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(POV: Narrator)
Everything seemed a lot quieter around the village for the next week. Nobody would laugh as much, meals were almost always endured in silence. Jake would sometimes try to lighten the mood by telling one of his terribly jokes, making mostly Tuk respond with a short spurt of laughter before quieting down again.
The same thing would happen everyday. They'd wake up, go do something to keep them busy, come back when it was dark to eat and go to sleep. They'd fish all day, help out where they were needed, swim up and down the coast of the reef, go for walks in the jungle, train, anything. Ni'teya would spend most of her time on the beach, either collecting shells or making something with them, sat at the same spot everyday as it was the perfect area to catch the eclipse's short streak of light reach far ends of the sky above her.
Lo'ak was becoming more distant towards everyone. One night, when he didn't return to the hut, Ni'teya and Jake went out to find him. It turned out that he'd fallen asleep in the jungle whilst making something to eat for himself. Jake had to carry him all the way back, laying him down to sleep on his own bed.
He'd talk, but not much. Ni'teya would offer to take him places on her ilu, as his wound still hadn't fully healed yet, but he'd refuse every time. His excuses ranged from 'feeling tired' to 'feeling hungry' and that was about it. Ni'teya tried to take him out onto the beach with her some days, too. If he did, he'd just sit there in silence as she tried her best to make conversation. He'd chime in with various 'okay''s and 'yeah''s, sometimes zoning out so that Ni'teya would have to ask the same question a few times. He didn't mean to, and Ni'teya knew that. She just wished he'd at least talk to her about what happened.
When Neytiri and Jake had tried to talk to him about how he was feeling, he shrugged them off each time, sometimes getting angry with them for asking him constantly. When this continued, they decided to ask Ni'teya to help get something out of him.
Tsireya would come by sometimes, offering foods and necessities kindly, joined by Ronal and Tonowari, who'd always pay their respects to Jake and Neytiri as they left. Aonung stayed well away however. He probably thought it best to not talk to either Ni'teya or Lo'ak in fear of making them angry or annoyed, worsening his situation.
Additionally, Ni'teya and Kiri would take frequent walks around the jungle during the day, talking all about what they could see and hear through the depths of the trees. When the topic would turn to Neteyam, Kiri wouldn't stop and change the subject, she'd talk about him as if he was right there with her, which was extremely comforting for Ni'teya to hear, not having been able to talk to Lo'ak about him yet. When Ni'teya asked Kiri for help on the matter, she told her to 'just hit him until he talks' like she did up on the Hallelujah Mountains. Ni'teya refused to, though. She thought that was unfair on him, as it was understandable why he wasn't talking.
The end of the first week came around, the Sully family and Ni'teya gathered to eat inside their hut once again, Lo'ak arriving late as he usually did. This time, Kiri and Tuk were talkative, bringing their Mom and Dad into conversation too, which pleased both of them. Ni'teya was too focused on Lo'ak, though. He didn't so much as touch his food, he only looked at it the whole time, waiting until it was okay for him to leave again. When he did, Jake and Neytiri would give eachother a look.
Ni'teya then finished her food, asking to leave in order to follow Lo'ak quickly to where he was going. Even though he no longer had to use a crutch, he was still rather slow at walking as sometimes his leg would hurt him too much so he had to stop for a while, meaning he hadn't gone too far along the beach by the time Ni'teya had caught up to him.
"Lo'ak!" She called out as she jogged up to him.
"Lo'ak- You have to eat. It's not healthy for y-" she tries to tell him, out of breath from running all the way there just after eating.
"I'm not hungry today, okay?" He says without turning around, continuing to walk whilst limping slightly.
"But Lo'ak, you didn't even eat this morning! Please, just eat a little bit-"
"I told you, I'm not hungry. Just leave me be, Ni'teya." He silenced her, stopping in his tracks as he did, still not looking at her. In fact, if Ni'teya were to think about it, she wouldn't be able to think of a single time that week that he'd met her gaze.
Disappointed but not done yet, Ni'teya rushes around to the front of the boy, stopping him from passing her. "I won't let you pass until you agree to eat." She tells him, placing her hands onto her hips in a jokey fashion.
He looks down, taking a deep breath and then a short exhale. "Don't try to be funny, Ni'teya-" he begins, stepping towards her and raising his arm to try and nudge past her, thinking she'd move. When she didn't, he finally looked at her. She had a hint of sadness in her eyes but they were more covered in clear determination.
"I'm serious! I won't let you pass."
"Ni'teya, come on-" he attempts the same move again, speaking more directly this time.
"No!" She acts stubborn, blocking his every move.
"Ni'teya!" He finally yells, irritated enough to reach out and grab her by the shoulders, digging his fingers into her and moving to push her aside but hesitating upon realizing that he was actually hurting her a decent amount.
She held her stare although wincing at the pain he was inflicting on her, feeling offended but more-so plainly hurt.
With a small whisper, she asked him a question out of the blue. "Why won't you talk to me, Lo'ak?"
He sighs almost instantly, letting her go and continuing to walk around her, which she let him do this time. With no answer, she raises her voice at him, not meaning to sound angry. "Just talk to me, please!"
He merely ignored her, walking away down the beach but eventually diverting his path and heading into the trees. She debated wether she should follow him in or not, however she decided that she herself didn't wanting to speak to him after he'd pulled that stunt on her shoulders, which were now aching. In a huff, she crosses her arms and turns to go back to the village for second servings, feeling hangry.
However, a Na'vi was approaching her with a bowl in his hands. It was Aonung. He got closer to her, revealing the contents of his bowl.
Oh for Eywa's sake. Ni'teya thought to herself.
It was the same pinky-purple berries she was so against, staring back at her sourly. Aonung greeted her with a slight smile, doing his best to not show her his nervousness.
"Berry?" He asks her first to her dismay, watching as she shook her head politely, declining the berries he'd so generously prepared for her.
Still not having completely forgiven him for what he did to Lo'ak, Ni'teya wasn't acting completely welcoming at first.
"Um. So- I'm just here to say that I am here to talk if you need it. Or- or Tsireya, you know, if you'd rather speak to her." He chocked out, getting his words out as quickly as he could as if he was racing some invisible spirit.
Thinking for a moment, she decided she needed to let something out. And knowing that Aonung wouldn't repeat any of it to anyone, Lo'ak especially, made her feel like she could trust him this once. So, she reluctantly agreed to talk to him there and then.
They sat down on the beach, Ni'teya sat with her legs out in front of her whilst Aonung kept his tucked upwards, a silence taking over at first but then being filled by Aonung's speech. "So... What is it you want to talk about?" He asks.
"Lo'ak won't talk to me." She sighs afterwards, feeling Aonung physically recoil at the topic at hand, but easing into it.
"When I heard you yelling at him I figured as much." He states to begin with, before realizing what he was insinuating. "I mean- I wasn't listening or anything, it's just you were speaking so loudly I- Actually, no- It's not that you're loud, it just-"
"Aonung. It's fine." Ni'teya stops his panicking, feeling attacked by his words, not because she was insulted she just wanted them to stop.
"Sorry. Well, um. Have you tried asking Kiri-"
"Yes."
"Okay, uh. Jake or Neytiri?"
"They're the ones who wanted me to talk to him in the first place!" Ni'teya throws her hands up in annoyance.
"So, you don't want to talk to him?" Aonung assumes.
"No, I do want to, It's just-" Ni'teya stops to grunt harshly for a second, "He just won't listen to me!"
When Aonung didn't reply to her, she turned her head in a snap, thinking that maybe he was ignoring her completely and needed to be slapped back into reality. However, he was both ignoring her and looking away from her, making her almost say something before she heard what be was looking at behind her.
Footsteps were approaching, she could hear the sand move as every step got closer. Knowing who it was, she sprung up and watched him. When she did, she found a boy who was pacing towards her and Aonung, a dark scowl across his face.
"Lo'ak-" She tries to stop him before he gets to them, however he walks right by her and shoves Aonung forcefully.
"Back off!" He threatens him, causing Ni'teya to have to step in between the two. Normally, she'd let what was about to happen happen however knowing Lo'ak was injured, she had to put an end to it.
Once Lo'ak saw her come into view, he changed his tone as well as target, picking on her next. "Replaced me already, huh?"
Shocked at what he'd just asked her, wondering how he could be so immature given the state of things, she stepped away from him, her ears twitching as they began to lower. Wanting to fix things, she tries to answer him, gulping deeply before she did. "No-"
"Well it sure as hell looks like it!" He raises his voice even more, anger spread across his complexion.
"What if-" Lo'ak started to yell again, this time stepping nearer towards Ni'teya, making her jump and flinch at his movements. She let out a small whimper without trying to, turning her head away from him and shutting her eyes for a second.
Coming back to reality due to what he'd just seen her do, Lo'ak re-evaluated himself, reaching out to touch Ni'teya's arm.
"Oh, Ni'teya, I'm-" He tries, being cut off.
"Aonung. You can go now." Ni'teya says calmly, waiting to see that he was out of earshot before beginning on Lo'ak. She inhaled, collecting herself before plainly and in a still-calm manner, she asked, "Are you done with your little hissy-fit now?" looking at him straight.
He only nods, not meeting her eyes once again. He then feels two smaller hands clasp onto his jaw, turning his face up gently to reveal the girl in front of him who he'd just made afraid of him for a split second, her brows now turned upwards and her eyes drooped.
"Talk to me, Lo'ak." She whispers again, shaking his head with her hands slightly as to better get her emotions across.
"That's all you have to do." This time, she took her thumb and rubbed it along his right cheek, trying to make him believe that she was there for him and that he could tell her whatever he wanted.
He hesitated for a long while, seemingly thinking of what to say or do, keeping his eyes on hers as a way to better communicate his thoughts. After a while, he'd made up his mind, giving her a small nod in acceptance and touching her right hand with his.
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( Meanwhile )
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The Sully's were cleaning up their food, preparing Tuk and Tuk only for bed, as Kiri was able to stay up later due to her age. Neytiri set her to sleep, leaving when she was satisfied that she wasn't pretending to fall asleep, as she'd sometimes do as a way to sneak off and play with her ilu.
Jake was growing cautious of the time, checking outside every now and again to see if either Lo'ak or Ni'teya were on their way back. When he'd had enough of their absence, he stepped outside of his hut to find Kiri, who was looking off into the far distance at something.
"Kiri, where's your brother?" He asks her, ignoring what she was looking at.
"He's fine, I know it." She tells him, not breaking her gaze. Because of this, Jake also looks towards the direction that Kiri was looking in, his eyes landing on a dark beach with only a few torches lit along it. He then spotted two shadows, looking to be of his children's height, sitting down and talking to each other face to face. Realizing what was happening, he sighed and ran a hand across his face, relieved.
"Should I go get them?" Kiri asks her dad, aware of the time.
"Let them be for now, I'll get them later." He smiles to himself, glad that his son was finally talking to someone about what had happened.
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