— 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘.
Lo'ak followed Eyye and Aw'ita, the two boys who insisted Fawn wanted to see him. Jumping onto their Mongooses', Eyye motioned for Lo'ak to get on his before they took off, fast. Lo'ak started to cheer, he never felt so much speed on the ground before in his life. Flying his ikran was amazing—but this was a whole other experience. Dodging and ducking many leaves and branches, he felt himself lift up onto his calves so he could let out a loud cheer; completely ignoring the fact the two boys had a different plan in mind.
Coming to a halt, Lo'ak leaned around to look at Eyye. "That was amazing cuz!" He said with such happiness, Eyye looked at Aw'ita before giving him a nod of 'fuck it'. "No problem, follow me. I know a quicker way to Fawn, he isn't too far ahead." Lo'ak nodded and sat back on the Mongoose. "Why is he so far out?" Lo'ak questioned.
Eyye spoke loudly so the other could hear "He is hunting for tonight's ceremony." That was all Eyye said as they finally arrived to the hunting grounds, it was true that they were near a hunting place; but Fawn was nowhere in sight. "Here, come on. Take this." Aw'ita said as he passed the other a torch and a spear before beckoning the other to follow him near a cave.
Lo'ak started to get uneasy, he wasn't supposed to be this far out from the village and away from everyone, but he also wanted to hear Fawns apologize. So, he kept going despite the gut feeling in his stomach. "He hunts in a cave?" Lo'ak said before getting shushed by the other. Eyye put a finger up to his lips in a 'be quiet' motion before he continued.
Aw'ita pushed the other gently in front of him as they rounded a corner of the cave where a singular light from a flame was flickering. "Go forward, it's too narrow for all three of us to go at once." Eyye said in a whisper. Aw'ita nodded behind him.
Lo'ak took a second longer to stare at the two before he sighed, turning towards where the flame was at he continued on first, not even realizing the two boys had trapped Lo'ak across a bridge that you could only lower and bring up across from where Lo'ak was at.
"Guys, I think this is a dead end—" He said as he turned around, realizing his pathway was completely gone and the other two boys had abandoned him with no way to exit. "Guys!" He said loudly, only to be met with an echo. "This isn't funny!"
Lo'ak was trapped and that terrified him immensely, he had no clue how to get across the ledge and if he tried, he could see that the bottom was a bit of a drop. Death or be trapped forever, the first option seemed more better.
Picking up the small torch that was stuck in the ground for what seemed like years, he dropped it down the crack to see how much of a drop it would be if he did decide to go down and escape. Leaning over, he stuck his arm out before releasing the torch and counted. "1...2... Okay, that's pretty far." He said as he watched the torch seem to have fallen for a good while only to suddenly be stopped.
Lo'ak felt his tail swish in confusion, but his ears picked up on something else. Grabbing the much larger torch, he grabbed the end of it before leaning it over the edge as far as he could go. Just before the torch could get any closer, he started to wave the torch back and forth before his eyes widen and heart rate picked up.
"No way— No way." He said falling back, his hand dropping the torch in the process. "No way I just saw a big eye staring at me." Closing his eyes, he held his hands together in an attempt to pray to Eywa that he wouldn't die. "I know I said dying would be better, but please do not let me die by this monster." Lo'ak said, soft tears falling down his cheeks as he now had no light. He could hear the monster breathing, scratches on the wall.
Lo'ak definitely fainted when he saw the first claw slam down in front of his face about to crawl out.
...
Back at the village, (Y/N) was seated with Ay'u who was helping her situate her costume for the ceremony. She was decorated with the bottom half of a skull that broke off into two on her face, connecting from the middle of eyes' and around her head and cheek bones was a beautiful material of her villages colors. Fawn had the same, except he was wearing the upper half of the skull that covered his eyes and nose. The future Tsahik and Olo'eyktan needed to match for the dragon ceremony.
"You guys look so fancy." Ay'u said as the other was in a more formal outfit, but not nearly as bright as his two siblings. "I wish mom and dad would let you have an outfit like ours. You are our brother, too." (Y/N) said with a sigh as she stood next to Fawn so Ay'u could look over their costumes one last time.
"I think baby brother doesn't mind it." Fawn said as he adjusted his mask on his face, a very loud and annoyed sigh was next to him as he turned to look at his eldest sister. "Are you going to keep ignoring me and acting like we aren't related?" Fawn said.
"Ay'u, tell Fawn that if he doesn't apologize and start acting like a normal na'vi-being that I will continue to ignore him and hope that he becomes my sacrifice for his ceremony." (Y/N) said before a giant smile came onto her face as she saw Kiri and Tuk appear in their doorway. "Tuk! Kiri! You guys look so beautiful!" She said.
Kiri and Tuk had matching outfits similar to (Y/N)s, minus the head pieces and a few jeweles and beads, but (Y/N) specifically told the weaver to make outfits like her for the two so they would feel right in. "I hope you don't mind matching with our family tonight, by the time Fawns ceremony comes you and your family should have your own colors." (Y/N) explained.
"Does every family have their own colors?" Kiri asked as she allowed Ay'u to come over and fix a few loose pieces. "Yes! It distinguishes the families. My father knows the families by color and names, but most colors. Like a pecking order. The lowest is white, brand new people and new births. Purple is the highest, royalty. It kinda puts a huge target on our backs, but overtime we got used to it." (Y/N) said as she bent down for Tuk to climb onto her back and loop her arm with Kiri to walk the two out of her house.
"The ceremony is gorgeous." Kiri said. She had been away from the village exploring the outer parts but still close by with a girl she met in the village, the two were close friends by now, but Kiri knew she felt more comfortable with (Y/N).,
"Thank you! My good friend Iwa loves decorating, you'll meet him tonight!" She said. Her smile brighter as she was excited to finally see Iwa, the two haven't had any time to meet up since she was always busy and Iwa was planning the ceremonies with his village. "Tuk, have you made any friends so far?"
Tuk nodded, having moved to not rest on her shoulders as she pointed over to a group of little Na'vis all lined up with some older teens. "All right there!"
(Y/N) laughed loudly before moving her off her shoulders, "Do you want to go over there with them? You can still come to us later on." She said. Tuk nodded and took off running to her friends before the older girls let out a laugh.
"Can I ask you something?" Kiri said as the two found themselves a seat farther up on a ledge that overlooked the ceremony, behind them was the dragons all making their way towards the people, their feet making the ground rumble below them as cheers began to echo. "Have you seen Lo'ak?"
(Y/N) was cheering and clapping before she stopped, her face written in confusion as she shook her head. "No, but I am sure he is around here somewhere. I heard from a friend, who knows a friend who knows another friend that Lo'ak has been getting close to a girl here. Tisreya? Yes! They are probably together, don't fret. Please?" (Y/N) said with a small beg.
Kiri sighed but gave the other a small smile, "Okay, okay." And with that, the two of them turned as the ceremony had begun.
Many of the villagers had become skilled in fire breathing, a technique they discovered by some of the older Na'vis here; the tradition being passed down for many centuries. In the center was Ay'u, he was the fastest one to learn the technique and preferred to do this than sit and look pretty like his siblings. The children all laughing and watching as the fire would dance like dancers and sometimes turn into animals that would run across the air.
Dancers had begun to dance around the village and bless the people with their siblings returning, all of them rejoicing in pleasure that their siblings had returned safely. As the dragons let their children run around the village, the older Na'vis took it upon themselves to feed the older ones as they basked in the glory and care from their people.
Just off to the side and around the trees were the teenagers of the village who had began to swing back and forth on a large drum, music was now becoming loud throughout the grounds. In the center now was Äoa and Sänume, both who had finally arrived and did a toast to his people. His large dragon was in the center of everyone, relaxing and enjoying the peace he was having. As Äoa walked over and sat down directly on Nothais hand, he beckoned Jake over as the two made eye contact, greeting one another.
"Jake, how are you feeling?" Äoa said he gave the other a cup of fire water—the equivalent to alcohol on earth—and smiled at the other. "I feel good, the villagers are very nice and welcoming." Jake said as he took a sip.
"I want to ask you something." Äoa said as he looked at Jake whos eyes were now watching someone, as Äoa looked over at who and what it was, he chuckled. "About my daughter, (Y/N)." He said.
Jake broke his gaze and looked at him, "Yes?"
"You and my daughter have been spending a lot of time together, yes?" Äoa said. He knew, everyone knew that they would run away together and come back late at night. "Yes, but it isn't like that. (Y/N) has been showing me the ways of your people and allowing me to see my family." Jake said. He was embarrassed he was 'caught'.
Äoa laughed as he placed a hand on the others shoulder, "I am not mad, in fact I want to make a deal with you. You make my daughter happy, more than she has been in months. You have been here for about a few eclipses now. Get my daughter to fall for you, show her that true love does exist." Äoa said as he looked at the other. "When you do, I'll bring your family back from the dead. I just want my daughter to be happy." Jake stared at the other with widen eyes.
"You want me to use your daughter?" He asked. It felt like he was about to make a very stupid decision as he was beginning to weigh the options. (Y/N) was a very nice girl, she had a heart of gold and anyone would be lucky to have her—if it was for help, he would do it. Then he contemplated how he would be fucking over someone he cares deeply about for his own benefit, but he hadn't seen Ney'tiri in so long nor Neteyam; minus when he saw Toruka. "Think about the idea, Jake. Your family will be brought back and my daughter will finally get a mate and produce heirs."
Jake sighed, "Let me think about it." Äoa nodded with a smile, he knew good and well Jake would say yes. "Good man."
The two fell silent, drinking their fire water as Jake looked up at (Y/N) who was too busy dancing with some of her friends to have realized Iwa was behind the two, listening.
..
An hour passed and Kiri rushed over to her father with a frantic look, pulling the other over to a girl who had the same look on her face. "What is it?" Jake said looking down at the two. "Lo'ak is missing, we can't find him." Tisreya said.
Jake felt the wind get taken out of him as he placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "When was the last time you guys saw him?" Jake said trying to figure out a timeline of events.
"Earlier this evening, he left with Eyye and Aw'ita." Tsireya said, a pout coming onto her face as she was worried. "I'll go tell my father, he is one of the main hunters and he can go find him." Jake nodded and thanked Tisreya before looking at Kiri. "Find your sister and get back to the house, okay?"
Kiri nodded and took off.
...
Back in the cave, Lo'ak had woken up now in a much bigger space. Sitting up, he could clearly see he was now on the lower ground of where he was and could walk around with much ease. As he stood up, his ears flickered back as he heard breathing from behind him.
He took a deep breath and slowly turned, only to be met with a dragon whos neck was so long he could've ate Lo'ak fast. Lo'ak widened his eyes and tried his hardest to not be scared. "You are a dragon." He said.
The dragon nodded his head, moving to where the only light was shown so Lo'ak could get a better view. Off in the distance laid another dragon, but this one was dead. Lo'ak recognized the claw and looked between the two. "You saved my life. Thank you." He said before slowly approaching the long neck dragon.
He let out a loud chirping noise making the cave shake, "Wow, wow! Calm down!" He said laughing. As the dragon moved to be on the opposite side now, Lo'ak could said a chain wrapped around the others leg. "They chained you down here, didn't they?" He said.
Lo'ak moved to the other to see if he could get it off, it seemed like his prayers from Eywa were getting answered because off in the distance was a big rock he could use to slam down on the chain to break it off.
"I got this." He said to the dragon. Grabbing the rock, he picked it up before dropping on the chain and sighing in relief that it worked.
The dragon let out another noise before jumping off the edge and flying around, the cave was bigger than Lo'ak realized. Shooting fire around the entrance, Lo'ak waved his arms to bring him with.
"Friends?" He said at the other. The dragons eyes widen before he wrapped his neck around Lo'aks body, but not hard enough to hurt the other. Lo'ak laughed before nodding. "Yes, friends!"
...
For an hour, Lo'ak had forgotten that he was missing to the village and was too busy laying on the back of the dragons back. "Do you ever think about flying and never coming back?" He asked the dragon, who in returned made a noise of what he assumed was him agreeing. "I like looking at the stars," He pointed to a glowing one that had a smaller one next to it. "There, that's my brother and mother." He said with a sad look.
Down below, Lo'ak could hear his name being called with many people looking for him. "Ah shit, I'm in trouble." He said. The dragon moved him over to one of the boards before they both bid each other a goodbye. "I will see you again." He said.
...
(Y/N) stood at the edge of the village, looking into the darkened forest for a sign that they found him—or his body if the worse came. "Look, the boy has returned!" Someone said up in the trees.
Lo'ak appeared on the back of a mongoose with a hunter guiding it. Fawn and Ay'u both appearing next to (Y/N) as her parents arrived too. "Lo'ak!" The girl said.
Lo'ak glared at Fawn and went to move to him before he was stopped by Jake, "Hey, hey. Are you alright? Let me take a good look at you." He said with worry all on his voice. "He's alright!" Jake said with a shaky voice at the surrounding villagers who were worried. "A few scratches."
Äoa glanced at Fawn before looking at Lo'ak; placing a hand on his shoulder he pushed his second eldest down before digging his nails into shoulders. "The blame is my sons." He said.
Jake nodded and moved with Lo'ak, neither one of them saying anything. "Where were you." He said after they were a distances away and closer to their home. Tuk and Kiri next to the two.
"Somewhere." Lo'ak said, annoyed and upset that he finally processed everything that happened. "Just.. somewhere." Jake said, anger fueling him now.
"You were supposed to stay here and not wander off alone, you had the whole village looking for you!" Jake said with a raised voice.
"If mom was here, she would've asked if I was okay." Lo'ak said, his tone with such attitude before turning to stare at his siblings. "I'm leaving." And with that, Lo'ak left Jake to sigh.
"Dad, it's okay." Tuk said as she hugged his leg.
Jake wanted to believe it.