Sorry guys, I'm in the middle of exams. Somehow I managed to squeeze some time in for Avatar. Hope you enjoy another short chapter...


"So you're not going to stay with us?" Brianna asked for the third time.

"The Princess asked me if I could stay at her place," I told her while cleaning up her mess from breakfast. "She's pretty depressed about the break up."

"Yeah so is Sokka," she said, looking at Sokka moping in a corner.

"He looks more like pissed than depressed but whatever," I said warming my hands."It's clear to us that neither one of them are happy about what happened." Oddly enough I think Yue was taking it harder despite the fact that she denied Sokka from meeting her again. "I got to go" I said looking up at the moon then turned to Brianna "You should go to bed. The sun set long ago."

"I'm training myself to stay up late," she boasted.

"Why?"

"I always miss the action because I'm asleep!" I rolled my eyes and summoned Gin. And with that we flew off to then the temple. Gin flew down to the stairs where I spotted Yue, waving eagerly at us.

"You didn't have to wait," I told her.

"I wanted to," she assured me. I could see tears at the corners of her eyes. She had been crying again.

"We should go inside before the three of us freeze to death." I then noticed Yue staring at Gin. "This is Gin, my blanket." Gin nudged me with his nose making me laugh. "I was only kidding," I said, brushing his face.

"It's nice to meet you," Yue said before we went inside. Yue's room was made completely with snow and ice, of course. I never thought I would ever get tired of the sight of snow. She had animal skins covering the floors and her huge pile for her bed. Although, she did room have feminine touches such as a mirror, a jewelry box, and make up here an there.

"You don't need to get us anything," I told her and sat on the ground. "Gin and I don't sleep at night." Yue looked at us perplexed and concerned.

"Then when do you rest?"

"Sun rise, but sometimes when the moon is about to leave the sky. It's pretty rare for me to sleep before then." Gin curled up behind me and placed his tails over my lap.

"You both look rather comfortable," she said through her giggles as she removed her coat and slide under her covers. "I wish I had someone to cuddle with."

"Don't look at me" I joked. "I'm sure there are plenty of guys that would be willing to do that. If you asked Sokka he would be here in a heartbeat. No, that still might be too slow for him." Yue got quiet and looked down at her covered feet. "Do you really like him that much?" I asked in disbelief.

"What is Sokka like?"

"Well even though you only met him, you pretty much already know him." I said looking up at the ceiling. "He's loud, annoying, sarcastic, a showoff, weird, moody, a walking stomach..." It was weird that I didn't even have to think about how to characterize him. I could just imagine Sokka's face if he overheard me insulting him. He would have been so pissed, especially since I was talking to Yue. "He can be cold and heartless to strangers, trust me I've been in that position, but when he really cares about someone he will try his best to protect them. Well, to the best of his ability anyway," I laughed. "He's good at planning strategies which pretty much makes up for his lack of muscle. He sucks at telling jokes but sometimes he can come up with something clever. He's also…" I stopped when noticed Yue laughing.

"You seem to know a lot about Sokka," she said smiling.

"Yeah well, I've been with him for a long time but it's not like I'm an expert," I said putting my hands behind my head and leaning against Gin. "You'd be able to see sides of him if you hung out with him more."

"Rebecca, you know that I'm engaged now. I can't do something like that," she said in an empty voice. I closed my eyes and took in the silence.

"It's not a crime to be near the one you love," I said in a low whisper. "Although it may be more painful for you, knowing that you two can never be together. If I was you that's probably what I would do." There was a long silence before Yue cleared her throat.

"I should be asleep already" she said, turning her back to me. I made no attempt to continue our conversation. Whatever I'd say would probably just damage her even more. Several minutes went by but I wasn't sure if she had fallen asleep yet. I looked over at the single candle light before getting up to blow it out. "Rebecca," I heard Yue called me. I glanced back at the bed and saw Yue smiling up at me. "Thank you for being here. If we weren't here I'm sure I would be crying here alone." I wasn't too convinced that my presence was that improving, she was still crying after all. "It really is comforting knowing someone cares. It helps ease the pain."

"But not enough to stop your tears," I said with a sigh. "I think the only thing that will help you is if you let it all out. Just forget about your title and image, you need a good cry."

"I can't cry…" she began but I interrupted her.

"There are two ways to hide tears, darkness and water. When you need to cry either run into a dark area or if it's raining step outside and let your tears mix with the raindrops."

"Does it really work?" Yue asked sleepily.

"You'd be surprised, it's never failed me yet." When she didn't respond I took several steps forward until I was able make out her face in the darkness. Sure enough she was asleep. I smiled then walked back to Gin. Gin's tails curled up around me as I listened to the faint sound of her breathing.

((OOOO))

"Why do I need to be at this stupid meeting?" I muttered while letting out a yawn. I heard laughing from above and saw it was the Princess.

"Well you are my bodyguard," Yue told me. "And besides it's not like this matter doesn't involve you. Don't you want to make sure they're okay?" I leaned against the podium that Yue, her father, Master Pakku, and three other strangers were sitting on.

"I would if I didn't already know what was going on," I mumbled to myself. I let out another yawn, trying to force myself awake. While I battled with my eyes, Aang and Katara were explaining to Chief Arnook what had happened last night with Brianna and Sokka there for support. They explained that Aang was merely trying to teach Katara water bending for the sake of their friendship, even though he knew it was forbidden for women to learn such a skill here. Of course their talk proved to be ineffective and Master Pakku still refused to continue Aang's lessons.

"What do you want me to do?" Chief Arnook asked after listening carefully to their explanation. "Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?"

"Yes please," Katara said, expecting him to do that from the beginning.

"I suspect he might change his mind if you swallow your pride and apologize to him." Judging from his tone you could tell that he wasn't pleased with Katara. Probably because of the fact that she was disrespecting his culture and decision. Which I couldn't really blame him for, Katara is far too judgmental. And way too stubborn and prideful to step down to apologize. Especially if she doesn't think she's wrong, which is a majority of the time.

"Fine," Katara said after much hesitation. It was way too obvious that she didn't want to apologize. However, it made it all the more enjoyable for Pakku. He looked like a horse training trying to break a wild horse.

"I'm waiting, little girl" Pakku said, highly amused. I counted a total of three seconds before she responded.

"No," she said stubbornly. "No way am I apologizing to a sour old man like you!" Her anger caused the ice floor beneath her crack and several water filled vases at the side shattered.

"Uh, Katara" Aang began, trying to stop her but Katara ignored him.

"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me!" she said with confidence. I heard Yue gasp and the tension in the room grew. I watched Katara stomp out of the temple building, leaving Aang in a frantic state.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that," Aang said trying to unsure everyone.

"Yeah, I think she did" Sokka corrected him. I rolled my eyes before I stepped toward the three.

"She said she'd be outside. You guys should go with her" I told them.

"What about you?" Brianna asked. I glanced back at Yue then at her father.

"I have to stay by the Princess."

"Oh right," Brianna said, recalling my deal with the chief. For some reason I felt someone glaring at me from behind. I turned only to find a jealous Sokka giving me a disapproving look. I let out a sigh and fought the urge to kick him for being stupid.

"Come on guys we better go talk her out of this," Aang told Sokka and Brianna. "Rebecca, can you try and talk Yue into coming out with you. We could really use your help."

"Sure," I said indifferently. Although I was sure if I tried talking to Katara she would just get more determined to fight Pakku. "But I think it'll be harder convincing her father. He's a bit too over protective of her."

"I know how she feels," Aang said as he avoided eye contact. I didn't hesitate to flick him in the forehead.

"Hey, at least I give you some space" I told him before turning to Brianna and Sokka. "You guys better go." The three of them nodded and with that they left just as I saw Pakku leading for the exit. I slowly turned back to the podium while letting out a sigh, looking at the chief. "Now for the hard part..."