Yes, the fic was previously titled "The Day You Kissed Me," but I scrapped that because A) I checked my iTunes and realized the song was "While You Loved Me" and B) it was just so darn dorky.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, because if I did, Season Two WOULD BE OUT ALREADY. (rants)
Chapter 3: The Courtship
"Uncle? Are you absolutely positive there is no one else on the ship who can fit in here?" came a muffled voice from somewhere within the fuzzy mass sitting placidly before General Iroh.
The old man smirked quietly to himself. Of course the Fire Prince would not be the smallest man onboard, but he didn't have to know that. It was about time the Prince got out and did some outrageous stunts instead of huddling in his room all of the time, plotting the Avatar's demise. This is the stuff a teenager should do! Why in my day…
"Uncle!" Zuko sounded slightly panicked and definitely cross. "I can't breathe too well in here!"
Iroh shook himself out of pleasant reveries of days past. "Ah, forgive me Nephew. I was just…got a little…there was the time…oh, here."
A quick, discreet slash from a ceremonial dagger that hung from his belt solved that particular problem. Iroh surveyed the scene before him again. He and Zuko were in a pleasant little meadow close to the scouts' reports of the Avatar's emergency landing area. Buttercups and tall grasses carpeted the ground and a creek (which Aang had visited with his canteen earlier) burbled happily under blue skies. With considerable effort and severely puzzled looks from the soldiers who had helped, Keeli had been relocated to the sunniest spot in the meadow, where the bison would surely not miss her.
After failed attempts by Iroh and the accompanying soldiers to fit inside the only passageway to Keeli's internal space, it was regretfully concluded by the old man that an engineering oversight had limited the decoy bison to accommodate someone smaller than a full-grown adult…a teenager, then. "Why, that would be you, Prince Zuko."
The Prince had been most belligerent. "I AM NOT A TEENAGER!"
But daylight was burning, and the fact was that Zuko did not have Iroh's tea-belly or the other men's fully-developed shoulders. Begrudgingly, he had crawled inside and now sat on the wooden bench, sweltering under Keeli's thick, furry coat.
"If there is nothing else Prince Zuko, we will retreat to our ambush spot now." Iroh called gaily.
An indignant huff, barely audible through Keeli's hide, was heard. Iroh chuckled and headed off with his men.
"There. How's that, Appa?" Katara wiped her sweaty brow and brushed a stray strand of chestnut hair back.
Grummph. Appa licked the Water Master's entire left side in gratitude. She was so kind.
The girl giggled and stood up, feeling her spine pop and crack from being locked in a crouching position for so long. "Good. Still, we've got to get going soon. The Fire Nation must be looking for us."
Aang looked over from his perch on a nearby boulder. "Can you fly, Appa buddy?"
Nrrrg. The airbison waggled his tail experimentally. It throbbed a bit, but so long as the winds stayed down and there were no more searing attacks from scarred, irate, nearly-bald humans, he could manage. He just needed a quick bite to eat and a long drink, and he'd be ready.
"Sure thing. There was a nice patch of grass back there where I got the water. Why don't you try there," Aang suggested.
Appa snorted and moved off in the direction Aang had indicated. As he ambled through the trees, his thoughts once again turned to his long-gone bison brethren. Two-leggers were so capricious and unpredictable, he mused. They could be as thoughtful and caring as his companions or as destructive and volatile as the flame-throwing Scarred One. They were not like his kind, who, as a species, was innately imperturbable and steadfast, unruffled and patient. Appa's people lived as resolute anchors in a world that was as turbulent and amorphous as the element the bison embodied.
When Appa had been asked by the Air monks to be the guardian and companion of the Avatar, he had readily agreed to the honor. It was a mark of great confidence and trust in his character. If only he had known that the price to pay was to be left as the last airbison in existence…
A few more steps brought Appa to the edge of the meadow Aang had described. Eagerly, he shuffled to the creek to drink. Slurrrrpf. Slup slup spuffffflurpp.
Thirst sated, Appa lifted his dripping chin and began searching for a filling snack to power him through the skies. His gaze panned over the open expanse…and landed on a shaggy hulk parked about five lemur-hops before him. Whuh?
Zuko's eyes, on the verge of closing, had snapped open when the Avatar's beast had begun drinking noisily from the brook. There's no way it could miss me.
Appa was confused. For a moment, what with the bright sunlight and the recent ordeal of having his tail badly burnt, it had seemed like…no. It was impossible. When they had flown to the Southern Air Temple at the beginning of their journey to the North Pole, it had been unfortunately established that all of the Airpeople – human, bison, and lemur – save those in the Avatar's company were gone. And yet…
Through the slit Uncle Iroh had cut on Keeli's hind flank, Zuko could see that the great creature had taken one hesitant step forwards, towards him. His men had predicted wrongly, projecting that the bison would be approaching from the east, so now Keeli's rump faced the puzzled target instead of her head. Maybe it was just as well, considering her lazy eye and slack jaw…
Appa inched forward another step. He lifted his snout and scented the wind. No, there was no trace of the distinctive musk that would surely be hanging in the air if the object before him were a real bison, musk that would smell so sweet to his aching loneliness. His ears drooped. Someone must have tried his hand at sculpting and from the looks of it, was better off picking up a different hobby. Appa turned to go, all thoughts of food forgotten in his roller-coaster moment of wild hope and crestfallen disappointment.
No! I knew this wouldn't work! What was I thinking? Zuko gritted his teeth. "There must be some way…I've spent too much time on this, and the Avatar is so close. Maybe if the beast just gets curious enough…"
He reached up and pulled the nearest rope.
The movement caught Appa's eye again. By daffodils, what was happ – that thing's alive! But why was it just flapping its ear up and down? Was it hurt?
With an inquisitive snort, Appa drew a few steps closer.
I got its attention! Maybe it really does think Keeli's real! Zuko reached for a few more ropes. There were eight in total, one for each leg and ear. Unfortunately, the Fire Prince only had four appendages. Oh well, there would be no award for "Best Female Airbison Imitation" at this year's Fire Nation Dance and Theater Festival anyways. Zuko wrapped a rope around each of his arms and legs and began yanking on them, sometimes alternating his motions. I look so stupid.
Appa was becoming increasingly alarmed. The poor thing must be injured! Perhaps a stray shot from one of the red-garbed humans had hit it.
The being, whatever it was, twitched spasmodically before him. Both of its hind legs and one middle leg were jerking in pain and it continued flapping its left ear. Appa made a friendly grunt towards the pitiful creature. Do you need help? I have a friend who can heal you!
Zuko was enthralled by his success. He cupped a hand to his mouth and tried his best to lure the beast further. "Aroohoo!" he warbled.
Immediately, he slapped his palm to his forehead. Aroohoo? Keeli needed to sound coy and attractive, not sick to the stomach and possibly in labor. He wracked his brain, trying to recall a noise, any noise, that he might have heard in his encounters with the bison. Zuko increased the tempo and intensity of the rope tugs. "Wrrmph? GWOO!"
Oh no! The poor thing was flailing in its death throes! Appa briefly considered galloping back to his humans and fetching the Water girl; she might be able to save it. But no, from the looks and sounds of it, there was no time left, and it would be cruel to leave the creature in its final moments of life. Appa began to approach steadily, hoping that he could possibly offer some comfort before the pathetic animal passed on.
"What is my nephew doing?" Iroh poked his head out of his hiding place to peer in consternation at the thrashing bison decoy. The real bison was advancing, cautiously but determinedly. Iroh was no expert on bison behavior, but it didn't look like the Avatar's steed was so much as romantically interested in Keeli as concerned for her general wellbeing. "Maybe I dozed off on the scroll that described bison mating rituals."
There actually was a rather beautiful courtship ritual for the airbison, but it did not even remotely crop up in Appa's mind as he drew closer. It was sad, really, that this floundering animal was dying. In a way, Appa felt a kinship with it; it bore some faint resemblance to his own kind with its size, six legs, and rudimentary fur pattern. Perhaps it's a distantly related subspecies of airbison? he wondered absently.
Zuko's arms and legs were getting tired. The beast was very close now; the Prince hoped his uncle and men were ready to ambush it. Since his vocalizations had obviously helped in luring the furry monster, he tried some more. "BRRAG! BLUH! GABLUDABADABUH!"
Appa wished he could understand what the creature was saying. He thought he recognized a bit of what it was calling, but it made no sense: "Bananas? There slaps dough up mountainslope! MY SLICE! WOODEN! RATTLECOTTONWHOOPINGHORNS!"
Suddenly, he stopped. There was an odd scent in the air which got stronger as he approached the dying thing. Appa had chalked it up to the foreign animal's panic, assuming it was probably some sort of secretion emitted due to its agonizing death. With a start, he realized it wasn't the animal's pain and fear that hung heavy in the air, but the smell of fire and human.
Appa had smelled such an odor before. It was present every time his friends were attacked, every time there was a battle, every time someone was burned and hurt
In particular, it was the smell that had roared into the air after him just a short while ago, a distinctive scent belonging to one particular human. The angry, scarred human boy who he held associated with the attack on the Airpeople, the extinction of his race, the injuries of his human friends, and the searing sensation that had scorched his beautiful, broad tail.
With a bellow, Appa recognized that somehow the creature before him was that hateful human. How he became to be in such a state did not concern Appa. With an infuriated swipe of his foreleg, the placid tranquility that usually reigned in the bison's mind was ripped to shreds and a livid, crimson rage took over. This human had hurt him, had hurt his friends, had killed his people.
Appa roared again, and charged.
"Where's Appa?" Sokka whined. "You'd think he'd remember to come back for us, we being the one who saved his tail. Literally."
"We? Excuse me, I do believe Aang helped Appa land, and I healed him. You just squeezed the living daylights out of Momo, hid in the back of the saddle, and cried!" Katara reprimanded.
"I didn't cry. I teared up! For Appa. There's a difference!"
"Guys, I'm worried too. Appa doesn't take this long to eat and drink, and he knows we have to get going." Aang said, gazing off in the direction where Appa had gone.
Suddenly, a deep bellow reverberated through the air, shaking leaves from branches and causing birds to take flight. The trio exchanged quick glances. "That sounded like Appa!" Katara cried.
Aang looked grim. "Yeah. And he doesn't sound happy."
"AAAAGH! GEROFF! GEROFF ME, YOU SMELLY THING!" Zuko threw fiery punch after flaming kick at the enraged bison, who continued rampaging after the Fire Prince, undeterred.
Zuko couldn't understand what went wrong. One moment he was silently exulting in his success, confident that any second now his uncle and the soldiers would leap out, subdue the beast, and then lie in wait for the Avatar that would oh-so-foolishly rush to his shaggy friend's aid. The next thing he knew, the monster had lowered his head and charged. Zuko had barely blasted his way out before Keeli was trampled to splinters of wood and shreds of sheepskin.
He would have to buy some new tapestries. If he got away.
Hunhhhrrraaw! Appa paid no heed to the stinging of the blows that managed to land on his thick coat. All he could care about was stomping this hateful, HORRIBLE human into a grease smear on the grass.
A few humans dressed in red popped out from somewhere and came at Appa. With a mighty swipe of his middle paw, he sent them flying into the tall grasses. An older, heavyset man – Appa dimly registered him as a constant companion to the hated Scarred One – ran at the bison, waving his hands in the air and yelling for Appa to stop, please stop, we didn't mean it, please don't, please leave my nephew alone!
Appa slapped his muscled tail against the man and he rose into the air as well, falling with a dull thud, unconscious and unseen in the obscuring vegetation.
"UNCLE!" Zuko cried. "OH THAT'S IT!"
With renewed vigor, Zuko attacked the bison, throwing flames, punches, and kicks. "HAH! HUUH! AHHHYA!"
Appa was not impressed. He lunged forward, gaping maw of a mouth open. Zuko gasped, startled by the speed with which the bison moved. Before Zuko had a chance to recover, Appa had closed his powerful jaws around the Prince's midsection and began to squeeze.
It felt like a hot, slimy hand was gripping Zuko's body and clenching into a fist. Zuko felt the Avatar's monster chomp down harder. At least its teeth are flat, he thought dully. If the beast had been a carnivore, the sharp, serrated canines would have torn the Prince to bits already.
Appa began shaking his impressive head back and forth, worrying his prize like a dog with a meaty bone. A loud pop! was heard, and Zuko's shoulder, clenched on the threshold between Appa's teeth and the fresh air outside, dislocated. Zuko screamed in pain.
"APPA! APPA, STOP!"
Aang was sprinting across the meadow, Katara and Sokka hot on his heels. Appa's ear swiveled back to his human's voice. Stop? How could he? The scarred human has to die! Die, like my brothers and sisters did at home!
"Appa! Please! You're going to kill him!" Katara pleaded.
"Just let him go, big guy," Sokka added.
Aang had reached his steed now, and was standing in front of him, looking him in the eyes. "Appa, I know Zuko's hurt you. I know you're angry and tired. But please. We can't be like him," the Avatar gestured towards the figure of Zuko, dangling in Appa's mouth. "Please, Appa. Your kind believes in peace. You believe in peace. You can't kill him, no matter what he's done. The monks asked you to be my guardian because they knew you were the kindest, gentlest bison. I'm asking you now, please please…remember that kindness and gentleness. Let him go."
There was a heartbeat of complete stillness, and then Appa groaned. The great jaws relaxed, and the limp form of the Fire Prince rolled out and fell to the ground. There was a sickening CRACK! as Zuko's head hit a large stone. Appa snorted in satisfaction. Just because he spared the human his life didn't mean he had to be comfortable when he woke up.
Katara was in shock. She had never seen Appa lose his temper before. He was the rock of the group, the one who was dependably calm, even in the face of danger. She looked back up to the bison. Now that she had witnessed his dreadful rage, she realized how lucky she was to be on his good side. Of course, almost everyone was on Appa's good side. He has had the power to destroy any of us, even Zuko, and never did. "I wonder what Zuko did to make Appa so angry," she mused out loud.
Sokka prodded a scrap of sheepskin on the ground. "I dunno, but it involved stuff that could've been used to keep us warm! Such nice quality too…"
Aang wasn't looking at the piece of fabric that Sokka was holding admiringly up to the light. He was looking at his friend, his oldest companion. They had trained and played together in the temples, fled the monks' refuges together in an attempt to avoid Aang's destiny, been frozen solid together for over a century. They had fought battles as one, curled up side-by-side in the dark of the nights, explored new sights in each other's company.
Aang trusted Appa with his life. He had never feared his bison, despite the awesome power that the placid personality usually hid. But now…
For the first time in the one hundred and seven years he had known Appa, Aang was afraid of him.
Appa did not miss the glint of fear in his friend's eyes. He sensed the boy stiffen and suppress a shudder. His human may be the Avatar, the spirit of the world, but he was a boy too, and it was a child's paralyzing terror that Appa saw reflected in Aang's huge gray eyes. What had he done?
Appa had hurt someone. He, last of the airbison and trusted friend of the Avatar, had completely violated the code of peace that his kind had strove so hard to attain. He had shattered the island of tranquility within him and hurt, almost killed another living being.
And worst of all, his best friend was now terrified of him.
The pain was unbearable.
With a long, howling roar, Appa lifted his head to the blue sky. He had lost the Avatar's confidence. He had compromised his own beliefs. He had let his people down.
The bison leapt into the air, blood still streaming from the many wounds inflicted by Zuko during their battled. Red droplets spattered down, one of them hitting Aang in the face and sliding down his cheek, like a tear shed by only the most desperate, the most lost, the most lonely.
"Appa? Appa, where are you going?" Aang called.
It did not matter. The bison, broken and battered, only wanted to get away, to forget what he had done and almost did. He wanted to hide, to nurse not only the many wounds that bled from his body but also the ones in his shattered heart.
His massive silhouette quickly faded in the blazing gold of the setting sun. A final, mournful moan lingered in the air, and then it too died away with the light.
Aang, Katara, and Sokka met each other's eyes, then looked away. Something had happened to Appa, and now there was no telling where he had gone or what he would do.
Katara looked down. Zuko lay where Appa had dropped him, spread-eagle and out cold. He was bloody and covered in bison saliva, and one shoulder was sprawled out at an awkward angle. She did not notice Iroh or the other men, a short distance off in the waving grass of the field.
Sokka joined his sister to see what she was staring at. He gave the unconscious Prince a kick in the ribs. Zuko groaned and twitched.
"Sokka!"
"What?"
Aang was still peering into the sun, in the direction Appa had gone. Katara's faltering voice broke the silence. "So…what do we do with him?"
A/N: Wow. Who would've thunk that Appa had a violent streak in him? I swear this is actually a Zutara fic. This is just the exposition, mind you. I promise Zuko and Katara will interact in the next chapter!
Thanks for these glowing reviews! (tosses those Christmas tins of three different kinds of popcorn over a balcony )They mean a lot, they do. Let's see…if I may take the liberty of writing a longeraddendum today, I'd like to reply to some:
Melodiee: Oh, I just made up the Flying Chon-giraffe. I had just watched Secondhand Lions, see, and there was a giraffe in one scene. Yes, Zuko has a slight lisp; it's a bit more evident in the first few episodes and it either fades or I got accustomed to it. And finally, there is another fanfic somewhere, can't remember now, that has a bit of Appa POV in it…it's pretty cute.
Even On The Bridge…: I ADORE Beethoven. The Fifth, cliché as it may be, is one of my favorites. It's so…BOM BOM BOM BOM. Y'know. Your pen name makes me want to destroy a small city. Bwahaha.
SweetStories11: I'm glad you like the chaos that seeps out of my mind and onto I've bookmarked your page actually, but haven't had the time to read. I will though!
Phantom Starlight: OMG no one else picked up on the "I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!" (at least, no one told me), which is one of my favorite lines. You rock.
All others: Squeek, I'm so happy you enjoy Appa's prominence in the story. I'll try my best to keep y'all entertained.
The symphony was A LOT of fun. If you ever get a chance to see Lang Lang in concert, do so. Never have I seen or heard piano played so beautifully; every note seemed as clear as the finest crystal. Gorgeousity to the max.
A question for the other writers: how long, on average, does it take for y'all to write a chapter? I'm spending 3-4 hours on my chapters, give or take, and there's no way I can keep up when school starts. Aiee. Last semester I nearly failed because I was reading Avatar fanfic. This semester I'm going to fail because I was writing fanfic. Which is sadder?
My sister: Yessss…now I don't have to email the authors to update, I can just bother you! (Aww...)