𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 | lo'ak x tsireya

𝟎𝟐 - 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

TSIREYA REMAINS FROZEN, adrenaline pulsing through her veins. over a million thoughts run through her head at once. the sight leaves a dreadful feeling swirling around in her stomach and a bad taste in her mouth. breathless, she reaches for lo'ak's hand. her eyes stay glued on the sight of the smoke.

"we need to find out what that is," she manages to speak, feeling a sense of relief when lo'ak takes hold of her hand.

"no. we should just ignore it," lo'ak's voice is low. he swallows a rising lump in his throat. the last thing he wants is to put his family in danger. they are safe from a distance, secluded deep in the forest. besides, he has doubts that they would even be allowed back into the village. deep down he had a feeling something was very wrong.

"i- i don't think i can," tsireya replies in a quiet tone. her tail swishes uneasily behind her as she turns to look at her mate. "i need to know what happened..."

lo'ak gazes intently at the smoke, seemingly not responsive. tsireya squeezes his hand tighter and stares at him with a desperate gaze.

"please, lo'ak... my family could be in danger."

lo'ak's eyebrows raise when he hears the word "family." he thinks for a moment that she is referring to the family they had made together. then he feels a pinch of sympathy as he realizes  that tsireya still thinks about her parents, even though they had rejected her.

the omaticayan na'vi is silent for a moment as he thinks about what to do. then he meets tsireya's eyes, his gaze softening.

"okay." he gives her a steady nod. "if that's what you want to do. but we need to bring our kids with us. we can't risk leaving them alone here."

tsireya's eyes widen. "no, no. that is too dangerous. i can go by myself."

lo'ak's gives her a look, his eyebrows knitting together with concern. he holds on tighter to her hands.

"tsireya. remember what i said before..."

the metkayina na'vi shifts her gaze to the ground. she looks back up at him, taking a deep breath before uttering the words. "sullys stick together."

"that's right. no one is left behind," lo'ak nods and stares back at her solemnly, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "if you're going, we'll all go together."

with a determined look on his face, lo'ak leads tsireya back inside their hut. he quickly gathers their children and tells them what's going on. zo'ile and mekanei appear nervous because they have never been outside of their hut, but they trust their parents and know that they need to stick together.

lo'ak and tsireya explain to their children that they are heading to the village to investigate the smoke and make sure that everything is okay. they tell the children to stay close and to be quiet, as they don't want to draw attention to themselves.

the journey there is mostly silent, as it is zo'ile and mekanei's first time outside the parameters of their hut. the closer the family comes to the village, the more horrific the scene becomes. the majority of marui pods were torn down, burned to ashes, and pieces of pathways were floating apart in the water. the air was thick with remaining smoke. it was as if a wildfire had spread over the entire village. the most shocking part was the dead metkayina warriors that surrounded the beach.

tsireya's hand flies over her mouth, tears pricking at her eyes. she immediately shields her children's eyes from the sight and turns them around.

"zo'ile, take your brother back to the forest and play where we can see you," lo'ak orders, pointing in the direction of the forest. "and whatever happens, don't look back unless we call your name."