"I know what I want for my Birthday."
The comment sent shivers down the spine of the girl's parents as they all sat around the dinner table. It wasn't simply what she said but how she said it. So much force, so much resolve in her little voice could only mean something bad was about to happen.
"Arn't you going to ask what it is?"
Zuko's stomach dropped, Suki's following in suite. They both knew that if she was this insistent; she was serious.
It was five your old Ki who finally chirped in, "What you want?"
Zarra looked ahead, small lips pressing into a line, "A puppy."
"A PUPPY!?" Ki's little hands clenched, shaking a bit in excitement.
"We can't get a puppy." The Fire Lord told both his daughters, setting his chop sticks down by his bowl. Ki's face fell, her small eyes looking down at her bowl.
"Why not? We have the room."
Suki looked at her daughter, "There is more to having a puppy than just having the room. You have to take care of it. It's a lot of work."
"So? I'll do it."
"YEAH!" Ki yelled, getting excited again.
"No Zee." Zuko sighed a bit, "The nanny is tasked enough as is with the two of you, adding on a dog would just make things worse."
"But I would take care of it!" The princess insisted, "I've thought about this a lot and I think I can do it."
Ki nodded quickly, eyes daring between her parents.
Suki and Zuko looked at one another, her eyebrows raising a bit.
"We will talk about it."
Zarra giggled a bit, a large smile on her face. Ki clenched her fists again, eyes wide with excitement.
By the time her parents had agreed to the dog she already had a name picked out: Minx. She had gotten a bed, leash and bowls for her birthday. The only thing she needed now was the dog itself.
"I wonder if it will have big ears." Ki held her cupped hands atop her head, rotating them as she moved her head.
"The breed I selected has small ears, but they are floppy and soft."
Ki adjusted her hands accordingly, finger tips resting atop of her scalp. She snarled her small nose, growling a biting at her sister.
Zarra rolled her eyes, scooting away from the little girl.
The breeder arrived with the dogs, a litter of what he said was his best puppies yet. They were small, even for puppies, with soft short hair, flopped ever years, scrunched up faces and wrinkled skin on their backs and legs, a short curled tails on their bottoms. Ki sat in the middle of the floor, letting the puppies swarm over her as she giggled like mad.
Zarra was a bit more careful with her observation of the puppies. She was checking their ears and feet, all the things that she had read about in her research. She had one picked out, having determined that this was the perfect puppy.
"Is he the one?" Suki had asked, motioning to the dog in Zarra's hands.
"I think so." Zarra looked at the puppy.
"A fine choice." The breeder smiled, "He's the best I have." The breeder then turned back to the crate in which he had brought the puppies in. It was then that Zarra noticed the puppy there, the one that had been held back from the rest of the litter. The small puppy sat in the crate sadly, watching its siblings play.
"What's that one?" The eldest princess asked, pointing to the remaining puppy.
"Oh, you wound't be interested in that one." He motioned to the one in her hand, "You have the best one."
"But what about that other one?"
"Well…." The breeder went to the crate, opening it and pulling out the puppy. It seemed happy to be included, his little but wiggling it's tail in excitement. "He was the runt and came out with a birth defect."
Zarra sat the puppy she had in her arms down, her attention totally on the dog the man was holding out. She knew exactly what she was going to do the moment she saw that puppy.
"He's the one." She insisted, taking him into her arms, placing a kiss on the puppy's forehead.
Suki looked at the dog, an eye brows raising. "Are you sure?"
Zarra nodded, looking up at her mother with a smile, "I'm sure."
"So let's see the new member of the family."
Suki and the two girls were sitting on the rug, all three of them looking up at the man who had just walked into the living room.
"He's perfect!" Ki chimed in, a large smile on her face.
Zarra nodded in agreement, her hands traveling over the back up her new puppy, of her new best friend.
Zuko sat down next to Suki, his lips curling into a little bit of a smile. "He seems kinda cute." He reached down and picked it up, looking into it's wrinkled face. He blinked in surprise. "What?"
"He only has one eye." Zarra explained, sitting up and kneeling by her father, "Born that way. The breeder said he'll grow up to be a good dog, he just only has one eye." She wrapped her little arms around his neck.
"And you're ok with that?" Zuko breathed, looking at his princess.
"Like Ki said," She grinned, "He's perfect."
Zuko leaned in and kissed his daughter on her cheek, a soft flush on his cheeks. "I love you, baby. Happy Birthday." He pulled the dog back to his chest, its little legs kicking in the air.