Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past
Bold - sign language
"Lo'ak!" Ja'lia whisper-shouted at the teen she had been lying on top of. They were supposed to be sleeping, but she was wide awake, and her mind was pleading with her to go ride her ikran.
The girl had been trying to wake Lo'ak up for a couple of minutes, but to no avail has she succeeded. Lo'ak had always been the hardest to wake up out of all the Sully children, and that night was no different from previous ones.
"Lo'ak!" She murmured, shaking the boy's chest.
At the sound of his name, Lo'ak peaked through his eyelids and saw a dark figure hovering over him. Normally, an unidentified figure that hovered over him would have completely freaked him out, but he knew it was Ja'lia.
"What, Lia? I'm trying to sleep," He whined, opening his eyes to get a clearer look at the girl.
"I can't sleep," She whispered.
"So, that means that you have to wake me up?" Lo'ak said with frustration laced through his voice.
Ja'lia felt bad for waking him up because this was the first night in a long time that they would get to sleep in.
"I'm sorry. You can go back to sleep," Ja'lia said, and Lo'ak immediately regretted his words when he saw her stand up and move away from him. "Wait, Lia. I'm sorry. What did you want to do?" He said softly.
"I was going to ask if you wanted to go ride our ikrans, and then we could stargaze," She mumbled, and Lo'ak's lips quirked into a small smile. "Okay," Lo'ak agreed, and Ja'lia's eyes lit up like the sun.
As soon as Lo'ak agreed to go with her, she instantly grabbed his wrist and briskly pulled him out of his family's Mauri pod. They both burst into a sprint when they exited and did their best to contain their laughter as they ran past other families' pods.
Once their feet hit the cool sand, a shiver run down their spine as they realized how cold it was outside. However, that didn't stop their mission as they continued to walk toward the forest they had been forbidden to go in.
When they went inside the forest, a wave of nostalgia hit them like a ton of bricks. This forest was exactly like the one back home, so why were they forbidden from entering it?
It didn't make any sense to Ja'lia or Lo'ak, but obviously, they weren't going to listen to Tsireya's warnings.
They grew up in the forest, and while they didn't want to be considered mean or rude, they weren't going to let a water Na'vi tell them what to do.
Both Lo'ak and Ja'lia ran through the forest, teasing and nitpicking at the other. They were climbing trees, jumping from branch to branch, and pulling each other's tails all at the same time.
After both teens were done teasing each other, they searched for a clearing and eventually found one where they would be able to call their ikrans without anyone hearing them. Ja'lia called Tarya, and Lo'ak called for his ikran.
While they both waited for their ikrans, Ja'lia placed her back up against a big rock, and when Lo'ak tried to do the same he somehow fell through.
"What the hell!" He yelled, and Ja'lia looked over to see that her best friend was no longer in the spot he had just been standing. "Lo'ak?" She said, confused as to where he could have disappeared to.
"I'm down here," He grumbled, and the teen girl still had no idea where he was until she looked down to see his feet peaking through some vines.
Ja'lia gently pushed the vines aside to see Lo'ak lying on the ground with his arm over his face in embarrassment. "Are you okay?" She asked, biting her lip to stop herself from laughing.
"I'm peachy," He said.
"Do you want help?" Ja'lia questioned.
"No, I want you to leave me here to wallow in my own self-pity," Lo'ak mumbled, causing Ja'lia to roll her eyes and grab one of his hands to hoist him up off the ground. Once she finally got him up, he removed his arm from his face and glared at her.
"I told you to just leave me," He whined.
"Stop being a baby," Ja'lia said, laughing.
Lo'ak opened his mouth to say something, but both of their ikrans decided to finally make an appearance, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.
Lo'ak and Ja'lia each walked over to their ikrans and greeted them.
"Hey, Tarya. Long time no see, huh?" Ja'lia greeted, and Tarya nuzzled her head against Ja'lia's body. "Do you want to go for a ride?" Ja'lia asked, and Tarya squawked in agreement.
Connecting her queue, Ja'lia hopped onto her ikran and watched as Lo'ak did the same with his. Once both of them were ready, they ushered their companions off the ground and soared into the night sky. They both yipped and cheered as the feeling of flying was euphoric to both of them.
Suddenly, a thought rushed into Ja'lia's mind, "Are you going to get in trouble for flying?" She asked, and Lo'ak glanced at her confused until his eyes widened in realization. "Oh, shit," He grumbled.
"Has it been a month yet?" Ja'lia questioned, and Lo'ak shrugged.
"I don't know, but I was probably going to get in trouble for sneaking out anyway," Lo'ak sighed.
"We used to do this all the time back home," Ja'lia said, furrowing her eyebrows, "Why would you get in trouble?"
"Because Dad hates me," Lo'ak whispered, and Ja'lia's heart clenched.
The two teens had had conversations about this before, but it never got any easier. Of course, Jake was hard on his two sons, Lo'ak especially, but that didn't mean Jake hated him. Jake loved all of his children. He just had difficulty figuring out how to properly express that love for Lo'ak and Neteyam.
To Ja'lia, it made sense why Jake was so strict. He was trying to protect his children. She understood his behavior, but she also understood Lo'ak's feelings. Jake trying to protect his children didn't excuse his behavior, and it certainly didn't make Lo'ak's feelings any less valid.
"Lo'ak, you know he doesn't hate you," She said, directing her ikran to move closer to Lo'ak.
"Yeah, well, it certainly feels like he does," Lo'ak whispered.
"Come on," Ja'lia said as she urged her ikran to fly back down to the ground. Lo'ak was stunned by her action at first, but he soon followed her lead and went down to the ground as well.
Once they both hit the ground, Ja'lia and Lo'ak jumped off their companions, and Ja'lia grabbed Lo'ak's hand and pulled him down to the ground with her. Lo'ak laid on the grass first, and Ja'lia followed as she used his arm for a pillow.
It was silent as Ja'lia tried to think of how to approach the upcoming conversation, "I know that Jake is hard on you," She murmured, and Lo'ak turned his head to look at her.
"I know that it feels like he hates you," She said, looking up at the stars, "Trust me. Sometimes it feels like I hate him for the way he treats you," Ja'lia continued, and Lo'ak stayed silent as he listened to her.
"But then I remember everything that the Sky people have done to him, and your family, and the hate for your father fades away," Ja'lia said as she saw Lo'ak from the corner of her eye, "He's doing his best; and I'm not trying to defend him. He hurt you, and for that, he needs to apologize, but-" She took a deep breath.
"But, maybe we could try to empathize with him as well," She finished, and Lo'ak continued to watch her as she watched the stars.
For Ja'lia's age, she was wise beyond her years, and Lo'ak always appreciated her advice, but it didn't help the way he had been feeling for over a year.
"It just hurts so much. Why can't I be the perfect son like Neteyam?" He whispered, not realizing that he uttered those words out loud.
"Neteyam isn't perfect," Ja'lia said, shifting closer to Lo'ak to feel some warmth as the cold air brought goosebumps to her skin, "He likes to act like he is," Lo'ak said bitterly.
"Neteyam has just as much, if not more, pressure on him than you do. He was supposed to be the next Chief leader, Lo'ak," She said, and it didn't seem to sway Lo'ak's jealousy and bitterness towards his brother. "How many times has he taken the fall for you? Or watched you and your siblings when your parents went out on date night? How many times did he have to skip out on hanging out with us because he had to train?" Ja'lia fired off questions.
"I never asked him to do those things," Lo'ak grumbled, and Ja'lia scoffed in disbelief.
"What if Neteyam wasn't the oldest? What if you had been born first? Would you be able to handle all of his responsibilities?" She asked.
"If I didn't have any other choice, then I would have to handle all of the responsibilities of being the oldest," Lo'ak said, realizing the point Ja'lia was trying to make.
"Exactly. Neteyam doesn't have a choice. He feels like he has to be perfect to protect you, Kiri, and Tuk. Believe me when I say that Neteyam wishes that he could do everything you do," Ja'lia sighed.
Both Lo'ak and Ja'lia spent the next couple of minutes in complete silence as they looked up at the stars. The night sky soothed all of Ja'lia's worries and anxieties as she felt that her parents were watching over her when the stars shined through the night. Her love for the night sky had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she wished to see a shooting star so that she could make a wish.
"Why do you like star gazing?" Lo'ak whispered.
"I think the stars are pretty," She murmured, placing her head on his chest to stare up at the sky. Lo'ak hummed, and as they continued to see the twinkling lights, and Ja'lia listened to Lo'ak's heartbeat, she was lulled to sleep.
Soon, Lo'ak also drifted to sleep wondering if Ja'lia's answer was the entire truth.
~~~~
"Ja'lia!" Lo'ak said, carefully moving out from underneath her body so she didn't hit her head on the ground. "What?" She grumbled with her eyes still closed.
"We need to get back," He insisted, and Ja'lia slowly sat up, holding her hand out for Lo'ak to help her. Once she was on her feet, the two teens slowly walked back to the Mauri pod as they fell asleep in the forest last night while they were looking at the stars.
The walk back to the pod was slow as neither Lo'ak nor Ja'lia had been fully awake yet. Lo'ak had only woken up because the sunlight practically forced his eyes open. He continued to hold Ja'lia's hand as he didn't want her to fall behind him or stop someplace on the beach to go back to sleep.
After a couple more minutes, they were now walking on the pathway that led them to the Sully family pod. Once they arrived at the pod, they both could hear that everyone was up and talking loudly.
"Where's Lo'ak and Lia?" Tuk asked.
"They probably snuck out last night, Tuk," Kiri informed.
When Kiri said they probably snuck out, Lo'ak and Ja'lia glanced at each other before stepping into the pod. Everyone looked at the two teens, and Ja'lia and Lo'ak made their way over to everyone else.
"Where were you two?" Neytiri asked, and Lo'ak grew nervous as he saw his father staring up at him. "We went for a ride on our ikrans, and then we fell asleep stargazing," Ja'lia shrugged, and Neytiri seemed satisfied with her answer.
Ja'lia, however, was unsure of whether or not Jake was satisfied with her answer.
"That's okay, right, Dad?" Lo'ak asked nervously.
"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" Jake said, and Ja'lia raised her eyebrows.
"Because I'm supposed to be grounded?" Lo'ak said.
"When we got here, I decided to give you a clean slate," Jake informed, and Lo'ak's jaw dropped.
"So, you're telling me I haven't been grounded this entire time?" Lo'ak questioned, raising his voice in disbelief.
"Nope," Jake said.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Lo'ak shrieked.
"You never asked," He said as a teasing smile formed on his face. Lo'ak blinked at his father, and Ja'lia tried to stifle her laughter as she went to sit beside Tuk.
Tuk had been playing with Kiri's hair as Kiri focused on weaving a basket. "Lia! Can I play with your hair?" Tuk asked.
"Sure," Ja'lia answered, and Tuk walked over to stand behind Ja'lia.
As Tuk played with Ja'lia's hair, Neytiri asked both Lo'ak and Ja'lia a question, "Did you guys go in the forest last night?" She asked.
"Yes," Ja'lia said bluntly.
"You both do know that you're not allowed to enter the forest?" Jake asked.
"Mhm," Ja'lia hummed, and Jake rolled his eyes at the teen girl, "So, you went against the direct orders of the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan?" He questioned.
"Wouldn't be the first time," She smiled cheekily, "And it certainly won't be the last," Kiri said with a snort.
"You two are unbelievable," Jake said, trying to keep a smile off his face.
"It's not like anything would have happened. That forest was no different than the one back home," Ja'lia informed.
Jake shook his head in amusement before looking at his children and Ja'lia again, "What are you guys going to do today? Since you have the day off?" He asked.
All of them thought for a second as they were unsure of what they wanted to do. Then an idea popped into Ja'lia's head, "What if we took Tsireya, Ao'nung, and Rotxo for a ride on our ikrans?" She said in excitement, and the Sully children immediately agreed with her.
"Yeah!" Tuk cheered.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Neytiri said.
"Please? We have to learn their ways. We could show them our ways," Ja'lia said, trying to persuade Jake and Neytiri. "Come on, it'll be fun," She pushed, and the two parents shared a look.
"Okay," Jake sighed, "We'll talk to Ronal and Tonowari to see if they like the idea," He agreed, and cheers were heard throughout the pod, "But that doesn't mean that they'll agree, and we have to respect their wishes," Jake said firmly, and they all nodded their heads in understanding.
Jake glanced at Neytiri as they both got up to go talk to Ronal and Tonowari, "Alright, let's go," Jake encouraged, and they all instantly shot up off the floor and followed after the two parents.
This is going to be so much fun! Ja'lia thought to herself.
Unedited. 06/25/23 (my birthday 🥳)
Word Count: 2,503
Hey everyone!
Hopefully you enjoyed - I feel kind of meh about this chapter. I also wrote this in the airport because my flight has been delayed like 5 or 6 times. 🙄
If there is anything you would like to see in upcoming chapters, please comment ideas! I would love to hear from all of you.
If anyone would like to make a cover for the book, please feel free to reach out! The one on the book is generic because I have no artistic skills.
Thank y'all so much for over 400 reads! I love y'all so much!
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