Hi everyone, I'm new here, I wanted to introduce myself. I'm damkarkas, shipping AONOAK for life.
So my headcanons seems like this:
After the arrival of Sky people, The Sully's decides to move to Awa'Atlu to Metkayina tribe. The scenes of introducing same as in movie. The difference is, Tsireya doesn't swim out, and Lo'ak does not sees her. Instead, Ao'nung steps out from the crowd, and his gaze immediately lies on Lo'ak😏 then, and only then he notices other Omatikaya navi's. Him and Rotxo doesn't greet Sully brother back. Tsireya shows up, and makes comments Rotxo and Ao'nung for being rude. Tsireya herself greets Kiri and Tuk
Meanwhile: Olo'eyktan and Tsahik allowes Sully family to stay, and gives them uturu. Ao'nung, Tsireya and Rotxo have to teach the way of water.
New marui, new place, new people, different lifestyle.
After the first introduction, Neteyam is pissed, and refuses Ao'nung to be his teacher, instead he chooses Rotxo ( No NeteRo). Tsireya saw her brother's interest in Lo'ak, so she takes Kiri and Tuk (No Kireya).
"Unfortunately" Ao'nung have to teach Lo'ak 😏😏
The Metkayina trio teaches the Omatikaya 4. And everything seems going nice. Until Ao'nung's friends teases him, for liking forest navi, especially this freak Loak. Boy doesn't want to be humiliated, so we can see this beach scene, where Ao'nung pick on Kiri, everything else is similar to movie.
If you prefer to read on Ao3, you can find the fic here!
Summary: Find us in the future.
Word Count: 3,649
Metkayina Reader uses they/them pronouns.
Initially, you had hoped that when the pink inevitably faded from your life, it wouldn’t hit you as hard because you had chosen to discard it before it could do so.
In hindsight, the plan had been a stupid one, because you hadn’t really known Neteyam Sully. You had assumed your advances would never be reciprocated and had instead withdrawn to protect yourself. Which just showed that although you'd taken the time to know him as an individual - and had found that he was fun and quick with retorts - it didn’t really prove that you knew him.
You wouldn’t have gotten a chance to really. Not before the shells. Not before everything happened.
But now, you had unwillingly begun to learn his tells and preferences whilst helping him recover.
In truth, you hadn’t realised you were doing it. Not until you’d realised you could decipher his displeasure from a simple twitch of his nose, particularly when it came time to take his medicine. And although he pulled on his politest and most convincing smile, you could still tell.
And again, when you could tell he was excited, simply by the aborted flick of his right ear because he was focusing too hard on suppressing the tug of a smile at his lips to realise he was doing it.
And again, when you could tell he was trying to suppress his wince as you changed his bandages, because of the way his tail would slap against the floor once, before he subtly pressed a hand down over it to keep it from jumping.
You now knew - unwillingly - how he preferred his ilu saddle to be stored after being firmly told off when you’d done so incorrectly the first time. You now knew the name of his ikran (you’d had to feed her), as well as the exact year he’d crafted his first bow, and that it had been wood scavenged from his clan’s first HomeTree. You now knew that he preferred to sleep closest to the hut opening when sharing a hammock, and that Tuk often went to him instead of his parents when she had a nightmare.
You now knew how easy it was to get him to smile. You knew when to hug him and when to back off because he was brooding. You knew that he preferred iridescent sea snails to the blue ones because he found them ‘sweeter’. You knew that he missed home, but had found a home beside the sea. You knew that he was brave, and reckless - although he hid it better than Lo’ak.
You also knew the face he pulled when he was trying not to cry. An expression similar to your own, as the pair of you packed up his hammock in preparation for the move.
In the end, despite their best efforts, the Sully children had been fruitless in changing their parents’ minds. And as Jake had warned, they made good on their promise to leave as soon as Neteyam was strong enough.
Which led you to now, dutifully helping Neteyam pack his few belongings away in a sturdy pack, hours away from losing him for good. Which meant you were merely a few hours away from discovering just how badly it would hurt to have the pink shells disappearing too.
Beyond the empty hut, the air was thick with condensation and humidity as a storm rolled in from the sea. Overhead, thick, darkly bruised clouds shrouded the skies, forcing the villagers to light the torches before noon - not that they remained lit for long with the unforgiving winds.
At dawn, the Sullys’ ikran had already landed on the beach with Jake to greet them. Throughout the day, the mounts had been tacked up and loaded with bags. Only Neteyam and Kiri still had things strewn around the hut. The former, because he’d been too weak to do it on his own, and the latter, in silent rebellion against her parents. It had taken Neytiri threatening to leave it all behind and only take Kiri, for the girl to finally begin packing.
It took great effort to keep your body language loose and pleasant as you worked alongside Neteyam, listening to Kiri muttering to herself in the corner. When you weren’t actively thinking of them, your ears kept drooping down, forcing you to focus on both your hands and microexpressions.
Across from you, gingerly rolling up his hammock, Neteyam wasn’t looking as well put together. His expression was resigned, his eyes foggy with unshed moisture he couldn’t hope to blink away, unless he wanted it to roll down his cheeks. His bandages were off, the scar tissue beneath still angry and raw, looking much better than it had before.
<”It won’t be forever.”> Neteyam finally said, abruptly startling you out of your head. You inhaled shakily and sat back on your hunches as you looked up at him, your eyes greedily absorbing every detail of him whilst you still could. He looked gorgeous, his freckles glowing softly in the dim light, a couple braids pulled over one shoulder. <”I’ll come back.”> He promised, trying for a smile. His courting necklace bobbed as he tightly swallowed.
You struggled to make your smile reassuring. You both knew there was a chance he wouldn’t, although neither of you acknowledged it. <Only when it’s safe.”> You said firmly, leaving no room for argument, and ensuring to use ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. <”I don’t want you travelling back here if you’re just going to get shot again.”>
He winced around a sad smile. <”Okay.”>
<”Promise?”>
Neteyam shook his head, but he was smiling the way he usually does when he thought you’re being overly cautious. <”Promise.”>
Something in your chest loosened. <”Okay. I’ll be waiting.”>
His tail dropped from its tense coil at your quiet promise. <”You will?”>
<”Of course I will.”>
And you would. Even if he never came back. Even if he returned to the forest and ignored the shells to find a mate amongst his old People. Even if he returned but had changed his mind. You would wait, because you were fairly certain Neteyam was it for you. That Eywa had promised correctly when she’d sent that first, significant shell during that very first swimming lesson.
Neteyam was across the pod and dragging you into his arms before you could even register he’d moved. Over his shoulder, you briefly registered Kiri slipping out of the pod with her arms weighed down with bags, but you discarded the observation as quickly as it came. Neteyam had tucked his head down beneath your chin and was holding onto you tightly. Remembering you had arms, you wrapped them around him and held on, your cheek squished into his braids as you blinked back tears.
There were no more words of comfort to offer, so all you could do was stare blankly at the wall whilst Neteyam shook in your arms. Absently, you carded a hand through his braids, feeling his tense body loosen under your repetitive touch.
By the time Jake appeared in the doorway, uttering sadly that it was time to go, Neteyam had gone almost completely boneless in your hold.
From there, it only took minutes to take everything down to the beach between the three of you. The other kids were already readying their ikran, ears lowered and expressions grim as Neytiri tried to urge them along with soft words.
A few members of the clan watched the sad procession, but mostly, the people were continuing on with their chores. Tonowari stood silently at the head of the sandbank, a stark contrast to the day the Sullys had first arrived.
All too soon, there was nothing left to do, and Neteyam had tied down the last of his belongings. Not too far from where you stood, you could already hear Tsireya sniffling, whilst Lo’ak quietly calmed her, his voice struggling to come out as reassuring.
With a sigh, Neteyam turned to you, his expression as blank as your own. You stared right back as his wet eyes met yours. His golden eyes briefly flickered across your face, committing the sight of you to memory as his lower lip quivered. You smiled tightly, raising a hand in silent question.
His composure threatened to break as he hugged you again. Wrapping you up so tightly that even his tail joined in. You clung back just as fiercely, hating that now that you finally had this, it was being taken away from you. Hating that you wasted those early months being childish instead of communicating. Hating the humans for having the audacity to set foot on Pandora, before being grateful they did or you would’ve never met him in the first place. Hating that there just wasn’t enough time for everything you wanted to say and do.
<”Kids.”> Jake prompted, which was enough for Neteyam’s hold to loosen on you. Gently, he set you back down, before pulling back. Reluctantly, you let him go, unsure whether the wetness on your cheeks were tears or the rain that had begun to fall.
<”I’ll see you.”>
<”Yeah.”> He offered half-heartedly, <”I’ll see you.”>
Within hours of the ikran disappearing over the horizon, the pink shells disappeared from your life.
>_<
In those first few days after they had left, you’d foolishly tricked yourself into believing they would return in no time. That if you kept yourself busy, Neteyam would come strutting back into your life like he never left. That he would appear out of nowhere, and declare how much he missed you, before sweeping you up into another hug.
But of course, that didn’t happen. And couldn’t happen until the Sky People had retreated. No news came from the forest clans after the Sky People moved away from the seas, focusing their hunt inland. But no news was good news, you tried to convince yourself and instead buried yourself in clan life.
Years passed.
You passed your iknimaya and made a name for yourself amongst the hunters, earning your first tattoos. Closely followed by Aonung and Tsireya when they were ready. You grew into an adult, weathered by time but strong and reliable. A formidable foe should the Sky People return their attention to the sea clans.
In the meantime, Tonowari retired from his position as Olo’eyktan, allowing Aonung to step up despite not having found his own fated yet. Whilst Ronal remained Tsahik in the meantime.
Tsireya became a well respected healer, under her mother’s watch, but never quite lost that longing look in her eye. A look you knew was evident in your own gaze if you stayed still for too long.
You filled your time between patrols with teaching the younger kids how to swim and connect to their ilus. It was long tedious hours and hard work, but it kept you occupied. Not to mention, the children were more unpredictable than the open, empty oceans you ventured into during your patrols.
<”Almost Otok,”> you repeated for the fourth time that afternoon, the sun hot and unforgiving against your back as you readjusted the boy’s grasp on his ilu harness. <”But remember, you have to go with her, not against her.”>
Ever the good student, Otok nodded that he understood as he had the last time, so you stepped back and watched him urge the ilu on. And as before, the pair dove, only for Otok to lose his grip and for his mount to continue swimming away. You sighed quietly to yourself, already wading towards where the kid was kicking to the surface.
<”Very good.”> You encouraged, allowing him to grab onto your arm whilst he flicked his braids out of his face. <”You stayed on for much longer that time.”> He hadn’t, but you’d learnt that the younger kids responded to encouragement better than criticism.
Otok grinned up at you, all big fangs in his too small mouth. You smiled back. <”Go on, call her back.”> He let go of you to call for his ilu, before you moved onto the next kid.
That was when your eyes fell on it. Caught in the gentle current of a nearby swell.
A single, pink shell.
You felt your mouth unlatch at the sight of it. At how brightly pink it was. Where the ones in your childhood had been varying shades of pastel pink, this one was boldly, unapologetically pink.
You were lunging for it before you could properly think. Your fingers greedily snatching up from the waves before bringing it up to eye level. It was as gorgeous as all the others had been.
Overhead, twin ikran calls startled you and your students. Your head snapped skywards just in time to watch the two beasts pass overhead on their way to the village.
Your brow furrowed at the sight. How strange. Only the forest clans were brave enough to tame the ikran, and no forest na’vi came this far out to sea, not since…
Your heart was in your throat as you watched the ikran circle. One a deep blue, the other a familiar light teal. You could not recognise the riders aboard from this distance, but there was no mistaking Lo’ak’s joyous whoop as he mount circled before smoothly landing on the same sandbank the Sully’s had all those years ago.
Hope flared violently to life in your chest. Enough so that you almost abandoned your class without ending the lesson.
<”Class dismissed.”> You quickly barked, to the bewildered expressions of your students, whilst hastily shoving the shell into the pouch at your hip for safe keeping. <”I will see you all tomorrow.”>
The kids glanced at one another before the older ones shrugged and began guiding their ilus in the direction of the ikran. Curious, the younger ones followed their lead.
Your heart was pounding as you yipped for your tsurak who had been circling nearby, as he often did whilst you taught. He had barely slowed at your side before you were clambering on and urging him forward. With powerful beats of his tail, the great beast leapt from the waves, soaring over the heads of your students and continuing on. <”CHEATER!”> Some of them yelled at your back, to which you turned in the saddle and called them all a pack of sea slugs. Their laughter was quickly drowned out by the sounds of the gathering crowd.
Aonung was already greeting the visitors by the time your tsurak slowed in the water. Dressed in his Olo’eyktan attire, he clasped forearms with an older Lo’ak whilst Ronal waited off to the side.
The younger Sully son had finally grown into his long limbs. WIth waist length braids pulled back into a neat ponytail and a gorgeous blue cummerbund wrapped around his torso, marking his entrance into adulthood. After an exchange of biting greetings, the pair parted, and Lo’ak stepped aside to greet Ronal, whilst Aonung turned his attention to Neteyam.
You sat high in the saddle, obscured by the crowd as your fated stepped forth to greet the new Olo’eyktan. Even with his back to you, you knew he was smiling. He was all broad back muscles now, and tall, almost taller than Aonung who rivalled Tonowari in height since his last growth spurt. You saw the power in him as he firmly clasped forearms with Aonung, his resulting laugh ringing out across the bay, causing something raw and homesick to awaken in your chest.
You wanted to go to him. Your hand subconsciously fiddling with your worn courting gift still secured at your throat, but something held you back. Something like fear kept you crouched in the saddle upon your tsurak, hidden by the gathering crowd with the water lightly lapping at your toes.
Had you changed too much since he’d last seen you? Would he even recognise you? You’d grown into yourself, sure. You had several tattoos now, marks you were proud of. Marks that symbolised your victories, as well as your failures. Were they impressive enough? Would he be proud? Or would he recognise you and have to force himself to keep smiling?
A joyous screech startled you into looking back to the sandbar. Tsireya had broken through the crowd, her cheeks glistening with tears as she raced across the sand towards Lo’ak, who’s ears wiggled in excitement. His arms swept wide as Tsireya threw herself at him. The young man barely managed to stay on his feet as his arms grasped her thighs and her arms locked around his neck. They laughed together as they swayed, Tsireya only pulling back enough to pepper his brow with relieved kisses.
<”Come on!”> One of your students complained, suddenly appearing at your side with an impatient tug on your tail, startling your attention away from the pair.
The rest of the class were close to catching up, whilst the older ones tried and failed to drag you towards the sandbar. The quiet ones went no closer than where your tsurak drifted, but you could tell from their curious glances that they were just waiting for your go ahead to show that the visitors were safe to approach.
Inhaling a calming breath, you patted your tsurak and dismounted. The kids were quick to fall into step as you waded towards the sandbar. Someone grabbed onto the end of your tail as a younger Tsireya had whilst wandering the village, whilst another grabbed for your fingers, causing you to smile as they squeezed lightly. Your class remained close to your side until you set foot on dry sand, which prompted them to disburse in search of their parents and family members, leaving you to watch Neteyam from the safety of the crowd.
It hurts to see him after so many years. To have him standing so close but so out of reach.
The bullet scar adorning his chest had faded with time. Blending in better with the rest of his complexion, but you knew where to look for it. A blatant reminder of the warnings you had failed to correctly interpret.
A hand unexpectedly grabbed your forearm, dragging you out of your mind. Your gaze snapped down, finding Tsireya grinning back at you. Your eyes narrow as her grin turned into a mischievous smirk. Over her shoulder, you could see Lo’ak shaking his head, whereas Neteyam had his back to you, his head on a swivel as he scanned the crowd.
<”Don’t-”>
She yanked you from the depths of the crowd before the threat could fall from your tongue. The People parted for you easily. Those you had grown up with, and remembered what had happened, gave you reassuring pats on the shoulders. Whereas a few shoved at you, yelling inaudibly about courage.
You tripped and staggered your way to the front. Eyes wide in bewilderment as Tireya kept a firm grip on you. Her smirk turned into bright laughter as her grip alone kept you moving. Kept you from turning tail in shame and diving back into the sea.
Then she let go, and retreated back to Lo’ak who welcomed her back with soft eyes and open arms.
Leaving you to stand alone in the middle of the sandbar, feeling stupidly exposed and small. Left to gawk at Neteyam like some lovesick fool.
There was no false bravado to hide behind this time. No resting bitch face that could suppress the look of awe on your open features. No lesson to teach, in which to distract yourself or turn the attention off of you.
There was just Neteyam.
Gorgeous, kind Neteyam, who’s eyes had blown wide at the sight of you and your sudden appearance. Whose tail had pricked in interest. His ears fanned wide, and his hands half raised as if unsure whether he was allowed to reach for you.
He still wore the necklace, you abruptly realised. It jumped and wiggled against his throat as he swallowed dryly. More worn and badly woven than you remembered, but undoubtedly there. Still there where he had put it all those years ago.
Rolling his eyes, Lo’ak shoved at his brother’s shoulder.
Neteyam visibly collected himself and took a step forward. Then another.
His surprise melted away and it was as if the tension shattered. You caught a glimpse of that bright smile aimed your way and feeling finally returned to your legs.
Your tail was wagging, ears pricking comically as you took off at a dead sprint along the sandbar. The People cheered, your friends throwing in their own two cents as you kicked up sand.
Neteyam laughed at your eagerness. Arms sweeping wide as you closed in. He started speaking, probably some cheesy line about not seeing you in years, but it was too late to slow down. In a painful clash of jewellery and bones, you knocked him straight off his feet.
He landed hard on his back, the wind getting punched out of him as his head hit the sand. You landed gracelessly on his chest, arms slamming into the sand on either side of his head. Neteyam stared up at you in awe, whilst your cheeks heated.
<”Told you I’d come back.”> He murmured, his hand rising to cup your cheeks, before he promptly dragged you down and onto him. Without warning, he was peppering kisses all over your face, against each of your glowing freckles, up the slope of your nose and then back down your temple. You wiggled and squirmed, everything else melting away as you basked in his attention, in the weight of him under you.
You knew your ears were wiggling uncontrollably under his attention, that your tail was wagging and you were probably purring loudly enough for everyone to hear, but you couldn’t find it in you to give a shit. He was back. He had come back. Just like he promised.
If you prefer to read on Ao3, you can find the fic here!
Summary: Eywa loves you, but not enough to save you. So good luck taking care of yourself.
Word Count: 6,934
Metkayina Reader uses they/them pronouns.
<”Someone is going to die.”>
Ronal simple statement nipped at your heels and quickened your steps. It made neteyam lighter in your arms, as adrenaline ran rampant through your bloodstream. Usually, you would have found it difficult to carry Neteyam for so long, but somehow, lying limp and injured in your arms, it was easy. As if Eywa had transformed your rage into additional strength. Your heart pounded like a thousand tsurak wings taking flight, headed straight for a dangerous but glorious battle.
As you strode purposefully across the white sands of Awa’atlu island, Neteyam’s brother hurried to keep pace. The boy glanced periodically from your stony face, to the village that lay ahead. Its occupants beginning to prepare themselves for sleep.
<”Stick close to me.”> You hissed quietly.
<”They won’t let me in.”> The boy whispered, looking moments away from peeling away from your side and disappearing off into the darkness. Instinctively, your tail curled around his waist, not holding, just encouraging to keep in stride with you. You had seen his concern for his brother, had witnessed his reluctance to abandon him even after you had gotten there.
<”Hold onto me.”> You growled under your breath, <”no one will harm you.”> For Neteyam, you would fight tooth and nail for this weird boy, who looked at you with wonder and badly concealed mistrust.
Hesitantly, he reached out and curled his ridiculously small hand around the end of your tail, his fingers squeezing slightly to still their shaking. The sensation did not bother you. As a toddler, Tsireya had tended to do the same thing to ensure she didn’t lose you whilst playing or when wandering aimlessly around the village.
At some point during the exchange, the course sands had given way to the familiar spring of the walkways as you entered the village. The boy stuck close to you as you passed the outer pods of the village. Predictably, your presence was detected rapidly, as several heads popped out of the walkways. Adults who had watched you grow from a child, appeared in the openings of their pods, and upon catching sight of you, immediately leapt into action.
<”GET THE TSAHIK!”> Someone’s father ordered, sending a flurry of boys to run full pelt down the walkways to the heart of the village.
And without you so much as having to open your mouth, the village came alive.
Hunters emerged from their pods, spears in hand, shouting orders to one another as some called for their tsuraks, whilst others followed the bloodied trail in your wake back to the island. Parents ushered their gawking children back into pods, whilst kids your age stood motionless on either side of the walkways, bug-eyed and motionless.
To think, not even an hour ago, your roles had been reversed. The mood had been amusing as Neteyam carried you out of the village for a much needed talk. Whereas now, the mood was heavy and suffocating. Neteyam lying limp in your arms with his head pressed heavily into your shoulder.
Two women approached to take Neteyam off your hands, but you found yourself holding him tighter, your lips peeling back to snarl at them. Their sympathetic looks made you feel sick. Neteyam groaned in your arms, his hand weakly clutching at you even as his strength failed him. You hushed him lightly, trying to soothe even as your own heart pounded painfully.
The women did not try to take him again, and instead flanked you as you hurried to Ronal’s pod. One stood at your elbow, hands half raised in case you faltered, and barely spared the boy a second glance, whereas the other strode ahead to clear your path to the Tsahik’s hut.
The air was tense as you rounded the woven structure and pushed your way through the string curtains.
Ronal was already laying down an assortment of herbs and shells beside a bed roll near the fire. Her expression faltered at your appearance, her hand half reaching out before she collapsed her fingers with a snap and allowed a professional calm to overtake her features.
<”Set him down here.”> She instructed plainly, reaching up to steady Neteyam’s head as you knelt beside the mat and gently lowered him. You latched onto the authority in her tone, allowing it to guide your foggy mind.
You felt numb. Or like you were holding your breath and simply drifting at the bottom of the open ocean. Any emotions you had had slipped away, leaving behind a cold fury that burned in the hollow of your chest.
Another set of hands appearing in your peripheral, weathered and large. Steady and comforting as they gently supported Neteyam’s back. Tonowari’s expression was grave as his eyes raked over the damage.
Neteyam winced at the movement, his eyes fluttering behind their lids but not opening. It sickened you to see him so pale, his freckles barely illuminated in the dim pod. His back hit the mat, and the boy cried out, a hand flying to your forearm and holding on with painful tightness as he gritted his teeth.
<”Tsireya!”> Ronal prompted, the rest of her instructions not reaching your ears as the pod exploded into a flurry of movement.
The bitter bite of herbs stung your nose as Ronal gingerly lowered herself to Neteyam’s side, Tonowari supporting her arm as she tried to get comfortable around her pregnant belly. In the background, you could hear Tsireya scrambling for bandages, for ingredients and fresh water. Her tail thrashed anxiously, threatening to upend countless stacks of Ronal’s carefully organised stash.
<”What happened?”> Someone asked you, but you couldn’t pinpoint who. Neteyam was still clinging to your arm, barely hanging on.
Someone called your name. A hand fell on your shoulder, but you were too overwhelmed to respond.
At some point, Neytiri and the rest of the Sully’s burst into the pod, only for Tonowari to intercept the kids and Jake. You heard Neytiri’s knees hit the mat beside Ronal before the teary eyed woman snapped for something to do. Anxiety rolled off of her like a miasma.
<”What happened?!”> She yelled, with all the authority of a future Tsahik. Blarily, you blinked and glanced up.
Her eyes were wide with panic, whilst over her shoulder you could see Jake pacing and the kids greeting their demon brother. Kiri had the boy in an uncomfortably tight looking hug, her shoulders shaking with what could only be described as stomach churning sobs. The boy clung right back, his fingers digging into her back as if someone would rip him off of her at a moment's notice.
You did not know what to say or how to even begin explaining what had happened. Your throat was tight, your mind slow and sluggish. The world seemed to still be moving at its usual pace around you, but you felt stuck in time. Frozen and distant. A moment in time you were terrified of shattering.
Your mouth opened with an audible crack of your jaw, but nothing came out.
Neytiri glared back at you, looking at you as if you were something small. Something untrusted.
<”What?”> She asked slowly, dangerously. <”Happened. To my SON!?”>
Your ears flattened at her increase in volume, but you did not cower. Not with Neteyam clinging tightly to your arm as Ronal applied salve and pressure to the wounds.
<”They shot him.”> You finally said, your voice small and pathetic but audible. You swallowed, the world finally slowing down to your pace as you forcibly blinked the fog from your eyes. Neytiri did not demand that you specify who ‘they’ were, because you both knew who you were referring to.
<”They shot him, and I killed them.”> The words dripped off of your tongue. As fowl and forbidden as they were disturbing. You swallowed loudly, <”I killed all of them, any of them I could find.”> Their dried blood was tight and flaking around your chin, the copper still staining your tongue.
Neytiri’s righteous rage faltered. She blinked, some of her fury subsiding as she looked at you in a new light. Probably taking in your exhausted, blood stained appearance, your own bullet wounds bleeding sluggishly. Absorbing the way Neteyam held onto you, despite her presence. Something seemed to click in her mind and she softened.
<”All of them?”> She pressed.
The numbness was subsiding now, leaving you feeling weak and shaky. Neteyam’s grasp on you was a grounding for you as it was no doubt for him.
<”All of them.”> You promised.
Tsireya broke the staring contest between you and Neytiri by handing over bandages to Ronal, who instructed you to help her move Neteyam into a sitting position. You complied, allowing Neytiri to help as you tucked Neteyam’s head into your shoulder and held his hand. Ronal shuffled closer and began meticulously covering up the bloody wound with soothing green.
The commotion of the clan beyond the pod and the Sully siblings anxious whispers were the only sounds as Ronal did the best she could.
<”He will sleep.”> Ronal said simply after coaxing Neteyam into swallowing a sleeping draft.
Tsireya took the statement as a dismissal and quickly exited the pod in the last direction Lo’ak’s stressed pacing had taken him.
Neytiri however, didn’t move as she sat unnervingly still.
Ronal was gentle as she continued to speak. <”He will still be here if you look away.”> Ronal soothed with a steady hand to Neytiri’s shoulder. <”In the meantime, whilst he rests, you must check on your other children. They need you as well.”>
Neytiri looked torn but, at a soft sniffle from Tuk, managed to convince herself to pull away. On silent feet, she padded across the pod, ducked through the curtains and threw herself into her mate’s arms. Jake caught her automatically, with the arm he wasn’t using to hold Tuk, his expression grim as he simply held her.
Ronal smiled sadly after her before pointedly turning her back to you, a silent offer of privacy.
You remained sat where you were, stuck to Neteyam’s side, simply holding him and regretting everything that had led up to this. If only you hadn’t been an idiot. If only you had fought harder against going to the island. If only you had ignored the shells or worked up the nerve to do something about them. If only you haven't told Aonung about anything. If only-
You cut the thought off and focused on carding your fingers through Neteyam’s braids. He grumbled weakly at the contact, his grasp on your forearm loosening a fraction as the sleeping draft began to take effect.
<”You’re going to be okay.”> You promised quietly as he began to drift away. Little by little, his strength left him and he slumped deeper and deeper into your arms. <”Eywa made a mistake. The black shells were not meant for you.”> You were talking more to yourself than Neteyam at this point, but you had to speak the possibility into existence. <”Surely She would not be so cruel.”>
Neteyam did not respond as sleep finally claimed him. His grasp on you grew lax, so you gently laid him down. He looked as still as the dead, reclined on his back with blood seeping through the thick bandages, but not hardly as peaceful as someone who had already passed on. There was still fight in him, you knew. You could see it in the tense set of his jaw, the way he was still somehow clinging to that bloodied token. It’s soft pink shells, now a steaky seashell pink from his blood.
What had he been trying to tell you before everything happened?
You squashed that thought too. It would only be cruel on yourself to entertain it.
With a shaky breath, you backed away from Neteyam’s mat, something squirming and melancholic writhing deep in your chest. You felt your lower lip threaten to wobble, despite your best attempts to keep your expression neutral. With a wet breath, you bit your lower lip and stood.
Across the fire, you caught sight of Aonung watching you, his expression grave. You hadn’t even noticed him slip into the pod. He looked at you with pity now, his demeanour screaming fear and vulnerability. If you had felt more stable, you might have gone over to soothe him. But right now, you knew you were one wrong look away from harming yourself or someone else, so you headed for the pod exit instead.
The sun was beginning to emerge from behind the moon when you stepped out from the pod. Your gaze immediately went to the beach, to the hunters milling around in the white sand and ducking in and out of the trees for an enemy that was no doubt long gone.
A short distance away, you could see the human in the embrace of a sobbing Kiri. She had swept him up in her arms so that his feet could not touch the floor, to which the boy clung back fiercely.
Around you, the village was abuzz with organised chaos. Hunters carrying torches, combed the beaches, the island forest and the bay upon their skimwings. The fishermen sported extra weapons before venturing out of the reef for the morning catch. Even children lingered in the doorways of their homes, reluctant or unable to sleep with all the noise.
And amongst it all, you stood motionless outside the Olo’eyktan’s home, your fated potentially dying within. Regret sat bitterly on your tongue, it enhanced the stickiness of the blood on your skin, sharpened the sting of sand grinding into your thighs. Your muscles were beginning to ache harshly now, whilst your injuries smarted with every movement, and yet you felt nothing but fear for Neteyam.
>_<
A wall of shadows blocked out the morning sun some time later.
You were curled up and tucked out of sight of the main walkway, behind the Olo’eyktan’s hut, your knees drawn up to your chest and your tail curled around your feet. Mud and blood still obscured the ripple pattern of your stripes, but you couldn’t bring yourself to get into the water to clean any of it off. Irrationally, you were convinced that any time spent away from the pod, might be the last precious seconds of Neteyam’s life.
And although you were nothing to him, you still wanted to be close by. Even if all you ever would be was just friends that fell out over something dumb, even if he did not have the time to see you as more, you still wanted to be there. You wanted to be able to look back and know that you had stayed. That you had tried your best with what you had had at the time.
Tsireya stepped forward first, leaving Lo’ak and Aonung exchanging uncertain looks whilst Kiri and the human remained further away.
<”How long have you been here?”> Your friend asked softly. She knelt before you, her expression pinched but kind. You didn’t dare meet her gaze and curled in tighter on yourself. How pathetic you must look. Couldn’t they leave you to grieve in peace? Surely they didn’t expect you to be a supportive pillar after the evening you’d barely survived through.
Aonung was the next to step uncertainly forward, but he did not speak. His movements were slow and obvious, as if he were approaching a cornered animal. With surprising gentleness, a hand fell to your shoulder and squeezed.
It was like someone had brought down a knife hilt on a rock. Your expression split and the tears immediately began slipping down your cheeks. You felt yourself crumble, as your ears folded and you shoved your face into your knees to try and stop them from seeing.
Tsireya made a wounded noise before she was pressing into your side, her arms around you and squeezing tightly. You collapsed against her, no longer the seasoned killer, no longer a protector. Just a kid. A scared little kid that was in desperate need of some reassurance.
<”I, I tri-tried-”> you sobbed against her, fighting to keep your words steady only for your panicked sobs to fuck them up before they could leave your lips. <”I tri-ied so har-hard to, to, to pro-protec-t him-”>
<”I know you did.”> Tsireya hushed you, as Aonung’s hand slid up to your head and began gently combing through your braids. Tsireya began to gently rock you. <”I know you did.”> She promised. <”I know you did everything you could.”>
<”I’m-I’m so-rry-”>
<”You don’t need to be sorry.”>
<”Sorry.”> You repeated anyway as your friends held you together. “<”So sorry. Sorry. Sorry-”>
<”Just try and breath.”> Tsireya soothed, <”you did wonderfully. Spider is all right, and Neteyam is going to be just fine.”>
You didn’t dare contradict her. Not with Lo’ak looking like he was on the verge of tears himself. But there was a very real possibility that Neteyam wouldn’t pull through. People died all the time. What made Neteyam any different from all the other hunters that were killed by those aliens?
<”Children, what are you-”> Tonowari suddenly spoke up, appearing around the corner of the hut, only for his voice to stop in its tracks when his eyes fell on you. <”Oh. Oh Y/n.”> He said softly, softly enough that you suspected he thought you would splinter apart if he spoke too loudly. <”Aonung. Tsireya. Bring them.”>
His children obeyed easily, and you were too shattered to bother fighting it. Hands guided you to your feet, held you tenderly by the wrists and smoothed down your braids as you were guided away from the Olo’eyktan’s hut to your own just down the walkway.
Absently, you noted that Lo’ak did not follow. Although his eyes tracked the three of you, his feet remained rooted in place beside the Olo’eyktan’s hut. Standing guard in your stead, you decided. It eased something in you to know that he would remain whilst you were shepherded away.
Numbness dulled your senses as you were guided down onto a mat. Tsireya’s hands fell away from your body as the clinking of jars sounded from the shelves you kept your salves on. Across from you, Tonowari lowered himself down onto his knees with a grave expression, whereas Aonung hovered at your back, still standing with his hand ghosting against your shoulder, as if expecting you to topple over at a moment’s notice.
You were tired, you realised. Drained and more exhausted than you had ever felt following a training session. And boy, what a training session that adrenaline filled adventure had been. If you weren’t confident in your reflexes before, you were now fully assured that you could hold your own in a fight - given the right incentive.
With care, Tsireya deposited her findings down beside her father, before kneeling beside him in the typical position she would take up when assisting Ronal with her duties.
<”I am capable of patching myself up, you know.”> You croaked, wincing at how tight your throat sounded. The statement sounded weak, even to your own ears.
Tonowari nodded in that infuriatingly neutral way of his that both validated and debunked your claim. <”Perhaps.”> He agreed half-heartedly, taking the water filled sponge that Tsireya passed him with a thankful nod of his head, <”but I would feel better if you allowed us to help you.”>
<”Do you even remember how to bandage a wound, Olo’eyktan?”> You challenged before you could stop yourself, startling a small smile onto his face.
<”It’s Tonowari to you.”> Tonowari repeated for the hundredth time, he paused in the conversation to shuffle closer, carefully taking your chin in one hand whilst the other began wiping away the blood stains clinging to your chin. <”And with children like you,”> he continued, <”I have never fallen out of practice.”>
As if summoned by the rustle of leaf bandages, Ronal chose then to slip into the hut. Her eyes cut rapidly across the scene before her, a nod of approval following her quick assessment as she stepped in further. <”I see you have begun without me.”>
<”You were busy, my Pearl.”> Tonowari returned easily, focusing now on taking your hands in his and getting at the blood drying between your fingers and under your nails.
His mate clicked her tongue, but offered no further comment as she took a slow circle around your back; assessing the damage. <”There are exit wounds.”> She noted aloud, eyes raking over the peppering of bullet holes shot into your legs and torso, <”but due to Eywa’s design they have already begun to clot.”>
Something in you eased at her soft reassurance. Thank the Great Mother for her foresight. Without the thick layer of fat tucked beneath your thick skin, usually intended to insulate you against the freezing temperatures of the deep sea, there was no doubt you would also be in the Olo’eyktan’s hut clinging to life.
The healing session that followed was comforting and familiar. Tonowari finished cleaning off the worst of the blood and mud before beginning to patch you up with Tsireya’s assistance, whilst Ronal rested her swollen feet by reclining back on your hammock, offering pointers if Tsireya forgot a step. Meanwhile, Aonung continued to hover, a ball of anxiety, watching intently as your wounds were treated and covered by layer after layer of soothing green leaves.
<”And you’re all set.”> Tonowari narrated with a proud smile as he secured the last bandage. <”Now, I recommend a full night of rest and plenty of food, and with any luck you’ll be back to being a nuisance in three short weeks.”>
With a roll of your eyes and a huff, you staggered to your feet, much to Tonowari’s annoyance. <”Yep, sounds nice.”> You said dismissively, having already decided you didn’t have time for ‘three short weeks’.
<”Um.”> Tonowari joked good naturedly as you hobbled past. <”What did I just tell you?”> He made no move to stop you.
<”I’m going to rest.”> You assured him, <”I’m just going to do it out here.”>
<”Y/n.”> Tsireya whined softly, sounding close to tears. <”Your body is tired. It needs rest.”>
<”I’ll rest once he’s awake.”>
<”Don’t be so stupid.”> Aonung jumped in, his hand once again taking hold of your elbow. With a growl, you shrugged him off. The younger boy flashed his fangs in response, but refused to back down. <”You’re no use to anyone if you drop dead from exhaustion.”>
<”I’ll literally be sitting-”>
<”Y/n.”> Ronal cut in, her tone enough for your current sentence to die on your tongue.
<”Tsahik?”>
<”In your vision, who held the black shell?”> Her tone was uncomfortably calm, a start contrast to the tense way she held herself. Slowly, you turned back to her, finding the calculated gaze of the Tsahik fixed on you.
<”Neteyam.”> You said with a swallow.
She hummed thoughtfully. <”Perhaps, but earlier, the new Sully boy told me he saw Neteyam pluck the black shell from your hair. Is that true?”> Expression scrunched in confusion, you nodded. Ronal sat up with too much speed for someone as pregnant as her. <”You stupid child! You did not tell me you were the one in possession of the shell in your vision.”>
<”I never actually held it. Neteyam was giving it to me.”> The explanation did little to calm her.
<”How could you leave out something so crucial? It was meant for you. This was supposed to be YOUR dying day, not Neteyam’s!”> She was on her feet now, looking moments away from panic.
Your throat went dry again. <”Well shit.”> You breathed before glancing out of the pod towards the sky. <”Well, eclipse isn’t long over. There’s still time.”>
Aonung’s expression twisted as he lightly pushed at your shoulder. <”Do not joke about that!”>
<”Sorry, sorry.”> You waved him off before continuing out of the hut.
This time, none of them tried to stop you. Ronal’s muffled voice began speaking as you turned the corner, Tonowari was quick to jump in. You blocked them out, unwilling to hear anything else. You’d survived. Neteyam would hopefully pull through. What else was there to discuss?
Stiffly, you hobbled back to the Olo’eyktan’s hut, as the sun slipped fully out from behind the moon, bathing the village in the full force of its light. As you passed the hut, you peered in through the beaded curtain to find Neteyam laid out on his rug, pale and bandaged, his jewellery removed and Neytiri softly combing back his braids. In the weak light, you could make out his laboured breathing, could see the sweat beading on his brow.
Alive; for now. You reassured yourself, before stepping away.
>_<
As eclipse stole all light from the sky, you prayed that the glow of Neteyam’s freckles would not extinguish with the end of the day.
You hadn’t moved in hours. Your muscles were stiff from disuse and your bandages in need of changing. But no one asked you to move.
It wasn’t until the bioluminescence had turned on, that Tonowari found you again. This time, he did not try to coax you away from the hut, and instead sat down beside you. He leant back on his hands, head tipped back to look at the stars as you sat together in companionable silence.
It was quiet enough that between the rhythmic laps of the waves, you could hear hushed voices from within the Olo’eyktan’s hut if you really strained your ears.
<”I can’t sleep yet.”> You said, before he could tell you to rest.
Tonowari laughed softly. <”I was not deluding myself into believing I could convince you.”> He admitted lightly, <”although, it is getting chilly. Would you not feel more comfortable sitting inside, where you can see him? Keep an eye on him.”>
Wordlessly, you shook your head.
Tonowari did not push, his arm slid around your shoulder and gently pulled you into him, allowing some of his warmth to transfer into your cold limbs. <”I understand this is hard for you.”> He soothed, <”but you are handling it remarkably well.”> The gentle praise was almost enough to reduce you to tears again. <”There is no comfort I can offer you, for a pain this deep and personal.”>
<”I don’t need comfort.”> You stubbornly denied, hating the way your voice threatened to shake. <”I just need him to wake up.”>
>_<
Neteyam woke up around noon the next day.
You were passed out against Tonowari’s shoulder after spending a restless night watching the water, when Lo’ak came charging out of the Olo’eyktan’s hut yelling, <”HE’S AWAKE! GUYS HE’S AWAKE!”>
In a scramble of limbs, the other Sully kids - who had also been lingering outside the hut since the end of eclipse - tripped over themselves to get through the doorway. Energised by their eagerness, you followed suit.
Chuckling lightly to himself, Tonowari helped you up, pushing at your lower back when your knees faltered in the doorway. <”Go on.”> He encouraged lightly, pushing again until you finally stepped out of the sunlight and into the low light of his home.
Neteyam was still laid out on a mat, expression pinched as Neytiri kissed his forehead and stroked his braids. <”Mother, I’m fine.”> He kept insisting, unable to keep the laugh out of his voice. She refused to relent.
<”Never, scare me like that again!”> Neytiri threatened between kisses, pulling back to hold her son’s head in her hands, her gaze piercing.
<”I won’t.”> Her eldest promised, and judging by the narrowing of her eyes, she didn’t believe him. She relented regardless, allowing Jake to crowd in close, alongside the rest of the family.
There were lots of tears. With little Tuk crowding in close for a cuddle, whereas Lo’ak tearfully offered jabs about Neteyam being more careful next time. His brother rolled his eyes, calling Lo’ak a skxawg, which just made Lo’ak’s watery grin grow. Kiri watched from the sidelines, her hand in Neteyam’s but otherwise offering no words. After checking his son over, Jake rocked back on his knees, content to hold Neytiri.
<”Wait, where’s Spider?”> Neteyam asked suddenly, to which the boy from before was quick to shuffle forward. Amongst so many blue bodies, he had almost melted entirely into the background during the reunion.
<”I’m glad you’re okay.”> Spider offered with a tight smile.
<”Yeah, me too.”> Neteyam sighed, before another thought struck him. <”Your mask-”>
<”We’ve switched it out.”> Jake jumped in, quick to soothe the sudden anxiety out of Neteyam’s tense body. <”Bob and I took it far away and dropped it in a current. With any luck, the rest of those fuckers are merrily sailing the archipelago.”>
<”That is good.”> Neteyam offered.
<”It will give you a chance to heal up, and for us to move on.”>
Your breath caught painfully in your throat at the same time as several other na’vi in the room. Neteyam and Lo’ak both looked panicked, whereas Kiri looked appalled at having to uproot her life again. Tuk was still cuddled into Neteyam’s side, oblivious to what her father had just implied.
<”Dad,”> Lo’ak spoke up, <“you can’t be serious.”>
<”It isn’t safe for us to stay here.”> Jake pressed. <”We’re putting this clan at risk if we remain. Best to slip away now before more recoms come.”>
<”But we have lives here.”> Lo’ak pressed. <”We have friends.”> He glanced at Tsireya who looked moments away from breaking down in tears. Her ears were lowering as realisation dawned. Lo’ak’s tail began whipping to and fro as he turned back to his parents. <”And you’re just expecting us to uproot all that again.”>
<”Lo’ak-”> Neytiri tried to sooth, but the boy was already on his feet.
<”No. I’m tired of running.”> Lo’ak snapped, and he looked it. They all did. <”They’re never going to stop. Quaritch isn’t going to leave us alone just because we disappeared again. We need to fight back. We need-”>
<”Lo’ak!”> Jake repeated more firmly, cutting his son off mid rant. There was no anger in him this time, no spare energy left to scold him for speaking out of turn. <”As your father, I need to keep you safe. All of you. And I’m sorry, but this is the only way.”> Jake continued, his voice stern and as unmoving as a cliff face. <”As soon as Neteyam is strong enough to mount his ikran and stay on it, we’re going. And that is final.”>
Lo’ak glared right back at him, his tail raised high in silent challenge. But he didn’t bite back this time. Instead, he squeezed Neteyam’s shoulder in far well before turning on his heel and storming from the hut, Tsireya falling into step beside him.
Jake sighed tiredly, deflating a bit. His expression was pinched as he looked from the entrance of the pod, to his remaining children. You could practically see the decision weighing down on his shoulders, how the guilt had sapped his energy as much as his anxiety had.
<”Rest, Jake-Sully.”> Tonowari suddenly spoke up, making himself known for the first time. Amidst all the commotion, he had slipped into the background just like you, a silent observer to the scene. <”You too Neytiri, today has been stressful.”>
<”But-”> Neytiri began only for Tonowari to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
<”Do not worry, Y/n and myself will be around should Neteyam require anything.”> Uncertain, Neytiri glanced from the Olo’eyktan to you. Your eyes met, to which you nodded once. Neytiri must have seen something she trusted in the gesture, because she relented.
<”Thank you, Olo’eyktan.”>
With that, he coaxed the pair outside, leaving Neteyam with Tuk still cuddled under his arm and Spider and Kiri fussing over him. You watched them for a moment, your heart suddenly aching with the slowly dawning realisation that this sight now had a time limit. For however long it took Neteyam to heal, there would be an imposing countdown in the background, ticking closer and closer to their departure.
You swallowed with a dry click of your throat. To think, a day or so ago, you’d almost figured it out. There might have been a chance at salvaging your relationship with Neteyam, but now? Was there even a point?
<”Um, Y/n?”> Kiri said aloud, startling you out of your thoughts. <”Oh good, I thought you’d fallen asleep with your eyes open or something.”> Despite yourself, a small smile tugged at the corner of your lips.
Pulling yourself off of the wall, you shifted further into the room, feeling out of place in an environment you often frequented. <”Do you need me to get you anything?”> You asked carefully, eyes finally meeting Neteyam’s and finding him looking back. The expression he wore startled you into silence.
There was pain there, hidden deep in those golden depths. But also a relief. A pride. Strangely, you saw no fear, despite everything he’d watched you do. Despite how he’d watch you tear apart na’vi twice your size and enjoy it.
<”Get over here.”> Neteyam ordered, wincing as he waved you closer. You hesitated, glancing from his bandaged injury to his pleading look.
<”I don’t want to hurt you.”>
<”Don’t care. I want to hold you. Now, get down here.”>
<”Why?”> You asked stupidly, hyper aware of the other three glancing between the two of you uncertainly.
Neteyam frowned, looking at you now as if you were being stupid on purpose. <”Because you scared me half to death tackling trained soldiers, got shot several times, and then carried me across half a beach like I weighed nothing. The least I can do, is give you a hug in thanks.”>
At Neteyam’s nonchalant confession, Kiri glanced at you with newfound respect clear in her expression.
You ignored her, <”you don’t need to thank me for that.”> You said truthfully, to which Neteyam nodded. And deep down, you knew he understood what you meant. That he knew you would have played far dirtier, would have fought harder if it would have saved him.
<”Maybe not.”> He agreed, <”but I would like to.”>
Again, he extended his arm, inviting you to fall into it. With every heartbeat that passed, you were finding it harder and harder to resist. Your expression must have crumbled, because Kiri finally lost her patience and gave you a firm shove.
Once you were moving, you couldn’t stop. With your own bandaged wounds pulling from the sudden movement, you dropped down on your knees at Neteyam’s side, before carefully enveloping him in a tight hug. The arm not cuddling Tuk curled tightly around your shoulders, pressing you impossibly tight to him. He was a warm, solid weight within your arms, and that in itself was more reassuring than periodic glances through the gap in the curtains.
Neteyam’s arm was a steady pressure across your back, firm and comforting, even more so when his hand shifted to gently cup the back of your neck, applying lovely pressure. For the first time since the guns had gone off, you found yourself breathing easier.
<”There you go.”> Neteyam coaxed softly as you melted further into his side, most of your body lying beside him on the mat instead of on top.
Someone chuckled quietly, before getting elbowed. <”The hell was that for Kiri!”> Spider whisper shouted, earning himself another hard knock.
<”Do not ruin this.”> Kiri whispered back, barely quieter than her brother. <”You have no <i>idea</i> how painful the last few weeks have been because of these two.”>
<”I just thought the purring was a cute touch!”> Spider hissed back, to which you abruptly realised you had in fact begun to purr now that you were finally in Neteyam’s arms. Strangely, it was a struggle to muffle it with how relaxed your body had become.
<”Look what you did!”> Kiri growled.
<”You know we can hear you,”> Neteyam cut in smoothly, <”right?”>
Neither of them replied.
Neteyam continued to periodically squeeze you, applying alternating pressures until you calmed, falling limp and compliant again. Perhaps later you would regret acting so openly affectionate, but for now, held securely in your fated’s arms, you couldn’t care less.
Surprisingly, it was Kiri who cracked first. <”Well, whilst you two are doing, um, that I’m going to go and speak with Dad.”> There was some rustling, which you assumed was her getting up. <”I’m going to try and talk him out of moving.”>
Neteyam grimaced. <”Good luck with that. He seemed pretty set.”>
She chuckled dryly. <”Well, we’ve all got to try. You just stall getting better to get me enough time to work on him.”> The way she said it implied that Jake was vulnerable to her charm. <”Tuk, I need your puppy eyes.”>
<”Aye aye captain.”> Tuk grinned, giving Neteyam one last parting squeeze before hopping up. In her absence, Neteyam wound his other arm around your back, letting out a soft sigh.
<”Do you think they’ll manage it?”> Spider asked as the two ducked out of the Olo’eyktan’s hut.
<”We can only hope.”> Neteyam said sadly, <”best keep an eye on them.”>
Taking the hint, Spider hid a little knowing smile before getting up and following.
It was quiet in the hut without the three of them, almost peaceful with the rhythmic lul of the waves and the distant chatter of the clan all around.
<”Thank you.”> Neteyam repeated again, a soft purr starting up in the back of his throat.
<”You don’t need to thank me-”>
<”No, listen. Please?”> He insisted, tail thumping lightly against the mat. You went still, giving him a large enough opening to say his piece. He took it. <”You didn’t have to protect Spider, he was my responsibility, but you did. You protected both of us, even though you were mad at me, and you didn’t have any reason to put yourself in that kind of danger on my behalf. So thank you, you’re incredible.”>
Something large and uncomfortable blocked your airways as the full force of his words hit you. How there was nothing but gratitude in his tone. A soft sort of awe that left you reeling.
<”Thank you for waking up.”> You said stupidly, for lack of anything better to offer. <”Now we’re even.”>
<”Almost.”> Neteyam agreed, his arms slackening slightly. <”Could you pass me my jewellery please? The whole bundle?”> He lifted one of his hands off your back to motion to the pile in question.
Nose scrunched in confusion you complied. With care, you scooted off of him to retrieve the bundle and offer it to him. Neteyam took it out of your hands with a soft hum, his fingers carefully carding through the pieces until he unearthed the token from before.
The soft pink of the shells looked gorgeous in this light, despite the flecks of blood that had dirtied them. Neteyam made a face at the sight of the mess, to which you wordlessly retrieved a bowl of water from beside the rest of Ronal’s healing supplies.
<”Thank you.”> He said again as if he hadn’t already thanked you at least three times in the last few minutes. With care, he took a moment to lightly dip the necklace into the water, before gently rubbing the blood out of the woven knots. The angle was a bit hard on his shoulder, but he worked well enough with one hand.
<”What I was trying to say before,”> Neteyam said, <”before everything went sideways, was that I want to be more than friends. I want to get to know you with the intention of fulfilling what these shells suggest.”>
<”I see.”>
<”And,”> Neteyam continued, <”that if you hadn’t overheard Lo’ak and gotten the wrong idea, that I would have gladly accepted your courting gift if you had presented it to me.”>
<”You would?”>
<”Of course I would have.”> He promised, glancing away from his task to smile warmly at you.
It was only because you had already been looking at him that you’d noticed a shell caught in one of his braids, previously obscured by his head. Thankfully, this one was not black, or grey, it was not blue or green. It wasn’t even white.
It was small. Clearly a suggestion by the Great Mother. There was hardly any pigment to it, and in the wrong light, you would have certainly mistaken it for white. You didn’t need Ronal to tell you to know that it represented new love, or at least some form of blossoming adoration. It was no longer a sign for the fated, but a symbol of what Eywa predicted would one day come to pass.
The thought unclenched something in you, allowing you to return to the present quickly enough to accept Neteyam’s courting gift as he handed it to you. <”Thank you.”> You offered, carefully lifting the gorgeously woven piece to your neck and securing it in place.
neteyam is alive bro what are you talking about? the movie ended after he rescued spider and loak fr🤨
OH OF COURSE, sorry, must have been reading so much fanfiction it all blurred together. Can't believe I confused the source material with a super angsty alternate universe. Weird. Of course he's fine, James Cameron just loves to scare us with those near misses. These goofy blue aliens, you know what they're like 🙃
So... this makes me even more sad that his canon storyline but here I am thinking about it.
What if the Recoms / the RDA had made attempts to "humanize" Spider? How would that go? How would he react? How far would they go? How would the family react?
SO I'm going to try to keep this somewhat close to how Quarritch does respect Spider to a certain degree in canon but like his human memories and frankly RDA's orders make him think this is the best course of action.
So yeah, recoms hold Spider down as he attempts to bite and snarls and eventually begs them not to cut his hair. They don't really listen obviously, chopping off his locs in one go. They force wash his hair and his body clean of blue paint and scrub so hard that even the usual residue from the plant substance that stains his skin (think henna) goes away. Spider's left with kind of a mismatched chop of baby curls atop of his head and without his stripes, he feels more naked than he does in just his loincloth. They force him into human clothes (tank and cargo pants). The only win he gets in that situation is that he continues to kick off the boots they give him and they give up trying on that front.
Quarritch had a bit of a war in himself as he watched this process. Like from the person he remembers himself to be from the human memories, he should be all for this, but there's something in him that hates watching Spider scream and struggle so hard against the recoms and scientists that eventually he has to be sedated just for them to be able to finish his hair in peace. There's something horrifying in seeing the emptiness in his eyes as Spider sees his own reflection for the first time, when he moves to touch his hair but his hand hovers just above the cut ends, freezing there and something in his expression just breaks. (Miles is behind the one way mirror during this point so Spider isn't masking as much as he would if he knew he were there).
It's that pull of regret in Quarritch's gut that makes him save the few beads from the locs they'd cut off of Spider's head and secretly snag what he didn't know was Spider's small songcord he'd made himself and keep them on his person. He thinks about throwing them away multiple times but he never does.
Spider can't touch his hair during those few months, flinches whenever someone else accidentally brushes against his head (with him being so much smaller than the Na'vi it happens a lot). He can't bear to look at himself in any reflective surface because it makes him queasy. He hates the human clothes that make him feel more "other" and "outsider" than he already does, but every time he escaped in those early days to paint stripes on himself, the recoms would clean him again and shove him a shirt, and eventually Spider gave up, thinking it was better to just stay like that than to keep getting manhandled every time he tries to cover himself.
He's glad Quarritch lets him stay barefoot. He thinks it would have killed something more of him to be unable to feel the forest soil at his feet, the tickle of moss between his toes, the familiar grooves of tree bark as he jumped through the branches. It was his one constant reminder of Eywa's presence in everything, his sole salvation.
He becomes very quiet, way quieter than he's ever been in his life. The only times he perks up a bit is when Quarritch asks him to teach them about the Na'vi and a little of his old zest for life comes back when he's allowed to speak Na'vi and relive his days of tracking game in the forest.
Still, he tends to zone out a lot and violently flinch back to himself before getting a haunted look as he looked down at himself. Quarritch hears him cry at night when he thinks no one is listening, quiet, muffled sobs where he goes to touch his hair and his hands twitch away violently. Then go to hug himself only to have to same reaction and dig his hands into the dirt instead. It makes him feel so unpleasant watching it.
The experience of being forcefully stripped of his Na'vi - ness combined with the mental probing of his mind he was subjected to make Spider retreat into himself if only to protect his own mental state. Him zoning out it really him immersing himself in any pleasant memory he has in the forest, of Kiri painting stripes on him, Neteyam ruffling his hair, flying on an ikran with Lo'ak. He wraps his mind in the memory of lying on the forest floor at Kiri's side, breathing in the smell of the forest, letting it fill him up from the inside and pretending that he could feel Eywa cradling him, a Sky person, in its embrace, that he'd somehow tricked the Great Mother into treating him like a Na'vi and accepting him.
It gets worse when they get to the ship though. All his feet feel are cold human metal and he hates it. He can't smell anything but human sweat and protein bars and fuel when he's in the ship and it makes him physically sick. He's kind of just a walking shell at this point and what breaks him further is when they question the Ta'unui clan, when he's made to interpret for them, when Eywa's people see him and his humanized appearance for the first time and it makes him want to crawl inside himself and die. Then he has to watch them shoot an ilu, burn down villages, hunt a tulkun (one of the most beautiful creatures he's ever seen) while he's THERE and he LOOKS LIKE THEM.
He starts existing in a haze that his memories can barely protect him from anymore, sleeping whenever he can just to escape the feeling of existing like this. To say it scares Quarritch is an understatement. He's terrified to his very core when he compares the fierce fighter he met that fateful day in the forest and the ghost of a boy in front of him. So much so that before they try to draw out Jake Sully with the Tulkun hunt near the villages, Quarritch comes and gives him the beads and songcord he salvaged at the beginning of his captivity.
It takes a second for Spider to even realize what they are as he tries to crawl out of the numb state of mind he's drowned himself in. It's only when Quarritch leaves them next to him and exits the room that he recognizes them, parts of the person who was taken away from, forcibly changed. He recognizes the bead that Kiri had made for him, the one Neteyam had swiped for him from Jake's faulty attempts, and his sad excuse of a songcord. He's scared to touch them at first, as if they'll dissapear if he reaches for them, but he aches for it, and he holds them to his chest for hours. He keeps them on his person at all times. He can't actually put them on anything because of how short his hair is and the fact that he's terrified someone will take them away from him if they see them, so he stuffs them in a pocket of his cargo pants and can constantly be seen patting that pocket to make sure they're still there.
He's only roused to action again when he sees Lo'ak and friends held captive on the boat and it's like a cold bucket of water has been thrown in his face. It's spurring him, yanking him out of his own mind long enough to try and get to him.
But it takes Lo'ak a second to even recognize him, and in the brief moment they have together, his eyes widen and his voice kind of breaks as he sees what they've done to Spider, what he's become, and he can barely say "what did they do to you?" before they're pulled away from each other.
His best friend barely even recognized him, had been unable to, and that breaks Spider further when he didn't even think that was possible. It convinces Lo'ak even more though that they have to go back for him.
Spider still manages to crash the ship though, he's holding onto that rush of adrenaline he'd felt upon spotting Lo'ak as tightly as possible before it fades away and he retreats back into his mind. Lo'ak and Neteyam come back for him, and Neteyam cannot believe what he's seeing. He's seized by a furious, raging anger the likes he's never felt before when he finally gets a chance to look at Spider, to see the circles under his eyes and how he has thinned, to see his shorn curls and the clothes and the glassy look in his eyes. But he doesn't have time to do anything or say anything, he just has to get Spider out. He just has enough time pull him into a fierce hug that has Spider choking up before he's ushering them off of the boat.
And NETEYAM LIVES IN THIS AU BECAUSE I SAID SO, I CAN'T HANDLE SPIDER'S HUMANIZATION AND NETEYAM DYING OKAY IT'S ONE OR THE OTHER
So Neteyam just shot in like the shoulder or something or frankly maybe Spider sees it and jumps in front of him and he gets shot in the arm, nothing fatal or life-threatening. I'm going with the Neteyam is shot one for the rest of this.
They do leave him behind though to go back for Kiri and Tuk. Jake barely has time to kind of register just what fate he left Spider to when he sees him but he has to shove that down immediately because he has to go save his girls. Spider is honestly barely holding on mentally at this point. So many of the people he loved had seen him in this state, looking so human, in a state he hated himself in, and now Kiri of all people was about to. But he has to go save her and Tuk, there's no choice in the matter.
Kiri cries doubly hard when she sees him because not only does she understand how deeply what they've done has affected him but like her mom has a dagger to Spider's throat, about to kill the one person she feels most at home with, the boy she loves.
Gonna skip over the next part cause this is getting too long but Spider still saves Quarritch if only for the care he showed him and giving him back his beads. He still leaves him but now he doesn't know what to do. He's kind of lost who he is and he doesn't know if he can or should go back to the Sully family. He keeps swimming in their direction because he can't really stay in the middle of the fucking ocean while he decides. Unbeknownst to him though, as the Sully family gathers back together and takes in the fact that they're all alive, it's Neteyam who's like where the fuck is Spider? He hasn't been able to stop thinking about what he saw because damn it, he had already felt so guilty about his parents' choice to just leave the boy behind and hadn't stopped thinking about, but seeing what they'd done to him had ignited that ten-fold and he'd be damned if they lost him again.
Kiri snaps to attention then because she knows too and her and Lo'ak dive back into the ocean at their parents' protests to find Spider.
It's Kiri who comes upon him first. He's been treading water some ways away from where they were struggling to decide what to do and wanting nothing more but to STOP THINKING. He wants to duck underwater when she sees him but he's just so goddamn tired and she's swimming towards him with such purpose that he just lets her grab him and lets himself pass the fuck out.
Part 2 coming immediately after because this is getting too long
