𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗦 - 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘆𝗮𝗺

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗜 ⸺ 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲.

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                  THE REEF KIDS came to get the forest children soon after the sun rose. They had all gathered on a net at the edge of the village, chatting with animation — well, only Tsireya was talking with the Omaticayas, her brother and his friend only staring from a distance. Amraë suck in a deep breath. She probably should have been feeling exhausted, but despite all, some part of her was still excited about the upcoming day. Besides, her mind had been so accustomed to not sleeping for the past few days that it was almost like she did not feel anything at all, but she knew her body would soon surrender — hopefully not while she was in the water.

The discussion stopped abruptly as she approached; she saw some eyes widening at the sight of her hair, but no one made a comment. Tsireya cleared her throat.

"Now that you're all here, let's begin!"

Without further warning, she graciously dived down in the water right below, soon followed by Ao'nung and Roxto, although less elegantly. Neteyam tapped his brother on the chest before before splashing down with excited shouts. Tuk ran over to Amraë and pulled her by the hand.

"Come on, this is going to be fun!"

Amraë could not help a shriek as the three girls jumped down. The water was warm and clear; if she had not been underwater, Amraë would have probably gasped in awe. "Beautiful" was an understatement to describe what she was seeing. The sunlight gently stroked the coral structures in vivid colors, around which hundreds of tiny fish swam, in perfect synch as if they were guided by the same force. Aquatic plants seemed to dance at the rhythm of the current, only disturbed by the passing of rays, seeming perfectly unbothered by the presence of the Na'vi. One came so close to Amraë that she could see the tiny sparkle of their pale-white color. She held out her hand, the contact with the creature so soft it almost tingled.

Other animals she did not recognize swam by Kiri, near her, who looked just as in awe as Amraë was. It was like they left their world to enter another, quiet and peaceful, striving in harmony and balance. Another adjective came to Amraë's mind. Surreal.

A slow smile crept on her lips, making her forget that she was supposed to be holding her breath. The reef kids had already swan forward, obviously comfortable in the environment. Tsireya flipped on her back and smiled at them, most likely before their faces. Amraë swam towards them. She was not a particularly skilled swimmer, although they were enough lakes and ponds back in the forest that learning to swim had been including in the children's training.

Nevertheless, it was obvious that the Mektayina's physical aspect was particularly adapted to being in the water all day, whereas, after a little while, Amraë felt her lungs emptying. She dived back to the surface, soon followed by Lo'ak and Neteyam. They all gasped for air even though they had barely stayed under a couple minutes.