Not a Soldier Yet |Ao'nung x Neteyam|

4. Tswin

That night, Neteyam could not sleep. He snuck out not long after everyone had fallen asleep and laid down in the still-warm sand, running his slender fingers through it, relaxing. He noticed a bruise on his knuckles, darkening them compared to the rest of his hand. He laid there for hours until the sand cooled down and the remaining Metcayina went to bed. Nobody was outside except for him. That night, nobody came to bother him.

In the morning, he was woken by the waves tickling his toes. He lifted his head, groaning. A few early birds were up and about, weaving or fishing along the shore - nobody was paying attention to him.
Neteyam's head felt heavy with sand. He did not stand, only shuffled into the water until he was sitting in it, the waves caressing his chest. Slowly, he leaned back, letting the water soak his hair. He massaged his scalp and sighed, content for the first time in weeks.
Across the horizon, the sun was only beginning to rise. Gently, Neteyam began untying the ends of each individual braid, pulling out beads and keeping them held securely in his hand. Once all the ties were removed, he dipped his head back under the water, almost lying back completely. The tight plaits came undone much quicker underwater. Minutes later, his hair was free of the braids, and he slowly sank down under the water, holding his breath and stretching out all of himself save for the fist holding his hair ties and beads.
Once he resurfaced, he noticed Ronal watching him, hand rested on top of her growing stomach. Neteyam greeted her; Ronal returned the gesture, then walked away, carrying a small basket of something, probably a fruit Neteyam had never seen before.

"Hey, look, forest girl is here-" laughter filled the air.

Neteyam frowned and looked towards his marui. Nobody seemed to be moving around yet. Ulro stopped to stand in front of Neteyam, who slowly stood and slid his hair accessories into the pouch on his hip. This time, the boy was accompanied by a different group of boys, stronger, taller than the usual group that bothered Neteyam.

"Look at his hair," another boy laughed, bold, tattooed, but baby-faced. "He really is like a girl!"

He reached for Neteyam's loose hair, but Neteyam sidestepped him, preparing to walk away, walk home. Almost out of instinct, once he turned his back, Neteyam reached for the long braid of his queue and pulled it over his shoulder to hold close to his chest. The forest na'vi heard Ulro's satisfied snorting. Taunts, insult shot his way as he walked towards his home. Surely, the other males would not bother him in the presence of his family.

"I bet he would let you bend him ov-"

Neteyam turned sharply, fists clenched; he made a mistake, he had let go of his queue in his rage and did not notice Ulro right next to him. Neteyam was too focused on the boy who had spoke such vile things about him to notice Ulro reach for his head and pull as hard as he could on Neteyam's queue. A searing pain shot down Neteyam's spine and he could not stop the pained shout that left him. It must have been louder than Ulro wanted, because he let Neteyam go instantly and gestured for him friends to leave as well.
In a daze, Neteyam turned to continue walking home, but he found himself face to face with his father's sharp eyes. The young male's eyes widened, and his breath hitched.

"Who were those boys, Neteyam?" his father questioned, holding him by his elbow and leading him home quickly, turning back to stare angrily in the direction of the retreating youth.

"It's not important-"

"Neteyam!" Jake's voice boomed loud and clear, drawing a few curious stared from further away down the beach. "It is important. They were bullying you. How long has this been going on?"

Neteyam noticed his family coming out of the marui, worried by the commotion right outside their entrance. Tuk, who was held in her mother's arms, still rubbing her eyes drowsily.
Neteyam sighed, trying to pull away from his father's grip on his elbow but failing to do so. Jake only tightened his grip. It was not painful, but it reminded Neteyam of all the other times he'd been grabbed against his will with the intention of being hurt.

Neteyam's tired gaze met Kiri's, who only stared at him, her shoulders slumped in disappointed recognition. Neteyam's ears folded back, tail swishing around behind him. Neytiri handed the youngest sibling to Kiri, who took her without a word.

"Is this true, my son? Others have been hurting you?" She came to stand beside her son, grasping at his other arm and turning him slightly to examine him.

Neteyam's cheeks burned with shame. Neteyam could not bear his mother's worried eyes and Kiri's disheartened gaze. There was nothing he wanted more than to vanish. He tried to wiggle free of his parents' grip but froze when he heard a surprised gasp.

"My Neteyam, your scalp is bleeding," Neytiri huffed. She pushed Jake aside, who let her, his stern gaze boring holes into his oldest son's face. Neytiri pushed his hair to the side gently, touching his next with her fingertips. "Did they pull on your tsaheylu, my child?"

Behind his mother, Neteyam heard Kiri inhale sharply, holding Tuk closer, who stared on in confusion, chewing on her lower lip, ears folded back. The burning in his chest was slowly becoming unbearable as his entire family stared at him. Even Lo'ak was furious. This time, Neteyam was not sure who the anger was directed at.

When Neteyam offered no answer, Neytiri's eyes widened slightly; she placed her hands lightly on Neteyam's shoulders and tried to look into his eyes. It was not easy, as Neteyam was doing everything he could to face away from everyone around him. After some moments, Neytiri gave up and ushered her son into the marui, sitting him down and parting his hair away from the long braid of the queue. With firm but soothing touches, she applied some sort of cream to the base, massaging it lightly.
When she moved to start braiding his hair, Neteyam stopped her. Jake tried to keep the conversation going, fighting to get answers, but Neteyam was silent, not willing to say anything. Neytiri eventually shushed her mate and hugged her son close, rocking him slightly until night came and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Weeks passed without further incident; slowly, once his inner scars healed, Neteyam confessed to Kiri that he did not say anything to avoid burdening their parents. His sister offered no comfort, but she did nod, understanding his silence. That afternoon, they went diving together, smiling and laughing like they had nothing to be worried about.
Jake had kept a closer eye on Neteyam for the few days that followed his discovery; when nothing happened, he slowly fell back into their previous rhythm.

Neteyam wore his hair down; he accepted Tsireya's awed compliments and ignored Ao'nung's snickering and his sister played with the smooth, straight locks. Slowly, Neteyam began to feel like he had no expectations to live up to here. He was not the leader's son here, nor was he a warrior.
All he really had to do was learn what the Metcayina children learned. It was simple enough.

Slowly, his breathing got better with the help of Rotxo - their friendship began to grow, blossoming into the playful nature of young men. After the punch, Ao'nung kept his distance from Neteyam, even stopping his friends from picking on the forest na'vi. Neteyam felt the closest to Tsireya; she witnessed first hand what the young Metcayina boys did to Neteyam, the way he was mocked and hurt by the strangers. Tsireya was patient with him even before finding out - now, she paid more attention to him than Lo'ak even, much to the younger Sully's disappointment. Neteyam assured his brother that it was a different kind of attention.