Neteyam

Oh

When she died, everything was quiet. She didn't see black she saw nothing. The quiet was calming with only her thoughts to entertain her, but like her life she began to worry. What about Tuk and Kiri? What about her sister? Neteyam? Viryn remembered distinctly her heart going so quiet it became more of an echo than its own sound. She felt a tugging of her hand and she was jerked up. But it felt like she was being dragged down.

She opened her eyes and was surprised to see the unseeable face. They tilted their head at her with a smile. Viryn scowled at them and moved back from their face. "You suck." They laughed at her statement. The world around her began to form, it looked more like it was coming back into focus. The roots took shape again and the light finally came in to her vision. Viryn watched as the shape slowly became a Na'vi man. She narrowed her eyes sceptically at the new face but she couldn't help but feel familiar. "I haven't seen you for over a decade and you're not going to greet your father?" She knew his voice.

Viryn took a step towards her father's ghost, unsure of him. "You weren't my father a second ago." He did look like her, or rather she looked like him. As he moved towards her she saw his eyes curved into crescents and a full smile. With a trembling hand he reached to cup her cheek. Unsure of how to approach her. When she felt those hands brush against her she felt like the memory. Those were his hands, he was there with her. Viryn brushed past his hand and hugged him.

She could feel him relax and wrapped his arms around her. When she pulled away she looked up at him with a smile. "Does this mean we can be together?" Knowing how Jake looked, her father looked much younger. Closer to the age of Tarsem by far. How tragic.

Her father smiled fondly at her and cupped her face. The feel of his calluses hands bringing her so much comfort. "I'm so proud of you." He whispered. Viryn felt her heart swell with pride. "But the great mother has plans for you still." Her smile fell. "What? I'm dead. I can do whatever she needs with you." Her father shook his head solemnly. Viryn frowned and narrowed her eyes. "It's not over." She whispered. Her father held her face and bent down to meet her eyes fully. Viryn could see his eyes darting around her face to catalog her features. "My baby girl, you're not going to take after me and die an early death."

"But-." "We will get to be together again. When you've raised your own children and you have more wrinkles than scars." Viryn lowered her ears and stared pleadingly at her father. "It's scary out there." She felt more like a toddler than a teen. Maybe that was what happens when you're with your parents. "I know, I know." He patted her hair gently. "You've lived it nearly as long as I had, of course you know of its hardships." Viryn clung to her father's wrists. She could feel the beads from his wristband against her fingers.

"Why me?" Viryn whined, her eyes watery. "Haven't I given enough? I've lost you and mom, my home, my future. What else do I have to give?" Her father leaned and pressed his forehead to her's. "You carry the strength of your ancestors." He whispered. "But I don't want it. I want to rest, living in constant fear isn't living." "Do you trust in the great mother?" Viryn sucked in a deep breath through her nose. "Of course." Her father smiled at her lovingly. "You must make sure her chosen one is on the right path." The girl calmed her breathing. Her haggard sighs tired her too much. "As if Jake is going to listen to me." She rubbed the snot on her nose. "I don't speak of him."

"Eat." Neytiri urged as she placed more food in Viryn's hands. The mother had peeled a crustacean for Viryn so that there was only the pale meat. "Thank you Sa'nok." Viryn smiled gingerly. Neytiri kept her eyes on her as Viryn held it in her hands. "You must replenish your energy." The woman nudged Viryn's hand towards her mouth. Viryn smiled and indulged the matriarch with a bite. The girl looked uncomfortable, she was sat on the ground fully seated since she couldn't crouch with her injury. It was the way children sat when their legs were too short or chubby to balance on properly. She had returned from death and was being treated like a baby. Viryn picked at the meat with her fingers. Eating feeling more like a chore than anything. "You like these right?" She looked up to see Merq'ena moving next to her with a large shell in her hand.