Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past
Bold - sign language
When part of the Sully family and Marali arrived at the group of people, it was complete chaos. War cries were coming from every direction as the Omatikaya group went to the center of the Metkayina people.
"The war has come to us!" Tonowari snarled, "We knew about this hunting of our tulkun, but it was over the horizon - far away," He announced as he slammed his spear into the ground. "Now, it is here!"
Tonowari continued to furiously speak to his people about the devastation they had recently faced, and Marali felt her heart clench in sympathy for the Metkayina people. The tulkun were sacred; they were family, and those demons took it upon themselves to hurt the Metkayina people in the worst way possible.
As Marali continued to listen to Tonowari's speech, she discovered whose tulkun had been killed. Ronal hadn't been the nicest to the Omatikaya people when they first arrived, but that didn't mean she deserved to have something so precious torn away from her.
The Sky people knew no bounds. They don't care about anyone but themselves. It's all about how they can benefit from something and screw whatever doesn't fit their agenda, even if it means taking innocent lives of animals.
The girl looked over at Jake and knew he was about to speak. "You've gotta understand how the Sky people think." Jake tries to reason, "They don't care about the great balance."
More cries and snarls sounded from the Metkayina people.
"Listen! Listen to him!" Neteyam pleaded, and Marali could tell the boy was growing frustrated because the people didn't want to listen to his father. She slowly interlaced her fingers with his, and he gave her a look that said 'thank you.'
"The Sky people are not going to stop. This is only the beginning!" Jake says, warning the Chief and the Tsahik. "You've gotta tell your tulkun to leave," he pleads, "You've gotta tell them to go far away!"
"Leave?" Ronal scoffs as she takes a step down from the pedestal. "You live among us, and you learn nothing!"
"We will fight to protect our brothers and sisters!" A warrior yells out, and voices of agreement are heard throughout the crowd.
"No, no, no." Jake said, desperation laced through his voice, "If you attack - if you fight, then they will destroy you." He yelled over everyone, "They will destroy everything you love!" He warned, holding a hand out in Ronal's direction. The Tsahik took a step back and placed a protective hand over her stomach.
Marali understood why the people were upset, she truly did, but she didn't want to see any of them get hurt. Of course, the Metkayina clan had amazing warriors, but the difference between a spear and a bullet is speed. That bullet would reach one of them before they even had a second to think of a counterattack.
She looked up at Neteyam to see him already looking down at her. She could tell from his eyes that he was pleading with her.
"I need you to promise that you won't fight."
"I promise."
Their words echoed through her head as she forced a reassuring smile to her face. Neteyam slightly relaxed when he saw the smile on her face. He knew it was selfish to ask her not to fight, she was a warrior, after all, but he didn't want to risk it. Little did he know that soon, her promise would be broken, no matter what Marali initially told him.
"Hear my words!" Jake yells, snapping Marali's attention back to the task at hand, "Hear my words!"
Neteyam looked at the crowd to see them getting impatient, "Stay calm!" Neteyam said to the villagers, "Stay calm! Listen to my father - he speaks the truth!"
"Dammit," Jake curses, stepping back to grab a device that Marali was unaware of even being there. When her eyes landed on the object, she felt bile rise in her throat. She watched as Jake sped over to the pedesta and stepped on it, holding the device above his head.
Suddenly, at the sight of the object, everyone grew silent.
"You tell the tulkun - that if they are hit by one of these, they are marked for death," Jake said as he looked at the Metkayina people and his family. Marali's entire world froze as images and voices from her nightmare played over and over in her head like some sort of sick, twisted song. "Call for me. I'll silence it," Jake said in a defeated tone.
Marali absentmindedly let go of Neteyam's hand as her head started to spin. This couldn't be happening again. Why did she have dreams that could predict the future? What kind of sick joke was this? The nightmare went from start to finish, and Marali could feel her breath getting stuck in her throat.
"Saving their lives, that's all that matters, right?" Jake questioned, looking over to Tonowari and Ronal, "Saving your family."
Silence fell upon the group as Tonowari thought over Jake's words before he took a step forward, "Tell the tulkun," He urged his warriors.
"Go!" Ronal added, "Go!" She pleaded, and everyone ran off to warn the tulkun.
Marali didn't even notice that Lo'ak and Neteyam disappeared as she pushed through the crowd to find Jake. She had to warn him, he had to know what was going to happen. Up ahead, she could see Jake and Neytiri walking back to the pod.
"Jake!" She called out, making her way through the heaps of people. "Jake!" She called again, and the man stopped walking to turn and face her.
Neytiri stopped walking beside her mate and turned around to face the girl, who was running towards them with worry evident on her face. "What's wrong?" Neytiri asked.
"You have to tell Neteyam he can't fight," The girl pleaded.
"Mara, Neteyam is a warrior. He can protect himself." Jake reasoned as he walked into his family's pod.
"No, Jake, I know that! But he can't fight today!" Marali begged.
Jake ignored the girl as he prepared for the worst with Neytiri by his side. "Jake! Please listen to me!" Marali cried out, and Jake looked at the girl, annoyed. "Look, Marali. I know you love him and everything, but I can't stop him from fighting. It's his right to fight." Jake snapped.
"You don't understand! If he fights, he will die." Marali said, and both Neytiri and Jake glanced at each other before looking at the girl.
"What are you talking about, Mara?" Neytiri asked cautiously.
"I had a nightmare last night. Neteyam died in it." She whispered, and Neytiri walked over to the girl and pulled her into a gentle hug. "It was just a dream, Marali. It's not real life."
"No!" Marali said, pulling out of Neytiri's arms. "Jake, you have to listen to me! Don't you remember the last dream I told you about? About the Sky People coming back?" She asked, hoping that he would remember.
"What is she talking about, ma Jake?" Neytiri questioned.
Jake sat in silence as he closed his eyes and sighed. He knew that if Marali's dream was true, he would lose a son by the end of the day, and even if it wasn't at least he would make sure he was doing everything to protect his kids.
"Marali has these premonitions, and - sometimes they come true. Usually, the way it works is the more serious the dream, the more likely it is to come true." Jake explained.
"What did you see in your dream?" Neytiri asked nervously.
"I saw lots of things that are going to happen, but the one that matters the most is I saw that Neteyam gets shot." She said, swallowing the lump in her throat. "In the chest, through the heart." She clarifies.
"You're sure it was Neteyam?" Jake asked.
"I'm positive," Marali confirmed, and Neytiri let out a shaky breath.
"Where are they, Marali?" Neytiri lowered her voice as she looked at the girl.
"I- I don't know. I came to warn you about what was going to happen." She said as an idea popped into her head, "Lo'ak probably went to warn Payakan."
Sure enough, as soon as Marali uttered those words, a call was coming through the device on Jake's neck.
"Dad! I mean- uh, Devil Dog. Do you read me?" Lo'ak's voice was heard, and everyone glanced at each other.
"Yeah, Lo'ak?" Jake said.
"We're with a tulkun who is under attack. Killer ships inbound - it's two clicks." Lo'ak informed.
"Who's with you?" Jake asked, concerned. Marali silently prayed that she had been wrong, that her dream had been wrong, but when she heard what Lo'ak said, all her hopes and prayers went down the drain.
"It's all of us," Lo'ak replied. "Ao'nung and Tsireya are here - I have no clue where Marali is. We're at Three Brothers' Rocks."
"Get to cover. Do not engage, alright?" Jake said, authority laced through his voice, "You hear me? Do not engage. We're coming."
"Yes, sir," Lo'ak said before the connection cut off.
"Son of a bitch!" Marali cursed as she went over to her stuff to grab her weapons. "Where do you think you're going?" Jake questioned, and the girl looked at him.
"I'm going with you," She said, and Jake shook his head. "No, you're not. You're staying right here, where it's safe. I can't protect you out here."
"Yeah, well, I can't protect him from in here." Marali seethed as she glared at Jake. "I'm going whether you like it or not, and if you get in my way and something happens to Neteyam when I know I could have prevented it, I will hate you for the rest of my life." She threatened.
"I'd rather you hate me for the rest of your life than me planning your funeral," Jake gritted, causing the girl to scoff.
"Ma Jake, she's a highly qualified warrior. You asked her to protect our kids as a mission back home, that mission also extended to here, that's why she came with us in the first place." Neytiri said, placing her hand on her mate's arm. "Neteyam is also our child, so he's also her responsibility."
Jake groaned in aggravation, "I promised Norm I would protect her."
"And I promised you that I would protect them." She snapped back.
The pod fell silent as Jake looked at the girl, who had a fierce determination in her eyes. He knew he shouldn't let her come with them, but it would be a liability to leave her behind because he would constantly be worrying about whether or not she listened to his orders. They were also wasting valuable time arguing over something that Jake knew he wasn't going to win.
Once Marali set her mind to something, it was do or die.
"Fine." He breathed out. Marali felt her shoulders slightly relax. She was going to go whether he allowed her to or not, but having his blessing made her feel better. "We need to move!" Jake urged as he grabbed his vest and gun.
"Do you have another one of those?" She asked, and Jake looked at her with a raised eyebrow before he threw her one of his spares. Marali wrapped the vest around her as she put some of her knives in there, as well as some bandages and herbs, just in case anything happened. "Let's go!" Jake urged, and Neytiri and Marali rushed out of the pod towards the Chiefs.
When Jake reached the Olo'eyktan, he told him that the children were in danger, his included. Marali could see him visibly tense, but she couldn't allow herself to feel the guilt that threatened to creep through her cold demeanor that was displayed for everyone to see.
The girl followed Neytiri's lead and called for her ikran to come to her. Once Tíli was in Marali's sight, she let herself listen to Jake and Tonowari's conversation.
"Maybe you should stay behind," Tonowari told his wife.
"I ride!" The mother snarled as she grabbed a spear in her hand. Marali watched in admiration as Ronal raced off to where the rest of the warriors were. She could only hope that she would be that protective over her children one day.
Redirecting her attention, Marali quickly mounted her ikran and whispered to her ikran. "We're going to fight, okay? We're going to protect everyone that we can, no matter what." The girl said to her companion, who let out a noise that let the girl know she agreed.
"Marali!" Jake called out. She looked up at him and saw him handing her one of the communication devices he brought back from home. "You find him, okay? You find him, and then you get to safety. You don't fight back unless you have to, do you understand?" Jake said sternly.
"I understand." She said, wrapping the device around her neck.
She was taken by surprise when she felt Jake wrap his arms around her. "You have no idea what he'll do if you get hurt, Mara," Jake whispered in her ear.
"You can't even begin to imagine the things I'll do if they kill him." She whispered back, and Jake slightly chuckled.
"Bring my boy home."
"I will," Marali said as she signaled to Neytiri that she was ready to leave the ground.
Let the games begin.
Unedited. 06/04/23
Edited. 08/07/23
Word Count: 2,253
Quick note-
Double update!!
Also, thank y'all so much for over 1.7K reads!! I am over the moon with the attention this book is getting!