The Breath of Water | Neteyam

72 • Out in the Open Pt. II

A/N: I fixed the first word of the festival to Ftxozää because I learned this was grammatically more accurate :D

•-•-•

New day, new focus. Taronsäwem was a thing completed, meaning all phases of the Hunt had concluded. And so now the new thing people looked forward to was...

Ftxozää Aytulkun Atätxaw.

To prepare for this upcoming festival (which was now only about a week away), families decorated their homes with seasonal flowers and other decorative items. Some hung strings made of different colored plants outside the doors of their pods to signify the different bonds they shared with Pandora, and some held plays and reenactments of major events of this cycle's Hunt, for there were a lot of memorable feats.

"Neytiri~!"

"Kinat...!"

The two women laughed as Kinat brought in her basket of decorations. She decided to help out the Sullys with dressing up their home, since all of this was new to them. Tuk had asked Jake to go out with her to one of the plays while Kiri, Neteyam, and Lo'ak were barely waking up.

"Your children are going to miss all the fun stuff!" Kinat popped, setting her basket down.

"A bunch of sleepyheads...oì! Get up right now or you will be helping us decorate this entire Marui!" Neytiri hissed, tapping each one of them. They shifted around, groaning, but Neteyam was the first to get up.

"Morning...nyah...Mom," he said, yawning midway through. He stood up and grabbed one of the food wraps, leaving. But his mom caught him before he could go. "...Ahh, what is it? I have to go—"

"—Where are you headed in such a hurry?" Neytiri asked him, holding his tail.

"Liya and I have a couple's thingy to attend to...and I am kind of late..." he explained, muttering the last part. "...I really got to go, Mom...!"

"Alright, do not do anything out of character, understand?"

"Yes, yes, I'll see you later! Love you!" he said, and with that he rushed out the door. Neytiri shook her head as her friend giggled.

"I still cannot believe it; your son and the tsakarem...promised to each other..."

"...I have a hard time processing it all myself...children! You have five seconds! Five—"

"—gah, I'm up!" Lo'ak shouted, shooting right out of his hammock, but he ended up hitting his injured leg on a nearby pole. "Ow! Ow, ow, ow!"

"Ugh, you are so noisy, Lo'ak..." Kiri mumbled as she turned in her hammock.

"Is your leg alright?" Kinat asked, then began to dig in her basket. She pulled out a soft, circular bun that was a muddy green. "Here, this is a tsyosy'umtsa (medicinal bun) my daughter made...she has a knack for these things, ha...it should help with your recovery, they helped my mate when he got stung."

"Oh, uh..." the boy grabbed the food item cautiously, a bit taken aback at this woman's random generosity. "...Thanks."

"Of course!"

He held the doughy bun in his hands, slightly squeezing it to get a feel of its texture. Then he gave it a little sniff, wanting to get an idea of what it would taste like.

"Kiri, I see you're still lying down. Time is up, you are helping us." Neytiri stated as she grabbed a flower from Kinat's basket.

"Wha-what? Wait, no—!"