Not the End

18 - Landing

The anxiety rises in my stomach as our destination comes into view. Everyone else stiffens, especially Neytiri, it looks like Tuk is asleep in front of her. 

"Maybe you should move back behind me." Neteyam whispers, urgency in his voice. I nod and move back behind him, not questioning him. Does he think something is going to happen?  

I hold him tightly, not just for my nerves, but for his. For all we know, we could be flying right into a death trap. "Maybe they will be nice people." I chime, placing my hand on his chest, he covers my hand with his.

"I'm not worried about them." He says under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. Oh. Is he really that worried about his family causing problems?

"We are seeking uturu, we only come for peace." I remind him gently, but he shakes his head. 

"I know." He whispers, his ears flick back, my brows furrow with concern for his sudden mood change. 

"Oh my..." I gasp as we near the reef, there are these beautiful pools of water at different levels, glowing even in the daylight.

"Woah." Is all Neteyam says, both of us speechless. As we get even closer, we see the people. They are different, their skin is lighter, more green, matching the water. Their stripes are not stripes, but a pattern of swirls, their chests are larger, and their forearms are wide, their tails are massive. I shivver at the thought of us sticking out so much here. 

We fly over the reef, the people call out, and horns sound, announcing our arrival. We fly around the village before we land to show the people that we arrive in peace. It is really beautiful, the sun is shining, the water is so clear, a beautiful shade of teal. The Metkayina people come out of the water on these adorable sea creatures, others run out of the village onto a strip of the beach where we land. They surround us all directions, Jake and Neytiri land in front, the rest of us behind them. Neteyam jumps down before stretching his arm out to me, I take it quickly, distracted by all these strange faces. I realize I have never been around this many strangers before. Even stranger is the feeling of being on land again, I don't remember every walking on sand this soft before. 

"Tuk." Neytiri says reaching out her hand, beckoning her over. Tuk runs over to her mom, takes her hand and stands next to her. Jake walks with his palms up, showing he means no harm. Neteyam and Lo'ak walk behind them, Neteyam has his arms out a little, copying his dad. . Lo'ak follows, Neteyam behind him with his hands out at his sides, showing peace. I wait for Kiri before following behind them, I can tell she is really uncomfortable, so I take her hand. The people start close in on us even tighter, it gets harder to breathe. Neteyam locks eyes with me, silently telling me to come to him. I let go of Kiri's hand and move around Lo'ak. Neteyam touches my back lightly before dropping his hands back to his sides, he's watching the people carefully, as if they are going to strike at any moment.

"Is that supposed to be a tail?" One of the young Metkayina boys points at Neteyam's tail, but he doesn't pay them any mind. I turn to Lo'ak, but his attention is focused on something in the water, I follow his gaze to a pretty girl coming out of the water. Neteyam and I share a look, he smiles, and we both turn to Lo'ak, who looks down at the sand. "It's too small." The boy says to his friend, the girl appears next to him. "How are they supposed to swim?" They have a different accent, it is similar but a little weird.

"Do not. Rotxo, Aonung." The girl slaps the arm of boy who was talking and pointing. She rolls her eyes and turns toward us. Neteyam gives her a small friendly smile, I do the same. 

"Hey." Lo'ak rasps, nodding at her. Trying to steez up the local girls already? Either she's being nice, or it worked because she grins and giggles in response. Neteyam shoots me a knowing look, I feel my smile growing, but I tilt my head down to hide it.