The Fire Between Us {Neteyam x Reader}

8.

(Y/n) POV:

My eyes flutter open and I awaken to see Tehiti shaking me harshly. "Sister, sister wake up. Come on!! We have to go meet the others come onn..."

"Alright, alright i'm coming." "ok hurry!" He looks at me excitedly, his eyes shining under the morning light seeping through the pod.

I make my way out of bed and dress myself in dark blue clothing along with my red armour that takes the shape of flames along my back. We quickly eat breakfast and make our way down to the beach to the group of familiar faces.

They greet us with smiles and Tsireya speaks first. "Good morning. Today we will be teaching you two how to swim. This is very important and will take time so if you don't get it at first it's alright." She then heads in the water along with the others. Tuk and Neteyam stay behind standing directly in front of me and Tehiti in the water.

Neteyam then says "the goal is to meet them in the shallow water ahead." They wait for us to step in but all I can feel is nervousness and I expect Tehiti feels the same too.

Tuk then takes Tehiti's hand and brings him in the water. As he takes his first step, steam sizzles in the air, indicating that his warm skin is cooling off. "Sister, look i'm doing it! It feels amazing, see you at the other side." Tuk then drags him to the rest of them who applaud loudly and now wait patiently for me to do the same.

If I do this I will show weakness. The water will cool me down which is something that I could never afford to do. I have always stayed alert to the point where I hardly sleep, always watching out for danger or for another command that needed to be fulfilled. How can I abandon that now in enemy territory? I stare at the water, it looks cold and unwelcoming and worse, calming.

"It will be alright. Take my hand." Neteyam holds out his hand, his gaze locked onto my eyes that look nervous under his stare. Dinraal said to obey the chief's commands and I must do this in order to gain their trust. The sooner this happens, the sooner I can leave this place and go home.

I reluctantly take his hand and step into the water and a great amount of steam flows around the air. My shoes have seemed to relax, like they have been carrying a great burden that just lessened. My foot feels cool against the liquid and a shiver runs down my spine.
"How does it feel?"

"It feels different." He then nods and walks towards the others while I follow behind him, the ocean engulfing my body as I see the others smiling happily at my progress. I look at Neteyam and notice his hand still holding mine and quickly pull away as we approach the others.

"Congratulations you made it! Now we will take you deeper and teach you how to stay afloat in the water so you do not drown" Tsireya says with a smile so bright. They all begin to follow behind her as she goes deeper in the water and Tuk takes Tehiti's hand and pulls him to the others. Tehiti looks so happy and flustered at the same time as he stares at Tuk. They are so adorable. I follow behind them and notice Neteyam staring at me the whole time. I wonder why.

Now we stand in the water that reaches up to my waist. Tsireya begins to teach Tehiti how to swim while the others dive deeper in the water. I observe each one of their movements and can't help but feel astonished at the way the ocean greets them so openly. Kiri laughs with Rotxo and Lo'ak chases Tuk in the water while she laughs happily. I notice Ao'nung coming up to me.

"Don't be stiff, the water won't harm you. Remove your feet from the ground and follow a circle like motion with your legs and hands. Like this." He does what he says effortlessly, his eyes staring into mine seductively which makes my body turn an intense shade of red.

Neteyam then says "I will be teaching her" and takes my hand to lead me away from him. I'm surprised by how this Na'vi is acting. He drags me farther away from Ao'nung and I release my hand from his grip.