The eclipse had started, and by the time the clan members had gathered themselves around a huge fire outside of the cave, the sky had already lost all of its colors.
To complete the ceremonies and end the day on a good note, the Metkayina celebrate the night with a big feast; a tradition that shall not be broken.
There's music, a lot of dancing, food, and mostly just positive vibes.
After Neytiri and Jake accomplished their own ritual, the man quickly fled to their marui pod to grab a small, black object, which was foreign to the other na'vi. They looked at him confused when he held it up in front of the fire to show everyone, with instruments playing in the background. "It's a camera", Jake proudly told them while placing himself next to his family and Tonowari on the sand. In hopes for a reaction, he put it in the chief's hands, but the man just stared at him even more irritated now.
Sighing, the former marine took the camera into his own possession again. This was probably the only object from the humans, or "sky people" that Neytiri approved of and actually found useful in some way. Being able to look at these so-called "pictures" of her family whenever she wanted and refresh the beautiful memories plastered in them made her feel safe and delighted.
"What can it do? This.. foreign thing?", Ronal suddenly asked, not very fond of these unknown "sky people objects" in her village.
Jake smiled a bit. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain, but when you click on this little button..", he showed the family in front of him. "..then it basically freezes that exact moment and, well, will appear inside of it". The man tried to explain the function the best he could, but according to the distressed faces of the whole clan, he seemed to have failed miserably.
"So, you can stop the time with this?", Ao'nung questioned curiously while moving a bit closer to the scenery. A glare replaced his bewildered face when the Sully kids suddenly let out muffled laughs behind their hands covering their mouths, chuckling at the stupid question.
Tuk was the first to openly reply to his confusion. "Noo, silly!", she giggled. "Let me show you!".
Because the little na'vi loved to take pictures of everything and everyone, she quickly grabbed the camera and pointed it at the talented dancers on the side who were moving to the music. As soon as she pressed the little button, a quick flash started to appear, which left the clan in great concern for a moment.
After observing her work and nodding in satisfaction, Tuk jumped back to the fire and seated herself right in between her family and the chief's family. "There, see?", she asked happily, giving the camera back to Tonowari. By their looks, it seemed like the teal na'vi were still irritated, not understanding the use of it or how this thing worked. "And what is this for?", Ronal asked yet again.
"By taking these pictures, the memories that they show will never be forgotten", Neteyam replied calmly, his lips curving into a sincere smile. He explained how his family always used the camera for special occasions like this one, for example.
After some time of detailed explanation and more demonstration, the reef na'vi seemed to be enthusiastic about this invention and more than thrilled to use it as quickly as possible.
"Alright, let's get up and position ourselves in front of the dancers, then", Jake suggested before asking someone in the crowd if they wanted to take over the job of the photographer.
The Sullys and the Olo'eyktans family walked over to the assigned place that Jake was referring to and started moving around just like Neytiri was telling them to. Adults and taller kids on the outside and the back, the younger and smaller ones to the middle.
After explaining how the camera worked to one of the members for one last time, Jake joined the group and placed himself at the far right next to his wife.
"Alright, I'll count to one. Three, two.."
"Smile, Skxawng!" Neteyam cheered out to Lo'ak before it was too late. He had gotten positioned next to Ao'nung due to their similar height and age.
"..one!"
Right after the picture was taken, the teal na'vi groaned out in discomfort because they certainly weren't used to the bright flash. But nonetheless to say that all of them were eager to see the results.
Both families, including Neteyam, quickly rushed to the camera, but he instantly realized that something was holding him back. Or rather someone. Taking a fierce glance to the side, he saw Ao'nung's whole arm tightly wrapped around his own waist and stomach with no intention of letting go anytime soon.
Neteyam looked at him, beyond confused, parting his lips slightly. "Ao'nung..?"
—
(Next chapter gets better I promise)
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𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 | Neteyam x Aonung
Fanfiction➤ "If you asked me to kiss you, I would." One grew up among the trees, the other surrounded by the ocean. It wasn't their similarities that the two found so interesting in each other, but rather their numerous differences, which turned out to be th...
