invisible string ↝ ao'nung

IX : Exile

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞
I think I've seen this film before
And I didn't like the ending
You're not my homeland anymore
So what am I defending now?
You were my town
Now I'm in exile seein' you out
I think I've seen this film before
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

Returning to the village was Kiri, who called out to Lo'ak as he sped past them. "Lo'ak is going to Payakan!" Neteyam told Kiri when he resurfaced to take a deeper breath. "Wait up," Kiri called, and Sylwana felt a pit in her stomach when she saw that Tuk was with her. Time was of the essence, and she decided to stick tight beside her sisters to ensure no harm would come to them.

Jumping out of the water as they went to continuously call to Lo'ak, they saw he had stopped, evidently having found Payakan. She heard a pained cry, the now familiar tone of the tulkun. Lo'ak was standing on Payakan's fin, and her ears registered a beeping noise. It was undeniably human, and as they finally approached she saw the same red device her father had held. If they are hit by one of these they are marked for death. That device beeping meant the Sky People who roamed the sea were not far. Neteyam launched himself onto the tulkun, looking over the horizon. He pulled Ao'nung up, who in turn reached his hand to Sylwana. She took it without hesitation, letting Ao'nung pull her entire weight up. Standing on Payakan's back, she looked out over the horizon, a grey mass steadily approaching. A demon ship.

Panic truly began to settle in now as the group, sans Kiri and Tuk, who were comforting Payakan, wrapped their hands around the red device and began to tug. But it was set deep in Payakan's skin, even managed to penetrate his hard armour, and it would be no easy task to loosen it. "Bro come on!" Lo'ak pleaded, the desperation evident in his voice. "Call dad!" Neteyam shouted, whether it was to Lo'ak or Sylwana, she didn't know. Her hand flew to her throat comm, pressing the button and speaking clearly.

"Dad- I mean, Devil Dog, do you read me?" Her eyes flitted between the demon ship growing ever closer and her friends surrounding the red device.
"Sylwana?" Relief flooded her senses at her father's voice. "Yes!"
"We are with a tulkun who is under attack," she tried to stop the shakiness in her voice but couldn't. Behind her, the shouts of the others only increased her anxiety. "Gunships in bound," she tried to judge where the ship was from them. "It is... about two clicks out."
"Who's with you?" Jake asked.
She shut her eyes for a brief moment. "It's all of us, Tsireya, Ao'nung, and Rotxo too. We're at Three Brother's Rocks." Truthfully, the Rocks were a further five clicks away from them, but she figured by the time Jake arrived the gunship would be on them.
"Get to cover and do not engage, you hear me? Get to cover and do not engage. We're coming, yuey."

Her father never used his nickname for her when they were communicating through throat comms, but the use of it made her realise how truly in danger they were. She focused her attention back on removing the pinger from Payakan. As soon as they did that, they could hide in the tall seaweed like they did when Lo'ak and Payakan bonded.

"Teyam!" She had an idea when she saw the hands wrapped around the pinger. "Rope!"
Neteyam's face lit up and he cut the rope that formed his ilu saddle. He wrapped it around the seat of his saddle, and threw the other end to Ao'nung. When it was tied securely around the pinger, Ao'nung called, "Bro, it's good!" Putting all her strength into her arms, she tugged the pinger as hard as she could, and with the force of five Na'vi and an ilu pulling, the pinger dislodged and Sylwana fell into the sea with a splash.

She resurfaced and found Kiri and Tuk immediately. "Kiri! It's out! Go!" she urged frantically. She saw Neteyam holding the pinger. "Go that way! I'll draw them out." When she tried to follow him, he stopped her. "No, Sylwa. Go with Tuk. I'll come back and find you, I promise." She hesitated, but her brother had never broken a promise, much less a promise made to her, and so with one final look in his eyes she hardened her face and followed after her sisters.