Wolf Moon chapter 5

When the lesson ended, Yué and Katara fell in step on their way back to the Palace. Yué’s guards followed at a respectful distance.

On Yué's end, it was a comfortable silence. She thought it was the same for Katara until she looked over and saw how openly unhappy the other girl was.

Oh.

"I plan to speak with my Father today," Yue offered in a murmur.

Katara's beads clacked against each other when she jerked her head over to look. The tiredness under her eyes lightened. "I would appreciate that," she said nearly as quietly.

Yue hesitated over what she really wanted to ask. It felt.. it was pathetic to reach for reassurance. But Katara wasn't like her. If she'd been born here, would she have escaped the fate Yué was hurtling to?

"Katara," she started, just so that she couldn't back down. It was hard to find the words. The best she came up with was, "Why?" Yué ducked her head to avoid eye contact. "Why do you want this so badly? Or rather… Why do you persist even though you know what the tribe says is counter?"

Katara's jaw tightened. "I don't think the rules are fair." Her voice was very terse. "If you're opposed to the idea, you don't have to trouble yourself on my account."

"Oh, no!" Yue rushed. She fluttered her hands upwards, distressed. She wanted to look at the guards to see if they were listening, but turning to look at them would be the fastest way to ensure they started paying attention. "That's not what I meant."

Katara blinked. "Oh." Her eyes softened. "It's the same answer," she said. Then her mouth twisted and she added, "Though I'm sure it helps that this isn't my Tribe. What I want is encouraged in my Tribe. So I don't really feel I'm doing anything radical."

Something squeezed inside her chest. She thought it was probably guilt.

'It was just luck of birth. If I was born somewhere else, I wouldn't be trapped like this.'

Yué nodded woodenly. "I see." She forced a smile. "I'm sure my Father will understand when I explain your perspective."

When she got him alone two hours later, he didn't immediately dismiss the idea.

"It has never been our way," Father said, but it sounded more like a test than an outright rejection.

"It's wrong for our women to learn to fight," Yué said quietly, a little fiercely. She was lying. "But Katara isn't one of ours. If she wanted to live here, that would be different.  But I think it would be very generous of our Masters to help the South in this way. If there was a young man who could come here to be taught, of course that would be ideal. But failing that, it seems that Katara's children will probably be the next Southern Waterbenders. It is never wrong for a mother to teach her children if there are no other teachers available."

Yué hoped that did it. She'd used a lot of the premises that her Father believed.

Chief Arnook leaned back with a slight frown. He didn't speak.

She resisted the urge to fidget. Father didn't like that much.

"Yué. My dear girl. Why do you advocate for her?"

She froze under her Father's eyes. Yue took a deep breath, trying to arrange her thoughts.

Because I emphasize with her.

(No).

Because I think she's right and this rule is foolish.

(Definitely not the thing to say.)

"Because she came to me for help," Yue said, and it was part of the truth. So she could hold her Father's eyes without shame. "Someone has to hear the concerns of girls. And…she's similar to me, don't you think?"

Her Father's face shuttered.

"Not in personality," Yué said in a rush. She had misstepped. "She's about my age, and she's the only daughter of their Chief. I can't help but feel for her." She twisted her fingers. "I don't think that she has the tools she needs for her role. If that was me…" she trailed off miserably.

Father sighed. He put his big warm hand on the top of her head and pulled it into his chest. "My sweet girl," he rumbled fondly. "I am so proud of your kind heart." He petted her. She relaxed into the affection, relieved. "I will bring your concern to the council. If they agree with your reasoning, the girl will be taught."

He pulled back and gave her one last fond pat. It warmed her. "You're all grown up," he mused. A smile played at the edges of his lips.

She couldn't help but smile back. That's why she was caught off guard when he said,

"Have you spoken with Hahn yet?"

Yue felt her smile freeze. "Not yet," she said. So much pressure! It hadn't even been a day yet. "I haven't seen him. I was watching Healer Yugoda's class this morning."

Chief Arnook hummed. "I understand." He ruffled her bangs but it felt hollow this time. "I am looking forward to seeing what he's made for you."

She didn't remember what she said to get out of the conversation. Yué wrung her fingers together fitfully, fleeing back to her rooms.

"Yue!"

A boy's voice was calling her in the distance.

'Is that Sokka?' Yue nearly turned to see, but- 'If it's Hahn, I don't want him to know I heard.' She kept walking quickly and slipped through the safety of the doors to her rooms. It was like the trap loosened at the doorway. No one could come here. Well - not no one, but no men other than her Father.

'I have to leave,' Yue thought, and it was a familiar problem. 'I worry about causing trouble if I leave with the Avatar. My Father won't let me go. I'd have to sneak out. The diplomatic repercussions for the Avatar and for the Southern Tribe… it could hurt a lot more than me.'

The obvious alternatives were leaving without a guide or leaving with someone else who didn't have diplomatic relations to speak of.

When she left, it would be with Aunna. Yué didn't have the heart to abandon her. And she couldn't bear to gamble with Aunna's life. They needed a guide, someone more worldly who could safely sail.

An idea occurred.

"It's a bad idea," Yue said to herself. She frowned and shook her head to shake the thought out. "The Fire Nation will probably not be good escorts."

She had the vague thought that they weren't all the same. Some of the Fire Nation people would be nice!

'But I don't know who is who, or how to find the good ones.'

And the bad ones would be bad. She knew that one of them would kill the Moon Spirit if he could. And others would kill her friends and family if they got the chance.

Yue had too much nervous energy to sit with her thoughts. She pulled out a sewing project and forced her shaking fingers to make progress on it.

'I don't have to have all the answers now,' she promised herself. 'I will do the work that is in front of me. The future will come at its own pace.'