Thanatophobia | Ao'nung

⋆˚✿˖°ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟛𝟙⋆˚✿˖°

Ni'la's body stilled as people raced all around her.

Two tulkun had been found dead. A mother and her calf. One of the warriors had come across them, and once he realized what had happened, he immediately rushed back to the village to inform the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan.

People were calling for ilus, ushering their children to head back inside their homes, and holding their breath as they prayed that it hadn't been their sister and her baby who had been brutally murdered. Ni'la knew she had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she thought she was being paranoid. She thought her conversation with Ao'nung had put her on edge.

But the girl had always been intuitive. She and Kiri had always had a connection to the Great Mother, and up until recently, Ni'la had always thought her sisters were stronger. It wasn't until Eywa gifted her the ability to heal people that she realized her connection was just as strong as her sisters.

As her thoughts continued to race, she continuously wondered which tulkun could have died, and how the Sky people could be so cruel. Of course, she wasn't inexperienced in the brutality of the Sky people, but she thought they at least had some morals.

It wasn't just an adult tulkun, it was also a baby tulkun. Now, Ni'la wasn't saying that the adult tulkun wasn't important, but to kill a living being that barely had the chance to live, reached a whole other level of low in her book.

As she watched people move with a purpose, she was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts as a small hand grabbed onto hers. "Mom and Dad said to go to the Olo'eyktan's pod," She informed, and the older girl nodded as she allowed her sister to pull her through the crowd. No matter how many people ran towards the sea, it still seemed like the amount of people was never-ending.

However, the closer they got to the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan's pod, the fewer people they had to force themselves through, and once they stumbled into the pod, everyone looked at them.

"Where have you been?" Neteyam asked, worry written all over his features. Ni'la looked up at her older brother as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I was over by our pod," She said.

"Didn't you see all of us walking away from the crowd?" He questioned, causing the girl to shake her head.

"Dad says we have to stay here until he comes back," Lo'ak grumbled as he looked outside the pod.

For the past few days, training had been canceled due to the poor weather, and Lo'ak had been growing restless because there wasn't much they could do. They were allowed to go swimming, but because of how cold the water was, none of the Omatikaya children had been willing to swim.

It got boring constantly making necklaces, bracelets, or baskets.

Ni'la sighed as she went to sit between Tsireya and Ao'nung, who seemed extremely tense, causing the girl to shoot a look at Lo'ak. He, as usual, wasn't paying attention, but when Neteyam saw that she wanted their brother's attention, he tapped Lo'ak on the shoulder.

The youngest Sully boy looked at his brother, only to turn to his sister when Neteyam pointed in her direction. Ni'la moved her head towards Tsireya, indicating that he needed to comfort the girl he liked because she was rightfully distraught with everything happening. But Lo'ak had never been one to catch on when someone suggested he do something, so Neteyam leaned over and whispered in his ear.

After Neteyam whispered in Lo'ak's ear, the boy's eyes slightly widened in understanding.

He immediately grabbed Tsireya and moved closer to her so that he could comfort her. Soon, Rotxo also came into the Mauri pod, and to everyone's surprise, he also brought Emeryn with him.