The moon wasn't quite full, but it was close to it. It made the ocean's surface glow with an almost unearthly sheen. Katara could feel its power vibrating through her as she swept her arms gracefully, guiding her water in shining arcs around her body.
She'd been unable to sleep. She usually did have trouble sleeping around the time of the full moon, like most waterbenders. It was worse out on the ocean, though! She smiled ruefully as she drew the water close to her, splitting it into thin ribbons, and then weaving them together again. I'm in a waterbender's paradise! Tui and La, push and pull, yin and yang – ocean and moon. Her water froze in a perfect sphere above her, then burst, showering her in glimmering ice fragments that tingled on her skin. She breathed deeply and coaxed it back into its liquid form. It flowed easily back into the water skin at her side. With a sigh, she slipped the cork into its place.
"Nice!" Katara jumped, startled, and turned her head. Ty Lee was watching her from the doorway of her cabin. The Fire Nation girl smiled a little. "Sorry. Did I scare you?"
"A bit," the waterbender admitted. "What are you doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep." Ty Lee wheeled her chair a foot or two closer. "I only caught a minute or two of what you were doing. It looked really neat," she said shyly. "Could you show me some more? I've never really seen a master waterbender at work before."
"Well, all right." Katara couldn't help but be a little flattered. Maybe I'll show off a little. She turned toward the side of the ship and extended her hands. A long stream of seawater rose from the surface of the ocean beneath and whirled around her body. Clenching her hands, she formed it into a stream of ice – then she stepped forward and brought her arms together, and the ice collapsed back into water, flying up in a wave. Lastly, with a flourish, Katara let most of the seawater fall back into the ocean, retaining only a small sphere of it, no bigger than the palm of her hand. She froze it into a perfect crystal ball, which she held out to the watching acrobat.
Ty Lee beamed. "Wow! That was great!" She took the ball of ice and looked at it curiously. "It must be so much fun to be able to bend," she said wistfully. "I never could make so much as a spark, myself."
"Sometimes it is," Katara agreed. She looked out at the horizon, where the jet-black sky met the slate-black of ocean, and smiled. "On nights like tonight, it's more than fun! It's…it's…indescribable." She raised her blue eyes to look up at the moon. She thought of Yue, and wondered what it must be like to be the moon?
"Well, since we both can't sleep, we could talk," Ty Lee suggested, jerking her head back in the direction of her cabin.
Katara paused, biting her lips. She suspected that she knew what Ty Lee's invitation might mean. She looked back toward the room that she shared with Toph. "I…I don't know," she faltered. "I…"
"Katara." The acrobat smiled gently. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You know that."
The waterbender felt like crying. She looked back again. "I don't want to hurt Toph!" she pleaded.
"Then don't," Ty Lee said patiently. "Did I ask you to?" Katara bit her lips harder, trying to sort out her thoughts. Then the acrobat's hand was on her arm, trailing gently down to her wrist, making her breath catch sharply in her throat. "Katara, please," she whispered. "I don't want to be alone. Do you?"
No. I don't. The waterbender closed her eyes. Lately, she hadn't been able to be near Toph without being consumed by guilt. I don't want to be alone. But I love Toph! I love her… Ty Lee's slim hand twined in with hers. Ty Lee needs me. It's not like she's ever forced me into anything! Maybe…maybe we can just keep this a secret. Slowly, she clasped her tanned fingers over Ty Lee's white ones. "Okay," she said softly. "Lets go…talk."
