REMEMBRANCE ━━ 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒓

𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒊𝒊𝒊. dreams becoming a reality

Jake blinked the tears gathering in his eyes, falling down his cheeks. Neteyam frowned at the sight, transferring to his teenage self–the way he was when he died–and asked, "jeez, dad. Why are you crying?"

The Sully man was stunned. Juniper flashed in his mind for a split second, remembering what it was like to see her at the tree of souls for the first time after her untimely death. Jake stepped forward, cupping his son's face in his head as he gently shook his head, his tone of voice remaining low, "I'm just happy to see you, boy."

Neteyam smiled at his father's words, "I'm happy to see you too," Jake had blinked and felt his chest empty at the sight of the kid version of Neteyam, knowing there was no going back to the way it was when Neteyam–his first son–was alive. It pained the man, his vulnerability he felt being portrayed deep in his eyes. As the younger version of Neteyam reached for the bow to hand to his father, Jake realised how the boy paused with his actions and glanced over his shoulder.

Jake frowned at the sight of his son's gaze not being on him or the water beyond them yet behind the grown man. Jake followed Neteyam's line of sight and felt his body freeze without his control, his heart skipping a beat at the girl standing in front of him, tears glistening in her eyes. The girl smiled vaguely, a chuckle escaping her lips and shrugged her shoulders, "hey, Jake."

Jake immediately stepped towards the girl, inspecting her figure. After realising that the girl he dreamed about seeing again was standing in front of him, he reached forward and securely embraced her. He could hear her soft sobs on top of his sniffles, "oh, baby girl," He said, his voice breaking as he held Juniper in his arms. Almost like she belonged to be hugged by the man.

He refused to let her go, yet he pulled away to take a good long at the girl as a tear streamed down his face. Jake took in every feature of Juniper, inspecting her as if she hadn't visited his dreams almost every night since the years of letting her go. He noticed how her facial features had matured, her fangs growing in size to the point where it was on the brink of hanging out of her mouth. Almost as though her body was attempting to grow but couldn't reach the maximum.

She still looked the same since Jake had first met her—the same since he brought the girl to his chest, sobbing over her lifeless body. Thinking back to that moment, seeing the light leave her eyes, he tightened his grasp slightly on the girl's shoulder, his expression contorting to a look full of sorrow, "what am I supposed to do now that I've lost you both? I can't live with that–knowing your death is on my hands."

The Vespera girl scoffed, staring at Jake incredulously as she cut the man off, "it is not your fault," She said, her torn stern. He knew she was trying to cheer him up from the sickening thoughts running through his head, "I need you to remember that it wasn't. When I died, I was going to tell you something, but I didn't have enough time ... I was going to tell you that it wasn't your fault, Jake. It never will be, and neither was Neteyam."

Jake shook his head, cupping the girl's cheek as he stared heavily into her eyes. The eyes that brought him comfort like none other. The eyes of his first child that he had welcomed into his heart, taking her as his own.

Juniper sighed heavily, noticing the expression of conflict plastered on the man's face. She gazed behind the man to the boy that smiled softly at the scene, being his present self, "I got him, Jake. We're going to be okay."

Neteyam walked towards the scene, remaining as his teenage self. His eyes were soft as he peered at Juniper, engulfing her hand in his own, meeting the eyes of his father. Neteyam nodded along to Juniper's words, tightening his grasp on her hand that Juniper's eyes were glued on, "yeah, dad. I'll be okay," He paused, switching his gaze at Juniper, "I'm home."