I'll Always Come Back To You

Time to Meet the New Neighbors

We landed on the sandy beach, sliding off our Ikrans' backs.

Neytiri helped Tuk before moving to the rest of us to see if we needed any help.

When she was satisfied that all of us had arrived alive and well, she grabbed her bow.

Jake noticed.

"Leave it," he said softly.

Neytiri glared at him before rolling her eyes and putting it back.

I soothed Aretha, checking if she was okay before joining Jake and Neytiri.

Ralu appeared beside me as everyone else dismounted or checked their belongings.

"On me," Dad ordered quietly. His arms were held wide in a peace-making gesture.

We all fell in behind him. Lo'ak trailed near the back again but looked more alert than he did a few minutes ago.

"Tuk," Neytiri called.

Tuk bounced over and took her mom's outstretched hand.

"Be nice," Jake reminded everyone.

"Who are they?" Tuk asked.

"Be nice," Neytiri said gently, discouraging any more of Tuk's questions.

My ears flicked around, taking in the new sounds, and my nose twitched as we made our way up the beach. 

Ralu grasped my hand, tightly. He looked uncharacteristically nervous. I gave him an encouraging smile and inclined my head towards the rest of the group. He nodded and took a deep breath.

As we got closer, I could see that the local Na'vi's coloring was a light blue, similar to mine. My eyes darted from one Na'vi to the other, and I took a small, sharp breath. These Na'vi looked like me. Or rather, I looked like them.

Why?

I frowned and shook my head to clear my thoughts as we arrived at the group and stopped. Ralu gave me a concerned glance, but I waved him off. 

The other Na'vi fanned out in a small semi-circle in front of us, wanting to satisfy their curiosity about us but not get too close.

Two of the younger ones who looked to be about my age came forward. Like the others, they had thick limbs, light blue skin, and azure eyes.

They circled our group, the lead one glaring at us. He had his hair in a bun on top of his head, his tsaheylu trailing down his back. The other had his hair volumed and cut in a fuzzy box.

In all honesty, the second one kind of looked ridiculous.

I pretended to study the sand beneath my toes so no one would see my smile. Neteyam noticed and bit his lip to hide his smile, trying to maintain a stoic expression. Ralu was too busy studying their hair to notice anything else. I wondered if he wanted to try hairstyles similar to theirs.

We did the 'I see you' sign, which wasn't returned by anyone.

Behind Ralu and I, Kiri clutched a woven blanket around her shoulders, looking more than ready to leave here and go home.

Unfortunately, I realized, we technically didn't have a home anymore. We left the forest, and this water clan certainly wasn't home.

I saw the second boy's eyes linger a second too long on Kiri, and I hissed softly.

"Easy, just be cool," Jake murmured, putting a calming hand on my shoulder.

I took a deep breath, but my eyes never left the second boy's.