N E T E Y A M
Mommy's Boy
PT1
I EAT MY DINNER WITH IDLE, my ears tuning out the multiple chatters around me. I don't pay attention. Mother converses with dad about whatnot, and Kiri intently listens. Tuktirey is scheming; bothering Lo'ak about who knows what, given her gleeful cackles.
An ordinary family dinner.
Lo'ak nudges my side. "You're quiet," He says once I meet his eyes. I nod but don't say anything, instead, I turn my head away. I feel his piercing gaze burn at my skull. It seems like father notices our quietude as he chimes in:
"Son, how'd your day go?" He asks me.
I sway my head, murmuring a "so-so." I don't meet his eyes for some odd reason. Lo'ak pinches my thigh, and I swat my head so fast that my braids smack across my face, stinging my scowl with pain.
"What was that about?" I ask him with grit teeth.
"Yep! There he is," He chirps, laughing like it's the funniest thing. My face softens. I ruffle his braids before I go back to eating with a soft smile. I tune out the chattering once again.
Bedtime soon rolls in. After cleaning up, the clan moves up the branches of trees and into their hammocks. I follow my family; trailing behind my mother. Many are unaware, but she's my muse. I always cripple with joy when anyone mentions that I resemble her.
She's in tune with the beauty of nature. She's inclined to Eywa. She's fierce, rooted in her sightings and goals—and I am inclined to her. My mother is my dearest. I look up and aspire to be like her. Even my Ikran looks like her own.
I am a "Mommy's boy" as humans call it. Father taught me the word. He also taught me "Daddy's boy"—which is Lo'ak, more often than not.
"Mother..." I call, halting my steps as she turns, her doe eyes flashing with dubiety.
"What it is, Ma'Teyam?" She asks.
As of now, the rest of the clan strolls afar. My siblings chitter with my father. His laughs are loud and resonant as he carries Tuk in his strong arms.
"Do you know anything about Awa'atlu?" I ask her.
Her ears twitch. She frowns and walks to me, puts her hands on my shoulders, and squeezes.
"Awa'atlu?" She asks, the name of the place rolling off her tongue with hesitance.
I firmly nod.
She leans, her eyes grasping my same shade. I can't and don't turn away, finding warmth within her stare.
"It's far from here. Very far," She says.
"How do you get there? That is to say—"
She tilts her head. "Ma'Teyam, are you planning something?"
"No," I shake my head with frank. "I'm just curious."
"Well—" Her grip falls off my shoulders. "I don't know much about it."
I sigh. "Nothing?" I ask her, my eyes imploring.
"Well..." She croons, her eyes wandering, appearing to be greatly in thought. "I know it's an island of water Na'vi...and to get there may take a month at best on Ikran..."
A month. My ears ring. I look at my feet with pensiveness. Ao'nung must be away from his home for who knows how long, I can only think. My heart squeezes. My stomach churns and drops to the ground flat, it almost feels like.
"How about at sea?" I blurt out.
My mother hums, her chin pointing to the sky, her tanhì mirroring that of the twinkling stars. She has a full galaxy sprawled on her stomach.
"Maybe more? The ocean tends to have strong currents and not very direct ways. One could easily get lost and end up somewhere else," She explains.
No direct paths and the possibility of getting lost is endless.
I almost want to kneel and cry to my mother and Eywa. I feel despair dawn upon me like a bucket of rain pouring, old and muddy. It's sticky on my skin, covering me whole. My throat clogs, and I'm certain I near suffocate.
I feel futile. Ao'nung may never go back.
The jungles are grand. They are brash, and only the strongest survive. What can a water Na'vi do? How can they suddenly adjust when the way of water is all they've known?
My heart races. I am certain; deepest within me that he more than misses his island home.
"Coming?" A voice calls. Mother and I turn our heads. We see father patiently waiting for us with query eyes that mirror that of my siblings too.
Mother smiles, and motions me with her head. I walk and pass her, and she soon follows from behind shortly. My father engulfs me in a playful headlock, and I grin, though my mind gnaws back to Awa'atlu and that "mermaid boy" (as I like to call him).
He's a unique Na'vi, pleasant on the eyes. His turquoise skin is a wonder, like his fine curls.
Lo'ak jumps on my back and I almost stumble forward, a violent gust of air bursting out of my lungs. He presses onto me like a Koala, his cackles loud and fanning to my right ear. I wrap my arms around his thighs to secure him, and I walk, giving him a piggyback ride.
Tuktirey laughs and asks to be next. Kiri simply rolls her eyes, though there's that soft and short-lived smile on her lips.
My perfect family, I can only think. My precious and cherished family.
As I tuck Tuk in her hammock, who's still optimistic and grinning from her piggyback ride—I realize that I have left my bow with Ao'nung once again. It's the third time now.
I shoo the thought away and climb up the innumerable branches, not without pecking my parents' and siblings' goodnight with a forehead kiss. Well, Kiri prefers a hug, and I give it to her.
I tuck away to sleep. Or at least try to.
But it just happens that sleep doesn't arrive, and rather I am the one chasing it.
5
YOU ARE READING
AVATAR TWOW: Torn between the 2
Fanfiction(Story written in 1st person, present tense) Where the strong currents of the Reef lead Ao'nung to the jungles, and there he meets an Omatikayan boy willing to help him get back home. *** Upon one of the usual father and son quarrels, Ao'nung decide...
