Thanatophobia | Ao'nung

ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕦𝕖

Ni'la lay next to Kiri as she felt the waves of the grass pulsating beneath her due to her sisters' meditative state. One might find the feel of grass brushing against their skin irritating, but to Ni'la, it felt right. It felt like she and her sister were at peace with themselves.

Everyone knew about Kiri's connection to the Great Mother, and it amazed all of them. However, when they found out that Ni'la didn't seem to have the same connection, they would whisper or stare at her as if she was some sort of abomination.

And she often felt like one, but she would never let them see how their words hurt her. Ni'la had to be strong for herself, and her family so they wouldn't worry about her well-being. Besides, it's not like she or Kiri weren't used to the whispers or stares anyway. The two girls were born from their mother's Avatar, without their mother's soul being in the body.

Jake and Neytiri claimed that it was a beautiful miracle. That twins amongst the Na'vi were a rare experience, with not even Mo'at being able to recall the last time a Na'vi woman gave birth to two babies instead of one. They suspected that the probability of twins being born was increased because Grace was an Avatar with half Na'vi and human DNA.

The birth of the two girls was celebrated for weeks, and when it came time for them to connect to the spirit tree, Neytiri held Neteyam, Jake held Kiri, and Mo'at held Ni'la. Ni'la had a special bond with her grandmother, like Kiri, but nothing would ever compare to her relationship with Neytiri. The mother and daughter were like two peas in a pod, and when Neytiri would take the time to spend a day with each of her children, she often took Ni'la hunting as it was one of her favorite things to do.

However, if Jake and Neytiri were asked what it was like to have five children, they would tell the person they wouldn't have it any other way. They felt that five was the perfect amount for their family.

Yes, that's right. Five.

With four of them being around the same age, it was chaos in the Sully household, especially with Jake being the Olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya clan. But as the years passed, and the children got older, juggling four kids became easier as the two oldest siblings took a lot of responsibility to lift the weight off their parent's shoulders.

Neteyam and Ni'la were the oldest Sully children, and they were often placed in charge of their younger siblings, being ordered to keep a close eye on all of them, but most importantly Lo'ak.

See, Ni'la didn't have a favorite sibling. She loved all four of them equally, but if there was one she doted on the most, it would have to be Lo'ak. Her younger brother was always in trouble, resulting in him being punished by Jake, but that's why Ni'la admired him. Because he lived a carefree life where he was allowed to do whatever he wanted, even if his decisions had consequences.

The girl frequently wished that she could have fun with Lo'ak, but she had other responsibilities, such as Tuk. Tuk was the youngest Sully child, and she was quite the riot. She was like the combination of Ni'la and Kiri. Kind, mischievous, and stubborn. Quite the potent mix if you were to ask Ni'la, who was often subjected to Tuk's trickster ways of somehow managing to get her into the forest.

Not that Ni'la minded much, as it gave her an excuse to pick and find new treasures to add to her collection that she would look at through the microscope at a later time. Ni'la was obsessed with learning about the science of Pandora because she wanted to complete her mother's work. It had been a dream of hers since she was a little girl, so she begged her parents to allow Norm to teach her different branches of science.

Both parents had been hesitant at first, but when they looked into their daughters' pleading eyes, they reluctantly gave in, permitting Ni'la to be taught by Norm. Norm had been teaching the young Na'vi girl his findings since she was nine years old, and he was both delighted and surprised to see how easily she picked up on everything he was teaching her.