(DISCONTINUED)Emrey- Survive || Avatar: The Way of Water

012 || You're A Coward

It had taken a few days for them to prepare and pack. (It was actually four days, but who was counting?) The ceremony would take place on their last day, where her father would renounce his title as Olo'eyktan and pass it on to Tarsem, a resilient young warrior, one he and Mo'at deemed worthy of the title and responsibility. Niri'te didn't know much about him in the beginning, the first time she really interacted with him was during her Iknimaya a few odd years ago, where he had clasped her shoulder firmly when they returned from the hunt, pride in his eyes as he gave her a dazzling smile. Niri'te would be lying if she said she didn't feel a little flutter in her stomach at his grin, her pale cheeks burning as she smiled back. 

He had laughed, his hand clapping her shoulder, eyes shining with mirth. "You will make a fine hunter," he had said, squeezing her shoulder.

And then he was off, celebrating with his friends as they gathered around the growing fire, which Niri'te steered well clear from, something about the licking flames stirring up old memories she didn't need tainting this joyous moment.

But that wasn't the last that she saw of him. Her cheeks would flush as he greeted her in passing, sometimes dropping what he was doing so he could talk to her, even if was just simple pleasantries. Still, it had made her feel warm, even if she didn't know why he was doing all of this. Maybe that's just how he is, Niri'te thought as she entered her family's marui for most likely the last time.

Packing up her belongings felt strange, like she wasn't really there, like she was watching someone else do it as she rolled up her sleeping mat, tying it off and putting it with everyone else's. There obviously were things she couldn't take, like her little collection of knickknacks that she acquired throughout her life, though she had lost most of them when the Sky People had first returned and burned their home to the ground, forcing them to move into High Camp. But despite herself, she placed a few into her pouch that she just couldn't leave behind, namely a bright river stone that she was planning to add to her song cord, a small tooth from Makita, and the first bracelet she had received from Tuk, the making of it was the joint effort of both Tuk and Lo'ak, but it was Tuk's idea, she just needed a little help.

Night had started to fall when she had considered herself finished, the pile of her family's belongings looking impossibly big, she wondered how they were going to fit everything on their ikrans. But that was tomorrow's problem.

With a sigh she turned away from the pile, exiting the marui and making her way to the communal sleeping area. It had been a while since she last slept there, often preferring the privacy of her family's tent to the large open area where most families slept together. Quickly she found her family's swaynivi, a large woven hammock that was suspended high off the ground, right in the middle surrounded by equally large hammocks.

Now getting up there was part of the reason she seldom spent the night there, it being so high off the ground and basically in the middle of the rest of the hammocks, it was a bit of a hassle to get to it. And by the time she got there, she would be out of breath and heaving so loud that it caused people to stare, which she already didn't like given the obvious. But tonight she would just have to power through it since she couldn't sleep in the marui, with it being used as the storage space for all their things til they leave. Making her way between the other families, most were already asleep, huddled close to their loved ones.

Niri'te tiptoed past them, trying to quiet her heavy breathing from the climb up, basically holding her breath til she could get it under control. Once she finally got there, she collapsed next to Lo'ak, who grumbled in his sleep, kicking her leg as he turned around. She laughed quietly, finally able to relax, her stiff back thankful after all the packing and lifting.