Towards Love

47.shooting stars

"Mommy, mommy! There are shooting stars in the sky come have a look!" It was well after the eclipse, Neteyam and Lola were resting in their hut with Kiri, Spider and Tuk. Sylwanin and Ozai were playing outside in front of the entrance so that their parents could keep an eye on them. Jake and Neytiri needed some alone time, so they did not join the party. Smiling, the young woman got up to join her daughter outside while laughing at a joke Tuk had just made. "Look there are more!" Her daughter pointed her fingers towards the sky to show her mother where to look. Lola looked at her daughter, her eyes full of love. She loved those moments when she could see her children marvel at things that now seemed mundane to her but were extraordinary when seen for the first time. 

The young woman looked up and froze. She squinted her eyes to try to see better and make sure that what she was seeing was what she thought it was. White dots were growing in the starry sky coming towards them. But they were not shooting stars. She turned to the entrance of her hut, distinguishing her family inside. They were laughing happily together, not suspecting what was happening in space. She met Neteyam's eyes. She must have been making a strange face because a glint of concern appeared in his eyes. "You guys should come and see." The others turned to her as well. Her mate stood up hurriedly, soon followed by Kiri, Spider and Tuk. They all stood beside her wondering what was going on. The young woman nodded her head towards the sky. "Look up." They did as she said and Lola watched their faces drop in astonishment. "What the..."

"Is it...?"

"Oh my god it's time!" They all spoke at once before falling back into silence, staring at the moving dots in the sky. Lola felt a poke on her hip. Lovering her gaze to see who it was she saw her daughter a questionnig look on her face. "Mommy what is it? You don't like the shooting stars." The young woman lifted her and Sylwanin wrapped her arms around her neck. "I love shouting stars honey but these dots are not."

"What are they then?"

"Our future."

***

They had burst into Jake and Neytiri's house as if the forest had caught fire. The Olo'yektan and the Tsahik, quietly seated at the table and eating dinner, did not immediately understand what was going on because they had all decided to speak at the same time. Facing this hubbub, they looked at them, incredulous, trying to catch words that could help them understand what it was all about. "Enough!" Neytiri had stood up, hands on her hips, ready to scold them like when they were younger. "One at a time please, we can't understand anything you're talking about." Neteyam pushed Lola forward, designating her as the spokesperson. "Coward." She understood that he was afraid of his mother's reaction and that he preferred that she suffered her wrath rather than him. She rolled her eyes and spoke up. "They're back. The sky people. We can see their ships in the sky." Jake got up as well and walked towards them. "Are you sure?" 

"Go and see for yourselves." Her father-in-law took his mate's hand and dragged her outside. Lola saw him squeeze it harder when they saw the ships. They looked at each other briefly, but the young woman had time to see in this exchange both fear and hope. They came back inside, Jake lifting up Ozai to hold him in his arms certainly to give himself courage. "Well Spider, I hope you're ready because it's almost time for the big reveal." The young man straightened up. He had already proved a lot to his clan of adoption but this mission was definitely one of the most important ones he had been entrusted with. The peace that currently reigned on Pandora was at stake and he would be the one consolidating it or destroying it. "Yes sir, I'm ready." Jake nodded smiling at him. "Given their current distance, they will land tomorrow. Let them make the first move, we are not supposed to know that they are coming to change the relationship between dreamwalkers and Na'vi."

"We should inform the warriors in case orders have changed during their journey." Neytiri was cautious and couldn't be blamed for it. The priority was everyone's safety, it was not the time to let their guard down. "We should also prepare a peace offering in case it actually is a new army chief willing to change the directives here." Kiri was right. They should plan to be welcoming. Even if the discussion would not take place at the village (they would be adamant that any meeting would happen on neutral ground), they should plan to show that they were open to possible relational improvements between their two peoples. Tuk crouched down in front of Sylwanin. "Tell me sweety, do you want to help me make flower necklaces tomorrow?"

"Yes I would love to! But for who?" The young Na'vi looked up at the girl's parents asking for what she could say. Lola saw that Neteyam searched for the right words before speaking, ignoring the desaprouving look on his mother's face. "For people who may become good friends my dear. We'll have to make them feel welcome." Turnin towards her dad, she asked more questions. "Are these people the one coming from the sky?" The young man smiled at her. "They are. But we will make sure they are nice before offering them your gifts, all right?" She nodded vigorously before jumping in her father's arms. "I'll help Tuk then."

That night, it was difficult for them to sleep. Everyone was wondering how the next day would turn out. There were two opposing scenarios, and Lola hoped that the one that would come true would be the one that promised peace for all. Lying in their bed, Neteyam turned to Lola and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head in the hollow of her neck. "Try to sleep love. You can't change the future, we'll see what it holds."

"I just hope that Eywa has not decided to put us to the test again. The Omatikayas have suffered enough for the next decades." Neteyam exhaled slowly. "Even if that were the case, we'll fight like we've always fought. We will defend our family and our people and we will overcome no matter what gets in our way." The young woman turned to face him and kissed him softly caressing his cheek. "My mighty warrior."

Author's note 
It's time for the Omatikayas to see what's coming! :) Don't forget to vote and comment!