SHOW ME HOW TO MAKE THUNDER

𝑰 𝑵 𝑻 𝑹 𝑶 𝑫 𝑼 𝑪 𝑻 𝑶 𝑹 𝒀.

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An independent portrayal of 𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆 from AFAA, Olo'eykte and Tsahìk of the Mangkwan clan — supported by a concoction of personal headcanons and canon knowledge. Crossover friendly and open to various au’s / verses. 18+ only.

The felted walls of her yurt held the night’s quiet, and the low brazier breathed a thin, steady warmth. Varang sat cross-legged on a woven mat, the stolen RDA tablet balanced on her knees like a flat, glowing stone.

She turned it in her hands, blackened fingertips tracing idly overtop the corners, smearing ash against the smooth finish of the device. The marks on the screen meant nothing to her. Lines, hooks and swoops, tiny ants marching left to right. Skyman’s tongue: a mouthful of sand.

Quaritch had since left, but his voice lingered anyway.

‘𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘺𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘴.’

He’d laughed when he said it. Not cruelly, but as if it were obvious.

Varang had answered with silence, the way one answers a riddle not worth solving. But later, when the yurt flap was tied and the clan’s delight and chattering faded into the distance, the word returned to her. Hyena. He had shaped it with his teeth like a joke, and she was still debating whether she should take his throat for the offense or not.

She tapped the tablet, then hissed when the screen changed. More unreadable symbols. She nearly shut it off, but noticed the small round mark near the bottom… an icon she’d seen him press before speaking into the air – 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, he’d told her. This was Skyman magic.

Varang’s ears angled back in trepidation, for perhaps this, too, was a joke.

She pressed it.

A soft chime answered, bright and patient.

She hesitated, then spoke slowly, shaping the foreign sounds as she remembered them. “Hy… ee… na. Hyena.”

The tablet pulsed, then a voice filled the yurt, smooth and bodiless… “𝘏𝘺𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦–” And in the very language she had not yet grown accustomed to. “Kehe! Na'vi plltxe!”

The tablet paused, the color wheel spinning as it processed her command, and when the voice began once more, it was in her own tongue. “𝘏𝘺𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢, 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.”

Varang’s eyes followed the shape of the haired beast upon the screen, small and spotted with ears like the rounded flaps of skin at the base of a thanator’s quills.

The voice continued. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘺𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦

𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘴, 𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.”

Her lips twitched, a private grin slicing through the irritation that had formally taken hold of her features.

Dominant females.

She leaned closer, as if the tablet might smell the intrigue on her breath.

“𝘏𝘺𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴.”

The voice paused, then added, “𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦?”

Varang let out a short, sharp exhale through her nose, a sound her clan made when amused, or warned, or pleased enough not to bare teeth. She imagined Quaritch hearing her calls echo through the jungles, mistaking them for laughter.

“More,” she said, and watched as the tablet turned a different hue upon hearing the response.

Images flickered across the screen, shapes and colors she could only half-read.

Yellow eyes caught movement instead. The slope of shoulders. The way several bodies flowed as one. Mouths open, sound spilling out not as mockery but as signal. They reminded her of Viperwolves in this light. 

The tablet spoke again: “𝘏𝘺𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘯, 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴.”

Varang’s fingers curled against the tablet’s edge. Her people’s calls rose

in her memory: the way voices layered, climbed, fell. The way outsiders flinched, unsure whether to fear or flee. Her smile only grew as she reached to dim the tablet, letting the dark return.

༒ Writer is 25+ | Monte | She/They pronouns.

Currently in college, so longer replies are generally saved for when I have the time and energy. That being said, this is a mostly literate account, but I do enjoy crack and banter when it’s offered.

—༒—╰──╮𝓦𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔╭──╯—༒—