the delicate balance (of me and you) | tsireya x y/n

Vision (chapter twelve)

You stroke Alo'oa's neck, and hop into the water with a splash, Tsireya right behind you. You look around to make sure everyone (Tuk, Kiri, Neteyam, and Lo'ak) is there. 'Okay. Let's go,' you say, and Tsireya nods. Today, you're showing the Sullys the cove of the the ancestors, now that they've all completed their training. Tsireya wraps her arms around you as you grab onto Alo'oa, stroking his neck as he snaps up a fish. You grin back at Tsireya, and Alo'oa takes off, flying through the water. You laugh soundlessly as Tsireya tightens her grip on you, and you clasp your hand around her thigh, holding her against you. She leans forwards, kissing your neck, as Alo'oa leaps out of the water over the waves. Neteyam whoops as his ilu jumps out of the water next to you, and grins as he sees you two. 'Sorry if I'm interrupting something,' he laughs, diving back in. The last thing you hear before Alo'oa falls back into the water is Tuk say, 'are they together?' presumably to Kiri. 

As you reach the cove of the ancestors, you slow down and signal to Alo'oa to head up to the surface. He obeys, and as a group, you enter the cove. 'Eclipse is the best time of day to be here,' Tsireya says, as the group stares in awe at the view in front of them. Cliffs surround the area, with floating islands covered in greenery framing the scene. Curving rocks reach up to the sky, framing Polyphemus and the eclipsing sun perfectly. Rosy pink and orange light drips down the sky, adding to the mythical energy surrounding the cove. You grin at the stunned expressions on everyone's faces. 'Beautiful, isn't it?' The sun disappears slowly as you ride further into the cove, and the sky dims, the stars appearing. As it becomes darker, the spirit tree of the cove begins to glow. 'Look down,' you whisper, and the group listens, looking down to see the bioluminescent tree glowing beneath them. Kiri's eyes widen in amazement as she slowly slips off of her ilu into the water. You and Tsireya follow her down, gesturing for her to connect her queue to the tree. She nods, and you see her smile in a trance as she does so.

You and Tsireya smile at each other as the group all does the same, and finally, you both connect your own queues. You close your eyes, enjoying the whispers in the darkness, when suddenly everything's light, and you're somewhere else entirely. It's night. That's the first thing you notice. The second thing you notice is the fire. It's everywhere, covering the water, burning around you. You feel your face, wet with tears. You turn quickly to see Tsireya sobbing. 'Tsireya? What's wrong?' you ask, but she just keeps sobbing. You hear Kiri say brokenly, 'we must choose,' as your vision starts to blur. Then, everything fades to black, and you're back staring at the spirit tree again. Tsireya signs, 'are you okay?' and you nod. You're fine, just disoriented. 

Suddenly, you see Kiri moving. You turn to look at her, and see her seizing uncontrollably, the glowing freckles on her body flashing. Shit, shit, shit, you think, panicking. What do we do? Tsireya swims towards her quickly, signing 'get her to the surface, now.' You nod, and swim over to help as the spirit tree goes completely dark. You don't have time to worry about that, though, as you reach the surface. Kiri's stopped seizing, but she's not awake or moving. 'Is she breathing?' Tsireya asks as Neteyam pulls her up onto his ilu. 'No,' he says sharply, leaning over to do CPR. After a minute, she starts breathing. 'Thank Eywa,' you mutter. 'She's not waking up,' Tuk says, crying. You forgot she's here too. 'It'll be okay,' you say gently, as Tsireya pulls her in for a hug. 'You promise?' she says, her bottom lip wobbling. 'Yes. I promise,' you lie. Please, Eywa, let her be okay, you think as Neteyam gently clambers onto his ilu behind Kiri and rides away, back to the village.

* * *

A few hours later, you're in the Sully's hut, watching as some random science humans Jake called to help Kiri fuss around her. 'It could be epilepsy,' one of the guys says as you watch him curiously. Humans are so strange. He puts away his blue glowing screen, and examines the thing they've stuck in Kiri's arm. It doesn't seem to be helping. 'Get them out, now,' Ronal shouts, barging in loudly. 'You have done nothing! I am the Tsahik of this clan, and I will heal this girl.' 'Just take a break for a bit, guys,' Jake says to the humans, and they leave, one of them quickly taking the thing out of Kiri's arm. The human smiles at you as he leaves, but you ignore him. 'Here, wipe her forehead with this,' Ronal says, handing Tsireya a cloth and a bowl. You grab the bowl, holding it for her as she sponges Kiri's forehead. Ronal leans over Kiri, piercing her with a needle in specific places. You watch her cautiously, wondering how she knows where to poke and prod Kiri to make her wake up. Or not wake up, because this doesn't seem to be working either. 

You're immediately proven wrong as Kiri's face softens, and she opens her eyes, blinking at the light. 'Kiri,' Tuk says joyfully, and Neytiri pushes you aside to grab Kiri's face. 'Mum,' Kiri says, her face creasing as she starts crying hysterically. 'My child,' Neytiri says, holding her head in her lap, cradling it gently. You smile, hugging Tsireya as you watch from the sidelines, happy tears flowing freely from your eyes. 'I'm just glad she's okay,' you whisper, and Tsireya lays her head on your shoulder. 'I'm glad too, y/n,' she murmurs, and you nearly turn your head to kiss her, but remember that you can't. If only, you think, as you watch the Sullys crowded around Kiri, Tuk hugging her hand adorably. You remember your vision at the spirit tree, and frown. It's just a hallucination, it doesn't mean anything, you remind yourself soothingly. You lean against Tsireya, your brow furrowed. It's just a hallucination.