𖣘 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙮𝙖𝙡𝙖 𝘼𝙥𝙞 𖣘 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙮𝙖𝙢 𝙎𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𖣘

8.

  Lei and Matahari were sprawled across a flat section of their hut's roof, the seasons were beginning to change again. The air was warmer than usual and the night was still.

Matahari turnt her head to the left of her, where her younger sister was laid. "Lei." She called out quietly.

Lei turnt her head as well, raising her eyebrows curiously then expecting a question.

"Neteyam, right?" Matahari held her hand out for her sister.

"Mhm.." She held her sister's thumb.

"The Sky People— seem to follow him and his family." She retracted her hand back and gazed up at the sky.

Lei winced slightly, "Hari.."

Matahari placed her hands on her stomach. "Do not trust him Lei." She simply stated.

Lei furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but the sentence really sunk into Lei.

Trust. Trust wasn't easy to come across. And Neteyam and his family were the first to offer it with no hesitation.

In the Nyala Api village trust was hard to gain from any Na'vi.

"I mean it." She shoved Lei's thoughts aside. "Sooner or later they will leave, no?" She sighed while she sat up.

"I understand." Lei bit the inside of her cheek, she snapped back into reality. In this moment Lei had realized the attachment she had already grown to him, she shook her head— disappointed with her own feelings.

"Go to sleep soon." She whispered softly, making her way into a window.

——————————————————————

The next few days would be painfully slow going for Lei, she was in the process of earning the "Warrior" title. Also known as a Koa among the Ash People, women were usually seen as gatherers — but Lei was doggedly set on becoming a Koa. She had just received her first bow and arrow the first day of her training, no more stealing her mother's.

"My daughter aim in front of your target." Palhar stood behind Lei as she repeatedly failed at shooting a bow, which she was normally phenomenal at performing.

She aimed for about 5 seconds before losing her prey. She dropped her bow in frustration, then throwing her arrow down beside it.

Palhar stared at her blankly, quite shocked she had acted out in such a bratty manner. "Lei?" He grabbed her elbow harshly without realizing the strong grip he had on his daughter's arm.

"I'm sorry father." She sucked in a defeated breath, slowly bending down to pick her weapon up. She was embarrassed of her unusual outburst, she couldn't break the unshakable feeling of ignoring Neteyam. She also couldn't figure out why she was so stuck on him, she had only known him for 2 weeks.

He removed his large hand from her shoulder and instead gently placed it on her left shoulder. He could be thoughtful, when he was sensible enough to notice basic social cues.
"Mawey." He demonstrated a deep breath for his daughter.

She mimicked him, her eyes hooded flintily as she readied an arrow in her bow. "Straight shot to your left." He hastily spoke.

She jerked her bow to the left slightly, then shooting a small bird like creature in the abdomen. A toothy smile arose from Lei's mouth. She turnt to her father then quickly making her way over to her prey.

She stroked the small animal's head, before gently pushing the arrow further into the wound. She had finally successfully completed her one and only goal.

"Good." Palhar pulled the arrow out of the carcass, cleaning it off with a loincloth he had placed in his sheathe.

"Now, 6 more." Palhar smugly stated while cleaning off the weapon. Lei curled her tail out of annoyance.

——————————————————————

Lei was swiftly traveling through the pathway's of the village, she carried a large woven basket of native fruit. She hummed a festive tribe song that was stuck in her head.

"Lei!" Neteyam called from behind the busy Na'vi.

She flicked her ear and was keen on pretending to not hear him.

"Lei—" He frolicked to her side, keeping her pace. Neteyam placed a hand on her shoulder, they both shared a liking for small physical interactions such as these ones — but not this time.

Neteyam's hand threw Lei's balance off immensely. More than half of the fruit was spilt from Lei's grasp.

She shaded her eyes with her hand while looking up at him. She'd never realized how quite tall Neteyam is, "Hi." She murmured.

"...Sorry." He met with her blank gaze then quickly crouching down to place some fruit back in the basket Lei had placed on the ground.

"It's fine." She placed one hand on her hip and one on her forehead, then assisting him with the spill.

"Haven't seen you in a few days." His eyes followed her as she crouched down as well.

"I've been occupied." She avoided his gaze while urgently picking up the fruit.

"What's up with you?" He noticed she was avoiding conversation.

"I'm fine." She swallowed, then picking up the basket full of fruit. She quickly made her way to the Olo'eyktan's hut, where the meals of the day were always held.

"Bye?" He stood awkwardly in the middle of the path as Lei rushed off.

As Lei hastily walked away from Neteyam she remembered the way he cupped her face when she was injured, and how a wood sprite had landed on her sheathe in the forest.

She knew he had good intentions, but Matahari was right about the Sky People. And who was Lei to side with a foreigner instead of her sister? One thing about Lei is that she always puts her people first, even if she knew they were wrong.

AN
Literally as im writing this i tell my talking stage i only see him as a friend so i'm sorry if this kind of sucks 💀💀
Buttt it's okay i'm thugging it out 😋

Lmk if anyone has any suggestions, and also if you didn't pick up already this is a very slow burn story 😭😭

O and also this is literally so random but i found these pictures on Pinterest and i wanted to help y'all imagine Lei's village :)