sterek | 30k so far | ao3 (still a work in progress!)
Tags: Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), The Hale Family Lives (Teen Wolf), Pining Derek Hale, True Mates, Mates Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Alternate Universe - The Duff (2015) Fusion, Slow Burn, Full Shift Werewolves, Made Up Wolf Lore, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, minor Kate Argent/Derek Hale
Summary;
Matt stood there next to him, red solo cup in hand, and his camera dangled from the strap around his neck.
"You know what your problem is?"
Stiles felt his eyes slightly widen, taken aback because what the fuck does that mean?
"Interesting way to greet someone, dude," He tried to sound playful, but he was slightly annoyed now, so he was sure that was noticeable in his voice and expression. Matt ignored his comment completely and turned around to look outside through the open sliding door, pointing a finger toward it with the hand still around his cup.
Stiles looked over his shoulder at what -who- Matt was pointing at. Scott stood there, talking and laughing with Liam, who had made his way outside without him noticing. Liam's friends, Mason and Hayden, were there too, accompanied by Isaac, who dragged Boyd and Erica along. Then there were Danny and Jackson, with Lydia huddled close to Allison.
"You're their DUFF."
"Their what?"
"DUFF- designated ugly fat friend," Stiles stayed silent and shifted his gaze back to the friend group outside, "You and I? We make them look better, more popular, more desirable." All Stiles could do was laugh.
Author's note: I apologize for how long this chapter took me to write, I just couldn't figure out how to word it. I've also been going back to teen wolf hyperfixation (specifically sterek) and I've been working on a fic for it. Don't know how long next chapter will take me so, again, I apologize. Thank you everyone for reading, makes me happy to know you guys enjoy this little fic :3
The soft crackling of the fire as it began to dim was the only thing they could hear in the kelku for a few seconds, and finally, Jake let out a deep breath that made his sons tense for an instant.
"That's enough for today," he spoke, his voice firm but calm, "All of you, go to sleep, we'll talk in the morning." Lo'ak opened his mouth, probably to argue with what Tuk had said, but Neytiri shot him a look that shut him up.
Neteyam was the first to nod, ushering Kiri and Tuk toward their hammocks, always the responsible one. Tuk glanced at her parents, rubbing her eyes as she felt a yawn creeping in, and showed them a sleepy smile before standing up and letting Neteyam lift her up to her hammock above Lo'ak's. She continued to remain unaware of the map she had drawn for her parents.
Lo'ak huffed as he also made his way to his hammock, each one of them accepting their mother's good night kiss before her and their father walked out of the kelku. When they couldn't hear their footsteps anymore, Lo'ak broke the silence.
"Tuk, why did you tell them where he was?" He whispered sharply at her, and all she did was hum a song quietly.
"Because they asked," she replied, oh so innocently, making Lo'ak roll his eyes. Kiri and Neteyam glanced at each other, deciding to stay quiet since they knew Lo'ak, he would never actually get mad at Tuk, no matter what she did or said.
"That's not-" he rubbed a hand on his face, trying to keep himself calm and not snap at his sister, "We weren't supposed to tell them."
"But he's nice," Tuk leaned over her hammock to look at him, and Lo'ak stared at her with a subtle frown, "He saved me," she added as if they had forgotten about that detail despite telling their parents less than ten minutes ago, "And mom and dad always tell us we should let them know when something important happens."
She smiled at her brother, her eyes struggling to stay open.
"So they can say thank you."
Well, Lo'ak had no argument for that.
Quite a few meters away from the kelku, were Jake and Neytiri, silently waiting for the murmur of their people to quiet down. They looked at each other for a second. Neytiri's eyes held worry, while Jake's held concern, thinking about what their next move was going to be.
"Our kids have been spending time every day... with a strange boy we didn't know about," Jake was the one to break the silence, watching his mate's hand lift to her mouth.
"But he saved our baby, and..." Neytiri took a deep breath, staring off into their home where the fire had already gone out, and no longer cast shadows along the interior walls, "He watches over them? I don't think this boy is... a threat to them, ma Jake."
He stared at her, and while he agreed, part of him couldn't help but believe this boy was more than just a harmless boy living in the forest. They had to leave so many things behind when the Sky People returned, and he knew he would be hunted, considering he was labelled as a traitor.
For all he knew, he could be an Avatar, sent by the RDA to track and find Jake Sully. But then he would quickly come to the conclusion that, if that were the case, the RDA would've already found them. Damn, two of his kids have human features, it wouldn't take long to piece together that they were his children and get a whole army to High Camp.
So...
"Tomorrow morning, before sunrise... we go out, and we find this boy," Neytiri looked at him with a confused expression on her face, and Jake gently held her hands, "I wanna make sure he won't be a threat to our family."
With that, she nodded with a sigh and gently pulled Jake along with her as they walked back to their kelku to rest the day's worry.
///////
(M/n) woke up without knowing why.
He wasn't hungry or thirsty, and there wasn't any sunlight shining through the leaves, no animal noise to explain why he woke up with a sharp inhale, his body going rigid before his mind could clear up the fogginess of sleep.
He stayed on the branch, taking deep breaths to calm his increasing heartbeat, ears twitching as he picked up the sounds of the forest. Nothing was different, the rushing sound of the river water remained, the hum of insects, the rustling of leaves against one another. He remained still, listening.
Nothing close, nothing immediate. But that didn't prevent a subtle frown from showing on his face and his tail from curling slowly closer to him, feeling shivers run down his arms.
The only reason he was so on edge and tense was the sudden dream that woke him up, and he couldn't even remember what it was about, but his body seemed to remember, especially the particular scent of smoke that burned his nose and closed his throat, turning every breath into pain. And that alone triggered the memory of the day his village fell to the Sky People.
He took a deep breath and shook his head, trying to dissipate the still fresh wound of how he lost it all. His hand reached for his bow, needing something familiar to ground himself, and holding his mother's bow always seemed to work just fine. He began slowly swaying his head side to side as he quietly hummed his mother's songcord, closing his eyes and for a moment... he felt the warm embrace of his mom, shushing his nightmares away.
His jaw tightened for a moment, and his body went rigid, his ears twitching at a sound that shouldn't be there. It was way too early for the siblings to be coming around to visit, and animals didn't move that quietly and slowly around the forest.
Someone was there, approaching, and whatever it was, it didn't want to be spotted.
(M/n) exhaled through his nose, slow and silent, and began to move.
He gathered his few belongings with practiced ease, hands steady despite the tension coiled tight in his chest, and carefully tucked everything away beneath leaves and behind thick vines, making sure nothing stood out.
When he was done, he hesitated before returning to his usual branch, he carried his bow across his chest, gripped a vine, and began climbing higher, where the leaves grew thick and the branches overlapped in tangled layers. From there, the cover was better, the shadows heavier, but his view narrowed, his line of sight broken by foliage and dark.
It was a risk, but it was safer if he managed to stay unnoticed. Still, he chose to stay there, pressing his back closer to the trunk, carefully gripping his bow and holding an arrow on the string, and he took slow, quiet breaths, using his hearing the best he could.
The birds weren't reacting as abruptly as they usually did, and the footsteps he barely managed to hear were slower, controlled, synced. The scents carried over by the wind where foreing.
His instincts were screaming at him to hide because he was being hunted. From that height, he would be harder to spot, but from that height, he would be unable to escape unharmed.
He peeked through the leaves for a moment, mismatched eyes scanning what little he could see through the gaps, and he caught the moving shadow of a woman, quiet, with a purpose in her stride. He recognized her stance, the same stance Neteyam had, a steady and firm grip on her bow. She wasted no movements, and that made him hold still, breath held.
Moving carefully, he saw the woman momentarily glance behind her, and (M/n) caught sight of another figure, bigger, with less delicate movements, but sharp and precise.
The male had the same hairstyle he saw on Spider, but while that was quite eye-catching, something else snatched his attention. His hands.
Not only was he holding a Sky People weapon, the scent of metal itching (M/n)'s nose, but the man had four fingers.
Who else had four fingers that weren't Lo'ak or Kiri...?
A memory flashed in his mind. His chubby baby hands holding onto strange-looking Na'vi hands, his mismatched eyes looking up at—
"Toruk Makto..." He mumbled to himself, immediately hiding when he got a brief glimpse at the way the woman's ears twitched. He didn't move, holding his breath, back pressing against the rough bark of the tree, fingers digging in it, feeling a growing burning sensation in his lungs.
He heard a breath exhale and then the quiet clinking of beads knocking each other, "He is not here..." the woman said, her steps approaching, and (M/n) hopes she can't see him.
"You think they lied to us?" The man asked, lowering his gun. (M/n) took the risk and peeked through again.
The woman was standing by the swing he made, gently touching it and looking around the place. Her eyes spotted proof of their kids being there, but there was no forest boy in sight, "The were here, the swing Tuk mentioned is here..." she spoke again, her voice a little firmer than before, "Maybe... we got here too late."
(M/n) didn't miss the familiar name, and it didn't take too long for him to figure out the people in front of him were the siblings' parents, but why were they there? He wasn't sure, and her saying 'forest boy' only made him assume they were looking for him, for what? But again... he wasn't sure.
He watched as Toruk Makto -Jake Sully- glanced around the place, eyes hard and muscles tense, and slowly the grip on his gun began to loosen, golden eyes soon landing on his mate, "Well then... Time for plan B. Let's go," he spoke slowly but with a firm tone, which made the woman nod once, leading the way back to where they came from.
(M/n) watched how both of them glanced behind them briefly before disappearing from his sight, and even as he watched them leave, he spent a good two minutes steadying his breath, he wasn't sure if they were really gone, and he didn't feel like moving from his hiding spot, keeping his guard up.
He remained sat on the branch behind the leaves, still feeling the burning of his lungs and the pressure on his chest, but in the quiet of the rising morning, he sighed as he connected the dots of how those two Na'vi were Neteyam, Lo'ak, Kiri and Tuk's parents. He wondered if he was in trouble with them because... Why would they come looking for him so early in the morning, otherwise?
His head hit the tree with a soft thump, and he blinked at the sunlight slowly peaking through the leaves, silently wondering to himself the reason they were looking for him. He hoped... It wasn't anything bad.
///////
Already arriving back at High Camp, Neytiri and Jake got off their Ikran and walked further inside to the group of Na'vi bustling around doing their thing. They stopped their kids getting stuff prepared to head out.
They glanced at each other and made their way toward them, cutting their path, "Kids," the four of them stopped immediately at the sound of their father's voice. Neteyam stood straighter and slightly ahead of his younger siblings.
"Yes, sir?" He quietly asked, trying to remain calm.
"Where are you going?" Neteyam and Kiri looked at each other, unsure whether they should be honest or not.
Thankfully, Lo'ak stepped in, "Just out," he said nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal going out of High Camp -which wasn't because they went out everyday-, but his words made Jake and Neytiri stare at each other with a knowing look in their golden eyes.
"Well..." Jake took a deep breath, and felt his mate's hand gently touching his arm, and he let her take charge, taking half a step back.
Neytiri stepped closer and held her oldest son's face in her hands for a second, doing the same to Lo'ak, Kiri and Tuk, showing them a small smile.
"Why don't you invite over this forest boy friend of yours?" The four of them looked at their mother with different expressions, but Tuk was the most excited of them.
"We can?" She rushed over to hug her mother, looking up at her with such a happy glint in her eyes that it made Neytiri's smile grow fonder.
She nodded, reaching to move Tuk's braids away from her face, "If this boy saved our little girl then the least he deserves is a thank you."
Kiri letting out an doubtful hum caught the attention of her parents.
"I'm not sure if he'll come over though," Neteyam and Lo'ak nodded in agreement, making Tuk's mood drop slightly. Jake sighed and stepped closer again, bringing Kiri closer to him.
"Whenever he's ready, he's welcomed here."
Soon after giving the kids a few more words to take care of themselves and be back before dark, Jake and Neytiri walked away from them.
Spider took that chance to approach the Sully siblings, catching the end of a conversation the brothers were having, "Invite him over? I don't think..."
"He will probably deny the invitation," Neteyam turned toward Kiri as he spoke, who was trying to comfort Tuk, who was getting increasingly sad at the though of the forest boy not wanting to come to their home.
"It would be even more fun if he was here," she quietly whined, which earned her a sad look from her older siblings, and Spider decided to join in their conversation, stopping to stand next to Lo'ak.
"Invite the ghost to High Camp? I mean, won't hurt to just ask him, right?" He asked, facing the four siblings with a shrug on his shoulders. Tuk seemed to light up like the stars in the night sky.
"Maybe if we tell him how fun home is he'll come," she didn't give anyone a chance to explain to her that 'fun' wouldn't be enough of a reason because she took off running toward the walking path off the Hallelujah Mountains.
Kiri sighed, frowning and following after her sister, "We'll talk about this on the way, let's go."
Fanfic is a great way to practice self-indulgence while writing. It doesn’t even have to be good, it just exists purely for your pleasure, be a little freak about it. Worry about quality and what other people think when it comes to works you intend to publish in a formal setting
Neteyam Sully x Na'vi!Gender-Neutral!Reader [Angst]
Summary: Five times Neteyam got hurt protecting you, and the one time you got hurt protecting him.
Author's note: hurt/comfort, childhood best friends, implied friends to lovers, protective!neteyam, protective!reader, neteyam getting hurt repeatedly, 2nd person pov, canon adjacent, no pronouns used, no mentions of (M/n).
Masterlist.
Avatar: The Way of Water
Thinking about it now, you've never really been alone, especially not when the Sully children spent every second of their day with you. Neteyam always protecting hiis siblings, watching over them to make sure they don't get hurt. Kiri being the peace maker, except when it came to her younger brother, and Lo'ak, causing trouble and being reckless, still too curious about everything around him, and then there was you, Neteyam's shy best friend.
While Lo'ak and Kiri tried to get you to play with them, Neteyam let you do things at your own pace, always by your side, protecting you too. He would treat you like his siblings, teasing yet protective of them, always taking the blame for them, tending to their injuries as small as they may be, teaching them to be careful when walking the paths, telling jokes and stories to get them to stop crying.
The way Neteyam cared for his siblings made you smile, trying to be like him, a reassuring and safe space for those around you.
The first time Neteyam ever bled for you, neither of you understood what it meant.
You were around seven years old, still too small to be running along the tree roots without proper adult supervision, but the forest was your home, and you believed it would catch you if you fell.
It didn't.
You were laughing and jumping from one root to another, trying not to touch the mossy dirt, when you landed wrong on a root and slipped, a sharp gasp tearing from your throat as your body began to tilt forward.
Neteyam had been telling you to be careful because you could fall, but you didn't listen, and now here you were, about to fall and probably end up with many cuts and bruises.
You remember the panic you felt in your chest as you approached the ground, ready to hit and not cry because you brought this upon yourself. But then there was the feeling of someone grabbing your arm, the strength of the grip actually kinda painful.
Neteyam hissed when the tree bark scraped his hand raw, his feet skidding before he managed to brace himself, and for a moment, you hung there, letting you realize just how far you would've fallen if Neteyam hadn't caught you in time. Then, with a strength that surprised both of you equally, he hauled you over until you managed to balance yourself on the root you slipped from.
Once you regained your footing and the initial scare dissipated, you held his hands.
The hand that held you only had a scratch on the back of it, but the hand that held onto the bark was bleeding, not a lot, but enough to freak you out, pieces of wood sticking to his palms, drawing out blood, and you felt tears flooding your eyes at the realization that Neteyam got hurt beacuse of you being reckless and careless.
"I'm sorry, Teyam," you mumbled, panic spiking at the thought of his dad scolding you, or worse, your mom, "I didn't mean-"
"It's okay," he said quickly, cutting you off, afraid you would start crying when he noticed your eyes getting watery. He hid his hands behind his back, shoulders squared, and chin lifted in a way that you would recognize far too well, "Didn't even hurt."
That was a lie. You knew it was, you saw it in the way his hands trembled, and fingers twitched before he tried to hide them.
You reached your hand to his wrist, "You're bleeding," Neteyam hummed, as if he had just realized that detail.
"You didn't fall," he said instead, as if that was enough explanation.
Later, back at the village, Neytiri would scold both of you, worried about both of your safety, hugging Neteyam tightly. Jake would lecture you about safety and responsibility. After that, your father would tell Neteyam he should have let you fall and call for help, just so you could learn action and consequence.
But in that moment, when every possible adult was done with their scolding or lectures, sitting together on the woven mat of the Sully's family kelku, the soft hum of the forest around them, you pressed leaves against Neteyam's palm just like your mother had taught you, and he watched you like you were doing something sacred.
"Don't do that again," you mumbled, and Neteyam hummed.
"Do what?" You glanced up at Neteyam with a pout and a small frown on your brow.
"Hurt yourself just to protect me," Neteyam silently smiled but said nothing.
You hoped that would be the first and last time Neteyam would hurt himself while protecting you. Boy, you were wrong.
///////
By the time you were around ten, falling didn't scare you anymore, and Neteyam's scars were almost invisible if you didn't know he had them.
You were out with him, Lo'ak, Kiri, and Spider, and you walked ahead without a care in the world, definitely going further than you were meant to, just beyond the familiar paths, where the forest grows thicker, and the ground dipped unevenly. It wasn't forbidden exactly, just discouraged, which -to kids your age- felt like an invitation.
The viperwolf didn't announce itself.
There was no warning, no rustle of leaves, just a sudden snarl and flash of teeth appearing in front of you. You froze. Neteyam didn't.
He moved without hesitation, shoving you back hard enough that you stumbled and fell. The world tilted, the ground slamming into your side as Neteyam's body collided with the animal instead. You heard his grunts of pain when you grounded yourself.
The viperwolf's claws raked across his side before it retreated, startled by the sound of approaching voices. Lo'ak, Kiri, and Spider were shouting your names in the distance. You scrambled to your feet, heart pounding, and ran to Neteyam.
He was on his knees, one hand pressed against his side, blood seeping between his fingers, dripping to the ground, and some staining his loincloth. Your stomach dropped.
"Teyam," you mumbled, voice small and frightened, "You're hurt," he shook his head immediately, jaw clenched as he looked at you up and down, worry and pain swirling in his golden eyes.
"Are you okay?" You huffed and shook your head, trying to get a better look at his injury, but he held your hand, "Are you okay?" He asked again.
You stared into his eyes and realized he wasn't going to let you until you replied.
"Yeah, I'm okay, but that's not-" your hands hovered over his, afraid to touch him, "You're bleeding," Neteyam looked down, and just like the first time, he seemed surprised about the fact that he got hurt.
His ears flicked back, slightly scared, but he forced himself to look brave, "It's not bad," he said, though his voice wavered.
"Neteyam!"
Neytiri's voice came from behind him, her breath catching at the sight of both of them on the dirt, Jake coming up behind her, mumbling stuff under his breath you couldn't understand.
He picked his son up, telling him to keep pressure on the wound, and rushed back to their village. You followed silently behind, making brief eye contact with Neteyam when he looked over his dad's shoulder.
He was taken to the tsahìk's tent, and Neytiri took her time to try to calm your trembling body. She hugged you when you told her what happened, and she took you to your parents, speaking privately with your father as your mother held you in her arms, listening to you mumbling about Neteyam getting hurt again, despite telling yourself you would never let him get hurt again.
When your father came back, he grounded you, and you weren't allowed to go outside the village.
//////
At thirteen, everything felt different after iknimaya.
The world seemed wider from the sky, brighter, louder, alive in a way that made your chest ache with it. Riding your ikran beside Neteyam's felt like freedom, wind tearing laughter from your throat as you banked and dove together.
You trusted the air, just like you trusted the forest so many years ago, and even after that, you didn't learn to stay alert, trusting or not.
The storm came fast, Neteyam had noticed, and held himself steady on his ikran, ready to call for you to head back because it was dangerous. He saw the clouds rolling in, thick and dark, wind turning sharp and unpredictable, making it harder to maneuver.
Your ikran shrieked as a sudden gust knocked you off balance, wings faltering as the sky seemed to tilt sideways. You lost control for a terrifying second, the bond wavered, fear bleeding through tsaheylu, panic spiraling too fast to catch.
Neteyam saw it all. He immediately rushed to you, shouting your name, and he urged his ikran closer, one hand releasing its grip to reach for you, "Stabilize!" He yelled, voice nearly torn away by the wind. Another gust slammed into you, harder this time.
Your ikran dipped with a screech, and you felt yourself slipping, fingers losing purchase as your body slid sideways on the saddle.
Neteyam reached for your wrist just in time. He yanked you back as your ikran cried in distress.
The force of it wrenched his shoulder violently, a sharp crack sounding over the roar of the wind, making him cry out. As you managed to steady yourself again, your ikran did the same, wings beating hard as you clung to the reins, breath ragged. Neteyam didn't let you go until you were secure and back on position, didn't even look at himself until the danger had passed.
When you looked over, his arm hung wrong, "Neteyam, your shoulder-" you spoke, voice shaking from the scare.
"It's fine," he insisted automatically, but his face had lost color, lips pressed tight as he tried -and failed- to move his arm.
"Come on, let's go with the tsahìk," Neteyam didn't argue with you.
The moment you landed, you held his uninjured arm and quickly yet carefully took him to his grandmother's tent.
Jake noticed where you two were heading and went after you, where he heard his son had a dislocated, probably fractured, shoulder. Seeing you were involved, yet again, he guessed this was another moment where his son played saviour, getting himself hurt instead of letting you get hurt. Jake, alongside Mo'at, got Neteyam to sit, and together they fixed his shoulder back in place, the sharp pain knocking the air out of Neteyam, and they immobilized his shoulder right after, placing leaves with some cooling medicine to prevent swelling. Neteyam was told not to do any heavy work for about two to three weeks.
Jake made sure his son would rest, and giving the circumstance of how Neteyam got injured, this time neither of you were scolded about it.
You couldn't prevent the storm, and Neteyam wasn't going to let you fall into the void.
//////
By fifteen, the forest was no longer safe. With the humans returning and growing in the Na'vi territory with each day, their village was forced to flee to the Hallelujah Mountains for safety.
And now you formed part of Jake's war party to raid the RDA.
All the training you did in the past years was to prove yourself -and Neteyam- that you didn't need him to take the hit for you, that you could handle it yourself just fine, and Jake had seen your skills with the bow, your obedience when he gave orders, and your calm demeanour when stuff went sideways.
So now, you were flying patrol at the back of the formation. You were still a kid, so you weren't going to be placed on the front lines, but helping Toruk Makto in any way you could was already an honor.
Orders were simple. Stay high, watch the perimeter, do not engage unless I say.
Glancing up for a moment, you watched Neteyam and Lo'ak keeping an even greater distance between them and the war party. Neteyam smiled at you and greeted you, his gesture made you smile back at him, but someone called a demonship approaching before you could greet him too.
Your grip tightened on your ikran as you tried to get a better position to fire your arrows, but what you saw was a missile heading in your direction. You maneuvered the best you could, but the impact of the missile on the tree behind you shook you off balance, the smoke covered your sight as the flames rose, covering the sky in a thick and dark smoke cloud.
You swatted your hand around to dissipate it, but the density of it was cutting off your air quickly, making you cough and lose balance on your ikran, who was also beginning to panic as they felt your panic and fear through the bond.
Then there was the now familiar sound of thunder piercing through the sky, and suddenly you felt a horrible pain, hearing your ikran screech in pain, and noticed shrapnel had pierced through its wing.
Due to this, you began to lose altitude, and even though you tried to stabilize, the smoke, heat, and deafening sounds all around made it nearly impossible.
The moment the missile collided, Neteyam was already on his way to help, Lo'ak next to him, hurriedly explaining the situation to their father, but he wasn't going to wait for a reply, "I'm going," he barked, not waiting for permission.
"Neteyam-!" Jake's voice snapped at his son, but he couldn't do anything as he fought the Sky People approaching their position.
Neteyam entered the smoke cloud, following the sound of your coughing, and dove under your ikran, trying to bring both your ikran and you some stability.
Another missile went off below them, and Neteyam's ikran took the brunt of it, the force slamming them sideways, then more thunder could be heard, piercing the sky. Neteyam cried out as something torn across his leg- shrapnel, hot and jagged, blood spraying against the wind.
You tightened your grip on the reins with a scream as you tried to get out of the smoke that hindered both of and your ikrans, and knowing Neteyam was under yours made you panic as you didn't want him to get hurt or crushed by them.
Thankfully, the demonship ceased fire as it blew to pieces, and your ikran was able to steady enough to land, letting out sounds that felt like a thanks to Neteyam's ikran as both had landed relatively safely. As soon as you landed, Neteyam got off to check on you, but he collapsed to one knee as soon as he touched ground.
Jake was there in seconds, hands steady, face tight with fear he didn't voice, Neytiri's cries echoed from the treeline as she did a round on Sa'ata. You knelt beside him, hands shaking as you pressed cloth to his leg, blood seeping through it too fast, "I told you to stay back," Jake said hoarsely.
Neteyam didn't look at his father, instead, his golden eyes sought you out.
"You okay?" He asked, breath ragged. You nodded, still feeling your throat tight because of the smoke you inhaled.
"Because of you," his mouth twitched, like that was enough.
On the way back, Neteyam rode with his dad, and you with Lo'ak, both of your ikrans taken back to High Camp by someone else. As the healers worked on their injured, you sat outside the kelku while Neteyam was being tended to, staring at your hand, no longer stained with his bright red blood.
This time he hadn't been injured by claws or storms or the forest, this time, it was war. And Neteyam was still stepping in front of you like it was the most natural thing in the world.
You were thankful that there were no casualties on this raid, until there was.
The white strip that went vertically from your forehead to above your belly button showed your grieving, tears gathering in your eyes, and anger firing in your chest as you gave your parents away to Eywa. You saw them when you connected to the Spirit Tree, telling you to take care of yourself and the Sullys, especially Neteyam since that boy loved to get injured for your sake.
///////
The reef never felt like it belonged to you.
You were learning, slowly, the sea was colder than it looked, heavier than the forest air, and every moment felt borrowed, like you were a guest in someone else's world. Still, you tried. You always did.
Neteyam stayed close... too close sometimes, Tsireya had pointed out once, gentle and curious, "He watches you more than the water," you had laughed it off, but the words stayed.
You were all out beyond the shallows when it happened.
The ilu beneath you tensed suddenly, muscles rippling in warning. Something large shifted in the distance- too close, too fast. You had gone out with Tsireya, Ao'nung, Rotxo, and Neteyam as they went after Lo'ak, who had gone out to meet Payakan.
Your breath caught as the shadow passed beneath you, enormous and wrong, slicing through the water with terrifying speed. You froze. Neteyam didn't.
While everyone else called to flee and head back, Neteyam dove with his ilu and shoved you back quite roughly, sending your ilu veering away just as the akula surged upward. The current slammed into him, knocking him from his mount. You felt your heart stop as you watched him tumble through the water, struggling to right himself as the akula circled back, drawn by the movement.
"Neteyam!" You called out for him, hearing Tsireya and Ao'nung call for you to get away and hide, but you made your way toward Neteyam, completely ignoring them, taking a deep breath and diving toward him.
He saw you and his eyes widened with fear, not for himself, but for you. He tried to signal you to leave, but you pushed your ilu to continue forward and held Neteyam just in time.
The akula slammed into the coral, breaking it into pieces that fell on top of you. You dodged them the best you could, but the akula swept from under you and knocked you off your ilu, causing your grip on Neteyam's hand to slip.
You broke the surface of the water and regained your breath, taking another deep breath before sinking back into the water. You blinked a few times and couldn't find Neteyam anywhere, and the akula was set on chasing you now. You called for your ilu and mounted them, urging them to swim away from the big predator chasing you, all the while still looking around for Neteyam.
And you spotted him slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean, strips of blood blooming around his head. With your jaw clenched, you gripped your knife and swerved to the side of the akula, burying the blade in its eye, twisting it, and hearing it wail from the pain. Before you could continue your attack, something slammed into the akula. And from underwater, you watched Lo'ak gripping the tulkun's fin.
While Payakan scared the akula away, you dove with your ilu to hold Neteyam and get him out of the water.
You held him carefully and resurfaced, "Guys, help! Neteyam's hurt!"
Lo'ak was the first one to dive to help, followed by Ao'nung and Rotxo, while you gently held Neteyam's head, feeling the warmth of his blood on your hand.
"He hit his head, careful," you mumbled as he got hauled on top of Payakan, and Lo'ak hurried his spirit brother to take them to the village quickly, "Teyam, stay with me, come on," Neteyam coughed the ocean water he had swallowed, and his eyes fluttered open, "Don't close your eyes, please, we're almost home."
He blinked once, and tried lifting his hand to your face, "You're home..." his hand fell halway up as his eyes closed again.
"Teyam? Neteyam!" You held his face carefully and leaned closer to him, "He's barely breathing...."
Lo'ak looked over his shoulder at you and his brother, "Faster, Payakan!" The tulkun let out a wail and began swimming as fast as he could.
Payakan got you as close to the village as he could, and Lo'ak called out for his father. You carried Neteyam with Ao'nung's help and rushed to the tsahìk's marui.
You stood there, staring at Neteyam as his blood stained everything it touched, hearing Ronal calling out to Tsireya and Ao'nung, while the muffled sound of Lo'ak's voice explained to Jake and Neytiri what happened. You stared, frozen in place, feeling the sticky sensation of Neteyam's blood on your hands, the memory of his unfocused eyes, and how he tried to reach for you before he passed out.
This wasn't a scrape. This wasn't a fracture that would heal clean. This was the cost of a pattern that had gone on too long.
"Come on, let's give the tsahìk room to work," you were gently dragged out of the marui by Neytiri, who took you over to the water and helped you clean the blood off of you with a cloth.
"Sorry..." you mumbled, eyes clouding with tears, but you held them back. Neytiri's moves faltered for a moment as she stared at you, "Neteyam always gets hurt because of me, I'm sorry..."
You felt your voice crack, and Neytiri gently held your face in her hands, making you look in her eyes.
"Neteyam is strong, and as stubborn as his father," she wiped a tear away, "He doesn't want you to get hurt because he cares about you too much," your jaw clenched and hands closed tightly.
"I wish... I could be the one to protect him, at least once," she smiled softly and patted your hair.
"Neteyam wouldn't let you."
Something in her eyes seemed nostalgic, as if remembering something, and her sight travelled to the silver scar on your neck.
"Not after that..." she mumbled loud enough for you to hear.
You couldn't remember how you got that scar, only that it'd been there since you could remember. No one wanted to tell you the story of it, but you knew Neteyam knew it, he would constantly look at it, and his eyes would get blurry for a moment.
Later, when the Sullys had visited Neteyam, you were allowed to see him too. He lay still, wrapped in bandages, his head, his torso, his arms, and one leg, his face pale, unlike the usual bright blue.
You sat beside him, fingers curled tightly on the fabric of your loincloth. You had watched him bleed for you your entire life. Had watched him throw himself into danger again and again, like it was instinct— like it was love.
And now, you were worried that one day... he wouldn't get back up.
//////
The demonship reeked of smoke and metal.
You followed after Neteyam when he cut Tsireya's and Tuk's cuff, urging them off the ship. He got Lo'ak free, and for a moment, you think this is it, you can leave now, but Lo'ak mentions Spider is still on board, and how they can't just leave him there.
The cool metal of the demonship makes perfect ground for sneaking, and with all the human cargo around, hiding is plenty easy. Finding Spider is rather easy, and now they have to find a way off the ship. Spider takes all of you to the moonpool, but you're soon spotted by one of the armed tawtute, and bullets spray in your direction, the piercing sound of the projectiles leaving your ears ringing.
Neteyam takes the gun from Lo'ak's hands and begins to shoot at the avatar, giving leeway to his brother and Spider to leave the ship, "Go, go, go!" He shouts as he fires again.
Before you could chase after them, more bullets ricochet of the metal around, and Neteyam curses as he runs out of bullets. Both of you look around for something- anything that could help you now, but then you hear it.
The bullets cease, and then there's the clinking sound of the magazine falling out. Now's your chance to escape.
Neteyam takes a step forward, and you go after him, and that's when you notice.
A semi-conscious human soldier behind some crates, bleeding, barely upright. But her hand closed around a nearby pistol. And she's shakily aiming.
At Neteyam.
He doesn't see her, but you do. And for a moment, you're back to being kids exploring the forest.
Your body moves forward before your mind catches up, and you push Neteyam over the railing. He yelps as he falls, your name catching in his throat. You follow after him, the echoing sound of the gun firing muffled by the ocean, and as your body splashes in the water, you feel it.
Your hand reaches for your side as Neteyam's voice breaks through the buzzing sound in your ears, "Everyone okay?" Lo'ak sends a relieved smile at his brother, and Spider lets out a huff-like laugh.
"We made it, holy shit," Neteyam can only smile for half a second at Lo'ak, when he realizes he didn't hear you reply, so he turns around.
That's when he sees you struggling to stay afloat, and he gets worried, so he aproaches you. And his worry turns to fear when he sees the water around you turning a crimson color, "Shit- Lo'ak!" He dives before you continue to sink deeper.
His hands are frantically pulling you closer, one arm hooking under yours. You're conscious, barely. And it burns. Your fingers are trembling as they can barely keep pressure on your wound, Neteyam's hand just above yours, while blood sweeps between your fingers, warm against the cold sea.
Lo'ak calls for the ilus, and quickly Neteyam bonds to his ilu, hauling you over with Spider's help, and he moves his hand to press over yours, "Stay with me," he says, and his voice is breaking.
You've heard his voice like that once... with the snake, in the forest, just two kids on an adventure...
Halfway there, Neteyam calls out to his dad, and the raw, desperate plea in his voice makes Jake worry. They help you off the ilu onto the wet rock, breathing going ragged as the pain on your side continues to increase. Neteyam is kneeling beside you immediately, both hands pressing down, trying to stop the bleeding.
"Don't," he breathes, taking a sharp inhale as he holds himself back from crying, "Don't you dare," you can't feel your fingers anymore, and your sight was blurring, but you find the strength to look over at Neteyam.
You feel his hands shaking and realize his eyes are watering. And you remember, the distant, forgotten memory came to you like a lightning strike. You remember the taste of copper in your mouth, the throbbing pain in your neck, the weightlessness of falling, and Neteyam's tiny voice outside the healers' tent, refusing to leave.
The scar in your neck feels ablaze, and for the first time, you understand. Neteyam wasn't just protecting you, he was trying to undo that day. Every time he stopped in front of danger, every time he bled, he was making sure you never had to again.
You smile weakly, "I guess..." you whisper, voice thin, "Now we're even," his breath catches in his throat.
"No- no, no, stay with me, don't-"
And that's the last thing you hear before everything fades away.
///////
A sharp inhale is what woke you up.
Pain shooting up your side, breath catching, and you try to steady yourself to prevent that pain from continuing. You look around, and realize you're in your marui, and the quiet breathing beside you tells you, you're not alone.
You turn your head and see Neteyam asleep, a frown on his brow and his hand wrapped loosely around yours, like he's afraid you'll disappear if he lets go. You don't fail to notice the dark circles under his eyes.
You squeeze his fingers, and he wakes up with a jolt. The relief that paints his face is raw, unmasked, eyes bright with tears as he leans his forehead to yours, breathing you in like you're air.
"I thought-" his voice broke.
"I know, I did it because I knew you would," your free hand lifts weakly to his cheek.
There's a moment of silence, and Neteyam realizes something. For the first time since he was four, something loosens inside him. You almost died for him- again. And he understands now, this isn't protection, it's shared instinct. Equal.
He nods slowly and leans closer to your hand, nuzzling against your palm.
From that day on, he stops throwing himself in front of everything, not because he loves you less, but because loving you means surviving with you. The scar on your neck, the scar on your side, they are no longer debts, they are proof you both chose each other, and lived.
By day twelve day of the siblings coming around a new scent appeared in the forest, carried over to him by the whistling wind, combined with a different pattern of footsteps and a strange voice. He could smell Kiri and Tuk, but Lo'ak and Neteyam weren't with them, that odd scent now added to the mix.
He gripped his new knife, gifted to him by Lo'ak around two days ago, and he waited, silent and vigilant, hiding behind the broad leaves and remaining in the shadows, "Come on, monkey boy, don't fall behind." Kiri's voice filled the quiet, followed by an annoyed and tired grunt.
"I have short legs, that's not my fault. It's hard to keep up with you guys," the unknown voice was clearly male, speaking perfect Na'vi, but he smelled... wrong. It was the same smell Sky People had, poorly disguising itself with the scent of the mossy dirt and leaves' sap.
"Even Tuk is faster than you," he heard Tuk laughing, and her quick footsteps as she ran ahead, "And you're pretty much the same height," Kiri added with a quiet chuckle, earning another grunt from the unknown male.
Tuk was the first one he spotted, "Oh, where is he?" Behind her, Kiri showed up, staring up at the tree with a frown on her face.
"Maybe he's out hunting, let's wait for him," she said, sitting at her usual spot while Tuk pouted but made her way to the swing (M/n) hung for her.
That's when he saw him. A human.
He tried to look like Na'vi, blue stripes painted on his pink skin. Wild, odd hairstyle and color that didn't match life in Pandora. Even so, despite not having the sharp sense of a Na'vi, his eyes looked at him.
The human couldn't know he was there, but maybe he had felt his heavy stare, "I don't think he's out hunting," he muttered, making Kiri and Tuk look up at the tree, "You're the ghost, aren't you?" (M/n)'s jaw clenched and grip tightened, "I've heard a lot about you, it's nice to finally meet you."
He watched with careful eyes as the human did the Na'vi greeting at him, but before he could do or say anything, the human spoke again.
"Though I can't really see you from down here." His words made Tuk giggle, and Kiri shake her head, hair gently swaying.
(M/n) was focused on something else, mismatched eyes glued to the human, looking at him up and down over and over again. The oel ngati kameie gesture, the Na'vi language, the body language and behavior of this human spoke Na'vi, and while he couldn't help but feel weary of him, he stepped into the sunlight and greeted the human back.
"Hey, bro, name's Spider," he smiled at him, the mask on his face reflecting the sunlight in odd ways and making it hard for him to see his features clearly.
(M/n) nodded at him, "Hey," was all he said back, but the human didn't seem to mind his lack of words. If Spider heard about him, then he knew of his quiet personality and how he would rather keep to himself. Just like how he overheard a couple of things about Spider.
Like how, whenever Lo'ak and Neteyam would race with him, Spider would cheat and take shortcuts because he was able to fit spaces the brothers couldn't. Kiri once mentioned how Spider heard the forest differently than they did, noticed things before they happened, even if he didn't always understand them. Without a doubt, he had believed they meant a friend, a Na'vi friend, but seeing Spider was human, what he heard about him made more sense now.
Sadly, that day, he stayed silent, just another shade in the tree as he watched Spider. He behaved Na'vi, but didn't look Na'vi, so (M/n) is torn between trusting him or not, even so, he seemed quite close to the siblings, or rather, close to Kiri.
He watched how, after something flashed on Spider's mask, Kiri gathered everything quickly, even if Spider was trying to get her to sit back down, "No, the way back takes a while, you'll run out of air, come on," she hurried Tuk toward her and forced Spider to get up as well, "Can't believe you forgot your spare mask, skxawng," she gently shoved his head and he rolled his eyes, but listened to Kiri and stood up, gathering the rest of the things they put down.
"Bye!" He shifted in place, leaning closer over the edge to look at Tuk, who was enthusiastically waving at him. He smiled and waved back as Kiri greeted him as well.
Spider waved at him too, but more subtly, most likely because they just met, so there was no comfort from (M/n) toward him, but he still had manners, and he waved back. "Let's go, wouldn't want you to suffocate on the way home," Kiri muttered, gently pushing Spider ahead of her, making him chuckle and shake his head.
He spent the night thinking about the day. Wondering where Lo'ak and Neteyam had gone, but he figured they may have gotten grounded or were assigned heavy tasks at their village, and he hoped they were okay. Then he analyzed Spider for a few minutes, counting the cons and pros he spotted on the human, only con he could come up with was how loud he was, and he dared say his voice was louder than the Na'vi brothers, yet he had many pros. He seemed to deeply care about Kiri and Tuk, and worried about their safety.
(M/n) noticed how he listened to the forest, admired it, and he treated every life form gently. He even had a songcord of his own, and he heard Spider quietly hum as he fiddled with it every once in a while, as if it grounded him.
Needless to say, (M/n) was quite fascinated with the human living amongst the Na'vi.
The next day, Neteyam and Lo'ak came along too, with Spider waddling behind them. Both brothers showed up with bruises and patched-up wounds pretty much everywhere, despite that, they remained as cheerful and energetic as ever, and now, (M/n) got to witness the full dynamic with their pinkskin friend. Even so, that didn't stop him from feeling slightly worried about them, jaw clenching momentarily, and shifting his weight on the branch as he watched them, roughly playing without a care for their injuries.
They treated him like one more, a brother, and (M/n) figured Spider may not be the same as the Sky People who destroyed his home.
//////
The wind never stopped whistling in the Hallelujah Mountains.
It passed through every opening between the stones of High Camp, carrying the scent of crisp air, sterile human medicine, and the faint smoke of cooking fire that never burned for long. Voice echoed strangely in this place, too loud in one moment, swallowed entirely the next.
Jake Sully had learned to read the camp by sound alone.
Too quiet meant scout teams were out. Too loud meant two things: the village was happy, cheerful, and lively, or they were rushing to help their injured warriors.
That day, something else caught his attention. His kids, or more like the absence of them. They were late, yet again.
While Jake noticed their absence, Neytiri noticed their behaviour. Neteyam would get distracted during lessons or hold/stand differently than he was taught. Lo'ak would arrive too late to learn anything useful, earning him -and Neteyam- a scolding from their father. Kiri missed her tsakarem training a few times, and Tuk would disappear out of sight.
They didn't verbalize it, they simply watched.
Neteyam and Lo'ak had been sent to gather some specific fruit their mother had been craving, and both Jake and Neytiri watched as Kiri decided to tag along with her brothers, an excuse to collect more herbs for her grandmother, and Tuk clinging to her sister, saying she wanted to play outside. Jake tried not to think about it too much, hoping that maybe they would do what he asked them to do for once. Hopefully...
Their trip should've taken them around two to three hours, tops. But when the eclipse nears, and there are no signs of his children returning, he begins to get worried. In a hurry, he rushed to gather a small party, ready to go search for his kids as he barked orders to the warriors, making their way to their ikrans. Right as they were about to leave High Camp, the sound of Tuk's cheerful voice reached his ears, along with the chatting of his sons and scolding of his older daughter.
He sighed and dismissed everyone ready on their ikran to leave, and stepped forward until he was standing there, arms crossed as he waited for his kids to notice his presence. With a stern look on his face, he cleared his throat to finally catch the attention of his kids, who froze the moment they looked at their father, smiles slowly erasing from their faces.
"Where have you been?" He spoke, a subtle frown showing up on his face. He looked at each one of them, and recognized the habits their kids showed when they were in trouble but didn't want to admit to it.
Lo'ak was the first one to speak, "I-I tripped," he said quickly, a little too quickly, making a subtle gesture behind him, referencing to the path they always used in and out of High Camp without their ikran, "Then I kinda... Got turned around. You know how the forest paths are."
Jake's eyebrows raised, an unamused look in his eyes at the poor excuse his youngest son gave him, "Mhm, sure," he hummed.
After realizing her brother's attempt failed, Kiri followed with her own excuse, lifting the basket resting on her hip.
"I was gathering herbs," she explained calmly, "Grandmother asked for more dapophet, and there's good stuff by the riverbanks," the content of her basket were seen clearly, herbs fresh, intact and carefully picked. At least, what she said was true. Neteyam shifted in between them, shoulders stiff as he took a step forward, basket in hand, as he also showed the fruit he gathered.
"We didn't mean to be late," he said, voice steady but tight, as he was struggling with explaining himself, "We stayed on the lower paths at first, but we... strayed. Got distracted. Sorry, sir."
Jake's gaze lingered on Neteyam longer than on the others, and his oldest son didn't break his gaze. And for a moment, it seemed like that might be the end of it.
Then, unaware of what was going on around her, Tuk spoke cheerfully and innocently, "With the forest boy!"
Neytiri's ears flattened after a moment of silence, and both of them watched their kids' reactions. Neteyam pursed his lips tight and looked down, Lo'ak seemed annoyed at how easily Tuk revealed their secret, and Kiri tried not to roll her eyes at her sister's naivety. After all, it's not her fault, the three of them agreed to keep it a secret from their parents just so they wouldn't disturb the forest boy, especially because he seemed to be hiding or running from something.
At the reaction of his children and Tuk's wide smile, Jake's tone changed, slightly less firm, but still concerned, "What forest boy, sweetie?" The three of them exchanged glances, a bit nervous as they had never mentioned to their parents the small incident with the viperwolf
But as they were trying to make up a believable story about how they met this forest boy, Tuk didn't hesitate to speak again.
"A nantang tried to bite me, but the forest boy protected me," the air amongst the family changed, getting heavier, tenser, and more suffocating than ever, prompting Neytiri to walk closer to her husband and children.
"Tuk-" Lo'ak whispered his sister's name, who glanced at him and realized how her older siblings were looking at her, her ears flattening against her skull. Jake's jaw tightened, and Neytiri's breath hitched in her throat, eyes getting slightly blurry at the thought of -potentially- losing her baby daughter and not knowing about it. Her hands trembled as she held Tuk's shoulders and held her closer, a hand on her upper back and one cradling Tuk's head against her stomach.
Jake's body tensed, eyes closing for a moment as the cold realization of almost losing his babygirl settled in his chest. He looked at his daughter, safely craddled in her mother's arms, and he briefly glanced at his older kids, and neither of them looked at him or Neytiri. He sighed as he scanned the High Camp for a moment.
There were too many ears and too many eyes near them, especially after the fuss he had made when his children hadn't returned, so he made a quick decision when he understood this was not the place to have this kind of conversation.
"We'll talk later," he said finally, voice steady but laced with something sharp. It wasn't a suggestion, they will talk later, after dinner.
Neteyam's shoulders relaxed with relief, but there was a feeling of dread building inside his chest. Next to him, Lo'ak had a difficult time swallowing the saliva that gathered in his mouth, jaw tight and index finger tapping rapidly against his thigh. Kiri shifted her basket higher on her hip, less bothered than her brothers about the idea of a serious talk before bed.
Still held by her mother, Tuk nodded a few times, looking up at her father before smiling at her mom.
Neytiri met Jake's eyes, her eyes dark with fear and uncertainty, a subtle flick of her ear said enough: home. Now.
Dinner at High Camp passed in a haze. The sounds of crafted bowls scraping, the quiet chatter, and subtle humming around the campfire were muted, swallowed by the tension coiled tightly around the Sully family. The rest of the village was unbothered by this, eating and chatting lively amongst one another.
Jake barely tasted his food, and Neytiri ate even less, her attention never fully away from her children, especially Tuk, who she kept closely by her side.
Out of the four, the only one who ate was Tuk, mostly because her mother kept nudging her to eat. Her eyes watched as her siblings were either too stiff or too anxious to eat more than a few pieces of their dinner.
When the meal was finished, and the food they left was given to the ikran, Jake stood up, arms crossed, as he signaled toward their kelku with a subtle movement of his head, "Let's go."
One by one, their children walked inside their home, Neytiri behind them, and he walked in last, pulling the flap closed. He took a deep breath and gestured toward the woven mat in the middle.
"All of you, sit."
Not a single one of them argued, quietly finding a place to sit, the soft flames illuminating their faces with a warm orange glow. Usually, the heat brought comfort, but now it was something to focus on, to ground themselves.
The kelku felt smaller, too cramped, too much heat, too tense. The sounds of the camp outside faded, replaced by the steady sound of their breathing, too loud and too close.
Jake stayed near the entrance, arms tense over his chest, Neytiri standing beside him but closer to her children, watching their expressions silently. The heavy silence was broken by Jake's exhale. "Now," he spoke, his eyes moving from one child to the next, lingering just a second longer on Neteyam and Lo'ak, "Tell us about this forest boy."
Jake waited and chose not to rush them, knowing that his silence made his children fill it by themselves.
Neteyam took a deep breath, eyes locked on his father's, "We met him a couple of weeks ago," he started, carefully, "By the lower paths, near the riverbed."
Neytiri's ears twitched, while Jake remained quiet, his eyes waiting for something more specific.
He got it.
Lo'ak leaned forward, a little too eager to contribute to the conversation.
"Yeah- yeah, near the river, but... not that close, more inland, like past the fallen trees. You know, the ones near the... uh, the hanging demonship, but not near it... like... near it but not close," Kiri looked at her younger brother like he was insane, and Neteyam looked at him, trying to not let the confusion visible on his face. Lo'ak tried to explain himself a bit better since he knew they weren't allowed that far alone into the forest, "Generally the same direction as the demonship, you know?"
Jake's eyes locked on him, ears slightly twitching, "The hanging demonship," he repeated, trying not to scold his son for venturing that far despite knowing he shouldn't, "That's west."
Thinking he was out of suspicion and out of trouble, Lo'ak nodded quickly, a smile on his face, "Yeah, west. But also kind of south, so like... southwest. Past the vine wall, and the big rootcave, he uh- he's usually around there."
Neteyam reached his left hand to his forehead, side-eyeing his younger brother as he realized he was actively fucking everything up the more he talked.
Jake tilted his head slightly. "You said riverbed and rootcave," he pointed out, watching how Lo'ak smiled wider and nodded again, confident in what he described, "That's east."
Lo'ak's mouth opened, closed, and opened again, trying to find another way to make his lie actually believable.
"Well- yeah, but there's like... another riverbed and rootcave, further in. It kinda curves back-."
"That doesn't make sense," Jake cut him off, not sounding mad, and simply stating a fact.
He watched his youngest son's ears flattened, tail flicking, restless. Lo'ak glanced at Neteyam, who was still side-eyeing his brother at how stupid he was making himself look, and he saw the help me look in his eyes, so he stepped in.
"He doesn't stay in one place," he spoke slowly, trying to sound as honest as he could while... blatantly lying to his parents' faces, "He tends to hide. We just didn't want-."
"He's always on the trees by the river, right before the small ocean," Tuk interrupted him, looking proud as she felt like she was contributing to something very helpful.
Every single head in the kelku snapped toward her. Her siblings looked at her with a sense of betrayal, while her parents looked at her with gentle curiosity.
Neytiri crouched in front of her youngest daughter, "What did you say, ma'ite?" Tuk smiled brightly at her, completely unaware of the silent panic around her.
"In the really big trees, the tall ones with the wide leaves," her tiny hands motioned above her head, trying to get the image in her mind to her parents, "He made a swing for me in his tree."
Well, there was no point in trying to hide the forest boy when Tuk just outright exposed his camp.
An odd silence filled the kelku, Tuk being the only one to hold her parents' gaze, the other three... looking annoyed at the ground. Jake closed his eyes briefly, just for a second, then opened them again, something different shining in his golden eyes.
"Tuk," Neytiri spoke softly, her fingers gently moving her daughter's braids back, "How do you know where he is?"
She shrugged with a small pout, "Because that's where he watches us from, he's always there."
The sound of the fire crackling was the only thing that filled the silence, and made Jake look at his kids, really look at them now. How Neteyam wouldn't meet their eyes. How Lo'ak's leg bounced uncontrollably. How Kiri had her arms crossed, fingers tapping on her skin as she tried to look outside their kelku.
"All of you have been... visiting him," he said quietly, not a question, just a comment.
"And what happened to the nantang?" Neytiri gently asked, hands still holding her daughter close.
Tuk snuggled closer to her, "He scared it away, very fast, I didn't even know it was there until he took care of it."
"An arrow," Lo'ak spoke, gaze barely lifting as he looked at his father, "Right in between its eyes, he did it like it was nothing."
Jake exhaled slowly, his hand coming up to rub his face, trying to understand this situation, and when he lowered his hand to his side, his eyes scanned his children, "So... you found a stranger, living alone, in the forest, and you didn't think to tell us, even after your sister was in danger."
"We didn't want to scare him," Kiri finally spoke, her head whipping toward her parents, "He seemed to have been running from something, and he keeps to himself... We don't even know his name yet."
"It feels like he doesn't want to be found. We just got lucky," Neteyam added, head tilted and braids swaying.
Jake's gaze softened for an instant, as if he understood where the boy was coming from, but he was still concerned about the idea of his kids being out there, in the forest, away from home, spending time with a complete stranger.
"Now, he has been found."
The words settled heavy between them. They weren't sure they wanted to think about what their father's implication meant.
++++
Next chapter may take a while because I have no idea how to write it lol and I've been working on a few other one shots which I wanna get done soon.
Summary: Where you're in love with Lo'ak, and you think he's in love with you too, but when you arrive at awa'atlu, you see the boy you love, falling in love with someone else.
Author's note: Backstory is the same as in lost to the smoke but it's not mentioned. Unrequited love, hurt-comfort, pining, slow burn (?), non-stop listened to 'when there was me and you' from hsm while writing this lol
Masterlist.
Avatar: The Way of Water
To (M/n), his love was quiet, kept in his chest, feeling his heart race with every glance of his golden eyes, every soft brush of his fingers on his skin, every call of his name. To him, it was quiet love, subtle. The kind of love that fills your heart and warms your body.
To everyone around him? His love was loud and intense. He never said it out loud, but his actions spoke louder than anything else. How his eyes always followed Lo'ak without permission. In the way his tail flickered behind him whenever Lo'ak would laugh at something he said. And how he leaned closer without realizing.
This was noticed by Neteyam first. He always noticed things first.
Then Kiri noticed, and she told Spider about it. So now, the three of them would tease (M/n) at every chance they had.
"Ey," Kiri's voice caught his attention, hands going still, as he was weaving a new armband for Tuk, who begged him to make one for her too, mentioning how Neteyam's weaving was the prettiest, despite having the same weaving pattern as any other armband, but he would never deny his baby sister anything, "He's doing that thing again," she nudged Spider and they followed her line of sight.
Next to Neteyam was (M/n), and next to him was Lo'ak, who had forgotten his weaving and was too focused on telling a story that made no sense and all the sense at once, his hands moving around to emphasize the emotion, eyes bright as they kept glancing up and back down. (M/n) was already smiling and softly chuckling before the joke of the story landed.
Neteyam sighed with a shake of his head, braids swaying, making his beads click against each other, and he leaned closer to (M/n), "You're not subtle, you know?"
He watched how (M/n)'s ears flattened, the tips of them turning a darker blue, almost purple hue of embarrassment at being caught so blindly in love.
"I don't know what you're talking about, 'Teyam," he muttered while trying to ignore the heat crawling up his neck. Lo'ak grinned at him -wide, joyful, warm- and he swore his heart tripped over itself.
Neteyam observed the exchange with something in his chest, something he refused to name.
There were moments, almost too many... but there was no such thing as "too many" for (M/n) when he was with Lo'ak. These moments, no matter how small, never failed to make him feel warm all over.
The way Lo'ak bumped shoulders with him when they walked, the way Lo'ak waited for him without saying he was waiting for him, the late night stargazing at the edge of High Camp, and the sneaking away from the mountains to the nearby river at the bottom, playing in the water and pushing or pulling each other in, the bioluminescence of the forest illuminating their bodies, and the dots on Lo'ak lighting up, brighter than ever, making him look enchanting... Magical, even.
He would never get tired of such a view.
Once -only once- Lo'ak's forehead pressed briefly to his as they laughed, breath shared, eyes locked. And he felt it.
That night, he had gone to sleep with only one thing in mind: maybe.
But he couldn't dwell on that word for too long, because barely two days later, Spider was taken by the dreamwalkers. Then everything broke.
//////
The reef was vast and beautiful... And so, so cruel.
The Metkayina welcomed them, perhaps with some difficulty, but were willing to help the forest Na'vi in seek of uturu. (M/n) thought everything was gonna be okay, just like how it was back in the forest, but he knew that was a childish thought.
They weren't in the forest anymore, and he was no longer the reason for Lo'ak's smiles.
He noticed since pretty much the moment they arrived. He noticed how Lo'ak's eyes stayed glued to someone, a Metkayina girl whom they soon learned the name of, Tsireya, daughter of the tsahìk and olo'eyktan of awa'atlu.
They were shown to their marui by her. (M/n) hesitated about stepping in since he wasn't part of the Sully family, and Tsireya pointed to a smaller marui close by. He nodded and took his things over, and a bit after, he was dragged by Neteyam out, mumbling something about exploring and learning about the reef.
They met Tsireya's brother a bit more officially, Ao'nung, and their friend, Rotxo, who was tagging along to help the siblings handle five forest Na'vi.
The entire time they were learning, (M/n) would look at Lo'ak, and every time he did, he saw the way Lo'ak's eyes were perpetually stuck on Tsireya. And he realized that, while getting his attention a few days ago was the easiest thing for him to do, now it seemed like an impossible task.
(M/n) wasn't blind. He saw the way he acted with Tsireya, how his laugh changed around her. Softer. Shyer. Hopeful.
To (M/n), it felt like drowning while still standing at the shore.
So, slowly, with each day that passed, he began to drift away from them, quietly. Without drama, without accusations, just quiet distance. He knew better than to ask Lo'ak for an explanation, just because he held romantic feelings toward the youngest Sully boy didn't mean his feelings had to be reciprocated... Even if, before fleeting High Camp, he held hopes that maybe, just maybe, his feelings weren't just his.
Now he knows they were never mutual.
So he kept his distance, unable to watch how Lo'ak fell in love with someone else, fearing he would breakdown in front of everyone, and that caused him to stop swimming with them, practicing on his own what he had learned in the brief period he stayed.
He ate alone, feet dragging to the shore or the rocks, the light of the village against his back as his distant gaze locked on the starlight night sky. Finding a spot to sit, he gently unwrapped the algae, slowly eating the meat or fruit inside it, if he ate at all. Sometimes, when he couldn't stomach everything he was given and was appropriate for it, he would give some to his ilu, who always came by to keep him company. He blamed their tsaheylu for that, the poor ilu definitely felt how lonely and heartbroken he felt, so he had a desire to keep him company.
During the afternoon training, which they were supposed to be taking with Tsireya and Ao'nung, (M/n) would dive in the water, and quietly sit at the bottom, watching the marine fauna around him, letting the water drown away his feelings.
He would stay there for almost too long, sight darkening and lungs burning from lack of air, only when he got dizzy and his body twitched he would swim back to the surface of the water, ignoring the worried calls of his name as he dove back in again, swimming further than he was allowed, finding comfort in the way the water pressed against his ears, muffling any sound coming from the above.
Neteyam watched all of this happening, (M/n)'s isolation and reckless behavior, and he hated it.
//////
He found (M/n) one evening, sitting on a rock with his knees pulled against his chest, staring at the horizon where the water touched the sky, as if he was waiting for an answer that would never come.
Silently, Neteyam sat next to him, and whether he was noticed or not, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't told to leave, so that was good.
They remained silent for a few minutes while Neteyam found the words to say, fidgeting with his songcord to try and ground himself in some way, "You don't... have to be alone, you know?" He spoke with a gentle tone lacing his voice. (M/n) shifted, chin resting atop his knees.
"I know," he mumbled.
Neither of them spoke a word after. And this became a silent, unspoken habit.
Neteyam would sit beside him in silence, shoulders close but never touching. Listened whenever (M/n) spoke, and didn't push him when he stayed quiet. He watched (M/n) slowly heal, in little fragments that Neteyam would try to hold together the best he could, watched the way (M/n)'s smile would slowly come back, how he allowed Neteyam to swim with him, how he softly laughed even though the joy didn't quite reach his eyes yet.
And somewhere between watching (M/n) breathe again and realizing his eyes still looked at Lo'ak like something fragile he lost... Neteyam fell. In such an intense way, it terrified him and shook him to his core.
He knew (M/n) wasn't looking for romance, not anymore. And he knew -Eywa, he knew- (M/n) still carried Lo'ak's name like a scar on his heart, so he chose to stay quiet about the feelings he felt.
Thankfully -or horribly- for him, (M/n) didn't seem to notice the way his ears twitched when he got too close, how his breath hitched when he smiled at him, how his hands trembled as he resisted the urge to hold his hand, how he would have a hard time finding his words when (M/n)'s laugh became more and more genuine, his eyes full of joy and life again. Neteyam would always look at him, no matter how close or far away they were from each other.
To his family, Neteyam's feelings were obvious, just like how (M/n) had loved Lo'ak so quietly, and yet so strongly.
Kiri was the one who talked to him about it, and Neteyam tried to deny it all, a blush creeping up his neck, but Kiri wasn't gonna let this go, "Okay, fine... I like (M/n), what about it?" He muttered, head cast down and fidgeting with his songcord.
Kiri frowned and placed her hand on her brother's shoulder.
"I don't want you to get hurt too," he looked at her, and forced a smile.
"I won't," he replied, trying to reassure himself as well. He already knew (M/n) would never love— like him back, he's reminded of it every time he sees him staring at his younger brother, painfully watching how Tsireya was always by his side.
///////
Then, one day, (M/n) noticed something.
They were receiving some help and advice from Ao'nung, and while they were better than when they first arrived, they still needed some training when it came to the reef.
He was gently patting his ilu, his eyes glancing over at how Ao'nung helped Neteyam with his grip and posture. He was just watching, using this moment as a chance for himself to learn too, and then, after staring and analyzing for too long, he noticed something interesting.
He noticed the way Neteyam stiffened around the Metkayina male, heard the way his words faltered, saw how his posture shifted. Neteyam didn't look like the strong, confident, and sure of himself son of Toruk Makto, the next in line for olo'eyktan back at the forest, (M/n) saw Neteyam as a boy unsure of himself, a boy who got nervous and made mistakes, a boy who— oh.
That was an interesting turn.
He kept observing for a few days after that, just to make sure he wasn't imagining things, and because of that, he also noticed the way Ao'nung looked at Neteyam, a gentle tease escaping him whenever the eldest Sully messed up on something simple.
Sometimes, the others would join too, and he watched how Lo'ak also teased his brother, who would shove him under the water to get him to shut up. Kiri would roll her eyes, and Tuk would join her brothers, thinking they were innocently playing.
Then, one night as they sat on their now usual spot on the rock, (M/n) nudged Neteyam softly with his elbow, "You know... If you like him, you should tell him."
For a moment, Neteyam froze, then blinked a few times as he slowly turned to look at him.
"What? Who are you talking about?" He said with a nervous chuckle, hoping (M/n) hadn't already figured out his feelings, his -according to Kiri- very obvious feelings.
"Ao'nung."
The name landed on him like being thrown in freezing water, and he watched the way (M/n) smiled softly at him.
"I've seen the way he looks at you. I think he feels the same," he added, so naively unaware.
Something about the way (M/n) realized his "feelings" for Ao'nung but not for him made Neteyam frown, an ugly feeling growing on his chest at the thought of how (M/n) just told him he was okay with him failing for someone else entirely.
He felt the world stop.
He felt his body burning and his mind scrambling with all kinds of thoughts, and he rushed to get up, braids aggressively swaying at his sudden movements, "I don't like Ao'nung...!" He stared down at (M/n) with a deeper frown, lips pressed tight as his eyes held something (M/n) had never seen before.
"'Teyam, it's okay," he spoke gently, slowly standing up and reaching his hands out to Neteyam.
"No!" He exclaimed, backing away from (M/n)'s hands as they slowly drifted to hang at his sides, staring into Neteyam's eyes, a mix of emotions swirling in them- confusion, anger, hurt, "Why can't you see that I-"
Neteyam stopped himself from saying something he might regret, his uneven breath steadying, and the jolting of his hands coming to a sudden stop too.
He took a deep breath and stared into (M/n)'s eyes, "I have feelings for someone," he added softly, like a whisper, "But it's not Ao'nung."
Something flashed in (M/n)'s mind, creating a tight sensation on his chest. Tsireya's face came to him, for a brief, bitter second, and he couldn't hold back his frown, not fully understanding why it seemed like everyone liked Tsireya, like yeah, she was gentle, kind, and beautiful, but what made her so special that both Sully boys had feelings for her?
No, he stopped himself. He already assumed Neteyam liked Ao'nung, and he was wrong, so he wasn't going to assume again.
"Then, who...?" His question hung in the air, eyes wide and curious as he looked at Neteyam, who felt his heart skip a beat at the expression on (M/n)'s face.
For a moment, he considered it, told himself he could live with being rejected, he would still be by his side everyday of his life. Still unsure, Neteyam opened his mouth, hesitating before telling himself there was no better time than now to be honest about his feelings.
But he got interrupted before he could say a word.
"Bro!" Lo'ak's voice shattered the moment, making (M/n) shift uncomfortably as he watched Lo'ak make his way over, unaware of what he had just interrupted.
Neteyam's jaw tightened. He was mad, at the interruption, the timing, but mostly at the realization that (M/n) doesn't see him. He noticed his actions around others, but not the way his breath caught around him, the trembling of his hands when he was near, the blushing on his face and on the tip of his ears when he complimented him, how he softened around him.
Neteyam loved (M/n) in the same way (M/n) loved Lo'ak, so loud yet hidden in plain sight.
And he saw the way Lo'ak's feelings for Tsireya made (M/n) shut down, so Neteyam learned to keep his love silent. He loved him, and yet, he never saw it.
"Bro, I've been calling you-"
Lo'ak arrived, and (M/n) instantly looked at him, his eyes softening but still holding pain in them. Neteyam bit his lip as he watched.
It was so obvious he wasn't over Lo'ak at all, and the realization broke his heart. (M/n) would never see him, because Lo'ak is all he'd ever see, now and ever.
His breath hitched, and he glanced down as he tried to prevent himself from crying right then and there, "I interrupted something, didn't I?"
Lo'ak looked back and forth between them, fidgeting in place at the way (M/n) looked at him without a word. He couldn't even remember the last time they talked, and while he felt bad about it, he pushed the thought aside when he remembered what he came over for.
"Bro, dad's calling for you, says it's important," while keeping his blurry sight locked on the rock beneath him, Neteyam turned around and left without a word. Lo'ak stayed there for a second before forcing a smile at (M/n), "Bye, bro."
He received a mumbled 'bye Lo' right as he left to follow after Neteyam.
"Bro, you okay?" Neteyam didn't glance at him once.
"No," he muttered, deep voice rumbly and slightly shaky, and began walking faster, his steps heavier.
Lo'ak lifted an eyebrow, confused as he watched his brother's back, gaining distance between them, and he glanced back (M/n), who was still looking at him.
He wondered what had happened between those two before he arrived.
///////
Neteyam avoided (M/n) for three days.
Not cruelly, not obviously, just... Enough. Kept a respectful distance. He sat further away at meals and chose different patrols. When (M/n)'s eyes searched for him, he was always just out of reach, talking to someone else, busy with something important.
(M/n) told himself it was nothing, just that Neteyam didn't have time for him anymore, after all, he was used to being alone, he deserved it after how he hurt Neteyam with the heartless comments about him liking Ao'nung.
He figured Neteyam was hurt because if he liked someone, (M/n) should know better than anyone who he liked.
He told himself he deserved to be alone, that Neteyam didn't owe him his time or company. Even if he knew this, he couldn't help but feel the loneliness creeping back.
On the fourth evening, (M/n) was back where he always was when things hurt, alone on the rock, legs crossed, eyes distant as he watched the ocean, waves coming and going, splashing his skin every couple of minutes. His shoulders slumped, tail curled close, the quiet kind of distance that didn't ask to be fixed.
Neteyam watched him from afar after his spearfishing lesson was over, and something in him filled with guilt. Whatever pride he'd been clinging to dissolved.
It's not his fault, he told himself, you never told him, you don't get to punish him for making him assume. So he took a deep breath and began making his way over to the lonely boy.
Slowly and gently, he sat down beside him as if he hadn't been avoiding him for the past few days.
(M/n) tensed up the moment he felt someone sitting with him, but he recognized Neteyam's scent pretty quickly, and his body relaxed at the familiar company of the eldest Sully kid.
"Hey," he spoke, soft and quiet.
"Hey," Neteyam said back, as gentle as ever.
They stayed quiet for a few minutes, and (M/n)'s mind raced, trying to find the right words to apologize to Neteyam for assuming his feelings, "About the other day... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed you liked Ao'nung."
Neteyam blinked and looked at him, caught off guard completely at the apology, and if one of them had to apologize, it definitely wasn't (M/n).
He rubbed the back of his neck as he let out a chuckle, "It's fine, really."
They laughed together and stayed silent again, then, slowly, (M/n) turned to look at him for a moment, carefully. He didn't want to get the same reaction out of Neteyam by assuming his feelings again, didn't want to be careless, so he chose to ask instead.
"So... Who do you like then?" He noticed Neteyam's shoulders tense up, just slightly, barely noticeable. He chose to look away and wait, not rushing Neteyam to tell him anything, if he wanted to tell him at all.
He heard a slow exhale, "It's complicated," again, he tried not to assume, but that response fed the idea of Neteyam also liking Tsireya. He silently nodded, no teasing, no pressure, just accepting the answer he got.
"Okay, if you ever need help courting her, let me know," he replied, eyes glued to the ocean ahead, unaware of the way Neteyam froze and looked at him.
"Him," he got brave enough to correct (M/n) gently, "It's a guy."
He blinked once. Twice. Then nodded again as his mind tried to find the possible guy Neteyam may like, but he pushed that thought aside and turned to look at him, "Court him, then."
His words made Neteyam laugh, a real, warm, and a little shaky laugh, and his arm reached out to him, falling on his shoulders and pulling (M/n) closer. He didn't pull away, comforted by the warmth and proximity of the Sully boy.
Neteyam couldn't stop himself from playing with (M/n)'s braids, and his cheek pressed gently against the top of his head.
He realized (M/n) was really dense, painfully so. But he couldn't blame him.
He remembered the forest, Lo'ak's easy touches, the way his voice softened when he called (M/n)'s name, the looks that lingered just a second too long. Neteyam had thought it was real, thought their feelings were mutual.
And then he watched it crumble the moment they landed on the clear sand of Awa'atlu. Watched (M/n) close in on himself, watched Lo'ak blatantly in love, watched (M/n) stop believing in things that hadn't already proven themselves safe.
He wasn't harvesting hopes anymore.
So Neteyam told himself he should be patient. Even if it meant loving him quietly for a little longer.
He was quietly eating some fruit on the same branch when he felt the same disturbance as the previous day. The birdsong cut off too early, and the wind carried over distant voices, nothing else but a mere murmur, hard to understand anything they were saying.
This time around, he didn't try to hide and silently watched how they walked the same path, laughing softly, sharing fruit, and nudging each other. The little girl walked closer to the middle this time, still playing with everything she spotted. The older girl was slowly trailing behind, keeping a careful eye on the little one's smaller frame. The boys carried woven bags and baskets, so his first guess was that they were coming over to collect stuff for their family or clan, unlike the previous day, since it looked like they were just walking past this place.
They didn't call out for him, and they didn't search for him. They just existed with him in that space.
But that didn't stop the girl from looking up briefly, a smile tugging at her lips, as if she was greeting an old friend. They stayed nearby for a few hours, sometimes playing by the river, collecting fruit, herbs, and catching fish.
They left the forest before dusk.
//////
The day after that, they returned again. And again.
Sometimes, they brought food, wrapped in leaves and placed at the protruding root of his tree without a single word. Usually, he would wait until they left to grab it and eat some, thankful that he didn't have to find food for the moment.
Other times, they talked and laughed louder than needed, stories spilling freely into the forest as if hoping someone was listening.
He listened.
And because he listened, he learned that they were siblings. He believed they were close friends, until he heard them mention their dad and mom, getting scolded or grounded, sometimes mentioning something they taught them. Their stories inevitably brought back memories of his family, his clan... Of a happier moment in his life.
He would hold back tears and hide behind the leaves, biting his trembling lip as a stray tear slid down his face.
The first few days they came around, he would stay quiet out of habit, then it was out of fear. His voice felt foreign in his throat, unused, heavy. The words formed in his mind when he was greeted or asked a simple question, but they refused to leave his lips. The little girl would wave him goodbye, and he would be greeted with an 'i see you' by the older girl. He mirrored both actions completely silently.
Once again, he began continuing the days, something he had long stopped.
On the fourth day of them leaving, he opened his mouth to mutter a goodbye, but the words caught in his breath, so he simply gestured at them.
After they disappear within the density of the forest, (M/n) took a deep breath and spoke, quietly, nothing but a mere whisper, his voice breaking. He was shocked by the sound of his own voice, foreign and strange to his ears, a scratchy feeling in his throat, but he kept trying.
He hummed and mumbled, trying to get his voice back, hoping to sound somewhat normal.
By the fifth day, he had already learned their rhythm and names. Who walked ahead, Neteyam. Who lagged behind, Tuk. Who always checked the tree line before sitting down, Kiri. And who kept getting into trouble, Lo'ak.
It wasn't until that evening that he finally spoke.
The sky was slowly turning darker and darker as the eclipse approached, so they stood up and gathered their stuff, mumbling about getting home before the eclipse, when Tuk turned around and enthusiastically waved at the top of the trees, where he was sitting.
He held his breath for a moment before slowly releasing it, telling himself it was nothing, just two words, he could say two words... Or he hoped so.
"Eywa ngahu..."
The forest seemed to be still at the sound of his voice.
Kiri looked up, her eyes bright. Tuk giggled and waved more, while Lo'ak and Neteyam kept a neutral expression on their faces, sparing glances at the boy whose name they still didn't know.
The next day, they stayed longer, probably earning a scolding from their parents, but (M/n) found himself smiling as he watched the siblings so comfortable around him, even if he contributed little to not at all to their conversation.
//////
At first, they only shared space. He stayed close enough to be seen but far enough to vanish if needed to, but that seemed to change after a week with the siblings.
This time, he picked a branch lower to the ground, legs crossed so they wouldn't dangle off the edge. He kept his bow beside him, quiver resting on top of it. Neteyam had his back leaning against a tree across from him, Lo'ak sprawled on the mossy dirt, legs stretched out, hands locked behind his head as he stared up through the leaves at the side of (M/n)'s face, watching how he slowly and quietly ate some meat.
"You think he eats like that all the time?" He asked, eyes glued to the older Na'vi whose name continued to be a mystery. (M/n) heard him, but didn't say anything and continued enjoying his food.
He used to be very talkative while eating, using it as a time to bond with family and friends, sharing the day's catch and listening to the stories the elders told about the older days, about the Sky People, about the war, about their victory. After the attack, eating became a time when he was left alone with his thoughts, his memories, his guilt.
But now, with the four siblings sitting underneath him, they brought back the lively atmosphere he was so used to back home. He enjoyed it. The noise. It helped to distract him and sometimes even got a chuckle out of him.
Kiri hushed her brother gently while passing Tuk some food, who happily ate what she was given, "Don't be rude," she said, though her tone carried no real scolding.
He briefly glanced down after finishing his food and caught Tuk's eyes, full of curiosity and wonder. "You're really quiet," her voice filled the stillness of the forest, and he fixed his sitting position, head tilted to the side as he looked at her.
"I'd rather listen," he replied barely above a whisper, catching the attention of the other three, who looked at him with something strange swirling in their eyes. Maybe it was the strange feeling of hearing his voice since he found his voice strange himself, but he wasn't sure. But after that, they didn't force him to talk, accepting his silent greeting, his nodding, and even humming every time they asked him something.
Their days blurred together after that day, an established pattern that everyone followed without naming it.
They had brought him fruit most days, and he felt like he needed to give something back. And so, at that moment in the very early morning, he saw the sun illuminating the sky, smelled the scent of humidity in the forest, and he knew it was close to the usual time the siblings would come by to keep him company, so he hopped off his tree, spear in hand, and fishing net hung on his shoulders.
He caught a few fish and set up a fire pit where he split them open, cutting out the meat, removing any bones, and setting them to roast on the fire. While the fish finished cooking, he gathered leaves, broad and thick leaves, to wrap the food and keep it warm, and with enough leaves in his hands, he walked over to the river, rinsing the leaves gently and letting them dry near the fire pit. He took a deep breath as he made sure every piece of the meat was cooked before settling them on the leaves to slightly cool down before continued cooking the rest.
Once he was finally done, he began wrapping each portion of food carefully, making sure nothing slipped out or was too full. He put out the fire and piled the packaged food carefully in his hand, picking up his net and spear, and slowly making his way back to the tree, humming his songcord to himself.
Soon, he spotted Tuk looking up at his usual branch with a pout on her lips, Kiri standing behind her as she gently stroked her braids, "I'm sure he'll be back soon," he watched Tuk nodding and turning around, following her older sister to sit on their usual spots.
Hearing them talking, he purposefully made noise behind them, watching how Neteyam instinctively reached for his knife at the sudden loud noise, whipping around fast enough for his braids to almost hit his face due to the speed. His shoulders and grip relaxed as soon as he saw who was responsible for the noise.
(M/n) briefly made eye contact with the four of them, silently greeting them the usual way he did, a simple gesture, a small smile on his face as he approached them. Leaning down, he placed the wrapped food next to their basket, gently taking the wrap Kiri was handing him. He took a step back, and fixing his grip on his things, he swung up the tree effortlessly with practiced ease that left Lo'ak impressed.
"Bro, you gotta teach me how to do that," he said enthusiastically, and (M/n) nodded.
"Sure," he replied quietly.
After that, they began doing their own stuff nearby, like they usually did. Kiri and Tuk would get busy weaving or braiding fiber while Lo'ak and Neteyam would practice throws or hand-to-hand combat, most times ending with them rolling on the mossy dirt laughing.
(M/n) noticed the characteristic weaving patterns of the Omatikaya, which let him know roughly where he was in the forest, near an Omatikaya village. With all the forest clans there were, he wasn't really sure where each clan was, at least, now he knew. So many weeks living in the forest, and he just figured that at that moment, amazing. Even so, the realization of how close he was to other Na'vi was equally as reassuring as it was strange.
Especially when he thought about how he should see more than just these siblings pretty much daily, and yet, no one came around.
When he was done eating the food he was given, he leaned back against the tree, legs drawn up, fingers absentmindedly stripping a vibe hanging near him and weaving thin reeds into a pattern he'd learn as a child. When a strand would snap, he cursed under his breath, his Hulanta dialect slipping out, the sound sharp and unfamiliar even to himself.
At some point, Kiri looked up at him, briefly getting a glance at his weaving pattern, ears perking, "That's different from Omatikaya weaving," she pointed out, making him stop his movements. Made sense that since he noticed they were Omatikaya, one of them would realize soon enough he... wasn't.
"It isn't," he mumbled, slowly picking up his pattern again.
"Where is it from? I'm not sure I've seen it," the question wasn't invasive, and it wasn't curious just for curiosity's sake. It was gentle, like offering a soft place to land after a long trip.
Even so, he couldn't help but hesitate for a moment, "The Hulanta clan," his fingers continued, the movement as easy as breathing to him by now, "Where the forest breath meets the water."
Kiri's expression softened into a look of understanding, as if she knew who they were or had a hunch of where he was from. Lo'ak blinked a few times before he spoke, "That... Actually does sound cool."
Neteyam glanced at his younger siblings before looking up at (M/n), "Is it far?"
His fingers paused for a fraction of a second, remembering how long he had walked, for how many hours, days, weeks... Until he silently stopped caring about keeping track of the time. He swallowed before saying anything.
"Yes," he mumbled.
Neteyam accepted the short answer and didn't push it, understanding that something had happened to his home for him to be a wandering soul in the forest. After that,it got quiet once again, the faint sound of the river stream nearby, the buzzing and rattling. sounds of insects coming from every direction around them.
Tuk stood up and walked closer to his tree, sitting on one of the roots and leaning back against the bark until her head rested upon it. She looked up at him upside down, her movements catching (M/n)'s attention, torn away from his weaving.
"Do you miss it?" His breath hitched in his throat, a knot forming in his throat against his will.
"Every day..." he whispered. Tuk smiled at him, as if trying to reassure him in some way. Kiri watched him absentmindedly, not searching for weakness, but as if she was checking whether he was still standing after saying that out loud. When he met her eyes briefly, she smiled at him too, small and reassuring, just like Tuk's smile was. He did his best try at smiling back at them, and it seemed to be enough for her since she went back to what she was previously focused on.
They each kept doing their own thing until it was time to leave. It had become a habit by now, they left before dark, and he watched how every sibling greeted him goodbye, and he returned the gesture every time before they turned around, listening to their talking and laughing, which slowly faded away with every step they took.
For a moment, alone in the quiet of the night, he wondered why they kept coming back, over and over again, keeping him company, but he tried not to think about it too much, at least... not for now.
/////
Soon enough, he found himself adjusting his daily routine around them, hunting earlier, preparing food wraps, getting more resources than he needed, and he even found himself braiding gifts for the four of them, as a show of gratitude. A 'thank you' for just being there with him.
He would patrol the area every morning, just to make sure there were no predators around, to ensure the place he now shared stayed safe. And he found himself sitting on the lowest branch, the same branch he built a swing for Tuk to play on, her giggles filling the forest with life, warming (M/n)'s heart, being reminded of the sister he missed every day since he lost her.
Neteyam would occasionally bring a bow, following the fish on the river with his sight before releasing the string. (M/n) studied his stance for longer than needed, enough to catch the boy's attention, so he silently and gently gestured at him with his hand, correcting his footing with a subtle motion. Neteyam fixed it immediately, without argument or protest.
And Lo'ak...
He loved to test boundaries and his patience.
He threw questions like stones into still water; which village he came from, how long he had been living in the forest, why he didn't talk much, what's his name, and Lo'ak quickly learned which question sank without ripple.
Still, he kept trying, curiosity at its peak.
"You're not scared of much, are you?" He asked one afternoon, watching (M/n) string his bow. Lo'ak was curious about how someone like (M/n) could live in a spot where predators would wander at night, sometimes even during the day.
"I am," his voice made Lo'ak pay attention to him again, "I just don't care about noise."
He is scared of something in particular. Fire and smoke. But the aggressive type of fire that takes everything from you, and the way the smoke cuts their air. The same fire and smoke the Sky People bring with them everywhere they go. He lost everything he'd ever loved because of them, of their fire... Because of the smoke they created.
After that, Lo'ak stopped asking personal questions, deciding to get more silly and chill, wondering about his favorite animal or activity. He responded with a faint smile on his face, telling them how the Hulanta clan had a close spiritual bond with the Fkio (Tetrapterons), everyone in the clan has their family Fkio, and they are treated like family. Then, he mentioned that he had always wanted to see an ikran from up close. He had seen them in the sky when other Na'vi came with news. Had even become rather close with one of the Windray from the Wind Traders.
And that's how (M/n) felt closer to the siblings. Lo'ak asked something, and everyone paid attention to his response. It was... Nice.
Aside from the brothers, Kiri would bring him herbs and salve, watching how some of his wounds weren't properly healing. Though he never asked why, and she never asked about it. He just accepted it with a nod.
And Tuk...
Tuk was always near him. Even when he wasn't paying attention, she would call for him and tell him stories, mostly about anything Lo'ak did that would get him in trouble with their parents, and Lo'ak would groan, annoyed, before arguing a poor excuse of how it wasn't his fault that Spider was horrible at catching stuff, and because of it he ended up hitting their father on the head.
(M/n) wondered about this Spider he heard about quite a few times, but like always, he would remain his quiet self, watching and listening to the siblings bickering with one another.
