#ts1reya

[sayitan]

eclipse had begun, the sun blotting out in the skies above them and singling the arrival of night as the sun sunk beneath the horizon. neteyam watched it for half a breath, still soaked from their latest lesson. neteyam retrieved his carrier from the sand dunes of the beach, checking its contents for the last of the food they had brought with them from high camp. the ikran had yet to adjust to the sealife diet, mixing dried sturmbeest meat with raw fish seemed to be working for now.

❝ i'll meet you there. i need to tend to the ikran, ❞ neteyam said when he caught his sister's curious eye. he waved his siblings off, confident that after a long day underwater his siblings would be too tired to get themselves into any trouble. at least for a couple of hours. it was only after neteyam watched his siblings retreat back to the village that he realized tsireya wasn't among them.

❝ everything okay? ❞ neteyam asked as he slung his carrier over his shoulder, brow furrowed in a mixture of curiosity and concern. // @ts1reya , a semi - plotted starter .

[sayitan]

“Why… why would you say something like that?”

something akin to guilt darken his features and subconsciously his tail tucked close to his legs. it wasn't easy to forget that the metkayina had been, for the most part, untouched by the threat of the rda. awa'atlu was beautiful, the waters pristine and unpolluted, with sea life in abundance. their lands hadn't been scorched to barren wastelands by the rda's landing, their wildlife hadn't been forced further and further from their homes due to the rda's constant expansions, their livelihoods and ways of life weren't threatened by their presence on pandora. the reef people had not been touched by war, not when the rda had first arrived and not now that they had returned.

yet, neteyam still found himself . . . forgetting. forgetting that neither she nor ao'nung and the others had ever seen a dragon assault ship bearing down on them or hunting parties of humans in skel and amp suits armed with assault rifles that could slice through a tree trunk in seconds. they hadn't seen their people slaughtered, hadn't wept to eywa for the destruction and devastation of their homes.

❝ sorry, ❞ neteyam bowed his head, hand raised to his chest in apology. he had spoken thoughtlessly, a careless remark about how easily her village could be destroyed, ❝ i—it's been a long journey. it's beautiful, your home is beautiful, is what i meant to say, ❞

[sosulsamyam]

"you have made me proud, daughter," tonowari beamed as he rested a hand on her shoulder. the clan leader gave it a soft squeeze before drawing tsireya to his side. "i could not ask for a better offspring. just don't tell your brother," he teased. @ts1reya gets a starter from tonowari!

[sosulsamyam]

"tell me, daughter," ronal began. her fingers moved in a deft motion, grinding the sea flowers to a sticky pulp. the color turned from orange to pink as she mixed in a variety of sea vegetables. a salve to be used for one of the harvesters.

"what do you think of the omaticaya? will they hinder or profit our way of life?" @ts1reya gets a starter from ronal!

[neteyamor]

"i thought i lost you!"

the    blood    loss    had    been    great.    almost    too    great    to    spare    your    life.    you'd    been    choking on    heaps    of    salt,    wet    &    burning    at    your    open    flesh.    the    shouts    of    your    siblings,    your    parents'    touch.    everything    hurt.    everything    was    red.    one    last    hilted    breath,    &    then,    nothing.

you    notice    it    first    when    you    wake.    that    new    feeling.    to    be    touched    by    life    &    death    &    life    again,    an    out    of    body    sort    of    thing.    the    light    stings,    pinching    the    sap    of    your    eyes    shut    just    as    quick    as    they    had    briefly    opened.    her    voice,    the    second    &    only    other    thing    you    can    feel,    beckons    them    open    again. you're    greeted    with    a    ceiling,    &    her    worried    face    shadowing    yours.    your    shell    aches,    bruised    &    rotted,    all    over.    you're    alive.    but    you    don't    understand.

the    ocean    lives    in    her    teary    eyes,    &    though    you    are    hardly    in    a    position    for    rash    movements,    your    finger    twitches    in    natural thought.    a    hand,    as    high    as    you    can    pull    it    up,    to    meet    her    own.    there    is    barely    enough    in    you    to    curl    your    digits    around    hers.    even    less    for    you    to    squeeze.    ❝   tsi'reya. . . it's okay.   ❞    tongue    scorns    in    it's drought.    ❝   i'm    okay. . .    i'm    right    here.   ❞

[eywaborn]

a soft hiss escaped kiri's lips as she saw crimson mix with aqua. for a moment, she forgot she was under the ocean, embraced by it's gentle current. the teen swayed back and forth as her palm brushed against her thigh. blood. she'd been injured.

legs kicked slender frame to the surface, face breaking through the tension of water. as kiri swam back to shore, a fire burned against her skin. the cut... she'd been wounded by fire coral.

"i don't think i can make it back to land," she called to tsireya. "i need help." @ts1reya

[sayitan]

          ❝  kehe!  ❞  the  rejection  was  sharp,  a  harsh  snap  as  he  snatched  the  satchel  from  her  hands.  it  was  weighted  heavy  with  the  essentials  needed  for  a  long  voyage,  food,  water,  and  protective  clothing,  the  scent  of  her  medicinal  herbs  stung  his  nostrils,  and  neteyam  tossed  the  satchel  aside.  much  of  it's  contents  spilling  out  onto  the  sandy  dunes  beneath  their  feet.  ❝  this  is  not  for  you,  this—  you  go  home,  ❞ //  @ts1reya  ♡'d  for  a  starter .

[eywaborn]

❝ i need you to trust me. ❞

she had seen the way tsireya interacted with tuk. how she interacted with all the children and those beyond her years. for someone so young, she held an air of wisdom to her. that, and kiri could feel the strong pulse of eywa around her. the great mother beat soundly within. strong heart. a phrase kiri had heard her parents utter many times. she did not grasp the concept fully but the more she observed tsireya, the more kiri grew to understand. it's what neytiri had seen in jake.

full lips pressed together, large eyes shining. "i do," she said. even if their interactions had been small, kiri knew that tsireya meant no ill will. there was no reason for the displaced omaticaya member to think otherwise.