Thanatophobia | Ao'nung

⋆˚✿˖°ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟜⋆˚✿˖°

"Tuk, wait!" Ni'la yelled as Tuk ran to go back to their family's tent. The youngest Sully child had been the first one to finish eating, so naturally she would want to go back home, especially after the traumatic events that happened a few hours ago.

However, Tuk ignored her older sisters' words, causing the twins to roll their eyes while they chased after her, telling the boys to meet up with them after they were done.

As the three girls got closer to the tent, they could hear yelling coming from their home, so they all rushed over and crouched down to eavesdrop on the conversation. Most of it was unintelligible as Neytiri and Jake were yelling over each other, which was a rare sight. The two parents hardly ever argued, to see them both so worked up that nothing could be understood between the two was shocking, to say the least.

Ni'la tried to focus on her mother's voice, but it was of no use. After a couple more minutes of trying to determine what her parents were arguing about, Neteyam and Lo'ak finally got back from eating dinner.

"What's going on?" Lo'ak asked, and Tuk shushed him before beckoning both boys to crouch down.

And it was like Eywa had heard all of their prayers because Jake and Neytiri both paused, taking a deep breath before finally settling down so they could talk to each other. "I cannot - you cannot ask this!" Neytiri said. "I cannot leave my people!" The five children shared looks of confusion before they heard their mother continue, "I will not."

"Just please listen to me!" Jake begged. "He's hunting us! He's targeting our family!" Neytiri looked at her husband while Ni'la furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Did her Dad know who kidnapped her siblings? Ni'la hadn't thought of the fact that it might have been someone from her Dads past that had come back to haunt them. All she knew was that humans could be selfish and cruel beings, so that's why she thought those Avatars only took her siblings to use them as bait to negotiate with the Omatikaya people.

"You cannot ask this!" Neytiri raised her voice. "The children, everything they've ever known. The forest - This is our home!" She yelled.

Ni'la's eyes widened in realization. Her Dad wanted them to leave their home. He wanted her and Kiri to leave their mother's Avatar behind, to leave her videos behind, to leave their life behind. Sure, family was everything to the Sully family, but they all still had friends. How would they adapt to a different clan?

Their bodies were made for the forest. Unless her father was planning on taking her and her family to another part of the forest with a different clan. She supposed she would be okay with going to a different part of the forest, but if Ni'la were to have to go to a clan where her skills would mean nothing, then that might be an issue for her.

The forest was Ni'la's safe space. Any time she was having a rough day, she would run through the forest or go hunting. Ni'la had never been one to like or adapt to change.

"He had our children - he had them under his knife. If we would have been a couple of minutes later, we would have lost them. I can't risk losing them," Jake sighed.

The two oldest siblings tensed at Jake's last sentence. If Jake and Neytiri hadn't gotten there in time, they very well may have lost their younger siblings. That couldn't happen. Ni'la would ensure that none of her siblings ever died before it was their time. They all deserved to live long happy lives. She's the one who always felt out of place and that she shouldn't have been born.

So, if anyone were to have to go at a young age, it should be her.

Neytiri fell silent at Jake's words, and the children could hear her pacing around their tent before they heard the scraping of wood. "My father gave me this bow as he lay dying," Neytiri said, "And he said to protect the people." She sucked in a calming breath as her shoulders slumped, "You're Toruk Makto!" Her voice cracked.