Outside Neteyam's mauri stood Tonowari, his hair —and everyone else's— getting wet by the few raindrops that had begun to fall. His voice stood out, even with all the noise from the turbulent water that splashed and swayed the canoes outside the mauris.
Tonowari was gazing at the horizon while he talked to Jake in a somber voice, almost regretful. "...They are looking for you, Jake Sully, down south. They have a human boy that talks Na'vi." He had to be talking of the Sky People.
Because of our position behind the mauri, peeking over the wall, it didn't let us see Jake's face, but we both formed an image in our imagination. He was, most likely, frowning slightly with his lips tightly shut. I heard a grunt and then silence for a few seconds.
Neteyam and I got to peek more, noticing Neytiri in between the outside and inside of the mauri. The clouds' tears poured harder on all of us.
"Did they kill someone?"
"No, not yet." The coldness in his voice was the same as that of the atmosphere, equally tense and distant.
I frowned at Tonowari's words. We all knew there was a war coming, but nothing had ever happened on the islands. It was always the forest that suffered losses, like how my uncle Tsu'tey had been a victim of the Sky People. Even if I had never experienced war I had also never expected it to take place near the Metkayina islands. It was definitely something to be scared of to the bones. Behind me, Neteyam hugged my waist loosely with both of his hands, like an effortless and natural way of reassurance.
"They threatened, but the villagers didn't tell them where you are by my orders," he continued. Each time he opened his mouth only bad things came out of it and the mood turned upside down. Just when I thought the news couldn't possibly become much worse, the next thing he said paralyzed my body. "The Sky People ended up burning everything in the Ta'unui village."
My mouth gaped and my eyebrows furrowed. I found myself trying to exit the hiding spot when Neteyam's grip on my torso tightened while he put a hand over my mouth. I wiggled around, hoping it'd free me in time to question Tonowari. I had to know if Atswon knew, if his grandmother was fine and if by any chance he was there when it happened. I felt useless, unable to escape Neteyam's arms whilst my brain still accustomed to the tidings. My breathing only slowed down when I heard a pair of feet walking away.
"It's okay, don't worry," he whispered, still covering my mouth so I didn't start yelling.
I could still hear Jake and Neytiri's voices not far away, so I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. I didn't want to cause a scene. Neteyam let go of me, turning my body cold and stiff.
"I need to tell him, I need to see Atswon. Only Eywa knows if something happened to him or his grandma." I hid my face in my hands and scrubbed it with them.
I opened my eyes to find him still in front of me, his arm stretched in my direction. "Didn't think I'd leave you alone, did you?" He said.
We shared small smiles and started speed walking everywhere around the village. Atswon was definitely not in his mauri, making the Common Room our first guess. We got there in a hurry, but he wasn't there. Lo'ak and Kiri, both of whom were eating fish for breakfast, turned confused at Neteyam and me.
"Kaltxì, so, I don't know what's going on but," Kiri said and then turned to me, "I just wanted to say thank you for being there these past few days. I'm feeling better now." She continued, looking at me with her sweet eyes.
"No problem, but I- We really need to go. Have you seen Atswon, by the way?"
Kiri limited herself to shake her head and shrug. Lo'ak, who had been quiet all along, seemingly exchanging glances with Neteyam and having an eye conversation, looked at me. "Haven't seen him since yesterday. Told me he was gonna go to some island," he said.
Where did I manage to find the strength to nod and smile? It was yet to be known. Although I had no vision of what I must've looked like, inside I felt empty. Tonowari had said there were no deaths, but he didn't say anything about people being injured. Lo'ak's words traveled to both of my ears and back. Now there was no doubt: Atswon had to be there during the attack.
I stabled my head with one of my hands and pulled Neteyam by the wrist and outside the big mauri. Even he knew when it was not prudent to say someone was going to be alright when you had no idea. I had done it with Kiri's situation before, but it had been because she was physically unhurt and stable. But now we didn't even know where Atswon was.
My second instinct was to run toward his parents' pod. Deep inside of me, I had a feeling of where he was, but everything about that thought made my head ache. I didn't want to believe it until I saw it. So Neteyam and I made our way to the east side of the village, where some of the old couples lived separately from their children. On a normal basis, Atswon would visit them once every day and talk. He always chattered about how his father was a great listener while his mother was the perfect source of advice. They had a good relationship. Unlike Na'tyr, his parents, the calm Mr. and Ms. Källè, were not set on putting the pressure of mating on him.
Neteyam went inside the pod first, and I followed. It was as empty as The Caves during the freezing season. The fireplace was cold and the mats on the floor —the beds we used— were disheveled. They had left in a haste, which only made the voice in the back of my head grow stronger.
"I- They're not here, but that doesn't mean that he-"
"He is hurt. I know my friend, Neteyam, and I know that I wasn't there and if- if he's dead then I didn't get to say goodbyes." My voice cracked mid-sentence and my entire body felt weak.
I would have fallen to the floor if Neteyam hadn't pulled me into a hug. Two streams of tears started pouring from my eyes, which he cleaned with his thumbs while caressing my face. He pulled me back just enough so our eyes could meet and I could see the rest of his face.
Neteyam kept mindlessly rubbing his thumbs on my cheekbone while my entire head was only supported by his hands, my body too feeble to do it by itself. Our eyes locked and the sight of his calmed me down. I only let out shaky breaths.
"You need to go see him," he said.
I slightly nodded at his words and started walking side to side with him, his left arm around my shoulder to keep me stable and warm. I was eager to see Atswon, I needed to, but whatever sight I might encounter made me slow down my pace.
The skies were yet to clear out, and the rain drenched us. Sooner rather than later, the coldness of the water cooled the warmth in Neteyam's arm. I didn't feel his presence anymore, and a sudden loneliness hit me. We continued walking, my skin, clothing, and hair all wet.
As we grew closer to the infirmary, a wave of whimpering and screams filled my ears. It was a male voice. It was Atswon. He shrieked in pain, and from outside I could hear Nueiy yelling at him to calm down. I did, but also didn't, want to see the scene. Neteyam pushed me forward with gentleness, insisting I kept walking.
"Maway," he whispered in my ear.
I would have thanked him for forcing me to walk when I had been paralyzed, but I couldn't, because, at that moment when we could see the inside of the infirmary, I let out a wail.
I ran like crazy to the hut, almost tripling over random objects on the way. My eyes turned watery once again, and I put my hand over my mouth.
"MAKE IT STOP! RUTXE!" Atswon cried out. He had tears coming down the sides of his face while he was laying down. Nuiey was sitting on the floor next to him, crying and shaking, a wooden bowl in her hands with some ointment she was stirring.
Atswon was wriggling from the pain. Every visible inch of his skin was as red as it could be, blood coming out of certain places. He had white blotches on his hands and back, and some yellow bubbles were spilling liquids onto his paper skin. He was burnt and couldn't stop moving because everywhere hurt. Laying down, standing up, being seated. His entire body was swollen and his face was almost unrecognizable. His hair, which he always wore half-up half-down, like Tonowari, was reduced to strands of a charred black. The view was so painful and grotesque that I felt bilis threatening to escape my mouth.
Atswon's eyes were bloodshot, and there was no way for me to know if he was even able to see me. He kept shaking his head from side to side; Nuiey wanted him to stop, but every little brush from her fingers with his body sent him screaming. She turned to me with pleading eyes, shiny from the tears.
"What happened?" I asked, barely audible.
"He- he," Nuiey started, her voice clogged, "He went to see his grandma when the Sky People came... they burned every mauri. He noticed babies crying inside one and went to get them. There was no way out, and he faced the fire so the children would survive." She kept crying, her legs spread on the floor and her head pointed downwards.
Her words made nothing else but to slap me on the face so hard I let out the most heartbreaking wail. I couldn't believe it was happening. It wasn't real. It couldn't be.
There was nothing to be done, and, later that day after hours of pointless pain, Atswon died.
He died at the hands of the Sky People.
———-
Author's note:
Hello! It was hard for me to write this chapter, but I wanted it to portray the closeness between you and Atswon and how savage, careless and destructive humans are toward life. From this point on, be ready for anything. The big war is only a couple of chapters away.
Now, just for you to laugh, I'll also tell you that this chapter was originally supposed to include the first kiss (in the lips) with Neteyam, but because I wasn't sure, so I deleted the part. So, better luck next time!
Just a reminder: each vote you give is support. In other words, vote and I'll update sooner!
Edit:
Kaltxì! I just want to acknowledge that we now have 50 thousand reads! Never in my wildest dreams would I've thought that we'd reach that amount, and even less in a span of 3 weeks. I cannot find enough words to express how grateful I am that thousands of you have given this story a chance.
Also, how do you feel knowing you've read a little more than 35,500 words? Because that is the length of this book so far!
I'll leave you alone and waiting for another chapter while I go and have a good night's sleep.
Sweet dreams, cheers.
Sincerely, Dina.