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TSA'TVAYI
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"BREATH IN," SHE WHISPERED softly while looking down at Tuk.
The younger girl sat before her on the rocks, her legs crossed and her back straight as she let her eyes fall closed. Tuk inhaled deeply, her chest rising as she did, and Tsa'tvayi tilted her head as she watched the girl struggle keep the air inside of her before letting it all out in a heap.
"I can't do it." Her golden eyes opened, a small pout on her face.
"You can," Tsa'tvayi assured as she pressed a hand on Tub's chest. "Breathe in again."
This time, Tsa'tvayi could feel the air entering the younger girl's lungs, she could feel how her heart raced under her hand and how her chest rose as the air filled her. Lowering her hand, she pressed against Tuk's abdomen and frowned slightly as it gave in under the pressure, the air once again leaving Tuk.
"Alright." Tsa'tvayi rose to her feet, a shocked look falling onto Tuk's face as her eyes opened once again. "Let's try a different way."
Tsa'tvayi reached out a hand and helped Tuk up, before leading her down the rocks and back to the water. She could feel the stares on her back as the pair headed to the water, and a quick glance back revealed Neteyam's concerned eyes as his eyes flickered from Tuk to her. When their eyes met, she gave a small nod, an assurance that everything was alright and Tsa'tvayi wouldn't let anything happen to Tuk.
She turned back to look at the ocean and quickly pulled Tuk to sit besides her, the waves rising and caressing her legs. Tsa'tvayi motioned for Tuk to stretch her legs out until the water enveloped them and nodded.
"Do you feel how the water moves?" She placed a hand on the surface of the water and let the waves lead her hand. "How it rises and falls against your skin?"
Tuk reached forward and placed her hand besides Tsa'tvayi, her smaller hand moving in tandem with the older girl's. "Yes," she sighed. "It feels really nice."
"This," Tsa'tvayi waved at the water before them, "Is my home. This is where I grew and where I learned to walk and speak. This is where I hunted for the first time and where I bonded with the ila. This is where I learned to cry and laugh and fight. This is not your home."
She could feel Tuk's shoulders dropping besides her, the younger girl's hand retracting from the water. Tsa'tvayi followed suit and turned so that she was facing the dark skinned girl.
"This is not your home, yet. But it can be." She reached forward and held Tuk's face between her hands, the smell of Metkayina surrounding them. To Tsa'tvayi that smell was home, it was the warm hug of a mother and the praise of a father. To Tuk, she imagined it was fear; the fear of a new place, of a new element, of the loss of family and home.
Until the younger girl did not embrace the ocean as her home, she would not learn. She would not see.
"The ocean makes us all nothing." She continued. "We are small things being carried by currents we cannot control. It is life and it is the will of Eywa. To breathe, you need to see that it will care for you, it will defend you, and it will offer you a home."
Tuk was staring at her deeply, tears glimmering in her golden eyes as the sun began to fall and kiss the horizon. "I am sorry that you had to leave your home," she sighed and ran a hand over the girls braids, feel the lack of decor, of will, that the younger had. Feel the sadness in her clothing and in the wobbling of her lip.
"But, this can be a new home for you. Perhaps it will never feel as comfortable as the forest did, but you can come to love it as I do." Tsa'tvayi let a grin pull her lips up, her canines flashing in the rays of light still available. "It will come to love you as it loves me, the water will care for you, Tuk. Let it."
The girl nodded slowly, her eyes still pinned to Tsa'tvayi as a tear rolled down her cheek. A small smile was beginning to tug at her face and she placed her hand back in the water, Tsa'tvayi watching as the waves caressed her skin.
"When you are in the water," Tsa'tvayi continued her lesson, her voice firm, "You must become one with it. If you fear the ocean, not even the deepest breath will be enough to linger under it."
Tsa'tvayi stood again, Tuk following, and tugged her into the water until both of the girls were treading the surface. "You must breath from your stomach, not your chest."
Tsa'tvayi demonstrated herself taking breath, her chest rising slightly, but not as noticeably as Tuk's past attempts. "You should not panic. I am here, and I will not let you drown. When I am not here, Eywa is, and Eywa cares for her's as we care for our's."
Tuk gave another nod, this one firmer than all the others.
"What is one thing you wish to do in the water?" Tsa'tvayi asked as she looked down at the girl.
"I want to find shells with you," she declared firmly, "So that we can make bracelets for my family."
Tsa'tvayi grinned, fondness filling her chest as she looked at the younger girl. "We will do that then, today. When we go under, remember two things."
"One," she said as she pulled Tuk further away from the shore, "Your family will not have pretty bracelets until we get those shells. And two," another tug, "the water is your home, and it will not let you down."
Tuk pressed her lips together, determination painting her face as she nodded once more and took a deep breath, Tsa'tvayi watching proudly as her chest stayed relatively still. Then, they dived.
Tsa'tvayi made sure to not go too far, the girl still young and inexperienced. They moved slower than what the older girl was used to, Tsa'tvayi keeping mind of Tuk's physical disadvantages in the water. Perhaps as she grew her body would attempt to adapt itself to the water, but for now, they moved slower.
Throwing Tuk a quick glance, she assured herself that the girl was doing fine, and when Tuk smiled bright enough to light the darkening ocean, she grinned back.
They reached the sand peacefully, the water wrapping around the pair like a hug. Tsa'tvayi waved at the sand and reminded herself to teach the younger girl their sign language to ease their trips. She didn't let go of Tuk's hand as they dug through the white sand in search for shells.
Tuk tugged on her hand and shoved a shell in her face, one larger than the one Tsa'tvayi had given her. It was multicolored and had one of the prettiest patterns Tsa'tvayi had ever seen on a shell. She smiled at the girl with pride and led her to look for more, making sure Tuk kept a tight grip on the one's she had collected.
Together, they collected enough shells, all beautiful, to make each member of the new family a unique bracelet. When they were done, Tsa'tvayi showed tug how to push herself off of the sand to gain speed and reach the surface quicker.
They broke through the water, a happy yell leaving Tuk's lips even as she panted for air. "I did it!"
"You did!" Tsa'tvayi grinned back as they began moving back to the shore, both girls holding shells in their hands.
"Come," Tuk pulled her out of the water and through the sand back to where her siblings were still learning to breath, "Let's show them the shells."
A loud giggle left the younger girl as they reached the rocks. "I learned faster than you." she teased a blushing Lo'ak as Tsireya commented on his heartbeat. "My teacher is the very best."
Tsa'tvayi grinned as she looked at an overly excited Tuk. "Maybe my student is the very best, not the teacher."
Another loud giggle let Tuk as she danced around her brother's teasingly, chanting "I did it!"
"What did you find?" Asked Neteyam, his gaze soft as he watched his sister. Tsa'tvayi couldn't help but admire their dynamics, the importance that they held for each other. Briefly, she wished for the same.
"Shells," she opened her hand and showed some of the shells they had collected, Tsa'tvayi approaching the pair and showing them the one's she held. "Tsa'tvayi helped me find them so that we can make everyone a bracelet."
Neteyam threw her a glance and then peered down at the shells. "They are beautiful."
"Can we make the now?" Tuk turned to her suddenly, her eyes wide and begging.
Tsa'tvayi shook her head slightly, a small smile gracing her lips. "Not today, it is time you all head to your home to ready yourself for supper."
Tuk pouted at her words. "But, we can begin tomorrow before we try the ila."
Her pout disappeared as she nodded quickly and turned back to Neteyam, "Did you hear that? I'm making bracelets and riding an ila tomorrow," she bragged.
Tsa'tvayi had to cover her face in order to keep the laugh that threaten to escape her lips as Neteyam nodded, his face serious. "Oh yeah, you are so much better than us at this." She could hear the humor in his voice as he spoke and had to cough to cover her laugh.
"I am." Tuk nodded before she turned and rushed to Lo'ak, her voice carrying over as she teased him.
Tsa'tvayi watched as the boy peered into his younger sister's hands, his eyes blowing wide as he gazed at the shells she held.
"Thank you." The whisper startled her out of her thoughts, her head turning to meet Neteyam's soft gaze. "For being so kind to her."
Tsa'tvayi shook her head. "It is nothing. Tuk is amazing and I cannot imagine how she must feel right now. How all of you must feel. It is the least I can do."
"No." He waved her off. "We are thankful, I am sure our parents will be too. She has been every sad recently, I haven't seen her this happy in a while."
Tsa'tvayi met his gaze before turning to glance at the water. "This is my home. I hope it can become yours too."
Then, she turned and began heading back to her pod, Neteyam's whispered response reaching her ears as the space between them grew.
"Yeah," he whispered, his voice soft. "Me too."