Eclipse fell sooner than Ay'yeiva and Neteyam had anticipated, spending nearly the entire morning together on the beach before the girl had to leave to get ready for her ceremony.
"Do you have to leave?" Neteyam held onto Ay'yeiva's waist loosely as she began to walk away from him.
"Yes, Neteyam. If I don't go now then we have to wait a whole more day and I have been waiting for this moment my whole life"
Neteyam watched her eyes grow as she spoke, pulling her close to him for one last kiss before she left him for the rest of the day.
It was short and sweet, Neteyam wanting Ay'yeiva to feel as if something was missing so she would come crawling back to him later in the day.
His plan worked, the girl giving him a blank look after he stopped the kiss, "You have places to be, don't you?"
A small smirk plastered itself on her face, beginning to walk away, "Two can play at this game, Neteyam!"
･ﾟﾟ･｡.・゜゜・
Everyone in the village swam on their ilus and skimwings towards the Cove of Ancestors.
Just mere days after the battle against the skypeople was the clan celebrating one of the most important moments in a young Na'vi's life; their "Becoming Ceremony", the event that would officially mark them as an adult.
However, this one was different from the rest. Ay'yeiva was not only becoming an adult but she was also becoming officially the next leader of the clan.
She was dressed in the traditional ceremonial clothing the ancestors had spent weeks making for her, using the beads, shells, and materials Ronal had collected over the years as symbols for important events in her daughters life.
The sky grew dark as eclipse started, the plants in the cove of ancestors glowing around them.
Ay'yeiva detached her cue from her skimwing before fully entering the water, swimming over to the main shore Ronal and Tonowari had been waiting at and kneeling with her bottom half in the water, Ronal and Tonowari up to their knees in the water.
Everyone in the village had gathered into the cove, spreading out in a circle around the three of them for the ceremony to continue.
Ronal had a bowl of paint beside her, letting Ay'yeiva close her eyes as she picked it up and dipped her fingers in it. Ronal used her hands so form a pattern on her eldest's face, one that would soon be turned into the girls first tattoo that would symbolize her becoming ceremony.
From where the Sully's were asked to be positioned in the group, being the family of the future leaders mate, Neteyam was almost close enough to Ay'yeiva to see each individual glowing freckle of hers.
He watched as the girls face finished being painted, listening so the song Ronal began to sing; Ay'yeiva's song cord.
A new part was added to it that no one had heard before, none of the Sully's having ever heard it before. Neteyam payed special attention to the song cord, wanting to remember every detail of it so he knew it by heart.
Tonowari stood forward when Ronal finished singing, placing a headpiece on top of Ay'yeiva's head before stepping back beside his mate, "Today marks a new beginning for all of us. It marks the first day of Ay'yeiva being an adult, but it also marks the beginning of a new era; a new leader being born. When the time comes, we know she will be ready to take over and lead us all"
Tonowari went quiet, giving Ay'yeiva the signal that she was to proceed with her part of the ceremony.
Ay'yeiva backed further into the water before going under the surface, swimming all the way down to the base of the Spirit Tree.
She reached for her cue, holding it out to the tree in front of her as she watched the two join together. Her eyes fell heavy as her vision turned white,
･ﾟﾟ･｡.・゜゜・
Opening her eyes, Ay'yeiva could see the ocean.
She turned around to face the village from where she was standing, greeted by a lively crowd of people behind her having what seemed to be a party.
She walked over to the group, noticing a few small children she hadn't ever seen before.
"Ay'yeiva!"
She turned her head to the voice, a young woman approaching her, "I found Tawiri's figurine!"
She looked at the object the woman handed her, confused as to who Tawiri was and why she would be given his figurine.
She took a closer look at the object, noticing it looked like an ikran. She brushed it off, feeling a small tug on her leg.
"Mama! You found the ikran Dad made me?!"
There was a little boy standing in front of her, pointing at the wooden animal she was holding. She held it out to the boy and smiled, watching as he took it and ran back into the group of people.
The boy, who she assumed was Tawiri, ran through the crowd until he stopped at a taller man; one that caught Ay'yeiva's attention.
The man looked up at her and smiled, she smiled back.
He looked an awful lot like...
Neteyam?
･ﾟﾟ･｡.・゜゜・
Ay'yeiva's cue detached from the Spirit Tree, her eyes opening with a bit of confusion.
She knew her and Neteyam were to mate, even if it hadn't been arranged by their parents — but it had never quite been a topic of discussion between the two personally.
The idea hadn't fully set into Ay'yeiva's mind at that point.
Shaking her head she swam back up to the surface of the water and back to where her parents had been waiting by the rocks.
Tonowari kneeled in front of her with a headpiece in hand, Ronal placing an armband on each of Ay'yeiva's arms.
"This headpiece is to be a symbol of unity between Ay'yeiva and her duties as the next clan leader. She will wear it with pride and dignity while leading our clan when the time comes."
Tonowari spoke a bit faster than usual, his voice wavering as he studied his daughters face. She was an adult now; she wasn't his little baby anymore.
Ronal had reached for Tonowari's arm, pulling him back up to where they were standing previously.
Eitxri and a few of the other elders began humming, the people of the clan joining in on the song slowly.
Eventually everyone in the cove was singing, and by the end of the song the ceremony had been complete.
Ay'yeiva was officially an adult.
—🌊