I See Home With You|Aonung

Chapter Two

As she landed Pa'it on the mountainside, their father was already by her side to help her get Neteyam off of her Ikran.

"You're back!" Tuktirey yelled, as she came running over in her excitement, "Mom!"

Neytiri pulled her into her arms, " Tuk." Niae smiled as them, gently. After getting Neteyam down, she could hear her father's frustrated breathing. She just knew the scolding was coming.

The moment Lo'ak landed and dismounted his Ikran, Jake stormed over. His brows were furrowed and a snarl was on his lips, his ears pulled back and tail lashing wildly in irritation.

"You're supposed to be spotters!" He strained, "You spot bogies and call ''em in, from a distance! Does any of this sound familiar?" Niae flinched at the reminder. Their father had explained this to them many times. The three teens lowered their eyes as Jake stared them down, their shoulders squared.

"Get here!" Jake shouted. The three scrambled to stand in front of him, shoulders tense.
Seeing the three lined up, Kiri and Tuk rush to inspect them, Kiri grabbing Neteyam's right arm firmly.

"I let you two geniuses fly one mission and you disobey direct orders. If it wasn't for your sister calling me when she did, I wouldn't have even known you were down there!" Jake scolded, Niae glancing away from Lo'ak's accusing glare. She was scared that she lost them completely. They could have both died from that missile.

"Kiri, can you go help your grandmother with the wounded, please?" He asked, exasperated with his kids.

"My brother is wounded." Kiri fired back, refusing to leave Neteyam's side.

"Just go, please!" Jake said, firmly, " Tuk, you too. Go!"

"Dad! Neteyam is bleeding." Niae spoke up, getting fed up with their father's stubbornness. Tuk pouted as she left, Kirir rolling her eyes as she stalked away to tend to the other wounded.

"Dad-Sir, I take full responsibility-" Neteyam started as Jake turned on him.

"Yeah, you do! You both do! That's right, because you're the older siblings-you gotta act like it!" Jake lectured, tail lashing behind him. Niae wanted to scoff at him. Yeah they are the oldest but they are still kids! They still make mistakes, isn't that what being young is all about?

"Dad! We get it, okay? Neteyam needs to be looked over. Please, we've learned our lesson." Niae pleaded. She wanted to get her brother's looked over, especially Neteyam's-whose wound was starting to throb through their bond.

"Ma Jake, your son is actually bleeding." Neytiri added in the silence of Niae's pleading.

"We have to take you to grandmother." Niae mumbled to Neteyam, brushing his shoulder worriedly.

"It's...it's fine." Neteyam mumbled back, his eyes still focused anywhere other than their father.

"No, it's not." She denied, shaking her head as her hands ran over the wound that they shared the pain of. Neteyam knew he couldn't lie to her since they shared the experience through their bond.

"Just go and get patched up! Go on, dismissed!" Jake hugged, angrily. Niae couldn't believe her couldn't even show his concern for his sons. With an eye roll, Niae grabbed her twin's arm and hustled them to Mo'at. As they moved out of sight, Jake turned to their youngest son.

"You are grounded, no flying for a month. Now see to the Ikran, all of them!" Jake hissed to Lo'ak, "And get that crap off your face." With one last scoff, Jake walked off, leaving Lo'ak to roll his eyes and walk to the Ikran.

Niae sat next to Neteyam as Mo'at and Kiri tended to his back. She winced each time Neteyam exclaimed in pain.

"Ow." Neteyam hissed, his tail lashing around.

"What would you use?" Mo'at asked into the air, as Kiri moved around the tent.

"Yalknabar/I would use Yalknabar." Kiri and Niae answered, simultaneously, as Kiri carried a mixture to Mo'at. Niae laughed at their voices blending together.

"Oh yeah? And who is Tsahik?" Mo'at smiled, tenderly.

"You are/You are...move! You are grandmother." They both answered, Kiri nudging Lo'ak out of the way of her path to Mo'at, " But Yalknabar is better. Stings less." Kiri finished as she sat next to Mo'at.

"Ow! Ow!" Neteyam hissed, flinching away from the pain on his back. Niae frowned in concern, even though she knew their grandmother knew what she was doing. She hated seeing her siblings in pain, especially when the wound was so unnecessary in the first place.

"Dad should have left Lo'ak at home. He is always causing us trouble." Niae mumbled into her brother's ears. Neteyan's ears flicked as he took in what she said.

"Hmmmm, now that sounds familiar." Neteyam huffed, jokingly, smirking at his sister. "I remember a certain troublemaker almost getting us eaten by a Palulukan because she wanted to find more plants for her hammock."

Niae cut her eyes at him for the reminder of her troublemaking days, but she could acknowledge the truth behind it.

"Yes, but, as they say-eventually you have to grow up. I wonder if Lo'ak ever will. He is like a prolemuris-too mischievous for his own good or the good of the ones around him." Niae sighed, tossing her hair from her neck gently.

"Take it easy on him, he's our baby brother. And he definitely got his trouble from you." Neteyam laughed, scooting away from Niae's offended shoulder slap.

"Ok done." Kiri smiled, causing both twins to look at her in surprise. They were so focused on their conversation that they completely forgot the pain of being patched up.

"Come on, brother. Let's help Lo'ak with the Ikran." Niae huffed, knowing it would either take all day with him or he would find something else to get up to that might result in even more trouble for everyone.

"Not too much Neteyam. Be careful with your wounds." Mo'at tsked, as Neteyam rolled his shoulder with a grunt.

"Yes, grandmother." They both nodded, as they moved out of the hut.

Meanwhile, Neytiri watched them banter from outside, her tail flicking in repressed irritation. Sometimes she felt like Jake forgot they were still kids. And kids make mistakes.

Jake glanced at her from where he sat cleaning a gun.

"What is it?" He sighed, causing Neytiri to flick her tail as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. With a huff, she turned to him.

"They try to live up to you," She emphasized, " it is very hard on them."

"I know." Jake said, as he went back to cleaning the gun.

"You are very hard on them." Neytiri reiterated, crouching by him. Jake sighed, wearily, putting the gun to the side and looking at his mate.

"I'm their father, it's my job." Jake answered. Neytiri looked at him, not saying a word. He was treating them not like the kids they were, but like a squad going to war.

"This is not a squad, it is a family." Neytiri reminded him. Finally, Jake's eyes softened as he sighed shakily.

"I thought we lost them." Jake confessed, causing Neytiri's eyes to soften in understanding. She cuddled up to his side in comfort.