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waterfire1848 · 3 days ago

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Appa The Dragon Mother

Appa loved his human.

He really did. Aang was sweet, kind, caring, a little prone to acting before thinking but, as Appa came to learn, many young humans were like that. More than anything, he knew Aang loved him too and would do anything for him. It was true that Appa was usually the one saving Aang but the boy had turned back in battle and stopped in the middle of a fight to ensure that he was still okay multiple times.

Much to the, sometimes, annoyance of one of the other humans that journeyed with them.

After coming out of the ice, Appa quickly learned that he now had three humans: Aang, Katara and Sokka. Although Aang would always be his primary person, Katara and Sokka could be trusted and they clearly cared for and protected Aang which, according to Appa, meant that they were perfect humans.

Even when they got another human, Toph, Appa knew she could be trusted as well. Sure she threw Aang around more than Sokka and Katara did but he always got back up and it was never done in a malicious way. It was more similar to how he had played with his siblings when he was younger. Toph’s actions were never like how the firebenders would attack them with the intention of harming or killing.

Honestly Appa had no clue how these young humans were still alive. It seemed like every time they landed, the humans found some kind of way to get into trouble. Appa was actually rather amazed if he was honest. He only thought baby sky bison could get in trouble this much. Nonetheless, he’d always be there to bail his herd out and protect them.

Always.

“We’ll be right back, buddy.”

Appa grunted in confirmation, resting his head against his paws. Since Momo was flying away with them, he had the whole afternoon to relax and catch up on some sleep. They’d had an early morning flight after being confronted by Fire Nation soldiers so this extra time was much appreciated.

Within seconds, the giant sky bison had fallen asleep against his paws and began to gently snore. His mind wandered back to the days of the Southern Air Temple, his siblings and the other human airbenders who once occupied it.

—————————

The sun was at its highest point in the sky when Appa woke up. No doubt the humans would either be back soon or Aang would call him to come get them. He just had to wait. Listening to the distant sound of birds and forest animals filled him with a sense of calm. A sense that, regardless of the troubles his herd faced every day, there could be a good life for them.

Then he heard it.

It was small and distant but he definitely heard it.

Dragons.

Appa hadn’t seen a dragon yet since coming out of the ice and, for that, he was thankful. Dragons were killers. They were vicious predators. He’d seen one swoop down and grab a baby from the herd before the mom even noticed it.

Now, not only could he hear the dragons but he could hear Aang and the others. Wherever they were, they were close to the dragons. Too close.

Appa stood up, getting to his full size while growling in the direction of the dragons and letting out a loud roar. Sky bison weren’t known for their charging nature but there was nothing else to call it when Appa started breaking down trees and throwing rocks out of the path to get to his herd.

“Appa!” Aang called.

Appa jumped next to Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph, growling at the woods and placing a paw in front of them.

“Woah, woah. It’s okay, buddy. It’s okay.” Aang whispered. He began to pet Appa’s side and placed a hand under his chin, “Everything is okay.”

“What could have spooked Appa this badly?” Katara asked.

“That wasn’t really a spooked run, more of a ‘destroy everything in my path’ run.” Sokka corrected.

Appa’s ears perked up and he sniffed the wind. They were here. They were close. He followed his nose straight to Sokka’s shirt. The Water Tribe boy backed away from the bison, placing his hands on Appa’s nose.

“Ohhh. I get it.” Aang chuckled.

Appa was so confused. He smelled dragons that were right here. Where were they? Had he forgotten what dragons smelled like? Aang walked over to Sokka and began messing around with the bag he was wearing.

Suddenly, he walked in front of Appa, revealing two baby dragons. One of them was a dark red color with a black underbelly and a burn scar over one of his eyes. While the other was light blue with a white underbelly. Both possessed bright golden eyes and were no bigger than Momo. Speaking of which, the lemur was perched on Sokka's head, also not caring about the danger in front of him.

“It’s okay, Appa. It’s just-“

Appa took two steps back before growling and roaring. The baby dragons responded with their own tiny roars then began to claw at Aang, desperately trying to get away. Thanks to their size and claws, the two slipped out of Aang's hold and started bolting for the forest.

“We got them!” Katara yelled. Katara snatched up the red dragon while Toph grabbed the blue one.

The babies did not like to be held by the humans. Their tiny roars and screeching made that perfectly clear, but it didn't stop Katara or Toph. Appa, on the other hand, just hated having to hear those noises at all.

The sky bison didn’t get this at all. Why did they want the baby predators around?!? Why were they holding them close like they wouldn’t go for their throats if they had the chance?! Is his human insane?! Are all these humans insane?!? These are dragons!

“They won’t hurt you, buddy. They just need our help for a bit so we have to take them with us.”

Appa growled.

“I know dragons aren’t your favorite, but we don’t have another choice.” Aang, living in the Air Temple his whole life, had never known about the threat dragons posed to sky bison—dragons usually didn't threaten domesticated sky bison—but that didn’t stop Appa from being angry.

“Aang. Why don’t we just…you know?” Sokka gestured to the wide open forest.

The dragons continued to squirm in Katara and Toph’s arms. They clearly didn’t want to be there, but that didn’t stop the two girls from continuing to hold them and prevent them from running into the forest.

“We’re not abandoning them here. Dragons their age can’t even fly yet. They won’t survive more than 3 days on their own.” He could tell by Sokka’s expression that his answer didn’t completely motivate him, “Just trust me on this, Sokka. We can’t leave them here alone. We have to take them with us.”

Sokka rolled his eyes, “Fine.”

“What about Appa?” Katara asked. By now the red dragon had calmed down. He looked content with being mindlessly petted by Katara, even closing his eyes and starting to drift off. The blue dragon was still climbing all over Toph and actually looked kind of annoyed that the other dragon was starting to fall asleep.

“He’ll be okay with them after a few days.” Aang smiled, “Right, boy?”

Appa snorted a powerful blast of wind in his direction.

Aang, who’d been thrown a few feet back, chuckled nervously, “That’s what he does when he agrees with me.”

"Thanks for letting them come with us, Appa." Katara smiled, scratching his chin.

-----------------------------

There are two baby predators on his back.

Creatures that, when they grow bigger, would gladly eat him and had eaten his species in the past. Appa can't believe that his human was so...okay with this! The humans were just talking about some kind of spirit attack and curse now--honestly Appa isn't listening much--and not at all about the dangerous creatures sitting in the saddle.

"Appa, yip yip." Aang called.

He took off into the sky, reaching the clouds in seconds. Panic gripped the giant creature for a while as he worried about what the predators might do to him. He could hear commotion on his saddle but he didn’t feel the pain of teeth or claws sticking into him.

That being said, not five minutes later, Sokka is leaning off the side of his saddle, "I got her!" He yelled. It doesn't take Appa long to realize that one of the tiny predators probably had been running around and tried to fly. The baby responds with a tiny roar and squeal, “Maybe don't try to fly quiet yet." Sokka chuckled.

One of the dragons---Appa can't see which one---chirped in response. Thanks to the saddle, he can’t feel or see what either of them are doing but with three herd members up there he feels fairly sure that one of them wouldn't try and take a bite out of him.

"You think they remember anything?" Katara asked.

"Considering the fact that Zuko is currently sleeping in your lap and the blue firebender-

“Azula.” Aang added, “The spirit called her Azula.”

“And Azula is trying to chew on my warrior’s wolf tail. OW! No, I don't think they remember anything."

"Do you guys really think the spirit was serious about them staying like this for that long?" Aang asked.

"I don't see why not. She didn't look like the kind of spirit to mess around."

"The important thing is that we don't have Zuko or his crazy blue firebending sister chasing us anymore." Katara said.

"Yeah. Now we have them climbing all over us." Sokka said.

"This is so weird." Katara mumbled.

Appa roared in agreement. At least the humans were starting to see how weird this was. It was a start.

"You said it." Toph agreed.

"But at least they're cuter like this."

----------------

Huge shout out to @blueleopard555 for both partly coming up with this idea and listening to my rants

I'm trying something different for the monthly au post for this month. What do people think? Like it? Hate it?

Also a part 2 can be found on AO3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63165850/chapters/161770348

#my mandatory monthly dragon!azula au #azula #zuko #appa #aang #sokka #katara #toph beifong #au #dragon azula #dragon!azula #dragon zuko #dragon!zuko

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