Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past
Bold - sign language
Ja'lia ran her fingers up and down Lo'ak's chest as she felt herself growing sleepy from the lack of movement. It'd been a dreadfully rainy day in the Metkayina clan, and all their training was delayed until the skies cleared up to warm the ocean water.
Of course, the Omatikaya children thought they could still train even though it was rainy, but once they stepped out of the pod, goosebumps formed on their skin, and they immediately ran back inside.
Jake and Neytiri had lit a fire to give the pod some extra warmth while the children huddled together.
It rained back in the Omatikaya clan, but the children weren't accustomed to wind unless it was due to riding their ikrans. Not to mention that the cold rain and breeze made them shiver involuntarily.
Once they noticed how horrible the weather was, they decided to be thankful for the fact that they didn't have to train or leave the pod.
In fact, they almost missed the warmness of the sun that beat down on their dark blue skin every day. The key word being almost. None of them had an issue with the sun, however, they'd never been exposed to it because back home, they could play in the forest and use the trees as cover.
But the Metkayina clan didn't have many of those unless they walked to the forest on the other side of the village, and none of them were willing to do that right at this moment. They basked in the warmness of the fire and the ability to hang out together as a group, especially since things had grown exponentially better between Jake and Lo'ak.
Sure, things were still awkward between the two Sully men, but at least they were putting in an effort.
That's all any of them could ask for because now they could eat together without feeling bad for the other. And the one they mostly felt bad for, except for Ja'lia, was Jake because they all sided with Lo'ak.
It wasn't that they agreed with Jake's words and actions; it was more that they felt bad that he often ate in an empty pod by himself because nobody would go down to the designated eating area with him. Plus, Jake was still the Sully children's father, and they had the right to feel guilty for avoiding their Dad almost as much as Lo'ak did.
A yawn escaped past Ja'lia's lips as she had to force her eyes to stay open. "Are you tired?" Lo'ak murmured, and Ja'lia nodded against his chest as she felt her eyes slowly close.
Lo'ak smiled at Ja'lia while he snuggled closer to her and relished in the feeling of her skin against his. Even before they decided to get together romantically, he had always loved to lay with her. It had always made him feel safe to have her in his arms. He loved the ability to make physical contact with her.
The boy loved to hug her, kiss her, and hold her hand. He was one hundred percent a physical touch man. Since they got together, any time they were beside each other, one part of Lo'ak always had to be touching Ja'lia.
It didn't matter what part of him was touching her, as long as he knew she was there.
Lo'ak moved his hands to her waist and traced circles with his thumb and index finger, causing her to sigh. The Sully pod had been surprisingly quiet as everyone felt tired for some reason, and they excused it as the rain. However, it seemed that Tuk was over it because she hopped up, "I'm bored," She whined.
Everyone looked at her with tired eyes and internally groaned when they knew she wouldn't stop until someone entertained her. Tuk was the baby of the family, and she used that fact fully to her advantage, often convincing Jake to do whatever she wanted.
When Ja'lia saw Tuk slowly move over to Jake, her lips etched into a smirk as she knew it wouldn't take longer than a minute for Tuk to get what she wanted.
"Daddy, can we please do something?" Tuk pleaded, and Jake glanced over at Neytiri for help. Neytiri smiled at her youngest child and husband before speaking, "Baby, it's cold outside. There's not much we can do in here."
The mother's words brought a pout to Tuk's face before she nodded and went to sit beside Ja'lia. Ja'lia felt that Tuk was forced to be in such a small area when she should be allowed to play, but Neytiri was right. There wasn't much they could do in the pod.
Until an idea came into Ja'lia's mind.
Tuk loved to have her hair braided, and she constantly begged Ja'lia to braid it, but Ja'lia never had time because of her warrior training or her healer training. The rainy day in the Metkayina clan gave Ja'lia the perfect opportunity to fulfill Tuk's wish.
Slowly, Ja'lia pulled herself out of Lo'ak's grip, bringing a frown to the boy's face as he watched his best friend groggily rub her eyes. "I could braid your hair, Tuk," Ja'lia offered, and it was as if Ja'lia had offered to give Tuk her favorite snack with the way her face lit up.
"Really?!" She exclaimed, and the teen girl nodded.
The youngest Sully child squealed in excitement before pulling Ja'lia onto her feet so they could sit somewhere less crowded, causing Lo'ak to grimace at the lack of warmth on his body. "Tuk, where are you taking my girlfriend?" Lo'ak mumbled.
"Ja'lia said she would braid my hair!" Tuk cheered.
"But why did you have to pull her away?" He whined, causing Tuk to roll her eyes. "You're such a baby," Tuk muttered, and Lo'ak playfully glared at his younger sister before he moved to sit beside Ja'lia once more.
Neteyam smirked at how clingy his brother was while Kiri rolled her eyes and snorted.
As soon as Ja'lia was comfortable with the position she was sitting in, she started to undo the braids in Tuk's hair. She pulled out the beads and feathers Neytiri gifted to all her children so they always had her with them and handed them to Lo'ak. "Why do I have to hold them?" Lo'ak questioned.
"Because you couldn't go a couple of hours without being attached to my hip," Ja'lia joked, causing everyone in the pod to laugh. Lo'ak looked at her with feigned hurt as he held his hand over his heart, "Are you calling me clingy?" He asked.
"She's not calling you clingy. You are clingy," Kiri said, and everyone laughed except Ja'lia, who had tried to keep her amusement at bay. "Haha, you're so funny, Kiri," Lo'ak said with sarcasm dripping from his tone.
Ja'lia started braiding the back of Tuk's hair and then made her way toward the front. As she slowly made her way around the young girl's hair, she would grab the beads and feathers out of Lo'ak's hand. Neytiri watched the two girls with a smile on her face because she knew how much Tuk hated it when she braided her hair.
The mother was notorious for making their braids so tight that they wouldn't be able to lay down properly or touch their head without feeling a stinging sensation for a couple of days. Although, no matter how much her children whined or complained, she wouldn't loosen her grip when doing their hair because the braids needed to be tight.
If they weren't tight, then loose strands would flow in their faces, and it could prevent them from seeing something important, or they could get caught on something in the forest.
However, they weren't in the forest anymore, which meant they didn't need to be as tight as Neytiri did them. Not that Ja'lia wouldn't make sure Tuk's braids were tight, Neytiri just knew that Ja'lia wouldn't pull as hard as she did.
Although, Neytiri did have to admit that Ja'lia was incredibly fast, and it seemed that she was braiding Tuk's hair at half to speed, much to Tuk's delight. The youngest Sully child had never been one to sit still for too long which is why Neytiri often had Neteyam help braid Tuk's hair.
After a couple more minutes, Ja'lia finally finished with Tuk's hair, and the little girl ran over to show everyone what an amazing job her friend had done.
"Mama, look!" Tuk exclaimed.
"They look very pretty, Tuk Tuk," Neytiri smiled and pulled her youngest child into a hug. But the mother's smile disappeared when she saw movement outside the pod from the corner of her eye.
Both Jake and Neytiri looked out of the pod to see Tonowari as well as Ronal, who had a solemn look on her face. Jake quickly got up and went over to Tonowari to speak with him in a hushed tone while Neytirti convinced Tuk to sit with her siblings and Ja'lia.
As soon as she was positive that Tuk wouldn't follow after her, she got up to walk over to her husband, Tonowari, and Ronal.
"What has happened?" Neytiri asked in concern.
"A tulkun has been killed," Tonowari informed, and Neytiri felt her heart sink.
First, the Sky People searching the village for her and her family, and now the death of one of the Metkayina's brothers or sisters?
"Do we know which tulkun has been killed?" Jake questioned as his nerves started to eat away at him. He felt that this was all his fault.
When he first decided to decide to move his family, he'd never intended for anyone to get hurt, but now his decision had caused a village to be burned down, and a graceful animal to be murdered.
Tonowari shook his head at the mated pair, "Ronal and I were going to go see who it was so that we could console the Na'vi who lost their brother or sister," He informed.
"We will come with you," Neytiri said, and Jake immediately agreed with her.
"I'll go tell the children to stay in the pod until we return," Jake said, and the three other adults waited outside of the pod while they listened to Jake order the children to stay in the pod. To their surprise, none of the children seemed to question or fight Jake on the matter.
Ja'lia had been the first one to respond, and she told Jake that there was no way they would catch her dead outside in that weather. The two Metkayina adults lightly laughed at the girl's response before Jake finally came out of the pod with a small smile present on his features. "I'm surprised none of them fought you on staying in the pod," Neytiri sighed.
"They all said it was too cold," Jake shrugged.
"We should get going," Tonowari said, and everyone grew serious as they rushed toward the tulkun who had unfortunately been taken away from the Metkayina people too soon.
~~~~
Ja'lia dramatically collapsed back onto the ground as she stared up at the ceiling of the pod. Of course, she wouldn't go outside in that horrific weather, but that didn't mean she was any less bored.
There was absolutely nothing for any of them to do in the pod. Kiri had used up the last of the sea shells that morning to make Lo'ak and Neteyam a bracelet, Ja'lia had just finished braiding Tuk's hair, Lo'ak had been content laying beside Ja'lia, and Neteyam's hands or finger would occasionally twitch out of boredom.
Lo'ak lay beside Ja'lia as he pulled her body on top of his before groaning in pain when Tuk threw herself onto Ja'lia. "What the hell, Tuk!" Lo'ak yelled, causing the little girl to beam at her older brother.
"What? You're always hogging Lia! I never get to lay with her anymore!" Tuk claimed, sitting up as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"That's because she's my girlfriend!" Lo'ak argued.
"Well, she's my friend!" Tuk fired back.
And soon, an argument between the youngest Sully children ensued. Lo'ak argued that he knew Ja'lia the longest and that she was also his girlfriend and best friend. Tuk claimed that Ja'lia loved her more than she loved Lo'ak and that Ja'lia was actually her best friend, not Lo'ak's.
The other three teens in the pod watched the argument in amusement while also making bets on who would win the argument.
"Who do you think's going to win?" Neteyam snorted.
"Tuk," Kiri and Ja'lia said at the same time.
Neteyam raised his eyebrows at Ja'lia, "You think that Tuk is going to beat your boyfriend at an argument?" He questioned.
"Tuk has your mothers' personality and attitude. If any of us were to get into an argument with her, she would win," Ja'lia said, causing Kiri to nod in agreement.
"Even our Mom?" Neteyam asked, and both girls paused.
"That would be an interesting argument to see. I honestly can't wait until Tuk's a teenager," Ja'lia smirked, and a scowl made its way to Neteyam's face. "I can wait because that means she won't be interested in boys," He grimaced.
Eventually, Lo'ak and Tuk's argument came to a stop, and the children were once again left with a silence that they were desperately wanting to fill, but none of them knew how to. Usually, Ja'lia was the one to start the conversations, however, she lay half asleep on Lo'ak's chest because she was listening to Lo'ak's heartbeat, which was essentially a lullaby to her.
But soon, they all followed Ja'lia's lead and drifted off to sleep because the crashing of the rain on the roof of their Mauri pod was extremely soothing.
Lo'ak and Ja'lia's limbs were intertwined while Tuk cuddled up to Ja'lia's side and buried her face into the teen's hair to warm her cold nose. Kiri lay beside Tuk, and Neteyam moved to the other side of Lo'ak as they all peacefully slept, awaiting the arrival of Jake and Neytiri.
When the two parents came bursting into the pod, it almost physically pained them to have to wake the children, but it was a necessary evil for what they had to deal with.
Ronal's soul sister, Roa, had been murdered, and now the Metkayina were out for blood. They wanted the heads of every single Sky person who invaded their home, and now Jake had to hope that he could convince them to let it go because this was what the Sky people wanted. The Sky people wanted to lure him out, and if he went along with him, people would die, and there would be no telling of the damage until after it had already been done.
Jake didn't want anyone to get hurt because the Sky people couldn't let go of his betrayal. He knew humans could be selfish and vengeful creatures, but he didn't realize how cruel they truly were until they put innocent bystanders in danger.
The man wasn't a stranger to the cruelties of the humans as he knew that they'd killed Neytiri's sister Sylwanin, Dr. Grace Augustine, Eytukan, Trudy, and Tsu'tey.
That's one of the reasons why he ultimately ended up betraying his own kind, not to mention the fact that he fell in love with Neytiri. He couldn't believe the lengths that humans would go to get what they wanted, especially when it'd been their fault that Earth was dying in the first place, and he would be damned if he let them do the same thing to Pandora.
Jake watched as Neytiri shook all the children out of their slumber, "What's wrong, Mama?" Tuk mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
"Nothing, but I want you and Kiri to go play, okay? It's not raining anymore," Neytiri murmured as she shook Kiri awake.
"But the water will be cold," Tuk whined.
"It will be okay. Ease your way into the water, and then you can ride an ilu with Kiri," Neytiri assured, giving Kiri a look that said not to ask any questions, and to just take Tuk away from the pod.
Once the two Sully girls left, Jake turned his attention to the other three teens, who were still half asleep, "We need to go," Jake informed them.
"What's wrong?" Ja'lia asked.
"Ronal's soul sister has been murdered. The Sky people are trying to lure us out,"
Unedited. 07/16/23
Word Count: 2,736
Hey everyone!
Hopefully you enjoyed - Here's the second chapter for today! This chapter is okay, ig.
I also might be make a slight change to the schedule. I unfortunately just found out that I work tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I'll have time to double update. But if I don't tomorrow, then I definitely will on Tuesday because I don't work!
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 2.7K reads on my story! I appreciate it so much! I love all of you!
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Have an amazing day!