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Resting her chin in her palm, Yue drapes herself along one of the railings, shrouded with mist. As her hair falls in waves around her shoulders, slipping just beyond the barrier of the Spirit World partition, she sighs, feet still firmly planted on the cloudy balcony.
From her perch in the sky, Yue watches friend and foe alike carefully, and she, the moon, always listens when they entreat her. While her time spent in the real world has grown hazy and distant, her memory of her friends has never faded or grown dim, and she clings to it like a lifeline in a world that’s often cold and lonely.
The earth has grown dark, the sun dipping just below the horizon, the star children eager to emerge from their hiding places and twinkle beside her. It’s her time to make her presence known, lifting the moon to new heights as it journeys through the sky.
Yes… She, the moon, listens while her partner, the ocean, drifts in and out of sleep from across the balcony.
All the better for her concentration, really.
Inclining her ear down toward the people, Yue listens to their prayers, their hopes, their dreams. One pair of individuals, who are oceans apart, catches her attention, just as they have for as long as she’s known them.
Katara, her dear friend, whispers quietly, voice cracking lightly with emotion. “Yue, if you’re listening tonight… I suppose you always are, aren’t you?” She swipes away at a tear that’s begun to slip down her cheek. “The war’s been over for at least two years now, but I… I feel lost.” She glances across the room to where Aang lies, sprawled out across the bed; she remains by the window, head tilted up toward the heavens. “I don’t know where I belong anymore, but I know that it isn’t here. I don’t love him the way he loves me, and I feel that I betray him with the way I feel about someone else.” Her head bows, and she chokes back a sob. “Please, strike me down.”
Startled at Katara’s tearful request, Yue momentarily directs her attention to the Fire Nation, where a young Fire Lord walks along his balcony, facing southward.
Zuko, once her enemy, glances upward at the moon. “When Sokka said that his girlfriend turned into the moon, I didn’t know what to say. How can you comfort someone who’s lost another that they loved so much? I’m so sorry. He really did love you.” His robes rustle due to a warm breeze that blows in from the north. “I may not have lost anyone I love to the Spirit World, but I… I fear that I’ve lost Katara to someone much stronger than any single spirit. I’ve lost myself here too, though, to a girl I don’t love.” He rests his head against his balcony railing, gripping onto the steel as though it’s the one thing tethering him to the material world. Maybe it is.
At this, Jet stirs from his resting place on the floor. “It’s high tide.” He drifts to her side, looping an arm around her waist.
“I’m aware,” Yue replies distantly. Then, she leans into his side. “Shh, I’m trying to listen.”
Jet’s brow arches. “To who?”
Pressing another finger to Jet’s lips, Yue hushes him again. “Jet, shh.”
“It’s been two years now,” Katara continues in a whisper. “And Aang has more to do, but I don’t think I can stand by his side through it.” Another tear glistens on her lashes. “I want to go home, to the South Pole. And I want to see my friends again. And I miss Zuko.” Her smile turns slightly bitter. “But I know that he loves Mai. There’s talk that they’ll be married soon, and I suppose I should be happy for them.” She pauses, searching the sky for an answer that simply isn’t there. “Yue, I just don’t know what to do.”
With a sad sort of smile, Jet pulls away from her slightly. “Katara.” Running a hand through his unruly hair, he adds, “I miss her sometimes.”
“As do I.” Yue’s lips tilt downward as she focuses her attention back to Zuko. “They love each other.”
“Who?” Jet doesn’t see it yet. “Aang and Katara?”
Reaching up to cup his cheek, Yue shakes her head. “No… Katara and Zuko.”
“Katara and… No.” Jet scowls down at the Fire Lord, though Zuko can’t see him. “No, no, no, Yue. Not Zuko.”
She, the moon spirit, only smiles. “Zuko’s a good man now, Jet. And they’re good for each other.” She glances down at the brooding Fire Lord once more.
“I know we didn’t meet under the best of circumstances,” Zuko continues musingly, “but I’m trying to do what’s right, and I don’t know if Mai is right for me.” He threads his hands through his dark hair. “Sokka said that you’re kind, and I believe him. Even if it’s unconventional for the Fire Lord to pray to the moon instead of the sun, I’m asking for your help because I trust you.” His raspy voice cracks lightly. “I’m scared… So many of my thoughts are of her, and… I can’t help but wonder if she tells you things too.”
Leaning deeper into Jet’s embrace, Yue sighs softly. “She does,” she responds, although Zuko can’t hear her. “She tells me of you often. And she loves you just as you love her.”
Jet scoffs lightly, “They’re really just going to pine away without telling each other, aren’t they?”
“They don’t have the luxury of immortality like we do,” Yue replies dryly. Then, her blue eyes flick toward the clear sky. “But perhaps we can give them a sign or two.”
“Like?” Jet disentangles their limbs so Yue can cross the balcony to look down on where the star children play.
With a few whispered words toward the star children, Yue glances back at her beloved ocean. “A sign that they can’t possibly miss.”