𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 | lo'ak x tsireya

𝟏𝟐 - 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞

( FIVE DAYS EARLIER )

AO'NUNG AND ROTXO wait silently by the oceanside, watching the burned pieces of the former marui pods floating out to sea. there was still a connecting piece of the village that was not burned to ashes, and that was the pathways connecting the whole village together. the woven bridges had been too wet and slippery for the fire to touch. now the two metkayina warriors sit side by side on the edge, their legs hanging over in the water.

when tonowari and ronal had first left to warn the nearby metkayina villages, the two had been put in charge of helping the awa'altu village with all of their necessities, essentially replacing the oloeyktan and tsahik's position. this included rebuilding, feeding, and healing the entire village. it was a lot of work for the two of them. they had been out all day helping the villagers hunt for food, start rebuilding foundations for the marui pods, and completing tsahik duties that they had never trained for. it made them both miss tsireya a bit more.

"do you think we'll ever recover?" rotxo speaks up quietly, moving his feet around in the water.
ao'nung wipes a trickle of sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand.

"recover from what?" he asks in an exasperated tone of voice, having barely been listening to rotxo talk.

"i dunno... everything?" rotxo squints up at his friend, the setting sun glaring into his line of vision.

"i'm not sure, honestly," ao'nung responds, staring out at the ocean. "there's a lot to be done. it could take years. and with me becoming oloeyktan soon... i'm not sure i want to do it anymore."

rotxo nods, frowning. even though it was sad, he was not surprised by his friend's thoughts. "it does sound like a lot. but i'm sure we can get through it... eventually."

ao'nung glances at rotxo and smirks, a small twitch in the corner of his mouth. it was the first time rotxo had seen ao'nung smile since their meeting with lo'ak and tsireya.

"you must have a lot of hope to say that, big mouth," ao'nung chuckles, nudging rotxo with his elbow, maybe a little too hard.

"hey— ow!" rotxo flinches, rubbing his arm. a small smile travels over his tired expression when he glances at ao'nung. "wipe that stupid smile off your face, skxawng."

before ao'nung could reply, the sounds of chittering ilu came from behind them, signaling the return of the oloeyktan and tsahik. the two metkayina na'vi turn their heads in unison to see tonowari and ronal gliding towards them in the water atop of their ilus.

"my son! and my darling rotxo," ronal beams kindly upon the two when she disembarks from her ilu, engulfing them in a tight hug.

"thank you for taking over for us," tonowari thanks them, a tired look glazing over his eyes.

"it was no problem," rotxo shakes his head and smiles.

"sa'nok, sempul, come inside. we were able to rebuild a makeshift marui today," ao'nung leads them proudly over to the sad-looking construction, although it was big enough to fit all four of them inside.

"how was it?" ao'nung asks them once they had settled down and relaxed.

ronal shakes her head, seemingly at a loss for words. tonowari rests a webbed hand upon her shoulder. "it was not a pretty sight," the olo'eyktan tells them quietly. "the ta'uni clan also suffered greatly from the torment of the ash clan."

"speaking of the ash clan..." roxto murmurs in an undertone that only ao'nung could hear.

"mother, father... we saw tsireya again. and lo'ak," ao'nung swallows hard, anxious to see their reaction, his eyes searching their neutral gazes.