Flawless [Neteyam x Ao'nung ]

Chapter 4: Nightmares

Neteyam usually doesn't dream.

It's rare the times he does, and if happens it usually is intensively extreme - whether it reflects his life or the future, it always means something.

But last night he dreamt something.

He dreamt he was in the clouds, unsure if he was flying or on something, he couldn't tell. Moving through the trees, feeling the wind caress his skin, and the heat of the sun. However, something wasn't right. No, he felt himself growing anxious. He was not stable, and he was whirling chaotically in the air.

Screeches, yelling and screaming were heard in the air - followed by sounds of explosions and rapid winds. He felt himself screaming by a pulse of wind and heat gusting to his back, plummeting him forward to fall.

And he heard a voice, shouting.

"Neteyam!"

Abruptly shooting his eyes open, Neteyam gasps sharply before sitting up with a hand to his chest - right over his racing heart.

Even while awake he could still hear it; the screaming, rapid winds, the heat on his back - it was vividly before his eyes. It was right there, reliving in his mind, unable to awake from it.

Until a pressure on his shoulder snapped his attention.

Immediately he snarls in defense while shooting back, but then he feels somewhere in his soul relieved when he sees a familiar face before his eyes.

His dad.

Thank Eywa it's his dad.

Still attempting to catch his breath breathlessly, Neteyam couldn't even try to calm himself down by how spiked up in adrenaline he's fused by in anxiety.

His father suddenly places his hand on his chest, perking his head up immediately to him once his felt his son's racing heartbeat. Moving to face him now, Jake tried to make him mimic his slowed breathing. Through the anxiety and hysteria, Neteyam tried copy his father's motions of inhaling through the nose and exhaling through his lips to relax his pulses.

He tried and tried through his stutters of breaths, yet he only grew more agitated, unable to help himself from releasing a sob to the fear that crawled up his throat - forcing it to clench up.

"Easy, easy, it's okay," Jake assures him, rubbing a hand on his head, "It's okay, take it easy. Just breathe, come on, you're here. I'm right here."

Neteyam relied on his father's support to finally regain a bit of stability, breathing out calmly as he grounds himself to his surroundings. He didn't even notice how his mother is to his other side, frowning so deeply to her son's nightmare episode. Across the shack is his siblings, all woken up and watching as their parents calm down the eldest son.

He must've woken them up again.

A poisoning guilt began to storm and make home inside Neteyam's chest, signing in embarrassment once he was completely stable enough to feel okay, "I'm sorry if I woke everyone up -"

"Relax bro, we were already waking up," Lo'ak days and glances to Kiri, who was in the midst of yawning, "Right?"

Kiri looks at him and then to Neteyam, nodding immediately, "Yeah, we have an early morning with the guest - you didn't wake us up, promise."

Even if they reassured him as many times as they'd like, he knew they were awakened because of him. As mentioned, Neteyam doesn't usually dream. Even if it's not often Neteyam gets these dreams, when he does it never fails to cause everyone to startle in panic because of his reactions to them.