There were always clouds over Republic City, but on most nights Yue could still find her way there with some difficulty, sending her light down to watch over the people below.
She was there when Avatar Korra stole away from her room on Air Temple Island, and watched as she dove into the water of the bay. Yue could feel as she summoned the Waterbending power to propel herself forward, and as she rose up on a swirling cascade to enter the vast palace on the shore. Yue was blind to her for a while—all buildings were an impediment to her now—but with the arena's glass dome she was able to find her again, in one of the arena's balconies just barely in sight.
There was a young man with her, named Bolin, and another who followed them in, named Mako.
Mako was as cold as the night air and as aloof as the clouds. But Yue immediately liked Bolin—how could she not? She watched the way he looked at Korra, heard the way he spoke to Korra, took in his silly smile and his dramatic air. And she saw the way Korra laughed with him.
Yue smiled to herself, but her amusement was tinged with regret. There was something about these two which was painfully familiar.
She continued to watch Korra the next night as she fought alongside her new friends in the arena. She saw as Mako warmed up to her a bit, though he never matched his brother in either kindness or enthusiasm. One night she saw the two ride through the streets alone together, worry on their faces as they searched for Bolin. The next night she saw them sneak into an Equalist rally, their arms entwined together.
The next few weeks were filled with more anxious troubles before Korra began seeing her friends in the moonlight again. It was a cloudy night when Bolin and Korra left the arena together, strolling through the Water Tribe borough to eat. Yue streamed in through the window to hear their conversation as Bolin fervently complimented Korra's rebuke to a rival who had been bothering them. She followed the couple to Harmony Tower, peeking through the clouds to see Korra's awe at the city's lights, not noticing as Bolin watched her with just as much enchantment.
Worry clouded Yue's thoughts, mixed in with memories from a lifetime before.
The following night the sky was clearer, giving Yue fair view of the night's proceedings. She almost wished for rain.
Korra and Mako met outside of the arena, and an argument ensued. Mako accused Korra of deceiving his brother about her feelings; Korra accused Mako of deceiving himself about his feelings. Yue had an unpleasant feeling that at least one of them was right. She saw as they each stormed inside, and she watched as they struggled in the arena, only scraping by a victory due to Bolin's efforts.
Yue saw as Bolin left the arena, pulling money out of his pocket as he approached a cart selling flowers. She saw as Korra left from another exit, walking down the docks and staring at the bay morosely. And she saw Mako approach her.
Korra kissed him, and Yue was not the only one watching—Bolin had arrived with a bouquet of pink roses, only to throw them away as he fled from the scene in despair. Korra and Mako yelled at each other before the latter ran after his brother.
Korra sighed as she sat down at the edge of the dock, staring miserably down at her boots dangling over the surface of the water. She did not notice the way that moonlight seemed to concentrate as Yue knelt down beside her, a mortal made divine next to a god made flesh.
"Avatar Korra."
Korra stirred slightly, a slight frown on her face. She could not see Yue, nor did Yue think she had heard her, exactly. Speaking to her was not as easy as speaking to Aang had been; Korra was distant from the Spirit World even as it tried to touch her.
Yue took Korra's face in her hand, and though the Avatar did not consciously feel it, she followed as the spirit guided her gaze out onto the bay. Beams of silver moonlight sparkled on the surface; Yue extended her hand, shaping the rays as easily as a Bender could change the water.
"I have watched over you your entire life, Korra, just as I watched over Aang before you. Now, let me teach you about my life."
It took a moment before Korra noticed the change, her eyes growing wide as she leaned forward on the dock. "What the—"
The ivory glints on the water were moved, changing shape as Yue adjusted her moonlight like strands of cloth on a loom. Korra watched, fascinated, as a picture began to emerge: the outline of a figure on a boat, sailing through a river of silvery water.
"Katara probably already told you this story," Yue said, smiling wanly. "About a princess of the Northern Water Tribe...and the Southern Tribesman she fell for."
The picture changed; Korra could now see a woman in profile, with head bowed and silvery hair elaborately arranged. A second figure emerged beside her, a skinny man with short hair tied back in a warrior's wolf-tail. She watched as the glowing white figure seemed to sweep his arm and bow to the woman. Her hand moved to her face; Korra could almost swear she heard her laughing.
She immediately thought of Bolin.
"I had never met a boy like Sokka before," Yue mused. "He was..." she chuckled "well, ridiculous, really. Affected in the most honest way possible. He made me laugh.
"And yet...he was not the only man in my life."
She waved her hand, and another figure appeared. Korra squinted; it was even vaguer and less distinct than the others, and she almost couldn't tell if it, at least, was just normal light on the water. It stood on the woman's other side, uncomfortably close.
"Hahn was...well, I did not known Hahn very well," Yue admitted. "But our marriage was arranged, and duty required me to choose him over my own feelings. Or it did, until an even greater duty presented itself."
The woman on the water rose up above the other figures, and Korra watched as she seemed to melt back into silvery threads, twisting into a crescent of sparkling light. The first man raised his hands as if to grab her, but she drifted away and seemed to dissolve on the waves.
"You and I are very different, Korra. And our situations are different as well. You are luckier than I was; your duties as Avatar give you no restrictions in romance. The world would fault you for choosing either of your suitors over the other."
The two remaining figures on the water changed. The cloudy one came into sharper focus and grew taller, with a distinctive cowlick that made Korra think instantly of Mako. The skinny figure grew broader, with its own messy hair, and it didn't take long for Korra to recognize it as Bolin.
"Choose wisely, Korra. As I said...we are very different. But I think you can guess which of them I would recommend."
She waved her hand; the images dissolved. The bay—Yue Bay, named decades before by a certain Water Tribesman who cofounded the city with Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko—was just normal water and moonlight again. Korra stared in confusion, suddenly unsure if she had even seen anything at all.
"Choose wisely," Yue repeated, fading away as a cloud passed by overhead.
Yue watched Korra and her friends as they scraped by with another victory the following night.
She watched a few nights later as Korra left practice with Bolin, talking softly as they walked Republic City's streets.
And she was watching when, under a bright beam of silvery moonlight, they embraced and kissed on the shores of the bay.
Yue smiled. It was a longing smile, but a happy one too.
Author's Notes: My submission for Borra Week; the prompt was "Moonlight," a title I've already used for a previous Tokka Week. XD I had some trouble with this story; hopefully I got the tone right and everything. I'm also not sure if this should be listed as a crossover between the two shows, since that would let me list Yue as the protagonist. Any thoughts?
I hope you enjoy!