CHAPTER 51
Neytiri's wailing never ceased even as Ronal busied herself over Neteyam, mumbling words under her breath and setting down all the things she had brought with her. Unlike his wife, Jake had gone completely silent; he seemed to be listening to something the others couldn't hear.
It was not hard to guess what he'd been listening to when he suddenly turned to Lo'ak and spoke up: "Where are your sisters?" He asked. When Lo'ak only looked up at his father, not able to give him an answer, Jake pushed harder. "Your sisters. Where are they?"
"I don't know," Lo'ak spoke softly, averting his eyes once again.
"Where are they?" Jake repeated. He was shouting by now, and Tsireya - not wanting Lo'ak to be yelled at - spoke quickly: "They are on the ship. They are tied up on the ship," she told him, tears running down her face.
"They're - they're at the moon pool," Spider stammered and Jake looked toward him. "At - at the well deck. Midships."
Jake frowned as he tried to make sense of Spider's rambling, "What?" He asked.
Spider got to his feet and took Jake's hand, attempting to pull him up with himself, "Come on. I'll show you," he offered, "Come on," he repeated as Jake rose to his feet to follow.
Erìhe realised then that she hadn't told anyone that she had felt Neteyam's pulse, that he was still alive, and that perhaps she should. She watched Ronal lean down and listen for his heartbeat and they met each others eyes when the older woman leaned back up with wide eyes. The Tsahik nodded at her, wordlessly communicating with the girl, letting her know that what she'd felt was real. Erìhe let out a long breath, subconsciously holding onto Neteyam's hand and giving it a light squeeze.
Neytiri watched with a small frown as the Tsahik began looking through her supplies. If her son was dead, what did she need her healing herbs and balms for? "Is he.. Neteyam - he's alive?" She whispered, looking back and forth between Ronal and her son.
The Tsahik did not look up at Neytiri as she nodded. The woman let out a loud gasp and quickly turned to look toward Jake. "Ma Jake," she spoke as she held out a hand toward her husband, a small smile gracing her features, "Neteyam is alive."
Jake walked back over to them and held Neytiri's hand. He was overjoyed to hear the news, but he couldn't really get his hopes up just yet: even if he was still alive, that could change whenever. He did not want to leave his sons side, given as he was in such critical condition, but his daughters remained on that ship and they weren't going to get themselves out. "We've gotta go," he told her, but his eyes lingered on Neteyam. "They've got our daughters."
Neytiri's smile slipped as she blinked up at Jake and took in the news. She seemed to be in conflict with herself. She couldn't just leave Neteyam, but she had to save her daughters. Her brows furrowed with sadness as she leaned down to press a short kiss onto her sons forehead before took her bow from the ground and met Jake's eyes again. "Let's go get our daughters," Jake told her.
Neytiri nodded solemnly before getting up, turning around and walking over to her ikran while breathing heavily. Whoever had hurt her son was going to pay for it with their life, Erìhe knew this.
The girl silently watched Neytiri mount the animal and then take off. She could only pray that her and Jake would be okay and make it back. She looked over just in time to see Jake telling Lo'ak to stay there with Neteyam, and Lo'ak asking to go with him.
Jake's cold response shocked her. "You've done enough," he told his son as he turned around. Maybe he would soon come to regret saying this, but Erìhe could see no sign of it on his face as he walked over to the water.
"Dad.." Lo'ak said in a voice that quivered, yet he remained rooted to his spot. He watched as Jake and Spider disappeared into the water. Silence fell over those left behind and Ronal, Tsireya, and Erìhe offered Lo'ak glances filled with sympathy - even the Tsahik not really knowing what else to say or do.
But not even a full minute had passed since Jake's departure when Lo'ak spoke up again. He addressed Tsireya, caressing her cheek softly, "Stay with him," he told her in a soft voice, barely acknowledging the two other women before he retreated into the ocean.
"No!" Tsireya called after him as Erìhe said his name, hoping he would see sense and turn back around. He didn't - and Erìhe should have known he wouldn't. She would have gone after him, had the circumstances been any different. But she couldn't leave Neteyam, too. She knew it was a long shot, but what is he woke up and she wasn't there? She wouldn't take the risk.
The Tsahik barely spared Lo'ak a glance as she pressed a cloth to Neteyam's wound after coating it with some balm. "He will get himself killed," she said in a disapproving tone.
Her nonexistent faith in Lo'ak caused Erìhe to narrow her eyes at Ronal, but she remained silent. Yes, the boy made rash decisions, but this was also why he made it out alive from tight situations. She believed that he could be smart about this.
Tsireya sniffled and Erìhe held out her free hand toward the girl, who gratefully latched onto it and squeezed it. Tsireya offered Erìhe a small smile which she returned, before both of them looked back down at Neteyam.
By now the Tsahik was mumbling words again, chanting something under her breath - no doubt speaking to Eywa or otherwise completing some kind of Metkayina healing ritual. It didn't differ much from the way the Tsahik back in the forest used to heal wounded Na'vi, but Erìhe still found herself being unable to look away.
She continued to watch the Tsahik in silence along with Tsireya. One of her hands was being held by the girl and her other was squeezing tightly onto Neteyam's. The quiet continued until a loud explosion could be heard coming from the mothership and it began sinking faster - faster than it had been before. Erìhe flinched and so did the others, but none of the three women said anything regarding it, though they all were undoubtedly worrying about the Sullys.
After another moment of eery silence, splashes could be heard from one end of the rocks and from her peripheral vision, Erìhe could see three figures stepping out of the water and hurry across the rocks toward them. Startled and frightened, Tsireya whirled around to face them but both her and Erìhe relaxed upon seeing three familiar girls.
Aluva, Riik'o, and Níawi came to a stop in front of them, wide eyes glued to Neteyam who remained unconscious on the rocks.
Tsireya quickly got onto her feet and pulled the three girls into a hug, crying into Aluva's shoulder. "What happened to him?" Níawi peeked at Erìhe from over Tsireya, her arms lifted to hold tightly onto the girl hugging her.
"Is he dead?" Aluva voiced, voice sounding incredibly frail and shrill and Erìhe found it hard to believe that the voice had actually come from her: she usually sounded so confident - even demanding at times.
"No," the Tsahik said with a sigh, sitting down properly now and leaning back on her arms. She looked exhausted, Erìhe noted. "He's alive," she told the girls, "Hear that? His heartbeat is getting stronger." All three of the newcomers seemed to take in a deep breath at the news.
Though him being alive was no news to Erìhe, she still inhaled sharply as Tsireya squealed joyously, rushing over and pulling Erìhe to her feet and then into a bone-crushing embrace. "He's going to be fine!" She whispered and Erìhe nodded, closing her eyes as she melted into the hug.
"We were so worried about you," Riik'o then said, "Where have you all been? We tried looking for you. We joined the fight."
Tsireya let go of Erìhe, still holding her arm around her. "We were stuck on the ship," she gave them the simplest explanation that barely covered anything - but it was essentially what happened.
Níawi nodded with a concerned frown, "I'm glad you got away," she whispered. Then her eyes suddenly widened as she remembered something important, "Kiri was taken! Ao'nung and Rotxo told us she was taken onto the ship - one of the skypeople took her."
Erìhe nodded, her lips downturned in the corners in a frown, "Jake and Neytiri went to get her and Tuk."
"Tuk, too?" Riik'o squeaked, but the only response she received was a solemn nod from Erìhe.
"Lo'ak went too," Tsireya whispered worriedly and Erìhe squeezed her shoulder in comfort, whispering back that he would be fine.
Tsireya, Erìhe and Ronal were startled when Aluva let out the loudest gasp they'd ever heard. The sound broke through the silence and Erìhe immediately whirled around to search for the reason of her reaction.
She'd already had time to get her hopes up that Neteyam had woken up, but was vastly disappointed when Aluva pointed to her thigh instead, a horrified expression etched on her face, "You got shot, too!" She stated, "Are you alright?" She questioned and stepped closer with Níawi to inspect the wound.
Níawi held a hand over her mouth as she looked at the horrid injury. "Does it hurt much?"
Well, it did hurt now that they'd mentioned it.
Erìhe grimaced as she poked out her foot, flexing her entire leg to test it. Looking down, she could see that it was hardly bleeding anymore and the water had washed away a lot of the dry blood that crusted her thigh, but it was still a hole in her flesh - a disgusting sight to say the least.
"It stings a little," she admitted, her brows furrowed.
"Come here, girl," Ronal demanded, holding out a hand to bring Erìhe down to the rocks beside her - right next to Neteyam who was still passed out. Aluva exclaimed again when she caught sight of the exit wound: "It went all the way through?"
Erìhe only sniggered as she settled down next to the Tsahik, allowing her to get out her healing balm and gently smear it over the wounds. "I got quite lucky, don't you think?"
Níawi shook her head in disbelief but a small smile appeared on her face. "Unbelievable."
"You certainly did get lucky," the Tsahik agreed with Erìhe, putting away the balm and holding up a long piece of cloth instead. The girl brought her knee up, allowing Ronal to wrap the cloth around her thigh with ease. When she tightened the cloth harshly, Erìhe let out a little sound of protest but pressed her lips together and otherwise said nothing. "You've been moving around too much," Ronal commented, leaning back again once she'd tied a tight knot in the fabric.
"Kind of had no other choice," Erìhe sighed and looked down at Neteyam sadly. She not-so-discreetly moved her hand over to hold his again and lifted it onto her lap, now holding on with both her hands. Her fingers brushed over the bracelet Neteyam had made - the one that was supposed to be given to the one you like - and she remembered they had never exchanged bracelets. Her fault.
Aluva looked down at the two teenagers with a sad look in her eye. When Riik'o turned to look at her apologetically she only averted her gaze and offered the girl a small smile. She'd understood she had no chance with Neteyam for a long time already, ever since he rejected her. Everything in her wanted to be furious with Erìhe but she recognised that he'd never been hers: Erìhe had him first. She was guessing he was hers even when they were children. She knew she'd get over this, and truthfully, she liked Erìhe as her friend far too much to keep holding onto this grudge.
From the moment Erìhe had first kissed Neteyam, she hadn't minded Aluva's feelings for him - at first it had been the satisfaction of her having something the other couldn't have, but now she just didn't let it bother her much. Erìhe still wanted to be her friend, however awkward it would be for a while.
"I hope Lo'ak is fine," Tsireya murmured, glancing at the sinking ship. When Erìhe looked over as well, her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. She hadn't looked over at the wreck in a while, and now that she did she could see that it was mostly submerged - only partly out of water anymore.
"Is it - is the ship turning over?" Níawi wondered, pointing toward the mothership.
It was indeed turning upside down as they spoke, and they had no way to know wether the Sullys were still on board. The odds weren't looking very good.
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A/n:
I definitely forgot about Aluva, Riik'o, and Níawi