I kissed death-he kissed me back.

"Ke'leha?" Ke'leha's breath hitched. For a moment, the rage between them seemed to vanish, replaced by the ghosts of two children. She looked up at him, her gaze finally focusing past her rage. She saw the way his eyes, those glowing embers, searched hers with a desperate, familiar kindness. She tilted her head to the side. "Neteyam?" she whispered, the name sounding foreign and heavy on her tongue. His grip loosened completely, his weight standing from her body. "You're... You're alive?" Ke'leha stood right after, her hand clutching her side. "Why do you have to ruin everything?" she hissed, leaning back against a rock to catch her breath. Neteyam looked at her, to the burn marks that were now visible beneath the smudged paint, to the way her shoulder bled from his arrow, to her face that he couldn't recognise. "You're alive." he stated again, grabbing his broken bow and sitting down on his heels on another rock. The silence that followed was heavier than the humid air of the ravine. ~~~ Ashes and Absence' takes place in the world of Avatar, but diverges from the canon storyline. While it borrows elements from the original setting, it follows its own path and focuses primarily on the journey of the Original Character (Ke'leha). Notes: This story explores an enemies-to-lovers dynamic between the two characters presented. Canon characters are portrayed with minor to major deviations. Content Warning: This fic is intended for mature audiences and may contain gore, smut, depictions of war, and other sensitive themes. Specific trigger warnings (TW) will be provided at the beginning of each relevant chapter, or scene. ⏾ Art Credit: The artwork used for this story's cover belongs entirely to its original artist. All rights are reserved by them. Please do not use, repost, or edit the artwork without the artist's explicit permission. Artist: @anna4uxa on Tiktok.

Chased through the skies by Mangkwan raiders, Nireya is shot down and falls broken into the hidden lands of the Txampay'itan, the People of the Mist. She survives the fall. When she wakes beneath skies that never clear, her memories are gone, scattered like fog through the forest. No memory of the battle. No memory of where she came from. No memory of the life she once lived. All that remains is her name... and the unsettling realization that the Na'vi who found her has taken her fate into his own hands. But the People of the Mist do not welcome outsiders, especially those who bring enemies to their borders. To them, Nireya is not ally. Nor kin. She is simply unknown. And unknown means danger. The mist has taken her past. The Mangkwan have taken her home. Yet the Mist Veil has never held a warrior like Nireya. And To'ryn, the Olo'eyktan's younger brother, has never risked his place among his people for anyone. Especially not the strange Na'vi who fell from his sky.

For a long moment, he didn't respond. The glow of the valley reflected in his eyes, giving them a molten intensity I couldn't read. Then he leaned slightly closer, just enough that his breath brushed my cheek. "You... are testing me," he said, voice low, a growl threading his words. "And I... I cannot let you go. Not now." The words, the proximity, the weight of him against the glow of the valley... it made my heart hammer and my chest ache all at once. I could feel the restraint still there, barely holding back, but the tension was palpable. "Good," I whispered, voice husky, trying to keep my own control. "Because I'm not going to make it easy for you either."

"Words, Ka'riya," he said quietly. "I need words." My throat worked before sound followed. Heat crept up my neck, settling in my cheeks, and I looked away despite myself. "Yes," I said. "I am sure."

𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙧, 𝙋𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙖 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙊𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧, 𝙕𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙞𝙠𝙖 - 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 - 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚. 𝘼𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙣'𝙨 𝙊𝙡𝙤'𝙚𝙮𝙠𝙩𝙖𝙣, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙎𝙤'𝙡𝙚𝙠 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙. 𝘽𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙧, 𝙙𝙪𝙩𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚. Cover art by yararts on Tumblr. I only own my OC, OC clan, and their storyline.

Avatar : Fire and Ash! When Pri'ya Sully and her family are caught in the mangkwan raiders' ambush, she never expected to come face-to-face with the most despicable individual to ever grace the soil of Pandora. Or Toruk Makto's eldest daughter and Varang's younger brother stood on opposing sides of the war, and yet, their lives proved far more tangled than either of them could have foreseen. • mangkwan!male!oc x sully!female!oc •set during the events of Avatar : fire and Ash •All credits go to James Cameron, save for my oc and plotline. •do NOT plagiarise my work, please and thank you. #1 Avatar the way of water 2026 / 02 / 05 #1 Pandora 2026 / 02 / 05 #1 Avatar 2026 / 02 / 17

"I'll ruin you." He stepped closer, letting the blade press deeper. "Then ruin me."

ᴘᴀɪɴ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛꜱ ᴜꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴡʜʏ ᴡᴇ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ, ꜱᴏ ᴡᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ꜰᴏʀɢᴇᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴅɪᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴜꜱ. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ʟᴏꜱᴛ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ. - JAKE SULLY : 𝙄𝙉 𝙒𝙃𝙄𝘾𝙃 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗻𝗮'𝘃𝗶 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲 : started - 30/11/2024 : ended - tba