The Return of the Sky Bison
It was another beautiful morning at the Eastern Air Temple and sunlight streamed through the window, dancing up on the form of the young airbender lying on the bed. Aang sat up and yawned; he stretched the sleep from his muscles and groggily rubbed his eyes.
He glanced out of the window, it was going to be another beautiful day at the Eastern Air Temple, the sun had risen and the birds were singing. He and Katara had arrived here a few days ago; this was the last temple on their list.
After the war, Aang and Katara had decided to go on a tour of the four Air Temples. 100 years ago, this temple was considered to be the most beautiful, because of the way the stone glowed when the sun rose.
Aang put on her clothes, choosing the bright orange robes he had worn at Zuko's coronation. Today was his date with Katara; they were going to go flying on Appa. Aang wanted to show her the mountains from his point of view and show her the last remnants of his culture.
Momo glided in through the window and landed on his shoulder, his tail hooked round Aang's neck. Aang smiled and patted the lemur" Come on Momo," he said" Let's go see how Appa's doing shall we?" The lemur chattered and Aang smiled, he grabbed his staff and left the room, heading down to the Sky Bison Courtyard.
Aang arrived at the ancient courtyard and smiled" Hey Appa, How'd you slee-"Aang's words stopped as he glanced around the courtyard, there was no sign of Appa. The gigantic Flying Bison had completely vanished. His eyes widened and he rushed to Katara's room.
"Katar-, oh." Aang's words stopped as he burst into Katara's room and realized she was still changing." I'm sorry, I'll come back later." Katara smiled" No, don't worry Aang, its okay, what's wrong?" she asked. "It's Appa!" The young airbender cried" He's completely vanished!"
Katara frowned" Aang calm down, we'll find Appa, where do you think he could have gone?"" Uh," he said" We could check in the fields and in the caves." Katara nodded!" Come on." she said, they rushed off, with Momo gliding behind.
They checked in the overgrown fields where the Air Nomads grew their food, they checked the first field, then the next and so on. Aang was becoming frantic now, the last time Appa went missing, he was kidnapped by the Sandbenders.
It had taken months of searching and them all nearly getting killed to get the bison back. "Are there any more places where Appa could hide?" Katara asked.
Aang shook his head" There are the caves, but many of them are too small for Appa."" We should still take a look though." Katara said and Aang nodded" Come on." he said.
Soon they came to the caves, they searched through quite a few before they heard Appa's rumbles coming from, one" Appa!" Aang cried, excited and relieved as he rushed towards the cave.
But as they rushed over Appa's rumbles changed to more threatening growls." Appa?" Aang asked worried, Appa's growls become louder; Aang placed a hand on Katara's arm.
" Maybe I should go in alone; Appa might be hurt and scared." Katara hesitated but nodded, Momo landed on her shoulder, Aang nodded" Stay with Katara buddy." he said, Aang then headed into the cave.
The cave was dark and gloomy with many twists and turns, Aang lit a flame in his hand and walked along until he came to the back. As he saw the scene before him, Aang's eyes widened and he cried out happily.
Appa was standing nearby, but another Sky Bison was lying curled up on the ground, she was a female, and lying there, partially covered up by the Bison's large tail, were seven tiny bodies, Aang's eyes widened. Tiny newborn Sky Bison!
There were seven of them. Aang grinned and hugged Appa's massive head" Appa! You did it buddy, you've been my friend for nearly seven years and you still surprise me."
The Bison groaned and licked him. Aang laughed and ran outside to tell Katara. He burst out into the open and ran up to Katara, babbling nonsense" Katara! I can't believe it, Appa… Come on you have to see this!"
He grabbed her hand and dragged her along, Momo gliding along behind. When she saw the wonderful scene, Katara gasped" Wow, Appa! You're a father!" The Bison groaned.
Aang grinned and gave her a passionate kiss. Katara grinned" I'll go tell the others!" She cried and left the cave. He smiled and hugged Appa" You did it buddy." The Bison groaned and Aang smiled.
[Three years later…]
The once wild and overgrown fields of the Eastern Air Temple had been replaced with lush fields full of crops and fruit tress, the temple had been rebuilt and now stood, as proud and majestic as it had been 100 years ago.
There was a new courtyard where Appa and his new mate now lived. Aang had named her Uppa, and she and Appa got along well, and had produced a second litter.
The field was a nice place with soft grass underfoot, beautiful yellow flowers and a bright blue sky. Aang, now seventeen years old was taking a stroll, but was knocked down by several flying lemurs.
Momo had also found a mate and they had proved themselves capable of reproducing like rabarros, and now more that two dozen lemurs lived at the Eastern Air Temple. Aang sat up and laughed as the lemurs scrambled all over him.
Once the flying lemurs had settled, Aang moved further into the field" Appa!" he shouted, The Sky Bison groaned loudly, he was resting in the field. Several of Momo's offspring sat on his back and hung off his horns.
But he didn't mind, he had gotten used to it with his own kids. Aang smiled at the sight of the young Sky Bison, there were now seventeen in total. They were still to young to be with out their parents but they were growing rapidly.
They were already much bigger than the day they were born and many of them had mastered the Sky Bison's form of Airbending. Several of them flew through the air, chasing the young lemurs. Appa's mate ambled up and grunted, lying down beside her mate.
Aang laughed and rubbed her head affectionately, he had come to love her just as much as Appa. He grinned" Looks like our family's getting bigger every day." he said.
"Aang!" a new voice shouted, Aang swung round and grinned as he spotted Katara trudging towards him." Are you sure you're okay?" Aang scolded, playfully. Katara smiled.
" I'm fine Aang, women are tough, even childbirth can't keep us down." she said, Aang smiled" I believe it." he said seriously. His eyes fell on the small bundle in Katara's arms and found himself overcome with joy again.
Katara had given birth to their son only yesterday, and she already looked back to her old self. He embraced her and kissed her, being careful of the little bundle in her arms.
It was here, surrounded by the return of the Sky Bison, Air Nomads and flying lemurs, that Aang felt truly at home.