Still Breathing

Chapter 16. They Don't Care About Us

"All I wanna say is that they don't really care about us." ~ Michael Jackson

Two days.

That's how long it had been since Lo'ak had said a word to Jake.

Anytime the two were near each other, Lo'ak would talk to anyone and everyone to avoid speaking to his father.

Jake tried, he really did. He would spend countless hours rehearsing what he was going to say to Lo'ak when he finally got the chance to be alone with him. But anytime the two were alone, Lo'ak would walk away without saying a word.

Jake was getting tired, he just wanted his son to talk to him again. He just wanted Lo'ak to hear him out so the two of them could move on.

Erica watched the tension between the two for the last couple of days with everyone else seemingly oblivious to it. She tried to convince Lo'ak to talk to their father, but whenever she brought it up he'd change the subject without batting an eye.

It was a relatively rainy day, the village was quiet seeing as a majority of the warriors left to go do who knows what. Even Jake and Neytiri left with them, leaving all of the children alone.

Everyone except for Lo'ak was hanging out together, sitting inside Aonung and Tsireya's pod as the sounds of the raindrops hitting the roof was soothing. Aonung and Neteyam were talking quietly amongst themselves.

Tuk, Kiri, and Rotxo were laughing quietly in their own little corner as Erica laid in the centre of the pod, fingers laced together under her head as a makeshift pillow while Tsireya's head rested on her stomach. Something felt...off, but Erica couldn't describe it.

The sounds of war cries coming from the ocean could be heard from inside their pod. Erica sat up, propping herself up on her forearms as she watched the warriors return, heading to the centre of the village.

"What's going on?" Neteyam asked as he noticed the commotion from outside.

"I don't know," Aonung answered as he stared out into the ocean, "But whatever it is, it isn't good."

All of the children stood up and made their way towards the crowd. Erica held onto Tuk's hand tightly, making sure not to lose her. She noticed their father standing in the crowd alongside Neytiri. She gripped her sister's hand tighter as she weaved through the crowd, the rest of her siblings following suit.

"What's going on?" Erica asked, looking up at her father with confusion. His eyes stayed focused on Ronal and Tonowari who were standing in the centre.

"My Spirit sister and her baby have been murdered by the Sky People!" Ronal shouted, her voice breaking slightly. All of the Metkayina around them began to shout and yelp, slightly startling Erica.

As she looked around, she noticed the devastation on Tsireya's face as she begun to cry. She wanted to go over to her and comfort her and tell her that everything was okay but she didn't know if she should move.

Feeling slight pressure on her hand, Erica looked down to see the fear on Tuk's face. She crouched down to pick her up, adjusting her onto her left hip as Tuk hid her face in Erica's neck.

As Erica scanned the crowd, she noticed Lo'ak pushing his way through to the front. The two of them made eye contact, sharing the same confused and worried look.

"No you don't!" Erica turned in the direction of the voice, Tuk lifting her head from her neck to look as well.

"You gotta understand how the Sky People work!" Jake shouted, taking a step forward. The rest of the Metkayina settled down, listening as Jake kept speaking. "They don't care about the great balance."