Coin Flip - Lo'ak

11:

Jake was guiding his two sons back to their hut with Kiri and I followed suit.

Somehow he found out about the fight that had occurred moments ago. My guess was that Ao'nung and his "tough friends" had told Tonowari, our Olo'eyktan, what had happened on the beach. Most likely spinning it in a way to make Lo'ak and Neteyam seem like the cause of it.

To be fair, Lo'ak did throw the first punch. However, bullying is also no excuse.

I'm guessing Jake found out through Tonowari and now the brothers were getting in trouble.

Kiri and I could only trail behind. Luckily Jake hadn't noticed my matching split lip like Neteyam's, and my bruise forming on the side of my face from none other than his son.

I've never met Jake before so I really didn't know how he'd react but I did know I would only have added fuel to the fire if he found out his son had hit a girl.

And while us Na'vi view our women and men equally, and have equal respect for one another, we especially value our women due to being a direct reflection of mother eywa; the givers of life.

Which is precisely why I tried to hide behind Kiri with my head held low.

"What was the one thing I asked? The one thing." Jake began his lecture.

His look of disappointment and annoyance created goosebumps on my skin. I wonder what it would feel like being scolded by a parent for your mistakes.

I mean, I did experience people scolding me but it was never somebody I truly cared for. I knew they wouldn't stick around so what was the point in being apologetic? This was my younger self talking though, back when I was a plain troublemaker.

I could only imagine the guilt I'd feel being scolded by someone close, someone I admire.

Never had I seen Lo'ak cower away. He always managed to keep his posture upright trying to be the biggest in the room. I could see now that he just wanted to be like his father.

Neteyam kept touching his own bleeding lip while Lo'ak held his upper arm. I wonder how much pain they must be in. I only got one hit and I felt like I' acting like a baby while they on the other hand, kept a strong composure despite fighting four others, receiving many more hits than I.

"Stay out of trouble," they both replied lowly, realising they broke their father's rule. Jake echoed their response as if to engrave the answer in their minds.

Neteyam tried to take the blame on himself, sensing that his father would have gotten much more angry knowing Lo'ak had initiated things. Jake however seemed to see past his attempts, already knowing the truth.

"I don't think so, you've gotta stop taking the heat for this knucklehead," Jake spat.

From the looks of things, it seemed to be a regular routine. Lo'ak causing a problem, they get caught, Neteyam takes the blame upon himself, and Jake sees past it.

I felt my heart ache slightly. Neteyam was so much more than he let on. Being the oldest, I felt as though he thought he was responsible for his sibling's actions. My heart ached for him, how he always carried the burden for when things went wrong. I wish I could tell him that it's not his fault, as many times as he needed until he actually believed me.

Their lecture went on for a little longer but ended as Jake told them to apologise to Ao'nung.

I wish I could have spoken in protest. Ao'nung, while fighting being excessive, did deserve some sort of retaliation to his bullying. I don't feel bad for him at all. In fact, if the fight hadn't occurred, he would have received some not-so-friendly smacks to the head from myself. Maybe the hits he received pulled his head out of his ass and knocked some sense into him. He can really be a dick sometimes.