𝐃𝐘𝐒𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀ᵒⁿᵉ
CERULEAN EYES DRIFTED to the Ilu beneath her, weaving its way to the headwaters of her home. The nurturing silence brought her ease as she gracefully entwined her way to the surface. She caught sight of her sister when she rose above the water. She shifted her head to flash a smile at her, which Tsireya returned.
The melody of the horn reached everyone's ears. A signal that someone is here on their land. From this, Tsireya looked at her sister with her temple raised. A'kaia gave her a curious glance before their Ilu began to incise their path to the reef.
From afar, they could see people with spears in their hands gathering around the unexpected visitors. A few were observing them while others were offering them a scrutinizing gaze. A sea of whispers were heard from the crowd.
Once they were close to reaching the reef, A'kaia had her eyes set on the foreigners, as were everyone else. From a short distance, she could see their skin complexion was lavender blue in contrast to her turquoise skin. They had thin tails, their eyes were toned gold, and they had pigments of patterned stripes that complimented their skin. They appeared to be a family and some of them looked frankly the same age as her. One thought lingered in her mind. Who were they?
As she was basked in her thoughts, it appeared that the presence of A'kaia seemed to catch their attention. One boy, in particular. This didn't go unnoticed by A'kaia as her gaze traveled to see who those eyes belonged to.
It was the youngest boy. His dark braids were behind his pointed ears while some were loosely framing his face; there were neutral blue and ruby-saffron patterned beads threaded on them. His body was lean, and his height was noticeably tall.
As she emerged from her water, the boy's gaze never faltered──admiring her appearance from afar. The ivory and azure patterned sea shells adorned her figure with woven pearls that complimented her teal satin skin. There were fresh droplets of water caressing her flesh, and her damp-silky hair extended past her waist. She lifted a finger to stroke a loose curl behind her pointed ear while the curves of her full lips were parted.
His golden eyes were coated with curiosity and interest at the appearance of the unknown girl. She stood out to him, and her beauty didn't go ignored. His pointed ears slightly perked up, and his eyebrow subtlety raised when she returned his gaze.
Once her pretty eyes noticed him, Lo'ak quickly looked away once he realized he was staring, secretly hoping he was discreet about it. He put his head down in an attempt to let his braids conceal his face──trying to move his gaze anywhere else but her. However, from the corner of his eyes, he couldn't help but shift his orbs to see her face once more. His older brother noticed this and turned to him with a teasing smirk.
When she approached, Ao'nung and Rotxo began to make unnecessary remarks about their appearance. "Their tail, how are they supposed to swim?" They inquired while laughs escaped their lips. A'kaia noticed this and frowned at them──while Tsireya slapped their forearm, "enough Ao'nung, Rotxo." They eventually shared glances at each other and ceased their remarks.
"Hey," Lo'ak nodded casually in an attempt to greet the girl next to Tsireya. A'kaia just returned a smile in response──revealing her noticeable dimples, and the boy looked away immediately when he heard his brother snickering at him.
The arrival of her father, Tonowari, brought everyone's attention and this caused the unknown family to greet him in respect, a sign that they come in peace. Moments passed and the pressure of tension could be felt in the presence of these unexpected visitors.
Ronal approached the family, regarding them with scrutiny. She trailed around them and touched one of their thin tails, analyzing their appearance──criticizing they would be nothing but useless.
A'kaia couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for this family. She saw from other's body languages and eyes that this family was merely being criticized for what they looked like; not even if they were a threat or an enemy.
"These children aren't even true Na'vi," Ronal raised one of the children's arms, observing their hands."They have demon blood." The sounds of gasps filled the audience, and the youngest child hid behind her mother's leg, seeking comfort while giving her reassuring words. The woman hissed with a glare from this, which Ronal returned. Before Neytiri could say something even further, her husband stopped her.
"You are a great leader, but we cannot let you bring your war here," Tonowari finished with conviction in his tone.
"I don't want war," Jake responded sternly. Tuk was lifted into his arms, "I just want to keep my family safe," his voice laced with distress, and his eyes portrayed an expression of desperation; shushing while placing a comforting hand on his daughter's back in an attempt to ease her worries.
Tonowari turned to his wife with an expression of sympathy and consideration for them while she returned him reluctant eyes. They held looked at each other for a moment, and she hesitantly nodded at him with an uncertain gaze. "Toruk Makto and his family shall stay with us," Tonowari started as many heads raised to hear their leader clearly, "treat them as our brothers and sisters."
"Teach them our ways so they do not suffer the shame of being useless."
Jake released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He felt a sense of relief wash over him. "What do we say?" He turned to his children as they softly spoke their thank yous. One girl in particular had an expression of attitude cross her face.
"My children here," Tonowari turned to face A'kaia's siblings, "will be showing your children our ways."
Tsireya greeted them with a smile while Ao'nung immediately parted his lips and his composure faltered in surprise. Before he could protest to their father, he turned to greet A'kaia to the newcomers.
"And this is my stepdaughter, A'kaia." The said girl gave them a polite smile once everyone turned their attention to her. Lo'ak took this opportunity to sneak a glance at her once more, saying her name inside his head so he would remember.
"She could teach you. Although she is young, she's an excellent warrior, and has been on the battlefield before." Tonowari finished proudly, glancing at his stepdaughter he grew to care for.
At this, the family looked at the girl in curiosity and slight amazement at how she's already fought on the battlefield at this age──you wouldn't even have guessed she was a fighter from the demeanor she carried.
. . .Pretty and strong. Lo'ak thought to himself, unable to look away from her. Neteyam turned his head momentarily to see his brother, only to catch him staring at the Chief's stepdaughter once again. He took this chance to elbow Lo'ak while raising his temple in a teasing manner. It seemed the younger forest boy snapped out of his trance, and aggressively shoved his shoulder into his older brother, giving him a glance of annoyance.
Jake noticed this and cleared his throat whilst raising his eyebrows──indirectly telling his sons to be on their best behavior. This caught the boy's attention immediately, and Neteyam released a sigh at his father's warning eyes while Lo'ak restrained himself in an attempt to roll his own.
"Father, why do we-" Ao'nung turned to speak after a beat of silence only to be dismissed by their father.
"That is decided," Tonowari spoke with a stern tone to his son. Ao'nung stood there──uncertain, almost afraid to disobey him despite his eyes portraying with protest.
"Come, we will show you around our village." Tsireya guided their path to the polished woven tents while A'kaia offered to carry their belongings they needed help carrying. Ao'nung followed behind with his arms crossed, a look of annoyance plastered all over his face.
The view of other villagers accompanied their sight, and Ilu gracefully weaved in the water surrounding them. Tuk began jumping on the fabricated wood that was planted beneath their feet with enthusiasm. Airy giggles escaped her lips, and her energy was bundled in joy. A'kaia let a smile spread to her lips at the sight, almost giggling at how adorable she was.
"This is your new home." The Sully family arrived at their tent and began studying the new abode they would soon call home.
"Yeah, this works. This is great," Jake reassured them while observing their surroundings. "It's nice right?" He shifted his gaze to his wife and children. Neytiri released the rug in her arms, making it plop against the platform beneath their feet──her chest rising and falling from letting out a deep exhale in response.
The Metkayina siblings helped set their belongings in their tent, well, except for one. Ao'nung observed them the entire time until Tsireya told him to stop being stubborn and help, to which he finally complied.
Once the siblings were finished and about to soon head off to have family lunch, Tsireya didn't leave without greeting herself.
"Let me introduce you to ourselves. I'm Tsireya," she placed a hand on her chest with a smile, her dimples caressing her cheeks. Tsireya turned to her sister with a smile remaining on her face, "that is A'kaia, as you know." From the mention of her name, everyone looked at the girl (one in particular who hadn't looked away from her once) and she merely smiled in acknowledgment. "And this is our elder brother, Ao'nung." The said boy had his eyes elsewhere with his arms crossed and muttered things under his breath, but once his sister hit him on the arm, he nodded at them with a sigh in return.
"Be ready by morning. We start diving lessons tomorrow," Tsireya finished in a gentle voice. Tuk's eyes brightened upon hearing her words and smiled.
"Sorry if we're giving you guys a hard time," Jake said apologetically, nodding his head carefully.
Tsireya waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "No, it's no problem at all. It's nice to meet you all," she reassured the family with a comforting smile.
Jake only nodded at her response and looked back at his wife and kids, momentarily having a chance to discuss things with his family. The Metkayina siblings took this as a sign to leave and left after saying their goodbyes, preparing for their family meal. However, before A'kaia could go with Ao'nung trailing behind her, one of the forest boys gently touched her by her forearm──causing her to turn around in surprise.
"Sorry," he retreated his hand back quickly. "I'm Lo'ak," he introduced himself as he never took his eyes off her. She set her gaze on his lips to read them and he blinked at this in return.
A'kaia opened her mouth to respond──but then the appearance of Ao'nung caught her attention. He stood behind Lo'ak with piercing eyes. She hadn't even realized her brother still stood behind them the entire time since he's been passive and brooding from a distance.
"A'kaia, let's go." Ao'nung began walking past her with his voice stern. He didn't want anyone, especially his sisters, to associate with forest freaks like them. A'kaia frowned at her brother──but she merely exhaled and looked at Lo'ak once more with a smile before turning away with her brother for family lunch.
When she left, Lo'ak stood there and Kiri was behind him almost unamused. "Seems like someone has a crush," she finished softly with a hum. He turned around, a few of his braids tossing behind his shoulders.
"Shut up," his accent slightly coaxed his voice. Kiri playfully rolled her eyes while subtly smirking at her brother's unusual behavior, and walked away to their tent with Lo'ak following behind.
Kiri and Lo'ak used to have pointless arguments or bicker with each other when they were younger. But as they got older, those arguments and bickering became less frequent. They would display certain acts of annoyance from one another though, but that was completely normal from any sibling dynamic.
Their dynamic was much similar to A'kaia and Ao'nung.
The two teens walked together side by side, and A'kaia was unable to wander her thoughts off the Sully family. Specifically, one boy. Lo'ak, she recalled his name. Her brother next to her was thinking of them too, but he chose not to speak to anyone about it the whole day. For he was already feeling irritated by them "intruding" on their home unannounced.
Unlike A'kaia, where she began replaying the memory of Lo'ak's calloused hand gently touching her arm, and how his eyes never strayed away from hers or her presence. She immediately shook off those thoughts──realizing it probably wasn't normal to be thinking of him this much already. Especially since she had just met him.
She's never seen another Na'vi clan outside her own before. The potential of their abilities that they carried is what fascinated her the most. In comparison to the sea, the forest was a different story.
Her chest started to swirl with excitement, and she was looking forward to seeing the new family again tomorrow morning.
| 𝐃𝐘𝐒𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀.ೃ࿔*:･|
author's note!
i hope u guys enjoyed
this chapter, tell me
if there are any errors
i need to fix!
written: 12/28/22
-xoxo.