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Avatar: The Way of Water
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ততততততততততততততত
So.
Here I am, in the middle of the vast ocean, with no land in sight.
What the actual flip am I doing?!
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾Flashback:‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾
It felt like there was a war inside of me. I dug my nails deep into my arms, thoughts swarming around in my head, stopping me from thinking logically.
I've been told there are five stages of grief... but right now I just feel all of them at once. Too much has happened today, my brain can't even process it.
I found myself at the spot where me and Grandma would always sing and dance. It was a place where I would find comfort and peace, but now it felt empty and lonely. Like Grandma simply not being there made it look dull and lifeless. Nonetheless, I waded knee deep into the water and slowly danced with the waves. Closing my eyes, I tried to remember what it was like when she was there. Humming softly with her stingrays surrounding her.
What I didn't notice was that a singular stingray that had beautiful tattoos that were glowing, had swam up to me and was swirling around my legs. I gasped remembering what Grandma had told me.
"Gramma?" she nudged her head on my ankle, answering me. I smiled, satisfied that she was with me in some form. Still didn't mean I wasn't upset. "I miss you Gramma... what am I going to do?" I whimpered softly, reaching down to stroke her flowing fins.
The ocean's entity rose in front of me until it was at my eye level. I tilted my head, wondering why it suddenly showed itself. In response, it pointed softly to Grandma's necklace with the heart safe inside it.
"Oh my," we both turned to see Kiri gaping at the water entity. "So what Neteyam said was true!" she squealed. I would have thought the entity would disappear upon seeing another Na'vi, but instead it approached Kiri curiously.
"And what did Neteyam tell you exactly?" I asked sceptically, I didn't want the whole village to think I was completely delusional. Kiri giggled as the ocean circled around her, playing with her hair. I'm getting deja vu here.
"He said the ocean chose you," she looked at me with her bright golden orbs, full of awe. "He said that you would do great things, that Eywa blessed you!" she waded closer to me. My face flushed slightly, thinking about Neteyam speaking highly of me. Her bright face cracked slightly, revealing a face of worry and shame.
"I-I didn't want to tell anyone, as they would think I'm a freak... but I feel her dying, Kātao. Her heartbeat is getting weaker and weaker every day," she wrung her hands, looking everywhere but me.
"Kiri... I know...but I can't just leave Tsireya and Aonung. They need me, especially now," her eyebrows creased in confusion.
"Why? What happened?"
"Um... my grandmother... she is with Eywa now," I mumbled, looking back down at the stingray who was happily playing with the school of fish around Kiri's feet.
"Oh..." she hesitated a moment, thinking about what she should say. "I'm truly sorry for your loss, but don't you think, your Grandmother especially, would want you to restore Eywa's heart? It's an incredible honour! I mean, imagine! Being chosen by the ocean!" she flung her hands around her. I shook my head. Why does no one seem to get the point?
"I'm not my Grandmother Kiri, and I still don't know how to feel about being chosen by the ocean. I'm not you either; you have a special connection with Eywa, and you know it; everyone can see it. You embrace it wholly, I'm just sorta in between all these lines of who I should be and who I could be," I felt the ocean nudge itself against my hand in an attempt to cheer me up. Kiri looked at me sympathetically. She turned away from me, playing with the ocean entity.
"I believe we all have to go on some sort of journey in order to find our true selves. That means we try new things, see what works and what doesn't. For some, that journey may take a split second, and for others, like the two of us, we may need to fight to see even a glimpse of our true selves," I silently soaked in the wise words spilling out of the young girl. She truly was like a reincarnation of Eywa herself. Turning back to me, she had a certain look in her eyes, I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but it gave me a sudden boost of comfort.
"This may just be your journey, Tao. But it's up to you whether you're going to reject it and wait another eternity, or if you'll grasp it and not let go till the very end."
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾Flashback end‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾
So here I am, taking Kiri and Tsireya's words (sceptical albeit), and number one: finding who I am and number two: finding Maui and restoring the heart of Eywa to save the world from a terrible darkness. No pressure on that second one.
"I am Kātao of the Metkayina clan. You will board my boat- ack! Sail across the sea and restore the heart of Eywa," I had been repeating the lines Grandma told sissy over and over again as I struggled to simply function the boat; ropes and oars getting tangled around my limbs.
I grunted, tugging at the rope attached to the sail with one hand while trying to stop my oar from falling into the depths of the ocean with the other.
"I am Kātao-" water splashed me in the face. "Hey! What was that for..." I pouted at the entity I decided to name Aramoana. I continued ignoring the silent entity that was somehow very annoying... in a sibling sorta way. "Of the Metk-" another splash to the face. "Ayina," I spat only for more fish pee to be squirted in my mouth. "Ugh, that is so nasty Ara! What do you want anyway?" Ara, finally happy it got my attention, theatrically pointed its head behind me. I looked in the general direction but nothing apart from the vast ocean appeared. I raised a brow in annoyance.
"Really Ara? You squirted fish pee into my mouth, for nothing?" It threw it's head back as if to say: you are so dumb, I have to do everything myself.
It stormed off like a moody teenager.
"Hey! You better watch that attitude girlie or I'll whoop your watery- ACK!" this time completely soaked in water, I stared in disbelief at the 'little' present Ara left on my boat: a fresh out of the sea Neteyam and an incredibly confused ilu, all tangled up in a nice bow of seaweed. "...ass."
"Ehe, hi Tao," he chuckled nervously.
Authors note:
a little short, but writing the interactions between Ara and Kātao are so much fun.
