Burn for Me

Chapter 18: The Tulkun

3rd pov:

"What do you mean they're here babygirl who's here?" Jake was now on high alert, dreading the answer he knew was coming.

"The Skypeople dad, some villagers from another tribe have arrived, they said avatars have been burning villagers and torturing other clans looking for us."

"Ok kids stay here, Neteyam, Tsamera, I would have you come with us but I need you to make sure they all stay put, especially your bother." Jake muttered the last part to Neteyam before patting him on the shoulder, "We'll investigate this further, stay calm ok, look at me babygirl, stay calm, everything will be fine daddy's handling it." Jake took Kiri's face in his hands, trying to give the terrified girl some comfort.

"It's ok dad, go, we'll handle it." Neteyam said, Jake nodding at him as the parents quickly left the Marui.

The kids filed in, sitting around the fire, some of them on the bed and some of them on the floor.

"Are we gonna have to leave?" Tuk said, her voice cracking, "I don't wanna go somewhere else again, I like here." She began to cry, Neteyam's eyes immediately softening as he picked Tuk up and sat her on his lap.

"Don't worry Tuk, wherever we go, we have each other, Sully's stick together, and now we have one more Sully." Neteyam wiped her tears offering her a smile as he took Tsamera's hand.

"And you won't be leaving either, I won't let you, this clan has given you asylum and we will keep our word on it, my father is close to all the other chiefs of the sea tribes, they trust him, and many of us feel indebted to Jake, he is Toruk Makto after all, he saved Pandora, him and your mother, we will all guard the secret of your location with our lives, and if this continues, then we have no choice but to go to war anyways."

"War? Why must we sacrifice Metakayina lives for a family of forest people, why can't we just hand them over, then we will be left in peace." Aonung spoke with venom, a sour expression on his face as he stared into the fire, but Tsamera had had more than enough of him, she bore her teeth, hissing at the younger boy.

"Haven't you done enough today? Why don't you keep your mouth closed, especially if you're not going to give any of your words a thought behind them, the Sully family and Toruk Makto are the only one's stopping the Skypeople from taking over, we need them just as much as they need us."

Aonung soon hushed after these words, his eyes still gazing into the fire, anger swirling in them.

The group was quiet for once, no joking, no laughter, they were all scared, the Sully family didn't want to have to run again nor did they want their friends dying fighting in a war for them. The Metakayina children just didn't want their home destroyed.

"I get you..." Lo'ak said, "I get you're scared about what they are going to do to your home, they destroyed ours, Neteyam's bow is one of the last to be made from Home tree, we never got to see it, it was meant to be where we grew up, and then even when we moved and lived in peace as a tribe for 17 years, they came back, they came back and burned it all so they could make their own home, they forced us into caves in the mountains and they killed everything they touched... I don't want that to happen here, I'm sorry we came to your clan, part of me wishes we just stayed put and let them just kill us. The other part of me isn't sorry for wanting to survive." The younger boy shrugged, his deep yellow irises drowned with apology.

"Lo'ak, I wouldn't have it any other way, I got to meet you, Tsamera got to meet Neteyam, it's worth it, and it always will be." Tsireya placed a hand onto his, holding it in comfort.

"Yeah bro, don't sweat it, we're family now, us Metakayina got no problem with going to war for family." Rotxo nodded, Kiri leaning her head on his shoulder.