~~~Superstes~~~UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

Waking up

Tonowari's gaze falls on his daughter, "Until now, I suppose." 

The sound of kid's laughter Jake didn't realize he missed so much, and he found a small genuine grin spreads across his face, causing the stitches above his eye and cheek to stretch painfully, but he'd become numb to the pain. 

"Jake!" 

Jake turned around to see Norm racing towards him, a dark spot of sweat forming on his t-shirt. He rested his hands on his knees, panting. 

"Jake...Neteyam..." Norm holds up a finger, taking in a huge puff of air. At the mention of Neteyam, Jake was instantly on edge. His heart picks up speed, "C'mon, Norm, you can do it. Spit it out." He barked, impatience creeping into his voice. 

"Neteyam called for you. He... he said your name!"Norm breathed.

Jake glanced at Tonowari before dropping his net and racing out of the shallows, across the network of walkways and dodging the passing Metkiyana as he jogged along it. 

When he reached their network of mauri pods, the inside was dark and cool, creating a calm atmosphere. Candles were flickering in various places, casting a warm orange glow in the room. Norm's stuff was strewn about everywhere, evidence of him digging through things when Neteyam began to show signs of waking up.

Neytiri is crouched at Neteyam's left, stroking his cheek and speaking to him softly. She glances at Jake as he slowly kneels down at his right, approaching the situation as calmly as he could. Norm was right-- Neteyam's face was scrunched up in a frown, and his head continuously flinched to the side. His lips moved, but his words were incomprehensible. 

"Is he dreaming?" Jake asked, but he was given his answer as the heart monitor above Neteyam picks up speed, spiking drastically. The tubes beneath his bandaged chest ran out from underneath and were all connected to the tall machine. Norm pressed buttons on the monitor and injected something into Neteyam's bicep, and to Jake's utter shock, Neteyam grimaced in response. 

Neytiri gasped softly and looked at her husband, both of them sharing the same thought. He's really waking up.

Jake tried to keep the waver out of his voice, not from sadness, but from the pure adrenaline rushing through his veins. "What is that?" 

"Adrenaline." Norm stated, giving Jake a questioning look. "Why, do you want some?" 

Jake blinked, and Norm smiled. "I'm kidding, Jake. Relax, everything is going smoothly. He's waking up. This is a good thing." 

Jake watched Neteyam's expressions closely. He hadn't even notice Kiri sitting next to Neytiri, looking on with the same hopeful longing as her mother and him.  She tinkered nervously with the shells woven into her chest cover, but her big eyes still hold the same positive sparkle. Then, she gasped and pointed to her brother. "Look."

After a month that had felt like years, Neteyam's eyelids lifted ever so slowly, revealing the identical eyes of his mother. They swam in their sockets, his unfocused gaze darting from one person to another. He swallowed thickly, before sucking in a shaky breath. "Dad?" He croaked pitifully, and the sound filled Jake with something he couldn't describe--a guilt that had festered in his stomach for too long. 

 "I'm here, boy. I'm right here." Jake reassured.   

Neteyam's eyes drifted across the whole of the mauri, and his face contorted into a frown, before his gaze wandered back to Jake. "What happened to your face?" he asked, so quietly, in such a hoarse voice. Jake almost laughed, because this was the kid who was shot in the chest, and he was concerned for the cuts and bruises on his father's face. "Nothing, kid. I'm fine, don't worry about it."

Neteyam turned to Neytiri, and she grinned, reaching out again to stroke his cheek. "My son," she says, "we've missed you so much." 

The boy frowned again, his eyes tracing his mother up and down. "Why do you look so tired, Ma?" he whispers, sadness infecting his voice and leaking into his childlike features. 

Neytiri's smile faded as she took her son's hands and held them up to her cheek. "Oh, Neteyam...please do not fret for me. I am at my happiest now." 

"No, you both look beaten up. Ma, what did you do?"  Neteyam shakes his head, beginning to cry. "What did you do?"

Jake looked at Norm, at a loss for words. He silently asked him to do something, because maybe it was a medical issue, but it was probably a mixture of everything. The emotion, the fear, the pain. 

Neteyam suddenly groans, cut off from his disarray of worry, and arches his back as if to block the pain from traveling any farther. 

Upon seeing this, Norm jumped back into action, taking the IV tube and injecting a different needle into the dripping stream. 

Neteyam's tail thumped against the woven floor as his muscles tensed up drastically and his ears pinned flat against his skull. Eventually, he released his discomfort in a series of cries and broken-up words that were incoherent to the rest of his family.  

Hesitantly, Kiri scooted closer to her sibling, and Neytiri moved so the girl could reach him properly. "Brother," Kiri began, placing her small hands on his forehead. "Everything is going to be all right; we are with you. Please do not worry, this won't last, I promise." 

Neteyam writhed under her gentle pressure, but as she continued to speak, his movements slowed into less frantic ones. He held onto her arm and looked up at her like she was the big brother, a warmth seeping into his previously wide eyes, which were now becoming tired and serene.

"Yes, that's right. Be calm."

Each adult in the room shared a glance, but Jake and Neytiri looked at each other a second longer, wondering if Netyam's sudden composure was a product of Kiri's connection with Eywa, or if this was simply her own doing.    

When Kiri knew for sure her brother was listening, she smiled brightly and talked to him about what went on while he had been asleep. The bracelets, the meals, Spider, Norm, what they did for fun since he wasn't there to provide entertainment.  

While Kiri was distracting him, Norm had managed to inject pain killers inside of Neteyam, and in that amount of time it kicked in and numbed some of the nerves. 

Neytiri jumped in on the storytelling, and they each spoke to him kindly, taking turns. Jake just watched on, and very soon the rest of his siblings were in the pod, and they told him their own stories and how much they missed hearing him talk, even though his words were always aggravatingly positive.

 Each of the kids were visibly glowing at seeing their brother awake, even if it wasn't for long. 

After about twenty minutes Neteyam started to conk out again, slowly lapsing back into unconsciousness. The Sully's would call his name loudly to him to see if he was completely out, and he didn't even give a twitch of the lips. 

So, they let him sleep. 

                                                                                                   ~~~

*Matthew 21:22- And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. 

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