𝗜 𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 | 𝘛𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘺𝘢

{𝟭7}

Zeti sat next to his family hut, legs dangling over the edge. His hair had grown longer since Eywa brought him back from the dead, but the white streaks had spread more, making half his hair white, just spreading. He kept trying to ignore it, but he knew Tsireya had already noticed.

"Your hair is getting whiter," she said from behind him, a teasing smile on her face. She crouched down and reached for the longer white strands. "I mean... look at this. Soon you'll be the first Navi to have white hair."

Zeti rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped him. "It's not that bad. It's just... different."

Tsireya shook her head. "Different is fine. But messy different? I don't know if I can handle that." She reached for the first loose strand, twisting it gently between her fingers.

"Wait, don't pull too hard!" Zeti warned, wincing as she tugged lightly.

"I'm not going to pull!" she said, still laughing. "Just... let me do this. I promise it'll be fine."

He hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. But if my mom looks at me weird, I'm blaming you."

"Deal," she said, grinning.

She started braiding, carefully separating the sections. Her hands moved slowly, not because she was clumsy, but because she wanted to take her time. She'd always liked working with her hands, and she liked working with his hair even more. Every once in a while, she would pause and brush a stray lock behind his ear or smooth down a knot.

"You know," she said, half teasing, "if your hair gets any whiter, the people are going to start thinking you're some kind of spirit or something."

"I'm already part spirit, remember?" Zeti muttered, glancing down at the water. "Half of me is me and the other half is something else."

Tsireya frowned. "Well, I happen to care about all of you. No matter if the other half is different, you're alive. That's what matters."

He smiled softly, gazing at the water. They sat in silence for a while, the only sounds the gentle lapping of waves and the quiet rustle of hair in her hands. Zeti leaned back slightly as she braided the long streaks of white, her fingers warm and careful. Calm washed over him, a peace he hadn't felt in years—long before the war, before the humans, before his death... before everything.

"You're quiet," Tsireya said softly, pausing her braid to look at him. "Are you thinking too much again?"

Zeti closed his eyes. "Maybe. Just... thinking about how lucky I am that Eywa saved me."

"I am too. I don't know where I would be right now if she didn't." Tsireya said." I don't know what I would do without you."

He opened his eyes and looked at her. The way her eyes caught the last bits of sunlight, the way she smiled when she was serious and when she teased him... it made his chest feel full. "I don't deserve you," he said quietly.

"You don't get to say that," she said firmly, but there was a soft laugh under her words. "You just... sit there and let me braid your hair. That's enough for me."

He laughed too, a little breathless. "This is humiliating."

"I call it adorable," she said. "Also, you need to sit still or I'll redo the braid a hundred times."

Zeti groaned dramatically but didn't move. He trusted her. He always did.

After a few more minutes, she finished the braid and ran her fingers lightly down the strands, smoothing them. "There," she said proudly. "Now you look like a proper Metkayina warrior."