alien; lo'ak

⥤ Chapter Ten : The Way of Water ⥢

⥤ Chapter Ten : The Way of Water ⥢

The teens and Tuk sit on rocks near the shore. The waves crash up behind them.

The new teens are sitting up straight, following Tsireya's instructions as she shows them how to control their breathing.

"Breathe in." Tsireya takes a deep breath. "Breathe out. You must slow your heartbeat."

(Y/N) has gotten all of this down, like a natural. She watches Lo'ak taking his deep breaths. She goes to hold a hand on his chest and the other on his stomach.

"Breathe in from up here," she tries to offer advice. "And breathe out slowly, from down here."

Tsireya smiles, happy that (Y/N) understands. She nods to Tuk, who tries to breathe in and out carefully.

(Y/N) can feel Lo'ak's racing heart. "Your heartbeat is fast, Lo'ak."

"Right, sorry." He tries to calm down. (Y/N) tries to hide her blushing.

Neteyam knows, and smiles at his brother. Ao'nung rolls his eyes.

Tsireya explains the importance of water, as they all do the breathing techniques.

"The Way of Water has no beginning and no end."

(Y/N) watches from the shore, not ready for others to see her new features in the water. She occupied herself with Tuk, who happily brings (Y/N) seashells.

(Y/N) feels proud, watching as Lo'ak does an exercise with Tsireya. She tosses a seashell for him to retrieve, so that he can practice holding his breath while swimming.

"The sea is around you, and within you."

Tsireya swims to check on everyone. She finds (Y/N) on the seafloor, staring at her queue.

Tsireya keeps close as (Y/N) continues to swim, closely looking at everything.

"The sea is your home, before your birth and after your death."

(Y/N) is at the lab, in her human body. Norm sees her struggle to express her thoughts in the video diary.

She stares longingly out of the windows of the lab, wishing to be in her Avatar body all of the time.

"Our hearts beat in the womb of the world."

(Y/N) and Lo'ak sit together in the hut, Lo'ak excitedly going on about how he is holding his breath longer and longer each day. (Y/N)'s tail and ears flicker and sway as she's happy to see him so excited.

Neytiri peeks into the hut, her thoughts of (Y/N) become more accepting.

Jake comes by, peeking into the hut. Neytiri steps away, but Jake knows his wife is easing up on (Y/N). He sees how happy his son is around her.

"Our breath burns in the shadows of the deep. The sea gives, and the sea takes."

(Y/N) and her ilu, Raya, ride alongside Kiri and her ilu. The two girls get lost in swimming, both deeply understanding the connections of water.

"Water connects all things. Life to death, darkness to light."

(Y/N) wakes up again in her human body. She's clearly tired, as she forces herself to get out of the pod.

She drags herself to the desk, unable to express anything in her video diary once more. Her 'daily' logs are weeks behind.

Spider's empty bed mocks her hope of him ever returning.

She sleeps in her own bed, slumber unable to come to her easily. She dreams of Lo'ak, and swimming with Kiri.

When she wakes up, she's disappointed that she is not in the seas.

"Out there felt like the real world, and the lab felt like the dream."

i didn't notice how short this chapter was until i was about to post it, i'm sorry! working on more chapters though!