Still Breathing

Chapter 10. Ocean Eyes

"I've never fallen from quite this high." ~ Billie Eilish

After what felt like an eternity of Tuk asking "Are we there yet?", Lo'ak and Kiri bickering, and Erica teasing Neteyam the entire ride. Flying through storms and extreme heat, the Sully's finally arrived at their destination.

They had ended up near the sea, flying over top of the islands filled with reef Na'vi. Particularly, the Metkayina. As they approached one of the islands, the sound of a horn could be heard.

Once landed, Jake hopped off his Ikran as the rest of his family followed. Neteyam helped Erica off of his Ikran as Neytiri grabbed Tuk's hand.

Jake walked with his hands out to the side, showing the locals that he meant no harm. Erica nudged Kiri, pointing out that Neteyam was copying their father. The two of them stifled a laugh before pausing as a crowd formed around them.

Two Metkayina boys pushed through the crowd, eyeing Lo'ak and Neteyam who gestured towards the two of them. However, the boys just glared at the two of them before circling around them.

"Look at that." The boy with curly hair spoke, pointing at Lo'ak. "Is that supposed to be a tail?" He and the other Metkayina chuckled.

Erica noticed that Lo'ak seemed to be focused out into the water and when she looked, she saw a very beautiful girl. Her and Neteyam shared a knowing look as they snickered at each other, causing Lo'ak to turn and hiss at his two older siblings.

"It's too small. How are they supposed to swim." The boy started up again. Erica was about to say something but before she could, the girl that Lo'ak was looking at earlier stepped in.

"Enough, Rotxo." She scolded the boy with curly hair, slapping his hand away. "Aonung." She eyed the other boy who rolled his eyes at her but ultimately backed away.

"Hey." Lo'ak nodded at her as they made eye contact. The girl smiled at him, giggling slightly. Erica and Kiri looked at each other, making fun of the interaction between the two of them.

In the distance, a man (very clearly the Olo'eyktan) was seen flying in as he held his spear in his hand. Once he saw who it was, he lowered the spear and landed in the water as he slowly made his way towards the Sully's.

"I see you." Jake gestured towards the Chief who followed suit. His name was Tonowari and he was a fierce but fair leader.

"Jake Sully." He spoke, looking at the rest of the Sully's who all gestured to him in unison. Tonowari seemed nice to Erica and she felt at ease, but once she saw the Tsahik push through the crowd, Erica knew that she was going to be the scary one.

The Tsahik was pregnant, which probably didn't help her mood much. She looked at the Sully's intently as they all gestured to her.

"I see you, Ronal." Jake spoke followed by his wife and the kids. Instead of repeating the gesture she looked over at her husband before rolling her eyes.

As Jake explained why they had come to them, Ronal only became more agitated. She circled the Sully's, analyzing them to see if they would fit in with the rest of the Metkayina. She grabbed hold of Neytiri's tail, causing her to glare at the Tsahik.

"Their arms are thin." Ronal spoke, grabbing onto Tuk's arms. Neytiri pulled her daughter away from Ronal, forcing her to let Tuk out of her grasp. Erica felt slight anger bubbling in her chest at Ronal's behaviour but tried to contain herself as to not make matters worse.

"Their tails are weak." Ronal grabbed onto Kiri's tail who let out a slight yelp in pain before pushing Ronal's hand away. She covered herself up with the warm attire she brought in embarrassment.