❝ Had he died, he wouldn't have felt it. His heart was kept in the chest of his beloved. ❞
Neteyam is traversing his teenage years with his family in the forest, it's his sixteenth birthday when the sky people come back to their world. The last year...
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IT TOOK HIM A WHILE TO SWIM DECENTLY, his hand was still holding the hand of Kew'Itan as they navigated the waters of Awa'atlu, Kew had constantly fixed the posture of his arms so instead of forcing himself through he glided over the currents.
Not only he swam faster, but the air in his lungs seemed plenty enough to not go to the surface to constantly take a breath.
Kew swam a bit ahead of him, leading him with his hand towards places Neteyam would have never seen without his aid. The hold over him was soft and if he wanted he could have taken his hand back, if he wanted.
He didn't. He just followed him blindly and looked around the flora of the world below the surface enchanting as they explored the corals that lit up the ocean floor.
The creatures didn't seem to mind him when Kew was close, he had managed to touch one of them, one incredibly fluffy that changed color when he made contact with it. He almost laughed his air out of his mouth out of shock— Kew had anticipated it and pressed his free hand against his lips.
It seemed an eternity later when Kew had put an end to their improvised exploration of what had become Neteyam's home in those few days, they had resurfaced for one last time and he felt himself miss the constant presence of the hand that held his.
They sat down in the shallow waters near the shores, bare of other Na'vi that were still completing their daily tasks, it was surprisingly relieving not having to be preoccupied of the war that had scared them away.
He surprisingly found out that their finger language— or sign language as Kew corrected— was easy to pick up when he wasn't admiring the other's lips that were still shimmering from the excess water that still stubbornly clung to him.
Kew flicked his forehead "Concentrate." He said with a glare as he moved his hands slowly for him to mirror.
"Swim with us." The boy made the same signs his sister had hours before, nodding in approval when Neteyam replicated them correctly.
He had slowly found out that Kew'Itan wasn't a boy of many words— at least teaching wise, he would nod his head if he did something correct but didn't hesitate to speak when he made a mistake. He had never sung a praise if Neteyam got something right but the small lift of the corners of his lips was going to leave him grinning the rest of the day.
Neteyam didn't really have a reason why he felt so strongly about the other boy, his mother told stories about the time she met his father and he couldn't help but pick at the similarities with newly found curiosity.
