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( the people of the reef )
SEEKING REFUGE IN a village of the metkayinan people was something that you thought made less sense than leaving your native home of vayaha in the first place.
if the apparent sky people were searching to inflict harm upon your family, more specifically your father, why should you all travel to a biome unfamiliar to your forest-living ways and endanger the unsuspecting citizens of the water?
you were opposed to the leave, and voiced your concerns to your parents, yet were met with the harsh denunciation of your father; "this is what's best for our family."
he seemed to give you that excuse a lot.
so, as the eldest daughter in your group of five children, you shoved down any remnants of opposition that were left circulating through your mind down into the deepest and darkest depths of your ever-raging soul, and set forth for the village of awa-atlu.
the long flight prompted a foreign soreness to spread throughout your lower half as you soared above the waters of pandora, panü letting out punctual shrieks (that of which you couldn't decipher were of warning or excitement) as you would abruptly release your hold and stand on her back, as to reward your backside with much deserved breaks every so often.
it felt as if you and your family were in the air for weeks, and you could feel your concerns of homing with a new tribe grow as the time passed on. the small conversations with your older brother, the teasing jokes toward your younger sisters, and even the petty arguments with your twin did little to take your mind off of things.
eventually, you did your best to shield those worries that were multiplied by a tenfold with the loud and heavy echo of the shriek of a conch shell, and you knew that you had finally arrived in the territory of the metkayina.
sailing through the air, a small smile framed its way up over your lips as you grew entranced by the sights below your flying sidekick. tens of na'vi carried on their lives in the water, the sparkling light blues and turquoises of their skin working to blend them within their environment of the ocean.
animals that you had never before seen splashed through the calm waves, some with metkayina attached to their backs, and some freely coasting through the sea in aim of finding their designated riders.
in tow of your mother and father, you and your siblings slowly descended downwards onto the soft sand of the coast, your ayikran releasing sounds of relief and arrival as their talons made contact with the foreign grounding.
tuk was the first to advance toward the people of the village, her small feet leaving tracks in the sand behind her as she paused to gaze at the unfamiliar tribe approaching.
she instantly traveled to your mother's side at the call of her name, your family grouping together at the order of your father as you all walked toward the ever-growing crowd of the lightly-complexed na'vi.
jake held his hands out from his sides, open and away from his torso to inform the villagers of his peaceful intent. trudging airily over the sand, you glanced around at the citizens as they surrounded your family, spears clasped tightly in their hands while they searched for any signs of malice.
you moved closer toward kiri as she apprehensively tugged at the netting of the shawl she wore around her shoulders. placing a protective hand between her shoulder blades, you cautiously guided her forward, your eyes darting around to ensure the safety of your family.
an opening soon broke out between the middle of the crowd, two figures emerging from between the rest of their people to seemingly inspect the newcomers intruding on their land.
in an attempt to soothe the obvious disdain of the situation, you stepped beside your two brothers to offer a greeting toward the heedful males, lifting a finger to your forehead before gently gliding it down through the air in front of you.
neteyam and lo'ak followed suit, hastily performing the action a little less gracefully than yourself as the two boys vigilantly circled around the seven of you.
"easy, just be cool," your father softly reminded, watching tentatively as you and your brothers were carefully stared down.
"what is that?" came the mockingly advent voice of the shorter male, a finger reaching out to point at the antsy swishing tail of neteyam. "is that supposed to be a tail?"
the quip earned chorused murmurs of laughter from the surrounding villagers, and you noticed your twin brother's fingers straining to retract together tightly to avoid making a fist. knowing what would come if lo'ak wasn't calmed down, you subtly moved your hand to intertwine with his own.
"just breath," you whispered, your eyes never leaving the boys trailing around you. "we're okay."
he glanced over at you and nodded softly at your words, and you looked around to try and find something that would be able to soothe your own piping nerves before your pupils settled on a figure moving through the water a little ways away.
your eyebrows lifted involuntarily as the na'vi stood, gracefully trekking through the water as if she had done it a trillion times before (which she probably had). you managed to catch sight of her face, eyes that were bluer than the water she had just glided through coming to meet your own amber irises in an exchange of struck eye contact.
the metkayina girl's lips moved upwards to form a soft smile, and she lifted a hand to brush away a stray section of loose curls over her shoulder as you eventually looked away, noticing how your twin's gaze had moved to observe what had caught your attention.
"it's too small- how are they supposed to swim?" the same boy from earlier piped up once more, continuing to poke fun at your family's contrasting traits before the girl stepped forward, smacking his traveling hand away.
"do not, rotxo, aonung," she chastised, a fierce look bearing over her soft features as she glared harshly at the two.
the corner of your lips tugged upward into a small grin at the scolding, your eyes once again meeting her own. you hesitantly lifted your hand to give a swift wave, earning a bashful smile from the curly-haired na'vi as she looked down at the sand with a breathy giggle.
your attention was drawn away from the teenager as a flock of creatures glided over your heads, landing adjacent to the large crowd that had formed on the shore of the village.
approaching your family, a man taller than your father stood before you, bathed in the basking sunlight of the sea hour. in his hand gripped a spear, colorful tribal clothing of the metkayina adorning his shoulders and torso.
he exchanged a welcoming with your dad, greeting the rest of your family just as truly. behind him, a woman followed suit, her face twisted into one of suspicion as she slowly stalked up to your group.
"i see you, ronal," the once-toruk makto spoke gently, "tsahìk of the metkayina."
"i see you, ronal," your mother echoed, performing your greeting with you and your siblings.
"why do you come to us, jake sully?" tonowari questioned, gesturing toward the seven of you.
"we seek uturu," he answered.
"uturu?" ronal repeated incredulously, glancing over at her mate.
"sanctuary for my family."
"we are reef people, you are forest people," the leader of the village expressed doubly, watching as his partner made her way between you and your parents. "your skills will be nothing here."
"we'll learn your ways, right?" your father promised, looking over at neytiri for confirmation.
"yes." she nodded, quickly whipping around to face ronal as the woman clasped her hands around your mother's tail.
"their arms are thin," the matriarch of awa-atlu commented, reaching out to grip tuk's limb.
your sister skittishly backed away, taking shelter behind your mom as ronal moved on to kiri, harshly fingering her tail. "their tails are weak."
"ow!"
"you will be slow in the water," she continued, pausing to take your younger sister's hands into her own. "these children... not even true na'vi!"
the woman lifted kiri's arms above her head, displaying the five-fingered hand to the citizens around you all, prompting gasps and hushed whispers from the reef people.
you watched with furrowed brows as kiri snatched her hands back, running her fingers over her wrists as she glared at the tsahìk. "yes, we are!"
ronal trekked over to your twin, grasping his hand and spreading his fingers out to showcase yet another "child" of the sky people. "they have demon blood!"
lo'ak's grip on your palm tightened as the woman continued to toy with his free hand, his eyes stuck to the sand below him as you glared harshly at the metkayinan na'vi before you.
"look, look!" jake finally stepped in, holding up a hand for ronal and the rest of the villagers to see. "look, i was born of the sky people and now i am na'vi, alright, you can adapt. we will adapt! okay?"
the tsahìk finally dropped your brother's hand, stalking back over to her partner's side.
"my husband was toruk makto," neytiri spoke fiercely, her eyes narrowed in irritation as she slowly approached ronal. "he lead the clans to victory against the sky people."
"this you call victory- hiding amongst strangers," ronal retorted, stepping closer toward your mother as her gaze traveled shamefully to her feet. "it seems eywa has turned her back on you, chosen one."
at those words, the previous tsakarem of the omitakaya perked up, protectively baring her teeth as ronal did the same, releasing a guttural growl of warning.
you smirked subtly at the show of dominance, silently hoping that your mom would show the metkayina woman who she was really challenging before your father stepped in.
"i apologize for my mate, she's—"
"do not apologize for me," neytiri harshly whispered back to her husband.
"— flown a long way and she's exhausted—"
"jake!"
moving to stand a little ways adjacent to your dad, you caught sight of the look he sent to your mother, prompting a sigh of agitation from her as she stepped away to stand back by his side.
your eyes left the scene drawing out in front of you as you slowly lost interest in the conversation, your eyes once again finding the girl from the water as she stared intently at the display. you managed to get a better look at her, noticing the sparkling bioluminescent freckles that adorned her cheeks and forehead that you realized carried pattern similar to your own.
her hair was tied into sections of small braids lining her scalp, the rest freely flowing down her back with a small shell dangling from the upward center of her hairline.
unfortunately, your attention was grabbed by a light tug of your hand, and you turned to look at your brother with furrowed eyebrows as he gestured toward the leaders of the village.
"they're letting us stay," lo'ak quietly voiced, and you sighed, wishing that you were able to just go back home.
"my son, aonung, and daughter, tsireya, will show your children what to do," tonowari assigned, gesturing toward his children with a webbed arm as aonung, the taller boy from earlier, stepped up to protest.
you looked toward tsireya, your eyelids lifting in surprise as you realized she was the girl that had earlier caught your eye. her eyes traveled across each of you, landing on your own with a large smile.
"come, i will show you our village," she excitedly spoke, her eyes still stuck on yours as she turned to lead the seven of you toward the internal ways of the metkayina village.
a small breath fell from your lips while the rest of your family slowly moved to follow along behind the daughter of the olo'eyktan.
as lo'ak began to trek forward, he noticed your trance-like state and followed your gaze, landing on the daughter of the clan leaders. he quirked an eyebrow, looking back over toward you with questioning eyes. "are you coming?"
you eyes quickly snapped back over to your brother, glancing over at the metkayina girl one last time as she began to engage in a conversation with your father, that glittering smile still gracefully adorning her features. "yeah, yeah, i'm coming."
maybe being away from home wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
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