One of the people [ Jake Sully x Reader ]

-* Auntie Eyhìtew *-

Chapter 5

The tìrey ftxozä and emza'u io ne Eywa went smoothly the next sunrise. The clan had gathered just outside of Home tree, where a deep hole had been dug amongst the roots, the bottom covered in soft moss. Äuntao's body had been delicately placed in the hole, her wrinkled eyelids had been shut and covered with an arrangement of soft pink flowers while her fragile body had been gently arranged in the fetal position. It was then I recalled my conversation with Zìr'iawat yesterday,

"When creatures are born they borrow energy from Eywa, because the energy is borrowed it must be returned to Eywa, everything must die to return the energy to our great mother." It was a very comforting way to view death, returning to Eywa was akin to returning back home after a long journey to find your mother waiting at the door with open arms. The ceremony was entirely spoken in Na'vi, and I could only recognise a couple of words that were spoken through muffled sobs, Jake however, had taken it upon himself to stand beside me at the far back and whisper the translation into my ear, his hot breath tickling my neck as his voice rumbled from deep his throat. The speaking at the ceremony was short-lived, but as it drew to a close a woman standing at the front began to sing, a low mournful song full of sorrow, she was slowly running her hands over a string of beads, feathers and shells as she sang, I looked to jake for an explanation.

"Song cord" was all he murmured to me as we stood entranced in the woman's melodic singing.

Zìr'iawat had not been joking when she had said she was going to find someone to braid my hair yesterday, she stalked over to where Jake and I sat quietly practising my Na'vi and grabbed my upper arm dragging me away,

"Hey that's my brightest student!" he called in exasperation after her

"I was learning-" I began to protest

"You are not now" she hissed continuing to drag me away from the central structure of Home tree, Jake trailed after us with an apprehensive look on his face. She continued to drag me for another minute before dropping my arm and stopping to check her hair and face a reflective bug shell, fixing anything that she deemed was out of place. It was the strangest thing I had ever seen her do. As she began to stride off again she flicked her tail, that was the signal for me to follow her, sighing I waited for Jake to catch up and fell into an easy pace beside him. She lead us outside of Home Tree to a large natural clearing shaded by the surrounding trees, the floor was covered in moss and soft grass occasionally dotted with an abandoned toy. Small Na'vi children ran after each other squealing in delight as they played, some sat quietly mesmerised in a small crowd at the feet of a regal older woman, she appeared to be telling an enthralling story, encaptivating every last drop of the children's attention, some however, were taking a nap on a soft woven mat in the corner, piled up on top of one another as they gently snored, the sight was enough to melt even the coldest of hearts. I looked to Zìr'iawat in confusion, these people barely trusted me to walk around by myself, let alone take care of children, so why had she brought me here? Did she have a child that I didn't know about? Was I that unobservant? The woman in question had walked over to the regal Na'vi woman telling the story where she stood waiting patiently for her to finish her story, however, when the woman noticed Zìr'iawat standing to the side, her face split open with the brightest smile I had ever seen as they embraced each other in a warm hug, the woman began to fuss over Zìr'iawat, tugging at her braided hair and pinching her cheeks remarking about how thin she had gotten, Zìr'iawat only smiled and signalled over to us saying something I couldn't understand in Na'vi. I expected the woman's face to contort in disgust and for her to scream at me to leave, maybe even throw one of the children's toys at my head, but to my surprise, she waved Jake and me over with a wide smile.

"You may call me Auntie Eyhìtew," she said embracing me in a crushing hug, I returned her hug feeling myself tear up, nobody had ever been this welcoming to me, not ever in my short life of 2 days. She moved me so that she was looking at me from an arm's length away, dissecting me with her eyes as she fussed with my hair and face before falling still.