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completed

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The Tree that gives : Agedup!neteyam x scientist!reader, reader is grace augustine’s niece on pandora to study it’s ecology, falls in love with her guide and protector during her study, Neteyam.

part one | part two | part three

upcoming

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summary As the niece of Grace Augustine, responsibility has always shadowed your every step. But this time, you choose to chase it—journeying to Pandora to carry forward your aunt’s devotion to its people and ecosystem. Welcomed into the Omaticaya’s lush rainforest home, you expect purpose and legacy. What you don’t expect is to find yourself entangled in the arms of the future Olo’eyktan.

warnings neteyam x reader, this story canonically happens between the events of Way of The Water and the first movie but the characters ages have been adjusted to fit the story. So neteyam is in his 20s and so is the reader. Some characters are also brought back from the dead bcs I wanted to <3 love my man Tsu’tey .

word count : 1.8k

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Part Three

The next day blooms blue and bright, sunlight filtering through the woven canopy of the tent and warming your skin before your eyes even fully open. This time, you are more comfortable waking up in your new body, having gotten used to it by now, the stretch of longer limbs and the gentle weight of your braid resting along your back no longer foreign.

You await your hike with Neteyam today, even though you have convinced yourself that what Neteyam feels with you is platonic comfort and nothing more, and that you should not escalate things and make him uncomfortable. The prospect of spending time with him, platonic or not, excites you in a way you refuse to examine too closely.

You wash up, cool water running over blue skin and grounding you in the present, before changing into the day’s clothes. The fabric settles naturally now. Familiar. You carry a fanny pack filled with the things you would need for today’s work, fingers moving quickly as the morning fills with the soft clatter of equipment and distant conversation.

As you are consumed in the quiet hustle of packing, Neteyam’s voice cuts gently through the static of movement.

“Hey, Dari.”

You pause.

The name he gave you feels like honey on freshly picked fruit. It tastes sweet in his mouth and comforting in your ears, lingering longer than it should.

“Excited for today?”

You raise your eyebrows. Excited? Could this mean he sees this as much more than a friendly field trip?

“Yeah,” you say plainly, a smile still plastered across your face. “Can’t wait to hike.” The sarcasm is more audible now.

A subtle shift in his posture.

“Oh, there’s no hike,” he corrects you. “Dad said I could take you on my ikran.”

Ikran.

The word settles into your chest before it fully reaches your mind.

“Ikran? No way.” Your face fills with awe as you finally turn to face Neteyam by the tent flap. His posture is a sight of grace and hardness at the same time. Sunlight falls cleanly over his sharp cheekbones. There is an expression of thrill and challenge on his face as he watches your reaction, as if he anticipated every second of it.

“I’m going to fall to my death,” you tell him as you move closer, excitement overtaking fear.

“I’ll catch you,” he says, slow and meaningful, the words leaving his mouth before he seems to consider them. “My ikran will,” he corrects himself.

“Regardless of who or what it is, I just want to be caught,” you reassure him.

That subtle giveaway does not escape you.

“Fair enough.” He nods once, composure settling back over him.

Soon after, the two of you make your way from the tent onto the higher branches where the ikran rookery rests among the trees. The air grows cooler here, wind stronger as it weaves between leaves and woven platforms.

“Wait why did you wake me so early if we’re not going to hike?” You ask him. He doesn’t reply, just tilts his head to the side—his father’s son— and gives you a knowing, mischievous smile. 

Neteyam steps forward and makes a series of sharp, practiced calls, the sounds carrying outward into open sky.

A rush of wings answers him.

A beautiful purple ikran bursts from the trees and lands before him, powerful and precise, folding its wings with a low rumble, dutiful and subservient.

Neteyam strokes its neck, gentle and almost parental.

“You’re taming your ikran,” he declares.

“What? No? No!” You’re excited but scared at the same time. If the idea of flying one had scared you earlier, flying on your own ikran scares you ten times more now.

“Dad asked that you be given an opportunity to form tsaheylu. Thought it would be fun to see you all nervous and floppy,” he says, a smirk pulling at his mouth, barely holding back a laugh.

“No way,” you tell him, eyes widening. “I’m not even trained.”

“You’ve got the kuru. That’s all you need. For now.”

You shake your head in reluctant submission. Neteyam climbs onto his ikran’s neck, sliding forward to make space behind him. You raise an eyebrow at the gesture.

“Climb on,” he says, motioning behind him. “We’re going to the roostery. That’s where you’ll find one.”

“To tame?” Your voice rises with shock. Your disbelief only seems to amuse him. He reaches back, impatient, waiting for you. You take his hand and climb on, settling awkwardly behind him, your knees bracketing his thighs as you try to hold yourself steady.

“Closer,” he murmurs.

It’s soft. Almost a whisper.

You move forward, hesitantly at first, then fully. Your bodies align, fitting together as the ikran launches into the sky. The wind rushes past you as you glide, the forest falling away beneath you.

He lands inside a hill cave layered with stone, a waterfall spilling down one side like a silver curtain. He tells you to move carefully along the ledge. You follow him into a clearing where dozens of restless ikran lie groaning and snapping their wings.

“Find yours,” he says, smiling. “Form tsaheylu.” He nods toward your braid.

“H-how do I even know which one I’m supposed to bond with?” you ask.

“It’ll try to kill you,” he says with a snicker.

He’s teasing, but he stays close. Protective. Not interfering, just watching. You move carefully between them. One lunges. Another shrieks. One sends you tumbling hard onto the stone. Each time you hit the ground, breath knocked from your lungs, you force yourself back up.

It isn’t just about taming an ikran.

You want to prove to him that you can. That you are capable. That you are something more than the girl who follows him through the forest. You don’t know why his approval feels like air in your lungs, but it does.

After a long struggle, you find her.

A beautiful pink ikran with white patterns scattered across her wide body, like snowfall against flushed skin. Her eyes are a striking green. She lunges at you, you hold your ground, and when your kuru connects, the world goes silent.

You name her Hawnu. Snow. For the white that graces her pink.

You and Hawnu rise into the sky.

Neteyam flies beside you, far enough to let you find your rhythm, close enough to protect you if you falter. You let out breathless whoops of joy as you lean into the wind, exhilaration flooding you. The sky feels endless. You feel endless.

When you glance at him, he’s already looking at you.

Like you’ve done something impossible. Like you’ve hung the moon yourself.

You fly deeper into the forest together, cutting through branches and tall grass before landing in a quiet clearing far below. It’s noon. You can feel it in the warmth on your skin.

The forest had been generous that evening. Light poured through the canopy in molten strands, catching in your beads as you and Neteyam walked through familiar paths with an ease that felt newly earned. The earlier tension between you had softened into something almost companionable. You spoke of your ikrans with pride, comparing their speed, their dives, their tempers. He listened with that composed patience of his, correcting you only when your exaggerations grew too bold.

“Your ikran does not dive sharper,” he said, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “You just push her like you have something to prove.”

“She trusts me, okay.”

“She survives you,” he replied, amused.

The forest dimmed gradually around you. Neither of you noticed how far you had wandered until the shadows thickened and the air cooled.

“It’s getting late,” he said, glancing up. “We should head back.”

You agreed and turned toward the direction of the roost. The rustle came suddenly from the undergrowth to your left. It was too heavy to be wind.

Neteyam moved before thought could catch up. His arm wrapped firmly around your wrist and drew you behind him. His body shifted into place, shoulders squared, stance steady.

“Behind me,” he said sharply.

The first viperwolf emerged with a snarl, shoulders tense and eyes fixed. Two more followed, circling in widening arcs. Neteyam’s bow lifted with fluid precision. The first arrow struck clean. The forest erupted into motion.

You moved instinctively, back to his back as another lunged. He turned sharply, but one wolf broke through the side as you pivoted. Its claws raked across his chest before he drove it back with controlled force. He did not cry out. His jaw tightened and he steadied himself.

“Neteyam!”

“I’m fine,” he said through his teeth.

The final wolf retreated after your blade struck close enough to warn. Silence reclaimed the clearing in careful increments. Leaves settled. Insects resumed their distant hum.

You turned to him fully then. A long scratch marked his chest beneath the strap that crossed it. Another thin line traced his left cheekbone.

“That is not fine.”

“It’s nothing,” he insisted.

You guided him to sit upon a patch of cool grass despite his composure. He did not resist. You gathered medicinal leaves and crushed them between your palms, releasing their sharp scent into the evening air. When you knelt before him, the quiet between you shifted.

“Take that off,” you said, nodding at the strap.

He held your gaze for a brief moment before unfastening it. The leather fell away and the fading light revealed the full breadth of the wound. He was built with the disciplined strength of someone who trained not for vanity but for duty. His chest rose steadily despite the scratch that marked it.

You dipped the crushed leaves and pressed them gently against the wound. He inhaled at the cool contact. Not from pain, but from the sudden awareness of your touch. His eyes remained fixed on you, head slightly tilted as if memorizing the exact expression you wore.

“Does it hurt?”

“Not as much as you think.”

As you adjusted the leaves, your eyes caught a faint red marking near his collarbone. It was the clear impression of a small hand.

“What’s that?”

He glanced down briefly.

“That’s from No’ang. My promised. We had molds made of each others hands as kids, it is custom to adorn it every day”

“Oh.”

“It doesn’t mean anything,” he added, almost sounding like reassurance.

“Oh.”The word felt heavier the second time. 

The forest seemed too still around you.You know you shouldn’t want this.

The thought rose without permission. You pressed the leaves more carefully this time, your fingers brushing the warmth of his skin. He flexed slightly beneath your touch, not intentionally, but because he felt it.

You moved upward and applied the medicine to the scratch along his cheek. Your fingers lingered there for a fraction too long.

“Thanks,” you said quietly. “For stepping in like that.”

He watched you with an intensity that made your pulse unsteady.

“I’m not going to stand there and let something touch you,” he said. “That’s not happening.”

The words were simple. Not poetic. But they landed harder than anything rehearsed.If this man really was promised, why was he speaking to you as though he were your husband?

He leaned closer, slowly, giving you time to move if you wanted to. His breath brushed your skin. His eyes dropped briefly to your lips before returning to your gaze.

The air tightened.For one suspended moment, it felt inevitable.

You pulled back abruptly and rose to your feet.

“We should go now.”

His expression shifted, confused but restrained.

“Yeah. Okay.”

You mounted your ikrans for the journey back. The wind between you felt colder than before.

When you landed within the territory of the Omaticaya, the sky had darkened fully. He approached you with careful hesitation.

“Hey. If I made that weird… I didn’t mean to.”

You did not let him finish. You turned and walked away before your voice could betray you.

Behind you, he stayed rooted to the spot. Moving forward only after you’d tread far enough to leave a safe distance between you two.

He was promised. Engaged in the quiet political way that bound futures long before feelings had space to interfere. The knowledge struck harder than you expected. It angered you despite your own engagement being equally real and equally complicated.

You resolved to avoid him after this. You felt foolish for caring and furious for feeling wounded. He dealt with you with such passion and care, all the while being promised to another woman who may love him tenfold more than you do. 

As you returned from the roostery, the clearing buzzed with unusual movement. Voices overlapped. Children ran between woven tents. Traders had arrived.

Neteyam, despite the distance you had created, followed the path you had taken, unable to ignore the pull.

The commotion parted as a procession entered the heart of the village. Windtraders draped in layered fabrics carried carved goods and rare materials. 

tttg will continue, just on a slower pace <3

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

summary As the niece of Grace Augustine, responsibility has always shadowed your every step. But this time, you choose to chase it—journeying to Pandora to carry forward your aunt’s devotion to its people and ecosystem. Welcomed into the Omaticaya’s lush rainforest home, you expect purpose and legacy. What you don’t expect is to find yourself entangled in the arms of the future Olo’eyktan.

warnings neteyam x reader, this story canonically happens between the events of Way of The Water and the first movie but the characters ages have been adjusted to fit the story. So neteyam is in his 20s and so is the reader. Some characters are also brought back from the dead bcs I wanted to <3 love my man Tsu’tey .

word count : 2.7k

read part one here

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Part Two

The next day shines cool and bright against your face. You are shaken awake by the sharp screech of an ikran cutting across the sky overhead.

For a moment, you lie still. Your body feels… different. Not sore. Not hurt. Just aware. Aware of yesterday.

You shift beneath the woven canopy, pushing aside hanging leaves before stepping out into the filtered morning light. The air is crisp, alive. You walk, slightly dazed, toward your makeshift lab.

You begin unpacking with deliberate care. Notes stacked neatly. Books aligned. Test tubes, sample vials, collection tools laid out in careful order.

Then you place it gently at the edge of the table.A small pink digital camera— Old, Earth-made and slightly scratched.

Grace had given it to you when you were a child. She placed the tiny camera into your soft, infant, hands as she told you to document whatever it is that you felt had mattered. “Science is memory,” she used to say. You run your thumb over its surface before setting it down.

Just as you lift your now-empty backpack onto the table, a voice rings through the quiet air.

“Hey!”

You turn. Kiri hops toward you, bright as the morning itself.

“How’d you sleep?” she asks, already halfway inside your tent without waiting for permission.You don’t mind.

“It was good,” you reply. “Different. But good.”

She grins. “You’ll get used to it.”

The two of you talk easily. Conversations float like feather, ones about sleep, about how the Na’vi cleanse at the streams at dawn, about small rituals that feel sacred in their simplicity. She leads you toward the water, cool and clear, and you wash away the last of yesterday’s tension.

Later, you change into something simple — a white T-shirt, cargo shorts. Practical. Neutral. Safe.

When you reach the clearing, Jake Sully stands waiting.

Not too far behind him—

Neteyam.

Your heart betrays you immediately.It flips, sharp and uncontrollable. Despite every effort you made last night to bury whatever this is.

He looks at you. But it doesn’t feel like yesterday’s.

Yesterday there was something soft. Curious. Almost boyish.Today his gaze is sharper, distant and detached.

“Neteyam will guide you today,” Jake says casually.

You nod.

“Keep her safe,” he adds, glancing at his son. If there is a subtle undertone there, you can’t decipher it. Jake turns and leaves.

That’s it? No ceremony. No elaboration.

Neteyam jerks his head forward slightly, indicating for you to follow. You comply.

The two of you move away from Home Tree, deeper into the forest. The path is familiar — the same one Jake, Tsu’tey and you passed through when you first arrived.

For hours, it is work and strictly work.

You document. Photograph. Collect samples.

He explains the basics of certain plants in a monotonous and official tone. which ones glow, which ones sting, and which ones breathe differently at dusk.

You can feel his gaze on you sometimes — especially when you kneel to examine something, when your focus sharpens and your pupils widen in fascination.But he doesn’t speak unless necessary.

“Do not touch that.”

“Stay back.”

“Hold this.”

Cold, professional commands detached of any soul, yet they feel like jabs at your hopeful heart. slowly, the excitement you had built in your chest begins to dissolve— Maybe you imagined yesterday.Maybe the tension was just proximity.Maybe you wanted something that was never there.

You shut it down.You work mechanically. If he is uninterested, you will be too.

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Neteyam feels every second of your field visit. Oh he feels every.single.second.

He notices the way you withdraw, The way your laughter is quieter.The way you stop looking up at him after explanations.

He reminds himself you are not here for long.He reminds himself you are promised to someone else.He reminds himself that he is the future Olo’eyktan.

And yet—

Every time light filters through the canopy and lands across your face, illuminating the fine curve of your cheek—

Every time your eyes widen at something beautiful—

It feels like something lodges in his chest.It’s sharp and immediate. He can’t really tell. all he’s sure of is that it’s a feeling he can’t quite name.

He knows if he lets his walls down before you, he will fall somewhere he cannot return from.So he chooses discipline even though it aches.

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When you return to Home Tree, you separate immediately. You jolt towards the opposite direction the second you notice Kiri and Tuk by the clearing. You notice that Neteyam is slower to part from you, you pay it no mind.

You hear Kiri shout your name, and before you can react, she is pulling you away by the arm.

Neteyam’s eyes follow the motion sharply before he forces himself to look away.

“How was it?” she asks brightly. “Did you find everything?”

“Yes,” you reply evenly. “Your brother was very helpful.”Your force a neutral tone.

“Oh, he is such a sweetheart,” she teases.

You force a small smile.

“Anyway,” she continues, “the festival is approaching. You‘ve come at the perfect time.”

“Festival?”

“In honor of what my father and the Omaticaya did. To protect Eywa.”

Your eyes widen slightly.

“Oh. That sounds— incredible.”

“It is. Many clans will come.”

Excitement sparks in your chest again, replacing the dull ache from earlier.

“I’d be honored to celebrate,” you say softly.

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“Here comes the lover boy,” Lo’ak announces dramatically as Neteyam approaches.

Lo’ak throws an arm over his brother’s shoulders.

“What do you want?” Neteyam mutters.

“You and the scientist,” Lo’ak grins.

Neteyam stiffens.

“How was the first date?”

“It was not a date,” Neteyam hisses. “Skxawng.”

Lo’ak laughs. “Are you going to take her around during the festival?”

“Me and her.” He motions between himself and the empty space next to him. “Duty.”

“Sure,” Lo’ak smirks before running off.

Neteyam stands still for a long moment afterward.

Duty. Is it?

When he has to beg Eywa to not let you notice the way he glances at you for too long when you’re near him. The way he begs Eywa to ensure you don’t hear how fast his alien heart beats when you smile at him or thank him for watching out for you.

He knows enough about earth to know that this isn’t what duty feels like.

“Neteyam” the voice cuts like light rays through the mist in Neteyam’s mind— fogged with thoughts of you. It’s Neytiri.

“I need to speak to you” she declares “Marui. Now.”

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“So” she begins, neteyam’s shoulders are crouched. Just braced — like he already knows where this is going.

Neytiri stands before him, eyes sharp, posture unyielding.

“You believe I do not see it?”

He keeps his voice level. “See what?”

“The hesitation.”

“I do not hesitate.”

Her gaze doesn’t waver.

“You think because you complete your tasks, that it is enough.”

“I have done everything asked of me.”

“Yes,” she replies evenly. “You have done what is asked.” The distinction slices. Neteyam’s jaw tightens.

“You move like someone carrying doubt,” she continues. “Your strikes are strong, but your mind is divided.”

“My mind is here.”

“Your body is here,” she corrects.

Silence impales his throat, he swallows it dry.

“I have not failed you.”

The words slip out before he can stop them. They’re not defensive or angry, just tight.

Neytiri steps closer now.“I did not say you failed.”

“But you imply it.”

Her ears flick slightly at that. “You are the eldest son of Toruk Makto,” she says. “Future Olo’eyktan. The clan watches you. They must see certainty.”

“I am certain.”

“No.” The word lands heavy.“You are trying.”

His breath falters almost imperceptibly. Trying?

He has always tried.Harder. Faster. Better.From the time he could hold a bow, From the time he understood what his father’s name meant.

He straightens fully now.“What more do you want from me?” he asks quietly.

It’s not a challenge, but it’s far worse.It’s honesty.

Neytiri’s expression hardens.It wasn’t cruel, but immovable.

“I want you to be unwavering.”

“I am.”

“You are not.”

That does it. Something in his chest shifts.He looks away for half a second, toward the forest, toward the sky, anywhere but her eyes.And she sees it.

“There,” she says softly. “That.”

His hands curl at his sides.

“I train. I patrol. I attend council. I lead.”

“And yet you feel heavier,” she says.

He doesn’t answer.Because she’s right.

“You cannot afford weakness,” she continues. “Not in thought. Not in heart.”

“Understood.”

“For the coming days,” she says, “you will lead both dawn and dusk patrols.”

“Yes, Mother.” He replies in submission, but also as to remind her subtly, that beneath everything, she is his mother.

She turns to leave, then disappears into the trees.

Neteyam stands alone in the clearing.For a long moment, he does not move. The u comforting and heavy silence interrupted as he exhales.

But it doesn’t ease anything.It just feels like something sinking.

He looks down at his hands.

They’re steady.Always steady. But still, not enough.

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That evening, you lie in your hammock beneath the open sky. For once, you have nothing to catalog, nothing to analyze. You decide to take the best out of the liberty that the tribe has offered to you, you step out for a walk.

It is then that you recall something Kiri had mentioned a few days ago, the Kxaylì Tirea. A beautiful river close to the Home Tree, yet isolated and distanced from the bustling evening crowd. The plants beneath the water shined proudly at night, emitting bioluminescent cascades that lit up the water that protected it. You wished to find it but you didn’t want to bother Kiri, who was occupied with work.

You decided to find it yourself.

You step out your lab-marui and walk in vague directions for a bit, you see Neteyam walk outside the Olo’eyktan’s marui, his face filled with disdain. Sure you’ve seen him detached; but it was never this bad. It felt as though his soul was snatched away from him and the fire that so passionately lit his eyes was drawn out by rough winds.

His eyes catch yours for a breif minute before you look away and walk towards the opposite direction. Something inside you kicks and crawls at you to ask him what has happened. But you disobey.

It’s been half an hour before you realise you’ve been spinning endlessly in the same circle in pursuit of the Kxaylì Tirea. Every path you take to the west, or east, leads you right back to the clearing. You’re hyper aware of how the locals might be laughing off at your idiocracy. What seemingly makes it worse is how everytime you round back up, you see Neteyam posted up in one corner or the other, eyeing you with curiousity and amusement.

“Hey.” It’s neteyam, the fourteenth time you find yourself in the same clearing. “Are you trying to leave the Home Tree?” He asks

You let out a loose and real chuckle, gosh he loves when you do that— the way your eyes close, the way your cheeks expand and the way you throw your head back as you laugh. Your laugh puts him in a trance.

Misreading his awe for disapproval, you immediately correct yourself. “I was uh” “searching for the Kxaylì Tirea”

He let’s out a small smile. “I can take you there, if you want” he asks with his gaze parked low, his hand behind his neck.

You nod “please” you shoot him your best smile.

The two of you walk together, Neteyam leads you across paths you’ve either missed or walked right past the first fourteen times. With him, the walk is smooth and secure.

The trees clear out over a ridge, revealing a lustrous path of liquid that looks like silk laid across the greenery. You can’t help but gasp a little at how serene the view before you is.

“Wow” you say

“Wow” he repeats

The two of you walk forward and seat yourselves near the riverside. You gently raise an arm and let it sit in the water, wading through it gently to feel it. You close your eyes.

Neteyam takes notice of your antic.

“It’s believed” he begins “that whatever you wish for here comes true.” He says, his eyes glued to the river.

“Oh” you say, you can’t really reply to him as you’re awestruck by it’s beauty. You slowly shift your head to face him.

“I may not be in a position to ask, but you seemed really… unwell today”

Neteyam raises an eyebrow in confusion “unwell?”

“You just didn’t seem… content”

“I can only be content, if those around me are” he says

“That must be— unfulfilling” you say.

For the first time in a long time, Neteyam feels as though someone has read the right words in his heart, mirrored exactly what he feels, and put them into words. This makes him take more interest towards you, he turns to face you.

“My aunt, she was great, everyone loved her. And every second I’m here; I’m scared I’ll do something that’ll hurt the people, or displease them. Then everything Grace did for them comes crashing down. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but i wish sometimes— that the things i do affected only me and no one else”

You feel good getting these words out.

Neteyam stands there looking at you, he never expected you to get this vulnerable with him. He’s surprised you let yourself come undone before him. Neytiri’s conversation today left him feeling things he didn’t like feeling about himself— and to know that someone else felt the same way he did, there was no better cure than that.

“Hmm” he can only manage this.

“Toruk Makto’s son, i get it” he says.

You laugh a little.

What started as a venting session soon blooms into a beautiful bonding moment between the two of you. both of you open about the struggles of keeping up a well forged legacy and being whole as individuals.

Neteyam comes undone before you, revealing his insecurities and hopes for the future. You sense something in your conversation that lies deeper than just finding friendship and comfort within each other, but you’re not quite ready to name it just yet. You let it sit there calmly, undisturbed.

“You remind me” he says “of Dari”

“Who’s that?”

“My grandmother used to speak of her a lot; she’s a forest mage, a fairy”

“Oh” you giggle “why does she remind you of me”

“Because she cares about the forest; she feels it, observes it, she’s Eywa’s favourite” he says

You laugh at the prospect of being Eywa’s favourite. Silence is quick to follow.

“Can I… uh… call you Dari?” He asks

You’re taken aback, the level or comfort that had suddenly surged between you is surprising yet reassuring.

“Yeah. I’d like that very much” you stare into his eyes this time. You know whatever you felt in your mind and didn’t say out loud at that moment, he had heard.

“Make a wish” he says, breaking the silence that was beginning to simmer into something else between the two or you.

You push your hands into the cool water, and for some reason you wish in impulse that Neteyam be yours

Stupid stupid stupid! Is this what you’re here for?

You can’t explain why you did it, you just did. You sneak a glance at Neteyam— his hands are in the river, eyes closed in reverence and prayer. What could he have wished for?

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

He offers to walk you back to your marui this time around. there’s a sense of comfort that you both have found in eachother that excites and scares you at the same time.

As you reach the stone path leading up to your marui, you turn to wave your nightly goodbye to Neteyam.

“We have a long hike tomorrow” he tells you

“The plant you wanted to observe? It’s deeper in the forest. Well have to start early”

“Oh really?” You tell him “then i better get to sleep”

He nods in approval. You stay for a minute, comfortable in the silence that follows.

You walk slowly towards your Marui but you can’t help but turn around. as much you hate to admit it , you didn’t want this night, and this proximity, to end.

You exhale and manage a small smile at Neteyam.

“Good night Nete” you take your liberty

“Good night, Dari” and finally, he takes his.

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

summary: As the niece of Grace Augustine, responsibility has always shadowed your every step. But this time, you choose to chase it—journeying to Pandora to carry forward your aunt’s devotion to its people and ecosystem. Welcomed into the Omaticaya’s lush rainforest home, you expect purpose and legacy. What you don’t expect is to find yourself entangled in the arms of the future Olo’eyktan.

warnings neteyam x reader, this story canonically happens between the events of Way of The Water and the first movie but the characters ages have been adjusted to fit the story. So neteyam is in his 20s and so is the reader. Some characters are also brought back from the dead bcs I wanted to <3 love my man Tsu’tey .

word count : 3.1k

read part two here

Part One

tap tap tap

your foot taps nervously on the metal flooring of the mothership.

a new life, a genesis

that’s what you’ve been put upto.

As the neice of someone as well educated and respected as Grace, responsibilities and duties obviously followed— specifically considering that you decide to follow in the same discipline as her’s — ecology.

your interest in Na’vi ecology or Pandora didn’t shoot up like a sprout on a random Tuesday evening… it was built in, conditioned into you subconsciously. The stories that your mom told you under the bedlamp, about her sister’s adventures in a bioluminescent habitable moon, the people she met there, and the two blues who were so different yet alike, fascinated you. It was like the universe’s lil fucked up way of sewing you into this life without escape.

There were nights you’d imagine the blue light from your bed lamp was the one emitted by a sparkly pandoran stream. You’d imagine your bed as the leafy canopy in which tired Na’vi warriors laid for their share of daily rest. You’d imagined the planes flying overhead were colourful ikran, waiting to be tamed, to be directed.

It wouldn’t be a stretch if one said you’d been fascinated for the life that your aunt had had well before her passing in this beautiful, glowing wonderland. You’d hoped you could get there one day, the prospect of a life there seemed so close to your heart, but so far fetched in possibility.

Apart from the love for Pandora, a greater flaw Grace is directly responsible for injecting in you, is a pretty little fascination for Pandoran flora and fauna: you’d read her books, skimmed through her documents and rummaged through the photo albums she showed you… more than the lifestyle, more than the people…. You’d always wanted to experience and admire it’s ecosystem. You took up studies in ecology and began working with RDA for the same reason, to get as close you could to this starlit, bright-purple hued dream caged away by the RDA in it’s unpleasant metallic chokehold.

The folks at RDA never liked you, they thought you were a nepo baby, a spoiled little brat that touched a single leaf in her whole life, thought it exotic, and found herself doing what she did. As they got to know you, they realised how passionate and hardworking you are, and many of them took a slow but solid liking towards you.

A dream that seemed so distant and out of reach was rammed into your soft pink palms one evening.

You’d been cleared— to be sent to Pandora, to research and study their ecology, to document it and to reside with the clan for a period to learn and accumulate as much information as you could about Pandoran agora.

Best of all, THE Jake sully had approved your visit. seeing that the RDA was in negotiations for peace with the Na’vi after the previous revolution, You were the best option— gentle, harmless, and believed to have no effect on the people or the nature. Just there to observe, study, mingle and leave.

You did not know how to receive this news at first,

happy? Yes

scared? So much more.

You’d never believed this would happen, you were never prepared for it to happen either. You jumped up and down, told your mom about it, and knew that Grace would have loved for you to have this.

And that, ladies and gentleman, brings the RDA nepo scientist, onto Hell’s Gate. RDA’s metal flooded, meta modern, invasion of a settlement and excuse of a base at Pandora.

You stopped tapping your feet and looked out the panelled glass window, the sky was a beautiful shade of purple, with a gas giant visible.

Alpha Centauri you thought to yourself

In front of you was a long metal incubator. You knew this was the NeuraLink , where you get linked to your Avatar, then step out, then become who you are going to be for the next few moons.

Sasha, the scientist there responsible for linking greets you with a smile

“Hope your journey was good, let’s get you in there yea?”

You nod your head nervously. This was all happening. It was all real.

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt “ she reassures you, reading your weary expression and heaving chest.

You nod again, emptily floating towards the Neuralink. You lay in and a mesh cage is placed over you, you take a deep breath.

You feel a sharp light flood your eyes bashingly, your thoughts are suspended and you forget to feel

forget to feel.

ringgggggg

you flutter your eyes open. it’s a blur all over, but a brash white ray of light intrudes through the calming blur, pinching you awake.

You sit up gently; you feel foreign.

You glance down at yourself, below the white gown, you see long blue legs stretched out, your fingers are now three… no, four, you are blue all over.

You’ve linked.

A different woman— not Sasha— now stands beside you, smiling with kind eyes.

“Congrats” she says “you’ve made it”

You smile, you really did make it

After all those years of childish pining and secretly wishing you could have the life of these marine skinned aliens, you have now gotten about three steps closer to ever having their life…

looking like them

being where they are

and having the same love for their environment as they do.

After a few basic excercises, and training, the lady from before hands you your new Navi sized clothing — a simple pink T-shirt, grey pants and white coat over it.

They hand you a backpack full of the stuff you packed from home. Notes, test tubes, big books and a hair comb. You giggled at the thought.

Your little act of rebellion, your little flaunt of nepotistic advantage: during the design phase, you had specifically asked them to give your Avatar your own hairstyle. The exact same one your human form had. Everyone would already know you’re not Na’vi, then why pretend? Why not be you in a world where you aren’t…. You?

You take your backpack and advance towards a room, you’re met with a tall imposing male figure, burly and hardened. You despise him a little

“Evening sweetheart” oh how you hated men who called you sweetheart

“Beyond that fence there” he says, looking outside the panelled window. “We are looking at 10ft tall, humanoid, indegenous species, the Na’vi” he says, then pauses as though to create suspense

“I know sir” you cut the silence, Something about this man made you feel a sort of unexplained hatred, one you never felt before.

“Of course you do, Ms. Augustine.” emphasising your last name a little more, as though he was reminding you of who you were, and how he thinks you got here. nothing but Grace’s spoiled little neice. You try to hide your irritation with a smile.

“We have Jake sully, i know you know who he is” he says pausing, as though mockingly correcting himself “outside here” he continues

“Protocol, I have to explain” he says

You nod

“He’s going to lead you towards the tribe” he says, so emotionally detached from all of this.

“He’s their Oloeyktan, leader of sorts, he was once with us” he says

You nod. ugh! Mansplaining

Once you spent a few more unbearable minutes listening to the man speak, you’re up and escorted towards the exterior. Your led by Sasha— now wearing a gas mask—towards a tall, blue haired man, hair in unkept braids flung backwards, a soft and mature smile on his face. Next to him, a man with no hair, a more skeletal and angry face, yet with no expression displayed stands.

You immediately knew who the first man was…. Jake Sully.

“Jake, Tsu’tey, “ she repeats their names to you, then she says yours to them, they nod and fling their forearms from their foreheads to reach out before you.

“Oel ngati kamae “ they say

“Oel ngati kamae “ you manage, they smile at you.

Jake starts speaking

“we’ve managed a lab for you, though it’s a tent, I’m sure you could manage” he explains softly

“Oh you did? Thank you so much” you tell him

“You can live with us these few days, we’ll arrange someone to stick with you” he says

“You can’t be touchin’ this and that on your own” he says, as though he was speaking from experience.

a story grace mentioned of Jake and his saga with an unintentionally provoked thanator flashes your mind, you hide a smile. You nod

“We’re getting there by foot, if you don’t mind” he asks you politely.

“Oh no I don’t” you smile politely. Heaving your backpack and other things with you as you walk along the forest path.

The walk to the Home Tree is calm and easy. Jake asks questions, so does Tsu’tey. both men are welcoming and gentle. It feels like home, very very comforting to you, they feel like home.

“Your hair” Tsu’tey points out “is not like other Na’vi, ya?”

He asks you, with a smile

“oh, i had that done on purpose” you smile goofily. “I’m not trying to deceive anyone, I’m human, gotta remind everyone…. And myself” you say.

Both the men chuckle, Tsu’tey shakes his head in amusement.

After sometime, the three of you find yourself in front of a large tree, with many blue figures bustling inside it.

“Come with me” Jake motions to you, as they lead you to the clearing in the middle.

You hear gushing and murmurs from the navi surrounding you, most gentle, most curious, none hurtful.

Everything feels out of place, you are overwhelmed, these are people you’ve only ever dreamed of, never even expecting anything of them but pictures or sketches… this was unexpected, new, inviting.

You scoot behind Jake. A little nervous.

He takes notice, but begins speaking anyway.

All the Na’vi turn towards him

He speaks to the people in a commanding and loud tone, as though he wants everyone to hear him and be very clear about his message.

You don’t know much Na’vi, but you pick up words that mean guest, friend, nature, Grace, study.

You peek over his shoulder, and see a beautiful woman standing opposite to him, Bright beautiful golden eyes, and next to her a girl with long braided hair, another one, younger and more happy, then another, a boy with a curious expression, you see one more, but before you can fully drift your eyes towards him, jake’s voice interupts.

“My family” Jake motions towards them with a smile.

“Neytiri, my munxtate” you nod and motion a greeting towards her.

She steps forward with a smile, a hand curiously grasping your hair

“like kiri’s” she smiles, you smile wider.

“my aunt spoke a lot of you, although, her stories could never do justice to your beauty” you speak genuinely, neytiri bursts into her most natural, happy smile

“You are quite a beauty yourself” she says to you, You look down and blush at the comment

“We welcome you here, make your home among us, and may Eywa’s grace guide you through your stay here” she says ernestly.

“Aaaand” Jake interupts your sacred moment, you both are shaken awake,

“my kids, kiri” Kiri waves you,

“Tuktirey” he says pointing at the younger, more jumpier one, she waves with a huge smile, you return her childish wave with your very own, you see Neytiri smile.

“Lo’ak, he’s quite the trouble” he motions towards the younger boy, with a more oval face and his mother’s gorgeous, golden eyes.

He motions a greeting to you, you return it.

“And my oldest” he points to the one on lo’ak’s left, your eyes drift curiously, a little too fast.

His eyes have already met yours, his mouth a little open, he’s staring

He’s staring

He doesn’t realise it but he is.To him, you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever laid his eyes on. Your eyes don’t leave his, locked onto the golden orbs of the boy before you.

“Neteyam” Jake says, almost interrupting, the boy is shaken awake.

He nervously flings the greeting at you, a bit clumsy. Neytiri eyes him from the side, a knowing smile forming on her face.

You greet them all back.

your mind however; is hooked onto the last boy, Neteyam. His name rings in your ears.

It’s like your brain subconsciously wanted to keep that suspense, the way Jake interrupted you before you could look at him yourself, as though your meeting was something so sacred and special, it couldn’t begin with just a simple glance

It had to begin with an introduction, a secret promise, an Oel Ngati Kamae

“Tomorrow, I’ll breif you on everything you have to do, who’s there to help, yada yada” Jake speaks.

“For now, rest.” he says.

“Kiri will lead you to your tent” he motions her.

She obliges happily. Tuk blobs along behind her, the three of you move away from the crowd, further away, into a branch that hangs above dark blue and green hued forest, leading to a tent below.

En route, kiri is brimming with questions and enthusiasm, which you return.

“Oooh so were cousins” she says

“ooo i guess we areee” you say, she smiles at you, asks you about earth, what got you here and everything else.

“This is where you’ll rest” she shows you the place. It’s a comfortable abode.

🪲

Later that moon, You lay your things, change into more comfortable clothing given to you by Neytiri, and lay down at the canopy to rest. your canopy swings left and right in the cool forest wind. Your mind however, is hooked onto Neteyam. His name refusing the pretense of unfamiliarity in your mind.

Neteyam. Neteyam. Neteyam.

His broad muscular shoulders, his sharp golden gaze, he’s long fingers and his beautiful braided hair were tattooed to your eyelids. His nervous stare running through your veins. you felt butterflies in your stomach as you revisited that moment of awe, that innocent, almost boyish glance of his.

🪲

“ Ma Jake” neytiri calls out with concern over the crackling fire in the tent. Over at her husband seated at the far corner, sharpening his spear.

“Yes baby?” Jake looks up in response, eyes filled concern.

“Our son” Neytiri begins “did you notice him today?”

Jake looks up confused, he knew which son she was talking about.

“His eyes, Jake”

“He’s in love.”

“My dutiful boy, his attention never spared from the orders You, Or I, give him. Always listening”

neytiri pauses for a breath, her ears angled upwards.

“he was lost in her, detached from everything else”

Jake smiles playfully

“ah neyte” he calls out lovingly “curious boy, if he loves her as you think, let him take her as a mate”

“She isn’t here for long ma Jake”

“Then Let them make good of the time they have together”

“Jake.” Neytiri’s voice is more serious now

“Do you forget? He is Promised”

🪲

You are engaged.

You remind yourself

It’s been an hour, you find yourself unable to fall asleep, the thoughts of neteyam stuck in your mind like honey on a honeycomb.

You’re engaged, promised. Not soemthing you wanted. Just a mother’s friend’s son. A sweet guy at that. you agreed because it was convenient, not because you felt anything. It didn’t take much out of your life, so you’d agreed.

You’re not here for this . Collect your damn plants, and get out of here. You’re an alien. Why would he want you?

The staring? He’s probably tired, zoned out, thinking of something or someone else.

You repeat to yourself.

The way he looked at you, it was you he was taking in. Nothing and no one else. The voice inside you contradicts.

This stupid fucking voice, still alive in Pandoran air. How great.

You toss and turn for a while, then the cold wind runs a comforting hand through you, pushing you gently into feather light slumber.

🪲

“Bro” Lo’ak calls out to his brother from across the tent. His expression scheming, a smirk forming as Lo’ak tries his best to hide it.

Neteyam. His older brother and future oloeyktan, sprawled in the mat opposite his. Turned to the other side.

Nete never did this. He always spoke and teased at Lo’ak before he let the pleasure of sleep take him.

He was rarely quiet, days where Jake scolded him a bit too much, days when he was sick, days when he felt his impending duties too heavy upon him. But today was unlike any of those days, Lo’ak was curious.

“Bro, why so quiet?” He asks

“Idk skxwang, you don’t scream yourself to sleep”

“Isn’t that what you usually do though?” Lo’ak asks in pretentious curiousity “pull my hair and tease at me? Not letting me drift off to sleep”

Neteyam let’s out a sigh. Kiri voices from nearby

“It’s the scientist” she declares with a smile, Lo’ak shoots up in excitement, he expected neteyam to not react as he usually does when Kiri brings up No’ang, his promised mate from the Windtrader clan.

“N-no” he mutters, the two of them are shocked at the response. Neteyam never gets defensive. Never says anything. Not when they tease the way village girls stare at him as he hunts or trains, not when they remind him where No’ang’s lashy eyes fly to when he’s not looking at her, not even when they tease at his future marriage.

Before Lo’ak can take a jab at his brother, he continues speaking. “Why would I care” he says.

Kiri glances at Lo’ak before speaking

“She is really pretty, especially her hair, and her eyes and her gentleness” she describes theatrically, targeting those adjectives directly at Neteyam.

“I’ll give her that, pretty eyes” Lo’ak adds in. He swears he saw Nete twitch a bit at that comment.

“Pretty eyes” Tuk, cuddled next to neteyam, repeats after Lo’ak.

“who knows? I might have a chance with her” Lo’ak says loudly, targeting his brother as always.

“Keep dreaming Loak” kiri says “she’s engaged”

Now everyone notices Neteyam and Lo’ak get uneasy

“Engaged?” Lo’ak asks

“Promised, Lo’ak “ she explains

“i know you don’t actually want to try anything with her but… she’s actually promised, they seem very in love “

Neteyam shifts in his mat again. The tent falls quiet after that, everyone too tired to inquire more or banter.

The new eclipse begins soon anyways, there are many days left to ask her about herself, befriend her and get to know her.

“Nete” Tuk’s voice breaks the silence in a soft whisper “Why are your cheeks red? Why aren’t u asleep?”

“Sleep, Tuk” Neteyam commands. “I’m sleeping, alright?”

Everyone hears that, pretends not to anyways.