M I S P L A C E D ;; Neteyam Sully x Reader

Chapter 1 [ Flame ]

age of Íkxhie : 13
location : Omaticaya clan
time : a little after eclipse
note : Íkxhie and Neteyam are the same age throughout the story
tw : gaslighting, abuse, mentions of self-harm

[prologue]
"MOM! GET AWAY!" Your screams could be heard from deep into the forest, as you were shoved to the floor of your living estate by your mother, who was in a furious rage.

"How could my daughter do this to me? Are you insane? I must be such a bad mother for allowing you to think you can do this," Your mom was never the most accepting of you.

You, formerly known as Vini are now Íkxhie.  You are a trans male (yes, I'm making those exist in this AU). You grew up believing that you were disgusting, never feeling like you belonged in the body you were born in. Like any child, you went to your mother to confide, as you weren't sure what else to do. You assumed she would try and help, as she always was open to "fixing the mistakes the eldest daughter of our family". To your surprise, she slapped you. Hard across the face. You were 11 years old.

Living in the forest and the curious child you were always got you injured, falling off of trees, banging your head on rocks, getting attacked by small insignificant animals that you somehow angered, pain wasn't new to you. But this pain was different. Before, when you got cut on a rock, you could see why it happened. You were running and fell, and now you're bleeding.

But this time, you didn't know. You were only a child, and you didn't know why your mother had slapped you. You didn't understand what angered her.

"I was always okay with fixing your mistakes before Vini, but this is too far. You cannot continue with this insane behaviour! You're crazy!" Your mother's voice broke, as she screamed with every cell in her body flaming with hatred and anger. "There is NO such thing as not being born in the right body! The Great Mother assigned you this body at birth, and you are to respect Her and Her choices!"

"This doesn't feel right Mom! I don't feel normal, I don't feel like I fucking belong! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" You swatted at her hand before she could strike you again, and jumped out of a window onto a nearby tree branch.

Maintaining a fast pace to stay away from your mother, you climbed quickly to a small spot on a thick branch covered with leaves, providing you sanctuary for when you ran away. Hesitantly, you dug through the leaves to look for it. Buried under some leaves was a strange object called a 'lighter' which was dropped by some Sky people years and years back. You had come across this strange object a few weeks back, and was still amazed by its ability to create fire.

As you flicked it on, the flame stared back at you, glowing hungrily. Of course, you knew fire burned things. But it was only used to burn things like leaves and sticks for camping, or cooking. Could it burn Na'vi? Slowly, you brought the flame to the underpart of your upper left arm. Feeling the burning sensation immediately, you hissed and winced in pain. However, after leaving the glowing flame there for a few seconds, it felt nice, almost as some form of relief from everything that was going on.

From then on, you carried the 'lighter' in a small pouch you weaved from tall, thick grass and leaves. You made sure to 'burn' in places that were not too visible, like the darker spots on your stripes, or right underneath your arms and in your inner thighs. You liked the scars they left, the tingling feeling you received when burning yourself. It felt nice, it felt like this was the one thing you had control over in your life, and you needed it to stay that way.

When returning to your home a few days after running away, you were greeted to the Olo'eyktan of the clan, Jakesully. By instinct, you bowed briefly and looked back at your mother. "Mom, why is our Olo'eyktan in our home..?" You asked hesitantly.

Your mother opened her mouth to speak, when Jakesully raised his hand. "If you don't mind, I'd like to answer," He spoke elegantly and smoothly, with a calm tone. You hated it.

"So Vini, your mother has decided to.. disown you. I'm- Well I'm very so.." His voice kind of faded out in that moment. Your eyes were stuck on that sorry excuse of a mother. "I hope Eywa fucks her over, for what she fucking did to me. Because one slap led to 2, which led to punching and kicking, then full on beatings, and then Tsahik visits. I hope she burns in whatever hell of an afterlife there is," your train of thought was interrupted by Jakesully's voice.

"Huh?" Wait. What the fuck? What does he mean?

"What?"

"What were you saying about your mom?"

You were taken aback a second, confused about what he meant. "You mean I was talking out.. loud?" You could feel your mother's pupils burn a hole through your skull, the heat and anger radiating off of her. Her arms remained crossed and her feet remained on the floor, but you could tell she could jump up and rip your skin off for a new hide any time she wanted. Instinctively, you backed up and moved closer to the Olo'eyktan as protection.

"Um, yes. Is there.. something you would want to discuss?" Jakesully seemed scared to ask, as if my mother would rip his scalp off as well as yours.

You shook your head quickly, attempting to change the subject. "What did you say about custody?"

"Ah, yes. Since your mother is disowning you, my family and I have decided to provide housing and care for you. But this can't be done without your consent, Vini," Ugh, that name again.

"You mean, if I consent I can move out? I won't have to live with that woman anymore?" Your brain could hardly comprehend what was being discussed, as you could finally be away from that piece of dipshit.

Jakesully nodded. "Will um.. will you and the Tsahik become my parents?"

Truthfully, you didn't want parents. You were grateful already to have a new home away from your mother, but it didn't feel right to have new parents.

"Oh no, not at all. We will be acting as temporary guardians over you, just making sure you're safe in your new home. Unless you want us to officially adopt you, we will only be taking care of you and taking responsibility of you,"

"That sounds wonderful, I would be overjoyed to do this. I don't want to live here anymore," You said quickly, barely able to contain your excitement.

"Great. You can grab your stuff now and we'll head over to our new home," Jakesully responded, a smile flashing on his face.

Home. A new home. Your escape.

~~~~~

As you walked to your new home with Jakesully, he spoke suddenly. "By the way Vini, even if we aren't your legal parents please feel free to refer to me and my wife as Jake and Neytiri, or whatever you feel comfortable with. No need for formalities," he spoke calmly and with assurance, as if he had done this before. You nodded, happy with this new arrangement.

"Alright Jake,"