Surface| Neteyam

8.

I felt everything go cold, I couldn't even fight, I was so, tired. It was stupid idea, stupid things have stupid consequences and now I was going to pay the ultimate price. I wish I could just tell my dad how I felt instead of cowering behind the shadow that was cast down onto me.

"Ma Jake!" A muffled yell from the surface, loud enough for my unconscious body underwater to hear. Then it went black.

I saw, well I could feel the rays of sunshine through closed eyes, as the feeling in my arms and legs began to return and my eyes fluttered open. I was, moving; I felt strong arms carry me bridle style, blue, dark blue arms.

"Ah!" I yelled and spun out of the stranger's grasp, collapsing onto the floor harshly.

"Tsk! Ma Jake, I told you I should have carried her!" A familiar yet unfamiliar voice scowled from above me. I was able to focus once again, it hadn't been the first time I had blacked out.

I looked over to the two figures, It looked like.. Jake sully and his wife,

"What happened" I coughed, the memory of all the past events were blurred, I could only remember the pain I felt in that moment.

"You tell us kid" Jake replied, Neytiri glared at him before kneeling down to my level,

"We found you in the ocean unconscious, we thought you might have drowned" She said with a serious tone but it still felt warm, like I was safe with her.

"You were about to be an Akula's dinner" Jake said shortly; everything slowly came back after that, the argument with my dad that led me to go hunt for my own death all because I thought I could prove something.

I curled my tail around my legs,

"My father, he thinks i'm a child, I thought if I could show him I could take care of myself he would leave me alone but I almost got myself killed. He was right. I always knew it but I was too stubborn to admit it." I blurted out, I looked up expecting the two adults to look back with judgmental stares but instead it was soft, and understanding.

"Anger makes you do incredible things" Neytiri cooed, placing a hand on my leg.

"Incredibly stupid things" Jake laughed, his wife smacked him against the head.

"Too early, sorry love" He winned.

"Thank you, I owe you both my life, but how did you find me, and how did you fight the Akula?" Curiosity ran my thoughts as I kept spilling more and more questions, not letting them reply.

"You know, our people aren't so different from yours, we know when help is needed and we know how to fight silly little sea creatures" Neytiri smiled as she moved her hand to my head, gently combing through my hair.

I nodded thoughtfully, if someone from my village saw the attack they might not even have been brave enough to save me, but the newcomers who barely even know me risked their lives in a heartbeat.

"But, what were you doing so far from shore this late?" I couldn't help but ask one more thing.

The pair exchanged a look with each other before Jake responded,

"Date night."

As I started feeling more comfortable on my feet we all began to walk back, it was still quite dark out so I didn't expect anyone to have seen the whole incident. Neytiri offered to take me on her Ikran but I decided to stick to taking Feui back.

It had been a long night for everyone and I was ready to crash into my bed and sleep for the rest of the month.
Everything was different though, I finally felt like I had somewhere I really belonged, someone who really cared about me. Maybe I wasn't able to kill the sea monster but I found something else.

I woke up early the next morning, sorting out the tops I had. A off-white lace shirt with light pink and blue pearls entwined in the netting. Perfect. 

I tried to recall everything that happened yesterday, I glanced over to Neteyam's halfway finished anklet, maybe I could make a small gift for everyone, they had all shown me kindness even if I was kind of a brat.

I grabbed some leftover dried fruit and hurried out of the marui before my father woke up. I was still grounded but I wasn't breaking any rules if I didn't get caught. Quickly sketching out ideas in my head I knew exactly what to make for each one of the Sully's, something that could help them feel more invited to the clan.

I drowsily waded through the sparkling ocean. The cool waters from the early sun made me shiver a bit but it was nothing that I hadn't felt before.
I started with Neytiri, I knew a metkayina style top would be a nice gift for her since it would be easier to swim in. I dove down, staying in shallow waters since the stone I was looking at was quite common. It was an aqua colored rock with patterns like the ocean, the greenish-blue represented "new start", it was often given to those who received their tattoos and were currently becoming warriors.

I found many in between crevasse within coral, sand, and just lying out in the sun, but none of them had the exact design I needed. Finally I found one, hints of darker blue that defined its stripes, as I reached out someone else's hand picked it up.

I rose up to the surface and saw Riuwe, flipping the stone through her fingers.

"Sorry, I need that" I huffed, extending my arm out to receive it.

"What are you playing at Sira?" She said nonchalantly, keeping her eyes on the rock.

"Just give it to me."

She glanced over at me without turning her head, looking me up and down as if I turned green.

"I'm doing your stupid shift so now I never have time to see Neteyam, and when I finally get time he's out with someone with the name, hmm let me think, they say she's called Seytira, sound familiar?" She looked back at the stone before tossing it as far as she could out into the ocean. I tried not to give her the satisfaction of a reaction but I felt the blood drain from my head as she did so with a calm expression.

"That's what this this about?" I scoffed, she was unbelievably childish.

"Listen skxawng, you don't know what you're getting yourself into-"

"Good lord Riuwe, you can have any dumb boy on the island and I'm sure Neteyam likes you too, but I don't understand why you would want that cause I don't think there's a tattoo for mating with an outsider!" I shouted not realizing how loud I was.

I watched her ears drop, for some reason it didn't feel as good as I thought it would when I finally got back at her.

"Look, I just never met anyone like him and he talks alot about you okay." She sighed,

"I really need this with him"

I could understand where she was coming from, she could get any idiot boy but Neteyam wasn't just anyone.

"I'm just helping him with training, that's all, after that he's all yours" I forced a grin, maybe a part of me wanted to slap some sense into her but I thought it would be better to stay civil. I nodded a goodbye-good riddance bow before positioning myself to dive back and find the rock she lost.

"Thanks Sira, you know i'm looking out for you, your mother wouldn't want you around them" Riuwe added before I could swim away.

"What?" I turn and see her with that stupid innocent expression, the same one she used when taking all the credit for saving the kids that one night.

"I mean, poor choices do run in the family" She laughed; I watched in disbelief as she headed back to the surface, maybe I wasn't surprised that was just so Riuwe of her.

Everytime, everything leads back to her, she pushes you down and stomps on anyone who tries to one up her.
I felt an anger I had never felt before, my body was moving towards her and without thinking I shoved her as hard as I could to the ground.

"You wonder why he doesn't like you? It's cause you're a self absorbed bitch!"