Shells | Lo'ak Sully

Vol 1: Epilogue

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Before, Ni'teya couldn't ask for help herself, nor would she have gotten any if she asked. This differs however from the present. If Ni'teya needed help, she'd ask for it herself, certainly receiving enough of it to make her glad she asked.

Her life with the Sully's also differed from life as a sort-of-Sully. Family meetings were always a... hoot? Jake would do his best to keep it civil as always, however his pain in the ass son would make that task a difficult one to say the least. Ni'teya didn't mind, though. Even if they did fight, she'd find it oddly pleasing, deciding that a family who argued was better than one that didn't, ever.

Kiri and Ni'teya began having days away together, as Jake and Neytiri decided to finally allow them to set up small campsites in places near the village, close enough so that their torches were visible. They'd sometimes camp out in the jungle, climbing the trees like they did back at the forest, eating everything but the pinky-purple berries and even go swimming in small streams that they'd come across. Other times, they'd camp out near the reef's edge where small rock-pools were dotted around the place, crafting matching floating devices to sleep on them and gaze up at the stars, talking about all the different shapes they could see.

Tuk joined them once, which didn't last long as she almost immediately started to feel "homesick" even though the "home" she was referring to was within eye-seeing distance. After that, Neytiri wouldn't let her follow them out to camp through the night, as she said "swimming all the way out there (to get Tuk) was a waste of time".

Lo'ak tried too, to Kiri's utmost protest. She simply said "no 'cause you two will get all mate-y in front of me" and that was that, he never asked again.

Ni'teya's favourite thing to do though, still, was collect shells.

On this particular occasion, Ni'teya went out alone to roam the beach for a few more statement pieces for her newest project. She'd found just about enough shells by the time the sun was lowering however she needed one more really special one to finish her hunt. She didn't want to find just any old shell, she needed a perfect shell, retracting of course her favourite one that was already hanging down from her forehead.

Almost losing hope, Ni'teya spotted something that made her question whether her favourite shell had dropped onto the floor without her realizing it. An exact copy of it was laying there in the sand, almost taunting her but at the same time, beckoning her over. She did so, checking it for cracks or other impurities, and to her surprise, it was indeed perfect. Feeling oddly weirded out by the ordeal, and feeling rather sorry for her favourite shell that had just turned out to be a twin, she returned to the place where she'd work on her project: the jungle's clearing, of course.

Once sat, Ni'teya began crafting away. She went on and on, tying and sewing and sticking things all over the place, eventually ending up with a finished product that she was more than happy with. So, after checking them all one last time before she was satisfied, Ni'teya set off to fulfill the second half of her project, which involved her carrying these new creations towards the hut where the rest of the Sully family were having their food.

When she arrived, she placed the box that was carrying the creations in them on Tuk's hammock that was lower down than the rest of them, greeting everyone and sitting down to eat with them as they'd been waiting for her to arrive so that they could begin. Tuk had been non-stop asking her "what's in the box?" so after a lively meal, Ni'teya then went about presenting her project to her family.

She reached her hand inside the box, fishing out the first piece she'd created.

"This..." She began as she scrambled to lift the item. "...Is for you, Tuk!" Ni'teya tells her, holding up a beautiful neckpiece covered in pinkish shells mixed with smaller yellow ones, dotted with a few pearls here and there. Tuk's eyes grew larger, which Ni'teya didn't know was possible.