Once Tarian cracked his eyes open and was greeted by the sterile smell he didnt panic, he knew where he was. What he was panicking about was the numbness in his limbs and the stillness of the body he was trying to move. His eyes darted around trying to take in what was happening, then he saw a light and stood up, his pain gone. The scene changed, it went from sterile lab he had grown familiar with to the forest, falling to his ass in a sitting position, Atokirina flying around him, he was surrounded with trees which had leaves and branches so luscious it made like a shield around him, the leaves like a curtain which could only be spread by a force so much like him, a tender warmth spread through his body as he let out a sigh filled with content he didnt know he possessed. The curtain started to open, Tarian quickly standing up, his tail raising in alarm, a human head poked through, looking at him alarmed, Tarian looked intently at the human, analysing its features, this, this was him wasnt it?
"..hi" Tarian spoke quietly, realising that this is the very human he was supposed to host.
"Hi" The human spoke breathlessly, walking closer to Tarian, sitting on the soft bed of moss.
"Im Tarian"
"Im A-" His words got distant as the man disappeared, leaving Tarian alone
"No, no, no-" He would have finally found out who he was, his chest was burning and he looked down at his hand, which where usually still, but now where shaking violently, and flickering from a light tan to blue, Tarian took his face in his hands, his face flickering too, his nose being cat like one moment and curved down and bumpy the other, Tarian closed his eyes, clutching his hands together in an attempt to make them stop, and when he finally opened them he saw a sterile white. Panicked, he tried moving his finger. Thank god.
...
The final step of leaving the tribe once and for all was giving over the title of Olo'eyktan, the last dying and a new one rising like a phoenix from the old leaders ashes, Tarsem, the guy which had been selected to lead the clan didnt kill Jake, he only brought the knife to his chest, scratching at it enough to draw blood as Jake's eyes were filled with confliction and sorrow. Tarian had been awake and moving again [after getting scolded by Max and a metric shit ton of intensive healing from Mo'at. He had heard Neytiri and Jake argue he had heard Jake say
"He had our children- he had them under his knife!
Tarian might not be mine but he almost died Neytiri!"
Which led to conflicted thoughts if maybe this was because of him. His wound had pretty much healed, and barely hurt anymore, his queue had been acting weird, and the same dream where he almost finds out who he was repeated every night like a twisted fairy tale.
The ceremony was done, and Tarian was to follow them to the sea clan called the Metkayina.
Sad, ofcourse, he would be fine, he had only lived here for some time, he couldn't imagine how Nereyam felt about this, their friendship however stayed strong, their cots being so close together they almost held hands while sleeping, those nights were the most peaceful.
The flight to Awa'atlu was dreadful, Kreyp had incessantly complained about the heavy bags on her back, but being a soldier Tarian refused to sleep, his eyes barely blinking at all as further into the travel he recessed further into a soldier mindset, becoming a shell of a person, barely saying anything, Jake knew this tactic, so he didn't worry much, Tarian replied to some things with a 'yes' or a 'no' and that was enough for Neteyam and Kiri which where still dead set on him sharing even more of his secrets. The only emotion he showed was kindness when he lovingly scratched the side of the neck he knew Kreyp loved having scratched.
They passed a wooden barrier like contraption which separated the ruthless ocean and the beautiful teal reefs, horns sounded as they flew closer to the sandy beach, and people gathered as they landed, Tarian standing tall, arms crossed over his chest, eyes intimidating, getting all sorts of looks from various girls. Tarian noticed a bunch of beautiful creatures landing on the beach, a strong looking man walking up to Jake
"I see you, Jake sully"
"I see you, Tonowari, Ronal Olo'eyktan and tsahik of the Metkayina"
"We seek Uturu"
"Uturu?" The woman who asked that was beautiful and very obviously pregnant, a shell gleaming on her forehead, tsahik, Ronal.
"A sanctuary for my family"
Tarian could barely pay attention to the conversation but still focused.
"We are reef people, you are forest people, your skills will be meaningless here" said Tonowari
"So we will adapt, right?"
Then the lady spoke up
"Their arms are thin..not real" The last part she said, eyeing Tarian's prosthetic, and if looks could kill Tarians metal arm would be crumbs on the ground.
"Their tails are weak, they will be slow in the water." She said, grabbing Kiri's tail, in her arms, for a split second, then she grabbed Kiri's hands.
"These children are not even true Na'vi!"
"Yes we are!" Shouted Kiri
"They have demon blood!" The crowd gasped at that, Tarian took a step forward, his fists balled up into fists, stopped by Jake who stopped him with his arm.
"Look, look i was born of the sky people now i am navi, we can adapt- we will adapt"
"But it seems you're not the only sky person here" She said eyeing Tarian himself now, who was now seemingly fully awake, and he hissed at her, only stopped when Neytiri walked forward.
"My husband was Toruk Makto." Tarian looked at the face Jake pulled as she said that.
"He led the clans to victory over the sky people" She said, hissing at Ronal.
"This you call victory? Hiding amongst strangers? It seems Eywa has turned her back on you, chosen one." Neytiri stepped forward closer to her then she already was, hissing-
"I apologise for my mate-"
"Don't apologise for me-"
"We've come a long way and are very tired"
Tonowari had a thoughtful look on his face, speaking slowly
"Toruk makto is a great war hero, all navi know this story, but we Metkayina are not at war, we can not let you take war here."
"Look, i'm done with war, i just wanna protect my family." He help Tuk in his arms who was quietly mumbling something, being comforted by her dad.
Tonowari sighed.
"Uturu has been asked" Said Neytiri.
"Jake Sully and his family will stay with us, treat them as our brothers and sister, but they do not know the sea, so they will be like babies taking their first breaths. Teach them so they dont suffer the shame of being useless" Ouch.
"What do you say?" Jake looked at them.
"Thank you"' rung from all of the Sully's, +Tarian
"My son Aonung, my daughter, Tsireya will teach your children" Tonowari said, looking at Tarian weirdly, conflicted look passing by his eyes, looking at Tarians tattoos.
"Come, let me show you our village." Happily said the girl, Tsireya, who Tarian noticed Lo'ak was sneaking looks at, she led them to a marui, the bouncing mats making Tarians abdomen hurt slightly.
"Enjoy your new home" Neytiri sighed, dropping the mat on the ground and Tarian sat down, leaning his head back to the wall of the Marui, seemingly contemplating life.
"This is nice right?"
"Sully's come in" Tarian sat still
"Sigh you too Tarian"
"Now, i need you to learn fast, pull your weight, no trouble, got it?"
'ok's sounded, mainly from Neteyam, who was looking at Tarian, the two having a conversation through their eyes.
"I wanna go home" said Tuk sadly. Neytiri sighed
"Oh Tuk, this is home now.
Now what does your father say?"
"Sully's stick together"
"Now come on, together,
Sully's stick together"
"Sully's stick together" they said tiredly, Kiri barely mumbling it out, Tarian's mouth staying shut.
"Ok, ok, now with more feeling, you too Tarian."
"Sully's stick together"
At this Jake nodded, Tarian's eyes slightly sparkling, was he considered a sully?