𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦²

25.

Laya sat speechlessly as she drank in the information. She looked at the woman sitting in front of her.

She had the same skin color as Laya did, but had much more human-like features. For example, her nose was the classic button nose. Her eyes were much smaller, her lips plumper. Laya looked down at her hands, then back up at Penelope.

Still in disbelief, Laya scoffed. "No you're not." She stated.

Penelope leaned forward and grabbed Laya's hands in hers. "I am-"

Laya looked down to her 'mothers' hands and saw the five fingers, just like Laya. She saw the similarities in their faces. Laya had always noticed the differences with her and the other, 'purebred' Na'vis, and suddenly saw how many features they shared. They both had bigger lips, less white freckles than the usual Na'vi, eyebrows, and of course... the five fingers.

"Y-You're my mom?" She stuttered out.

Penelope nodded. "Yes- I am." She tried to squeeze Laya's hands, but Laya simply stood up and left the room.

Walking into the hallway, Neteyam immediately stood up. Jake also straightened up and looked at her.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Neteyam rushed to her, seeing her distressed look. Laya didn't respond but looked at Jake.

"I don't want to talk to her anymore. Put her back in her cell." Jake nodded and swiftly walked into the room.

Neteyam looked at his partner and put an arm over her shoulder. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Laya looked to Neteyam and felt tears forming in her eyes. "Can we go home?" Her voice cracked.

Neteyam immediately nodded and interlocked their hands. He rushed them back, making sure to avoid everybody. They even ignored Neytiri as they walked into the living room and moved to their bedroom. Neytiri stood up, but saw Neteyam shaking his head at her. She understood to not question it, sitting back down.

Neteyam sat Laya down on the bed, then closed the door. He sat next to her and held her close. She immediately broke down into tears, sobbing into him. He didn't say anything, just simply held her close and rubbed her back. Laya felt the tears stream down her face and fall onto Neteyam's lap, but she didn't care. All she could think about was the fact that her mother, who she hadn't seen in 18 years, suddenly popped back into her life. And she acted like Laya was simply supposed to welcome her back with a hug.

"What's going on Laya? What happened?"

He had never seen her so distraught. There were few moments where she had shed a few tears, but never like this. Never with what seemed to be puddles forming on the ground. Laya looked up at Neteyam and tried to blink away her tires, but failed as more streamed down her face.

"Sh- She's my-" Laya stuttered. "She's my mom."

Neteyam's eyes widened, and her face went back down, crying into him again. He suddenly understood the situation. He didn't know much of Laya's parents, but he knew she didn't remember them at all. He remembered back to the night that the woman had tried to stab him.

He suddenly made a realization. The eyes. They were the same as Laya's. How had he not seen it earlier?

Holding her tighter to him, Neteyam suddenly felt an urge to protect her from anything else in the world. She cried more into his chest, until she had no more tears pouring out of her eyes. Even then, she was still cradled into his chest, gasping for air. The longer she stayed there, the more she felt herself grow weak and tired. Neteyam saw this because he laid her down on the bed. "Sleep- I'll be back." She nodded and adjusted herself on the bed, wiping her still wet eyes. Neteyam kissed her forehead and walked out of the room.