Lonely.

When Yue was still mortal, that was the one thing she never was. She was never lonely. Whether it be her parents doting on her or admirers idolizing her, she was never alone. She was the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe. A force of nature. A rare beauty. Ethereal beyond words and the height of elegance. Kind and sweet yet often spineless. But never alone.

Not like this anyway.

She was only 16 when she became the moon spirit. She has long lost count have her age now. It doesn't matter anyway, as she still retains her youthful look. The only thing that has changed, really, is her eyes. Her azure depths, once full of light and naïveté, now hardened after decades of isolation. Immortality's not all it's cracked up to be, she's come to learn.

There was a time where she wasn't alone. She spent her days (or nights, if you prefer) watching over those whom she cared about. Her parents would spend hours at the Spirit Oasis, and she would try to solace them. However, as the years passed, she watched those who she left behind on Earth age and, eventually, pass. Her mother. Her father. Her friends from the Northern Water Tribe. Even Sokka. And unlike the avatar, ordinary mortals don't get the luxury of reincarnation. Once they're gone, they're gone.

When Sokka passed, she was lonely once again.

You would think that given her "eternal counterpart", La, Yue wouldn't be experiencing isolation. If all else fails, at least she has the presence of La, right?

Wrong.

For many decades, La uttered not a word to her. They swam in eternal circles, and she could feel his presence, but he was silent. He was grieving his former counterpart, Tui. The one he spent centuries circling the Spirit Oasis with. The one he loved.

When he stopped his grieving, he finally spoke to her.

"Thank you, child. For your sacrifice."

It was strange how they communicated. When he spoke to Yue, it felt as if he was but a voice in her head. Like he was part of her. Had it been any other situation, Yue would've thought his words were a figment of the imagination. But she knew it was La.

And then he was silent again. He speaks to her every now and then, but it's never enough for the former princess. It's a constant pull and push. A constant cycle. And it gets tedious.

It gets lonesome.

...

As the years passed and the loneliness grew, Yue began to venture out and mingle with the mortals more. The few sailors who saw her hovering over the seas were always in awe. Yue liked watching them navigate the waves with their new technology. It was interesting seeing their technology advance. Mortals are far more clever than the spirits gave them credit for, she realized as the centuries came and went.

"Why do you lament, Yue?" La had once asked her after she ventured out to the bay of a mortal city. The silence was broken once more. "I can feel your lamentation every time you leave. Why do you insist on mingling with those humans?"

Yue had sighed. "Do you forget that I was once a human as well?"

"Do you forget that it was a miserable human miscreant who ended you?" he shot back. "Humans know nothing but destruction." They were both quiet for several moments. Or perhaps it was hours. It was always difficult to gauge time in the Spirit Oasis. "Again I will ask you, Yue. Why do you lament?"

"Like you, I too have lost someone I cared about. Unlike you, however, I cannot wish for anyone to give him his life back. No matter how badly I desire it. No matter how vast and far I search for him, he's gone," she spat, her voice breaking. "That's why I lament."

A beat of silence. Or perhaps several days of it. "Foolish girl," La finally croaked, a hint of laughter to his voice, "All beings, spirits and humans, reincarnate once they meet their ends. Your boy is out there somewhere. The tricky part is finding him."

Yue paused in her eternal dance out of sheer surprise. "How do I find him?"

"You'll know when you find him, Yue. You spent decades looking out for him when he was still the boy from the Southern Water Tribe," La said. "You'll feel it in your spirit when you discover him again. You just have to look.

Somewhere, not too far from the bay of Republic City, a grandfather looks around the family ship in search of a certain little girl. It doesn't take look for the elderly man to find his young grand-daughter once he starts searching the deck of the ship. His granddaughter is peering over the side of the ship's railing, her amber eyes gazing across the vast ocean expanse.

"Little Kara, just what do you think you're doing out on the deck so late at night?" the grandfather reprimands once his green gaze settles on the mischievous girl.

The young girl gasps and takes a few steps back from the side of the ship, her dark hair whipping her pale face as she spins on her heel. "Grampa!" the girl exclaims, eyes wide.

Her Grandfather takes a few steps forward and wraps a hand around the girl's wrist. "Come on, Kara," he reprimands, "Off to bed with you. It isn't safe for little children to be wandering about this late at night. Or this early in the morning, if you want to be technical about it."

The child stubbornly snatches her wrist away. "No!" Kara exclaims, "I wanna hear the pretty lady singing!"

"What on earth are you talking about this time, Kara?" His tanned hand reaches to massage the space between his brows.

"Yes, Kara, what are you talking about?" a soft feminine voice croaks from behind them. Both grandfather and granddaughter turn and see an older woman stepping out onto the deck.

The older man huffs and turns to his wife, "Jinora, can you help me take this little one to bed?"

Jinora smiles at her husband. "C'mon, Kai." She gives him a small nudge, "It's a beautiful night out, let's spend some time with our granddaughter."

"You're far too lenient with our grandchildren, my love," he says with a sigh. "You were always the lenient one with our children, as well."

Jinora opens her mouth to protest, but Kara cuts her off before she has the chance.

"Shh!" shouts the small girl who has now returned to her place, peering over the side of the ship, "I can't hear her."

"Hear who?" Jinora asks kindly, resting a withered hand on the child's back.

Kara rolls her amber eyes. "Her," she repeats and points a small finger over the railing.

Jinora and Kai both gaze out into the calm seas silently alongside Kara. And soon, just as their granddaughter had said, they hear a soft, mystical voice carrying over the fog. It sounded eerily familiar, Jinora realizes with a start. She and her husband exchange a wary look, and Jinora swiftly grabs hold of one of Kara's hands before Kai does the sense with Kara's other hand.

The fog begins to clear, and out of the mist, a figure starts to appear.

"There she is," Kara whispers breathlessly.

And there she was, indeed. An angelic-like being hovers over the surface of the seas. Through the mist, Jinora and Kai can make out alabaster hair and the ethereal shroud that partially shields the spirit. A broken melody echo from her direction and Kara leans over the railing a little further to hear her better.

Darling of mine, rest well tonight
May your dreams be sweet and bright
Under the sweet moonlight

Darling of mine, rest well tonight
For I'll live a thousand lives
I'll search a thousand times
To find you, my love

"The Lament of the Moon Spirit," Kai whispers to his awe-struck wife. "I've heard stories of sailors hearing her... but I never thought..."

Jinora nods mutely. The voice... she sounds so... so sorrowful. Jinora has always been very attuned with the spirits, but she's never experienced anything quite like this before. The melancholy quality of the lament is enough to bring tears to Jinora's eyes. She's also heard the legend of the Moon Spirit. Her grandmother once told her stories of the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe sacrificing herself to become the Moon Spirit.

In sacrificing herself, she left behind a lover of hers. After her lover passed, she's spent her nights searching for the reincarnation of her old flame. She calls out to his soul every night with her broken lament.

So far, she hasn't found him yet. Many consider the Moon Spirit's story a tragedy, and Jinora's inclined to agree. A former Princess cursed to spend eternity searching for her love, in order to save her people. A tragedy in every sense of the word.

To keep you in my arms
To keep you safe and warm
To find you, my love

So wait for me
And I'll find you
This I promise you

Kai tightens his grip on Kara's hand and watches as his little grandchild begins to cry. She's a young girl, and Kai hadn't expected her to react in this manner. Perhaps she takes after her grandmother, he wondered. After all, Jinora had a very special bond with the spirits at a young age as well. Though, admittedly, Kara has always been skeptical about the Spirit Realm and things of that nature, and always asked countless questions to quell her never-ending curiosity.

It's just this spirit in particular that Kara seems to have a connection with.

Could it be...?

So wait for me
And I'll find you
This I promise you

With that last stanza, the voice fades as the sun starts its rise over the horizon. Dawn's earliest rays settle over the deep blue of the ocean, and the moon slips from view, taking the Moon Spirit along with it.

The small family stands silently for a few minutes, taking some time to take everything in. Finally, Kai breaks the silence, grabbing Kara's wrist once more.

"Come, Kara," he says softly.

This time, the young girl doesn't give much of a protest. She follows her grandfather back below the deck not sure what to make of the night. After a few moments of staring out into the ocean, trying to catch another glimpse of ethereal spirit, Jinora joins them. It was an experience she knows she'll never forget. The grandmother hopes that one day, she'll have the chance to hear the Lament of the Moon Spirit.

Unbeknownst to her, Jinora would never have the opportunity to hear the Moon's song. For that night marked the last time Yue would lament.

Because when Yue's lunar gaze found the little child leaning over the ship's railings to hear her, Yue knew that she has found him again. And as the dawn broke, she promised herself that she would look after the young girl, just as Yue had down for the child's past life.

A/N: Okay, I just want to make this clear. Yue's relationship with Kara is like Katara's relationship with Korra. Yes, Katara loved Korra's past life Aang. And, yes, she loves Korra as well, but she doesn't love Korra like she loved Aang. That'd be kind of creepy. Same deal with Yue and Kara. Yue loved Kara, but not in the same way she loved Kara's past life. Just wanted to make that clear, because I will never ever romanticize or condone a relationship that's either pedophilic, toxic, or incestuous.

And I really wanted to write the one-shot regarding the requests I received from the last chapter, but I was really feelin' an urge to write about Yue instead? Which is strange because Yue didn't exactly appeal to me while watching the show. I mean, I liked her, but she didn't really stand out to me. Also, side note, while I was writing this one-shot, I was listening to Shoshana Michel's piano solo, The Moon's Lament. It gave me a lot of Yue vibes and helped me draft this little drabble up. So if you wanna check that out, I'm sure you can find it on Youtube.

But, yeah, sorry about the long rant. Next one will be either be a Fire Siblings one-shot(platonic/familial, of course) or a Tokka one-shot!