I hope my approach to this prompt will be understandable. And I overcame the temptation of an AU once again! I love AUs to be honest, I just thought that some readers might get annoyed if this will only be full of AUs, so I'm trying to tone it down a bit.
I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.
Day 17: Eclipse
"Ohirume, you've got to stop with this madness," Yue says upon entering her co-worker's study.
Ohirume raises an eyebrow at her. "Yue, I knew you'd come today. It's your natural path." Pulling up one corner of her lip, she turns back to letting plants grow out of pots. "But I won't back down. You won't step in my way."
Yue frowns slightly, but walks closer to the sun spirit. Normally, they get along pretty well, probably because Ohirume always had something against Tui.
"Whatever you'll do, you cannot put the Fire Prince on this path!" Yue declares, clenching her hands to fists.
It had only been recently, when she found out what Ohirume intended to do with the world. She saw the signs to that before, but since the spirits don't bother with human wars, she didn't think Ohirume would actually do that.
The dark golden, almost red hair of the sun spirit darkens a little bit, as she smiles almost dangerously at Yue.
In her mortal life she would have felt intimidated, or, at least, frightened, and she knows that her powers are not as strong as Ohirume's, but she has to try her best.
"You're still a very young spirit, and I do like you. So I'm going to forgive your insolence," Ohirume says softly, her hair almost yellow now, as she seems to forget about her anger.
"But…" Yue starts.
"No but! It's only logical, Yue! Opposites attract! Water and fire react together! I'm simply… pushing them a bit in the same direction," says Ohirume nonchalantly, as if there was nothing to it.
"That's not it!" Tensing her arms, Yue holds her chin high and keeps on challenging the sun spirit. "You are not concerned about them at all! You're not doing this for their happiness!"
Ohirume stands up in all her light and warm glory, her golden eyes glinting furiously. "My reasons are not your concern, moon child! And now get out of my sight, before I'll decide not to shine on you anymore." She walks closer to Yue, clearly looming over her, her hair now the colour of blood, curly and floating around her in her rage. "Don't you forget that you depend on me!"
Yue bites her teeth together. She is doing the right thing, and Ohirume is delusional. She has to settle this once and for all. "You must have seen what the future will bring, if you continue down this path, Ohirume. The world wants to be free of war. Your way would start a far worse, a far more cruel war!"
"I. Don't. Care!" Ohirume grits out between her teeth.
Yue tilts her head back to be able to keep looking into Ohirume's eyes. "You're not serious. If you let this happen, nothing on this world will ever need your light and warmth again. Let Katara go. Don't do this to Aang," she pleads.
Ohirume snorts. "Why should I care about the Avatar's feelings? He's none of my children, and he is really just that. A child. I don't hold any respect for him."
Yue contorts her eyebrows, feeling confused. But Aang is the bridge between the worlds. How can Ohirume be so apathetic towards him? He will save the world! "You can't be serious. He saved my people."
Ohirume whirls around, snapping close to Yue's face. "And killed thousands of my children in the process! No Avatar since Ummi had done such an unspeakable thing! Not even Kyoshi killed that many of her enemies!"
Yue swallows, finally understanding why Ohirume is doing all this. But she also feels confused and conflicted. Was what Aang did to the Fire Nation Navy really so cruel? And how much of a part did La have in all of this? Yue doesn't want Ohirume to become angry at La, too, since she really likes the dark skinned spirit.
Ohirume smiles and shakes her head. "No, Avatar Aang deserves to be taken away from him what is most precious to him! He will see how a person he thought was his friend will take his love away! Just how I saw my friend and ally kill my children."
Yue understands Ohirume's pain. She, too, felt desperate over all the lost lives of her tribespeople after the battle. But Ohirume must have lost so much more of the people she loved.
"But you would use one of your children," Yue tries to talk some sense into her co-worker again.
"It's not like he's objected to loving your waterbender. Prince Zuko will be fine and happy. It's only natural that they will fall for each other," Ohirume whispers, as if she said that to herself a dozen times already.
"But after that, you would make him suffer so much. Katara and Zuko will both be much happier, if you let Katara be with the Avatar." Maybe Yue also feels a little uneasy thinking that Prince Zuko and Katara should become a couple. The way Katara and Aang interacted seemed very sweet to her. It was by far not close to what she felt for Sokka, but it's still better than letting her friend be with a boy who doesn't care about knocking her out with force.
Ohirume's face contorts into a horrible grimace, burning and raging with fire, as she lets out a pained scream. "The Avatar doesn't deserve her love! Zuko…" She takes a shaky breath, running her hand through her hair. "… My son is conflicted. But with Katara at his side, he will be happy and safe. He deserves her far more than the Avatar does."
Yue takes in a sharp breath and walks closer to the sun spirit she had come to see as a friend. "Aang is a pure heart and soul. He would have never harmed your children, if La hadn't taken control over him. If you want to vent your anger at someone, then settle this with La, but don't punish innocent humans for that. I understand that you think Prince Zuko needs someone as good as Katara, but this relationship wouldn't end well for the world. Please, Ohirume. The world will be much more beautiful, if you let the Avatar be happy."
She shakes her head again. "No. No, he can't…"
Yue takes in a sharp breath. She knows that being soft won't get her anywhere with this spirit. She's far more stubborn than La.
"Ohirume! You will stop this!" she declares, making her powers deepen her voice and producing an echo. "Your wish for revenge will destroy the world, and I will not let this happen!"
The sun spirit raises her head. "Oh yeah, and how are you going to stop me, moon? You're no match against me! I control you!"
Yue feels her powers wane, as Ohirume seems to glow stronger, as if to prove her point.
No, Yue cannot give up. She's doing this for the world, her people, her family and friends, for Sokka. She won't let them die, and she won't let Katara be close to that horrifying man who came into the Spirit Oasis. But other than Ohirume she won't force the humans to do anything. If Katara would fall for the Fire Prince on her won, then so be it, but Yue won't let her be forced to feel like this by Ohirume!
"Not always, Ohirume!" Yue growls and feels surprised at how much determination she feels. She seldom felt so strong. Stepping forward she manages to loom over Ohirume, who sits down on the ground, glaring up at her. Yue's form prevents Ohirume to shine down on her children, and the sun spirit hisses in anger.
"If Katara and Zuko fall in love they will be together, but I won't let you use their love to hurt Aang or the world!" the moon spirit declares, keeping the sun spirit's light and heat in check.
She won't step back. Not when people need her. She will always step forward and stop forces from harming the human world. That is her destiny as the moon spirit.
Ohirume is a from me created variation of the name Ō-hiru-me-no-muchi, which is one of the names of a Japanese sun goddess named Amaterasu. Ohirume seemed to be the most fitting name for a sun spirit to me, somehow, but I don't know why.
I know most of the fanfiction writers use Agni as the sun spirit, but he was never mentioned in canon, and I wanted a female spirit as sun spirit, so that the dragon spirit would be male. I like the idea od the fire spirits mirroring the water spirits. One male, one female, one the source of the abilities of the benders, the other one the first bender of the element. The sun and ocean would be the sources, of course, and the moon and dragon are the first bendersof water and fire.
I also wanted a sun spirit whose creation has got ties to Japan, which inspires the making of the whole Fire Nation, and not to India. When I think about India and Avatar, there is always only the film coming to my mind, and I don't want that.
Thanks for reading!