PROTECTOR

9

The big day had arrived.

Today was the day when Jake was giving up his role as Toruk Makto and when the Sully family would leave the Omaticaya clan for some indefinite time.

When Lo'ak opened his eyes he instantly felt like he was missing something. He remembered then that he went to sleep with Laia for the very last time in who knows how much time. He was kind of upset when he sat up on his bed and did not see the girl curled in a ball next to him.

It was very early in the morning, the suns had just raised, but still the Sully's had a lot to prepare for the day and for their departure. Lo'ak thought for a moment and came to the conclusion that Laia could be so overwhelmed by the situation that maybe she went on a walk to gather her thoughts, although he would have wanted her to do the traditional painting for the ceremony for him.

On the other side of the room there was his brother, Neteyam. He was not sure if he even got any sleep that night. He was the first one to notice that Laia's place in Lo'ak's bed was empty, as he was the first one when to wake up; but he didn't know at what time she left.

He had mixed feelings. On the one hand he kind of liked the idea that Laia didn't spend the whole night next to his brother, he wasn't going to admit it, but he had always been a little jealous about this. He also wanted to hug her in his sleep, he wanted to inhale her scent all night, he wanted her to look at him the same way she looked at his brother right before she closed her eyes... but he didn't have the courage to ask her when they were kids and now they were older, the least he wanted was to make her uncomfortable.

On the other hand, he was worried. Maybe she wasn't going to show up at the end of the day. Maybe last night, when she held his hand and he saw her smiling was the last time she he saw her, maybe that was his last memory with her.

No. That could be true. He didn't have the chance to talk to her one last time. He had to tell her how much he is going to miss her. He needed to tell her he loved her.

Oh.

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The whole clan was under the Tree of Souls. Jake chose a young teenager named Tarsem as the one who would lead their people.

In order to have a new leader, the old one had to die. Tarsem made a harsh movement with his knife in his right hand, as if to stab Jake on his chest, but he only made a scratch.

The Sully family all walked away. Neytiri could not hold back her tears anymore and Kiri placed a hand on her mother's shoulder to show her support while she held Tuk close to her.

The boys were at the back, looking from side to side searching for a specific figure with green feather earrings. Kiri glanced back at them at shook her head as a no, telling them that it was useless, that she had searched for her before and she was nowhere to be seen.

It hurt them. Their best friend was not there to support them. Yes, she was having a rough time, but they were as well. Soon after they will have no time to think about this, more challenges will come and eventually they will forget it.

They got the painting off their bodies and went to grab all their bags. They were nowhere to be seen. They thought someone had already take them to the ikrans, although they had never agreed to this with anyone.

They arrived at the cliff where they would take off to begin their journey. There was one more ikran there. It was fully black with black and purple stains. It was Etti, it was Laia's. Next to the animal was the girl. She immediately smiled.

"Hey guys" Laia started. She struggled a little to maintain her smile when she saw the looks of her friends.

"Laia what are you doing and why is Etti here?" asked Jake. He had seen his children eyes, he knew how they felt, so it the best if he was the one speaking.