Part 4 - Her Return

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(POV: Lo'ak)

Tuk wouldn't sit still.

She was jumping on me, on Neteyam, on her Mother and Father, on basically any surface she could find or reach.

This was all because Neteyam kept telling her about that girl that used to live with us and that she was returning soon. I'd hear him telling Tuk about how she was funny and friendly, and that he wishes he could replace me with her. He was joking, I think. I heard him once say that me and the girl were very similar, and that we always used to get on each other's last nerves, but I ignored his statements.

I didn't want to think about "Little Fay" as Neteyam would call her. Not ever. It had been a peaceful six years without her here, I could actually get on with my business without her infuriating presence bothering me. She wasn't here to obsess over Neteyam anymore, either.

I guess Tuk will like her, though. They can bond over their mutual disliking for me.

I never thought about her, ever.

I suppose I missed having someone other than Kiri to pick on, but that was completely it. Maybe training got a little more boring, but like, it was always boring! She only made it worse, anyway.

And now she was coming back here to ruin it! I bet she'll be shorter than me, maybe she'll have ridiculously short hair like Kiri has, too.

Why is she even coming back, anyway? Last I heard, she was staying with her clan permanently, that's what Jake told me that day she left.

She'll probably dote over Neteyam as soon as she gets here. She'll probably run up to him and laugh at me again, turning my brother away from me just as she'd done before. I know her plans, she's a snake! Trying to take Neteyam from our family, pretending to be this cheery, sweet girl when in reality she's just a fake!

I received another shove from Tuk, bringing me back to my senses. She was even more lively now, as Jake had announced that the girl was nearby. Great.

It had taken her a whole day to get here, too. I'm behind on my sleep as it is.

I got up and followed Neteyam to where we were supposed to stand, noticing that practically the entire clan had gathered inside the cave to welcome her back. There was a vast crowd, reaching all the way to the front of the cave, which I could barely see from all the way in the back where myself and my family were stood waiting. Mom and Dad were up front, Tuk holding Mom's hand as she still wouldn't stop moving. Me, my brother and my sister were stood further back and to the side of them, still with an okay-ish view of the scenes.

I felt a sharp nudge on my side, followed by a patronizing question from my brother.

"Nervous?"

What a stupid thing to ask.

"No, why would I be?" I tell him, crossing my arms and avoiding his face. "I don't care."

"I didn't ask you if you cared, brother." He says slyly, making me scoff and roll my eyes at him. Why was he being so annoying all of a sudden? He hadn't shut up about the girl for the past however-many years and he's asking me if I'm nervous?

I'm not bothered.

That was when a large mountain- banshee descended from above, revealing a dark coloured creature which had a few red and black accents here and there. It landed on the side of the cave, letting it's owner climb down off of it.

I couldn't see her.

What if she tries to attack me? Oh, shit! I haven't stretched at all today.

The crowd split as a figure made her way through it, whispers sounding as she passed them.

My Dad will stop her if she tries anything, right?

Neteyam was swaying back and forth in anticipation, Kiri also eagerly looking to see the girl who still hadn't reached the back of the cave.

What I meant was, I'll stop her if she tries anything.

That was when the crowd finally revealed her. They split in two, letting the girl show herself to us.

Oh. Oh, fuck.

That can't be her?

She wasn't at all how I remembered her. Her hair had grown longer, it had two small braids either side of her face, a piece of head-armour holding them in place. She had two larger braids moving from the front of her face to the back of her head, connecting together to the rest of her hair which was tied up by those same two braids, wrapping around it and holding it up. Except for those two braids, the rest of her hair was untouched, apart from a few beads here and there that had been knotted into it.

Her clothes were different, too. She had pieces of brown cloth draped around various parts of her, paired with a tight neckpiece that almost looked like armour around her neck. She had the same type of item on her upper arm and also on her wrists and ankles, too. A satchel was attached to her thigh, holding what looked like a knife or just some form of sharp weapon. Strapped onto her back via a strap that reached the whole way around her torso, hung a large spear. It was obvious that she'd reached her goal of becoming a "mighty warrior" as she'd said the first time she arrived here.

My breathing hitched.

Despite all of that, her face was what had changed the most. Instead of a bright and toothy smile, big and bubbly eyes, what replaced them was a lifeless and dark look. She looked like stone. Her head was tilted slightly downwards, her eyes peering up through her eyelids as she greeted Mom and Dad. Once they greeted her back without saying anything and instead looking at her silently, she turned to us.

What the-

She had a large scar running through her right eye. It looked healed, but it was still prominent, making her look all the more terrifying.

This wasn't the same girl that left us all those years ago.

Even Neteyam didn't know how to react. He greeted her no differently from anyone else, gazing down at her from where he stood, not trying to say anything to her.
She saw him do so, not even so much as smiling over at him before she looked straight at me.

That isn't her.

When everyone had greeted everyone and the whispering behind her had lessened, Jake cleared his throat and decided to say something.

"Welcome back, Fay'tari. We hope you had a safe journey." He says in the nicest way possible, smiling softly at the girl who he realized looked very different, too.

"I did, thank you Sir."

She didn't call him that before, did she?

Another silence lasted before it was Mom's turn. She let go of Tuk's hand, who honestly didn't seem at all creeped out by her appearance, stepping towards the girl.

"How old are you now, child?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

"Fourteen."

Mom halted, turning immediately towards my Dad and taking him to the side to whisper something to him. They stood there for a long while, the crowd waiting intently so find out what was going on. Mom looked mad, almost. She was waving her arms around as Dad tried to calm her down. Eventually, they both stopped whatever that was and resumed their previous position.

It seemed he'd told Mom that he'd do the talking, as she was now stood back and was crossing her arms.

"Has your Mother told you why you're here?"

"No, sir." She spoke in the same tone as before.

Dad turned towards Mom again, who just shrugged in a rather "I told you so" way.

Yet another silence took over the cave, leaving the rest of us to wonder what in Eywa's name was going on in front of us.
The girl wouldn't move, she wouldn't look towards us nor around her at the crowd. But we looked at her.

We were all thinking the same thing, then.

What had happened to Fay'tari?

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