~~~Superstes~~~UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

Awa'atlu gathering.

Dad was angry about the gun. He was angrier that his children were the ones who found it. There were many reasonable explanations for why it was out in the ocean, but Neteyam didn't think Dad believed any of them. Neteyam himself was on edge, thinking of all the potential possibilities of why this gun was floating so close to the reef, putting his mind through torture.

Neteyam rolled over to face his father.  Jake was lying on his back, chewing on the inside of his cheek, eyes wide open, and Mom was asleep in the nook of his arm. "Dad," Neteyam whispered, "Dad." 

The older man lifted his head, and their eyes met. "Neteyam, what're you doing up?"

"Are you okay?"

The question appeared to surprise him. "Yeah," Jake mumbled back, "yeah, why?" 

"You look worried." 

He smiled softly, "Nah, kid. I'm just thinking." 

The father and son looked at each other for a moment longer before Neteyam rolled back to his other side, sliding his hand under his head as a cushion. In the back space of the pod, he watched Fe'ya sleep soundly, her tail wrapped around her thigh. He also noticed Tuk lying next to her, a Toruk Makto toy snuggled between her arms. 

Neteyam closed his eyes hoping since that Fe'ya was going to be spending some time with them, that they would get to hang out even more. He also hoped that whatever was eating at Dad would go away, soon. But the typical peace that came with falling asleep didn't comfort Neteyam at all. 

The sky's endless void was clouded with smoke and debris that plumed up from the destruction and the ashes of the burning forest all around Neteyam and his fellow warriors in the raging battle. 

No, it was no longer a battle. The scene shifted.

Neteyam stood in the misery that was now his beloved rainforest home. All of the trees, people, children, babies, animals, and homes burned to the ground in nothing more than the black dust that he himself was covered in. The memories of his people, gone. His eyes rounder than the moon, Neteyam looked down below him. Blood painted his feet and his calves like he'd stepped into a river of it. Then, his eyes found the source, and it was his family. His father, his mother, Lo'ak, Kiri, Tuk, and Spider, each lying scattered across the ashes, their eyes blank and their bodies completely limp. 

Neteyam turned around. Fey'atsi was lying flat on the ground, a gaping, bleeding hole shot through her hip. He rushed towards her, a desperate groan escaping his throat, before scooping her into his arms. He brushed her hair out of her face, his heart racing uncontrollably. 

Feya's golden eyes stared straight ahead. She was dead, too. 

Panicking, Neteyam dropped the girl he cared for so much and stumbled backwards, his breath coming in short gasps. But he stopped moving when he realized he was stepping on his family's corpses, and he quickly backed up, his tail swishing wildly in the air. 

"Lo'ak," Neteyam crouched down and shook his brother like a rabid dog. "Lo'ak, wake up. Please. You can't—you can't leave me here, can you?" 

Nothing. 

Neteyam snarled to himself and rose to his feet, his hands now coated in the thick blood of his brother. But no matter how angry he was, he was crying. He was weeping because of what he saw and the worst thing was the fact that everyone was dead and he was still alive. There was no world he wanted to live in without his family.