Thanatophobia | Ao'nung

⋆˚✿˖°ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟘⋆˚✿˖°

"Come on, Kiri," Ni'la whined for the fifth time that morning.

She had been trying to get her sister out of the pod for days, but Kiri still wouldn't budge. No matter how hard Ni'la tried to convince her sister to get some air, she would always refuse, not even leaving the pod to get some dinner.

Ever since Kiri had a seizure, her entire demeanor had changed, and no one could figure out why she was acting so reserved. Of course, the teen had never been particularly extroverted, but she would at least leave the pod to go to training or attend dinner. Her behavior caused everyone's concern to grow, and Jake and Neytiri decided that if Ni'la couldn't get her out of the pod within the next couple of days, then they were going to have to force her out.

It's not like they wanted to force Kiri out against their will, but they didn't know what else to do.

She wouldn't talk to anyone.

She was barely eating.

They were lucky if they even got her to look at them.

However, when Tuk came barreling in, both girls' heads snapped up in the youngest child's direction. "Kiri! Ni'la! Come look!" The young girl grabbed both of her sister's hands, but Kiri shook her head. "Tuk, leave me alone," Kiri grumbled, but Tuk ignored her sister's words and dragged her out of the pod.

As they stepped out of the pod, a horn made its way into their eardrums, and they saw the cheering and laughter of Metkayina people all around them. "Everybody! The tulkun have returned! Our brothers and sisters are home!" Tsireya yelled, and that's all Ni'la needed to hear before calling an ilu and diving into the water.

All the excitement around her was thrilling and overwhelming at the same time, but it seemed to calm when she made her way underwater. Metkayina people, and the animals of the sea all interacted with each other in beautiful harmony, and it made Ni'la's heart leap for joy.

The girl had never seen something so beautiful in her life.

After a couple of minutes, she resurfaced, only to see a tulkun burst out of the water before the animal came crashing down. Ni'la's lips stretched into the biggest smile as she heard laughter all around her, but when she heard someone calling her name, her smile slightly faltered.

"Ni'la!" A voice yelled.

When Ni'la turned around, she saw Ao'nung making his way toward her on an ilu, and a ball of anxiety started to form in the pit of her stomach. Even though there was a smile on his face, she hadn't seen him for a couple of days because her father had grounded her. And while Ni'la didn't know if Ao'nung faced the same fate as her, she wasn't particularly fond of the idea of being around Ao'nung.

Jake had not been happy with her in the slightest, and the last thing she needed was him going all macho man on Ao'nung. If Jake followed through on wanting to talk with Ao'nung, Ni'la would never show her face to the boy again because she would die from embarrassment.

She honestly didn't see the big deal with her accidentally spending the night with Ao'nung.

Because that's all it was.

An accident.

Neither of them had planned that, and it's not like they did anything they shouldn't have. They didn't hurt each other, and they certainly didn't kiss each other. Ni'la felt her cheeks heat up, and the tips of her ears go warm at the thought of kissing Ao'nung.

I wonder what it would feel like. She thought to herself before shaking the thought away as she saw that Ao'nung wasn't that far away from her.

"Hey, Ao'nung," Ni'la said, clearing her throat as Ao'nung's smile slowly turned into a frown.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and Ni'la furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.