Pairing/content: Sully family x Blind!Reader, Metkayina x Blind!Reader. A blind orphaned baby taken in by Jake and Neytiri after the Great War, the ways she goes about life with her family-plus some adorable Tuk content @thefl3shm4id3n for game idea it was absolutely adorable
Spoilers/notes: no major spoilers but I do talk about the Metkayina/Atwow timeline so if you’ve not seen that movie I guess sorta spoilers? Made the image myself and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out! Also first time really writing like this so eat ya hearts out my friends
word count: 724
na’vi translation:
Awa’atlu-Metkayina village
•you were orphaned by the great war, mother a warrior and father lost in the fall of Hometree, and Jake and Neytiri took you in as you had no other family-you were blind since birth ❀
•you were capable however. echolocation came to you naturally as sound was one of your primary ways to find your surroundings, touch and smell became your maps ❀
•from which dyes affected the texture or even smell of the twine used to weave to what fruits were ripe from their firmness or sour scent etc. it all had its role in how you navigated the forest as any na’vi would-your world just didn't have the lights on ❀
•you loved your mom and dad-but sometimes they had their moments where they hovered a bit too much. Jake knew what it was like to navigate a world that wasn't made for you but he also remembers how annoying it was to be coddled like your incapable of the simplest tasks ❀
•Neytiri however was more anxious about your safety. pregnancy hormones only added to her worry because at that time you were still just a baby-how in the Great Mother’s name would you weave or hunt or gather without your eyes to guide you? ❀
•easier than she expected actually because it was all you'd known. The forest was akin to an extension of your feet, clicking your tongue to gauge your surroundings and letting your hands and ears be your eyes. it was simply your way ❀
•even as you got older you became a very skilled weaver, you could tell what colour the fiber was by the texture or even faint smell,it was all patterns that you learned by heart by touch and repetition ❀
•your siblings don't see you as blind-obviously they know you're blind but rather it doesn't change how they feel. You're the oldest.big sib. you are still proud of that role even without sight ❀
•you all have a secret way of talking whenever you don't want others/your parents in on your conversation. you call it hand talk, you all learnt the English alphabet so you trace the letters into each other's palms ❀
•A strong bond is shared among you and your siblings, especially Tuk. she’s the baby of the family after Lo’ak along with being too young to have any serious role or job she takes to being your ‘eyes’ as she put it ❀
•she is more often than not seen holding your hand at quite literally any given time half guiding half skipping by your side ❀
•The move to Awa’atlu was particularly hellish for you. You hated it ❀
•nothing was familiar. every sound was new. no smell sparked muscle memory. you never felt so blind ❀
•swimming was the worst by far-floating like a sitting duck with no way of telling how close to land you were or how deep the water was. you swam head first into many many rocks reefs and other swimmers ❀
•underwater had the cherry on top though. no sounds means no signs at all-you couldn't make a map in your head because you couldn't echolocate beneath the waves ❀
•the weaving materials felt different,the dyes made the texture change but you didn't know what plants made what colours even their patterns weren't the same-learning sign language….really? ❀
•to say you despised it would be putting it nicely draped in silk from the Kinglor-oh how you missed the silks of home ❀
•but thankfully you had your family. Without them you have lost your mind long ago ❀
•Kiri and you would spend hours practicing the Metkayina’s weaving styles and memorizing the feel of the fibres ❀
•Lo’ak would bring you to his lessons with Tsireya (no he totally doesn't care about his big sister getting along with the girl he's head over heels for why would you think that?) for some extra practice even if you don't swim much-yes Tsireya loves you she's a sweetie ❀
•Neteyam loves to explore the inner island or terraced pools of the sea wall as they're shallow and easier to navigate-he know having solid ground beneath your feet is comforting ❀
•Tuk is a sweetheart. She loves to play the guessing game where she hands you something for you to guess what she gave you-other kids end up joining and love the outlandish answers you give to make it more fun ❀
Here is another chapter of left behind, we are nearing the climax everyone. Also consider this as a somwhat filler as I need to expand the characters a bit more.
Left behind series
--------------------
Sometimes tuk wishes she wasn't the youngest nor the smallest in the family.
“Sorry tuk, too dangerous for you….”
“You are too small for this tuk….”
“How about we do something safer instead, tuktuk?”
“Tuk are you too young for this….”
Every time someone in her family will say no in many different ways. It's not fair! How come her siblings get to do cooler and more awesome things and not her? Even worse, her parents make sure she stays put or if neteyam is with her to make sure she doesn't get hurt. Who are they kidding, Tuk is the daughter of the 2 clan's greatest warriors! As much as tuk doesnt praise it around, it must count for something?
“tuktuk, too dangerous for you-”
“If you don't let me, I will tell mom and dad where you are going!”
Learning the arts of blackmail has become a tactic tuk has learned to use. A tool that never fails but always backfires. There were so many times lo'ak and or neteyam would get in trouble just for bringing her near any form of danger. Making her guilty all the time.
“Its ok tuk, here you can do many things…”
At least with the adults at the lab gives her more freedom than her family. They share so many things with her, it makes tuk want to share lots of things with them too.
“And then neteyam hunted the largest one in the herd and and…!!”
She trusts them with all her little heart.
That's why she made the call.
Today was a rare low day. A day to recharge and relax before getting back in the vast fields to hunt for Toruk Makto. Spider won't voice it, but he is glad for this rare day. If one more day he has to be in the RDA base with the squad, then that means the Sully family are one day safer from Quaritch and his hellish partner.
If he was to learn anything from that past about being inside the enemy's territory, it's to learn how things operate, find weak spots, learn how to use their area against them. See if he can contact norm to tell him what is happening. He can do all of that, but one of the trickiest parts was….to get along with them. Everyone around him hates him, proto in particular. Spider has handled insults, glares, and other gestures towards him. Yet proto….brings in a new wave of hate. Something else. Like a personal hate. What has spider done to her? Exist apparently. Already she is a no go, Quaritch, he is getting there but still….maybe someone else.
“hey kid, move. You look like you are too lost deep in that thick head of yours”
“oh, sorry…”
Dr. Sanchez, if spider can recall. A crazy man that Quaritch doesn't seem to like.
‘insane fucker. Thinking he is better than anyone here. Hated him since day one, it took awhile for him to call me by my name. Too bad he is useful according to his boss. Proto learned na'vi from him. As much as I hate to admit, he speaks just as well as you’ Quaritch told him during the first few days of being captured.
That was another thing that surprised spider. Another human speaking na'vi. With proto, it was evident with the few times she spoke to him in na'vi. But sir Sanchez? With what little interactions they had, no sound of na'vi came from him. And on top of that, teaching proto? He has to be really good for proto to sound good. Which means….
“Hey uuhhh…Sanchez sir…?” he asks while the said man is still near.
Sanchez looked at the boy with bored eyes, not a sign of the insanity Quaritch claimed he sees on a daily basis.
“What is it?” Sanchez replies, sounding really bored as he holds a ripe fruit to snack on.
“I was wondering…since Quaritch told me….do you really speak na'vi fluently?” spider asks. Kind of nervous.
Sanchez chewed on his fruit, the juices escaping his mouth, not caring to wipe it away. “That recom told you ey? Of course I know, oe tsun plltxe ramunong”
Spider’s yes widen in pleasant surprise. He spoke insanely well! The sounds of each word was so smooth it sounded like it was his first language!
“Woa! How long have you spoken the language? Did you learn from the na’vi? Which clan did you meet? Did you work for the avatar program too? What about-”
Safe to say, spider got side tracked and Sanchez wanted to get out of that side track.
In Tatianna's perspective, that insect has his use. Perfect use. Distract Sanchez as she makes her way to proto's private room. There is something she needs to bring up with her little ‘warrior’.
Returning from the mission and seeing proto's new weapons gone? And Quaritch not noticing? Or did he turn a blind eye? She needs answers and she needs them NOW. Ever since they landed on this fucking planet, it seems proto is slowly slipping away. First defending that stupid old man, not shutting the fuck up when told to, and now throwing away practically priceless items!
[no, this won't do. I molded her to be perfect! I will not have cracks appear now!]
With hurried steps, her heels making thud sounds as she nears proto's door, not letting them open fully as she walks in.
“start explaining, no lies now proto” she spoke, patience running thin already.
Proto merely sat in the middle of the room, a bit relaxed. Her dull eyes, devoid of anything Tatianna was expecting to see. But her lips made a small stretch, of what can vaguely be a smug smile.
“You already know what I did-”
“I want to hear it” Her words had to be quick, no room for hesitation or a moment of escaped silence.
“Fine. I threw them away-no, let me rephrase, I buried them” proto said. Stretching her arms high upwards, feeling a few of her joints pop.
“And care to explain why the hell would you do that? Do you have any idea the lengths I had to cross to get them not only excavated but molded and forged?! You threw away practically priceless weapons! What lengths rich lunatics back on Earth would pay for!”
Proto said nothing, merely crossing her arms as she lets Tatiana rant out. She now knows better than to cut her off.
“Not only that, but there is still no progress to this stupid mission. If Ardmore were to put us in charge, that man would have been long dead by now. All of this is a waste of time. Valuable time when we can focus on other precious things-”
Great, now she is just rambling.
Proto was starting to get bored, none of this is new, it will only be a matter of time until she hears this shit again.
“It doesn't matter anymore, what's done is done," proto said after waiting a few silence moments from her ‘caretaker’. The older lady stopped pacing, the clacking of the heels coming to an abrupt stop. Tatianna looked down at proto again, her old wrinkly eyes narrowing down.
“You have yet to tell me why you did it” she said, weirdly patiently.
Proto looked up at her and then quickly back down. Unable to make direct eye contact all of a sudden nor say a word. She didn't need to. Tatianna put two and two together. Inadling sharply, she grabbed proto’s jaw tightly, her nails digging into her skin. Forcing the young girl to look straight into the elder’s eyes. The cold and desperate eyes.
“Proto…” she begins to say.
“Get it through your thick head that there is nothing out there for you to ‘give back’ to. Merely connected nervous systems acting as a hive mind that those blue rats so blindly believe in. So believe me when I say this…”
Tightening her grip, Tatiana leans forward, her voice full of disdain.
“Their ‘goddess’ holds no dominion here…”
Her hand moved from the jaw down to proto’s neck, giving it a grip. “How many times must I remind you? Was the table not enough? Lets try the walls this time”
After a long chat with Dr. Sanchez, spider believes he isn't so bad as Quaritch makes him out to be. Yes there is a crazy side but there is also a lazy, kinda messy side to the doctor that spider was a bit glad to see. His next stop was to explore what other rooms he was allowed to go to. But just as he was passing by the gym to enter another hall when he saw proto just destroying a large punching bag. Too big for a human but ideal size for an avatar.
Punch after punch, kick after kick, it was non-stop, if the bag was a person, they would undoubtedly be unrecognizable by now. But he also noticed proto had dark purple-blueish bruises, scars and 2 black eyes. Dark hand print on her arms and neck also seem like fresh cuts on her thighs. There is no way a punching bag would do that.
He wants to say something. Was she getting hurt? It was worse than when they were in the forest. Surely she must be in pain? If she was, proto wasn't showing it. Rather, she was displaying aggressive anger. Beads of sweat growing down from her forehead down to her damp tank top. Her grunts were heard. Voice a bit strained.
Spider could walk away, should walk away. But he didnt. Instead he walked towards proto, in hopes to talk in better standing.
“Hey proto-”
*WHAM!!!*
Proto threw a sharp punch directly at his face. It was a blink and you’ll miss it moment. The punch made spider fall on his back. Just as he was about to get up, proto was on top of him. Punch after punch, spider had no choice but to take it all in. It hurt so much!
“S-stop….!!” he begged, but proto wasn't slowing down. Blood was leaking from his nose and now cut lip. Smearing between his and her knuckles. “P-prot-” the girl was not lighting up. The pain was increasing and his vision was getting dark. Spider weakly grabbed her wrists tightly, trying to stop the blow.
“Proto stop….!! Please..!!” he cries out. Using all of his strength to stop. The swelling on his eyes was starting to increase, but he can still see her. Her face being similar to his in injuries. Her eyes wide in pure fury, her mouth turned into a harsh scowl. Panting heaving and her face red from all the anger she has. Something ticked her off badly and spider now concluded he arrived at the wrong place, wrong time.
“C-calm down….ok…? Wh-whatever it is…its going to be ok…” he tries to calm her down. Her punches did stop at her own accord. Good, that's a good sign. There are some strands of hair hanging losing in front of proto’s face. To show he means no harm, gently he moved his right hand and move the hairs behind her ear, bringing the hand back down but accidentally touched her neck. Right where the bruises were. It seemed to have trigger her.
Letting out a scream, proto moved her hands and wrapped them around spider’s neck. Her bare strength is tightening with every second. Spider on instinct gasps, trying to breathe but proto was not allowing him.
[please not like this!!] he screams in his mind. The dark edges of his vision crawls to cover his vision. He can hear her muttering something, but couldn't decipher what it was. If this was the end, may Eywa embrace him in the afterlife. At least he will be away from this monster-
“PROTO SULLY GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!”
Recom Z-dog and lyle moved swiftly to get proto off of him. She didn't fight them. Quaritch moved quickly to get spider away from proto. The boy coughs roughly, trying to fill his lungs with much needed air. As he was gasping, quaritch was there to ease him up, “hey kiddo, look at me, take it easy. Slow breathes….” the recom instructs. Spider kept coughing but the breathing had become easier.
Calming himself down, spider nodded at quaritch, indicating he is fine, be his own definition.
Quaritch sees the bloody nose and lip, he turns to proto looking at her with somewhat disappointment. “What the hell is wrong with you?! Whatever happened to keeping cool?!”
Proto didnt say anything. Letting her own injuries do the talking.
Exhaling out, quaritch looks at her and says “I will deal with you later, take her to the tank” he instructs the other recoms. They obey and take her out of the gym and somewhere else. At the same time, quaritch takes spider towards the medic room.
“W-wait…” spider says in a raspy voice, he mind still processing what the avatar said.
“Y-you said proto…s-sully…..did I hear that right…?” he asks.
“...yeah, you heard that right…” quaritch answers simply and plainly. No real point in hiding it.
“Does that mean…”
“Yup, proto is Jake's kid. His first born before coming here”
Tuk was waiting so anxiously by the beach. They are coming, they answered her call and said they were on their way. So why does it take forever?! Kiri is still unconscious by sunrise and its making everyone in her family worry. Her dad didn't want to contact the science guys as it would ‘risk their location’ but damn that!
Kiri is way more important!
Tuk trusts the science guys. She is friends with so many! Its not like any of them would snitch.
By noon an aircraft arrived. Its them! Kiri will be saved!
Out from the side door was Uncle norm and uncle max!
And….!!
“Thank you for reaching out tuk, you are a brave girl for doing this”
Tuk is so thankful for these kind humans.
“Why bother to cling onto your family name? It means nothing now”
“I have my uncle….”
“Your dad is nothing but a stain that never goes away….”
“He is a stain in my memories…”
“You are better than him…you must be…”
“I will be…”
“Jake is nothing but a traitor to all human kind!”
“He betrayed me first!”
“Oh look, he replaced you, twice”
“Three times with that boy…”
“He took in a girl in hopes to erase his past with you”
“He wants nothing to resemble me…”
“That boy is Miles’s son, even he accepted his enemy’s spawn…”
“Fucking hypocrite…”
“He left you behind…”
“I hate him….”
“Look at those children, they live and none of them know you exist…”
“They will soon…”
“Guess he really did move on…”
“Why….”
“Did he ever love you…?”
“Why….”
“Pandora is a place to start a new, jake was no different”
“Why…”
“No one there knows about you”
“Why….!!!”
“We care about you proto, unlike HIM”
“Stop it…!!”
“We have done all of this for you, and this is how you repay us?!”
“I didnt ask…!!”
“Accept it girl! He is not coming back for you!”
“I know…!!”
“My sunshine in the rain…im sorry….”
“No you arent!”
“I love you…”
“LIAR!!”
“Im sorry….”
“Why….why why why why-WHY COULDNT YOU STAY”
A drowned out screams left proto, air bubbles escaping her mouth. So she tries to swim up, only for her nose and mouth barely reaching the surface for air. Her wrists and ankles chained down at the bottom of the water filled tank. A filtered water that helps her injuries heal faster than normal. Proto didn't care if this was a healing method or a punishment. The water was somewhat relaxing. If muffled her anger. Letting herself sink down and just not move.
Exhausted physically and mentally, she concentrates on the better parts of her past. Best to only think of the kind teacher. In harsh times like these, he calms her down.
“Now child, lets continue how the water works in pandora, turn to page 214…”
“Yup…She’s jakes kid….”
That part repeated over and over in spider’s head. The shock not yet going away. Proto…is a Sully…? Jake’s actual first born? Before neteyam?
So many questions were popping up in his head. Why did jake leave her? Why didnt he ever mention her before? Why didn't he see photos or hell mentioned in his old vlogs? Never once can spider recall jake saying anything about her. Was she kept as a dark secret? Did the kids know? Neytiri? Quaritch clearly knows, who else does? That creepy old lady? Dr. Sanchez?
If she really is a sully….then…..why is she with the RDA? Why is she part of the hunting squad?
This answers nothing but questions so many things.
Though, it does answer why her eyes were so familiar. She has jake’s blue eyes. It may be the same shade but hers are so cold and distant. Something is clearly wrong here. Spider has to fix it, somehow, someway. He needs to see her again, perhaps when she is much calmer.
“Boring…boring…so boring…there is nothing to doooooooo” Snachez groans as he reads some files over and over again.
“Good, pack up a bag then” tatianna was heard behind him. Before Sanchez could turn, a large duffle bag was tossed roughly at him. He looks up at her questioningly.
“Pack your swim trunks, you are joining the recom team in the sea dragon” the older lady says.
“Ummm…why?” sanchez asks. A smirk crept up on Tatianna's face.
“There was a new signal that was picked up. Where the thousand islands are located. It was quick and brief but long enough for us to see it”
“Wait, does that mean…?”
“Yes, the mole sent that signal. Where ever the signal is from, Jake Sully is there”
“Ah, Dr. Ian Garvin, pleasure to meet you. This is Dr. Sanchez, he will be joining the squad as the rest of the sea dragon crew” Tatinna says.
Garven kindly shook hands with her, looking past behind her was Dr. Sanchez. His eyes widen, a little smile plasted on his face.
“Hello sir, um, it is a pleasure to meet you. Its-just-wow, Im sorry its just, seeing you in person. You, a student of the late Dr.-”
“Dont bother, this isnt the avatar program so best not try” sanchez rudely interrupted him. Without wasting time, sanchez went ahead and entered the sea dragon ship. The smile quickly left Dr. Gavin.
“You do have to excuse him. Dr. Sanchez isnt a people person…or enjoy behind compared to HIM” Tatiana excuses.
“No hard feelings, I understand. The late doctor is a legend here, and the only one who really met his expectations was Dr. Au-”
“Im sorry but please dont use that name around him either please…he is still…sensitive about it. I hope you understand. Now I have to go but it was a pleasure. Oh and one more thing, if you have snacks, don't bother hiding them, he will find them and eat them”
With that tatianna left the ship and back to the main RDA base.
The captain calls for everyone to be on board as they began to depart. Dr. Gaven hurried to his makeshift lab. Feeling a bit disappointed of being turned down like that. I mean, its not every day you meet the few people who inspire you.
“And then mama made kiri’s favorite! I helped! Of course while we were cooking, kiri was talking to dad. I dunno what they were talking about but they sure took awhile. Anyways I have to go to bed now. Gotta get up really early, bye!”
Tuk turned off the voice tracing recorder. It was a small gift given to her by her dear friend before they all left after trying to treat kiri. A small thing easy to hide. A recorder that can send voice messages to the destined signal.
Demon technology is heavily frowned upon but tuk cant help it! She misses her science friends. They didn't had the chance to finish the long game “who is who” . Oh well.
“Tuk come on, its bed time” jake calls for her.
“Im coming!” she replies, quickly hiding the recorder in her personal stuff.
As she lays with her family, the recorder slowly sends the voice message to the receiver. Back at the base near the omatikaya grounds. There, one particular human was listening to her message, while using a signal locator to retrace the path. And send it to tatianna.
That is it for this one! We are reaching the height of the plot! What will happen next? Stay tuned! Until next time! See ya!
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ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: There were many struggles that came with fatherhood—you must find a solution for each one.
ᴀɴᴏɴ: jake and reader are like the dads of the sully children, basically the sully's having gay dads??
ʀᴇ𝐐: yes ~ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 6565
ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: mentions of death (lighthearted) never happens tho, swearing, much worrying about children, surrogate neytiri referring to your kids as hers too (idk just in case)
ᴍᴀʏʙ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: so. i've got a lot of things to say. that's why i'm putting a second a/n at the bottom.
- two gays cannot have an avatar child if they can't have children therefore surrogate Neytiri <3
- my first attempt at writing a full sentence in Na'vi, y'all are probably not fluent in it but i hope it's correct.
- regrettably, there's only one scene with Tuk and only one mention of Spider
- less about the relationship between jake and reader, more about the children
☾⋆☆⋆☽
Neteyam was a blessing.
Him and Neytiri both.
When she agreed to be a surrogate for your children, you were both over the moon, over each of the three of Eywa'eveng.
Neytiri knew it best, the stress of having a child. Though it was all her, her body, her belly, her birthing, you and Jake stuck to her side and stressed with her. You could see her pain, in her eyes, and Jake said he felt it himself.
The musings did not help Neytiri through the pain.
Omatikaya welcoming ceremonies consisted of everyone in the village, close family, friends, acquaintances, everyone rounded up to welcome the newborn. But this one was special, for there was one mother and two fathers. Strange as it may have been, the three of you knew there'd be plenty more to come.
When Jake held him up towards the sky, calling the name, "Neteyam", you knew the name truly belonged to him, even if the newborn had yet developed characteristic traits.
The first year was not pretty. If it weren't for Mo'at and Neytiri–and thought it may be harsh, it is the truth–Neteyam would probably be dead.
Jake always knew there was a thing with babies. They didn't have a sense of danger. On Earth, some of the deadliest stuff they could find was a fork and an outlet. On Pandora, however, there were much worse things.
He was aware of this, both of you were, of the Hammerheads, Thanators, Viperwolves that each posed a dangerous threat to your child. Even herbivores, like Flathead Rams, could trample over your baby like he was nothing. He couldn't roam, either, for he didn't know the difference between a poisonous plant and a safe one, and the differences were scarce. Not to mention, they grew close to the ground. Even the carnivorous plants were huge enough to swallow him whole.
So you both watched him, most of the time.
When the hunt called, however, it was only one of you. You took turns.
Why? Because the mighty Toruk Makto, Olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya, once war chief of three tribes at once, was not exempt from taking care of the baby.
Besides, he kind of liked it. He liked looking at his boy, knowing that in all ways except biological, Neteyam was his.
He loved when the little baby wrapped his four little blue fingers around one of his five large ones. He was so tiny, so defenseless. He had to take care of him. Couldn't let him out of his sight.
He was also so, so cute.
Neteyam lets out a little yawn, stretching all his limbs except for the hand holding his father's finger.
"Aww," Jake coos. "dinner's in a bit. The game's not even here yet. You can sleep."
As time passes, and Neteyam drifts off in his father's warm, large arms that encompassed him, Jake gets lost in the sight and his thoughts. Neteyam was his child. He never thought he'd have one.
He doesn't register the sound of you propping your bow up on the wall, or your footsteps, or a portion of the fresh hunt being placed next to the fire.
In fact, he doesn't really notice you at all until you sit next to him.
You wrap your arms around him, one around his back, the other around his stomach below his arms and Neteyam, and settle your head into the crook of his neck.
Jake laughs lowly, your nose against his neck's skin slightly ticklish—he didn't think the Na'vi were ticklish, hadn't learned it until he was victim to your fingers. "Kxì, my love. Tired?"
"Ngenga pllertxe fura tawtute lì'fya... ‘Ìnglìsì. Tìftang si."
(You're speaking that sky people language... English. Stop it.)
Ever since the first time, he's memorized the words, therefore knows their meaning. "You know I don't speak Na'vi well. Right? Or are you too tired to remember?"
"Perfectly conscious enough to remember." You laugh lazily, "Just love to tease you."
Jake presses the side of his head against the top of yours, the best affection he can offer with Neteyam in his arms. "Zola‘u nìprrte’. Happy?"
"Yes."
☾⋆☆⋆☽
Where Neteyam was yours, Lo'ak was Jake's.
But first, came the unexpected Kiri. A month after Neytiri affirmed that she would have your second child, Norm and Max called with a panic.
One morning, as bored eyes strayed from scientific screens and microscopes, Norm discovered a bump on Grace's avatar's body. There were many theories, but each was discredited. The tank was safe, you were all sure, even if you did not know anything of the amniotic fluid within it. It wasn't scratched, didn't show any signs of opening, it displayed nothing at all. So what could be the cause?
The answer went unanswered for another two months. Until, at the third month, Norm realized that the size lined up with that of a human pregnancy. It was already the size of a seven month old baby bump. Which meant... soon enough, the vacant avatar would be having a baby.
There was hardly a discussion of who would raise it. Jake knew that he was indebted to Grace, that even though he had yet another child on the way, whatever came of Grace's avatar was his to take care of.
Kiri was born first. Lo'ak was soon to be on his way. However, the season for the first communion with Eywa was approaching. Though having the three of them commune with the Great Mother at the same time would be wonderful, the first communion was not to be delayed.
While Jake helped Neteyam attach his queue to the Tree of Souls, you helped Kiri.
Her eyes, her smile, toothless even, her dilated pupils... She was elated. She was so happy, and you mirrored her smile too.
This wasn't your kid, wasn't Jake's either, but you would raise her as one of your own.
Lo'ak and Kiri... they both came out with five fingers and little eyebrows. It was a scary thing, to have children that looked different from everyone else. Jake knew that, with an Avatar body, it was possible. Seeing it himself, though...
Neteyam, being oldest, required a little less care. He slept by himself at his crib. The newborns slept with you whilst the two of you waited for Neytiri's hunt.
Lo'ak was cuddled up in his father's arms, Kiri in yours. Her fingers were wrapped around your smallest finger, what Jake would call his ring finger. "Five fingers.." You muttered to yourself. You'd counted them many times over.
Jake hears you. "And eyebrows."
"Just like you." You muse with a laugh. Jake laughs along too, but you notice the difference; his laugh lacks its usual humor.
"What is it?" You ask, concerned lace with his words like the weaving of a necklace.
"Nothing." He shakes his head. He couldn't worry you, especially because he wasn't even sure if these five fingers and eyebrows would make any difference.
"I can tell there's something." You remain stubborn, scooting even closer to him. It was one of the qualities he actually loved about you, as annoying as it could be. "You can't evade me, darling."
"Darling? You picked up the word?"
"Jake." You're deflecting.
"I know." He sighs, "I know. It's just... They're different, Kiri and Lo'ak, different from others their age. It's not something I want for them."
"You think it'll affect the way they are treated?"
"Yes."
"Darling." You repeat the pet name more stern now, calling for his attention. He lifts his gaze from his baby boy to meet your eyes. They're yellow, they're golden, just like his. "You were different. But now you are not. You're Olo'eyktan, one of the us; one of the people, one of the Omatikaya. These children are yours, and they are mine. They are part of the Omatikaya."
"But they–"
"Extra fingers, extra hair on their face. The eyebrows are expressive, lovely. The fingers are good, help with dexterity." You tilt your head forward, "They will be fine."
Just as the same as he yearns to hold you, he wishes he believed you. For now, however, he settles on your only point of contact being your lips, and his assured belief about these children being that you and he would love them to the ends of the Earth.
☾⋆☆⋆☽
The differences meant nothing to Jake, there would be no change in the way he treated them. Soon enough, he'd sort of forgotten, for the most part.
What couldn't be forgotten, though, were his Olo'eyktan duties.
The problem was, you were gone for a little while. The second problem was, Neytiri was taking care of Neteyam. Now that didn't quiet seem like a problem, but she was taking care of him before you left and before he realized he had important Olo'eyktan stuff to do. He couldn't just bother Neytiri to take care of his kids! The third problem was, they were his kids! He couldn't just leave them. They were hardly two months old.
So now, he was left with a dilemma. Baby carriers.
For humans, it was a little embarrassing to, as a father, be wearing one of them. But to the Na'vi, it was just another part of life, a necessity.
Jake was a Na'vi now. He had to get over human societal norms.
"Hanging in there, baby girl?" Jake asks Kiri–as if she can understand him–who unfortunately has to take the tight space on his back.
After getting the silent answer he was expecting, Jake begins his work. As expected, no Na'vi seem to pay him any mind. They greet him just the same as any other day, the only difference being the small coos directed at his children. He's just happy they love them.
As Jake checks his daughter is safe on his back for the umpteenth time, he hears something wrong.
Click.
He stares ahead, obviously disturbed. His eyebrow furrows as he finds the camera, with a diminishing flash, being held by the scientist he regrettably called a friend.
"Norm, don't you have shit to do?" The swear word doesn't faze him, for the babies were too young to even register the word.
The scientist adjusts his exopack over his shit-eating grin. "Research, Jake." He gives off a hint as his amusement with each word he speaks, "I’m capturing the Mighty Toruk Makto in his natural form. Which is adorable." He winks.
"Uh-huh." Jake replies; contrasting his friend, he remains unamused. "Kiss the dark side of my blue–" Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Mo'at. Shit, Mo'at. She knew English and he needed to talk to her.
"You are a lucky man, Norm." Jake turns on his heels, leaving Norm behind as he heads towards the Tsahìk.
When he does so, though, Kiri turns her head as much as she can to stare at the human scientist curiously. Norm takes the opportunity.
Click.
☾⋆☆⋆☽
Lo'ak and Kiri were, relative to their brother, the same age. They also looked the most like each other, excluding their father. They both had the characteristic traits of an avatar, traits that set them apart from the rest of the clan. Because of this, you thought they'd be inseparable, best friends. Instead, they fought, and fought, and fought.
It was weird, even, that Kiri often sought out her older brother's company over her baby brother's.
These peculiarities' origins, however, were solved when you realized the common point of these arguments. Lo'ak. Lo'ak was a troublesome kid in that he loved freedom, and even more, loved to be possessive.
Within seven years, many things were taught. Jake, for one, learned much of the Na'vi language. In fact, it was practically English to him. Sometimes he forgot what language he began the sentence with, and he would end up starting with Na'vi and ending with English or mixing in a couple words in the middle.
As far as the kids were concerned, it was gibberish. At least, for a couple years. After they dominated the Na'vi language well enough, they began to learn English. Their main teacher was their father, not their sempu, so when things like this happened...
"I hate you times infinity, Lo'ak! Penis face!"
It was his fault.
After the kids' argument was swiftly dealt with (the toy had to be threatened to be cut in half, and then they stopped), Jake places the toy in Kiri's hands. "Kid, go find your brother." He sighs, "You can play with him."
"I don't wanna play with him." Lo'ak crosses his arms, stomping his foot. "He's a sucker."
"Hey, now, that's not a good thing to say about your brother." Jake presses a harsh finger against his son's shoulder. "What would Neteyam think?"
"It's true! And he needs to know it!"
"If your sempu was here, you'd be–"
"Sempu's here." You call. The kids didn't really realize you heard the beginning of what Jake was going to say. Instead, they run to hug you. Kiri drops the much beloved toy they so desperately wanted earlier, in favor of wrapping her arms around your waist.
You scoop each of them up, each held by one strong arm. Even so, knowing that the position is weak, they steady themselves by wrapping their small limbs as far around you as they can. "Now, what was it that you needed me for?"
"Nothing, sempu." Kiri shakes her head, pressing her head against your shoulder. "Just a little dispute."
"Yes. A dispute." Lo'ak agrees with the wide nod of his head, though he pronounces the word much worse than Kiri does. Seems he slacked off on their latest English lessons and somehow ignored the word "penis" that Kiri vividly recalls.
"Ooh, dispute? Where'd you learn that big word, huh?" You coo, rubbing your nose into her hair. She laughs at the feeling, it's almost ticklish.
"Dad." She replies simply.
"Yeah, well, they also managed to learn the word "penis" from me." While you gawk dramatically at your children, Jake sticks his tongue out at them just as childishly. Little suck ups. He mouths.
Lo'ak sticks his tongue back out at his own father, to which you slap him gently on the hip. "What situation requires that," You think of a suitably negative word , uglily scrunching up your nose so that the children can have something to laugh at. "despicable word?"
"Lo'ak," Kiri is quick to tell, "was trying to steal my toy!"
"No I wasn't!" Lo'ak huffs. If he were on the ground, he'd have stumped his feet. Instead, they kick the air.
"Yes you were!" She retorts.
"Which one, the one so sadly on the floor?"
At the mention of its position, they both turn their gazes towards it. Kiri dares to mutter a little "uh-oh" as her eyes find it. Whilst they are distracted by the dread building up in their bodies, you look to Jake. Go find Neteyam. I'll deal with these two.
Silently, he nods, and slips away while the children begin to make up excuses. As he walks down the river bank, he hears a shout from the house. "You're a big fat liar!"
If memory served right, Neteyam wanted to visit Neytiri. Out of all of their kids, he took to her the most.
A part of him, at the back of his mind, wonders how all his children will react once they learn who their mother is.
He doesn't indulge in the thought. Instead, he focuses on the task ahead. The path from his home to Neytiri's was one he memorized, and he made sure when he built his home that it wouldn't be a long distance.
He doesn't expect to find the two of them, Neteyam and Neytiri, outside of the house. Neither does he expect his son to be so vigorously training even after training hours.
"That's it. Remember your stance." Neytiri advises Neteyam, patting his shoulder. "You're doing great."
"Hey!" Jake greets the two. The sudden call surprises Neteyam, which makes his shot fly off to the side.
The boy frowns, but his lips soon lift as he turns to greet his father. "Hi dad."
"Hello, my son." He nods. His smile turns a little more stern as he turns to Neytiri. "Hello, auntie Tiri. What's going on?"
Neytiri opens her mouth to speak, but Neteyam taps her thigh and mouths a little something. It's not hard to read his lips, nor had he tried to hid it so hard, but Jake looks away out of respect.
Auntie Tiri nods and looks back up to Jake, "I figured he needed some practice."
"He practiced this morning."
"I know." She raises one hand up in surrender, "Practice makes perfect." She ruffles Neteyam's hair. Though coming from his dad it was annoying, it is apparently endearing coming from his aunt. "Could I talk to you in the house?"
"Of course."
She hardly waits for him to reply before she pats Neteyam on the head again and says, "I'll be right back, keep practicing."
Neteyam nods excitedly. However, Jake stops him. "No, put that down." It dampens his son's spirits, but he nods. Both of them know that something could go wrong if Neteyam practices unsupervised.
Neytiri rolls her eyes, but doesn't protest. Instead, she heads inside, Jake close behind.
"What is it that–"
"Your son, our kid, " She begins with firmness. "he came to me asking me to help him improve."
"What? He's only seven." Jake reasons, "Why would he?"
"He's your oldest." She replies simply. "Your heir, the next Olo'eyktan. There's a lot of pressure that comes with that." She spoke with experience. Between you, him, and her, she had so much more experience. He wonders sometimes how they've come to this arrangement, if she could be a better mom than he, a dad.
"Yeah… I know. But I don't give him any pressure. I make sure of it." Does he really? Are each of his words premeditated, thought out?
"He's only a year older than Lo'ak and Kiri, but he already has it ingrained in him that he has to protect them." Neytiri crosses her arms, giving him a pointed look, "Like you said, he's seven. He still deserves to be hugged and kissed."
"I try to."
"You try to?"
"It's hard when, you know…" He sighs, "your parents coddled your brother more than you."
She purses her lips, thinks it over. "I may not know about you and your brother," She begins on a lighter note. "but I know that you can relate your experiences with him with our children, your sons. At least you know what not to do. Just make sure they know you love them, and that they are still children that should play, while you still can."
"Yeah." He nods, "I will."
☾⋆☆⋆☽
The children played with each other, for once not beckoning their parents into play or sparking arguments between each other.
So for the first time in a long time, you had some moments of peace.
"He reminds me a lot of Neytiri, Neteyam." You spoke in a hushed voice, wary of their young ears.
"How so?" Jake squeezes your shoulder, his arm wrapped around it.
"His smile. It's a lot like hers. Toothy, isn't it?" He was smiling right now. Though it didn't compare to some of his biggest moments of joy, his smile still displayed his growing teeth. It was adorable.
He only has to think of it for a moment before agreeing, "Yeah."
"He's good with his bow. Don't doubt that he'll make a great hunter one day. And his love for Ikran..." Your face lights up at the memories, "even though he doesn't have one."
"About that, love..." Jake begins solemnly.
You turn to him, away from your playing children, at his serious tone. "What is it?"
"Neteyam," He glances over at the boy. Thankfully, he hadn't heard him speak his name. He lowers his voice and continues, "Neytiri told me he's been trying to get better at using a bow."
"Hm, well, he's probably trying to impress us."
"And that he wanted to protect his siblings. He feels," He purses his lips, "like its his responsibility. It's what he worries about."
"Does he?" You huff, "He has asked a lot lately, about the dangers of the jungle. I thought he just wanted to look out for himself, but now that I think about it..."
"He wanted to know so that he could keep his siblings safe." Jake finishes for you.
"Hey, I wanted to play with it!"
"I had it first!"
Before either of you can act, Neteyam stands first. He gives you only the smallest of glances before pushing his siblings away from each other.
"What? Hey!" Lo'ak shouts.
"Go away, Neteyam!" Kiri struggles against her brother's hold.
At his sudden interference, the toy falls to the ground. Neteyam kicks it to his feet. "Stop fighting!" He hisses at the both of them, making them falter. "It's either one or the other. Got that? You can take turns."
"Me first!" The children scream simultaneously, Kiri finishes her sentence first by a millisecond.
"Ugh." Lo'ak groans, but he begrudgingly kicks the toy in her direction. "Fine, you can have it first. But you get ten minutes!"
Kiri grins, picking up the toy, "That's good enough."
With the argument over, Neteyam smiles. He turns back towards his own toy, but not before sparing a not so subtle glance in your direction. Seeing your encouraging smiles, his own grows larger.
"He didn't need to do that."
Jake nods, "But he did, anyway."
"You're right." You shake your head with a sigh, "We should wait for the right moment to tell him."
☾⋆☆⋆☽
That moment doesn't take long.
Lo'ak had grown restless at home, and even more at the village, so he proposed one thing: to let him and his siblings explore the jungle. It wasn't a surprising proposal, you'd allowed them to do so many times before. Neteyam, Kiri, and Lo'ak often explored the jungle; so, you allowed it without a thought.
The jungle was a beautiful place, one you were proud to call home, so you were happy that your children were falling in love with it too.
However, as curfew grows closer and your children do not return yet, your worry begins to grow.
The children had shown time and time again that they knew curfew, knew the way home, knew to come back safely. You trusted them to come back.
Your rapidly growing concern and restlessness burst, and you must find them yourself. As much as Jake had reassured you, as much as you wanted to trust them, something was clearly wrong. You had to find them.
As you mount your ikran, though, they emerge from the tree line.
Neteyam and Lo'ak prop Kiri up, helping her walk. They've got her arms around their shoulders. Together, the three of them, they're mismatched. Lo'ak wishes to run, Neteyam doesn't want to injure Kiri further, and she is weak.
You're quick to whisk Kiri up and bring her inside, whilst Jake grabs a hold of his sons and brings them in too.
You place Kiri down on your hammock, "Where does it hurt?"
"My side." She yells back, her eyes spilling fresh tears. She was scratched up everywhere, from her arms to her knees, but the most concerning gash was on her side. It was a long cut, spanning from her belly button to her chest.
"I got you, baby girl." You assure.
While you rush to patch up Kiri, Jake squats in front of his sons and questions them. "What happened?"
Neither boy wishes to speak, but between the two of them, the culprit is clear. Still, he knows that he has to wait for them to speak up. If Neteyam speaks first, Jake will know what the boy has burdened himself with. If Lo'ak speaks, he will know that the boy has the responsibility to admit his own faults.
Regardless, because none of them speak, Kiri does. She clearly wished to have the culprit, which inadvertently caused her injuries, be punished. "Lo'ak led us to a forbidden area!"
"No I didn't!" Lo'ak bites back.
"Yeah, I did." Neteyam steps forward and puts an arm in front of his brother in order to shield him from his father's impending scolding. "I convinced them it wasn't such a dangerous place."
There it was. Neteyam taking the blame. He took protecting his siblings so far, that he was willing to take the blame and the punishment for what Lo'ak did. Jake hated it, hated that he reminded him of his brother so much.
"Neteyam, you and I both know you know the dangers the most." Jake points a finger at him, "So step back."
The boy follows his instructions, but for once, not obediently. He looks down at the ground and backs off with a subtle scoff.
"Oh, so now you decide he's not to be believed?!" Lo'ak huffs, crossing his arms. "I didn't–"
"You did." Jake interrupts him, "And I need you to admit it."
"Fine!" Lo'ak shouts, "I did it! But I didn't think it would be so dangerous."
"I know that, son." Jake says, placing a hand on his shoulder. Lo'ak tries to shake it off, but he ultimately fails to do so. He settles on ignoring its heavy presence. "But you're still responsible for the consequences."
"I didn't mean for Kiri to get hurt." The boy mumbles.
"Tell that to her."
"I'm sorry, Kiri." He mumbles that too, but Kiri hears it anyway.
Though she rolls her eyes, something Lo'ak can't see because you cover her body with your own as you work away, and accepts the apology, "Fine." She hisses slightly, which Lo'ak mistakes as directed to him. The sound makes him falter.
"The two of you, listen to me." Jake places his other hand on Neteyam's shoulder, pulling the brothers close to each other.
"You should listen too." You tell Kiri. She nods.
"You should all to take care of each other, equally. That means protecting each other. Not just you, Lo'ak; not just you, Kiri," He nods in each of his kids' directions, "not just you, Neteyam. You got that?"
Neteyam nods immediately, while Lo'ak nods with a scowl and eyebrows knitted. He was displeased to be asked to act just like his stuck up brother.
"Hey." Jake shakes his son not so gently to make sure he is paying attention. "Lo'ak, I need you to protect your siblings. Because, in this world, it's not just you. It's all of us, it's this family. Your brother, your sister, they need taking care of. And if we're not there, who will do that? You. You have to."
"It's not an "if he can't do it, then I have to"." You cut in to add, "It's not a toy to be passed around. It is something you should all be doing, all the time."
"Today was just an example. Tomorrow," He gestures to the side with the nod of his head, "if things do not change, worse things can happen."
"Okay." Lo'ak nods. Though the solemn look on his face is new and different, it meant he was taking it seriously.
Jake nods too, "Good. Neteyam," Knowing that the boy will be much more affected by his words, Jake keeps it simple. "that means it's not all up to you. Don't take the fall for things you didn't cause."
"Okay." Neteyam agrees too.
☾⋆☆⋆☽
Auntie Tiri loved to visit the kids. Though she knew she wasn't their mother in the family sense, she still thought of them as her own children. You weren't one to complain, much as you teased her, because it meant you and Jake could have some time of your own.
"Second time this week?" You laugh, greeting Neytiri at the entrance. "It's only just beginning, too."
"If I birthed them, I at least get to raise them." Neytiri argues. The words don't make much sense to the children, thankfully, or else you would have a lot of explaining you weren't quite ready for.
You roll your eyes and let her in. As she passes you, you walk outside. Behind you, you hear screams of delight as the children see Neytiri.
After Jake says his temporary goodbye's, he follows you outside.
He lets out a sigh of relief as the even fresher air of the outside washes over his face. "It's been a while since we got to be alone, right?"
"Just two days, my love." You remind him. "Neytiri visited two days ago."
"Hmm," He snickers, "right."
He lets out a yawn, stretches his limbs far up into the sky. As he brings them down, though, one arm not so subtly wraps around your waist. Even less subtly, it pulls you close to his side. "Wanna go for a walk?" He offers nonchalantly.
You chuckle, placing a hand a on the one he's got around you. "Sure."
The benefit of being alone with each other often was that your children were not responsibility for the tiniest of moments. It also meant you didn't have to speak of them.
But usually, as your children are the light of your life, most things end up being about them.
"Your hair's starting to dread up, love." You remark, wrapping the end of one of his locks around your finger. It was just a little strand, but the hair above clumps together.
"Ah, well, I don't have the time." He sighs, "Between Olo'eyktan duties, giving advice to folk, taking care of the kids..."
"I could braid it for you." You offer.
"I heard that takes a long time." He says, but he's done more than hear it. He's witnessed it, seen your children slouched over themselves, falling asleep whilst your fingers still nimbly worked on their braids. "Don't know if I've got enough."
"Well, we can keep it dreaded." You shrug, "Whatever you like."
"What do you like?" He retorts.
You roll your eyes. "Whatever you like to wear will be what I love, Jake."
"That's an awfully sweet," He begins slowly, coaxing a soft smile out of your lips. "lie. Too uncharacteristic of you, my darling."
You laugh. The sound is... young. It sounds young. You've known each other for seven years now, been parents for most of that time, and you've matured so much since the first time he laid eyes on you. Those laughs, ones without the worry of your children or responsibilities, had seemed forgotten. He's glad it's still there.
The conversation falters and you fall to comfortable silence; but something picks at Jake, at the back of his mind.
"Is there..." He pauses, not too sure if he really wants to mention it. He's already started, though, and he does feel as though it is something that should be talked about. "anyone Lo'ak reminds you of?"
"Lo'ak..." You hum as you think, "well, Lo'ak is his own person. He's a special kid. There's no one quite similar to him. Why do you ask?"
"He reminds me of myself. My younger self." Jake says. It was the original thing he wanted to say.
"Oh."
"Reckless, quick to jump into a fight, defensive, couldn't take the blame... I couldn't take anything seriously." He lists off things, each one putting a dampener on his mood. "A child in a man's body."
His lowering spirits were affecting yours, so you stop your walk to make sure your next words are registered fully. You take his hands in yours and begin, "Some of those things aren't always bad. Defensiveness means, well, you're protective of your loved ones. And not taking things so seriously... you can always make me happy. You can lighten any situation. As for the recklessness, well, it was always funny when you failed at some Na'vi things."
"Hey!"
"What I'm trying to say is, you're still defensive, you're still humorous in harsh situations. These are both things of your younger self and the self that stands before me." You bring a hand to his cheek and he nuzzles against it. "They are part of who you are; and those same things, they're part of who Lo'ak is. If we tried to change them, Lo'ak wouldn't be himself. All of those traits are bad at varying degrees. If we teach him correctly, he can still be himself. Less reckless, more serious, but still himself."
Much as an annoying rascal he was now, it was the Lo'ak Jake still loved, has loved for seven years. He couldn't imagine his son any other way.
☾⋆☆⋆☽
Everyone loved Neteyam. It was hard not to.
Lo'ak and Kiri, on the other hand, often received many stares. It was harder for them to make friends outside of the family; harder to avoid the comments about their fingers and eyebrows. Though Lo'ak had a penchant for an argument (which had lessened ever since you began parenting him better) this was where he and Kiri agreed.
When Neteyam played with his friends, Lo'ak and Kiri often stuck together. Their differences and toy-sharing difficulties were pushed aside.
Neteyam often tried to coerce his friends to play with Kiri and Lo'ak, they were only a year younger after all, but it usually devolved into asking them why they had such funny fingers.
Jake and you often noticed it. You saw your children's awkward, uncomfortable faces. But you knew things would only be worse if you interfered. Children were often like that, picking at the little things. Just kissing your children would earn them the nickname of "sempuyä 'evi". Besides, they needed to be independent.
It was a matter that sparked concern between you.
"I was right about their differences." Jake grumbles. He subtly observed his children from above, at a high point in the village. Less people were going to spot his vigilant dad behavior up there.
"They'll make friends eventually, find people who don't care." You reassured him, but you spoke it into the world because you were really wishing for it to happen.
"Like you?" He muses.
"If you want a comparison point." You let out a little laugh.
Jake wraps an arm around your shoulder and pulls you close. Just then, a little someone breaks through the crowd of nosy kids and sticks their hand out.
Rather than judging your children or pointing out their differences, they exclaim "Wow that's so cool!" so loudly that you can hear it from up there. It warms your heart.
Lo'ak eventually found friends that actually deserved him. Kiri, on the other hand, well, the friends found her. Unfortunately, it was after that that she discovered she actually preferred alone time better than having so many people around her, disturbing her thoughts with constant chatter. So, she didn't often talk with her friends. The only thorn on her side, though, was the human kid, Spider. She tolerated his presence often. She actually even seemed to like his voice.
But while they had gotten over that problem, Jake was still worried.
☾⋆☆⋆☽
Your children had yet again become a year older. In the past year, you'd taught them all so many things. You made sure Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Kiri were all protective over each other equally; that Lo'ak learned how to control his recklessness and maintain his humorous attitude; that Kiri felt connected to Eywa.
You knew that, when you allowed them to be on their own, they would be just fine.
After seven years of taking care of your children so actively, you no longer had to worry so much. It was sort of a relief.
Naturally, though, you sort of missed it.
"I want another kid."
"What?"
"Another girl would be nice." You hum to yourself, "She'd be the cutest little thing."
Once the initial shock wears off (because you don't just mention that out of nowhere) Jake finds himself agreeing. He, too, missed coddling his children. "Yeah, she would."
"Did you ever get a copy of the picture Norm took of you?"
"Only because you make it." You snicker, booping him on the nose. He responds by scrunching it up and flinching back. "I think it's rather cute."
"I only think Kiri was cute." He wipes his nose. "We can talk to Neytiri and–"
"I want her to be yours."
"What? But–" Jake shakes his head profusely, his eyebrows knitted together. "I can't have another kid turn out like... like me."
"Five fingers and eyebrows?" You ask.
"Yes." He replies immediately. "I can't have her be... different. Lo'ak and Kiri, they struggled to make friends because of their differences."
"You know that Lo'ak made his own friends."
"It took time." He argues, "Don't you remember his face, every time he came back home? It was horrible. In fact, he asked you to pull him onto your lap and kiss his cheeks over and over just for reassurance. Which–"
"Which he asked for because he loves me, not because it's uncharacteristic of him." You say, implying that Lo'ak loves you more.
Jake rolls his eyes. "I don't want to see another kid go through that again. I just want another normal kid that'll make friends flawlessly."
"There's nothing wrong with being special." You take his hands in yours. His hand was only bigger because of his extra finger, which wraps around your hand. You bring it up to show him, "Nothing better with being normal."
"Why... why can't you do it, then?"
"Because," You begin, smile lighting up your face. "even you still haven't gotten over your differences." Jake looks away. His silence to the accusation is as much of an answer as affirmation is. "This child will be proof that your differences don't make you any worse than a regular Na'vi. Because you are on of the people. You are the Olo'eyktan. You are one of us."
"How do you know?" He grumbles, but he was starting to believe you. "Did Eywa tell you, or something?"
☾⋆☆⋆☽
With Tuktirey, you couldn't be any happier.
And she came out, as promised, with four fingers and hairless browbones.
She was a pudgy little thing, and everyone loved her. You could see it in their eyes and their smiles that the kids loved her at first sight. Their toothy grins would grow even wider when they each got to carry her; even if Lo'ak nearly dropped her.
Though she couldn't even speak and hardly babbled, you could tell that you would come to love her.
You held Tuk in your hands, laying your head over Neteyam's legs. He made for a bony pillow, but you loved him so much you could get over it. Jake hugged Lo'ak with one arm. Kiri was sprawled horizontally over the both of you, her head laying on your stomach. Your muntxatan nuzzled his nose into your neck as he spoke, "I met your sempu while I was training."
"He fell from the tree branches onto the mud at my feet." You explain less graciously, causing an uproar of laughs from each of your children.
"Ah-ah," Jake breaks up the mocking laughter, "you say it's like Eywa sent me to you, no?"
"Okay, fine, I guess." You roll your eyes playfully.
Jake laughs. You can feel the deep rumble of vibrations going through his neck against your shoulder. "It was love at first sight."
☾⋆☆⋆☽
ᴍᴀʏʙ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ 2: it's a cute prompt, of course, could fulfill it with headcanons, however I wanted some Lo'ak and Neteyam struggle + scared father Jake
- one of these scenes (if you saw it, you know the scene) was made using the dialogue of this incredibly fucking cute fanart. It's just Lo'ak instead of Neteyam here.
- I made Jake a better father because his kids deserve better
Summary: What if the Sully kids were captured instead of Spider? (A long drabble/short prompt?)
ZERO: THE ADDITION
"No!" Neteyam pounded against the glass, gritting his teeth. "Let us out!" When no one answered he growled, throwing himself against the wall. Expectedly, it didn't budge.
"Neteyam, stop it," Kiri wrapped a slender hand around his forearm, pulling him to face her. "You're scaring Tuk."
His eyes softened as they landed on his youngest sister, murmuring out a gentle 'sorry', before they hardened again as they landed on Lo'ak. His younger brother was silent as he sat curled in on himself, staring blankly at the wall with his head in his hands. Kiri couldn't stop him this time as he charged towards him, yanking him up forcefully by his necklace to sneer in his face. Lo'ak's eyes widened in shock.
"None of this would have happened if you had just used your fucking head!" He shouted, pupils dilated with aggression. "Are you happy now? We're all trapped here because of you!"
"Get off of me!" Lo'ak snarled, shoving harshly at his shoulders.
"Stop it!" Kiri cried, trying to step between them and coax them apart, but Neteyam refused to relinquish his hold or his glare.
"Cut it out," a foreign voice rang out in the white room, making them all pause. To their collective shock, the wall on the right lightened until it was completely transparent. The siblings warily huddled closer together as they saw two humans, a man and a woman, facing them on the other side of the window-like wall. Tuk wrapped her arms anxiously around Neteyam's waist.
The man clucked his tongue in annoyance, turning towards the woman. "See? This is why they should have been put in separate holding cells."
Neteyam felt Kiri's grip tighten on his bicep at their words.
"Would've been a waste of space," the woman huffed, quickly typing something on her laptop keyboard, before shutting it and giving them her full attention. Her stare was intense and very much unnerving.
"Where are we?" Surprisingly that had come from Lo'ak. His spine was rigid in an attempt at channeling their father's intimidating demeanor.
The man smirked, striding up closer to the glass barrier. "Far from home, kid. That's for sure."
"You can't keep us here," Kiri hissed, but Neteyam could feel her hands trembling against him. "Our clan will come for us and kill you all."
"That's what we're banking on," he chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he whistled lowly. "We really lucked out with these ones, didn't we doc?"
Neteyam cursed under his breath. They were planning to use them as bait to lure his parents here. He needed to find a way to get in contact with them, but all of their communication devices had been taken away when they were thrown in here. Fuck.
"Don't entertain them," she snipped, giving him an unimpressed stare. "We're not here to play games. I actually have a job to do, if you haven't noticed."
"Trying to get rid of me already?" He put a hand over his chest, a mock wounded look downturning his lips.
"Yes," she replied bluntly.
"Come on," he jeered, waving his arm at them like they were some sort of freak show. "Don't tell me you want to be alone with the savages?"
Neteyam and Lo'ak bristled at the insult, baring their teeth. Tuk whimpered behind Neteyam's leg.
The woman glanced at them, wrinkling her nose in disgust as if she was instead looking at a giant, steaming pile of ikran dung. "Of course I don't, but I also don't want to be homeless," she gave him a pointed look, jutting her chin towards the exit. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have some work to do. Alone."
The man raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine," he chuckled, striding leisurely towards the door. He was almost there when he paused, turning around with a raised brow. "Coffee later?"
"Get out," she said flatly.
The door opened and closed, leaving the room blanketed in a tense silence. It was also then that she started behaving weirdly.
She began frantically shuffling through the objects on her desk, lifting papers and shifting around devices. After a few minutes of this, she seemed to come across what she was looking for: a small, round dark object about the size of her pinky nail—which she promptly threw on the ground and crushed under the heel of her boot. It made a small crunching sound as it succumbed to the pressure.
"Fucking Madden," she hissed under her breath.
After kicking away the debris, she lifted her gaze, staring at them contemplatively. She slowly approached the glass barrier, her features becoming more distinguishable the closer she got. The siblings tensed, not able to tell what she was going to do next.
"Believe it or not, I'm not here to hurt you," she said finally, her stare heavy and unwavering. "In fact, I'd say I'm your best ticket out of here."
Neteyam narrowed his eyes. He knew how the sky people were, heard stories of their greed and destructive nature and even witnessed it firsthand. She couldn't be doing this out of her own good will. Why would she risk her livelihood and possibly her life for them? "What do you want?" He growled. She had to be after something.
"Your names," she said simply.
"What?" They all reeled back in disbelief.
"Well, more specifically, I'd like to get to know more about you," she elaborated, the harsh look in her eyes softening into something that looked suspiciously like curiosity.
"Why are you doing this?" Kiri's voice wavered from beside Neteyam, staring warily down at the small woman. Well, small to them, at least.
For the first time, a genuine smile crossed the woman's face, taking them all by surprise. "Didn't your father ever tell you," she said, something unreadable twinkling in her eyes. "That Sullys stick together?"
*****
*Takes a deep breath*
—internal screaming—
Guys. I’ve been WANTING to read something like this for so long that my brain just vomited it out. This is just an idea I wanted to share cuz it wouldn’t leave me alone and won’t be continued at the moment.
PS: PLEASE WE NEED MORE FICS WHERE JAKE’S SIBLING(S) INTERACT WITH THE KIDS T_T
[ Modern!au, Tuk is still in elementary school lmao ]
Neteyam
Mr.popular guy at school.
Goes to bother Kiri and embarrass her in front of her friend-group everytime at lunch.
Does after school activities nearly every single day.
My boy is so academically smart.
He doesn’t need tuition, tuition needs him.
Ao’nung defo copies on his homework everyday before class.
He’s the typa guy that prioritizes school before hoes so Neytiri is so shocked (and happy) when he finally brings a girl back home.
All of the teachers love him because he can calm the class down easily.
Not in an annoying teacher’s pet way, in a way that he’s literally homies with everyone so they stfu when he tells them to atp.
He definitely listens to afrobeats you can’t tell me otherwise.
He lives for and PRAISES rema.
His favorite songs are Woman by rema, Last Last by burna boy and No Sleeping by 1da Banton.
He also often listens to old school rap like MF DOOM.
Ao’nung
He’s a player fosho.
Like not the typa player to cheat on his partner but the single typa mf that fucks with many people at a time😭.
He’s definitely into sports like basketball. I think we can all agree w that.
Typa guy to wear a basket ball uni with gold plated chains.
He teases the ‘nerds’ in every single class that he has.
Is a menace like usual.
He smells so strongly of cologne.
Typa guy that would walk around with his varsity jacket if not for him being in his basketball outfit everytime.
Type of guy that has a ‘top 3 most attractive teachers’ list w his friends.
Ao’nung listens to rap theres no other.
Not like playboi carti kinda rap no, bro listens to Lil mosey, YNW melly, blueface and dababy (unironically)
Tsireya
She has GROUPS of girls talking behind her back.
They’re all jealous cuz our girl’s perfect fr.
Has one real friend group and sticks with them.
Nobody has the heart to tell her that girls shit talks her while she’s so nice to them.
Has a stash of pads in her locker incase anyone asks for them cuz she’s a real one‼️🤞🏽.
Walks back home with Lo’ak every single day.
She smells like plumeria 24/7.
She defo listens to pop like pinkpantheress and olivia rodrigo. SZA and doja cat girly.
Lo’ak
He throws wet toilet paper balls at the bathroom walls.
Gets called weekly at the principal’s office and wonders why.
Jake and Neytiri are fed UP.
Walks around with a pair of headphones in the morning because ain’t nobody talking to him while he’s half asleep.
One of his ex friends tried doing that and they ended up w a sore cheek fr. keyword: Ex friend.
Does his homework during lunch and always gets caught by his teachers.
He gives gym rat energy but not the annoying ones (are there even those?)
He’s some teacher’s favorite just like his brother, just cuz he’s the class clown.
Bet y’all the english teacher always laughs a little too suspiciously at his dumb jokes.
As the troublemaker kid, outcast and DEFINITELY his father’s least favorite, it only makes sense that he listens to rock.
Like heavy metal and NU metal.
His favorite band is Aerosmith I can see it.
And his favorite songs are walk this way by Aerosmith and born to raise hell by motörhead (ironic enough).
Defo listens to domination by pantera
He listens to Kendrick lamar and The Weeknd at times too.
Kiri
She’s a vanilla girly.
Like vanilla ice cream, vanilla deodorant, vanilla perfume, vanilla EVERYTHING.
She defo has crystals that she brings with her everywhere she goes.
Once she beat up Lo’ak for touching her crystals but my man was just trina manifest good grades fr.
She never finishes her lunch and Neytiri considers even still giving her food atp.
Cannot live without music.
Her earphones are always dangling out of her pocket because she’s always removing and putting them back in there.
No denying that she listens to Taylor swift.
Girl is a swiftie for LIFE. Other than that she defo listens to those indie bands like surf curse and TV girl.
Her favorite songs are disco by surf curse and Lavender haze by taylor swift.
Tuk
She has the newest generation iPad because papa jake’s income is paying good.
Well she isn’t allowed to bring it to school but she doesn’t anyways.
One day she got caught cuz she was playing some barbie makeover game in class.
Flexes her new glittery bag because she can.
She shares her food with her friends that have none because Neytiri taught her good.
She’s defo the typa kid that goes to school with freshly braided hair and comes back with them baby hairs sticking out and somehow one braid just completely undone.
She doesn’t get bullied or anything she just can’t stay in place at all.
she listens to those cringe TikTok songs i’m so sorry.
She’s still in that era 💔
Rotxo
I just know he’s on the verge of crying every morning trying to do his hair.
He’s so cute like wtf.
He struggles to get a girlfriend lmao so he’s always third wheeling everything.
He’s adorable though like, how???
No cuz like this mf STILL does those weird troom troom food hacks TO THIS DAY.
Like the thing where you put fondant in an empty glue stick roll just because.
Let his inner child have fun ok.
He’s a mixed music taste listener.But he mostly listens to rap.
Tuktirey x sister!reader, Neteyam x sister!reader (mentioned), Jake sully x daughter reader, fluff, angst, comfort. Takes place a year after the events of atwow.
AN: got the idea from this tiktok and here’s the original song
Synopsis: Tuk has been having a hard time sleeping since neteyams passing, so her sister sings a song. a song her father once sung for her when she was her age.
it’s been a year since your brother has gone to be with Eywa. Adjusting to a life without him was less than easy. Your partner in crime, best friend, and (don’t tell Lo’ak) favorite sibling was gone. Leaving you to be the oldest sibling in the sully family by default. Teyam’s death hit Tuk especially hard. Her big brother was gone and she couldn’t understand why. She just knew she was scared of losing anyone else, and that now she had the fear that everything could take her family from her.
Getting a good nights rest was hard for little Tuk since Neteyam had been gone. The reoccurring nightmares preventing her from closing her eyes, luckily she has her big sister.
Soothing her hair onto her head thinking of ways to comfort her, you remember an earth song your father sung for you when you were around her age. He had to change the lyrics to fit you and you would have to do the same for her.
“Dad used to sing me this song to help me sleep, you wanna hear it? it’s a song from earth.” Her ears flicker at this and she mmhhs in agreement, nuzzling into your body for comfort.
Clearing your throat you begin in a hushed voice, everyone else in your families tent already fast asleep. “Close your eyes, have no fear. The monsters gone-” Tuk begins to bat her eyes as a faint smile appears on her lips. The feeling of you rubbing small shapes on her skin and your hushed voice are a potent mix for sleep.
“- he’s on the run and your sisters here.” The next time you look at her small figure snuggled into yours she’s asleep, face relaxed and peaceful. Leaning your head back to rest your eyes with her you hear a chuckle come from across the room.
“Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful girl.” Your father sings, completing what you didn’t finish for your sister. He was awake the whole time. Listening in admiration to the love you had for your little sister.
