Little Miss Perfect | Neteyam¹

Chapter 05: I'll Miss You

Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past

Bold - sign language

Marali and the Sully family finally made it back to the campsite, and the girl was glad. Her entire body hurt from how tense it was only moments prior. She looked over to see Tuk in her mother's arms and Jake beside his mate, with the three teenagers trailing behind everyone else. The girl was trying to listen to the conversation coming from behind her, but it was cut short by her father's voice.

"Marali! You're alright!" Her father yelled, running up to hug the girl. She knew she would be in trouble, but right now, all Marali wanted was comfort from her Dad, so she hugged him back with all her might.

"I'm sorry." She said, finally pulling away to look her father in the eye, but when she looked at him she didn't see anger. She saw pride.

"What are you sorry for? Jake told me you had been watching his kids the entire time, making sure nothing would happen to them. I'm so proud of you." He softly smiled as he walked over to put a hand on Jake's shoulder.

Neteyam had seen the entire interaction between Norm and Marali, and he felt jealous. Why couldn't his father tell him that he was proud of his son every once in a while? Why couldn't he go back to how he was before the war? A time when Neteyam could call him Dad not sir. He stared at the girl with hatred, with resentment, that she had something he wanted, something he desperately prayed for. But when he saw the girl look at him confused, he redirected his gaze to the ground.

Marali was confused, to say the least. She saw how Neteyam was glaring at her, and she wondered what she had done this time to piss him off. After all, the boy was the only one to comfort her after she had killed someone.

I thought we were moving past this.

"Kids, why don't you go clean yourselves up and get something to eat? I need to discuss something with Norm and Neytiri." Jake said, giving the two adults a look as they headed back to the family's tent.

"Okay, Dad. Come on, Mara! Let's go get food." Tuk says, as she ran over to the girl and grabbed her hand. Everyone else laughed at Tuk's behavior and followed Marali and Tuk.

~~~~

Tuk and Kiri had been the first ones to finish eating, so they left first after Tuk made Marali promise that she would come over to the family's tent. Marali was walking back to the tent with Neteyam and Lo'ak in complete silence. As they got closer to the tent, they saw Kiri and Tuk crouched down, peaking inside.

The three teens looked at each other, before quietly picking up their pace.

"What's wrong-" Marali tried to say before she was cut off by Tuk shushing her, beckoning all three to come over. Inside the tent, she could see Jake, Neytiri, and her dad having a serious conversation.

She crouched down and squeezed her way in between Lo'ak and Neteyam, receiving a glare from the older boy.

"Could you please stop glaring at me all the time? You're going to put a hole in my head with those laser eyes." The girl asked in a hushed voice.

"You're the one who pushed me." He fired back.

"Would it hurt you two to shut up for once?" Kiri says, smacking her brother on the head. Marali scoffed when she heard Neteyam grumble about how Marali is the one who pushed him. After that, everyone was quiet as they tried to eavesdrop on their parents.

"I cannot - you cannot ask this," She said, "I cannot leave my people." Everyone looked at each other. "I will not." Neytiri finishes.

Marali's anxiety only grew when she heard her father's voice, "Jake, this is a conversation you and your wife should be having alone. I'm not sure why I'm here." Norm said, slowly making his way to the exit.