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liliesonpandora · 1 year

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Thankful for Tsireya

Plot: Jake expresses his appreciation to Tsireya for staying with Neteyam and wholeheartedly accepting his children.

It had only been a short while since the battle with the demon ship and the burial of Neteyam. Ronal and Tonowari were on high alert, should there be another attack. There were meetings almost every other day, preparing for the worst possibilities.

Although the Sully’s were still in mourning, Jake and Neytiri did not stop their duties. They put everything they had into assisting the Olo’eyktan and Tsahik with leadership. For this was a situation they had yet to face, they needed all the knowledge and expertise on the sky people that they could get.

The kids were doing better it seemed. Tuk had regained some of her innocent adventure and laughter as time went on. Kiri had a way with acceptance, and she understood that her older brother was safe with the great mother.

But Lo’ak… he was grieving the hardest out of all the kids. He had so much sadness and guilt… it seemed to consume him. He isolated himself and tried to help the adults as much as possible. Maybe to make himself useful and regain some control. Or maybe to keep himself from feeling the pain.

Tsireya had walked over to the Sully marui to meet up with him. He was beginning to open up to her again, and she wanted to spend some time being there for him in whatever way he needed her.

They would go to their secret cove, a place only the two of them knew about. They used to practice diving there, and they also shared many secrets with each other. It was just for them… something Lo’ak treasured since he was used to sharing everything with his siblings.

Lo’ak saw Tsireya come around the corner and his eyes lit up at the sight of her. He didn’t realize how much he missed her. When she approached, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She did the same.

“I’m happy to see you,” she said to him.

“I’m so glad you came, I’m sorry I’ve been distant. Please forgive me.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s been so hard for you. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Lo’ak released her and smiled. He took her hand in his and they began to walk towards the ilu station. Just then, Tsireya felt a hand on her shoulder, which prompted her to stop walking. She turned to see that it was Jake’s hand.

“Honey, can I have a word with you?” He asked.

She was taken aback by this sudden request, unsure what it meant. She looked to Lo’ak and he seemed equally confused.

“Dad, what’s this about?” He asked his father.

“You’re not in trouble. It’ll just be a moment, I promise.” He assured her.

She released Lo’ak’s hand and nodded at Jake. “Of course, Toruk Makto. Lo’ak, I’ll meet you soon.”

Lo’ak looked at his father and hesitated before responding. “Okay,” he said before turning to leave. He was certain his father would be talking to Tsireya about him. What else could it be? Maybe he was trying to see how his son was coping? He would wait patiently for her to return and tell him all about it.

Jake and Tsireya walked back to the Sully marui. He got down on one knee so his face was level with hers.

She looked into his eyes and waited for him to speak, wondering what he could want with her. She had never spoken more than a few words to him at a time. From what she saw, he was a strong leader.

But Lo’ak often came to her when he was distressed over his father’s punishments and harsh words. As a result, Tsireya did not have the best view of Jake. Other than the war stories her parents shared, she had only what Lo’ak told her.

Jake took one of her hands in his and spoke. “I just want to thank you, Tsireya.”

She stared at him intently, wondering what she did to deserve this thanks.

Jake noticed her slight confusion, so he continued. “…for staying with my eldest son that day, while my wife and I went back to save my daughters. We appreciate that he was not left alone for all that time. But, that was more than any child your age should have to handle.”

“Neteyam was my friend, of course I’d protect him.” She placed her free hand on top of his to comfort him. “I’m so sorry that this happened. But he is with Eywa now, he won’t be lost.”

Jake shed a tear as he heard this, feeling all the emotions rise up. This young girl was comforting him… when someone should be comforting her. She had been through so much; captured alongside his children. She kept watch over his son’s lifeless body. Yet, she appeared so strong in front of him.

He was at a loss for words, just sorry he brought war to this village. Sorry that another child’s innocence was taken from them. He put his other hand on her cheek. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

She smiled lightly at him and lowered her eyes, now feeling nervous in front of him. She had seen only a few adults cry. And unfortunately, there had been much more these past few weeks than she had seen in her lifetime. While she knew Jake was hurting badly, she could not imagine the severity of the pain.

He continued to speak. “I also…”

Tsireya looked up at the sound of his voice.

“I appreciate how quickly you accepted my children. We left everything behind, everything they’ve known. It’s been incredibly hard on them, but you’ve made it easier. My daughters speak so fondly of you.”

Tsireya’s face brightened up. “They’ve become good friends. Kiri is so wise… she seems to have a special connection with the life here. I’ve learned a lot from her.”

“So, you noticed that too huh?” Jake said with a chuckle. “We’re still tryna figure that part out but yeah… she’s pretty special.”

“And Tuk is adorable. I’ve always wanted a little sister. I hope my mother gives birth to a baby girl.”

“I’ve seen you with my youngest… you’d be an amazing big sister.”

Tsireya grinned at him, her dimples on full display. She was overjoyed to get this compliment. Jake was happy that he could lift her mood.

“And Lo’ak… I know you two have become very close.”

She began to blush, her face becoming warm at the mention of him. Jake took notice of this and thought to himself, ‘young love.’ He knew they had feelings for each other, anyone with eyes could see that.

Of course his son would be bold enough to pursue the chief’s daughter. He hoped that their growing relationship would not stir up too much trouble. But he was glad that his son had a good friend.

“I’m glad he has you, you’re a good influence on him” Jake told her.

“I am glad to have him as well. Lo’ak sees goodness in others… he is free-spirited and open-minded. Thats what I like about him. He learned quickly despite not being from here.”

“I’m starting to see that I underestimate him. He is capable of a lot more than I give him credit for.”

Tsireya did not respond, but she knew in her heart that this was correct. She was respectful in front of elders and held her tongue when necessary… but that didn’t mean she wasn’t thinking it in her head.

“I don’t know if he told you… but he saved me back there,” said Jake.

“He didnt tell me. We havent spoke much about what’s happened… I think he wants to forget.”

Jake’s heart began to ache at the thought of this, but he continued to speak. “We were trapped in the sunken ship and I couldn’t find a way out. Lo’ak found me and told me about the way of water… taught me how to breathe and calm my heart. I wouldn’t have made it out without him.”

Tsireya let out a small gasp. She was so proud of him.

“He told me that you taught him all of that.”

“It was nothing… It is our way, we all learn this from very young.”

“Believe me, Lo’ak’s pretty hard-headed… it’s no small feat to teach him.”

Tsireya put a hand over her mouth and giggled at this. Jake smiled back at her, his heart being mended just a little at her joy.

“You were there for my kids, despite how different they are from you. You have a big heart, your parents should be so proud of you.”

Tsireya was so grateful to hear this. Her father had called her a disappointment the day he learned that she chose to support Lo’ak and Payakan’s bond. She had always done the “right” thing, never slipping up. But she was beginning to see that parents were not always right, sometimes they just did not understand.

“You are a great warrior and leader. That means a lot coming from you, Toruk Makto.”

“Nah honey, that was the past. We’re in your home now. I’m just Lo’ak’s dad.”

She chuckled and felt a bit more comfortable around him than she did before.

“Come on, I’ve kept you away longer than I promised to.” He moved to stand and she did the same.

“I appreciate you speaking with me, Tsireya. I cant thank your parents enough for what they are doing for us. And I felt it only necessary to thank you as well. If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask me. It’s the least I can do in return for what you’ve done for my kids.”

“Okay. Thank you… Lo’ak’s dad,” she said as she smiled at him and turned to make her way to the cove.

Jake chuckled and watched as she dived to her ilu, feeling comforted knowing that his son would be with her.

Hi just wanna say that Tsireya is a blessing and such a sweet character. This is me imagining that she will have a sweet relationship with her future father-in-law lol. But in all seriousness, she went through a lot being there for the Sullys and she is prob traumatized. She deserves appreciation!

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nyctophicbtch · 1 year

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Outsiders - Neteyam

[ Neteyam x Metkayina!reader ]

Summary: Despite your uninterests in getting to know the Omatikaya guests, you’d somehow managed to capture the attention of the eldest brother and Neteyam messed up by doing the one thing your brother told him not to. Plus Lo’ak being the captain of the ship.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2,033

Just as expected, there were no particular signs of interest your siblings found in you when Omatikayas showed up on the shore, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t curious upon their arrival.

“She will show up.” You faintly heard Rotxo quietly say to Ao’nung as you approached the commotion.

A glimpse of your father and mother speaking to an Olo'eyktan had you pushing through the crowd to get a better view. You could see your sister already examining the outsiders alongside your brother, being fairly kinder than he was.

“See,” remarked Rotxo as he spotted you making your way over to them.

Their banter over you was not uncommon. It never bothered you and you could care less with what they were whispering about now when you knew they had no ill intentions. Instead, you shifted your attention to the family standing before you and eyed each of them individually.

The littlest one was hiding behind her mother’s leg, the other girl looked exhausted and the younger boy had his eyes glancing at your sister too often to your annoyance.

You glanced at the eldest just as he did too, noticing you for the first time. The corners of his lips curved upwards to form a subtle smile in an attempt to seem friendly, which others might have missed but your brothers didn’t.

It wasn’t the smartest friendly attempt, considering how it only deepened the distaste of your brother into sneers and scowls.

“If he hasn’t already, he’s going to take interest in you,” whispered Ao’nung, though he didn’t seem pleased to know that. “You’re alluring. Stay away.”

“I won’t even do anything!”

“Exactly.”

“Shh,” interrupted Tsireya.

You shot a glare towards your brother in annoyance. He knew you wouldn’t even be interested in seeing them, let alone talking to them, yet somehow he was so sure that they’d approach you on their own

“They won’t even care, Ao’nung.” You had been so busy furiously thinking of arguments against your brother that the call of your name spooked you.

“They will teach you our ways,” your father said, earning immediate complaints from your brother whilst Tsireya obliged and wasted no time in leading the guests.

There was no doubt that your sister could handle them, and your siblings wouldn’t expect you to be interested in teaching them either. And they weren’t wrong. You’d prefer entertaining the kids running around the sand than guiding them.

“Where’s your other sister?” asked Kiri when she noticed your absence.

Neteyam hung back with Lo’ak as their parents busied themselves gazing at the village. The place still felt foreign to them, and even more so when they knew they’d be staying here.

“Doing something else. She’s not used to outsiders.” Tsireya did not stop to reply, the words coming off her tongue as if she had practiced it a thousand times.

Lo’ak raised his brows at the mention of another sister. He was too caught up fuming at Rotxo and Ao’nung to even notice you, but he doubted any of them were used to outsiders either.

“The quiet one.” Neteyam replied to his unspoken question. “The interesting one.”

“Go anywhere near her and we’ll tie you up with your baby tail.”

“Relax, she’s all yours.” Neteyam held his hands up in defense. He didn’t understand why they were getting so defensive over you although he barely even looked your way. Lo’ak was ogling at Tsireya and they didn’t seem too bothered.

Something was off about you, especially when you’d so rarely make yourself visible to any of them for days. He would’ve expected the daughter of the Olo'eyktan to be difficult to miss, especially when they all expected you to help teach them the Metkayina ways. And to be truthful, you just enjoyed doing your own thing that does not involve the outsiders.

“Father’s expecting all of us to join them.” Your annoyance was clearly visible. You weren’t even needed. They could handle this on their own without you, and your father knew that.

“Fine.”

You left them alone for two minutes and somehow they were already taunting each other when you came back. Your sister was called to help mother, much to your dismay, and you were putting back the saddles of the ilu.

“Lo’ak,” you heard Neteyam warn as you returned to the group behind Ao’nung, giving some distance.

When Lo’ak approached and flexed his fingers around, you knew what was coming before the punch actually landed on your brother’s face.

“Rotxo, stop!” you yelled, pulling him back by his hand. He shook you off easily, dismissing your warnings.

You looked to Neteyam who sighed, as if he’d witness this too many times. The older brother easily beat up Ao’nung and his friends in Lo’ak’s defense, scolding Lo’ak afterwards.

“Come on,” Ao’nung waited expectantly for you to follow them. He sensed your hesitance and saw the way your eyes roamed back and forth between them and the Omatikayas, and finally decided to leave without you.

“In my defense, you got to show off in front of her,” said Lo’ak groggily, nodding to you.

“Excuse my brother and his unrefined mouth.” Neteyam received a weak punch for that and the tiniest smile from you. He didn’t comprehend why, but Neteyam smiled at your amusement and from then, the annoyance you felt from having to teach them disappeared. Just slightly.

“Do I have to face dad?”

“Yes. Until then keep out of trouble. I mean it Lo’ak.”

It was safe to say Neteyam was impressed that his brother managed to not utter a single provoking word until he had to face their father.

“Hey.” Neteyam spun to the sound of your voice. It was nearly sundown and you were standing outside his room. “Sorry about my brother and his friends. I can still teach you how to control your breathing if you’d like.”

The mindful part of him knew he should go find his brother who hadn’t been visible for a long while, but the selfish part of him allowed his interests to take over. And this time, he allowed something for himself for once. Besides, Lo’ak should stay out of trouble after his last encounter with dad.

“Yeah. Sure.”

You nodded towards the shore and Neteyam jumped off his marui to follow you. It took great effort to avoid bumping into any of the children running around and splashing water.

“The secret to increasing your lungs’ limit is to slow your breathing and allow them to slowly adapt,” you said, pushing him back by the chest with both hands so that he sat down.

“Breathe from here.” You were only showing him parts of his chest and abdomen, but he couldn’t help the increasing pace of his heart as your hands felt around his chest. His eyes locked on your face the entire time in an attempt to focus on what you were saying, but the words that came out from your mouth sounded foreign to his brain.

“Your heart is beating really fast.” You frowned. “Slow down.”

Neteyam nodded, but when you felt his heart keep its frantic pace, you sighed and removed your hands from his chest.

“We’ll try this again tomorrow with my sister.”

Neteyam did the one thing Ao’nung told him not to do. He found himself coming up with excuses to see you and he was just about subtle enough that even Tuk noticed.

“I just made peace. This time I think you’re going to be the one to mess things up.”

“I’m not doing anything.” They both knew it was a lie and Neteyam was fully aware of that.

“Can you show the way to our marui? They all look the same,” Lo’ak mockingly mimicked the conversation he overheard between you and his brother yesterday. Lo’ak was basking in his enjoyment.

It was something unlikely of Neteyam and something expected of Lo’ak, which made the whole situation even more amusing to the younger brother.

“Ow.” Lo’ak swatted away the hand that hit him in the back of his head.

“You’re being annoying. Stop.”

“Stop being a wuss and make a move. It’s her birthday.” The look Neteyam gave was out of pure disbelief.

“I’m not you who falls in love with every pretty girl you see.”

“I do not do that.”

“Yes you do. Now go annoy someone else. I’m going to see if mom found our gift.” Neteyam pushed the weight of Lo’ak’s arm away from his shoulder, distancing himself before walking the other direction.

“Actually, you already gave her one.” The words from his brother’s mouth caused Neteyam to freeze in place and turn his head to look at him.

“What?”

“You gave her a pretty sea bouquet with a sweet little note.” If he could, Neteyam would tear the smug look off of his brother’s face.

“Kurkung.” Asshole. “What did the note say?”

“You’re going to have to ask her yourself. She actually shows up when you’re around.”

Happy birthday, tanhì

- Neteyam

You somehow doubted that this was actually from Neteyam. He didn’t seem like the type to show romantic gestures to someone he met only a few weeks ago. You were surprised that he was even interested in you at all and it had you flushing like an idiot.

“What’s got you so smiley?” asked Rotxo, snatching the note from your hand before you could reply.

“Hey!”

“That bastard. I thought mom got you that.” Your brother gestured to the bouquet with a glare. You had no idea why your brother and his friends were so against you and Neteyam. It wasn’t like either of you showed any interest in each other. Well, not until now.

“Lay off, Rotxo. It’s her birthday,” you heard Ao’nung’s voice before he entered the marui and stole the note from Rotxo’s hands. Your brother’s hand ruffled your hair in a way he knew you hated. “Happy birthday, hì’i kxetse.”

Happy birthday, small tail.

You shoved his hand away in annoyance, the glare you sent looking more playful than menacing. The pushes turned into fights and a full race to the waters.

“Guys-“ Rotxo never got to finish what he was saying since the two of you were already running through the poor villagers that minded their own business, occasionally bumping into some of them.

Ao’nung was grinning at his expected victory when you tackled him from behind. The rest of the way was filled with tripping, pulling, and your attempts at kicking him away from you.

You were nearly there. Aonung would often beat you most of the time, but on lucky days, you claimed the victory.

“Woah!” Before you could stop yourself, you slammed into Neteyam, knocking the both of you over to the waters.

Water filled your lungs quicker than you could comprehend and it seemed like Neteyam did the same since he was coughing a fit once the two of you resurfaced.

“Sorry,” you mumbled an apology in between coughs.

“Looks like lover boy helped you win, little sis.” Ao’nung appeared from behind you. Your brother did nothing, but you hit him on his forehead - which felt like a weak nudge to him - for his mere existence. “I’m gonna fetch Rotxo. I’m still keeping my eye on you, forest boy.”

Once Ao’nung was out of earshot you were quick to approach him and apologize for your brother’s hostility. “Sorry for him. I liked your gift, though. It was lovely.”

Neteyam knew it wasn’t really his gift, but he couldn’t help but play along. Lo’ak was never going to let this go and he knew it. He was “forever in Lo’ak’s debt”.

“It’s alright. Happy birthday again.”

You smiled at Neteyam, leaning in to put a hand on his jaw and he hoped you couldn’t feel the speed of his heartbeat increasing as you gave a peck to his cheek. It was supposed to be him, yet you were the one whose face flushed and quickly swam away to find your ilu.

Lo’ak just found the entire thing amusing.

He raised a brow suggestively as Neteyam spotted him standing by the shoreline, blowing a kiss his way, which was responded with water splashed to his face.

“You’re welcome.”

kurkung [ˈkuɾ.kuŋ] n. asshole (vulgar)

tanhì [tan.ˈhɪ] n. star, bioluminescent freckle

hì’i [ˈhɪ.ʔi] adj. small, little (in size)

kxetse [ˈk’ɛ.t͡sɛ] n. tail