.

She wrinkled her muzzle, though when familiar heavy footsteps hurried closer she glanced up curiously, peering through the fabric of her person's shirt.

Iroh stepped up to Zuko's side, pleasantly smelling bright orange flowers in a vase held gently in his hands. She couldn't remember him leaving, but shrugged it off, finding the bright flowers more interesting. Apparently her person thought the same, sending the flowers a hard glare.

"I just want our new place to look nice," the old man grinned, winking at Zuko and elbowing him playfully in the arm, "in case someone brings home a lady friend~"

Kirni tilted her head to the side in bemusement, wondering what a lady friend was.

"This city is a prison." Her thoughts were interrupted as Zuko shook his head with a scowl. "I don't want to make a life here."

"Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not." Iroh replied in amusement, "Now come on, I found us some new jobs and we start this afternoon!"

Just as Kirni began to settle, a faint scent drifted towards her and she stiffened, her lips pulling back in a silent growl as she moved her head to peer around Zuko's side, narrowing her eyes as she made out three familiar forms in the distance.

.

Jet stared wordlessly after Lee and Mushi, his brown eyes sharp on their backs. Smellerbee and Longshot stepped out of the alley behind him, sharing an incredulous glance before Smellerbee spoke up.

"Jet, are you really going to follow them just because you want to know what their shiny pet is?" Jet didn't turn his gaze away from the two as she talked, light exasperation in her voice. "I thought we were starting over here, changing our ways."

"We are." Jet grunted, his brows lowering in agitation, "There's something more to their story, I'm sure of it. That...creature, it looked familiar..." He let out an angry sigh, running his hand through his shaggy brown hair, "Never mind, I just want to find out what they're hiding. That's it. Okay?"

Smellerbee and Longshot shared an uneasy look behind their leader's back, though didn't comment on his words.

.

"Well, here we are!" Iroh exclaimed cheerfully as they arrived at an apartment complex, a large horseshoe-shaped building with three stories.

Zuko opened the door to their second-floor room, frowning at the bland living space as he stepped inside and looked around. The living room had a simple stove, counter top, open windows and a couch in the corner. To the left was a sliding door that he guessed led into the bedroom.

Kinri began to squirm and wriggle in his shirt and he rolled his eyes, tugging at his collar so he could reach in and pull her out.

The dragon squeaked happily and immediately started exploring their new home, sticking her nose under the couch and scampering across the floor to inspect the cabinets and the bedroom door.

Zuko felt a smile twitch at the corner of his lips, though it disappeared at Iroh's pleasant chuckle. "At least Kinri likes it." He placed the vase of orange flowers on the counter and stepped back to give the room an appraising eye. "It just needs a few more touches, but that can wait, we have a job to get to."

Following his uncle's gaze, Zuko looked over at Kinri, who had managed to nudge open the bedroom doors and was digging around the small closet. As if reading his thoughts, Iroh smiled gently, "She'll be fine here, you can't carry her around in your shirt anymore you know."

Zuko nodded glumly, walking up to the bedroom closet and crouching down, his eyebrow twitching at the mess the dragon had made of the bedding. "Kinri?"

The dragon stuck her head out of the pile of sheets, cat-like eyes glittering excitedly when she caught sight of him. She tried to wiggle her way to him, but her legs got wrapped up in the cloth and Zuko had to help untangle her with a sigh.

"Look." He started, but she reached forward to lick his chin and he grimaced, holding her out at arms reach, though it was kind of difficult with how big and heavy she was getting, "Uncle and I are going to go to work now. You need to stay here."

At his words the dragon visibly deflated, and he felt a pang in his chest at the forlorn look in her eyes, but his shook his head firmly, setting her on the floor. "You can't follow us either. You'd be too noticeable and it would be troublesome if you were caught."

He blinked in surprise as she crawled up his knee and chest, shoving her head into his collar and trying to worm her way into his shirt. With another sigh he pulled her back, ignoring her plaintive mew as he set her on the floor again. "No. You're too big for that."

He stood then, walking stiffly back to Iroh, though when he reached his uncle at the door the older man cleared his throat and glanced pointedly behind Zuko.

Already knowing what he would find, the prince set his jaw and turned around, meeting Kinri's slightly hopeful eyes.

"Stay, Kinri."

Zuko swallowed past the strange lump in his throat as he watched the spark in her eyes fade. He nodded firmly, as if to convince himself-and not just her-that this was the right thing to do. And with a final click, he closed the door behind him.

.

Kinri stared dejectedly at the door she sat in front of, the one her person just closed. He'd only been gone for a few seconds, but the moment his footsteps left her hearing range it already felt like too long.

She played with the idea of following him, but a nagging voice at the back of her mind had her scowling and scraping the wooden floorboards with her talons.

"Yeah yeah, when Rider says stay, you stay."

A frown spread across her features as the ostrich-horse came to mind. Sure it was bossy and a spoilsport, but she couldn't help the way her chest twinged in pain when she thought back to the day her person had given it away. She liked to think it was good riddance she didn't have to bother with it anymore, but she knew that despite the way it had annoyed her, she still missed the big turkey.

She shook out her scales, not wanting to remain on those depressing feelings anymore, and padded over to the couch, planning to hop onto the cushions and take a nap to pass the time. Though a jiggle at the doorknob had her tense up and look over her shoulder.

"Is it my person? No...this scent doesn't belong to him…" Her eyes widened as the scent registered and she dived under the couch just as the door creaked open, revealing the boy with mismatched armor from the ferry.

Kinri held her breath, unease prickling at her scales as Jet stepped inside the room and scoured the place with his eyes. He went to the bedroom door first and slid inside, and Kinri lost sight of him. She allowed herself to take in a breath, her heart beating wildly as the sounds of Jet rummaging through the closet reached her ears.

She imagined herself jumping out of hiding and burning him to a crisp. That would show him not to mess with them! But then she remembered her person saying it would be troublesome if she was seen.

Jet walked back into the living room and Kinri clenched her jaws together, holding her breath once more as he stepped closer to the couch. Her heart nearly stopped all together as went down on one knee, his hand resting on the floor not a foot from her nose as he lowered himself to look under the couch.

There was a noise outside the door and Jet stiffened for a second, then stood and hurried out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Kinri let out a shaky breath, unable to find enough strength in her legs to crawl out of her hiding place. Another shiver wracked her body and she wished more than ever for her person to come back. If he was here then she would know he was safe, and that she was safe, and that Jet couldn't hurt either of them if they were together.

.

Jet pressed his back against the wall of the tea-shop, casually crossing his arms over his chest and making sure no one was watching before peering through one of the windows and setting his eyes on Lee and Mushi.

He'd followed them to their place, and waited until they left before searching the apartment for the creature he had only glimpsed back at the station. He didn't get enough time to search the whole place though, which was frustrating. He'd just have to sneak in some other time. For now, he was going to see if he could gain any information from Lee and Mushi.

"I have extra string in the back." A man was saying, and Jett guessed he was the owner of the shop. "Have some tea while you wait!"

The man poured some steaming tea into two cups before handing them to Lee and Mushi and walking to the back of the shop.

"Blegh!" Mushi exaggerated as he looked down at his tea with disgust. "This is nothing more than hot leaf juice!"

"Uncle," Lee rolled his eyes, giving the old man an unamused look, "that's what all tea is."

"How could a member of my own family say something so horrible?!" Mushi growled, walking forward to grab the teapot. "We'll have to make some major changes around here."

Jet gasped as Mushi stomped towards the window he was looking through, and barely managed to evade the steaming hot tea that was dumped outside. Then with one last look, Jet slipped around the corner of the shop and into the alley, his brows furrowed in thought.

At first he didn't notice the cloaked figure trailing him, though when he saw a flicker of shadow he whirled around, whipping out his hook swords and glaring about the empty alleyway. "Come out! I know you're there!"

"You can't hide-" He gripped his swords tighter as his stalker jumped down from a roof and landed a few feet in front of him.

"Who are you? And why are you following me?" Jet snapped, stepping forward menacingly, though the other person was motionless, watching him with sharp yellow eyes.

"I suggest you stop whatever it is you think you're doing," The figure spoke suddenly, and Jet flinched at the ferocity in their voice.

"What are you-" He growled, then his mind flicked to his investigation of Lee and Mushi, and he narrowed his eyes. "Why should I do what you say?"

For a split second those yellow eyes flashed dangerously, and Jet tensed, lifting his swords in preparation for a fight. Though the moment passed, and they calmed themselves with a breath. Even so, the tension that hung in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

With a last smoldering glance the figure turned, black cloak fluttering ominously in the light breeze. "Just stay out of my way."

"Hey, wait!" Though the cloaked figure disappeared into another alley, and Jet was left staring after them in irate confusion.

.

"Someone's in a hurry." Iroh remarked, raising an eyebrow and chuckling when Zuko slowed his quickened pace with a scowl.

Of course he was in a hurry. He'd never left Kinri alone before for so long, so what if something bad had happened to her?

When he was fighting his sister and the avatar, back when he was reunited with his uncle, he had only left her for an hour or so and she had gone off and gotten herself hurt. The same thing happened when he ran off to try to bend lightening and she had followed him despite the storm. What if she tried to follow me again and got lost somewhere in the city? What if she was captured by people who would chain her up or sell her or worse? What if-

Zuko opened their apartment door, his heart sinking at the dull, silent room that greeted him. Then all of a sudden, a golden light sprang from beneath the couch and barreled into him, knocking him over with its sheer size.

All the weight that had settled over his heart like chains were lifted, and he was left with a different kind of weight: a scaly, warm, wriggling, heavy dragon that he was growing too fond of for his own good.

He grimaced, and was about to pull her off when he realized she was shaking. It wasn't much, just a quiver here and there, but it was enough to let him know something was off.

His eyes narrowed as he stared down at her, taking in the talons that clutched ferociously to his shirt and pricked at his skin, the fur along her spine that was ruffled like the hackles of a dog and the eyes that seemed to be a bit more dilated than usual.

"Is everything alright?" Zuko blinked at his uncle's words, glancing up at him before looking back down at Kinri, who had stopped her trembling and was now making soft rumbling noises.

"Yeah."

It's probably nothing, he concluded with a sigh as he got to his feet, she must have gotten lonely...or something.

"Would you like a pot of tea?" Iroh asked, placing a pot on the small stove while Zuko lounged on the couch with Kinri on his chest, idly petting the fur between her horns.

"We've been working in a tea-shop all day," Zuko grumbled sourly, rolling his eyes, "I'm sick of tea!"

"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing!" His uncle objected, digging around in the cupboard beneath the stove and taking out the emerald-colored spark rocks and starting the fire underneath the tea-pot.

At the sudden appearance of flames, Kinri's head shot up in excitement, tendrils of smoke curling up from her nostrils.

"Oh no you don't." Zuko growled, clamping his hand over her muzzle before she could start spouting flames. "I don't need anymore of my clothes catching fire."

Kinri sent him a sheepish look, shifting her wings and grinning apologetically. Suddenly, a breeze fluttered through one of the open windows and Kinri stiffened, jerking her head up to stare out into the night with sharp, cat-like eyes.

Zuko tensed, and even Iroh paused in his tea making to glance out the window.

Everything was silent, the only movement being the clothing waving lightly in the breeze on a clothesline outside.

It was only when Kinri lowered her head back down to rest on Zuko's chest did the two of them relax.

"It was probably just an animal."

"Yeah...probably..."

.

Jet's heart was beating fast and hard against his ribs as he leaned against a wall to catch his breath. The apartment complex was far behind him now, far enough that he was sure that...that...monster couldn't catch his scent, or hear his harsh breathing and pounding heart.

He'd known something was wrong ever since he'd laid eyes on that creature back in the station. He couldn't recall what it was back then. The name of it had eluded him, and it drove him onward with an ugly foreboding feeling to find out what it was. And now he knew, he remembered after one long look.

The bright scales that shone like gold-though from the stories they were usually red or blue-, the sharp talons that could rip most any creature to shreds, the leathery wings and curled horns, but most of all, the fire that they could breathe out of their fang-filled jaws.

It was a dragon.

But that was impossible right? Dragons were supposed to be extinct. Or at least, he'd heard that they were from stories shared around Fire Nation campfires moments before the Freedom Fighters ambushed them.

It must be a ploy. Jet thought drily, spitting on the dirt path beneath his feet and glaring back over his shoulder. They were hiding their existence so they could use them in the war as a trump card.

Lee and Mushi...they must be Fire Nation spies sent to burn down Ba Sing Se from the inside using that dragon. And that cloaked person from earlier must be with them too, that's why they wanted me to stop following them.

Jet's eyes glittered malevolently as he pushed away from the wall and stalked off down the road towards the house he shared with Smellerbee and Longshot, one thought on his mind, one goal: a promise.

I will make sure their vile plan comes to an end,

...and that dragon along with it.

ooh, i wonder what kind of scheme Jet will cook up, and what the yellow-eyed stalker is going to do now that they have competition ;)

thanks for reading~! ^-^