The Stars in Your Skin

INTERLUDE FIVE

After the wounded are tended, they salvage what they can from the village and pack up their belongings. Soon the area is teeming with luggage laden ikran. Neteyam picks his way through the crowd, the din of ikran and Omatikaya a welcome sound to the unnatural quiet of the forest during his shift.

His father tasks him, along with several others, with searching the perimeter. He's almost done searching his section when he finds Naawri. She stands near the treeline just shy of the shoulder of the canyon overlooking what was once nothing but green as far as the eye could see.

He slides down the hill and approaches her, stopping to give her space. "It's not safe here," he says softly. Her tail is curled around a leg, her arms folded in a self-hug. "Nawri?" He calls, hesitant to step forward.

"There used to be so much life here. And they just destroyed it without any care." The tremor in her voice is heart wrenching.

He can't stand it. He closes the gap between them, standing next to her. Her gaze remains forward.

"What kind of people kill so senselessly? Do they not have hearts?"

He tears his eyes away from the destruction to regard her. "Mother and Grandma says it's because they cannot See."

She only nods and wipes her cheeks. She's crying.

He steps in front of her to block the view. "Hey," he starts, but she cuts him off.

"I'm fine." She downcasts her eyes, wiping almost angrily at the tears leaking down her cheeks. "I'm fi-" Her voice breaks and dies, causing her brow to furrow.

The sight of her tears sends anger tempered sadness fissuring through his heart. He uses a finger to gently lift her chin. "It's me Nawri. You don't have to be tough."

She opens her mouth as if to speak.

He locks his eyes with hers and puts a hand on her shoulders. "You don't have to be tough," he repeats, sifting as much reassurance as he can in his voice.

Her expression crumbles and a broken sob escapes her.

He pulls her into his arms. "Don't worry I've got you."

Naawri lets go and allows herself the freedom to cry. She weeps for the loss of life, for the scar forced upon Eywa'eveng, for the sorrow of war that had once again come upon The People. And the whole time, he holds her in his arms, steady as a rock.

Neteyam can hardly bear it. She trembles in his arms a testament to how deeply the disaster affected her. He holds her until she goes still and her breathing finally evens out. His gaze locks with hers when she lifts her head. He raises a hand to cup her cheek, using his thumb to wipe her tear-stained cheeks.

She moves, stepping out of arm's reach. The movement nearly hurts and he drops his hand. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

She opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted. "Nawri."

He glances up. It's Rayka.

Naawri pauses as if she wants to tell him something but a deep melancholy passes over her face. Instead she gives him a quiet word of gratitude punctuated by a wan smile before turning to leave.

Rayka approaches once Naawri has disappeared beyond the hill.

Neteyam tenses at her approach, standing to his full height and squares his shoulders.

She stops in front of him, confident and proud. She surveys him from head to toe before speaking: "You saved my sisters' lives. For that I am eternally grateful. Losing them would have been..." He sees her swallow. "Unbearable. So, thank you Neteyam."

He flashes a lopsided smile. "No thanks is necessary."

She gives him a hint of a smile back before turning to leave. He tags along, his thoughts on what he and Naawri had just shared.

A.N.:
Shout out to any reading or voting for this fic. I hope you're enjoying it. See you in the next chapter!