Sully family x eldest daughter reader
Part 56 < Part 57 > Part 58
A beeping cut through the still of the morning.
Registered the beeping and he eyes flew open.
Spider lay gasping for air.
Kiri shot upright. “Dad!”
Jake was awake before she finished the word, he was out of the hammock in an instant, feet hitting the floor as Neytiri startled awake behind him.
Jake crossed the marui in two strides.
The display on Spider’s exopack was flashing.
Spider’s breathing hitched again. His face tightened in his sleep, mouth opening beneath the mask as he tried to pull in air that was becoming thinner with every second.
“Where’s the spare?” Jake asked hurriedly.
Kiri was already moving. “It’s in the basket, I think!” She dropped beside the nearest storage basket and started throwing things aside.
“Hey.” Jake reached across and shoved Lo’ak’s hammock. “Wake up. Where’s the spare?”
Lo’ak rolled nearly falling out before catching himself.“What?”
Lo’ak blinked at him, still disoriented.
Then the alarm stopped. A single flat tone rang through the marui.
Kiri tore through another basket.
Lo’ak dropped to his knees and started searching underneath the hammocks.
Tuk woke at the shouting, rubbed at her eyes once and immediately began pulling through the smaller baskets because everyone else was doing it.
“Where is it?” Kiri cried.
Across the marui, (Y/n) sat up. The commotion had dragged her from sleep.
Kiri’s hands shook violently as she searched.
Tuk was crying now, throwing blankets and little woven bags behind her.
Lo’ak crawled halfway beneath one of the mats.
Jake was frantically looking.
Neytiri rose more slowly. She looked first at Spider then at her eldest.
(Y/n) sat silently in the hammock, watching them all.
Neytiri crossed to her. She reached out and cupped her daughter’s cheek. Her thumb brushed gently beneath her eye.
(Y/n)’s tilted her face into the touch.
Neytiri’s heart tightened.
“I got it!” Lo’ak’s shout broke through the marui.
“Dad!” He grabbed it and threw it.
Jake caught it with one hand.
Jake ripped the dead unit free and shoved the fresh one into place, fitting the mask properly over Spider’s face.
Spider’s body jerked again.
“Come on,” Jake breathed. “Breathe.”
Kiri dropped beside him. “Spider, breathe.”
Lo’ak hovered over Jake’s shoulder. “Come on, bro.”
Tuk squeezed between them. “Breathe, Spider.”
Jake kept one hand behind Spider’s neck. “Deep and slow.”
Spider sucked in a ragged breath. Then another.
“Deep and slow,” Jake repeated.
Air rushed through the mask. Spider coughed. His chest expanded properly this time.
Kiri let out something between a laugh and a sob. “That’s it.”
Spider dragged in another breath.
(Y/n) quietly slipped from her hammock. Her legs still felt weak. She steadied herself against the woven frame and watched.
Dad kneeling over Spider. Kiri holding his arm. Lo’ak crouched close. Tuk wiping tears from her face while begging him to breathe.
Something twisted deep beneath (Y/n)’s ribs.
Maybe Lo’ak had been right.
Maybe Spider was better than her.
Maybe he deserved worry far more than she did.
Maybe saving him really had been the right choice.
Maybe leaving her beneath that metal had been the right choice too.
Neytiri’s fingers suddenly closed around her wrist.
Her mother was watching her. Not Spider.
Neytiri said nothing. Her hand remained around her daughter’s wrist. Keeping her from disappearing into whatever had just crossed her face.
Across the room, Spider’s breathing finally began to settle. “I’m good,” he gasped through the mask.
Jake kept his hand against the side of his neck. “You sure?”
Spider nodded. “I’m okay.”
Kiri bowed her head against his shoulder. Tuk immediately hugged his arm. Lo’ak sat back with a long breath.
(Y/n) gently pulled against her mother’s hold. “I’m just going to go see Tiso’ha, Mother,” she whispered. So quietly that none of the others would hear.
Neytiri’s grip tightened slightly.
(Y/n) finally met her eyes. “I’ll be okay.”
The words did not reassure her. Neytiri had heard them too many times.
But (Y/n) eased her wrist free before her mother could answer. She slipped towards the entrance without anyone else noticing.
She stopped at the entrance watching them.
Jake was still checking Spider’s exopack. Kiri still had one hand curled around Spider’s arm. Lo’ak was talking to him. Tuk was wiping her face.
She swallowed against the ache in her throat and headed out.
She could tell where she wasn't wanted.
Neytiri watched her children play.
Spider laughed with them.
And something under her ribs begins to twist and burn.
Her claws dug into her palms.
I wish you had died instead of Neteyam
Pink skin. Her children were laughing with a pink skin. Worrying over a pink skin.
They had torn their sleeping place apart because he could not breathe, all four of them frantic to save him, and her own flesh and blood had slipped from the marui without any of them noticing.
Something inside Neytiri seethed.
Her son had turned around for that boy and never returned.
Her eldest had been lying beneath metal somewhere inside the sinking vessel while her sons ran in the opposite direction.
For Spider. For a pink skin.
Neytiri's fingers curled tighter. Her nails bit into her palms.
Her gaze followed Spider as he laughed at something Lo’ak said, and for one terrible heartbeat all she could think was that Neteyam should have been standing there.
Her son should be laughing. Her son should be arguing with Lo’ak. Her son should be alive.
They had nearly lost Spider, and everyone had reacted.
They had nearly lost their sister and now they hardly noticed when she disappeared.
That anger continued to burn, she could only remember that her surviving son had looked his sister in the face and told her that this boy deserved saving more than she did.
Neytiri's nails dug deeper. A small sting crossed her palms.
Neytiri felted eyes on her.
Jake had been watching her from several paces away.
He knew that face. The way her shoulders had drawn tight, and her ears flattened almost completely against her skull. The way her gaze stayed fixed on Spider without truly seeing the boy in front of her.
She looked mad enough to kill
Jake gave the smallest shake of his head. Disbelief more than reprimand. Don't.
A deep note rolled across the village. The blast of a conch-shell horn.
The tension between them broke.
Neytiri's eyes lingered a little too long. It made her stomach knot.
Spider laughed as Tuk clung to his arm. Lo'ak shoved him lightly. Spider shoved him back.
It felt.. normal. For the first time in days.
Then she looked back at her mother. Neytiri wasn't smiling. It was like she was looking through him.
And Kiri hated how her stomach wanted to turn inside out, the look in her eyes was far from kind.
She loved her mother. But sometimes...Sometimes she hated the way her mother looked at Spider.
He wasn't RDA. He wasn't Quaritch. He wasn't the people who had burned Hometree or hunted tulkun, he wasn't evil,
So why couldn't her mother see that?
She remembered another gaze.
Still wrapped in blankets despite the warmth.
Along with their mother, she hadn't helped search for the thing that would save Spider's life.
She remembered the look on her sister's face before she slipped away. There was an emptiness to it, something Kiri couldn't read.
She had never seen that look on her sisters face before?
Was this a result of her nearly drowning?
She knew (Y/n) blamed herself for Neteyam, blamed Lo'ak.
Did she blame spider as well?
She wanted to ask but she was afraid to know the answer.
Because if (Y/n) blamed Spider too...
If both her mother and her sister looked at him and only saw the reason Neteyam was gone... Then Spider really would be alone.
Her eyes drifted back to him.
She wished they knew how guilt-ridden spider was.
I wish they'd gone back for you instead.
He blamed himself enough already. He didn't need anyone else to.
He just hoped their big sister wasn't starting to hate Spider for something that wasn't in his control.
But how does she ask? How does she ask her big sister, their protector, the person that stood up for both of them if she hated him?
Because she didn’t know what to do if her answer was yes.
(Y/n) walked farther into the mangrove forest. The sounds of the village faded behind her until there was only the quiet movement of water through roots, the rustle of leaves high above and the occasional distant call of something hidden deeper within the trees.
She stopped beneath the canopy.
A few short yips left her throat.
The branches above exploded. Tiso’ha dropped from the canopy like a falling stone. (Y/n) barely had time to brace before the ikran crashed straight into her, wings snapping inward at the last second as her great head shoved against her rider’s chest with enough force to send (Y/n) stumbling backwards.
A sob tore from her. “Oh, Tiso’ha.” Both arms wrapped around the ikran’s snout. She buried her face against her, fingers gripping tightly around the familiar ridges of her jaw while Tiso’ha pressed closer, giving a low rumbling coo that vibrated against her chest.
(Y/n)’s shoulders shook. For a moment she just held her. Holding tightly to her greatest friend and companion.
Then her eyes lifted toward the other ikran resting throughout the trees, waiting for their riders.
Neteyam’s ikran was gone.
Tears spilled down her face before she could stop them. She tightened her arms around Tiso’ha. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed.
“I’m so sorry.” She did not know who she was apologising to anymore. Neteyam. His ikran. Tiso’ha.
Her little brother was gone. His ikran had gone with him.
Tiso’ha had nearly died because (Y/n) had driven her straight into a fight she had barely escaped.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice broke again.
Tiso’ha pushed her head more firmly into her chest, nearly knocking her backwards as another low coo rumbled through her.
(Y/n) gave a wet laugh through her tears. “Yeah.” She rubbed beneath the ikran’s jaw.
A hand settled gently on her shoulder. “You okay?”
She turned. Si’riya stood behind her.
(Y/n) immediately wiped at her face with the heel of her hand. She opened her mouth. Nothing came.
The first word would become a sob. She knew it. So she swallowed it.
Si’riya seemed to understand. She stepped forward and wrapped her arm around her.
(Y/n) stood rigid for only a second before giving in, forehead dropping against Si’riya’s shoulder while Tiso’ha rested her head heavily across (Y/n)’s back .
“I’m so sorry about your brother,” Si’riya said quietly.
(Y/n) bit down on her tongue.
Because there was Neteyam again. She could not answer.
Si’riya eventually stepped back, though one hand remained on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
(Y/n) stared at her. Such a simple question. She should have been able to answer it.
Instead her throat closed. Where did she even begin?
My little brother told me he wished I had died instead.
My father heard me ask for him and turned me away.
I don't know if I want to keep fighting anymore.
I don't know if my family even needs me.
It was a living fucking nightmare and Si’riya was standing there asking her where the beginning was.
(Y/n) only shook her head.
Si’riya’s fingers tightened gently on her shoulder. She didn't ask again.
(Y/n) looked toward Tiso’ha instead. “Did you help patch her up?”
Si’riya glanced toward the ikran. A faint smile finally touched her mouth. “Yes.”
“At the beginning she had the attitude of an akula.”
(Y/n)’s mouth twitched. “That sounds about right.”
“She tried to bite me twice.”
(Y/n) gave the smallest breath of laughter.
Si’riya smiled. “But she came around.”
(Y/n) ran her palm slowly along Tiso’ha’s jaw.
The ikran still carried signs of the battle.
Healing abrasions. Tender places where the impact had bruised her.
“Thank you,” (Y/n) whispered. “For looking after her.”
A deep note rolled through the forest. The conch-shell horn.
Tiso’ha lifted her head sharply.
She wiped the last of the tears from her face and pulled herself onto Tiso’ha’s back.
The movement still hurt. Her ribs protested. Her back pulled beneath the healing wounds.
Then she held a hand down toward Si’riya. “Shall we see what the commotion is about?”
Si’riya looked at the offered hand. Then up at her. “On the ikran that tried to eat me?”
“Please if she wanted to eat you you'd look like me.”
Si’riya snorted. Then took her hand. (Y/n) hauled her up behind her.
Tiso’ha immediately crouched then launched.
Si’riya’s arm snapped around (Y/n)’s waist as Tiso’ha punched straight through the canopy, leaves tearing past them before they burst into open sky.
Wind slammed into them as Tiso’ha spread her wings and caught the rising air.
Great floating creatures moved through the morning sky, broad bodies suspended beneath enormous gas-filled forms while long fins and trailing tendrils shifted gently with the wind.
And hanging beneath them were huge woven structures suspended by thick ropes and fibres, some shaped like long baskets, others broad enough to carry entire families. Fabric sails billowed from their sides, catching currents and helping steer them between the islands.
People moved across the platforms. Children leaned over the edges to look down at the Metkayina village.
The Wind Traders had come.
Si’riya leaned around (Y/n)’s shoulder. "Well.”
Her voice carried a little awe despite herself. “That explains the horn.”
(Y/n) barely heard her. Tiso’ha climbed higher.
A figure on one of the nearest gondolas spotted them and lifted a hand in a wave.
“Can we fly by?” Si’riya asked, leaning closer to be heard over the wind.
(Y/n) raised a brow, glancing toward the convoy ahead.
The wind tore past them as Tiso’ha banked closer to the nearest gondola. The man on board waving up at Si'riya and she waved back.
(Y/n) glanced back at Si'riya, a teasing edge cutting through the wind. “So?”
Si’riya huffed. “Oh, stop it and land. I’ll introduce you later.”
(Y/n) let out a short laugh, guiding Tiso’ha into a wide arc around the convoy instead of descending. “So this is the mysterious man you’re in love with?”
Si’riya immediately smacked her shoulder. “Don’t act like you don’t have one as well.”
(Y/n) didn’t answer right away. The wind filled the silence between them, loud enough to swallow thought.
Her fingers tightened slightly on the grip.
The Wind Traders unloaded bundles of dried foods, cured hides, carved tools, woven cloth and baskets overflowing with herbs gathered from places far beyond the reef.
The air smelled of salt, fresh timber and unfamiliar spices drifting from woven packs.
(Y/n) and Si'riya wandered between the traders, taking everything in.
Si'riya's eyes darted across the crowd. She broke into a run.
A young Na'vi man turned at the sound of her footsteps just in time to catch her as she threw herself into his arms.
Her feet left the ground as he spun her around before setting her back down only long enough to cup her face and kiss her.
(Y/n) stopped walking. She watched them laugh together. The way Si'riya looked at him. The way he looked back.
Something twisted inside her stomach. Fluttered. Then sank.
She remembered the last time she'd seen him. The two of them sitting high above Pandora on the edge of a floating mountain, their legs dangling over open air while the clouds drifted beneath them.
She remembered the nervous smile he had tried so hard to hide.
Maybe she should have said yes.
"(Y/n)!" Si'riya waved enthusiastically. "Come here!"
Si'riya slipped an arm happily through the young man's. "(Y/n), this is Txuay."
"My beloved." Then Si'riya looked proudly at (Y/n). "Txuay, this is (Y/n). Her family sought uturu here." She smiled. "And she's my closest friend."
They both exchanged greeting gestures.
"It is good to meet you," he said.
Si'riya's eyes darted around again. A guilty smile slowly spread across her face. "I need a favour."
(Y/n) folded her arms with a smirk. "That depends."
"If my Father comes looking..."
(Y/n) sighed. "...go on."
"Could you vouch for me for a few hours? He does not exactly approve of our courtship."
Txuay rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "That's... putting it kindly."
(Y/n)'s lips twitched. "And your brilliant plan is..."
Si'riya smiled wider. "You distract him."
(Y/n) raised a brow, "you know it's suspicious when I'm around and you're not."
"Exactly So you'll cover for me?"
(Y/n) looked between the two of them.
Txuay looked hopeful.Si'riya looked shameless.
(y/n) shook her head. "I'll go sit on a beach somewhere while you two..." She winked at Si'riya. "...talk."
Si'riya grinned. "Thank you."
She leaned over and hugged (Y/n) quickly. "You're the best."
Then she pointed at Txuay. "And you."
"Bring her back before Tonowari starts asking questions."
Si'riya laughed."Come on." She caught Txuay's hand. The two disappeared into the crowd together, laughing quietly between themselves.
Then she looked out across the sea.
Her thoughts wandered back to another smile.
Another pair of hands reaching for hers atop a floating mountain.
She wondered if he still wore the little woven bracelet she'd made him.
Or if he'd finally accepted she wasn't coming back.
(Y/n) wandered farther down the beach until the voices of the Wind Traders faded behind her. She lowered herself onto the warm sand; drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. The tide rolled gently over the shore.
It all felt so... ordinary. She wished her life could still feel ordinary.
Her thoughts drifted back to Tarsem. She missed him. She missed his smile. The way one corner of his mouth always lifted first before the other.
His laugh. The way he'd always somehow managed to make her forget, even for a little while, that there was a war waiting beyond the horizon.
She even missed the way he said her name. Like it was something precious.
Maybe she should have stayed.
Maybe she should have let someone choose her for once instead of always choosing everyone else.
Maybe she could have woken beside him every morning instead of waking from nightmares.
Maybe she would never have been trapped on that ship.
Never watched her family splinter apart.
She would have given anything...
Just to feel his arms around her.
"I miss you," she whispered to the empty shoreline. The wind stole the words before anyone else could hear them. She rested her forehead against her knees. "I should've stayed."
She bit on her tongue to stop her sobbing because a part of her knew.
Knowing everything she knew now— She still wasn't sure she could leave her family.
Neytiri found her daughter sitting alone where the tide kissed the shore. Her knees were drawn to her chest. Her tail curled tightly around herself. The wind lifted strands of her hair as she stared blankly out across the endless sea.
Neytiri lowered herself beside her without a word.
For a while they simply listened to the waves.
After awhile Neytiri spoke. "Your father is calling everyone together."
(Y/n) didn't look at her, instead she asked quietly, "did you ever regret choosing Dad over your family?"
The question caught Neytiri completely off guard, turned toward her daughter, slipped an arm around her shoulders and drew her gently against her side.
"Where is this coming from?" she asked softly.
(Y/n) watched the horizon. "I was wondering..." Her voice faltered. "If I should have stayed with Tarsem."
Neytiri's heart tightened.
She remembered the young hunter. The way his eyes never wandered far from her eldest. The quiet devotion that needed no words.
"I keep thinking..." (Y/n) swallowed. "Maybe I should've said yes."
Neytiri followed her daughter's gaze out across the water.
Would Tarsem have loved her?
Would he have cherished every scar she carried?
Would her daughter have found peace beside him?
Perhaps. Perhaps she would have smiled more. Laughed more.
The thought hurt because she couldn't give her daughter that happiness.
But it was also a life that no longer existed.
Neytiri rested her cheek lightly against her daughter's hair. "Do not dwell on paths not tread."
(Y/n)'s eyes filled again. "Do you think I would've been happier?"
Neytiri closed her eyes. What an impossible question. She could lie or she could wound her daughter with the truth.
"You cannot know." She brushed a loose braid behind (Y/n)'s ear. "You cannot walk two paths and compare where they lead."
"You think of the joy you might have found." Neytiri's thumb brushed softly across her daughter's knuckles. "But you cannot know the sorrow that path may also have carried."
She looked into her daughter's-tired eyes. "You cannot go back and change the past. So do not torture yourself with thoughts of what could have been."
(Y/n)'s shoulders sagged.
Neytiri rose first, then held out a hand and helped her carefully to her feet.
"Come." She brushed a little sand from her daughter's shoulder. "We should see what your father wishes to speak about."
Together they walked back toward the village.
The family was already gathered by the time Neytiri and (Y/n) arrived.
Spider looked between everyone, sensing something was wrong before a word had even been spoken.
(Y/n) drifted instinctively toward her mother, stopping close enough that their shoulders almost brushed.
Across the circle Lo'ak stood with his arms folded. Their eyes almost met. Both looked away.
"Your mother and I have made a decision."
Jake's gaze settled on Spider. "Spider you're going back to High Camp to live with Norm. The wind traders will take you."
Spider's jaw dropped, "what?"
Shock rippled through the circle. Kiri stared at him in disbelief, hurt beginning to show on her face. "No."
"No," Kiri repeated, shaking her head harder. "Dad..."
Lo'ak looked between them. "Dad, he can't."
Spider's eyes were already glassing over.
"I just want to stay here."
Jake's voice remained steady. "But you can't live in that mask day and night."
"This isn't fair," Kiri snapped.
"Please." Spider looked directly at Jake. "You're the only family I've ever known."
"This is what's best for you."
"But, Dad, he's our best friend," Lo'ak argued.
"There has to be another way," Spider pleaded.
Jake's voice remained firm. " It's too risky. You were one dead battery away from being dead yourself
"He belongs with his own kind," Neytiri said. The words landed like stone.
Kiri rounded on her. "And what kind is that mother?"
Kiri's voice cracked. "Alien?"
"No." Stepped in front of Spider. "Pink ass?" she shot back. "You hate them so much that's all you see."
Neytiri's expression never changed.
Spider looked as though he'd been struck. "Please, Jake... Mr Sully..." His voice trembled. "I won't be any trouble. You know I won't."
Jake closed his eyes briefly.
"Spider is part of this family," Kiri said.
"He will never be part of this family," Neytiri answered quietly.
Tears spilled down Kiri's face. She grabbed Spider's arm.
Jake looked away for a second before forcing himself to continue. "The caravan leaves today."
"It's a done deal. He's going."
"No, Dad!" Lo'ak stepped forward. "You can't do this."
The children all started speaking at once.
"Enough!" Jake's voice cut straight through them.
"This is a familyNot a democracy."
Kiri's chest rose and fell rapidly. "I hate you."
Jake's face fell. He stepped toward her, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "This is what's best, baby girl."
Kiri slapped his hand away. "No." Tears streamed freely down her face. "Don't touch me."
She turned and ran from the marui.
Jake watched her disappear.
He crossed to Spider instead and rested a hand gently against the back of his head.
Spider jerked away. "No."
Spider couldn't even look at him. He turned and followed Kiri.
"I already lost my brother." Lo'ak's voice was barely holding together. "I can't lose anyone else."
Without waiting for an answer, he stormed after them.
Tuk's ears flattened and hissed at him. Then she ran after Lo'ak.
Jake looked toward his eldest.
(Y/n) still stood where she'd been the entire time. Hands folded loosely in front of her. Eyes lowered.
He searched her face. "Don't suppose you've got anything to say?"
She looked up only long enough to meet his eyes. "No, sir." Her voice was so quiet he almost didn't hear it.
Then she turned and walked out after the others.
(Y/n) walked along the woven pathways, trying to put some distance between herself and the marui.
She did not get far. Kiri stepped directly into her path, Spider beside her, with Lo'ak and Tuk following close behind.
"Please, (Y/n)." Kiri's eyes were still red from crying. "You have to talk to Dad."
(Y/n) sighed deeply. Yeah, and how's that going to work? We've barely said two words to each other. "You heard Dad. I doubt there's anything I can do to change his mind."
"See?" Lo'ak scoffed. "I told you she wouldn't do anything. She's just like Mom."
"No she's not," Kiri snapped at him. Kiri looked back at her sister. "You don't want to get rid of him too, right?"
(Y/n) glanced at Spider. His eyes were wet.
"You don't hate him?" Kiri asked.
(Y/n) looked between her siblings.
Kiri was barely holding herself together. Tuk looked frightened and confused. Lo'ak was angry.
Spider looked like he was waiting for her answer more than anyone else.
(Y/n) cast her gaze away.
One hand wrapped around her opposite arm, gripping it as her tail curled tightly around her legs.
Kiri stared at her. She couldn't believe it, "You do hate him."
(Y/n)'s eyes snapped back toward her. "No, I don't."
"Then why won't you say anything?"
"Please, (Y/n)," Tuk said.
(Y/n) looked down at her youngest sister.
Tuk's eyes shone with tears. "You have to talk to Dad."
(Y/n)'s throat seemed to lock up.
Spider stepped forward. "Please, (Y/n)."
She couldn't look at him, she didn't know what she felt anymore.
Before she could find an answer, Jake's voice carried along the walkway.
Jake approached with Neytiri behind him.
Kiri immediately wiped at her face.
Jake looked over the miserable group of kids in front of him and sighed. "How about this." His eyes moved between them. "We all go together to drop him off."
Neytiri stepped forward. "Kiri, you said you wished to see your grandmother."
Kiri's ears lifted slightly.
Neytiri's gaze moved to (Y/n). Something about her expression changed. The hardness disappeared. A small, knowing smile touched her face.
(Y/n)'s eyes widened. Mom?
"Yeah," Jake continued. "It'll be a family adventure. Whole family."
That seemed to make everyone happy
Even Lo'ak seemed to lose some of the anger in his face.
Neytiri looked toward her eldest. "(Y/n). Walk with me."
They left the others behind, making their way down the woven pathways toward the beach.
Neytiri said nothing. Neither did (Y/n). They walked until the voices behind them faded and there was only the sound of the water moving beneath the platforms.
As soon at the stopped she threw her arms around her mother.
Neytiri caught her immediately.
"I don't know what to say," (Y/n) whispered. She couldn't believe it. A chance to go back. Did her mother plan this— agree to this with her in mind.
Neytiri held her tightly. "Then say nothing."
(Y/n) pulled back slightly.
Neytiri brushed her daughter's hair away from her face. "I simply wanted to give you the chance to walk the path you did not tread."
Neytiri's thumb brushed gently beneath her eye. "To give you a chance at happiness, even if that happiness takes you away from me."
Tears immediately welled in (Y/n)'s eyes. "I..." Her voice caught. "Mom?"
Neytiri smiled sadly. "You are still hesitant."
(Y/n) looked toward the ocean. "What if this pain fades? What if I go back and realise I made the wrong choice again? What if I start missing you?"
Neytiri's heart ached; she knew that raising a child meant one day watching them choose a life beyond you and her daughter's time to leave was coming.
"You must follow your own path," Neytiri said quietly. "Go where your heart takes you." She cupped her daughter's cheek. "Even if it takes you away from me."
(Y/n)'s lower lip trembled.
Neytiri brushed another loose strand of hair from her face. "I knew this day would come." Her own eyes began to sting. "The day you would leave me."
Neytiri pulled her daughter into another tight hug. (Y/n)'s arms immediately locked around her.
Neytiri shut her eyes. For a moment she remembered holding this same child when she had been small enough to fit entirely against her chest. Tiny hands tangled in her braids. Little feet tucked against her stomach. A daughter who once needed her mother for everything.
And perhaps there was someone who could give her the happiness Neytiri could no longer give her here.
It hurt. Great Mother, it hurt. But Neytiri would not keep her daughter beside her simply because letting go frightened her.
"Fly with me," she whispered against her daughter's hair. "One more time before I must let you go."
For several seconds she couldn't answer. Then she nodded against her mother's shoulder. "Thank you, Mama."
Neytiri pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I would do anything for your happiness, ma'yawntu." She held her daughter tighter. "Anything to give you that chance."
She didn't know if Tarsem still wanted her.
She didn't even know whether returning to the forest would make anything hurt less.
But her mother was giving her the chance to find out and she was going to take it.
Blinking away tears, Neytiri pulled back, "come we must get ready to leave."
(Y/n) nodded, brushing away some tears and followed.
(Y/n) found Si'riya farther down the beach. She was curled against Txuay's side beneath the shade, his arm draped comfortably around her waist while Si'riya rested her head against his chest.
(Y/n) almost felt bad interrupting.
"Sorry to steal her." She stopped beside them. "Can I borrow Si'riya?"
Txuay looked down at Si'riya.
Si'riya leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips before climbing to her feet. "I'll be back."
Si'riya smiled before following (Y/n). For a while they simply walked. Their feet sank into the wet sand as the waves rolled over their ankles, neither saying anything.
(Y/n) wasn't sure how to start.
How did you tell your best friend that you might never see them again?
Eventually she sighed. "My family and I are heading off with the Wind Traders to take Spider back."
Si'riya glanced at her. "Okay..."
(Y/n) kept her eyes ahead. "I'm thinking of staying in the forest."
(Y/n) made it another few steps before she realised and turned around.
Si'riya's face had fallen. "You're leaving?"
The word felt strange to say aloud. (Y/n) rubbed her arm. "I think I'm gonna stay. See where it leads."
Si'riya stared at her. Then her eyes narrowed. "Damn you."
(Y/n) eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Si'riya marched forward. "Damn you."
"Damn you for being my best friend and then leaving like this."
Si'riya rested a hand on her shoulder. "We could've had a giant last hurrah."
"We could've drank until we passed out, woken up on the shore with absolutely no memory of what happened and regretted every decision we'd made."
A laugh escaped (Y/n). "I don't think I'd survive the hangover and travel."
"Then we would delay the caravan."
"For something important, yes."
(Y/n) shook her head, still smiling. Then the smile slowly faded. She held out her hand. "I won't forget you, guppy."
Si'riya looked down at it. Then back at her. She took it. "Yeah, Demon." She squeezed her hand. "I won't forget you either."
Si'riya's expression softened. "I hope wherever you end up, you're happy."
(Y/n)'s throat tightened. "Yeah." She looked toward the horizon. "And... I don't think I'm coming back."
Tears began gathering in Si'riya's eyes.
(Y/n) barely had time to react before Si'riya threw both arms around her.
(Y/n) stumbled back a step before hugging her just as tightly. "I'm gonna miss you, guppy."
"Shut up, Demon idiot." (Y/n) laughed wetly against her shoulder. "That's not even a good insult."
"I am upset. Give me time."
That only made (Y/n) laugh harder, although it quickly broke into something closer to a sob.
Si'riya squeezed her tighter.
For a while neither moved.
The ocean washed around their ankles.
Eventually Si'riya pulled back. Her hands remained on (Y/n)'s shoulders. "So you're really considering not coming back."
(Y/n) nodded. "I think so."
(Y/n) looked away. "Partly."
Si'riya knew immediately there was more. "And the rest?"
(Y/n)'s tail curled around her ankle. "I don't know if there's anything for me here anymore."
Si'riya studied her face. "Is this because of your brother?"
(Y/n)'s eyes dropped to the sand. "Neteyam. Lo'ak. Dad. Everything."
Her voice became quieter with each word. "I just..." She struggled for a moment. "I don't know anymore."
(Y/n) rubbed at her eyes.
"I look around and everything reminds me of something I don't want to think about. I go home and Neteyam isn't there. I look at Lo'ak and I'm angry. I look at Dad and..."
(Y/n) shook her head. "I don't know."
Her voice cracked. "I just know I can't stay here pretending I'm okay."
Si'riya's hurt disappeared completely. "So you're running away."
Si'riya gave her a sad smile. "At least you're honest."
(Y/n) let out a weak laugh. "I'm trying."
Si'riya reached out and caught her hand again.
"Go find Tarsem. Find out if that path is still there."
Her fingers tightened around hers. "And if it isn't, find another one."
Tears filled (Y/n)'s eyes again.
Si'riya crossed her arms. "But you do not get to disappear. You've got to come back and visit.
(Y/n) laughed softly. "Okay."
"I mean it. You come back and visit."
"I don't know. Figure it out. You're the genius warrior."
"That's not how messages work."
"Then scream very loudly from the mountains."
Si'riya smiled through her tears and pulled her into one last hug. "Go find something that makes you happy again, Demon."
(Y/n) shut her eyes and held onto her. "I'll try, guppy."
Next >
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