MΛ'ƬIЯI | ΛVΛƬΛЯ

the way of water

"Hi"

"I'm Te'rani. You seem down" She said.

Kiri sighed.

"I'm fine"

"Clearly not. If you want to talk about it, you can, I promise I won't judge" Te'rani said.

Kiri stopped walking and turned completely to look at her. She was quiet for a while before speaking.

"You'll just think I'm crazy..." Kiri laughed lazily before moving her gaze to the sand below them.

"No, if anything, I think you're special...."

"I saw you the other day with those fish under the water. You had me in a trance" Te'rani laughed a little.

Kiri looked at her again. She had gotten used to always thinking that people thought she was weird for her abilities.

"How about we go for a swim, you'd be happier in the water, from what I've noticed" Te'rani offered.

Kiri smiled a little and nodded finally.

This Te'rani woman seemed kind. So far the kids had either been teased by the metkayina youngsters or stared at weirdly by the elders.

No one wanted anything to do with them. And now there was Te'rani. She seemed to be wanting to befriend her. Kiri's mom had spoken well about her too.

"Alright"

Te'rani smiled.

The two went on their ilus into the water together. They swam as everything around them began to glow in the dark.

It was probably the most fun Kiri had since she came here.

Te'rani loved that Kiri could appreciate the ocean just like she did.

Kiri would often stop to watch some corals and Te'rani would watch next to her.

They'd smile at eachother as they watched in wonder.

Eventually Kiri and Te'rani stopped by a spiral of tiny tiny fish swimming around a coral. Kiri was stuck in a trance while Te'rani had an idea.

She slowly reached out to touch the coral while making sure none of the fish bumped into her.

Kiri watched, confused for a second before suddenly, all of the small fish below Te'rani's hand began swirling around her entire arm, replacing to coral with Te'rani.

The tiny grey and blue fish were each the size of her nail, but their presence around her in large numbers made hee body tickle.

Kiri's mouth opened and her eyes widened. Te'rani let some air bubble escape her nose as she laughed. This was an old trick she had learnt to do as a kid. It was a topic of pride for her, since she practically invented this fun trend that eventually everyone else from her generation knew.

Kiri smiled widely at the fish before looking at Te'rani, whose attention was solely on the fish. Kiri and Te'rani recognized themselves in eachother.

After swimming for an hour together, silently enjoying time together in the water, they came to the surface.

"You are really good at holding your breath, like a natural" Te'rani complimented.

Kiri laughed a little "Thanks!"

"Oh..its getting really dark, I should head home" Kiri spoke.

"Yeah, would be a real bummer if we both got scolded by your mom for that" Te'rani joked, causing Kiri to laugh.

Te'rani chuckled and took in a deep breath before diving into the water to head back to the village.

They reached quickly by gliding in the water on their ilus.

All the fire had been lit up around the Mauries.

"Thanks for showing me the ocean at night" Kiri said.

"Hey! Don't worry about it, I liked going with you! if you need to blow off some steam any time, just find me. We can talk, or just go for another swim" Te'rani had a small, soft smile as she spoke.

"You know...there are so many places here I think you'd love. I'm gonna take you there someday. Whenever you want" Te'rani spoke.

She wanted to provide as much comfort to the new family as she could. Te'rani knew it wasn't easy for them.

Kiri smiled at her. Te'rani was amazing. So was Tsireya. Must've been a second sister - aunt and niece thing.

"Thank you...for everything. I'll see you around" Kiri smiled wider as Te'rani nodded before waving her goodbye.

"Bye" Kiri smiled.

Te'rani watched as Kiri walked off to head to her mauri and got strange looks every now and then.

She felt angered to see the people act like they were aliens.

If only they could see the cold glare Te'rani gave them.

Te'rani sighed and held her ilu's neck before diving into the water and letting it go.

She swam up to the surface and began walking to her mauri.

She thought about her day. She really enjoyed going to the ocean with Kiri. It seemed like she really took her time to admire every little thing Eywa had made there.

That's when Te'rani realized that she wanted to visit Vitraya Ramunong again.

She thought she would inform her sister first and then leave, to not worry them.

Te'rani walked quickly to her sister's mauri, when she entered, she found only Tonowari inside.

"Brother, I see you" She said to him.

"I see you" He motioned back.

"Please tell Ronal that I'm going to visit the cove on Ancestors now, I won't be back for a while" she informed.

Tonowari nodded. "Is everything okay?" He asked.

Te'rani nodded with a smile. "I just feel like I must go today"

Tonowari nodded and Te'rani turned to leave.

From far ahead of her, she could see Neytiri's mauri.

She was sitting with Tuk next to her children, who seemed happier than before.

The family were smiling and talking to eachother. Te'rani's heart warmed.

She thanked Eywa that at least they were happy amongst eachother.

Once Te'rani neared the water she called for Ayu'te, who she would call with a slightly different pitch to be recognized only by her.

After a few seconds of walking deeper into the water, she heard a firmiliar click and whistle. Ayu'te.

Te'rani swam closer to Ayu'te and began gliding through the water to The Cove of Ancestors.