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whxre-bxby · 1 year

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“This Is What You Came For”

Based on the scene where Tuk, Lo’ak and Tsireya are being held at gunpoint by Quaritch and his squad. Miles tells Jake to hand himself in otherwise he’ll shoot Lo’ak. Imagine you are Jake.

Recom soldiers (Quaritch/Lyle/Mansk/Prager/Ja/Lopez/Brown/Fike) x recom-Y/N

WARNINGS: SMUT, Angst, Hurt/comfort, non-con (sorry i love it), gangbang, voyeurism

Masterlist

9117 words

I have a big story to tell. My past is long and changed significantly once I arrived on Pandora as a marine soldier.

I was originally meant to work under the command of Colonel Quaritch but when Jake Sully arrived, I was given the task to help him get used to Pandora. I had my own Avatar already. Before Jake came, I would provide protection for Grace and her team every time we went into the forest to get samples of new botanical species. Lyle would often join us, but he didn’t have an Avatar.

The day Jake got lost was the same day I left at night to go find him. He was my assignment and I would be screwed if I didn’t find him alive. So while wandering the forest alone, obviously fully armed with guns and knives, I encountered real Na’vi. They were on horseback and brought me to Hometree, to decide whether to execute me. It surprised me because I expected to be dead on the spot but then luckily Jake said he knew me and persuaded Neytiri to persuade her parents not to have me executed.

I was young at that point in life. But time went by quickly.

Once problems started to rise I had to make a decision and I chose to turn on my own kind and help Jake save Pandora.

I fought by his side and we won the battle. But at the time, we didn’t know it would only be the first of many.

Just like Jake, the clan and Eywa transferred my consciousness from my human body to my Na’vi Avatar.

Now, Jake and I were close friends. I was the aunt to his and Neytiri’s kids and we recently left the forest because the Sky People were back. We travelled to the coastlines and were accepted into a new clan.

Now, the fight had been going on for a while and Jake was badly injured. Neytiri had retrieved him on her Ikran and flown him to safety because she knew that Quaritch was going after him. Quaritch was hunting Jake Sully, and me, Y/N L/N.

I rode next to Ronal and Tonowari on my ilu to free Lo’ak, Tuk, and Tsireya. We stopped and I raised my sniper gun, checking to see whether it was safe to shoot one of the other recom’s from here. Suddenly, I heard Quaritch.

“Y/N, tell your friends to stand down.” he says with a pause. I gasp and I feel my heart sink. He has the kids cuffed and at gunpoint. Half of me wants to go there with the warriors behind me and kill every single soldier, but I know better than to act on emotions. I’m afraid of what will happen if I don’t listen…

“You want your kids back?” he asks, knowing the damn answer. “Come out alone.” Quaritch orders. I tense, my ears tipped back. Of course, just like I remembered him. Nothing seemed to change about the Colonel other than his body. I noticed Z-Dog and Lyle on either side of him. I knew they all despised me. But I used to have quite a close relationship with Zdinarsk and Lyle and I were friendly. I guess that gave them more of a reason to hate me. That I chose this planet over everything I had with them.

“You know better than to test my result.” the Colonel warns, pointing his gun at the back of Lo’ak’s head. My heart is racing.

I snarl, cursing myself and putting my sniper gun down, knowing it won’t help me now. He kept on talking.

“I took you under my wing, Y/N. You betrayed me. You killed your own good men, good women. I will not hesitate to execute your kid.” the Colonel snarls.

I lean my hand in front of me, taking deep breaths to think about my next move. I know I need to listen to him.

I glanced at Ronal and Tonorwari who were both furious about the recoms taking Tsireya. Then I looked behind me and scanned all the warriors who had joined us. We were enough people to take down the ship, but we couldn’t endanger the kids’ lives.

My ears droop to the sides and I let my head hang before telling Ronal and Tonowari to stay here and keep the clan away.

Tonwori warns me that they are killers of Tulkun and that they need to die here and today. I nod, agreeing with him.

“They came here for me… for me and Jake. That’s what this whole thing is about…” I tell them and Ronal snarls in general anger and frustration.

“You brought this upon us! You!” she says in a harsh tone and I flinch a little, but I completely understand her anger.

“Then it’s me who has to do this…” I say and Tonowari gives me a firm nod before signalling to his warriors to stand down. I take a deep breath, looking back at the ship.

“Offer’s fixin’ to expire…” Quaritch warns me. “What’s it gonna be?”

My worried gaze turns into a glare. “Check your fire. I’m coming out.” I say, moving my gun back around my shoulder and moving forwards on my ilu.

Neytiri is circling the sky on her Ikran, watching the scene play out. She presses her neck and asks me what’s happening.

I sigh, feeling my gut wrench and stomach drop. Honestly, I feel a little sick. But I can’t tell her what I’m doing. I don’t have the heart to tell Neytiri. She helped me so much in the past years, I owed it to her to give my life for her children.

My ilu and I leave the warriors behind us and we dive under the water's surface.

I see one of the Tulkun nearby and it seems to acknowledge me. It was the outsider. The one that Lo’ak had befriended. I believed his story and he showed me the bond they had. I disconnected my queue from my beloved ilu, patting its neck as a goodbye before swimming towards the Tulkun.

If they want me to come to them I might as well make my entrance impressive.

The Tulkun lets me close to it and I hold on to its fin as he pulls me through the water. I look behind me to see the bottom of the clan’s animals and my loyal ilu waiting for me to return. It breaks my heart, leaving it behind, but it was the right thing to do.

We neared the ship and I moved on to the Tulkun’s back, and hold on to one of the horn-like shapes it has on its head. It swims up to the water's surface and soon, we slowly glide out of the water and in front of the ship.

Immediately everyone onboard shuffles around and all weapons are pointed at me. I stay, kneeling on its back as it brings me to the side so I can comfortably step on board. I glide my hand over its skin and thank the Tulkun before standing upright and for the first time, I set foot onto the ship.

I locked eyes with the Colonel, examining him and his team. Their guns remained pointed at me and followed my steps. I stopped, standing in front of them with nothing in my hands. The water was dripping from my body and hair, creating small puddles beneath my feet.

I shifted my gaze to the kids. They all looked worried but Tsireya and Tuk seemed a little relieved that an adult on their side was with them. On the other hand, Lo’ak looked upset. I saw him shaking his head at me before, he must not want me to give up my life. But I owe it to all of them. I owe it to Jake for helping me escape, I owe it to Neytiri for taking care of me, to the kids who have always been so lovely over the years and to Eywa. I saved Ewya once, but I also brought this upon her. I needed to make it right.

Quaritch firmly nodded, pressing his lips into a straight line and turning to face me while still pointing his gun at Lo’ak. That angered me.

“Slowly remove your weapon.” he ordered me and my ears tipped back, showing him clear signs of discomfort. I was about to rid my protection.

I listened, slowly pulling the strap over my head and arm, holding my gun in my hand before gently throwing it to the side.

A recom soldier kicked it out of my reach and I glared at him before looking back at Miles.

“Let them go.” I snarled and he glared back. With some hesitation, he lowered his weapon and signalled something to his soldiers. To my relief, they started opening the handcuffs of the children but still held them by the arms.

I stood firmly on the ground, my tail flicking around in irritation. I felt protective over them. They needed to return to Neytiri safe and unharmed.

“Let ‘em go.” The Colonel ordered, harshly pushing Lo’ak away from himself and towards me. Lo’ak glanced around and grabbed Tsireya’s hand before warily walking to me. Tuk couldn’t wait anymore. She was terrified of the soldiers so she sprinted to me and hugged my lower waist, hiding her face in my hip. I leaned down, cradling her body and holding her close to me. My hand stroked her head to try and comfort her in any way possible.

“Shh Tuk. It’s all okay now. You can go home.” I say in a soft voice, forgetting about all the danger around us for a second. Lo’ak comes around my other side and hugs me too. I hold them all for a few seconds as if we were one family and when Tuk lifts her head, I wipe her tears.

“Don’t cry Tuk. You are safe now.” I force a smile and press her forehead to mine. That was something that always helped calm her down when she was a baby. It seemed to still work.

In the next few seconds, I heard the cry of an Ikran and the flap of its wings behind me. I looked up and all soldiers had changed their aim from me to something behind me.

I just smiled in relief, knowing who it was.

I turned around and Neytiri had gotten off her Ikran and stood behind me, but luckily she wasn’t pointing weapons at the enemy.

“Don’t shoot.” I shout, wanting them to know she was here for her children.

Tuk gasped and ran to her mother and Lo’ak quickly joined her. Tsireya followed Lo’ak.

I want to walk to Neytiri too but I hear a shout behind me.

“You take one more step Y/L/N and I open fire.” The Colonel warns. “You’re stayin’ here.”

I freeze in my step and look over my shoulder to let him know I heard him before turning back to Neytiri. She had put Tuk on her Ikran already and Lo’ak and Tsireya got onto the Tulkun that brought me here.

Neytiri and I exchanged eye contact and as much as she hated that I was part of the reason this was happening, her gaze softened. She knew what I was doing and it saddened her. She also took to heart that I put her children's lives over my own and gave me a sad smile.

“I thank you Y/N…” she said in Na’vi.

I nod, smiling and bowing my head a little.

“You proved yourself to the Great Mother. It will not be forgotten.”

Her words make me feel proud and I thank her. She walks over to me, in slow strides, her eyes not leaving mine. Now I could see how saddened she was.

Her eyes are just as teared up as mine are.

She pressed her own forehead against mine and thanked me again, for helping her children. Then, she returned to her Ikran, looking at me one last time before taking off. Lo’ak and Tsierya were ordered by her to go, and I waved at Lo’ak slowly. He returned the gesture, also visibly sad and they dived under the water.

I stared at the open ocean for a few moments before taking a deep breath and turning back to face the Colonel.

I couldn’t read his expression but it had changed. Maybe seeing me with children had some kind of impact on him. After all, I knew he more or less thought of himself as Spider’s dad.

Then he signalled something and most weapons were put down. I heard a few chuckles from the soldiers around me who had now encircled me and blocked my exit. They were recoms. The humans didn’t dare get so close. I hiss at one that’s too close for my liking but he just smirks, not moving back.

“This is going to be fun.” the Colonel says, evilly smirking at me before turning around and leading the way. Almost instantly, a gun is pointed at my head and I am pushed forward, being told to follow him.

I let out a shaky breath but oblige. At least I wasn’t being held down.

We entered a large hall which looked like an empty car storage area inside the ship. There was a light in the middle of the ceiling that didn’t reach the dark corners. I sigh. This was probably the last room I was going to see in my life.

I knew whatever they had planned wasn’t going to go well for me. Then again, I was surprised I was still alive now. Maybe they wanted me for questioning first.

I heard a few footsteps behind me stop walking and then I heard a voice sternly say, “No humans allowed.”.

There was complaining coming from the humans on board and then the large doors started automatically closing.

All daylight was now gone and everything seemed dimmer. I was urged to walk to the centre of the room so that I more or less stood beneath the light.

The soldiers stopped around me, creating a type of wide circle to make sure I couldn’t escape. I assumed the doors were all locked anyway, so I wouldn’t test my luck.

“Zdinarsk, Warren, go to the deck and help Walker and Zhang.” the Colonel said and they nodded before walking off. I watched Zdinarsk and our eyes met but she left anyway without saying a word. I wasn’t surprised.

I slowly turn around, scanning everyone. Just to see what I was dealing with. Most of them looked the same, everyone wearing similar attire but something small would always differentiate them.

Surrounding Y/N stood Prager, Mansk, Fike, Ja(Alexander), Brown, Lopez, Wainfleet, and the Colonel. Their weapons were no longer pointed at her but they still held them firmly, in case she were to try something.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions and you will answer them.” the Colonel says, stepping forward a little and resting his hands on his vest. I turn to face him and glare again.

What makes him think I’m going to willingly snitch on my family?

“If you refuse, then you won’t look as pretty by the time we’re done.” Quaritch adds, and a bald soldier and a soldier wearing his cap backwards flash metal rods and another soldier cracks his knuckles behind me. I’ve seen them use those on other clans. They shock and electrocute them.

I recognize Lyle and Brown.

I frown at his words. He would always somehow manage to catch me off guard.

When I look back at him, he takes it as an answer to my understanding of the terms and conditions.

“How does it feel to betray your own kind, Y/N? Your own people.” he snarls and I scoff. As long as I answer I should be fine. What I say is up to me.

“Great.” I reply, staring him dead in the eye. He raises an eyebrow before nodding at Lyle. He steps forward and I feel a cold metal come in contact with my thigh before my whole body is tensed and I flinch at the shock waves running through me.

I yelp and quickly step away from him, my hand covering where he electrocuted me. I stared at him in shock. He didn’t even hesitate. After years of us knowing each other and that man mindlessly hurt me.

“Ah! Fuck- ‘in hell…You idiot- I answered the question!” I swear, not understanding why he did that.

My reaction amused the soldiers.

“Doesn’t seem to be going that well for you.” Quaritch teases and I look back at him, my eyes furious. God, I hated him. A few men chuckle and I twirl my tail around my leg. Being in the spotlight like this made me uncomfortable.

“Who’s here with you that we know?” the Colonel asks and my ears flick away a drop of water that fell from my hair.

I hesitate, not wanting to expose them. But then again, it wasn’t such a secret since they were watching the others leave Pandora after we had won. I hear the shock rod go off close to me as a warning and I jumped before opening my mouth to say something.

“Most of the science team…” I say, a bit quieter now. He doesn’t say anything and just keeps looking at me. I take it as a hint to elaborate.

“Dr. Norm Spellman, Max Patel, John, Lily, …”

“What about Augustine?” Quaritch asks and my frown turns into a blank expression. I stare at him in slight disbelief, trying to find out whether he was serious or not.

My silence seems to make him uncomfortable. So he signals his soldier to shock me but I answer before he can.

“You killed Grace…” I snarl at him, the memory paining me. He doesn’t seem upset but he definitely wasn’t expecting to hear that.

“You shot her… in her stomach.”

He looked away, not saying anything.

“But the Great Mother accepted her. Her soul is with Eywa now.” I softly say. He looks back. I can tell not a single person in this room still fully understood the power of Eywa.

“Grace helped Pandora, unlike you. Eywa will have no mercy on you.”

After what was probably a minute of silence, he continued questioning me.

“Where’s Sully?” he asks. I decide to irritate him just a little more.

“Which one?” I reply, smirking. I knew I wouldn’t get shocked because I answered and played it off as an innocent question.

His ears tipped back and he caught on to my attitude.

“Answer.” Quaritch demanded.

“I don’t know.” I say and suddenly I feel the same pain and shock shoot through my body. But this time, it comes from my hip.

I whine, bending forward and resting one arm on my knee while I regain my breath. I throw Brown a dirty look before returning my gaze to Quaritch.

“He’s injured. I don’t know where they took him. He could be anywhere.”

“I feel like you would know where.” the Colonel replies, taking an intimidating step forward. I stand my ground.

“No.” I simply say and suddenly I feel both rods on my ribs and shock waves hit me again. My knees give out and I’m kneeling on the floor, one arm hugging my waist while the other holds me up.

Quaritch stares me down before sighing and shaking his head.

“You know Y/N, I used to think of you as my best soldier.” he says and my ears perk up.

“You were everything you needed to be. I was hoping you’d become Colonel one day too.”

He was playing mind games with me. I wasn’t going to fall for it. I got off my knees and stood in front of him again.

“I don’t know why you decided to run off with Sully. But I can see it changed you.” he locks eyes with me again and he looks angry.

“I didn’t think it would be possible, but turns out you really did become Na’vi, huh?” he continues, almost mocking me.

“You live with them, talk like them…Hell, look at you. Ya even dress like ‘em.” he growls and I look down at my body. I wore typical female Na’vi clothing. A top which I used to think barely covered my chest and a loincloth.

I heard some shuffling around me and then Quaritch smirked.

“Definitely not complainin’.”

The soldiers around me chuckle darkly. I used to be one of them and now they think they can treat me like a minority.

That’s it. He crossed the line. I know exactly what that meant and it was completely unnecessary.

“Asshole.” I snarl and his eyes widen at my comment.

“I see you kept your spirit at least.” he grins. “Guess it won’t be as easy to break ya.”

I huff and he watches me for a while before asking away again.

“Who do you have the kids with? Sully?” he asks and I look at him confused. Did he not know they were Jake’s and Neytiri’s?

“What kids?” I ask and Lyle takes a step forward but I move out of his way when he tries to touch me with the metal stick again.

“They aren’t mine.”

“I’m meant to believe that?” he asks me and scoffs. I’m getting really frustrated here.

“They’re Neytiri’s… and Jake’s.” I say, knowing they are safe so it won’t matter if I tell them.

“You don’t have kids? Ya didn’t settle down like Sully?” he asks and I glare at him again. But I know I have to answer so I shake my head ‘no’.

“Why’d ya give yourself up for them then?” he asks, genuinely.

“Because they don’t deserve to die. They saw me as one of them.” I coldly replied, still angry about how they were treated. “I on the other hand came here with the intention to kill for our kind. People like that don’t deserve a good life.”

A few moments of silence.

Quaritch claps his hands together and smirks. “Well then, that’ll just make this even better.”

I stare at him trying to figure out what he means but I snap out of it when I see Lyle move out of the corner of my eye and I move away again. He huffs out in annoyance.

“Cut it out, I swear to god.” I say, having enough of this bullshit. But Lyle and Brown both attempt to shock me again this time. I turn around, facing them now and hiss. It just seems to annoy Lyle even more and the next time he tries to hit me with the rod I lose it.

“That’s it, you fuckin-” I start swearing, grabbing the rod where he’s holding it and kneeing him in the stomach. He lets go, groaning and bending forwards. I immediately upper-punch him in the face and he stumbles back. Behind me, Brown attempts to restrain my arms but I elbow him in the chest, knocking the air out of him and he lets go, taking a few steps back.

I want to turn around to face Quaritch but now Prager and Ja have dropped their weapons and run forward to try to contain me.

They seemed to forget that I used to be a marine too.

Prager wraps his arms around my waist, holding my arms down. I kick myself off the ground in a launch-mode position and then kick Ja in the face, sending him to the ground. When I land on my feet, I lean down, keeping the motion and Prager is more or less thrown over me.

He lets go and then I see Lyle standing and coming for me again. I just throw myself on him and tackle him to the ground. Lyle manages to hit me in the face but it doesn’t phase me. He rolls us over and tries pinning my arms down but I knee him between the legs and he gives out much easier than expected.

I roll him around and am now straddling his waist, delivering punch after punch to his face.

Before I know it, someone grabs both my arms and my braid, pulling me off of Lyle and hurling me to my feet. I struggle and try to set myself free from their grip but I can’t. I’m held tightly in place and pulled against this soldier's body, with my back pressing against his chest. The tight grip on my braid pains me.

I look up and notice it's Mansk. He removed his glasses and looked pissed off. That was unlike him. Rarely things got to him, he would usually have a neutral stern face with occasional smiles.

This was new. But maybe, I was the problem. Not like I cared if I annoyed him. Nothing could compare to the hell these meathead idiots put me through.

Lyle and Brown are helped up and all eyes are back on me. My chest is heaving slightly more than before and I feel the blood running down from my nose.

Quaritch doesn’t even seem angry. He actually looks impressed. The soldiers that didn’t join like Fike and Lopez are waiting for orders and seem to be expecting a horrible reaction from the Colonel. The soldiers that I did hit on the other hand… those fuckers are out for blood. I mean every single one of them looks at me like they want to kill me. Lyle included. The once goofy dumbass I would work with has his eyes filled with fury.

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this is how I go down. This could very well be how I die.

“What? Did you forget I used to be like you?” I snicker, not being able to hold back a small grin. I took down most of them. I was impressed with myself. Damn. Jake would be impressed too.

Quaritch smirked. I amused him. “Don’t think you’re gettin’ the princess treatment now.” he said. I wasn’t expecting it. Usually, fighting others in combat would earn someone more respect. That didn’t work in this case.

“Anyway…” Quaritch started again, starting to slowly walk around Mansk and me while the other soldiers watched him. As if they were waiting for permission to kill me and finish me off. “Since you’re ours now and we can do with you as we please…”

My eyes shoot to him and my ears perk up. His words confuse me but they have caught my attention.

“And you’re Na’vi now so you understand your body… you can help us out.” Quaritch states, stopping and facing me again. His hands are still holding onto the top of his vest.

My ears tip back when I hear him ask for my help. The last thing I would do is willingly help them. He scoffs at my reaction and Mansk rearranges his grip on my body, making sure to keep it tight.

“We noticed we get, frustrated, more easily…” Quaritch spoke, pretending as if it were nothing. “And you just happened to trigger that reaction again.”

I huff, glaring at him again. My body tenses and I try to push myself away from Mansk who just tugs me back into him.

“How do we contain or… solve that problem, Y/N?” Quaritch asks, taking a step towards me. His tall and built form is almost towering over my slightly smaller frame. I was never small but I never reached their height either.

My eyes widen and I gulp. Surely he doesn’t mean what I think he does. If they are going through their heat, or rut actually, then only finding a mate and forming tsaheylu can solve that as far as I know. And if that is the case here, I need to leave right now. The last thing I need is to be spiritually connected to these monsters through Eywa. She would probably banish me along with them.

He takes note of my reaction. “I can tell that you know the answer. Why don’t you open your pretty lil’ mouth and share it with us?” Quaritch mocks me and I notice how it spikes everyone's interest. It makes me feel more nervous than angry, to be honest. Nervous and even a little frightened because I don’t know what is to come.

I myself was nearing my heat cycle, so my pheromones could be stronger but I shouldn’t be due for the next week or two at least. I wasn’t feeling the symptoms either so I should be fine.

“No? You want to keep it to yourself? Alright then. Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance, sweetheart.” He says, turning away and walking to a chair. He picks it up, bringing it to the circle and sitting on it the wrong way.

“There’s one rule, squad. You listen to everything I say. If you don’t, you’re out and I’ll deal with you personally.” Quaritch threatened, scanning over his unit. A few soldiers nod while others just look between him and me.

I notice Mansk has tightened his grip on me and is almost hugging me from behind. If you could call his tight, bruising grip a hug.

“Understood?” Quaritch asks, wanting to make himself clear. Everyone responds with ‘yes sir.’ and the Colonel nods.

“Alright then. Deal with her.” he snarls and I hear a few dark chuckles and growls around the room. They seemed to know what to do while I was confused.

Mansk grins behind me and harshly pushes me forwards, almost making me stumble. I yelp and stop before I can get closer to the other soldiers but some of them are already making their way to me, their grins and smirks making me feel small. Almost instantly, multiple hands are on me and suddenly, my knee is kicked in. I whine as my legs give out and I fall to my knees while being pushed down. I feel two hands wrap around my queue and some push down my back, so I’m struggling to keep myself up on all fours. My hands are pulled from beneath me and arranged in front of me and I feel someone lift my waist.

I protest, curses and swear words spilling from my lips but they don’t faze anyone. I also continue to fight against their grip, hoping to make this as difficult for them as possible.

Quickly looking around me I notice some soldiers stood standing and watching. Around me, I recognize Mansk, Lyle, Lopez, and Fike.

“Come back here, hot stuff.” Mansk was behind me, pulling me back by my waist and hips when I tried to crawl away. Lyle was on my side and I assumed his hands were around my queue. Lopez and Fike were holding me down by pushing my back and grabbing my arms. Mansk had wrapped his arm around my tail, holding me in place.

“Stop fuckin’ movin’.” I heard Mansk growl and my eyes widened in shock when I felt my stomach erupt in excitement and realised my body was positively reacting to their handling.

Within the next few seconds, someone delivered a harsh slap to my ass and I cried out, arching my back in pain before dropping my head and trying to hide my embarrassed face.

Lyle chuckled at my reaction, moving to sit in front of me now. He picked up my face into his hand, forcing me to look up at him. I closed my eyes, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Look at you turning all red, buttercup.” he cooed, and it felt like he was making fun of me. “This ain’t how I remember you.”

I open my eyes and glare up at him while he just grins.

Fike’s hands are on the waistband of my loincloth and he looks back to the Colonel for permission.

“Take it off.” Quaritch orders and the soldier's snicker in response. My eyes shoot wide open when I hear the words and I struggle again.

“Don’t you fucking dare, I will-” I start threatening but within seconds I feel someone quite literally rip the cloth from my waist. I scream in shock and in pain because the fingers that removed it scratched my skin. I pull my head away from Lyle’s grip.

His focus seems to have been distracted from my face and shifted to my bare waist. He could only watch his colleague's reactions to imagine what you looked like. Based on their groans and curses, he couldn’t wait to have his turn.

“Fuckin’ hell.” Mansk groaned, resting his hand on my bare hip and Lopez laughed.

“Christmas came early.” Fike jokes and I hide my face in my arm again.

Some soldiers standing around came behind Mansk to see and I tried blocking their laughs and jokes out.

“Show me.” Lyle ordered, becoming visibly impatient. His hand still held my braid while the other pulled me around by my waist. He leaned over to see what I looked like and when he cursed too I wanted to cry. The embarrassment was overwhelming. I’d never had this much unwanted attention and I didn’t know how to deal with it.

“You better hurry the fuck up. I’m next.” Lyle grinned, looking at Mansk who pulled my hips back to him. I closed my legs and managed to cover myself with my now free tail but it earned me another harsh slap to my other ass cheek.

“Don’t hide baby. It won’t help you.” I heard Quaritch say and my cheeks heated up even more. I forgot he was still there and he was probably watching the whole thing. The superior I used to look up to was watching and commanding his men to use me.

My tail was snatched away by Mansk again and Lopez untied the knot I made on my back, holding my chest piece in place. It fell open and I clenched my jaw together, tensing all my muscles. It was pulled over my head and I watched as someone threw it to the side. I was completely naked now. In front of 8 men.

Hands were feeling up and down my body, squeezing and caressing my bare, burning skin.

Lyle was back in front of me now, hand holding my face. I didn’t even fight his grip anymore, I just let him hold my head up.

My teary eyes and flushed face seemed to turn him on even more.

“You look so pretty, baby. Don’t worry, you’re gonna get what you want.” He cooed and I managed to gather the strength and snarl at him. He knew damn well this is not what I asked for.

I heard someone unbuckle their belt and shuffle behind me. Before long, my hips were pulled flush against someone else’s bare abdomen. I gasped, looking behind me and whining. I hated how the excitement in my stomach turned into the wetness that was gathering by my core. It wasn’t fair. I needed to stay strong. I wanted to prove to them that I was still strong and could resist as long as I wanted to. But the truth was, my opposing and rebellious thoughts were fading and being replaced with feelings I was denying for way too long.

Mansk grinded himself against me, feeling my slick on himself.

“Shit- looks like you’re enjoying this.” he snarled and I shook my head no, my ears strained back. But I was lying to myself at this point.

“Not yet.” Quaritch said and Mansk stopped. “Prep her first.”

Mansk pulled away and suddenly, someone pushed two fingers into me and I bit down on my lip.

Lyle was watching my reactions, falling silent and looking almost mesmerised. His ears were pointed forwards, trying to pick up all and any noises I made. Even just your heavy breathing had him feeling fired up.

The fingers inside me started moving and I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip, fighting the urge to just submit and let them use me. I whine again through clenched teeth and hear how Lyle sighs.

Luckily it stops before I can fall apart and the fingers which belong to Lopez are removed.

“Fuck, look at how wet she is.” he says, spreading the slick over my hot skin.

That’s when I know that I can’t hide it anymore. Hot tears start spilling down my face in embarrassment and I become aware of the fact that I am screwed. My pride is gone.

“Aw, don’t cry, buttercup. We’ll make you feel good.” Lyle teases me, running a thumb over my cheek and wiping away a few tears.

“No.” I whimper, trying in one last attempt to keep up my rebellious act but then I feel Mansk line himself up with me and then it’s all over.

One of his hands is on my tail while the other then tightly grips my waist and with one strong thrust, he’s inside me. I gasp at the stretch and the foreign feeling of intrusion. He mutters a curse under his breath, stilling for a moment.

“Shit- so tight. I’m only half in.” he says, his tone a little quieter now and a few soldiers laugh. My wide eyes meet Lyle’s when he says only half and Lyle laughs too.

“Don’t worry, baby. You can take it.” he says, and surprisingly his now softer voice comforts me. He rubs his thumb over my cheek again while Mansk pulls out and with his next thrusts, he pushes even deeper into me. A whimper and a sob leave my lips, but the noises seem to spur him on. He’s getting a reaction from me and that’s what he needs.

Soon, he’s thrusting in and out of me and it starts feeling good. His heavy breathing and grunting have my stomach erupting in sick butterflies and then he hits a spot inside me that shoots pleasure through me. My tensed figure suddenly relaxes and I involuntarily arch my back and moan.

The soldier’s heads shoot to me and Lyle looks surprised but the filthy noise makes his grin return.

“Look at you, taking it like a good slut.” he says and lightly slaps my cheek. It doesn’t even hurt, it just stings a little and manages to keep my head in reality.

Mansk speeds up his pace, pulling me back against him every time he thrusts forward. I feel another pair of hands move up and down my arched back while the others grope my breasts and play with my nipples.

Lyle grips my jaw again and takes advantage of my parted lips. He pushes his thumb past them and into my hot mouth. My jaw drops open a bit more and our eyes meet. My half-lidded eyes find his intrigued gaze and I watch his eyes widen as I swirl my tongue around his finger.

“Shit.” he whispers, unable to stop watching me suck his thumb. Mansk speeds up even more and I moan around Lyle’s finger.

Hastily, he removes it from my mouth and his hands fly to his belt. I watch as he opens everything, pulling his cammies down his waist swiftly. His toned abdomen, his v-line, toned thighs and huge dick make me moan again.

Lyle can’t wait any longer and pulls my head to his length, wrapping his fingers around my braid again.

Without any fucking hesitation, I stick my tongue out and sloppily lick a long stripe from his base to his tip. I keep my eyes trained on his face and watch how his lips are white from how hard he’s biting down on them.

Next, I open my mouth and wrap my lips around his head. He moans and I notice his body shudder.

Mansk is relentlessly fucking into me and I feel myself get close too. He keeps hitting the same spot inside me and I moan around Lyle.

In the next few seconds, my legs shake and I clench around Mansk who curses again and rides out my orgasm. My eyes roll to the back of my head and then his hips still with his cock deep inside me. Mansk releases his load, leaning forward and hugging my waist to keep me close to him. My quivering legs slowly slide out from beneath me but Mansk gets up and pulls me back up by my waist. He pulls out with a sigh and Lyle removes himself from my lips.

“My fucking turn.” Lyle announces, getting up and taking Mansk’s position. Mansk moves to the side, regaining his breath before getting dressed.

Fike had been jerking off to my sounds and watched how I was being fucked. He finished just before I did and was now getting dressed with Mansk. They both got up, grinning at each other before taking their previous spots and holding their weapons.

Lyle doesn’t need to wait, he just immediately pushes himself deep into me and starts to fuck me. I moan, trying to crawl away because I’m still so sensitive but he just tugs me back and tightens his grip. Lopez is now in front of me and his pants open too. My vision is a little blurry now, but maybe it’s just my clouded mind. I can’t properly comprehend what’s happening but I sure can’t fight it. I just let it happen now.

Lyle grabs my thighs, spreading them further apart so that my legs are resting around his. One of his hands is wrapped around my tail while the other is groping my ass.

I want to moan but then my mouth is filled with Lopez’s dick. I open my mouth as he makes me almost choke and let my tongue trace his veins. Lopez groans, his ears tipped back and fangs bared. Their primal side turns me on.

"Watch it with those." Lopez growls out, his thumb tracing over my fangs. I don't even get the chance to nod before I'm urged to take more.

I wrap my lips around him, taking him as far into my mouth as possible before hollowing my cheeks. He snarls, responding to the pleasure and slowly moves in and out of me.

Compared to him, Lyle is fucking the life out of me. The area where the skin of his thighs and abdomen slaps mine has turned red and no longer stings, it's becoming numb.

I moan around Lopez again and because I’m already so fucked out, time passes quicker. Lyle finishes by plunging himself as deep as Mansk into me and cumming. He makes me come a second time because he paid attention to how my body responded to him and applied pressure on my clit to get me over the edge. Seeing my eyes roll back again sent Lopez into euphoria and after they both pulled away and my quivering self was laying on the floor regaining my breath, their positions were taken.

Strong hands pull me from the ground and back onto all fours. My knees and palms became red and sore. I open my eyes and see Prager, Ja, and Brown kneeling around me.

Brown lines himself up behind me while Ja cups my face, smiling. Prager is keeping me stable and holding me in place so I don’t fall over.

“I can’t- anymore.” I sob, feeling like a mess. My skin has beads of sweat covering it, my face is flushed and my hips are bruised. The blood from my nose ran down my lips and I can taste the blood.

Tears are wiped away by Ja and he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. Prager and Brown look over at Quaritch.

“She can take it.” Quaritch assures. His voice reminds me of how angry I felt before. Like he would know whether I can or can’t.

I feel Brown push into me and moan. My slick mixed with Lyle’s and Mansk’s cum is dripping down my legs now. I protest with a whimper, spreading my arms and legs so that I really don’t collapse.

“Someone’s been fucked dumb.” Ja coo’s but it no longer makes me feel embarrassed. It makes me enjoy it that much more.

Brown tugs my hips towards him, his tail caressing my thigh as he ruts into me with no mercy. Prager and Ja switch places and Prager is opening his belt in front of me again. I started feeling like I was about to lose consciousness from everything happening around me.

Once Prager rid himself of his pants, I instinctively opened my mouth and he chuckled. His former colleague who beat him in combat was now waiting for him to push his cock into her mouth.

“Didn’t think I’d ever get to see you like this, Y/N.” he teases but his words just went in one ear and out the other. The other men laughed.

“Hurry up before she passes out on you.” A voice from one of the soldiers standing called and more snickers followed.

“Take it easy on her. I’m surprised she’s still standin’.” Quaritch says and I can tell by the way he says it that he’s grinning.

Prager nods and Brown slows down a little. Then Prager places his tip on my lips, gripping the back of my head and pushing about halfway in. I’m more used to the intrusion so I can take more of him. He bites his lip, pulling out before back slowly advancing a little further in. He’s almost bottomed out and I choke a little, squeezing my eyes shut. Another tear runs down my cheek and Prager moans, his head falling back.

I hear a few voices around me exchanging words and in synch with Brown’s thrusts, Prager pushes all the way down my throat so that my nose is pressed against his abdomen. My eyes are wide because I can’t believe I’m able to take him so far down my throat. Especially because he and all the other soldiers are so big.

I hold back a choke and cough a little, swallowing around him which drives Prager feral. He and Brown both still their hips and the soldiers standing around cheer at him and whistle.

“Shit, she can take it all. Makes me want to have another turn.” Someone says but I’m too distracted to figure out who it is.

“Not today, otherwise, we’ll lose her.” Quaritch chuckles.

Prager and Brown both pull out while Ja holds me up now. Brown finishes quickly and then Prager follows. I swallow Prager’s load out of reflex because he is so far down my throat.

When Prager pulls out I gasp for air and cough, which has a few soldiers snickering darkly. He high-fives Brown as he gets up, but Prager stays kneeling by me to hold me up for Ja.

“You okay, baby?” Ja asks but I can’t respond. I feel so weak and tired. He lets go of my waist and I slowly sink to the ground. My limbs are almost useless at this point.

Prager is grinning while Ja takes a bit of pity on me. He carefully turns me around so that I’m laying on my back before climbing on top of me, his arms caging me in. I feel a little less exposed like this at least. He smirks when my eyes meet his.

“I’ll try to be gentle.” he whispers, taking into consideration how sore I am and how watery my eyes are.

“Oh god.” someone laughs. “Lover-boy’s fallin’ in love again.”

Ja’s ears tip back and he glares at the soldier that commented that.

“Hey. Cut it out and let the man handle things. Someone has to be last.” Lyle stepped in.

My ears have drooped, and I just watch him. I’m too tired to even turn my head.

Ja looks at me before undoing his pants. When he slips them down, he checks on me again to make sure I’m still awake. He seems very caring. Unlike the others. It makes me feel safer. It also makes me regret kicking him in the face before.

Ja takes one of my legs, wrapping it around his waist and then he takes both my hands and pins them above my head with one of his. I don’t even lift a finger in protest.

Then, he moves his hips forward and slowly enters me. He manages to push all the way in because I’m stretched out from all the others but it doesn’t feel any less good.

They’ve all been deprived of sexual relief for a long time and now they could finally let it all out.

He’s about to pull out again when someone comments on something. Ja was about to punch his colleague and take you away so he could have you to himself but the comment stopped his violent thoughts.

“Damn, look.” Lopez nudges Brown and Mansk, but their eyes are already fixed on your abdomen. Lyle chuckles and even Quaritch now stands up to look.

Ja is confused and looks down only to be met with one of the most beautiful sights he’s ever seen. He examines the belly bulge, letting go of your thigh and pressing down lightly on your abdomen.

I whine, closing my eyes and it makes Ja want to claim me as his right then and there.

“Fuck, you don’t know how good you look right now, babygirl.” Mansk says, feeling needy all over again.

I whimper, letting my head fall to the side so that I’m not looking at them.

“Poor girl’s embarrassed. Leave her alone.” Prager jokes and they chuckle knowing you’ve been embarrassed from the second your knees hit the ground.

“You’re okay, baby. Let me take care of you.” Ja whispered, leaning down to my ear. I look up at him and nod a little in response which makes him smile.

Slowly and steadily, he pulls out of me. Ja starts gently thrusting into me, his one hand returning to keep my thigh around his lower waist. He rubs his hand along the skin, keeping it in place while he makes sure I feel good too. Every reaction I give him he takes into account and once I arch my back off the ground and into him, he grins, seeing it as a positive response. He speeds up just a little, but not enough to have our skin slapping.

I whimper and occasionally moan, my eyes fluttering closed.

He drops his head and licks the skin around my nipples before biting and kissing my neck.

The kisses surprise me but they piss Quaritch off.

“Not her mouth. Don’t you dare.” Quaritch orders, sternly. Ja looks up, not seeming happy with the order but still listening. He doesn’t nod, he just returns to kissing my neck which makes the butterflies in my tummy come to life again.

My mouth drops open as I feel another orgasm start to build up.

Ja’s thrusts become a little sloppy and he grinds down against my clit every time he bottoms out.

“You can let go, baby.” he whispers in my ear and I nod again. With the next few thrusts, I’m in heaven. My pussy clenches around him which pushes him over the edge but he rides out both our orgasms.

His head is dropped in the crook of my neck while we both regain our breath. I can’t even open my eyes, I just go limp. Ja gives my cheek a small kiss before carefully letting go of me and pulling out. Quaritch glares at him before Ja starts getting dressed.

I just lay on the floor, my legs resting on top of each other with one arm slightly covering my chest.

Quaritch walks over to me and squats down. He turns my head to look up at him and I notice the shit-eating grin on his face. He watches how my ears tip back and my little rebellion against him amuses the Colonel.

“You and I aren’t done yet.” he whispers before standing up.

“Prager, get the towel. Lyle, help the poor lady up.” he orders and Lyle walks over to me, sinking to his knees and pulling me up into a sitting position. Prager comes over and wipes away the mixture of body fluids than ran down my inner thighs. I flinch when he touches my pussy but Lyle comforts me by holding my cheek and rubbing my belly.

“You did well, buttercup.” he says and I would have scoffed at the pet name which I was now able to comprehend again, but I was mentally absent.

The towel is wrapped around me and Lyle pulls me to my feet. He’s about to pick me up but to his surprise, I push him away.

“I can fucking walk by myself, I don’t need your help.” I say. My previous attitude returning amuses the squad.

Lyle grins. “Go ahead.”

He removes his arms from under my arms and I take a step forward. Almost immediately my quivering legs give out but before I can sink to the ground, Lyle catches me again.

“Fuck.” I swear and he chuckles.

“Pick her up.” Quaritch orders and Lyle scoops me into his arms. I cover my face with the towel and don’t protest.

“What were you saying, baby?” Lyle teased and Mansk chuckled.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I mumble. Lyle grins and starts walking behind the Colonel. The squad pick up their things and make their way to the exit.

“I want to go back.” I say, only loud enough for Lyle and Miles to hear.

I wanted to go back to my family, but I knew that there was no chance of that happening.

Quaritch scoffed, stopping in front of the exit doors and tucking in my towel so that nothing was exposed.

“Not happening. This is what you came for Y/N.” he teased, making sure I was covered before pressing the button and the large automatic doors opened. The daylight hit me and I shielded myself with the towel.

Mansk and Ja walked beside Lyle to keep the people and other soldiers who weren’t recoms away. They felt protective over you. You were their Y/N after all.

No one needed to know about their business. All they saw was them carrying out a limp, not moving Na’vi. Whether she was dead or alive, they didn’t know.

What the recoms knew was that they were not finished with you and you knew Quaritch still had plans.

The team knew you from before. They wouldn’t shoot you and dump your body in the water. You were being taken back to their base, where they would take care of you.

(probably won't be able to post for the next 2 weeks, so sorry. I'm learning for finals and have so many assignments due.)

Let me know how you liked it <3 i appreciate all feedback. This took me way too long💞💀

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suuuupernovaaa · 1 year

Text

muntxa si

MUNTXA SI: (english) to mate with, marry

(Adult) Neteyam vehemently opposes his human mate becoming Na’vi, for fear of losing her.

This story makes many assumptions - just go with them to enjoy the ride.

2,247 words.

The strength with which Neteyam opposed the idea, right from the very start, was a shock to everyone who knew him. When his mother first mentioned it, she saw a familiar fury in his eyes, one she knew she’d worn many times.

His brother nearly lost his head when he brought it up, and his father hadn’t even tried to broach the subject.

What he didn’t know was that they weren’t bringing it up of their own accord, though it was something they’d thought about before. They were bringing it up because I had brought it up to them first.

I was the only one who wasn’t shocked by his reaction. I knew that all Neteyam would see was the danger and risk involved, and there was nothing more detestable to Neteyam than putting me in harm’s way. This was a sometimes annoying but mostly reassuring trait of his, especially given that, as a human living on Pandora, danger was lurking around nearly every corner for me. Ewya had blessed me with a strong and capable - but slightly overbearing - protector.

After weeks of his family telling me it was me who would have to convince him, I finally plucked up the courage.

We sat in our Mauri pod, late at night, and the words spilled out of my mouth before I could fully control them.

“I want to become Na’vi. Norm has an Avatar for me, he’s been hiding it since I was little, and he told me on my 20th birthday. It’s fully mature now.”

Neteyam sat at the edge of our pod, his legs dangling over the edge and into the water, and he spun around so fast that his braids smacked the wall of the Mauri.

His eyes narrowed and he lowered his chin. “No.”

Taking a deep breath beneath my mask, I stood up. “You don’t get to decide for me, Teyam. I have decided, and I know the clan will support me.”

“No!” He was standing too now, towering over me at nearly twice my height, but he could never scare or intimate me, even if he truly tried.

“Listen to me, Neteyam. You are only thinking of the risk involved, and not the reward. I can’t survive here forever, as one of the last humans. What if the air tanks run out? How will we live our lives together, with me in this human body? Have you considered the fact that your lifespan is twice mine? What will you do when I am too old, even, to run and swim? I won’t live like that, Neteyam!”

I felt hot tears in my eyes, and tried to blink them away in frustration. “You can’t force me to live a half-life with you when a full life is within my grasp! I know Ewya will give this to me. She wouldn’t have brought me to you if she didn’t want us to be together.”

Neteyam’s hands rested on my shoulders, enveloping me, stressing to the both of us our impractical size difference.

“Y/N... you don’t know that she will give this to us. She may take you home to her.”

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the panic I could see in his face.

“I have to do this, Neteyam. We won’t have a future together if I don’t. Norm and the others... they talk about having to leave, without a permanent colony here. Their supplies won’t last forever. They would either take me, or leave me here to die with no oxygen.”

Neteyam pulled me down, so we were sitting face to face, our legs crossed.

“I cannot lose you, Y/N.”

“This is our best chance, Neteyam. Please. Please let me do this.”

As much as I had been pretending it was only my choice, and I didn’t need his permission, I knew I couldn’t do it without his blessing. That just wasn’t something I could do to Ma Teyam.

I watched his chest rise and fall with deep breaths as he contemplated.

“We will do this, Y/N, and if Ewya takes you, I will follow you to her myself and bring you back.”

It took time to plan - time that was exciting for all of us. We decided to fly back to the Tree of Souls to give my human body the best chance, since with the Metkayina, the ceremony would have to take place under water.

The Omatikaya welcomed the Sullys, and one sky person, back with open arms. After all, it wasn’t as if I was a stranger to them - I had many friends to greet, as well.

The ceremony was set for the night after our return. Neteyam was quiet at dinner, and his mother watched him cautiously.

“Son,” she said, handing him a plate, “I see the spirit within Y/N. It reminds me of your father - strong, stubborn, a little frustrating.” She smiled, but Neteyam couldn’t bring himself to follow suit. “She will be okay.”

She gripped her son’s arm and he nodded, but the sinking feeling in his chest was there to stay, until the ceremony was complete.

Neteyam walked with me, hand and hand, through the large crowd there to witness my birth - or my funeral.

I could feel the tension radiating through his body, but no matter what I said, I wasn’t able to ease it for him. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, myself.

There she lay - me, but not me. Tall, with long, thick black hair and eyes that would surely be a piercing gold when opened. She was beautiful; it was the first I was seeing her.

“Oh, Neteyam...” I said, a lump in my throat, and gripped his arm tightly as we approached the tree.

He placed his hand over mine. “You can still change your mind,” he said, but with a sly smile, the first I’d seen him wear in a while - he knew there was little chance of that.

He lifted me up and placed me next to my new body, where the spiritual leader of the Omatikaya waited, a serene and focused look on her face.

She gestured for me to lay down, and I turned to Neteyam. Maybe it was the proximity to the Tree of Souls, but I felt a calm - and tried to convey it to Neteyam with a smile. His family stood behind him, taking their seats to join the ceremony. Neteyam would stay with me until it was done.

He nodded, and I could practically see his heart beating through his chest as he helped me to lay down, my head inches from my avatar’s.

“You will sleep now. Be calm,” a voice above me said, and I had only time to tell Neteyam I loved him before I sank away.

Watching her eyes close, a panic gripped Neteyam’s heart and he felt as if he could vomit in front of the entire clan.

He turned and sought his mother, and would have been embarrassed to do so in any other situation. She was seated between his brother and father, all holding hands with eyes closed, chanting to Ewya.

He watched as Ewya reached up, covering his mate in feather light touches, and he put his hands on her, praying to Ewya, reminding Ewya how much this human woman meant to him.

Silently, he told Ewya of the first time they’d met, at only six years old, and of their first kiss at 12, how she fought with him through the Great War despite her size, how long it took him to work up the courage to ask her to be his mate, and how they cried together when she said yes.

This woman is my life, Great Mother, he prayed, I ask that you return her to me in either body here, and we will make the most of this life we have together.

Every minute felt like an hour, and then the Tsahik reached over and pulled the mask off of his love’s face.

She was gone, at least from this form.

“She is passing through Ewya now, Neteyam, and you must guide her back,” the Tsahik said.

He leapt carefully over to her avatar body, taking it in for the first time. Those were her lips, the shape of her eyes, the sharp dip between her nose and mouth - all his favorite things about her, right here.

“Yawne,” he said, reaching out to touch her soft face, “can you hear me? Follow my voice. Come back to me so that we may return home together, and live the life you promised me.”

He looked to the Tsahik, who nodded in encouragement and resumed chanting. The cries of the clan rose around him, his father and mother’s the loudest, and he steadied his shaking body with a deep breath.

“Y/N, Yawne, hear my voice and follow it. I will wait for you forever - remember the promise I made. Do not deliver two souls to Ewya this day.”

He nearly shot back when the woman before him took a gasping breath, and amber eyes shot open.

It’s impossible to describe how it happens. It’s not a wordly experience, and there are no words to properly convey it.

Ewya is real, and she gave me a second chance at life.

Neteyam’s face hovered inches above mine as I gasped for air. He slipped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me up, and even in this new body, in my disoriented state, I was acutely aware that I was naked.

“Yawne,” Neteyam whispered, and I saw the tears spilling from his eyes. He only called me Yawne - beloved - once before, when he asked me to be his mate.

“Tiyawn,” I replied, my voice breathy and almost foreign to my ears. My ears! I reached up, trailing my hand over my thick hair and reaching up to feel the pointy, blue ears atop my head. A giggle escaped before I could stop it.

“Can you stand?” he asked, gripping my arms.

I leaned into him. “I am naked.”

“You are Na’vi now,” he replied with almost a shrug, “but I will carry you if it concerns you.”

“I think you should, my legs feel weak.”

They felt strong. My entire body felt strong, and I couldn’t wait to learn how to use it.

I glanced over my shoulder to see myself. My former self. As Neteyam lifted me into his arms and stood up, I thought I should cry for her... but she didn’t feel like me, not anymore.

The clan cheered and whooped, hollered and threw their arms triumphant in the air, as Neteyam stood with me and let out what sounded like a war cry, shaking me in his arms.

The joy in his face was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was beautiful, especially seen through these new eyes.

He rushed through the crowd, to his Ikran, and mounted in one fell swoop with me in his arms.

The Ikran felt so much smaller than she had when we’d arrived less than an hour ago, but of course, I was the one who had grown over three feet.

He took off, holding the saddle with one arm and me tightly in the other, to a place we could be alone.

Back at our temporary home, I was finally able to take a breath and try my new body out. For my first few steps, I had to hold Neteyam’s hands, until I got the hang of it.

I felt weak, but I knew that would wear off. This body was strong, and I was going to make it even stronger, so I could finally keep up with Neteyam.

The thought made me burst into tears as he searched through his mother’s things for something I could wear.

“What is it, Y/N? Do you hurt?” he asked, rushing to my side with only a necklace in his hands.

Embarrassed, I tried to wave him off, but he was too on edge. “Tell me, Yawne. Tell me what you need.”

I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him tightly to me. My face rested perfectly on his chest, where before, it was just over his waist - making hugging an awkward feat. We fit perfectly together now, and it made me cry even harder.

“I’m just so happy and grateful, Neteyam.” I pulled back, wiping at my tears. “Tell me what you think.”

“What I think?” he asked, turning his head to the side.

“Of... me. Of my body. Do you still, I mean, do you like it?”

His gaze softened and he reached up to cup my cheek. “I have loved you for 15 years, Y/N. I loved you human form. Your small body, your beautiful soft hair, and your light eyes. I loved every moment of our life together.”

The tears threatened to return.

“But this... this is my dream, Y/N. I see it now, what you’ve always seen. You were meant to be one of The People, to be with me, to be the mother of my children and my mate for life.”

A smile spread across my new face so wide, I thought it might crack. “I love you, Neteyam.”

He pulled me into his strong arms, and we took a deep breath together.

“Forever,” he whispered in my ear.

I squeezed him tight. “Forever.”

#avatar #avatar 2 #neteyam #avatar way of the water #neteyam x reader

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avatarloverfrfr · 1 month

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Dreamwalker Siblings

Chapter I: Cryo-sleep

Masterlist

Summary: Y/n and Jake Sully. Siblings, shipped off into the depths of space to explore the mysterious world of Pandora.

Warnings: Mentions of death, reader is NOT excited at all, Constant reminder of deceased loved one.

Word count: 3,6k

Tag list: @pinkvrydag @neytirismissingtoe @youskawng @tsuteyssyulang @lylalaminated

Note: Trust me guys, this series is going to take an interesting turn around the second or third chapter, be patient. Let me cook. Also just ask to be added to the tag list.

"You cannot ask this of us! Tommy is the scientist not us. He wanted to be shot light years into space, not us. We cannot do it." I shrieked, pleading with my brother for validation, but my cries were met with oppressive silence. His gaze fixed onto our fallen sibling, Tommy, robbed of life right before he went off to do the only thing that put a smile to his face. All sacrificed for the contents of his wallet.

"Your brother represented a significant investment, we'd urge you to accept taking over his contract." The man besides Jake had said, completely disregarding all that I had said. "I'm sure he would hate to have all his hard work go to waste, knowing someone so close to him would be able to continue his legacy." The second man, besides me, added with a curt nod.

Outrage boils within me at the audacity of these men, exploiting the loss of one of us, former triplets, as leverage against us. How dare they use Jake and I with their clear motives of greed, revealing to us that our worth to them is nothing but a budget they refuse to abandon.

"It'll be a fresh start, on a new world. And the pays good, very good." they said staring at Jake and I. Before I could even say something in retaliation. Jake had spoken for the first time that night. "We'll do it." Disbelief swept over me as I locked eyes with him. How could he agree so easily? How could he not see that these men were just using us— he probably could, yet chose to turn a bind eye.

"Perfect, Y/n we will get your Avatar ready, they will mature on the trip there." the men said walking out, leaving me in there with Jake.

"How could you just accept like that Jake. You caved! Just like that? You know they are just playing us, and you still went along with it! Don't you see–" I started, but he interrupted me. "Maybe you don't see it, but I do. We are dirt poor Y/n! Struggling... This cash could change everything. We could finally be able to live." he pleaded, desperate for understanding. "I could afford to use my legs again." he confessed.

While I was sitting there, next to my brother, a big whole blown right in the middle of our lives, I started having these dreams. Dreams that whispered secrets of possibility and untold wonders. Sooner or later though, you always have to wake up.

As I wake up, I glance around and it hits me, I'm in some sort of cryo pod. Flashbacks flood my mind, reminding me of the time before my life had got frozen, five years of my life, gone. The memories of Tommy's death, as if it was yesterday. 'We had to do it, so we could live." I think to myself, trying to find comfort in all of this.

"Rise and shine sleepy head." a doctor had greeted me as I exit the cryo pod I had spent the last five years of my life in. "We're here."

"Exo-packs on! Let's go! Exo packs on! Remember people, you lose that mask, you're unconscious in 20 seconds, and dead in four minutes–" I stopped listening to what the sergeant had to say. Looking around my eyes landing on Jake. We should not be here, this is not our home. But what's the point in dwelling now, there's no turning back. I think to myself while putting on my exo pack, adjusting it so oxygen could freely flow through.

"When that ramp comes down, go directly into the base. Do not stop! Go straight inside wait for my mark!" the sergeant yelled. Standing up I walk over to Jake who was still seated waiting for everyone in front of him to leave the air craft so that he was able to freely able to deploy his wheelchair.

"Let's go special case! Do not make me wait for you Sully's!" he barks. Not bothering to acknowledge him Jake and I walk off the ramp and onto Pandora, our "fresh start." Taking a long look around I spot soldiers, back on earth these guys were heroes, marines fighting for freedom. But out here they were all just a bunch of hired guns, serving the RDA until their last breath.

"You're not in Kansas anymore, you're on Pandora ladies and gentlemen–" the man, Quartrich, continued. Tommy was meant to be listening to this, not Jake and I.

"Excuse me. Excuse me. Jake!" a lanky man rushes up to us after the "safety brief." "You're Jake right? Tom's brother." he asked looking down at him to meet his eyes. I just stare at him, does he just not see me here?

"You look just like him." he says eyes finally landing on me. "Sorry– I forgot he had mentioned he had two siblings, Y/n. I'm Norm. Spellman. Went through Avatar training with him." he says leading us into some sort of bio-lab.

As Norm continues briefing us on the bio-lab procedures, my attention drifts, drawn to avatars in three separate cry-chambers. I approach them, circling until I stop at a particular one.

"Looks like him." Jake and I simultaneously say, not once taking our eyes off what our brother could have been.

"No, looks like you. This is your avatar now Jake." Norm reassures him placing a hand on Jakes shoulder before moving to the last tube in the bio-lab.

"And this is your avatar Y/n. She had to get to the lab as soon as possible, since you know–" Norm starts, but I cut in, "–I wasn't meant to be here. Yeah, I'm aware." I finish, stepping closer to my avatar.

She looks so much like me, except for the obvious differences. Blue skin, a queue, and her sheer size. "She's beautiful." I whisper, touching the glass, feeling a soft heartbeat pass between us.

"The idea is that every driver is matched to their own Avatar, so their nervous systems are in tune... Or something. That's why they offered us the gig. It's insanely expensive... Is this right? Do we just say whatever to the video log?" Jake questions turning to Norm and Max.

"And do we have to share the exact same camera to film these things?" I interject, trying to nudge Jake out of the screens view.

"Yeah, you both need to document everything you see, what you feel. Plus, you're twins, who knows if you both are able to feel the same emotions or not. It's all apart of the science." Norm explains, retuning to his work.

"Plus it'll keep you sane for the next six years," Norm adds chuckling.

"Not if I have to sit next to Mr. Jarhead it's not." I remark, rolling my eyes but smiling slightly.

"Look who's talking Miss. 'I might not be a marine, but I sure can beat your ass,' " Jake adds, playfully pushing me.

This was one the first times I had smiled since arriving to Pandora. Usually keeping a stoic face, only smiling around my brother. My only family, the only thing from my past life.

Entering the link room behind Norm and Max, we're greeted by a voice. "Who's got my goddamn cigarette?" a redheaded woman demands, emerging from one of the link pods.

"Grace Augustine is a legend. She's the head of the Avatar Program. She wrote the book, I mean literally write the book on Pandora botany." Norm gushes. "Well that's because she likes plants more than people." Max adds teasingly.

"Well, there she is, Cinderella back from the ball. Grace, I'd like you to meet Norm Spellman, and Jake and Y/n Sully." Max says pointing at each of us in turn.

"Norm, I've heard good things about you. How's your Na'vi?" she asks, completely ignoring my brother and me, then begins to speak in a language I can only assume is Na'vi.

"Uh- Grace, this is Jake and Y/n Sully," Max interjects, trying to redirect her attention.

"Yeah, yeah. I know who you are, and I don't need you. I need your brother. You know. the PhD who trained for years for this mission? Yeah him." she snaps.

"He's dead. We know it's a big inconvenience for everyone, including me." I reply bluntly. There's no need to sugar coat anything that's already happened.

"How much lab training have you had?" she asks, looking between Jake and I.

"We dissected a frog once." Jake simply states.

"You see? I mean, they're just pissing on us without even the courtesy of calling it rain. I mean hell, the girl isn't even supposed to be here! I'm going to Selfridge, this is such bullshit." she rants, storming off but not before putting out her cigar.

"Well she's kind." I remark dryly.

As Jake and I arrive precisely at the time Max had instructed us to the day before, 0800, Jake and I hasten to catch up with Grace and Norm, who are already stationed at the link pods.

"You're late Sully's. You're in there, you're here." Grace remarks, gesturing towards two pods for Jake and I, and we obediently follow her directions.

"How much have you both logged?" she inquires, turning to the screen besides Jakes link pod.

"Zip, but I read a manual." Jake replies with a nonchalant shrug, as he wheels over to his pod.

"I listened to him read it out loud, if that counts." I confess making my way to my own pod.

"Tell me you're joking." Grace says incredulously, as she abandons her work on Jakes screen to approach mine.

"So you just decided to venture out here, to the most hostile environment known to man with no training whatsoever and see how it went? What was going on through your head?" she questions, setting up both mine and Jakes link screens for launch.

"Maybe I was tired of doctors telling what I couldn't do." Jake retorts, lying down in this link pod. I look at him wondering if that is why he spared no chance in me saying anything back when those men asked us to take the place of Tommy, because he was tired of the life he had.

"Keep you arms in, heads down." Grace instructs, pushing me into my link bed before I had the chance to ask Jake what he had truly meant.

"Just relax and let your mind go blank." are the last words I hear Grace utter before she seals my link pod.

Off to the side, Max examines scans of Jake and my brain. Studying the intently, he remarks. "Jakes brain is gorgeous, with nice activity. However we're detecting some resistance in Y/n's brain. She's unconsciously pushing back against the transfer, if this continues it could potentially harm the link." he informs, turning to Grace for guidance.

"Once the link is established, it cannot be interrupted. It will only worsen the issue," Grace states matter-of-factly, keeping an eye on my Avatar. Stubborn and resistant to change- that's Grace's initial assessment of Y/n, even after less than 48 hrs of meeting her.

As my eyes flutter open, I'm greeted by a blinding light that pierces my eyes. A sharp ache throbs in my head, intensifying until two figures materialize before me- doctors, no doubt.

"She's awake. Y/n, can you hear me? Are you feeling alright?" the female doctor inquires, checking my expression for any sign of discomfort.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I reply, opting not to mention the pounding headache. Slowly, I sit up, only to find my hands adorned with five blue fingers.

"I made it." I murmur to myself in disbelief. Glancing around, I notice Jake already on his feet, a grin stretching across his face. He's standing, a sight I never thought I'd witness again, his legs finally functioning.

"Y/n you've got to see this. When's the last time you saw your brother standing tall, huh?" he exclaims, turning to face me while his tail knocks over everything in it's path.

Finally on my feet, I chuckle, "Bro, we're giants." The realisation hits me as I gaze at Jake and then towards the exit to find that he was already smiling at me– we're thinking the same thing. Tri– Twin telepathy perhaps?

Without a word Jake and I bolt, dodging Avatars engaged in a game of basketball, evading Norm and the two doctors running after us. We hurdle obstacles until a humanoid robot comes into view.

"Sorry! we both exclaim breathlessly, narrowly avoiding a collision as we skid to a stop near some flora. Catching our breath, we're approached by an avatar bearing striking resemblance to Grace.

"Hey, Sully's!" she calls out, closing in on us.

"Grace?" Jake questions, eyeing her up and down.

"Who else were you expecting numbnuts?" she retorts with a grin, with me laughing at the nickname Grace gave him.

As Jake and Grace catch up, I slip away into the area where Avatars are housed, searching for a change of attire. Opting for a top similar to Graces but in a deep shade of blue, that are about a shade darker than my current skin tone, pairing it with green cargo shorts. Hoping to blend in slightly to the flora and fauna of the forest.

Gazing up at the darkening sky, I realize it's nearly nightfall, meaning I had to delink for the night. "Alright, everyone, settle down! Lights out." Grace commands, ushering the remaining humans away.

"See you at dinner kiddos," she adds, flicking the lights off.

Lying back, I can still feel the remnants of the headache, but I decided to let sleep wash it away. Closing my eyes, I drift off into a peaceful slumber.

next II

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eywa-eveng · 5 months

Text

ɪ. ᴡʜᴀᴛ’s ʟᴇғᴛ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ – ɴᴇʏᴛɪʀɪ & ᴊᴀᴋᴇ X ᶠᴱᴹ ᴼᴹᴬᵀᴵᴷᴬᵞᴬ ᴿᴱᴬᴰᴱᴿ

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ – 12.2k

ɢᴇɴʀᴇ – angst

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs – mentions of character death, mentions of war, ptsd, unrequited love

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ’s ɴᴏᴛᴇ – A bit of a non-linear storyline here, but nothing too confusing.

ᴛᴀɢ ʟɪsᴛ – @eywas-heir @fanboyluvr @amiets2 @neteyamforlife @sunrays404 @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @eternallyvenus @bobojojoba69 @behindthearcane @elegantkidfansoul @ladylovegood-69 @pinkiemme @arminsgfloll @wtf-why-do-i-gotta-do-this @onlyreadz @ghost-lantern @calums-betch @crazy4books1 @meladollsims @yeosxxx @sillyfreakfanparty

Light blooms underfoot, swelling and fading like ripples over water as faint syuratan rises to meet the shadows gathering beneath the night sky. The last dregs of amber sunlight pierce through the treetops like arrows, the warm light glowing like a flame behind the silhouetted canopy. The shades of firelight fade to blue darkness as the forest swallows the last whispers of daylight into the darkened horizon. A path towards the clan’s new settlement is carved in pale green light, each step echoed by the glowing moss blanketing the tree limbs. The newly lit plants burn brighter at the slightest touch, flaring as a breeze brushes through the trees, shuffling one leaf against another until entire branches are bright as torchlight. And when the wind settles the air is filled with the sweet taste of nectar, the hanging plants swarmed with insects that fill the night with their buzzing song. There’s always music in the forest, the sounds of life thrumming through the air like the distant voices of a forgotten lullaby. The chittering of nantang and the shrieking of riti, the thundering footfalls of ’angtsìk.

The noises of the night build as the stars begin to dot the sky, swallowing your nearly soundless footfalls as you weave through the foliage, running along the twisted roots bridging the distance between the trees. The ground rushes up to meet you as you jump from the high perch, ears twitching towards a disturbance somewhere nearby that makes your landing sound like stones rolling down a hill, fumbling and clumsy. Loud enough to be worth a closer look as voices begin to break through the foliage, terse with agitation. Your feet are quick enough to catch the tail end of the confrontation.

Hunters. Some mounted and others on foot. A mix of Na’vi and uniltìrantokx, separated by dignity and appearance. The sawtute are easy to parse from trueborn Na’vi, even at a distance. They’re like fiery red blossoms in a sea of yellow flowers, so plainly out of place. Speaking their human language and wearing their human clothes even when most of their kind have long since been banished from Pandora. The night had been clear when they left and a new star bloomed in the darkness, bright as a white flame in the deep blue sky. Most claim not to mourn the loss but others seem less inclined to surrender themselves to the Na’vi way of life. It is clear that the topic of disturbance involves such cultural differences as you creep closer.

Someone cuts a biting remark, gruff and steeped in a thickening accent the more terse their words become. An uniltìrantokx returns the venom-stricken tone with their own heavy accent, Na’vi words sounding as intimidating as a child when spoken on such a foreign tongue. One of the mounted hunters cracks a smile, a sardonic laugh slipping past his lips. These avatars are like humans. Babies that need teaching especially after being so suddenly stripped away from their system of support. There aren’t many of them left in their place of human dwelling. That strange metal cave system that spirals out like the bloated roots of some shimmery plant. These are supposed to be the truly loyal humans. The kind humans left after the rot and ruin of the rest was scraped away. There are kind souls that remain but some are far too stubborn, like clay dug up from a riverbed and left to dry before it was fully molded into shape. They’re stiff and unchanging despite the offers to be taught your ways of life.

It is a fair argument they are having from what you can hear at the fringes of the clearing. The avatars are being far too liberal with their bows. Eager arrows lead to messy kills and there is no reason to cause unneeded suffering for a lack of discipline. An injured animal will run if it is able and sawtute are far less adept at traversing these forests. It would be easy for them to lose their intended kill and leave the animal to suffer with an arrow in its hide. A mounted hunter says as much, pa’li unsteady beneath her, the direhorse churning up dirt beneath her hooves as her rider’s anger is surely reflected through tsaheylu. When the humans have nothing to say back the silence stretches like a rope pulled taut, slowly fraying under the strain until it snaps and the leader of the hunting party gives the gruff order to return home.

The word still sets an ache in your chest like pressing against a bruise, dull and throbbing as “home” has changed shape. You follow in the trail of light left by the hunting party. Not towards Hometree that always stood above the forest like a fist punching towards the sky, but to grounded dwellings flanking the humans’ nearly abandoned home. The hunting party continues on after passing through the newly made village, escorting the avatars back to their massive metal kelku. Their refusal to learn has stunted their ability to be trusted in the forest alone. Truly like children that need to be guided lest they be met with an accident that could’ve been prevented with proper teachings.

The sounds of the forest give way to a din of voices as green syuratan fades to bright orange firelight. It sounds much the same as Kelutral had, conversations mingled with laughter as everyone gathers around cookfires for their nightly meals. It’s far less communial with the separate homes of woven fabrics over wooden frames. Different sizes denoting the size of the family living within. Your own is modestly small, just large enough for one. Truly it was meant for an avatar if they felt more inclined to immerse themselves in village life but it went unused for so long that you took the honor of christening it as your own, sleeping here most days despite having mates of your own and a more homely kelku to return to. It’s been days of careful avoidance despite the olo’eyktan and tsakarem’s greatest efforts to draw you back to their side.

Unexpectedly, it is Jake that has been more insistent rather than Neytiri. That was something you hadn’t thought to consider a possibility. His longing was enough to make you avoid any member of the clan altogether. You’ve shared no more than a few words with anyone in the days since Jake began sending his warriors chasing after your tail in an attempt to coax you back home. They’d come to you bearing gifts of delicate bracelets made with the rarest beads and feathered hair ornaments of the brightest colors, lingering for a moment to ponder over your rejection before trailing back to their leader with a defeated hunch to their shoulders.

The fire you tend to is only just large enough for your purposes. This kelku is set every so slightly apart from the rest and a light flickering at the fringes of the village is sure to draw unneeded attention whether it’s a kind elder sending children to be sure you have enough to eat or another of Jake’s men coming to present you with another of his finely made gifts. His effort is wasted. Pretty adornments aren’t enough to stitch the wound that’s been scored across your very soul. So much has happened in so little time. So quickly that you were hardly given a moment to mourn. Even as the days fall away to the past with the rise and fall of the sun it still feels like a wound is festering in your heart, refusing to heal as old memories poke and prod, stinging in the back of your mind. No, a new necklace or freshly made arrows won’t be enough to soothe the pain you’re suffering. Everyone might have begun to move on, picking up the fragments of what was left behind to rebuild something new, something better, but you stayed there. Every night, in your dreams, the sky is raining ash and the People are screaming.

The hunger leaves you as the taste of salt invades your mouth, memories of uncounted tears souring your appetite. The small fire is snuffed and the food is set aside with the intention to eat it should you wake with hunger pangs in the dead of night. Sleep has been an elusive thing in the time since the fall of Hometree. Something terrifying as your mind reminds you of the pain and betrayal. Over and over. And there is no place of solace to return to. No Utral Aymokriyä where you might hear some shred of happiness from those that have gone before you. Everything has been torn apart and reknit in a new shape and the only one that seems to truly notice the strangeness of it all is you. But life must go on. A tree does not stop growing when clouds cover the sun.

Sleep is expectedly fitful, full of stuttered moments of jolted wakefulness that find your cheeks wet with tears. And when the hour is bright enough that you can banish any attempts at resting you rise and pad off into the pinkish light of dawn, nibbling on your cold dinner as you trail off into the forest before the rest of the village has time to wake. As usual there is no direction to your walking, no destination in mind. The only thought is to be away from the village and all the people that seem so foreign to you now. Not only are there more humans and avatars mingling with the People but even those that you were once close to seem to have a different face. And that is only those that remain. The rest were lost, gone to a place you can only reach in short grasping moments.

Home is far away, in distance and in feeling. The new settlement feels nothing like home even as the clan has begun to rebuild. So many ancestral pieces were lost in the fall of Hometree. Totems and precious items passed down and preserved between the generations of the Omatikaya. Once you could touch something and know that hundreds of hands, long before your time, had touched the same place. Your favorite had been the wooden looms worn soft and smooth by the gentle hands of weavers that passed their craft down to their children and to their children until the knowledge found its way into your hands. All the memories since the time of the First Songs that had survived in the safety of Hometree, gone in an instant. Everything that the Omatikaya clan was, washed away like footprints in sand.

Now these trees seem so foreign as you traverse through the morning light. In moving to settle closer to the humans’ dwelling the clan has been distanced from the lands you’ve known since birth. Hometree may have fallen but the estrangement seems unnecessary. Maybe to fledgling eyes the forest looks the same but here there are plants that didn’t grow close to Hometree. You’d grown up learning every patch of ferns and every bed of flowers and now you’d need to learn it all again. New berries that prefer the unfiltered sunlight where the humans cleared the trees away and new landmarks to lead you from one place to another in the sprawling forest. Moving was necessary but Jake chose not to claim a new Hometree for the clan and as olo’eyktan his word has become law. With Eytukan and Tsu’tey gone the burden of leading the clan has fallen to Toruk Makto. So strange that only a year ago he hadn’t even existed and now he is leading the People as if he was born to bear the honor when he only just passed his iknimaya.

The ground is cold underfoot, drops of dew seeping into your skin and sending shivers up your back. The feeling is enough to keep your mind steady, to keep the memories at bay. On any given day you’re likely to slip into the past and be lost in your own mind, like a vision from a Spirit Tree. It seems memories are all you have as comfort as of late. With so much change, the past is the only thing that has remained steady. In your mind you can pretend that Hometree still stands, that Jake never arrived to complicate everything. But he has and here you stand, lonely in a foreign corner of the forest, wishing desperately that you were able to unravel the knot that’s been made of your life. What is so wrong with you that you can’t find happiness in the peace that’s been made now that the humans have been defeated. One war has ended and yet another wages inside you with no end in sight.

The loneliness eats away at you but the alternative of acceptance seems so wholly unappealing, like eating a spoiled fruit. Resigning yourself to the same budding happiness the clan has been enjoying in the time since the final battle against the humans seems so strange after nearly a lifetime of fighting and uncertainty. Humans were on Pandora long before you were born and your childhood was spent in Grace’s schoolhouse with the looming threat of the tenuous bonds slowly fraying as the humans took more liberties with the lands that were not theirs to pillage and destroy.

A sound rustles in the trees behind you, a soft brushing of leaves that could be nothing more than a breeze through the underbrush, but your bow is drawn towards the sound in an instant. The tension balled like a fist around your heart eases as a familiar face emerges through the foliage, but doesn’t abate completely as Jake steps into the light. His steps are slow and deliberate as if he were approaching a wounded animal but you hiss at her even still, embarrassed that you’d been so distracted in your thoughts that you lost track of your surroundings. Had you been paying attention you would’ve caught his scent before he made a sound. The same scent that’s always clung to Neytiri’s skin because she favors cooking with firewood that is more fragrant than most, making her food a hint sweeter when she eats it. It’s a smell that used to offer comfort but now it’s only the wisp of another memory that was burned to ash the moment Jake arrived to the clan.

What would’ve changed if it hadn’t been you and Neytiri tasked with teaching him? Perhaps you wouldn’t have found yourself tangled in a mating bond shared between three people. A crowd compared to the traditional two.

“What do you want?” You ask, lowering your bow even as your voice still bristles with hostility.

Jake stalls in his approach. “What did I do, baby? What’s wrong?” In the time since he took up the mantle as olo’eyktan, Jake has begun to fully immerse himself in the ways of the People with more vigor than he had even before the fall of Hometree. He speaks in Na’vi when he can manage it but slips back into English when his tongue trips over an unknown word. But one word he’s never let go of is “baby.” A human term of endearment–not just a word for a newborn child–he’d explained once. Like yawne or paskalin it’s meant to show affection between mates. And despite that being what you are to each other you feel unsettled by the innocent word.

He takes a step closer that you reward with your own backwards retreat. His brows pinch, ears drooping as his hands reach out as if he can bridge the gap between you with a simple touch. You’re worlds away from each other even as he stands so close.

An uniltìrantokx, an alien. A human wearing the false face of one of the People. Yet he is also Na’vi, a son of the Omatikaya. He bears the title of olo’eyktan and Toruk Makto. He’s so close and yet so far. Once you would’ve met him in the middle, your hand reaching toward him. But now, knowing what he’s done…. Forgiveness is the farthest thing from your mind. Whatever friendship, whatever affection you’d once had for him has burned away to an aching emptiness. And even before it had begun to slowly unravel, thread by thread, breaking apart until you were left with a tenuous bond at best. Before Jake, before Sylwanin’s death, Neytiri had been yours. You understood her duty to the clan following her sister’s death. It was not her desire to become tsakarem, no nobility in the decision being made for her at the hands of the sawtute. Killing and taking with no remorse. She was betrothed to Tsu’tey and you accepted it as the way of things.

Jake’s introduction to the clan had been tumultuous at best, but as Neytiri’s closest companion you found yourself joining in on their lessons. And watching her fall in love with someone that wasn’t you. At least, with Tsu’tey there had only been friendship. A mutual agreement to not disappoint the clan’s expectations despite their hearts belonging to another. With Jake, she had no such reservations. Neytiri loved him. Loves him. Yet she can’t let you go. Neither of them can. So now it is your time to do as duty suggests, even if your heart aches with the effort to pretend to accept Jake into your heart for all he is, for all he’s done. Banishing the humans from Pandora after so many years of suffering might’ve been enough for others, but when you look at him you see flames.

“Everything you touch is destroyed.” The words slip out unbidden, before you can stop the bitterness from leaking off your lips and Jake stills as if you’ve struck him. The shock only lasts for a moment before he’s rushing towards you, arm winding around your waist as his four-fingered hand cups your cheek. The tears are unexpected as he wipes the wetness from your eyes. When did you start to cry? So long ago, truly. It seems the tears never stop, only taking brief moments of reprieve before stinging at your eyes once more. It feels like you’re being shattered, a river crystal smashed against a rock as glittering shards fly in every direction. Impossible to collect and rebuild. But Jake tries, so desperate does he seem to want to hold you together in his arms even as you come apart at the seams. You fight against him. Hissing and clawing like a hunted animal trying to preserve its life. Some innate piece of your mind knowing that a man like him is dangerous.

Sawtute. Uniltìrantokx. The words are synonymous with death and the unknown. And Jake has proved that no matter how close you become, friends can turn to enemies in the blink of an eye. Lovers can turn to strangers. Happiness can wither into a type of sadness that never dissipates. Still, Jake tries to keep you together in his arms. Whispering and pleading, trying to soothe your sobbing. So long have you spent simply walking forward, one step at a time with only brief moments to think about how far you’ve come. But with those few words you’ve turned back to see all that was left behind and it’s tearing away at you.

The ground is cold beneath your knees, the chill shivering through you as you fall. Jake hasn’t let you go, still keeping his arms around you as if you’ll turn to ash if he looks away for even a moment. Perhaps you will and wouldn’t it be better if you did? What is left for you now after so much has been taken? Everything has been stripped away. Friends, family. The few things that you thought would always be yours. Gone in an instant.

You try to speak through the thickness in your throat, voice rough as stone when the words finally come out. “Get away.” Jake doesn’t seem to hear you but you say it again and again as you struggle to your feet. “Get away! Get away from me!”

All you want is for things to be as they were. But you’re longing for a life you’ve never gotten to live. The humans were here long before you were. You’ve never known a life where they weren’t lingering just out of sight, corrupting your home to fit their alien desires. It burns in your chest, this desire to return to some semblance of normalcy and the knowing that everything in your life has always been precarious, balanced on the edge of a cliff. It seems that now you’ve finally fallen and there’s no knowing what will meet you at the bottom. Jake wants to catch you. You can see the desperation in his eyes as he tries to hold you, hear it in his voice as he begs you to stay with him.

You’re here in mind and body, but your soul feels like it’s been gone for so long. Left behind in the smoldering remains of Hometree, left behind on the battlefield. Now you’ve only been living because you hadn’t truly died. And everyone has been pretending you’re still the same as you were. Jake is pretending you’re still the same woman he met all those months ago. Had it truly been a year since an ignorant dreamwalker had come stumbling into Hometree? He’d been nothing then. A new kind of uniltìrantokx that needed to be studied. A warrior in a new, untrained body. A chore for Neytiri as Mo’at dictated that it would be her that had to teach him the ways of the clan. Of course, she had made it your responsibility to assist her in the endeavor, ever grateful for every moment spent together even if it involved teaching a man the things a child would know.

Truly, you’ve all changed since that moment. Jake has learned. Body and mind, he’s learned to walk as a true Na’vi does. It is clear that in his heart he is one of the People yet there’s still doubt in your mind. How, if he was so committed to the clan, had he let those monsters burn down your home with barely a word of warning? Yes, he led the battle to seek revenge and cull the plague of humans from Pandora, but if he had such determination why had he not done it sooner? Humans are secretive, duplicitous. Things that Na’vi had no concept of before their arrival. Your hearts are true and open. Yet Jake still had things to hide even after he became a son of the Omatikaya. Trusting him now feels like a mistake. Neytiri might’ve moved past it but you can’t find it in yourself to open your heart to such pain once more.

The woman you loved has turned into someone you can’t recognize. Relaxing so easily into the days of peace even in the shadow of all that you’ve both lost. While your heart turned cold hers seems to have blossomed, open with a soft sort of hope. The humans are gone, the People are safe. So why can’t you move on with everyone else?

Jake touches your arm again, fingers tracing from the shape of your wrist up to your shoulder. The touch feels foreign after avoiding him for so long. It isn’t the distressed grasping as he tries to soothe your tears. It’s softer, less confining.

“Let me help, baby. How can I help?”

“Leave me alone.” He’s already shaking his head before you finish the words.

“No. Don’t push me away, I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care how long it takes, I just want my girl back.” Back? Had you ever truly been his?

It had been a mistake to not close your heart to Neytiri when she was promised to Tsu’tey. Had you been strong enough then to smother the seed of childhood affection, to rob it of rain and sun until it withered and died, perhaps you wouldn’t be standing here with tears burning in your eyes. It would’ve taken less strength then to do what feels impossible now. A stone has turned to a mountain far beyond your strength to move. Jake seems to notice your hesitance, his eyes flitting over your face for any crack he might be able to use as a way past your protective shell. He seems to find it, reaching over your shoulder to brush his fingers over the length of your tswin. He draws it forward with careful reverence, pressing a kiss over the braided hair before looking at you once more. It’s doubtless that he’s thinking of that night beneath the light of the Tree of Voices.

A mistake if ever you’ve made one.

Eclipse is close at hand when Neytiri broaches the thought of taking Jake to see the Utraya Mokri.

“He is a son of the Omatikaya now,” she says gently, as if too much eagerness would startle you away from the idea. “Tonight would be the perfect night for his first commune with Eywa.” It is traditional for the first commune to happen soon after birth when memories are likely no more than colors and sounds and feelings. Jake is far past the age of first commune but as an outsider he hasn’t been allowed anywhere near such sacred places. When she sees your hesitation, Neytiri’s excitement softens.

“Yawne, he is ready. He has learned and proven himself. Do you still doubt his heart?” You do, still so weary of humans. No matter how kind, the thought of ever fully trusting a human picks at the old wound left by Sylwanin’s death, but you hold your tongue against the words. Mentioning her sister would only spoil Neytiri’s mood. She’s happy. Truly and utterly, and it makes your heart hurt to see her so content when her heart is chanting another’s name.

Jake. Jake. Jake. It’s all you’ve heard in recent times. No sunrise or sunset has gone without seeing the dreamwalker, hearing his name and seeing him walk beside the girl you once thought would be your mate. But she’s beautiful in her happiness. A shy smile playing on her lip as her tail curls playfully behind her. How could you ever disappoint her? And she is right. Jakesully has been accepted as a son of the Omatikaya. He is now no different in spirit than the boys you grew up with. You’ve watched him grow like a seedling sprouting into a tree, learning and changing as his human heart began to take the shape of something different. Yet you cannot completely forget his origins.

“There will be a celebration at nightfall,” Neytiri’s ears droop in defeat, “if we can leave without notice, then we can go to the Tree of Voices.” Upset is immediately replaced with elation as Neytiri beams.

“Will you help me prepare for tonight?” She asks coyly. The rest of the afternoon is spent in close proximity, skin against skin as you go about enjoying the simple intimacy of grooming Neytiri. She hums happily as you undo her braids. Washing and combing until her hair hangs down her back like a black river, tied back with a few sprigs of yellow leaves. She preens you in turn, caring for your hair with a practiced gentility before allowing you to leave to change into something more appropriate for the occasion. The most recent of your crafting was made with tonight in mind. Strings of tiny orange and yellow beads hanging over your chest in an undulating pattern, like sunlight sparkling off water. Your tewng is a bright shade of orange to match the band around your arm, hung in a cascade of feathers the colors of firelight. When night falls, music begins to drift up from the communal heart of Hometree. Drums thundering and voices singing as the celebration begins. Neytiri is easy to find beside her parents as they share words of congratulation for the newest members of the clan, and the sight of her snatches the breath from your lungs.

She’s dressed more beautifully than you’ve ever seen her. A collection of deep purple beads trail like tree roots over her chest with matching bands swaying about her arms, and a violet-dyed loincloth slung around her hips. It dampens your mood to see Tsu’tey close beside her, jealousy burning in your chest. He has forgone more elaborate adornments for the occasion yet he looks no less out of place. His presence commands respect. He will be a wonderful olo’eyktan to Neytiri’s tsahìk. A beautiful couple waiting to be bonded. Your mood is only worsened as her eyes linger some distance away. On the group of newly made adults. On Jake.

It tears at your heart like the twisting of a blade. Already you’ve had to accept a life without her truly by your side with Tsu’tey, though the union would be without true affection, but now she’s given her heart away to someone new. So strange how what once was alien looks nearly indistinguishable from the true Na’vi also being honored by tonight’s festivities. Some younger, some older, all joining the clan in adulthood. When the music begins in earnest, lines form to dance. Weaving between each other as bodies move to the beat of the drums. Jake has been staunch in his refusal to dance thus far, though his dreamwalker friend Norm seems open to learning. He’s a bit clumsy like a child learning to use his limbs as he follows along with the people trying to teach him, Na’vi words flowing with staunch formality from his lips despite the relaxed air of celebration. He waves as you walk past, somehow recognizing your face as a friendly one in the sea of people. Perhaps he’s seen Grace’s photographs from when you attended school and knows the shape of your pil to match your younger face. With some confusion, you wave back, cracking a small smile as he stumbles over his gangly feet again.

With fermented drinks flowing freely, the wariness has been tempered enough for the clan to act freely even in the presence of guests. Grace is known within the village, a trusted teacher and ally despite what happened at the school. She wasn’t at fault, though you surely blamed her for a time after it happened. Because there was no one else to blame but the humans. The girl you had grown up with, your childhood friends, all slaughtered in the blink of an eye simply for protecting their home. Had you known of their plan it might’ve been your body that was torn apart by bullets. The thought sends shivers skittering down your spine, the dark shadow returning after the joyous occasion chased it away.

In quieter moments you still mourn your losses caused by the Sky People. But Grace was also wounded, in body and spirit. You remember the blood dripping from the wound in her shoulder as she desperately pulled you away from Sylwanin, urging you outside as the soldiers closed in on the school. The last you’d seen of your teacher, she’d been putting herself between the soldiers and her students. She seems far more relaxed now as she laughs at something a man said to her, taking sparing sips of her drink as she watches the crowd. Ever the scientist wanting to study even under the most eased circumstances. The familiarity of it all soothes the hurt brought on by the memories.

Jake is occupied with Tsu’tey, the two of them sharing a drink. The group around them is chanting Jake’s name as he hisses around a mouthful of fermented juice. It seems so strange to see the two of them settled beside each other without any real reason. There’s no teaching, no exchanging of insults. They seem to almost be enjoying each other’s company. Tsu’tey had been keen on seeking the outsider’s death upon first meeting, as the whole of the clan’s warriors had been, but he seems not to have grown out of the animosity little by little. If anything, his distaste must’ve grown stronger in the convening months as Jake grew closer to the woman that was meant to be his. But the celebration seems to be reason enough to set aside conflicting feelings as Tsu’tey passes Jake another cup, urging him to take another drink. You think to join them but are stopped by the brush of something against your tail.

Hands find your waist, slim fingers tracing over the shape of stripes streaked there. Neytiri’s scent is easily recognized. Something sweet and smoldering as she pulls you close. There are more couples around you, all dancing just as intimately. Twirling and bouncing, hardly parting as the music guides your steps. She’s so beautiful in the firelight. Bright eyes and long lashes that flutter towards the ground as a bashful smile finds her lips. Her tail brushes your leg, curling over the shape of your thigh in a flirtatious display that you reward with a playful hiss. Neytiri giggles at the feigned aggression, pulling you closer by your hips until you’re no longer dancing, only swaying to the music as your bodies press so close they’re nearly one. You want to kiss her, going as far as to lift her chin and press your forehead against hers before remembering that this moment is only fleeting.

She isn’t yours. Not anymore. So instead you revel in the feeling of her bated breaths puffing over your lips before stepping away from the temptation. The short distance of separation has her smile waning but someone stumbles into you before you can find the words of an explanation, arm hooked over yours as the new partner urges you to join her. So you let her, leaving Neytiri to work through the confusion as a frown weighs on her lips. She lingers where you’d been for only a moment before stalking off to join Tsu’tey and Jake’s group, kneeling beside them to urge Jake to dance once more.

This time he sets his cup aside, laughing as he stands to join her. You try to put them from your mind, to focus on the people around you. A few you recognize as Tsu’tey’s students that are also being honored by tonight’s festivities. It is easy to lose yourself in the familiarity of the dance. Far less intimate than the one you shared with Neytiri as all of you move in a circle, feet stomping and hands clapping as the music swells. With the shift of a new melody, though the song is far from over, the steps change and you drift away from the group to join Tsu’tey where he now sits alone.

Despite the festivities, he no longer seems to be in the mood for merriment as a scowl mars his face, mouth drawn low as he watches Neytiri teach Jake to dance. Once again, it is not Tsu’tey with which your upset lies as the both of you sit scorned by the tsakarem dancing with the uniltìrantokx.

“I thought this rift had been mended.” Tsu’tey says after a few moments of discontented silence shared between you. At least the two of you knew where you stood with Neytiri. Tsu’tey was a friend, an ally, a man she would honor as her mate, where you were her true love that she had to give up to fulfill the expectations of her parents. It is tradition for the tsahìk to be mated to the olo’eyktan though there are some clans where it is not always so. But the Omatikaya have always been more spiritual, traditional in the ways that have been practiced since the time of the First Songs. To make exceptions for Neytiri’s feelings would be to go against tradition and it was decided that mating her to Tsu’tey would be best. Now here the two of you are, scorned and alone together.

“I know I am not the one in her heart,” he speaks gruffly, “but now it seems she has no taste for you either. Only this skxawng.” His words sting but there is truth to them. Even after spending an afternoon basking in her presence as you had before his arrival, Jake has come to steal her away from you once more. Simply by being. It isn’t fair to the years you’ve spent loving her, and her loving you, but you don’t say it out loud. The words are far too petulant and like grinding dirt into the wound Tsu’tey must tend to for the rest of his days knowing his mate does not love him wholly and truly.

“His eyes are small.” Tsu’tey says after a beat of silence. It’s enough to make you laugh at the annoyance in his tone. His drinking must’ve loosened his tongue or else you’d never hear him say such things as if he were sulking rather than angry.

“This isn’t funny. He will want to choose a mate sooner or later and what will we do when he chooses her when she is not free to be with him?” That quiets your giggling. Not once had you thought of what might happen if Jake wanted to pursue their budding relationship further. Already the separation between friend and lover has begun to blur like looking through a cloud of smoke. It is not in your heart to doubt Neytiri but people have been known to act out of character in the pursuit of love. What can be done if she is willing to betray her promise to Tsu’tey to be with Jake? And why hadn’t she been willing to do such things for you? It’s a selfish thought, especially with Tsu’tey close beside you. You banish it before your heart can be darkened any further by it.

“I will talk to her.” She wanted to be away from the clan with just the three of you tonight. No better time would come for you to raise such concerns with the way they’re looking at each other. It’s the same way you look at her, without the lingering regret of knowing you will never truly have her. Jake must know she isn’t his to keep yet he wants her even still. People continue to move around them while they stay still as stone, staring into each other’s eyes. It turns your stomach as if you’ve eaten something rotten.

“For the sake of the future.” Tsu’tey agrees. She will one day be tsahìk after her mother, that much is decided simply by birth. With Sylwanin gone the honor has fallen to her. An olo’eyktan is chosen, not born. If Jake can prove his worth as a warrior there might be no reason to object to his mating with Neytiri. Tsu’tey will simply be passed over as the future clan leader in favor of naming Jake as the next olo’eyktan. The thought seems inconceivable. Tsu’tey is the strongest the clan has to offer. Jake has only just been made one of the People, what can he offer that Tsu’tey does not already have in abundance?

The night is deep and the crowds thinned as people begin to trail off to sleep or to enjoy the night somewhere more secluded. The only music left is the din of voices murmuring over the crackling of the fire pits as Neytiri comes to coax you from your seat. Tsu’tey already left, too upset to be faced with the sight of his promised mate dancing so closely to another. With you, there was a tenuous agreement, an acknowledgment of your role as a placeholder. Jake has no such allegiances. You’re not sure why you stayed, punishing yourself with the sight of them together.

“Come, it is time!” Neytiri is smiling as if nothing is wrong. Jake seems not to know where she’s leading the two of you but he follows her tail as if it’s dipped in nectar. He smiles and you wish you didn’t see how Neytiri could fall for him. He’s handsome in a strange sort of way, so alike and yet so different to the faces you see everyday. Aside from his eyebrows, his eyes are small like Tsu’tey said, more human. And the way he carries himself, the way he speaks, is decidedly human as well. He’s as playful as a child despite his age and it serves as both an endearing and infuriating trait. And it was only made worse when he was still learning. Truly like a baby stumbling through the forest, curious about everything around him.

He still seems intrigued as you walk beside a river glowing like a sinuous blue thread into the distance ahead. You’ve waded your way past the banks into the warm rush of water. The current is slow, knocking lightly at your knees with hardly enough strength to lead even the fish upstream. Your eyes are low, focused on the finned animals swimming past your ankles. So focused that you don’t notice Jake drawing closer until his hands are on your shoulder with a sudden wave of strength. You lose your footing, toppling into the water and surfacing with a disgruntled hiss, ears drawn back as you bare your teeth in annoyance. The night air is warm, a balmy breeze brushing over your damp skin as water drips from your soaked form. Jake only laughs at your sour face before coming into the water after you.

Instinctually, your arms shoot out in front of you to keep him at bay but he just uses the opportunity to wrap his hands around yours, pulling you in close until you’re chest to chest. Your brows raise at the sudden closeness. In the time since your first meeting you’ve come to consider Jake a friend, perhaps closer even than the friends you’ve made in childhood. He’s been with you every day for so long that you almost can’t imagine a day passing without seeing him, but this is something beyond what you expected of your relationship. Of course, he’d act this way with Neytiri as she curls her tail at him, sharing coquettish smiles and lingering glances, but you’ve never shared in such flirtations. But it is plain to see how you react when it is Neytiri clinging close to you. And with every day spent so closely together, just the three of you, it isn’t hard to imagine how such boundaries might be lost with time.

Still, it’s dizzying how at ease he seems pulling you closer to him. Your eyes search for Neytiri with a frantic sort of helplessness only to find she’s smiling sweetly at the two of you, seemingly happy with how close you are.

“You didn’t offer me a dance tonight, ma’am.” He says, using the human word of respect for a woman. He said it was a remnant of his training when he was a warrior on his home planet. A Marine. Yes, ma’am. No, ma’am. Something he says now to tease women when they take a tone of authority with him. Childish as he always is. You’ve heard him say it to Grace a few times and it’s always accompanied with a subtle roll of his eyes. Tonight, he seems less flippant about the word. More teasing than sarcastic as he raises your joined hands over your head, twirling you in a splashing circle.

“She doesn’t like sharing such dances with others. She will only dance so closely with me.” Neytiri is rather forthright about how close the two of you are. It isn’t something you’ve kept particularly hidden, yet it still seems strange that she’d say such things out loud after so long spent burying your heart in the hopes that her match to Tsu’tey will go smoothly.

“She’ll dance with me.” Jake laughs, “Won’t you?” One of his hands falls to your hip while the other keeps yours in his grasp, held up and away from your bodies like he’s guiding you to shoot an arrow. He hums an unfamiliar tune as he leads you in clumsy circles through the water. It’s clear he’s never been much of a dancer and he’s probably missing steps to the human dance but you let him bob and sway you because asking to be let go would likely spoil the mood, and you want both of them in high spirits if you’re going to broach the topic of a bit of distance between the three of you. It’s only fair that you try to estrange yourself if you’re going to ask that Neytiri and Jake be a bit more conscious of their time together. To tell Jake to take a step back while still clinging close to Neytiri would be too cruel. Especially when you are in no place to be with her either. Even if it breaks your heart anew to truly let her go.

Neytiri laughs as Jake folds you backwards, balancing your weight on the hand he’s placed against your back. You hiss and cling to him, worried that this is another one of his games and you’ll be dropped back into the water. Instead he pulls you back towards his chest, both of them laughing at the scorned look you can feel pinching your face.

“You’re not funny, tawtute.” You scowl.

“I think I am.” He smiles wide, fangs flashing in the blue light. It’s all too familiar, too close. Neytiri joins the two of you in the water, hand brushing against your arm as she suggests a swim.

It’s easy to agree because it sets a bit of distance between the three of you. The sounds of the forest, the chittering and buzzing, quiets beneath the water enough for you to think. Jake must know how you feel about Neytiri. It would only take a glance to see how your heart yearns for her. So why had he touched you the way he had? Held you like you were the most delicate thing his hands have ever touched? It feels like you’ve tangled yourself into a knot. Too many threads have converged around you and it isn’t worth the effort to meticulously unwind them. Instead you want to sever each one in turn before they tighten beyond the point of escape. Neytiri is one thread and Jake another, then a dozen more all tied up tight.

The urge to turn away from it all becomes strong as you emerge from the river and Jake’s hand finds yours once more. It seems almost instinctual. He’s swinging your joined hands and laughing when Neytiri giggles at him for grabbing at her tail. He’s always been playful but you can’t help but wonder if the ceremony confirming him as a member of the clan has lowered some barrier he’d previously set between the three of you. He’s far more open with his touching tonight, more affectionate than you’ve ever seen him as the green syuratan is swallowed by the pale purple glow of the Tree of Voices.

A swarm of kenten bursts to life as you pass and Jake stops to watch them twirl away, still so enamored with life on Pandora. Neytiri stares for a moment, an enamored look glowing on her face before she reaches to take his free hand.

The long branches of the trees sway in the warm breeze, light burning brighter at the gentlest touch. Jake releases your hand to brush his arms through the hanging fronds. Without his hand in yours, you’re free to walk further ahead. It had been Neytiri’s plan to bring him here and you aren’t sure you want to bear witness to whatever it is she’s planning. Though you did promise Tsu’tey to at least try to dissuade them from doing something they might regret. Your feet only carry you a few steps away before your resolve strengthens once more. Instead of walking away with your tail between your legs, you turn to face the issue at hand.

Neytiri is explaining the significance of the trees. A place for prayers to be heard, a place to convene with those that have come before you. It is what you need in this time of confusion and you gather a few branches to connect your tswin. In an instant your mind is filled with a cacophony of voices. Singing and shouting, laughing and shrieking with happiness. Every life that led to yours is held within these trees and their voices offer a comfort like no other. The weight on your soul is lightened as you listen to the happiness babbling through tsaheylu. Old and young, man and woman. Your ancestors sing to you, laugh with you. Their lives are enduring within Eywa. Like salve over a burn, you feel your unsteady heart soothing. The anguish of knowing tonight will change the rest of your life is quieted. When you pull your tswin away from the tree, Neytiri is reaffirming Jake’s place within the clan.

“You may make your bow from the wood of Hometree,” she turns away as if she is nervous to continue, “and you may choose a woman. We have many fine women.” Her eyes cut towards yours before focusing on the atokirina’ crossing her path. The gentle spirit lands in the palm of her hand. Her ears bend and twist, nervously shifting as she seems to choose her next words with great care.

“Ninat is the best singer.” Jake immediately voices his disinterest and a quiet smile lifts Neytiri’s cheeks. She turns towards you and softly blows the woodsprite in your direction. The little seed twirls through the air, brushing against your cheek like a kiss before drifting away on the breeze.

“Beyral is a good hunter.” Jake seems to realize what Neytiri is doing, offering her advice on the unmated women of the clan. Pretending to put forth a possible match while still hoping he will decline every option he is given. So instead of denying interest, Jake nods.

“Yeah, she is a good hunter.” His tone is hollow, but Neytiri turns swiftly, disappointment clear on her face. The small smile she’s been hiding falls to a look of sadness. Seeing her crestfallen face feels as though you’ve stepped into an open flame. It eats away at you. Searing and burning as you watch the woman you love bare her heart to someone else. If Neytiri is upset, you’re livid. Angry and jealous and bitter because Jake has her eyes on him in such a special place, on such a special night. Yet a small, conflicted part of you is glad for the rejection because that is the reason you accompanied them to such a place to begin with.

This grove of trees is known to be a place of comfort. Many a mating bond has been solidified here, for generations. And you’ve been dragged along to bear witness to the making of another, though it is your hope to dissuade them from their desire to be connected in such a way. A part of you wants to rage and shout, demanding that Neytiri be with no one if you cannot have her. But seeing the sadness that Jake’s rejection has stirred in her makes your heart cry. She deserves this bit of happiness even if it is not with you. Even if it is not with who she is meant to be with. Jake is quick to correct himself when he sees Neytiri’s suddenly sullen face.

“I’ve already chosen,” he whispers. It feels like knives in your chest. Something acidic wells in your stomach as your tongue struggles to shape out the words to stop him as Jake’s eyes drift past Neytiri, towards you.

“But these women must also choose me.” There’s a breathy laugh from Neytiri as she turns towards you, smiling so wide that her eyes are eclipsed. She takes your hands in hers to pull you in close to her side. You try to pull away but she only shifts her grip, keeping you close.

“We already have.” Her words startle you. We?

Perhaps she has accepted Jake into her heart as more than a friend but you’ve yet to reach such a point in your affections. And even if you had, it is something forbidden for the three of you to be joined as mates. Neytiri is not free to offer herself to any other. But she looks so happy that you don’t have a moment to speak before Jake is kissing her. Your voice is stuck somewhere in your throat, like you’ve swallowed a rock. It’s hard to make any sound other than short gasps of panic as Jake’s fingertips brush against your cheek, tracing over the pattern of your pil. Feigning at shyness you turn your head away before he can kiss you, too. His lips find your temple, quick breaths rushing over your hairline.

Neytiri leads despite the nerves still clear on her face, guiding the three of you to kneel together as she takes hold of her tswin. It feels as though your eyes are going to leap out of your head with how wide they’ve gone. Everything is moving too quickly like a rushing river sweeping you up in its current.

This is the exact opposite of how this night was supposed to end. You were meant to reaffirm some type of separation between the pair not become tangled up between them. You think of the clan. Of expectation and tradition, of responsibility. Neytiri knows of duty and honor. It is what you’ve been taught since birth. Jake may not understand how precious the mating arrangements of a tsahìk and olo’eyktan are. And if he does, it’s clear he does not care. We can’t, you want to say, this is wrong. But it’s hard to see what is so terrible about it when the love of your life is smiling so sweetly and offering to tie her soul to yours.

Suddenly, Neytiri is in your lap again, forehead pressed to yours as she holds her tswin between your bodies, her other hand petting over where your braid hangs over your shoulder. She cannot force tsaheylu. You must offer your tswin to her with your own hand and it’s clear she is eager to be joined with such closeness. Her lips find yours. Soft, fluttering kisses that slowly sink into something more desperate. Her hands are on your body, tswin forgotten as she clings to you. There’s a shiver skittering down your back as her fingers raise goosebumps over your skin.

Between her frantic kisses you find the courage to say, “We can’t.” Neytiri pauses. Her smile wanes for a moment, face flickering like a flame being snuffed. But then she’s flaring to life again, eyes bright with determination.

“This is what I choose, Great Mother forgive me. Nothing else matters but us here and now.” Her hands hold your face like the most delicate piece of crystal. “It was always going to be you, yawntu. Always.” Those are precious words. Because in your heart, no matter what comes to pass, you know you will always love her. The flame you hold for her has never wavered and it must be just the same for her. Even if there is another sharing the space with you. It’s enough to disarm you, lowering your inhibitions as you pull her into another desperate kiss. There’s a renewed steadiness to your hand as you take hold of your tswin, offering it to Neytiri as you always wish you could’ve. Time was lost adhering to expectation but it’s yours to reclaim as the soft tendrils of your braids twine into one. It’s more blinding than the gentle comfort of the Tree of Voices. Something sharp and overwhelming, nearly beyond comprehension.

It feels like Neytiri is touching you, holding you. Caressing every part of your skin at once. There’s still space between the two of you, a small distance between your chests and yet you feel her heartbeat as if it’s your own, feel each heaving breath as if it’s being drawn into your lungs. All that she is is suddenly inside you, like a pattern being woven into the very fabric of your soul. Another kiss is pressed against your parted lips. Wet and clumsy as she clings as close as your bodies will allow, until it feels like every piece of skin is brushing against yours. And then there’s a second pair of hands against your waist. Larger than Neytiri’s, different than anyone you’ve ever met. It takes a moment for the haze of euphoria to dissipate just long enough to remember Jake’s presence. He’s pressed in close against Neytiri’s back, chin resting on her shoulder as his arms reach to wrap around both of you.

It seems like he isn’t sure what is happening, eyes lingering on the place your braids are joined in tsaheylu. When his gaze flickers back to yours there’s something beyond curiosity sparking there. A look you recognize as longing, determination. It’s something you’ve felt, something you’ve seen reflected in Neytiri’s face. So strange that something so familiar suddenly looks so foreign. Just a few hours ago Jake had been nothing more than a friend. He is still little more than that but you can’t find the words to say it–tongue tied with the feeling of your soul melting with Neytiri’s–before he is slipping his hand under Neytiri’s arm to add his own tswin to the knotting of your spirits.

If the feeling had been sweet as ripe fruit before, it’s turned to something bitter and rotten as the unknown joins the blinding familiarity. If she notices, Neytiri doesn’t react to your sudden anguish. A beautiful moment and Jake has ruined it with his overeagerness. Human as he is, he does not understand what he’s done. You try to find the words, to make your tongue shape out the sounds to tell him that what he’s done cannot be undone, but the only thing that comes out of your mouth is a toneless gasp. Something choked and rasping. Perhaps you could’ve lived knowing Neytiri had shared this part of herself with the both of you, but there was never any desire in your heart to be with Jake in such an intimate way. And now it is too late to warn him of the consequences. Ruefully, you wonder if this is how tsaheylu feels between arranged mates. If this is what Neytiri and Tsu’tey would’ve suffered had the three of you not snuck away on this night.

It’s a strange, empty sort of feeling. Like water tainted with sand. Cloudy and coarse. Something you would not wish on anyone. Least of all Neytiri. It feels like floating, but just barely. Hardly drifting on the unsteady waves even as Jake and Neytiri’s happiness bubbles through the bond with startling clarity. At least they are happy.

It’s always been in your nature to stifle yourself in favor of others. To do as is expected rather than what you truly desire. Though this strange new bond that is slipping into place between the three of you was desperately desired. At least for Jake and Neytiri. It nearly hurts how hard Jake is holding onto you, fingers digging into the small of your back as he crowds the two of you in his arms. There isn’t anywhere you can go but here with the way the three of you are tied together. You’ll remain this way until morning, though you wish you wouldn’t as the euphoria begins to manifest in less innocent ways. Jake bites at Neytiri’s shoulder as she sits herself higher in your lap, hands rising from your waist to slip beneath the beading of your top. The strange clouded feeling lingers, but you find yourself falling back into the elation you felt moments ago, basking in the way your new mate is touching you.

And perhaps being tied to Jake will not be so terrible. He has proven himself different from the others. A true Na’vi among pretenders. With time, you could learn to care for him in the way he seems to cherish you. The thought feels like taking on the burden of another. This is the life Neytiri was meant to lead. Mate with Tsu’tey and lead as tsahìk when the time came. In saving her from such a bleak future you have banished yourself to something just the same. But some things change with time. Perhaps there will be a day when there is unfettered love shared between the three of you. Because in this moment, a dark hidden corner of your soul lingers on the thought of how Jake has ruined what was meant to be something perfectly beautiful.

Morning dawns in streaks of white light, chasing away the pale purple glow of the Trees of Voices. The slinking branches hang in swaying strands, stirring the sunlight and shadows in sinuous shapes. Everything is warm and soft. The feeling of limbs tangled over your own as ferns and blades of grass cushion your cheek, cutting into your vision as your eyes squint open in the bright light. With some struggle, you untwine yourself from Neytiri and Jake, slipping from the space between their bodies. Jake remains still, but Neytiri stirs to wakefulness with a flutter of her eyelids. Thick lashes fan shadows over her bright yellow eyes as she gathers her bearings. Slow at first as she smiles up at you, then with a sudden urgency as both of your eyes flicker towards a strange sound, ears bending and twitching as your mind tries to make sense of the disturbance.

It’s loud and heavy, but lacks the heavy footfalls of a herd of angtsìk moving through the forest. There’s something distinctly destructive about the sound, like the crackling of hundreds of pyres burning at once. The sound of wood popping and snapping like it’s being torn off in bits and pieces. It grows closer until the trees begin to shudder and fall a few paces away. Then you hear it, the tinny whirr you’ve come to associate with calamity, something made by the Sky People. Flashes of sunlight glint off the edge of something big and metal rumbling just beyond the tree line. Another tree falls, filling the air with a cloud of dirt and pollen, and Neytiri rushes to rouse Jake. He still hasn’t moved despite the commotion, body sprawled across the ground as if there isn’t some metal creature chewing through the trees with its mouth full of blades. Neytiri is perched over his chest, shouting and shaking as the world comes down around you. Leaves fall like rain as the shadow of the whirring beast eclipses the sun, far too close for comfort.

“Grab him!” You shout, already pulling at his arm. He’s heavy as stone as both of you struggle to pull him away from the collapsing trees. Another falls, larger than the rest, landing hard enough to send a buckling shudder through the ground. You fall for a moment, then again when a branch lands on your back. The splintered wood scratches across your skin like raking claws, likely drawing blood as you scamper forward on hands and feet to grab Jake once more. His stillness is like death as the two of you clamor to drag him away from the collapsing trees. But even between the two of you he is heavy, far too heavy to move with any haste. Neytiri gets his head over a fallen tree and you follow with his legs but it isn’t nearly quick enough. The machine is getting closer and Neytiri is growing desperate. Her voice shudders and cracks as she screams over Jake’s unflinching body, wailing for him to wake up. Back still burning from the fallen branch, you cover Neytiri’s body with your own as she shakes Jake’s shoulders. He comes to with an air of confusion, eyes expanding and contracting before he focuses enough to get to his feet.

Of all the things you expect when he pushes the two of you behind him, talking–shouting–at the metal beast is the farthest from your mind. The yellow behemoth has no rider, no obvious reins controlling its movement. It only seems to know forward, but Jake’s yelling seems to slow it to a halt. Though the stillness only lasts a moment before it’s moving again, grinding forward as if it never stopped to begin with.

“Go!” Jake shouts, shoving Neytiri forward. His hand lands against the scratches torn in your back, stinging as he pushes you after her. He doesn’t follow. Instead he runs towards the thing, yet you can’t bring yourself to look back as you run. There’s the sound of crunching metal then the firing of bullets.

It’s your turn to fall still, stumbling to a halt as fear roots you to where you stand. Your hands feel warm. They feel wet. When you look down at your shaky palms they’re suddenly bright as if they’ve been steeped in warpaint. Bright red and acidic as the scent invades your nose. The forest seems different now. More shadows overhead and wood beneath your feet. The smell of blood grows heavier as your eyes focus past your hands to the body at your feet.

Sylwanin is coughing, chest twitching and heaving as she tries to keep the breath in her torn lungs. Your cheek is wet, a spray of her blood speckled over your skin. She tried to say your name before she fell. Hands reaching towards yours, smearing blood over your fingers. Her eyes are dotted with spots of red, and there’s blood leaking from between her lips. She’s trying to talk, trying to say something between the stuttering heaves, but someone is pulling you away from her.

It takes a few stumbling steps before you realize you’re not in the schoolhouse, not watching your friend die. Instead you’re watching the Trees of Voices be decimated by the rumbling metal beasts still tearing through the carnage they’ve cleared behind them. The trees are gone, leaving only splinters and churned dirt behind as the machines beep and whirr their way through whatever lies before them.

Distantly, you hear Neytiri crying, though you feel numb even as you see smoke beginning to billow up from the fires the human warriors have set. Trees that have stood for a small eternity, gone in a moment. It doesn’t sadden you so much as it makes you angry. A seething type of anger that carves you out inside, leaves you hollow and numb. There should be tears. You should be in anguish. Yet it feels as though your heart hasn’t quite caught up to what your eyes have witnessed. It’s the same sort of angry nothingness you felt as Sylwanin laid dying at your feet.

The sound of bullets brought you back to that moment. No longer are you a woman grown, but a child with no knowledge of what to do with the destruction set before you. And now there are no ancestors to ask now, no voices to share your thoughts with. The Trees of Voices are gone. Silently, you stand and begin walking home. There’s nothing left for you here. You shouldn’t have come in the first place. One mistake strung after another in a necklace laced too tightly around your throat. It’s hard to breathe, hard to see as the tears well up at last, but you keep walking.

Hometree is filled with a cacophony of voices, but you ignore them all. You’re tired despite the sun having just risen. Curious hands brush against you as you float past, numb to the soles of your feet as touches graze the scratches on your back. It’s all dull pressure. No pain. No real feeling. Even the shrieking war cries sound distant as you trail between the warriors with their weapons raised and fangs bared. Despite your best efforts, you’re swept up into the maelstrom, jostled and pushed until you’re stumbling blindly to the front of the crowd.

Tsu’tey stands at the heart of the press of people, bow raised above his head. His eyes find yours, recognition sparking as he takes in your discheviled state. He says something, extends a hand, but you hardly realize he’s speaking to you until he’s pulling you out of the throng of incited Na’vi. At last, words begin to make sense again as he whispers privately, “Are you alright?” Vaguely, you gesture towards your back and he passes you over to Mo’at. The tsahìk’s face is lined with tension as she brushes the mess of leaves and splinters from your hair and turns you around to look over the wounds on your back. It faces you towards the crowd as Jake and Neytiri emerge. When had they fallen so far behind you?

With heavy strides, Tsu’tey brushes past you, handing you his bow. A clear sign that you’re meant to stay out of whatever he’s about to do. You hide your face in the adornments of his weapon, ears flattened in shame. He is treating you with kindness you do not deserve. You’ve betrayed him. His trust, his friendship. For your own selfish desires. Perhaps this is what is owed for thinking yourself higher than tradition. For going against the word of your tsahìk, of the Great Mother herself who chose Neytiri’s family as her voice among the People. Mo’at’s matronly hands dab against the burning lines cut through your skin with something cold and soothing. It’s more care than you deserve.

Neytiri is shouting, doing little to quell any notion that your plan to squash this issue has failed. If anything, the problem has only worsened since your promise to urge the two to part. Tsu’tey seems to glean it all from only a moment of looking between Jake and his promised mate, held back by Neytiri pressing against his chest.

“You mated with this woman?” Tsu’tey’s tone is accusatory, hardly a question at all. Against your back, Mo’at’s hand’s still. She soothes a hand over your hunched shoulder as she steps around you to approach her daughter. Each step she takes is slow, menacing as a hunting nantang. When the tsahìk speaks, her voice is filled with thunder.

“Is this true?” Between the words there’s a baring of teeth that makes Neytiri wither before her mother. She glances at you before gathering the courage to square her shoulders and declare herself mated before Eywa. It is like a spark bursting over dried leaves. A fight flaring in the blink of an eye. It’s expected. Months of simmering animosity finally bubbles over as Tsu’tey draws his blade at Jake. In the end he’s bested with a swiftness, blood leaking from his nose as Jake reminds him that he is Omatikaya now. It grants him the right to speak even if Tsu’tey will not hear him.

“These words are like stones in my heart,” he says, and you wish your ears would close to the world once more as Tsu’tey saunters in beside you. There’s a heat radiating from him, like his very soul is burning with his rage. So much he’s lost in a single morning. His mate, his ancestors. Hesitantly, you reach to touch his wrist, as if to hold him at bay. He stiffens under your hand but does not move as Jake stumbles through what he is trying to say.

Then Grace falls. Her body goes still, eyes rolling back as all of her muscles seem to come loose. Jake startles as he tries to rush to make his point.

“I was sent here to–” He collapses. That death-like stillness from this morning taking over once more. Your grip on Tsu’tey’s arm is broken as he rushes forward to put his blade to Jake’s throat. It should worry you, should enrage you. Because that is how mates are meant to act when one is put in danger. Defend, protect. You remain still. In your stead, Neytiri rushes forward to toss Tsu’tey away. She draws her knife in turn, hissing over Jake as if daring Tsu’tey to come any closer. Her lithe body is poised with menacing intent, ears drawn back and fangs on full display. It’s enough to send Tsu’tey away and you follow after him.

“You were meant to fix this.” He hisses, snatching his bow away from you.

“I did what I could but the stone was already cast. A dead tree will no longer bear fruit.” Which is to say a stubborn heart will never be swayed from its desire. It’s doubtless that Jake knew of Neytiri’s arrangement with Tsu’tey. There were days spent training when it was only the two of you. Neytiri and Tsu’tey sequestered away with Eytukan and Mo’at to learn the ways of leading the clan. It’s been mentioned in passing as Jake learned to speak your language, learning what the words tsahìk and tsakarem truly mean. He knew and yet he did not care. Nor did Neytiri. The Na’vi-born woman whose future is ruled by tradition. And perhaps even you did not care enough. Your protests had been meager, not even enough to sway your own mind. Still, you love Neytiri and that is the truth of it. To betray her love would be to betray yourself. Even if it’s what was expected of you. And if Tsu’tey suspects your involvement in this newly made bond, neither of you mention it.

There will be time for these petty squabbles later. For now, all minds are focused on retaliation, on war and revenge for what the Sky People have taken. Sacred lands desecrated in pursuit of their greed. Presently, it is the only thing that matters.

#jake sully x reader #neytiri x reader #jake x reader x neytiri #avatar x reader #avatar

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lesbiankirisully · 10 months

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EYWA BLESSED HER DAUGHTERS WITH THE STARS

Ancestors: day five of @womenofpandoraweek

#tsyal avatar #avatar pandora rising #toruk the first flight #atwow #avatar the way of water #kiri sully #jake sully #ralu avatar #entu avatar #avatar 2 #womenofpandoraweek2023 #does this make sense ??? like I don’t have the words this is just like…. reaching for the stars seeing the stars knowing the stars #the stars are in the sky and in the ocean they embrace you until you sleep and surround you until you smile #I don’t know that book I used a quote from I just like that quote lol #lovey posts #no wait I found the words. it’s the ancestor who pointed towards the star in awe and the descendant that has been touched by them personall

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lovemyavatar · 1 year

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Temptation

| Neteyam x F!Avatar!Reader |

Summary: when you aren’t busy getting into trouble with the oldest Sully, his brother is more than happy to provide some entertainment

Warnings: angst, broody/mean Neteyam, drunk shenanigans, long af, brief smut-ish

dialogue in Italics is Na'vi translated to English

chapter one

Chapter Two

“Put your hands here.” Neteyam's voice is low, focused as he firmly guides the boy's fingers around the string of his bow.

He gives a slight nod of approval, motioning for him to hold the position. He's barely taken a step back, poised to move onto the next Avatar waiting patiently for instruction, when a distinct thwap catches his attention.

His head jerks to the side, eyes instantly narrowed in warning. He acts before his brain has time to catch up, strong legs closing the short distance to the end of the line in only a few long strides. His heated gaze flicks over your taunt form, where you've clearly just shot an arrow without permission.

To his dismay, a sick sense of pride wells in his chest as his eyes flick toward the target, lingering on the arrow that’s landed dead center. He shoves the feeling deep down, welcoming poignant frustration as it creeps into the hallow space left behind.

When close enough, he doesn't hesitate to harshly rip the bow from your hands, lips pulling into a frown at the sight of your pleased smirk. Wide, mischievous eyes glimmer up at him, and he seethes.

“Tiftang si (stop it). I told you to wait.” He glowers at you, chin dropping in a way that should be intimidating.

Instead, it ignites the fire raging in your lower belly, fanning the flame of desire that's been brewing for weeks. You blink up at him, feigning innocence despite the fact that you're clearly trying to rile him up. It's become a game of yours, to see how far you can push before he snaps.

It doesn't take much these days. Early on, you decided to use the way your eyes seem magnetically attracted to him to your advantage. You watch him. Study the most minute of reactions, the almost imperceptible ways his face pinches when he's nearing the end of seemingly endless patience.

After nearly two weeks of constant training, he's been...different. Still the picture of a flawless rising leader, with his stoic and firm nature. But the tiny moments between you have increased. The lingering glances, roaming hands...you suspect he thinks you haven't noticed, but how could you not?

“We're not children, Neteyam. It wouldn't kill you to move a little faster.” One of your hands extends forward, aimed for the bow, and he's quick to place it behind his back, out of your reach.

His ears flatten, the sound of his name on your lips making his stomach twist with an uncomfortable feeling. His tail swishes from side to side, and your gaze drops to the irritated movement before finding his again.

Warmth blooms under the skin of his cheeks, so he dips his head, letting a few stray braids cover his face.

“From now on, you go last.” He mutters, quickly averting his eyes as he moves back to the next Avatar in line.

A satisfied smirk tugs at your lips, arms crossing to appear unaffected as the lesson continues.

The following days go on much like this, with you ruthlessly digging your way under Neteyam's skin while he does everything in his power to retain what's left of a crumbling resolve.

A rough sigh falls from his lips as he stalks toward the base of Home Tree. The muscles between his shoulders ache from coiling so tightly, but he hasn’t been able to relax for days. Truthfully, he hasn’t so much as taken a deep breath since the Sky People landed on Pandora two weeks ago.

He’s worried, scared, even. For his people. For his family.

It's a foreign feeling, one he hasn't confronted before. Not to this magnitude. He's never laid awake at night, wondering if, along with the emerging sun, the next day will bring unimaginable loss. The thought alone tears him up inside, makes him weary and anxious beyond belief.

Everyday begins with a debriefing with his father. And everyday he desperately tries convincing him that he’s capable of more than standing by the sidelines. He aches to be a part of the conflict, to help his clan in their path to victory.

He’s a warrior just like the rest of them, having completed his Uniltaron (dream hunt) before the enemy’s arrival. He’s a warrior, and a skilled one at that, so the fact that his father won’t even entertain the idea of him fighting alongside his people is infuriating.

Something dark and twisted curls in his stomach, the whisper of newfound petulance nagging at him. He’s never questioned his father’s orders, never faltered in his practiced role of the perfect oldest son.

But lately…it’s been weighing heavily on his shoulders. The expectation, the responsibility, it’s all too much. There aren’t enough hours in a day to watch over his siblings, The People, and adequately prepare for upcoming battles.

The threat of full out war grows closer with each passing moment, and there’s only so much space for the pressure to build within him before something has to snap.

He doesn’t feel like himself, not accustomed to being so on edge all the time. He’s been irritable, snapping at anyone and anything at the slightest inconvenience. He isn’t sleeping, partially because of his brother but mostly because his mind never stops racing.

The days are no better because then there’s…you.

He can’t escape you. Can’t avoid your persistent nature. He's never dealt with someone like you before. There's Lo'ak, of course, with his mischievous tendencies. But you...it's like you do it on purpose. Like you get a kick out of his frustrated reactions.

It's impossible to miss the satisfied twinkle in your eye every time he snaps or prods at you. And it confuses the hell out of him. You confuse him because despite it all, despite the fact that he doesn't like you his traitorous heart skips a beat when your challenging gaze meets his.

Every. Single. Time.

He should hate you on principle alone. You're everything he isn't. Loud, boisterous, overly confident. Though he would never admit it, he's grown fond of your dynamic. His entire life, he's been revered and respected by the clan, treated with the utmost respect that the son of Toruk Makto deserves.

It's stifling.

No one has ever challenged him. Never spoken out of turn or questioned his teachings. So, despite the spark of anger your actions cause, a deeply repressed part of him likes it. Appreciates the defiance because it means you don't view him as some unobtainable leader-in-training, but as an equal.

It's something he's never had before, a strong presence at his side. Arguing and bickering with him like they aren't afraid to offend the future Olo'eyktan. With it, comes an unfamiliar warmth that settles in his lower belly, the beginnings of an affection he's nowhere near ready to accept or acknowledge.

He was doing well, clinging onto what's left of his restraint, until one early morning caught him by surprise.

He found himself wandering through the upper levels of Home Tree during a rare few hours of peace. To his great relief, Kiri had been tasked with giving the Avatars a tour of the village that morning.

His father wanted them to get accustomed with all aspects of Omatikayan life in these brief moments of calm between training and battles with the Sky People. An order he found himself grateful for as he savored the unusual quiet.

A long-forgotten ease worked its way back into his muscles, stiff shoulders finally uncoiling as he climbed, clutching onto these fleeting moments of solitude. That is, until a quiet grunt sounded from above, making his ears twitch with recognition.

His brow pinched in confusion at the sight of you, dangling from a thick tree branch near the sea of swaying hammocks. His head tilted back, curious gaze trailing over your wobbly form. He was momentarily stuck in place, reduced to simply watching as you slowly made your way down the length of the branch.

Your expression was tight with determination, shaky limbs losing their inexperienced grip with every other movement. His legs moved before he knew what was happening, a strange tightness strangling his heart.

“What the hell are you doing?” He barked, narrowed eyes boring into you pointedly as he easily hoisted himself up one level.

Your head swiveled to the side, eyes widening briefly before a soft smile pulled at your lips, face relaxing as if you weren't hanging a hundred feet from the ground.

“Oh, hey Neteyam.” His name was a breathy sound from your tongue, and he cursed his weak stomach as it flipped.

“You're supposed to be with the other Avatars.” His eyes scanned your body, lingering on the loose hold your legs had around the branch.

His fingers curled into fists in an effort to keep them at his sides. For some reason, he ached to reach out, to grab you firmly and pull you from the precarious position. He settled for watching every twitch and sway of your muscles, tensely poised to bring you back to solid ground if necessary.

“I got bored.” Your shoulders raised in a casual shrug, nearly throwing you off balance.

A tiny gasp lodged in your throat, arms tightening around the tree limb. Rough bark scratched at your skin, heart racing at the possible danger. It didn’t spark fear within you, but rather excitement.

You’d been craving more since arriving in the village, and decided to make your own fun when training became too monotonous. Neteyam's jaw clenched, unable to stop himself as he closed a bit of the distance, taking a small step toward you.

“Learning the ways of my clan is boring?” There was a teasing lilt to his voice, though he still watched you closely.

Your eyes found his in a pointed stare. “You know that's not what I meant. I'm just picking up on things faster than they are, so...”

“So you abandon training when it doesn't interest you. How very humble.” He murmured, head cocking to the side in a show of mock interest.

Your hands and feet called out in protest, tired muscles quaking more with each passing moment. Your nose wrinkled, tiny huffs leaving your parted lips as you tried pulling yourself up, to no avail.

“Oh, yes. That means a lot coming from you. Neteyam Sully, the picture of humility.” A breathy chuckle rumbled your chest, despite the twinge of panic curling in your stomach.

From there, everything seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. You tried a different approach, one arm lifting to hook around the branch. Your other arm almost instantly gave out under the increased weight, muscles too spent to hold you up for even a moment longer.

Your legs quickly followed suit, releasing their weak hold. It was only a split second, only a fleeting moment that your body spent plummeting toward the ground. But your stomach still churned, bile rising to your throat when nothing separated you from the hard, unforgiving earth.

In a flash, a firm pressure wrapped around your waist, hauling you up harshly. You stumbled, feet barely catching on rough bark before losing grip, sending you flying forward. Breath caught in your lungs, arms blindly grabbing onto the closest thing available to right yourself.

Neteyam stepped back, guiding you away from the edge, arm tightening around your middle as you fell into him. Your fingers dug into his shoulders, feet finally finding stability beneath you. The two of you settled, muscles pulling taunt as your close proximity became apparent.

Only a few inches existed between you, heaving chests nearly touching with each ragged breath. Your eyes slowly trailed up, following the pattern of deep blue stripes along his collar bone, up the column of his throat, until they locked with molten yellow.

“My hero.” The quip was shaky, less confident than you hoped as your skin burned in each place he touched.

Long fingers twitched against your side as his hold tightened almost unconsciously. His lips pulled into a frown, eyes narrowing in warning. The fact that you were still making jokes, still unable to be serious for one single moment—even after nearly falling to your death—irritated him to no end.

“You are reckless.” He hissed, heated gaze scanning your body, as if making sure you were really okay.

Heat washed over your skin under the weight of his stare, stomach turning with anticipation. You couldn’t help but inch closer, body moving on its own volition as you pressed your hips into his. He stiffened against you, but made no move to pull back.

“But it’s charming, isn’t it?” You murmured, blinking up at him innocently, a small smile curving the corner of your lips.

A low growl rumbled his chest, fingers of his free hand balling into a fist at his side. His gaze snapped up to meet yours, pinning you in place with the intensity raging behind bright yellow. Heaving breaths mingled, melding within the minuscule space that remained between you.

You admired his tight expression, having never been this close before. Your eyes grazed over each stripe, counting the glittering freckles that dotted smooth skin. Meanwhile, his gaze dropped to your mouth, unable to look away as his heart thumped harshly in his chest.

He was burning up, a sensation so hot and unfamiliar igniting in his belly that it urged him forward, head jutting toward yours minutely. His breath hitched at his own actions, the tip of his nose brushing along yours as he swayed, suddenly feeling lightheaded.

His mind went hazy, thoughts jumbling in a conflicting mix of desires. To push you away, to bring you closer. But he was frozen in this torturous limbo, unable to do either. His heart constricted in his chest, air leaving him in short pants.

You couldn’t take it for a second longer, hands moving to sink into the braids at the base of his skull, lips claiming his in a searing kiss. You swallowed his strangled sound of surprise, mouth slanting over his. After only a beat of frozen tension, he responded with equal passion, free hand cupping the side of your neck firmly.

Your lips fought for dominance, his claiming yours with bruising force while you nipped at his skin, fingers tugging lightly at his hair. He couldn’t help the groan that escaped him, arm unconsciously tightening around your waist to pull you flush against his front.

He spun you quickly, pressing your back into rough bark. At your sudden gasp, his tongue dove into your mouth, clumsily exploring. His heart thrummed so violently in his chest he feared it may break through the skin. His stomach burned with a tightness, a mix of emotion he had yet to experience.

Of course, he’s found other Na’vi attractive. He’s had fleeting crushes here and there throughout his life, but he’s never acted on it. Never had the time or interest to give any women his attention. He’s never explored this aspect of life, never allowed himself the pleasure of feeling another’s skin on his in such an intimate way.

And now, within only weeks of knowing you, he’s lost all resolve. Years of restraint crumbled in only days—mere moments under your tempting presence enough to make him lose his mind.

As your lips continued battling for the upper hand, his mind raced, warring thoughts making him feel woozy. The fact that you’re the one that’d broken him, the one to shatter the plan he made to wait, to save these kind of experiences for his mate…it makes him burn.

“Neteyam?” At the rough call of his name, the two of you instantly lurched apart.

His palms shoved against you, and you stumbled back, nearly losing balance for the second time that morning. Wide eyes caught pointedly, chests heaving, labored breath the only sound other than quickly approaching footsteps.

“You up there, boy?” Jake’s deep voice echoed through the trees, an ice cold shock of reality to both of your systems.

“Yeah—yes, sir.” Neteyam cleared his throat, averting his eyes as you watched his every move, frozen in place only a foot away. “Coming!”

He hastily jumped down, not sparing you a single glance as he raced to meet his father. You were left standing there, heart racing, fingertips ghosting over your lips as they pulled into a small, victorious smile.

“Ow! Ow!” Lo’ak squirms, hissing lowly as his mate smears a handful of yalnabark over a deep gash in his chest.

She grumbles under her breath, brow pinched with an emotion Neteyam can’t quite decipher. His lips purse, jaw grinding under the pointed sting of his sisters hands as she works on the few scrapes marring the skin of his back.

The day wasn’t entirely a loss, but it didn’t exactly go well, either. Sky People hit the forest, closer than ever before. Neteyam, along with the other warriors, were hastily rounded up before flying toward the danger, not to be seen again for several hours.

Neteyam and Lo’ak were supposed to be spotters. They had direct orders from their father to stay far away from the conflict, something that did little to calm Neteyam’s already raging frustration after his morning with you.

He was distracted. Utterly and completely unfocused, the only thing on his mind the way you made him crumble. The way a simple touch of your lips on his set him ablaze, shredded every fiber of control he’d spent nearly twenty-one years carefully weaving.

So, when Lo’ak raced toward the ground, straight to the one place they weren’t supposed to be, he instantly followed, mind already too clouded to think of a better plan.

Another pained grunt echoes from across the room, causing Lo’ak’s mate to growl, a sound that has Neteyam’s ears twitching with interest. His eyes flick toward the pair, secretly watching the lovers quarrel unfold.

“You should have been more careful. You really couldn’t wait until after the first mission to get hurt?” She roughly scoops up another glob of the healing ointment, eyes narrowing at his brother.

“Tahni (star)—Eywa!” He curses when her fingertips press into his skin firmly, jerking away from her touch.

Her face pinches with a scowl, and she suddenly drops the bowl harboring her supplies, letting it clatter onto her work station loudly. With a final pointed huff, she storms from the tent. Lo’ak is quick to follow, instantly uncurling from his seated position.

“Baby, wait!” He rushes after her, a few seconds of amused silence following their absence.

(see extended Star Girl scene here)

“Skxawngs (idiots).” Kiri mutters, a quiet laugh rumbling her chest as she continues tending to the wounds on Neteyam’s back.

He doesn’t fight the smirk that tugs at his lips, finding their dynamic endlessly entertaining. He’s become used to it, the way they seem to deal with everything so passionately. Whether they’re bickering or keeping him awake with their lovesick mumbling, it’s clear that their connection is strong.

He watches them disappear through the entrance, spine straightening when his eyes land on his father through the newly opened gap in the woven door. It's not Jake that's gotten his attention, but the small group trailing behind him as he nearly runs through the gathering area.

Neyeyam is on his feet in an instant, ignoring Kiri's confused calls as he bats her hands away and races from the tent. His head swivels from side to side, eyes scanning the area until he finds you, almost to the tree line already.

“Dad!” He shouts, jogging to catch up.

For some unknown reason, his heart is pounding, stomach in knots as he takes in his father's worn expression and the large gun held tightly in his hands. His tail flicks to attention, standing tall at his back.

“What's going on?” His gaze moves to you briefly, skimming over the bow slung across your chest.

His chest tightens, something unknown squeezing his heart. His eyes linger for a second too long, meeting yours for only a split second before quickly falling to the ground. Jake turns to face him with a rough sigh, the sound drawing Neteyam’s eyes reluctantly from the dirt.

“We need help transporting the rest of the wounded. And picking up the supplies we couldn't get to.” His voice is rough, clipped with obvious irritation.

Neteyam's chin drops, ears flattening, knowing his mistake—his carelessness—left the clan unable to finish the mission. He forces his eyes up despite the unease in his stomach, meeting his father's disappointed gaze.

“And you’re bringing her? I will come.” He can't even begin to explain why, but the thought of you going anywhere near the battlefield has his stomach turning with anxiety.

“No. You'll stay with your brother and sisters.” The statement in final, leaving no room for argument.

“Out there is no place for her kind.” Neteyam's jaw clenches, the words coming out much harsher than he intended.

His gaze remains locked on his father, but he still notices the way your ears tuck against your head, lips pursing at his words. One of the warriors at your side snickers, until another clan member elbows him pointedly. Neteyam's hands clench into fists at his sides, an unexplainable anger washing over him.

“I need all the hands I can get and—you know what, I don’t have time for this. Go finish getting patched up.”

“Dad—” He’s suddenly desperate, the need to make Jake understand overwhelming.

“Son, you've done enough. Go.” He walks away, shoulders tight, the small group following close behind.

You’re frozen for a long moment, watching Neteyam curl inward at the admonishment. His ears fall, jaw clenching as his chin tucks into his chest. His tail swishes from side to side roughly, an obvious sign of his distress.

You ache to reach out, to comfort him, but the sharp call of your name has your arm returning to your side swiftly. With one last long glance, you scurry away, legs moving quickly to close the growing distance between you and the Olo’eyktan.

The moon has long eclipsed the sun, blanketing the base of Home Tree in darkness.

A small, awe-struck smile pulls at your lips, eyes locked on the earth as it bursts to life beneath each of your careful steps. Your toes press into the dirt experimentally, and it instantly responds, vibrant colors shining through low twilight.

In the last two weeks that the village has become your Avatar’s home, this has been your favorite time on the moon. You find comfort in the quiet stillness of nighttime, often exploring while the rest of the clan sleeps.

The beauty of the moon amazes you, leaves you breathless as glittering bioluminescence seems to beckon you closer, urging you to discover every treasure Pandora has to offer.

The sound of laughter and shouting echoes through the forest, guiding you forward. You’re a bit hesitant as you break through the tree line, unsure if you’re welcome at the celebration.

Despite the day’s earlier conflict not going perfectly, a few of the warriors were able to convince Jake that the clan needed a chance to let off some steam. They’d been fighting for weeks without rest, without more than a few moments of reprieve. He agreed to a small, quiet celebration, but it’s clear that didn’t last long.

A large fire rages in the center of the gathering area, Na’vi dancing and singing happily around it. Small groups sit around, chatting and drinking casually. A soft laugh bubbles in your chest as your eyes scan the crowd, watching Na’vi who’ve been so composed and fearsome until this point let their inhibitions go.

“Y/N!” Your head turns at the call of your name, curious gaze landing on Lo’ak’s mate.

A soft smile pulls at your lips, a warm sense of comfort washing over you at the familiar presence. Her free arm waves you over happily, while the other is slung over Lo’ak’s shoulders. She’s perched on his lap, both of his arms resting loosely around her hips.

“I heard you saw some action today.” She beams as you grow near. Your eyes flick over her swaying frame, noticing that her pupils are dilated, her cheeks tinged with a deep shade of purple.

“Barely.” One of your shoulders lifts in a dismissive shrug, attention shifting to Lo’ak who seems to be just as tipsy as his mate.

By the time you’d arrived at the battlefield, all humans were long gone. The only thing left to do was sort through the rubble, ensuring no one was left behind. A few clan members were recovered, thankfully all still alive, though some were badly injured. Jake ordered you to help move discarded weapons, which you gladly did.

All in all, it wasn’t a very exciting scene.

“Want some?” Lo’ak’s voice rips you from your wandering thoughts.

He raises one arm, a dark liquid sloshing inside a hand-carved wooden cup as he holds it out toward you. You lean forward, eyes dropping to the mystery drink, inspecting it for a few seconds. One smell has you recoiling, nose burning from the strength of the alcohol.

“Oh, god, no. I think that would actually kill me.” You laugh, moving back to cover your nose.

“Come on, don’t be a wuss.” A big, teasing grin splits his lips, and he pushes it closer to you.

“Lo’ak!” His mate hisses, palm slapping against his chest in warning.

He grunts lowly, but otherwise ignores her chastising. Your eyes flick to his, finding him already watching you with raised brows. A grimace tightens your face, regret already twisting your stomach at what you’re about to do.

But you can’t deny the challenge, your competitive nature demanding that you accept his offer to prove yourself. Your fingers close around the cup, taking it from him and lifting it to your lips in one quick motion.

The pungent smell fills your nose, making it wrinkle with hesitation. You force a slow breath through pursed lips, head tilting back to drain the remaining liquid from the cup in one swig.

“Lo’ak, I don’t think this is a good idea…” His mate giggles, unsteady on her feet as her head tilts back, wide eyes following your careful movements closely.

“It's fine, baby.” He waves her off dismissively, watching you just as attentively. “We'll catch her if she falls.”

“We?” She emphasizes, another inebriated laugh echoing through the trees.

Your lips purse, fuzzy brain doing it's best to ignore them as you slowly walk across a low hanging branch. Both of your arms are extended outward, helping you maintain shaky balance, feet moving with purpose along rough bark.

It all started after you took Lo'ak's drink. He couldn't help but stare at you, mouth agape with shock at the way you chugged the whole thing seemingly effortlessly. He wasted no time in grabbing another, and then another, quipping that he could drink faster.

The challenges kept coming, both of you growing more intoxicated—and competitive—by the minute. Every drink hit you especially hard, since you'd never tasted the stuff before, but you were determined to hold your own.

You'd raced, climbed high up in the trees, and now, in your drunken state, the next best thing was this tightrope act. Lo'ak's mate has been watching the two of you with an amused smirk the whole time, your little group receiving many quizzical glances as you tuck further into a corner of the ongoing party.

You're not far enough off the ground to risk serious injury, a fact that convinced you it would be a good idea. You offered to go first, so here you are, barely managing to keep yourself upright several feet above the glowing earth.

Once you reach the end of the branch, shaky legs clumsily lower you into a seated position before you jump down. You sway on the landing, nearly falling over until Lo'ak's mate reaches out, fingers wrapping around your arm to steady you.

“Easy.” The word falls from your lips thickly, syllables slurring together.

Your tongue feels too heavy, sticking to the roof of your mouth uncomfortably. The ground beneath your feet is unsteady, shifting every few seconds. Bright colors blur together as your eyes blink slowly, struggling to focus through the low evening light.

“Now let me show you how it's really done.” An amused chuckle rumbles Lo'ak's chest as he strides past you, stumbling a bit as his arms reach for a higher branch.

“What the hell is going on here?” A deep, disgruntled voice suddenly cuts through the lighthearted atmosphere.

None of you heard him approach, too distracted by your current antics.

“Oh, shit.” Lo'ak's mate whispers beside you, grip on your arm tightening.

You turn too quickly, the world racing to catch up, making your stomach flip. Sharp teeth cage your lower lip, heart swelling at the sight of Neteyam, all hard edges and seriousness. You eagerly watch his brow furrow as he glares at all of you.

Your greedy eyes slowly trial down his form, following the path of glittering freckles from his broad chest, along his toned stomach, to his loincloth that conceals what must be a huge—

“Come on, bro.” Lo'ak rolls his eyes with a rough sigh, jumping down from his half-perched position in the tree. “Lighten up.”

Neteyam's frown only deepens, shoulders tightening as his eyes flick over the three of you expectantly. The skin of his face warms under your dazed attention, a shiver running down his spine. His jaw clenches, heart constricting with unwelcome emotion as he quickly averts his eyes.

Despite his best efforts, his mind has been stuck on you since your little group disappeared with his father. He searched for you once the other warriors returned. Secretly, of course. His eyes carefully trailed over the crowd, tongue clicking against his teeth to prevent himself from asking where you were.

It’s driving him crazy, the way his body won’t let you go. He wants nothing to do with you. And yet, he can’t deny this inexplicable pull, the overwhelming desire to be near you at all times.

“Curfew?” His hands lift in exasperation, gesturing to the nearly empty surrounding area.

Your brow furrows, upper body shifting to peer around his tall frame. Almost everyone is gone, only a few stragglers left behind. The fire has long been put out, glowing embers releasing a thick cloud of smoke into the night sky.

The three of you were completely unaware, too caught up in your drunken fun to notice.

“And you. What the hell are you doing?” The curt acknowledgment has your eyes snapping back toward him, spine straightening.

“Who, me? Oh, uh, I’m just…I was on my way back to the hammocks. Yep. That’s what I’m doing.” You point in a random direction clumsily, pulling your arm from the light touch still holding you upright.

You stumble without the assistance, tired muscles giving out under your own weight. A giggle falls from your lips as you barely manage to catch yourself, arms splayed outward dramatically. Behind you, Lo'ak staggers back to his mate, slinging an arm over her shoulder lazily.

He's the picture of nonchalance, one leg crossed over the other as he leans into her. Her hands move up to hold onto his, still swaying on her feet slightly. Lo'ak's brow raises in silent challenge, and a low growl breaks the steadily growing tension.

Neteyam’s glare turns lethal as his narrowed eyes snap from your clearly intoxicated state to his brother.

“Did you get her drunk?” The accusation is ground out through clenched teeth, frustration tightening his chest.

“We were just showing her a good time.” Lo'ak's arms raise in mock surrender, a huge, unapologetic grin splitting his lips.

Neteyam's jaw grinds, tail thumping against the ground in irritation. Truthfully, he'd rather be anywhere but here. He's simply following orders, locating his brother and his mate as Jake requested. He didn't expect to find you, of all people, hanging around them like a leech.

He just can't escape you. You're everywhere, consuming his thoughts, making him distracted. He's never struggled with something like this before, never met someone so vexing that he can't even complete his duties in peace.

“Hey! That's not fair.” Your head swivels, attention jumping between brothers as they speak in a language you don't understand. Finally, your bleary gaze lands on Lo'ak's mate, lips pursing in a pout. “What are they saying?”

Her only response is a tiny shake of her head, golden eyes widening in warning.

“You really enjoy making things hard, don’t you?” Neteyam hisses, hands clenching into fists at his sides.

He’s so tightly wound, muscles aching from how tense this day has made him. His mind is still reeling from the kiss he hasn’t had time to process, and his brothers careless actions that nearly got the both of them killed.

He’s a ticking bomb, frustration and anger mounting so fiercely inside him he knows he’ll explode any minute. He just can’t take it, the pressure within him needs some kind of release, or he fears what may happen next.

“Sorry I’m not the perfect son like you.” Lo’ak’s brow lowers, all amusement gone from his face in an instant.

Neteyam’s chest aches, ears flattening at the loaded insult. His shoulders drop, responsibility weighing so heavily he feels it in his bones. He knows Lo’ak will never understand, never bear the duty of being the first born.

He tries so hard not to blame him for the hand they’ve both been dealt, but in moments like these, it’s nearly impossible.

“Go home. I will clean up your mess.” His voice is low, rough with finality.

He holds Lo’ak’s fiery gaze for several long beats, until his mate gently urges him away, murmuring quietly in his ear. As they disappear toward their home, his eyes pinch closed tightly, a tired sigh falling from his lips. He inhales a long, grounding breath before spinning on his heel.

He stalks toward you, eyes locked straight ahead. Long fingers curl around one of your arms in a firm hold as he walks past, dragging you along with purposeful steps.

“Come.” He mutters, not sparing you so much as a single glance.

Your wobbly legs struggle to keep up, feet catching on the loose dirt every couple of steps. Your stomach turns at his quick pace, free hand moving to grip his wrist in a silent plea to slow down. The two of you only make it a few feet before your limbs get tangled, nearly bringing you both to the ground.

“What was that about?” You slur, heavy-lidded eyes blinking up at Neteyam as he mercifully stops.

He begrudgingly turns to you, chin dropping as his eyes bore into yours with indignation. Your lips part, breath hitching at his sudden closeness. Your gaze trails along his face, lingering on his mouth for a second too long before they flick back toward his eyes.

“Your eyes are actually kinda pretty when they aren’t glaring at me.” The words are a breathy whisper as your body sways toward his, the skin of your chest grazing his for a quick moment until he jerks back.

Warmth washes over his skin, and his gaze instantly hardens.

“Oh, you ruined it.” Your lips press into a pout, an action Neteyam's traitorous eyes jump toward eagerly.

The world suddenly shifts, knocking you off balance. Your free hand swings up, looking for the nearest source of stability. It skims his shoulder, before slowly falling to his chest where it presses into his skin firmly. You sway, forcing him to pull you closer to ensure you won't fall to the ground.

Your hazy mind struggles to catch up as something strong and warm, so warm, encircles your waist. He releases your other arm, and it instantly wraps around the back of his neck, fingers diving into his braids.

Neteyam's heart skips a beat, then thumps erratically between his ribs. He doesn't know what he's doing. His body is acting on it's own accord, disobeying his thoughts that scream to just let you fall, to leave you to find your own way home.

His skin burns where it touches yours, muscles tensing under your light caress. You feel his heart hammering beneath your hand, a fact that has a small smirk pulling at your lips.

“Let go.” His rough voice breaks the spell, makes your eyes flick up toward his.

A giggle bubbles in your chest, because he must not realize that he's the one holding onto you so tightly. Weight shifts between your feet, dragging your skin along his in a way that makes his breath hitch. It's such a small movement, barely perceptible, but you catch the subtle parting of his lips.

“I don’t think I can.” Big eyes blink up at him innocently, waiting for the inevitable tension once he realizes what he's done.

Your inebriated mind wants to take advantage of this moment, wants so badly to close the last few inches that separate you. Your stomach twists with anticipation, fingers lazily playing with the braids at the nape of his neck.

“If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were worried about me today.” You coo, watching intently as his expression hardens.

“It was stupid, bringing you to the battlefield like that.” The excuse is weak, even to his own ears, as it's ground out through clenched teeth.

“I think you’re forgetting that's the whole reason I'm here.” You can't help but inch closer, heated gaze exploring his skin.

A rough sigh falls from his lips, eyes narrowing in warning. “You’re forgetting that I don’t like you.”

“And how many times do you have to repeat that? Just to keep yourself from…” Your attention is locked firmly on his lips, unable to resist the pressure in your lower belly that begs for relief. Relief only he can provide.

“Y/N, you’re drunk.” He leans back several inches, using what's left of his quickly dwindling control.

No matter how enticing he finds the fire in your eyes, he would never act on it, not while you’re under the influence. You probably don't even mean what you're saying. This morning was a one time thing, never to be repeated. It was a mistake, plain and simple.

Even while these thoughts race through his mind, his arm tightens around your middle, keeping you upright when you nearly fall again.

“And you’re so tense.” His jaw ticks as you edge closer, hand trailing down his front. Strong muscles twitch under your light touch, ragged breaths filling the small space between you. “You know, it’s okay to want something…for yourself.”

Neteyam's eyes pinch closed tightly, heart constricting, because you couldn't be more wrong. From childhood, it's been drilled into his head that he's the oldest, that his siblings are his responsibility. Individual desires have never been encouraged, never even been a consideration in his mind.

He hasn't had the time, let alone the opportunity to want something for himself. The stark reminder makes his stomach turn, shattering what's left of the sultry haze that surrounds the two of you.

His hold drops from your waist, free hand moving to firmly peel your roaming fingers from his hair and stomach.

“What is it going to take for you to understand that I. Don’t. Want. You?” He accents each word with a harsh glare, hands circling your wrists as he finally manages to remove your hold on him.

He pushes you away lightly, dropping all contact as if you’ve burned him. He just can't take it for a moment longer. Not if he wants to maintain his tattered shreds of restraint, to prevent either of you from making another mistake.

Your breath catches at his sudden dismissal, feet tangling from the weight of his gentle shove. The ground shifts, bright colors blurring as you crumble to the ground, landing harshly in a jumbled heap of limbs.

Your hands barely manage to smack against the dirt before your face hits the unforgiving surface. A soft hiss falls from your lips, expression tightening with the painful sting along your palms as the earth cuts into your skin.

“Fuck.” Neteyam mutters, instantly crouching to your level, arms extended to help you.

He didn't mean for you to fall, never intended to push you that hard. He wasn't thinking, so blinded by the need to put some distance between you that he forgot you weren't steady on your feet.

In your drunken state, you’ve lost the ability to mask the hurt that crosses your face. It’s only a split second, a fleeting moment of vulnerability, but it pierces his heart all the same. For a long moment, you stare up at him, equal parts disbelief and anger welling in your eyes along with unwanted moisture.

“I can find my way back.” You're quick to cast your gaze toward the ground, batting his hands away.

All emotion is gone from your voice, cold acceptance left in it's wake. It feels as if you've been doused with a bucket of icy water, clarity washing over you so abruptly it constricts your heart. Embarrassment colors your cheeks, hazy mind clearing enough for regret to trickle in at your actions.

You clumsily scramble onto your feet, swaying a bit as your hands brush away lingering clumps of dirt from your skin. Neteyam is quick to stand beside you, teeth grinding, stomach flipping at the hard expression on your face. It's so different from your typical openness, the usual playful light that glitters behind your eyes long gone.

Suddenly, he's found something he hates more than the roots of affection that have cracked through his resolve.

He aches to reach out, to apologize, but his lips only purse more firmly as he watches you stagger away from him. Because if he’s learned anything in his nearly twenty-one years of life, it’s that he can’t want anything for himself.

Even so, he takes a single step forward, calling out as if there's a chance to salvage the growing connection between you.

“You won’t be able to climb in your current state. Just let me—”

You cast him a withering glare over your shoulder, the pointed anger in your eyes stopping him cold. His fingers curl into fists at his sides, restraint tightening his chest as he prevents himself from stalking toward you and making this right.

In an instant you're gone, hastily stumbling up the carved staircase in the center of Home Tree. A ragged breath rumbles from trembling lungs, ears flattening as remorse twists his stomach.

His tail swishes with displeasure, but for once, he has no one to blame but himself.

taglist:

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750 notes · View notes

zafrinaxyz · 4 months

Text

A New

So'lek x Fem Avatar!Reader x [passed] Neteyam Sully

you were mated to neteyam, him and his family were able to convince you to make the switch permanently, to become one of the people. you two were mated for a few years until the incident happened that took him away. you felt hollow... empty... like it would be impossible for life to go on

until, due to fate, with the sky people rising and becoming more and more of a threat- you and the omatikaya had to join forces with another resistance team .. so'leks team ...

overtime, you found great comfort in so'lek. his wisdom, his kindness, his leadership. he was extremely patient with those he worked with and knew a lot about the different clans of pandora... he was very knowledgeable

in time, feelings began to bloom

you felt conflicted, torn between your once beloved and this new older man you haven't known for very long

little did you know, so'lek had feelings for you too

he was also conflicted

you were younger... much younger. But also bc .. you were once human. now you lived in this shell full time. His disdain for humans was great, but he just couldn't seem to ignore ... your kindness, thoughtfulness, your gentle demeanor, your burning desire to want to help others .. as well as your beauty

in time he learned of your past mate and what had happened, and his connection to the Omatikaya Olo'eyktan. he did not want to cause any tension between himself and his new alliances ... but more importantly did not want to make you uncomfortable by moving too quickly

for now, all he could do was live with the stolen glances, fleeting touches, small conversations and watch from afar while his heart yearned for you... eating away at everything hard, cold and dark inside of him .. with your little light shining through

#my therapist will be hearing about this #ok. i go bye bye now #the winter depression is winning guys #no i am not apologizing #so'lek x reader #so'lek x you #so'lek x avatar reader #so'lek x female reader

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jellybear455 · 1 year

Note

let me heal you is one of my fave fics ever!! could i request a dreamwalker!reader x tsu’tey where tsu’tey has to teach reader the ways of the people because if he teaches jake he’ll rip his head off and he develops a major crush on the reader

Thank you for your request! This took me way too long to do for some reason.

Tsu'tey x reader

Warnings: blood, violence, loss

Word count: 3.2k

Part 2

Pandora. A planet full of new colours, knowledge and danger. Compared to Earth, it was heaven. Except, you can’t get there by dying. Instead, you must pledge your life force to science. Even then, only incredible luck got me here. Not as much luck as Jake Sully had, though.

The ex-marine, paralysed from the waist down, had a brother. I remember when Tom died. There was no funeral. No one hold funerals anymore. We spent years together, learning about Pandora and preparing to be launched into space. Tom was killed barely a month before we were due to leave. Six years in cyro can’t fix that pain.

Now, I watch Jake Sully, standing in Tom’s tall blue Avatar body, marvelling at the dirt between his toes. Human or not, he looks exactly like his brother.

Today was our first time linking to the artificial Na’vi vessels. The lack of a mask on my face feels strange, but strangely relieving. The Pandora atmosphere, containing curiously higher percentages of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and xenon, feels different to oxygen, somehow thicker as I breathe it in. It’s almost an out of body experience. I can feel my body, and I know it is mine, but when I look, it feels as though it is someone else’s. But that will go away in time. For now, I will enjoy the new freedoms and sensations that come with the Avatar.

The next morning, at 0600 on the dot, I am in my Avatar, and we are soaring above the Pandora jungle. I lean out over the edge of the helicopter beside Jake, who is also in his Avatar. We are zooming low over a huge body of water, accompanied by a flock of purple creatures, that squawk when we get too close.

The air craft rises again, over the trees, before descending onto the forest floor. Immediately, I jump down, ignoring how Jake waved his gun around like an idiot. He pushes ahead of me as the helicopter shuts off, tail whipping my leg. I hissed in annoyance, but followed behind without protesting.

We trepassed through the jungle, and despite the mind-blowing scenery, all I could think about was Pandora’s humanoid inhabitants. The Na’vi. The people we were impersonating with our Avatars. I was fluent in Na’vi, but Doctor Grace liked to tell me that my pronunciation was off. I think she just likes to get on my nerves.

The Na’vi were hunters by nature, and dangerous creatures that could kill you without batting an eye. Or so everyone would have us believe. Doctor Grace says the Na’vi are intelligent, sympathetic creatures, no different from us. Either way, I am certain that they are watching us right now.

Green monkey-like creatures with 6 legs swing through the trees. Jake raises his gun, but I reach out to lower it.

“Prolemuris.” I tell him, watching as they cartwheel away from us. “They are not aggressive.”

“Relax, marine. You’re making me nervous.” Grace says loudly, rolling her eyes and pushing past.

Eventually, Jake keeps walking.

“So,” Norm speaks up after sometime. “How will they know we’re here?”

“I’m sure they’re watching us right now.” Grace replies nonchalantly, echoing my thoughts from earlier.

We emerge from the thick forest and into a clearing. In the centre is a small, rotting, wooden hut. Grace strides in confidently, and the rest of us follow, a little less certain. Inside is the remains of a school. Books, which used to rest neatly on shelves, are scattered across the floor. Most of the desks remain upright, with chairs tucked underneath, but some are upside down and have been strewn across the room.

I watch silently from the door as Doctor Grace trails her hand sadly across a desk. When moves to another part of the room to gather equipment, I approach where she previously stood. Squinting a little, I can make out the rough letters scratched into the desk. ‘Sylwanin’.

“What happened here?” Jake questions, snapping me out of my thoughts. He stands next to an old black board, which is riddled with bullet holes.

Grace inhales sharply, and I watch as she fumbles for an answer. She finally settles on avoiding the question entirely. “Are you gonna help us here? We’ve got a lot to do.”

As Doctor Grace and Norm collect samples from a tree root, I wander off into the jungle. I enter another clearing, this time filled with round, spiralling plants. My hand brushes one, and it shrinks back into a little bud on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Jake demands, appearing from behind me.

I can’t help but giggle like a schoolgirl. “Watch this.”

When I poke another plant, Jake laughs too. I tough another, then another, and then they all shrink, leaving the clearing empty. My amusement fades away as Jake tenses beside me, and I spot a huge, armoured hammer-headed creature snorting at us from the trees. Jake yanks me behind him, and raises his gun. Fear spikes in my chest.

“Don’t shoot. You’ll only piss it off.” Grace’s voice crackles through the intercom in my ear.

“I think it’s already pissed off.” Jake responds, still pointing his gun at the creature.

“Trust me, Jake. That armour is too thick.” The marine relents, lowering his gun. Grace continues. “It’s a territorial threat display. Don’t run, or he’ll charge.”

“Thank what am I supposed to do, dance with it?”

“Just hold your ground.”

The animal huffs, pawing the ground, before letting out a roar and charging anyway.

“Grace…” I mutter, frozen in fear.

With a scream of his own, Jake ran, headfirst, towards it. My heart skipped at least three beats before the creature skidded to a halt, the webbed fans behind its hammer head spreading in alarm. It slinked away into the forest and Jake whooped in victory.

“Oh yeah! Who’s bad?” He shouted triumphantly. “That’s right. That’s what I’m talking about. Bitch.”

I laughed in relief, turning away from Jake to catch my breath. It did not take long for my blood to turn to ice again.

“That’s right, get your punk ass back to mommy.”

“Jake,” I whispered.

“Yeah, yeah you got nothing! You keep running.”

“Jake!” I hissed, a little louder.

Finally, he turned around. “What?”

The black, slick, panther-like thanator roared threateningly. It loomed above me on the tree, before leaping over us and growling at the pack of hammer heads. Jake raised his gun again in alarm.

“So, uh, what about this one? Run, don’t run?”

I grabbed his arm and pulled him in the other direction. “Run, definitely run!”

Leaping over a tree root, I rushed into the forest, Jake following close behind. I weaved around a tree, then through bamboo looking plants, then under a tree root. Still the thanator roared and crashed behind me. Launching myself off a particularly high rock, I curled my hands around a vine, using the momentum to swing myself up into a tree. The creature raced past, instead favouring Jake, who had taken refuge in the roots of another tree. He fired his gun desperately, but it did nothing to slow his pursuer. I searched my surroundings frantically, looking for someway to help. My eyes landed on the crack in the branch I stood across from.

My hands grappled for another vine, and I swung at the branch, hard. I was rewarded with a sickening crack. Still, the thanator dug at the roots, claws dangerously close to Jake. I swung again, once, twice, three times, until, with particularly loud crack, the branch plummeted to the ground, landing on the thanator’s tail. It screamed out, and Jake scrambled, running into the jungle. I grabbed another vine, sliding down and following after. The thanator kept screaming.

Jake ducked under a root ahead of me. Before I could make it through, the thanator soared over me, grabbing Jake by the backpack and swinging him through the air. He unclipped the back, and went tumbling to the ground. I rushed between the creatures legs as it shook the bag out of its jaws, and pulled him up with one hand. We kept running.

We hurtled through a break in the trees. The little control we had over our Avatar bodies was not enough to stop us as we realised we were fast heading off the edge of a cliff. I scream ripped out of my throat as the thanator snapped its jaws behind us. I crossed my arms over my chest and pushed my legs together. All I could do was hope that there was water beneath us.

My feet hit the rapids first, and the rest of my body followed. I did not have time to swim to the surface for air, because my head struck a rock, and I was rendered unconscious.

When I could think clearly again, the first thing I wondered was if I was dead. Then I realised that I certainly wasn’t, because why was my dead spirit being jostled around like a sack of potatoes? I pealed my eyes open, glad the light was not too bright. As it turns out, the person tossing me around was strangely familiar.

“Tom?”

The person looked down at me and grinned. “You’re awake.”

It was Jake, still in Tom’s Avatar. He had one arm under my knees, and the other across my shoulders, carrying me through the jungle. My head throbbed, and when I reached up to touch my forehead, my fingers came back with flakes of dried blood on them.

“How long have I been out?”

“Hours.” Jake said worriedly. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t wake up at all. But hey, look on the bright side.”

He nodded ahead of us. A tall blue Na’vi woman carrying a bow stalked through the trees. She looked back occasionally, as if checking we were still there.

“Is that…”

“Hell yeah it is. She’s taking us back to their village.”

“Oh wow,” I muttered, taking her in. “What’s her name?”

“That’s a good question. I’ll ask.”

He did not get the chance, because his legs came out from under him, and we fell from the particularly high tree branch we had been walking across. I groaned loudly in pain when we hit the ground, unable to move as Jake frantically pulled on the rope around his ankles. As he tossed it away, more Na’vi on 6-legged, horse-like creatures emerged, wielding weapons.

Jake drew his knife, turning to see more Na’vi behind him. I struggled to stand, the pain in my head making me dizzy. I looked up, only to meet the eyes of a Na’vi. He aimed his arrow, no doubt laced with a neurotoxin, at my chest. I raised my hands in fear.

“Calm, people, calm.” The woman that had been leading the forest shouted. Despite being fluent, it took me a moment to translate the words.

The Na’vi pointing the arrow at me lowered his weapon, dismounting his horse thing, and stalking toward the woman.

“What are the doing, Tsu’tey?” The woman asked.

Tsu’tey. His name was Tsu’tey.

“These demons are forbidden here.” Tsu’tey replied.

“There has been a sign.” The woman insists. “This is a matter for the Tsahìk.”

I could not begin to comprehend what that meant, because my legs began to shake uncontrollably, and I fell to the ground again. Tsu’tey stared down at me, before grabbing me roughly under the arms and pulling me up on the horse thing with him, and laying me across his knees. I gasped, the sudden movement amplifying the dizziness in my head. I looked back to see Jake being dragged behind us by the Na’vi on foot.

When the jungle began to thin out, a huge tree came into sight. This was where the Omatikaya clan lived. The tree was at least three times bigger than the tallest tree in the jungle, and Na’vi flowed in and out of the trunk from a cave-sized hole at the base of it.

We rode straight into the hole, and the horse things began to slow down. Tsu’tey dismounted, pulling my down with him. My legs were still weak, but I managed to stand.

“This is so cool,” I whispered, gazing round at the curious eyes of the Na’vi around me.

Tsu’tey gave me a funny look, before ushering me forward through the crowd, that parted like a sea. I could count the four fingers pressing into the skin between my shoulder blades, although his touch was not rough like before. Some of the people whispered among themselves, and others reached out to touch me, darting away quickly, as though my five fingers were contagious. A little girl grabbed some of my hair, forcing me to stop. My hair went past my waist, since I had not had the chance to cut it. I smiled at her, and she giggle shyly, letting go. Tsu’tey pushed my forward.

We came to a stop, and soon Jake was pushed into position beside me. The woman stepped in front of us, talking to an older man with a huge belt across his shoulders. He approached, scanning us critically. I made the gesture the woman had made a few moments before. Three fingers to the forehead, then forward. I see you.

“Why do you bring these demons here?” He questions. The commanding tone, plus the decorations adorning his body. He is Olo'eyktan, the leader of the Omatikaya clan.

“I was going to kill them,” The woman says. “But there was a sign from Eywa.”

That’s the second time she’s mentioned a sign. What does that mean?

“I have said before, no dreamwalker will come here.” The Olo'eyktan booms.

“What’s he saying?” Jake whispers.

“The alien smell fills my nose.”

“You smell bad.” I whisper back, holding in a laugh at the confused expression on his face.

“My father is deciding whether to kill you.” The woman says.

Jake shifts uncomfortably. “Your father. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

He steps forward, offering his hand, and the Na’vi behind him leap to restrain him. I step forward too, quickly shoving Jake’s arm back to his side. The woman shoves him back, and Tsu’tey steps in front of the Olo'eyktan defensively.

“Step back!” Someone calls. “I will look at the aliens.”

A woman descends from a stairway above. She is decorated too, but not as much as the Olo'eyktan.

“That is mother.” The younger woman says. “She is Tsahìk, the one who interprets the will of Eywa.”

“Whose Eywa?” Jake asks.

I groan in annoyance. Can he be anymore oblivious? The Tsahìk circles us, pulling on Jake’s braid and tail, then running a hand through my hair and examining my fingers.

“What are you called?” She asks, her Na’vi accent dripping over the English words.

“Jake Sully.”

“And you?” She looks to me.

“My name is (Name).” I say in Na’vi, gesturing I see you to her as well.

The woman huffs a little, then withdraws a small pointy spike from her necklace. She reaches out suddenly, slicing it across both out faces in one fluid strike. I recoil in shock, then stead myself again. She licks it with her tongue, and her expression immediately changes to one of surprise.

“Why did you come to us?” She questions.

“We came to learn.” Jake replies confidently. I look at him out of the corner of my eye.

“We have tried to teach other Sky People. It is hard to fill a cup that is already full.”

“My cup is empty, trust me.” Jake insists. “Just ask Doctor Augustine, I’m no scientist.”

“Then what are you?”

Jake is silent. “I was a marine-“

“He is a warrior.” I cut in, thinking as quickly as I can with the pounding of my head. “Of the Jarhead clan.”

“A warrior!” Tsu’tey cries. “I could kill him easily.”

“No.” The Olo'eyktan stops him. “This is the first warrior of the Sky People we have seen. We need to learn more about him.”

“My daughter, you will teach him our way.” The Tsahìk says.

“Why me? Why not Tsu’tey?” The other woman hisses.

Her mother’s lips twist a little. “They will likely kill each other before the day is out. It is decided. My daughter will teach you our ways, Jakesully.” She approaches me again.

“What about her?” Jake asks, gesturing to me.

Yeah, what about me? Butterflies flap in my stomach. What if she kicks me out? I’m not a warrior. I am a scientist.

“That depends. Are you a warrior?”

“No…” I say. “But I can learn, too.”

The Tsahìk cocks her head. “Why should I believe you?”

“She is a warrior.” Jake cut in. “Just a different kind.”

“What are you doing?” I whisper.

“Saving your ass.” He mutters back. “She came here to save her people down on Earth. She will learn, trust me.”

It is silent, as the woman before me contemplates what to do. “Tsu’tey, you will teach this one.”

Tsu’tey growled. “But-“

“You will learn, child, or you will leave. Now go.” Tsahìk waved her hands. “You must begin immediately.”

With a hiss, Tsu’tey stalked toward me, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me through the crowd. I stumbled on my own feet, struggling to keep up with his pace.

“Why are we in such a rush?” I huffed in annoyance when we had ascended to a higher, less crowded level of the tree.

“What is rush?” Tsu’tey asks, still leading me through the village.

“Um, to do something quickly, I guess.”

We stop at large hut. As we go inside, I take in the three women sitting in the corner, and the piles of bowls containing brightly coloured pastes around them. The rest of the floor is covered with woven mats.

“This is the healing hut.” Tsu’tey says.

10 minutes later, we emerge again. The wound on my head is clean and covered with a patch. The healers had retrieved a few garments of Na’vi clothing. A cloth top winds around my back, across my chest and loops around my neck. A second, much smaller cloth dangles between my legs, held up by a strap that curves above my hips. It definitely covers the extremities, but not as much as I’d like. I suppose this is a part of the learning.

Again, Tsu’tey grabs my arm, leading me further up and into a large communal level. In the centre is a bonfire, and Na’vi circle it, all crouched on their hunches. We walk right through the crowd and sit at the front. Tsu’tey hands me a rolled up leaf. Upon opening it, I pick up one of the contents. It is a beetle shaped thing. Tsu’tey crunches on his own, so I follow suit. Its hard on the outside, but soft and smooth in the middle. It kind of tastes like chicken soup, just… solid.

Beside me, the woman from the forest pushes Jake down to sit.

“Hey,” He says to me.

“Hi.” I wave back, munching on a beetle thing.

Jake talks to the woman, who eventually introduces herself as Neytiri. Tsu’tey hasn’t said a word to me since we left the healers.

“So, Tsu’tey, what is this stuff?”

“Teylu. You call…” Tsu’tey pauses to search for the words. “Beetle. Larvae.”

“Oh.”

#avatar #xreader #tsu'tey #tsu'tey x reader #avatar x reader #neytiri #mo'at #jake sully #na'vi #grace augustine #fanfiction #fanfic

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