Avatar Aang's statue glistened in the moonlight, back dropped by the twinkle of street lamps from Republic City in the distance. Save for the scar of the destroyed Arena, which had once been her sanctuary away from the "sanctuary," the city was still quite beautiful. Korra had enjoyed this view many a night from her vantage point on Air Temple Island, a home she now shared with two of her closest friends Mako and Bolin along with the former's girlfriend Asami, who was quickly winning over the young Avatar. It had been nearly a month since the events in the tunnel had transpired and still no word had arisen about the whereabouts of Mr. Sato or Chief Bei Fong, who had since resigned from the police force and set off on a journey of her own.
Nightmares of Amon's hand reaching towards her face still pervaded her sleep, but even Tenzin had grown weary trying to decipher their meaning. They both knew that without conquering her fear that she would not be able to channel any of her past lives. She needed a lot more than tidbits of Avatar Aang blowing wind around to beat a crazy man. So she sat here, perched on a windowsill, overlooking the sea below, and pondered. This quiet time alone had become harder and harder to come by what with all the extra company, but late a night, with nothing but the moon for company, Korra finally stopped to breathe and meditate on the task before her.
Well, until she heard a rustle behind her, at least, causing Korra to whip around and nearly fall of her perch. However, being the agile type she managed to catch herself.
"Korra!" Asami yelled, rushing to help steady her.
Korra laughed and answered, "No, worries! Avatar agility and stuff. Plus, even if I fell, I'm pretty sure my hard head could handle it."
Asami chuckled. "No doubt about that," she retorted.
"Hey! I thought we were friends, now."
"I am. I was just agreeing with you after all."
Asami removed her arms, which had been unnecessarily supporting Korra for some time now, not that either had really noticed.
"So why're you up so late?" asked Asami. "Pondering a late night swim?"
Korra chuckled, eyeing the ice-cold water down far below. "Oh, yeah. You, know, just thinking about challenging Naga to a race to the city and back."
"Oh, really? My money's on Naga."
Korra feigned outrage. "You dare challenge me? I'm from the Southern Water Tribe. You think I can't handle a little ice in my water?"
"Oh, no. I think you can handle it. I just think a polar bear dog's gotta a little more insulation than you," answered Asami, poking Korra's tummy.
"Hey! Stop that, it tickles!" Korra exclaimed, twisting and fidgeting. She lost her balance and overcorrected herself as to not fall of the ledge, landing on hardwood floor instead. "Ow!" she yelped.
Asami was a fit of giggles and slumped to the floor beside her. "Don't tell me the Avatar can be brought down with tickling!"
"I'll have you know, even Avatar Aang was weak to such lowly tactics."
"Is that so? Who told you that, Master Tenzin?"
"No, his mother."
"Oh! Master Katara? I've read so many wonderful stories about her in school. I even wrote my fifth year history report on her. They say she's the kindest bending master that ever lived."
"Yeah, when you're on her good side." Korra chuckled. "I don't think many of her enemies thought she was very nice."
"Enemies rarely think highly of each other," Asami added quietly.
Korra paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"—It's alright."
Fumbling for a moment, "We could talk about—"
"What was she like?" Asami quickly interjected.
"Who, Master Katara?"
"No, your mother."
"My mother?" Korra repeated. "Uh, sure but why? Not that I mind or anything, it's just no one ever asks about my—"
"—Mako and Bolin's were murdered when they were little. The same as me.," said Asami. She paused for some time, thankful for Korra's patience for a change. "You're the only one of us. . . whoever grew up with one," she finished.
Another pause, this one longer.
"I guess," Asami started. "I just want to know what it's like to have one."
They both sat there on the floor, not knowing where to look for a moment. Korra's eyes turned to the moon, causing her pupils to shrink as the beams flowed into them. The moon was the one thing that had remained constant since she came to the city. The sounds, the smells, the people. Those had all changed. But the source of her water bending power and the protector of her people? She had always been there, watching over Korra.
"My mother," Korra began. "My mother is like the moon." She repositioned herself so that her back was against the wall and she could see the moon out of the corner of her eye. Asami sat across from her, eyes full attention. "When I was little, she used to tell me that all the women came from the moon and all the men came from the sun. She told me that was why women were more quiet and more beautiful and comforting. When I learned water bending from Katara, I learned the power of the moon and how it was also strong and constant yet always changing. My mother has changed a lot over the years. She's given up trying to teach me to cook and clean and supported me as I learned to fight and lead. But she's never stopped loving me, the same way the moon has never stopped rising. It may change with the days, but it always comes back to its brightest. Just like my mother," Korra said, finishing with a laugh.
Asami looked at the moon through the window and smiled. "That's beautiful. I wonder if my mother was like the moon."
"Well, I don't think you took your looks from your dad," Korra joked. "I'm sure she was beautiful and strong," she said. "Just like you," she added with a nudge.
Asami smiled and even let a little laugh escape. "Korra, you're going to make me cry!"
"So you laugh when you're about to cry?" Korra teased.
Asami gave her a good shove, and they both laughed.
"I'm glad you're cheering up, though. That's the first time I've seen you smile in a while. I'm gonna have to talk to Mako about working on his jokes. Bolin's always been the fun—"
"Mako didn't tell you?" Asami interrupted.
"Wait, tell me what?"
"Oh, it wasn't a big deal or anything. But with everything that was going on . . . I told him that I needed some space."
"So you two. . ."
"Broke up, yeah," Asami finished. "Just until I can get everything sorted out, at least. I still care for him. . . it's just. . . it's complicated now and everything."
"Yeah, I can understand that. I used to think I wanted to date Mako, actually."
"I know. I'm surprised he didn't take you out," Asami said.
"What? He told you!" Korra exclaimed. "But—"
Asami laughed and said, "Don't worry about it! I'm not the jealous type. It was pretty obvious, anyway. What with all your great expressions and all."
"Ahem," Korra started, clearing her throat. "Now that that's out of the way. What I was trying to say was, I realized that I had more important things to worry about than boys at the moment. Even Aang had to put Katara on hold while he was trying to save the world. I think I can wait a little longer before getting a boyfriend."
"But wasn't Aang like twelve?"
"Or a hundred and twelve. Depends on how you count it," Korra added with a chuckle. Asami joined with a few giggles of her own before pushing herself to her feet.
"Whoa, wait you're going already?"
"Yeah, it seems all this talk of boys has brought their sun rising early," Asami said, pointing to the window, where the first rays of light had started to peak over the mountains. "Thank you for the talk, though. It was nice to finally have some one on one time with you."
"Yeah, definitely. We should, you know, maybe do this more often," Korra said, feeling a little sad that their conversation was over so quickly.
"Most definitely. You can tell me more about your mother's stories, then. Goodnight, Korra," Asami said.
"Goodnight, Asami," Korra called as her friend walked down the hallway and out of sight.
Korra looked out the window, the moon having long since been overpowered by the sun shining through the mountaintops. "Man, the mornings are evil," she said with a laugh before turning to go back to her own room.