"Children come in for lunch please!" Lìyìnuk called out. Within a few moments the house erupted with a symphony of laughter.
"Mom, can you tell me about the Tìk'nui Clan?" Tsovey questioned.
"Maybe later my love, for now just eat your lunch." Lìyìnuk replied gently.
"But mom! You said that last time." Tsovey whined.
"Tsovey, don't talk back and eat your lunch!" Tatal scolded.
"Fine." Tsovey reluctantly conceded.
"Tatal, when you are finished can you grab your father for me?" Lìyìnuk requested.
"Of course mom." Tatal replied. She finished her lunch quickly before running up to her parents room. "Dad?" Tatal exclaimed, at the doorway.
"Hello my dear, come in." Pxäkngam stated with a smile.
Tatal nodded and walked into the room. "Mother wants you to come down." She relayed.
"I see, I will come down in a few minutes. I just need to finish this." Pxäkngam replied.
Tatal glanced at their bed and saw his pack. "Do you have to go?" Tatal questioned with both worry and anger in her tone as she watched her father look at her in slight shock.
"Tatal." He paused for a moment before gathering himself. "So your mother told you." Pxäkngam questioned.
"Yes, she did." Tatal sharply.
Pxäkngam took in a sturdy breath. "Tatal, my love, we have to keep looking." Pxäkngam replied firmly.
"I understand that, but why can't you stay longer than a few days! We need you and mother here!" Tatal fought.
"Tatal, be reasonable." Pxäkngam asked, as he tried to be understanding of his daughter's feelings.
"Reasonable! You have only been home for seven days father! One week. That is not a reasonable amount of time to be home." Tatal growled in frustration.
"What would you have me do Tatal? What are you asking of me." Pxäkngam replied in kind.
"Stop! Take more time to be with us! We miss our parents!" Tatal exclaimed, tears brimming her eyes.
Pxäkngam let out a low groan. "Tatal, I cannot stop looking until I know for certain." He pauses, looking at his daughter who was struggling to keep herself together. "I need to know for certain if they are alive." Pxäkngam stated.
Tatal's expression shifted after hearing her father's words. "So you will never stop." Tatal growled.
Pxäkngam's eyes grew, realizing how harsh he had just been. "Tatal." Pxäkngam exclaimed sincerely, trying to walk towards her.
"No. I understand. You won't stop. We will forever be left behind by you, and mother. Because she will never let you go alone." Tatal argued.
"That is not true. I do this for you. For all of you. So we can have what we lost back!" Pxäkngam argued, trying to reason with his eldest daughter.
Tatal's eyes fell firmly shut as she could no longer hold the tears that had been threatening to come out back. They flowed down her cheek like a still river. "If you were doing this for us then you would stop." Tatal barked. "You would stay with us." She continued. "Be the father we need. The father we miss." She paused, wiping the tears from her stained face, before looking back into her father's eyes. "The father we lost." Her words cut through Pxäkngam like a blade. She turned her back to her father, as she began to walk out of the room.
"Tatal. Come back here right now." Pxäkngam ordered, but to no avail. Tatal walked out of the room, ignoring her father entirely.
YOU ARE READING
Avatar: The Return of The Songbirds
Science FictionLooking back on the past holds nothing but pain and heartache for me and my family now. We were once a part of the beautiful Tìk'nui clan, but my people were better known as the songbird clan. We were neighbors to all and to no one at the same time...
