Avatar the way of water x reader insert
After your terminal diagnosis, you reluctantly agree to participate in an experimental trial, involving the first ever humans to experience cryogenesis. However, something goes terribly wrong when you wake up strapped to the operating table, and unusually blue.
Warnings- crude language, descriptions of death and mild torture, descriptions of terminal illness, depression/mild suicidal ideation, graphic violence,
Word count- 4.4K
The Pa'lis thundering hooves fill your ears as you gallop through the forest, "Try and keep up Snaytu! (loser!)" you yell back at Neteyam, "Kame! (watch!)" he gallops up beside you.
A hearty laugh bubbles up through your chest, your Pa’li snorting loudly in response, running harder than ever.
The glowing forest scenery blurs by as you race along undiscovered trails. You dash across the shallow river with a cheer, “Woo!” You bring yourself to a stop, mud spraying everywhere, “That’s what I’m talking about!”
Neteyam rolls his eyes, trotting up beside you “Well done skxawng”, you poke your tongue out at him “Nyahh-“ a sudden growl rumbles from the bushes behind you. A large pack of Nantang emerges, baring their teeth at you.
Bolting across the river, you and Neteyam fly through the jungle. Jumping over fallen trees and branches, you dodge the snapping jaws of the wolves.
You aim your bow at an approaching cluster of Värumut (Vein Pod), following it with your arrow, you wait until you just past it before shooting. Boom! An explosion of foul smelling gas erupts, a plume of green smoke fills the air, the wolves retreating in fright.
You continue to ride all the way back to Neteyams ikran, Oare (moon). Coming to a slippery stop, the two of you laugh in disbelief, blood pumping with adrenaline, "Holy shit!-That was insane!" he pants breathlessly. You nod in agreement, unable to catch your breath to speak.
"Oh fuck- don't tell your dad-" you heave. He laughs at you "Do not worry- I won't tell"
Setting your Pa'lis go, you climb on Neteyams' ikran, wrapping your arms around his torso tightly. Launching off the ground you begin the short flight home, the cool evening air soothes your heated skin.
Landing inside the rookery, you help him pack his gear away before the two of you make your way home for dinner. You stroll your way through High camp, a sense of ease and contentment fills your heart.
Since your coming-of-age hunt, you had now been permitted to travel down to the ground on your own, without an adult, or accompanying the children. And despite not going on any more hunts, you still use your bow often, for shooting lift vines, scaring away predators, and collecting vine fiber plants.
You had also been practicing your weaving skills, moving from simple baskets, to floormats and patch-jobs on the Kelku pods (house), you had even begun designing some macrame necklaces with shells and crystals inlaid into them.
Your senses had also sharpened. Following the various animal trails and identifying them came easy now, each one of them had their own unique set of markers that you could read. It made moving through the forest a lot easier and safer.
The rest of the Sully family sit around a communal fire. Walking up to them you join them in preparation for dinner, "Where were you two?" Lo'ak looks at you suspiciously as he chops the vegetables.
"Out riding" you smile at him innocently. He narrows his eyes, not believing you for a second.
Tuk suddenly interrupts her brothers' interrogations with her flying ikran impressions, literally swooping in to save the day. She dances across the woven mats, flapping her arms as she lets out a series of yips and squeaks. You laugh at her creative interpretations, silently thanking her for accidental intervention.
After eating, you sit down with Kiri to work on your Waytelem, (Song chord). So far you had a large purple bead to represent your rebirth, then a section of blue spiral knots to signify your learning journey, followed by one of the Yerik teeth shaped into a long cylindrical bead, to symbolize your first hunt and becoming-an-adult-journey. You were quite proud of you stubby little song chord so far, and even though it didn't reach around your arm yet, you still hung it proudly from the waistband of your loincloth.
Spider sits down next to you, watching as you fiddle with the unfinished ends of your song chord, "How's it coming along?" he asks quietly, as if he wasn't supposed to be talking about it. "Really good actually, I can't wait until its long enough to wear" you admire your work, heart swelling with belonging.
Unbeknownst to you, Spider looks on with jealous eyes, his heart clenching uncomfortably, as if something dark and sickly was twisting itself around him. He didn't want to feel this way towards you, you didn't do anything wrong. He just wishes he was in your shoes. You've gotten everything he's ever wanted, a Na'vi body, acceptance from the clan, support from Jake and Neytiri, and you weren't even born here, you were from Earth! Arguably you were more human than he was.. but it didn't matter, you got an Avatar body and he didn't. So you would always be more Na'vi than him.
He watched on in envy as you retired to the Sully family tent to sleep, leaving him at the fire with some random clan members. After some time, he himself retires to his bed. Entering the airlocked room, the many other humans had already settled into their bunks for the night. A deep lingering sadness settles in as he slips under the covers, silently praying to himself that sleep comes easily tonight.
Laying in your hammock, you chat idly with Kiri until your lids grow heavy. A deep calmness settling over you as you drift off to sleep, excited for the days to come.
After feeding the ikran and processing some of the hunters last kill, you sit down for lunch and work on designing your first tattoo. You'd always wanted one back on Earth, but could never afford it, and now that you had your new body you were ready to decorate it.
You had decided on a symmetrical tribalism tattoo, outlining the shape of the Yerik on your left hand. An ode to your first hunt.
It wasn't common for the Omatikaya to be tattooed like this, but you felt like you're unique circumstances allowed for some cultural flexibility, plus it was your body now, you were going to do what you wanted.
You crush the charcoal into a fine powder, depositing it into a small bowl, you mix it with the alcohol you'd snatched from the science geeks earlier.
You'd already sharpened a Yerik bone into a fine point needle, gently using it to sketch out your drawing onto your skin. Dipping it into the dark paste you begin the long and painful process of hand-poking your tattoo.
You chew on the stalk of the Tana'rìng plant, numbing your tongue and relieving some of your discomfort. After some time the adrenaline finally kicks in and your hand stop hurting every time you pierce it. You spend the entire afternoon working away at it, finally finishing it around dinner time.
You stretch your arms above your head, your back cracking painfully in relief, "Ohh- that sounded sick" Lo'ak cringes, "How is the tattoo going?" he peeks over your shoulder.
"Finally finished.." you huff in exhaustion, admiring your clean work and very swollen hand. He pauses, taking a moment to think "Looks infected", "Oh fuck off" you scoff at him, him laughing in response.
You wrap your wounded hand in a loose weft bandage, securing it tightly before cleaning up your project tools and heading for dinner.
You show the Sully's your fresh ink, "Wow very nice" Jake pats your back in that awkwardly-supportive-dad kinda way.
"It looks like a Yerik", "It is a Yerik" you deadpan at Neteyam.
Tuk grabs your arm, forcing it down to her eye level "Does it hurt?" she pokes your raw skin, "-yeAOW!"
Your tattooed hand had long since scabbed over and healed, the dark blue ink settling into your skin nicely.
Today you worked with Mo'at inside her apothecary, crushing pungent herbs into a paste to later be used as an antibacterial salve.
"How is this?" you show her your work. She inspects it "Good, now mix it with the tallow" she passes you a bowl of soft creamy paste. You pour the grassy mixture into the other bowl, folding it in with your hands.
"Knock, knock-" Norm pokes his head inside the tent. Did he just say knock knock..
"Do you mind doing me a favour?" he fiddles with his transparent tablet. You squint your eyes suspiciously, "Uhh.. sure, what do you need?", "Well, we did a survey of some of the old abandoned R.D.A bases, and found some function tech that could really help us up in High camp",
"Yeah alright" you shrug looking to Mo'at for permission. She nods in approval "Go, you have done plenty" she shoos you out of her tent.
"So where am I going?" you walk with Norm to the front of the cave. "Well.. the tech is at Research Lab Alpha.." he pauses, an unspoken weight sinks heavily in the silence.
"Okay.. and?" you look at him skeptically. "Research Lab Alpha- well, it's the lab you woke up in.." he cringes, obviously hoping not to scare you off. You take a moment to think "Okay.. well, I just won't go near any flesh eating moss then, duh"
He sighs in relief "Okay, I'll keep you updated on the comms and.. here- take this, it'll get you into most area of the base and help you with the GPS location" he gives you a raggedy make-shift-looking-gun. Squeezing the trigger it lets out a zapping noise, "SID can hack into and disrupt the R.D.A systems. Use it to open doors and activate the computers"
You nod, tying the machine to your waistband, "I'll be back by eclipse" you shrug your bow and quiver over your shoulder before heading out.
Jogging along the great vines, you make your way down towards the ground, unbeknownst to you with a little shadow following you. You land on the earth with a thud, the cool soil blessing your feet.
"Hey wait up!" you turn around to find Lo'ak leaping from the vines onto the ground next to you.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you grounded?", "Yeahhh, but I thought I'd tag along"
You stutter, completely flabbergasted by his audacity "No, no you're going to get me in trouble. Fuck off back home" you turn to leave. "I thought you'd say that, either you let me tag along or.. I tell dad about you're little run in with the nantang"
You scoff at him "That wasn't even that bad.. you're dad does way worse all the time!", "Maybe, but mother won't be impressed by you lying. Especially when you are trying to be allowed your first ikran" he grins smugly.
You glare at him "You little shit-" you whisper before rolling your eyes, "..fine you can come with, but I am in charge!" you poke his chest.
"Pfft you know I grew up here right?" he skips in front of you, "Yeah but I'm the adult here" you chase after him "Plus you don't even know where we're going"
"Yeah I do, we're going to your old lab. Come on I'll lead the way!" he rushes through the undergrowth, "Wait!" you hurriedly follow behind him.
Speeding through the forest you and Lo'ak make your way back to where he first found you, crawling through the vent and into the facility. You wander around, looking for the items on Norms checklist, “You know if we split up we can cover more ground” he kicks some debris around. You ignore him, ears flicking back in annoyance.
He huffs “Come on we’re inside, nothing can get us in here” he lazily tosses a stick at you. You stare at him with dead eyes “Fine.. but you keep you comms on and if you run off I will snitch so fast-”, “Okay, okay I get it. I’ll stay on the line” he waves you off as he leaves.
You continue to scour the building, collecting small bits-n-bobs and putting them away in your rucksack. Without paying attention, you wander around until your feet step on something cold and damp. Looking down, you find a glowing purple moss covering the floor, leading away into a decrepit room. A sense on unease creeps it way up your spine, you had been here before. Treading carefully inside you find the same room you had woken up in, completely untouched, still completely destroyed. Your hairs stand in end, your skin pricking. Your tail and ears stiff in alert as you approach the operating table in the center of the room, where a taut mummified body lays. Your body.
You stare down at yourself, at your leathery skin and sunken eyes. A wave of panic swells in your chest, your stomach sinking further and further the longer you look at it, but you can't tear eyes away.
You close your eyes, trying to escape the feeling. Hazy memories flood your vision. You clutch your head as fearful tremors bring you to your knees.
Flashes of doctors and scientists fill your brain. Of probes and operations. Of being suspended in water. And most painfully, of that deep burning hunger that eats away at every fiber of your body.
Your vision begins to blur, the edges closing in and turning dark. You can't fucking breathe. Your heart pounds against your tightening chest, the rhythmic beating fills your ears.
A warm hand shakes your shoulder. Looking up, Lo'ak stands over you with concerned eyes, his mouth moves, yet no noise reaches your ears.
"-- ---- -- --" he shakes you again. "What?" you pant breathlessly.
He pinches your ears hard, shocking you out of your panic. "We.have.to.go" he whisper-yells, before hauling you up onto your feet. "Wha-what's going on?" you stumble behind him.
"They're here" he ducks behind a medical cart, dragging you with. "Who's here?", "Th-the RDA. They're here!" his tail swishes anxiously.
Your head briefly swims with fear before the adrenaline kicks in, and your brain suddenly switches over into survival mode. You had to keep him safe.
"Alright, alright. Let's find a way out of here" your ears flick wildly, honing in on any little sound as you creep through the corroded corridors. The sound of soldiers talking on their comms echo throughout the facility, heavy mechanical footsteps following close behind.
You punch in an air vent before crawling inside. The two of you slink over the vines and mushrooms, twisting and turning down the long tunnel before coming to a large open room. You silently remove vent cover, peaking your head out. An uncontrollable wave of fear washes over you, your hairs standing on end, your tail raising in alert.
"What is it?" Lo'ak tries to peak over your shoulder. "I don't know" you stutter. This wasn't like a panic attack, or like an anxiety attack. This was something primal. Something deep within your bones telling you to run. To flee. To get the absolute fuck out of there. But when you looked around there was nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary for a decaying base anyway.
Lo'ak sniffs the air, pausing at the familiar scent "It's Palulukan" he whispers even quieter.
Shit. Neytiri had warned you about the Thanator, but you never thought you'd run into one.
"So what do we do?" you look back at him. "Do you see it?", "..No?" you carefully poke your head out. "Then maybe it's somewhere else?", "I can see a clear way through to the next vent. If we're quiet maybe we can sneak past" you suggest. Lo'ak nods in agreement "Okay.. you go first". You turn to glare at him. Seriously?
Grabbing the knife from your hip you hold it defensively in front of you, as you slowly crawl out from the safety of the vents, and into the lions den.
The silence was deafening. Every nerve and muscle alight. You scan the room. Nothing. No Thanator in sight.
You carefully crawl across the room, keeping low to the ground. You still had to stay out of the R.D.A's sight.
Sneaking over to the vent, you use your knife to unscrew the paneling. It was painstakingly slow. Picking it up and placing it on the floor, you turn around and motion for Lo'ak to cross.
He peaks his head out, looking left, then right, before slowly creeping across the floor.
A deafening roar breaks through the silence, it's vibrations ring through the cold metal floors. A large, sleek, black beast leaps atop a cargo container, it's quills flared angrily. It's fangs bared, another thunderous growl reverberates through the air like lightning. Palulukan.
White hot fear strikes through you, rendering you paralyzed.
It turns it's gaze towards Lo'ak. No.
It crouches atop the container, readying itself. No please.
It leaps, pouncing towards Lo'ak. NO.
The Palulukan pins him to the floor, knocking the knife from his hands, before rearing it's head back, preparing to strike.
The world feels like it's moving in slow motion.
Standing, you grip your knife. You step towards it. Then another, and another, before leaping onto its back. You let out a desperate roar as you plunge the dagger into it's neck over and over again.
It throws it's head back violently, knocking you off. You land on the floor with a harsh thud. The Palulukan turns towards you, a wild vengeance swimming in it's golden eyes.
It leaps again, this time on top of you. You hold your dagger up and- its chest lands directly on your blade, plunging itself deep into its respiratory system. It thrashes wildly, a rouge claw slashing at your shoulder, it’s talon lodging itself in your flesh.
It lets out a long wail before falling limply to your side, dead.
You lay on the floor, staring up at the florescent lights. Your chest heaves with adrenaline, the blood pumping loudly in your ears. Lo'ak suddenly leans over you, entering your field of vision, "Holy shit, are you alright?" he inspects your injury. You grunt in response, too shocked to know what to say.
"We have to keep moving" he pulls you up by your good arm, "The soldiers would have heard that"
You reluctantly stand. Gazing down at the dead Thanator you are finally able to notice something your hadn't before. It was wearing a collar, and more importantly it had no kuru. Where its neural-queues were supposed to be were two raised scars. They had cut them off.
A pit forms in your stomach. That poor animal.
Lo'ak pulls you along, leading you back into the vents. You continue to wriggle further and further through the facility until you come out into an open cargo bay. The two of you slink out into the open, "Let's go" he hurries ahead of you. "Wait Lo'ak!" you whisper-yell, tripping over yourself as you try to catch up to him.
Just as he steps out onto the landing platform a human soldier rounds the corner. They quickly aim their rifle at him, "Don't move!" their commanding voice stops Lo'ak in his tracks "Stay there!"
Without hesitation, you swiftly flick your bow off your shoulder. They hadn't noticed you yet. Nocking your arrow, you draw your bow and without thinking and- Release! the arrow zips past Lo'aks head, finding its mark buried in the mans chest. He wheezes a horrible noise before collapsing backwards on the ground. His shaking arm coming up to his neck- SHIT.
You rush over, swatting his arm away with your bow before stepping on it, pinning him to the ground. You stare down at him, hate blooming in your chest as you watch this pathetic creature squirm beneath your feet.
You pull your dagger from its sheath, he wasn't dying quick enough. You kneel on his chest, blood pooling out from the arrow wound, his hands clawing desperately at your leg. A strangled gargle bubbles up from his mouth, a spray of red coating the inside of his Exo-pack.
You chest heaves, anger filling your mind as you raise your dagger. The mans eyes go wide at the sight, "N-no" he chokes out. In one final blow you plunge your knife into his throat, killing him.
Your blood pumps loudly in your ears, your eyes fixated on the limp body. Your nerves on fire.
A gentle hand on your shoulder startles you, you spinning around to meet them with your knife, "Woah! easy!" Lo'ak raises his hands defensively. You look at his frightened form, a heavy guilt settling into your stomach, "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry" you whisper, reaching out a bloodied hand.
He takes it, helping you stand, "We must go" he eyes you wearily, your pupils dilated, your tail thrashing wildly.
The two of you creep across the landing pad, slipping down onto the main platform before jumping off into the jungle. "Come on!" Lo'ak leads you into the darkness. You run aimlessly through the twisting and turning foliage, desperately trying to get as far away as possible.
Suddenly an ikran lands in front of you, Lo'ak and you shouting in fright. So'lek swings off the beast and onto the ground, "What happened? Your parents are looking for you, the R.D.A are swarming everywhere" his wide eyes scan over your bloodied form.
Yours and Lo'aks' words spill out in a jumbled mess. "Norm asked us to look for some tech but then the R.D.A showed up", "We tried to escape", "Palulukan was inside", "It had no kuru!", "A soldier tried to kill us", "I didn't have a choice" you whisper, tears stinging your eyes, a vicious guilt tearing up your stomach.
So'lek's gaze softens, he places a reassuring hand on your shoulder. He understands your pain.
"Call for help, I will cover you" he looks to Lo'ak before slinking off into the wilderness.
Lo'ak presses the comm button on his neck "Devil-dog, coming in Devil-dog. this is Eagle-eye. The R.D.A are at Research Lab Alpha, So'lek is distracting them for now"
The static crackles to life "-Where are you now?-"
"Just outside, heading.. north-east"
"-Okay, stay out of sight. We'll come get you-"
You proceed to climb up a Stair-foot tree, resting on one of the large fungal plates, you finally lay down. The adrenaline slowly dissipating, leaving your body sore and exhausted. Lo'ak sits next to your shaking form, gently carding his fingers through your tangled and blood-ridden hair. "Everything will be okay now" he tries to calm you, "Mum and dad are coming to get us"
You try to focus on his voice but the painful gash in you shoulder overwhelms your senses.
After what seems like forever, the deep rhythmic whooshing of ikran wings finally blesses your ears. The tree shakes as they land on the large fungi.
You struggle to sit up as Jake and Neytiri rush over, "What happened!" he kneels down next to you, his hand hovering over your injured shoulder before gently scanning the rest of your body.
"The R.D.A showed up. Then a feral" Lo'ak gestures to your injury, Neytiri holding him close.
"And this?" Jake wipes at the blood splattered across your face. You were far too tired to protest.
"We had some trouble getting out.." he averts his gaze from you.
Jake notices the tension but refuses to dwell on it, "Okay, we have to get you out of here. Come on" he picks you up with ease, settling you on the front of his saddle before sliding in behind you. He presses his warm chest to your back, a protective arm curling around your mid section, "Hold on just a little longer" he notices your worsening fatigue.
Launching off the tree, they quickly take to the sky, flying rapidly through the frigid air. The floating mountains were only a short ride away, but it felt like forever. Swooping under the mountain and into the cave, you land on the edge of High Camp, Mo'at and the children greeting you there.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Neteyam helps you off his fathers ikran, his hand resting on the flat of your chest just under your bleeding wound.
"Let me see her" Mo'at pushes through the crowd. Her critical eyes scan your weakened form, a deep frown etching its way on to her face, "Bring her to my hut" she nods for Jake to follow.
Swiftly picking you up, he carries you through High Camp, the many sets of golden eyes following your movements curiously. "I can still walk you know. My shoulders injured not my legs" you complain, slightly embarrassed by all the attention. "You are too weak! You have lost much blood" Mo'at says sternly, not entertaining your feelings for a second.
Entering her tent, Jake places you on a smooth woven mat, softly padded with dried grasses. Kiri soon enters and begins assisting her grandmother in healing your wounds. She gives you a Tana'rìng plant to chew on, it mildly sedating your wounds as they work.
First they clean you up. Wiping you down with a soft moss soaked in a herbal tincture. Its pungent smell stings your nose.
Mo'at then has Kiri prepare a salve whilst she stitches you up, the needle passes through your flesh with only a mild discomfort. She makes quick work of it, pulling the lodged claw out with ease and putting it aside.
Once done, Kiri gently applies another pungent smelling salve, before wrapping your shoulder and chest in a loose weft bandage.
"You should sleep here tonight, you have lost much of your strength" Mo'at begins preparing you a simple dinner. You nod weakly, you head feeling heavy with fatigue. Kiri sits next to you, one hand gently playing with your hair, the other inspecting the long Palulukan talon.
"It had no kuru.." you whisper, like it was something you weren't supposed to say.
Mo'at pauses, "It was a feral.. the R.D.A have no concern for the balance of life. They violate and mutilate all they come across", "Why would they do that?", "Who know what drives their madness. Here eat" she sits down next to your head, helping you sit up before offering to feed you. You reluctantly agree, allowing her to spoon fed you the sweet fruit porridge.
After some time, you finish your meal and lay back down. Exhaustion quickly takes over, forcing you into a dreamless sleep.
Authors Note: Hey guys! Hope you liked this new chapter. I just wanted to say that I've planned out future of this fic, and it will be getting pretty graphic and violent later on. Obvious I will have content warnings, but just make sure to read them before proceeding. Thanks and much love.
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