I See You (N. Sully)

Chapter 4

Walking into the dimly lit room that had been sectioned off from the rest of the cave, left Ahurewa with shaking hands which she hid behind her back. She knew what to expect walking in, and she knew what it would remind her of, but her people were with Eywa now, and acting impulsively on the smallest reminder of them would have her tied up to a tree in a seconds no doubt. If she wanted to punish those who slaughtered her family, she would have to earn the trust of the Omatikaya people, and stay clear of the human warriors who were roaming around freely. 

"The children of the village." She noticed a soft smile on his face as he gestured to the circular room around him. He held a look of pride on his face, something she had yet to see on him. "And Tuk, my youngest sister." Grinning down at her brightly as she ran into his arms, Ahurewa felt for the first time since being there, like she was missing out on something.

Before Ahurewa could even react, Tuk had bounded into her as well. "You look so much better now you're awake!" She placed a hand on Tuk's back, crouching down to her level to listen closely to Tuk's words. 

"Thank you for helping me in the forest." 

Tuk reached up to touch her hair, tugging on it slightly. "This is why mum says to brush and braid our hair. You shouldn't leave it down for this long if you can't take care of it."

Neteyam smacked the upside of the back of her head. "Skxawng. Be nice."

Ahurewa smiled then, only slightly, reaching up to touch her own hair. "Yeah, I guess I need someone to help me figure it out, huh."

Neteyam was enamoured by the girls smile, her kind and gentle spirit when speaking with Tuk. It was the first time he had seen her smile, and he hoped, by some miracle, that it would not be the last.

"I can help!" Tuk ran her fingers over the top of her hair. "Mum always does mine, maybe she can do yours." Excitement radiated all over her, her big childlike eyes beaming up at her.

Neteyam paled, "Tuk, I'm not so sure if that's a good idea." He only thought of his mother's temperament. When she saw Ahurewa on the ground in the forest for the first time, she didn't like it - she didn't tend to like any outsiders really, not even Spider could get on her good side. Neytiri was loyal to her clan and to her family, Jake had to earn her trust, and even that took time.

"Why not?" Pouting, she stuck her hands on her hips and frowned. Tuk was always babied by Jake and Neytiri. She was the youngest, and the kindest, with the most courageous spirit; but she was also naïve. Too trusting and not grown up enough to understand that Neytiri had a different side to her, not just the gentle and protective mothering side that she had seen.

"You know how she can be, I'm sure she's busy helping dad with the last raid anyway." Ahurewa knew he was lying. So did Tuk. It didn't take a genius to figure it out, from the way his eyes met the floor, and his hands started pulling back his hair. She then came to a terrible conclusion: Neteyam was a terrible liar.

"No she's not, she's making food." Tuk reminded her of Kauri then, the way he would sabotage her at any moment in front of others just to prove a point. "Come on! I'll take you!" Ahurewa's arms were then violently pulled back through the beads and into the opening of the cave, heading towards a large tent in the very middle.

Neteyam cursed under his breath, marching behind them like a reluctant bodyguard. He couldn't prepare mentally for what was about to happen. It could either go surprisingly well or horribly wrong, the latter being the most likely outcome.

Ahurewa wasn't as dumb as Neteyam would like to have thought, she was fully aware that Neytiri was going to be the next Tsahik. But even with that knowledge, she was not her Tsahik - her Tsahik sat at the top of a pile of Na'vi, dead from protecting her people. There was no reason to impress nor disappoint her, so approaching the situation like she was any other Na'vi was the best course of action.

"Mum!" Letting go of Ahurewa's hand, Tuk raced into the arms of her mother.

"Oh Tuk," she smiled, holding her daughter close as she arranged the ingredients for later. Neytiri was no thanator, but her ears had pricked up the moment her eldest son and the girl from the forest had entered. She had heard from Jake about where this girl had come from and who she was, she also understood the gravity of her situation. Letting go of Tuk and standing to her full height, Neytiri did the unthinkable. She embraced her.

Neteyam released the breath he was holding, realising that he had nothing to worry about all along. Eywa always had her way, and he was confident that it was she who had brought Ahurewa to them in the first place. Thank the great mother. He sighed.

"I see you, sister." Holding her at arms length, Neytiri looked at her properly then, assessing the state of her physique and the the way that she held herself.

Ahurewa returned the sentiment, "I see you." Neytiri knew what it was like to lose her family, and to lose most of her clan. It was something the children forgot in times of peace, and no matter how many stories they could tell them, her children would never fully understand what it felt like until they experienced it themselves.

Moving her hand from Ahurewa's shoulder then, she picked at her hair, pulling it apart and growling in frustration. Smacking her arm, she commanded her to sit, reaching for a nearby comb and knife in silence.

Neteyam sat with them, occupying Tuk while his mother combed and cut her hair, braiding it quickly and turning over the cooking meats inbetween. He had noticed his mother looking over at him a few times quizzically, as if she had never seen him play with Tuk before. "What is it mother?" He sighed - he found himself doing that a lot recently.

Neytiri shook her head, braids falling from behind her ear. "You never sit unless I am doing your hair."

"Dad told me to stay with her, make sure she didn't do anything." He glanced over at her, expecting her to be still staring at her fingers, but his breath caught as he found her staring directly at him. "She tried to kill me when she woke up and saw me."

Neytiri chuckled, "you will have to teach her the way of the Omatikaya. But..." She glanced down at the girl then, pondering everything her father had told her about the Kekunan Clan, "... you could probably learn more from her, you are too stubborn and proud."

Ahurewa bit her lip in an attempt to stifle her laugh. She didn't like to think about it, but she thought she was wrong for laughing only a few days after everything that happened. But strangely, sat in the tent getting her hair braided, and hearing the bickering around her, reminded her of her home before the slaughter, and before her parents had returned to Eywa.

When Neytiri had finished her braids, they were only slightly longer than her own, due to the amount that had to be cut off. It was a weird sensation, not having it down and loose, but it was a necessary change if she was to consider going into battle against the sky people, it would only get in the way.

Neytiri's courtesy was only extended to her hair apparently, and though she didn't hate her, she was considerably more neutral towards her by the time she left, which was better than how Neteyam had assumed she would be. Ahurewa did not see many people now, after everything that had happened, but Neytiri understood.

No one had noticed her almost laugh, and she thought that it was better that way, because they wouldn't expect it of her again. Outside of Neytiri's tent, the reminder that this wasn't her home, hit her like a ton of bricks. She was back to the sound of sky people talking a foreign language, and the sight of weapons that were used in the murder of her family wrapped in the arms of Na'vi. That was what made it worse than anything else. Eywa was peaceful, and these weapons were not peaceful, they did not serve a purpose other than killing other Na'vi.

Neytiri had given her a place to sleep in their family tent, just temporary. As she lay on her mat, listening to the light breathing of Kiri behind her, she had established her own plan to uphold the will of Eywa, a plan that would definitely get her in trouble. But, she didn't care, because there were bigger things than a scolding off a five-fingered Omatikayan.