𝖲𝗍𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗀 𝖧𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍

𝗍𝗐𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗒

      

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲

༄𓆉︎♫︎☀︎︎❦︎☀︎︎♫︎𓆉︎༄

      EVERY SONGCORD ENDS EVENTUALLY, BUT NETEYAM’S CAME FAR TOO SOON. The eldest Sully brother’s funeral happened two days later, once Tu’ahu could stand still.

      Tu’ahu and Aonung had taken out her braids. They reminded her too much of the past. They used the old beads they had crafted and created a necklace for Tu’ahu, the shell Aonung gave her resting on her sternum. Tuk and Kiri had painted her face for the funeral, all of them struggling to accept the loss of their brother.

      The funeral would be a traditional Metkayina ceremony. That felt right. Tu’ahu couldn’t swim on her own yet, her stump was still wrapped in cloths, too delicate to touch. She sat on an ilu, her hand wrapped to the saddle with a piece of rope, keeping her steady. Jake insisted on it.

      Jake rode on an ilu, pulling Neteyam’s body, wrapped in a leaf. Tuk, Neytiri and Lo’ak swam with him, Kiri and Spider on an ilu across from Tu’ahu on her ilu, behind Neteyam.

      The whole village was there, holding torches, contrasting the depressing darkness. Aonung, Rotxo and Tsireya stood near Ronal and Tonowari, Aonung holding his sister in his arms. Tu’ahu glanced to him as she passed before looking down sadly.

      Jake led them to the Cove of the Ancestors where Neteyam would be put to rest, and have his spirit taken by Eywa. Tu’ahu had prayed to Eywa, begging her to take care of her little brother. She felt an energy inside of her, indicating that Eywa had heard her pleas.

      Neytiri and Jake pulled their son out of the leaf, flower petals cascading into the water. Lo’ak and Tuk placed their hands on their brother one final time as he passed them. Neytiri loosened the rope around her wrist and Tu’ahu extended her hand to place it on Neteyam’s forehead. She cried, and Neytiri did too.

      Tu’ahu let go of Neteyam as her parents dove down into the water to place their son on the ocean floor. Lo’ak swam over to Tu’ahu, helping her dismount the ilu. She suffered through the pain of the salt water on her arm, holding Lo’ak’s hand as they watched under water.

      Lo’ak reached for his brother, crying. Tu’ahu held him, moving her arm around his neck to comfort him, while she cried too.

      She sobbed in the water, watching as the energy consumed Neteyam’s body, and Eywa took him as her own. Tu’ahu saw Kiri and Tuk crying, and Spider’s eyes downcast. 

      Neteyam Sully was gone, and Tu’ahu would have to protect and take care of her brother and sisters all alone. But she wasn’t alone. Aonung was with her. And she had never felt more isolated in her life as she watched Eywa take her brother from her.

༄𓆉︎♫︎☀︎︎❦︎☀︎︎♫︎𓆉︎༄