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CHAPTER TWO.

╰┈➤ DIFFICULT !

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a/n — this is literally so short and such a filler chapter too i'm sorry it took me so long to get out </3

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By the end of the morning, you've concluded that you have arrhythmia.

It has to be, because you're trying to deny the only other possible reason your heart would be beating this fast in your chest.

And it doesn't make sense, really. That you're getting nervous around a boy you met maybe only a few days ago, a boy who practically ran you into a wall on the first meeting.

You can't wrap your head around the countless daydreams you've gotten lost in, all involving what you've imagined to be a warm touch, a contagious smile, and just being with him.

And it's stupid, childish and unlike you, to hopelessly lose yourself in some dumb fantasy with a cute boy you really don't know at all. But in spite of your efforts, you still can't help yourself falling down the rabbit hole of what if's.

So you ignore his many texts to you, his number not saved in your phone but memorized from the amount of texts you've gotten. Lo'ak was concerned for you— that much was made clear from the amount of 'how are you's?' or 'u sure u ok?'.

But you refuse to respond to them, leaving him on delivered, despite jumping up every time you get a notification on your phone and seeing that it's from him.

You're dozing in and out of conscious when you realize your morning lecture is finally wrapping up, the people around you all starting to pack up and leave. You're close to doing the same when the professor calls your name, and you turn around, scared he's about to scold you for your lack of attention today. "Yes, professor?"

"I wanted to talk to you about an opportunity from one of our trainers here on campus."

You raised a brow, intrigued. "Really?"

"Yes," he continues. "She's looking for an apprentice for a few months, to help her during the basketball games. She was asking for one of my better students, so I recommended you. It would also count as your internship part for this class."

Shocked and now wide awake, and a little proud you were recommended for the job, you smiled, nodding your head excitedly. "I would love to! Thank you so much for the recommendation. Do you know how I can contact her?"

"Her names Coach Via, here's her card with all her information. She's really eager for you to start— if you're able to you can meet her in the gym right now, basketball's training right now."

"I'll be right on it, thank you so much again!" You called out as you exited the classroom, locating the entrance of the gym and opening the doors, stilling as soon as you walked in.

You were met with the dribbling of basketballs and the sound of shooting, when everyone seemingly paused as you walked in, clearly invading their practice time.

"Um, hi," you called out, pausing when you scanned the room of unfamiliar faces, landing on the one you were trying to avoid this whole time.

He was on the basketball team?

Your throat went dry, and you snapped out of your state of panic when you realized nobody greeted you back. "Sorry, I'm looking for your trainer? Via?"

At the sound of her name, the girl walked in with the coach, who yelled at the boys to be respectful to the newcomer, and for them to continue on with their practice.

They kept on, all ignoring your presence except for a certain three boys, which went over your head as the trainer and coach approached you.

"You must be Y/n."

At the call of your name you nod, shaking hands with the woman. "And I'm guessing you're coach Via?"

"That I am. Thanks for coming on such short notice, by the way. It's nice to have a helping hand over here."

"Thank you, really. It's a great opportunity for me." You smiled, gaze faltering to the boy just across the room, doing a 1v1 drill with another teammate.

The coach, who you forgot was standing near you both, finally spoke up. "Thanks for helping around here, Y/n. I apologize in advance for the boys though, do you know any of them?"

As you look back, really only paying attention to Lo'ak, you shake your head no. "Uh- no, can't say I do."

"Ah, I'll make sure to introduce you at the end of practice then."

You thank the head coach and follow Via into another room, looking around curiously.

"This is where we store most of our supplies— tape for the boys, any kt tape, ice and whatnot."

"Gotcha." You smiled, and before Via continued there was a knock on the door, someone's large figure taking up the space in the doorframe.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?"

You're almost sure you're having a heart attack when you recognize the voice.

"Not at all!" Via replies before you can process what's even happening. "What do you need?"

"Jammed my finger, just need it taped."

"This sounds like one for you, Y/n," The girl innocently smiles, completely unaware of the panic she's just caused. "Tapes in the drawer over there. I'll be back in the gym if you need anything else."

And then there were two.

You quickly move to the drawer before either of you get the chance to say something, grabbing the roll and moving towards Lo'ak, hesitantly reaching for his hand. His touch is warm— hot against your icy hands and somehow soothing.

"Which fingers need to be taped?" Your tone is formal, distant and cold, and Lo'ak frowns at the way you address him.

But he decides to stay silent, opting for wiggling them and letting you do your job.

You take the tape, gently closing the two fingers together and wrapping the strand of tape around them, tearing it off and sticking it closed. "Anything else?"

He's quiet for a quick moment, eyes traveling upwards to meet your own. "Why are you avoiding me?"

You freeze with your back turned to him, in the process of putting the tape back. "I don't," you stutter, unsure of how you got stuck in this situation. "I don't know what you mean."

"Look, I'm sorry if I was too forward or anything, but you stormed off that day in the cafe," he recalled, walking over to stand in front of you, trying to meet your eyes again. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't," you shake your head, coming up with an excuse. "I was in a rush. Didn't think I would make it to class on time."

"Liar," He calls you out, and you feel frozen once again, scared that he'll say out loud what you've been thinking the past week.

"You were just too scared to ride on my motorcycle again."

Or maybe not.

You almost breathe out in relief, and shake your head, laughing lightly. "Whatever."

"Don't 'whatever' me!" He laughs back, looking down at you. "I promise next time I'll take my car."

"Next time?" You inquire, raising a brow.

"Well- I mean- what I meant-" He stumbled over his words, scratching his head awkwardly. "I was kind of hoping there was gonna be a next time."

"As long as you're still paying, that's fine by me."

"It's a date," He grinned foolishly as he started to leave the room, heading back to practice. "I mean-"

"It's a date." You find yourself confirming it, your grin matching his.

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After basketballs practice ended, you head back to the apartment, immediately crashing onto your shared couch.

What's gotten into you? You're asking yourself so many questions, unable to train your mind from thinking of Lo'ak, how it felt to have his hand against yours, or how you're all of a sudden agreeing to a date with the boy you've met just a couple weeks ago, if that.

You're interrupted from spiraling any further when the jangle of keys sound from outside, and you realize your roommates home.

She's fast to notice your state of mind as you lay on the couch.

"What's wrong, roomie?"

"I hate men." You confide, groaning into the pillow.

"There's a boy?" Tsireya asks, her tone changing from concerned to curious. "Who is it?"

"Lo'ak Sully," you admit, and with your head buried deep into the couch, you miss her shocked expression. "I guess I agreed to go on a coffee date with him."

"I know him!" Tsireya pipes up, and you raise your head.

"You do?"

"He's a sweet guy, y/n. We're friends, kinda. But what's wrong with him?"

"Nothing! That's the problem!"

She tilts her head dumbly at you. "...What?"

"I've barely known the guy for two weeks and I can't stop imagining stupid scenarios about him. I hardly know the guy, I don't even know why I'm doing this." You complain as Tsireya takes a seat next to you.

"Y/n, it's okay to go on dates with people, you know? Have some fun, and you'll get to know him along the way. Stop throwing yourself into this fit of worry, and just enjoy the moment."

"That's-" you paused, taking a moment to collect your thoughts and stare at Tsireya. "Good advice, actually."

"What can I say, it's what I'm good for." She smiles at you, leaving to her own room, and you alone with your thoughts.

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You wake up to another text from Lo'ak, and you're sure of it, as you'd finally saved his number in your phone.

'Pick you up in 10?'

You respond with a quick 'yes' and get up, rushing to get ready on time. With no class today, you're not too worried about your books, settling for packing your laptop and your notes, then meeting Lo'ak outside, slightly shocked at the sight of a car.

"No motorcycle this time?"

"Couldn't risk bringing it, it was driving you away," He grins, unlocking the door. "Same cafe?"

"Yeah." You nod, still speaking quietly, and still somewhat reserved, despite Tsireya's advice.

"You're quiet." Lo'ak points out, not taking his eyes off the road.

"What if I'm normally quiet?"

"Something tells me that the way you kept rambling about the motorcycle that you're not as reserved as you say you are."

"Whatever," You brush him off with a roll of your eyes, leaning back in the chair. "Maybe I just don't like you."

"You agreed to go out on a date with me!"

"Maybe I felt bad."

"Literally get out." He joked, his laugh echoing loudly throughout the car.

"I'm not getting out of a moving car, Lo'ak."

"I could pull over and let you out."

"Shut up and drive me to my free coffee please."

"Starting to regret asking you out on a date." He smiles, glancing over at you before pulling into the parking lot.

"No you're not." You retorted, waiting for him to park and getting out and grabbing your bag, walking to the familiar cafe.

"Yeah," he smiles at you, and you're sure your heart skips a few beats with how he looks at you. "I'm not."

As you walk into the cafe, you realize, you're in a lot deeper than you thought you were.

And maybe you don't realize it,

But so is he.

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Just for the Night

Lo’ak x Fem!Omatikaya!Reader

Part Two

Warnings: (aged up) nsfw, enemies to lovers, angst, arguing, hate-fucking

part one

The skin on the back of your neck prickles with unease, color tinging your cheeks as frustration mounts with each rushed stride through the forest.

You're practically vibrating with irritation, muscles pulled so taunt a dull ache radiates from between your shoulders. You welcome the sting of short nails biting into your palms, reveling in the distraction for only a moment before the scrutiny at your back becomes too much to bear.

“Will you stop that already?” Your lips purse with a low hiss, head turning just enough to send a steely glare toward the man behind you.

Lo'ak glowers at your quickly retreating figure, lips turning downward in displeasure. Long fingers tighten around the woven basket perched on his hip, the mere sound of your voice putting him further on edge.

“I can feel you plotting my murder back there.” You mutter with a roll of your eyes, attention returning to the path ahead.

The weight of his hard stare is palpable. It settles in your gut, twists your insides uncomfortably. Warmth blankets your skin, a heady mix of anger and...something else, something you haven't dared begin to dissect since the night you both crossed a line it doesn't seem you'll be able to come back from.

“Oh, I don’t have to plot, sweetheart. The whole thing’s already planned out.” His voice is rough, lips twitching into a satisfied smirk at the way your spine stiffens.

You whirl around to face him, fists clenching impossibly tighter, eyes narrowed in a fierce glare. Despite your best efforts, he's continued doing what he's best at: worming his way under your skin.

Whatever this is between you—this stifling tension—it's only gotten worse since that night in his family's tent. The lingering looks, the constant bickering...it's driving you crazy. Not a single day has gone by without some altercation with the youngest Sully brother.

Despite years of this back and forth, you aren't accustomed to the cold, unreadable wall that Lo'ak has built around himself since that night. It makes you uneasy, has you questioning if there may be some deeper issue he has with you, past the point of friendly competition.

“Charming.” Your nose wrinkles with an insincere smile, a scoff falling from your lips as you turn away from him again.

“You always do this." A humorless laugh echoes through the trees as you near your destination. Lo'ak jogs forward, arm extending to brush away a large leaf from the path, allowing you to duck through into the clearing first. “Get all mad as if it's not your fault we're in this position.”

You're already facing him as he steps into the plush grass after you, an expression of exasperated shock etched into your features.

“You're joking, right?” Wide eyes scan his lithe form, taking note of the way strong arms cross so casually over his broad chest.

He can't possibly think this is your fault. You were simply minding your own business, as usual, when he appeared and started bothering you. Kiri was at your side, the two of you helping prepare for the midday meal, chopping various vegetables for the clan.

Less than a minute after Lo'ak plopped down onto the rock only inches from yours, the fighting was unbearable for your best friend. She disappeared with the typical departing insult—calling you both skxawngs (idiots) with a soft sigh.

Truthfully, you don't even know how it started. You never do. Somehow, despite your best efforts, the two of you always end up right here. Harsh words and cold glares exchanged until one of you snaps and stalks off, only for the cycle to repeat the next time you see each other.

“I know you're used to getting away with everything, but you should know by now that I see through the good girl act.” Lo'ak's head tilts to the side, tail swaying with ease at his back.

Despite the volatile nature of your relationship, he's never stopped watching you. He's tried, he really has, to leave you alone—to keep his wandering eyes at bay. But you're always there, always so close yet still out of reach.

It's his own fault, and he knows it, but the fact does little to lessen the sting.

“What are you talking about?” Something ignites in Lo'ak's chest at the flare of heat in your golden eyes. It eggs him on, pushes him closer to the line he's always toeing, between good-natured bickering and actual fighting.

“Oh, please. The clan's precious little angel, used to getting whatever she wants.” His voice drips with mockery, and it makes a wave of embarrassment wash over your cheeks. “And you can't stand that I don't like you.”

Lo'ak's feet move on their own accord, bringing him a step closer with each harsh word. He has no idea what he's doing, doesn't know what's possessed him to take it this far, but he's just so...fed up. He's tired of this push and pull, tired of warring with himself every time you're close.

He can't stand you, and yet, he aches to be near you. His heart yearns for yours in a way he's never experienced with anyone else. In a way he hasn't been able to shake since the very moment he realized his feelings for you breached well past platonic.

It was only a breath later that he decided he would never have you. Decided it would be best to push you away, to protect his fragile heart from the surety of your rejection. Because, even at such a young age, he knew it would never work. He'd long been labeled the trouble child, the rebel, the one who ruins everything he touches...

And how could he bear to bring you down with him?

A surprised laugh bubbles in your chest, and you move back, desperate to put some distance between you. It's clear, what he's insinuating. That you're the instigator, the one to blame for the argument that got you into this mess in the first place.

Regardless of who threw the first verbal punch, Lo'ak's father—your Olo'eyktan—was not the least bit happy. He stormed toward the two of you without hesitation, sternly hissing that you were drawing attention to yourselves. Bringing shame to your families.

His words settled heavily in your heart, made your ears flatten with shame. But he was right. It only took a single glance toward your father, standing just a few feet behind Jake, to notice the disappointment gleaming in his eyes.

As the Olo'eyktan's closest confident, he has an image to uphold. Which, in turn, means that you do too. And typically, you're an exemplary member of the clan. You pull your own weight, help others whenever possible, and keep to yourself otherwise.

But there's just something about Lo'ak that makes you forget all duty and responsibility in the name of defending yourself, of proving that you're not some wallflower. That you're worthy of being noticed.

Jake quietly ushered you both off to collect some fruit for lunch, ordering that you not return until you've figured out how to get along.

“Are you actually that self-absorbed? You really think I'd waste my time trying to get at you?” You peer up at Lo'ak in disbelief, a flash of anger making your heart beat just a fraction faster.

“Drop the innocent act. It's just me, and I've already seen the real you. Can't get much worse than that.” He regrets the words the instant they leave him, jaw clenching at the way your lips part in surprise.

He's taken it too far. That much is clear, if the pained glimmer that washes over your eyes is any indication. It's gone in an instant, replaced with the fiery anger he's used to. Your ears twitch, tail snapping, a clear display of your animosity.

“If I’m the clan's angel, what does that make you? Clan screw up?” Your hands curl into fists and you take a small step forward.

The air between you is sharp, jagged edges of your tattered friendship hanging by a thread. You can't help but lash out, even if the insult has your own heart cinching in your chest.

It was a low blow, and it's obvious you've hit a nerve. Your chest heaves as you watch the words settle over him, watch his expression crumble before turning hard as stone again within seconds.

Lo'ak's tail twitches to attention against his spine, before swishing from side to side harshly. His breath hitches, heart racing with an overwhelming mix of emotion.

It washes over him in wave after wave, an onslaught of anger, frustration, crushing sorrow. Because after all this time, you finally see him for what he truly is.

What he fears he'll always be.

“At least I actually contribute. You can’t do anything without daddy hovering right behind you. How pathetic.” He crowds the remaining space between you, towering over you, chin dipping as his eyes narrow into a harsh glare.

He looks downright menacing, not an ounce of warmth in his expression. A soft gasp falls from your lips, moisture blurring your vision. He's breathing heavily, chest nearly touching yours as he fights to slow the violent thrum of his heart.

You peer up at him, equal parts rage and hurt swirling deep within your belly until you can't take it for even a second longer. One of your hands rears back, but before you can land a hit on his cheek, he snatches your arm out of the air.

Long fingers curl around your wrist, his hold gentle but firm. The feeling of his skin on yours sets you ablaze, fans the flame of desire that's been building within you since that night. This is the first time he's touched you since then, and though it was only in an act of self-defense, the warmth from his palm has you reeling.

“I hate you.” You voice wavers, the proclamation nothing more than a broken whisper.

“Good.” His jaw clenches, your spiteful words only spurring him on.

He pulls you forward roughly, capturing your lips with bruising force. You stumble into him, body responding without hesitation despite the weak internal protests warning against falling into this pattern with him.

The pressure on your wrist disappears, instead moving to your hips as both of his hands circle your waist. A gasp tears your lips from his as rough bark bites into the skin of your back. You hadn't even realized you were moving, too distracted by the burning heat of his lips on yours.

Lo'ak devours you like a man starved. His kiss isn't sweet, it isn't tender. It's all tongue and teeth, a explosion of pent up tension that's been brewing for years. A shiver rolls down your spine, and you arch into him, pressing your chest flush to his.

Your tongues battle for dominance, ragged breath mingling as you both pour every ounce of distain for each other into the kiss. One of your hands lifts, fingertips smoothing over the side of his neck to draw him in.

You hold him there gently, a quiet moan spilling into his mouth despite your best efforts to keep any noises at bay. Warring desires clash in your mind. You want to shove him away, and pull him closer all at once. He's so infuriating, so intoxicating, and you're far too under his spell to escape now.

Within seconds, your loose hold is ripped away as he cages your hand against the tree, holding it above your head. You can't help the way your hips writhe along his, a breathy sound falling from your lips when you feel the stroke of something hard against your soft heat.

You respond by tangling your free hand into his braids, tugging harshly just to see his reaction. His head jerks back at the unexpected sting, a rough growl rumbling his lungs. Your hips rut against his again, the vibration of his chest on yours settling hotly between your legs.

A wave of pleasure washes over him, the color of his cheeks deepening. His eyes snap to yours, narrowed in warning before he leans forward, nipping at your bottom lip lightly. An involuntary whimper escapes you, hold on his hair tightening.

A low moan falls from his lips, a shaky breath fanning your face as he staggers back a step. Your lips chase his, seeking the heat of his touch before your mind has a chance to catch up. The two of you stumble blindly, an uncoordinated dance of passion as you desperately fight to stay connected.

This continues until one of Lo'ak's heels catches on an upturned root, sending him crumpling to the ground. His arms slide around your middle, caging you to his chest as his tailbone takes the brunt of the fall. He grunts against you, lips still ravaging yours without skipping a beat.

The slight ache from the fall is instantly forgotten as you mount him, spreading your legs so his body easily slots between them. His head tilts back at the sensation of your plush skin on either side of his hips, a shudder wracking his chest when your hands begin exploring his skin.

Your fingertips trail along his chest, over trembling abs, all the way down to the hardened length still trapped beneath his loincloth. When your touch ghosts over his cock, he jerks, his hips rutting into your hand. A breathy moan falls from his lips, followed by a shaky gasp when you do it again.

“Not so tough now, are you?” Your lips twitch into a smirk against his, earning you a low growl.

“Shut up.” He hisses, long fingers curling around your throat.

The hold is possessive, and oh so dominant, a show of control even though he's the one beneath you. He pulls you forward, claiming your lips harshly again. A shiver rolls down your spine, and you can't help but drag your soaked core over his cock.

“Fuck, Y/N.” He gasps, lips ripping from yours as his head falls back, eyes fluttering with a surge of pleasure. His hands fall to your hips, his hold tight as he presses you down onto him, guiding your movements.

“Take this off.” Your chest is heaving, breath ragged as you hurriedly tug at the strings of his loincloth.

His lips curve into a lopsided grin, though another moan rumbles his chest when your hips roll along his cock again. “That desperate already?”

“Don't.” Your voice drops in warning as you successfully undo the knot, before practically ripping the material from his body.

It's quickly discarded, leaving you with nothing to do but dissect his cock with heavy-lidded eyes. It's bigger than you imagined, slapping against his stomach as it stands fully erect.

Something warm and unwelcome blooms deep within Lo'ak's chest, as he watches you. Wide eyes, flushed cheeks, plump lips parted with wonder as you take him in for the first time.

He's quick to flip you over, to lay you gently onto the soft grass. His palms press into the earth on either side of your head, supporting his weight as he takes a moment to gaze down at you. He can't help it, the way his eyes lock onto yours, pouring out every last bit of his usually tightly shackled emotions.

Having you beneath him like this is something he's fantasized about for years, and even now, he's not quite sure that it's real. He's tried so hard to push you away, to wedge so much distance between you that this could never be a possibility. And yet, here you are, more beautiful than ever...and all his.

He rips his gaze away, warmth blanketing his face. He deftly unties your loincloth with one hand, slipping it down your legs smoothly. His palm skims along the outside of your calf, sending a shiver down your spine.

When he reaches your thigh, he gives it a firm squeeze before hooking his fingers behind your knee and urging your legs apart. A deep moan rumbles his chest at the sight of your glistening pussy, fingers moving to drag along the trail of slick coating your inner thighs.

“Goddamn, you always get this wet when we fight?” He rasps, only half joking. The mere idea of you so hot and bothered by him, by your frequent disagreements, has his cock throbbing in anticipation.

“Stop. Talking.” You hiss, the color of your cheeks deepening with arousal and embarrassment alike.

Lo'ak gives his cock a few strokes as he aligns himself with your entrance, dragging his swollen tip along your soft folds. You arch into him, a quiet moan falling from your lips. The sound has his gaze snapping to yours again, breath lodging in his throat.

Suddenly, this position feels too intimate. It tightens his chest, makes his stomach flip with conflicting emotion. A deeply seeded desire within his heart urges him to take care of you, to allow whatever this is between you blossom into something real. Something warm and soft, unlike the cold bitterness that's been festering for years.

It's all too much. Too good to be true.

So, instead, he grips your waist and roughly flips you over, hauling you onto your hands and knees before him.

“Lo'ak—” You gasp, surprised at the unexpected movement.

“Thought you said no talking?" His teeth clench so hard he fears they may shatter, but he welcomes the ache as he easily slides into your waiting pussy.

You cry out, arms already trembling, nearly collapsing onto the grass at the burst of pleasure. Lo'ak's eyes pinch closed, hands gripping your hips with bruising force as he slams his entire length into your sopping pussy. He groans when he bottoms out, tip pressing firmly into your womb.

You're a mess before him, reduced to a string of moans and whimpers as he drills into you mercilessly. Your back bows, head dropping between your arms when your lower belly tightens. His head falls back, a low growl echoing through the clearing as your silky walls flutter around him.

He doesn't give you even a second to rest, maintaining a brutal pace as he chases his high. One of his hands smooths over your lower back, pressing into it to force a deeper arch. It continues trailing upward, until his fingers tangle in your braids, jerking your head back firmly.

Sharp teeth catch his lower lip, restraint tightening his chest as he fights to hold back mounting pleasure. All you can do is whimper meekly, the sting in your scalp pushing you closer to a quickly approaching orgasm. Moisture pools in the corners of your eyes, his roughness too much and not enough all at once.

This is what you expected from him, and yet, it's better than you could've imagined. The way he handles you, bends you to his whim, it has your pussy spasming around his cock all over again.

“Fuck.” Lo'ak rumbles, his free hand snaking around your stomach, fingers expertly finding your clit.

You jolt at the sudden explosion of pleasure, the mere swirl of his fingers over your overworked pussy throwing you into an intense release. A series of sharp moans echo through the trees, every muscle in your body tensing before you shatter around him.

Lo'ak suddenly jerks his cock free, the abrupt emptiness jostling your trembling form as he pumps his cock, riding out his orgasm with an arm still firmly wrapped around your middle.

Silence falls between you, thick and uncomfortable as the weight of what you've just done settles over you both. You fight to catch your breath, pushing yourself up and out of his hold with shaky limbs. You avoid the sharp glare you can feel prickling against the side of your head, eyes scanning the area for your loincloth.

“That's never happening again.” The words aren't nearly as strong as you would've hoped, the slight quiver in your voice betraying the turmoil raging within.

Being with him like that, it was...good. Too good. It felt right, like the two of you should've been doing this for years, rather than pushing each other away at every opportunity. It's planted a seed of doubt in your mind, made you wonder what it could be like to let him in, to explore the possibility of being more.

It's a dangerous thing, hoping for something like that.

“Obviously.” Lo'ak is quick to agree, averting his eyes as you shakily stand to your full height and pull your loincloth back on.

By the time he's retrieved his own clothing, you're gone. A rough sigh caves his chest, disappointment lodging deeply within his gut. Some part of him, however small, thought maybe things would be different after what you just did.

He runs a hand down his face, replacing his practiced mask of indifference before he'll have to face you again.

The walk back to Home Tree is silent. He doesn't approach you, instead he maintains a wide birth between you, trailing your tense silhouette from a distance. When he breaks through the tree line a few seconds after you, his irritated groan has your head whipping around.

Your eyes widen, silently asking him to corroborate whatever story you've just told before your attention returns to his father.

“Lo'ak.” Jake's arms are crossed tightly over his chest, a signature look of disapproval etched into his strong features. “Did you two work it out?”

“Uh…yeah.” He winces, rubbing at the back of his neck as a wave of uncertainty makes his stomach twist.

Had you? Or did he only make things worse, like he always does?

Jake's eyes narrow, flicking between the two of you for several seconds. He notes the absence of any fruit, which is the entire reason he sent the two of you into the forest in the first place. That, coupled with your disheveled hair and Lo'ak's crooked loincloth, tells him everything he needs to know.

“Alright. Dismissed.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, a sigh of exasperation filling the space between you.

You're quick to scurry off, practically running away the very second you're given permission. Lo'ak's gaze remains locked on your retreating figure until it disappears into the center of Home Tree. His head drops, eyes closing as he considers the consequences of what you've just done.

He only makes it one step before Jake grips his arm, gently pulling him back.

“Not you, boy. We need to have a talk.”

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Nashville Private School Shooting

I just wanted to put this on here in light of the tragic events that took place in my home city. I love my community with all my heart and to find out about the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville this morning just broke my heart. My school, CPA and the Covenant are sister schools. Typically when you finish sixth grade at the Covenant (the school only has preschool through sixth) you go seventh through senior year at CPA. Many many of my good friends had younger siblings who went there or kids they babysat there etc. Thankfully none that I knew were fatally injured or wounded. However two of the adults that were killed in this shooting did have an impact on my school as well. Katherine Koonce was an amazing woman that lead many discussions and meetings on helping parents with parenting and child growth and development. She left a few years ago and became the Head Master/Mistress of the Covenant and was shot and killed today. I pray over anyone and everyone in the community - especially those who are friends or families of the three children and three adults killed this morning. Gun violence is now the number one most common death among children in the USA at this time and it is just disgusting. I pray over all the children who went to the Covenant school today and the children who found out during their lockdowns at other schools. If you’re seeing this post, please keep these sweet young children and these wonderful, hardworking adults in your hearts. If you are a believer, I deeply encourage you to pray over these people and their families.

Violence such as this is despicable and it has GOT to stop. Todays shooting is the 19th mass shooting at a school this year and IT IS ONLY FUCKING MARCH. The number for mass shootings this year in general are already over a hundred. People should be able to send their children to school and fully EXPECT that their kid or kids will come home safe and healthy. We MUST do better as a nation.

Thank you for taking the time to read over this. Thank you for taking the time to think over todays events and keeping these innocent people among your hearts.

-arcwanderer

when I say this chapter was so good… OML THIS CHAPTER WAS SO GOOD

✩. AVATAR — the story of us | lo’ak, pt. 8

✩. lo’ak x f!omatikaya!reader

✩. dealing with the truth that had been hidden from her is a lot for (y/n), but she’s just glad she has amazing people in her life there for her. only, now something knew came to the village. or, rather, someone.

✩. descriptions of panic attacks, mentions of drowning and being unable to breath, blood and injuries, ikran flying, hints of reader being depressed, flirty lo’ak, lo’ak being readers safe place

✩. 10541 words

masterlist | playlist

answers. (y/n) needed answers, despite the crushing feeling weighing down on top of her. the focus of getting answers was the only thing that kept her from losing it.

it was times like these that she felt true appreciation for the sea and it’s unending waves. they took her tears as soon as they left her amber eyes and released them into the abyss.

(y/n) sucked up her tears enough to make a call to her ilu, telling it to go down. it listened with ease and dove deeper into the water, allowing the gentle glow of the underwater spirit tree to shine on them.

it took almost no time at all for them to reach it, her body easily slipping off of the ilu and swimming up to the tree. she reached ahold of one of its tendrils, it soft and wiggly in her hands. it had been a while since (y/n) visited the spirit tree. five years, in fact.

since (y/n) learned about eywas ability to connect even the living with the dead, she had spent lots of time in the ancestors cove. she tried and tried to see her parents, but always found an infinite sea of darkness. when she was ten, she finally gave up.

it ended with her not visiting the spirit tree at all after that.

(y/n) reached behind her to grab her queue, watching as it wrapped around the limb of the tree. her eyes dilated as the ocean around her faded, and it wasn’t because of her intense emotions. the colors faded until she was back in the infinite darkness that haunted her dreams.

before (y/n) could get upset, light started to seep in. it started far away, but quickly more and more light broke through until she had to shield her eyes.

when she moved her arm down, she was in a place she didn’t recognize. despite this, (y/n) knew exactly where she was. she could tell by the tall trees that surrounded her with leaves that shook in the gentle breeze, and the green grass that laid on the floor all around her. (y/n) could not feel it, though. all she could feel was the wetness of the ocean.

“kiawnha!” is what tore her eyes from a bush of blue plants she had never seen before. she turned her body with her knees below her, looking behind her to see a familiar ikran standing a few feet away. its feet had only just touched the ground, but its rider had jumped off long beforehand.

(y/n) saw a woman covered in numerous colors of paint and a chest piece she had spent days looking at dropped to the ground at the base of a tree. the woman dropped the large bow she held, using her now free hands to cradle the face of a man.

it was strange. she could see them, but it seemed her mind was forgetting their features as she was looking at them. it was like seeing somebody you’ve never met before in a dream.

the woman’s face seemed as if it was emotionless, even as she fell to her knees. she was beautiful; paints of different colors decorating her skin, headpiece resting on her forehead, and braids pulled back behind her head.

(y/n) could see blood leaking from the man’s torso, but her attention was drawn to his rising hand. his palm laid against the woman’s painted cheek. he smiled at her while she cried.

“oh, my love.” she whispered as her head moved to look between his wound and his eyes.

“you know i hate it when you cry.” he joked, a short laugh leaving his lips. she didn’t give him any reaction.

“i am going to get you out of here.” she told him. he didn’t respond. he only continued to smile as she attempted to pull him up.

a loud sound echoed through the air. it was deafening as it was sudden. (y/n) turned quickly as she fell onto her back, a surprised yell leaving her mouth. a scream behind her caused her ears to twitch, but she didn’t look away from the sight before her.

a human. she could tell by his pale, white skin and little body—only, his little body was covered in a metal machine that moved. she felt fear flood her body as she watched his large machine walk closer to her. he wasn’t looking at her. he was holding an evil smirk as he sandtared at the two behind her. she was invisible.

“you, girl, have been causing a lot of problems for me and my people. i think it’s time you get put down.” he said with malice lacing his tone, despite the smirk he held. the anger and sadness shined brightly in his eyes.

(y/n) glared as she looked directly into his eyes. he didn’t see her, but she saw him. the anger that he felt seemed to contaminate her, and for what reason she didn’t truly know. she knew he was a bad guy, killed thousands of her people and was threatening two more; but this, it felt like more. more personal.

her head turned over her shoulder at the sound of a bow being drawn. it was the woman.

she was kneeled, hovering in front of the man protectively. her hands held her bow, ready to shoot it, a snarl on her lips. she hissed at him, but pain twitched at her eyebrow.

(y/n)s eyes moved down the woman’s body. it was now she saw the swollen belly she possessed, as well as the wound present on her hip that wasn’t there before. it was deep. it must have been the result of the loud machine the human held.

“i will kill you where you stand, demon.” she snarled at him. his smirk didn’t fade. he took a step, her she released the bow string. the arrow went flying in the blink of an eye, (y/n) effectively missing it.

the force of the arrow was so strong that not only did it embed itself inside the man’s shoulder, but sent him stumbling back. the arrow head broke through the back of his armor and trapped him against a tree. he yelled out in pain.

the woman looked worriedly at the man beside her. he finally stopped smiling. “go. you have to go.”

“just stay behind me, kiawnha.” her fingers grabbed the arrow, but she was pulled back again.

“yayíu.”

(y/n)s heart stopped at his stern call of the woman’s name. her face dropped as she looked between them.

yayíu. her mother.

one of the man’s hands dragged down from her arm and rested on her pregnant stomach. finally, the woman’s wall broke. her face scrunched in sadness, and tears welled in her eyes. she did not let them flow, though.

“i can not leave you.” yayíu protested, but it was weak. her resolve was breaking with the passing seconds.

“you must.” it was more than what meets the eye. he didn’t just mean she had to leave him to fend for himself, it showed in their eyes. it was more than leaving her mate to die; yayíu had to leave the forest. she had to get as far away from the sky demons and the war that destroyed their home, all for the child inside of her. yayíu had to keep her child safe.

she couldn’t argue any more.

a cry sounded from the man behind (y/n). a horrible sound of skin ripping, the squelching sound of blood as he tore the arrow out from his body.

both omatikayas looked at him, the anger returning to yayíus face. she didn’t move to shoot at him again, despite her hand clutching the bow so tight her knuckles turned white. instead, yayíu looked at the man. no words were shared. they were not even allowed a final kiss between lovers.

(y/n) looked away from the couple to look at the human. the sky devil who had taken so much. she hissed at him even though he could not see her. she grabbed at the planet beneath her as if she would find a weapon of her own. she moved to her feet as the wings of an ikran fluttered behind her. then, the ground disappeared beneath her feet.

quiet. it was so quiet and so dark once again. (y/n)s eyes were shut tightly, scared to open them, a soft warmth on the right side of her skin. slowly, the sound of crying entered whatever area she was in.

(y/n) forced her eyes open. it was a marui, one from the island she grew up on. there was a small fire crackling in the center of the hut, and just behind it, a small group of three people.

she found that her body was standing and took two small steps forward. one was the woman she had just seen moments before. yayíu was laying on a cot, a blanket laid over her body. the paints had been removed from her skin, head piece and war necklace taken and placed to the side.

there was something different about her in the least significant sense. she had not yet touched her smooth skin, but her dark blue skin had paled. beads of sweat littered her body, eyes barely strong enough to stay open. her breathing was heavy, and the little body she held in her arms didn’t help.

a baby, smaller than (y/n) had ever seen before. it wasn’t crying, in fact, it barely made a sound. it wasn’t even moving. the thought that it wasn’t breathing crossed (y/n)s mind, but the twitch of its hand let her know otherwise.

it was just as sickly as her mother. so close to death after just being born.

she looked at it closely. little tufts of hair, dark blue skin and strips just like the woman who held it. yayíus baby. her.

sitting on either side of yayíu were two very familiar people. ronal was sitting closest to (y/n), her face smoother and not warm down by the usual sternness she held. across from her sat tonowari. he was missing a few tattoos on his skin, he had a little less muscle, and his hair was shorter. these little differences didn’t change the small relief she felt at the sight of them.

it quickly faded.

“my times coming to an end, i can feel it.” yayíu breathed out. (y/n) walked closer as her face scrunched up.

“what?” (y/n) whispered to herself. she knows what happens next— hell, she lived through the aftermath— but she denied. in her head she denied the reality of what was to happen.

“take care of her.” yayíus voice was firm and demanding. she was weak, walking across the land to meet death, and yet she was as strong as ever. it was admirable.

the baby was taken from yayíus arms. she was hesitant to let her go, tonowari was hesitant to take her. he wasn’t hesitant to take the child in, but to separate them earlier than needed.

“no,” (y/n) murmured as she watched her infant self now be held in tonowaris gentle arms, “no.”

yayíu turned her head away from tonowari, and for a moment, (y/n)s heart skipped. for a moment, she wondered if yayíu would see her.

instead, yayíu looked at ronal. “thank you.”

ronal had the ghost of a smile on her lips. her teal hand took yayíus deep blue one and gave it a comforting squeeze. in the time they spent together, it was obvious they had become close. they had become friends.

“i will miss our talks.” ronal replied. (y/n) looked at ronal with a shocked face, head shaking.

“no, no.” (y/n) looked back down at her mother, “no, please.”

yayíus' breathing began to speed up. the small opening of her eyes was closing.

“give her the love we can not.”

“no, stop!” (y/n) suddenly exclaimed. she leaned over her mother with eyes stinging from tears. (y/n)s hands reached out, wishing to just once feel the touch of her mother.

her wish was not granted. the world around her slipped away, and she was once again submerged in darkness.

(y/n)s eyes snapped open with a start. her limbs flailed and pushed her body from the bright branches of the tree.

she felt the smooth skin of her ilu brush against her, but she paid it no mind. she couldn’t believe it, not any of it. she couldn’t fathom that ronal and tonowari had lied to her, or any of what she had just witnessed. she went looking for answers, but felt all she found was more questions.

nobody could hear the sobs she released with no regard for her air. under the water she was hidden from the world, only her ilu and fishes able to hear her pain.

she was screaming; it was only a muffled sound to her ears. it felt a bit ironic to (y/n), how she was screaming at the top of her lungs and it was barely audible. her whole life felt like she had been screaming and it was unheard by anyone. now it felt like she was heard, but she was ignored.

it didn’t take long for all the air to leave her body, her head light body swaying. she was breathless and desperate for air, and all the feelings she just let out were rushing back to her.

taking hold of the ilus handles, she closed her mouth tight and told it to go up. it followed her order quickly, swimming up to the surface. the tears she thought were gone were stinging at her eyes again and instead of becoming one with the ocean, they were aiding in drowning her.

once they broke the surface, she still felt as if she were drowning under the water.

(y/n) breathed in, then exhaled. breathed in, exhaled. breathed in, exhaled. in, out. in, out. in, out. repeat. repeat. repeat.

it wasn’t enough. the air wasn’t reaching her lungs. she couldn’t breathe in enough. she couldn’t breathe. her breathing sped up, going faster and faster. it wasn’t enough.

one of her hands held the neck of her ilu to keep her body up, the other grabbing at her chest as if she could open it up and allow the air to enter her body.

the world felt fuzzy, yet she was hyper aware of her surroundings. every brush of water, the rocking of her and her ilus bodies, every movement of the necklace on her chest.

that necklace. the necklace that belonged to her mother. the only part of her mother (y/n) truly had that ronal didn’t keep from her. the mother she just watched die.

a sob wracked her body, only taking more air out of her. her hand moved from grabbing at her chest to grabbing at her necklace.

“why?” (y/n) cried out. she knew no one could hear her. she wasn’t talking to anyone but herself, to eywa, to ronal and her mother. her gasps of air didn’t cease, even as her hands trailed up to grab her hair.

the feeling of her braids reminded her of the sullys. she had spent so much time with them, been so close to learning about her parents. just like always, it was just out of her reach.

sobs and gasps mixed together and had (y/n)s body collapsing in itself. her head was getting lighter by the second and the sound of the water was getting louder. her head was pounding, and her heart felt like it was growing in her chest, crushing her lungs.

splashes of water caused (y/n)s ears to twitch but she didn’t have the control to look at the source. she was completely submerged in herself. she was trying to breathe and it just wasn’t working.

“hey, hey,” a voice she couldn’t process spoke in her ear. she could feel arms wrap around her but she didn’t give any reaction.

“bring her up here.” another voice sounded. fear spiked in her. she didn’t know what was happening to her, but she knew it was bad. she couldn’t put faces to the voices as they just sounded muffled to her, giving her the fear that she was surrounded by strangers. strangers who were seeing her at the most vulnerable she had ever been.

the arms that wrapped around her moved her body to the right, lifting her body up just slightly. new hands grabbed her and began to pull her. her breathing sped up, the feeling of their hands too much for her brain to handle right now. her sobs grew louder and her body began to writhe, as if in pain.

“calm down, (y/n).” her name sounded foreign, as if she had forgotten that’s who she was. she could feel a wet, hard surface on her legs as she was placed down, the waves of the water still on her feet.

(y/n)s head was still facing down. her eyes were glued on her legs and surface of whatever they were sitting on, but through her tears it was hard to see either things.

a hand was placed on her back, but it was quickly slapped away.

“don’t touch her, it’ll make things worse.” it was someone who hadn’t spoken yet, voice low. mumbles she couldn’t understand had her face scrunching up, but only pants left her.

“I can't breathe.” she was asking for help. her desperation for air was stronger than the fear of who was around her.

“(y/n), hey, look at me,” she didn’t move her head, “c’mon, look at me.”

her eyes looked up first. they connected with yellow ones almost instantly. yellow eyes she had seen a million times before and would love to see a million more.

it was lo’ak. lo’ak was there with her, and she was safe.

“lo’ak.” she sobbed out, his eyes softening at seeing her in so much pain.

“you’ve gotta breathe, okay? i know it’s hard, but you’ve gotta.” she tried but all she did was choke on the air as it got stuck in her throat.

(y/n)s eyes flickered to the side when suddenly someone crouched down beside lo’ak. teal skin and blue eyes she had been surrounded with her whole life. ao’nungs worried eyes she had only seen a handful of times.

“in and out, slowly. do it with me, okay?” his hand encased her. it sent a shock through her arm and right to her brain, wishing to pull it away.

“ao’nung,” it was the third voice, hard as he said ao’nungs name. it came from the other side of lo’ak, the girl just being able to see his figure in her peripheral view. he was standing and had the same deep blue skin as she and his brother. the cross of her arms and braids falling around his face was enough for her to assume it was neteyam, his accent processing in her head.

instead of ao’nung pulling his hand away, (y/n) turned her hand over and grabbed his, tightly. his eyes widened slightly at her action, but her face showed no explanation as she continued to hyperventilate.

not even when she was crying on the beach about her parents had she been as devastated as she was now. not once had he ever seen her like she was now, and it was breaking his heart.

the hand that held hers was grounding. the feeling of another person telling her that she was real, and that they were too. a focus for her emotions.

“we’ll all do it together, yeah?” lo’ak said, a small smile on his face as his hand landed on her other one. she quickly grabbed it back, only glancing at him. she didn’t smile back or nod.

in sync, the two boys took a deep breath in. (y/n) tried to do the same but all that she could do was cry. they continued the actions, allowing (y/n) to focus entirely on them and her own breathing.

soon (y/n) could feel air enter her lungs, her heart containing it’s swelling and allowing her lungs to go back to their regular size. her pants for air and sobs had ceased but her crying was as unending as ever. the sadness she felt was still prominent within her heart. the hurt was an infinite resource to her tears.

“good, you’re doing good.” lo’ak said with a nod, still holding his small smile. this time (y/n) was able to give a small nod back. her breathing faltered slightly as her inhale turned into a shaky one, face morphing with her tears.

(y/n) watched as neteyam finally sat with them, hand placed on her knee as she started to cry out loud once more.

“shh,” ao’nung whispered as he moved more to her side, arm wrapping around her shoulder. (y/n) shook her head in response, head turning back down and a gasp leaving her lips as she attempted to hold back her sobs.

“why would they do that?” she asked quietly. she didn’t really expect an answer from any of the boys, but they all wished to give her one. they wanted to give her answers they didn’t have just so she could have them. “i just wanted to know about my mom.”

neteyam closed his eyes. he couldn’t handle seeing the girl like this. he didn’t know if it counted as selfish, but seeing her so upset was crushing his heart. her pleading and questions made him want to grab his ears and force them not to hear.

ao’nung and lo’ak were a different story. they hated seeing her like this, yes, it was breaking their hearts, but they felt they needed to see it. they had to. as if it was some punishment for not being able to stop it, even though it was out of their control. they wanted nothing more than to protect (y/n) and make her happy, but now it was like they had failed.

they let her cry. they let her sob into them and wail. they sat silently as she tried to understand, tried to process. they comforted her through her pain.

they allowed her to be something other than the oldest sister who had to be the protector. today, they would be her shield. they would give to her what she gave to them and all the others.

they did this until eventually the girl fell asleep. it wasn’t too long until then, exhaustion having wracked her body entirely. not only was it late but she had been drowning in her overwhelming feelings for at least an hour. it drained every ounce of energy from her body.

“let’s take her back.” neteyam said when they noticed her limp form, leaning on her brother. ao’nung hesitated for a moment only because he didn’t wish to be disconnected from his sister just yet, but the cold eclipse air couldn’t be denied.

lo’ak nodded at the boys and slipped from his spot to the front, sliding down onto the fin of the tulkun. he looked into payakans eyes, rubbing the skin above it.

“thank you, bro.” lo’ak spoke genuinely, smiling when sounds sounded from the large animal.

‘take care of her’ payakan said. lo’ak let out a small laugh, nodding his head.

“always.”

after that, lo’ak jumped back on to payakans back and walked to the three. he gave them another nod before he slid into the water, pushing himself onto his ilu.

“i’ll take her.” he told them. ao’nung hesitated once more. this, to him, was more than just letting lo’ak carry his sister home. this was letting her go, letting him have her. in the end, ao’nung was placing (y/n) into lo’aks arms with the help of neteyam.

he watched from his own ilu as lo’ak rode off. tears had been shed from watching his sister cry, but now tears welled for another reason. she was his sister, always and forever. he knew that, but for some reason, this felt like a type of goodbye.

ao’nung looked over when he felt a hand on his shoulder. he met the eyes of neteyam who gave him a comforting smile. they didn’t share any words but the look neteyam gave him was all enough. even though neteyam hadn’t experienced what ao’nung has, it told him that the omatikaya boy understood.

ao’nung sucked in a breath and blinked away the tears in his eyes. he wouldn’t be sad over the changes from his sister, but instead would be happy with her.

“they found her!”

“the boys found (y/n)!”

“inform the tsahik and olo’eyktan!”

that wasn’t needed in the slightest. as soon as the horn of arrival was blown the couple was up and rushing to wherever their daughter was.

tsireya and the sully family were quick to follow behind them, anxious themselves to see (y/n). the group of them were weaving throughout the village people, them quickly clearing the path for them. if it wasn’t already obvious to them of the rush, the fierce glare on ronals face was enough for them to clear.

when they arrived at the dock the teens were out, lo’ak was already being helped out of the water by neteyam and ao’nung. he was careful to not wake the girl in his arms, though he doubted it would be easy with how tired she was.

“oh, (y/n).” ronal breathed out as she stepped down to meet her, tonowari quickly doing the same. deja vu suddenly hit, remembering how not to long ago they had rushed for their daughter just the same when she and lo’ak returned from being with payakan.

both parents instinctively reach out for her; ronal reached to touch her while tonowari tried to take her, but lo’ak took a step back.

everyone looked at him with shock but he kept his face firm as he looked at the couple, “i think she should stay with us tonight.”

the look of shock appeared on ronals face, anger quickly washing it away. she couldn’t fathom what gave this boy the audacity to speak to her in such a way, let alone keep her daughter from her.

she opened her mouth to retaliate but a large hand on her shoulder cut her off, “he is right.” her husband's voice had never caused her such anger before, such hurt. she felt betrayed, in a way.

ronals head snapped towards her husband, ready to protest, but was silenced by the saddened look that overtook his face. ronal was reminded that (y/n) was his daughter as much as hers and that the pain she was feeling was shared completely by him. he, too, had lied to the girl. he would feel (y/n)s anger. both were at risk of losing her.

ronals anger calmed significantly, even as she watched neytiri hop down and join her sons side. she only held sadness as she watched them have a silent interaction before neytiri looked to her.

“we will take care of her.” neytiris voice was firm to not allow ronal any doubts, but the look in her eyes was almost one of comforting. it was a mother understanding a mother, even if neytiri couldn’t understand ronals actions.

ronal gave another look to her husband who gave her a nod. she didn’t want to. eywa knows she wanted anything but to let them take her daughter, but for what she knows is the best thing for her daughter, she gave neytiri and lo’ak a nod.

lo’ak let out a small breath he didn’t know he was holding, giving her a nod in thanks before moving past her. ronal and tonowari turned as the son and mother passed them, watching as their daughter left from their sight.

neteyam also caught up with them and together the family walked to their hut. jake lagged behind for just a moment to look at ronal and tonowari. while ronal watched after (y/n), tonowari dragged his eyes to jake.

tonowaris expression hardened just slightly, an understanding look between fathers. they understand the importance of protecting their child, and right now it was (y/n) that needed to be protected. or maybe, that was the opposite of what she needed, after their protection backfired so intensely.

tonowari noticed his other two children beside them once the sully family disappeared from view, bringing ronals attention to them as well.

tsireya looked sad, just as everyone felt. she looked sad as she held her brother's hand which gripped hers tightly from his anger. tsireya was angry too, but she didn’t hold it so visibly like ao’nung. she couldn’t find it in herself to show her parents her anger as she looked at their distraught expressions.

ao’nung, on the other hand, had heard his sisters pain in her cry’s. he felt her heart break in his hands and he watched her face morph to show the hurt she felt. their expressions were nothing to him in comparison.

“why did you do it?” he asked the question she had repeated so many times it felt like his ears would bleed.

“we were doing it to protect her. you will understand once you are a parent.” ronals voice held its usual firmness despite the hurt look of her face. ao’nung looked between his mother and father for a moment, disbelief present.

“if that means breaking my child’s heart, i don’t want to understand.”

ronals mouth dropped as her son walked away, tsireyas eyes widening before she quickly followed after him. tonowaris hand tightened on her shoulder as he frowned, but neither said anything. they couldn’t.

they knew he was right, no matter how much it hurt.

(y/n) groaned, rolling in her spot in an attempt to get out from underneath the sun's rays of light. she wondered when in time had the sun ever hit her from where she slept in the hut. she had picked the perfect spot years ago so she would never have that problem, so why was it arising now?

the girl opened her eyes to find the answer, only to instantly have her eyes meet lo’aks. she internally flinched at the surprise; if she was expecting to meet anyone’s first thing in the morning, she would’ve expected blue ones instead of yellow.

“hi.” lo’ak whispered. he didn’t try to smile at her, he could tell by her expression that he wouldn’t get one back. he simply looked at him with the normal softness he had when looking at her.

(y/n) only looked back at him. looking into his eyes was a comfort. focusing completely on them helped her not think about the night before.

“you’re awake.” both of them looked away from each other to see kiri sitting at their feet. she was halfway through rolling up her sleeping bag when she noticed her brother and friend awake.

neither of them responded as they sat up, lo’ak looking around the hut while (y/n) just stared at the floor.

jake and neytiri were sitting around an arrangement of food, what he assumed to be breakfast, while tuk sat tiredly at her mothers side. neteyam was sitting beside jake, giving lo’ak a small smile.

“you sleep alright?” jake asked, eyes casted on (y/n). while lo’ak might have been jealous if jake had ignored him like that any other day, but right now he completely understood. she needed it. she needed them.

(y/n) didn’t answer. it seemed rude, maybe to anyone passing by, but everyone inside knew the truth. even after hours of sleep, she was exhausted. all the sadness and confusion that she felt had finally gotten too much and now, she was just sort of numb. not only that, but the sight of her dying plagued her mind even in sleep.

jake chuckled with a small shake of his head, “take that as a no.”

jake looked from (y/n) to his youngest son. with a jerk of his head, lo’ak quickly understood what his father was asking of him. gently, lo’ak placed his hand on (y/n)s arm. surprisingly, she looked up at him.

“let’s go eat breakfast, yeah?” he didn’t give her a chance to deny, moving to his feet and lightly pulling her towards where they sat, “c’mon, girl.”

it could have been seen as some cheap attempt to try to get some kind of reaction from her by using the nickname, but he was mostly trying to give her some normalcy. with everyone walking around her on eggshells he thought it would do good to make her feel normal.

(y/n) allowed him to guide her to where the others were, not noticing that kiri and neteyam started rolling up their sleeping bags for them. she felt so out of it, like she wasn’t fully awake. while everything seemed so far away, lo’aks hand was the only thing that felt real. it reminded her that she was real.

(y/n) was sat down right across from neytiri and tuk, who had perked up upon seeing the older girl awake. jake sat next to neytiri, kiri came to sit in between them and neteyam between lo’ak and tuk.

neytiri was the one to hand (y/n) her food, but lo’ak took it when he noticed her lack of response and placed it on the floor in front of her.

“last night,” she croaked, voice weak and scratchy from a night full of crying. everyone’s head turned to her with surprise, “i visited the ancestors cove. eywa showed me something when i asked for answers.”

“what did she show you?” neytiri beat her oldest daughter to the question. kiri poured her lips but quickly focused her attention back to (y/n). the latters hand clenched in her lap.

“it was my parents in the forest. my dad sent my mother away and then…” she trailed off, not wanting to think about what happened to him next, “and then my mother was marui and she…”

with her lack of words, it wasn’t hard for the family to gather what it was she wasn’t saying. it only struck their hearts that she had to witness such things. she was already dealing with a lot. for her to see that was almost cruel.

“did you find the answers you were looking for?” jake asked next. it seemed no one was eating their breakfast, instead too focused on the girl before them.

(y/n) hesitated. she questioned why ronal and tonowari lied, what all she had been lied to about, what she missed out on, and what happened to her parent. she only received an answer to one and gained five more.

“what were my parents like?” (y/n) questioned instead. she didn’t want to speak more on what she had been shown. jake and neytiri shared a glance before going along with her.

“well, that’s easy.” jake said with a huff like laugh. he brought one of his legs up and leaned on it. “your mother, yayíu, was probably the toughest person you could ever meet.”

neytiri nodded. “yayíu had always been a stoic person, and the sky people’s arrival only hardened her more. it took her a long time to warm up to jake. longer than any of the rest.”

“she kicked my ass so many times,” he received a small slap on the chest from his wife, “she was very protective of what she cared about.”

their words reminded (y/n) of the beautiful woman she saw in the vision. yayíu had been so strong even in the face of her lover's death. even pregnant and injured she was ready to fight, and when she lay dying she still made demands of the metkayina olo’eyktan himself. yayíu spoke to ronal in a way no one had ever dared.

(y/n) blinked to force the memory from her head. she knew if she thought more about it she would begin to cry.

“one of the only people who could really get her to let loose was your father, kiawnha,” neytiri said, “he was the opposite of yayíu. the troublemaker of the clan. a prankster.”

the sully children leaned forward as if being told an exciting story. it was almost peeving how they seemed to see it as some campfire story, when it was everything to (y/n). the girl knew this annoyance was probably from her anger.

“she didn’t smile much, but when she did, it was large and beautiful. lit up the whole room, and it was almost always because of kiawnha.” neytiri held no signs of jealousy at jake's descriptions of yayíu. it was more than just a show of the security they had in their relationship, but just what yayíu and kiawnha meant to them. they weren’t just friends to each other, but family.

(y/n) could see it in the hidden gleams within their eyes. she could see the sadness beneath their small smiles. she saw their hands holding each other between their bodies for support.

“kiawnha brought smiles to everyone. ever since we were kids, he would make jokes and play pranks, saying that smiling and laughter was important. once, he even played a prank on my father.” neytiri added on with a more excited smile.

“the olo’eyktan?” neteyam asked in disbelief. they all knew neytiris father was the past olo’eyktan of the omatikaya, even (y/n). it was just shocking that someone would dare do that to such a person. even the sully children wouldn’t do that to their own father— at least, not anymore.

“mhm.” neytiri nodded. the sully kids all looked at each other with shocked smiles and small laughter. they looked to (y/n) to gather her reaction, but only found the same distant look that had been on her face since waking up. it was discouraging for them, their faces dropping.

“one of the most shocking times was when he got yayíu to help with a prank. it was on jake, of course.”

jake laughed. “oh, i remember that. i think i still have a bruise from that direhorse.” his hand instinctively reached for his hip. he was right; on his hip was a faded, purple mark that could only be seen if looking for it.

his eyes landed on (y/n) once more and his gaze softened. “you know, there was someone who made yayíu smile much more than kiawnha.”

no one else responded. this was something directed specifically at (y/n), and no one would take that from her.

(y/n) noticed this, and asked, “who?”

“you.”

(y/n) felt her ears fold against her head. her heart ached in her chest. truthfully, she couldn’t see herself causing either of her parents much joy. not because she believed they didn’t love her, but the only thing she saw herself causing them was pain. because of her, they had to be seperated. because of her, yayíu died.

“when she found out she was with child, yayíu smiled for a week straight.” neytiri voice was soft as if she felt (y/n)s feelings. she probably did, it wasn’t hard. it was obvious to all of them that there was more going on inside her they could see.

“she even gave me a hug.” jake's attempt to get a smile from (y/n) was futile. he didn’t take it personally. jake only wished he could do more.

(y/n) felt safe with the sullys inside their hut. she felt connected with her parents and closer to jake and neytiri, but as her thoughts continued she only felt worse. the comfort they brought was quickly depleting with the thought that yayíu and kiawnha were their best friends.

it was relieving to know at first, but it soon added guilt onto her mess of emotions. she felt guilty for her parents, and now jake and neytiri. she had taken their friends away. she was making them think about the people they mourned. (y/n) didn’t even know them, but neytiri grew up with them and jake loved them.

how selfish was she?

a deep inhale. it was needed to take in the salty ocean air. it went all throughout (y/n)s body, reaching every blood cell and nerve. it slowed the unending thoughts that ran through her head and paused the mess of emotions in her chest.

talking about her parents with the sullys allowed a small pause from the situation outside the hut, but it was strange how a heartwarming moment could become sour.

a small moment of joy that caused an intense crash. the sadness she felt only returned tenfold.

it was more than just the grief of her birth parents. she felt as if she was losing them all over again, but this time, she was losing more. she was losing ronal and tonowari with them. she might as well add jake and neytiri in with the loss with how strong her guilt was growing.

lo’ak had seen her inner turmoil. he had seen it in her eyes since she first found out they had been lying to her. there were a lot of things from the past couple hours that wouldn’t leave his head, but the way her face dropped and heart visibly shattered was still so vivid.

that, and the sound of her heart wrenching cries.

he knew, even in this moment, that he would never forget seeing her like this. it had burned itself into his head and heart. he would see and hear her screams in his nightmares. lo’ak didn’t think anything could ever be worse than seeing her like this.

from the moment she excused herself from the hut and sat alone outside it, he knew he had to do something.

it wouldn’t be a permanent fix, not nearly, but even for a moment she needed a release. lo’ak knew the perfect way to bring it to her.

“can i show you something?” he asked her softly as he crouched beside her. it took her a second, but she eventually turned her head to him, slowly. the pain in her heart dragged her movements.

“what?”

“can i show you something?” he repeated, now holding his hand out to her. her face scrunched up lightly.

“i’m not really in the mood to play, lo’ak. i’m sorry.” his ears twitched at the sound of her apology. even in her sadness she still took the time to care about his feelings. the corner of his lip quirked up.

“you’ll enjoy this, i promise. trust me, ma.”

(y/n) normally would’ve cringed even without understanding what he was calling her, or flicked him on the forehead. today, she simply slipped her hand into his.

for a while, (y/n) followed behind lo’ak blindly. her eyes moved from the ground, the water beside them, and the sky, but she never really paid attention to where they were going.

living her whole life on the island allowed her to scour it from top to bottom, but there were places she had spent much less time at than others. when she heard the screech of a banshee, she finally focused her eyes to see that where lo’ak was taking her was one of them. the high up mountains and few trees were something she surprisingly didn’t explore much.

despite her deep rooted instinct for being a good climber and wanting to learn more about her home land, climbing such a large mountain was intimidating. (y/n) didn’t have the climbing experience to ease her fears, so she never really attempted it.

another screech had her turning to look at lo’ak, who had stopped and started grinning at her. her face went pale.

“oh, no. no! i can’t climb that, lo’ak! i couldn’t even climb that rock.” with her reference from the first few weeks of him being there, she finally sounded like herself. the heavy fog that had laid over her was blown away in her frantic refusal.

“that’s not true! you found a way.”

“i fell.” (y/n) deadpanned at him, only gaining a smirk. his hands lightly dragged up and down her arms as he took a small step towards her.

“and i caught you. if needed, i will catch you again.” lo’ak said. (y/n) didn’t know how to respond to that. she tried, her mouth opening, but she only closed it again while her ears folded down. she pouted stubbornly at him before her eyes flickered to the mountain behind him.

“why do you even want to climb it?” she asked instead, which lo’ak happily went along with.

“climbing is a part of who you are. trees, mountains, anything. you wanna learn about your culture, right?” he shrugged slightly. his hand moved up to his shoulder, the other pointing up the mountain, “i want us to climb up to the top of that mountain, and then take you on a ride on my ikran.”

the thought of it instantly pushed away her fear. feeling the powerful wind on her and experiencing the freedom of being in air alone was enough for her, but to do it with lo’ak sounded like a dream. two of the things that gave her the greatest feelings of freedom, besides swimming deep underwater, coming together.

“let’s go.”

a relief settled inside lo’ak as he ran with (y/n) towards the mountain, hands connected while she smiled. it made him feel like everything was going to be alright. it reminded him that all the problems going on were only temporary and that his (y/n) wasn’t gone.

it didn’t take them very long to reach the mountain and begin their climb. they kept a steady pace, laughter spared between their focus. the climb mostly consisted of lo’ak going a few feet in front and just watching as she carefully climbed up to him. sometimes he would tease, sometimes he would encourage her. at one point, lo’ak had been so caught up in his amusement at her poor climbing that he didn’t notice her catch up to him until she slapped him upside the head.

what took much longer than it should have because of the boy's lack of helping, the two teens finally reached the top. (y/n) refused to look down at the island, but looking at the small group of ikrans felt just as intimidating as they eyed her. it wasn’t just lo’aks ikran that was protective, but the others, getting the worry from their respective riders.

lo’aks arm slipped behind his back to rest his hand on (y/n)s hip, pulling her until she was securely behind him. he didn’t really think any of them would hurt her, but you could never be too sure.

on pandora, you learn to not underestimate anything. you are taught to not underestimate a single plant or animal; especially one like the ikran.

from behind lo’ak, (y/n)s head peeked out to see the banshees. she could just barely see the grin lo’ak held as he looked at his ikran.

“calm, lyou.” lo’ak spoke once the ikran began to approach them. it was tall as its neck extended in a form of intimidation. its eyes were focused on (y/n) while a low hissed left its throat. (y/n)s eyes widened when lo’ak carelessly grabbed the ikrans head and forced it down. lo’ak didn’t seem worried in the slightest that it would snap at him, his grin ever present. “calm, i said, lyou, calm.”

lo’ak chuckled when the ikrans head nudged into his chest. the push caused lo’ak to take a step back, his tail nudging against (y/n)s legs.

she didn’t move away. the girl continued to watch as the ikran quickly lost its protectiveness to playfulness. lo’aks laughter built up the more his ikran nudged at him.

“alright, alright! come here, girl.” (y/n)s ears shot up at lo’aks nickname, only to realize he was speaking to the ikran.

“It's a girl?” she questioned softly, both pairs of eyes looking at her. she had a soft smile lo’ak ignored.

“yep! don’t worry, though, there’s nothing to be worried about.” he said as his arm slid around the ikrans neck. (y/n) narrowed her eyes at his smirk.

“of course not. we need more girls around.” she gave him an innocent grin, chuckling at his eye roll. she was complacent when he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him.

“(y/n), this is lyou. lyou, this is (y/n). we’re gonna be taking her for a ride, ‘kay?” lo’aks voice turned softer as he talked to his ikran, his eyes rounder. it gave (y/n) a buzzy feeling in her chest and a warm smile on her face. it was obvious by his face he missed his ikran, and all things associated with her. he had been spending so much time bonding with payakan and learning the ways of water that he hadn’t had any time to spend with her.

he turned to (y/n), and for some reason, she felt her stomach twist.

“ready?” he asked. the playfulness had all but drained from his face, giving her complete genuineness and care. she wordlessly nodded. lo’ak grinned once more before reaching for his bag.

(y/n) was a bit surprised seeing as she hadn’t taken any notice of the bag beforehand. it wasn’t too weird since she was so focused on climbing and then the ikran.

retreating his hand from within it, he held a wooden headpiece. it had a curve at its end to hold onto the ears of its wearer, the piece going down the forehead had blue swirls decorating it. he held it out to her with a bashful smile.

“it’s a headpiece, for flying. i don’t usually wear one, but I figured it’d be good for you too.” lo’ak explained. his eyes didn’t really meet hers, as if shy from his care. she didn’t force him to look at her as she took it from him.

“it’s so pretty.”

“it’s kiris, but she never uses it anyway.”

(y/n) laughed, eyes closing as she did so. just like always, it was beautiful. one of her greatest attributes. with ease, she slipped it onto her head. lo’ak felt his heart skip at the sight of her. arms raised to hold the head piece, small smile, eyes looking up at him through her lashes.

(y/n) was omatikaya. nothing could ever take that from her. it didn’t matter she had spent her whole life on awa’altu and had been raised as a metkayina, in turn being one; but seeing her now, with her braided hair and headpiece, she looked like everything she wanted to be. it wasn’t as clear to her as it was to him, but she wasn’t as far from her culture as she thought.

“let’s go, girl.” now, he was speaking to her. he swiftly jumped onto the back of lyou, her body instinctively straightening. his hand reached down to her with a toothy grin. it was impossible for her not to reciprocate it as she grabbed his hand. one foot pushed off of lyous shoulder while lo’ak pulled her up.

(y/n) landed with a small huff. her arms quickly found themselves hugging lo’aks waist, her tail wagging excitedly behind her. lo’ak laughed at her.

“ready!” she knowingly exclaimed. she knew he wouldn’t move an inch until she gave him the go ahead— and she was proven right when lo’ak instantly attached his queue with lyous. with a call echoing from his mouth, the ikran was in the air.

lyou was going up, high. it drew out an uncontrolled screech from (y/n)s lips, laughter quickly mixing in. the wind was harsh on her skin but it was ignored. the slight sting was nothing compared to the weightless feeling of her insides.

“woohoo!” (y/n) yelled out though she could barely even hear herself over the howling wind and screams of the ikran. she was able to hear the sound of a cheerful cry leave lo’ak.

her joy was overflowing, pouring out of her in the form of laughter. it was perfect. lo’aks plan worked perfectly, he knew that as he looked back at her time to time and just saw the complete happiness on her face.

there wasn’t a single thought of the previous night in her mind. that was all he wanted.

clouds were hovering just above them. just in reach. it was perfect. her arms removed themself from lo’ak, sending a small shock of panic to his heart. his head turned to look over his shoulders, eyes landing on her. her arms were extended fully. her head was tilted back to look at the clouds above her. half of her fingers had disappeared in the white fog.

she could touch it. they weren’t as soft as they seemed, barely even. noticeable with a small hint of dampness, but it was in reach. a whole life of trying to touch things that were just out of reach, but now it was different.

her eyes dragged down from the clouds to lo’ak. it was so much different.

there was another screech, but this time it didn’t come from either lyou or (y/n). it was new to the ears of lo’ak, but to (y/n), it gained a smile of familiarity. both teens looked to the sky. the clouds had dispersed to make way for the belly of a banshee.

deep blue skin that was almost purple. streaks of green and blue. long wings that stretched just past lyous.

“it’s riya! my mothers ikran!” (y/n) shouted over the wind, too focused on the ikran above her to see lo’aks surprised features.

his eyes once again shot back to her when he felt her presence become distant. her hands gripped tightly at his shoulders as her feet went beneath her. then, she was standing.

“(y/n)!” lo’aks shout fell on deaf ears as she gazed happily at her mothers ikran. lo’ak was a troublemaker; that was a known fact. he did dangerous things and broke many rules, but to stand on an ikran in mid air with little support was practically insane. this girl managed to surprise him every time.

he cursed under his breath as she hand shot back to hold her calf. if she was going to be so reckless, he would do his best to keep her safe.

a small thought of ‘when did i become neteyam?’ passed through his head.

“i’ve missed you!” (y/n) yelled at the ikran. a screech was given back.

“i think she missed you too!” lo’ak responded for riya. (y/n) looked down at lo’ak. her smile had calmed slightly as she smiled warmly. her eyes shined in a way it showed the feelings of her heart.

riya continued to move down until she was practically hovering right above lyou. lo’ak made sure to keep his ikran focused so she wouldn’t freak out at the proximity, but he felt nervous himself at seeing (y/n) so entranced by riya. one wrong move and the girl could be in the air with no ikran.

riyas face was so close to hers it seemed they were communicating through their eyes. perhaps they were, seeing as riya moved forward just slightly and allowed (y/n) to grab ahold of her neck.

“(y/n),” lo’ak warned again. it almost made him feel sick to sound so much like his older brother and parents— a part of him even reminding himself of ronal and ao’nung when scolding (y/n) —but it couldn’t be helped. he didn’t care about the consequences of something happening, but the fear of something happening to her. he could live with any punishment, but he couldn’t go on with something happening to (y/n), “be careful.”

(y/n) simply shot the boy a wink before jumping onto the back of riya. she didn’t connect her queue, lo’ak noticed. it made sense that they weren’t bonded, seeing as riya didn’t stay at the island. she was similar to toruk it seemed. a free spirited ikran with no rider. she had lost her rider, but still stayed to care for the daughter she left behind.

lo’ak watched as the ikran spun, moving away from lo’ak and down. he could once again hear the girls laughter but his eyes could not find her at the fast speed of the ikran.

riya ceased her spinning and came right up beside lyou. (y/n) was leaning forward slightly on the ikran, copying loaks position as she looked at him. the worry left him with her toothy grin and the security she had with riya. even with only three rides under their belt, riya and (y/n) had trust in each other.

even without tsaheylu, they had a bond.

lo’ak decided to release his concerns, just like (y/n) had, and joined in on her laughter. he had thought before of flying with her like this, how his parents used to. he hadn’t thought it would happen, especially so soon. it was times like these that he was glad to be proven wrong.

a large floating rock came up in front of them, causing the ikrans to go two different directions around it. despite being separated from lo’ak, she wasn’t alone.

her head turned to the right at the sound of an ikrans screech. it wasn’t riya. it wasn’t lyou. her heart dropped at the sight of a new ikran and a strange rider.

deep blue body, lined covered skin, braided hair tied into a bun, headpiece on his forehead, eyes directly on her.

she didn’t see the move of his mouth. she didn’t see the shock that flooded his face. her eyes were glued to the bow and arrow he held, then slowly dragged to the knife that cling to his thigh.

it seemed as the weapons suddenly processed in her head all at once: her eyes widened and a gasp left her mouth.

she clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth and gave riya a tug. the ikran took the hint and dove downwards. she didn’t know where exactly she was going, but she knew to get away from the possible danger.

lo’ak had managed to see riya diving from the corner of his eye. he didn’t hesitate to send lyou after them, but he noticed the closer he got, the faster riya went.

with his eyebrows furrowed, he leaned forward, “are you tryna play tag?” he called out to her. the sound just barely reached her ears, head turning and body relaxing at the sight of him.

“it’s just you.” she breathed out, visibly showing to allow him to catch up. the frown on his face deepened in confusion.

“who else would it be?” lo’ak watched as her eyes darted around them, as if looking out for a specific sign of danger. he felt panic begin to enter his veins.

her gaze settled on him once more. “there’s another rider. he’s omatikaya.”

lo’ak instantly looked around them. no one. they were only surrounded by the same crashing ocean below them and separated mounds of the planet. no one was around besides them, but the thick clouds above them gave an ominous feeling. lo’ak looked at them carefully. not even a glimpse of an ikran. it suddenly felt too quiet.

“let’s head back.”

lo’aks voice was smooth and calm. it was obvious to him that (y/n) was fearful, and with her already fragile emotions, he didn’t want her to panic. despite the lightness his voice usually carried was gone. it was enough to tell the girl he was serious.

(y/n) gave him a firm nod and together they turned back to the island. they flew quickly and close. both of them would give hidden glances around them to make sure they were still safe.

this continued until they finally landed on the beach. lo’ak jumped off first and moved to (y/n) to help her down, but before he could even reach up, she was landing on her feet in front of him. he had to take a step back from their closeness.

“should we tell your parents?” she asked. normally, it would make more sense to tell ronal and tonowari, but to her that wasn’t an option. lo’ak eyes looked down at thought, then the ikrans, and a similar thought came to their minds.

and get in trouble? nah.

“he could be traveling, or something.” lo’ak shrugged. lyous head nuggets his shoulder and he lifted his hand up to pet her head. (y/n) softly at the sight. her eyes moved to riya who was already looking at her, and she nodded.

“you’re righ—,”

she was cut off. not by lo’ak or any other voice, but from the large shadow that completely covered them, just for a second. their eyes moved up to the sky, (y/n)s heart skipping at the familiar looking ikran that glided swiftly. it was heading straight for the village.

“stay here!” (y/n) exclaimed to riya, who made a small noise but didn’t move to follow as she and lo’ak ran off.

multiple thoughts rushed through lo’aks mind as he ran for the village at full speed. thoughts like ‘is it a message from the forest?’ and ‘are they looking for us?’

for (y/n), there was only thought in her head: ‘danger.’

“excuse me!”

(y/n) exclaimed as she brushed past a couple who were trying to catch a glimpse of the newcomer.

“coming through!”

lo’ak warned as saw a larger group clumped together. the village people would turn to see the voices and see the chief's daughter and sully boy and quickly make way for them. it was very convenient with their rush to meet the stranger.

It allowed a quick pace, and soon, they reached the edge of the crowd. it was just like when the sullys arrived; the whole village was present, creating a protective circle around the stranger. not protective for the stranger, but for the island.

only this time, something was different. this stranger didn’t seem like much of a stranger. maybe to the village and the children, sure, but with the way jake and neytiri stood so close to him with relieved smiles and teary eyes said he wasn’t to them. the way ronal and tonowari looked at him with solemn faces that seemed permanently glued to their faces since the night before said that he wasn’t completely unknown to them either. the way ronals eyes dragged from the man to her daughter, guilt on doubling in her expression was almost all (y/n) needed to understand.

the man followed ronals eyes, landing on (y/n).

and they were the same ones she looked at the world with.

taglist: some could not be tagged

@vampzteeth @bizzlessizzler @jimzk @23victoria @im-kai-scotty @neteyamoa @dou33leaa @imthefunniestpersonalive @yeosxxx @stomach-bugg09 @astromicowrld @userjs-world @idkwtdwml123 @couragemydearheart @generalpickleneckcookie-blog @donaldsmac @midnightliacr @dakotali @oh-theseusarchive @g4bb1 @wxnderingthoughts @envy-brr @aerangi @bol0-de-morang0 @comfyisgod @luzifercity @@liyahsocorro @purplefsh @mrs-sullys-blog @velvetskies @minkyungseokie @bwormie @dani111 @luvlykrispy @kaealowri @galacticstxrdust @ksila @evacowan @jacy1q @useryourbut @cherriebat @syulangg @uncosmo @jimfiqs @evacowan @graysonmalik2550 @alexandra-001 @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @fanboyluvr @itszzmoon @throwitbacktae @kezibear @n7cje @kikookii @etherialblackrose

if you love lo'ak (like any sane girl who’s seen avatar) then you’ll LOVE this story. has my heart and soul captivated. beautifully written!!

✩. AVATAR — the story of us | lo’ak, masterlist

✩. lo’ak x f!omatikaya!reader

✩. to say the sullys were shocked when they came looking for sanctuary among the metkayina islands and saw a young omatikaya girl peeking at them from the crowd would be an understatement.

✩. drama, fluff, angst, teen love, bullying (aonung and friends), cursing, rebellious teen behavior, outcast x outcast, forbidden love??, death, more for each chapter.

✩. the story of us playlist - songs representing the relationships within the story and the vibe of the story

part one

: ̗̀➛ the sullys arrive on the metkayina island and (y/n) has never been closer to what she so desperately longs for

part two

: ̗̀➛ the sully children are amazed by the wonders of the ocean, forgetting the stress of leaving their home. (y/n) is amazed by other, more yellow sights, but the feelings she ignores can’t be ignored for long.

part three

: ̗̀➛ a week has passed since the arrival of the sullys and not much has changed besides the girls unrest, which does not go unnoticed by lo’ak. his solution causes a small chain of reactions to go off.

part four

: ̗̀➛ the sullys show (y/n) new things and feelings she’s never felt before while (y/n) allows them to feel things they haven’t felt in a long time, but sometimes when your excited you forget to pay attention to the people who need it.

part five

: ̗̀➛ feelings can be too much for some people, which leads mistakes. luckily, this mistake introduced (y/n) and lo’ak to a new friend, and brought them closer together.

part six

: ̗̀➛ it’s now (y/n)s turn to be there for lo’ak and help him through his feelings, but it’s also ao’nungs turn to let his out, self decided. it’s a lot, but you can’t forget kiris cryptic discovery.

part seven

: ̗̀➛ one thing everyone should know: the truth always comes out, whether you’re ready or not.

part eight

more to be added…

SO GOOD THIS STORY HAS CAPTIVATED MY WHOLE HEART

✩. AVATAR — the story of us | lo’ak, pt. 7

✩. lo’ak x f!omatikaya!reader

✩. one thing everyone should know: the truth always comes out, whether you’re ready or not.

✩. goes back and forth between happy and sad, arguing, parental issues, so much sully family fluff, dancing, lots of negative emotions such as: fear, anger, guilt, heartbreak, hints of an out of body experience/panic attack (i don’t really know what it would be called), its finally getting to the main plot of the story

✩. 9104 words

masterlist | playlist

the sound of horns echoed throughout the village. the heads of everyone shot up, most with smiles at the familiar horn, others with confusion.

“the tulkun have returned!” tsireya shouted as she rode her ilu through the bay. the sullys watch as she ride past, the widest of grins on her face.

“everyone, our brothers and sisters have returned!” (y/n) shouted from the docks, feet away from the sully hut. they were all racked with amazement at the sight of everyone coming together in search of their spirit siblings. lo’ak looked to her with a wide smile, especially when seeing her hand outreached for him.

lo’ak slapped his brother on the shoulder, sending neteyam forward before he ran for the girl. their hands connected easily before they dove into the water. lo’ak watched as his ilu rushed up, sending a short reminder of what happened to (y/n)s before they mounted it.

they swam throughout the bay, watching as people caught up with their tulkun siblings. ilus and navi were swimming all around them, tulkun sounds vibrating around them.

(y/n)s arms wrapped around lo’aks thin waist, head leaning on his back as she watched everyone with a smile. she felt his hand reach back to rest on her thigh once the ilu started to go faster, holding her secure on the ilu.

(y/n) waved as they passed by his siblings, lo’ak and neteyam swimming in a circle chasing after the other before lo’ak broke off. they continued to swim around for a bit, seeing tsireya with her sister and even ronal with hers, before lo’ak brought them to the surface.

(y/n) laughed lightly, the joy bursting from her body, seeing as lo’ak was looking at her with a smile. before she could say anything, his expression showed confusion.

“where’s your spirit sister?” he asked. (y/n) looked around at the others above the water before turning back to him with a shrug.

“i don’t have one. guess it comes with the outsider territory.” lo’aks smile dropped almost instantly, his shoulder nudging hers. she laughed out despite this, head tilting back.

“it’s true, kinda! i just never really bonded with any.” (y/n) leaned back onto lo’aks back, one of his hands coming up to rest on her arm, “but, my mothers spirit sister does have a calf. maybe i can bond with her.”

lo’ak chuckled at her words, shaking his head lightly. he hoped she couldn’t feel the way his heart was pounding in his chest — a common accurate she brought he noticed.

seeing everyone with their spirit siblings was starting to bring lo’ak down, but she was keeping him up. lo’ak missed payakan, the outcast being one of the only ones who understood lo’ak. it was only payakan and (y/n).

“let’s go,” (y/n) said close to loaks ear, regaining his attention. he looked at her with confusion, which she only smiled at, “let’s go see him.”

she had read his mind. she must have, he thought. truly, she had just seen it on his face; the longing as he looked at the tulkuns and metkayinas.

with the confident smile on her face, lo’ak didn’t attempt to protest. he didn’t want her to be in trouble, sure, but right now was the perfect moment for them to slip away undetected, so they did.

well, they thought they did.

neteyam, tsireya, ao’nung, and rotxo were sneaky though. they had noticed the two swimming away and decided to follow them all the way into the sea.

(y/n) sat by lo’aks head as he rested on payakans fin, looking into the tulkuns eye, “i know how you feel. i feel all alone too.” her hand caressed his shoulder. she was the exception to that statement, but that didn’t change that with everyone else they simply didn’t understand. everywhere he turned was some upset or disappointed because of him.

in this open sea with (y/n) and payakan, that was where he was completely free and accepted, “tell me. why are you outcast?”

payakan didn’t make a sound in response, simply leading the teens into the water. they swam down with him, sticking close to each other's side as payakan came to a stop directly in front of them.

(y/n) felt her eyes begin to water when she saw payakan just staring at them, grabbing lo’aks arm when he threw them up in question. the wide open mouth of the tulkun was only confirmation of what she thought was happening, lo’ak looking at her with question.

she looked at him, a smile growing as she signed for him to enter. with slight hesitance, the boy did as he was told and began to swim into payakans mouth; neither of the teens noticed neteyam shoot forward, only to be stopped by tsireya.

(y/n) floated patiently as she waited for lo’aks return. she went closer to payakan as she waited, her hand giving his head soft caresses. she knew that it wasn’t a happy story on any side of it, especially for payakan.

she held back a gasp when his mouth suddenly reopened, lo’ak swimming out. the sad expression on his face only confirmed it as he swam up to meet her side. his hands found payakans head as well, eyes shining with apoligies.

lo’ak turned to (y/n), her free hand connecting with his cheek. she frowned at his sad eyes, ready to sign to him before his eyes went behind her. she turned to follow his gaze, seeing as her siblings and two friends exited the seaweed forest.

she held back a groan.

(y/n) kept her head down as she walked beside lo’ak, the whole group of teens being led to her family’s hut by her parents. it wasn’t too hard to describe how she was feeling right now: angry, nervous, and sad. she was sad because of what payakan had been through. the other emotions weren’t too hard to figure out.

(y/n) held back a hiss when she felt her mothers hand connect with her back and push her forward, deeming her walk too slow. lo’ak glanced at her but didn’t speak. he wouldn’t make things worse for the girl.

“you allowed this,” ronal shouted as they all came to a stop inside the hut, looking at her three children, “you allowed him to bond with the outcast.”

“tsireya, (y/n),” tsireya gasped at her fathers direct focus on them. (y/n) held her sister's hand tightly, keeping her head straight, “you disappoint me, daughters.”

all the times seeing the disappointment in his eyes were nothing to hearing it out loud. not once in their lives had they ever heard those words leave tonowaris mouth, and it was heartbreaking. (y/n) always felt that when all else failed, that she still had her father. when ronal was so angry at her that at least tonowari was on her side, even if it was deep down inside him.

the quietest of whimpers escaped her throat. it was only heard by tsireya next to her, but the sadness on both their faces had the three teen boys looking at them with pity. neither girl deserved it and they all wished to say something.

“and you, son of a great warrior, who has been taught better,” he motioned to lo’ak as jake and neytiri walked up.

“payakan saved my life, sir, as well as your daughters. you don’t know him.” lo’ak spoke up. (y/n) sucked in a breath, her eyes flickering between him and her parents. never had someone spoke up to her father like that —well, besides her mother.

“lo’ak,” tsireya scolded him, his eyes turning to her and (y/n). she held his gaze with welled up eyes but didn’t say anything, her teeth biting her bottom lip.

tonowaris head nodded just barely, pointing his hand out to lo’ak, “sit.” he repeated it once more. the both of them crouch to the ground, a calmness taking over the air before tonowari looked at the others still standing.

“sit down!” he pointed down to the ground as he yelled, causing both girls to flinch and drop down. never had (y/n) expected fear to be added on to her list of emotions once inside the hut, let alone it be caused by her father. her and tsireyas hands gripped each other tightly, but neither wanted to release.

tonowari brought his hands to his mouth and pushed them away with a breath, an attempt to calm himself, (y/n) assumed. her eyes looked above him to her pacing mother who was already looking at her. (y/n) saw the slight concern ronal held as she looked at her daughter, but the tsahiks face hardened so quickly that (y/n) wondered if it was just her imagination.

“hear my words, boy,” tonowari started, “in the days of the first songs, tulkun fought amongst themselves…for territory and for revenge. but they came to believe that killing, no matter how justified, only brings more killing. so, killing was forbidden. this is the tulkun way. payakan is a killer so he is outcast.”

“i’m sorry, sir, but you are wrong—,”

“lo’ak,” his mother hissed, “you are speaking to the olo’eyktan.”

“i know—,”

“that’s enough!” jake shouted. he was leaning on his knees with his head down, shutting lo’ak up, but only for a moment.

“i know what i know,” he shrugged. ronal hissed in displeasure while jake moved over to his son, looking him down as he repeated his earlier words. lo’ak looked at the ground to avoid his fathers eyes.

“i’ll deal with this one.” jake said, latching his hand around lo’aks arm.

“lo’ak is right, he saved our lives.” (y/n) suddenly spoke up, stopping jake in his movements. everyone’s eyes turned to her, but she was focused on her parents, “he was just protecting his family. how is that any different to you?”

“what is different is they are tulkun! you know this!” ronal growled at the girl but her daughter's stern expression stayed. everyone watched as they looked at each other without blinking, a staring contest neither would be backing down from. the tension that was set in the air only rose and eventually everyone shared wary glances to each other.

jake and tonowari looked at each other and with a nod from the olo’eyktan, jake took his sons and set off. lo’ak fought back slightly, not wanting to leave (y/n) in that atmosphere; neteyam brought to his attention that them staying would probably only make things worse, and that she had her siblings to help her.

for the first time, lo’ak felt grateful that ao’nung was around.

“never, do you ever, speak back to us.” tonowari snarled at his daughter. (y/n) could see tsireya and ao’nung looking at her as if she had two heads, which she wouldn’t be surprised if she did. she must have had two heads and been insane to be acting the way she was.

“this is exactly why i did not want you around that family! they are a bad influence on you.” ronal spoke angrily, (y/n)s face scrunching up in irritation.

“that is not true!”

“really? you spend every waking moment with that family, that boy, never with your own family. you go beyond the reef, get into fights with your brother, and speak back to your parents.” ronals words reminding (y/n) of her brothers, though ronal spoke nothing about her feelings.

“they teach me about the forest.” (y/n) argued and she could see her mothers anger spike up. no longer was her father a part of the conversation. he had become a spectator; just like her siblings, just like always.

“you keep using that excuse, child, but i see the truth. i see the way you care for them, wishing they were your true family.” the similarities between mother and son were uncanny, but the differences were also obvious. with ao’nung, making up was easy and simple. it took a bit of time, granted, but that was mostly because (y/n) was oblivious to what was upsetting him.

with ronal, it would be much more difficult for the simple fact that (y/n) had been trying to get ronal to understand her feelings her entire life. it was always the same thing with her mother. ronal was trying to protect her, so that made (y/n)s feelings unimportant. (y/n) had enough.

“yes mom! i spend more time with the sullys, because they don’t see me as weak! they see me as one of them. and that…that’s all i wanted.” years of keeping it in had finally reached its end. the feelings that bubbled inside of her finally overflowed. the feelings ronal caused in her were finally spoken.

everyone’s jaws were dropped, hearts breaking as it felt the waves that were trying to push (y/n) away from them had finally succeeded.

ronal was speechless, tears welling in her eyes that she did not allow to fall as she watched her daughter process not just what she had said but the entire conversation.

“i…i have to prepare for the celebration.” the tulkun celebration: a tradition the metkayina tribe would do the night the tulkuns returned. it had been forgotten in the activities of the day, but now it had returned to her mind. it was conveniently the perfect excuse to get away.

(y/n) didn’t wait for a response from her family. she gave her sisters hand a quick squeeze before standing and giving ao’nung a pat as she passed him.

the girl ran her hands over her head as she walked away from the hut. she wished to rid her mind of that entire conversation, and wished to forget the looks and words that were shared. it pulled at her heart.

the only thing she could think of to ease her sadness was the other pull at her heart.

she smiled softly as she saw lo’ak and jake sitting on the dock, talking. she couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she definitely knew that it wasn’t enjoyable. either way, seeing lo’ak comforted her. he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, his shoulders visibly relaxing.

her presence eased him, the thought of her being there waiting for him once he was done made him feel he could handle his fathers scolding.

with his eyes returning to the front of him, (y/n) held onto the huts doorway. it was warm inside, bringing solace to her. she watched with the same smile as neteyam and kiri sat on the floor, talking about things she didn’t know; probably about lo’aks bonding with payakan, from kiris' concerned look. her eyes dragged from them to tuk, who was sat in front of her mother as she redid her daughters braids.

(y/n)s mouth went ajar at the sight. neytiri and tuk both had big grins as they sat, tuk telling her mother about the cove of the ancestors and just how beautiful it was. they talked about the tulkuns return and how amazing the creatures were.

(y/n) brought her hand up to her hair, feeling the softness of it beneath her fingertips. she loved the braids that adorned the sully family’s head. she was told by lo’ak that while the metkayina people wore their hair mostly down, it was a lot more common for the omatikaya to have it braided, especially with the war going on. he said he only ever really saw kiri wear it down, and only saw his mother wear it down before the sky people returned.

with slow hands, she grabbed a small clump of her hair and started to braid it at the root. she tried to mock neytiris hand movement, doing what she saw the woman do. at least, she thought that’s what she was doing, but at the angle she was at it proved difficult.

“(y/n)?” kiri outed (y/n) from where she stood unnoticed, the others inside turning to look at her. neteyam and neytiris expressions held a sort of worry for the girl from what they had seen earlier, but it didn’t last too long at the frizzy and clumpy braid in her hand.

“oh, babe,” neytiri chuckled. (y/n)s ears instantly dropped in embarrassment, fingers quickly undoing the braid to try to get rid of the embarrassment, “come here, child.”

(y/n) looked from neytiris hand that was beckoning her to neteyam and kiri. they nodded at her. with their assurance, (y/n) walked inside the warm hut. tuk smiled up at her and stood up, grabbing her arm and guiding her to sit where she once was.

(y/n) looked to neytiri as her hand rubbed over her head. after the argument (y/n) had just come from, the warm and soothing touch of a mother almost made her want to break down and cry.

“have you ever had your hair braided?” neytiri questioned. (y/n) looked throughout her memories for a time where her hair had been braided, but she came up blank.

“no, never.” she shook her head as she spoke. neytiri hummed, now brushing her fingers throughout the girls locks.

“can i?” (y/n) felt her heart jump at the question, excitment pumping throughout her. she nodded frantically as she turned around fully to give neytiri full access.

neteyam and kiri joined tuk in sitting in front of (y/n), all watching with joy as their mother began to braid her hair.

“(y/n), you’re gonna look so beautiful! like, impossibly beautiful, cause you’re already so pretty.” tuk gushed, rocking in her spot. everyone chuckled at her words.

(y/n)s scalp felt tingly as neytiris nimble fingers moved around her hair and began to braid. she tried to imagine herself with braids, the thought sending so much happiness into her. something about it made her feel even more connected to her culture. she wondered if her parents wore braids or if they left it down. she wondered if her mothers hair was straight or curly.

“your hair reminds me of my own when it is down.” neytiri commented. (y/n)s eyes widened, her ears shooting up. neteyam nudged kiri and secretly pointed to her upright ears, both of them snickering quickly at them.

“really?”

“mhm,” neytiri hummed. her hands were making quick work of (y/n)s hair. after years and years of doing braids for not just herself but other tribe members and her own children, it wasn’t very surprising.

“hey, (y/n)?” tuk asked, scooting across the floor to sit closer to (y/n). (y/n) smiled softly as tuks hand grabbed her larger one, “what do you think your parents were like?”

neytiri and two of her oldest children tensed at tuks question, but (y/n) stayed calm. she took in a small breath before sighing, thinking to herself.

“my mother said that when my…mother,” she giggled and so did the others, “came here, she had war paint on her, and that she wore the necklace of a warrior. i plan to wear it tonight, and i’ll show you all.”

they smiled at the joy that overtook her as she spoke about her mother, oblivious to the pain she felt in her heart, “ i think both my parents were strong and great fighters, but i also think they were kind. i think my father was the type to lay with you until you fall asleep, and that my mother would tell stories every night.”

“that’s so cute,” tuk pouted her lips, tears welling in her eyes. (y/n) laughed, bringing her hands to the girl's face as she cooed.

“aw, tuk, don’t cry,” neteyam said, placing his hand on her shoulder. (y/n) felt neytiris hand rub her own shoulder for a moment before returning to her hair.

“i think your parents would have been very proud of you,” neytiri spoke softly from behind the girl. her hands fell from tuks face and instinctively, she turned around to face neytiri.

“really?” she asked excitedly. hands grabbed at her shoulders and forced her back around, eyes meeting kiris.

“you’ll mess her up! don’t move!” she scolded the older girl. (y/n) rolled her eyes but didn’t try to move again; in fact, she sat completely still in fear of messing neytiri up.

“why do you think they’d be proud?” the kids relaxed before her, neteyam holding onto both of his sisters. they calmed themselves to allow their friend and mother this moment together, sensing how it was needed.

“to start,” neytiris voice was warm, “you are kind, you take good care of the others and are strong, like a tree that is rooted deep in the ground and does not sway at even the fiercest winds. you are also very beautiful.”

(y/n) laughed at the feeling of neytiris finger poking her sides, her body moving to escape her touch. neytiri laughed behind her and continued to braid her soft hair.

“you are a special girl, (y/n). everyone knows it.” neteyam nodded as he spoke, as if confirming his own words. (y/n) felt the skin of her body warming up, and it wasn’t just from the heat inside the hut. their praise was starting to get to her. she wasn’t used to it, but it made her heart swell.

“stop, i’m just glad i can know you all.” she confessed to them. she hadn’t really expressed her feelings to any of the sullys, never telling them just how important their arrival meant to her, “you gave me more of my home than i ever thought i’d have.”

(y/n) couldn’t see it, but neytiris smile faded, contradicting the bright smiles of the four children in front of her. she finished the braid she was on and moved on to the next, allowing a sigh to escape her.

“(y/n), something you must know is that awa’altu is your home. the forest is the home of your people, and it stays inside of you even thousands of miles away.” (y/n) blinked but didn’t respond. she knew the truth of her words: the forest had always been within her. it was why she felt such a great longing to it, why even after learning and growing up the same as the other children that she was still different in her movements and actions.

but the first part of neytiris words is what had her stuck. awa’altu is her home. she wouldn’t deny it, but something about it felt off.

“done,” neytiri whispered, effectively breaking (y/n) from her thoughts. (y/n) quickly reached up to touch her hair, for some reason surprised to feel the numerous braids against her fingertips. she examined the reactions of the siblings before her, taking their smiles and bright eyes as a good sign.

“wow, (y/n), you look incredible.” kiri spoke as she took in the sight of the girl before her. her hand came to cover her mouth, hiding the huge grin on her lips. tuk jumped up and clapped her hands excitedly.

“(y/n), you were made for braids! i told you you’d look good!” she exclaimed. the group of them laughed at her cheerfulness. suddenly, a thought came across the girls face and she gasped, sending flinches throughout the navis, “i gotta get lo’ak!”

(y/n) watched the small girl run out of the hut with a small groan. just how many people knew about the crush she had on the boy? she had been ignoring it —well, internally— so well! honestly, the unending touches between them definitely gave it away.

the smile quickly returned to (y/n)s face as she pulled kiri pulled her up by her hands. neytiri whooped while neteyam clapped, watching as kiri twirled the older girl. they laughed cheerfully as her braids flew throughout the air, much more speratic than her normal hair.

“what’s going on?” jake's voice entered the hut. he was leaning down significantly as he was pulled by his youngest child, son beside him suffering the same as him. they were welcomed by the sight of absolute joy. it was a stark contrast to the tension they had outside while jake scolded his son. big, toothy smiles as they looked at the girl that wasn’t an official member of his family.

the same smile, the same happiness she usually brought to them.

“momma braided (y/n)s hair!” finally, the girls spinning came to a stop at tuks exclamation, giggling and holding onto kiri for balance.

lo’ak was completely awestruck. there was simply no other word for it, besides speechless. this was his confirmation: (y/n) was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. no doubt about it.

later that night, he would see (y/n) again during the celebration for the return of the tulkun. she would be dressed in celebrational paints and jewelry, and looking her absolute best, but it would still be nothing compared to her now.

her now: surrounded by the warm lights of the huts lanterns, biggest of smiles he’s yet to see from her, with his family who he loves more than anything. what he was seeing was her. it was magnificent.

“well?” kiri raised an eyebrow at her brother, looking at him expectantly. he cleared his throat and straightened his body upon realizing everyone had been looking at him and his dropped jaw.

“you look amazing,” he said truthfully, only remembering his parents were present until after. he made it a point to avoid their gazes and to look at the ground. neytiri chuckled from her spot while jake smiled.

“mom even added pretty beads,” tuk commented. she was back in front of (y/n), reaching up as if trying to feel the girls hair. (y/n)s hands went back to her hair, feeling up and down multiple braids; she did, in fact, feel many beads and shells throughout her hair.

lo’ak watched as she felt her hair, eyes wide as if she was imagining what she looked like. it was criminal that she could not see.

“wait,” lo’ak said. everyone turned to him as he walked to his bag of stuff, quickly rummaging through it. neteyam smirked to himself as he realized what it was his brother was looking for, “here.”

lo’ak stood and handed the object in his hand to (y/n). she looked down at it before taking it, seeing the ceiling of the hut in its reflection, and then her own. she looked in wonder as she grabbed it and examined it, turning it and seeing sides of her face and area behind her within it.

“it’s a mirror,” he informed her, fully aware of his parents eyes on him.

“where did you get that?” jake firm and back to his dad like tone. lo’ak tensed, hand reached up to rub the back of his neck.

“y’know, the lab,” he cleared his throat nervously, “norm let me have it.”

“uh-uh,” jake said, clearly not believing lo’ak as he shared a look with his wife. she only rolled her eyes with a smile.

(y/n) was speechless as she looked at herself. she hadn’t ever seen herself besides in the reflection of the water, and that was very limited. she could see the flecks of different colors within her eyes, freckles similar to the ones that she admired on lo’ak so dearly, and the way her now braided hair fell past her ears and framed her face.

“wow,” was all she could mutter. pride rushed throughout neytiri at the fact the girl loved her hair so much. braids were never a big deal, but it was obvious just how much it meant to (y/n).

the sound of a horn rang throughout the village, confusing the sully family and reminding (y/n) of the reason she came by in the first place.

“that’s right! tonight we are having a celebration for the return of the tulkuns!” she said excitedly. she handed the mirror back to lo’ak but he shook his head; although, he couldn’t argue as she shoved it into his hand.

“it starts at eclipse. will you come?”

neytiri and jake looked at each other as if questioning for confirmation, but their children were already jumping up and accepting her invitation.

“we’ll be there.” jake confirmed with a chuckle, the girls of the hut cheering. neteyam huffed as tuk jumped into his arms in excitement, almost knocking him down in the process.

(y/n) spoke to each member of the family, but her eyes focused on lo’ak, “i’ll see you there.”

the earlier words might have been incorrect, seeing how lo’ak stood frozen as he watched (y/n) dance with the village people in the middle of the celebration are. while she was at her most beautiful in her natural state, the absolute joy that had taken over her features was hard to compete with. the tradition attire she wore also helped.

she had swirls painted on the upper part of her body: two on her forehead and two on her cheek, two purple and two yellow. on her shoulders were swirls of green and white there, and then one singular purple swirl on (y/n)s neck.

her bottoms were made of a white string that tied around her hips, a white cloth covering both her front and back.

her top was a large necklace that looked similar to some of the warrior necklaces from the forest. it had silver, wiry like tendrawls sprawling all across her chest and covered her breasts decently. the string latched around her neck hung low, resting on her collarbones. it didn’t cover the swirls on her body but accentuated them.

on top of her head was white shells and flowers on a string that went around her head and sat on her hairline. at the center was a jewel that dropped down and rested on the middle of her forehead.

“oh, eywa.” he heard his brother whisper under his breath as they watched (y/n) wave at them before her attention was pulled back to the dance. lo’ak, forcefully, tore his eyes away from the girl to send his brother a glare. neteyam quickly noticed his brother's head shoot towards him and barked out a laugh.

“don’t worry, brother,” neteyams hand patted lo’aks head, “she’s all yours.”

lo’ak rolled his eyes and pushed his brother away from him, neteyam still chuckling as kiri walked up to them. she followed their gaze to the dancing girl, tsireya and ao’nung also in the mix of people with her.

“you should join her, brother.” kiri commented. the incredulous look lo’ak gave her was humorous. she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her while he looked at her as if she were crazy.

“does it look like i know how to do that?” his hand jerked to the group of dancing people. as neteyam and kiri looked back at the mass of people, they could understand his hesitance.

it was five to a group: (y/n), tsireya, ao’nung, rotxo, and another boy they didn’t know made a they were connected by their arms and together they would pick up one foot and lean forward then jump and switch feet and lean backwards, then they would straighten and the girls feet would lift from the ground.

all of these groups were mixed closely together and only made the dance more intimidating. it only got worse when the groups disconnected, moving to face each and clapping their hands in the air.

they ducked down and passed by the sides of each other, straightening and reaching their hands out, then grabbing it and pulling each other in and dancing around together.

“maybe you have a point.” neteyam muttered with an exhale. it seemed impossible to even join in, let alone actually understand the dance. unfortunately, their lax figures were spotted by the sharp gaze of the dancing girl.

the grin that overtook her face sent a chill throughout all of them, and as she grabbed the attention of her siblings, they felt a strong urge to run.

they didn’t get the chance as they were quickly grabbed by the three siblings.

“this counts as a lesson.” (y/n) said evilly, lo’ak looking at her expression with fear. she laughed and rolled her eyes as she pulled him to the dancing, the others following behind. they kept a good distance from the professional dancers as to not cause any injuries.

the sullys watched warily.

“it’s pretty simple when you break it down. it only goes fast.” tsireya said to them, standing next to her brother.

(y/n) nodded, tapping her foot to the beat of the music to find a good opening, “and if you think about it, it’s just a bunch of jumping and turning.”

the best dropped and in sync, ao’nung and (y/n) ducked down and hopped on their feet, shaking their arms out in front of them. another large beat on the drum had them straightening. they clapped their hands out into the air, their opposite shoulders coming together.

“it’s like you never do the same move twice,” lo’ak grumbled, observing how this was a different dance to what he had just seen them do. the kids laughed, nodding.

“honestly, bro, you just gotta pay attention to others and do whatever your body tells you to.” ao’nung shrugged. it was the best advice he could’ve given to them. without the experience, it was definitely hard to keep up with them.

lo’aks frown softened as he felt (y/n)s hand latch around his, lightly tugging him closer to the dancing na’vi.

“let’s just try it out, yeah?”

he couldn’t deny her smile no matter how much he wished to. in the end, he could never say no to (y/n). he was completely wrapped around her finger.

for a moment he simply watched as she moved around, observing her moments and copying them lightly. once he felt he got a small grasp on them, with her encouragement, he began to follow along with her.

she cheered out, smiling brightly. a couple whoops came from within the mix of people, and whether it was for him or not, lo’ak didn’t know or care.

he kept his focus completely on the girl, paying no mind to his siblings or anyone else who brushed past him. how could he when he had this beautiful letting go of herself completely in his arms.

both her hands entwined with his and she lifted their arms up, spinning inward. he was forced to copy her action, the both of them laughing as the tops of their heads grazed each other. he felt the ends of her braids tickle his back, sending a shiver throughout him.

lo’ak felt a sliver of disappointment as the girl released him and spun backwards, pairing up with kiri while tsireya took her sister's place.

they smiled at each other, laughing as tsireya attempted to show him another dance move. he was a bit lost in the movements but otherwise caught on well. lo’ak was thoroughly impressing the metkayinas.

it wasn’t long before the girls rotated again, (y/n) coming back to lo’ak. he couldn’t help the way his smile brightened at her return.

a few feet away stood a smiling mother as she watched her children dance among the crowd. a part of her never expected to see them so happy, or even enjoying a clan celebration. her heart felt that the pain of the forest would travel with them, and while it did, it didn’t stop them from evolving. she was glad they could still find enjoyment in the days.

as she felt the hand of her husband rub against her back, pulling her body into his, her eyes caught sight of a familiar silver piece. the feeling of her heart dropping was something she hadn’t felt since they had to leave the forest. it had felt so long since so many emotions suddenly forced themselves to the surface.

the her hand raised and the back of it touched jakes chest, bringing his smiling face to look down at her. his smile quickly faded at her expression, as if she had just seen a ghost.

“my jake,” she muttered, “look.”

he followed her gaze right back to the dancing children. at first he was confused, finding the sight heartwarming, but then he saw it too.

the same silver war piece they had seen been made, laying on the chest of the girl that dripped with memories.

suddenly, it all made sense. the familiarity. the feeling like they had met before. the way her features looked so familiar. the way it was just on the tips of their tongues, but they could not figure it out.

now it was laid out plainly in front of them.

“i must speak with the tsahik.”

“lo’ak, come.” (y/n) whispered to lo’ak once they had danced a small ways from the crowd. lo’ak looked back to the dancing people then back to her, slight confusion on his face. she giggled sweetly as she started to lead him away from the celebration.

“where are we going?” he asked, nodding towards an adult who smiled kindly at them. (y/n) waved at them before continuing on her past. lo’ak was still waiting for a response as they walked, not receiving even a glance.

it wasn’t until they were completely separated from the celebration area that (y/n) looked over her shoulder, giving the boy a smirk, and then taking off. lo’ak gasped softly at the sudden jerk of her body but quickly began to sprint with her.

the wind was suddenly forcefull on their bodies, causing their braids to fly behind them. the laughter that escaped the girl was music to his ears, leading laughter of his own.

neither of them really knew what they were laughing at. maybe it was their sneaky escape, or the freedom they felt. whatever it was, it was the result of pure happiness that was leaking from them in the best way possible.

the pairs fast pace slowed as (y/n) turned into a familiar part of the palm tree forest. he looked at her with a knowing look, now understanding where she was taking him.

“i don’t really want to get hit by a leaf tonight.” he teased, the girl rolling her eyes and pushing him playfully. he snickered at her reaction, grasping her hands to keep his balance.

“trust me, it’s better during eclipse.” this ceased his teasing, now curious. lo’ak quickly decided that he needed to see the pond during eclipse, and followed closely behind the girl as she lead him through the trees and bushes.

it was so weird to lo’ak how well hidden the pond was in such a thin forest. the trees weren’t nearly as thick or tall as the ones in the real forest, and it was even close to being as large, but it was still easy to get lost within it.

maybe it’s because of its outside appearance that causes people to underestimate it, and next thing they know is they can’t find a way out. either way, lo’ak didn’t want to figure it out.

the feeling of (y/n)s hand intertwining with his caused him to look down at them before looking at her. (y/n) gave him a glance but mostly focused ahead of them as she walked to the pond.

“what did your dad say?” she asked softly. for a moment, lo’ak was confused as to what she was talking about, but then quickly remembered his bonding with payakan. his ears instinctively folded downwards, pricking hurt inside the girls chest.

“he was really mad i talked back. i tried to explain it to him too, but he wouldn’t even let me talk.” for just a moment, his grip on (y/n)s hand tightened in his brief anger, but he quickly relaxed it. he felt her thumb gently rubbing the back of his hand.

“i’m sorry, lo’ak.” (y/n) muttered with a frown. lo’ak shook his head despite her not seeing.

“don’t be, seriously. i should be sorry, i got you in trouble again.” instead of using lo’aks way of reassurance, a scoff left her lips while her hip gave a gentle nudge to him. lo’ak felt the tip of her tail graze his.

“lo’ak, you aren’t the only problem child on this island.” he couldn’t help but chuckle at her words. she smiled as she watched him laugh, but soon her face turned serious again, “i’m sorry they don’t believe you, lo’ak. neither you nor payakan deserve that, but at least we know the truth, right?”

lo’aks eyes washed over her for a moment, a glint of moonlight shining in his eyes before he smiled softly and nodded. her smile grew at this before looking back to the front and pushing down a familiar leaf.

lo’ak didn’t have any time to prepare himself for the sight before him. it was completely lit up but not in a bright way that forced him to look away. it was more of an entrancing way that didn’t let him advert his gaze.

the deep blue water was suddenly lighter than the ocean as it glowed, many more fish present than before. the sound of animals in the trees caused his ears to twitch, but as he looked around, his eyes couldn’t find them. the area around them felt darker and fuller, the grass beneath their feet warm and glowing.

“it looks like home.” (y/n) quickly caught on that he meant the forest, mouth opening as she looked at him.

“really?” she asked in disbelief. she imagined the forest many times, just had she been by this pond, but she never knew the similarities between them. it made her feel like she had missed out, or that she had been way off in her imagination.

“yeah.” he said with a slightly breathless tone.

(y/n) nodded quietly, turning to look back at the area around them. she knew it was beautiful, but for some reason with the information lo’ak just gave her, it felt like she was seeing it for the first time all over again.

her mind didn’t stop for her, already used to the process and instantly started imagining what life would be like.

she could hear the distant sound of children’s laughter, the draw of a boy, and the cry of an ikran. it faded away when her ears focused on the far off music they had just came from, causing her to exhale.

she turned back to lo’ak, finding him already looking at her.

“what’s your favorite tradition from the forest?” she found herself asking, hands clasped behind her back.

lo’ak hummed as he thought for a moment, then smiled at her. (y/n) should’ve known from his smile that she would regret asking, but she didn’t move to run away.

“it’s not really a omatikaya tradition. it’s something my dad was taught on earth— on the star he comes from,” (y/n) tilted her head, “he taught it to my mom and then me and my siblings.”

she watched as his hands came to her arms and slowly went down, going to her hands and pulling them in front of her. (y/n) had a confused smile on her face.

he guided one of her hands to his shoulder, holding her other in the air, and resting his other hand on her waist.

“it’s called slow dancing.” lo’ak informed her. she looked between them at their position, taking it in and then nodding.

“it’s simple, a lot easier than yours,” she rolled her eyes, “just take two steps to the left, one step to the right.”

(y/n)s head instantly turned down when lo’ak started to move them, watching as her feet stumbled to move with him.

“look at me,” his voice was soft as he talked, drawing her head up to look at him. her movements stopped, jerking the boy to a stop with her, “why'd you stop?”

“if i look at you then i will step on your feet.”

lo’ak shook his head and pulled her back into him, “no, you won’t. you’re doing fine.”

(y/n) didn’t believe him, not at all, but she knew what it was like to teach someone something, especially a dance. at some point, you just need to trust yourself and your teacher.

they started again, this time the girl forcing her head to stay up. they were going a little slower than they had started for her comfort, but it didn’t matter much; it was slow dancing.

(y/n)s focus slowly went from the movements of her feet to the pace of her breathing as she realized how the eye contact they held had been unyielding. lo’ak barely blinked as he looked into her bright eyes. being so close like they were now, he could see streaks of purple inbedded in her amber eyes. the purple paint on her face also helped in making them more noticeable.

his hand drifted from her side to her back, pushing her closer to him, “slow down.” he muttered.

embarrassment warmed her cheeks, her eyes glancing at the ground as she slowed her pace. she had gotten so distracted by his stare it had started to show in her dancing, and it was probably obvious to him. his snickering only proved her point.

“you’re good.” he commented. (y/n) smiled at his compliment, suddenly gasping when he raised her hand above them and spun her body, pulling her back in.

she laughed at the action, loving the feeling of the twirl. lo’ak smiled down at her, glad that she enjoyed it so much. suddenly, she raised his hand and repeated the action to him.

lo’aks eyes were wide at the sudden twirl of his body. never, had he ever, been twirled. (y/n) laughed loudly and bounced lightly on her feet in joy. as strange as it felt to lo’ak to be twirled, he couldn’t help but laugh too, her happiness completely contagious.

a silence washed over them as they started to dance again, the smiles never disappearing from their faces. (y/n) barely even realized she was smiling like she was, it being completely natural. the silence basked over them comfortably.

it felt like the world around them faded with ever step they took, every negative thing leaving their minds with every turn. it was just them, the cool water, and the starry sky. even the distant sounds of the celebration music had been forgotten in their minds.

and as they looked at each other, it was obvious to them when their smiles showed more. their eyes didn’t just look at each other with friendliness or platonic admiration. it was simply more, and they both knew it. such small, knowing smiles could not be faked.

in a way, it was relaxing how they didn’t need to speak it out loud. the silence between them but the words shared by their eyes only furthered just how right it felt. how good.

but, as the saying goes, all good things come to an end.

“(y/n)!” tsireyas shout instantly snapped the pair from their daze. they looked to where her voice came from, frowning at her panicked face.

(y/n) pulled from lo’aks grasp and rushed to her sister, hands on tsireyas elbows to hold her up, “sister, what’s wrong?”

tsireyas eyes looked between (y/n) and lo’ak, tears welled up in her eyes.

“our parents, they’re arguing.” it was obvious that tsireya was shielded from things like arguing; honestly, each of them had been. it was very rare for tonowari and ronal to argue, and conflict had been nonexistent on the islands.

(y/n) looked over her shoulder to lo’ak, his face firm as he gave her a nod. that usual voice in her head told her not to go, to just run. that fear that always prickled at her skin and shouted in her mind.

just like always, (y/n) ignored it, and together the three ran to the olo’eyktans hut. (y/n) could feel her heart pounding in her chest, worried about what they might find when they arrive

neteyam and kiri were walking down the beach with tuk when the three rushed by them, lo’ak only motioning to follow them. neteyam and kiri sent each other a wary look, already knowing never to just do what lo’ak says, but with their hurry they deamed it serious. they also had no choice, seeing as tuk quickly went after the small group.

ao’nung was waiting for them a little ways from the hut, perking up when he saw them rushing forward. he was a little apprehensive at the big group, but he quickly ignored them as his eyes settled on (y/n).

he wasn’t close enough to hear exactly what their parents were talking about, but the shouts were loud enough to know it was worrying.

“what’s going on?” (y/n) asked him breathlessly, panting in attempt to catch her breath. ao’nung only shrugged, just as clueless as her.

(y/n) looked back to the others behind her. they all looked at her with the same confused and worried looks, eyes shining under the starry sky. she remembered quickly that as much as it’s forgotten, she is the oldest. whether instinctive or not, they were all looking to her.

swallowing the hesitation in her throat, (y/n) rolled her shoulders back and turned towards the hut. her ears flinched down at the loud shout that came from it at that same moment, but she didn’t falter.

(y/n) shot ao’nung a small, reassuring smile before she began to walk along the wood to her family’s hut. she knew that the others were all following behind her, interest peaked within them.

the closer they got, the clearer the words being shared were. every sentence only confused the girl more and gave a pull to her heart.

“she deserves to know!”

“this is not your business! you are not her mother!”

“no, but her real mother wouldn’t want you keeping this from her.”

(y/n) was now slowly coming up to the doorway, her mind beginning to process just what they were talking about: her.

the girl moved from where she was leaning on the hut, making her way to the doorway.

“i am her real mother. yayíu is dead.”

suddenly, everything went quiet. (y/n) could see kiris shocked face in the corner of her eye. she could hear whispering of her friends around her, but her brain couldn’t process what they said. everything sounded blurry, everything looked blurry. (y/n) felt as if she had been submerged under the ocean. slowly, she was sinking to the bottom, unable to swim.

“what?” she didn’t even realize she had said it, the word falling from her mouth just as helpless as she felt.

a cold chill shot throughout the air. ronal stood completely rigid, looking at her oldest daughter with surprise, but the increasing fear she felt showed on her face. neytiri and jake also looked surprised, but the determination didn’t leave them in the slightest. tonowari was behind his wife, bracing her while he bit at his lip. his face wasn’t fearful like ronal, but full of shame and guilt.

none of this did anything to aid the raging storm of emotions that crashed around inside of (y/n).

“yayiu, that’s my mothers name, isn’t it?” (y/n) felt like she had no control of her body, like it wasn’t even hers. she felt like her mind was going numb and her body was just taking charge.

“(y/n)—,”

“yes, it was,” neytiri cut ronal off, ignoring the other woman’s glare, “we knew your mother, (y/n). she was one of my dearest friends.”

“oh, my eywa.” tsireya whispered from her spot in between ao’nung and lo’ak, her hand gripping her brothers tightly. he glanced down at her before focusing on (y/n).

“you knew?” her voice was weak as she spoke, only causing more pain to those around.

“yes.” tonowari said for his wife. the solemn look on his face was something she had never seen before, not once. never had she even imagined ever seeing the painful expressions her parents wore.

“you lied to me?” her voice cracked with her heart, before her face hardened, “what else have you been lying about?”

the eyes of the group beside her widened, impossibly so, as she took a step inside the hut and effectively disappeared from view. they all shared a look, the hesitation obvious. the only one who didn’t share that same look was lo’ak. his eyebrows were furrowed as he looked at them before he quickly jumped from out of the middle, rushing to join the girls' side.

she didn’t pay him any mind, or any of the other kids as they peaked out from behind the hut. her brain barely even acknowledged them, unlike the adults whose eyes all flickered to them.

“nothing.”

“do not lie to her.” neytiri hissed at ronal, ignoring jakes hand on her shoulder. ronal was so caught up in all the possible outcomes of this situation that she brushed neytiri off with ease.

unfortunately, (y/n) could not do the same. tears stung her eyes as she looked at her parents, “why? why would you lie?”

in a way, it sounded as if she were begging, and honestly, she was. she was begging to know why. she was begging to know the truth.

“we-we were just protecting you.” ronal was begging too. it wasn’t outright, or in her words, but she was begging. she was begging for this to be a dream. she was begging that she could fix this.

“protecting me?” (y/n) couldn’t believe it, “do you know the pain you’ve put me through?”

“(y/n)—,”

“you don’t! you’ve never lost anyone before! never! the pain that has followed me is all your fault! your protection has been killing me!” (y/n) was losing it: that lid she held on herself and her emotions. it had been slipping off bit by bit since the arrival of the sullys, but in one moment it had completely flown off. everyone could feel the explosion that was warming up inside her, and no one could blame her.

“please—,”

“you lied to me! you watched me suffer and lied to me! you kept it— you kept my mother from me!”

“no, (y/n), i am your mot—,”

slap.

ronal tried; she tried to reach out for her daughter. her hand reached out and so did her heart, hoping to catch the girl who was slipping from her grasp, but it was too late.

“no,” (y/n)s voice was low and broken, “no.”

nobody even had the chance to stop her from rushing out of the hut.

a/n: my poor baby :( this hurt to write and the next few chapters are will too. also, don’t y’all love me for giving such quick updates🤭(i’m obsessed with writing this story and do nothing else)

taglist: some could not be tagged

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Picture taken moments before disaster

ummmm soooooo

this is AMAZING WOW! that must’ve taken hours and hours to do! great job!! *chef’s kiss*

Vander’s Prodigy

Edit: Fixed Vi’s nose >.<

Welcome to the Arc_Wanderer’s writing emporium!

I write for any category (fluff, angst, etc.) but not smut! Sorry to any horny ppl out there, this blog isn’t for you :(

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Masterlist: Arcane (2021)

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~~Upside Down (fxf pairing)

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Upside Down

Prompt: A Jinx headcanon where her S/O helps her through her schizophrenic episodes.

Warnings: Mentions of Severe Trauma

Theme: Hurt/Comfort

Please don’t repost this and claim as your own <3

• Anyone close with Jinx knows that her episodes can come sporadically, or when she‘s had a bad day, or when her emotions are through the roof, or when she hasn’t blown something up in a while but that’s rarely the case

• You try your best to help her through these episodes because you of all people know that she’ll do something dangerous if no one helps her.

• Holding her by the shoulders or with her head in your hands is usually one of the best ways to calm her down.

• “It’s okay, Jinx. You’re okay. No one else is here except you and me.”

• The worst ones are when she’s remembering all her trauma as a little kid. Those episodes will need more than just reassurance… sometimes you’d have to call Vi for some help.

• “No! I only wanted to help! I only wanted to help…” she’d struggle breathing properly because of how bad it would get. It breaks your heart to see her so distressed.

• You once came home to find the entire place a mess as if someone had broken in. But really, it was the aftermath of your girlfriend, Jinx, from an awful episode. You found her in the corner of the bathroom crying furiously and whispering to herself.

• Generally, after one of Jinx’s … moments… she’ll apologize to you several times over the next couple of hours. It makes her feel weak and vulnerable when her girlfriend is the one taking care of her and helping her through these awful experiences. She’s grateful- of course, but it still makes her feel slightly helpless.

• “Am I a burden?” Jinx would ask as the two of you are on the couch, cuddling, and watching the latest Netflix thriller show.

• “Of course not, princess,” you’d reply as you kiss her forehead, “You’re one of the best things that ever happened to me. Don’t ever think you’re less than that.”

• This would make her smile and result in a really tight hug.

• Jinx wouldn’t be letting go of you anytime soon. You’re all she’s got left so she can’t afford to lose you.

——•••——

A/N: Hope you all liked this little headcanon! And I hope it wasn’t too dark… Of course, feel free to request anything!