Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past
Bold - sign language
All of the teens stared at the two parents with wide eyes, "We're what?" Lo'ak shrieked.
"We're going to have dinner with the Olo'eyktan and the Tsahik, so put something else on," Neytiri repeated, and still, none of them made any steps to move.
"Why?" Lo'ak asked.
Jake sighed at his son before speaking, "Because it's obvious that something is going on between you and Tsireya, the Chief agreed to have us all over for dinner."
"Shouldn't that be between the two who are dating and their parents?" Marali asked as she looked at them, "Because, you see, I was actually going to have dinner with my Dad tonight," She said as she quickly came up with an excuse.
Neytiri and Jake rolled their eyes at the girl, "You're going, Mara. We already asked Norm." Neytiri said.
"Son of a bitch," Marali lowly cursed and Kiri tried to stifle her laughter. "What was that?" Jake questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing! I was just saying how excited I am to be able to join this dinner," Marali sarcastically exclaimed. Both Jake and Neytiri rolled their eyes at her as Neteyam gave her hand a squeeze with a small smile on his face.
Marali looked around the pod to see that there wasn't anyone else in there, "Where's Tuk?" Marali asked.
"She's with some friends. We didn't feel that she needed to attend the dinner that we are having tonight. It's a little too grown up for her." Jake stated as he cleaned up the Mauri pod.
"Then why do I have to go?" Marali whined.
"Mara, I'm not in the mood to argue, so I'll give you two options." Jake said as he looked at the teen girl behind him, "Either you go, or no hanging out with Neteyam alone for two weeks," Jake threatened, and both of their jaws dropped.
"What do you think she's going to choose?" Kiri whisper shouted.
"I would personally choose to not go so that I didn't have to be alone with Neteyam," Lo'ak replied with a mischievous smile that only widened when he saw Neteyam turned around to glare at him.
Marali weighed her options, "Hmm, go to a dinner where I'll most likely get secondhand embarrassment, or go two weeks without Neteyam," She said as she brought her fingers up to her chin in thought. "Honestly, it's kind of a hard decision," Marali informed, and Lo'ak snorted at her response.
Neteyam looked at her in disbelief as he tugged on her arm, "What?" Marali said as she glanced at Neteyam. "Are you seriously considering the second option?" He asked, hurt.
"No, Nete. I was making you sweat a little. I'll obviously go to the dinner since it's important enough for Jake to threaten me with no alone time with you" Marali shrugged, and Neteyam let out a sigh of relief.
"But just so you know, Jake, I would have been so clingy with Neteyam for those two weeks that you would have been begging us to go hang out alone," Marali sassed as she grabbed Kiri's hand to go over to find an outfit.
Jake rolled his eyes at Marali before he mumbled, "Women," Neytiri looked at her husband with her arms crossed over her chest, "Do you want to repeat what you just said?" Neytiri asked, and Jake looked up at her and grimaced once he realized that Neytiri had heard what he said.
"Nothing," Jake said.
"That's what I thought," Neytiri said as she walked over to help the two girls pick out an outfit.
Normally what they were wearing would be just fine, but because of the seriousness of the conversation, the two parents felt that a minor wardrobe change would be appropriate. Once everyone had an outfit picked out, the girls left so the guys could change, and vice versa.
Kiri, Neytiri, and Marali all went into the pod and started to undress before they each pulled out the outfits that they all picked out for each other. All of their outfits were quite similar, as well as elegant, but also unique to each of the girl's personalities.
Kiri's outfit held multiple elements of plants and animals that could be found in the forest, showing how truly connected she is with nature.
Neytiri's outfit reflected that of a huntress, but also of a woman who, was mated to the Chief of the clan.
And Marali's outfit showed the many different roles she played back at home. Huntress, warrior, singer, and sometimes teacher. She was a young girl of many different talents.
As the three stepped out of the Mauri pod, Jake smiled at his wife, Lo'ak had a bored look on his face, and Neteyam looked speechless. Marali walked over to the boy with a teasing smile on her face, "You like what you see?" She asked, and Neteyam gulped.
"Yes," He stuttered, causing Marali to laugh.
For the next couple of minutes, both Neteyam and Jake took the time to tell their respective mate and girlfriend how beautiful they looked. Jake was acting as if he was a teenager again, and Neteyam could barely get a word out with flushing when something he said didn't sound right.
"I think I liked it better when they pretended to hate each other. What do you think, Kiri?" Lo'ak asked as he smirked at his older sister.
Kiri smiled at Lo'ak, "Yeah, at least I didn't feel like I was going to get sick every five minutes from the nonstop flirting," The teen teased, and Marali and Neteyam stared at the two siblings.
"Hey, at least I'm not the reason we have to have dinner with the Chief tonight," Marali defended as Lo'ak shot her a glare.
"This is your fault!" He accused.
"How's it my fault?" Marali asked, feigning innocence.
"Because you constantly teased me about my relationship with Reya!" Lo'ak said.
"You did the same thing with me, and Neteyam," She retorted, and Lo'ak let out a huff.
"So?" He questioned.
"So, karma's a bitch, Lolo," Marali said, and everyone chuckled at the petty argument between the two.
"Yeah, but we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you," The boy grumbled.
"Please, Lo'ak. Every time you looked at Tsireya, you had heart eyes. It was only a matter of time before one of the parents figured it out," Kiri stated, and Marali smirked.
"No, they wouldn't have," Lo'ak said.
"I knew you liked Tsireya as soon as we came here," Neytiri said as she turned on her heel and walked away. Jake quickly followed after her, and the teens soon followed after the mother.
It wasn't a long walk to the Chief's Mauri pod, but once the group of Omatikayan's stepped into the room, the tension could be felt. It wasn't necessarily an uncomfortable tension, more of an awkward tension for the words that were about to be spoken.
As soon as the Chief and Tsahik noticed the Sully family standing on the edge of the pod, they quickly urged them into the pod to take a seat. "Please, come in," Ronal encouraged as she showed them where they could sit.
Marali took a seat between Ao'nung and Neteyam while Kiri sat on the other side of Ao'nung. Lo'ak was placed beside Tsireya, Jake and Neytiri sat beside each other, and Ronal and Tonowari sat on either end of the table.
The awkward tension only grew as everyone in the pod stared at each other, waiting for someone to take the opportunity to speak.
Ronal cleared her throat as a way to break the silence, "How are you feeling, Marali?" She asked.
"I'm feeling much better. My shoulder is a little sore, but I'll be okay. Thanks for asking." Marali said as she smiled sweetly at the Tsahik.
"Maybe your shoulder wouldn't hurt if Neteyam stopped pinning you against things," Ao'nung said aloud, causing the teens in the room, beside Neteyam and Marali, to burst into laughter. Marali slapped Ao'nung on the shoulder as she playfully glared at him.
"At least, she doesn't have anything that she can use against you to threaten you with," Lo'ak said as he glanced at Marali, who proudly smirked at him.
"I never knew you were so manipulative, Mara," Ao'nung teased.
"I can be when I want to be," Marali shrugged.
After that, it was mostly silent, except for when Ronal went to go grab the food with Neytiri following right after to help the heavily pregnant woman. At the sight of what they were eating that night, Marali began to salivate at the thought of the food on her tongue.
Ever since she woke up, she hadn't been able to satisfy the undying hunger that she constantly felt when she thought about it. Marali knew that she had lost some weight, which meant that she lost some muscle, but what else would she expect when she was in a coma for a week? The only thing she knew was that she was about to tear up the meal that Ronal had made.
Once Ronal sat the dishes of food down, Marali tried to immediately grab some food, but with her only being able to use one arm, it was hard. She was making a mess and everyone stared at her as she continued to try and put some food on her plate.
"Mari, do you want some help?" Neteyam chuckled, and Marali blew out a huff of air.
"Yes," She said, and Neteyam happily obliged in helping his girlfriend make her plate.
Everyone started to eat their food before Tonowari decided to speak, "So, I'm sure most of you, if not all of you know why we are here today," He started, and everyone nodded their heads.
"it's come to Ronal and I's attention that Tsireya and Lo'ak have feelings for each other," Tonowari bluntly stated, causing the two teens to blush. Marali cautiously watched the man and waited for him to say something that would hurt Lo'ak's feelings.
"We want both of you to know that we don't have any objections to you two being together, or possibly mating in the future," The Chief informed, and Marali choked her food. Neteyam shot her a worried look before she silently let him know that she was okay.
It was silent for a moment while Tonowari looked at his wife, and willed her to say something that let them know she agreed with his words.
"I think that you are a fine young man and that you would be suitable for my daughter," Ronal said as she softly smiled at Lo'ak.
Lo'ak looked between the two parents with wide eyes as Tsireya smiled gratefully at her parents. Lo'ak couldn't believe what he was hearing. Tsireya's parents actually approved of him being in a relationship with their daughter.
"What about my demon blood?" Lo'ak asked nervously as he looked at Ronal.
"Lo'ak," Jake warned, and Marali slightly tensed.
"No, it's okay," Ronal said as she took in a deep breath and turned her full attention to Lo'ak, "I know that I wasn't as nice as I could have been when you and your family first arrived. However, I was being cautious to protect my home. I'm sure Neytiri would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed," Ronal said as she glanced at the Omatikayan woman who remained silent.
"Since your family's arrival, Tsireya has spoken nothing but good about your training. She says that you excel at everything she asks of you. She also told me about how your extra finger can sometimes give you an advantage that we don't have," Ronal said, and Marali saw how Jake's eyes swelled with pride, and Neytiri softly smiled at her youngest son.
Lo'ak remained silent the entire time as he waited for Ronal to finish, "But, most importantly, Tsireya told me about how you did everything that you could protect her when those demon ships invaded our home. If you hadn't done that, I don't know what could have happened to her," Ronal said, finally finishing.
"I would do anything to protect Tsireya," Lo'ak said, and Ronal and Tonowari shared a glance.
"That's good, and that's the exact reason we called you here," Tonowari said and all of the teens looked around at each other confused. The Chief looked at Jake and Neytiri, who nodded at the man and gave him permission to continue speaking.
"All four of us parents discussed it," He paused as he looked at his wife who gave him a nod of encouragement, "And we decided that it would be best if Ao'nung and Tsireya went to the Omatikaya clan to learn your ways," Tonowari said.
Marali blankly stared at the man as she tried to process his words.
"So, what does this mean?" Lo'ak asked.
"It means that we are going home," Neytiri smiled.
No fucking way. Marali thought to herself.
"We're going home?" Kiri asked as a wide smile made an appearance on her face.
"Yes, we are," Jake said.
"No fucking way!" Marali exclaimed as she looked over at Neteyam, "We're going home!" She shouted as Neteyam laughed at her excitement.
They were finally going back to the forest. After all this time, Marali was finally going back to the one place she had recently been craving to be at. She closed her eyes as she tried to remember the feeling of her favorite things from back home.
"Wait, Dad. My ears must be playing tricks on me," Ao'nung said. "I thought I heard you say that Tsireya and I were going to the forest instead of just Tsireya."
"That's correct, Ao'nung. You are going to learn their ways as well," Ronal said, and Ao'nung scoffed.
"Why?" He asked.
"Oh, come on, Nungie. We don't bite," She said before she looked at Lo'ak and thought of Tuk, "Hard." She said, finishing her sentence, causing the Metkayina boy to roll his eyes.
"You're going because you are going to help protect your sister, and it's only fair that you learn their ways just as they have learned ours," Tonowari said.
"But you just said that Lo'ak was capable of protecting her," Ao'nung fired back.
"Yes, Lo'ak is perfectly capable, but there are kids back at home that aren't particularly welcome to outsiders," Jake explained, and Ao'nung furrowed his eyes at him. "So, Tsireya will need more than one person protecting her because it won't be safe for her?" Ao'nung asked.
"No, it will be safe for her; we just want the extra protection as a precaution," Neytiri said as she tried to ease his worries.
"I don't think Tsireya will need extra protection," Ao'nung shrugged as he glanced at Lo'ak, "Trust me, I've experienced firsthand how hard he can punch," The Metkayina boy grumbled. Lo'ak smugly smiled at Ao'nung who glared at him in return.
"Those boys are just as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as Lo'ak is. I required it to be part of their training, amongst other things, when I was the Olo'eyktan." Jake said.
"Fine, I'll go," Ao'nung reluctantly agreed.
"Don't worry, Ao'nung. It truly is only a precaution." Marali said, speaking up, "If anyone lays so much as a finger on Tsireya, it's not Lo'ak they'll need to be afraid of."
"Who should they be afraid of then?" Ao'nung asked, confused. "Neteyam?" He said as he glanced at the oldest Sully child. Neteyam slowly shook his head, and this perplexed Ao'nung even more.
"Who should they be afraid of?" He repeated.
"Marali has never lost a fight, especially when it involves hand-to-hand combat," Kiri informed, and Ao'nung looked at Marali with an eyebrow raised.
"The only time I've ever lost a fight was when I was up against a bullet," She casually joked, but when she saw the horrified expressions on everyone's faces she nervously laughed, "Too soon?" Marali asked.
"Just a bit," Jake said.
"Sorry," The girl muttered as she looked at Ao'nung, "I've never lost a fight. Hand-to-hand combat is one of my specialties, along with tracking, archery, and hunting." Marali said.
"Yeah, the last time she was in a fight back home was when this kid was picking on Kiri, and Marali overheard the conversation, "Lo'ak said, cringing at the boy's injuries. "Let's just say that he learned his lesson for a while,"
"That was you?" Neteyam questioned as he looked at Marali. "What was me?" Marali said.
"Dad and I were having a private lesson in training when Azarketi came and asked to have the rest of the week off. He looked pretty beaten up, but he said that he fell out of a tree and was too stunned to stop himself," Neteyam said, narrowing his eyes at Marali, causing the girl to snort in laughter.
"Yep," She said.
"Anyways, we're getting off-topic," Tonowari said as he tried to reel the conversation back to what they had originally been talking about. "In two weeks, all of you will be going back to the Omatikaya clan to stay for three months. Tarsem, the Olo'eyktan, has already approved it and told us that if we wanted to extend the stay we could," Tonowari explained.
"Tuk is going to be so excited," Marali exclaimed.
Marali could feel the excitement radiating off of her in waves as she looked over to see Kiri with a mixture of emotions on her face. Kiri was happy to be going home, but she was also sad about something.
"Kiri, what's wrong? Aren't you happy to go home?" Neytiri asked worriedly as everyone turned to look at her.
"I am, it's just, I wish that Rotxo could come with us," Kiri grumbled, and the Chief and Tsahik gave each other knowing looks. "If you would like, we can talk to Rotxo's grandmother and see if she would be okay with him tagging along for the journey," Ronal offered, and Kiri lit up like the moon on a cloud-free night.
"Really?" She beamed, and Ronal nodded her head at Kiri. "Thank you so much," Kiri said.
After that, the rest of the evening was spent with them finishing their food and talking about the journey that was to come. The tension that was once there soon disappeared as everyone got used to each other, and grew more comfortable with the situation. Talking and laughter could be heard throughout the Mauri pod as new friendships were made, and current friendships continued to grow.
Eventually, the evening came to an end, and the Sully family bid the Chief and his family goodnight before heading back to their pod. Neytiri departed from the group to go collect Tuk, while everyone else continued to walk back home.
Once they reached the pod, they all saw Spider sitting on the mattress that had recently been made for him.
"Spider!" Marali cheered, and the absentminded boy looked at her in confusion.
"What?" He asked.
"Guess what?" She asked.
"What?" Spider repeated.
"We're going home,"
Unedited. 06/10/23
Word Count: 3,164
Quick note-
Mostly a filler chapter. Prepare for what's to come.
Thank y'all so so much for over 2.9K reads!