Moon Drops

Live in the Moment before it is Gone, or Risk a Fate where you can't Move On

-Warning: this prologue heavily relies on flash forward techniques-

"Mom! Kayok hit me with magic water!"

"Mom! Akiak pushed me!"

"Mom! Nini did it, not me!"

"Mom! Kinto won't let go of my wolf-tail!"

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

All children are born innocent-corruption is a trait that is learned. When last she had sat in this spot gazing at the waters of Yue Bay in search of answers, lights had danced playfully across the calm surface. Twenty years later and those lights had disappeared. Republic City was again in disarray, but the Avatar could not help but think that this was somehow her fault; that she could have somehow prevented such devastation from happening. Try as she might, though, Korra could not think of a single thing she would have done differently in raising her children. All she could do was ask herself where she went wrong, and that question had led her back to Air Temple Island-or what was left of it.

She had not visited the island since her youth-during the days of her air bending training. She had been able to master the art of wind manipulation under the strict guidance of Sifu Tenzin, but Korra had failed to become a fully realized Avatar; she had never been able to connect to the Spirit World like the Avatars before her. She was often told that it was something that she could not force; she had to allow it to occur naturally. She had tried many things but in her neglect for her position as the great bridge between the two worlds, the spirits had become restless-and in some cases, ruthless.

Meelo rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. When she looked at his face, she knew she was looking at the face of Avatar Aang. Though Tenzin bore many similarities to his father, Meelo's resemblance to him was uncanny. "I will do everything in my power-"

"I'm the Avatar, Meelo-and I believe in the weight of that title."

The young man offered her a warm smile, "While it is always best to believe in oneself, a little help from others can be a great blessing."

__________

She sighed, staring out at the lights dancing on the waters of Yue Bay. She shouldn't have such conflicted feelings about this, but she did. She reveled in her solitary reflection, though, for if she revealed her true desires to anyone they would surely misjudge them. Korra leaned over the edge of the balcony and scrutinized the girl looking back at her from the water. Seeing nothing redeeming or likable about her features, she pouted and turned away from the image.

"I'm doomed to a life as a spinster, aren't I?"

The traditional customs of the Southern Water Tribe had often escaped her while she was growing up. As the Avatar, it was her duty to experience all cultures and walks of life in order to better understand the world. To derive her knowledge of diplomacy from one source would be to lack a full comprehension of balance as the keeper of peace and harmony between the nations. She did know what her native culture's traditions were, but the Order of the White Lotus had not allowed her many opportunities to act on such cultural rites. Many such rites, she had learned, were not shared with the sister tribe in the north. The members of the northern tribe were often regarded as arrogant and narcissistic, priding themselves in their admiration for art and beauty-as well as in other materialistic things. That was only one of the many reasons the tribes had long ago divided.

In the time of Avatar Aang, the tribes were amicable to one another-something that Korra assumed was in part to the south's delicate numbers. With aid from the north, the southern tribe grew in strength, but even that did not prove enough to keep their relations from growing sour once more. Korra frowned. It was obvious that she would eventually be forced into offering a compromise of peace to the separate tribes. However, she would first have to put an end to the remainder of Amon's little cult here, in Republic City. If she failed in that, then the other nations would have more to worry about than mere political treaties.