Every time the Tulkun returned from their migration cycle it brought flashbacks from the year before. They were so similar. The horn, the cheering, the laughs, the quick swimming, and riding... Except this year was different. Quite a lot, actually. The Sullys were there, which I would have never imagined, and I was being hugged by one breathless Neteyam, just after sharing our first kiss. He looked at me with that pretty eyes of his while one of my hands was on his cheek and the other on his neck.
I smiled because even after getting abruptly interrupted in what had been the best moment of my entire life, completely tail curling and ear twitching, there was one good thing: I was going to see Lowsla.
"The Tulkun," I said to Neteyam.
"Oh, sure. I mean-"
I shut him up with a small kiss, our lips touching for only a couple of seconds. I stepped back before he could react, my arms falling to his chest and then holding one of his hands. If he didn't want to leave, then I'd be me who had to take the lead.
I smiled, again. "Come."
Neteyam followed me as I speed-walked to the village. I called Lìtzy with a whistle and some clicking sounds, and I stopped him before he could call his ilu. We could both ride mine. There wasn't anyone left in the village, not even the babies, and we could both freely hold each other.
I realized something at that moment, when it was only Neteyam and I. I didn't have to pretend anymore. There was to be no 'mating' with Atswon, no faking, no hiding my feelings. I wouldn't be judged if Neteyam and I were together, if everyone suddenly knew we were mates —only if it was said that it was something recent, and not that we became one over a decade ago—, and that all the fears I had had lingering on the back of my head and getting louder ever since meeting Atswon, disappeared into thin air. The voices in my head that used to repeat that he had probably regretted bonding with me, that I had ruined his happiness, and that he must have hated me, were nothing now. I didn't need to listen to them, I needed to listen to the loving boy in front of me.
"Wait," said Neteyam. I looked confused at him, as he quickly entered a random mauri and grabbed a piece of cloth. He took my left hand and stretched my arm. There was a tiny trail of blood on my wrist, like a sharp line. He wiped off the blood with his thumb and took my hand closer to his face. Neteyam gave a chaste kiss on the wound, his lips closed, but still making a little sound. He gazed at my eyes and back at the cut. "A kiss doesn't heal, but I'm sure it'll help," he said. He wrapped the cloth around my wrist and then interwove our fingers.
I could only stare at him, speechless. No one had done that to me before, and I kind of felt like he needed to know.
"I'm amazed, warrior boy, first person to kiss my wounds. Whenever did you become such a gentleman? Because you weren't like that as a child."
"Should ask you. Such a lady now, but used to say my feet were dipped in shit."
I reddened and frowned. I didn't remember that. "I'm sure they were."
"Sure, definitely, my love."
I exhaled and smiled, biting my bottom lip. He had now started with the nicknames. I didn't say anything and simply avoided his gaze all the way until we reached the crowd of Tulkuns and Metkayina. All the spirit Sisters and Brothers were reuniting and swimming around. There were mixed sounds of dozens of conversations.
As I had planned, Neteyam held onto my waist as we both mounted Lìtzy. His touch wasn't noticeably warm under the water, unlike it was outside, but knowing he was there, with everyone free to look at us, was enough.
It only took us —or better say me— half a minute to locate Lowsla. She was swimming close to a male Tulkun, who was clearly a bit older due to the number of tattoos on his stomach. She saw me and dived directly in my direction. Her form was immaculate but quite faster than she could slow down, so when she got close enough I jumped right into her face. She laughed and whirled around in the water. Oh, how I'd missed her.
"Sister!" I signed.
Lowsla greeted me equally happy. We asked each other how we were, and I felt much obliged that lying was easier on sign language. I told her I was fine, even though it was only half true.
"This is Kìern, he's my mate," she said. I smiled and would have chuckled if we hadn't been on the water. She was rubbing her head on Kìern's fin, and he mimicked. It had been counted occasions in which she showed physical love, and I couldn't be more than happy for her. She had told me the year before that she was getting worried she'd never find a mate, because every time she was interested in someone, that Tulkun chose someone else. I had tried to cheer her up by singing to her, but it had barely worked. It seemed that Eywa had actually been taking her time to set her up with who was just right for her.
All the news I got from the Tulkun were everything but painful: it had been a cycle of multiple matings, and some births. No Tulkun had died this season, and for once in years the endless migration cycle had been strangely blessed with thriving life. And I felt bad for Atswon, because life had continued for everyone else but him.
Lowsla looked back at me and then to Neteyam, who was still on Lìtzy a few meters back. "And who is the cute forest boy?" She pointed with her head at Neteyam, who was unbothered, staring around the crowd of Tulkuns and Metkayinas. He had a wide, open-mouth smile —like the ones he always gave me, showing his front teeth and accentuating his cheeks with some smile lines— and his eyes were glistening with a spark of disbelief and amazement. His expression was so alike to the one he had as a child, before I left the forest, that it made me smile lovingly.
"He's my mate."
Lowsla was completely confused, not only because Atswon was not 'my mate' anymore, but also for the fact that Neteyam was a forest Na'vi. I had only explained the basics of the story, and was about to detail everything else, until I felt a soft thump on my left side. I turned around and was left with a scene I had not thought about.
Atswon's spirit Brother was there, his head low and a small frown on his rocky forehead. He let out short wails. "Why isn't he here?" He asked.
"Inre...," I started, but couldn't continue. The words wouldn't come out of my mouth, or in sign language. If not even I could accept it, it would be worse for him. He hadn't been able to say goodbye.
"Why can't I feel him?" He wailed again.
I still couldn't speak, but I didn't need to. Inre was only merely looking for a confirmation of something he obviously knew, and felt: Atswon was no longer here.
The mood dropped. The joy left. Inre slowly swam away, his fins weakly moving with the water. It was the Way of Water working once again, taking lives and bringing new ones. And, for some reason, I also felt like it was still waiting to give Atswon his second life, sometime later.
I kept looking in Inre's direction, even after he was gone. An arm on my waist made me turn around and face the person in front of me. Neteyam was there, his eyebrows furrowed with worry and his lips pressed together.
"Are you okay?" He signed.
But Neteyam wasn't Lowsla, and I couldn't lie to him. My face turned into one of sorrow, I shook my head, and he hugged me in a second. I let myself cry, my tears mixing with the water of the sea and my head buried in his neck, his braids helping to cover my face.
We eventually had to come outside for air. Neteyam and I remained close together, while Lowsla said comforting phrases, half of which I didn't hear because of the intensity of my sobs. I loved her dearly, but all I wanted was for her to leave. Her mate took the cue and guided her away.
"Are you better now?" Neteyam asked.
"I- uh," I chuckled slightly as I wiped my tears off, even when they weren't distinguishable from the water around us. "I don't know."
Neteyam hugged me even tighter. We stayed that way for what felt like minutes, but it had been much longer because everyone had started to disperse. Maybe an hour? All sounds had been muffled and each movement was only a distant breeze. I couldn't think properly. I could hardly make out the thought of being somewhat embarrassed, to be in that position in front of, well, everyone. But if I was honest, I didn't care about them.
We eventually pulled apart, and a wave of coldness hit my chest and back, where his chest and hands had rested. For some reason, I couldn't look him in the eye, and simply kept my head low. My mind was a little distant, and it could not think properly enough to analyze why I couldn't see Neteyam. It wasn't embarrassment, because most of what I felt was nothing but happiness and freedom, the liberty to love and be loved. So I guessed, later on, that it must have been the fear of feeling vulnerable. It was not that I didn't cry often, or that I hid my emotions, which I only did when necessary; it was the fact that he and I had only been together for three weeks, after a decade of being apart, and that in such quick notice, he had managed to enter my heart and light up a flame.
Maybe my thoughts were loud enough for Neteyam to hear through our bond, that he used two of his fingers to grasp my chin and join our lips together. The kiss was soft and long; we barely moved our bodies. It was warm and felt like home, there was something implicit in it, something that meant 'I'm here for you'.
We only split when we ran out of breath. We both let out a gasp and joined our foreheads together, rubbing them slightly.
"Together?" He said.
"Together."
It was only then that I noticed drops of rain had started to pour on us. The sun was lowering from its place above the sky, and from our place in the sea, we could see an orange light coming from the center of the village. There was a combination of distant sounds, that were similar to cheering. By now, like every other year, the Metkayina would be in the communal seatings, eating fish and singing along the traditional songs. All while we were by ourselves, getting rain on us.
Growing up half of my life as a reef Na'vi, the rain was not something that would make me react. It was simply more water than what I was already used to, but we all still made the effort to avoid the rain, for some reason I was yet to know. It brought no evil, and no bad energies, so all those years I simply guessed it had been the typical baby mimicking what the mother did. If anything, I found the rain comforting, because it wet the leaves of the trees, turned dust into mud, and revived the smell of the mangrove forest. It wasn't the same smell of the Omatikaya forest, but it was something.
Neteyam and I walked out of the water once we reached the beach, his left hand holding my right. I could see his eyes roaming the forest, his nose inhaling the smell. He had an interesting expression on his face, and I smiled at that.
Neteyam closed his eyes for some seconds, opened them, and guided our bodies. He put one hand on my waist, and the other kept holding my hand as he extended it to the side. He moved to place my free hand on his neck.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"It's called waltz, is slow dancing. Is a Sky People thing."
I almost cringed at his words, as things that came from those humans were almost always deadly. But I trusted Neteyam, I knew it was not going to hurt me.
He began moving in circles, very slowly. The songs playing in the common room were background noises, and we kept dancing to their beat, soaked in water with rain still pouring. I relaxed at his touch, joining our foreheads.
It had been a rollercoaster of a day, very emotional indeed, but it had been one to remember. Because Neteyam and I shared our first kiss, we both knew there were many more to come.
———-
Author's note:
Sorry for taking so long to update! I was literally writing in every free time I had, which wasn't much. And, on top of that, I wasn't getting enough inspiration. But it is nothing to worry about, because of course I'll finish the story.
Anyways, lots of romance in this chapter, we'll talk to Lowsla later. And I just wanted to let you know, even if you don't laugh as hard as I did, that the 1-hour-hugging scene was inspired to something dangerously similar that happened between my best friend and her ex-crush, in front of her entire family (it was during a funeral). This is for you, R!
Also, I think I found the perfect song that Neteyam and you could have danced to (if they were in the real, human world), it's Perfect by Ed Sheeran! Especially with these lines:
Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet
Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me
'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love
Not knowing what it was
I will not give you up this time
But darling, just kiss me slow
Your heart is all I own
And in your eyes, you're holding mine
The parts in bold are quite fitting with this scenario.
One more thing: I'll correct any spelling/grammar mistakes later today or tomorrow when I have the time.
That's all, hope you enjoyed reading a supporting, loving, and caring Neteyam.
Happy Monday, cheers.
Sincerely, Dina.