I See You (N. Sully)

Chapter 9

Ahurewa was a very bad liar. So she couldn't deny how flying with Neteyam had felt. Weaving around each other and jumping on each others' tails, she relished in how she was able to be a child again, and enjoy the moment. She had been happy on a few occasions, yes, but not like this. Even glancing at Neteyam as he emerged from behind one of the floating islands, the smile on his face was almost life-giving. The joy of experiencing freedom wasn't something she thought she could hold onto for longer than a minute, but there was something about flying in that moment that had momentarily liberated her from all of the guilt and anger she was holding within her. There was a saying in her clan, 'joy can set your soul free.' She never knew what it meant until then. Kauri had always said that it meant if you were happy when you passed, you would be with Eywa. Ahurewa had always accepted that as a fact, but now she was coming to her own conclusion of it being an expression of the moment.

She watched as Neteyam raised his arms, shouting out an animal cry. He turned his head to her expectantly. "Is that all you can do?" He yelled, zigzagging in front of her.

Narrowing her eyes she nodded to the drop below them.

Neteyam's eyes widened, looking down and up at her quickly before a confident challenge settled between them.

Without warning she shot downwards, eyes directly focussed on the choppy waves as she drew closer at an increasing speed. Her legs gripped the sides of Masir, waiting for the right moment. Her heart beat with every whip of the wind, wisps of hair had come free, flying behind her. Ahurewa could feel Masir's excitement build, until suddenly, at the very last moment – there was nothing. Nothing but the gentle breeze flushing against her skin, and the splashes of water that sprayed across her legs.

"Are you insane?!" Neteyam flew just a little bit above her. "What was that?!"

She laughed, pulling up beside him as they began to head back to land. "You are a very slow rider."

His face twitched in annoyance, as if he didn't know how to react to her nonchalance. "If you were a second too late you could have died."

"Don't tell me you care about me," she gasped, holding a hand to her chest. "Relax," she rolled her eyes, "you need to leave it to the professionals."

Neteyam let his eyes linger for a moment, slightly in awe of what this girl could do. The way her eyes were darting around, her chest rising and falling in short, quick bursts. It was exhilarating to see her like that. He could feel the energy and adrenaline radiating off of her. She was contagious – everything about her made him feel like there was a mirror between them, and she was the only thing that was real in his world. "So that's how the Kekunan fly, huh?"

The corner of her lips twitched. "I can see why your family is in such a rush to find danger now." They landed on the same dried out patch of land they had taken off from. As she dismounted Masir, stroking his long neck, she continued speaking, watching with amusement the way Neteyam arranged all the equipment he used to fly. "Our clan has a saying – 'joy can set your soul free.'"

He stopped untying his ikran, instead he headed over in her direction, choosing to give her all of his attention instead.

"Your souls are restless," she said, resting a hand above his heart. "They need danger and emotion." Her heartbeat sped up again as she noticed his closeness for the first time since being there. Lifting her eyes to meet his, she breathed out, "you need to control it."

Neteyam hadn't noticed his left hand reach up to hold her extended arm, not until she looked up at him with her glowing green eyes – the same eyes that usually blazed with stubbornness and anger, but now lit up with a softness he had yet to see within her. He'd never noticed it until then, the way her eyes made him feel. They reminded him of the way his mother spoke about the spirit tree, and how he saw that same image in the trees at night when he used to lay down for bed as a child, gazing up at the sky through the shelter of leaves. Her eyes, they felt like home.

Ahurewa couldn't explain the way she felt at that moment. The way he held her arm was like an onslaught of warmth she'd never felt before. She couldn't put into words what it was she needed or felt in that moment, but it made her see him in a different way to before. His gentle eyes weren't mocking or unfeeling, they were a true reflection of his innermost feelings. When he yelled at her for her irresponsibility that day by the aircraft, it was the fear of losing someone that made him lash out. All those ridiculous arguments they'd had, were really because he cared for his family and didn't know how to explain it to her. "Neteyam," she whispered, "I just wanted to–"

"Dad, what is it?" His hand flew up to the band wrapped around his neck.

Ahurewa pulled her hand back to her body as if she'd been stung, bringing her back to reality.

"Where are they?"

She'd noticed the shift in his body language then, his shoulders turning rigid, and his eyebrows pulling inwards. Whatever Jake had told him hadn't been good, and she had a feeling it meant their little truce was over and things would go back to normal.

"Yes sir, we're on our way." Neteyam had cut off the line of communication after that, just temporarily. He knew his father would know what 'we' meant, so his priority now was getting over to his siblings as fast as possible. He faced Ahurewa again then, a military-style look of sternness on his face. "We have to leave. I'll explain on the way." He jogged back over to his ikran, preparing the saddle again, his movements swift but careful.

She didn't ask any questions, by his tone, whatever had happened was important, and if by 'on the way' meant that it was a place, then she couldn't help but let her mind wander to her own family.

Neteyam's explanation had been brief, but detailed enough for her to understand that these avatars were not the same kind they had back at camp. Neteyam had blamed Lo'ak for dragging Kiri, Tuk and Spider into everything, but she knew he didn't truly believe that.

On the way, they'd caught up to Jake and Neytiri, his mother glancing at Ahurewa before taking off after him when he said, "This way, I know a shortcut."

It wasn't long before they landed, and Jake was already reeling off orders. "You two stay here and stand watch, understand?" He gave Neteyam a hard look, "do not leave this spot."

Ahurewa almost laughed at the absurdity of it, and she would've if the situation wasn't so dire.

Jake and Neytiri took off into the trees, disappearing within seconds. It took less than five for Neteyam to shoot a look her way.

"Don't look at me like that." She wouldn't tell him how his father had given strict instructions to remain with the ikran, she would have wasted her breath.

"Will you stop me?" He slung his weapon over his shoulder, scanning his surroundings before finally his eyes landed on her.

She smiled sadly, "probably not."

He sighed, "you won't listen if I tell you to stay here, will you?"

"No," she turned and rifled around Jake's bag until she came across two blades, mismatched, but enough to defend herself. "Probably not."

"Just promise me you'll stay back."

She wasn't a good liar, and she knew she couldn't keep that promise, so she sheathed the blades and brushed past Neteyam with just a look.