𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 | Neteyam x Aonung

Thirty-three

"Neteyam, have you seen my little one?", Lo'ak's loud voice echoed through the two future leaders' own marui, startling the man a little as he got interrupted while preparing some meals for later on. Hunting was exhausting, after all, and his mate would probably come home extremely hungry.
He paused quickly, drawing his attention to his brother rather than the food and its purpose in front of him. "Mom and Ronal took him to collect shells and show him around the beach a bit more, if I remember correctly", the older one told him, having to dig very deep in the corners of his mind to find that piece of information. To his surprise, Lo'ak let out a long and annoyed sigh at his declaration, to which Neteyam just tilted his head in confusion. "What's the matter?", he asked before motioning for the other one to get comfortable next to him and have a little talk.

Without hesitation, Lo'ak almost threw himself on the net with a loud huff and fixed his gaze on the fruits lying in the middle. "Can't they at least tell me before wandering off with my son to who knows where all the time?!", the man told him with frustration clearly visible in his voice and tensed expression. "They cause me unnecessary anxiety! I'm always convinced that I lost my three-year-old child ".
Neteyam couldn't help but smile slightly at his little brother's words and worries for his family, watching him finally grow into a responsible and strong adult. He slowly continued to wrap the food with the leaves, now that he knew what was bugging the other. "What's with Tsireya? Where is she?", the man asked while looking to the side occasionally.

"Her and Kiri are in the woods to pick some flowers for your upcoming ceremony", Lo'ak replied, now visibly calmer than before. It felt good to be able to talk to a sibling without it quickly devolving into a heated argument, which they both agreed on.
Neteyam just shook his head at his brother's answer, not letting the grin leave his lips, though. His heart skipped a single beat at the mention of his ceremony, which would be held due to his completion and absolving of his Tsahìk training, that had now ended after lots and lots of hours and days with Ronal as his mentor. Even though Neteyam was still only tsakarem for now, he felt more than relieved to finally be one with his beloved home and to have found that deep connection to eywa and their nature.
"They didn't need to do that", the man said, chuckling lightly before placing one meal to the side and starting to prepare the next one.

Lo'ak shrugged, watching two kids playing and running around outside of the marui. "Aren't you nervous?", he muttered and turned his head back the other way, the tattoos on his face now visible again.
Neteyam simply plastered a bigger smile on his lips. "Oh, trust me; I definitely am. Even after all these years of rituals, ceremonies, meetings, and all that, sometimes it's still hard to face an amount of attention this big".
Nodding understandingly, the younger one kept his mouth closed for the next few minutes and just enjoyed his brother's calming company while listening to the waving sea in the back. After a while, he stood up and told his brother that it was time to resume the search for his son, with the beach as his next stop thanks to Neteyam's helpful exclamation. They said their goodbyes as Lo'ak exited the pod and ran along the nets to the shore.

Just as the tsakarem thought he was alone again and could relax, a very familiar figure crashed into the hole and approached Neteyam with quick steps. "Ao'nung? Why are you already back?", he asked, utterly confused and overwhelmed by the sudden and loud arrival of his mate.
The hunter pulled him up by his waist before grabbing Neteyam's hand and starting to drag him out of their home, exposing them to the burning sun. "I discovered something extremely weird just now while searching for a new place to hunt, but I haven't looked deeper into what exactly it seemed to be", Ao'nung explained with a rapidly heaving chest and hitched breaths.
"Nung, what are you talking about?".

"Just come and see for yourself!".

The closer the two men had gotten to that place, the more they slowed down their pace and quieted their heavy steps. In order not to scare any of the creatures away, Ao'nung told his mate to keep hiding behind one of the huge stones further away from the village. "Look at the ilus that have emerged from the water and are lying on the sand. Ilus never crawl to the beach; they die after spending too much time away from the water! ", the older one yelled in hushed tones, while looking into Neteyam's eyes with a worried expression and a racing heart.
The former warrior inspected the situation a little longer, trying to pay attention to every little detail and movement. "Have you told anyone yet?" Neteyam inquired, darting his gaze away from the ilus and back into his mate's. Ao'nung asked him why he wanted to know, shaking his head no.

"It looks like they're protecting something, if you'd ask me..", the other man mumbled quietly, ready to approach the creatures with slow and steady steps but stopping due to the grip that Ao'nung had around his arm. "What are you doing?", the reef na'vi complained, his usual firm voice decorated with uncertainty.

"We need to go and see what they are trying to hide, Nung! And help them back into the water", Neteyam exclaimed while not wasting any more time with climbing to the top of the rock, watching as his mate followed him with a sigh leaving his lips.
Very slowly, the men reduced the distance between them and the ilus by taking quiet steps, feeling the hot sand burning underneath their toes. As soon as one of the five ilus noticed the two approaching, it quickly started to flap its fins and draw the attention of the other creatures to them. They all began to crawl back to the sea as fast as they could, revealing something that left the men in utter shock and disbelief.

In this moment, they could physically do nothing but stare, eyes wide open and hearts about to jump out of their chests. Their faces turned completely pale, and they lost all expressions except surprise, which was accompanied by shivers down their spines and a sudden stop in their tracks. "What..." muttered Neteyam under his breath before abruptly snapping out of that strange trance of shock, running the last few steps to the breathtaking discovery and carefully picking it up. He felt intense trembling in his arms while sensing Ao'nung's presence right next to him, too afraid to say anything.

"A.. baby?", the hunter breathed out in disbelief while gently gliding his finger across one of his cheeks, surprised by the softness.
Neteyam aggressively flicked his tail, unable to comprehend the current situation. "Nung, why does he... look like us?" his shaking voice muttered quietly after a thorough examination of the child's features. Teal skin, curly hair, and smaller ears, just like Ao'nung, but bright yellow eyes, a thin tail, and a body type like Neteyam's.

Suddenly, the forest na'vi felt uncontrollable tears running down his pale cheeks before he looked up into his mate's worried eyes.
"Love, why are you crying?!", Ao'nung inquired, more than concerned. This entire situation was too overwhelming for the both of them.
"I can feel it so strongly, Nung, Eywa has heard us..", Neteyam whispered between sobs, leaning his heavy head on the other's chest and feeling two strong arms surround his and the baby's bodies. "After all these years, it really happened..", Ao'nung mumbled still in shock, the water in his eyes not taking too long to trickle down and leave his face as well.

"Eywa has heard us.."

This moment, this place, and this child are the keys to their next chapter, which they must now explore and find consistency in, signaling that it is time to close the other pages and focus on what is to come. Concentrate on what the future holds for them, what emotions and feelings it will bestow upon them, and what memories they will be able to create together.

Together,

as a family.

—
Hello, my loves~
This is the end of this sweet little story of our two strong favourite boys, and I'm more than blessed that I was able to write this with readers as funny, lovely and heartwarming as you guys!! I hope you enjoyed.
Please let me know if you'd like to read more Avatar-related (Ao'nung and Neteyam) stories from me, and if so, about what you want them to be/what you have in mind.
Also, I'll gladly write a few extra chapters for this story, where you can see some daily-life clips from our beloved ones, if you'd like.

I love you guys a lot! See you next time <3