Everyone sat around in a circle as Lo'ak explained what happened the day before. Beatrice couldnt stop sending glares in Aonungs direction, him refusing to meet her eyes. Beatrice sat between Lo'ak and Neteyam, directly across from Kiri who sat between a standing Aonung and sitting Roxto. Tsireya had made herself comfortable sitting between Tuk and Lo'ak as well.
"I wish i had been there. The ocean has blessed you with a gift, brother." Kiri spoke softly, awe evident in her voice as Lo'ak spoke about the tulkun. Beatrice intertwined her tail with Neteyams, the man sending her a smile.
"The tulkun have not returned yet." Aonung spoke up, Neteyam and Beatrice immediately rolling their eyes at his voice. "And anyway, no tulkun is ever alone." Aonung leaned forward as he continued, placing his arm on his knee. Neteyam leaned his head forward and scratched his forehead, trying to hide how annoyed he was that Aonung was there. Beatrice chewed on her lip to stop from laughing at her future mate.
"This one was. He had a missing fin. Like a stump, on the left side." Lo'ak ignored Aonung, speaking towards Tsireya hoping she would believe him.
"Poor tulkun!" Kiri chimed in, her voice laced with sadness. Beatrice saw how Tsireyas face suddenly became nervous from Lo'aks description, her eyebrows scrunching together.
"Payakan." Tsireya said worriedly, looking towards her older brother.
"Who is Payakan?" Kiri asked softly, worry lining her face as well.
"A young bull who went rogue. He is an outcast. Alone. And they say he has a missing fin!" Roxto explained, looking over at Lo'ak.
"They say he is a killer." Tsireya spoke softly, grabbing Lo'aks arm gently. Lo'ak looked over at Beatrice, confusion laced over his face as he mirrored Beatrices. The two were incredibly confused, Payakan being incredibly kind to them the night before.
"No. No." Lo'ak refused, turning back to Tsireya.
"He killed Na'vi and other tulkun." Aonung explained, seemingly like he was actually a little worried. Neteyam sighed at Aonung chiming in again, staring at him angrily. "Not here, farther south."
"No, no! He is not a killer." Lo'ak stressed, his hand coming to cover Tsireyas that was on his arm.
"Lo'ak, you are lucky to be alive." Tsireya said softly, looking over Lo'aks face carefully.
"I am telling you guys, he saved my life!" Lo'ak stressed again, looking around at the group. Once his eyes met Beatrices she nodded slightly, letting him know she believed him. "He is my friend."
"My baby bro!" Neteyam spoke up, causing Beatrice to grab his tail as he stood up. He placed his hands on Lo'aks shoulders, causing the younger brother to roll his eyes. "The mighty warrior who faced the killer tulkun, and lived to tell about it, huh?" Beatrice tugged on his tail once again, annoyed.
"Sit down." She snapped at Neteyam, causing him to sit at her tone as Lo'ak let out a soft hiss and growl.
"You guys are not listening." Lo'ak spoke, standing and starting to walk away. Beatrice stood as everyone chimed in for Lo'ak to stay, snapping at Neteyam before following after Lo'ak.
"Bubba, hold on one second." Hearing Beatrices voice, Lo'ak stopped and turned, looking defeated. She took his hands gently, giving them a gentle squeeze. "Say hi to Payakan for me, okay? Just be careful, and trust your heart." Beatrice spoke softly, a smile growing on Lo'aks face as he nodded enthusiastically. Beatrice let go of his hands, shooing him off before turning back to the group, making her way back over. Once she had them in her sights, she let out a whistle, Neteyams head shooting up and searching for her.
Once he caught sight of her he rushed over to her, kissing her forehead gently.
"You love him more than me, do you not?" Neteyam asked, a pout on his lips. Beatrice pretended to think about it before nodding, shrugging at the taller Na'vi. He gawked at her, stuttering over his words.
"I am teasing, baby. I love him more in a different way, Ma'Tey. It would be weird if i loved you in a sibling way." Beatrice scrunched her nose at Neteyam, the man releasing a breath in relief. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they started to walk along the beach, bumping each others hips every few moments and giggling to themselves.
The two looked up as they heard feet running towards them, finding Tuk grinning from ear to ear as she made her way to them.
"Guys come on! We are going to visit their spirit tree!" She waved her arm excitedly, running back to where Kiri, Tsireya, and Roxto were waiting on a sea bank. Beatrice looked up at Neteyam with a smile, blush tinting her cheeks as she caught him already smiling down at her. The two raced over to the group, Neteyam trying to grab Beatrices tail multiple times as he chased after her.
The group climbed onto the ilus, Neteyam pouting when Beatrice elected to get her own ilu. She rolled her eyes at his pout, giggling to herself before swimming next to Kiri, the girls grinning at each other widely.
The ride was short, Tsireya staying in the lead the entire time. Beatrice could feel her excitement growing as they dived under some rocks, breaking the surface and coming face to face to the cove. Beatrice admired the floating rocks surrounding the cove, not noticing Neteyam admiring her silently.
"We are here!" Tsireya spoke, allowing the others to admire everything as she slowed down her ilu. "This is the cove of the ancestors. Our most sacred place. Eclipse is the best time of day to be here." Tsireya explained, everyone looking up as eclipse started ticking by.
As it got darker and darker, Beatrices eyes were pulled to a glowing under the water. She gasped as she realized their spirit tree was under the water, a hand coming to her mouth in awe. The all swam to the tree, Neteyam grabbing Beatrices hand lovingly causing her to smile at him. Beatrice continued to look around, admiring how the roots of the tree traveled all the way around the cove, even popping up onto the rocks.
They all climbed off of their ilus, each taking a deep breath before diving down to the tree. Beatrice couldnt help but stop and feel the trees leaves, a goofy smile plastered over her face. She quickly swam to the rest of the group, not wanting to get left behind.
She swam up to Neteyam, him grinning at her once again before leaning over and giving her a sweet kiss. Beatrice happily returned it before the two broke apart, Beatrice nudging her head towards the tree for him to connect. She swam away as he connected, smiling as she saw his eyes dilate before they closed, a goofy smile growing on his face. Beatrice found a leaf close to Kiri, looking over at the girl smiling as she saw she was already connected. Beatrice raised her queue to the tree, nervousness building in her chest as she realized this would be the first time she actually connects to Eywa since becoming Na'vi. She began to lower her queue to the leaf, jumping away as she saw the tree suddenly glow brighter before flashing crazily. Beatrice looked around confused, screaming into the water as she saw Kiri seizing next to her. She quickly broke Kiris connection, grabbing her and starting to swim to the surface. Neteyam was over to them in a second, helping bring Kiri back up.
Once they broke the surface, Beatrice took a deep breath as she watched Neteyam pull Kiri up onto an ilu.
"Is she breathing?!" Roxto asked worriedly, holding Kiris head gently as Neteyam positioned his little sister on the ilu. Neteyam lowered his head down to Kiris chest, hissing when he didnt hear her breathing. He quickly plugged her nose and blew into her mouth a few times, Roxto repeating her question.
"We need to get her to your parents! Go, Tey!" Beatrice shouted once Kiri took a breath on her own, Neteyam not hesitating to shoot off back to the village. Beatrice gently grabbed Tuk and climbed onto an ilu, comforting Tuk as they raced back to the village with Tsireya and Roxto. Once they hit the beach, Beatrice quickly placed Tuk on her hip and chased after Neteyam, meeting him at the pod where Neytiri and Jake were trying to wake Kiri.
"What happened?!" Neytiri cried, holding Kiris hand to her cheek.
"She was connected to the spirit tree, and before i could connect the tree started flashing like crazy. I looked over and she was seizing, so i broke her connection and we raced her here." Beatrice explained, placing Tuk down and letting her run to her mother. Neytiri grabbed Beatrices hand in thanks, turning back to Kiri and Jake continued to try and wake her up.
"You are sure it was a seizure?" Jake asked, looking up at Beatrice with sad eyes. She nodded, meeting his eyes.
"My mom would have them towards the end." Beatrice spoke softly, Jake nodding his head at her understanding what a seizure was. Beatrice looked over at Neteyam, her heart shattering as she saw him looking so broken as he looked at Kiri. She silently brought him into her arms, playing with his braids as she held him. Lo'ak ran in, freezing when he saw Kiri, disbelief on his face. She figured Tsireya had found him and told him. Lo'ak turned to Beatrice, tears building in his eyes. Beatrice held a hand out for him, pulling him into the hug and hugging her boys tightly. She watched Kiri silently, tears falling down her cheeks. Beatrice could hear Jake calling Norm, beginning to chew on her lip as she felt a bad feeling start to grow in her stomach from his action.
"Can the Tsahik not help her?" Beatrice asked softly, Jake turning to her and shaking his head.
"If it is neurological i need to get Norm here. I do not know if the Tsahik could do anything, but i would rather be safe than sorry." He explained, Beatrice continuing to chew on her lip nervously. She gently led the boys out of the pod, the three sitting in a huddle so they could calm down. The three ended up falling asleep on the woven path, waking the next morning to the sound of a helicopter coming in close. The three jumped up after Jake, running down to where the helicopter was going to land, helping keep the Metkayina back so they didnt get hurt. Once the helicopter shut off, Norm jumped out in his avatar form, following after the four as they led him to Kiri.
Beatrice, Lo'ak, and Neteyam stayed outside of the pod, Beatrice pacing nervously as the bad feeling in her gut continued to grow. They worked on Kiri for hours, Beatrice overhearing that there was nothing they could do to wake Kiri up. She huffed at the words, chewing on the side of her finger anxiously. As she turned to continue pacing, she noticed Tsireya and Ronal coming to their pod, Tsireya holding the Tsahiks tray. Beatrice immediately brushed her hand down her nose, the boys following after as Ronal nodded her head to them. Beatrice smiled softly at Tsireya, the younger girl smiling back. She watched as they went in, Neteyam pulling Beatrice into his arms and holding her. She laid her back against his chest, sighing softly as he left small kisses along her shoulder. The older men rushed out of the pod, Beatrices ears twitching as she heard Neytiri yelling at them.
Hours passed as the Tsahik worked on Kiri, Beatrice and Neteyam never leaving their position. Beatrice softly ran her fingers up and down Neteyams arm, memorizing the stripes along his skin.
Their ears all twitched when they heard crying, Neytiri immediately crying as well. The three rushed in, all finding Kiri awake but crying loudly. Beatrice thanked the Tsahik before taking Kiris free hand, running her fingers through her hair gently to calm her down.
The boys sat by Kiris feet, both having tears of happiness roll down their cheeks. Neteyam couldnt help but watch Beatrice comfort Kiri, knowing that one day she would be a great mother.
Hopefully that day would come.