The Breath of Water | Neteyam

40 • The Hunt: Phase Two

A/N: ARE YALL READY FOR THE FIRST GAME??!!!

(Ps the pic is Neteyam, not Lo'ak , you'll see why he looks like that :D)

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Today was the day everyone had been waiting for. Including your author.

Neteyam fortunately had the extension of two extra days due to the txampay'weya situation, so he had more time to think about if whether or not he would confess to Liyanin. And with all that had happened, he finally decided to do it.

He almost died. And he knew how lucky he had got, so he saw this as a sign from Eywa to stop being a coward and just tell her. He had too many excuses, and this future with Liyanin—she should have a say in whether or not they should be together too, not just him. Additionally, with the extra two days, he also had time to practice more with riding on his Ilu, so he felt that some good came out of the situation.

"Do you have your hunting dagger, Neteyam? You cannot forget it." Neytiri reminded her son, for the umpteenth time. He laughed at her same question being repeated, telling her he did. She was patting his shoulders and chest, making sure he was fine. She was still concerned about his injuries, even though they had healed.

"Mom, my soreness is gone; you are too worried." he said, grabbing her hands. "I am alright now."

She smiled softly, then turned to her mate. "Ma Jake, I do not see your hunting dagger on you."

"Neytiri we both know I'm not gonna win this one..." he sighed, causing her to hiss at him.

"Why do you give up so easily? You have a strong heart."

"...more like had..." Kiri muttered with a smirk.

"It's gonna be underwater...I am not good with underwater." Jake explained.

"You should at least try, Dad." Lo'ak chimed in.

"Yeah, Dad! You can't give up already!" Tuk shouted. Jake looked at her painfully, a thought in the back of his mind. He has had a fall from grace—he was no longer the young and brave Na'vi he once was. And even though Tuk was talking about the games, her words could also be applied to him running away from the forest, and it felt like a sucker punch to the gut.

The shoving of a sheathed dagger to his stomach brought him back to reality, his eyes now staring into Neytiri's.

"You are Toruk Makto. You can try." She stated, her eyes locked on him. Neteyam side-eyed his dad, noticing his internal conflict. He knew that these words of encouragement to not give up were beating him up, and so he wanted to make sure that his dad at least had a good time. He placed his hunting dagger sleeve onto his hip, then walked over to his parents.

"We got this, Dad." He cheered, giving him a heartfelt smile. Jake's heart was a mess, even more so his head, but his loving family helped to keep him together. Lo'ak couldn't help but feel a small tinge of hurt, since he wasn't involved in this. But he kept it to the side.

"Now, let's get to this game."

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"Metkayina! Phase Two of the Hunt—starts today!!" Tonowari exclaimed, his family minus Aonung by his side. Ronal had one hand on her belly while the other was above her head, pumping the air in excitement. Liyanin had donned a different outfit today, and her hair was styled differently as well. She had on a woven long sleeve top that was adorned with various shells, but it was loose. Its colors—a mixture of deep blues and vibrant oranges. Her loincloth was also longer than usual, more similar to her Mother's. Her hair was styled into a ponytail-like style, but now her braids ran down the whole hair strand instead of the usual half-braid, hanging out by the sides of her face instead of being constrained within the binds of her ponytail. She also had moved her songcord to her neck, making it appear as a necklace instead of hanging on her clothes. Tsireya also was dressed differently, and her hair was put into one big braid, her tswin running through it. She wore a sleeveless top, but it was a little long. Long and loose—as she moved, the bottom of the top swung beautifully. The bottom only reached her mid section, so it was not a hindrance. Her loincloth was its normal size, nothing different about it except its color.