thirty three. dreams becoming a reality
THE FUNERAL THE SULLY FAMILY NEVER THOUGHT THEY'D HAVE TO WITNESS HAD COME TO AN END. As the parents of the fallen boy, Neytiri and Jake got the chance to connect with the tree of ancestors, seeing their son. Jake remembered the first time Neytiri dragged him to the tree of souls, seeing Juniper after she had passed like she wasn't gone. Almost like she was indeed standing in front of him.
Yet, his heart was in pain as he realised both of his first kids were gone—now in the arms of Eywa. Jake wished it was his arms instead of the Great Mother's. He could wake up the following day from this recurring nightmare with Neteyam sleeping near his siblings, and Juniper having a restful night instead of tossing and turning in her sleep.
But, in times like this, it felt impossible.
Jake gave a reassuring squeeze on his mate's hand, wandering his gaze on the tree before him with his queue in his grasp, connecting it with the tree. He allowed the calmness he felt pulsing his blood to take over his senses, opening his eyes back in the forest. The forest where his family had grown up before the sky people attacked. Walking deeper in the first, he almost froze at the sight of Neteyam standing with his bow in his hand, aiming towards the water.
A warm smile enveloped his features, shaking himself out of his frozen trance and walking towards the boy who jumped into the lake before him, grabbing the arrow he had previously shot, "dad! Look at what I caught!"
Jake lowered to Neteyam's level as it was a younger version of the boy before his passing, tears building in his eyes absentmindedly. He inspected the fish on the tip of the arrow, "wow, that's a big one."
"It was in that pool by the rocks," Neteyam says as he attempted to pull the arrow from the hunted fish, and with the help of Jake, the arrow released. Neteyam gazed at his father, a soft smile on his expressions, "right where you said."
Jake blinked the tears gathering in his eyes, falling down his cheeks. Neteyam frowned at the sight, transferring to his teenage self–the way he was when he died–and asked, "jeez, dad. Why are you crying?"
The Sully man was stunned. Juniper flashed in his mind for a split second, remembering what it was like to see her at the tree of souls for the first time after her untimely death. Jake stepped forward, cupping his son's face in his head as he gently shook his head, his tone of voice remaining low, "I'm just happy to see you, boy."
Neteyam smiled at his father's words, "I'm happy to see you too," Jake had blinked and felt his chest empty at the sight of the kid version of Neteyam, knowing there was no going back to the way it was when Neteyam–his first son–was alive. It pained the man, his vulnerability he felt being portrayed deep in his eyes. As the younger version of Neteyam reached for the bow to hand to his father, Jake realised how the boy paused with his actions and glanced over his shoulder.
Jake frowned at the sight of his son's gaze not being on him or the water beyond them yet behind the grown man. Jake followed Neteyam's line of sight and felt his body freeze without his control, his heart skipping a beat at the girl standing in front of him, tears glistening in her eyes. The girl smiled vaguely, a chuckle escaping her lips and shrugged her shoulders, "hey, Jake."
Jake immediately stepped towards the girl, inspecting her figure. After realising that the girl he dreamed about seeing again was standing in front of him, he reached forward and securely embraced her. He could hear her soft sobs on top of his sniffles, "oh, baby girl," He said, his voice breaking as he held Juniper in his arms. Almost like she belonged to be hugged by the man.
He refused to let her go, yet he pulled away to take a good long at the girl as a tear streamed down his face. Jake took in every feature of Juniper, inspecting her as if she hadn't visited his dreams almost every night since the years of letting her go. He noticed how her facial features had matured, her fangs growing in size to the point where it was on the brink of hanging out of her mouth. Almost as though her body was attempting to grow but couldn't reach the maximum.
She still looked the same since Jake had first met her—the same since he brought the girl to his chest, sobbing over her lifeless body. Thinking back to that moment, seeing the light leave her eyes, he tightened his grasp slightly on the girl's shoulder, his expression contorting to a look full of sorrow, "what am I supposed to do now that I've lost you both? I can't live with that–knowing your death is on my hands."
The Vespera girl scoffed, staring at Jake incredulously as she cut the man off, "it is not your fault," She said, her torn stern. He knew she was trying to cheer him up from the sickening thoughts running through his head, "I need you to remember that it wasn't. When I died, I was going to tell you something, but I didn't have enough time ... I was going to tell you that it wasn't your fault, Jake. It never will be, and neither was Neteyam."
Jake shook his head, cupping the girl's cheek as he stared heavily into her eyes. The eyes that brought him comfort like none other. The eyes of his first child that he had welcomed into his heart, taking her as his own.
Juniper sighed heavily, noticing the expression of conflict plastered on the man's face. She gazed behind the man to the boy that smiled softly at the scene, being his present self, "I got him, Jake. We're going to be okay."
Neteyam walked towards the scene, remaining as his teenage self. His eyes were soft as he peered at Juniper, engulfing her hand in his own, meeting the eyes of his father. Neteyam nodded along to Juniper's words, tightening his grasp on her hand that Juniper's eyes were glued on, "yeah, dad. I'll be okay," He paused, switching his gaze at Juniper, "I'm home."
Jake's head slowly dipped to a nod, a smile presenting on his face as he stared at the intertwined hands of Juniper and Neteyam. Tears were falling from his eyes, yet he felt comfort. Comfort that the girl that was his daughter, no matter the circumstances of not being blood, and his first son were together—having each other's backs in the arms of Eywa.
The squawks of ikran filled the air, blissful laughter following in pursuit. Juniper gazed behind her, finding Neteyam slowly inching towards her, closing in the gaps between their ikrans, yet a knowing smirk littered her face as she lowered her head towards her ikran, "faster, Zuzip. We've got to show the new boy who's boss."
Zuzip seemingly laughed at her comment within her roars, quickly obeying her words. She watched as Neteyam's eyes widened in surprise before a smirk of his own complimented his face, fastening his pace on his ikran. The girl shook her head, tearing her sights away from the Sully boy and back onto the sky beyond her. Juniper's braids flew in the air, the harsh wind dwindling.
Juniper gently grasped the antenna of Zuzip, hopping onto her feet. Neteyam noticed the action, his brows furrowing and his mouth dropped agape when she leapt off, landing on the grounds below as Zuzip continued to fly straight. The boy took it as his cue to speed up, taking over her place, yet by the time he reached the end of the floating island they had passed, Juniper had jumped safely back onto Zuzip, smugly waving 'goodbye'.
Neteyam chuckled and muttered under his breath, "skxawng," Despite the use of the teasing word, he didn't mean it in a way that was interpreted as mean. Instead, it was said with such a lighthearted tone, that this girl that he became familiar with, was a skxawng in the best and humoured way possible.
Yet, he was torn out of his thoughts when he saw Zuzip and Juniper dip into a landing on the ground below, trailing behind them. Juniper unmounted the magnificent beast that she had spent all her time alone without Na'vi, smothering her hand across her snout. She rested her forehead against the creature, feeling her breath trail along her face, "I'll see you later, Zip."
The ikran purred, spreading its wings as they detached foreheads, taking flight to the sky. Neteyam noticed the soft expression, her lips calmly turned upwards as she watched her ikran fly away, turning her gaze back to him. She grasped his hand, giving him a bit of a shock from the connection of their skin as he felt shockwaves being sent up his arm and pulling him along, "come," She said.
He didn't know much about being with Eywa as he hadn't been here relatively as long as Juniper had, but the way she told him to follow after she was enough for Neteyam. Thinking about it, he'd follow her anywhere she'd ask. He shook his head, a light chuckle escaping his—all of a sudden—dry throat, allowing the girl to guide him through the forest.
As he took in the surroundings, he noticed the distinct place. One that he was never allowed to be back when he was alive. Juniper noticed the boy's hesitation and the sudden slowness in his steps. She leisurely let go of his hand, facing him to see the conflicted expression laced on his face. His brows were deeply furrowed, and his lips twisted down. Juniper called for the boy in a gentle tone, her brows knitting together with worry, "Neteyam, are you—"
Neteyam gaped at the girl, taking a step back, and hadn't realised that he cut her off, "we shouldn't be here. We can't be here," He said. His voice was filled with an alert that Juniper didn't fail to miss, his tail standing upright. She exhaled sharply, knowing what was going through Neteyam's head as she had experienced it herself during the time she first arrived at the hands of Eywa.
She sighed, trying to conjure up the words she could say to relax the boy from his worries. Her mind pondered as her mouth took control, "Neteyam, look, I know what you're going through," The Sully boy's frown met with her comforting eyes, his face relaxing a bit in turn, "when I first got here, I was wary about every move I made also. I was scared that the sky people would come in here and attack me or—or kill me again. But then, as time went on, I realised it wasn't going to happen. I realised I was finally safe after fighting my whole life. It was like Eywa herself told me that. Almost like she hugged me to comfort me."
Neteyam carefully listened to the Vespera girl's words, hearing nothing but true sincerity laced in her tone. There was care in her voice. It almost brought a smile to his face, though he was still reluctant by how far they'd travelled, remaining to listen to Juniper as she spoke from experience.
"I was alone and had no one to tell me I was. But you are not," She lowered her voice, becoming a warm whisper through the wind, "I am here to tell you that you're safe, Neteyam. After all the fighting, you're home. And it is okay to allow yourself to let go. Let go of the stress and responsibilities you once had because now you're with Eywa. The Great Mother ..." The girl paused, "I couldn't understand why she would take me here when I was to be alone. But then you came through the tree of ancestors from the Metkayina clan and it was like I found the reason. Even if I did not know it then, I do now. You're the purpose. You are my purpose."
The girl couldn't help the soft grin that filled her face, and Neteyam was quick to reciprocate the action—teeth on display. The once anxious feeling that ran through his blood dissipated into fondness when Juniper reached for his hand with uncertainty, yet when she saw that his eyes were glued into hers, she engulfed it in her hand. She gestured her head behind her as if to ask Neteyam if he was okay to continue. Matching the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat, he nodded his head.
At that moment, Neteyam stopped focusing on where Juniper dragged him too, but instead the size comparison of the two hands. How much smaller hers was in his, finding peace in the joyous feeling it brought to feel the softness of her skin meet with his. And, even though the two were with Eywa, they had never felt so alive than right now.
Taking in each other's company, their hearts fluttering in a way they couldn't put words to—their skin feeling like it was being set on fire with each touch at the proximity they stood in. Juniper hadn't remembered the liveliness that came with being alive until now. And she was grateful to Neteyam that he had allowed her to experience it once more.
The two knew they didn't want this moment to end. They didn't want to leave the place they had met. The safety of their Great Mother granted them to get so connected. They felt free.
authors note.
the way i just want to sob now that it's over. i can't believe that i have actually finished this book, and have to say goodbye to these characters in the meantime. but, thank you to you all for joining me on this journey ( also the journey of juniper and le'ah ), i hope this ending is satisfactory in case i don't update for avatar 3-5. as of now, it is ideal that i do want to write an act three for this book with the rest of the future movies, but anything can happen!
also, thank you for the support—all the votes and comments—you guys made writing this book worthwhile. i love to read your comments and interact with you. it is amazing to see you enjoying the story as much as i am, and can connect with the characters in this story. i do have future fanfics planned ( im not sure when they're going to released ) but hopefully y'all will stick around, and stay with me throughout my wattpad journey
but besides that, i will not be saying a goodbye to remembrance, but rather a 'i'll see you later'. this story will always be held in my heart, and i will always love the people who i've made mutuals with throughout writing this story and on tiktok. it was so much fun to explore the avatar universe in my writing. but thank you again for the support you have shown.
i love you all. oel ngati kamiele !!