Txana was in her pod, taking some rest after she left Tsireya and Roxto to teach the Sully brothers including Kiri how to breathe underwater.
"Ma Txana?" she saw Aonung peek his head through her leaf curtains before walking inside when he saw her laying on her spread out mat.
"Hello." she said when he went to lay beside her and hugged her.
"Aren't you supposed to be training with your father?" she asked as she caressed his head.
"We're done with all the training, i only need to tame a tsurak now but they're teaching Mr. Sully first that's why i'm here to spend time with you." he replied and a smile formed in her lips as she looked at him.
"What is it?" he asked when he noticed her just staring at him.
"You look handsome everyday." she said, making him smirk as he leaned closer to her face.
"I would love to make out but i need some rest, Ma Aonung." she said, making him chuckle before he pecked her lips and returned back to his original position.
"What is Neteyam to you?" Aonung suddenly asked, making Txana look at him before chuckling.
"He is my best friend, my only friend back in the forest." she replied as Aonung's eyes slightly widened.
"You don't have a lot of friends in the forest?" he asked.
"Yep, it's because i don't talk to anyone there and i've known Neteyam since we were kids." she replied and Aonung nodded in understanding.
"So.. he's just your best friend, right?" he asked again while she chuckled.
"If it makes you feel better, we're cousins." she said and a wide grin appeared on his lips when he knew that he had nothing to be jealous about.
"What were you two talking about earlier?" he asked curiously.
"Oh he told me about us being cousins, so i teased him by asking if he was still the Neteyam i knew before we stopped talking to each other." she replied and Aonung just grew even more curious.
"Why did you stop talking to each other?" Aonung asked.
"It was back when we were both 10 years old, we were hunting for some fish together at a pond. I went to grab the fish that i shot with my arrow but then i shortly fell into the not so deep water because of Neteyam who had slipped on a rock and fell over me." she said before pausing while Aonung waited for her to continue.
"The position was very awkward, he was on top of me literally, while his lips were on my cheek. He suddenly started panicking and got off of me, saying things like 'What if i had kissed your lips? What if your head hit a rock?!' until he eventually said sorry and ran away." she continued and Aonung started laughing.
"Don't go and tease him for it." she said while Aonung stopped laughing but was still smiling.
"Thank you for telling me." he said before kissing her lips.
"Txana?" they heard someone call her from outside as they both immediately sat up.
"Who is it?" she asked as they got off the mat as Aonung rolled it up for her.
"It's Lo'ak." the person outside said while Txana and Aonung exchanged confused looks before Txana went out first.
"Lo'ak? What are you doing here?" she asked as she looked at the boy who looked a bit dull.
"Nothing, i just.. i don't want to be at our pod with my dad right now, he's a bit upset that he couldn't tame a tsurak today too." he said as Txana nodded in understanding.
"Okay, you can stay here with me." she said before Aonung came out of her pod.
"I'll come back later, father must be looking for me." Aonung said as he kissed her forehead and nodded at Lo'ak before walking away.
Txana and Lo'ak soon entered her pod after Aonung left as Lo'ak sat down as he leaned his back on the wooden wall.
"Do you want some yovo juice?" Txana asked as Lo'ak nodded before she started to make some juice out of the yovo that she had in her pod before giving it to Lo'ak.
"Has it always been like this?" she asked as she sat beside him.
"Yeah, mom can't really do anything about it." Lo'ak replied as he stared at the juice.
"He's hard on you, huh?" she said as he nodded.
"You know, if i didn't know any better, i would say he's doing it out of his love for you, which is true, but.. he has a problem with expressing it properly." she said while he scoffed.
"Yeah right.. he picks favorites, and the favorite is most certainly Neteyam." Lo'ak replied as he drank his yovo juice.
"Lo'ak, if Jake is hard on you, he's hard on Neteyam too. The favorites always have to be perfect, and nobody is perfect, that's why none of you siblings are lucky. But, he is still your father, and he cares about you even if it's not obvious or he doesn't often show it." she said as she gave him gentle pats on the head, making him lean on her shoulder tiredly.
"I don't know if i can believe that." he said while she continued to pat his head.
"It's okay, Lo'ak, everything takes time, all you need is a little bit of patience. Try not to compete with your brother too often." she said while he just hummed in response.
After a few minutes of complete silence, Txana heard the boy's soft snores as he slept on her shoulder.
Txana unrolled her mat that was beside her before gently putting Lo'ak on the mat in order to not wake him up before she stood up and grabbed a pillow, raising his head gently as he slid it under his head in order to not make him uncomfortable.
She cleaned her pod up for a few minutes before taking a blanket and putting it on Lo'ak's body so he wouldn't get cold since it was going to be eclipse in one hour.
She tied her braids to a low ponytail before she left her pod to let Lo'ak rest with privacy.
She made her way to the dock before jumping into the water where she was met with her tsurak who approached her as she went up to the surface.
The tsurak seemed to want some attention so she gave it to him, caressing his head as his chin rested on her other palm.
"I haven't named you, have i?" she started talking to him and she heard his low hum meaning that he agreed.
"Skarde. What do you think of that?" she said as he flapped his wings excitedly, making her chuckle.
She got on her tsurak and connected their queues before Skarde started flying around with her.
As they went around the village, Txana noticed that Skarde preferred flying rather than swimming, and she couldn't help but chuckle knowing that she felt the same.
Txana liked flying, it was why her spirit brother was an ikran, she always preferred flying rather than jump through trees, and no one was there to even question it.
They went on to fly for a few minutes before Skarde decided to swim on their way back, so she let him take control.
When she arrived at the beach, she saw Tsireya with Roxto and Kiri, they all seemed to be talking happily so she was gonna go back to her pod to check on Lo'ak but she was stopped by someone smaller than her.
It was Tuk who clung on to her leg while smiling up at her.
"Hello, Tuk. Do you need anything?" she asked as she pat the little girl's head.
"Can you teach me how to make pretty shell bracelets?" the girl said in a cheerful voice.
"I don't know how to make one, Tuk, but i have a nice friend who loves making accessories, he can even make you a necklace or a ring." she replied as she picked the girl up in her arms.
"Really? Can you introduce me to him?" the girl asked excitedly while Txana chuckled.
"Yes, Tuk. I will introduce you to him tomorrow." she replied and she couldn't help but smile seeing the girl's excited expression.
"Tuk!" they heard Neteyam call his little sister as she gently put Tuk back down before the little girl ran towards her brother.
Txana made her way back to her pod and checked to see if Lo'ak was still sleeping there before sighing in relief when he was still huddling inside the blanket.
"Ma Txana!" she heard Aonung call her name out loud. Txana put a finger on her lips, telling him to lower his voice in order to not wake Lo'ak up.
Aonung understood and approached her quietly before hugging her tightly, he seemed to be in a good mood.
"I did it, i tamed a tsurak." Aonung whispered with a wide grin, making her smile before rewarding him with a kiss.
When their lips parted, Aonung nuzzled her neck as he pulled her closer.
"There will be a communal dinner tonight." he said and she nodded while caressing his head.
—
Eclipse had fallen and the people of the village gathered in the communal area where they will be having their dinner.
Tonowari and Ronal invited the Sully family to sit with them for dinner, they accepted of course.
They were about to start eating when Tonowari noticed someone missing.
"Where is your other son?" Tonowari asked Jake who then checked his family before noticing that Lo'ak wasn't there.
Txana saw the worried look on Neytiri's face and a disappointed one on Jake.
"Don't worry, he's-" Txana was cut off when she heard a yawn from behind her.
"Oh, Lo'ak!" Tsireya said as she scooted over so that Lo'ak could sit in between her and Tsireya.
"How was your sleep, brother?" Aonung asked with a bit of a teasing tone while Lo'ak seemed to be spacing out.
"Oh- yeah, it was great." he replied while Aonung chuckled.
"Where-"
"I let him sleep in my pod, he looked pretty tired earlier." Txana cut off Jake's question.
"Alright, let us start eating then." Tonowari stated before they all began eating.
Txana could feel Tsireya looking at her then back at Lo'ak and she didn't know what the girl was currently thinking.
"Mother." Tsireya called for her mother's attention but everyone on the table looked at her instead.
"What is it, Tsireya?" her mother asked. Tsireya turned to Lo'ak before she reached for his braids and held it behind his head like a ponytail, leaving off two braids that weren't as long as the others before she looked at her mother.
"Don't Txana and Lo'ak almost look like each other?" Tsireya pointed out, making everyone look at Txana before looking at Lo'ak.
"No way, i see it." Jake said while kind of squinting his eyes while Neytiri stifled a laugh.
"They do, right?" Tsireya asked again as she let go of Lo'ak's braids.
Txana and Lo'ak looked at each other, her forehead creased while Lo'ak's eyebrows furrowed.
"Why do they look alike, mom?" Tuk asked her mother who was laughing quietly.
"It is because when Tseyal was pregnant with Txana, she would always see Jake everywhere and shoot arrows at him." Neytiri replied, making Jake grimace at the bad memory.
"So Txana ended up looking a bit similar to Jake because of that." Ronal said while nodding, completely understanding the situation.
Kiri and Neteyam started laughing as Txana and Lo'ak flipped them off from under the table.
Aonung turned Txana around so he could take a better look at her face.
"You don't look like a skxawng though." Aonung said, making Kiri and Neteyam laugh while Tsireya chuckled.
"Whatever." Lo'ak just rolled his eyes at his siblings as he went back to eating his food.
"That must mean that Lo'ak will be a great warrior aswell." Tonowari said, making Lo'ak look at him before looking at Txana who was smirking down at him.
"He will be." she said, making Lo'ak roll his eyes.