~~~Superstes~~~UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

Blown to pieces.

Jake sent a team of about two-hundred warriors and scouts to Bridgehead City ahead of time, demanding the district be put on lockdown. From what I heard, with all the RDA's security being deceased and unavailable, the mission was successful. As for the great walls and wires protecting the city--we had the advantage of ikrans. 

At the mention of the great winged beasts, I pondered about the new Toruk. I wondered where she was. I heard her name was Grace, which was random, but I had no good reason to question it. 

When family members came to collect the injured and take them home, it was a bit awkward when they were gone. It was just me and the caretakers, all minding our own business in a tense silence. I wasn't allowed to leave yet, and even if I was, I really had nowhere to go. I wasn't going to face my mom, and Norm was probably with her, so I couldn't go get him. I had no intentions of finding Jsta'ya. 

Thus, I was alone. Except for Linayin, but she was too busy to speak with me. I did not want to be isolated for days--so, when the healers were busy cleaning up and preparing things, I stood back up and tiptoed towards the exit. Each step put an immensely painful on my hip, despite keeping it elevated above the ground, but I did my best to keep a normal expression on my face. 

As soon as I was out of the longhouse, it was dark. I thought about going to the Sully family's mauri, but I wasn't sure if they'd welcome me. Jake would probably send me back here, or worse find Mom. I also didn't want to disturb them--after Jake took Lo'ak and Neteyam home, they looked sad and exhausted. I knew Jake couldn't stay, though, he and Neytiri had to go back out and fight while the rest of us remined at high camp. 

Maybe I could go find Neteyam. 

It took a while to locate their mauri. It was one of the biggest, but it was relatively set up far away from the others. I had to withstand the physical pain and the humility of people giving me odd looks as I walked by. I bet it was weird; a girl walking by with a penetrated hip.  

I heard muttering inside the large tent, followed by a few winces and yelps. Pulling back the flap that led into the warm, cozy glow of the enclosed awning, I saw Neteyam sitting behind Lo'ak, rubbing something on the raw, bright red burns across Lo'ak's back. Tuk was standing next to Neteyam, holding the bowl of ointment until he needed it again. 

All of their heads turned to me as I stepped inside, letting the flap fall back into its normal position. They eye my hip, then eyed me like I was crazy. Neteyam refocused on his brother's injuries and kept tending to them, "You should be resting." He utters. 

Naturally, I snap back. "And so should you." 

Obviously, he didn't hear me. Tuk cast me a sad glance. I wonder what her reaction was when she found out. Ever since I met her, she's been so kind and sweet, and she clearly loves her brothers to no match. 

Feeling a little guilty, I went over to them. The singes on Lo'ak's back looked worse up closely, and grimaced for him. "That looks fun." 

His tail twitched. "Well, it would be if Neteyam was gentler!"

I sat down beside them and gestured for Tuk to come over. She plopped down in my lap, careful not to put pressure on my injured side. "The Metkiyana came to help fight," she states, "but I don't think Tsireya came."

I heard a small chuckle behind me, and Lo'ak's face became brighter instantly as the girl seemed to appear as soon as her name was spoke, like a spirit being summoned. She seemed to have come out of thin air. "I did come," she says cheerfully, "Your grandmother sent me to care for you all." 

She was holding a basket with a load of medicine and tools inside, straight from her own village. The rim of the basket was adorned in shells and seaweed. Tsireya bent over and set the woven crate on the floor, "She told me to bring Neteyam to the biolab for a few scans." 

Tuk squealed and ran to give the older girl a bug, welcoming hug. "I'm so glad you're here!" she exclaims, "I've missed you." 

Tsireya strokes Tuk's head. "I've missed you to, Tuktirey. Now, let me see your brothers." 

                                                                                    ~~~

After tending to Lo'ak's injuries and feeding into his ego with kind words and encouraging praises, Tsireya led me back to the biolab. She talked to me using the Metkiyana sign language, and I'd learned most of it, but some of it were still unfamiliar. Although she didn't need to tell me where we were going--I knew by the path we were taking. 

I didn't know if Dad or Ma were going to be there. Both of them gave each kid a hug and went out to go fight again, so I assume not. I hoped they'd come back soon--I hated when the family was apart, especially if they're doing something that could end badly. But with the pounding headache I had, I refused to worry about it. 

When we arrived to the biolab, Norm's avatar was already standing outside the entrance. He was holding a rectangular device in his hands as he waved us in, but he never smiled. 

I could tell Tsireya was mesmerized by all the technology and foreign equipment. We walked through the lab, and she was taking everything in as quickly as she could. Her ears swiveled at all the sounds and beeping--I couldn't hear it; I just knew that's what was happening. 

Norm and Dr. Max took us to the part of the lab where they performed small surgeries, health examinations, x-rays, and more checkups like those. Behind a glass cubicle was the Na'vi sized bed I'd stayed in for weeks after surgery. 

Dr. Max patted an examination table, which was also Na'vi sized. Some of them were human sized, too--but it was still funny seeing him barely reach the rim. I sat on the edge of it, waiting anxiously for whatever was going to be done. 

I only then noticed all the holograms hovering in the air, screening various images of the Na'vi ear cavities, along with a few notes beside them in Dr. Max's handwriting. I couldn't read much English, I never learned a lot of it, yet I could make out some words like 'deafness in Na'vi' and 'head trauma'. 

My hands became sweaty. A couple minutes later, I was sent into a scan to see what was wrong with my brain and cranium. With the fear, my head became worse and worse, like it was being hammered into tiny pieces. When I came out of the scan, I felt dizzy. 

Tsireya signed to me, "Are you okay?"   

I took in a shuddering breath and nodded. Norm exchanged a scan of my brain with Dr. Max, and they briefly spoke together before Norm came to me and Dr. Max went into the other room. "You've got a head injury," he signed, "which is why you can't hear anything."

I really had nothing to say. Obviously, I couldn't hear anything. I wanted to know If it could be fixed. "What can be done?"  

"It's conductive deafness. If your hearing doesn't improve within a month, we'll do an operation that can help. Norm is contacting your father."

                                                                                             ~~~

AN: More suffering as always but hey, I wonder If this story would have gotten more reads if it wasn't in first person POV. I know some people don't like that. But it helps me feel more in-depth with the characters. 

Tsireya is a queen ya'll. 👑

Isaiah 30: 18~God's plan is worth the wait.