It's crazy how the sound of a cry can give so much relief. All emotions can fade away with a single wail.
It was doing so right now.
The second Te'rani saw her newborn niece in the elder's arms, she swore her mind went blank.
Mountains of sadness turned into a breeze of peaceful air.
Her face was stained in sweat and tears, her knees hurt from being bent down in the same spot for so long, her hand finally felt blood rushing back to it after being gripped by her sister. But Oh Eywa, was it all worth it.
Nothing else mattered. Nothing else but the crying baby in her brother in law's arms.
Te'rani stared at her. No emotion showing on her face. Her eyes were red, her ears up and listening.
It felt like a dream.
Tonowari cradled the baby in his arms, making her calm down a little before he carefully handed Ronal her new daughter.
Her hand was far bigger than the baby's head. She let it rest on her palm as she took deep breaths. She acted as if all the pain and agony she was feeling just a minute ago meant nothing.
Because it really didn't. Not anymore.
Te'rani watched the baby begin to close her eyes, letting out smaller cries and finally calming down. Her hands curled and opened, looking for something to hold before finding her mother's chin.
A tear rolled down Ronal's cheek and fell on her daughter.
Te'rani's mouth felt dry. She just stared, not even noticing Tsireya and Ao'nung entering the room slowly.
She only snapped out of her daze when someone held her shoulders.
Te'rani glanced back for a split second, seeing Rina whisper her something she didn't have the attention to hear.
Te'rani was overwhelmed with relief.
She couldn't bring herself to look away.
She knew what Rina would say without having to hear.
"Praise Eywa, the girl is healthy"
The baby wouldn't stop crying.
And what a blessing that was.
"Ta'la"
Days flew by faster than the evening breeze. Ta'la's first breath ceremony took place the very night she was born.
She was by far the most adorable baby the village had seen, and she earned this title at only three days old.
Within the next week, the tulkun had left to embark on another journey across the oceans to teach their calves how to survive in the depths.
Ronal and Te'rani's fight was forgotten about quickly - as most sisterly disputes are. Te'rani spent her days and nights at her sister's marui, spending all her time waiting to hold Ta'la in her arms as many times as she could.
The birth of Ta'la brought peace and joy back into the village. It brought hope.
Because the only thing more inevitable than death itself, was life.
But even in that bliss there was trouble.
Neytiri knew that she had to leave. Because she loved Te'rani, because she cared about the Tulkun, because she cared about her children's friends, because she cared for Ta'la, she had to go.
So that the sky people could never harm them.
Te'rani spent some nights holding onto Neytiri as if she'd leave the second she let go. And Neytiri would just lay with her, praying that she never did.
This wasn't easy for either of them.
Tonowari had talked to the Village Elders himself one day, in hopes that they had changed their decision about the banishment of the omatikayan family.
But their decision never wavered.
"Think about your daughter"
"Do you want her to grow up in a village that's not safe? In an ocean where the sky people roam?" They would say.
A week turned into two, and then three, till Ta'la was a month old.
Neytiri and her family would have to leave.
"I will go with her." Te'rani stated.
Ronal just stared at her, while Ta'la was safely placed around her chest, playing with her bead necklace.
She was not going to have this fight with her. Not again. Truth be told, Ronal was confused herself. She didn't know what to do. Correction- she did know what had to happen, she just didn't want it to.
"Then Eywa says you have to go with her..." she spoke slowly.
Te'rani didn't move a muscle. She stayed as she was, at the entrance of the marui, staring at her sister.
Ronal was quiet. But she was never quiet.
Te'rani waited patiently. Perhaps there was some angry insult boiling beneath her. Some frustration that Ronal had to get out. Something. Anything.
But she just sat there, leaving her knife on the ground and ignoring the half-cut fish below her.
She closed her eyes.
Te'rani grew upset. Her lips formed a frown and her sight was blurred by tears.
"Don't you understand? I love these people" her voice cracked as a tear escaped from her eye.
"I love her"
"I want to fight for her. I want to fight for her family. But mine-" she stopped to rub away her tears.
Her breath was uneven, hitching at every inhale. She hated what was happening. She hated the conflict.
"But my family won't let me?" She used both hands to wipe the tears on her face.
Ronal let a tear escape from her eyes when she closed them. Ta'la cooed while curling her fingers around her mother's chest.
"Ronal, I don't want to do this" Te'rani's lip quivered.
"I love you, so much" she stated, trying to calm herself. "I don't know what to do" she spoke whatever thought came to her.
Ronal didn't say anything. She just stared at Ta'la's head, pursing her lips and listening as tears flowed down her face.
"I won't go if you don't want me to" Te'rani muffled. It was a choice she couldn't make herself. Te'rani didn't know what to do. And at times like this, she'd look to her sister -who also was like a mother to her - for help.
Ronal finally looked up at her, shaking her head.
"No" she finally spoke.
Only now could Te'rani see her face, bearing tear stains of her own. She walked closer to Ronal as she stood up.
"Are you sure?" Te'rani asked. The sides of her hand were still wet with her tears. She could feel a few drops fall down to the edge of her fingers.
"I will not keep you from her." Ronal stated, looking into her eyes. No, she would not keep her sister from her happiness.
Te'rani stared at her in shock. Within a second, tears began to flow down her face again.
"I am so sorry" She cried more, feeling like a child again, feeling like she had done something wrong and her parents had forgiven her too easily.
Ronal placed her hands on her shoulder, and then her face, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears, like a mother wanting nothing more than for her child to be happy.
Te'rani would have hugged her, but Ta'la was still resting on her shoulders, being held in place by a soft cloth.
Lo'ak, Kiri, Spider and Neteyam walked to their Marui. Neytiri had asked them to meet her for a family meeting, minus Tuk.
Neteyam walked at the end of the line, Kiri leading the way. He knew what was going to happen. Their mom was going to tell them that they had to leave Awa'atlu.
Neteyam wasn't very upset about it. Sure, it did make him a little sad. He had gotten used to the ocean. But he still loved the forest more. He still loved his ikran to death and dreamt about flying through iknimaya again.
But he didn't speak much of it, because his siblings loved the ocean far more. They had all adapted easily. So did he, but his heart still lied in the forest. Or did it?
"I can't believe this is happening" Kiri huffed dryly.
"what's happening?" Spider asked.
"They're kicking us out. The village doesn't want us anymore" Lo'ak said rather aggressively. And how ironic was that. The forest kids were actually unhappy to go back to their home.
Neteyam might've even said something too, but they reached their marui, where Neytiri sat alone.
Neteyam slowed down while Kiri, Spider and Lo'ak went to sit.
Neytiri took a deep breath in, and calmed her breath like Te'rani had taught her. She waited for all of them to near her before talking.
"The village doesn't think its safe for us to stay anymore" She said it as it was, closing her eyes for a second before looking at her children.
Kiri and Lo'ak shared a look. Lo'ak not seeming shocked, but upset. And Kiri - even more so. Spider didn't tale his eyes off Kiri, looking just as sad only at the sight of his best friend upset.
"Te'rani and I talked about this with the Olo'eyktan and Tsahik" Neytiri continued.
Neteyam listened. There was more?
"Te'rani and I...." she looked at each her children. She almost dreaded telling this to them, only because of the conflict it caused among Te'rani's family.
Kiri looked up. Her eyes big and showing something of a silent reassuring. She knew what her mother was going to say, she just wanted to hear it.
Lo'ak looked towards his mother, not staring at the ground anymore. He gave the silence in the room a thought before looking up at her.
They all knew that their mother was in love. But to hear her finally be able to talk about it to them was a huge step forward.
"I love her more than I understand"
Kiri smiled a little at her mother. She was happy for her. That's all she ever really wanted to her. And if Kiri was being honest, she saw the perfect match for her mother in Te'rani.
She thanked Eywa that they both had eachother. And that she and her siblings had someone like her in their lives.
"I don't know how to tell Tuk" Neytiri said quickly. "I do know, but I don't know how she will see it" she didn't make eye contact with any of her kids.
"...are you mated?" Neteyam was brave enough to ask.
"No, no. But before Ta'la was born-"
"Agh..it a mess" Neytiri interrupted herself, remembering the events of that day. And the lie that was said to cause all of it. It truly was a mess, and she didn't know how her children were going to react.
"What happened?" Kiri urged, glancing at Neteyam.
Neytiri looked at them. From the moment they walked in she thought her children would be shocked, or even uncomfortable at the news. But in the moment she must've forgotten how obvious it was that she and Te'rani were together.
She thanked Eywa for giving her children the maturity to be happy for her. If they were, that is.
"She told Ronal that we were mated in hopes that they don't send us back to the forest, but.... it didn't work." Neytiri explained.
Kiri's eyes widened. She was not expecting that.
What will they do now?
"But she talked with her family and they gave us Eywa's blessing"
Lo'ak made eye contact with his brother. They gave them a 'blessing'. His ears rose up in expectancy. But he knew there was no way that meant they could stay. According to Tsireya, the decision still stood. They had to leave.
"....Te'rani will come with us to the forest"
-____-
guys I am so sorry for ghosting this story for like a month i have no excuse
did you like this chapter?
also let me know if you guys have any recommendations or requests for the kind of chapters you wanna see