#fragilestrenth

[lithesunflower]

🕷️Spider Aesthetic🕷️

[lithesunflower]

Fragile Strength Part 11

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6 Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10

Author’s Note:  This is from Anya’s POV. I am honestly not sure how I feel about this chapter...I may take it back down if I change my mind about it but I wanted to kinda explore some of Anya’s thoughts. Please feel free to let me know what you think and if you would be interested in seeing more from her POV. Any feedback is so appreciated! I really enjoy hearing what you guys think about this story.

Anya

His breathing was calm, even, in and out. His chest rose and fell slowly and his heartbeat was gentle, rhythmic against her fingers.

Anya had been awake when Spider was asleep before but this was different. Now, curled up in the bed beside him, his face no longer covered by the mask he usually wore, he looked so much more peaceful. 

Anya felt a twinge of guilt as she wondered if he had been sleeping outside so much because of her. Her fingers gently traced the lines on his face from where his mask sat blocking the sun from his skin. Her heart ached for him. What had he endured that he had been so deeply troubled in the woods? 

They had discussed some things but Anya had never pushed Spider to tell her anything about his life before he found her. She was able to sense the tension between Spider and some of the other clan members, particularly with the Sully family, but she had always aimed to be a calm for him not to bring attention things that troubled him. Now, she wondered if she had failed him by not asking about the pain he had endured. 

Looking at his hands she had wrapped up made tears form in her emerald eyes. She wanted to take the pain from him, relieve him of the anger that had sent him into the frenzy he had been in. 

Watching over him in the moonlight her eyes caught the scar on his chest. She had noticed it before and her fingers had traced it gently. Spider had never offered an explanation on what had happened but he had grabbed and held her hand close over the scar before, almost desperately. What secrets did this boy hold? 

Kiri and Anya had looked at books for awhile that morning until Tuk begged Kiri to go with her and the others into the reef. Kiri had invited Anya to come and at least wade in the shallow water with them, no one knew Anya had been learning to swim with Spider yet. But Anya had yawned and insisted she really did just want to rest. 

Norm had found her in the early afternoon, telling her he was searching for Spider. The second Norm asked where Spider was Anya’s heart sank to her stomach. She knew instantly that the boy had forgotten his extra pack and she wondered if he had remembered to check the status of his current one. 

Norm had assured her that Spider was likely fine and wouldn’t go far but something felt wrong to Anya, As much as she tried to take Norm’s words to heart something kept telling her to go after Spider. 

She had never ventured into the forest alone, not since Spider had found her, not even before he had found her, she wasn't allowed. But she felt an intense pull towards the trails she had wandered with the boy for the past few months. 

At first she had been uncertain where to go but as she surveyed the ground she found the marks of the human boy led her easily. Spider was a wonderful quiet hiker but he hadn’t been trying to hide himself that day. Beyond that, Anya had tethered herself to him so well by this point she knew things to look for no one else would. 

Finding him was almost as easy as if she had had a map straight to him. But as she got closer she heard his screams, his yells, and she knew they were sounds of anguish and pain. 

She quickened her pace and came upon him sinking to the ground in tears. She would never forget that, the way the boy who had been so strong for her, so resilient, just seemed to crumble under an internal pressure she could not see. It didn’t take her long to slide into the clearing and carefully wrap her arms around him. She felt the tension in his body evaporate as he recognized her. Her heart shattered when he turned in her arms and began to sob against her neck. 

What had hurt him so badly? What internal demons was he fighting? She cried with him, letting her tears mingle with his as she placed soft kisses against his forehead. She wanted to comfort him, to take it all from him, her body trying to protect him in any way she knew how. 

Eventually, she had just let him sleep, watching over him in the forest until the oncoming darkness was too close to ignore. She woke him and led him home, bandaging him as best she could. 

Curled up in the science lab she hummed softly to him, her fingers playing with locks of his hair where beads had been threaded in. Her connection to him was something she hadn’t been able to explain, even to herself. He had saved her multiple times in the short time they had known each other. He had become her best friend, someone who she could just be herself with, without judgement. She still caught him watching her sometimes, almost as if he were puzzled or in awe of her but she didn’t know why. 

What she did know, without a doubt, was that she had to find a way to help him. The outside world had always been so harsh and deadly to her, she had grown up being sheltered from so much of it. But for Spider it wasn't the outside world that was the biggest threat. He could run and fight right along side the Na’vi, Anya had seen it. It was Spider’s own heart and mind, his own internal struggle that was eating away at him and Anya was determined to find a way to protect him. 

Part 12

[lithesunflower]

Fragile Strength Part 6

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5

Over the following days Anya got stronger and stronger. Sometimes Spider thought she was eating breakfast faster than him in her excitement to go outside. He loved watching someone else find his world as exciting as he did. 

They started going deeper into the forest, finding little hide outs and clearings that no one else knew about. It was fun having a secret that only the two of them shared. 

As they climbed through the forest they sometimes talked about growing up on Pandora, their experiences were so opposite they were almost always surprising each other in one way or another. But sometimes they didn’t talk, sometimes they just walked and enjoyed the world together side by side.

Growing up Spider had often felt the need to fill the silence when he was with his Na’vi siblings. It was almost like when they were silent he wondered if there was something he was missing, like a silent conversation only the Na’vi were aware of. He felt he needed to prove he was supposed to be there with them by keeping them entertained. 

He didn’t feel that way with Anya. Half the time he didn’t even notice they weren't talking, it was like they had a language of their own. Anya could reach out to touch something and Spider would move to bend whatever it was so she could reach it easier, or Anya’s eyes would light up and he would know that she had found some new creature that was exciting her. As they walked through the forest he would kick obstacles out of the way, reach a hand out to steady her or pull her up. It was like they just knew each other and worked in sync to explore the world. 

Often they would walk until nearly midday then find a clearing and lay down to look up at the sky. They would make pictures out of the clouds or sometimes even fall asleep to the sound of the wind in the trees. Those were the times that they usually ended up talking about their pasts and sharing their secrets. 

One day Spider couldn’t help his curiosity anymore 

“Anya...I know you said that it was a long story but...will you tell me how you can breathe without a mask?” he asked turning on his side to look at her. 

She opened her eyes having been listening to the trees above them. She tilted her head a bit

 “Oh...well...I suppose it isn’t so much a long story as I don’t know all the facts.” she said. “I didn’t exactly grow up with humans around so the only way I know anything about myself is from what the clan told me when I asked. They say they found me crying in the forest and took me in. I think I was left to die because...well everyone left and you can’t take babies you know?” she shrugged slightly. 

Spider nodded though his brow had furrowed a little trying to figure out how someone could just leave her. He knew he had been left but Anya...she was so special and delicate how could anyone just leave her?

“I’m only guessing but...I kinda wonder if they left me outside...maybe to...die” she said softly almost like it hurt her to think about. “My guess is I was just young enough that my lungs sort of adapted...I read in a book once that really young babies still know how to hold their breath and turn themselves onto their backs in the water, and that some languages can only be learned if you hear them from a really young age...I guess I sort of thought maybe that’s what happened to me. My lungs were still developing so they just adapted” she explained. 

Spider thought about that a bit and nodded ‘I guess that would make sense...though you shouldn’t have been left like that” he said looking a bit more angry than he meant to. “I wish I could breathe without this thing but...they say if I take it off I’ll suffocate in like ten seconds” 

Anya propped herself up then looking almost panicked “What if you run out of air?” she asked looking at the exopack he had with him. She hadn’t really asked him about it much but she had seen him checking it from time to time. Now she felt a sort of fear settling in her chest at the thought of how far out they were in the forest. 

Spider shook his head “Don’t worry...I have an extra one and I’ve been doing this since I was little, I know not to push it” he said. 

The girl still looked worried, her green eyes had grown wide and glossy with tears at just the thought of them being too far away to get help. Spider noticed and reached out for her, taking her hand.

“Hey...I promise I’m okay...I’m used to it...don’t worry” he pleaded with her. Eventually she seemed to calm down a little and leaned back into the grass though she didn’t let go of him. 

“Maybe we could teach your lungs...” she said softly. “Close to home though...in case something went wrong...” she contemplated. “Maybe you just can’t breathe it because you haven’t practiced” she said. 

Spider thought about it and a part of him wondered if they could try to teach his lungs to breath Pandora’s air. He would have to talk to Norm and Max and see if they knew anything about it, but Spider also knew he was different he had been part of Pandora for a long time...maybe he was strong enough to learn to breathe her air. 

Anya glanced at the sky and stood up slowly her blonde hair gracefully falling across her shoulders and down her back with little bits of grass in it. Spider watched her with a smile, she was learning to know when they had to head home, and she was getting so much stronger with each day. He was glad she enjoyed coming out here with him. 

“You know what I need to learn?” she asked spider as she turned to him picking pieces of grass out of her hair. “I need to learn to swim...” 

Spider grinned “Well I guess we know what we are doing tomorrow!” he said. But Anya shook her head 

“What about tonight...” she grinned mischievously. Spider was a little surprised, normally he was the mischievous one but she had been hanging around him quite a bit. 

“Tonight sounds like a lot of fun” he said jumping up to start the trek home. 

Part 7

[lithesunflower]

Master List Fragile Strength

Here is the master list so if you are looking for a particular chapter of Fragile strength you can find it right away! 

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

[lithesunflower]

✨Anya Aesthetic ✨