Still Breathing

Chapter 23. Fade Into You

"I look to you and I see nothing, I look to you to see the truth." ~ Mazzy Star

When Jake and Lo'ak returned shortly after the sun came out, they noticed the angry looks they were getting from each of the girls, even Tuk.

"And where were you?" Neytiri asked, her stern motherly tone poking out. Lo'ak and Jake both scratched the back of their heads nervously, making Neytiri chuckle internally despite her annoyance with the two of them.

"We uh, I took Lo'ak to the Spirit Tree." Neytiri's look of frustration changed to a look of understanding. She stood up from her spot on the ground, walking over to pull Lo'ak into a hug which he didn't fight like he usually did. Instead he held onto her tightly as she kissed the top of head, asking if he was okay to which he nodded.

She then looked over at her Husband, smacking him lightly in the chest with the back of her hand. He looked at her with a confused look as he held his arms out to his side. "You should have told me where you were going. The girls almost sent out a search party for you two."

"Okay okay." Jake held his hands out in front of himself in defence, worried that she might try to smack him again. He knew that things haven't necessarily been easy for her this last week. Nothing had been easy for any of them this last week.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, pulling his wife into a hug. She shared the hug, smiling up at him before bringing their lips together.

All of the children shouted in protest, telling them to get a room while laughing. It had been a long time since their children had laughed like that. Yet it still didn't feel the same without Neteyam's bright and cheery laughter.

The Sully's hadn't really left the pod much, and Spider hadn't left the pod at all. The Metkayina were still getting used to a human being around and the Sully's were still mourning the loss of their family.

Tonowari gave them as much time as they needed to get back on their feet before contributing to the village. So the Sully's ate their meals in their pod, played games in their pod or just outside of their pod, they rarely left the pod. 

It had been awhile since the children had seen Tsireya or Aonung. They assumed that they were probably mourning just like the rest of them. Erica often wondered how they were doing, but she wasn't quite ready to be around other people yet.

When dinner rolled around, the Sully's were relatively quiet, each of them focused on their food. It was really hard for Spider to eat cause he essentially had to take his mask off and hold his breath every time he took a bite. He couldn't wait for Norm to show up with his own bunker like promised.

"So," Lo'ak spoke, earning the attention of his family around him. Lo'ak cleared his throat nervously as he thought about the best way to bring up Neteyam without eliciting too many intense emotions.

He looked to his father who just gave him a reassuring nod, knowing that his family would love to hear what Neteyam wanted to say to them. He took a deep breath as he looked around at his family and Spider. "I saw Neteyam at the tree, and he had a message for all of you."

The Sully's and Spider all got closer together, Tuk sitting on Lo'ak's lap as they all gave their undivided attention towards him. Lo'ak cleared his throat, looking over at his parents. Neteyam wanted his parents to know that nothing that happened was their fault.

"Dad, Neteyam wanted me to tell you that you did everything you could to keep us safe." Lo'ak paused, smiling as he quoted Neteyam directly. "Sometimes there's nothing you can do when you have two pain in the ass son's who don't listen."