Okay, so what? I didn't get five more reviews, I knew I wouldn't, but that's okay. I know that my killing-off of Toph is a downer, but there are happy things to come, I do promise that. Sorry updating took so long, my laptop was dead for an eternity, but it's back!!
Sokka's Sun and Moon
-Ki Ai Sky-
New Full Moon
She was told that she couldn't until the night of the full moon, but what she didn't know was that a sacrifice had to have been made for her to do so. Her intentions were clear and sincere, but she was selfish. She didn't want to share, and in her eyes, she shouldn't have to. She was always special, always admired. Perhaps in her time away, she'd changed.
Her first steps on the new ground were unsteady. She could feel herself shaking, and she began to wonder if her legs would give out. She was not used to this kind of terrain. The moon was high above her, basking her in its comforting light. This was what she was used to, night only. She hadn't seen sunlight in many, many months, only living in the light of night, and she feared that when she did it would burn her soft, tanned skin. She couldn't worry about things like that right now. She had more pressing issues.
She didn't even know where she was, or where he was for that matter. He couldn't be far, at least that much she'd known. In her time away, she'd only watched him. She'd become attuned for his essence, so she'd formed some king of philosophical bond with him. She'd never been out of her home and the place she'd been last. She had no sense of direction or any skills other than her bending. But even that wasn't so great. But, while she was gone, she had picked up a little knowledge and a few new skills.
Time changes people, it makes them different. If you take someone from something they love and can't live without, they become bitter. If you give it back, they will never let it go. They become selfish, and won't share or learn to let go. Time can make old people bitter about things, such as keeping off their grass. Time can make people insane, like most prisoners. Time can also heal, but that's not the moral of this chapter.
She kept repeating the same thing over and over in her mind: his name and how she was going to get to him. Of course he still loved her, how couldn't he? Everyone had wanted her. She was beauty, she was royalty. The perks were great of course. She was so full of herself, but she wasn't before. Somewhere underneath what she'd become, her old self was still there. He would just have to try harder to find her, and see past the new. Now, that didn't seem so hard, did it?
Her footsteps grew sturdier as she got into a rhythmic pace. She was walking faster. She could feel him now, not reasonably close, but not remarkably far. She would manage, but it would take her at least a day if she didn't stop. It was still very late, or perhaps very early. She couldn't tell. If she were lucky, she'd make it by sunset that day. Her breathing was heavy and pant even though it were fairly nice out in the night.
She didn't even stop to think about how lucky she was, for a lot of things. She was lucky for another chance. It really didn't occur to her that so few were ever given this option, and even though a sacrifice had to be made, she was concentrated solely on herself. She was lucky that she came back just as she'd left. She'd heard stories that others' faces had been stolen, been reincarnated as an infant, genders changed, appearances altered. She looked the same. She was lucky to be so close to him, and not in the place where she'd left. That journey would have taken years to accomplish and things would have been a hell of a lot more difficult.
But did she think of any of this? No.
The stars were bright and the loving moon guided her pathway. The ground was covered in grass and wildflowers, but she could see that way off in the distance there was a forest. And in that forest, there would be the gorge, where she would find him. The pace she traveled at became unnaturally fast. Something inside her clutched something else, and hurt her. She became aware that her conscience was screaming at her. She screamed right back at it, which quickly quieted and the pain stopped.
She stopped, panting heavily. She was at the edge of the forest, and the sun was beginning to rise. Time had passed very quickly, those few hours. That must have been because she was thinking about one thing and one thing only. He was in there somewhere, and she would find him. Her first steps into the forest, let her into a giant puddle of mud. Her shoes sank into the substance, ankle deep. She cursed and continued her walking.
She used her newfound skills to get the muck off of her feet, and they were clean once more. The terrain was scarce, but the vegetation was thick and everywhere. No wonder they had chosen this place to hide; it was nearly impossible to get through. If it were their enemies after them, they would easily be alerted to the presence, by smoke.
Yes, that's right, she was seeking the Avatar. Not that he was the one she loved, but he would know where the one she did was. The sun was rising steadily, but through the dense trees, she didn't hurt her eyes or burn her skin. But it did make her feel much weaker, the sunlight did. She felt uncomfortable, like she wasn't supposed to be there…. That was just the sunlight, right? Not the fact that here sheer existence in this world shouldn't be so. Of course not.
The forest was very vast, much harder to get through than she'd thought, but her timing was right. Sunset was approaching, and so was the moon. She was getting close, so close. She could see Temple now. The air was crisp with night, fresh as if it had just rained. It was as if the forest were welcoming her to her love.
She walked, somehow, not ran. Was she in awe? It was that she was merely stunned that everything she'd waited for was suddenly so close. Everything she ever dreamed of would come true. Now, she wouldn't let others get in her way. As far as everyone knew, she was still far, far away, so her previous engagement wouldn't stand any longer. How her father would be pleased to see her! Her with him… that would, well, might please him even more.
Closer still, her heart beat picked up once more. It was like a prisoner who was starving having a delicious aroma all around him and the food right in front of him. It was so tempting… She could see shadows and hear voices. His voice! He was with the Avatar, which made everything so much easier. They, and many others were gathered together, eating, and were not focused. The sun was setting now, the dusk arriving to greet the night. She imagined that the Avatar would have been able to sense that she was coming through the ground vibrations, but obviously not.
She stepped into the clearing, not thinking. All eyes turned to her, finally noticing that they had a visitor. She knew all of them, only because she'd watched them for a time, not too long ago, but not all of them knew her.
"Yue…?" he asked, unsure and frightened. His eyes were enormous, like they couldn't believe what stood in front of him.
"Hello, Sokka," she said. So he did remember her. Of course he would. She was Princess Yue of the Northern Water-Tribe, the girl who gave up her life so that the Moon Spirit would live, and henceforth became the Moon. Who could forget that? She took a quick glance over at the short-haired female warrior, her face not wrinkling, but her mind was. That girl will only get in the way. Sokka is mine…
"How?" he asked, his voice trembling. He was on his feet now, his arms outstretched towards her. She's dead, she's been gone for a year, he told himself. I saw it! I saw her die… He took a few steps towards her, his arms still out. His fingers met her soft skin, and he realized she was every bit as real as he was.
"I'm back, Sokka," she whispered to him.
In the eyes of Aang…
Aang saw her too, just like everyone else did, but something wasn't right. She was shadowed by a white haze, but when he saw Sokka touch her, he knew that she wasn't a spirit anymore. It must have been because he was the Avatar, he could and do things other people couldn't.
There wasn't something right with Yue. She looked the same and seemed to act the same. It seemed impossible, even to Aang. I don't know the Spirit World, but how can someone come back to life? The look in her eyes said many things; she'd changed greatly. She didn't appear to have the same frail princess essence upon her. What did she know that she didn't before? The possibilities seemed endless.
Sokka felt her skin under his fingertips, expecting her cheeks to have the same warmth that he'd felt before, but it was frozen. The cold he felt made him flinch away from her, taking a few steps back. He skin was as cold as snow, even though it had the tanned rosy color as before.
Then he remembered Suki. He loved Suki, but then again, he loved Yue before as well.
"Yue, how are you here?" he asked her.
"Yes, please tell us all. We deserve to know," Katara said, a curious tone on her tongue.
"Okay," Yue thought for a moment. Where to begin? She took a deep breath. "It was only a few weeks ago that I discovered that there was a way that I could return, to be with you, Sokka. There were a few details that needed to be taken car of, but on a full moon, I could return to this plane. The arrangements were made with a fellow spirit. They referred to me as Moon, because I was the Moon Spirit in the Spirit World.
"The spirit that aided me had many faces, and never told me his name," these words made everyone take a deep breath in. They knew who she referred to. "He spoke seductive words and told me he'd take care of everything. Things were different there, so I figured that I was just the way of the spirits. The words flowed off her off his tongue and I go everything I wanted. It was last night that I returned. I was lucky that I hadn't returned to the last place I stood, my arrival would have been nearly impossible.
"The doors between the Mortal and Spirit Worlds are incredible. I stepped through them and returned in this world. I was a few kilometers away, but I made it here before you left. I've been watching you all at night."
So that was the story of how Yue returned to their world. It also explained why Aang saw the cloud around her. But the story was so vague, no details, no names, no reasons. It still didn't explain how she was allowed to return. Would she travel with the Avatar Team? What about Suki? How was she going to deal with so many changes? What of Katara and Aang and their frolicking romance? Would Zuko be able to teach Aang how to master fire-bending? And was it a coincidence that Yue returned the night that Toph died? There were so many questions that needed to be answered about Yue and her new life. Would they be answered?
So… yeah, that's what I had planned. I would really like some more reviews, five please! There's so much that I plan to have happen, but this chapter was puny. I am really disappointed in this chapter, it was too small. I will add so many more details later and answer all of those questions above. Review!
-Ki