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Ao'nung x F!Deaf!Metkayina!Reader
Summary: Ao'nung has loved you since childhood.
Warning: Fluff, Ao'nung is a jerk to everyone but reader, some angst (I love emotional revelation of feelings), characters are aged up 18+ but no warnings here! Ronal ships reader and Ao'nung,
Note: was a request from @keyratch hope you enjoy it!
~.~
Growing up, you always knew you were different. You couldn't hear the ocean waves, couldn't listen to the music of your clan for celebrations. You couldn't even harmonize with your mother as she sings to lull you to sleep.
Being born deaf, your parents tried so hard to pray to Eywa for a sign. The Tsahìk, Ronal, tried every herb and technique she knew, but nothing could change who you were.
What Eywa had decided for you to be.
You never blamed Eywa though, for the Great Mother had blessed you to feel a connection to her. You could feel her in the sand; the warmth of the sun that she blessed you with, the coolness of the ocean as you swam to admire the creatures she's created.
Even as a small child you had been drawn to the beauty of the Pandora.
The smallest sea shells you would collect and braid into your hair, stringing some together to make a necklace, bracelet, or head peice. The brightest floral you would gather to present to friends and family, just because the beauty of them made you think of others.
Ao'nung had only been eight when he met you for the first time. While training with his father on spear throwing he had caught sight of you collecting sea shells.
He was so distracted by you, he grabbed the spear wrong and cut his finger. Letting out a small hiss of pain, he instantly sucked on it, causing his father to gaze at him and then at you. Tonowari couldn't help but chuckle, "I see the silent beauty has caught your eye," Ao'nung was confused by his father's words, but quickly denied having even spotted you.
"Well that's too bad, because here she comes right now," sure enough you had seen the leader with his son, Ao'nung and had started over in their direction when you saw the big was hurt.
Ao'nung could only feel himself freeze as you closed the distance fast, suddenly reaching out to grab his hand as he tried to back away,
"H-hey! What are you doing?!" Ao'nung flinched as you pressed on his finger, the one he'd cut being too caught up looking at you. You never said anything, just brought out a healing leaf from your hip pouch and wrapped his finger quickly and efficiently.
"Thank you," he mumbled, you smiled and let go of his hand, signing to him, 'Would you like to play after training?' It had puzzled him why you didn't just ask out loud, but after looking to his father for assurance, he nodded to you causing you to smile and nod, turning back the way you'd come and headed away.
"Father, why didn't she just ask me?" Ao'nung questioned, looking up at Tomowari who smiled sadly at him, "she is deaf my son, she cannot speak for she never learned how, she cannot hear you," Ao'nung didn't feel any different towards you, maybe more curious, but he never felt like you were weird.
~.~
After that day many years ago, Ao'nung had grown, and so did his love for you. What started out as amazement and adoration as children, had since grown into feeling as if you were the only one for him.
The way you helped his sister with day to day chores, such grace and beauty weaving baskets and collecting herbs for his mother. The complete definition of selfless as you taught the children of the clan their sign, who else but you with your patience and grace.
The tingles you left on his body when you would tap his hand, shoulder, arm, anything to get his attention. You left him yearning for your attention day and night. Left him in agonizing pain at the thought of having you with him under the stars but couldn't.
Yourself however, would be a prize to any fine young Na'vi, but to your own self image you were at the bottom of the food chain. Your biggest insecurity being your deafness. You would never hear your mates words of love and comfort, would never hear the giggles of your own future children should Great Mother bless you with any.
You never had anyone express interest in you, although Ao'nung made sure of that, not that you knew. He always glared, growled or warned any man who looked in your direction. He made sure to linger a hand on your waist while talking, a smug look over his shoulder at the hunters who had tried to talk to you, a smirk at the Ilu keepers who tried to get to close.
When the Sullys had arrived, you had been busy helping Ronal with her duties as she was trusting you to take over while she got ready to give birth.
You didn't get to see Tsireya and Ao'nung as often as they were busy with teaching the new comers the traditions and expectations of the clan.
'(Y/N) go fetch Ao'nung, he should be down on the beach,' Ronal requested, you nodded, standing from your sitting position and heading out of the Marui, starting your trek to the beach.
You had found a few flowers on your way, taking a moment to pluck them from the ground and arranged them nicely. Maybe Ao'nung would like something to help brighten his mood.
Stopping once you reached the beach, you felt your eyes widen in disbelief as Ao'nung and his friends were surrounding Kiri, pointing at her and laughing. Kiri was clearly uncomfortable and trying to walk away, luckily Lo'ak came and started to intercept the boys, only they turned their hateful ways onto him.
You felt your fists clench up, nervously twisting the flowers. You started walking in that direction, Neteyam showing up as well from beside you, making yourself known too.
Ao'nungs ears pressed back, his body feeling hot with embarrassment that you'd caught him being rude to someone.
"Oh look, big brother to the rescue-" Ao'nung reached his hand out, silencing his friend who bowed his head obediently. "I need you to respect my sister from now on," Neteyam threatened, his eyes glaring into Ao'nung who nodded, trying to ease the anxiety in his chest as you approached too.
You tapped Kiris hand, the girl turning to you as you looked her over, as she tried to calm you down, 'I'm fine, no harm done,' she assured, you face turning into one of doubt but giving up in the end.
The three siblings went to walk away, but Lo'ak suddenly turned around and went back to Ao'nung, his smirk and quirked eyebrow making you upset a little. Why was he acting this way? Was he really this mean to them?
Ao'nung didn't know what had happened when Lo'ak punched him, one second he was standing and the next on the floor with his friends helping him up. They all jumped Lo'ak who held his ground to the best of his abilities, but soon found his brother Neteyam jumping in to help him.
You gasped, hands covering your mouth in disbelief, the flowers falling into the sand forgotten. Why were they doing this? 'Kiri, we need to stop them' you told her, but even she could only look on in a mix of horror and laughter.
Deciding that enough was enough, you inserted yourself into the fight, Ao'nungs friends quickly backing away as you pulled them off.
Neteyam hadn't seen you enter the fight, when he felt his shoulder get touched he quickly turned and went to punch the person, barely being able to stop himself before he hit you.
You had flinched inward, arms raised quickly to protect yourself, eyes shut incase of pain. "(Y/N)!" Ao'nung threw himself to you, shoving Neteyam out of the way, his hands gently grabbing yours to bring them down.
You squeaked, the cutest sound Ao'nung had ever heard, and opened your eyes to see Ao'nung checking you for injuries despite his cheek being bruised and lip busted. His eyes held fear and worry, hands moving from your arms to gently hold your face.
An adult nearby had brought his father and Toruk Makto, but he didn't care for the shouts that were happening, he could only focus on you. He brought his hands into view, 'You okay?' Ao'nung questioned, though your face contorted into worry as you held his face, feeling bad when he flinched from your thumb brushing his cheek.
He grabbed your hand and held it at his side as he turned to Neteyam, "Don't you ever touch her again!" If it hadn't been for his father pulling him away with you in tow, he would've attacked the oldest sibling.
"Maybe don't start things your girlfriend tries to finish!" Lo'ak yelled back, getting dragged away by his own father.
Upon entering the Marui, his mother hit him upside the head, "skxqwng! You brought (Y/n) into this?! I pray for the resilience to not break your bones!" Ao'nung averted his mother and fathers gaze, his head down as he couldn't even look to you either. Ashamed you had caught him at his worst moment.
"I leave (Y/n) to take care of your wounds, Great Mother help you find some sense!" Ronal hissed, Tonowari leading her out of the Marui to give you two some privacy.
You slowly walked over, placing a hand on his arm, Ao'nung letting you lead him to the mat and both of you sitting down facing eachother.
'What were you thinking?' You inquired, waiting for his reply as you began to mix a paste together. 'I wasn't thinking, but they deserved it, freaks all of them' he huffed, sucking it back in when you roughly applied the paste to his cheek.
His eyes found yours as you stared at him with hurt, 'What does that make me then? I cannot hear, I cannot speak well, they can communicate freely, I have to look for eyes and attention,'
Ao'nung felt his throat constrict, his hands clamy. You were so beautiful in his eyes, but the way he treated them made you think ill of yourself and that's not want he wanted.
You looked down, eyes glossy from unshed tears. His hand on your chin made you look at him, your lip trembling as your ears pressed back.
Ao'nung let go and signed only one word, but it made your body erupt in flames.
'Beautiful'
~.~
Since the incident with the boys on the beach, Ao'nung tried to be kind in your presence when the sullys were around but when the opportunity to trick Lo'ak revealed itself, he couldn't help it.
When he returned though and found you looking at him with those eyes again. Eyes filled with pain and now disappointment, he knew had to do the right thing.
'I'm sorry,' he apologized, finding you alone by the beach later that night. You turned from him, arms crossed. You weren't going to look at him or reply.
He fell to his knees in front of you, grasping at your hands desperately. You huffed, eyes glaring into him. Ao'nung used to pray he would never see that day you gave him that look, but after what he'd done to Lo'ak he could say he deserved it.
Hands trailing from your hands down to your elbows, he slowly let go and began to speak, "I'm sorry, I know I've been stupid and they don't deserve that, I'm not sure what I was thinking," Ao'nung kept his eyes trained on yours, watching you look exhausted.
"Why risk the danger? What if he'd gotten hurt? Or worse, you," you felt your lips pull back in a snarl, though he could only find pleasure in the fierceness of your face. His heart beat fast knowing you cared about him.
"I wish you would think with this," you placed your hand on his chest, feeling his erratic heartbeat, "not with this," you playfully pushed his forehead, a smile appearing on your lips. You couldn't stay mad at him, not when he smiled at you as softly as he did now.
He grasped your hand, bringing it back to his chest. You felt your own speed up to match his, both of you filled with deep affection for one another, not that the other knew.
You both stared at eachother for what felt like hours, yet only a few minutes had passed, just enjoying eachothers company.
When you had broken out of your daydream however, you quickly pulled your hand away and stood up, eyes darting everywhere but him as you shakily signed, "we shouldn't be doing this, I have to go,"
Ao'nung couldn't stand fast enough when you pulled away, tripping over the sand as you ran. Everything had just been perfect, what had happened?
~.~
You helped Ronal to sit, her stomach slowly getting bigger as the days went on. "Baby is good?" You wondered, a grin on your face of excitement as she nodded, her own smile gracing her features.
'Baby is strong, maybe a boy like Ao'nung,' she replied, you nodding in agreement, 'Ao'nung differently is strong,'
'Yes, he will be a great Olo'eyktan, if only he hurry and choose his Tsahìk,' she let her eyes slip to your figure out of the corner of her sight, seeing you quickly look down and away. Not out of embarrassment it seemed, but out of disappointment.
Ronal frowned, she did not like seeing you so hurt, especially by her own child, lest he be stupid enough to do it.
Ronal placed her hand on your cheek, bringing your face back up to make eye contact with her, 'why do you look so sad? What has happened?'
You tried to brush her off, 'it's nothing, I'm sure whoever he chooses will make a lovely Tsahìk,' you began to ramble, hands moving quickly, 'Ney`ite is the best diver, Alyara is known to sing beautifully, from what I've seen and been told,'
'He deserves someone who can help him feel better on rough days, someone who can actually listen and help with his problems, who loves and cherishes him as he is,'
Ronal tapped your hand, causing you to heat up in realization, you'd been rambling for too long. 'Someone, like you?' She quirked her brow, a knowing smirk on her face.
You shook your head, eyes feeling glossy with tears, 'what do I have to offer him?' You felt a hiccup erupt in your throat from trying to hold in your sobs, 'I cannot listen to his problems, I cannot comfort our children with words when crying, no one would look to me, Eywa may love me as she created me, but surely Ao'nung loves another,'
Ronal felt her eyes catch the sight of a figure standing behind you. Ao'nung could only stand frozen as he saw what you thought of yourself. He's never loved anyone like he loves you, and it's his fault for making you think otherwise.
Ronal grasped your hands firmly, shaking her head at you. Ronal reached a hand for Ao'nung who walked over, his shadow startling you as you looked upwards, his face looking hurt by your own tears.
Ronal placed your hand in his, his fingers gripping your own softly but firm, like a silent promise to never let go.
The Tsahìk bowed in exiting the Marui, leaving both of you alone.
Ao'nung knelt to face you, your cheeks hot with humiliation that he had to see you like this. You tried to look elsewhere but he placed his hand on your cheek, turning your face towards him.
He let go, feeling a moment of Deja Vu as he thought back to two nights ago by the water. When you both had been just as close in the sand.
"You are not less than anyone here," he signed, feeling his heart excelerate with emotion.
'(Y/n), I don't need to hear your voice to know your words are strong and kind, I don't need your words of comfort when your touches are enough,' he placed your hand on his chest, just as he did those nights ago. He hoped you would feel his heart that's beating full of love for you.
You could only feel a bizarre rush of emotions, anger at yourself for letting Ao'nung find out this way, fear in what is to come, yet, love from knowing he felt the same as you did.
'I'm sorry you did not see yourself as adequate when you are more than I could ever dream, the love you hold for our clan speaks words where your lips may fail,'
You felt your lips quiver, tears falling down your face as you tried to hold yourself together.
'I see you, (Y/n), and I would love for you to become my Tsahìk, my mate,'
You laughed, 'I would love to spend my life with you, I see you, Ao'nung,' you pressed your forehead to his, his own tear or two slipping from his eye as you both enjoyed this moment of peace together.
He raised both hands to your face, cupping your head as he brought your lips to his, the soft, plush feeling of your lips nearly driving him mad with desire. Your own hand finding home on his chest and shoulder as you felt weak from lack of air.
Pulling away, you made him stand up with you, his eyes showing curiosity. You smirked at him, 'Wanna go somewhere more private?' Ao'nungs silence spoke for itself as he dragged you out of the Marui, right past his parents who had a sudden look of realization.
"Oh Great Mother," Ronal sighed exasperated, "Looks like our youngest will be close in age to our grandchild," Tonowari mumbled, flinching from Ronal who began to hit him from saying such words, "skxqwng!"
~.~
I DO NOT NEED THIS EMOTIONAL DAMAGE GOD DAMNIT 😭😭💔💔
Pairing: Neteyam x Human/Avatar!Reader
Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII
Synopsis: All secrets are revealed and both you and Neteyam have to live with the consequences of your actions.
Warnings: pure angst, mentions of death, mental illness, addiction, self-injury, limited mentions of Y/N, did i mention angst, angst and more angst?
Word Count: 10,3k words (the first couple chapters were 3k, how did we get here??!)
A/N: This chapter killed me a little inside. I cried multiple times writing it, so I guess fair warning. I wanted really badly to build strong, round characters who had flaws and strengths and strong reasoning for acting a certain way/doing certain things. I wanted to write this story from both character's perspective, so it is clear that in life, each person will think they are right, that their reasoning was the correct one, when in reality, we are all a little right and a little wrong in everything we do, and it is always worth trying to see things from the other's perspective. We are coming towards the end of this first series, so I hope you enjoy this chapter and the rest of this journey. As always, thank you so much for everyone who engaged with it, I loved reading ALL of your comments and replies, they really make my day.
(Also, I feel like I am playing my own little game of "how many Taylor Swift and OG Avatar lyrics/quotes/references I can reasonably fit in a story without it being obnoxious" and I can't tell if I'm winning or not.)
"I didn't have it in myself to go with grace
Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave
And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?
Cursing my name, wishing I stayed
Look at how my tears ricochet"
You registered the girl asking you if you were alright, but you couldn’t see in front of you, the entire room spinning like the inside of a mirrorball. You felt your body rise from where it was sat next to Neteyam’s, and shakily made your way out. Neteyam’s mate. Neteyam’s mate was next to you, asking you if you need help. It all got too much, and you lunged your body forwards and threw up on the ground next to your tent. You were panting, trying to somehow get a grasp on your mind and push the hurt aside, enough so you can see and hear the world around you.
“I’m fine. Thank you.” you manage to blurt out weakly.
You heard more commotion, and faintly made out Jake’s voice and his arm on your shoulder, trying to bring you back to them.
“Neteyam, what the hell happened?”
You didn’t hear Neteyam speak. He was quiet and you were glad. You didn’t want to hear his voice, not now, and not for the rest of your life.
The world came back to focus eventually, and you spit aggressively trying to get rid of the taste of acid in your mouth. You removed Jake’s hand from your back, and left. The thought of speaking or even looking at any of them was too much to bear. You ran, harder than you ever had before, back to where you just came from, the Ikran nest in the village. You immediately recognised your own, beautiful, gold and white, pure, unlike the rest of this world. Neyn (light colours, shades of white)… fitting name, you thought. You made the tsaheylu quickly, and without a second thought, took off.
FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF
STAGE III: DEPRESSION
You had no thoughts as you flew above the forest and made your way towards the general direction of the Hallelujah mountains. You realised you didn’t know where you were going, you didn’t know how you were going to find your way back, but it didn’t matter. Were you even going to ever return? There were no tears, no sadness, just emptiness. The pieces of your heart broke so finely they turned into dust, blown away in the wind of the night. Eventually you found the mountains, easy enough to spot, even in the darkness, the fluorescent flora marking the territory with an easy-to-see glow. You flew like this, for enough time that your lungs were running out of breath and your skin felt battered by the wind, but you kept going. You felt so free, so weightless. There was a calmness to your thoughts that you haven’t felt in years, probably since your mother died.
You saw a distant mountain that looked brighter than the others, and you made your way to it and were amazed to find a little cave in it, bright and colourful, a little piece of heaven on a planet that was heaven in and of itself. Neyn landed softly on the edge of the mountain and you dismounted effortlessly and approached her head, giving her pets on her neck, to which she cooed gently. She was the only friend you had, you realise. You were all alone.
“Neteyam, what happened?”
Neteyam was dragged in the tent by his dad, who was fuming. No matter what feelings his dad was feeling, they couldn’t compare to Neteyam’s anguish and terror. Why the hell was she there? She just had to wait another couple of hours and this would have never happened.
“She was patching my wound up when Tiongli came in the tent, announcing to the world she is my mate. Said mother told her about my injury.”
“Don’t you dare blame this on your mother, boy.” the Sully patriarch’s nose was flared, eyes looking at him intensely with anger and disappointment. Neteyam’s eyes filled with tears, and he felt his heart hurting so much like the gash was there instead of his arm.
“I was going to tell her tonight, dad. After dinner. I was going to tell her everything, and I was going to ask her to be my mate. I was going to come to you both and ask you to undo the engagement. I understand that a year and a half ago I gave up on her, I did it for a reason, I thought there was no future for us, and that we were hurting each other. But things have changed. She has changed. She’s going to be one of the people soon and I want her to be mine.”
“Neteyam, you can’t undo the engagement. You have known Tiongli your whole life, her family’s been expecting this since you were both young. You gave your word before Eywa, son.”
“I love her, dad. Do you understand that? I have loved her all of my life. It killed me having to leave, it killed me knowing there was no future, because she was human. But she’s not just human anymore. I was willing to go through with this for the sake of the village, for the sake of the family and the future, but if there is any chance I can have the love of my life by my side, instead, I will cling on to it for dear life. Mother was betrothed to uncle Tsu’tey, and she gave that up for you. It was done before Eywa, and she didn’t care. Because she loved you and she knew that was enough. She gave up being Tsahik, her birth right, so she can have you. I will not give up on her, dad. Mother wouldn’t have given up on you.”
“I have to find her. I have to make this right.”
You were sprawled on your back, feeling goosebumps form along your limbs from the cold grass. You were staring at the sky, noticing the bright stars you now knew were actually bright death sentences, each of them beautiful and devastating. Will you even still be alive when they come? Will everything you have gone through these few months matter? Will everything you have gone through in this life matter? All the pain, and the hurt, and the grief, just so you can die at 18 from a virus. The universe was cruel, you thought. It was a fitting end, though. Meaningless and daft, like your entire life was. Born on a planet you were not made to be able to survive on, your real planet a long-forsaken dream you will never experience for yourself, surrounded by nature that could kill you in an instant. Alone, never fitting anywhere, orphaned by human diseases: cancer and greed. Left to fend for yourself when you were just ten, learning to navigate a life that only seemed to want to clobber you to the ground whenever you thought you finally could stand up again.
There was no light at the end of the tunnel, not anymore. You wanted to fight for something, for the chance at life, or at retribution, or at love. You were dying and Neteyam killed whatever hope remained in you. They all did. Norm, Max, Jake, Neytiri, Lo’ak, Kiri, Spider, all accomplices, all aware, all willing to lie to your face for weeks with no remorse. You thought you were good at spotting liars, now you just knew how little you knew about everything.
The pain in your soul mirrored the one in your body, as you felt the morphine wearing off and your human body struggling to keep the mind steady for the link. You had to bear it, because this pain was more manageable than the one you knew waited for you in your human form, when you would be alone in a dark room with only your nightmares to keep you company.
With a sigh and a peer up at the sky, you hoped whatever comes after death was better than the hell you’ve lived in the majority of this life.
Neteyam waited the whole night in your tent, waited for you to come back, becoming increasingly worried as the hours passed and you didn’t show. He wanted to go and look for you, but knew that as soon as you got on your ikran, the chances of finding you were thin. He would go to the lab as soon as dawn broke, but for now, he was praying that you would just burst through the tent opening so he can talk you down.
He fucked up, badly. He cringed at the thought of how much he seemed to not be able to get anything right when it comes to you. Everything he did or didn’t do ended up hurting you more, the only thing he didn’t want, the only thing in the world he continuously tried to avoid.
He was consoled by the fact that he would have a lifetime to make it up to you. He will not give up trying, no matter how long, no matter how hard, he was determined to win you back and keep you, forever.
As you made it back to your human body in the early hours of the morning, you regretted waiting so long, as your body was in indescribable agony, the likes with which you didn’t know was possible for the human body to ever experience. Your heart was beating a mile a minute, you were sweating bullets and every bone and muscle in your body throbbed with enough intensity to make it almost impossible for you to get up from the pod. Everyone must be asleep at this hour, you thought. You had to make it to your bed, you had to get at least a couple of hours of rest if you were going to live to see another day. As if you were taking the Iknimaya again, you made your way form the lab to the medical ward and injected another dose of the morphine in your system. There was no going back now, you were too far down the rabbit hole to stop and why put yourself through more unnecessary pain when this will all be over in a few days anyway?
You crashed in your room for a few hours and quickly made your way back to the pod before anyone else was there to talk to. You started the linkpod by yourself and got in without hesitation.
Waking up in your Avatar body was a strange experience, as you were still in the Hallelujah mountains where you fell asleep last night. Neyn did not leave you, you noted, and she was peacefully resting next to you, cooing softly in her sleep.
“Hey, beautiful girl. Time to go back. It would be useful if you knew the way.” you pet her gently, trying not to disturb her. She woke up and pushed her snoot in your chest, and you felt it swell for this animal that you had an unbreakable bond with; you were grateful you had done the Iknimaya and at least gained a life companion from that horrible day.
As suspected, Neyn knew where to take you, and in about an hour you made it back to the village. You dreaded it, dreaded the inevitable interaction, but you knew you had to go back at some point and inform them of your whereabouts.
It was still early, so the village wasn’t quite bustling with energy yet. You quietly made it back to your tent, which you found empty. You grabbed your bow and arrows, knife and gun and a couple extra magazines. You didn’t know if you were going to be back. As you were making your way out, your head bumped into a large, muscular chest.
Fuck.
“Where the hell were you all night, kid? None of us slept a wink last night worrying.”
“Out.”
“What the hell do you mean out? Out where? You leave without telling, you don’t come back the whole night, do you have a fucking death wish?”
You laughed at the irony of his words. He caught your arm as you were walking away and pulled you back forcefully so you can face him.
“You are not going anywhere.”
“Let go.” Jake raised a brow at your words. He was not used to being spoken this way, you realise.
“How long?”
His grasp on you loosened, and his gaze softened when you peered up at him through eyelashes to which tears clung.
“How long has this been going on?”
“Kid…”
“How fucking long, Jake?”
He let go of your arm at your curse, which had never been directed at him before.
“Watch your tone, kid.”
“You made me feel like shit for learning to shoot guns without you. It made you feel bad, right? Knowing I purposefully left you out of something you could have been useful at, something we could have bonded over? I hurt you, by pushing you and Neytiri away for so many years, and I am sorry for that, but you have never, in your life, tried to understand me. So you gave me shit about something you didn’t understand, and I hurt so much inside at the thought of all I gave away by my reluctance to trust, to love, to let people in. So I changed. I let you in. I was here, everyday, acting like a perfect little daughter for you, the daughter I knew you wanted. Strong, capable, skilled. I let Neytiri in. I started calling her mum in my dreams, and although the guilt for my own mother gnawed at my insides silently, I was also relived, to finally have a family again, or for the first time.
You made me love you and break down these carefully constructed walls so you can be comfortable and sleep well at night for not breaking your promise my mum, and then you fucking stabbed me in the back.
I trusted you, Jake. You fucking lied to my face for months. Every time I asked where Neteyam was at dinners and you told me he was practicing, every day you plotted to get me out of the village as early morning as humanly possible and get me back after everyone else was fast asleep, I knew it in my heart you were lying, but you were all so good at it, I thought I was going crazy. But no, it was all a carefully planned ruse to not find out you made me come here and be part of the people just to watch the man I love belong to someone else without even a chance to decide for myself how to feel about it.”
The fight brought out the rest of the Sully family out of their tent, and they were all watching you now, concern and sadness displayed across their beautiful faces.
“You all lied to me. Looked me in the fucking eyes and lied to me, every day, multiple times a day. You were supposed to be my family.
The humans are coming. I will be here. I will stand and fight, you know I will. I will be your little soldier, and be who you made me into.
But I want to make this perfectly clear. As far as I am concerned, you and I, we are done. I am done.” You looked at every Sully one last time, and left.
You were no longer delightfully numb, but burning with anger and earth-shattering sorrow as you stalked away from the village, leaving everything behind. Your eyes were blurry with endless tears, mourning this life and this family that you managed to gain and lose within the span of a few weeks, reeling from the wounds within your heart that never had a chance to mend before being opened again, over and over. You didn’t want to go back to the lab, knowing Neteyam was most likely looking for you there. You couldn’t go to the clearing for the same reason. You had no home anymore, no place in this world, once again. You could only think of one place to go, one place where no one would ever look for you.
Your knees were shaking furiously as you walked, and you were scared of another flashback that you would have to ride out by yourself, but it never came. You just walked, crying and panting from all the pain the last 24 hours brought, and eventually you made it to a place you never thought you would ever see again. The clearing looked peaceful, with rays of light penetrating through tree branches, creating Mandalas on the ground that you found yourself tracing with your eyes.
In the corner, lay a decrepit exo suit, and you made your way to it, settling on the ground next to it. You knew now this exo suit belonged to your dad, and you removed some vines that grew on top of his name, Gideon Barlowe. A beautiful name, you thought, and your mind wandered to the past, a past way before you were even born, and wondered what your grandparents did back on Earth. Did they encourage their son to leave his own planet in pursuit of planetary colonisation, monetary gain and murderous acts? Did they know? Did he know? Was he like that his whole life, or did he start off fighting the good fight, and was corrupted by the jagged and monstrous lifestyle? You wondered if this was what he has always dreamt of doing, or he had secret dreams of being a painter, or a gardener. Did he play guitar, too? You snored sometimes, did you get that from him? You had so many questions for this man you shared half your DNA with, but have never met. For the man that died on a planet far away from home, alone, with no one to mourn him.
Was that going to be you? Would Neteyam remember you in 20 years, when he would tell stories about his childhood to his kids, when he remembered the good old times? Would you get a Na’vi send off? Or were you going to be buried somewhere in the forest, for someone to stumble upon in a distant future you would no longer be a part of?
Sobbing uncontrollably, you heard yourself speak in between wails. “Why am I here? Great Mother, is there a reason for this hurt? Please tell me there is more to this life, there is more to life than this, because I cannot do this anymore. I am so tired. I have tried to keep going my whole life, even when I wanted nothing more than to cease to exist, blissfully collapse in an ether where I didn’t have to feel anything anymore. I kept going because I wanted to make my mum proud, I wanted to honour the body and life she has given me. I am trying so hard, but I am really fucking tired.”
A little past eclipse, you arrived at the lab, and used the keycard you remembered to bring with you. You hoped Neteyam would be gone by now, in case he was trying to find you here. You made your way through the hub and into your bedroom, which looked tiny in your Avatar body. You realise how uncomfortable it must have been for him to be here so often, then cursed your brain for making you think about such things. Your Avatar body needed a bed, so you walked slowly to where the other Avatar bodies usually were laid to rest for the night. There should be an empty space where your mum or Grace used to sleep. It didn’t take long for you to wake up back in the linkpod, as with most nights recently, you were barely able to maintain the neurolink by the time evening came.
Max was waiting for you. “Neteyam came by. He’s been looking for you, said you left the village yesterday and didn’t come back. He was worried sick.”
You didn’t answer him, as you slowly got out of the pod and tried to steady your feet on the ground, harder than it seemed when the entire room was spinning around you.
“What happened?”
“The mate you all hid from me for weeks came announcing herself in my tent as we were just about to kiss.”
“Any other questions?”
You didn’t wait for a response before you made your way out of the room, stalking towards the medical ward.
As you retired to your room for the night, you noted the morphine was not working as well as used to anymore. You sat on the bed, looking at the arm that was getting blue at the amount of needle holes it had, and you knew then you didn’t have much time left. Maybe a couple of days. A couple more days of this. And then it would finally be over. You gave it a fair shot, this life thing. You couldn’t say you felt particularly sad at the thought of it ending. You pressed play on your vintage record player and let yourself sleep.
“Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe, all the hell you gave me?
'Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you, til my dying day”
You spent the next 2 days in a haze, drugged out of your mind, waking up before eclipse and leaving to your dad’s grave and sleeping in the woods until the night, barely able to make it on your own two feet. Even in your human body, Neyn recognised you, and stood by you, which gave you some peace of mind. You made sure to bring her fruits from the lab, and she cooed warmly as she settled next to you.
When you made your way back that night, Norm was waiting.
“Where the hell have you been? Everyone’s been looking for you for 3 fucking days.”
You removed your oxygen mask and made your way to the room, where he followed you. You were in so much pain you couldn’t see straight.
“I am talking to you!” he took you by your arm and spun you around. The motion made you instantly sick, and you struggled to keep down the fruits you shared with your ikran.
“Let go of me, Norm.” you had no strength in your body anymore, so it took you awhile to shake him off.
“You look like shit. What did you do?”
You managed to make it to the bathroom, where you shut the door behind you and got in the shower. Fortunately, for you or him, you couldn’t tell, Norm was gone when you came out.
The next morning, you woke up desperately searching for pain relief and didn’t know if you were going to be able to make it to the ward before your knees would collapse on themselves. You were shaking and dizzy, out of your mind with agony and walking to the bathroom felt like the most intensive workout you have ever done. You peered up at yourself in the mirror and were scared at the eyes watching you, rabid and wild, like an injured animal waiting to lash out. It was too much for you to bear, and before you could even think or rationalise, you felt your fingers curl into a fist and make contact with the cold glass of the mirror, shattering in dozens of pieces, and it made you weirdly happy to have a visual representation of how your soul felt. The instant pain of the all the wounds the smash caused also gave you a weird sense of euphoria, and you realised it was taking away from the pain in the rest of the body, which was only able to focus on one agonising sensation at a time. This felt like a kiss by comparison, and you knew then you could go on a little longer, you could continue with the rest of the day.
Norm came bursting through the door at the loud crash.
“What the hell happened? Are you okay?”
You came out of your bathroom, blood dripping all over the floor as you made your way to the bed, sitting down on it.
“Leave, Norm.”
“What?”
“Leave.”
“What the hell has gotten into you recently. you are rude and brash, and you hurt people’s feelings with no remorse. This isn’t you.”
“What the hell do you know about me, Norm?” you say, laughing bitterly.
“Ace, stop.”
“You don’t know anything, Norm.” you kept going, the fury and hurt getting the best of you, once again, your need to destroy everything in your path as a way to cope with your own heartbreak winning by a landslide.
“Did you know I have needed pills to sleep and to live a normal day-to-day life since I was 13? I have been slowly depleting our sleeping pill and benzodiazepines inventory and replacing it with multivitamin pills I found in one of the drawers. I mean thank God none of you suffer from anxiety or panic disorder or need help sleeping cause I would have been busted so long ago.”
You laughed mockingly at his shocked face, jaw so close the floor now you could trip on it on your way out.
“Did you know I am about a week and a half away from dying after I accidentally smashed a vial of infected blood and got it in my mouth?”
You stand corrected, you think now his jaw was close enough to the floor to trip on it.
“Did you know I have upgraded from a pill addiction to a full blown opioid addiction in order to not collapse on the floor in excruciating pain because of the way this virus is eating at my insides? Yeah, yeah, that’s right. We’re almost out of a whole vial of morphine after I injected it in my veins every day for a while now.”
He had no words. “That’s about right.”
“I do know one thing you do know, though. You know that Neteyam had his mate announcement ceremony that day I took off. You were there to see the two love birds announce their love and pledge their commitment to each other the one day I was not there. And that’s why you were acting shifty. You know about that. And somehow you forgot to tell me, every day, for weeks. How does that work out, Norm, hmm?”
“I felt so bad for snapping at you a couple of days ago. I felt like a horrible fucking person for hurting your feelings. I should have been watching my back, instead.”
You got up from your bed and started walking towards the door.
“If I were you I would not linger in a room with poisoned blood dripping on the floor for too long.”
You found some paper towels at the side of your bed and wrapped them around your bleeding, pained hand, and with that, you left.
After you upped the morphine you usually took, you went to the lab and prepped a hood for some more experiments. Work was a good way to get your mind off things, to mindlessly do something that had a purpose other than driving you to the brink of insanity.
You heard a loud banging noise coming from the entrance, and you had a sneaking suspicion you knew who it was. You heard Norm open the door.
“Is she here?”
“Yeah, but Neteyam, I think you should go. She’s not in a good place, and I really don’t think doing this will end well for either of you.”
“I don’t care, I have to talk to her, I have been looking for her for 3 fucking days.”
You heard the door to the lab slide open and hissed at the man you knew would be trying to come in, realising hissing in a human body doesn’t have nearly the same effect.
“Get the fuck out, Neteyam. This is a sterile room.”
“I don’t fucking care about the room, Atan. Where the fuck have you been? Please come out so we can talk.”
You threw your head back and laughed, really laughed.
“You really are delusional if you think there is any way in heaven and hell I would want to hear anything you have got to say. The time for talking was a couple months ago, Neteyam. The time for talking was the first day I got my Avatar body, where in addendum to telling me you own my ass now, you could have also sprinkled in the fact your are now mated with someone else.”
“I am not mated with anyone, for fuck’s sake. Just come out so we can talk, please. I will explain everything, please!”
You stopped what you were doing and looked at him, for the first time since that day. He looked exhausted, anguished. Deep purple bags under his eyes, that were burning red where the whites should be. He has been crying. Good, you thought. He looked panicked and miserable and desperate for you to give him the time of day, for you to allow him to explain the unexplainable.
You sighed and your heart constricted in pain. Neteyam will not be happy until there was nothing left of you, until he took everything from you. At the same time, you were curious, morbidly curious as to what has actually happened, what led to this moment. You knew he loved you. You knew that much, but it didn’t seem to matter in this moment, as he broke your heart for what felt like the thousandth time in your short life.
“Go to the clearing, I’ll come when I’m ready.”
You half considered just leaving him there to wait, abandoning him just he did to you. You finished splitting your cells and treating them, and in about an hour, you went into the linkpod and took your Avatar for a walk in the woods. You reached the clearing shortly, as it was close enough that even child you could do it without getting too far away from the building.
You saw him standing there, his back turned to you and his legs submerged in the river that was rushing violently downstream. It was a cold day, and rain was trickling down your body like shivers from a kiss. There was tension in the air, and you knew a storm was coming. You could practically feel the charge in the atmosphere, and were expecting thunder to start any minute now, ready to mirror the agony in your soul.
“I’m here.”
He didn’t speak for a while. Just stood looking at the river, deep in thought.
“So many of our moments throughout the years happened here. Remember when I taught you to swim in the river? Now, in retrospective, that was a bad idea since the water kept taking you away, to the point I had to wait at the end so I could catch you in my arms, like you were a baby.”
You winced at the memory. You thought you could do this. You felt numb in that lab, numb on the way here, but as soon as your eyes focused on him, tears starting pooling in your eyes and pain overtook your body, that you tried to counteract by wrapping your arms tightly around yourself. He’s caused you so much hurt, so much grief in the years he’s known you. But he was also at the forefront of most of your happiest memories. You could fill endless manuscripts with the beauty of his love, that shone so brightly over you your whole life. He was the light in all the darkness and you honestly didn’t think you would have survived this journey without him.
That is why this hurt so much, why your body was convulsing on itself in insurmountable grief. And also why you owed him this much. Owed him this conversation, and the right to explain his point of view, that you were still unfamiliar with.
“I remember. I remember even at the time, thinking this was a good metaphor for our relationship. Life kept sweeping me off my feet, but you were always there to catch me, before it could take me away. I had so much faith in you back then, you were a fact of life, like the eclipse. You were the one person in this world I thought would never hurt me.”
“Fuck, Y/N, all I did before I left is hurt you.”
“What are you talking about?” You were confused at the turn this conversation took. What did he mean? You couldn’t recall a single time Neteyam hurt you before you left. Sure, you would fight and bicker sometimes, but it was a normal part of any relationship, you thought. And he always made it up to you, would always come to the lab and sit with you with flowers he collected or trinkets he found in the woods, always holding you and kissing your forehead to make sure you were over it before he had to leave. Fighting with him was ironically one of your favourite things, because you knew the aftermath was the closest you ever felt to being in heaven.
“I almost fucking killed you. Or have you forgotten? Have you forgotten how I manipulated you into getting on top of an ikran when you were just a 13 year old human and almost watched you die? Have you forgotten I took you to the woods and raced you to your dad’s remains? I was a walking magnet for disasters in your life and I was tired, so fucking tired of watching your life fall apart all around me. I had to watch you learn to walk again, limp because of my actions, for years. I had to pull you out of flashbacks and nightmares you developed because of ME. You were always fine in the woods with Lo’ak or Kiri, but everything bad that has happened to you happened around me.”
He was crying, panting and angry, at himself or you or the universe, you couldn’t tell.
“I thought that if I left, you would be ok. I just wanted to protect you. My whole life, all I have wanted was for you to be ok. But it seems no matter what I do, I keep fucking up.”
You had no words to speak as you lay there, listening to him letting you in to a secret you have spent so many months agonising over. The reason for his departure haunted you for a year and a half, even when you refused to think about him, about it, it was there, constantly emerging from the depths of your subconsciousness, taunting you in your dreams. Why? Why? Why?
Because he wanted to protect you?
You didn’t have time to process all of this new information, before he continued.
“The night you found your dad, I was shaken to my core, in a way I have never truly been before. I was so heartbroken, for you and for myself, for knowing this will haunt you for the rest of your life. I went home and mother found me, and told me that maybe I can’t help you in the way I’ve always wanted. That maybe it’s better for you that I remove myself for a while and leave you room to breathe and heal. So I did. It took me a long time to get the strength to do it. Every time I thought today is the day, I would see you and you would smile at me, and we would sit on your bed and you would read to me or play me songs or just be there, just you and me, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. You were everything to me, my light in all the darkness.
A year later, you sang me the song and you were smiling at me singing it, and I knew you were confessing feelings we have both felt for years and couldn’t say out loud. And I knew that if I stayed, whatever we had would escalate past the point of no return. If I stayed, that would be it. And that’s when I decided. I thought I was doing us both a favour. I knew it would hurt you, just as much as it hurt me, but I thought the pain would subside in time.”
You were crying now, you realised, tears falling silently and effortlessly down your face, with no intention to ever stop, instantly washed away by the pouring rain. There were no sounds, no sobs or wails, or panted breaths, just the sounds of rain and hopeless, soft cries and muffled sniffles, for the man in front of you, for all that you have lost, for the past you shared and the future that you would never have.
He got up from where he stood and turned around to face you. He walked towards you until he was so close to you could feel his breath on your face. His stare made goosebumps appear on your entire body, so earnest and desperate, so full of intensity for the words he was trying to convey to you.
“It didn’t.” He said, at the same time you thought the same words in your mind.
“A few years ago, mother and father told me I would one day have to find a mate. They knew and I knew it was expected of me, but I always put it off, so they eventually dropped it. I learnt later they both knew about us, so they didn’t push me into anything until they felt I was ready. A few months after they realised I decided to leave, they started bringing it up again. I didn’t want to hear it, but they said it was time, as I had refused for years longer than what was acceptable in the clan. I met with so many girls, all from good families, all healers in training, all wrong. Beautiful girls, smart girls, skilled healers and singers, and it was like looking at the grey walls of your lab. I felt nothing, I felt sick just thinking about it, like just the thought would be betraying the memory of our bond. Eventually, I told them they can decide. Grandma can decide whatever she thinks is best, and, as Tsahik, I would listen to her voice and wisdom, and do my duty to the clan. She chose Tiongli. I knew her growing up, and we were friendly, so I tried to make an effort. I would go to her tent, and she would show me her training sometimes, I would let her heal my wounds and imagined it was your hands touching me instead. I visited her family and paid my respects, and had dinner with them whenever they invited me. I hoped in time, I could learn to care for her, to lessen the distaste in my mouth whenever my family or the clan talked about the future, about the ceremony, about the life I was supposed to lead that I hated even the thought of.
And then, one day, my dad sent me to get Lo’ak from the lab. I was so scared of knowing I would have to see you again. It had been so long, and so many feelings gnawed at me on the walk there, terror and anxiety, guilt and longing. But then I saw you, and there was only one feeling: love. Like no time had passed at all. I knew then I was going to love you for the rest of my life, and that will never change. That was my fact of life, my eclipse.”
He slowly took your face in his hands, and his thumb was caressing your cheek trying to wipe the tears and raindrops that were falling mercilessly. You saw his face slowly getting closer to yours, and you knew you should pull away, you should remove yourself from his grasp before the kiss was going to remove the last ounce of happiness from you. You knew what you had to do, knew that no matter what information or answers or justifications he would give you today, they wouldn’t matter. You should pull away, because there is no future, no hope. But you couldn’t. You didn’t know what waited for you in the afterlife, but if there was any chance you would have your memories, you wanted this kiss to haunt you forever, to remind you of the life you left behind.
His lips touched yours so gently, it felt like a whisper. Like a hug, tender and warm, it was so different than your first kiss. Tears were still running down your face as your lips moved, entangled with his and begging for more. Your hands went to his chest, to his neck, to his back, just touching him, trying to memorise his body, this feeling. You wanted so much more, you wanted to be his, you wanted to feel him, you wanted him to own you, like he did your heart, which has been his your entire life and will still be his after your death.
You were a mess of wet tangled limbs and panted breaths by the end, and eventually, he broke the kiss to look at you through teary eyes.
“I love you, I will always love you. I am so sorry.”
“I love you, too.”
“But this doesn’t change anything, Neteyam.”
“Thank you, for finally telling me why you left. For giving me some closure for something that has plagued me for so long, it became a constant part of my nightmares. Thank you for having my best interest at heart; it couldn’t have been easy to leave, if you didn’t want to, it took a strong heart to do something that hurt you for what you thought was the lesser evil. But it doesn’t change anything.”
“You left me. You broke me. And you never gave me a chance to make my own decisions. To figure out for myself what was the path forward. I have NEVER blamed you for my misfortunes. The ikran ride is still a beautiful memory to me. You made it a beautiful memory. If it weren’t for your quick thinking, we probably would have both died at the hands of Toruk. You saved my life, Neteyam. You carried me home and stayed with me while I was having surgery, you stayed with me after, while I recovered. You pulled me out of the worst panic attack I have ever had when I found my dad, and you rode out so many of my flashbacks, I have lost count. You weren’t the cause or the common denominator of these events, I was. I am the one plagued by misfortune and hurt and death. Not you. And if you tell me you had to leave to save your own peace of mind, I would respect that. I don’t know anyone in this world who can take this, take me and all the shit that follows me everywhere I go. I don’t blame you.
But if you tell me that you did this for me, that I can’t accept. I didn’t ask for any of this. You gave me no choice, and no say in this relationship, in our shared life. You just left. I deserved better than that. And I deserved better than to find out about a mate after months of lies and manipulation and deceit. I don’t care. I don’t care if you are going to say that you didn’t want it, or you were going to undo it, or that you’ve always loved me and never her. I don’t care. You lied to me, you manipulated me. You accused me of fucking your brother as you were promised to another woman that you hid from me for months. I do blame you for that, and I will never be able to forgive you.”
“Please, Atan…I will tell her no. I will tell her -.” he was sobbing now, his hands still on your face, pleading.
“No.” you slowly took his hands in yours and removed them from your face.
“I think you should do it, Neteyam. She is a good girl, she will make a good Tsahik, and a good mate. Your mother was right, there is no future here - there never was. I love you, so much. But I think you have broken my heart one too many times. I am done.”
You turned your back and walked away from him and the life that was lost - forever.
You were completely soaked when you arrived in the lab, and you went straight to the Avatar laying room and cried. Cried until it felt like no more tears could possibly come out of you. You cried yourself to sleep and then cried in the pod, on the way to your bedroom, and in bed until your human body eventually collapsed from exhaustion. You cried in your dreams, in which Neteyam was kissing you and touching you, doing all the things you were silently begging him to in your mind just a few hours ago.
Eventually, nightfall came, and you had to get up to do the rest of your experiments and top up your analgesic. Ironically enough, you were making real progress on your work. You found a combination therapy that was showing incredible potential in slowing the virus down. It wasn’t enough to stop and eradicate it, but it was enough to give people more time and hopefully give the scientists more time to find a cure. It wouldn’t help you, but maybe you could still help others.
At some paint through the night, as you were making up some reagents, Norm bursts through the door holding a bunch of equipment and some pills, you realise. He puts them down on the bench behind you and speaks.
“Right, stop whatever you are doing, right now.”
“I am in the middle of something.”
“I don’t fucking care. Stop, now.”
You were taken aback at his words and attitude. Norm never got mad, or lost his composure. He was so most well balanced person you knew.
You put the pipette gun down and turned around to face him.
“I still need to adjust the pH on this.”
He ignored you while he prepared the myriad of little gadgets he brought with him. He motioned for you to take off your lab coat, and you rolled your eyes in annoyance, but did as you were told regardless. You were too tired to argue anymore.
He raised the sleeves of your top until they couldn’t go any further up your arm and put a blood pressure monitor on you. You felt tension as its sleeve tightened around you painfully, but eventually it gave out with a puff, and you heard beeping as the machine finished its reading. You looked to your right where the monitor lay, and saw red lights flashing, letting Norm know your blood pressure and pulse were dangerously low. His eyes widened slightly at the sight, but he held his composure, removing the gadget from around your arm and putting it away. He then read your oxygen levels, which you saw were constantly dabbling between 89 and 90%. Not good, you thought. No wonder you could barely breathe anymore. Norm cursed silently under his breath, trying to not let you see him, but if there was one thing you were good at, it’s reading people. Well, you thought you were, at least.
“Did you do any tests on your blood? How is your complete blood count looking?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Why the fuck not, Ace? It’s not like you don’t know how to do it.”
He was angry, really angry. You’ve never seen Norm this angry, you’ve never seen Norm acting this way towards you.
You just shrugged. With a huff of annoyance, he took your arm and prepared a needle and syringe to collect some blood. He gulped and you could see tears forming in his eyes when he looked at the violet bruises and needle holes that were plastered along the length of your brachial vein.
“Just didn’t get around to it.”
“You didn’t - Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
“What medicine have you been taking? Did you take the Relenta, or the combination therapy we have been working on?”
“Neither.”
You swear you saw Norm’s entire body enter a catatonic state and he turned so red you were worried he was going to release steam out of his ears.
“You have been sick for a month and did not take anything, none of the treatments we have been working on?”
You couldn’t look him in the eye anymore, finding comfort in the pattern of the tiles on the floor.
“I can’t believe you. I didn’t peg you for someone who would just throw their life away meaninglessly. Your mum had to die because we didn’t have a way to treat her illness, and here we are, with a solution that YOU came up with for your own illness, and you will just not even try?”
You were quiet, not really having a way to rebut his questions.
“Fine. We will start you on the combination treatment tonight and take it from there. There’s other things we haven’t tried yet and I’m sure -“
“NO.”
“I’m not asking you. I’m not letting you fucking die.”
“Why must you always fucking try to fix everything, Norm? Some things can’t be fixed. I don’t want the fucking pills. I am done. I want this to be done.”
“So you’ll just die? Is that what you’re saying? You want to die, and not even fucking TRY to see if there is more to this life. Goddamn it, Y/N. I thought having the Avatar would help you realise life is worth living, there’s beauty in this world beyond the walls of this lab. You got your first kill, you did the Iknimaya, you’re going to become one of the people. Don’t you want to see what your future holds? Don’t you want to live to see yourself grow up? Fall in love, start a family. There are more guys in this world than just Neteyam.”
You gave Norm a dirty look and got out of the lab.
Neteyam felt his whole body reel after your conversation. It didn’t change anything, he thought bitterly. He thought explaining it to you, allowing to see that he had good reasons for his actions would allow you to forgive him, to at least allow him the opportunity to make it up to you through time. You left, just like he had so long ago, but there was a finality to you that he didn’t feel then. Back then, he always had hope that a miracle would still be possible, one in which you got an Avatar, healed and loved him, forever. He wanted to love you forever, but his apology and explanations were not enough.
He lost you, again.
He spent the night flying on his Ikran, just flying and letting the rain soak his thoughts and hurt away. He just wanted to disappear. He wanted the rain to melt his bones until there was nothing left of him but the memory of happier times.
In the early hours of the morning, he made it back to the village, trying to hide his cried out eyes and calamitous grief. He was dreading having to talk to his parents, to explain to them what happened, to have to go through with Tiongli and this future he didn’t want and will have to suffer through for the rest of his life. He didn’t have time to worry about it too much though, because, as he managed to get to the tent’s entrance, he heard Norm’s voice and his dad’s, intertwined with his grandma’s voice rising above them.
“It won’t work. Eywa will not allow her to come back.”
“Why not? She has taken her Iknimaya, she has completed her kills, she has spent her entire life in the village’s service, trying to help the best way she knew how. If she doesn’t deserve this, who does?”
“It’s not that she doesn’t deserve it. It’s that she doesn’t want it. She doesn’t want this, Norm. The Great Mother will not transfer the conscience of someone with no future.”
“But maybe if this happened, she will realise that she wants to live. Once she’s rid herself of her weak body, of this disease, maybe she will -“
“The Great Mother’s word is final. She will die, because she wants to die.”
Mo’at’s voice rang in his ears so hard he thought his eardrums would pop.
She doesn’t want it.
She will die.
What were they talking about? Who would die?
No… it couldn’t be. No, the Great Mother wouldn’t be so cruel.
He didn’t wait to hear the rest of the conversation, running as fast as his feet could carry him back to the lab. He reached soon enough, he was faster than most other people in the village, and started knocking on the door of the lab with all his might.
“Y/N, OPEN UP, I KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE!”
Eventually, Max came to the door, through which Neteyam burst without consideration for the tiny human next to him.
“She’s not in, Neteyam. She left before any of us had a chance to say anything.”
“Was she in her Avatar body?”
“No, the body is in the den where they sleep.”
He didn’t bother thanking the man, as he turned on his heel and started running again. She was there, had to be.
It was still raining, the clouds relentless as they released drops that poured gently down his face and body, and Neteyam thought the Great mother was crying, mourning the love being washed away like a pebble in the river of the clearing, just like he was.
You were there, of course you were. A current shocked Neteyam at the sight of you. This was the first time he has seen your human body in months, and he found it hard to reconcile the image of you he has known all his life with this current one. You were incredibly thin, so thin, whereas a few months ago he could trace your muscles, he could now trace your bones. You were pale, almost ashen, and the hair that he once spent so long admiring was now brittle and dull, obvious even as it was, wet and clinging to your back. You looked lifeless. He felt a lump form in his throat and tears pool in his eyes that were still not dry from all the pain this day has brought.
You didn’t notice him yet, your human ears much less sensitive than your Avatar, so you were just sitting on the riverbank with your chin resting on your knees, which were brought to your chest and your arms wrapped tightly around them. You were looking at the water, and it was like you weren’t actually there. You were in your own world, far from here, from this hurt.
“I was going to ask if it was true, what I heard Norm talk about in the tent today, but I think you’ve answered my question.”
Neteyam saw you flinch, and it felt like even that brought your weak frame pain. You were trembling when you looked at him, and your face made his own drop in shock. Your beautiful features, the blush in your cheeks, the glimmer in your eye, the pink of your lips, your animated expressions or raised eyebrows, were all gone. Your eyes looked glossed over and numb, your face looked ghostly and sunken, and Neteyam swore he could trace every blood vessel on your forehead and neck. The sight of you made whatever happiness or hope he had left dissolve and trickle down his bones, until it reached the ground where it was eventually buried, never to be seen again.
“I didn’t think I could make myself any clearer, Neteyam.”
“tell me it isn’t true. Tell me he’s lying; he’s making it up.”
“What part?”
“All of it.” Neteyam was angry now, trying to contain the temper rising in his chest.
“Tell me you’re not dying.”
“Norm has a big fucking mouth.”
“Can you for once in your fucking life just answer a question? This is fucking serious!”
You winced at his words, then struggled to get up, but did eventually and fully face him. The state of you hit him like bullets, piercing and scraping at his every organ, leaving bleeding wounds behind.
“It’s true”.
Crack, crack, crack.
“When?”
“The night you gave me the guitar. I was so busy being in love with you I forgot to put the proper protection on, and I smashed a bottle of infected blood. It got in my mouth, in my nose.”
“I thought you were working on a cure.”
“Haven’t found it yet.”
“But you said you have something that kind of works, something to give people more time.”
“I’m human, it doesn’t work that way for us.”
“So, you’ve tried.”
You weren’t looking at him anymore, just staring at the ground in front of you, somewhere next to Neteyam’s feet.
“Tell me you have fucking tried.”
It thundered aggressively as Neteyam said that, and he saw you once again tremble at the loud sound. You have never been a jumpy person. You were the bravest person he knew. You were the strongest person he knew. It was unspeakable having to watch you now, sitting meekly in front of him, when just a few days ago you took the Iknimaya, taking the climb to the toughest tests known to the Omatikaya, doing it like it was nothing, just another day for you. To know that this is what was hiding underneath, this is what you hid from all of them, made him both impossibly miserable and strikingly enraged at the same time.
“TELL ME YOU HAVE TRIED.”
“NO, OKAY?? NO, I HAVEN’T FUCKING TRIED.” You were sobbing now, your tears washed away by the rain and wind as soon as they fell down your cheeks.
“Why?”
“Because I am tired. I want this to end.”
“I thought you were happy. I thought you were better. You seemed better in the Avatar.”
“I was better… in the Avatar. Because that wasn’t my life. That was just a beautiful dream, while my life was the never-ending nightmare. It was easy to pretend in that body. It was easy to be the version of myself everybody wanted me to be. But I have to live with the real me every night. And I don’t want to do it anymore.” The more you cried, the more Neteyam’s blood boiled in his veins.
“That’s such fucking bullshit.”
“You know what I think?”
“I think dying is fucking easy. It’s your easy way out.”
You looked up at his much larger frame incredulously, and he saw how your mood was starting to mirror his own.
“What did you just say? You think this is fucking easy for me?”
“Yes, I think it is. I think all you’ve done since your mum has died is take the easy way out. Put everything and everyone in your little bottom desk drawer, keeping everyone at a distance. Do you know how much mother and father suffered every time you refused to come out, to come to the village? My mother cried herself to sleep at the thought of you alone in that lab, at the thought that you preferred that soulless, empty place to her, to us. Did you know that?
You have not once opened that drawer, not once dealt with anything. All you do is numb yourself down, pretend you are fine and the issues you have suffered through do not exist. Well guess fucking what, Atan? They exist. And until you deal with that pain and let it pass over you and through you, you will always take the easy way out.
You have made me feel like the worst person in the world, for leaving, for lying to you. But what the fuck have you done, huh? You lied to me about dying, for weeks! About dying! What, was I supposed to find you dead one day and that was it? That was what I deserved from you, after all the blood, sweat and tears I gave you? You said I took your choice away. You wouldn’t have even given me a choice to say goodbye to the love of my life before you fucking died!
I left you for a year because I wanted to protect you, you are leaving permanently because you refuse to fuck deal with the pain and hurt I know you feel deep down inside. You had a choice. You could have come to the many people who love you, love you unconditionally, and told us, and let us in, and let us help you. You could have gotten help, taken the pills, fight your damn hardest to make this work, to find a cure, for the life your mum gave you, the life she would have to watch you throw away. You have a choice now. To want to live, to want to fight through this and come out the other side a new, better person. To let me love you, let people love you. To do the consciousness transfer and be with me, and be happy, forever. And you’re choosing this.
You are a coward.”
Neteyam turned on his heel and walked away, before he got a chance to see you collapse on the ground, giving your last few breaths in the place he used to imagine both of your children laying in his arms peacefully while you sang them to sleep.
Tag list (I hope I didn't miss anyone, thank you so much for asking to be tagged <3): @nuhteyam @eywas-heir @fanboyluvr @mashiromochi @puffb4ll @sassy-persona @simp4ff @mommyneytiri @inomoikawa @jackiehollanderr @jaysarchiv3 @meivap @dakotali @hlhl99 @eskamybeloved @erenjaegerwifee @winchestertitties
HUSK 🤣
bro i’m going absolutely INSANE over alastor 😻😻
so, how about when lucifer comes by the hotel, he subtly flirts w alastors girl. alastor is on the verge of going apeshit and almost leaves charlie fatherless.
instead of murdering anyone, he decides to take his frustrations out on his darling, leaving bite marks and hickies on spots just visible enough for lucifer to notice next time he comes by..
a/n: im OBSESSED 😍😍
alastor immediately recognized lucifer as competition on multiple fronts. obviously, the king of hell was a threat in terms of power level, and alastor hated that. but alastor also quickly hated how charming the devil was.
upon meeting you, lucifer takes your hand and bows, placing a kiss on your hand as well. alastor's eye twitches, watching someone else put their dirty little hands and mouth on what is his. "my, what a pleasure. you're helping charlie? that's lovely! means i'll get to be seeing you around more, huh? she didn't mention such a pretty little thing was her hotel manager." lucifer speaks to you, a cool smirk on his face. he's clearly interested in you, and while alastor can't blame the man, he's seething with rage. clearing his throat, alastor takes a step towards you and reaches a hand out to lucifer in an attempt to shift his attention.
"alastor." he speaks, barely containing the anger in his voice. "it truly is an honor to be meeting you, sir." you raise a brow at the tense interaction going on in front of you but pay it no mind. lucifer gives alastor a tight lipped smile and shakes his hand. "ah, you as well. charlie has talked about you." you notice the way alastor glares at lucifer, yet keeps a smile on his face the entire time. lucifer turns back to you, putting a gloved hand on the small of your back. "now how's about a tour, hm?" he leans into your ear to whisper, causing goosebumps to rise on your skin.
behind you, alastor's horns grow and eyes redden, ready to risk it all in a fight with the devil and take out this whole god damned hotel if it meant lucifer never touched you again. "o-oh um, that's typically done by-" you start, but suddenly, charlie is running down the stairs with a panicked look on her face.
"heeyy dad! let's go this way, towards your room! it's late, you should rest." her smile is clearly fake, and you see her eyes dart from you to alastor and back to you. luckily, alastor reeled in his rage when the princess showed up and was back to his normal self on the surface. you can feel the energy coming from your partner, malicious intent painted all over his aura and you gulp. "al, c'mon... charlie's right."
alastor doesn't speak, but he follows you to your room for the night. the door is barely shut before alastor is lifting your legs and tossing you onto the bed. "care to explain why the fuck that little slimy king of hell was all over you?" he doesn't give you another moment to process before he's tugging your shirt over your head. "it's just harmless, al. you know i don't want anyone but you." you assure him, but alastor's teeth find your neck.
"i may trust you, darling, but i do not trust lucifer." his voice has a low growl to it that ignites your core. "but-" you gasp when alastor's mouth closes on the skin behind your ear, nipping it with sharp teeth. "no, because he and everyone in this place will know who you belong to." you shudder underneath of him, slight tinges of pain shooting down your spine at every nip and pull of your skin. alastor moves down your neck, leaving a trail of angry red and purple spots in his wake.
his tongue circles every bruise in an attempt to soothe your inflamed skin, but the marks just darken by the second. you hands dive into his hair, holding onto the silky strands. you feel alastor's body shudder as you circle the tufts of hair by his ears, making him press his hips to yours. "everyone in hell, my dear, is going to know that you're mine. not a single soul will ever try to touch you again." his breathing hitches, grinding his quickly hardening cock against your leg. you whimper when his teeth latch onto your collarbone, sucking hard and adding another welt to your skin.
"i want him to hear you." he hisses as he tugs your pants down over your ankles. its hasty, the way alastor frees his cock and pushes into your pussy, but you were more than ready for the intrusion. you cry out, suddenly being so, so full and alastor groans. "yes darling, just like that." your legs wrap around his waist, forcing every thrust just a little further until he's pounding at your cervix.
"d-don't stop sir." you gasp, eyes rolling into the back of your head while alastor's mouth latches onto the other side of your neck this time. "who do you being to?" he asks, hot breath fanning your skin. "y-you, alastor!" you whine, flexing your hips up to his in an attempt to build friction. "please, make me cum. only you feel so good." alastor peppers you in soft kisses now, ever grateful that you're willing to entertain the idea of letting lucifer know just who makes you feel like this.
alastor sneaks a hand between your bodies to rub skillful circles around your clit until your legs start shaking. "good, good girl. scream for me." he smirks when your tone shifts and he can tell by how tight you squeeze around his cock. "a-alastor fuck!" your body spasms, waves of pleasure rolling over you as you cum. alastor's orgasm follows shortly after, his teeth finding your skin once more as he spills deep inside of your pussy.
you have a brief moment of embarrassment when you think about just how loud you just were, your hand flying up to your mouth. alastor just laughs, placing a kiss on your forehead. "don't panic, my sweet. i think this little display will prove quite effective in keeping lucifers grubby little hands off of you." alastor pulls out slowly and carries you to a nice warm shower before tucking you in for the night.
---
"jesus christ, did you get into a fuckin' fight with a bear?" angel laughs when you walk into the kitchen the next morning. you were covered in hickeys all the way down your neck, and you were barely walking straight. lucifer refuses to make eye contact with you, especially after alastor walks into the room shortly after. "good morning everyone!" alastor chirps, smirking at lucifer who rolls his eyes and sips his coffee.
"well, there's the bear..." husk mutters, earning a cackle from angel.
I'm CACKLING 🤣🤣
Hii, saw your request were open!
This might not even make sense, because I don't even know if the na'vi have this too
But some hc to human reader getting their period earlier than expected and the sully kids + tsireya, aonung and roxto reaction to weird human biology
Thanks alot and stay healthy!!
platonic!various x gn!human!reader
!! in my hc, fem na'vi doesn't menstruate !!
teaching your na’vi friends, who doesn’t menstruate, the beautiful world of human biology
part 2
"so, your... thing bleeds every month?"
you nod
"are you stupid?
"i'm sorry?"
ao'nung clicks his tongue, looking at you with disbelieve. "that means you're doing something, only Eywa knows what, to yourself. and you’re doing it so badly that it bleeds-"
you hit him on the head, "no! what are you even thinking?"
"no, but seriously" neteyam looks at you with concern, "forgive me for watching you, but this morning i saw you wash your blanket that’s literally soaked with blood"
your face starts to heat up, "that means the cloth i use wasn't enough-"
"3 pieces of cloth to soak your blood. and it wasn't even enough?" tsireya's voice filled with worry, "are you sure you're okay? we could ask my mother to patch you up"
"reya, im fine-"
"no you're not! you came to her for painkillers, this morning. to mend your stomach cramps!"
"its probably tape worms"
"no shit", rotxo snickers
"or just a real bad constipation"
"rotxo, ao’nung please” kiri rolls her eyes, tired of their stupidity. “they clearly said that the bleeding comes from their other below"
not long after lo'ak snaps his head towards you, mouth agape. "holy shit. i think i know what's going on" then he quickly moves closer to you. his face just a few inches from yours, his terrified look terrifies you
"my mother experienced the same things as you, when we were about to have tuk. stomach hurting, below bleeding- "
"no. fucking. way” rotxo clasps his mouth, “are you about to give birth?"
"what?"
ao’nung’s jaw dropped. “who knocked you up?”
“that’s it i’m taking you to the tsahik”
“STOP”
your friends went quiet.
they could only stare at your flushed face as your breathing went erratic.
you gulp, trying to calm yourself down. you close your eyes, inhaling a good amount of oxygent to fill your lungs and letting your mind go blank. then, you could open your mouth again
"as you all know, female bodies bear children in their uterus, yes?"
they all nod
"good. now the uterus, in human bodies specifically, would prepare for pregnancy every month-"
"so you need to get pregnant every month?"
"shut up rotxo"
"wait a minute" kiri cuts you off, "you’re not pregnant, but you’re currently bleeding. so the bleeding occurs when the pregnancy doesn’t happen?"
"yup. because i'm not pregnant, my womb's lining shreds out"
their terrified screams deafens you
I'm sobbing 😭💔💕💕💕
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. | Neteyam Sully
𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 : idk if u write pure angst but, but, but i have a request. what about a neteyam x fem!reader where whenever she is in danger he always manages to get there in time to save her? something like '2 times he's in time and 1 time he's too late' [or almost too late, if u r not in the mood for a bad ending] (?) sorry if this doesn't make sense, english is not my first language :((
𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : neteyam x fem!omaticayan reader
𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 : hi! this request got so much love so here goes nothing. you didn't specify if you wanted the reader to be human or na'vi, so i picked what i thought would best flow with the narrative :3. i slightly deviated from what's canon in the film as well. sorry, this took so long to get out and some of the tags were not working. - once again, feedback is much appreciated. enjoy!! (also i highly suggest listening to waiting room by phoebe bridgers whilst reading this.. i would link it but they took it off spotify).
𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : atwow spoilers, injuries, angst, fluff, character death, blood, some cussing, mild gore (descriptive fight scenes), neteyam sickeningly in lword, established relationship, sully family being <3333, heartbreak!!!!! reader is a badass warrior.
𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 8k words !1!1
𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 : @eywas-library @ghoulbli @ellabellabus07 @loves1ckgirl @your-daily-dose-of-fangirl @keijikunn @nijirozzz @eywas-heir @mymelodynumber1fan @kalims @bammtoli @blahehblah @iloveyomama44 @babamiasworld @rreyysol @stomach-bugg09 @xoxo-periwinkle-skies @23victoria @mashiromochi @grierpilots @buttercake2234 @bwormie @spicycloudsalad @missdreamofendless @neteyamoa @gamorxa
Thanator - or the Na'vi name Palulukan (meaning "dry mouth bringer of fear") is a carnivorous animal native to the forests of Pandora.
Yawntu - a loved one, lover, beloved person. This is commonly used as a term of endearment.
Woodsprites - or the Na'vi name Atokirina is a seed of the Tree of Souls that lives on Pandora. These seeds, according to the Na'vi, are very pure and sacred spirits.
Skxwang - a person who acts/is a moron or an idiot.
Mawey - a term equivalent to the human version of "stay calm/ be calm".
Awa'atlu - a Metkayina Clan village off the coast of the Eastern Sea.
Uturu - a Na'vi tradition stating that any refugee seeking sanctuary must be granted safe harbor.
Skimwings - or the Na'vi name: Tsurak is a Pandoran creature inhabiting the tropical oceans. The Metkayina clan and other reef clans use the Skimwing for hunting larger prey at the surface or to dive deeper. It is also used as a mount during combat.
Melìew - your mother's name in this story.
Olo'eyktan - the clan leader is one of the most important members of a Na'vi clan and is similar to a chieftain. The leader is in charge of the clan and may rule along with their mate.
Tsahìk - the spiritual leader of a Na'vi clan, and the most important member next to the clan leader. The job of the Tsahìk is to interpret the will of Eywa, guide the clan spiritually, and perform important ceremonies such as Uniltaron and, in rare cases, the consciousness transfer.
Tulkun - a large, intelligent marine species native to the oceans of Pandora. Each Metkayina member engages a lifelong bond with a tulkun early in their life, whom they call their spirit brother/sister.
Payakan - Payakan is a young tulkun who befriends Lo'ak, one of Jake Sully and Neytiri's children, after saving his life.
Neteyam and yourself were a force to reckon with. Your souls are intertwined and saved for one another. It was unspoken throughout the clan that you would be each other's mates when the right time came. An official seal, partners for a lifetime - even once your spirit settles with Eywa.
That's how it was supposed to be.
𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, he had been worried that due to his father's insistent training, he would have missed the date you'd planned. As he made his way through the clearing of your "secret spot", he immediately halted. Getting into a defensive stance as he reached for his bow and arrows.
You stood still, while a few meters away from you - a Thanator crept closer and closer. Y/n had not thought to bring her bow and arrows, only a hunting knife.
For once she had not thought to bring more protection, just wanting to be at peace with her favourite person. She didn't know she would stumble into any trouble, they weren't even that far from home.
In the Omaticaya clan, you were the most sought out for your hunting skills. But nothing could prepare you for this. While hand-on-hand combat was something you continued to learn from Toruk Makto, you'd only seen a Thanator in the wild very few times. You knew to never engage, hide and calm your breathing - do not make contact.
But it was too late for that now, wasn't it?
Neteyam's heart missed a beat, but the arrow he aimed at the Thanator didn't. It pierced through one of its legs. Letting out a ferocious raw as it barred its teeth at you both. He didn't stand down, shooting another arrow - this time sinking into its other leg.
The Thanator let out a low whine, its eyes calculating. Before pivoting and disappearing back into the jungle.
It was silent for a few moments, the adrenaline still ramping itself up in both your bones. Making your way over to him you brought him into a hug, leaning your head on his chest.
It felt like leaves had been shoved down your throat as you struggled to speak from the sheer shock. "Always my savior, thank you 'Teyam."
He scoffed, smoothing down your braids and pressing his lips to your forehead not letting up. He muttered against your skin, so gently.
"That could have gone a lot worse, yawntu." His eyes flittered around your surroundings, his ears perked up and tail swooshing in high alert still.
Squeezing his shoulders, you tried to ease some of his tension. Rubbing your nose against his, before taking a step back.
"But it didn't! My warrior, the mighty Neteyam Sully! The crowd goes wild, ahhhh!" You cupped your hands around your mouth, making a show of it all.
Rolling his eyes at your childish actions, he bent down retrieving what his dad called a "picnic mat" and the basket you had hand-woven for these special occasions.
"Come on, silly. Let's head back, the Thanator could still be around for all we know."
You pouted at his words, accepting the free hand he held out for you.
"What about our date?"
"We could do it at the stream closer to home."
"Okay fine, I can get behind that."
He ruffled your hair, admiring your feline-like eyes that squinted at the gleaming sun. Your nose scrunching at the force of it all.
Yeah, he'd never get tired of this.
His soul felt electrified whenever he was in your presence. You brought out a side of him that he concealed to try to live up to the mantle of "the golden child".
You were aware of the pressure and how tiring it made him feel. The demand was ultimately too much for someone as young as him to carry on his shoulders sometimes. But he looked up to his parents, and Y/n couldn't blame him for doing so.
He's your other half, and you'll always support him and his endeavors.
That's why you loved moments like these, not including the Thanator. But you felt reassured that he'd always have your back, as you would with his. It felt like second nature to you at this point.
Loving Neteyam.
This was the way of life for you both, and while it sometimes got a little messy - you always found your personal ways back to one another. Even when duty calls, even if you only catch glimpses of each other for a few days.
He would always leave a mark on you, whether it was the multitude of armbands he would weave intricately for you. The ones he'd whine for you to wear so your clan knew of his intentions as if they didn't already. Or perhaps a searing kiss full of yearning and a lifetime of promises.
Neteyam kept to himself a lot, due to his constant strenuous training he didn't mingle like other kids his age would. Sure maybe with the elders, but he didn't exactly have a core group of friends his age - only his family.
And you, you.
His normalcy amongst the ever so often brewing chaos. A semblance of ease always coursed through him even when you'd bask in each other's presence in silence. He greatly valued anytime he had with you, and when he wasn't with you. Neteyam would always think of you and worship the ground you walked on.
Like how you felt loving him was second nature, the thought of you circling his mind came as easy to him as the action of breathing.
That's who you are to each other, always filling in the cracks. Not leaving a rock unturned, words did not have to be spoken out loud to prove your inclination to one another. It was already written in both of your dispositions.
A devotion so boundless does come with conflict though.
But you didn't ponder on that for the time being, instead, you let Neteyam guide you back home. The date had yet to even properly start.
If only you knew he'd be called back to his duties as the chief's son.
This wasn't the plan. All Lo'ak had wanted to do was see some sort of wreckage that had been left behind from the war his father had led.
You were going to stay behind but Tuk insisted she wanted you to come with them, and that you had to join her. There was no way you could deny her cute pout and glassy amber eyes.
So you did just that, you accompanied them.
Time seemed to escape you all, too enthralled by what was left of the wreckage from what seemed to be a demon-flying mechanism of sorts that had been brought down. The foliage that surrounded you all as Woodsprites twinkled and fluttered with the soothing breeze.
After you all got back down from the tree and found Kiri, it was time to make the trek back home.
"We really need to head back before the Eclipse comes kiddos. Come on, move it! Let's go!" You mused, urging them to quicken their pace.
You halted as Lo'ak and Spider peered down at a large footprint.
"What is it?" Kiri insisted.
"We're always supposed to be home by eclipse", Tuk worried. Y/n patted her head in comfort as she looked down at the marking molded into the mud.
"That's way too big for a human", Lo'ak noted.
"Avatars?" Spider questioned in response.
"Maybe..." Lo'ak trailed off as he looked around him.
Lo'ak was suddenly determined to find out who they had belonged too. "They're for sure not ours."
"What are you doing?" Kiri inquired, confused as to why they were straying away from the direction that would guide them back to base.
"Shh, tracking." He controlled his steps as you all reluctantly followed him.
"This is ridiculous, I am not letting Neteyam take the blame for this one," Y/n stressed. Knowing somehow he'd try to put the baggage of this situation back on him.
Tuk mumbled Neteyam, under her breath, and smiled. Making you ease your worries and grin down at her. You loved the bond they shared.
You cursed to yourself as you crouched down behind some leaves. Staying vigilant, your grip on your bow tightened as you made sure to be hyperaware of any sudden noises surrounding you all.
Nervously you bit down on your bottom lips as you saw figures up ahead. Avatars in military gear? This isn't looking good.
Kiri sensing your worries, placed a hand on your shoulder as she looked at the Avatars as well. "We are never supposed to come here."
"Dad is going to ground you-", She continued whispering quietly
"Shhh, shhh."
"- for life!" You nodded your head in agreement as you flicked Lo'aks ear in annoyance.
"Ow!" He muttered quietly glaring at you, only to cower down at your fierce glare.
"Yo, we gotta go check this out," Lo'ak turned back around and said to Spider, nodding his head over to the infamous old shack. The place where the demon (Spider's dad) and Jake Sully had fought.
Y/n hissed at them, grabbing Lo'ak by his ear (again). He smacked her arm at the action.
"You two dipshits are really pushing it this time!" Y/n fumed, if she wasn't on edge before - she's definitely dangling over it now.
"It's going to be fine, we'll be on our own merry way before you know it! Now please, let go of my ear!" Lo'ak insisted, you rolled your eyes before letting it go.
She knew better than to put a stop to his actions because she simply couldn't. Lo'ak was an unstoppable force once he sets his mind on doing something.
Kiri groaned quietly. "Skxwang."
Your gut had a bad feeling about all this. This needs to be called in. They weren't like your people. Avatars that were carrying a lot of deadly weaponry. The ones that would come from the raids ordered by your Olo'eyktan. These people were dangerous.
Great mother, you gotta get out of here.
Keeping a close eye on Lo'ak and Spider, you whispered to Kiri and Tuk.
"Get ready to head out." They nodded at you, starting to realise the seriousness of this situation.
Lo'ak seemed to have read your mind, as they made their way back to the rest of you guys - he pressed his comms button attached to his upper neck.
He conversed with his father, telling him what he could see about the Avatars. Their location and who he was with.
You listened in with your own comms, one that Jake and Neytiri had graciously gifted to you.
Neteyam growled at the mention of your name and Tuk's.
"Y/n is there?" Neteyam asked through clenched teeth. The grip he had on his Ikran tightened turning his once blue knuckles almost stark white.
"It's going to be fine, yawntu. We're moving out." You tried your best to reassure him.
Neteyam looked at his parents, they could only nod at him to help him regain focus. Neytiri had only seen such worry cross her son's features very few times, she too knew this was a dire situation.
Neteyam closed his eyes for a short moment, processing. "Okay, we're on our way. I'm taking our shortcut."
Lo'ak looked at you in question, but you ignored it. Now is not the time.
"Hurry, let's go!" You ushered them out from the bushes, trying to head as far away from the old shack as you possibly could. You made sure to stay behind all of them, constantly turning your head to look back.
"We're all going to be in so much trouble!" Kiri spoke in a hushed tone.
Lo'ak turned to his sister. "Kiri, stop."
"Guys, come on!" Spider said.
Tuk looked back at you all. "It's almost Eclipse, come on!"
You were about to agree with Tuk before a pair of arms reached out from the hanging branches - grabbing onto her small body.
Her shrill scream immediately shifted you into the headspace you'd enter when on raids. Clasping your bow and arrow you aimed it at the unknown Na'vi. Before you could release the arrow, more of them popped out from the foliage surrounding you all.
Hissing, you put your backs against one another as they closed in on you guys.
"Put it down, put it down!" They ordered.
There was a lot of commotion, and you noted how they were speaking in English and not your native tongue. They definitely aren't from here, even if their bodies say otherwise. A lot of commotion was occurring, but your eyes never strayed from Tuks.
Lo'ak cautioned you all, "Guys. Put it down, put it down." He spoke in your language, you'll tell him how smart he is for doing so later.
You snarled but followed him. You knew there were too many of them, there was no way of getting out of this unless one of you got hurt. Trying to strategize you thought of ways to work yourself all out of this situation. But it was too late, they apprehended all of you.
"Mawey, Mawey." Kiri tried to calm Tuk down through all the yelling and sudden movements.
"Shut up, don't move!"
"What have we here?" One of them said. But he seemed different to the rest, more commandeering, and authoritative. He was the leader for sure.
It seemed Y/n's thoughts not too long ago predicted what was about to happen.
Before you knew it. You knocked your forehead into the Na'vi whose hand lingered too long on your waist and gripped tightly on your braids.
He retaliated by smacking your head with the barrel of his gun. Laughing as you fell to the ground, face being pushed further into the floor by the sole of his boot that he was wearing.
He chuckled, pressing down harder earning a grunt of pain from you. "We got ourselves a feisty one, would you look at that!" His comrades laughed and jeered at his comment.
Your friends though, oh they were livid.
"Y/n!" Tuk wailed for you, as Lo'ak did his best to not cause mayhem.
"Get up." You groaned as he anchored you up by your braids. Y/n looked at her armband through her blurry vision, reminding herself to not cause more of a scene. For she feared what she could lose.
"Mawey, Mawey, I'm alright." You choked out, continuing like Lo'ak to speak Na'vi.
"As I was gonna say before I was so rudely interrupted." The leader once again spoke. He looked at each one of you inquisitively, before one of his people showed him Kiri's hands.
These were the times you were grateful that the Sully children wanted you to learn english alongside them. You caught on to what they were assuming about Kiri. All of you did.
Y/n barred her teeth as the idiotic man once again yanked on Kiri's hair, feeling panicky as their leader approached Lo'ak.
He demanded Lo'ak to show him his fingers, only to get flipped off. You could only watch in pride, he truly was his father's son.
As he continued to nag at Lo'ak you could only ponder what they wanted from all of you, how could they know these were the children of Toruk Makto?
"No!" Y/n protested as he put a knife to Lo'aks neck. But the man holding her captive only strengthened the grip he had on her head of hair. You knew he wouldn't disclose his dads whereabouts, and they didn't need to know either that they were already on their way to help you all out.
When the leader spoke in Na'vi it took everything in your willpower to not mock him for how butchered his pronunciation was. These were definitely people from the sky.
"Get away from her!" Y/n screamed as Spider and Lo'ak joined alongside her telling him to get the hell away from Kiri.
As he spoke to Spider, your eyes met Kiri's. She worriedly glanced at your bleeding head from the gun being slammed into you. But to soothe her you simply mouthed that you were okay.
You were all going to get out of this, alive.
"Miles?"
"Nobody calls me that," Spider said in response.
Your eyes widened in realisation, as did Lo'ak and Kiri's. The man standing before you was Miles Quaritch, Spider's father who was supposed to be deceased.
The sky demon who raged war on your homeland, the one who had killed your father in battle.
You were not about to let him take away any more of your family. Y/n wanted to kill him. How dare he have a second chance at life, in a world like Pandora which he completely takes for granted?
Quaritch stands up, gazing around. "We are standing by for extract, over."
Extract? No, they aren't here yet.
Y/n struggled to fight against the tight hold on her as they started to move away from where they'd been ambushed.
"Let us go!" Kiri begged, pain evident in her voice. You could only shake your head at her, not wanting for her to receive the same brutal treatment you'd just experienced.
"Shut up!" The bald ugly one seethed. Demon trash.
As you were shoved to the ground you could only look up at the clear skies above you. Silently, Y/n prayed to Eywa in hopes they'd be rescued before it was too late.
࿐ ࿔*:・゚˳೫˚
Eclipse was nearing, and the gleaming sun was starting to fade away and rest for the night. You only wished you could do the same, but being held as a "viable prisoner" unfortunately hinders that.
But not too far from where you and the rest waited to be saved, there were three people who landed on a tree branch. Hopping off their Ikrans, they sought to do just that. To save the ones they loved most.
"You stay with the Ikrans," Jake ordered his son.
Neteyam could only shut his eyes in annoyance, his stance shifting to convey his determination. There was a fire burning in his eyes, and it wasn't going to cease any time soon.
"Dad, I'm a warrior like you. I'm supposed to fight," He urged. No, he pleaded.
He could not just stand here and tend to the Ikrans. The mere thought of doing so was agonizing enough for him. To wait for you and his siblings to return safely.
The boy could only let his fingertips brush against the choker you had made and gifted him only the night before.
"Neteyam," Neytiri understood her son's worries. But she already had more than enough on her plate.
Jake gave a slight shake of his head, "I won't say it again."
"But dad! She's-", He tried to counteract. Sway his parents somehow, his hands yearned for revenge. The anguish on the tip of his tongue, his bow weighing on his back like a ton of bricks.
"I know, son. And I will get her back too. Just, stay here." Jake sighed, placing his hand on Neteyam's shoulder for a moment.
Before Neteyam could try to rebut, his parents had already begun venturing off methodically.
"Yes sir." He muttered to himself, walking back over to his Ikran and placing a gentle hand on it.
He had to think of his own plan.
Meanwhile, the bioluminescence beginning to flourish right before your eyes made your heart stumble on itself. She didn't know who was going to arrive first anymore. Her saviors, or soon-to-be tormentors.
Your thoughts continued to remain astray as the rain pelted down on your skin. Y/n did not let it show how the water seeping into her open wound located at the side of her head had caused her immense pain. Instead, she clenched her jaw and continued to watch over her family.
Y/n's ears perked at the static coming from a set of comms, something, something. 3 minutes.
She had to resort to something else then, she has to devise her own plan.
Quaritch though, couldn't shake a feeling that something was awry.
"Watch our 6."
You tried to angle your head to try to watch over Spider and Kiri. Only to fall short at the harsh tug of your ear.
"Keep your eyes forward."
You glared into nothingness, Y/n had never felt so utterly disposable.
Neytiri could only watch on as she pressed herself further into the tree. She had a clear sight of all of you. Something untamed bubbled within her having to witness her children in such a vulnerable state.
Then you heard it, Neytiri's call. Sounding again and again. To any person it'd sound like one of the many animals dominating the jungle, but you knew otherwise.
Catching on to this, Lo'ak gave an affirmative nod to all of you.
It's time.
Kiri prayed to Eywa, hoping to assure her mother's safety in whatever was about to ensue. But you knew the cards had been dealt, now it was time for all of you to follow along.
Instantaneously a familiar arrow sunk into the head of the man who had been guarding Kiri and Spider.
"Contact made!"
Frazzled by the gunshots, you heard a faint call of Lo'aks name. Suddenly a green mist evaded your senses.
Y/n knew now was her chance to escape.
She felt it was only right to let karma be her bitch. As soon as the chamber of the gun the man who had been guarding Y/n had emptied. He maneuvered to replace it, but before he could get far enough - you played your card.
Grasping the front of the gun, ignoring the burn from the gunpowder. You slammed it into the perpetrator's chin, making him stumble backward. Closing your fist, you landed a punch to his face for good measure.
"Tuk, race. Y/n, come on!" Lo'ak yelled for you.
As you began to run towards him, a hand wrapped around your ankle making you propel onto the dirt beneath you. Groaning, you tried to crawl away far enough to push yourself up. But something had glinted in your peripheral.
Your knife. It must have dropped from whoever had them after Neytiri shot her first arrow. You'd thank Neteyam later for having polished your knife when he added new decorative beads to it.
Choking for air, your fingertips brushed against it but a sheer force pushed your arms away from it. You snarled in pain, having reached your limit with this pathetic demon.
Channeling everything you'd learned in all your training back with your clan, you ignored the searing ache. The back of your head met his face with a sharp force.
In his moment of weakness, you scrambled for your knife. This time successfully getting it in your grasp.
You crouched in a defensive stance before him, letting out a vicious hiss as you clutched onto your knife.
"You're gonna pay-", He started to say.
You gasped, both your eyes trailing down to the arrow now wedged in his chest. He could only let out a low groan, trying to advance toward you.
Only he went flying back, another arrow hitting him dead in the forehead. But they weren't from Neytiri.
Pivoting you let out something akin to a choked sob or heave, "Neteyam!"
There he stood strong and mighty as ever. Hidden amongst the nature the jungle provides.
He'd never heard you utter his name like that. The eldest son was so used to it leaving your plush lips in either a tone of endearment or humor. Always enraptured in strings of warmth and grace.
But the way you had just spoken his name, rooted him into the ground. Neteyam never heard you so debilitated, so disoriented. It made his skin crawl in agony.
The gunshots sucked him right back in. He lunged towards you, pulling you away from the mayhem.
"Na'vi!" Someone behind you hollered.
"Rot in hell!" Your scream was directed at your tormentor, you hoped he was still alive to hear those words.
Neteyam pushed you behind him, loading his bow. But before he could shoot again you both were tackled down by Jake.
"Go! Go! Go!" He shouted, pushing you two forward as gunshots rang out.
All of you found temporary solace behind a tree trunk, Jake's arm reached out checking over you both. His eyes widened at how beaten down you looked.
"Follow me! Ready? Ready!" Jake instructed you both. This time it wasn't training though, it was life or death.
Jake stepped out, firing a few bullets at the enemies.
"Move!" Jake bellowed.
You jumped into action, pumping your legs as you run. The chilled air wooshed in your ears and nipped at your cheeks. You hauled yourself over the roots of the trees engulfing you. Narrowly, missing the gunshots as you reminded yourself to not look back.
It didn't sit well with Jake how he was the one ahead and you two were behind him. "Come on!" He yelled.
Neteyam grabbed your hips, pushing you over an abnormally larger root than the rest of the others, understanding the pain you must be in right now.
He knew you were more than capable of getting over it. He just wouldn't be able to get over himself if you sustained even more injuries. It also gave him great comfort being able to see you right in front of him.
You don't know how long you ran for, only finally coming to a stop in a small clearing. Falling to your knees, you tried to catch your breath.
Neteyam had so much to say as he looked down at you, but he physically was in too much shock at the moment. So he chose to settle down beside you, bringing you into his arms carefully.
Jake brought you two once again - to a tree. There you leaned against it, waiting in silence for everyone else.
Soon the rustling of leaves grabbed your attention. Jake held a warning hand to you both, signaling you guys to stay put.
Lo'ak and Tuk made their way to you guys. Giving each other tender hugs, you graciously thanked Eywa for keeping them safe.
As Lo'ak leaned his head on your shoulder, he mumbled an apology to you.
"I'm so sorry for leaving you behind. Tuk was terrified, and I had to get her out of there."
You patted his head, allowing him to lean back and look at you.
"You did what was right, Lo'ak. I have no ill feelings toward you. I'm just grateful you're both okay." Y/n reassured him, as she kissed Tuk on the forehead.
Movement suddenly came from behind you, Jake pushed you and his children behind him - again.
Breaking out from the foliage was a worrisome Kiri and Neytiri.
"Mom!" Tuk cried, running to them. You sluggishly followed her.
Neytiri brought you, girls, into a hug as she too thanked Eywa numerous times that you were all here. She'd never had a reminder as harsh as this.
What she could have just lost.
Neteyam gravitated towards you after Jake embraced both him and Lo'ak.
He looked over at you, eyes and hands trailing.
"We need to get you patched up, grandma can help." He whispered to you, hands hovering over your bruised face.
Inwardly, Neteyam was seething. So many rhetorical questions were prodding at his brain. How you were already wounded when he first saw you? What else had they done to you?
Y/n crooned - "No, no. I'm fine, I'm okay."
"You are not!" He grunted.
His eyes looked dazed, far away. Neteyam was still in a state of terror. Not only had his siblings been put in danger, but his partner in crime as well. His person, was right in the thick of it.
He didn't want to linger on what could have happened if he and his parents came any later. He didn't want to fathom the thought of not just Spider being abducted, but all of you as well.
If his arrow had missed, if anything had gone remotely wrong...
As if you could read his mind, somehow capture his thoughts. Your thumb brushed over his cheek. Your other hand moving to cradle the back of his head as your hand sunk into his braids. Treading your fingers through it you leaned your head against his.
"I'm right here, Neteyam. We're all going to be okay."
Neteyam could only nod as he brought you into another longing embrace.
He'd do whatever it takes for you to stay by each other's sides. Whatever it takes, he will always protect you. Even when he is gone from this world, he vowed to himself right then and there - that he'd still look out for you.
Awa'atlu grew on you over time. It took a while, a lot of adjusting, and taking new things in stride. But you made it this far now, and you felt like maybe this place was truly becoming your home.
It truly felt like a juxtaposition, from the forest - now to the water. Somehow it brought you comfort, Eywa constructed such beautiful places. The community around you, while hostile at first - was also beginning to warm up to all of you too.
Alongside your mother, you had followed the Sullys as you seek out a new place that would hopefully grant you Uturu.
It was truly a challenge, having to stay hidden to keep the people back in your clan safe. You knew it was the right call.
But now the tides were pulling themselves in, dread encompassing the place you were still trying to gain more understanding of.
Your luck was running thin. All you wanted to do was help Lo'ak save Payakan. To be there for your people, your new clan.
It seemed the world had other plans though.
Now you were stuck on the demon ship. Handcuffed to the rails alongside Lo'ak, Tsireya, and Tuk. Snarling you checked the restraints out, you realised you'd have to cut into it to be released. Dammit.
"Be brave," Lo'ak tried to remain optimistic.
Y/n could only hope that Neteyam had gotten back to safety far away from all this.
All your ears perked up, hearing the distinct calls of the Metkayina clan. You could see them in the distance flying on their Skimwings towards the ship.
"Na'vi inbound!" Someone yelled.
"Push left, spread out." Another commanded them.
Tuk had faith, they were all going to get out of this alive. "Dad," she called out to him.
"It's Sully."
Quaritch ripped the comms off from Lo'ak as the Metkayina came to a still in the water a few hundred yards away from you all.
"Jake, tell your friends to stand down. If you want your kids back, you'll come out alone." Quatrich asserted, grasping his gun and pressing it to the side of Lo'aks head.
Tsireya and you yelled for him to stop, whilst Tuk began to cry.
"You know better to test my result."
Y/n wished she could listen in, but she looked around for her mother instead. She noted how Neytiri and Melìew were nowhere to be seen. Must be up in the sky, hovering.
Quaritch was running out of patience, he moved the gun to your head instead.
"She took one of ours, maybe it's time to take one of yours. Like I said, do not test me!" You held your breath, trying not to make any sudden sound or movement.
Your blood ran cold, Y/n did not want to die this way. Especially not now, not when she has so much more reasons to live and experiences to fulfill.
Through gritted teeth, Quaritch challenged Jake. "Do I make myself clear?"
He stepped back, the weight of the gun easing off your head. Y/n looked on to where Jake and the Olo'eyktan and Tsahìk were having a heated discussion.
It gave you a moment to ponder on Quaritch's words from before. She hadn't killed one of the sky people. But Neteyam did.
In the midst of all the fighting, it must have looked to them like it had been her doing. Whatever, that was the least of her worries at this time being.
Quaritch once again spoke to Jake through the stolen comms. "Offers beginning to expire. What's it gonna be?"
Y/n looked to Lo'ak after hearing him curse quietly, following his eyes you saw his father pushing on - alone.
"Easy shot." One of the fake Na'vi beckoned.
"You hit him now, they attack. Wait until he's on board."
Lo'ak and yourself let out frustrated groans through harshly gritted teeth. You were defenseless.
Abruptly water shot up as a familiar looking Tulkun shot out from beneath the ocean.
"Payakan", Tuk yelled out.
Water rained down on you all as he launched himself on top of the ship. You watched in astonishment as he wreaked havoc.
"Argh!" You grunted, pushing a nearby soldier to Payakan. Lo'ak mimicked your actions as he called out for his brother.
"Yeah!" Lo'ak whooped.
"Holy shit," You gaped as Payakan deflected the harpoon and dove back into the ocean.
The sound of gunshots had your ears ringing as you watched the Metkayina charge at the sky people. Sighing in relief as you saw your mother on her Ikran flying side by side with Neytiri.
Y/n could only observe as the sky people hopped on their own Ikrans and flew upwards. While everyone fought each other you used this to your advantage, trying to break free from your restraints.
Neytiri and your mother flew over the ship, looking down at their children in horror. Both of them shot arrows into the gunships that attempted to fly into the battle.
The ship suddenly jerked, before moving at a far faster pace. Shrieking as you were suddenly suspended in the air, before knocking back down onto the ship.
Water sprayed at all of you on impact. Lo'ak let out a pained groan as he pushed himself up, kicking at the rails.
"Are you okay," he asked all of you. You all nodded, before following his motions and kicking the rail as well.
Alarms sounded all around the ship. You needed to get out of here.
Suddenly, Tuk gasped gleefully. "Neteyam!"
Your head whipped to the side, distracted by pushing at the railing.
He held a knife in his head, grinning - "Hey baby brother, you need some help?"
"You're ridiculous," Y/n mused. Her heart soared at the sight of her boyfriend unharmed.
"Shut up, come on!" Lo'ak replied, looking over his shoulders to see no one was paying attention to them.
He quickly cut Tsireya out of her restraints, and moving onto Tuk he did the same.
Now it was your turn.
He gazes into your eyes, fighting off the instinct to caress your face. Cutting you out of your restraints, he could finally breathe easier. His hands hovered over your wrists seeing the angry red marks that now tainted your deep blue skin.
He looked to Tsireya and you, "Get tuk out of here."
Nodding, you grasped onto Tuk's arm running to the edge of the ship. You turned around as Neteyam stumbled towards you, eyes squinting seeing Lo'ak had rushed the other way.
"Lo'ak!" He called for his brother, making his way back to him as the younger brother grabbed a gun. You watched them bicker back and forth, rolling your eyes at their idiotic antics.
"Tsireya go, we'll meet you there," Y/n said as she took her knife out.
"No, Y/n!" Tuk pouted at you.
Leaning down you kissed her forehead, "I'll be back soon".
Y/n nodded at Tsireya before making her way over to the two Skxwangs.
"Come on bro, we can't leave him!"
You tugged on Neteyam's arm, "What's going on?"
"We've gotta get Spider!" Lo'ak exclaimed.
Y/n tilted her head up to meet Neteyam's eyes. He look troubled, but he knew if he didn't follow - Lo'ak would venture on this mission by himself.
It's just, something felt off.
You knew in those few seconds, Neteyam had the same gut feeling you did. It wasn't that you didn't want to save Spider, but the circumstances of everything were already against you all. Y/n had a terrible feeling about this, and the last time she had this feeling was at the Old Shack.
But you weren't going to leave them behind. Looking around, you also decided to pick up a gun.
Neteyam, realising the intent of your actions fought against them weakly. "No, go with Tuk."
You stared him down. He knew you already made up your mind.
Sighing, he pushed you in front of him. Each of you crept further into the ship, jumping on a nearby wall and climbing to the ceiling.
Y/n tuned out the sounds of the people running beneath her frantically. Choosing to continue to move along.
The three of you made your way onto some sort of connecting platform. Lo'ak put a finger to his lips, before pointing down below. Neteyam and Y/n peered over the edge, seeing Spider being guarded by multiple men.
As they rounded the corner, Neteyam signed "Jump down when I do".
In a matter of seconds he leaped down, you and Lo'ak closely following behind. You pushed one of the men into the nearest wall, immediately slicing his throat.
A hand came at your shoulder and gripped it harshly, but you quickly grabbed it as you turned around. Slamming the man into the ground you leaned down, holding the man's head - you stabbed your knife in his chest.
As you got back up, Neteyam suddenly pushed you out of the way. He grabbed the man who was charging at you and threw him down the ship.
Silence. Your adrenaline had your hands shaking, but before anyone could say a word - one of the men got up grasping his gun.
Lo'ak bet him to it, firing a bunch of rounds and shooting the man down.
Your eyes widened in shock, "Bro come on", Spider called.
Neteyam put his hand in yours, examining his brother.
"Let's go."
Neteyam tugged you along, jumping down as you all tried to figure out a way to get off this ship.
Spider thanked you all, but you saw Quaritchs right-hand man in the near distance.
"No!" Neteyam shouted, aiming the gun Lo'ak was pointing at him down to the ground. Shots were fired at you all as you crouched down rushing away from the henchmen.
"Give me that," Neteyam grabbed his gun whilst you held yours. You both peeked out, as you reached a corner. Firing in the general area the bullets were coming from.
"Go, Go, Go!" You and Neteyam yelled at the two boys.
Y/n checked behind them, witnessing them successfully leaping off the ship.
"Go, Neteyam! I am right behind you." Y/n urged, continuing to shoot at the men.
A deep guttural growl escaped him.
He wanted to complain, but the sound of more gunshots cut him off before he could do so.
He headed in the same direction Lo'ak and Spider had gone. Jumping into the ocean, he waited for you.
You looked to where the men were reloading the guns. It was now or never.
Right before you moved to leap as well, someone suddenly body-slammed you. Screaming at the impact, you desperately tried to reach for the gun that got knocked out of your hands.
A soldier held you down, and the bubble gum she had been chewing - popped. Giving you a deathly glare she dug her fingernails into your skin, drawing blood.
Y/n squirmed as she tried to resist and fight her way out of her deathly grip.
"You killed a good man in the woods. Like Colonel said, you took one of ours." She spat at you.
Any response you could have uttered was cut off by your own knife being plunged into your lower chest.
Y/n wanted to scream, to do anything but succumb to the faith that had just been handed to her. But the pain was excruciating, nothing like she'd ever felt before in her entire life.
"Rot in hell." She sneered at you.
It sounded ironic. The words you had screamed in a moment of triumph, resinated bitterly now.
She rolled you, pushing you over the edge as you plummeted into the water.
Struggling to stay afloat, all you could hear was your friends and lovers muffled cheering. Y/n could only smile to herself, at least they were all okay.
Everything else began to blur from then on, you remember them realising you were wounded. How Neteyam had never looked so disoriented in his life.
Oh, how the situations have flipped.
This wasn't the plan.
How dare he jump for safety and leave you to die? It should have been him.
"N-Neteyam." You choked out, your chest rising up and down rapidly. Y/n was grappling to stay afloat as her own hand tried to cover her stab wound.
Neteyam's heart shattered at the sight of you as he held you above water. "Shhh, save your energy. You're going to be just fine."
He took you away from prying eyes, keeping a lookout as he called for his Ilu. Lo'ak, Tsireya, and Spider were right behind him.
"Bro, we can take her to that rock over there." Lo'ak pointed, not too far but enough distance to separate you all from the sinking ship.
Neteyam nodded, continuing to hold you upright and letting you lean on him.
It felt like a million years, his entire lifetime seeming like it passed before reaching the rock.
With the help of everyone else, they lifted you on it, carrying you and settling you down.
"Watch her head, watch her head," Neteyam repeated. Pushing wet hair strands away from your face that was scrunched up in discomfort
"That could have gone a lot worse, yawntu." You quietly said.
Neteyam's smile was grim, suddenly taken back to your date in the jungle that had been interrupted by that mighty Thanator and his own personal duties back at home.
"Huh, yeah. It really could have. But it didn't" Neteyam stuttered out.
His chuckles that followed his words were forced, vision going murky at the tears that threatened to burst through his facade.
He knew even as Tsireya stuffed the stab wound with moss from the rock it was too late. There was too much blood, so much blood. For the very first and last time, he was too late.
Too late to save you, and now he didn't know what to do.
Your end is near.
Before there was an opportunity to aid you. To get you to safety - to save you from harm's way. But this time there was absolutely nothing he could do. He'd never felt so openly inferior.
All he could do was let Eywa retrieve you peacefully.
Your cries of pain tore into him, tears gushing down your face as he hushed you and tried to wipe them all away.
It devastated him to know there wasn't any way for him to feel your pain. He never wanted this to ever happen to you.
He truly thought that this move away from all the danger and war had bought you both more time.
He was a fool for thinking that life would bestow that upon him.
The sudden wooshing of Ikrans wings mingled in the tense air as Neytiri and Melìew landed on the rock. Jake, hopped off his Skimwing.
"Oh great mother, no! My daughter, my daughter!" Your mother wept as she fell onto her knees by your side.
Neteyam gripped your hand, squeezing it in reassurance.
"Mom, I did it. I'm truly a warrior." You struggled, your breath seeming to escape you quicker than you thought.
"You silly girl. You always have been. You always will be." Your mother soothed you, her hands holding your face and caressing your hair.
You meekly smiled at her, looking at everyone who surrounded you. Neytiri silently cried as Jake held her in his arms. It gave you a sense of comfort, through the pair - you saw yourself and Neteyam.
Y/n glanced at Jake, "Thank you for everything."
Jake could only bend down, pressing a hand to your leg and giving it a squeeze. He had so much to say. How wonderful you are at everything you do. The way you gave every training lesson your all. And the way you treated his son. But he had a feeling you already knew.
Neytiri moved to the free space above your head, gripping onto one of your mum's hands as she pressed a tender kiss to your forehead.
You would always be her honourary daughter, and she knew she was about to lose you. All she could do now was be here and try to give you some comfort.
"Neteyam?"
"Yes, Y/n?" Neteyam peered down at you, and you returned his gaze.
"Are we going back home?" She whispered.
He could see the light he adored so much fading away from Y/n's eyes. The faint wheeze in your breathing, and your skin losing its colour.
"Yeah we are, we're gonna finish that picnic date. You gotta prepare your basket okay? Don't forget the picnic blanket." His tears were free-falling at this point, but he no longer had the willpower to care about saving face.
All he cared about at this moment was you.
Numb to the feelings consuming your body, Y/n's smile widened. “Okay 'Teyam, can we bring our Ikrans?"
Neteyam forced himself to nod, keeping his tone of voice upbeat. "You bet, Y/n. I'll even race you."
You coughed as you giggled. Neteyam's frown deepened, as he cradled your face.
For the very last time, you nuzzled into the warmth his open palm provided. Taking in his faint yet distinct scent of salt and nature.
Peace poured into your heart and soul.
"I'm gonna win. and I'm always going to love you. I love you, and your wonderful family. I love you, I see you." You rambled, truly hoping you conveyed your last words well.
"I will always see you," Neteyam murmured, taking all of you in as well.
And then the light faded.
Tsireya was the first to realise this, she looked down at your blood coating her hands as she started to cry. Lo'ak held onto her, and Neteyam - knowing damn well he was about to need it.
"Y/n? Y/n. Y/n!" Neteyam wailed out a gut-wrenching cry for help.
He couldn't believe his eyes, he couldn't come to terms that you were no longer here.
You were with the great mother now.
"No, Y/n. Please! Come back to me!" He leaned his forehead on yours, closing his eyes tight. He prayed that when he'd open them, this would all be a ruthless lie.
That you'd be able to actually go on that other date. Live on to be each other's mates in the eyes of Eywa. To be able to witness and create a family of your own.
You'd be able to grow and flourish. Together.
His hopes and dreams were crushed the moment your last breath escaped you. Anguish and rage now consumed him.
They took you away from him. Robbed him of a life that was supposed to be spent being by your side, your eternal protector.
As his eyes opened, yours stayed the same.
His fingertips flittered over them, before closing your eyes.
Neteyam could no longer bare to look at what he had lost.
His soul, now as empty as your weightless gaze.
The cries of his family and your mother echoed in his ears, yet he maintained a tight hold on your cold hand.
This couldn't have gone any worse.
But it simply had. And now you were gone.
One with the ocean, one with the sea. Neteyam liked to think and believe they had welcomed you in harmony.
𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 ━━━ 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
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OK, so imagine Snape looking into the Mirror of Erised but he doesn’t see himself. He sees Lily with James because he just wants her to be as happy as possible.
I love this and now the image in my head, God I wish I could draw 🤣
love thinking about how the sound of pro-hero bakugo’s quirk blasts probably affect villains the same way the t-rex steps affect the viewer in jurassic park. just distant, rhythmic booms that tell you that something reallllll dangerous is approaching your location.
Fine, I guess I'll work on writing fanfics again since I can fucking scroll anywhere to distract my ADHD
Just knock me out for the count 🫠
I’m needing a fic about kats taking the reader inside and helping them warm up after spending most of the day out in the snow!!!! 😉😏
😵💫yeah
-
“you goin’ shy on me now- open your fuckin’ legs,” the blonde was grinning from ear to ear as he swatted at your thighs.
you let them spread wider from where they had been clamped around his waist, your mouth falling agape as he fed a few more inches into your sopping pussy, his thumb brushing over your clit as he did. he had you sprawled out in front of the fireplace, flames licking at the freshly chopped wood, cozy heat warming your skin. you both had been outside, baku shoveling the snow from the driveway while you pestered him accordingly. all it had taken was a few stray snowballs thrown at his head for him to drop his shovel and lunge at you like a child. you two had ended up rolling around in the blanket of white for hours, chasing after each other, chucking snowballs, and then of course…actually clearing the driveway and path to the front porch.
by the time you two had made it in, you were both freezing, soaked with melted ice. he was quick to spark up a fire, strip you both of your clothes to wash them, and now he was warming you up in a katsuki fashion.
he leaned over you, pressing his mouth to your neck to fawn over while his bulky size kept your legs spread wide, his hands were slipping under your knees, pushing them towards your chest as his cock burrowed within you. you could feel the coolness of the thin chain around his neck and how it was contrasting your heated skin nicely. his nails dented smiles in your skin, his teeth grazed so nicely against your throat as he fucked you.
“fuck- ‘suki,” you purred, your own nails going to claw at his broad shoulders, arching up into him in search for more.
“yeah? you like that, princess?”
you nodded dumbly, speckling your own kisses along his sharp jaw.
“you better fuckin’ cum on my cock then, think you can- shit- think you can do that, f’me.”
his own end was near but his hips didn’t cease nor stutter, not with the way you were clenching around him like a vice, sucking him deeper with each punch of his hips. he had to see you come undone first.
“yeah- yeah i can…”
his crimson eyes met yours, darkened with hunger and determination, “yeah i know you can, such a perfect pussy for me. go ahead, make a mess then..”
☆
Bakugou Katsuki x Reader
Warnings: none, some flirting, little bit of cocky Katsuki
Summary: You remind Katsuki that not everyone falls in awe of a Pro Hero.
*Inspired by Disney's Hercules. We love Meg 👀❤*
It's safe to say that Bakugou has grown since his days at U.A. Well, more or less.
Some days he gets lost in thought of saving people, hypnotized by the way men and women alike cheer and praise him. Chanting out his hero name, Ground Zero, and fawning over him when he's close by.
Children staring in awe at the tall, proud standing male. Some begging for a picture or autograph, which he does more from his Brand Team reminding him to grin and bear it for the polls and such.
Which he did with no problem, his smirks and boastful personality made him a magnet for egotistical labels but he ignored them, cause to him they were wrong.
He knows there's more to being a Hero than just photos and such, yet he can get swept away in the frenzie and lose the sight of that.
Until he met you, that is.
It was another day of simple patrols. Acknowledging a few fans and even stopping to take a picture with a young boy who tried to wear his hair spiked just like his "Favorite Hero". The gel in the child's hair making Bakugou smirk and mutter a "nice try brat,"
Yes it was a simple day.
He thought it'd be an easy shift ending, except for when a loud rumbling from down the street started to set off car alarms, citizens yelling out in alarm and fear.
A large villan stepped out from behind a building, the guys build like that of a giant Minatour.
It stood at atleast a good fifteen feet tall, large muscles covered in dark colored hair or fur, hard to tell from afar. Two large bull horns protruded from his cow shaped head, a long snout ending in a classic septum bull ring.
Of course in its hands, he held you.
Now most people would be screaming or pleading for their life but you simply sat in his hands, a bored look graced your features.
Bakugou instantly launched into an attack, explosions trying to blind the Minatour dude but he got smacked away like a fly. This caused him to fly into a fruit stand, teeth gritting as he stood back up, a strawberry stuck to his face before he pulled it off, a snarl present on his lips.
"Alright you sack of meat, now I'm pissed," Bakugou called out, him and the Minatour glaring at eachother when you spoke up,
"Uh hi, you maybe wanna leave Blast Boy?"
It was like a scene straight from a movie. Everyone, including the Villian, gaped at you like you were speaking in tongues.
"EH!? What the hell are you talking about?! You're the one currently suck in the Heifers grip but you're telling ME to leave?!"
Bakugou couldn't believe his ears, maybe he finally did blast his ear drums out.
"Yeah, no offense but do you see Damsel In Distress or Distressed Dude taped to my forehead? I'm perfectly fine getting my self out of here,"
Bakugou looked like a fish out of water with the way his mouth opened and closed, eyes white in anger and annoyance.
You leaned on the Bulls hand, an arm crossed under your chest as your left hands palm held your cheek up, flashing Ground Zero a sensual smile, "Have a nice day~"
Ears flushing from the sound of your voice and gleam in your eye. He went to retort, only you turned toward the Villian who was dumb enough to stop his rampage and watch the scene unfold.
"I'll give you three seconds to put me down before I make you,"
The Villian let out a booming laugh, a few citizens also murmuring in questioning tones.
You were a regular citizen like them, what exactly could you do if you had allowed yourself to get captured in the first place.
"Three...two....on-"
Before you could finish Bakugou had let a giant blast against the Minatours face making him yell in pain, his grip loosening for a second but that's all Bakugou needed to grab you and move out of the way.
This had angered the Minatour who shook his head free of ash and smoke. His red eyes locking on Bakugous who held you bridal style.
"You're welcome shitty person, next time don't try acting like a Pro and let the real Heros handle it,"
You scoffed, throwing yourself to your feet as you smoothed out your outfit, "Please, you're more of a Pro Jackass than a Pro Hero,"
The Minatour began his charge, large hoof feet sprinting at you and Bakugou.
"Get back!" Bakugou ordered, going to throw his hands out to produce his quirk but found you walking toward the Minatour instead.
He could only see your backside, but from the front your eyes turned a bright mix of red, pink and purple swirls.
"Excuse me~" your sultry voice filled the air causing many to freeze, almost as if you had taken control of them. The tone was like honey, thick but sweet. It made many develop a set of shivers, some letting their minds wander.
Your voice and loving eyes with you had caused the Minatour to cease his running, he ended up tripping on the road and skidded close you, his eyes now matching yours as your lips pulled into a seductive smile, your cupids bow lips plump and luscious.
"Thank you, are you ready to listen~?" The Minatour could only nod before you suddenly raised your leg up, dropping your heel on his head, knocking him out efficiently.
You turned back to Bakugou who just stared.
Wide, red eyes just staring. You couldn't tell if he was pissed or what, but the Villan was delt with and that's all that matters.
"Thanks for letting me play, it's been a real treat," you winked, walking off past Bakugou who turned and caught your arm, stopping you from moving.
The press and media, who appeared out of the shadows, took this opportunity and began to captures photos, videos, quotes, anything their greedy hands could get.
"Excuse us! What's your quirk?!"
"Are you a new Pro Hero!?"
"Do you have a Working Quirk License!?"
"How do you feel about getting up close and personal with Ground Zero himself!?"
You rolled your eyes at the last question, pulling your arm away from Bakugou as you shot him a sideways look, "Yeah cause a model who role plays as a Pro Hero for pictures and is a jerk about saving people, is someone I wanna get personal with,"
"Oi! You could be a little more grateful I got you out of his grip there Hippie Eyes!" Bakugou growled, his face showing aggravation but his mind was racing with questions about you.
'Who are you?'
'What is your quirk?'
'Are you a Pro?'
'You wanna go out sometime'
He shook that last thought from his head, eyes locking with yours as you just smirked,
"Yeah, next time I wanna be man handled for telling a guy no I'll call you,"
With that you turned and walked off, waving a hand without looking back, "See ya Blast Boy,"
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Yoohoo, here you go my lovelies 😘 let me know what you think