The Breath of Water | Neteyam

15 • A Mighty Voice

It had been several minutes since Liyanin went inside the water portal, and Kiri was getting apprehensive. She was worrying about if Liyanin was stuck inside, or if someone would pass by and see. She didn't know how to shut this thing off, and even if she did, she couldn't just shut it off while Liyanin was still inside!

She began to pace back and forth, her nerves eating at her mind. And like an answer to her prayers, more like complete rejection, she heard her name being called.

"Kiri! Where'd you go?!"

It sounded like Lo'ak, she thought.

"Kiri?!"

Yep, that was definitely Lo'ak. She started to wish she could bury herself in the sand. She went up to the portal, careful not to touch it, though. She had hoped that Liyanin would be able to hear her.

"Liyanin...!" she whisper-shouted. "...Liyanin...! My brother is coming...!"

Nothing.

"...I don't know if you can hear me but you need to hurry...!"

"Kiri, I need to talk to you!" Lo'ak continued to shout.

"...please, Liyanin—ahh!"

On her second plea, Liyanin finally stepped out of the portal, scaring her in the process.

"Sorry, Kiri," she said, laughing. She then heard Lo'ak's impending voice, and it was getting louder, meaning that he was getting closer. "...step back, I have to close it."

Kiri obliged, doing as she said. Liyanin turned her attention to the water and focused on putting it back on the sand. Kiri could hear her brother's voice much more clear, so she turned to look and see how close he was. She could see the top of his head from behind some bushes, and worried that Liyanin would not close it in time. But as soon as Lo'ak could turn his head to spot them, Liyanin had managed to shut it off, the water now settled upon the grains of sand where it once was. Lo'ak's eyes had finally found Kiri, but he was surprised a little to see Liyanin there, too.

"Oh, hey, Liyanin!" he said as he was walking over to them. But then a thought crossed his mind. "Wait, Kiri, did you tell Liyanin about the—"

"Lo'ak, it was you and your brother that told me about this...map." Liyanin stated, cutting him off.

"How? I don't remember ever...wait...you saw us—no—you heard us that day? Everything?" Lo'ak asked, bewildered.

"Yes, every word."

"Man, so much for keeping it a secret..." he mumbled. Liyanin and Kiri snickered slightly, finding his dejectedness funny. "...Well, gotta tell Neteyam the cat's out of the bag." He said.

Liyanin was baffled at this saying; she tilted her head slightly, indicating her confusion. "What is a...cat? And why was it in a bag?" she asked. Kiri realized that the saying was not a Na'vi saying, but something they had picked up from Jake. She and Lo'ak had laughed a bit before telling her what it meant.

"It is just a saying, Liyanin," Lo'ak explained. "Nothing is literal. Just means that the secret is no longer a secret."

"Ah," she said, her tail swaying with realization. "I know, it is just like that saying of, goodnight, you guys have, right?"

"Yes, exactly like that." Kiri replied, still laughing a bit.

As the two siblings were laughing and carrying on, Liyanin had drifted off into her own mind.

What she saw in there, it was nothing ordinary. She had to tell Kiri what she had seen. But with Lo'ak still here, that would be difficult.

"Liyanin!"