Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
IKNIMAYA
the following day, it was finally time for talia's iknimaya. even with all of the recent drama surrounding the teens, the avatar girl didn't let it get to her head. she had trained lengthy hours day and night with either jake, neteyam or neytiri leading up to this point, she felt ready.
but now that the morning has arrived, talia felt completely anxious. there were so many what-if questions running through her thoughts, her mind thinking the worst possibilities.
she had woken up from spider, who was just as excited for her if not more. he enjoyed watching this part of the ritual because of how intense it could be, the thrill satisfying his adrenaline rush.
"get up talia! it's finally time! woooo!" spider jumped up and down on his bed like a child, his excitement getting the better of him.
talia groaned as his loud words flood her head, covering her eyes with her elbow. "shut up, spider. it's too early for this," she replied with an annoyed tone.
but the human boy didn't care, instead he jumped from his bed to hers in one single take. he crashed into her backside and fell back onto the floor with a thud.
"ow- what the fuck!" talia shot up as she rubbed her back, her eyes narrowed down at her friend on the floor. he shrugged and stood back to his full height, "come on, i'm sure everyone is waiting for you already!"
with a sigh, talia stretched and stood as well. she followed the overjoyed boy as he bound outside and toward the sully hut, only to find it quiet and unmoving.
now fully awake, she spoke in a hushed voice, "i told you it was too early, i'm going back."
but as she turned to walk back to her hut, a few figures emerged from the sully hut. jake, neytiri, neteyam and lo'ak were dressed and ready for the long day ahead of them, wearing their traditional chaps and riders masks.
"morning, talia." jake warmly spoke to the girl, which she replied with the same tone, "good morning!"
neteyam was the first to approach her closely as he pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek, "are you ready for today?"
spider stood behind them and made a gagging noise, catching the groups attention. he quickly pretended he didn't do anything as he stared off into the distance.
rolling her eyes and turning her gaze back to neteyam, she answered, "hell yeah."
then her eyes drifted to lo'ak who stood idly by, almost as if he was unsure whether to approach her or not. when talia waved him over he complied instantly, his face softening from her welcoming gesture.
