Little Miss Perfect | Neteyam¹

Chapter 18: Blistering Headaches

When he was explaining to Jake that everything looked normal, the Tsahik arrived with her materials. She looked at the humans and spoke, "I see that I am not needed." Ronal then started to walk out of the pod before Neytiri grabbed her arm, startling her in the process. "You are Tsahik." Neytiri hissed.

"Remove these things." Ronal spat.

"Out! You have done nothing!" Neytiri said as she glared at the scientists in front of her. "But Neytiri, she's my-" Norm started but then stopped when she practically gave him a death glare. Let's just say that if looks could kill, Norm would be six feet under.

Norm wanted to be there for his daughter, but he knew that if he didn't leave the Tsahik may not have done anything to help the girls. He also knew that if he didn't leave Neytiri would be tempted to kill him.

As soon as Norm and Max exited the pod, Ronal got straight to work on helping Kiri. Ronal chanted a prayer to Eywa and started a ritual that she prayed would work. After she completed the ritual Kiri awoke with a gasp and then she started to cry as Neytiri held her hand. Ronal then got to work on Marali. She did the same ritual on Marali as she did with Kiri. However, unlike Kiri, Marali didn't wake right away.

"What's wrong? Why didn't she wake up like Kiri?" Tuk asked.

"There is one more thing that I can try, but after that, it is up to Marali whether or not she wakes up," Ronal said.

This time Ronal chanted her prayer to Eywa louder, and she did a ritual that Neytiri had only seen happen in rare circumstances. The prayer that Ronal was doing was longer, more complex, and it took more energy. Neytiri grew worried that it may be too much for Ronal as she was pregnant.

Ronal soon finished the ritual, and as she did, Marali slowly fluttered her eyes open, only to close them and groan. "Mara!" Tuk said as she sat in between the two girls. The Tsahik slowly got up, feeling a bit dizzy from performing her duties, and got up to leave. Neytiri walked over to the woman and gave her a silent 'thank you.'

Neytiri walked to the edge of the pod and called out to everyone who was waited to visit. "Norm, Jake. The girls are awake." When the two fathers heard Neytiri's words, they quickly got up and ran into the pod to comfort their children.

Lo'ak and Neteyam got up to run after their father, but Neytiri held a hand up, stopping them from following along. Lo'ak let out a groan of frustration and sat back down as his brother stayed standing as he waited for his turn to visit the girls.

Norm walked up to his daughter to see her arm over her face, and her breathing seemed to be rather fast. "Mara?" Norm said. Marali slowly lifted her hand and squinted her eyes. "Dad?" She said, confused, "Am I dreaming?" She asked.

"No, Mara, you aren't dreaming." Norm softly said. Marali looked at her father and decided that he was right in front of her. It was hard for her to tell what was real and what wasn't as she couldn't fully open her eyes. When Ronal woke her up, it came with a price. Marali was experiencing the worst headache she's ever had in her life.

"Do you know what happened?" Norm asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." She rasped out.

"I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong, butterfly." He said.

"Please. Can we talk about this later?" Marali pleaded. Norm wanted to object and demand that she tell him what was wrong, but it was obvious that something was off with his daughter. The way she looked at him was different. It was distant.

Marali looked at Kiri to see her sitting up, and she decided to do so herself. As she sat up, she grabbed her head and used her father's shoulder as leverage. "What's wrong?" He asked, worried.