#roxto mentioned

sleep began to feel more like a burden.

the night before had been long. or, at least it felt like it. you laid in your hammock for hours trying to force yourself to sleep, but it never came. you could feel it happening. it had only been around a week since you came to the metkayina. the first few nights were fine. but now, your relationship with sleep was deteriorating, and you knew the exact reason why. your insomnia was returning. it was returning because of the loss of your grandfather.

you tried to fight it, but last night, you lost. every time your mind began to drift, the image of your grandfather's body laying lifeless on the sand flashed through your mind, causing you to jerk awake.

the rest of the night consisted of you staring at the ceiling of the marui as you listened to the soft sound of nature and the faint movements of others sleeping nearby.

when morning finally arrived and everyone around you began to stir awake, you pretended to do the same.

you rolled up your hammock and placed it to the side neatly just as nari called your name to offer you breakfast. the young woman sat cross-legged on the floor, mashing fruit in a mortar bowl. most likely for the child strapped protectively to her chest. since koa hadn't grown any teeth yet, his food had to be softened so he could eat.

nari paused her movements to glance at you. you didn't eat breakfast with them and she had noticed your absence at the communal dinner. she was concerned if you were even eating at all.

this was a difficult transition for you, she and omatu understood that. losing both your grandfather and your home in a single day. but they wanted you to know you weren't alone, even if you acted like you were.

nari's green eyes watched you paused for half a second before turning to her. and just like anyone expected, you declined her offer. you turned away before your fingers pulled your hair into your usual tight bun before heading out.

"do you think she hates us?" omatu asks from behind nari.

nari sighs, adjusting her prrsmung, "she doesn't hate us. she's.. adjusting."

he shakes his head, "she barely looks at us."

"just give her some time."

by the time you arrived at the beach, your entire group was already there. ao'nung caught sight of you first. you could basically feel his judgemental stare as you approached.

"you're late, again." he spoke. the irritation in his voice evident.

"i'm aware." you answered. you looked around, seeing your peers checking their nets and spearguns.

ao'nung walked closer to you, arms crossed, "lucky for you, we're fishing individually today. but it's not like you would've listened to me anyway."

you smirked, "you know me so well already."

ao'nung squinted his eyes as you walked away. once you collected your net and speargun, the group walked deeper in the water. the fatigue in your body seemed to fade as the temperature of the ocean woke you up.

you swam a little further out than the others. a small smile on your face as you swam through and along all the ocean life around you. you took a moment to appreciate it before you began fishing.

fishing was one of the skills you spent years trying to master. and you were exceptionally good at it too. you managed to catch many glider fish before something caught your eye.

the flat skate fish were considered a delicacy to the na'vi who lived among the reef. they were incredibly hard to catch because of their rather fast speed. but you knew a flat skate fish when you saw one because of the bright purple streak that ran down along the top of its body.

your fingers tightened around your speargun as you slowly swam towards the fish, wanting to catch it off guard.

the closer you got, the more your heartbeat began to quicken. you had never actually caught one of them before. you'd seen your grandfather do it once when you were younger. his movements were fast, precise, and most importantly, patient.

you tried to mimic that same patience now, slowing down as the fish swam closer to the ocean floor. and as if it knew you were on its tail, it darted away without warning.

you moved instantly. with a powerful kick of your legs, you swam forward as you fired the speargun. it missed, grazing the sand just beneath the fish. turning to another plan, you tried blocking the path using your net. unfortunately for you, the fish moved faster than you anticipated.

as you lunged forward, your arm scraped sharply against a jagged piece of coral. the pain was instant. a hot sting that burned up your forearm. but that didn't stop you. you could see and feel the blood staining the water but you continued to swim forward.

you only accepted defeat when the flat skate fish was officially out of your sight and you were left with nothing but the throbbing pain in your arm and your own frustration.

you let out a groan of agitation before swimming to shore. when you surfaced, the pain in the cut only began to worsen. you glanced down to see a deep gash along the side of your forearm. it wasn't life threatening but bad enough that it needed to be cleaned and wrapped.

when you reached the shoreline, only ao'nung and rotxo stood there, talking. most likely waiting for everyone to return.

rotxo noticed you first, his eyes widening when his eyes caught sight of the deep crimson liquid leaking from the cut on your arm that ran from your wrist to your elbow.

"y/n- are you okay?!" rotxo exclaimed as he rushed over to you.

ao'nung looked over, seeing the wound for himself. he immediately followed in his friends footsteps towards you.

you slowed your pace as the two boys closed in. rotxo's face was painted in pure concern while ao'nung's expression was different. you didn't have time to dwell on it though as the ache caused you to contort your own face in agony.

"y/n what happened? you're bleeding." roxto asked, reaching for your arm. you took a small step back, holding the wounded limb against your chest.

"coral." you stated flatly.

ao'nung's eyes stared at your arm as the blood dripped down, hitting the sand.

"you need to go to my mother." he stated firmly, "she'll clean it before it gets worse."

you shook your head, "it's fine."

you quickly maneuvered around the two as you began to walk away. but ao'nung wasn't letting you go that easily.

"what? it's not fine. it could get infected." he spoke, his voice stern and face twisted in confusion.

you stopped, turning to face him, "i said it's fine. i can handle it."

rotxo shifted awkwardly as he felt the tension so he tried to diffuse the situation.

"maybe just let her-"

"no." ao'nung cut him off, "you can not handle it. that cut is deep and you need to go to the tsahìk. now."

for a moment, it went silent and nobody said anything. you just glared at ao'nung as he did the same to you. rotxo's eyes darted between the two of you uncomfortably.

finally, ao'nung sighed, "fine. do whatever you want, i don't care. you're done for today."

while no words left your mouth, the roll of your eyes did all the talking for you. you immediately turned on your heels as you walked away and headed back to the village.

by the time you made it back to your marui, your forearm was covered in blood. the pain hadn't dulled and it was throbbing.

when you entered the marui, the space was empty. you sighed in relief, not wanting to deal with any questions from nari or omatu. after looking around for a bit, your eyes landed on a spare strip of woven cloth. you pressed the fabric to your arm, wincing as it made contact with the open wound. after wrapping it around your arm, you tied it, not securely but just enough to stop the bleeding for now. and it would do the job until you had something better.

you then grabbed a small sanded basket near the entrance before you were on your way. stepping away from the village, you made your way towards the forest. the air became cooler as the trees blocked out the warmth of the sun.

the materials you needed weren't foreign to you. you knew exactly what you were looking for. leaves from a paywll plant and pieces of fungi that grew on the trunks of koaktutra trees.

your footsteps were rather light as you maneuvered through the forest with precision.

you spotted the paywll easily. you approached before drawing your knife. you crouched down and sliced a few broad leaves cleanly from the base. once you felt like you had enough, you placed the leaves in the basket and slid your knife back in the sheath that you wore on your hip.

moving on, you continued searching for the nearest koaktutra tree. they weren't hard to find either, as they were actually very common in the forest. when you finally came across one, you didn't waste any time taking as many as you would need.

after you gathered the last of you what you needed, the ache in your arm began to intensify. the makeshift bandage had already darkened with blood. you pressed your hand to it, exhaling slowly. you needed to head back and tend to your arm as soon as possible.

so you turned, retracing your steps through the trees. the walk back felt longer but that could just be because you were in a rush.

by the time you returned to the marui, the sun had started to go down. this meant that eclipse was near.

as for your arm, the bleeding had stopped for the most part but you were still in pain. you took a seat on the woven floor before sorting through what you gathered. spotting nari's mortar bowl that she used this morning, you reached for it and got to work.

using your knife, you sliced open the paywll leaves, squeezing the sticky translucent insides into the bowl.

as you worked, omatu entered the marui. his expression was calm but weary, suggesting that he had been busy all day. when his gaze landed on you, he smiled softly.

"ah, you're back. perfect timing." he said, not noticing the bloodied bandage on your arm, "i have to meet nari by the seawall terrace, do you mind watching koa for a little while? you can use nari's prrsmung in case you get tired of holding him."

you eyed koa for a moment in silence. after a beat you hesitated before nodding, "sure."

omatu thanked you, carefully handing koa over before leaving the marui. you glanced down at the small child in your arms. koa blinked up at you, his green eyes staring at you curiously. the shade of green resembled his mother's. while he shared features with his father, he was definitely nari's twin.

knowing that you had to finish what you were working on, you decided to use nari's prrsmung. you grabbed the fabric before tying it around your shoulders and torso, securing koa snugly against your chest. once he was settled, you returned to your task.

you could feel his gaze on your face as you placed the fungi in the bowl. grabbing the pestle, you began mixing the two ingredients until it turned into a smooth lavender paste.

you learned this remedy from your mother and grandmother. they were both healers in your community, known for their great knowledge.

when you were younger, you'd sit beside them as they worked. watching the way they crushed herbs and mixed many different ingredients before applying it to the wounds of the person they were healing. they taught you everything you know.

you carefully unwrapped your arm, cringing at the sight of the gash. dipping your fingers into the paste, you gently spread it across the wound. the sting faded almost instantly and was replaced by a soothing coolness that made your shoulders drop in relief.

then, without even realizing it, you began to hum. a soft tune your family used to sing while they worked. the melody filled the quiet space around you as you tended to your wound.

koa, still strapped to your chest, tilted his small head as he listened to your voice. when you paused, he let out a soft coo. it was like a tiny plea for you to keep going.

you couldn't help but chuckle under your breath before you continued humming the melody. koa's head slowly nestled against your chest as his eyes fluttered shut, your voice soothing him.

once the salve was fully applied, you carefully wrapped a clean cloth around your arm and tied it securely. the hard part was now over and by the morning, the wound should begin to close. through, you knew it would leave a scar.

by the time you finished, eclipse had come and the sky set darkness over the village while the bioluminescence of the ocean and flora began to glow.

soon after, nari and omatu entered the marui together. their eyes softened at the sight of you sitting quietly with koa half-sleep against your chest.

"thank you for watching him, y/n. we appreciate it." nari said warmly.

you shook your head lightly, " you're welcome."

nari smiles, "we're about to go to dinner, are you coming?

you immediately shook your head at the question, "uh, no. i'm just going to eat a few fruits here."

nari's smile faltered, though she quickly nodded. she didn't want to push you. you were moving at your own pace and she wanted to respect that. so instead, she stepped closer to take koa from you so she and omatu could head to the communal dinner.

but the moment you began to untie the prrsmung, koa started crying. his small arms stretching back toward you.

"uh oh." omatu laughs, "i think he likes you."

koa's cries only grew louder as his mother pulled him away from you. his round eyes glossy as tears spilled down his cheeks, gums on full display as he wailed in distress.

"shh.. it's okay." nari cooed, trying to soothe her child. but it didn't seem to work.

you looked between the two young parents as they tried to calm koa to their best ability. when nothing seemed to work, their gazes fell on you.

"uh.. you know," otamu trailed off, "maybe it would be best if you came with us. just so he stays calm."

you opened your mouth to refuse when koa let out another sharp wail. the sound made your ears twitch. you closed your eyes, strongly exhaling through your nose.

"fine.."

nari and omatu exchanged a small, triumphant glance before handing koa back to you. once he was placed back in the carrier, his cries came to a halt.

the three of you were then on your way. as you reached the communal area, most of the clan had already gathered. chatter and the scent of roasted fish filled the air. you felt so out of place as nari and omatu led you to an empty spot. you hesitated before lowering yourself to sit.

without asking, nari began filling a leaf plate with food. once she was finished, she placed the leaf plate in front of you.

"oh, you don't have to do that." you said quietly, glancing down at the plate. pieces of roasted glider fin fish along with sliced fruit.

nari only smiled, "i know. but i want to. please, i want you to eat."

you didn't argue again. for a moment, you simply stared at it. before you finally thanked her and began to eat. koa started to fall asleep against your chest as you ate the food from the leaf plate in front of you.

you didn't speak, and you didn't need to. the noise around you filled the silence for you.

on the other side of the fire, ao'nung sat with his family. normally, he would've been eating with his friends. but tonight his parents wanted to hear how things were going with the new arrivals.

tsireya's report came first. her group consisted of mostly younger children, many of them just reaching the age to tame an ilu. she spoke with an excited tone about the progress she was making.

for tsireya, this was a joy. while she is the tsakarem, she is a teacher at heart.

ao'nung on the other hand, hated this.

to him, this was a chore. he didn't want to teach or guide anyone through the basics of fishing. but the responsibility had been given to him and he had to honor it. he knew he had to follow through on what was expected of him. even if he resented it.

as his sister spoke, ao'nung's focus drifted. he was barely even listening anymore. he had finished the food he grabbed for himself and now he was just looking around, trying to find something interesting to put his attention on.

his eyes wandered across the gathering when he saw her.

the ta'unui girl, y/n.

she saw across the fire, a few people slightly blocking her from aonung's view but he saw her perfectly. she sat with a young couple and a small child sleeping against her chest. it was sweet but an unusual sight since she was very hostile and proud whenever the two of them interacted.

but what really caught his attention was the bandage wrapped around her forearm.

even from this distance, he could tell it wasn't something his mother had done. it was wrapped unevenly. it was functional, of course. but hardly the work of a tsahìk.

"mom, did a ta'unui girl come to see you earlier?"

"from my group?" tsireya asked, "one of the girls in my group scraped her knee but she was fine."

ao'nung shook his head, "no. from my group. she cut her arm on some coral this morning."

ronal looked at him before answering, "only the young girl from tsireya's group came to see me today."

ao'nung's frown deepened. of course she didn't go.

his gaze returned to y/n as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. it didn't make sense to him. no one ever refused help from his mother. if you were hurt, you went to the tsahìk and that is how things always worked.

but you had chosen to ignore that.

ronal was one of the most respected tsahìks among the reef clans. her skill and guidance were trusted by everyone. even the sully family went to her when they needed help. and yet, this stubborn ta'unui girl decided that she knew better?

he didn't understand it. and that bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

a part of him wanted to be angry. and another part was curious. because what kind of person risked an infection or worse? was it because of pride? and for some reason, he wanted to find out.

for a reef clan, not much happened on rainy days. everyone mostly stayed in their own marui's on gloomy days such as this one. but with taari's parents home, you thought it would be a good idea to hang out in the forest with lo'ak.

now, the two of you sat beneath the tall trees. their wide leaves shielding you from most of the rainfall. a few stray droplets managed to slip through, cool and refreshing against your skin. but otherwise, you stayed dry.

lo'ak was seated on the ground, legs stretched out in front of him, while you straddled his lap. beside you sat a small pile of seashells that you collected together. the taller boy was letting you add a few seashells to his braids.

"can we add this one?" lo'aks voice broke the comfortable silence. he held up a bright yellow cowrie shell. you nodded your head, taking the shell from his fingers.

over the course of a few months, lo'ak had managed to memorize the names and meanings behind all of the shapes and colors of the shells that resided on the island. it impressed you how quickly he embraced your culture, how eager he was to understand. you threaded the yellow shell into his dark braids with practiced ease.

"so, you're happy?" you asked softly, adding the shell to one of his braids. yellow shells were a symbol of happiness. lo'ak hadn't picked it up by accident.

lo'ak tilted his head, watching you with a familiar gaze. your light blue eyes were focused on his hair, lips slightly parted in concentration. the damp air had left your skin glowing, and your long curls were pulled back, cascading down your back like waves.

"with you?" lo'ak’s voice dropped, "yeah."

you tried to fight the grin threatening to break free, but the light purple tint creeping across your cheeks betrayed you. lo'ak's smirk deepened, his eyes beaming with satisfaction.

"all done." you pulled your hands away from his hair, carefully brushing the strands forward to admire your work.

when he didn't respond, you glanced down, only to find his amber eyes locked on your lips. the weight of his gaze was enough to send a shiver through you. his chest rose and fell beneath you, his hands resting lightly on your thighs. and you could tell that lo'ak didn’t seem to care about his hair anymore.

for a moment, his eyes flickered up to meet yours. then they dropped back to your mouth.

"you’re staring," you spoke in a teasing tone.

"am i?" his lips quirked into a grin, though his voice was lower now.

you rolled your eyes, but the blush on your cheeks only deepened. "you are."

"can’t help it," lo'ak said softly, his fingers tracing absent patterns along your leg.

before you could respond, lo’aks hand moved from your thigh to tuck a loose curl behind your ear. his touch lingered, his fingers brushing along the side of your face. you leaned into it without thinking, the warmth of his palm grounding you.

you found yourself mirroring his actions from a few moments ago. your gaze flickered to his lips, then back to his eyes. lo’ak caught the movement and this time, he didn’t hesitate.

lo’aks hand slid to the back of your neck, his fingers curling into your hair. he pulled you down, closing the space between you. his lips met yours softly at first. but the second your arms wrapped around his shoulders, lo’ak kissed you deeper.

since that first kiss a few days ago, everything between you and lo’ak had changed. and it wasn't a dramatic shift but more of an unspoken one. the tension between the two of you had been reaching a boiling point anyway.

touches were now lingering a little longer. glances held a little more weight. and kisses.. well, those quickly became your favorite pastime.

it was like neither of you could get enough. constantly sneaking away to make out in either the forest or in taari's marui when nobody was home. and it felt easy. you weren't worried about what it meant. you were simply enjoying each other's company, but now with a new romantic element.

the boy underneath you tightened his arms around your waist. it was like once you started, neither of you wanted to stop.

suddenly though, a blare from a conch shell was blown through the air. your ears perked up at the sound, causing you to pull away and sit up straight.

"did you hear that?"

"hm?" lo'ak hummed, not really paying attention. his own lips were chasing your own.

"lo'ak. i'm serious. listen." you said and right as you finished your sentence, another blare was heard. this time, lo'ak was alert and aware. his brows furrowed as he looked at you.

"come on." lo'ak spoke. you quickly lifted yourself off of his lap and onto your feet. lo'ak grabbed your hand once he stood up and led you back to the village.

upon reaching the village, you saw the clan gathering to meet. you both approached curiously. when you got closer, lo'ak pushed through the crowd.

"this war has come to us. we knew about this hunting of our tulkun people. but it was over the horizon, far away. now it is here." tonowari exclaimed.

you looked around, confused on what was going on. but from what the olo'eyktan said, it must have something to do with the sky people.

"you gotta understand how the sky people think. they don't care about the great balance." jake spoke, trying to be the voice of reason in all of this commotion. the crowd seemed to react negatively to that.

"we don't answer to sky people!" someone shouted out. you continued to hold onto lo'aks hand as chaos erupted around you. the screaming and battle cries carried on for a moment and before you knew it, jake was standing in front of everyone, holding up some odd human technology.

"you tell the tulkun that if they're hit by one of these, they're marked for death. and call for me, i'll silence it. saving their lives, that's all that matters. right? saving your family."

it was silent as everyone looked at one another. you watched as ronal and tonowari silently spoke to one another. you had grown to realize that was something that they did a lot.

"tell the tulkun." tonowari spoke out.

"go.. go!"

you then felt lo'ak drop your hand out of his grasp as he walked away. the action left you confused. before you could call after him, you saw neteyam following in pursuit. without a second thought, you followed too.

you decided to stay at a distance, careful not to be noticed as they entered one of the communal areas where the gear for the ilu's were stored.

“no way you’re rolling out of here, baby brother.” neteyam called, his voice half-scolding, half-amused.

the younger boy shakes his head, "i have to warn payakan about the pingers."

you found yourself frowning. he was just going to leave? without saying anything? he knows that you would go with him. the thought stung but before you could overthink it, neyetam spoke again.

"no. you've got to keep your skxawng ass here." it was clear that neteyam was taking this situation very lightly. but lo'ak wasn't laughing.

"he's outcast. there's nobody to warn him but me."

“nobody but you?” you finally revealed yourself, stepping out from the shadows.

lo’ak turned quickly, his face softening at the sight of you. “y/n—”

you were quick to cut him off, “you were just going to leave without even talking to me? you know i would come with you."

"i'm not bringing you out there," lo'ak said, "the sky people are out there and it's dangerous."

"i'm not a child lo'ak. and you could’ve at least said something. not just…” you trailed off, the hurt in your voice unmistakable. “not just leave me.”

lo'ak held your gaze, guilt flashing through his eyes. you were right, and he knew that. but he had a habit of acting on impulse. sure, it did get him in trouble almost every single time but it was just how his brain is wired.

neteyam placed himself back in the conversation as he playfully threw a hand on lo'aks head, "bro, why do you always have to make things so hard?"

you watched as lo'ak threw his brother's hand off of him. he was upset, you could tell. and neteyam taking it as a joke didn't make it any better.

"no. you mean, why can't i be the perfect son like you? the perfect little soldier. well, i'm not you! okay? i'm not you. he's my brother. i'm going."

"oh, he's your brother? no, i'm your brother." neteyam shot back, his voice now laced with frustration.

before you could say anything else, the sound of someone shouting lo’aks name echoed through the air. tsireya, along with ao'nung and roxto, jumped off their ilu's and onto the platform, urgency clear on their faces. lo'ak took that opportunity to jump into the water.

"come on. he's going to payakan." neteyam said with urgency.

the rest of you didn't waste another second. calling out to nalu as you sprinted towards the water. you caught a glimpse of her sleek body just beneath the surface, waiting for you. without a moment’s hesitation, you dove into the cold water, the chill barely registering.

when you finally caught up with lo'ak at three brothers' rocks, he was with payakan. when you caught a glance at him, there was a tracker lodged in his body. the same tracker that jake sully had warned meant being 'marked for death'.

you all quickly swam over, climbing onto payakan to help pull it out. your hands gripped the beeping device as you tried your hardest to pull it out. neteyam had uttered something to lo'ak about calling their dad but you hadn't been listening, your attention fully focused on payakan.

tsireya’s sudden gasp made you turn. "it's getting closer," she warned. your eyes followed her gaze, and your heart sank.

the ship was massive. the hum of its engines echoed across the water as it headed straight toward you all.

"three, two- pull!" neteyam shouted.

with every ounce of strength, you pulled, your nails scratching against the wet metal. kiri and tuk were making sure payakan was okay while this whole ordeal was happening. you could hear the bellowing of distress but you couldn't stop until it was out.

you could see the ship drawing closer. but still, you yanked at the tracker, teeth gritted and chest burning with fear.

neteyam finally got an idea. he threw a rope to ao'nung, telling him to tie it around the pinger while he tied the other end to his ilu. after doing so, the rest of you continued to pull and the pinger finally came out, sending all of you crashing into the water.

"go that way! i'll draw them off." neteyam said as he held the pinger in his hand. the rest of you followed his words and got onto your ilu's and swam away.

you soon found yourselves sitting, waiting. waiting for whatever was about to happen next. you could see smaller boats traveling through the water above you. your heart was beating against your chest, you had never been in a situation like this before and it scared you. but you cared about your friends and this was important.

you don't regret helping payakan but you were scared of being in the same vicinity as the sky people. the same sky people that have carelessly taken the lives of so many of your people. and now that neteyam was alone with the pinger, you were scared of what could happen to him. as you attempted to calm yourself down, you saw lo'ak motion to all of you to get moving.

turning your head to the side, you could see some form of human machinery moving towards you, many of them too. how many types of contraptions did these people have? they kept surprising you.

without a second thought, you began swimming away from them. nalu moved through the water with ease, dodging and swerving past anything that may have been in your way. the chase began to get harder when they were coming from every direction. you had all separated into different groups at this point but that didn't make it any easier. you were constantly looking back to see how close they were to you.

then, out of nowhere, one of the machines shot an air bag towards nalu. she let out a cry of pain, one of those you felt. her body flipped, causing you to tumble off as the bag pulled her to the surface.

now that you were defenseless with no way to get away, you were stuck. and the weird contraption was moving towards you at a fast pace. as you were bracing yourself for what was about to happen, you heard the familiar chirp of an ilu. you turned your head to see lo'ak swimming towards you with his arm out.

you extended your arm out as he got closer. he then grabbed your arm, pulling you onto the creature and away from the sky people who were mere seconds away from capturing you.

you settled behind him as your hands held onto his shoulders for stability. once you were far away enough, the two of you dismounted the creature and moved through the foliage.

ahead of you was a large plant with an opening. you swam towards it, hoping to be able to hide in there. when you and lo'ak reached it, tuk and tsireya were already there, trying to catch their breaths.

"tuk!" lo'ak exclaimed upon seeing his baby sister.

tsireya looked down, seeing the light of the ships coming closer.

"it is coming." she warned.

"we gotta go!" lo'ak said. you nodded your head at his words. the four of you then took a breath before diving back into the water. you weren't able to make it far before a net came hurtling towards you. lo'ak managed to get out of it but you, tsireya, and tuk were stuck in the net.

an ikran then dived into the water and grabbed the net, hauling you out of the ocean. your eyes squinted from the sun now beaming in your eyes.

"move your hand! move your hand!" lo'ak said with urgency. he took his knife out as he began to cut the net. you watched as the ikran brought you to the ship. the fear in your chest began to bubble up again.

when you reached the ship and were dropped onto the deck, you pulled your knife out, ready to fight. a hiss left your mouth as you bared your teeth to the avatar soldier in front of you. the man didn't seem fazed as he grabbed your arms and twisted it. you let out a pained sound as the knife fell out of your hand and fell to the ground with a clank.

"cuff 'em to the rail. all of em." one of them said. the soldier grabbed you, aggressively pushing you to the rail and using this orange thing to cuff your arm to the railing.

your breathing was ragged as you pulled against the restraints, attempting to break free. your panicked eyes flickered between tsireya, tuk, and lo'ak, all of you seemingly distressed from your current situation.

"be brave." lo'ak finally spoke. but this time, his words failed to reassure you.

barely any time had passed before you saw a bunch of tsurak's in the distance. as they drew closer, you recognized the villagers riding on them.

"dad!" tuk exclaimed, her small voice filled with relief.

the sight of them actually filled your body with hope. your eyes scanned the warriors, quickly finding your father among them. you almost smiled at the fact that he was there, willing to do anything to save you.

the chaos that followed was a blur. it started with payakan emerging from the water. his massive form landing onto the ship. this led to a full out battle to ensue.

humans and na'vi were being taken out left and right. and all you could do was watch since you were still tied to the railing on the ship.

eventually though, neteyam appeared, freeing you, lo'ak, tsireya, and tuk. you were relieved, but there was no time to dwell on it. the danger was far from over.

once your wrists were no longer bound to the metal railing, you stood on your feet and ran over to the ledge to jump after tsireya and tuk. when your feet grazed the edge, you turned back to make sure the two brothers were right behind you. but you were met with lo'ak grabbing a weapon from the presumably deceased soldier on the ground.

"they've got spider. we've gotta get him. come on." lo'ak says to neteyam.

when neteyam reluctantly agreed, you stepped forward, "let me come."

this was yet another instance where your mouth moved before your brain could comprehend it. you knew the sky people were extremely dangerous. and you didn't even know this spider person, so why were volunteering to go with them? you couldn't answer that.

"no. go with tuk and tsireya." neteyam spoke, pointing his finger towards where the girls jumped off.

you were about to refuse when lo'ak made his way over to you, his hand rested on your elbow as he looked at you.

"we'll be fine. but you need to get out of here." he says, his voice a little softer than before. your blue eyes met his amber ones for a moment. you really wanted to help him but you could see that his eyes were practically begging you to leave. after a few long seconds, you nodded your head. you told them both to be careful before jumping off of the ship.

but it wasn't long before you were back on the human contraption. as you were swimming away, one of the soldiers had taken kiri and tuk demanded that you all go back to save her. however, your time back on the ship was very short lived. you had found kiri but before you knew it, one of the avatars grabbed tuk while you and tsireya were pushed back into the water.

thinking quickly, tsireya called out for an ilu. the ilu you recognized as hers made its way over. she mounted onto it and you got on behind her. the two of you swam through the wreckage, most likely looking around for help or anyone who needed it.

eventually when you approached a part of the water craft, you spotted lo'ak and a random human boy. he had to be the spider person that they had gone to save.

"get on!" tsireya spoke, motioning for them to get on.

"come on bro." lo'ak said as he and spider swam towards you. you then noticed neteyam who was behind them and looked like he was having trouble staying afloat.

"you skxawng, i'm shot."

the words immediately caused your heart to drop. it felt like everything that happened next was happening in slow motion. the four of you managed to get him on the ilu and towards safety.

he was now laid out on a rock surrounded by his family with the addition of you, tsireya, and spider. lo'ak was putting pressure on his wound as neteyam squirmed around uncomfortably. the rest of you just stared, not being able to help or do much at all.

"dad, i..." the sentence started but never finished. the movement in his body seized and the muscles in his body suddenly relaxed. the silence was deafening as everyone stared at neteyam. seemingly waiting for something. maybe for him to move, or speak again and finish his sentence. but nothing ever came.

after a few seconds passed, you all realized what just happened. jake closed his eyes and dropped his hand from neteyam's face. neytiri then released a cry so raw that you had never heard anything like it before.

everyone else's reactions were blurred by tears filling up your eyes. you brought a shaky hand up to your mouth as the sobs broke through.

he was just breathing. just speaking. he was supposed to make it. this didn't feel real. it couldn't be.

within your grief, your mind landed on tsireya. you were aware that her relationship with neteyam was much deeper than yours. so when you finally looked over at her, it was no surprise to see her with her ears laid flat against her head as she cried. her hands gripping onto neteyam, like she was refusing to let him go.

you reached out, placing a trembling hand on her back. the younger girl seemed to crumble under your touch so you got closer to her and pulled her into a hug. tsireya collapsed into your arms before you could even process it.

you held her, even as your own tears slipped silently down your cheeks. tsireya's body shook from the force of the now audible sobs that left her throat.

when jake was alerted that his daughters were still on the ship, he gathered his family for one final mission. lo'ak had instructed you and tsireya to stay on the rock with neteyam but the two of you weren't going anywhere.

when you were finally left alone, the only sound outside of your cries and sniffles were the sound of the waves crashing against the rock. eclipse ended so darkness had now taken over the planet. something that was usually so beautiful to you just felt isolating and empty as your friend laid lifeless mere inches away from you.

and while you were grieving a friend, tsireya was grieving something different. her feelings were different. feelings that she desperately tried to hide for months.

tsireya sniffled once more before opening her mouth to speak, "i d-didn't even get to tell him.."

the sound of her brokenness caused you to frown deeper. your grip tightened around her, feeling her pain becoming your own.

now while she hadn’t told you much, you could see it. you saw the way she looked at him when she thought no one else was looking, the way she smiled in his presence. it had been quiet, unspoken, and slowly becoming obvious. but now it had been ripped away from the poor girl, leaving her distraught and heartbroken.

you blinked back fresh tears, stroking your cousin's hair as you let her crumble against you. you didn’t need to speak. there was nothing that would make this moment easier so you just stayed with her, anchoring her in this moment.

it felt like an eternity before the sun came up and the forest family came back, fortunately with kiri and tuk with them. you were relieved that they were safe but your heart broke once more when their eyes landed on the body of their now deceased brother.

when your eyes landed on lo'ak, the boy looked so broken and you wanted to comfort him. as if tsireya could read your mind, she pulled away from your embrace.

"go." she spoke.

you looked at her, "you sure?"

she looked at you with a soft melancholic smile before nodding her head. you gave her one last hug before standing to your feet. tsireya now sat by her lonesome, pulling her knees up to her chest as she stared out at the ocean.

when you approached lo'ak, you threw your arms around him. the taller boy quickly wrapped his arms around your waist in response. you closed your eyes, letting out a sigh. the hug was silent but that's what it needed to be.

when the two of you pulled away, you rested your foreheads against each other. and this moment was also filled with silence. there was nothing that had to be said. but lo'ak could feel that you had his back and that's all he needed at this moment.

can you tell i just gave up at some point and just started writing anything😭. so that’s kinda why it ended so abruptly.

the golden rays of the sun lit up the blue sky the next morning as you sat in your family's marui, eating slices of yovo fruit.

your mother cut a few more pieces of the yovo fruit before sitting the pieces in front of aolani.

"mawey, aolani.” you chuckled at the 9 year old that was hungrily devouring pieces of the fruit.

“she’s exceptionally hungry this morning because she barely ate her dinner last night.” your mother said, cutting more pieces of another yovo fruit for herself.

you took another bite of the pieces you cut for yourself, "why?"

"swallow your food before you speak y/n." your mother scolded before continuing, "but your sister was too busy showing us what she found yesterday morning. no matter how many times i tell her to stop bringing her seashells to dinner."

"sorry, i just really wanted to show you and daddy what i got." aolani said, wiping her mouth with her forearm. you shook your head, finishing the final piece of fruit.

"i should get going." you stood to your feet.

"where?" your mom asked.

"tsireya invited me to help them with the sully's today.” you answered. she nodded, "don't let your father find out."

since last night, your father's feelings about the sully family were very clear. so if he heard that his eldest daughter was helping said family adapt to their new living conditions, he definitely wouldn't be happy about it.

you nodded, "i know. i will see you later."

"be safe, ma 'ite."

"bye y/n!"

both your mother and younger sister said their goodbyes as you left the marui. soon after leaving your home, you were diving head first into the ocean with tsireya, ao'nung, and roxto with the sully's following in pursuit.

your body moved through the tepid water easily. as someone who was not only born in water but also swims every single day, it was more of a first nature rather than a second.

as you swam, you remembered the siblings that were following you. you maneuvered your body so that you were facing the 3 na'vi that were behind you, much closer to the surface. it was obvious that they lacked experience in this area due to the way their limbs were kind of floating around freely, not really showing much of a technique.

you tilted your head to the side, watching the 3 bodies swim to the top.

'swim together with us' tsireya signed beside you when the three sully’s looked at the four of you. they seemed confused by what tsireya said so you just beckoned for them to follow. they understood that and you were off again.

after about 2 minutes, you watched the three of them go up to the surface once again.

'what's wrong with them?' ao'nung signed, clearly confused on why they kept going back to the surface.

'they need air.' you signed.

'those guys are bad divers.' roxto signed.

'stop. they are learning.' tsireya signed and as usual, you and her were usually on the same side of things. after ao'nung dramatically threw his head back, the four of you swam to the surface to check on the others.

"are you alright?" tsireya was the first to ask.

"you're too fast. wait for us!" tuk exclaimed.

"just breathe." tsireya expressed.

neteyam, the oldest, was the next to speak, "we don't understand this finger talk, guys, we don't know what you're saying."

you shook your head, "don't worry about that, we will teach you."

"you guys are not good divers, maybe good at swinging from trees but-" ao'nung started to insult the trio but you immediately brought your hand up, smacking the back of his head, he turned to you with an offended look on his face to which you completely ignored.

"hey, where's kiri?" roxto suddenly asked. you suddenly realized you hadn't seen the short-haired girl since all of you started swimming.

"who?" ao'nung asked, confused. you internally groaned. you began to wonder why he even came if he was just going to be this way.

"kiri. their sister." you deadpanned. roxto announced that he would look for her while the rest of you moved on. as roxto dove back into the water, the group moved onto the next activity, which would be taming an ilu.

"these are ilu, if you want to live here, you have to ride." ao'nung explained after calling to the animals. this is the most serious and helpful he's been all day.

deciding to help the sully brothers first, tsireya walked over to neteyam which left you with lo'ak. you steadied the animal for him before turning to lo'ak who was watching you interact with the water creature.

"this should be easy for you." you said.

lo'ak tilted his head at your words, "why you say that?"

"well i imagine that taming an ikran is much harder." you shrugged. before lo'ak could either confirm to deny your statement, aonung yelled something out.

"let's see tree boy go!"

you rolled your eyes, wishing he would stop referring to the forest when talking about the sully's. you motioned for lo'ak to get on the animal which he did quickly.

the boy leaned back, grabbed his kuru and made tsaheylu with the ilu. your brightly colored eyes watched as his eyes closed and his wispy eyelashes brushed against his cheekbones. a deep breath made its way from his throat, to his cheeks, and out his mouth as he and the creature got used to one another.

a moment later, the animal was no longer by your side as it swam forward. you and your other peers squatted down into the water to watch lo'ak. not even 10 seconds later the force of the water pulled the boy off of the ilu. ao'nung and his friends laughed, clearly enjoying lo'ak mess up and making a fool of himself in their eyes.

you let out a small chuckle when the ilu splashed lo'ak before swimming away. the laugh was replaced with a genuine smile when the taller boy walked back over to you.

"don't beat yourself up. i got pulled off of nalu a few times when i first tamed her." you said when he stopped in front of you.

"nalu?" lo'ak questioned.

"my ilu." you confirmed.

lo'ak nodded, "ah.. did that really happen or are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

"no, i swear. i have a few scars from scraping my skin against the coral." you pulled your hair from one side, revealing the series of scars to the boy in front of you.

lo'ak's lips upturned slightly as he eyed the scars on your collarbone. he appreciated the little things that you were doing to make him comfortable with not adapting quickly.

"..so do you wanna try again?"

the rest of the afternoon went by smoothly. at first, you were a little worried about not being teacher material but you seemed to be doing pretty well.

you were now standing with tsireya while helping tuk feed her ilu pony. you handed the fish to tuk and she fed the animal. watching her react so positively made you smile.

"if you think this is cool, you should come with my sister and i. some mornings, we go to the other side of the beach and collect things."

tuk gasped as she looked at you, "can i?"

you nodded "yeah we're going tomorrow morning. you are welcome to come but ask your parents if it's okay first."

"okay!" tuk exclaimed before she began softly petting the creature.

"y/n!"

you turned to see the source of who was calling your name. there you saw aolani standing on the netted pathway above the water.

"hey, aolani. this is tuk, she is almost your age. and tuk this is aolani, my little sister." you introduced the two girls to one another.

tuk waved and said hello, aolani returned the kind gesture.

"daddy is looking for you." aolani said when she turned her attention back to you. he must need you for something and aolani didn't want to tell her where you were.

"okay i'm coming." you said before turning to tsireya, "sorry, i have to go."

"no, you're fine. i can take over from here." tsireya smiled.

"thanks. i'll see you later and hopefully i will see you tomorrow tuk." you bid your goodbyes before leaving and retreated home with aolani.

"friend? and who is this friend?" neytiri asked as she looked at her 7 year old daughter. the same 7 year old who had been babbling about a new friend the whole time the family was eating breakfast. she mentioned being invited to go beachcombing but her parents just wanted to be safe first.

"my new friend, y/n! she's super nice." tuk said, an innocent smile on her face.

"do you guys know a y/n?" jake asked his older children.

neteyam was the one to answer, "we know her. she helped lo'ak tame an ilu yesterday. she's nice."

"yeah she's cool." lo'ak added to the conversation and your credibility.

"alright tuk, you can go." neytiri spoke but before the small girl could celebrate, her father spoke up once again.

"but your brothers have to go with you."

lo'ak groaned, "what? why do i have to go?"

"because i need neteyam to keep an eye on you but he can't do that if he's with tuk. so you're both going, end of discussion." jake said. lo'ak rolled his eyes while neteyam stayed silent. he was used to being told to watch after all his siblings so this didn't phase or surprise him. he happily stepped up to the plate whenever his parents asked him to do something, wanting to make them proud.

the walk to your marui was quiet. tuk was in her own world, bouncing along the woven walkway while her older brothers walked behind her. upon reaching your marui, they stopped at the entrance.

aolani, who was playing with one of her toys, looked up, seeing the three newcomers in her home.

“hi! i’m aolani.” the girl said she walked over to them.

the voice of your younger sister caused you to look up. you watched as both neteyam and lo’ak greeted the child and introduced themselves to her.

you stood to your feet and walked over, catching their attention.

“y/n!” tuk said excitedly. you smiled before bringing your hand to your forehead and bringing it down as a greeting. they all followed in pursuit.

tuk’s wandering eyes caught sight of the toy in aolani’s hand. it looked like a replica of the animal she was feeding the day prior. it reminded her of the ikran toy she brought with her.

“is that an ilu?” she asked aolani.

aolani nodded, “yeah! i made it. you wanna see my other ones?”

tuk nodded eagerly and the two walked over to aolani’s pile of toys. after they walked away you turned your attention to the brothers in the entrance of your home.

“so, what are you two doing here?” you asked curiously.

“we wanted to accompany you-” neteyam started but lo’ak cut him off, “our dad forced us to come.”

you couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at lo’ak’s bluntness.

“yeah, that sounds about right. but you don’t have to come. i can take them on my own.” you spoke. you didn’t know how long the sully family would be staying but you wanted their time among your people to be enjoyable. you didn't want them to be upset at spending an afternoon with you.

“it’s fine. we’re happy to come.” neteyam spoke before looking at lo’ak, “right?”

lo’ak rolled his eyes before giving a tight lipped smile.

you watched the interaction in amusement, “despite how fake that was, i appreciate the effort. let’s go."

you walked along the sandy beach with both lo’ak and neteyam on either side of you.

“how long have you been doing this?” neteyam asked.

“uh i started when i was aolani’s age and i’ve been going alone until aolani turned five, after that i started bringing her with me” you answered.

“so what do you guys look for?” lo’ak asked, swinging around a stick he found a while back.

“anything that washed up and looks cool. we usually find shells and sea glass.” you said as you bent down. you began lightly digging through the sand.

"neteyam! come look at this!" tuk exclaimed as her and aolani were looking at something in the sand. neteyam looked at lo’ak once more before walking over to his sister and her new friend.

you looked up from your spot to see what lo’ak was doing but the sunlight blinded your vision. you brought your hand up to block out the bright light. once your vision finally adjusted, you noticed that lo’ak was skillfully swinging around the same stick as he looked out at the ocean.

“maybe you should use that stick for something other than swinging.” you poked his calf with your finger.

lo’ak looked down at you, “i don’t think i’ll find anything.”

“just try.” you gestured towards the sand. he looked at you for a moment before driving said stick into the sand. he moved around a few times before he felt something. after moving some sand out of the way, a beautiful seashell came into view.

you reached over and picked it up. it was a clam shell in a wonderful shade of blue. with a dopey smile, you held the shell up to lo’ak.

“told you.”

lo'ak playfully rolled his eyes, "okay you were right. what kind of shell is it?"

"i am always right so you better get used to it." you spoke while inspecting the shell, "and lucky for you, this is a blue clam shell."

lo'aks eyebrows furrowed in confusion. the hair that resided on his brow bone was very unusual for you. your whole life, you've only interacted with the metkayina clan and na'vi from the surrounding villages which have all looked similar to you.

now living with na'vi from a different area of the planet was something new and also living with someone who has physical traits of two different species. it is very fascinating to you. it reminded you that all beings can be different from one another.

“lucky? lucky how?” lo’ak asked as he squatted down beside you to hear an explanation.

“for us metkayina, blue is a symbol of trust and loyalty and the clam shell can provide protection and safety. we sometimes give them to newcomers. even though you found it, it's like a gift from us to you. you trust us, we grant you safety." you explained before handing the shell to him.

lo’ak smiled faintly, taking the shell from your smaller fingers. the teenager then found himself both more intrigued and curious.

"so what do the other colors mean?"

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