Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past
Bold - sign language
The Sully family and Ja'lia trudged through the forest as they made their way back to the campsite. The walk back had been painfully slow as Ja'lia held onto Lo'ak's hand for comfort and solace. Ja'lia had been torn on who to walk with because Kiri was devastated that Spider was taken, and Lo'ak was currently blaming himself for Spider being kidnapped.
Ultimately, she ended up choosing Lo'ak when she saw that Neteyam slowed his pace to walk beside his sister. Jake held Tuk as she placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Too much had happened in such a short amount of time, and it exhausted the little girl. She was too young to have witnessed anything of what happened moments prior. In fact, all of them were too young to witness it, but they were overlooked by the two parents who were fussing over their youngest child.
Eventually, they made it back to the campsite, and Jake gently placed Tuk down. "You guys should go get something to eat. I had Norm put some food for all of you in the laboratory," Jake said, and Tuk shook her head.
"I want to stay with Mom," She whined. Jake looked down at his youngest child, and his heart broke. She was frightened at the thought of leaving her mother. He looked at his three other children for help, but all of them were looking at the ground.
Ja'lia walked over to Tuk, "Come on, Tuk, we'll eat, and then I'll walk you back," Ja'lia persuaded, and Tuk hesitantly grabbed onto Ja'lia's hand as Jake shot the girl a thankful smile.
Once Ja'lia had a hold of Tuk's hand, she walked toward the laboratory and heard the other three teens' soft footsteps behind her.
No one said a word, and it was almost like they were afraid too.
The silence felt suffocating, and as soon as Ja'lia stepped into the pod and heard Norm's cheerful laughter, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey, kids!" He yelled as he got up, and walked toward them. "I saved all of you some food from dinner," Norm informed, looking at the group.
His brows furrowed when he only counted five kids instead of six, "Where's Spider?" He asked, and the silence grew so tense that you could cut it with a knife.
Kiri walked past the man, ignoring him, with Lo'ak and Neteyam on her tail. "Did I say something wrong? Did something happen?" Norm asked, confused.
"Those Avatars took Spider," Ja'lia said, brushing her shoulder against Norm's as she walked with Tuk to get food.
Everyone slowly ate, and Ja'lia felt sick to her stomach as she forced the food down her throat. She didn't know why; but she felt immense guilt that Spider was taken. Maybe all those years of trying to keep him at arm's length didn't pay off. Perhaps she allowed herself to care too much, and now she was worried for the human boy's safety.
It wasn't necessarily a bad thing to care for Spider. It seemed contradictory to her. How can she hate every other human but like him?
Well, almost every other human. Although she genuinely considered Norm to be Na'vi since he had done so much for her people, the same thing went for Max.
Ja'lia took one more bite before she couldn't eat anymore. She hardly ate any of the food on her plate, but she felt that if she ate anything else, she would throw up.
When she looked over at Tuk, she saw that the girl was stirring the food around on her plate as she had a blank expression on her face.
"Tuk, are you full?" Ja'lia asked, and Tuk absentmindedly nodded.
"I'm full too," Kiri said, and Ja'lia looked at her plate to see that Kiri ate less than she did.
"Let's go back to the tent," Ja'lia said, causing both Sully girls to instantly agree with her. "Are you guys full as well, or are you still hungry?" She asked.
Neteyam looked at Lo'ak and saw that the boy had completely tuned out the outside world, so he gave Ja'lia a tired smile. "I'm still hungry," He said, and Ja'lia glanced at Lo'ak who paid her no mind, "I'll take care of Lo'ak," Neteyam reassured.
Knowing that Lo'ak was in ideally capable hands with Neteyam, Ja'lia walked beside Kiri with Tuk in her arms as Tuk started to doze off while walking. Tuk was exhausted, but when she heard shouting from her parent's tent, her ears perked up.
Tuk shook out of Ja'lia's arms as the teen girl quickly tried to place Tuk on the ground without dropping her. Once Tuk was out of Ja'lia's grasp, all three girls cautiously walked to the edge of the tent and listened.
Jake and Neytiri were arguing about something, but it had been unintelligible.
Suddenly, Ja'lia heard the sound of footsteps, and she slightly turned her head to see Neteyam and Lo'ak walking towards them.
"What's going on-" Neteyam was interrupted by Tuk shushing him. The youngest child waved her siblings over, and Neteyam went over to the other side of Kiri while Lo'ak went to the other side of Ja'lia.
"What are they talking about?" Lo'ak whispered.
"I don't know, I'm trying to listen," Ja'lia whispered back, causing the boy to roll his eyes.
"I cannot - you cannot ask this," Neytiri said, "I cannot leave my people." Everyone looked at each other in confusion before Neytiri finished her sentence, "I will not."
"Just please listen to me. He's hunting us," Jake pleaded, "He's targeting our family," Neytiri looked at her mate, "And what about Ja'lia, Jake?" She asked, and all of the Sully children glanced at Ja'lia.
"Quartich knows that Ja'lia is important to us, so that makes her a target as well," He informed, and Neytiri growled in annoyance.
"You cannot ask this!" Neytiri said, raising her voice. "The children, everything they've ever known. The forest - This is our home!" She yelled.
"He had our children - he had them under his knife. If we would have been a couple of minutes later, we would have lost them. I can't risk losing them," Jake sighed.
"And what about Ja'lia?" Neytiri hissed, "How is it fair to take her away from the only home she's ever known? The place that holds the last memories of her parents."
"I promised her parents that I would protect her. I don't plan on breaking that promise anytime soon," Jake said.
Neytiri was silent for a moment, and Ja'lia could hear her pacing footsteps around the tent, "My father gave me this bow as he lay dying," Neytiri said, "And he said to protect the people," Neytiri sucked in a calming breath as her shoulders slumped, "You're Toruk Makto!" The mother's voice cracked.
"This will protect the people!" Jake claimed, "Don't you get it? Quartich has Spider. That kid knows everything! He knows our whole operation! He can lead them right in here!"
Ja'lia's heart started to race as she finally understood what Jake was asking of his wife. He wanted to flee the Omatikaya clan; and Jake wanted her to leave with them. Of course, Ja'lia loved the Sully family like they were her own, but this was the last place she had of her parents. She wasn't sure if she wanted to leave home, even if it meant she would never see Lo'ak or anyone else from the Sully family again.
But then she thought back to Jake's words, and it didn't sound like he giving her much of a choice. Would he force her to leave?
The girl was devastatingly torn on what she should do. On one hand, going to a different clan would be fun and exciting. But on the other hand, it felt like she was leaving her parents behind, disgracing their memory because she wouldn't grow up to have a traditional Omatikayan life.
"If the people harbor us - they will die," Jake said, distraught, "Do you understand?"
Neytiri was silent for a moment as she processed her husband's words, "You cannot force Ja'lia to leave." Neytiri said, and Jake went to protest, but she cut him off, "It's already bad enough that we have to leave, but you will not force her to leave the only home she's ever known. She's been through enough," Neytiri said lowly.
"Look, I've got nothing," He paused, "But I can protect this family. I can protect Ja'lia the way I told her parents I would, but I can't do that with you fighting me every step of the way," He finished.
"It's her decision, Jake," Neytiri said, closing her eyes.
"Listen, I know one thing. Wherever we go - this family is our fortress," Jake said as he pulled his wife into a hug, and Ja'lia tuned out the rest of the conversation.
Her head began to spin as she felt too overwhelmed with what Jake and Neytiri were talking about. She was starting to internally freak out until a hand squeezed hers bringing her back to reality.
Ja'lia looked up to see that it was Lo'ak who squeezed her hand, "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Not really, but I will be," She awkwardly smiled.
"Lia?" Tuk said, drawing the girl's attention away from Lo'ak onto the little girl, "Will you please come with us?" The little girl pleaded, and Ja'lia felt a tug at her heart.
"I- I don't know. I'll think about it, okay?" Ja'lia said, and Tuk looked down at the ground, disappointed.
She truly didn't want to see them go without her, but she didn't know if she was mentally strong enough to leave. Ja'lia had only somewhat gotten back to normal a couple of months ago, and she wasn't sure if leaving home would cause her to spiral.
But, then again, Lo'ak's the reason she came out of her depressive state in the first place. Perhaps the Omatikaya clan wasn't her home, maybe Lo'ak was.
As everyone heard the sound of footsteps exiting the pod, no one even tried to move an inch as they all stared at the two parents with sad faces. "Did you hear everything?" Jake asked. All the children were silent as none of them could will their words to leave their mouths.
The only thing that Ja'lia could muster was a slight nod of the head.
"Okay - great. Ja'lia, Neytiri, and I need to talk with you privately. Everyone else, we will be leaving as soon as possible." Jake said as he gently placed a hand on his mate's shoulder and held out an arm to instruct Ja'lia to walk to a more secluded area.
When Jake felt that it was safe enough and that no one would be listening to the conversation, he told Ja'lia that she could have a seat as he and Neytiri sat in front of the girl.
Ja'lia sat in silence as the two parents looked at each other nervously before Jake cleared his throat to speak, "So, we know that you heard everything, but we want to talk with you privately so that you can fully understand your options,"
"We will be leaving to keep the clan safe, and we would like you to come with us," Jake paused, glancing at Neytiri, "But as my wife has made clear, we cannot force you to do something that you may not want to do," Jake finished.
"And if I want to stay?" Ja'lia asked.
"Then I will talk to my mother to see if she would be willing to take care of you until you are old enough to do it yourself," Neytiri explained.
The teen girl stared at the two parents before another question left her mouth, "Would I ever see you again if I stayed?"
"Since I'm giving up my position, you would have to pretend I'm dead so you wouldn't see me. As for the rest of us, I can't say for sure either way," Jake sighed.
"Do I have to make a decision right now?" She questioned.
Jake and Neytiri immediately shook their heads, "Of course not, but we would prefer if you told us tomorrow morning," Jake said.
"Okay," She whispered as she stood on her feet.
Right as Ja'lia was about to walk off, Neytiri stopped her, "Ja'lia, no matter what you decide, we won't be mad at you, okay? You have to do what's best for you, not what's best for anyone else," Neytiri said.
Ja'lia thanked Neytiri for her words before she walked into her tent. She had a lot to think about and very little time to do it. This was going to be the hardest decision she ever made in her life, no matter what she decided.
She pressed her back against her tent and let out a dramatic sigh. Ja'lia thought back to her previous thoughts about Lo'ak being her home instead of the Omatikaya clan, and she closed her eyes to imagine life without him around.
Her life seemed dull and bleak when she thought about going every day with her best friend. If the Sully family would have asked her to leave with them a little over a year ago, her answer would have immediately been no because she would never leave her family.
But now, her family was dead, and the Sully family was all she had left.
Lo'ak was all that she had left.
Ja'lia pulled at her braids, frustrated, before she noticed Lo'ak standing in the doorway of her tent.
"Hey, Lo'ak," She breathed out.
"Hey, Lia," He sighed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face into the crook of her neck. The girl felt a shiver run down her spine when his hot breath fanned her neck.
"I don't want to leave," Lo'ak said.
"I know," Ja'lia said, rubbing her hands up and down his back slowly. "What am I gonna do without you?" He said, and Ja'lia could feel something wet on her neck. "Are you crying?" She whispered.
"No," Lo'ak denied, and Ja'lia pulled his head back to see a couple of tears streaming down his face. "You know I can come with you, right?" She said.
"Do you want to come with us?" Lo'ak questioned, and Ja'lia remained silent. "If you don't want to come, that's your decision. I won't be mad at you. I could never be mad at you. You're my best friend," He said, and the girl looked up at him.
"That's the problem, though, Lo'ak. I think I want to come with you," Ja'lia said, causing Lo'ak's eyebrows to furrow.
"Why is that a problem?" He asked, confused.
"Because I don't know my parents would feel about me leaving. I haven't visited them since after the funeral," She admitted.
"Lia, all they ever wanted was for you to be happy," Lo'ak insisted, "And if you wanted to come back one day, nothing's stopping you from doing so,"
She mulled over his words and thought about what she truly wanted.
It was like he gave her all the clarity she needed, and now the decision didn't seem so hard to make after all. Her parents always wanted what was best for her, and at the moment, it seemed like leaving home was her best option.
"Okay," She said, and Lo'ak looked at her expectantly, "I'll come with you,"
"Yes!" Lo'ak cheered before placing a kiss on her forehead, stunning the girl as he sprinted out of her tent. "I'm gonna tell Mom and Dad!" He yelled, and Ja'lia stood there in shock.
Lo'ak had never kissed her forehead before. Ja'lia felt her cheeks grow warm the more she thought about it.
However, she soon realized that she should start picking out what she wanted to pack and groaned in annoyance.
Ja'lia was the most indecisive person that she knew.
This is going to be a long night. The girl thought to herself.
~~~~
Ja'lia struggled to stay awake as she watched Jake give up his Olo'eyktan position and gifted to Tarsem. She wanted to allow herself to feel some sort of emotion, but she stayed up all night packing, and she was exhausted.
It was truly a heartbreaking moment, and once she forced her eyes to stay open, her heart ached when she heard Neytiri's silent cries as she started to walk through the crowd. Ja'lia would soon follow after them, but she wanted to say goodbye to Tarsem first.
"Goodbye, Olo'eyktan," Ja'lia said, and Tarsem rolled his eyes at her. "You can still call me Tarsem, Ja'lia," Tarsem said.
The girl grinned at him before she pulled him in for a short hug and said goodbye.
She quickly followed after the Sully family as she saw that they were starting to mount their ikrans. Ja'lia hopped onto Tarya and connected her queue.
Jake looked at the group before speaking, "Is everyone ready?" Jake asked, and everyone muttered words to let him know they were prepared to leave.
Jake was the first one to take off as everyone else soon followed suit. Ja'lia tried to ignore the tugging ache at her heart as they moved farther away from home.
It's okay, Ja'lia. You've got this. Your new journey awaits. The girl thought to herself.
Unedited. 06/20/23
Word Count: 2,893
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