Sparda B-312: Nice choice for a pet! I wonder what Korra's reaction is going to be?

Re: She might possibly freak.

LoamyCoffee: I needed this. Delightful antics of Zhu not having to babysit Korra~ Oh yes, this is good. Hmm, Luckily this is fanfiction, which means if you wish for the venom to have that sort of attribute, you can! Oop, now I'm thinking of Toph and Katara and how they could've used this. Bad me. Back to the story, I'm curious who could've told Zhu about that disguise~
Liking the focus on the police, cause I usually don't see people do so. With Akamaru at his side, they're to have some adventures! Really eager to watch the show again.

Re: Yeah, kinda my way of showing the world doesn't completely revolve around Korra. As for Toph and Katara, they chose to age the way they did, so I don't think they'd apply any speculated use of Shirshu toxin to themselves. As for who told Zhu about "Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis the Third", that was taken from one of Aang's autobiographies, but it's such an obscure reference that no-one would even remember it, let alone be able to pronounce it without much practice.
As for including the Metalbending Police, I thought I'd shine a bit of light on them, since with their retractable steel cables, they can rappel into a building like SWAT, and I think that's awesome.

Blaze1992: So much trolling and comedy in 1 CH granted I wanted to see the brothers get their a**'s handed to them by the trained benders.
Anyway what I meant by the Mai comment last CH was him having more weapons than just the sword like Mai's throwing knives. I did not mean for him to be the descendant of her but that is a cool idea too.

Re: Well, the focus was more on the animals, not their owners. Of course, Zhu getting his hands on a Shirshu has long-lasting consequences to the Canon and where I choose to deviate. Of course, "the brothers get(ting) their a**'s handed to them by the trained benders" is a good idea, so I'll definitely mention it here.
Just the sort of nugget that can be dug up with a good back-and-forth between Reviewer and Author, because normally, I would've looked that kind of thing over.
As for Zhu having "more weapons", firstly, I didn't mean to infer that Zhu was Mai's descendent, because he isn't. "Nextly", he's a Vagabond/Nomad, so he can't carry a ton of random crap on him, and in his case, "less is more"; if he's implied to have lots of "loot", he'll fall under the attention of Bandits, but if not, they'll leave him alone. Sure, a sword might be tempting loot, but only to a novice, because a dead bandit can't spend their money, and they have no way of knowing if he's a "novice" or a "master".

superpierce: never really read any avatar fanfiction but this definitely is a great story so far love Zhu's character and that this isn't a first person view but third person

Re: Well I'm glad I made such a good first impression.

(Guest): :I Love All the Callbacks to ATLA You've Done in the early chapters Little Tidbits Here & There and this latest One is Great With Introducing Cool Old Lady June to The Story she was Awesome on the Old Show & I Bet Zhu Met Other Characters from the Original series Especially From The Old 'Gaang'

Re: Yeah, it was a joy putting those in. I was able to get the DVD Box Sets for cheap at a used book store, and refamiliarized myself with them. AtLA has aged remarkably well, but I feel like LoK could've been handled a bit better; no different from most FanFiction authors. "Old Lady June" was fun to put in, because who says only Katara, Toph, and Zuko could've survived from way back when? As for whether or not Zhu met any of the original Gaang…~

*AIR*

Predictably, Jinora was utterly enraptured to see a real-life Shirshu so close, going into Lecture Mode about various training and grooming techniques she'd gleaned from the many books she'd read. She also went on to comment that while full-grown members of the species were able to pursue runaways across literal continents, that very few bounty hunters were actually capable of taming the ornery animals into a work ostrich-horse.

"Still, this one seems to like you a great deal, though it couldn't be through animal imprinting, it's too old."

"What can I say? I guess I'm just good with animals."

"I suppose I can agree on that. Naga doesn't take to stranger that well. Took us a few visits for her to let us near her."

Ikki, also-predictably, had a million and one questions to ask, like…

"Why doesn't he have eyes? Is he really a 'he' or a she? If he or she and a non-Shirshu had babies would the babies have eyes? Do you think it could help me find the socks that go missing after laundry day?"

And so on, and so forth.

Kid's lung capacity must've been huge to keep blathering on so long without breathing.

As for Meelo…

Meelo, he…

Meelo…

Um…

Well, let's just say it didn't take Akamaru long to make his dislike of the youngest Airbending child known, and leave it at that.

I need not go into further detail as to why… Hopefully…

Korra in turn was either sleeping the day away in preparation for the night's anti-Equalist raid, or was isolating herself from everyone else because she didn't want Tenzin to talk down to her about her life choices.

Zhu hadn't known Korra long, but he knew women. And because of that knowledge, he knew not to interrupt her beauty sleep, nor talk down to her like Tenzin at this critical junction, lest she maul him like a mother Sabertooth Moose-Lion protecting her cub.

When it came to whether or not she fought the Equalists, Zhu didn't have strong feelings for them one way or the other.

At least not yet.

He could definitely understand taking the Bending away from criminals, but somehow… he doubted taking ordinary people's Bending away would magically do away with all the world's problems as Amon implied would happen. Heck, way he figured it, even on the off-chance Amon did erase Bending from the world, people would still find some stupid-ass reason to fight one another over, and in lieu of Bending they'd just invent new ways to slaughter one another by the thousands. And for all he knew, the bloodshed would probably worsen without Bending.

Not that he'd ever voice as such on an island filled with Benders.

Sure, Pema said she'd like for her fourth baby to be "a nice non-Bender" once or twice when he helped her out with the chores, and with the way her current hyperactive children acted, Zhu could understand the sentiment. Of course, he could also see in her eyes that Airbending or no Airbending, she'd love that baby no matter what.

Which of course meant that if Amon had a problem with that baby, then Zhu, would have a problem with Amon.

But that… was a story for another day.

*AIR*

Zhu woke up the following morning with Akamaru curled up at the foot of his bed, and Korra once-again snoring like a log, so-loudly that Zhu could hear her from his own dorm room window.

Initially he questioned why the men's and women's dorms were so-close together even though the Air Nomads were supposed to be celibate, but apparently it was because of this toted celibacy that the gender-oriented dorms were allowed so-close together. The only exceptions made were in the case of marriage, and even then, recreational intercourse was a no-go; sexual congress was only allowed when the intent was to sire offspring, and given there was only a single woman cultivating the fruit of Tenzin's loins, short of something magical happening, the Airbenders weren't going to make a comeback any time soon.

Thoughts of Air Nomad sexual policy pushed to the back of his mind, Zhu entered the dining hall and was about to get breakfast from the servers when Jinora came up to him, tugging his sleeve.

"Yes?"

"Aren't you going to have breakfast with us?" she asked softly.

"But Korra isn't here with me today."

"That doesn't mean we don't want you with us."

"Oh?" he asked with a raised brow. "And here I thought I was the Avatar's 'Plus One'."

"Maybe at first, but you've really grown on us!" Ikki said excitedly. "Come on! Mom won't let us eat until we're all there!" the excitable girl said grabbing his other sleeve and hauling him away with deceptively-high strength for a seven-year-old.

*AIR*

Suffice it to say, Zhu was touched to find he still had a place with Tenzin's family, even without Korra in tow. There was just something so… soothing about having a caring mother nearby, even if she weren't his own. The Airbender kids added a little vitality to what was normally a tranquil affair just outside those doors, but Tenzin's own stoicism as he read the morning paper served to round things out among his family.

"Sooo…" Zhu hummed as he gave the front page a once-over. "Korra really went through with it, huh?"

"Yes, it would seem so…" Tenzin grumbled.

"And I take it there's only Waterbenders on Tarrlok's taskforce because water causes less collateral?" he asked eyeing the black-and-white picture.

"Yes. That's one reason for it," Tenzin bit out.

"Geez, what crawled up your bed robes and died?" Zhu asked. "I'd have thought a man privy to an adequate amount of coitus like yourself would always be in a better mood."

"Daddy, what's 'coi-tus'?" Ikki asked innocently.

"And like that-" Zhu said scarfing down the rest of his breakfast, "my work is done here. You have a nice day. I'm going to take the animals for a walk."

"Zhu, wait, don't leave me alone with them!" Tenzin cried frantically as Zhu vacated the small dining room.

" . . . Does 'coitus' have anything to do with where babies come from?" Jinora asked after a moment, Pema stifling a giggle at the exchange.

*AIR*

"Zhu… you… are a sadistic bastard…" Mako groaned the moment they locked eyes.

"Well that's a fine 'how do you do'," Zhu huffed with crossed arms.

"You never told me you rolled like this…!" the Firebender said pointing to Lee, Bumi, and Aki who'd reported bright and early for training alongside the Bending Brothers.

"Mako. They're White Lotus. Bending proficiency is heavily implied," Zhu aid with a roll of his eyes. "Their job is to police the entire world, you think they can't handle a couple of athletes?" he asked skeptically. "What, did you think being a Pro Bender meant you could go toe to toe with real soldiers? That's like suggesting you're on 'Teen' Zuko's level just because you can bend Lightning too."

" . . . I could probably take him…"

"Mako, at the most you're a 'beat cop'," Zhu said flatly. "Zuko, at your age, was a master infiltrator capable of sneaking into fortified military outposts, and Firebending master, on top of being a master swordsman. It's no contest."

"And just how do you know how strong Zuko was when he was my age?" Mako huffed with crossed arms.

"I. Read. Books," Zhu said plainly.

"Mako, don't upset Pabu's sitter," Bolin chided as he walked over, Fire Ferret in hand whom leapt up onto Zhu's shoulder and coiled around his neck. "Sooo… Who's your new friend?" he asked looking at the Shirshu apprehensively.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later," the long-haired teen replied.

"Dude, don't you know how dangerous those things are?" Mako asked, a wary eye on the eyeless creature.

"They're only dangerous if you don't know how to handle them," Zhu said as he idly stroked its head, the Shirshu sitting and leaning up into it, his tongue lolling out his mouth. Naga on the other paw out a low growl as she sidled away, Pabu chittering before scurrying atop the other quadruped. "Wanna pet him?" he offered.

"Ooh! I want to!" Bolin said excitedly.

*Hissss*

"Uh… Rain check on that one," Bolin amended a moment later.

"Good call," Mako deadpanned. "So, have you seen Korra lately?"

"No, but I have heard her," Zhu answered. "Girl saws logs like there's no tomorrow."

"Hey, snoring's not a deal-breaker for me," Bolin said with raised hands, Mako giving his brother a look. "Uhhh, I meeean…" he squeaked trying to find a different topic to speak of. "SO! What's on your planner for today?"

"Oh, you know. Take Naga for her walk, hope nothing weird happens to me," Zhu answered.

"I would think that 'weird' is already following you," Mako said looking at the Shirshu derisively, the eyeless creature hissing its own distaste.

"Which reminds me for whatever reason; how has your training with these guys gone?" Zhu countered.

"Oh, well, it's very… intense," Bolin said tersely as he rubbed his backside, nursing what Zhu assumed to be a bit of bruising. "Can't exactly practice taking hits myself, so its definitely a new experience."

"Yeah, I imagine you would flinch away from hitting yourself with earth coins," Zhu nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Try not to die."

"Did you have to word it that way?" Bolin whimpered as Zhu left, a beefy hand clamping down on his shoulder causing him to shudder.

*AIR*

Zhu and his animal friends probably made for an odd sight as they made their way down the Republic City thoroughfares. In one hand he had a leash with a Shirshu pup leading away, its eyeless visage a rarity and an oddity even in the cultural melting pot of Republic City. Trailing well behind on his other hand was an incredibly rare Polarbear Dog, keeping her distance from the Shirshu with a Fire Ferret resting atop her head.

So yes, despite all the weird animal hybrids that moonlighting and even professional pet-walkers undertook, Zhu beat them all in terms of oddities.

He didn't really have any particular destination in mind, he mostly let Akamaru take the lead, sampling the new scents he would never be able to come across in the wild.

However, he knew that he'd have to go where he'd been dreading eventually, so after he'd put it off for as long as he thought appropriate, he decided to take that bitter medicine and get it over with.

*AIR*

"Say it."

"Fuck you."

"After you say it~"

"You're really going to force me on this?"

"I'm at half-moist. I, need, to hear this."

"Fine… You, were, right!"

"Aaaahhhhhhnnnn~"

"Jump up your own ass and die!"

-was the exchange that Naga, Pabu, and Akamaru were privy to once their two-legged companion took them to a place that smelled of old paper and ink, beer, blood, vomit, and even a little piss.

"Hey, at least there's no-one else here for our little… exchange~" June cooed, "otherwise this scene would have the Avatar thinking you were into old ladies."

"You're not that old," Zhu counted, still refusing to accept that this barely-wrinkled woman was the June who hunted down Korra's previous incrarnation. "Now are you going to give me those notes or not?"

"Here you go. Everything I know about Shirshu raising. And breeding~" she cooed holding out a well-used leather-bound journal.

"I'll stick with the one Shirshu right now. Thank you very much."

"Who said I was talking about Shirshu~?" June asked coyly.

" . . . I need an adult?" Zhu said worriedly.

"I am an adult~" June said batting her eyes.

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

"I'm going to go."

"Come on by if you ever want that V-Card punched~ Hell, it doesn't even have to be me. I'm sure there's a 'guild girl' or two around here who'd be more than happy to-"

*SLAM*

*AIR*

"On the off-chance that one of you gains the capacity for human speech… we are never to speak of this again," Zhu said as he fast-walked away from the guild hall.

*Arf!*

*Hsaaaaa*

*Chitchitchitchitchitchitchit*

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

*AIR*

Digging into June's journal, particularly in the area of domesticating wild Shirshu to raise them as trackers as opposed to raising one from birth, one of the early kernels of knowledge was leading your Shirshu pup through as many scent trails as possible before putting them to work; as a way of exposing them to as many smells as possible. An amendment of course was tacked on at the end concerning how this should not be done at an abbey with perfume-manufacturing nuns; not even with a fully grown Shirshu, since so-many prominent odors would essentially blind a Shirshu to everything going on around it and cause it to run off for several hours.

In most backwater towns and villages where very little changed, normally this would be a daunting challenge.

However, this was Republic City, a major trading hub and a melting pot of culture from all corners of the globe. Hence, between the fish markets, spice merchants, animal traders, and meat peddlers, there were many such scents to go around.

Fortunately he had the insight to wheedle a Rare Animal License out of Councilman Tarrlok before things went sour between them, otherwise walking a Shirshu around town would be next to impossible.

And thus, Zhu guided Akamaru away from the main thoroughfares choked down with Satomobile fumes, and instead directed his new friend's olfactorily-gifted snout through the side and back-streets of Republic City, where "old world" goods were bought, sold, traded, and combined in new and inventive ways on a daily basis.

It took all his strength and the application of… alternative animal coercion techniques, but eventually Akamaru understood what was going on behind him and helped reign the larger animal in tow in with a hiss through snarling lips and a flicker of his barbed tongue through sharp teeth.

Naga, realizing she couldn't guide Korra's potential mate wherever she wished anymore, reluctantly agreed to go along with it, trailing shortly behind Zhu as he led Akamaru through the various scent-laden commerce centers Republic City had to offer.

Once or twice he was pulled aside by the Metalbending Police and asked to display his license, the frequency of which could readily be construed to "harassment", but seeing as how Zhu maintained his Rare Animal License on his person whenever he was out on the town with Naga and lever let it leave his sight, any attempts to haul him away to the station, likely on Councilman Tarrlok's orders, were sufficiently rebuffed.

On the upside, Akamaru had the opportunity to sample multiple brands of metal polish, bearing oil, and axle grease. Though based on the crinkling of his star-shaped snout it was obviously far from pleasant.

*AIR*

"Note to self: stay away from the spice market for the foreseeable future," Zhu hummed to himself as Akamary lay on the sidewalk, his paws over his muzzle as the Shirshu let out a whimper. "There there, buddy. There there," he said patting the Shirshu's head. "Where the heck are we?"

Given it was Akamaru who was taking the lead for the past hour or so, following whatever scent his star-shaped snout came across, Zhu had lost all bearing of where he'd wound up.

Based on the architecture, the four of them had wound up… relatively close to where Korra had had that altercation with the Triple Threats right after getting off the boat.

Looking around now that he wasn't solely focused on his pet, he'd noticed that the shops were still open, but there was a definite undercurrent of… unease, about the place.

Clearly word of the Equalists' secret anti-Bending weapon wasn't so secret anymore, because there didn't appear to be any triads around. You would think the shopkeepers and such would be more lively, but ironically-enough that was no longer the case. While before, people on break or in retirement would play board games on improvised tables and benches, now the streets were almost completely bare, the shopkeepers either digging themselves in behind their counters which were being excessively cleaned, or fidgeting as they swept the street in front of their stores, taking furtive glances at everything that moved.

"If you know what's good for ya, you'll give us your money," a muted voice said from around the corner.

"So much for no Triad activity," Zhu said as he started tip-toeing to where the sound was coming from, Naga and Akamaru silently padding along behind him while everyone else on the street turned away.

Peering around the corner, Zhu caught sight of two people in a back alley being accosted by a trio of Triple Threat thugs. Nothing too remarkable about them, in extremely stereotypical clothing. It was the two that caught his interest.

The male of the two, Southern Water Tribe he supposed, looked to be in his late thirties. His skin was lightly-tanned, his dark brown hair wavy and perfectly coifed away from his face, his eyebrows expertly groomed as was his thin mustache. His attire by and large was on the flamboyant side of Water Tribe fashion, the sort of thing that would make you the center of attention at a fancy party, but still be rather painful to look at. Compared to the woman beside him he appeared to be taking all this quite in stride.

The woman next to him, much more distressed, appeared to be of mixed Earth Kingdom/Water Tribe descent if her gray-colored eyes were any indicator. She was mousy in appearance with small circular spectacles, her hair drawn up into a short wolftail atop the back of her head. She was possibly in her mid-thirties, clad in secretarial garb in Water Tribe colors, the sort you'd wear when not wanting to stand out in the work place.

"Didn't you hear me! I said give me your money if you know what's good for ya!" the Firebender of the trio bit out making a flame knife appear in his hand.

"And like I told you before, I don't give out money to hooligans!" the well-dressed man stated with a flamboyant wave of his hand. "Zhu Li! Do the thing!"

"I don't have any honey."

"Not the tea 'thing'! The other thing!"

"You just said you don't give out money to quote/unquote 'hooligans'."

"Not the money 'thing'! The other-other thing!"

*Gasp!*

*SLAP!*

"Ow! What'd you do that for?!" the man demanded, nursing a reddened cheek.

"I don't do those kinds of favors!" she said with a flushed face.

'I have no idea if they're legitimately stalling for time anymore, or if they're just airing something out that really shouldn't be aired out in mixed company…' Zhu thought as he watched the exchange. "Akamaru, I'm not sure how-potent your venom is, but try to get the one on the left. Naga, if you can understand me, you and Pabu take the guy on the right. Middle's mine."

At this, Naga yipped in affirmation.

"Who's there?" the Earthbender on the left suddenly demanded.

"Looks like we're doing this now," Zhu muttered. "ATTAAAAACK!"

"Where'd they come from?" the Waterbender yelped as seven hundred pounds of Polarbear Dog came stampeding toward him. Throwing a block of ice from the waterskin at his side, Naga's fangs bit into it mid-flight, crunching down on it before she tackled the man to the ground, paws on his neck pinning him to the ground.

On the left side of the alley, the Earthbender sent chunks of cobblestone up at Akamaru. The Shirshu pup, due to lack of eyes, had senses even greater than his contemporaries, allowing him to weave effortlessly through the attacks by feel alone before shooting out his tongue at point-blank range.

"OOOOh!" Zhu winced as Akamaru's barbed tongue struck one of the more… tender areas of his chosen Triad's body. "You should definitely see a doctor about that."

"Uhhhngh…"

"Relax, I'm sure you'll be fine… I think."

"DIE!" the Firebender screamed as he came at Zhu, the nomad ducking below the first plume of fire and jabbing the pressure points in the man's arm. The Firebender attempting a follow-up attack with his remaining arm, was struck in the shoulder causing it to go limp. The next moment he attempted a kick only for Zhu to deliver a pair of jabs to his thigh. Foolishly the Firebender attempted to attack with his other leg, but standing on nothing but a limp noodle caused him to fall to the ground in a heap, Zhu finishing him off with a series of jabs that'd leave him prone until the police arrive.

"Yowza, that was incredible!" the well-dressed man gawped openly before adjusting his tie. "So… Who wants brunch?" he asked as though nothing had happened.

" . . . The heck is 'brunch'?" Zhu asked incredulously while the woman named Zhu-Li rubbed the bridge of her nose.

*AIR*

Apparently, "brunch" was a new sort of meal this guy had invented. "Too late for breakfast but too early for lunch", the man had said, which basically meant you could eat whichever you wanted.

Could you even invent a new meal of the day? Sure, he'd been a vagabond for half his life, but he was pretty sure you couldn't just invent new meals…

Maybe it was a rich-person thing.

"Sooo… What's your name again? I didn't quite catch it among the… dialogue," Zhu said as he sat across the man in an outside diner in the more-upscale part of town, his secretary standing dutifully behind him.

Whoever this guy was, he apparently held a great deal of clout because the police didn't harass him even once on the way there. Between the fancy duds and the luxury Satomobile which he and Akamaru had ridden in while Naga and Pabu trailed behind, the guy had to be loaded.

"Ah, of course, where are my manners. I, sir, am Iknik Blackstone Varrick! Captain of industry and Biz-Bender extraordinaire! 'Varrick' for short," he greeted with a bombastic bow. "And you are…?"

"Zhu. Of the Northern Water Tribe."

"Ah, yes, the North. Tell me, does everyone up there still have a stick up their-"

"Derriere," Zhu-Li interrupted, given they were in mixed company.

"That too!"

"Yeah… Pretty much," Zhu answered after a moment. "Part of why I left, actually?"

"Really? What's the rest of the reason you left?" Varrick asked with a raised brow, sounding genuinely interested as he leaned forward on his elbows.

"It was pretty much all racism, so the rest of it doesn't matter," Zhu said deflectively.

"Ah. Got a little half-and-half going, eh?" Varrick said nodding his head sagely as he eyed the teen up and down. "Yeah, part of why I don't do much business up north either. Then again, they've barely imported anything since the war, so they've got their own supply lines. Though, they don't have anything on me, I tell ya that much."

"Varrick… Wait, you're that Varrick? Of Varrick Global Industries?" Zhu asked as the gears started to mesh.

Sure, he may've spent years at a time out in the boonies, but even he had heard about one of the richest men in the world.

"Eeeyup!" the man said with a bombastic swing of his arm. "The one in the same! Richest man to ever come out of the Southern Water Tribe."

"And a guy with that much money couldn't afford more help?" Zhu said glancing up at Zhu-Li. "No offense."

"None taken," the woman replied.

"Eh, I had bodyguards before, but they seriously cramped my style," Varrick waved off with his hand.

"Well, maybe you should reconsider. If me and my furry friends hadn't shown up and the Triads caught wind of who you were, things could've gotten…"

"Complicated?" Zhu-Li offered.

"Yeah, that," Zhu nodded.

"Anyhow, seeing as how you saved my life back there, this now makes you my best friend, because that is totally how this sort of thing works!" Varrick said with a shameless smile.

Zhu wanted to countermand that statement, saying that was in fact not how 'this sort of thing' works… But then he realized that having a billionaire call him his "best friend" could actually solve a great deal of problems that might crop up in the near future.

"I couldn't agree more," Zhu nodded, whereas Zhu-Li sighed, easily speculating what was going on inside his head as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

Women were scary like that.

"So, how do you take your coffee?" Varrick asked nonchalantly, the whole "best friend" thing seemingly set in stone, the waiter on standby.

"I like my coffee the way I like my women; strong and dark," Zhu replied without missing a beat.

"Ah, a coffee connoisseur, eh?" Varrick asked with an appreciative nod. "I'll have what he's having! Your most-expensive blend!" he said to the server.

"Yep. Fell in love with the stuff during my tour of the Fire Nation," Zhu nodded in anticipation. "Spent more time in the Earth Kingdom by comparison, but after a year of drinking the stuff, I just got tired of hot leaf juice."

"That's technically what tea is," Zhu-Li stated bluntly.

"Well you're certainly sassy," Zhu said with a flat stare.

"Eh, I prefer a little sassiness in the workplace; lets me know they're paying attention," Varrick said jabbing a thumb her way. "So, how is the Avatar doing these days?"

"You know her?" Zhu asked with a raised brow.

"Not personally, but I was the guy that shipped all that earth and rock down to the South when she was training," Zhu answered. "My shareholders told me a man couldn't make money shipping literal boatloads of earth and nothing else to the far corners of the world. Showed them!" he said with a toothy grin.

"You know, I was wondering what Korra used to practice Earthbending down south…" Zhu hummed to himself.

"I know, right?" Varrick asked with an excited gleam. "So, what's the deal with the eyeless hybrid?"

"It's a long story."

"Hey, I'm rich! I've got nothing but time!" Varrick replied, his secretary mouthing 'humor him' behind the man's back.

"Well… it all started when I was taking the Avatar's Polarbear Dog for a walk."

*AIR*

"Damn~ That's a good cup of coffee~" Zhu sighed contentedly a while later, the white porcelain mug in his hands serving as a brilliant contrast to the jet-black fluid held within.

"Huh, so you take it straight?" Varrick asked, his coffee a muddy brown from the three creams and four sugars.

"Sure do. Though sometimes I will be a bit adventurous and add milk," Zhu nodded. "The history of coffee is actually quite fascinating, if you care to hear it."

"Maybe another time," Varrick shrugged as he dug around in his coat. "Today's walkabout didn't give me any breakthroughs for the consumer market, but I made a lifelong friend with super-powered animal friends today, so the outing wasn't a total wash. Here, take care of the tab for me will ya?" he said slapping a fat wad of bills down on the counter, Zhu's jaw dropping and his eyes goggling as Varrick and his secretary made their way out. "See ya later, kiddo! Stay cool!"

"Varrick, wait, this is way too much-aw crap…" Zhu muttered as the billionaire left, a fat stack of bills far more than enough to pay their conjoined tab staring up at him with the previous Avatar's face. " . . . I'll just hold onto this for later," he said slipping the ludicrous amount of money into his coat pocket, quashing any sort of guilt at being handed so many bank promissory notes. "Waiter, some coffee cakes if you'd be so kind, and a large bowl of water for my animal friends."