Neytiri moved beside Te'rani, not standing as close as she wanted to as Tonowari passed beside her to enter his marui.
Ronal nodded at him silently.
Te'rani glared daggers at both of them, knowing what was to come. How could they do this? Did they have no hearts at all?
What happened to the sister and brother in law she knew? This was the sky people's fault, not Neytiri's. They had made the decision to give them sanctuary and now because the consequences are bad they're going to hide?
"The village elders have decided to not let your family stay with us anymore" Tonowari said sadly. At least he had empathy. Te'rani thought.
She didn't have to turn to know Neytiri's ears fell back. Her gaze went to look at nothing in particular.
Were they happy now? They'd successfully destroyed the only last bits of happiness their family had. Te'rani thought.
Ronal suddenly had the urge to stay quiet, not looking at Te'rani as she fumed. Te'rani huffed slightly. Did they not have the courage to look at her?
Neytiri was speechless. No, she knew what to say. She just didn't know how to. Not when her children have never been happier, she had never been happier.
How could they do this? Both Neytiri and Te'rani thought.
"Lo'ak is a brother of Tulkun he cannot be told to leave! They are all our people now" Te'rani argued. Neytiri barely heard half her statement. She was trapped in her head. But when she heard that last sentence, it gave her some the least bit of hope.
"So were our people! The Ta'unui village was burnt because of them, do you even know how long it takes to-" Ronal spoke venomously.
"Of course I do!" Te'rani fired back.
"You can't do this. You can't make them leave" She shook her head.
Tonowari looked at her sadly. "The village elders have decided it. Not us. We cannot help you"
Te'rani kept her gaze strictly on Ronal and she raised a brow. "Oh really? Or did you want this"
"I didn't want my spirit sister to die! Her calf, Te'rani! Her calf was not even 3 months old and the last thing he saw was his mother dying!" Ronal shouted.
"She is your spirit sister too, how can you even think if letting these murderers-"
"They are NOT murderers. I have seen what the sky people do, what they did to me they are going to do to her children too"
"They are going to do that to every other child in this village if she doesn't leave" Ronal argued.
"...If she leaves, then I will too" Te'rani stated firmly.
"Don't be so immature-"
"We are mated." Te'rani blurted.
The silence was louder than their shouts that came before.
Neytiri stared at Te'rani in shock.
No they weren't.
Neytiri's heart woukd have warmed at how sure Te'rani was about their future, if it weren't for the pressing situation they faced.
She knew that if Te'rani were to ask, she would give her her everything. All they had to do was form a tsaheylu and it would only confirm what was already confirmed. They loved eachother.
Te'rani knew her sister was talking from a mourning heart, but Neytiri didn't deserve to hear that. She didn't deserve what was happening to her. But what happened to Roa was something she didn't have words to describe for. She could come close by saying 'terrible, tragic, sad'. But none conveyed the emotional weight of a spirit sister's death other than her living sister's cries.
Ronal froze in her spot. She looked between her sister and apparently, her mate.
Te'rani took a hold of Neytiri's hand.
"She cannot leave"
Ronal finally turned away from them, one hand holding her belly and the other, her head.
"No no no, this is worse" She muttered, both her hands going to cover her forehead.
"It . Is. done-" Te'rani spoke in a calmer voice, only to be interrupted by an angrier one.
"You bonded with her!?" Ronal shouted. Neyriri's tail was flying up and down. Maybe Te'rani really shouldn't have lied.
"Yes!" Te'rani glared.
"She is metkayina now-"
"You don't get to decide that!" Ronal came in really close to Te'rani, seeming but not seeing eye to eye.
"What have you done..." She said.
"What have you done?" Te'rani glared back.
They both held that intensity in their eyes for Eywa knows how long. Ronal was clutching her stomach, and Te'rani was gripping Neytiri's hand.
She turned and began to walk away, knowing that there was nothing left for her to say. She didn't want to argue about this. Perhaps her sister and Tonowari needed more time to think.
Neytiri looked back at both of them with an unreadable expression. It was something of a mix between concern, distrust, sadness, fear and confusion.
Te'rani was taking large steps. She wanted to get as far away from there as possible. But thats when she heard her sister cry out. In pain.
Her ears perked up. And she stopped walking. Slowly, Te'rani turned, and she saw Ronal clutching her stomach, Tonowari holding her.
Oh, no.
Te'rani's eyes widened. She froze for a second. Just a second, before she came to her senses and let go of Neytiri, running back to her sister.
Te'rani was by her side in a blink, and she looked down below Ronal's bent up figure while holding her hand. Her eyes widened and she shook her head. Her water had broke.
Shit.
"No no no" Te'rani whispered. Ronal cried, letting out a pained groan. Her sister said something to Tonowari, but Ronal couldn't hear it over the stinging pain in her lower body.
Ronal stared at the ground and water below her marui when she wasn't closing her eyes, tears seeping through. Thats when she noticed her tears falling on the water below them, causing barely noticeable drops. Maybe she could focus on that and contain her breathing again. But she was guided inside the marui. Neytiri quickly reached to close the curtains of the marui, but Te'rani told her to call for a Metkayina elder named 'Rina te O'rak Ha'un 'ite'.
Ronal had to sit. She had to lie down. Tonowari layed out a large mat for her, Te'rani guided her to it.
Ronal began to cry out in pain. Te'rani held her hand firmly, knowing this was her fault. Her sister was never this pained during labor. Of course she was in pain but now she was hurting. The loss of her sister, the loss of Te'rani's empathy. The stress of it all, and anger, and sadness.
Oh Eywa...what have I done?
----••----•----••----•----••----•----••----•----••----•--
The village elder, Rina came just in time before Ronal was actively in labor. Te'rani was asked to wait somewhere else, but she didn't. How could she?
She sat by Ronal's side, offering her hand as a relief squeeze for her sister, as she always did. She held her hand intertwined with Ronal's above her heart as she prayed that this would all be over soon.
They were in a small lagoon near the entrance of the forest. It wasn't the place where first breath ceremonies were supposed to take place. But this also wasn't the time when Ronal's baby was supposed to come out.
Te'rani could remember the times that Ronal was there for her, taking blame for her, failing for her, laughing for her. Ronal was her true family. Blood or not, she was her sister. And right now, it was her fault that Ronal was in so much pain.
Te'rani's face was stained with dried tears and new ones pouring in at each cry her sister made when told to push.
"I'm sorry Ro, please, please push, you're so close" Te'rani encouraged.
Ronal uncharacteristically shook her head, face scrunching in pain and crying silently.
Te'rani shook her head back at her. "Ronal, you're strong, strongest person I know. Please. It'll be over soon"
But Ronal's eyes were closing. She wanted to give up. It was too much.
No, not on Te'rani's watch. She thought about it for a moment, and took a shot into the dark, in an attempt to make her sister feel better at a time like this.
"Have you even named the baby yet? If its a boy maybe 'fishface' would work" Te'rani joked woth the most straight face she could offer. Even Rina looked up from her bloody hands while trying to help Ronal and gave her the most visually accurate 'are you fucking serious' look.
"Push more" she said, choosing to focus on Ronal, whose eyes were slowly opening.
Te'rani placed her free hand on her sweaty forehead. "Keep going Ronal, you crazy woman. I am never giving brith oh Eywa" Te'rani wasn't finding any of the things she was saying funny. But she hoped Ronal did, because those words were exactly what Te'rani had told her when Her sister was giving birth to Ao'nung.
That was the time when both of them were far younger, and Te'rani wasn't even joking, her mouth just went on rambling as she witnessed birth giving for the first time.
"Why is there so much blood?- wait shit, I'm not supposed to say that. You're good Ronal, there's no blood coming out of your-" Te'rani got the hang of it, talking like her past self.
"'Rani" Ronal called meekly. Te'rani looked down at her. "Hmm?"
"I'm going to kill you when this is over" she had the energy to say.
"Please Ronal, please do" Te'rani talked exactly how her younger self, all those years ago would speak.
Ronal looked back up and focused on pushing again, gripping Te'rani's hand tighter, and more painfully so. But Te'rani didn't mind. She was watching her sister do the same thing she always did beautifully.
Persevere.
_________________________________________
A/n
Well well well...
We are at the end of the second movie in this fanfiction.
I want you all to consider the next thirty chapters as the third movie.
To all the og readers who read the first version and also this new one, tell me which changes you loved and maybe even hated. I'd love to know.