Wolf Moon chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"Congratulations," Yué smiled. She felt it crease her eyes. "You deserve this chance."

"I'm so jealous," Aunna moaned. She stabbed her needlework a little too hard. "I can't do anything."

Yué frowned at that. It wasn’t true at all. Aunna was adept with her healing, and she could stir a drink by holding her hand over it. It certainly wasn’t nothing.

Katara puffed up pridefully. "Ask," she urged. "You can do it! You can show everyone that you deserve training."

Aunna and Yué exchanged looks laden with a whole conversation. Katara missed it, focused as she was on her own work. The weight of a whole childhood spent chafing at the bit was too much to dust off now to show to a guest.

Besides, it was better not to telegraph to anyone at all that they wanted out unless they were risking to ask for help.

"Maybe," Aunna said noncommittally. She refocused on her work. With Katara here, they were making clothes that were actually suitable for the North, albeit for the less chilling seasons. Katara would know the difference.

'Maybe we really should ask her for help. I want to get out of here.'

Her near miss with Hahn last night felt like a bad dream in the light of day. Katara was still flush with her own victory in a battle of wills with Master Pakku. It was impossible to imagine that she would balk at Hahn after that.

Yué imagined that conversation for a moment. Would Katara be able to help? Perhaps she'd sneak them away on the flying bison. Perhaps she'd stomp off to argue with Master Pakku and the Chief.

She bit her lip and tied off a thread, finishing the hem on a draping sleeve.

Better not to risk it. Katara was an admirable girl. But she was an outsider. She didn't understand.

Katara didn't stay for very long. After about an hour spent repairing clothes, she excused herself to go spend time with Healer Yugoda. Katara was going to be very busy mastering both aspects of waterbending as fast as she possibly could. She’d already started lessons with Master Pakku.

The instant the door shut behind her, Aunna and Yué folded their projects and switched them out for something lighter. Yué took a moment to stretch out her hands, rolling her wrists and pulling her fingers back.

"That's awful," Aunna hissed under her breath. "You shouldn't move like that. No one should move like that."

Yué held eye contact and pulled her thumb back to touch her wrist.

Aunna shuddered and looked at the ceiling. "Disgusting!" She complained, tossing her hands up.  

Yué snickered and put a catlike arch in her back, stretching that out as well. The muscles felt better in movement.

The door swung open. Both girls lifted their heads to look. They were too disciplined to look nervous, but Yue knew her heart was sunk to the floor.

Healer Yugoda stood there. Katara was a few feet back in the hallway.

“Healer,” Yué greeted. She rose to her feet and balled up the dress in her hands. She let it fall to the seat as she stood. Don’t look at that, she willed.

“Grandmother,” Aunna echoed. Her expression turned sunny. “Do you need me?”

Healer Yugoda paused. Her eyes narrowed in a squint and Yue saw the moment they dropped down to the silk dress that Yué had been working on.

Oh. Oh, no.

‘Her best friend ran away from a marriage when they were young. Would she know why I’m making summer clothes?’

“Yes,” said the healer. Her dark eyes were knowing, but they moved away from Yué to rest on Aunna. Yué couldn’t breathe. She knew that she wasn’t hiding her sudden distress well enough. She saw Katara frown, a line forming between her eyebrows. Yué managed a weak smile. The healer’s voice was as level as always when she continued. “I would like your help with the first part of Katara’s lesson tonight.” She switched her focus back to Yué . “Could you spare Aunna for the evening, Princess?”

Yué inclined her head. “Of course,” she said.

Yugoda gave a thin smile. “My thanks. And I apologize for disturbing you. I did not realize how busy you are.” Her glance at the fabric felt meaningful. “Your wedding trousseau seems complicated.”

Katara’s face dropped in outrage.

Yué might have laughed at that reaction to realizing why Yué was sewing so much, but she felt quite grim and pale. Did Healer Yugoda really know? What would she do? Was she saving her thoughts for the Chief?

She spent the rest of the evening with a twist in her stomach. Yué sat in her private rooms and waited for the anchor to drop.

'Any moment now,' she thought. 'Father will come and confront me.'

The hours stretched on. She was too much of a coward to go to dinner. She went to bed and woke up. Yué sat up and finger combed her hair as she realized that Healer Yugoda hadn't said anything.

Well. That seemed very wrong.

She uneasily got out of bed and started her day. She wanted to hide away, but if Yugoda really hadn't realized what Yué wanted to do… It was probably best to act normally.


With that in mind, she regretted hiding away from dinner. Yué often had breakfast privately, so there was nothing odd about it when she had greens and lightly boiled penguin seal eggs brought to her room. After that, she went out and watched Katara sparring with the water ending students.

She was on her way to start reviewing the plans for the midwinter feast when a male voice called her name from behind.

She startled, putting a hand to her chest and wheeling around with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry," Sokka apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you- whoa!" He scrambled to a stop, sliding on the ice a little closer than he probably intended. His face was flushed pink, and his teeth were very white in his grin. Her heart thudded in her chest. He seemed like a very genuine and kind person.

"That's alright," she said, keeping her tone very neutral. He smelled… good, actually. If she was close enough to know that, she was too close to him. Yué took a demure step backwards.

Sokka flushed an entirely different color.

Belatedly she realized that he probably thought she moved away from him for a different reason. Yué felt her own face flush in embarrassment, but she didn't explain herself. She absolutely could not tell him that she thought he smelled nice.

"Sorry," he said again, smile tight and miserable this time. She missed the grin. "I wanted to ask you how you're doing, and check in about what my sister said you said and what she said you can't say." He waved a finger around in a circle that was probably supposed to be descriptive.

She followed the movement, baffled. "I don't understand," Yué said after a moment.

Sokka cleared his throat. He glanced around. "You know…" he let his voice trail off and tapped meaningfully at his throat.

Oh.

"There's been no change on that," Yué said. She worked furiously to force down a flush. Oh, no, she couldn't talk about this with him. She could barely talk about Hahn with Aunna.

Sokka aimed the full force of that boyish grin at her again and it left her stunned. "That's great!" He chirped.

Yué blinked up at him. She felt like a bird, she thought. She felt like a bird who had just flown into clear ice.

"I…" she trailed off, staring at him.

Sokka looked like he was daydreaming himself. He ducked his head to the side and immediately stole a glance at her. "I uh…" He scratched the back of his head. "I want to confirm something." His gaze jumped behind her, checking for something.

Yué found herself copying him by making sure no one was approaching in her line of sight.

"It's about your jewelry," he said, dropping his tone a little. Sokka cleared his throat. "Katara says that you don't really want it and we should play keep away. Before I do anything, I just wanted to make sure that's what you want." He flashed a sheepish smile at her. "Katara can be a little bit of a hothead and hear what she wants to sometimes."

Yué giggled despite herself. "She is passionate," Yué agreed in a secretive tone. She put a hand to her collarbone. "But.." she had to clear her throat to get the words out, as small as they were. Her voice got quieter and quieter as she said, "she… Katara isn't wrong." Yué found herself looking down at her shoes before she finished speaking.

There was a pause. Then Sokka said, artificially cheerily, "Heyyy, buddy!" He shot off behind her. Yué blinked and turned to see him on a beeline for Hahn. Her eyes went wide as Sokka budged up into the other boy's personal space and slung an arm around his neck.

"Get off of me," Hahn hissed, elbowing.

Sokka dodged it with an expertise that made Yué suspect Katara had some dangerous elbows. She took a step backwards.

"Buddy!" Sokka grinned right up into Hahn's face. His grip seemed to tighten. "Oh man, it's good to see you. In fact, I was looking for you. Did you think…"

That was all Yué saw before she nodded at the two boys and turned away to hurry down a different street. Open frustration flashed over Hahn's face in the moment that she turned.

As she left, she heard Sokka loudly pontificating about spears.