#servicedog!appa

Katara stepped into the inky blue shadows behind the schoolhouse. Chilly cold like jumping into the snow after a hot bath made her skin tingle.

Aang’s nothing-voice—the cry that needed his breathing-box—had her sprinting and her stomach flipping like it was jumping off a teeter-totter.

“Aang—!”

Hide, the bully, was grabbing Katara’s best friend with one big-kid hand and holding Aang’s beanie in the other. Aang’s breathing was rough and gritty like running on frozen mulch, and his little tears made Katara’s heart hurt. He jumped and struggled more than he ever should, all in his desperation to get his beanie back. It was useless. The snow swallowed him nearly to his waist, and Hide was the biggest kid in their class.

Katara remembered how Sokka threw his baseball with their Dad. She also remembered what Suki did to Sokka when the softball player first met her brother.

Hide dropped Aang like the boy half his size had caught fire. The bully first held his bruising head where Appa’s apple left its mark, but then Katara was in front of him and furious, and Hide fell to his knees to cradle where she kicked him.

“You leave him alone!”

Hide limped like something was broken and sped up like Katara was something ferocious disguised as a girl. “I-I’m telling Miss Kyoshi!”

Katara lunged at him. Hide flinched and slipped in the snow.

She couldn’t wait to hear what Miss Kyoshi would do to the meanie.

“Aang?”

Aang wheezed. His nothing-voice was panicked and thin as he fumbled for his breathing-box. It was white, shaped like a bison, and anchored to the inside of his coat pocket by a string of beads.

Katara dropped to her knees in front of him. They sat in a bowl of snow with walls nearly two feet high. Aang’s fingers were stiff as if frozen, and Katara scooted closer like sharing her warmth would somehow help.

She remembered how her Dad helped Aang with the breathing-box when he and Katara played for too long in the park. She also remembered what her Mom said to help Aang back then, too.

“It’s okay, sweetie.” She helped Aang prep the white bison and guide it to his mouth. “It’s okay. I got you, Aang. You’re okay.”

She counted slowly and out loud like Sokka did when Katara was scared. Aang’s breathing fell in line with it, and he looked at her in teary awe.

“You okay?”

“Mhm…” Aang hiccuped. “...’m, okay…”

The beanie Hide tore had a blue arrow and was Aang’s favorite. Katara made it for him when her Mom first taught her to crochet.

Katara took it from Aang’s hand and tucked it—very carefully—in her backpack. She could mend it later.

In the same moment, she took off her own beanie—blue with black and white fishes and made by her Mom on the Solstice—and slid it over her best friend’s head.

Aang wiped his eyes. Katara could read the ‘thank you’ in his smile even though she couldn’t read all her letters. And she knew for a fact that hugs made Aang’s hurts go away better than any bandaid.

His voice was even smaller than him when she pulled away. “...T-Thanks, K’tara.”

“Do you wanna go play together? Before my Mom picks us up? The big-kid side of the playground is empty.” Aang’s shy smile got a little bigger. “We can make a snowfort if ya wanna. I saw how Sokka made his tower yesterday.”

“Can Appa play, too?”

“Well, duh.” Katara lent him a hand and didn’t let go even after she tugged Aang to his feet. “We might have to make a snowcastle for him to fit, though.”

“Yeah! Yeah!” Aang bounced a little bit, even though it made his breathing harder and faster and had Katara’s heart hurting again. “And you can be the knight like in the storybook Miss Kyoshi read today! And I—I...I, um…”

“You can be a knight, too. Appa can be your horsie.”

“...But I can’t be a knight.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t run a lot…” Aang scratched his chest and over the breathing-box in his coat pocket.

Katara still held his hand, but now a bit tighter. “That doesn’t mean you can’t be a knight. You don’t have to run a lot a lot.”

“It makes my chest hurt real bad. Gyatso said Imma get a puppy, though. He said it’ll help.” Aang tried to smile. “You can be the knight, though! You’ll be the best knight! You’re really, really brave, K’tara!”

Katara didn’t like that one bit. Aang had a face that made her want to hug him, especially when his teary eyes hit her where it hurt and his shaky lip tried to hide his hiccup.

Katara bit her lip, puffed her cheeks, and held his hand a little bit tighter. She scowled like she was threatening an answer to come out of hiding.

“Okay. I’ll be the knight, but you’re gonna be my princess.”

Katara puffed her chest and picked up her stride. Aang tried not to be dragged as his best friend marched them to the shallow snow where they played.

“What?” His voice was breathless, but in a good way. “Really?”

“Yeah-huh! And as my princess, you need to stick with me so I can protect you.” She showed him their held hands. “So I’m not gonna let you go, okay?”

“...Promise?”

“Promise.”

She looked him in the eye like when her Dad told her Mom he would be home by Christmas.

Aang smiled like it really was Christmas, and Katara’s best friend sucked in air like he might have trouble breathing again.

“Okay! Okay!”

Katara was nothing if not a knight of honor. Her princess was wounded and slow (and short) in the deep snow, and he had to lift his knee almost to his chest with every step he took.

This was unacceptable.

Katara had no sooner said her vows than herded her too-light princess (and both their backpacks) onto her back.

She struggled a bit, but then Aang laughed. It drowned the memory of his nothing-voice and filled Katara with something like strength. She liked it when he laughed. It made her heart run and jump like Nyla did when June got off the bus at her house.

It nearly left her breathless.

Her best friend was in never such a danger with her around to protect him.

“Oh, thank you, Miss Mighty Knight Katara!” Katara’s princess swooned just like in the storybook. “You’re my hero!”

He kissed her cheek just like in the storybook, too.

Lava gushed under Katara’s cheeks, and Katara waited, frozen, for her body, now on fire, to melt through the snow and into the center of the earth.

“K’tara? Katara!” Katara’s princess patted her cheeks, and her best friend looked ready to cry. “Katara, you’re burning up!” Aang patted a little bit of snow on her and sounded like he would need his breathing-box. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Katara hugged him, laughed until he did, too, and patted his back when she pulled away.

“Shush, princess! The dragon is coming!”

“A dragon?”

“The dragon! Now hurry, princess!” Katara spun and made room for him on her back. “The dragon’s super strong and is gonna burn the school down! We gotta run away! With Appa! Into the storm!”

Aang tugged his best friend’s beanie more snugly on his head and giggled as his brave knight herded him onto her back. Katara ran fast and long enough for both of them. They dodged fireballs and firestorms until princess, knight, and Appa were covered in frost and snow and safely hidden from their enemies.

Sokka found their hideout and poked a hole that broke it open from top to bottom.

Katara bowed and Aang did the same, and they finally broke character to hug.

It had never been harder for them to leave the schoolhouse.

Tomorrow felt like a hundred years away.

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👏I👏stan👏childhood👏friend👏AUs👏

I broke my rule to keep this under 1,000 words but I just...I had half of another answer to the ask written when this idea hit me like a truck. I just couldn’t resist. And it felt criminal to cut any more words than I already did😭

Hurt/comfort dialogue prompt ask: Send me a number with an ATLA ship and any other details you want❤️

(I’ll add a read more + I’ll post this and the other dialogue-ask-prompt-ficlets on my ao3 when I get to my PC!)