"Breakfast! Breakfast! Breakfast!"
Beatrice jumped slightly as a loud voice walked past her room, startling her from a dream filled sleep. She rubbed her eyes, turning onto her back from her side and staring up at the ceiling, letting the memories of the day before flood in. The girl let out a soft sigh, anxiety building in her stomach as she realized she would be meeting the entire clan today. She got up, walking towards the small shower and quickly showering, changing into some cargo shorts and a short sleeved button down. She slipped on her sneakers, throwing her hair into french braids, unable to pull back her side bangs into them fully.
She quietly exited the room, following the route she took yesterday back to the room she talked to Jake and Norm. Beatrice fidgeted with her fingers as she saw a good number of people standing around, eating and talking amongst themselves.
"Beatrice! Everyone, everyone! Jake is going to announce her to the clan today, this is Beatrice. The girl i was telling you all about!" Norm came out of nowhere, walking next to Bea and patting her on the shoulder. Everyone looked over at her, immediately giving her wide smiles and saying hellos. She smiled back at everyone, nodding her head. She looked back at Norm, watching as he pulled something out of his pocket before handing her the bottle of pills.
"Now, remember to eat first before you take one. Youll take one every morning. If you start to get low, let me know. Of course, we only have a limited supply, but youre the only one itll be going to. The clans Tsahik, Mo'at, might also have something for you to take, okay?" Norm explained gently, watching as Beatrice took the bottle and looked it over before nodding at Norm, saying a quiet thank you to which he only nodded. "We want you to live, kid, okay? So come to me if anything gets worse or gets better. Ill always be here, or around the clan in my avatar. We're family now." Beatrice couldnt help but feel the warm feeling in her heart, finally feeling accepted and more than just a body that needed to be taken care of. She nodded, smiling at Norm and thanking him once more before somebody stole his attention onto a screen, allowing the girl to move towards the table with lots of fruit on it. She quickly made a plate, sitting down by the corner and starting to eat.
As she ate her fruit, a couple of the older adults came over to her, starting conversations with her and asking her about herself. She gave them a brief rundown, realizing her life wasnt as interesting as the others, to which the older adults told her with a laugh that would change. Beatrice couldnt help but giggle at that, agreeing. Since everything happened the day before, she felt as though her life was finally starting. As she finished up her food, thanking the adults for chatting with her, she got up and washed her plate before making a cup of water. She quickly downed a pill, finishing her cup of water before washing the cup itself as well. She heard a chorus of hellos as someone entered, causing her to turn and see Neteyam enter the lab. He smiled wide at everyone, saying his hello back as he searched for Beatrice, nodding at her.
"I have come to get you, my dad wants to introduce you to everyone before we go harvest." Neteyam said kindly, a smile still on his face as he spoke to her. Beatrice smiled back at him, nodding before holding up one finger, asking for a moment. She quickly jogged back to her room, putting her medication up so she wouldnt lose it before jogging back to Neteyam. She found Norm talking to Neteyam, overhearing him telling the Na'vi that if she started to feel down to bring her back so she could rest. Neteyam quickly agreed with Norm, his tail swishing around him, before looking over and seeing Beatrice walking towards them. Norm patted Beatrices shoulder, telling her to be careful as she grabbed a mask and clipped the battery onto her waistband. She nodded at Norm, placing the mask on and depressurizing it, turning back to Neteyam and nodding her head at him to show she was ready.
They walked out together, falling into step with each other as Neteyam towered over her.
"Before you meet everyone, i would like to teach you ole ngati kameie. It means i see you, and is a form of respect towards others when you meet them for the first time."
"Ole gati kame?" Beatrice looked up at Neteyam, trying to make sure she had it pronounced correctly.
"No no. Oel n-gati kam-eie ." Beatrice watched as Neteyam emphasized what she had wrong, nodding and looking forward for a moment before looking back to Neteyam, making sure she wasnt going to run into anyone.
"Oel ngati kameie."
"Yes! And you do this hand motion with it." Neteyam brought his hand up to between his hairless eyebrows and slowly moved it down the bridge of his nose. Beatrice slowly followed his movement, Neteyam smiling at her once she got it right. Beatrice beamed up at him, learning having always been her favorite. "It is used for our elders and our Olo'eyktan, who is my father. It is also used for admitting feelings for another, telling them that you see who they are truly and you are still choosing them."
Beatrice nodded at Neteyam, soaking in the knowledge she was just given. "Will you continue to teach me Na'vi? Ive always admired it, but at base they wouldnt teach it to us."
Neteyam nodded happily, admiring how Beatrice wanted to jump into a different culture. Neteyam led her over to his family's tent, peeking his head in before allowing Beatrice to enter first. She found Jake sitting with the infamous Neytiri, both immediately looking over at the entrance of the tent once hearing it open.
"Oel ngati kameie." Beatrice immediately spoke, raising her hand up to her face and bringing it down to her nose, doing the motion to both Jake and Neytiri. Neteyam stood behind her, smiling proudly while his tail moved around excitedly. Jake smiled up at the two, repeating Beatrice and doing the motion back to her, Neytiri following silently behind.
"Beatrice, this is my mate Neytiri. My love, this is the girl Neteyam and i told you about." Beatrice watched as Neytiri stood and walked over to Beatrice, walking around her slowly and taking her in. Neteyam and Jake both huffed as Neytiri inspected Beatrice, Neteyam jumping forward slightly when Neytiri grabbed onto Beatrices hand, pulling it up to her face to inspect something.
"Atokirina." Beatrice scrunched her eyebrows as that word alone caused both the males in the tent to jump over to them, looking at her hand where Neytiri was inspecting. She knew she had a small mark on the space between her thumb and pointer finger, but she didn't know what atokirina meant. Neytiri looked up at the girls face, looking her over before letting her eyes go soft, patting her hand softly. Neytiri looked over at her son, letting go of Beatrices hand.
"Wrrpa." Neytiri spoke, Neteyam immediately heading outside with Neytiri following him. Beatrice looked at Jake confused, fiddling with her fingers.
"Did i do something wrong?" She asked timidly, Jake immediately shaking his head at her question.
"Not at all. Atokirina is basically a blessing from Eywa herself. Which means, itll be a lot easier to get Neytiri to like you." Jake gave her a smile, patting her shoulder gently. "You were meant to be with us, kid."
Beatrice couldnt help but smile at his words, looking down shyly. Neteyam and Neytiri walked back into the tent, Neteyams face red and ears flat and Neytiri with a sly smile on her face. She gave a knowing look to Jake, before looking back at Beatrice and giving her a wide smile.
"I am going to see my mother, the Tsahik and see if she has any ideas to help you. I will see you soon, maite." Neytiri spoke softly to Beatrice, her hand brushing down her nose in a farewell, Beatrice immediately doing the same back to her, even though she had no idea what Neytiri had called her. Neteyam had rolled his eyes at the word as well, grumbling to himself while his tail flicked around, annoyed. Beatrice noticed how sensitive his tail was to his emotions, it being much more than any others shes seen so far. She turned back to Jake, still fiddling with her fingers.
"So before you two go off to harvest, there is a clan meeting here in a couple minutes. Ill be speaking in Na'vi, so i wanted to tell you now what i will be saying. Im basically just going to introduce you to the clan, explain your skills, and what you bring to the clan. With your permission, i also want to tell them of your cancer. Im hoping that the healers will start working on possible things to help you." Jake explained, putting on his shoulder piece that was filled with beautifully woven feathers and beads. Beatrice nodded, ripping at a piece of skin next to her nail anxiously. Neteyam noticed, fighting with himself to walk over to her and comfort her like his gut was telling himself to do. His ears twitched, hearing his siblings running around, seemingly headed straight for the tent. He walked over to Beatrice, causing a confused look to grow on her face as he stood in front of her, blocking her from the entrance as he and his father prepared for the onslaught that is his siblings.
In first came another male Na'vi, looking more like Jake than Neteyam did. Beatrice immediately messed with her shirt again, understanding why Neteyam suddenly came over to her. Next came a young Na'vi female, shorter than Beatrice, who ran past the male and jumped into Jakes arms. Lastly came a young female Na'vi, older than the new male but a tad younger than Neteyam. She was the one who noticed Beatrice first, a smile growing on her face. Beatrice smiled back at her, quickly doing the motion with her hand coming down her nose. The Na'vi did it back, looking up at Neteyam after before turning her attention back to the younger female and male. The family spoke in Na'vi, but in tones and whines Beatrice could tell that the male was trying to convince Jake to not listen to the young one. Beatrice couldnt help but smile at the interaction, it always being her dream to have a big family like this. Her eyes saddened slightly as she remembered shed never get it, putting on a brave face and continuing to watch the interaction. The young Na'vi finally looked over at Neteyam and Beatrice, her eyes lighting up once she saw the human. She jumped down from her dads arms, running over to Beatrice, causing her to the the motion with her hand again. The young Na'vi giggled at her, doing it back before circling the human.
"My name is Tuktirey, but you can call me Tuk!" Tuk exclaimed, causing the attention to go back onto Beatrice, the complaints being forgotten about. Beatrice smiled at Tuk, moving out from behind Neteyam a little.
"I love your name, Tuk. My name is Beatrice." Tuk sounded out Beatrices name, squealing happily when Beatrice nodded, letting Tuk know she sounded it out right. The other female Na'vi came over, pulling Tuk to her and ruffling her hair.
"My name is Kiri. Its nice to meet you, Beatrice." Kiri beamed at the human, causing Beatrice to smile back, feeling more comfortable. The other male Na'vi came over, smiling at Beatrice.
"My name is Lo'ak. You are the girl Teyam brought home to meet the fam, huh?" That comment made Beatrice blush, shaking her head while Neteyam hissed at his brother, smacking him on the head.
"Your brother saved me from a really terrible place, thats all." Beatrice clarified, feeling her face warm from Neteyams reaction. The three kids nodded in understanding, not noticing Neteyams ears flatten against his head.
"Okay kids, come on. Its time for the clan meeting." Jake spoke up, waving his hands to get the kids moving out of the tent. Beatrice stayed close to Neteyam, his tail flicking against her back every once in a while to make sure she was still close by. She followed the Na'vi to a large clearing further inside the mountain, her breath hitching in her throat at the amount of people that immediately looked at her. She lowered her head, standing by Neteyam as Jake greeted his people. She watched as everyone gave him their full attention, her eyes finding Neytiri standing next to an older Na'vi woman, Neytiri meeting her eyes and smiling softly at her. Beatrice immediately smiled back, feeling a little more comfortable.
Beatrice looked up at Jake when she heard her name, seeing him reach out a hand for her to join him. She walked up to him, turning to face the People, bringing her hand down her nose to all of them. She noticed a few people smile at her, making her breathe out a small breath, looking back up at Jake as he continued his speech. He spoke her name once more, Beatrice figuring he was done. She looked back at the People, smiling as they had did the hand motion to her, letting her breathe a sigh of relief. She smiled up at Jake before Neytiri walked up to her, bringing along the older Na'vi woman as well.
"Beatrice, this is my mother, Mo'at, the Tsahik."
Beatrice immediately ducked her head, bringing her hand down her nose once more as she spoke. "Oel ngati kameie, Tsahik." Mo'at nodded in approval before circling Beatrice, coming back to face her and placing a hand on the humans forehead. Neytiri grabbed the hand from before, raising it to show Mo'at. Mo'at looked at it carefully before looking back down at Beatrice.
"You make balms?" Beatrice nodded at Mo'ats question, her accent thicker compared to everyone else. Mo'at nodded to herself before speaking in Na'vi to Neytiri, Neytiri nodding slowly.
"My mother would like to know if today you can gather some plants you make the balm with so you can show her what you know." Neytiri translated, Beatrice nodding immediately while smiling.
"Anything for Tsahik." Beatrice said, causing a smile to grow on both the older women's faces, Mo'at giving Beatrice a wink. The two turned, Neytiri telling Beatrice to be careful today before the two walked away, Mo'at speaking to Neytiri heavily in Na'vi.
Beatrice turned back around, searching for Neteyam. She found him speaking to Jake quietly, both looking focused on the conversation. Beatrice turned away, giving them privacy. She slowly looked around, watching the Na'vi with a small smile on her face as she waited.
"Are you ready, Bea?" Neteyam spoke behind Beatrice, scaring the human slightly. She turned to him and nodded, giving him a small smile. He gave her a small smile back, before dropping it suddenly and turning, walking in a direction. Beatrice scrunched her eyebrows in confusion before following after him, staying quiet in case she had upset him. She followed him all the way to the edge of the cave, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion while looking back at Neteyam. He let out a loud call, making Beatrice realize what was happening.
"Oh no." Beatrice let out, watching as Neteyams ikran came flying to the ledge, grabbing on and clicking to Neteyam. Neteyam smirked at Beatrices reaction, nudging his head towards his ikran and holding his hand out to Beatrice.
"Now we really see if you trust me."