Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 02: Night Skies

"Have you ever told him how you felt?" Ja'lia asked, and Lo'ak instantly shook his head no. "He wouldn't listen to me," Lo'ak insisted.

"I would be right by your side," She tried to persuade him.

"No, I'll be okay. Are you done getting the paint off of my face? Because I have to go make sure the ikran are okay," Lo'ak said as he stood up.

"I can go with you," Ja'lia said.

"No, I don't want you to get in trouble with my Dad," Lo'ak responded as he started to walk over to the group of ikran not too far from where the two teens currently were, "Besides, I'm sure Kiri and my grandmother wouldn't mind having you help out," He said.

As she watched him walk toward the ikran, she felt torn on what she should do. One part of her wanted to help Lo'ak with the ikran, and the other part of her wanted her to listen to his words.

It was obvious that Lo'ak needed some time to himself, and Ja'lia knew that she owed him that silence so that he could process everything that just happened.

Begrudgingly, she started to head toward the Tsahik's tent. Ja'lia couldn't see the tent because it was crowded with wounded Na'vi men and women. There wouldn't have been so many injuries if they would have been able to initiate a counter-attack in time, however, things happen, and it can't always go in the Na'vi's favor.

The Great Mother didn't work that way. She protected the balance, and sometimes that meant allowing the Sky People to have a win every once in a while.

Ja'lia pushed through the heaps of people as she finally stumbled into the Tsahik's tent. "Lia, thank Eywa! Someone else can come in!" Kiri yelled, and within a second a Na'vi man walked into Mo'at's tent and over to Ja'lia.

This is going to be a long day. She thought to herself.

Person after person, paste after paste, the mounds of people outside of Mo'at's tent started to dwindle, and now each healer was on the last person before Mo'at could finally start working on Neteyam's wounds.

The girl was applying paste to a Na'vi whose name was Tarsem. Tarsem and Ja'lia could be considered friends; in the sense that he behaved like her protective older brother, and she was the annoying little sister.

Tarsem's older brother had been the Olo'eyktan before Jake, and Ja'lia thought he might have held ill feelings towards Jake, but he never did. In fact, he was extremely loyal to Jake and had become Jake's right-hand man.

As Ja'lia applied the paste to Tarsem's wounds, he hissed in pain, causing her to smile. "Does my pain bring you joy?" He grumbled.

"Obviously," She snorted, and he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Once Ja'lia was done applying the medicine, she brushed her arm on his shoulder, and he flinched. "Did I miss a cut?" Ja'lia asked concerned.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's just bruised. Damn, that hurt," Tarsem said.

"Mo'at, do you have any medicine for the pain?" Ja'lia asked, and Mo'at looked up from the woman she had been healing. The Tsahik looked over and grabbed something before giving the girl a look to have her come over.

She immediately recognized what it was, and gave Tarsem instructions, "Take this once a day after you've eaten." Ja'lia said, and Tarsem nodded his head in understanding.

"I mean it, Tarsem. If you take this without eating, it will make your stomach hurt," The girl warned.

"I heard you the first time," Tarsem laughed.

"Good, because I don't want to hear you bitching that you're in even more pain," She shrugged, and the Tsahik hissed at her cursing. "Sorry, Tsahik," The girl apologized.