Don't blame me - Neteyam

Chapter 2

"Mawey Mawey," she soothed, using the tree for support as the warrior slowly stood up, limping towards her banshee. Tìreyä held out her wing so Lei'la could use it as a support to climb onto her back. "Let's go home".

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Nali held onto Lo'ak's arm as the pair waited by the dock, silently waiting for Lei'la's return. As soon as Neteyam was outside of RaiRai's vision, she ran to the healing tent to tell Nali that her sister was yet to return, and as it happens, Lo'ak was still there, his head in the healer's lap, while she ran her soft fingers through his braids.

"Nali Nali Nali," RaiRai panted. Immediately, Lo'ak sat up at the panic in the girl's voice. RaiRai had tears streaming down her blue cheeks.

Nali crawled over to her best friend's sister, holding her face in her large hands. "Rai, what is wrong?"

RaiRai let out a string of blubbering words that neither teenager understood. Nali instructed her to take some deep breaths, her hand going up her chest to inhale and down to exhale.

"Lei'la has not come back," RaiRai cried. Nali snapped her head towards Lo'ak, who wore the same worried expression. Nali forced Rai to look at her.

"Listen to me; you go home, and you do not leave until your sister returns." RaiRai nodded, running out of the tent, leaving the two teenagers alone.

"Nali" Lo'ak started, but the healer was already marching over to Neteyam, shoving him against a nearby tent. Nali was never one for violence, but when it came to protecting the ones she loved, she was lethal.

"Where is she?" Nali seethed, trapping the boy between her body and the tent.

Neteyam looked down at the girl, smirking at her rage. He thought it was cute. "If she hasn't returned yet, the best chances are she's dead." He shrugged, saying it like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Nali let out a small gasp; her feet stepped back from Neteyam, and her knees almost buckled from the shock.

"No, no, she can't be dead." Nali shook her head, refusing to believe that her best friend was gone. Her best friend was no longer here to care for her siblings or make her laugh when she felt sad.

"Bro," Lo'ak muttered at Neteyam's bluntness. Nali turned into Lo'ak's chest, letting out a small sob.

Yip, Yip, Yip

The three teenagers turn around to see the origin of the war cry; only one Na'vi announced their presence in such a way.

Lei'la

To say her landing was rocky is an understatement. Her ikran barely made it to the floor before Lei'la had become acquainted with it. A strangled wince left her throat as her body turned to lie on her back. Her vision was a little blurry, so when three blue figures blocked the moonlight from her face, she thought she was finally going crazy.

"Lei'la!"

The girl in question let out a small laugh at the three figures crowing around her. "Hey guys," she greeted.

Nali fell to her knees, pulling the girl into a hug so tight that Lei'la nearly passed out. Lo'ak let out a sigh as he joined the hug on the floor. His hand wrapped around her chest, and the other landed on her head, keeping her close.

"You scared the shit out of us, Tsawksyul," Lo'ak breathed, pulling back to look at her bruised-up face.

"I always have to keep you on..." She let out a quiet groan of pain before continuing "Your toes".

"Lo'ak," Neteyam said, hitting his brother's shoulder, catching his attention as Neteyam pointed to her bleeding stomach.

"Holy shit! We have to get you to grandmother now!"

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"Hey, Max," Lei'la greeted as she limped into the lab with the help of Nali and Lo'ak. The scientist looked up from his microscope, almost dropping his specimen at the sight of the Na'vi girl. He immediately rushed towards her, placing her on a metal table. The coldness against her warm skin earned a small hiss.

"What the hell happened?" Max stressed, his voice louder than the kids intended, making them look to the floor. The scientist rummaged through the drawers and cupboards searching for medical supplies. The sound of the loud ruckus brought a very sleepy Norm into the room in his boxers covered in smiling ducks.

"Max, what the..." His voice caught in his throat at the sight of Lei'la bleeding all over the floor.

"Oh, hey, Norm, sorry to wake you," she sheepishly apologises before her eyes trailed down to his pjs. "What are they called?" She asked Lo'ak

"Ducks"

"Cute duckies"

Norm jumped straight into action, disregarding her teasing. His hands immediately cleaned up the blood around her chest as he stopped the bleeding.

"What are you doing here? Normally, Na'vi go to Mo'at, don't they?" Norm's voice was firm, not like his normal playful tone; his eyes were trained on facing her wound.

Lei'la looked at Lo'ak, pleading silently, asking him to tell the scientist why they weren't at the healer's, but he only shrugged, shaking his head teasingly, forcing the girl to speak: "Neteyam told me to go to Mo'at, so I came here instead to piss him off".

"You two are going to be the death of me," he cursed, placing a particularly stinging paste on her cut, making her almost yell out, but she settled for a loud wince.

Max and Norm worked on Lei'la's wounds for almost three hours; they worked seamlessly together, cleaning the blood, disinfecting the cut, sewing it up, and finally bandaging it. Lei'la was almost unconscious from the pain; her eyes fluttered closed every few seconds, but Lo'ak kept her awake, afraid if she closed her eyes she wouldn't wake.

"She will have to stay in the medbay tonight; I shall inform her family," Norm announced, throwing his bloody medical gloves in the biohazard bin.

Lo'ak and Nali nodded at the humans, the pair standing on either side of Lei'la. Nali threaded her fingers through Lei'la's matted hair, pulling out small pieces of moss and bark.

"She can't keep doing this," Nali muttered lowly, her gaze avoiding the burning one Lo'ak was sending Nali's way.

Lo'ak bent down, interlocking his fingers with Lei'la's. He looked over at Nali, tears forming in her waterline. "Every time she leaves, I think she won't come back, and this time was so real".

Lo'ak had the same fear as his parents and Neteyam. Every time they left his vision, he prayed to Eywa that she would send them back unharmed. Even though his father was harsh towards him, he wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the world.

"Hey hey" Nali looked up at the sound of his soft voice; she didn't really know what it was. Sure, they had fooled around a couple of times, but they had never really talked about what this was. "She's here, isn't she?" Nali nodded "Then don't focus on what could have been, only on what is, and that is that she is here".

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Lo'ak , Nali and Lei'la >>>>

also, I have actual a levels for the next few weeks. My first one is on Wednesday and im absolutely shitting it so updates may be a little slow while I do those but once their over this book will be my top priority 

-S