~~~Superstes~~~UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

Sephora

Neteyam was escorted back to his tent with a bunch of stirred-up memories buzzing like a beehive inside his mind. He supposed he never really abandoned his feelings for Feya, even if you could call it that. It was much too early. But Neteyam knew himself--he knew the basics of how emotions worked, and he understood that the longer he was around her, the more his feelings would grow.  

However, that was certainly no reason to stop hanging out with her. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He would handle this in his classic mature way, whatever ended up happening.   

Neteyam was no quitter. 

                                                                                                   ~~~

"I seriously don't think you understand the risks you take when you pull crap like this." Jake stood before his teenage son, his arms moving about for emphasis. They were in the lab once again, and Neteyam didn't think he'd ever receive a more humbling lecture. 

"I would expect this from your brother, but not from you. You know better, Neteyam! What you did was stupid, reckless, and the total opposite of what a good leader should do!" 

There it was. The comparing between brothers again. The this is not what a future Olo'eyktan would do argument. Neteyam huffed, "Am I even going to be leader still?" 

Jake stopped waving his arms out, and his muscles relaxed. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "It doesn't matter, Neteyam. I don't know. I'm trying to tell you that you've acted insanely irresponsible--don't you know how much that scares me? How much it scares your mother?" he gestured towards a door, where Neytiri was standing. 

"I'm sorry," he tried again, but Jake's stubbornness overpowered his ability to stop and listen. 

"Yeah, you should be! You've just had your lung removed and you decide to go miles into the forest and see how it went? We can't go home unless you prove that you're better, and that's not happening until you shape. Up. You fell of your ikran! You could be dead right now!" 

Neytiri's ears flicked, "MaJake..."  

Neteyam's blood turned boiling hot. He'd managed to keep his mouth shut for so many years, through so many rebukes, but now, he felt himself losing control of his tongue. "I don't want to go home! That ocean is not my home! The forest is! And don't bring Lo'ak into this! He did nothing."

Jake stepped forward and flicked Neteyam on the ear. The pain was sharp, sudden, and left a dull ache in its place. Neytiri's eyes went downcast, but her tail moved wildly in agitation. Jake growled, "Don't you ever yell at me like that again. I am your father." 

There was a hard, unmoving pain in Neteyam's throat as he spoke again, "I understand what I did, and it was wrong. I'm sorry."  

Jake stood there like he couldn't believe his eldest had cracked and let his rebelliousness loose. Deep down, there was a tiny glimmer of hope In Neteyam that Jake would've understood him properly. But for some reason, Neteyam felt lighter, and his chest was no longer filled with that nasty tension. He said what he wanted, and it was up to Jake to listen. 

The older man stood there for a long, long time. Long enough for Neteyam to question if they were ever going to move again, but finally, he released a deep sigh. 

"Just go, Neteyam. Get out of here." 

His ears pinned flat against his skull, Neteyam sauntered out of the lab, his posture wilting like a dead flower. He quickly rushed out of the building and wipes his eyes, trying to compose himself before anyone noticed him. He didn't think he'd ever been more ashamed of himself. He had no clue what to do next, so he went off in search of a friend.