Also I Love The Relationship Between Appa And Zuko Omg - Tumblr Posts
Cargo
Appa knew that he was more than just transportation.
He knew that he was a member of their family, the same as any human would be.
Appa and Aang had an unbreakable bond, something he knew even before he was lost, but was solidified by the deep ache inside of the bison that had nothing to do with hunger. Appa missed Aang so much that it manifested into a physical form, and only abated on the shores of Lake Laogai, when Aang hugged him deep and Appa felt the boys tears as he whispered “I missed you, buddy.”
Appa could not speak words that Aang could understand, nor could the bison cry to show how much he missed Aang, but Appa felt that Aang already knew.
Katara had always believed in Appa, even when sometimes the bison was unsure of himself. She encouraged him when he flew through Fire Nation blockades, desserts that stretch out endlessly, and when the Day of Black Sun came, she fought by his side, not as a master but as a comrade.
Katara is the one who always kept a hand on him in caves, her touch comforting like winter’s first snowfall.
Sokka, Appa had to earn his belief, and in a way, that's its own merit— Sokka believed when it was proven, and that meant that it was solid— Appa’s strength and abilities where solid, and Sokka saw that. Sokka had painstakingly designed sky bison armor, something that had never been done before, simply because he felt Appa deserved to be protected.
It meant more to Appa than Sokka will ever know.
Toph was different than the others, her measure of strength not coming from what she could see, but rather, what she could feel. In the desert, Appa understood the sheer amount of strength it took to hold up Wan Shi Tong’s library, while at the same time trying desperately to protect him in the sand. two monumental tasks that any earthbender but Toph would have almost no hope of achieving. In the end, despite everything he went through, Appa supported Toph’s choice, because it kept his family from being buried forever.
Toph apologized in hushed whispers outside the Earth King’s palace, trying to hold tears back, but Appa felt he didn’t need forgive her for the choice she made, so he nuzzled against her and slept outside her window that night.
Zuko was complicated in many ways, and Appa has seen him in many different complicated ways. An enemy, a reluctant ally, a friend, his family and as a savior. Appa wasn’t sure what it was that came over Zuko as his uncle pleaded with him under Lake Laogai, but when Zuko struck the chains off of him, Appa felt something deep inside the Fire Prince that would not be forgotten. Months later, when he came to train Aang, Appa knew he was destined to be his fire bending teacher, and to be apart of their family.
When Zuko used his bending late at night to warm the chilly caverns of the Western Air Temple, breathing gentle flames into the air over the sleeping group, Appa didn’t rear back in fear, he huddled closer to Zuko’s warmth.
They didn’t think of him as an animal, and he didn’t think of them as anything other than family.
The five lives he carried on his back, the one who he was frozen for 100 years with, the one who comforts him with a touch, the one who was skeptical but truly thought he was magical, the one who fought for him despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered, and the one who trusted him even as he was falling to his death, were the precious cargo that Appa carried.
He would protect them, no mater what.