original authors note at the bottom of this chapter!!
ᖗ ⊹ ✦ 。°˖ ✧
A couple weeks had passed and I was back to training in the water with Aonung and Tsireya. With no mount, I had to learn how to to ride the mounts of the Metkayina with more determination.
I didn't know when we would return to the forest, or if we ever would. If we did I didn't know if I would ever want to have another Ikran, not after Seraph.
If I would have died and he had lived, he wouldn't have chosen another rider, he would have flown the rest of his life a lone hunter. Part of me felt the need to give him the same respect, but the more sensible part of me knew that if we were going to continue fighting the humans, I would need a mount that was more suited for my fighting style.
The Ilu and the warrior mounts that the others rode were meant for hunting and fighting with spears. I could always learn how to use them, but my bow was an extension of me.
Left to me by my father after his death, I had gone through my rites with it. Had made my first kill with it, both beast and human. It would be the weapon that I would continue to kill with, regardless of the difficulty from the back of another mount that was not Seraph.
I had visited the site of the ship wreck, had looked for any trace of him that may have been left behind. The only thing left of Seraph was the saddle that Jake had saved while I had been asleep.
I'd also looked for signs of Quaritch. I still didn't know how he had escaped. From what Jake had said, he had gone under the water and never came up.
But he didn't feel dead. I could still feel his I'll presence in the world, a poisonous drop in a vast ocean, tainting more and more of it everywhere he went.
I returned to the village, walking up from the beach toward our bungalow. Neteyam had insisted on going with me to the wreck, but I wanted to do it alone. Needed to do it alone, so that I could properly say goodbye to my brave warrior. My angel of death.
Aonung, Neteyam, Lo'ak and Spider we all sitting inside when I arrived. I smiled at Neteyam, my heart skipping a beat when his gaze roamed my body, following the beads of water that slid down it.
"We were just about to go looking for you." Spider said. He had been trying to insert himself into my life these last few weeks. I had enjoyed his company when we were children, but then the humans came and I couldn't look at him the same. Then his father killed my Ikran and tried to kill my family.
I knew it wasn't his fault, and I knew that I should give him a chance. He wasn't his father.
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." I set my bow on its stand and ran a hand along Seraphs saddle. My fingers running over the bead work I had spent years crafting, sourcing and stitching each one into the supple leather it was crafted from. "You know that."
It was a targeted answer, meant to put him on edge. He had seen what I had done to those humans. The blood I had spilled in front of him.
"I was thinking of going flying tonight," Neteyam cut in, trying to steer the conversation away from the topic. "Come with me?"
I couldn't bring myself to fly. I hadn't flown since Seraph had died, excluding when Neytiri flew me to the village after I had been shot.
"I'll think about it." I walked past the boys and sat near Neteyam, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"Did you find any signs of Quaritch?" Lo'ak asked. His brother gave him a death glare. Interesting.
"No I didn't. Unless he's gone back to the forest to regroup with his human allies, it would be long before I find him. I've already spoken to Neytiri and Jake about the next steps to finding him."
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𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 | 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦
Fanfiction** 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅** When Äeya was promised to Neteyam when they were born, she thought that their life together would be peaceful. Things were peaceful and easy when they were children, but now the humans have returned and Neteyam has grown dis...
