Not a Soldier Yet |Ao'nung x Neteyam|

34. Pods in the Ocean

Neteyam returned home that morning only to be greeted with the knowing looks of his family. Except for Tuk. She was blissfully unaware of the embarrassment her oldest brother was feeling as their father eyed the bruise on his neck. Ao'nung stepped inside his home for a moment to greet his family, but hurried away when he saw Jake eyeing him as if he were a target ready to be shot at. Neteyam rolled his eyes at his father's behaviour, before walking in and putting his pouch down on his sleeping mat.

"How did it go?" Jake asked, shoulders tense. He was not looking Neteyam in the eyes as his son turned to face him, opting to stare at a spot behind his son's head. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Neteyam cleared his throat and brushed his hair over the hickey adorning the soft, striped skin of his neck. "I'm fine."

"That's good."

"Yeah," Neteyam sighed, scratching the back of his neck. He sent a pleading look to Lo'ak, but his brother was only smirking at him, leaning against the wall looking absolutely pleased with himself. Neteyam did not know why. He did not care.

"Listen, son," Jake cleared his throat. He tried to say something, only opening, and closing his mouth before finally breathing out. "Let's go for a walk."

Neteyam heard Lo'ak sniggering with Kiri as his father grabbed him by the upper arm, leading him outside. The young na'vi sighed softly, touching the necklace Ao'nung gave him, unaware of his father's watchful gaze. Jake was silent as they walked along the bouncy paths between the homes until they reached the sandy beach.
Neteyam paused his steps and pursed his lips. "Dad, please just ask me what you want to know."

Jake stopped in his tracks and turned to face his oldest son. He visibly cringed. "I just wanted to know if you're okay."

"That's not why we're going on a walk, dad," Neteyam mumbled, slightly annoyed. His hips still throbbed slightly from the night's activities and there was nothing more he wanted to do than go home and lie down on his sleeping mat comfortably.

His father cleared his throat again and Neteyam was beginning to wonder if he caught a cold or was genuinely this embarrassed about this conversation. Neteyam did not know what he wanted to ask him, so he could not help his father. He waited patiently, watching the nearby Metcayina children playing around in ankle-deep water, splashing about, and giggling loudly. Neteyam noticed a proud father watching them, gesturing to the small children and talking to another male, likely his brother.

"Did you make the bond?" Jake uttered finally.
Neteyam blinked, numb. "This is all you wanted to know? I thought it was obvious."
"Okay," Jake nodded. "So, you did?"
Neteyam could not help himself; he huffed out an amused laugh, some of his embarrassment melting away. "We are mated before Eywa, dad."

Jake's mouth parted slightly, an unreadable expression on his face before he nodded and patted Neteyam's shoulder lightly, unaware of the bite-mark there and drawing a surprised hiss from his son, who pulled away and placed his hand over the sore spot hurriedly to make sure his father could not see it. Jake's eyebrows shot up before he raised his arms in surrender.
"I don't want to know."

Neteyam, face flushing, nodded. "No, you don't."

They spent some more time walking around, talking about boyish things. Neteyam told his father that Ao'nung was likely getting his first tattoo right at the moment. Jake asked if Neteyam wanted any as well, but Neteyam shook his head and explained that he wanted to stay closer to his own culture and not forget it completely.

Neteyam slipped away from his father later in the day, swimming away into the deep waters and sinking to the bottom of the ocean floor. He felt restless, like something bad was going to happen soon, but not knowing what it was. He slowed his heartbeat and let the water push him around gently for a moment before he back swimming around, training his ability to hold his breath further. He no longer struggled with swimming; it came as naturally as jumping through trees had once been. His heart panged, tears blurring his vision. Neteyam missed his home - the hole in his heart would never truly heal, no matter how many more beads his life added to his song cord.

The na'vi's lungs burned; he kicked away from the ocean floor to reach the surface, but something knocked into him from the back, sending him shooting forward, swallowing water as he went. He trashed around in panic, noticing that it had not been a creature, but a man in an oval shaped machine.
The current had taken Neteyam beyond the reef without him noticing.

Strange, robotic arms reached for him, but he swam out of the way and hid behind a large leaved plant, hindering the human in his attempts to reach Neteyam. He called for his ilu, praying to Eywa that his calls reached the small creature before he realized his mistake. Neteyam had all but forgotten about the tsurak he had tamed just the day before. He swam to the surface and called out his beast. The na'vi saw a large ship heading towards him, emitting steam. He hurried back underwater; an explosion shook the waters, disorienting him enough that a net captured him. Neteyam reached for his knife as he was being lifted out of the water. He tore at the net with his blade, slipping out head first. He almost reached the water, but his ankle got tangled, keeping him captured. His time had run out; Neteyam could not pull himself back up to cut himself free, he growled, swinging around as he neared the ship.

Neteyam found himself lying with his back lying on cool, wet steel, with a gun pointed at his face, his tsurak crying in despair from the stormy waters. He called out for the beast to leave, not wanting it to die so soon.