Ashes and Absence ~ Neteyam Sully

"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.

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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.