The sea meets fire
Chapter 2
Na'vira, the forest Navi who became a part of the already mated pair with the Olo'eyktan and Tsahik of the village, Awa'atlu.
Warning - talks of the murder of a child, the Mangkwan are cruel
Tonowari x oc x Ronal
βββββββββββββββββββββββ
Ronal's cries fill the marui as Na'Vira tries her best to comfort her
The death of Ro'a and her calf had stabbed Ronal in her heart
The strong tsahik who protected her clan in the war to defend the Tulkun was down
Though in front of people, Ronal was brave and never showed a hint of grief but in her home where her mates and children lie to sleep, her mask comes down and her weakness shows
"You do not have to carry yourself as you do in front of the clan, the people will understand" Na'Vira told Ronal knowing it would be ignored
Her mate was stubborn, Na'Vira thinks that is the reason why she and Neytiri bump heads a lot
Ronal's breathing had increased, her eyes were red, the indication of Ronal crying every moon rise and every moon fall had hurt Na'Vira, she didn't know what to do she tried comforting her mate and trying to make her take a break but to no avail
Tonowari was not in their presence as he had taken Aonung and Tsireya to help with the clan rebuilding
"Ronal go see your spirit sister, she will guide you, she will see you"
Ronal shakes her head as she pulls her emotions in
"This is not good for you or the baby Ronal, holding in your emotions and not grieving properly will, this will cause you stress, and you will hurt yourself"
"The people need me now, the war that Jake Sully brought to us will be the death of us" Ronal says, she stands up wiping herself
She heads out of the Marui with no goodbye and her healing basket in her hands
βββββββββββββββββ
"Tonowari"
The chief of the village turns around to look at his mate
Na'Vira runs towards her mate as her ears are flattened and her face is full of worry
"Ma Wari come, come!"
Tonowari grabs Na'Vira's outstretched hand and follows her towards the Tsahik healers marui
The cries of Ronal and her siblings fill the walls of the marui
Ronal's mother lies on a mat, her body weak, her cheeks hollow and her eyes are turning gray
"Ronal, I am proud of you daughter, you will be an amazing tsahik for the clan, you will save many"
"Sa'nok you are not dying"
Ronal and Tonowari had mated before Ronal's mother had passed, her father had died defending the clan which caused Tonowari, the best warrior of the clan, to step up and become chief
Ronal was still taskarem while her mother still served as tsahik side by side with Tonowari
"You stubborn child, I am dying"
"No Sa'nok you will be fine"
"Why must you argue with me Ronal?"
"Children you have made me proud and my time on land has been served, Eywa says my duty is done and she calls me home, I love you all"
With that Ronal's mother takes her last breath and closes her eyes
"Sa'nok?" Ronal's body freezes as the marui is filled with knowing silence
"Great, mother please!" Ronal's wails and screams filled the village as her family grieved the loss of their mother while the clan grieved the loss of their tsahik
ββββββββββββββββ
Tonowari had helped Ronal with her funeral paint and helped prepare her mother's body as Na'Vira had tried to help as much as she could, but with no relation to the family she couldn't bring much
Ronal and her siblings drag the huge leaf holding her mother's body as they lay her with their ancestors
As they swim with their Ilus back to the people, Ronal goes to Tonowari who engulfs her in a hug, consoling
For the next few days Ronal buried herself with her work as the new tsahik , she distracts herself with healing other people and not herself
βββββββββββββββββββ
"Apply here Tsireya" Ronal says to her oldest daughter
Tsireya grabs the leaf and wraps it around the warrior's stomach as Ronal grabs the bandage
Na'Vira was also inside the healer's tent tending to another warrior who had multiple injuries on their body
Ronal sighs looking at the empty bowl that was just filled this morning
"I will be back, finish this soldier, and put the other stuff away" Ronal says to Tsireya who nods her head
"Yes mother"
As Ronal heads out and Na'Vira looks up to her daughter
"What is up with you and the sully boy ma reya" Na'Vira says hiding her smile
Tsireya turns pink as she looks down
"Nothing, Mama, nothing is going on"
"Tsireya, I am not stupid, that boy likes you, a lot" emphasizing a lot, Na'Vira signals to the warrior that she was finished and could leave
Tsireya clears her throat
"I like him, Mama, but I do not know if it's the right idea"
"You like who you like, there is nothing wrong with liking someone from a different clan"
"But he is not just from a different clan, he is a forest Navi and is the son of Toruk Makto and he has demon blood, I am supposed to be tsahik one day"
"You being tsahik one day is not going to stop you from liking somebody, it did not stop your mother and father, it should not stop you"
Tsireya sighs as she puts the herbs and medicine away
"Loak is the brother of Tulkun, he has proven himself to be capable of living with the metkayina, you should not be afraid of loving somebody who has proven to adapt to your ways Tsireya"
"Come daughter"
Pulling in for a hug, Na'Vira wraps her arms around Tsireya
"You will achieve great things my daughter"
Na'Vira grabs Tsireya with her hands, pressing her forehead to her daughter's
βββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Walking down the beach with Tsireya and Kiakri,Β Na'Vira holds a basket of shells
"Can we put the shells in my braids?" Kiakri asks hopping around
"Yes-" Na'Vira cuts herself off when she notices a woman approaching her
Tonowari's sister
"Na'Vira, it is nice to see you"
"Hello Leyra"
"I see you are picking shells, when are you going to help out with the clan? You are not a warrior or a healer"
"I have no interest in doing those things and even then I still help my mate, the tsahik, with healing"
"You are useless to the clan, everyone does their part and you do nothing"
"Leyra if you came to berate me in front of my children then you could do something else" Na'Vari turns her head back to her children who are minding their business, watching the Tulkun who are lingering in the water
"Tsireya is not your daughter"
Na'Vira lets out a sharp inhale and turns her head back to Leyra
"She is my daughter, just because I did not give birth to her does not mean she is not my daughter"
"She will never be your daughter"
"Tsireya, Kiakri let us go home" Na'Vira avoids continuing the conversation with Leyra and guides her children back home trying to ignore the hurt in her chest
Walking away from Leyra who has a smirk on her face, Kiakri turns around to hiss at her which causes the older woman to bare her teeth
Now entering the home, Kiakri and Tsireya place their stuff down and gather their washing supplies to go clean themselves up meanwhile Tonowari is teaching Anoung how to properly sharpen his spears and Ronal is organizing all of her medicines and herbs
Na'Vira sighs and sits herself down, she grabs the fish to prepare for cooking
Ronal looks up to her mate
"You and Roxto should go fish for the elders" Tonowari says to his son sensing the tension coming from Na'Vira
Anoung groans
"But why-"
"Go boy" Tonowari now more stern and firm in his decision
Anoung walks out of the marui with his shoulders hung low
"What is wrong with my tìyawn?" Ronal approaches Na'Vira, setting herself behind the darker-skinned woman
"Nothing is wrong"
Tonowari huffs in the background causing Na'Vira to glare up at him
"I will not force you to tell us but you would be better if you did" Ronal says letting go of her mate and helping prepare the food
Na'Vira sighs
"Leyra approached me today, she keeps antagonizing about not being a warrior while being mated to the Olo'eyktan and Tsahik of the clan"
"She is always saying her opinion when it is not needed or wanted"
Tonowari sighs as he looks down
"I do my part in this clan, I help with the elders and the children"
"You are as Metkayina as she is, you are a part of this clan" Ronal places her hand on Na'Vira's heart, looking her in the eyes
"You do not need to be a warrior to prove yourself, you proved yourself to the clan when you mated with Tonowari and me."
"She is right, you have learned our ways and trained yourself to swim just as good as a Metkayina would, you are a part of the clan" Tonowari says placing his hand on Na'Vira's leg
"I will talk to my sister, she should not be treating you this way"
"Thank you"
An Abrupt sound of someone falling causes all three adults to look at the opening of the marui
Kiakri lay flat on her face on the pathway to the marui while Tsireya had her hands over her mouth hiding her smile
Kiakri gets up, dusting herself off while breathing heavily
"Go" Tsireya says moving her arms to guide Kiakri in the marui but Kiakri declines and instead does the same motion as Tsireya
"No, I am not going until you go, you are planning something"
"No I am not" Kiakri says placing her hands on her hips
"Tsireya leave your sister alone and come help me" Ronal says moving back to the fish
Tsireya walks to her mother while trying to keep her eyes on her little sister but as soon as she turns her head back to her mother, Kiakri lifts her leg and with all her strength kicks her older sister on the back
"Kiakri!" Tonowari and Ronal yell out meanwhile their mate grabs her youngest daughter to pull her into her arms as if to protect her from her other parents
Tsireya immediately collects herself and then lunges at Kiakri
Kiakri grabs onto Tsireya's hair tugging on it while Tsireya is on top of her sister lightly smacking her but soon grabs onto Kiakri's braids
Anoung walks into the chaos of his home and immediately walks out sitting near the water on the pathways
"Let go of her hair" Tonowari gets up and grabs Tsireya while Na'Vira grabs Kiakri and pulls the girls in opposite directions
Eventually, the two of them let go of each other's hair
"Relax" placing her hand on her youngest daughter to help manage her breathing while Tonowari guides Tsireya to sit down
"Sa'nu I am hungry" Kiakri says to Ronal who ignored the chaos in her home and continued cooking
βββββββββββββββββββ-
Walking to Ronal and Tonowari, Na'Vira notices Jake and Neytiri plus their kids, and the human boy
As Na'Vira places herself on the left side of Tonowari
"A new demonship has come, bigger. More of our Tulkun have been killed" Tonowari says to Jake
"I'm so sorry brother" Jake replies
"What happened?" Na'Vira says turning her attention towards Neytiri's bandage
"Mangkwan, a clan that goes against Eywa, they take the Kurus off other Na'vis" Jake says, Neytiri's jaw tightens at the mention
Na'Vira freezes at the mention of Mangkwan, a familiar clan she has known, Neytiri notices Na'Vira's body language though she doesn't mention it
"This must be removed. See me" Ronal says to Ney'tiri
ββββββββββββββββββββ-
Na'Vira's POV:
Mangkwan
I sit in a more secluded area on the island, away from the busy Na'vi and away from my mates
The Mangkwan are a very aggressive clan, their reputation is known for going against Eywa and everything involving her
The cutting of kurus, burning Na'vis, and even torturing them
I look down at my hand, the carving of the eye tattoo of course became a scar though Ronal and Tonowari never paid much attention to it
I had carved it with my knife when I was 15, I still remember the blood dripping from my hand and onto the mat that had rested in my old home
I remember the paint that marked my body of what clan I represented
I look down at the pond in front, seeing my old self rather than my present self
I see the white paint that I had drawn on, going from the bald middle part in my head down to my lower stomach, I see my teeth that I had painted black for intimidation, I see my black painted lips and bone carved earrings that rested on my ears, nose, and tongue
Those piercings are probably closed by now
I bring my hands to my face to wash my old self off, I keep repeating the process and by the 25th time I feel like I'm drowning on land
I finally stop and look down at my reflection to see my former self still looking back at me
I will never be able to get rid of that part of my life
I remember the sounds of the baby I had carried while in the clan
I remember my sister watching the baby with disdain saying that if I continue to take care of this baby with weakness it will grow up weak and make me weak
"That baby will soon be sucking on the breast of weakness if you continue this spoiling and pampering"
I used to just roll my eyes at her and continue to do my duties and responsibilities while also caring for the baby
The baby never made it past 5 months
My sister and her hatred for my baby and me had caused her to take the sharpest knife in the home and get carried away
When I woke up and saw what she had done, I lost it
Soon it wasn't just the baby's blood covering and soaking the home
It was mine and my sister's, the lucky bastard survived
I hate my sister
I wouldn't let her get the best of me though, I sucked it up and buried my baby far away from the Mangkwan and came back
I stayed for another 3 years until my sister had snuck me and thrown me off while we were on a mission
I had fallen into the large body of water that lay under us and passed out
I remember waking up on Ro'a who was humming songs to the other Tulkuns while they made their way to the Metkayina
My paint had washed off and after I met Tonowari and Ronal, I never felt the need to put it back on
The violence that the clan carried made me resent violence, I hate the sky people but I can't bring myself to go and defend our home against them, I stay back and care for the elders and children who can't go
I hate it when I saw the small speckles of red on Tonowari's body when he and Ronal came home after fighting to protect their brothers and sisters
I hate the preparation and tension that comes with people getting ready for the sky people's return
I hate fires too, the way they stake their claim and ruin everything that touches them, the way they spread their hate for everything around them, the people and homes that they get rid of, the way they get rid of the memories that carry through our clan and leave the children and elders to have to find ways to survive because the most abled Na'vis felt the duty to protect them first
My hands clench and unclench multiple times
But fires can be good, they help cook our food, light up our homes, and help our plants to grow back bigger and better
If my clan had waited and realized that Eywa maintains the balance and does not take sides
I stand up, a little dizzy, and I wobble back to my empty home, which carries silence and leaves room for my thoughts to wander
I lie on the hammock that I share with my mates and close my eyes drifting off to sleep