Invisible String - Jake Sully

3 (Edited)

"I'm sorry, lady Tawn'kiri," Jake smirked at her flustered state, "so did the children love my performance?"

Tawn rolled her eyes at him, "you are the star of their day," she said sarcastically. "They loved the part where you got thrown off of the skimwing," she teased, stepping away from Jake to continue to her destination.

Jake smirked at Tawn and unknowingly followed Tawn, matching his steps with her own, "well, to be fair, I was born in a forest," he paused, "well more like made in a lab," he said, looking at his hand.

Tawn sneaked a peek at his face, noticing his ears fell, "don't worry, Jake Sully, you'll learn sooner or later," she assured, "skimwings are meant for metkayina's warriors that passed their rite of passage," she explained, trying to make him feel better.

Jake shrugged, "I know, this wasn't the first time I got thrown off of an animal and please call me Jake," he grinned at her. Tawn's brain stopped working for a moment before she pulled herself together.

"Call me Tawn, lady Tawn'kiri made me feel like a tsahik," she giggled at the thought of her being a leader.

They stepped down from the bouncy material to the sand. Jake held out his hand for Tawn to take and Tawn being polite took it and thanked him. 

"What did you do today with the kids?" he asked.

"I was teaching them how to differentiate edible and inedible plants," Tawn shrugged, "but then Kia yelled my name because she wanted to see you tame the animal."

Jake cringed at that, "well, sorry about that."

Tawn laughed, "I don't understand why you apologised, Jake," she teased.

The name rolled off beautifully from her tongue, Tawn didn't want to admit this, but she liked calling him 'Jake' instead of 'Jake Sully'.

The both of them walked in silence, side by side. Their steps matched one another, their hands hung by their sides, and none dared to touch one other. They didn't know what else to say but the silence was comfortable enough that both didn't want to ruin it.

"Dad!" Tuk yelled when she noticed her father walking alongside Tawn. "look, I'm feeding an ilu," she giggled.

Tawn watched the little girl giggle. Her eyes moved to Tsireya and Kiri who were standing next to the little girl watching over her.

Noticing her aunt, Tsireya waved at her with a dimpled smile on her face.

Tawn and Jake walked closer towards the three girls. Once Tuk settled on Jake's hips, the little girl talked his ear off, telling him about her adventures.

Tawn's eyes moved to Kiri, who was standing quietly next to her, "hi, Kiri. How was your day?" Tawn asked the girl, trying to get her involved.

Kiri shrugged with indifference, "we learned how to swim and breath underwater," she replied curtly, gazing towards her little sister and father.

Tawn nodded in acknowledgement. She wasn't angry or hurt at her curt response. She understood that Kiri needed time to warm up to her surroundings and new people. 

Knowing that the girl liked to be left alone, Tawn decided to watch Jake and Tuk. 

She watched Tuk guide her father's hand to pet the gentle animal. Tuk grinned at her dad when he petted the ilu, feeling proud of her accomplishment. 

Tawn softly smiled at the scene. She wondered if she would have her own family, a mate that loved her and children that she loved in the near future. The ladies her age were already mated and at least had a kid already. She was the only unmated woman among her friends.