The Breath of Water | Neteyam

20 • To the Harbinger of Calamity

It was now nighttime, and as per usual, Liyanin was the only one amongst her family that was not asleep. This past week has just been full of lots of things and events that have prevented her from becoming tired.

She wanted to go to that gate again, she needed to visit it once more to fully grasp the weight of it all, to truly understand the gravity of the situation.

So she slipped out, heading towards her desired destination.

When she arrived, it looked the same as how she left it; the markings under the water, unbothered, just like the day she first saw them. She wondered if she should go and get Kiri for lookout purposes, but she figured that it was late and no one would be up just walking around. Also, she didn't want to bother her and ruin and night's rest.

She walked up to the markings, staring them down through the waves that covered them. Never in a million years would she think that something like this could be on their beaches, their islands. This made her wonder what other things they could possibly have that they do not know about. Maybe even some unknown persons.

She placed her feet shoulder-width apart firmly into the sand, because last time she almost ended up being blown back. Her hands, previously at her side, she now lifted slowly, making sure to breathe slowly.

Exerting extreme attention towards her goal, she took breaths steadily, trying to tap into the power of the gate, but the waves...shoot...the waves.

She was focusing on the wrong thing! The noise of the water...it was too loud! She should've brought Kiri, that would've given her something else to think about, but now all she could hear was the sea. She felt herself slipping, and tried to come back to reality, but the sound of the water just kept filling her head since the waves were turning wild, making the sound louder, the wind joining in as well.

Tsahey!, she thought as she felt her body drop backwards, now falling into a premonition.

It was...a boat.

A gigantic, huge, boat.

And that was all she saw. There was nothing else, just the boat, sailing on the ocean.

When Liyanin came to, she could feel the pain on the back of her head, since she did fall backwards; the water and wind were back to normal. She sat up slowly, rubbing her pained area. At least this vision was short, so she might not have to deal with another off-day. But because this vision was so short, she couldn't get a good look at exactly where the boat was, so she kind of wished that there was more time to see.

I hope that was not important...then again...it was clearly from the Sky People...I hope it is not the ones who are after Toruk Makto...

She thought as she sat there on the beach. Now she knows that if she wants to access this gate, she will have to bring Kiri in order to help her not dissociate. She then curled her knees up to her head, submerging her face into her arms.

"Dang...I really did not want to have to drag her deeper into this..."

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"Mommmm, what are we gonna do for the festival? I wanna participate!" asked Tuk in a whiny voice, pulling on Neytiri's arm. Neytiri tapped her shoulder, warning her to stop.

Jake then came over and grabbed his daughter, hoisting her into the air and swung her carefully, making her giggle.

"Jake, be careful." Neytiri said.

Neteyam and Lo'ak were both on the floor sitting and sharpening their hunting daggers. Their dad had mentioned to them last night of how dull they had gotten and advised them to fix it, so they figured now would be the best time. Kiri had stayed in her hammock, wanting to finally finish Liyanin's gift. She would eye Neteyam every now and then, still discontented about the situation with him. But nevertheless, she still placed most of her focus on the collar, not wanting to mess any part of it up.