#neteyam x metkayinan

[openpandorabox]

i've got my eye on you

neteyam x metkayinan! reader

summary: it's no secret that jake can be a little too hard on his two sons, but neteyam rarely let anyone see how it affected him, except you, unbeknownst to him.

warnings: none

notes: fluff, angst, sad boy neteyam

!reader is the same age as neteyam!

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Simply put, Neteyam had a lot on his shoulders.

He felt as though there was a constant pressure in his life, something strong and consuming his being, other times lingering in the background like a soft whisper, an unspoken reminder that he was the son of Toruk Makto.

Not only did he feel the crushing weight of trying to live up to his father, but his younger brother considered him the golden child. No matter what he did, someone would be unhappy.

Of course, Neteyam being Neteyam, he'd always take the blame for his little brother. Even though it was Lo'ak that said it first, he too knew how it felt to be one big disappointment, and he'd never want anyone else to feel that way.

Being chosen along with your siblings, Aonung and Tsireya, to help the Sully's acclimatise to the ocean, you had gotten close to the family, with a special interest in Neteyam. Only, he didn't really know it. He didn't know you watched him, keenly observing him, admiring him from a distance.

You had seen it so many times before. The slump in his shoulders when he was reprimanded yet again for some foolish thing his brother did, the guilty eyes, the vigorously nodding head to keep the peace, the defeated sighs.

What you weren't supposed to see, what he didn't want anyone to see, was the wobbling lip when he was dismissed by his father, sauntering off to his own quiet place to be alone. The frustrated hand rubbing at his forehead, eyebrows furrowed with tension. The quiet scolding of himself, belittling words spilling from his mouth.

You just watched. You felt guilty for not comforting him, you felt even more guilty for being there and witnessing something he did not intend for anyone to see. When he was vulnerable and none the wiser. But one night, it was particularly bad.

It happened when word got around about Lo'ak bonding with Payakan. Neteyam was scolded for not watching his brother at all times, and predictably, he took that blame and apologised profusely to his father before beginning his ritual of lonely self loathing. He didn't know you saw him, but you couldn't miss the tears welling up in his eyes, the look of pure torment on his face.

You quietly followed him, not making a sound as he stormed down the marui, all the way to the end until he was far from everyone, where he just sat and let his feet hang in the water, head resting in his hands.

You stopped just behind him, slightly surprised that he didn't feel your footsteps due to the bounce of the marui. "Neteyam," you utter and watch as his soul almost leaves his body, sparing you only a startled glance as he swats at his tears and turns away from you.

"Oh! Hey, Y/N," his voice is shaky and a little hoarse despite his efforts to mask his obvious sadness.

You smile gently, taking the spot next to him and letting your own legs dip into the water, eyes cast on the bioluminescence's just below your feet.

"You should not hide from me," you say after a moments silence, turning your head to watch Neteyam as he fights to appear unbothered. "Neteyam, are you okay?" You ask, lifting a finger to gently swipe a stray tear from his cheek, resisting the urge to smile at the obvious affect is had on him.

"I'm okay. Things are just difficult right now. It feels like no matter what I do, someone will be disappointed. And I don't want to be a disappointment anymore." He keeps his eyes cast on his feet, yellow eyes shimmering with tears and the reflection of water.

It was rare to see this side of Neteyam. The vulnerable, doubtful side. You didn't like it, you wished you had the right words to make it all go away, but you didn't. Tsireya would probably know exactly what to say.

You furrow your eyebrows, leaning toward the boy who in the moment appeared so small and fragile. "Neteyam," you whisper, lifting your hand to rest against his cheek, forcing him to look at you. A flood of emotion fills his eyes and you can see his breath hitch. "You are not a disappointment. Especially not to me-"

He begins to shake his head in disbelief, his warm cheek suddenly leaving your grasp as he pushes himself up, already beginning to walk away from you.

A pang of hurt hits you, but you know you can't take it personally.

"Neteyam! Please do not walk away from me." You call after him, voice a little firmer than what he's used to, but it's enough to make him stop in his tracks, his strong back to you. You take a couple steps closer, easily seeing the tension in his shoulders.

"Look at me," you say, softer this time, and he hesitates for a moment before he turns to face you, the tears now streaming freely down his face, eyes turning red and puffy. The sight of it breaks your heart, and you feel your lip wobble and tears prick in the corners of your own eyes.

You resist the urge to reach out and hold him, but you wanted him to hear your words first.

"You are not a disappointment," you repeat, and when he looks like he's about to shake his head again, you hold your hand up to silence him. "Not to me. If you knew how much I admired you, you would think I'm crazy."

You watch as his lip twitches, eyes landing everywhere but on yours, almost as if he was having an inner battle on whether to believe you or not.

You step forward, lifting your hand and placing it over his heart, feeling it race and stutter under your palm. Your eyes drop to your hand for a moment, turquoise skin against his blue. "Neteyam..." you look back up at his eyes, and he's already staring down at you. "I see you." A single tear rolls down your cheek and Neteyam doesn't hesitate to reach out and wipe it away, just as you had for him, before he places his hand over your own heart, a small smile breaking through the sadness.

"I see you." He confirms, and something shifts between the two of you, like the ending of a friendship, but the beginning of something else, something different, something bigger than you both.

The world around you disappears for a moment, and for the first time in a long time, the soft whisper in the wind reminding Neteyam of his shortcomings disappears, just as you rest your forehead against his.

[starneteyam]

TOUCHY ★

🖇️ char. Neteyam x Omaticayan! fem! reader

🖇️ warn. Spicy, jealousy, fluff

🎥 In which Neteyam is an extremely affectionate boyfriend whose love language is physical intimacy, and when some Metkayinan boys start getting a bit too flirty with you, be gets jealous and sulks

A/N Just a short drabble

Neteyam was your mate, and you were his. Ever since he first hooked his eyes on you a year ago, he had been obsessed with you in every way. The way you looked at him with loving eyes, or the way you never complained whenever he held your hand while you did whatever you needed to do. You understood Neteyam loved being physically intact with you.

When he was sitting next to you, even that wouldn’t be enough. He would lay his head on your shoulder, or hold your hand, or wrap his arm around you. Around his family, he would play with your hair—the tiny unbraided strands of your goddess braids, or he would just hook a finger around yours.

He had separation anxiety, though you would never comment on it. You didn’t mind, one bit. You thought that part of him was adorable, like a little puppy.

Because you were his mate, it was decided that you would move to Awa’atlu with Jake and his family, leaving your family behind. You were heartbroken, having to leave your siblings and parents behind, but you said your goodbyes and left anyways.

When you arrived at the Pandora Reefs, Neteyam never let go of your hand, not once. But this time, it was to reassure you. When Au’nong and Rotxo stepped forward, he pulled you behind him, while they smirked.

At your new home, he huffed in displeasure. “They were looking at you.” He sulked, sitting next to you with his head on your collarbone, your body leaning against the wooden pillar, his pointer finger hooked to your pinkie.

You smiled reassuringly, shaking your head. “And I was looking at you, Neteyam.” You told him softly, playing with the bead on his braid. Your heart was full, your throat tightening at how adorable he was.

Another instance was when you were at the beach with Tuktirey, accompanying her and looking for seashells on the shallow waters. The two of you knelt on the sand, her laughing in joy. “Look, there’s one!” You laughed, pointing at a pink shell when you heard the water behind you splashing as if somebody was walking near you.

You turned around, seeing a stranger your age walking up to you with two of his friends. You furrowed your eyes. “Tuk, come here.” You whispered, ushering her.

She whimpered in fear as you grabbed her arm and pulled her behind you. You then stood up. “What’re you doing?” The boy asked, tilting his head. You gave him a dirty look. “Can I help you?” You asked, ignoring his question. His friend laughed. “We just want to get to know you, chill out.” He shrugged his shoulders, and you tried your hardest not to roll your eyes.

“I like your hair.” The third guy commented, running his fingers through some braids on your hair. “We should hangout sometime, I can show you some islands around here.” The first guy said, smiling. You huffed, frowning.

“Excuse me.” You mumbled, making sure to keep Tuk away from the guys as you walked past them, and away. “O-Okay! See you around!” The guy yelled after, and you shook your head in disbelief and sighed. Pathetic.

Unknown to you, Neteyam had seen it all. He had the urge to go in and just punch those guys square in the jaw, but after fighting the Au’nong and his friends yesterday, he was sure his father would skin him alive if he were to cause more trouble.

So instead, he stayed out of sight, and watched quietly as his nails dug into his palms. He was glad you quickly had left and even barely spoke to them, displaying your clear unliking to them, but still, he couldn’t help but feel jealous.

Later that day, when the sky was dark, you stood in your home, your back turned to the entrance as you were busy taking the leaves off of berries Kiri had picked. You heard Neteyam enter, turning your shoulder and glancing at him. “How was your day, Neteyam?” You asked, not having seen him all day. He stayed silent, which you ignored. If he didn’t want to talk, he didn’t have to talk. You respected that of him, because you had your moments too.

You heard him dropping his things on the floor, then walk up to you. Without saying a word, his hands slid around your waist, pressing himself against your back as he kissed your shoulder. You smiled, leaning your hair into him as you continued to pick at the berries. His butterfly kisses trailed up your shoulder, to your neck, and his kisses became longer. Your breath hitched as he started sucking softly on the skin on your neck, his thumb rubbing your stomach.

“Neteyam.” You whispered, turning your head slightly towards him, but he ignored you again. You were confused on why he was acting this way. His tongue pressed against the bruises on your neck, before he turned you around and kissed your lips. You immediately responded. “Netey- mm- What’s- Mmph!” You tried talking, but he kept cutting you off by kissing you, each kiss more aggressive than the last. “Shh.” He hushed quickly, before kissing you again.

You did as told, letting him pour his feelings out on you. Your fingers brushed his back, tracing his spine upwards, before lightly tugging on his hair. He pushed his lips against yours, trying to get as close as he could to you, his eyebrows furrowed. He felt goosebumps on his skin as your tail brushed up the inside of his leg. After leaving his final kiss on you, he hugged your waist, burying his face into the crook of your neck.

Surprised, you looked at him, before smiling softly and rubbing his back. “What happened, Neteyam?” You asked quietly, closing your eyes as you leaned your head against his. He was silent for a couple heartbeats, but then finally spoke. “I saw those guys trying to hit on you today.” He whispered, and it almost broke your heart—how cute he was. You laughed at his sulking sight, hugging him tighter. “Neteyam, you are too perfect for this world.” You told him, kissing his head.

[vampsywrites]

forest boy. PT.2

synopsis: while tending to neteyam and ao'nung's injuries, neteyam proposes that you learn some omaticayan healing techniques from his mother. ao'nung does not like this at all and informs his mother. now, both neytiri and ronal are trying to win you over.

pairing: ao'nung x fem! metkayina! reader x neteyam

tags: fem! metkayina! reader, neytiri and ronal fighting for their future daughter in law🤷, tradition being challenged, neteyam pining so hard, jealous ao'nung crumbs, arguments, adding some tension hehe, bonus sweet scene with neteyam

a/n: there are so many fics where reader pins for neteyam who's promised to another, but what if it was the other way around?

w.c: 2.6k | part 1

"Ah! Are you trying to heal me or finish me off?" Ao'nung grunts, flinching instinctively as your hands press against his cut lip. Rolling your eyes playfully, you dip your hand into a bowl filled with cool paste, smearing it across his bruised cheek.

"You can take it," you grin mischievously, applying a bit more pressure to his cheek, eliciting a wince of pain from Ao'nung. Tsireya giggles from behind you, her hands busy crushing a cluster of corals into a fine powder. "You could have used Rubrum coral instead of Heliopora. It stings less."

"It does, yes, but I think this ass deserves it after what he's done," you remark with a playful smirk. Then, you turn your attention to Neteyam, who sits in the corner. "Oh, and don't think you're exempt from this," you grin.

Neteyam chuckles in response. He leans back against the woven walls of the hut, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Yes, ma'am," he concedes with a playful tone. You smile back, holding his gaze for a moment longer.

Ao'nung notices this and huffs, trailing his fingers up your jaw to turn your gaze back to him, "Can you just focus on patching me up?"

"Alright. Alright. I'm on it!" Shifting in his lap, you scoff and continue to apply the healing paste into his cuts and bruises.

Ao'nung watches intently, his breath held in anticipation as your lips clamp down on your bottom lip. Your brows furrow as strands of curled hair cascade over your face, framing your features. The focused and slightly disheveled look on your face draws him in, and he finds himself leaning closer and closer until his lips were hovering over the shell of your ear.

"You would make a great Tsahìk one day," he murmurs lowly, large hands running up the curve of your hips. Snorting, you continue to massage the paste into his chest, "Ah, shut it. You're just saying that."

"No. He is right. You would," Neteyam affirms, shifting closer until he was flush against Ao'nung's side. The Metkayinan boy shoots him a blank stare, shuffling away awkwardly with you still on his lap.

Ignoring the tension, Neteyam continues, his gaze fixed on you, "In fact, maybe you'd like to learn some healing techniques from my mother? It would be a nice way for you to—"

"We've been over this, forest boy," Ao'nung grumbles, his voice laced with annoyance. He leans back, distancing you from Neteyam's proximity. "She doesn't need healing techniques from your people. My mother offers her all the knowledge she needs."

You roll your eyes good-naturedly at Ao'nung's response. "Alright, alright, no need to get all worked up about it," you say with a playful tone, giving him a light pat on the shoulder before turning to Neteyam.

"I would love to! It would be nice to know how Omaticayans practice healing," you smile, earning a giddy grin from Neteyam in return.

Ao'nung raises an eyebrow, seemingly taken aback by your genuine interest. "Really?" he questions, a mix of surprise and skepticism in his tone.

With a nod, you maintain your smile. "I mean it. Learning about healing practices from different cultures can be valuable. Besides, it's a chance to bond and share knowledge."

Ao'nung's face contorts with a mix of unease and discomfort at the mention of the word "bond." His brows furrow, lips drawn into a tight line as a fleeting flicker of insecurity passes through his eyes.

Neteyam chuckles and nudges Ao'nung roughly. "It is her decision," he says with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The Omaticayan's words hang in the air, and Ao'nung's expression shifts. He didn't like the idea of you getting close to Neteyam's family at all, especially considering how forest boy over here looked at you with heart-eyes every time he saw you.

Ao'nung avoids your gaze, silently contemplating his next move. A plan begins to take shape in his mind, and he smirks.

Bathed in the gentle moonlight that filters through the walls, you find yourself inside the Sully's marui pod, accompanied by Neytiri and Neteyam. Excitement and curiosity brims up within you as you tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, leaning in closer to observe Neytiri's actions.

With a wry grin, he murmurs, "Sure, a collaborative effort sounds… nice."

She delicately scoops up some of the wax, cradling it in her hands. Then, with a gentle motion, she holds it up to the light, revealing its mesmerizing luminous properties. The soft glow of the orange wax enchants you, and you marvel at the beauty of this exotic substance.

Neytiri smiles at you softly, moving the wax down so you could prod at it. In the few weeks that they've been here, she has already grown a soft spot for you. Every day, as you spend more time together, she finds herself drawn to your endearing child-like curiosity.

For a fleeting moment, her gaze flickers towards her son, a knowing smirk gracing her lips as she notices the warm expression on his face.

She did not miss how Neteyam's golden eyes remained fixed on you as you engaged in lively conversation with her.

There was a flicker of longing evident in Neteyam's eyes as his mind begins to wander. He weaved fantasies of a future where you would be by his side.

And although his family has left the forest, turning the likelihood of him becoming Olo'eyktan nonexistent, his daydreams persist.

Vivid images fill his thoughts: images of you adorned with his clan's ornaments, draped in hues of greens and browns that contrast with the cerulean of your skin. He envisions you seamlessly blending with his culture, embracing the natural and tribal aesthetics that define the Omaticaya.

The warmth in his chest intensifies as he thinks and longs for all the possibilities, momentarily escaping the reality that lies beyond his control.

However, Neteyam's thoughts are abruptly interrupted as a figure emerges from the entrance, drawing his attention away from you. His gaze shifts to the imposing presence of Ronal standing by the door.

The Metkayinan Tsahìk regards them with a stony expression, emitting a low greeting. As she saunters into the room, hips swaying, she circles around Neytiri.

"I have heard from my son that you are teaching ways of the forest," Ronal speaks, clicking her tongue.

"I highly doubt such techniques would be of any practical use," The Tsahìk remarks with a hint of skepticism. Her eyes narrow slightly as she fixes her gaze on Neytiri. "Moreover, even if they were viable, where would you source the necessary materials? These are the reefs, not the jungle, after all."

Despite her agitation, Neytiri remains composed, meeting Ronal's gaze with unwavering resolve. "I am simply sharing my knowledge. Eywa provides for us abundantly, Ronal. Nature's resources are vast, and the variety of trees on this island offers a wide array of barks that can be utilized."

Ronal's expression twists into a sneer, her dissatisfaction evident. "My methods have served us well thus far. The ways of the water have their own wisdom," she retorts, her words laced with venomous pride.

As the tension lingers in the air, you shuffle forward, gesturing towards the vacant spot next to you. With a reassuring smile, you interject, "Exploring new methods can expand our knowledge and enhance our capabilities, my Tsahìk. It wouldn't hurt to embrace different approaches and learn from one another."

Your words hang in the air, offering a gentle invitation to Ronal, despite the resistance she displays. Shaking her head, Ronal moves squat by you. "Is that so? Well then what exactly have you learned so far?"

With critical eyes, she watches as you scoop the orange hued wax into your hands.

As you begin to explain, your words tumble out in a blurred speech, as you find yourself overly eager to share your newfound knowledge.

"This is Yalma bark," you beam. "It possesses remarkable healing properties. And the best part is, it barely stings when applied!"

You then pause for a while, your enthusiasm momentarily waning. A hint of upset crosses your features, before you quickly continue, "Unfortunately...the materials needed for it are found only in the forests."

"Which is why I truly wish for an end to this conflict," Neytiri sighs, her voice filled with longing. Her warm hand clasps over yours. "There is an abundance of it back home and I would love to show you more about our ways. My mother, the Tsahik, would be delighted to have you."

Ronal's eyes widen in alarm as she takes in Neytiri's words. The room falls silent as their gazes lock, the tension palpable. A stern expression settles on Ronal's face as she clears her throat, moving to stand before you two.

"Let me remind you, Neytiri, that this girl is under my supervision," Ronal asserts firmly. Her tone carries an undertone of warning. "She is Tsakarem. A position not to be taken lightly. She is my chosen successor."

Silence falls once more and Neteyam keenly senses the escalating tension in the room. With a nod of understanding, he swiftly makes his exit, recognizing the need to give you all space to navigate the delicate topic.

WIth the departure of her son, Neytiri moves to stand, her eyes meeting Ronal's with unwavering resolve. "Tsireya, your daughter, is also Tsakarem, is she not?"

With deliberate steps, Ronal saunters over, reaching out to place a hand against your head, a gesture that carries both possessiveness and authority. "Tsireya studies as well, but Y/N here has excelled in her learning. And I hope you have not forgotten that she is promised to my son."

"Oh, you have made that abundantly clear. I don't need to hear another one of your lectures," Unyielding, Neytiri stands her ground, her eyes narrowing at Ronal's admonishment.

"Then you would know that their path has already been laid out before them! I do not need outsiders like you meddling in," Ronal snarls, fangs bared.

"You hinder them," Neytiri counters, her voice growing more impassioned.

"A-Ah, it is very late at night," you say with an awkward laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm sure we are all exhausted. Why don't we take a moment to rest and gather our thoughts?"

Despite your attempt to diffuse the tension, the underlying apprehension remains palpable, casting a shadow over the situation.

With a huff, Ronal turns to leave the pod, bidding Neytiri a curt "Goodnight." Neytiri, clearly displeased, scoffs in response and moves further into the room.

With a sigh of resignation, you bow apologetically to the Omaticayan woman and obediently trail behind your Tsahik.

As you walk together along the intricate woven paths, Ronal turns to you, her expression grim.

"You understand where your duty lies, don't you?" she asks, her voice firm.

The moon casts its gentle glow upon the sandy beach, and a symphony of nocturnal creatures fills the air. Lost in your thoughts, you stroll along the shoreline, unaware of the soft patter of feet approaching, and the presence that looms closer.

Letting out another weary sigh, you nod your head in acknowledgement. "Yes, Tsahìk."

"Hey," a low voice greets and you turn to see a familiar forest boy before you. Smiling at him, you slow down to stroll by his side, "Hey you."

Neteyam smiles bashfully, his hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck. A comfortable silence settles between you before he finally speaks, his accented voice carrying a slight tremor. "Do you usually take walks at this hour?"

"Mhm," you affirm, pausing briefly before answering in a hushed tone. "I do. It's peaceful at night… The air feels cooler, and it's a chance for me to unwind and let my mind wander."

"Especially since there's a lot of thinking going on up here," you chuckle, tapping the side of your head with your knuckles.

"And what about you?" you question.

Neteyam perks up, his tail swishing behind him anxiously. "Ah, I just happened to spot you from afar. I thought I'd join you…If that's alright."

"Of course, it's more than alright," you reply with a warm smile, genuinely pleased by his company. The moon's soft glow highlights his sharp features, casting a dreamlike aura around him. The two of you continue your leisurely stroll, side by side, as the rhythmic crashing of the waves provides a soothing backdrop.

Curiosity dances in Neteyam's eyes as he gathers the courage to ask, "What were you lost in thought about earlier?"

You take a moment to collect your thoughts, a tad bit touched by his attentiveness. "Oh. I'm just reflecting. The…'conversation' I had earlier with both Neytiri and Ronal left me in deep thoughts, pondering the choices and paths that lie ahead."

Returning the curiosity, you inquire, "What about you, Neteyam? Has something been occupying your mind lately?"

Neteyam lets out a soft hum, and the words escape his lips before he can fully comprehend their weight, "You."

As you take a moment to process his unexpected response, your heart flutters at his confession. The poor boy's face instantly flushes into a deep rich indigo, and his nervousness becomes palpable. In a hasty attempt to backtrack, he stumbles over his words, looking utterly endearing in his flustered state.

A soft chuckle escapes your lips, breaking the tension that lingers between you. "No need to be so nervous, Nete," you reassure him, a warm and genuine smile forming on your lips. "Your answer simply caught me off guard, that's all."

The boy clears his throat, a hint of awkwardness lingering in the air as you continue your walk together. After a few minutes of ambling along the shoreline, a subtle change in the atmosphere prompts you to halt in your tracks. Looking up, you realize that you have arrived at the entryway of your marui pod.

Turning to face Neteyam, you feel a tender smile grace your lips, a silent acknowledgment of the connection that has grown between you.

In a swift motion, you close the distance between you two, leaning in to press a delicate kiss upon his cheek.

Then, drawing back slightly, you maintain eye contact, savoring the lingering intimacy of the moment. Neteyam's bright eyes were blown wide open, pools of golden bronze and sunshine yellow piercing through you.

"Thank you for the walk," you murmur, your voice tender and sincere. "I will see you tomorrow, yes?"

Dazed and pleasantly surprised by the sweet gesture, Neteyam hastily nods his head, a blush still lingering on his cheeks.

With a final, gentle glance, you turn away, stepping towards the entrance of your marui pod. The soft crunch of sand under your feet accompanies your departure, while Neteyam stands there, gazing after you with a mixture of awe and disbelief, his heart still running wild from the tenderness of your gesture.

As you enter the sanctuary of your marui pod, the fabric flaps fall shut behind you. And just as you begin to settle into the comforting embrace of your hammock, Neteyam's triumphant shout echoes through the air.

taglist. @iheartamajiki @mashiromochi

You can't help but let out a soft chuckle, the sound muffled by your palm as you cover your mouth, trying to contain the infectious delight that fills you.

[theblueflower05]

First Love/ Late Spring

A/N: I had no right to listen to Mitski and write for Neteyam but here I am. I’ve been working on this on and off since December but finally decided to get serious and post it. Hope you guys like it!

Word Count: 5k+

Warnings: Masturbation(F receiving). Breeding Kink if ya really dig. Angst. Talks of self doubt and insecurity. All Characters are aged up 18+.

You are responsible for cultivating your own online experience, please do not interact if any of these tags are triggering to you. Minors DNI.

Summary: Neteyam has passed his Metkayinan Iknimaya, and is now free to choose a woman. Why did you ever think he would choose you? Neteyam X Na'vi Reader.

Series Masterlist(All parts can be found here)

Next> Crawling Back to You(Part Two)

One word from you and I would jump off of this ledge I’m on, baby.

Tell me don’t so I can crawl back in- Mitski, First Love/Late Spring

As the beloved niece of the reigning Olo’eyktan, in your life you had wanted for nothing.

Had spent the last nineteen years in isolated bliss. The island of Awa’atlu and your tribes familiar inhabitants were all you knew. Your life moved to a steady beat, as sure as the morning eclipse. As rhythmic as the tides.

And you had been content, really you had. Too busy to be bored. Too beloved to truly dwell on the gap. On the absence of a mate no matter how much your Uncle; Tonowari urged you to accept one of the many offerings of courtship. Lonely maybe, but happy.

Useful. Focused.

Ever since the Sully’s arrival, you have felt anything but.

Descending from the skies on ikran back, they left plumes of sand in their wake. Shook up everything you had ever known as they stood there on the beach, adrift. Out of place, different then anything you had ever seen with their dark skin and thin tales. That morning had been a whirlwind of harsh words and brief but tense negotiations.

So much change had happened in such a small amount of time that it was hard to wrap your head around-

The leader of the Sully Tribe, Jake, had begged Uturu for his family. And ever benevolent, your Uncle Tonowari had granted it to them.

Overwhelmed by crowds, you don't recall much more of that day except for the desire to run away. To escape the strained aura’s of the hesitant clans people and the exhausted newcomers. You’d gone to away, eager to get back to your herbs and tinctures. To the safety of familiarity to digest the entire situation.

You’d been stopped in your tracks, rooted in place, by a pair of striking golden orbs.

A stare like none you’d ever known. His eyes resonated with you. Plucking a cord n your chest that echoed throughout the rest of your body. You’d never felt anything like it. Never been so affected by a stranger.

Never been so affected by anyone.

Even now, months later, thinking of Neteyam that look he’d given you on his first day here makes you hot. You dream about it, about him often. He plagues you, has taken up permanent space in your subconscious.

You wake most mornings to phantom touches. To his voice ringing in your ears and an empty bed mat that feels too cold.

This morning is no different. Your eyes flutter open with a gasp and your heart is beating madly in your chest.

It's early. You have only moments before you will be expected to wake and start your daily routine. Really, you should’ve been up by now-

Instead you lie in your corner of the family mauri, the privacy curtains pulled around your bed as you shoulder into the woven blankets. Your hands slip down- lower on your belly and into the dip of your tweng.

Between your legs you’re hot, soaked and pulsing as you always seem to be these days. Your clit swollen almost painfully as you press your fingers to it, rubbing firm little circles as you search for some kind of relief. Humping harshly into your small hand, cupping your sex desperately as you recall Dream Neteyam.

He’d pinned you to a tall palm, your belly pressing against the rough bark as buried his nose in your hair. All panting breaths and wandering hands.

“You’re so beautiful”

“I’m right here”

“Let me have you, I have to have you”

Dream Neteyam says all the things you want to hear as he ravages you. He’s sure footed, cocky in that way that you knew he could be. He’s pushy and needy and you’d give him anything if he asked for it, Eywa all he had to do is hint that he wanted it-

“Spread your legs for me, sevin ”

You bite your lips bloody, your fangs digging into them as your thick thighs clamp shut around your hands and your pussy spasms. You want to cry out as you come. Fight the urge to whine because it’s not enough, you’re still so empty.

Neteyam’s name is always on your tongue as you come down from your self induced high.

“Y/N? My Child, are you awake?”

There’s no time to bask in the afterglow, you wrench your hands away. Wiping the mess on your blankets as you shoot up straight-

“Yes? Yes. I’m coming, i’ll be out a minute” You try to keep your voice from breaking and just barley succeed.

Ronal who had peeked a head into the empty mauri isn't convinced, but accepts it anyway “Hurry now, we have to get going. The tide pools will be filling and we need to restock the sea-tsam(kelp like herbs), you haven't even eaten breakfast yet. Up!”

You only release the breath stuck in your chest when she’s scurrying back out of the home- one of these days you’re going to get caught.

Your people are free with their sexuality, there’s no shame in pleasure whether it be self inflicted or given by another. But it would make those pesky questions arise- if you’re so needy, Y/N- why do you refuse every eligible bachelor that comes your way?

You huff, thinking about that very thing as you get ready for the day. Bruising through your long hair almost violently as you chew it over.

If you need to be fucked so badly, why are you three years into adulthood without a mate? You don’t even have a possible suitor- your friends are having babies, building lives, and you’re still living with your family.

It used to be that you we’re hyper focused on your role in the clan. On your training as part of the Tsakarem. On preparing Tsireya for the day she reaches adulthood and takes over her mother’s title.

You had always been family oriented, and the clan had accepted it-

But now there were whispers. Inquiries, never spoken to you but always about you. It’s an oddity that such a pretty young woman with such high standing is choosing to be alone.

Is there something wrong with you?

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The only thing that’s wrong with you is your inability to focus on the most mundane of tasks as of late.

After a quick breakfast, you’d taken off. Determined to knock the long list of chores down.

You’d collected herbs until your fingers hurt and the satchel slung across your chest was full to the brim. You’d tended to the Elders, and checked in on the mother with newborns, still so fresh to the world that they’re connected to their Sa’nok kuru, constant Tsaheylu necessary at such a young age.

Healing isn't always glamorous, and while you’d much rather be mixing potions and sketching in your journals- you check fevers. Change chamber pots. Kiss the scraped knee’s of young ones.

You’re supposed to be heading back to the Healer’s Mauri, the large hut where Ronal waits for you-

But instead you get sidetracked.

It’s all you seem to do these days.

Lounging in the soft warm sand is so much easier then running around the village.

You’d come across your cousins who were circled by Roxto and the elder Sully’s, and it hadn't taken much convincing for you to tag along on whatever little adventure they had planned for the afternoon. It had led you to one of the smaller isles, a tiny thing that was mostly white sand beaches and deep rocky cove tunnels.

Lo’ak and Ao’nung practicing their breath holds, taking turns weaving through the underwater caves. The two had went from going for each others throat’s to thick as thieves, and your glad. Lo’ak’s troubled, but he’s not trouble. Not the way that your cousin's other asshole friends are.

Roxto and Neteyam wade through the crystal clear shallows, hunting for clams that are abundant at this time of year.

You’re sat with Kiri and Tsireya, the three of you staying in the beach and giggling about current clan gossip. Chattering endlessly.

Neteyam’s shoulders are broad and glisten in the bright afternoon sun. You can barely tear your gaze away from him. Hungrily, needing to glance back every few seconds-

“The celebration is in less then a month's time” Tsireya states, a small grin playing on her lips as she takes in the scene.

She knows about your feelings for the eldest Sully son, you’d confessed them to her in a fit one night. Unable to keep them caged in your chest anymore. She can understand the appeal- her own eyes had been glued to the family since the arrival.

What she can't understand is why you wont tell him- or at the very least why you’re being so damn shy about it. You had never been this demure before.

“I know, the preparations have been a real pain in my ass” You reply, turning on your side to face her. Arm bent at the elbow, chin propped in your hand. “Tonowari has me assisting with getting the ceremonial mats woven. It’s not fair”

“I think he just wants you to be…a more active participant this year” Tsireya chooses her words wisely, ignoring your side eye “It’s sweet”

“It’s annoying” you hiss, eyes rolling harshly. Your tail swishes behind you, a firm pat on the sand.

“This is the celebration that’s held for the hunters. The ones that pass their Iknimaya’s?” Kiri asks, intrigued. She’s inquisitive and you’d assured her early on that she could ask you anything, that you’d help her understand the customs of your people.

“Yes and it’s so much fun. You’ll see, the Hunters come back from Motnaui(ritualistic hunt) and we spend the day roasting their catch, thanking Eywa for her abundance. There’s dancing and singing- “ Tsireya’s eyes sparkle as she talks about it, glazed with nostalgia.

You let her rant a bit more before cutting her off, “And mating. Most of the hunters will stake their claim on any courtships that have been started”

Because yes, it is a celebration for the newly joined adults of the clan, but goes hand in hand with the fact that it is their first chance to choose a mate.

“We have something like this back in the forest, it's the start of Fertility Season right?” Kiri verifies and you nod. “Does it coincide with the rains here, too?”

“Mhmm, most newly mated pairs will spend the week or so tucked away…-” Tsireya’s cheeks get red and you roll your eyes.

“Coupling” You interject and she shoots you a look that has you tittering. Awe, your sweet young cousin, still a year away from her own Iknimaya. Innocent and shy when it comes to such topics.

Kiri doesn't look scandalized- she’d come to adulthood back in the forest. Though she hasn't chosen a mate she had partaken in many of the festivities.

“Yes, coupling” Tsireya continues. “Its all beautiful really, its my favorite time of year. Right after the return of the Tulkun of course”

Its nice listening to your cousin's version of the celebration. You think that yeah, your own view of it all used to be mostly the same. That was until you’d reached adulthood, and had spent the last cycles without a mate of your own. This week that Tsireya found so beautiful had just been wet for you. Yourself and other unmated , able bodied Na’vi took on the duties of the disposed clan members.

It was an honor to take care of your people while they were vulnerable.

It was embarrassing to have not found a mate of your own yet.

You wonder if this year you’d spend the week in the rain again.

“You don't seem excited” Kiri whispers and you force a smile onto your face almost instantly, not wanting to come off so extremely transparent.

“It’s not that I’m not-”

“Y/N hasn't mated yet”

“Obviously Tsireya, thank you for pointing that out” you deadpan at the girl but she continues on, not phased in the least by your attitude-

“But I do think that will change this year”

Kiri perks up, big eyes interested, a brow arched “Really? Has someone caught your eye? Every time any one even tries to start courting you, you give them the cold shoulder”

“That’s not true, I’m nice about it” you defend your actions “I just haven't been interested in any of their offers”

“‘Their’ being half of the unmated men in this clan” Kiri’s sarcasm rivals your own, you flick a small shell at her forehead.

“It hasn't felt right and Eywa wouldn't want me to settle. '' The words taste condescending as they roll off your tongue, you don't blame them for scoffing at you but it's true.

If you had accepted an offer in the past, you wouldn't be free to follow your hearts desire now…your eyes flick back to the shore. Back to the broad shoulders.

“I’m sure whoever you choose will be honored,” Kiri chuckles. “Surprised though, probably. I overheard a couple of Elder’s making bets that you’d make another suitor cry this year”

The peel of laughter that Tsireya lets out is shrill and loud,

Roxto and Neteyam’s heads turn, far out enough now that the surely cant hear the conversation but can hear the shrieks of joy. Roxto grins and signs something that you can't quite make out and Neteyam gives a small wave.

You can feel the big stupid smile on your face, it’s no surprise that Kiri acknowledges it.

“You didn't answer my question. Is there anyone in particular that you have your eye on?”

You gnaw on your bottom lip. You’d been wanting to run it past her for weeks. Desperate for her insight but too embarrassed to muster up the courage and ask for it.

“Tell her, tsmuk’tu” Tsireya urges gently.

“I have been hoping that…Neteyam might choose to court me. After his Iknimaya” You admit it, carefully watching her for her reaction. Your own ears are pressed to your head, your fingers winding around each other nervously.

“I was wondering why that idiot was going through his rites again” Kiri nods, like she’d found the missing piece of a puzzle.

One that she wasn't willing to share with the group.

“What’do you mean? If he wants to be a hunter, he has to” You point out the facts, the law of the village.

“Well yeah, but I mean look at how our dad did it. He didn't jump through all of the hoops, he just tamed his Skimwing on his own time. My brother has been adamant about wanting to be apart of ceremony”

You ingest Kiri’s words greedily, letting them expand in your chest. It’s hope, the fragile kind, the scariest kind.

“Maybe he just wants to prove himself as a hunter. We’ve heard his skill is legendary to the Omiticaya” you suggest and Tsireya pushes at your shoulder, shaking her head.

“Maybe” Kiri shrugs her shoulders “But mating is important to Neteyam. He’s always wanted a big family, I think he really idolized our parents' marriage. Mom said he must’ve taken an interest in a mate if he’s making such a big deal out of being a recognized adult here”

A big family. Neteyam wants to be a father.

The thought is heady. The seed has been planted in your head and you know there is no way that you will ever be able to dig it out.

“Do you think that-”

You're cut off by booming laughter, by clatter and chaos. Who else could it be but Ao’nung and Lo’ak coming back from the caves, they had the worst possible timing. You shoot daggers at your cousins fat head.

“What are you girls whispering about over here?” 'Nung teases as he drops next to you in the sand,

“That would be none of your business” You snipe, “Skxawng ass”

“Why so hostile, cuz?” Ao’nung starts “I was the one who invited you out here? You don't want to spend time with little ol’ me?”

“I spend too much time with you as is. I was hoping you had drowned down in those caves so I could get a break- NUNG!” you squeal as your cousin shakes his head, wringing out his wet hair all over you. The water is shockingly cold against your sun soaked skin.

Soon enough, Neteyam and Roxto come in from the waves, baskets full of multicolored shells. More than happy to share as they join the small circle.

“You had such a bountiful catch!” Tsireya applauds, happily accepting the oysters that Roxto offers.

You’re awkward around Neteyam on a good day- there's something so intimidating about his beauty. So tall and angular. But today? After the admittance you’d made to his sister? You can barely look at him.

You feel heavy and clunky and ugh, why does he make you so nervous? You’re playing with your hair, twisting the thick tendrils around your fingers idly when Neteyam turns to you.

“Do you want some?” He asks, already prying the tough shell open with his knife.

“Oh, yes please. They’re actually my favorite” You grin, and at least your voice doesn't project all the nerves you feel.

“I know” He hands you the oyster once he opens it and you try not to pay too much mind to how his fingers brush yours.

“How would you know that?” you slurp at the rich juice, grateful.

“Roxto was telling me about it” He says simply, already working open another shell to hand out.

“Oh yeah! Y/N remember when you ate so many of these that you got sick at dinner! I’ve never seen someone puke that much, it was never ending” Roxto chuckles, igniting laughter from the group.

You wince, the memory is not a particularly good one and you don't enjoy reliving it. Especially not in current company. You can feel your cheeks heat intensely.

“It was so bad! You got it all over dad’s lap and he didn't know what to do” Ao’nung adds hysterically “He just started panicking- picked you up by your tail and tossed your ass outside”

Tsireya breaks, giggling behind her hand and Kiri all but chokes. Lo’aks shaking his head good naturedly as Ao’nung and Roxto are in stitches- the only one who doesn't laugh is Neteyam. No, instead he gives you a gentle kind of smile, before going back to his task of shucking.

You’re only the butt of the joke for moments more before it ping-pongs to Lo’ak, who has almost cut one of his odd five fingers off in the process of prying open an ornery shell.

“Oh! Look brother, how pretty” Kiri points out the large blush colored pearl that Neteyam had almost swallowed.

“That’s good luck!” You grin “They don't usually get that big”

Huh. Good luck you say?” Neteyam picks it out of the shell, holding it between his thumb and pointer as he examines how it shines in the sun. Beautiful…

You’re frozen when he reaches out, the pearl in the palm of his hand.

“Here” he offers it to you.

The purple flush that completely takes over your face crawls down your neck too. You're completely flustered by the simple gesture of good will.

You should tell him that you can’t take it- that he should give it to Tuk, his little sister that loves making jewelry. Instead you’re hungry for anything, will accept any scraps of himself that Neteyam will give to you.

“Irayo” you beam as you accept the pear, tucking it away in your satchel for safe keeping. “I love it!”

He just gives you another one of those ever soft boyish grins, his eyes pools of liquid amber.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

As the weeks go by, there’s a certain light to you. A bounce in your step,

“Your aura has changed” Ronal informs you of the fact as the two of you sit in the Healers Mauri, plumes of heavy incense filling the space with fragrant smoke.

She’s far into her pregnancy now, but that has never stopped her from completing her duties. The salves she mixes with an expertise that comes from years of trial and error are potent and coveted.

Your lips quirk into a private smile as your fingers continue their threading. Working on a personal project in between your chores. “Has it really?”

She assesses you, her turquoise eyes all knowing as she takes you in. You’re a woman grown now far from the small child she had taken in with her husband all those years ago. In theses last few months you have blossomed, like a flower unfurling. She had an inkling of why-

“You are thinking of accepting courtship this cycle, yes?” It’s not a question, but a statement. One she already knows the answer to.

“I am” you whisper. “If he decides to pursue me, that is”

The comfortable quiet is back, both of you focusing on your respective tasks. You’d always been content just to bask in your Aunt’s presence.

“The Sully boy would be a fool not to court you” Ronal breaks the silence bluntly and you really should've had expected that she already knew.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Where dread usually lives in your heart at this time of year, lies only excitement. Joy, that fragile hope as you prepare for the festival. Anyone who knows you can see the change, you throw yourself head first into ceremony prep. Spend hours sitting with Tsireya eagerly sowing together new pieces of clothing for the festivities.

You sing as you tend to your house work, sweet little tunes that your family is surprised to hear.

Tonowari is beaming, endlessly happy that you are going to give a member of the clan a chance. He’d been questioning your self induced isolation for years, and was eager to see which of his warriors had stolen your heart. Ronal refuses to tell him even though he knows she knows,

“It is not mine to share” his wife rebuff’s every time he questions.

As the day of the Iknimaya draws closer you try to make sure that Neteyam knows that you are open to courtship. You spend a decent amount of time with his family anyway, Tsireya and Lo’ak always connected at the hip and Kiri growing into a close friend.

You ask him about his training, tend to any wounds he may aquire diligently. Laugh at his bad jokes, and listen to his stories of home. He misses the forest, you can tell. You selfishly hope that there isn't a pretty Omaticayan girl waiting for him.

At dinner, in the largest communal mauri, filled to the brim with clans members who are all but vibrating with excitement for the close looming festivities, you navigate the people.

In your hands, a large plate made from a recycled shell piled is high. Fish roasted over the fire, steamed rice and root vegetables that you had harvested yourself.

You’d watched Neteyam along with a handful of other training warriors limp into dinner late. They look tired and worn down.

He’d plopped down next to his family without getting himself food, and that just wouldn't do.

“Jake, Neytiri- I see you” You greet his parents as you approach. The sit close together, always intertwined in one way or another.

‘He idolizes our parents marriage’

You understand Kiri’s words as you watch Toruk Makto and his mate, as you appraise their close bond.

Jake grins, Tuk in his lap. Greeting you right back, easy to conversate with. Neytiri is quieter, hard to read. Intimidating, just like Neteyam who favors her so much in looks. Still the older woman signs the greeting back to you.

“You look really rough” is not what you meant to say to their son. Neteyams brow bones rise and you could kick yourself. Definitely would later.

“Thanks, I feel it” Neteyam responds with a tired chuckle.

Instead you laugh too, albeit awkwardly, trying to remedy the situation “What I mean is, you didn't get yourself food- and I know how exhausting training can be. Here, please eat. I’d hate for you to lose strength this close to your rite”

He accepts the plate of food graciously and you try to ignore the heavy feeling of eyes on you. His families, the clans. People have noticed you, have noticed this act of service. There’s only one thing it can mean.

“Irayo Y/N, I appreciate you” he thanks, making room for you on the log that he’s sat atop “Would you like to sit with us?”

“Very much so- but I promised Elder Raou’wal that I would help him back to his mauri. His legs don't work like they used to, and I don't want him to fall again-” you curse your nature, the fact that you offer your help so freely.

All you want to do is take that seat, so close to Neteyam that your thighs would press against one and others.

“That is very kind” Neteyam soothes “It’s okay, another time”

“Yes, another time” You know you sound like an idiot. You feel like an idiot. Standing before him and his family uninvited.

You need to make a quick escape, overwhelmed by all of the attention. “Please, get some rest before tomorrow. I’ve had to tend to over worked warriors all week”

Neteyam’s grin…is something else. Something not so sweet. Something that makes you flustered, that he’s looking at you like that in front of his parents, in front of the tribe. “Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Will you be there, tomorrow?”

“Of course I will” your response is quick, eager and it just makes that look on his face more intense.

“Good. Then I know everything will go well” his words make your heart beat so loudly your ears ring.

You don’t even know what to say, can barley keep your cool as you utter goodbye to his family, all of them quite obviously amused as you begin to scurry away.

You know the blush is burning up your whole face, that everyone can see your feelings as clear as day.

But-

You can’t leave him like that. Not with him facing is Iknimaya in the morning, with all of its promises of danger.

“May Eywa be with you, tomorrow and always” you give him the quiet blessing, truly hoping that the great mother looks over him.

He softens, physically. All of him slumping, as though you had put a balm on a jagged cut.

You don't wait for a reply.

Tonowari watches the exchange from his place at the head of the room,

Oh.

That is who had caught your eye, the warrior that had broken your resolve.

He shares a look with Ronal, his eyes comically wide and she laughs lowly at him.

“Ah my love, you have always been so slow”

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The Iknimaya rituals go as they always go, a long day full of young, strong hearted Na’vi eager to prove themselves. Most of them don’t succeed, at least half of them will need to wait until the next cycle to attempt it again.

Your family is at the center, you stand proudly behind Olo’eyktan Tonowari and Tsahik Ronal as they guide the young clan members through the rite of passage. Tsireya beside you, knowing that next cycle it will be her and Lo’ak attempting their own rites. Ao’nung cheering on young hunters that he had trained himself.

You love all of your people, the Metkayina one beating heart under Eywa’s watchful eye- yet you can't tear your focus away from Neteyam.

Your eyes are glued to him, and him only. The entire time. You watch, anxious and in awe. He’s so strong, all lean muscle and sharp mind. He mounts his Skimwing on the first try, much to the surprise of his peers. The people cheer him on, whopping loudly.

He’s beautiful, capable and skilled. He’s…stolen something from you. Abducted your soul, enthralled your thoughts in a way that almost felt intrusive.

You watch as the son of the first becomes a son of the sea, a man in both the Metkayina and Omiticaya tribes. A feat that almost none have accomplished.

The Motnaui is tradition, the freshly rited hunters will join the seasoned on a days long hunt. The time in the open ocean solidifies their bond to the tribe, their place that they have earned. Their chief will join them. Tonowari is eager, ecstatic for the time he gets to spend with his new hunters. With his ever growing tribe.

Everyone gathers to see the hunters off, so much love filling the crowded beach. Your people a buzz, tearful. Joyous.

You trail your fingers over the colorful Lei that lies around your neck. It matches the floral wreath nestled atop your head; the orchids are vibrant shades of fuchsia pinks and sunset yellows to represent your family.

They come in all shades, neon greens and baby blues, lilac purples and vibrant reds.

They are traded between your people at this time of year. Elders give them to children, sisters to their brothers. Tonowari wears many around his neck, the visual representation of how beloved he is to his clan.

To give a Lei can be friendly and platonic, sure. Especially if it is one of the dozens that are made just to be handed out- if a person wears multiple for clear decoration and celebration purposes only.

It can also be a very clear invitation for courtship- or at the very least consensual coupling. If a woman takes her lei off her own neck and presents it to a man, it is a sign of ownership. Marking that the specific male is taken for the duration of the fertility season.

You need to give Neteyam yours before he leaves, you want him to know that he has you. That you are his- and that you want him to be yours. That you will wait for him as he hunts and when he returns, he can have all of you.

You’re trying to find him in the crowd, your eyes scanning for the familiar dark blue skin that stands out so shockingly amongst your people-

Neteyam is with his family, all of them exuding proud energy. His mother cups his face in her lithe hands, his sisters hold onto his arms. His father pats his shoulder and his brother stares at him like he’s hung the stars.

You don't want to intrude on the moment, but you have to catch him before he leaves-

It’s like watching a horrible accident, like being witness to carnage that you just can't stop.

Seychelle, a clans member two years your junior, is beautiful. She’s a skilled singer and the daughter of a high ranking fisherman. She’s tall and shapely with pretty eyes, and its her first cycle as an eligible adult. As a woman grown who is available to mate.

She walks right up to Neteyam and his family boldly. Unafraid or ridden by anxiety like you always seem to be. All flirty smiles and fluttering lashes.

You’re too far away, can't hear what she says but you wouldn't want to anyway. Your chest is caving in and you feel like you can't breathe, your ears ring with the lack of oxygen.

You could challenge her. You have a high standing in the clan. You have first choice when it comes to mates,

But instead you just stand there. Bare witness to her taking off her bright orange Lei and slip it around Neteyams neck. He accepts it without a fuss, grinning and you can see his mouth form the words “thank you”.

Your nose burns and tears prick threateningly at your eyes but you know you can not let them fall. Not here.

You do what you do best;

You run away.

Not bothering to explain your exit to anyone, you probably couldn't form words around the lump in your throat anyway, you run as fast as you can. The world feels very far away, like it exists without you in it.

Your family mauri is empty, everyone's still at the beach and you don't even bother making it to your bed. You collapse right inside the entrance as the tears finally over take you and your eyes flood over.

What were you thinking?

How had you read this whole thing so wrong?

Your mind is dangerous, cruel in its confused, hurt state. It assaults you and you sob into your hands. You feel stupid now, in the special clothes you'd donned. Your hair twisted meticulously-

He had never been interested in you, you’d taken his innate kindness and skewed it. Neteyam had just been nice to you and you being the simple minded girl you were- had tried to force it into something more.

You curse yourself, curse your heart. Curse that fragile hope that you had clung to so desperately.

You cry until you feel sick, your eyes swollen and back tight from sobbing. You’re dizzy and tired by the time you crawl over to your bed. You don't even get under the covers, just stare blankly at the wall of the mauri as tears roll down your cheeks.

Who knew one person could produce so many tears? You wonder when your body will run out. You don't know how much time passes, only aware that darkness starts to fill the space as the evening eclipse arises.

“Oh, YN” the silence is broken by your cousin's soft voice.

Tsireya had wondered where you had gone, had been confused about your departure until she clocked Neteyam with a Lei around his neck that was quite obviously not yours.

“I’m sorry” Is all she whispers as she slips into the bed next to you, her arm winding around your middle.

It starts a whole nother round of tears. Of crying, mourning what you thought you could have.

“I-I-I’m so s-stupid” you stutter, snotty and muffled. She shakes her head, tears of her own starting to form as she holds you tighter.

“No, don't say that cousin. You’re not stupid” Tsireya soothes as she pets your hair. It hurts to see you in such a state. This had to be a mistake, she had been so sure of Neteyams feelings for you. Everyone had.

You shake your head, because you know you are. You knew you had little chance and still you’d paraded yourself in front of him like an idiot.

Never again, you vow to yourself.

To your shattered heart.

Wow, okay I didnt expect this to be so big, but I got so caught up in Metkayina Lore building that I kind of got sidetracked. Safe to say 90% of this story is going to be canon divergent. All of this Lore is my own creation and not Mr. Cameron's.

I have to give a shout out to two authors in the Avatar fandom that have inspired me the most as I write this.

@tiredmamaissy has really carved out a niche when it comes to the sexual nature of Pandora. I love the way she portrays Na'vi relationships and if this story leans a bit A/B/O its because I cant see the Na've not going to Heat's/Ruts now. She's just so good.

@loaksky when I tell you that reading her work makes me want to hone my craft, I mean that shit. She is a wordsmith in a way that you don't see much anymore. I am obsessed with how she long hand story tells and I def feel inspired everytime I read one of her fics. Queen of will they wont they/ slow burn.

[bumblinv]

I desperately need baby daddy Neteyam with twins. DESPERATELY

--- papa of two ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

neteyam x f!metkayinan!mate!reader

your journey of raising your two little twins together. reader and teyam both on their early 20s

a/n ; love this man sm i got carried away writing this, hope you enjoy reading this the same as how much i love writing this piece!!

your stomach is a little crowded, dear sister

what do you mean? 

maybe it was the way you tilt your head to the side, or your clueless gaze into his cloudy orbs, or the way you look so innocently curios. what ever it was, it made honäk burst into laughter

his previous loving, gentle clicks to inspect your belly turned to a streak of high-pitched whines. you grumbled. both your biological and spirit brother, both take joy at mocking you

oh, my sweet sister, and her tsiki-sized brain

stop, brother, i am no fool

you are, he chuckles, how come you not notice your two younglings inside?

you coughed,

bubbles erupting from your mouth so violently you swam to the surface. instinctively rubbing your face from utter disbelieve as water came prickling down your braids. you phant loudly. honäk's teasing whines echoed even from the depths, laughing at your mate as he joined you soon after

"we... two, two babies... twins..."

his breathless, uncomprehend whispers of joy shook you back to reality

oh dear mother,

you've got two

                                 ˚ · • . ° .

“morning, my childrens”, neteyam breathes out,

“good morning, dad”

the man let out a chuckle againts your belly, his warm breath tickling your skin made you giggle in return

soft mornings like this really made you fall in love for him all over again. you couldn’t blame yourself, he was so loving

his voice was hoarse and eyes half-lidden, yet every morning, no matter how tired he was, talking to his children were the first thing on his list

“how did you slept?”, you asked him. voice high, mimicking the cheerful voice of a child. it never failed to make neteyam grin lopsidedly, it was like as if he was communicating to his child through you

“your momma and i had a hard time sleeping, sweeties” he sighs, acting like a disappointed father, yet a smile had crept on his lips, “but it’s nothing to worry about, since you two seemed to cannot wait to meet us, hm?”

a gentle kick, 

it made him laugh 

“i know you are excited to meet us, sweeties, but please understand,” he kissed your belly, hands stroking yours, “kicking around and keeping your momma awake at night isn’t too nice. she needs her energy to carry you two around, okay? 

another kick, 

he looks up to you, smiling so happily, “i think they understand” 

“this one’s more energetic than the other,”, you giggle as you touch the spot where your baby had kicked, “reminds me so much of ao’nung and lo’ak”  

“no, they’re just like their momma” 

“oh, teyam”, you giggled as his hand went up, cupping your cheek with his warm hand ever so lovingly. his gaze soft on yours

“i’m being serious, love”, he kissed your temple, a soft smile crept through his lips, “they’re just like their mother, a bundle of energy who loves to cause a little bit of trouble”

you rolled your eyes, scoffing playfully, “at least i’m not the person taking the olo’eyktan’s daughter ikran-riding to a quiet beach” 

“its great for field research”  

“field research? at night?”, you raise an eyebrow to him, giggling as he bites down his lips. his smart remarks died down, wich you found amusing

“sorry babies, your tough papa’s just avoiding your grammpa tonowari, he’s afraid he would get his butt whipped” 

“children, don’t listen to her. i was fifteen” he sighs, shaking his head like a disappointed father, eyes turned to you,

“they aren’t even born yet and you’ve ruined my image” 

you giggle at his words, looking up as his ears shot down, “oh, teyam”, you grab his hand, intertwining them on yours. your attention now back to your belly, smiling softly as you place the man’s hand on your warm skin, 

“but the moment your dad went through his rite of passage,” you started, guiding his hand to rub on your stomach, “when he got home on his first ever tsurak, the first thing he did was to invite my parents to have dinner with us” 

“olo’eyktan tonowari and tsahik ronal, i ask for your permission to mate with your daughter”, neteyam says proudly, a wide smile on his lips

your gaze soften. you recognize that smile

it was the same, determined and sure smile he gave to your parents the moment he said those very words, two years ago

“and that, children, was how i became you papa” 

                                                ˚ · • . ° .

aside from your fluffy and soft mornings of waking next to him, some mornings left you dumbfounded

like this morning,

it was the first time in a few months you awaken to the throaty gawks of seagulls by your window. usually they won’t show up for another hour or 5,

and the warmth radiated from the sun, you weren’t used to it. usually, the first thing that greets you the moment you wake was the silver and dimmed light of the moon

but the thought that bothered you the most was how peaceful your sleep was

it was too peaceful that it felt....

off

there were no crying, no wailing. no dirty diapers to clean. it was a quiet night, except the faint cry you heard between your sleep

your brows scrunched,

a faint cry you barely heard

quickly to turn your head to the side, and oh...

oh dear eywa,

your heart dropped

“teyam? neteyam!” 

you jumped, scrambling clumsily to your feet as you frantically called for your mate. every single drop of sleepiness, all died as you hurriedly slide off the layers of blanket and pillows littering your empty bed,

“neteyam! the babies’ gone!” 

you cannot think straight, your mind was spinning. causing all sort of thought flooding in, 

awa’atlu was quiet. but there could be a chance that there were a kidnapper running around, or maybe it was a hungry tsurak (you admitted you really did think too far), or the thought of the past few years were a mere lucid dream, 

that you were just dreaming of marrying the love of your life, having beautiful little twins together. and this morning were the moment when you had finally waken up from that dream,

and thank eywa,

it wasn’t

pay and Ììum were very much real, who turned out to be sleeping peacefully on the hands of their father

you gaze to your sleeping mate, dumbfounded

it was a peculiar morning indeed

you face palmed yourself mentally, of course you hadn’t notice them, neteyam had slept on the floor of the darkest corner of your marui, completely wasted. his face looking up, his neck stretching in an awkward position so that his head could rest on the marui’s thin walls

“mawey… mawey ma’itan”

he blabbered as soon as Ììum cooed in his sleep,

you couldn’t help but chuckle as neteyam began reciting in what you think was supposed to be an omaticayan lulluaby, wich he always sang his children to sleep

it was barely recognizable, all the lyrics were jumbled up together with no melody whatsoever. he sang it out of pure instinct

you sit down next to him, after quietly cleaning up his successful attempt to comfort his babies. empty milk bottles, fluffy blankets, all littered around his feet

ever so gently, you remove pay from his left arm. and just like you thought, she remained asleep

once you get her all comfortable in your hold, with your right hand, you move your lover’s head to rest on your shoulder. you couldn’t bear having his neck hurting by sleeping in that way

“Ììum cried all night”, neteyam blabbers, “pay did too, cause he was cyin’ too loud and disturbin her sleep” 

you smile dearly, kissing your lover on his forehead

“thanks for helping me, teyam”

“anythin for you, yawne”

[victoirey]

hi! i’ve never done a request before but i read ur neteyam x reader and knew you’d do my thoughts justice 😭 okay, neteyam x omatikaya!f reader who comes along with the sully family to the metkayina clan. neteyam and reader are childhood best friends and they do nearly everything together, and during the battle when neteyam is recusing lo’ak and spider the reader pushes neteyam out of the way and gets shot protecting him. the reader can survive or not, it’s up to you. make it angsty pls! thank you so much in advance!

♡. "it was always him, in the end." —

synopsis / your love for neteyam knows no bounds.

gn!omaticayan!reader | angst. reader being down bad for neteyam because this is you guys we're talking about. i hate this, anon im sorry this sucks ASS

it was always him, in the end.

you would always love neteyam, as young as you are right now, you know your feelings wouldn't change. it was always ever him. you would always go back to him. every breath you took and step you take, it was all because of him. neteyam. neteyam, neteyam, neteyam, neteyam. he didn't know it yet, but there was someone out there who loved him more than they could ever love themselves. he just didn't know how close this person was to him.

you'd had always been by neteyam's side for as long as you could remember. you flied with him, fought with him, ran with him, ate with him— everything with him. you were inseparable. if someone asked neteyam who his ride or die was, he'd answer with "y/n." and his tone would be sure & certain. you'd smile at that thought. you'd smile at him in general.

you left behind your roots to go with him and his family— who at this point, saw you as one of their own. you left behind everything you knew in the forest, and you left behind who you were — because from then on, you would adapt to the metkayinan ways. you would adapt with him. everything was better if it was with him, you thought. everything was better.

sat on a marui pod, feet in the water, swishing and swoshing — unbothered by the way changed around you— because the only thing you could be bothered with was his ceaseless bickering. you whacked him, albeit playfully — as he mentioned something about you and aonung getting along too well. "aonung and i are nothing but acquaintances, neteyam— you know that, i know that, and you know what? i am pretty sure that aonung doesn't see me as anything more than a clueless nuisance!" you exclaimed, obviously tired of how the na'vi was treating you. neteyam only laughed, placing a hand on your hand nonchalantly.

your whole world blossomed.

you looked up at him, caught off guard by the sudden affection— eyes creasing as you smiled.

"you know," neteyam started, "the crap we're going through? it's tolerable. 'cause of you. you make it fun enough." he admitted, quietly.

it was as if he set you free. it was so random, but it was like ridding you of all your anxieties and that's why you loved him— that's when you knew. you were always inlove with him. you just didn't know you were because you were too busy being focused on him & loving him & cherishing him and—

being his, before he even knew it.

it was always him, in the end.

it was always him, in the end.

he was where all your thoughts stemmed from, where they returned to in times of anxiety. it was neteyam's voice you'd imagine lulling you to sleep, loving mutters of his imagined love for you. it was always him you'd return to, after a battle gone awry— because you wanted to make sure he was alive.

it was always him you'd return to.

so it was no surprise when you returned to him in the midst of battle, watching him fight alone as he distracted them from his siblings. the only thing that crossed your mind in those few seconds were—

help him.

help him, help him, help him.

and so you did.

you came to his aid, kicking one of the skydemons over— and you took a hit for him. you flinched at the sting, but you didn't waver anymore. you could only look at him. neteyam.

neteyam, neteyam, neteyam.

when you met him, both of you at the ripe age of five, all you ever really wanted to do was talk to him. to impress him. to befriend him. now, at the end of your life, all of your thoughts go back to him.

will he be okay? what will become of him? will he remember me?

will he remember me?

it was always him, at the end.

"y/n! Y/N!" he cried, shaking you — trying to get you to wake up, trying to get you to smile at him again— but to no avail. he laid your head on the rock ever so gently, hoping that you'd be touched at his gentleness like you always were— hoping you'd live, by some miracle done by Eywa. he cried, holding your hand to his face and kissing it tenderly.

"y/n—" he hiccuped, unable to finish his sentence. he hoped you'd be able to hear him, anyway. wherever you were. perhaps you were waiting for him, with Eywa? to cross. he hopes he won't leave you waiting for too long. it's as if your life flashes before his eyes, memories of you replaying in his head— and he realizes;

he's always been with you. everytime you weren't there, he'd listen to the seas and go— "they'd like this." everytime he passed by a plant, he'd think, "I'll give it to them, someday." everytime he ate tasty food, he'd go "they'd love this!" — and through all those moments, in some way, you were there with him. because he could never let you go.

"y/n, listen to me one last time, okay?" he starts, voice shaky as he leans in — whispering something only you can hear. a secret you'll keep.

"I love you."

he says what he needs to say, and leans away. he stays with you, your head in his lap— for the rest of the battle. he protects you like you're alive, because in some way, you are. in the trees, in the seas, in everywhere. neteyam sighs tiredly, having dealt with enough these past weeks, and now— dealing with your death. he mourns you in the silence he has been given, either from the fact his ears are ringing, or the battle has paused.

"it was always you, in the end, wasn't it?"

[ngayawneluoer]

the thrill of the chase

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ sully siblings x metkayinan reader

You visit the home of your Omatikayan friends, and Neteyam, Lo’ak, Kiri and Tuk encourage you to get into a bit of trouble and do something you’ve never done before: bond with an ikran.

word count: 2045

a/n: as always nobody fact check this bc i really should have done more research BUT ALAS enjoy

When your parents finally agreed to let you visit the Omatikayan lands, you figured your stay would include some introductions, sightseeing, and maybe some casual shenanigans. The Omatikayan village was rich with culture, and you revelled in the people's hospitality, but it wasn't long until your friends pulled you away from the adults and dragged you into trouble. Silly of you to think it would include something other than scaling mountains.

"This is… harder than it seems," You groaned, slightly trembling as you scaled the jagged rocks of the Hallelujah mountains. It was somewhat embarrassing for you, as even Tuk was racing ahead of you, but you kept telling yourself that you were just in a new environment and that it was expected of you to make mistakes.

"Not so easy when you're the fish out of water, is it?" Lo'ak teased, golden eyes peering down at you from the ledge where he, Tuk and Kiri had stopped to wait for you. Neteyam was right beside you, ready to assist if you struggled too much.

"Steady. Don't force yourself," Neteyam encouraged, an amused smile on his face.

You huffed, trying to hide how you strained with every step, "I'm not a baby, you know. I can climb a cliff without- shit!" Your right hand slipped from the jagged cliffside, and you cut your sentence off with a shriek. Thank Eywa for Neteyam, who had caught your waist to keep you stable and lifted you to hold the branch above you.

"Easy…" Neteyam reassured, hand still on your back as you regained your grip.

"What was that about climbing a cliff?" Lo'ak taunted playfully, which earned him a slap on the back of the head from Kiri.

Just what you deserve for getting cocky, you supposed.

Tuk peeked down, her sweet eyes filled with concern for you, "(Y/N), are you okay?"

Your first instinct was to say no; no, you were not okay because you were dangling from a floating boulder and if you fell, there was virtually zero chance of survival. And yet somehow, you couldn't say this was the most threatening situation you've been in. You survived a war. You could climb a rock.

"I'm fine, Tuk. Almost there."

Lo'ak turned to Kiri, "Should one of us tell them that we are definitely not almost there?"

"I heard that!" You retorted, scowling at the man above you.

"Less talking, more climbing!" Kiri laughed, "Even Tuk did it."

Neteyam rolled his eyes, "Ignore those skxawngs. You're doing great for your first time climbing this high."

"You can do it, (Y/N)!" Tuk cheered, her little hands clapping to cheer you on. You groaned in effort but continued pushing on.

When you finally reached the ledge, you threw yourself onto your back between Lo'ak and Kiri, "I regret ever teasing you for being useless in Metkayina," you whined, sincerity to your words, "I feel like a child here. Except even a child is more capable than me."

"Come on, you big baby. You haven't even gotten to the good part." Neteyam beamed with burgeoning excitement, clutching your arm to pull you back to your feet.

"I swear, swimming is so much more painless than all this. We have it easy back home." You spoke.

"I wouldn't say that. It took Lo'ak forever to get used to riding an ilu." Kiri reminisced as she strolled forward down the path, disappearing into the flora.

Lo'ak rolled his eyes, "Sure. Use me as the object of ridicule once again."

"Well it is true!" Tuk giggled with a mischievous grin on her face.

Lo'ak huffed, his hands coming to rest on his hips as he attempted to lecture Tuk, "Easy for you; you're a kid," he blurted, "Everyone carries you around; you never even had to learn to ride one!"

Neteyam scoffed, a look of disbelief on his face, "Lo'ak, she is seven."

Kiri stalked back with an exasperated look on her face, "Are you guys coming or not?"

"It is Lo'ak's fault, all he does is talk!" you quipped playfully with a smile, knowingly trying to get under his skin.

"I will push you off this mountain."

-

After a bit more bickering and a lot more climbing, you found yourselves close to the mountain peak, a large waterfall framing the path you assumed you were to take.

The five of you connected hands, with Tuk between Neteyam and Lo'ak, followed by you and Kiri. Cautiously, you all crept along the ledge behind the waterfall to reach a clearing with a myriad of ikrans. Finally, you all climbed onto some nearby rocks overlooking the creatures.

"They are beautiful," You whispered with a peaceful smile.

"They are," Lo'ak agreed, turning to you with a suspicious smirk, "Now you will tame one."

You spun to him in surprise, your brow furrowed in annoyance, "What?"

The four siblings tried to hold their laughs in but miserably failed.

"Do it, (Y/N)! We learned to ride ilus. Now you need to learn to ride an ikran." Kiri egged on, Tuk accompanying her with "Yes"s.

You looked to Neteyam for a semblance of help, but he merely shrugged as if to say you were on your own.

"No! What if I fall?" you sneered.

"I'll call my ikran, and we'll catch you," Neteyam quipped confidently.

"Where is your ikran exactly?" You challenged.

"Close by," Neteyam replied, "...probably."

"Neteyam!" you whined, slapping his arm.

Said boy snickered softly, a cheeky grin on his face, "I am only joking! I promise you will not die; I will catch you."

"Well what if they attack me?"

"They won't attack you," Lo'ak replied, "All at once."

You scowled at him suspiciously, "Your wording was awfully specific."

"I was just answering your question!" Lo'ak exclaimed, trying to mask a giggle as he threw his hands up defensively.

"(Y/N). You're not alone. We will help if we see you are about to die." Kiri chuckled.

You gave in with a sigh of irritation, "Okay. Fine," After a moment's reflection, you looked out at the sea of ikrans feeling somewhat determined, "So I just pick one?"

"Wellll… not really," Neteyam trailed off, a slightly guilty grimace on his face.

"Okay," you deadpanned, "How do I know which one to choose?"

"It will attack you," Lo'ak stated bluntly.

If looks could kill, Lo'ak would be dead.

"You forest people must have a death wish."

You knew you most definitely should not be doing this; your mother would probably lecture you until the end of time if she knew what you were doing. And yet there you were, making your way through the ikrans, about to tame one. You could faintly hear the four siblings cheering you on in the background, but you were primarily focused on not getting mauled to death by the enormous creatures. You were so out of your comfort zone when it came to ikrans. They were big, fast, vicious; how those morons managed to convince you to do this, you will never know.

You walked across the clearing, eyes darting cautiously at every sudden movement. To your dismay, every ikran you approached flew away, and as you counted up to 10 creatures flying away, you started to get discouraged.

Your shoulders slumped in bitter disappointment, and you turned back to the group watching you, "I don't think this is working."

"Keep going!" Kiri exclaimed amongst the acclamations of her siblings.

This was humiliating. 

"Please, they are all leaving!" You pouted slightly, pleading with Eywa that they'll let you off the hook and allow you to return.

Suddenly, Neteyam's eyes widened, his body lurching forward and his hands anxiously clasping the mossy branch in front of him, "Watch out!"

A hiss sounded behind you, and you released a shriek as you dove away from the sound and rolled to face the creature that had chosen you as its target. The admittedly gorgeous banshee stepped towards you, a menacing look in its eye as it screeched in your face, sharp teeth bared.

"Took your time, didn't you?" You taunted, standing to face the creature before hissing at it. The two of you circled each other before it dove forward, and you skillfully manoeuvred out of the way to avoid its razor-sharp fangs. Finally, you grabbed its head, wrapping both arms and legs around its neck to attempt to control it.

"Fight it!" Lo'ak screamed.

"Make the bond!" Kiri joined.

You grappled with the mighty reptile as it fought back viciously, but you somehow found the strength to overpower it and connect your queues. Immediately the ikran calmed, and you felt the bond you formed with the creature deep in your bones. A gleeful laugh escaped your throat as your ikran stood slowly with you on its back.

Neteyam breathed a sigh of relief, releasing the iron grip he had on the flora around him. Lo'ak only laughed, playfully punching his brother's shoulder, "I told you they could do it, Neteyam."

Kiri wasted no time and leapt over the rocks to meet you, her siblings in tow.

"You must fly now to seal the bond," she proclaimed.

"You've got this. It's like an ilu. Just no water," Lo'ak said cheekily.

You turned to Neteyam, who was now carrying Tuk on his back, "Trust yourself. We'll be right behind you."

You nodded, breathing deep and turning to face the cliff, staring at the sky ahead. And when you felt that both you and your banshee were ready, you commanded it to fly.

It jerked suddenly, and you released a loud shriek as it nosedived off the mountain. Your body lifted off its back until the only thing keeping you connected was your iron grip on its antennae (and your prayers). Just as you managed to pull back and get the ikran to glide straight, it flew directly into a waterfall, stunning you and making you lose focus. The poor animal tried its best to fly but panicked once again, fluttered directly into a cliffside, then up and down... and up and down again. It would have been an understatement to say you were doing terribly, and the harder you tried to gain control, the harder it was.

"(Y/N)!" You turned to the sound of your name being called to see Lo'ak to your left on his own ikran, "Steady! Stay calm, and your ikran will listen!"

Taking deep breaths, you tried your best to focus on the sound of Lo'ak speaking and calm yourself down. To your delight, eventually your ikran levelled out, soaring straight.

"Yes, (Y/N)! You're flying!" An adorable, excited voice cheered. You turned to your right to see Tuk hanging on Neteyam's back as he flew his ikran. Neteyam wore a huge, proud smile, and he whooped along with his little sister.

Behind you was Kiri on her ikran, one arm in the air as she bellowed excitedly. A proud smile took over your face, and you let out an enthusiastic trill, your friends joining you.

When it was apparent that you had your flying under control, Neteyam spoke up, "Follow me! I'll take us somewhere you will not believe."

-

"You did what?!" Neytiri hissed. The five of you stood in a row in front of her, gazes lowered and ears pointing back in shame.

"Their parents trust us to look after them for three days, and you take them to do one of the most dangerous things they could have done here?" Jake joined, primarily lecturing his two sons, who he knew were most likely the instigators.

Lo'ak huffed, "They're fine, though."

"Yes, I am fine-"

"They could have died!" Neytiri yelled, "And you took Tuk with you? What were you thinking?!"

You were silly to even try to get a word in. There would clearly not be any winning this argument, so you all hung your heads in shame and accepted the lecture.

"-and no more causing trouble. For the one day (Y/N) has left here. Can you do that?" Jake concluded.

You all answered with obedient "Yes sir"s before moping away in silence.

When you were far enough away from the two adults, you finally let out the giggle you had been holding back, and the others joined in.

"So worth it."

-

a/n: currently working on some requests :) thank you to everyone who has been giving attention to my posts and sending in requests, it makes me so happy! i’m seeing avatar 2 again tomorrow so hopefully it will strike some inspiration again <3

[wiltedkyinn]

I was never there.

2.9k words woozwes, might b a little rushed my bad.

sully family x son/brother (m) reader

Being the middle child, the third oldest of the Toruk Makto and the neytiri, the great warrior. While neteyam carried the burden of being the responsible one, lo’aks burden was trying to live up to his brother's name, kiris was being an outcast and yours? No one seemed to remember you. neteyam’s least reckless sibling, lo’aks quiet voiced brother, kiri’s tag along brother, tuk’s babysitter. A no one in a family of great, a shame really, you couldn't do much. Was pretty average in everything, not standing out. If there was a crowd your own father couldn't find you. Being left out in everything, the family went on a picnic? Oh, you were sleeping. The siblings had support from neytiri and jake. You? They were too busy, you had to tame an ikran by yourself. You had taught yourself to braid your hair. You were all alone, alone in such a big family, the family of the tribe. You weren't sad when you were told that the family had to leave and find a new home. Your kind of happy, you could rebrand yourself. Maybe, and just maybe, make a name for yourself. 

You were behind your family on your way to the reef clan, the metkayinan tribe. You head looking down letting your father do the convincing, suddenly your hand was being lifted in the air, showcasing to the clan members. Ronal the tsahìk yelled “they aren't even true na’vi! They have demon blood!” you looked at her at surprise then looked at tonowari, the leader. Your father quickly intervened, “look, look” he brought up his hands showing the same hands as y/n. 5 fingers, instead of 4. She let go of your hand and went to talk to her mate. After being settled in and setting up where you would sleep. Far from where your family was, the closest bed to you was neteyams. You quickly laid down and brought your knees as close as they would go to your head, fetal position. Wishing your hardest that if you took up less space that you could just disappear completely.  You woke up early and a few rays of sunshine hitted the island, you prepared breakfast for your family. Before anyone could wake you swiftly were curled up back into a ball. Your family normally thought you were sleeping so they didn't want to burden you, or that's what you hoped that was the case.

The first to wake was lo’ak he mindlessly poured some food onto a clam shell and ate two plates. Jake and tuk wake up, following neytiri and neteyam. All laughing and eating. “Who warmed this up?” Neytiri's voice was a little raspy from just waking up. “n/n did! I saw!” tuk’s bubbly voice awoke you from sleeping-but-not-really-asleep. She crawled up by y/n and hugged him, “wake up y/n~” her voice sang your name. Quickly waking up and sitting up, careful not to drop tuk. “What?” you were trying to wipe away his sleeplessness. “Thanks for breakfast.” your mother yelled, y/n slowly nodded to her. “Come one tuk let's eat” tuk yanked the boy up from his bead and ran by the family. But before you could even serve yourself something to eat, tsireya came to gather the kids to start lessons. 

Soon meeting with Aonung and Roxto by the shore. They didn't seem happy to see your sibling but neither the sullys were. After a couple silent moments they reef na’vi dived in with everyone quickly following. While your brothers and baby sister, neteyam, lo’ak and tuk needed to resurface for air, you and kiri easily got the hang of it. While she was busy looking at the animals, you ventured trying to look for a place to hide from the others. You found an underwater cave, it had an air pocket inside of it, the roof of the cave being covered in crystals, the water reflected the light of the beautiful gems. You were awestruck with its beauty. You laid down and for some reason went into a deep slumber. The sea provides soothing background noises. 

Waking up slowly, you got up and started to stretch, some popping noises coming from your bones. You dived into the ocean, swimming back by the shore you saw kiri. You kept swimming, you took notice of some of Aonung and Roxto's friends circle around her. You weren't sure what was happening until lo’ak and neteyam were there defending kiri. You hurried to make sure they were okay before you heard roxto call your siblings freaks. You were behind roxto, pulling his hair you blew a quick punch to his face. One of his friends grabbed your tail and dragged you off of him. You older brother, lo’ak, quickly grabbed your assailant's ear. You kicked someone who was trying to grab your foot, you were too busy with whoever you were punching to notice neteyam joining the fight. After what seemed like 30 minutes, both sides got tired, the reef na’vi were the first to retreat.  You were worse than neteyam and lo’ak, scratches by your ankles and littered around your back,  a black eye on your left eye, you had a long scratch that started by the base of your tail and stopped halfway down your tail. It was bleeding more than the other ones. 

While walking back to your marui, you were in the back, as always. Jake instantly took notice of your older brothers, you walked by, he didn't notice you at all. You sat down and asked your mom to give you some aloe and some leaf wraps. She thought you were going to bandage your brothers up, well until she saw your black eye. “y/n! You got into the fight?!” your mother shouted at you. You nodded, Your father quickly laid onto neteyam. “You even got y/n into the fight? What the hell neteyam!” “im sorry sir-” neteyam was cut off by y/n own voice. “For the love of eywa! I threw the first punch. It was my fault.” you seethed through your teeth, trying to not wince when putting the gel onto your tail. “I'll apologize tomorrow.” your voice was more relaxed, after putting on a leaf wrap. “Yeah I'll go with him too!” lo’ak was trying to save face for himself. “First Thing. Tomorrow.” Jake basically growling towards y/n and lo’ak. When lo’ak and neteyam looked at y/n. He put his hand to his chest and widened his eyes. The brother silently laughed at his antics. 

Me and lo’ak had to go apologize to roxto and whoever. The brother slowly stopped by Aonung, Roxto and his friends. “We are sorry.” y/n looked at roxto, specifically at the bruise on his jaw. “So sorry, that i hitted you.. So many times” i chuckled at lo’ak’s “apology” They all looked at each other before grinning at one another. “I forgive you, wanna go hunting outside of the reef?” Aonung asked, mainly towards  lo’ak. After the bickered I noticed that lo’ak was going. I followed mindlessly, not really paying attention. Until I noticed they were leaving us. I tapped and signed to lo’ak ‘they left i think it was a prank” he seemed scared, scared? I looked where he was looking, noticing a gigantic black fish come towards us. I quickly got back on my ilu. Trying to hint at lo’ak to do the same. He was frozen, almost entranced by the unknown fish. Y/n grabbed his wrist and wrapped lo’aks arm around him. Trying to get him to hold on. Once he did, the ilu went as fast as it could, barely missing a few close calls. Soon the ilu didn't miss the shark like fish, and it attacked the ilus fin. Following the fin was a streak of crimson blood. 

Y/n gabbed lo’aks wrist and swam as fast and hard as he could, hiding in some coral reef holding him behind him, even if he was younger. Before the fish was barely able to snatch and eat us. A gray colored version of the thing attacking us. Slammed him into a wall of reefs. Before y/n could notice, lo’ak was slipping from his hands. Looking behind himself, he couldn't find him. Freaking out, he started panicking. Since he couldn't hold his breath any more. y/n passed out. 

Floating in the ocean y/n opened his eyes. Nothing in miles near him. Just pure ocean. y/n started swimming towards the front of him, seeing a small rock. He perked himself there. Finally taking a deep breath to help calm him down. Trying to pinpoint where he was. He was taken out of his thoughts when he felt a sharp pain on his back, touching where it was throbbing. He pulled back his hands, realizing he was bleeding. A few tears seeped through his closed eyes, he felt pure fear. He was in the middle of nowhere, bleeding, wondering if lo’ak was okay. He tried to call for an ilu, hoping he was at least somewhat close to the island. Thankfully an ilu appeared, he took in a deep breath preparing himself for the salt water to sting his bleeding wound. He made the bond, and rode. After a half day he finally found the island. 

The island seemed gloomy, he approached with caution. He walked towards what he thought was the shared marui between him and his family. He peeked through hearing sniffles between the youngest sister. He was relieved to see his family. He was painfully aware of his cut even after a while it was still oozing out some blood. He whimpered out his pain, “mom my back” his voice was barely above a whisper but to the rest of the family, they could hear him planets away. They gasped, tuk running with her tail in between her legs and immediately clinged onto the elder one's leg. Kiri followed after. Jake released a breath that sounded as if he was holding it in for weeks. Neytiri started crying and smiled. Holding y/n as tight as she could. You winced underneath her grip. 

“Show you your back,” her voice only held happiness in her voice. You tried to turn around, before black spots had entered your vision. Your body went limp, the rest of the men in the sully family ran to turn you over, kiri ran to fetch ronal. The cut started at your shoulder blade and went down to your hip. You had a bruise along your right thigh. To put it simply, it looked like you went through hell and back. Ronal was quick, she was there along with tsireya. You were quickly bandaged, Ronal quickly went and prayed for your safety, tsrireya and neytiri joined her. You slowly opened your eyes, you had a killer headache, and your back was like someone was actively clawing at you again and again. You fully opened your eyes and were met with an empty marui. You nearly died and they left you? Bro was flabbergasted. He pushed the lump building up in the back of throat. Hecrwled out of the marui. He winced at the image of fire, coming from a human boat. He called out for his ilu, the one who safely brought him back home. He saw tsireya swimming. ‘What is going on?’ he signed to the seemling distressed girl. ‘They have tuk and kiri come on!’ She sat behind you and led you to where your sister was. 

Before you were on the boat you spotted your oldest brother on a rock with lo’ak, you quickly swam by them. Neteyam breathing was uneven. y/n took off his bandages and cut them in half with his hunting knife. He put one on the front of neteyams chest and one on his back where a hole was gushing out blood. “Get him to ronal! She's on the island!” you yelled at lo’ak, you gave him your ilu. Tsireya was leading the way to the boat. 

You were met with the back of an army dressed as na'vi, holding kiri. Neytiri had a knife to your formerly human friend, spider. Jake holding tuk. “Go” your voice was barely a whisper so only the girl by you could hear. Your tail went back and forth studying the unknown na’vi. After a second you jumped, kicking your sister out of his grasp. You bit as hard as you could on his neck. He groaned, flipping his back over, dropping his gun with y/n. You quickly picked it up, pointing at him. “Kid, you don't even know how to use that” he chuckled, taunting y/n. y/n hissed, his first time honestly hissing. He points at a human coming his way. He shoots the gun, right at the human head, never leaving the glare from the unknown na’vi. “Mom! Neteyam is with Ronal, I don't think he is gonna die!” y/n knew why she slit spider's throat. Somehow, miles had gotten another gun. Y/n noticed a little late, the much bigger na’vi shot y/n in the thigh. y/n noticed the pain before even realizing he was shot. He ran behind miles, cutting off miles' kuru, sending him with waves of pain to the colonel. After letting miles float in pain, y/n slit his throat. Blood spraying onto y/n's face. y/n had kneeled, his adrenaline rush finally running off. The boat started going upside down. Uh-oh. y/n quickly held his breath swimming as fast as he could, he ran into lo’ak. ‘Dad, i dont where dad is, go save him’ the signs were becoming messy, making them harder to read. Lo’ak still had the gist of it and nodded. y/n swam back to the island waiting for the rest of his family to return. He checked on neteyam, he was unconscious but had a steady heartbeat. y/n smiled knowing he would pull out. He is the great son of Jake Sully after all. After waiting a bit, y/n was drowsy. He was suffocating in pain; with his back and thigh, he would believe you if you said he was gonna die.

He tried his hardest to stay awake, he closed his eyes, body going limp for the second time this day. He opened his eyes, seeing a beautiful sanctuary, filled with na’vi laughing while walking, some holding hands, some crying. He felt at peace, no throbbing back, no blood-colored thighs, no war.  An old man with wise eyes and a small smile came up towards y/n, y/n wasn't frightened, he felt an instant connection, like he was the man he was missing in his life. “Oh, dear one, it's great to finally meet you. But you belong with neytiri, not me, no. far too early." His crow's feet were noticeable, he had wise eyes, and a strong facial structure. “I'm sorry to ask but uhm but where are we?” Y/n was looking around at the beautiful scenery. “We are with ewya dear one” his smile faltered for a second. “What? I-im dead? No. no, my family,” y/n was quickly panicking, he can't be dead. What about Neteyam having kids? Lo’ak finally mating with tsireya? Kiri becoming a beautiful young healer? Tuk finding her ikran? “If you want to be with your family, you’ll need to step back, it will be painful,” y/n put two and two together figuring out who this man was, “eytukan, my grandfather?” he gave a cheerful nod and slightly pushed the younger na’vi back, “tell your mother i miss her.” he smiled before your vision was black. It was cold, very cold. After the cold surrounded him, he felt the most excruciating pain ever. He felt a very bone crack out of place. He saw his limp body, his father slightly crying, holding his son's hand, caressing it. His mother screaming at eywa praying for him to come back, his oldest brother was awake looking at y/n with guilty eyes, lo’ak with shameful ones, tuk crying the loudest out of all the, y/n was tuk’s rock, always clinging onto him when her parents were busy. Kiri tried confronting but she wouldn't do anything since it wasn't you. Spider was a couple feet away; he wasn't crying, instead angry at himself for trusting his “father.” y/n was screaming, crying as the pain was becoming worse. His soul went back into his body; since his soul was set free, he had to be molded back to his body. 

His eyes opened softly, “you guys thought you would get rid of me that easily?’’ his voice was groggy, all eyes on him. Once again, his oldest brothers embraced him tightly. Kiri clinging onto his right side, tuk cuddled on his arm. After they cleared off of him, expect tuk. He felt his father's tears on his forehead, “why are you crying i'm not dead right?" he held onto his father's forearm. To try and sit up, his mother hastily pushed him down. “Don't move, it'll only cause you pain” her voice breaking on every other word. “Grandpa said he missed you, i was with ewya, one with her. It was very peaceful. Many families were there.” y/n was ranting reassuring everyone that he is indeed still alive, neytiri was looking at the body of her middle child, happy. He had met her father, one of her wishes. For her children to meet her father. “My leg hurts,” he was yearning for some type of relief from the pain. Ronal was there within seconds, wrapping his thigh, his back again. “How do you feel neteyam?” Even after his actual death experience, he still wondered about his sibling. “Alive.” he said, both him and y/n chuckled.

[lolita-lollipop]

Ooooh I got an avatar request ;]

The reader has been friends with the sully kids for a while now but hasn't seen them ever since they moved to the metkayina clan. After hearing that kiri had fallen unconscious, she begs norm and max to accompany them to the islands, because she's worried about her friend. It pretty much follows the same as in the movie, they arrive, do a check up, find nothing and then get kicked out by neytiri. Reader is just chilling outside since she isn't allowed really allowed to be in the same room as kiri, but doesn't want to leave until she knows her firend is awake and healthy. The adults are talking with Jake, she's alone and that's where aonung and his gang arrive. Drama ensues. The conflict can be about literally anything and can end however you want, but there needs to be scene where the reader leaves a strong impression.

Sorry if the req I a bit long and thx <3

Protective

PROTECTIVE NETEYAM X HUMAN READER

When you had heard of kiri fainting underwater, it took you only a few seconds to grab your things and go beg norm to let you come with him. He was against it, of course, as he knew how the metkayinan people were with humans. But, you remained adamant, being that kiri was one of the best friends you'd ever had in your life, if she was hurt, you needed to be there. You wouldnt take no for an answer. Norm knew that.

so , you ended up sitting on a helicopter that was so old and beat up you thought it might fall out of the sky. Strapped down by a seatbelt, watching the waves pass by below. It made you nervous. The water, that is. Growing up in the forests with the sullys and norm, there was a lack of large bodies of water, the biggest was the falls under the hallelujah mountains, and even those were pretty little.

Also, on a more important note, you didn't know how to swim.

You don't know why, ever since you were little, water just freaked you out. Jake and neytiri saw that, and figured that you wouldn't need the skill of swimming, as you lived in the forest. Not out at sea. How ironic is that.

So, in your anxious state, you pulled at the wires of the mask, and tapped your nails at the metal of the chair. Staring down at how the waves washed over the ocean floor, unease slowly sunk into your mind, not only because kiri was sick, possibly dying, buut because you felt so out of your element. Norm noticed, but chose not to say anything, chalking it up to the fact that your best friend was in a coma.

When you landed, it only took a few moments to be surrounded with the natives, immediately lo-ak was on top of you in a bone crushing hug, you fell to the ground, and lo-ak proceeded to blow into your neck, tickling you like an older brother bullying his sister . Tuk then piled on top, then kiri, and then neteyam. THe metkayinas around stared at the odd display between human and na-vi. Strange. So strange.

But, a particular group of boys stood front and center, taking more notice than everybody else. They all snickered with eachother, staring at the alien freaks with an actual alien. They had all known of the sully families close association with humans, but bringing them here? And showing affection. Crazy.

“Lo-ak, tuk! Get off of her, now.” Neytiri hissed, pulling the four off of you, dropping them, and then giving you a small hug herself, her touch lingered for a little bit, but you chose not to say anything, neytiri was practically your mother. Hugging was A human tendency you liked, even though they very rarely did it.

Oh god how much you missed these people, you weren't allowed to come with them, mainly because it was dangerous for you to be far away from other humans, lest your mask break and you didnt have a backup, they didn’t want to risk it. But you still loved them so very much, and jumped at the chance to see them.

It didn't take very long for norm to be lead to where kiri was, and along with him, you. The sight of her alone brought so much happiness, you wanted to go up and tackle her, and scream to her about how much you missed her. To gossip about her brothers and others in this new place. THen you remembered she was unconscious, and that someone would probably pounce on you if you tried. A woman was huddled over her, crushing some form of healing herb.

You chose to stand by the doorway, making the active decision not to approach, you were one of the only people in human form here, also the only one without any medical experience, or anything that could help, other than that you were her friend. Norm sent a short glance your way, and then proceeded to approach kiri. You gathered by the door for a little while, then chose to sit outside and watch the water.

You were wary at first, staring at the little fish dancing about, but as norm took a painstakingly long time, it let you warm up to the flowing form of ey-wa. By the time an hour passed, you were lying chest down on the dock, both of your hands in the water, swirling figure eights into the foamy sea. The small sea creatures ebbed and flowed, following your hand , you watched the glittering little white squids play your fingers, they were almost cute.

You'd never seen such creatures before, they were different from any fish you’d ever seen at home, even in the biggest bodies of water. Your eyes followed them as they perked up and down in the water, putting on a show for you. The little squids held your attention so well that you barely even noticed the heavyset footsteps behind you. Not until it was too late.

A large hand hooked around your ankle, and with a swift motion, threw you off the peer, no warning, just a harsh splash as you plunged face first into the water. Shattering your mask along the way.

You hit the water heavy, diving in head first with a bent neck to the point of pain. All of a sudden, panic filled your lungs just as fast as water did, and you forgot all of the things anybody had ever told you about swimming, which already, was very little. You hadn't realized how deep the water really was, and before you knew it, you panicked more. Oh god.

your body Is sinking.

You flung your hands around, thrashing and splashing in the deep water, the fish around you swam around in a circle, seemingly trying to help. The glass that had broken upon impact found it's way into your eyes, and you let out a scream, continuing to thrash around.

Any efforts made to rise back to the surface were beaten by your lack of oxygen, and as the last bubbles of air left your mouth, you choked on your tongue, and began to fully drown. Black spots danced around in your peripheral vision, slowly closing in on you, your throat closed up, and your thrashing began to be much less violent, instead being replaced with small, weak movements.you heard yelling, but it was too far away to understand.

And then it all went blank.

---

“Tell them! Tell them what you told me!” A voice echoed around you. when you came to your senses, and were able to open your eyes, you were sitting in your own puddle of water, wet clothes and wet hair. A salty taste in your mouth. Your head was in Tuk’s lap, and she held an oxygen mask over your mouth and nose, smiling at you goofily when you met her eyes.

Your eyes burned, and you could feel how red and puffy they were without even touching them. You took deep breaths, remembering what it felt like to have all the air in your system sucked out of you, to slowly sink down with the increasing pressure of the water. So, instead of focusing on that, you sat up, locking eyes with neteyam, who was holding anoung by his ear, yelling at tonowari and ronal.

“It was supposed to be a joke- I didn’t think the human would drown!” The teal skinned na-vi slurred out, his mouth was bleeding, and a nasty blue bruise was already beginning to form on his temple. Jake and neytiri just stared at the scene, choosing not to speak, neither of them had ever seen neteyam so… unhinged.

Usually, he was the most perfect oldest child any parent could ask for, following rules, having a kind heart, listening like a puppy. But now. He had a look, more than a look really, his entire posture had changed, he looked uncontrolled, he looked like lo-ak . Neteyam punched that metkayina boy so fast it was uncanny. He looked feral, as the boy glanced between you and anoung, there was a deep ferocity in his gaze.

Even neteyam himself didn’t understand why he was acting like this, but seeing you underwater, and seeing the little pieces of glass from your mask float to the top, seeing you struggle so hard. It brought out something in him, something that made him want to bus anoungs face in. His dad even told him to calm down, but he still punched him in the face so hard it brought stars in his vision.

Nothing they say would change a damn thing. So they stayed quiet.

“The human has a name. What if she had died? What would you have done then? Would it still have been a joke?” Neteyam continued to scream, smashing the back of his head. The Navi boy just looked down in embarrassment, people were staring now. Including You, who was staring wide eyed at neteyam, not knowing wether to be mildly afraid at the sudden change in character for him, or to be happy that he’s so keen on defending you.

“Well, she didn’t, she’s fine.” Anoung replied, shoving off neteyam, who hissed at him in return, you wanted to laugh at how strange the boy you’d known since you were just a baby was acting. He was never so harsh, and he never got into conflict unless lo-ak started it. Was he really going this far for you?

Apparently, yes he was.

“Ill fucking kill you, you fish brained fu-“ neteyam puffed his chest out, curling up his fists and making the motion to run up and sock him in the face, again. Lo-ak, bring the chaotic instigator he is, was of course, cheering his brother on, neytiri hushed him.

This wasn’t good, they had clearly worked so hard to develop their relationship with these people, and you’d crushed it down in a few seconds. So, instead of letting things get worse and making the entire sully family get kicked out, you stood up from your spot, pulling your hand away from Tuk, and slowly walked to neteyam. You seperated the space between the two idiots, and eventually grabbed neteyams hand.

“Neteyam, Stop it. I’m fine.” He scowled at you, breathing heavily, barely able to contain his anger. But he still listened to you anyway, choosing to follow you away as you walked back to kiris hut. His hand found it’s way placed firmly on your shoulder on a protective stance, and he turned around one last time to meet anoungns gaze, smirking at the blood that left his nose and mouth, daring him to say anything. He didn’t.

“If anybody ever touches you again, I’ll shoot them. I love you too much to see you hurt” He squeezed your shoulder with a smile, sending death threats with such ease. You let out a short laugh, and let him walk you away, choosing to ignore how his “I love you” felt different all of a sudden.

“I probably won’t be taking you up on that offer.”

—-

*bonus*

“Someone’s got a boyfrieeendddd” kiri teased, wiggling her fingers at you and dragging out the word for way too long. This is how you were greeted when you walked into the hut. Tuk had been gossiping with her about it, and had filled her in completely.

“What?”

“Y/n and neteyam sittin in a tree k-i-s-s-i” tuk started, and kiri giggled at how red you automatically got at the mention of him. You didn’t know what to do, you couldn’t just leave because that would be even more embarrassing, but you also didn’t want to talk tot he. About it-

“Shut up- oh my god shut up- somebody will hear you”

“oHhHhHhHh somebody like neteyam?” Kiri kept going, practically yelling out the words for anybody who was even remotely close to hear. You covered your face with your hands in embarrassment and glared daggers at the two giggling toddlers.

“I will kill both of you right now.” Your threats only seemed to spark more enthusiasm from the both of them, and even though you tried your hardest to get them to shut up, nothing worked. They went through fit after fit of giggles, until eventually kiri paused from laughter.

“Ok ok fine- you just have to promise me one thing.” Sending one of her smiles to you, the one that makes you know

“…go on.”

“Promise that my brother won’t steal you from me forever. And I mean it- I want my designated hour a day-“ she joked, still very loud, still doing anything and everything to make you as embarrassed as she could.

“Jesus Christ. Yeah, I promise

Your brother won’t steal me forever”

———————————————————————-

Ngl I’ve been reading way too many father jake x daughter reader fics and it’s rotting my brain away. But if you want to request those I’m so down.

Anyways I completely misunderstood this as a neteyam x reader request and only saw it once I was finished. And there is no way I’m deleting an entire fic now. So I hope it’s good

Thanks for requesting anon! And thanks so much for reading my lovely readers!

[openpandorabox]

i just wanna say, thank you so much for all the love my neteyam fic is getting. i want to continue writing more, so please send me your requests and i will do my best to fulfil them <3

[pandorainmymind]

give it

neteyam x fem!omatikaya!reader

smut

!!! NETEYAM AND READER ARE AGED UP !!!

word count: 3.7k

tag list: @gurlypopsstuff

“i’m always the one looking after you!” neteyam raises his voice, then pauses to let out the biggest and most sarcastic sigh, “you could at least make it a little easier” his brows furrowing together and his mouth slightly turning into a snarl

stopping in your tracks, your ears perk up as you take notice in the sully brothers. looking around, you try to see if any of the others of the metkayinan clan are noticing the rising argument between these two by the shore. but the sound of water splashing rips you away from the outside world and back into the one full of resentment.. that the two brothers are currently in.

pushing each other deeper into the ocean, the younger hisses in anger. “nobody understands me!” lo’ak raises his voice right back at his brother, shoving his chest. egging him on to throw the first punch. but a wave of worry washes upon yourself and you don’t realize you’re sprinting towards the boys until you’re between them, waist deep into the sea with tears running down your vibrant blue cheeks.

“stop it!” you cry out, placing your hands on either one of the boys’ chests.

lo’ak scoffs and backs up from your touch, leaving the argument with a blazing anger. you couldn’t help but feel a part of your heart fall slightly. you didn’t want to become between the sully family.

that was the last thing you wanted.

after all they’ve done for you in the past years (all the way back to your childhood), practically welcoming you into their family. leaving the omaticaya and coming to the metkayinan clan in ‘escape’ with them - it made you constantly worry about your advantage into the family.. worrying whether you could actually help them instead of just getting in the way.

“y/n” neteyam says, trying to let go of his temper - he was in a worried manner, and it made you let go of your spiraling thoughts. realizing your hand still presses against his toned chest. widening your eyes in shock, trying not to drop your gaze down his abdomen. quickly you pull your hand away to wipe your tears from your cheeks, not fully recollecting that you’re crying - you take a step back from the taller male and go deeper into the water to space yourself from him. “i’m sorry - i didn’t m-“ you sputter out in apology before neteyam interrupts.

“stop”

his low voice makes you involuntarily swallow hard, and look down into the clear ocean. feeling yourself becoming warm with embarrassment. the feeling of his hard body still burning in your head.

“why are you apologizing?” he asks you, tilting his head to the side slightly. making his dark braided hair flail in movement too. looking into your eyes he tries to make you feel better, but inevitably he just makes you feel more embarrassed. “i don’t know neteyam.. i’m just gonna g-“ you say in a quiet tone, your voice cracking just barely from the wave of emotion that washed over you. and as you begin to turn and swim away mid sentence, neteyam grabs your upper arm.

his hold is strong, yet it brings a sense of security. the skin contact makes you feel warm, and you part your lips slightly in surprise. neteyam never held you like this before, keeping you from running away from him like you usually do. it caught you off guard. “why are you always trying to leave?” he questions you, a pleading look in his round bright eyes. it causes your heart to quicken, and you feel trapped.

this na’vi you’ve known since childhood that’s been only kind to you making you feel flustered once again.

“hurry up slow poke!” neteyam hollers back over his shoulder, to you doing your best at following behind him - running through the jungle thicket to his ‘special’ place.

he’s never taken you there before (only in your imagination he took you with him, when you’d listen to the stories he’d tell you about it all before) and when he asked you to come with him, it was like the greatest feeling you’ve felt in your young life

“you’re faster than me neteyam slow down!” you whine out, ducking under the forest layers of different flora. it’s bioluminescence showing itself with the graze of your body, informing you that eclipse is beginning.

running forward, through all the sheltered pathways that neteyam just passed through, you finally enter a clearing and gasp for breath. ears perking up in wonder.

the beauty arraying itself all over. the spacious area underlined by the soft mossy overgrown forest floor was surrounded by the lush canopy that the forest region of pandora adorned. the sounds of distant chattering of prolemuris and buzzing of other life surrounding you.

you close your eyes and take a deep breath in, silently thanking the mother eywa for all the beauty and power she dwells and gives

after some time you spend reminiscing about the scenery, you begin to wonder where neteyam had gone.

then dark thoughts begin to quickly cloud your once happy and calm mindset, as you feel your heart rate rise and panic start to set in.

“neteyam!!” you call out, your ears turning - trying to hear any sound of help, trying not to tear up in the process. mentally cursing at yourself for being such a crybaby.

frantically looking around the open forestry, while doing so you reach behind you and grab your braid, pulling it over your shoulder to hold onto for comfort. (something you’ve often found yourself of doing)

anxiety built up in your stomach and as you were about ready to run back to the hometree and alert toruk makto, two hands squeeze your sides.

“AH!” flipping around and shouting, absentmindedly flailing your lanky arms in fright, you whack neteyam straight across the face. “ow!” he groans, pulling his hands from your waist to cup his cheek. “what was that for?”

feeling safety flood back into your body in finally seeing him, you throw your arms around his neck and hold onto his body for dear life. “neteyam!!” you shriek with a sigh of relief. “you’re okay!!”

“of course i am y/n” his heart warms - as well as his cheeks, feeling you hug him for the first time since you became friends. “except i think my face might be badly damaged” he laces with sarcasm.

lifting up your face from being squished against his collarbone, you look at the purple hue blush across his face - causing you to replicate his appearance exactly. “oh shut up”

you giggle shyly and let go of his neck. your ears going back in embarrassment. hearing his sweet chuckle from watching you makes you speak up again. this time softly. “i’m sorry ‘teyam”

“don’t be sorry!” he laughs out and assures you with a sweet cup of your cheeks in his palms. “i was playing with you” smiling at you, neteyam’s touch causes an extra feeling to brew in your heart.

“now lemme show you this-“

- it wasn't his fault that you distanced yourself from him. yet he sure felt that way.

you didn’t know how to deal with your feelings - and having to deal with them for so long now. it’s been years since you and neteyam had first met. both growing up together.

and with not knowing how to handle certain emotions that you’ve felt for him and around him, all throughout those past years (and currently) - you sought isolation.

well, isolation with kiri most of the time.

kiri really inspired you to take life in the moment, but trying to not let things bother you or get too caught up in your own feelings and it wasn't as easy as she made it look. -

“i’m sorry ‘teyam” you say softly, looking into his eyes with sincerity. succumbed to his hold on your arm, a flash of warmth embodies neteyams gaze and you stop resisting. letting him guide you through the water closer to him, flashbacks of your younger years back in the jungle with him make your heart flutter. there was no need to run from him anymore.

“‘teyam?” he says happily with a growing smirk, “you haven’t called me that since we were young” a couple small braids fall in front of his face as he lowers his head down towards you. he was only a year older than you, yet he towered over your average na’vi frame. you were submerged up to the bottom of your chest covering. the woven beads and shells just barely floating atop of the water.

neteyam takes notice of how your top shifts with the slight current, giving him a peak of your breasts. once he realizes he’s been staring down at your body for too long he clears his throat and let’s go of your upper arm and drops both hands down into the sea and softly grabs ahold of your waist. slowly, watching your facial expressions to see if he needed to stop. but to his and your delight, you bit your lip and gave a small giggle, smiling like a fool. making something in his lower abdomen heat up and flux

his three long fingers and thumb gently begin to caress your hips. and your breath hitches. your already big yellow eyes widening more in shock. such a foreign feeling to feel from him, yet it didn’t feel wrong.

“i miss you” you whisper. catching neteyam off guard this time, as his eyebrows raise and his teeth bare in a surprised smile. his heart skipping a beat, he finally pulls you flush against him. and as neteyam lets out sort of a quiet strangled groan, his eyes cloud over and his chest heaves for a big breath of air. the past anger he was feeling for lo’ak now quickly taken over by the growing lust he’s felt for you for years now

“y/n..” neteyam sighs, gliding his hands from your pelvis up to your back slowly. “i am here”

you didn’t even have to explain yourself to him, for he already knew what you meant. the unspoken bond between the two of you was stronger than you really remembered.

he made you feel like your stomach was floating, a feeling different from the one you have when riding the sky with your ikran. being pressed into his hard body, you wrap your arms around his strong shoulders, nuzzling your face in the crook of his long neck. your warm breath fanning across one side of his chest, making his mouth suddenly become dry - his tail slightly whipping in the water with a feverish manner.

“neteyam!!” kiri shouts from the beach “dad wants to talk with you!!” - interrupting whatever was about to happen. causing you to gasp and separate yourself from him.

he doesn’t take your actions as hurtful, neteyam felt shy being ‘caught’ by kiri too - but inevitably he prayed to mother eywa that she doesn’t notice the growing erection from underneath his loincloth. to which goes unnoticed by you, in your flustered state avoiding his gaze as he treads toward shore - shyly smiling at kiri who has a playful smile across her face.

you tried pushing back the thoughts about earlier. how neteyam held you close to him, touching your body oh so delicately. you still imagine the caressing of his hands still working at your waist and hips as you close your eyes. feeling the sun fade behind the moon, beginning eclipse.

“there you are!” kiri hollers over to you, making her way through the beaches trees. “i have been looking all over for you!” her face coming clearer into view as she runs up next to you. the bioluminescent speckles across her face now glowing with beauty.

“what are you doing?” she says, eying you up and down. seeing your tail swipe in a manner she’s not sure of.

sighing out you smile at her presence and then your turn to face the bunch of large leaves you’ve gathered for food preparation. “just taking care of things before eclipse came” you speak, your ears twitching. your mind not clearing itself of the thoughts of neteyam on your body.

“okay..” she voices out, walking over to pick up the bundle of huge leaves stacked neatly on the sand. “well, i just wanted to tell you that i think you and neteyam are really sweet-“ and you immediately babble out and blush. “w-what?” you say in shock.

kiri laughs, standing up from her crouched state with leaves in her long blue arms. she gives you a teasing smile, “really? y/n i’m not stupid” she laughs out seeing your face flush, then leaning into your side - kiri whispers “he’s got the hots for you”

you gasp and bring your hand up to your mouth, your three fingers against your lips. she pulls away with a smirk and a raise of her brows. and lets out a laugh.

but both of you are pulled away from each others full attention when you hear someone’s footsteps in the sand. and none other than the one you’re talking about comes into view and you gulp. your stomach flipping with hidden excitement. eyes widening and looking at kiri with anxiety. all she does is smile at you and nod, mouthing “don’t be worried”

taking her advice you do your best in calming down. watching him walk up with his swagger, hair whipping side to side .. and oh how you love it.

“hey” he greets, his voice low and welcoming. kiri takes a step away from you, and greets her brother with a knowing look and smile.

“i’ll be going now” she says once neteyam reaches both of your proximities, his glowing spotted face towards yours, his eyes flickering down at your body for a split second. to which you catch.

smiling up at him, you turn to kiri and see her give you a wink and run off - towards the village

placing a hand on your lower back, neteyam tugs you in once again, causing you to let out a surprised sigh. “i just want to say i miss you too” his low voice rolls out. and you look into his alluring eyes, involuntarily licking your lips in the process. trying not to smile with giddy. bringing up one of your hands to put in the middle of his chest, feeling his breath catch. “i-“ he starts but pauses, his face contorts and he tries to think of the right way to say what he was thinking.

“‘teyam” you say, lowering your hand down his body. “what is it?”

your touch causes him to part his lips and flutter his eyes close, feeling his heartbeat in his ears. you were driving him crazy and you had no clue. and seeing him slightly shudder from your actions, you blush and whip your tail.

the hand neteyam has on your back lowers down to the base of your tail and you hold your breath. his other hand coming up to your shoulders. “you’re beautiful” he rasps out finally. pulling you fully against him again, but this time you let out a small noise. feeling his hardening member underneath his covering. grabbing his upper arm, and taking your other hand from his abdomen up to his clavicle.

“a-ah” you stutter, being pressed on him making your brain go fuzzy. and neteyam can’t help but bite his lip seeing you slowly lose it before him.

“baby,” he speaks up again, the nickname for you immediately melting your heart, “i mean it.”

feeling you on his body, his hand goes from your tail down further to your leg, pushing it in between his. your thigh grazing along his erection, which erupts a low hiss to rumble in his chest. the sound makes you embarrassingly aroused. “i-“ you begin to speak, feeling neteyam guide your hips along his large lean yet muscular thigh. making you let out a small moan. the friction against your pussy causing your knees to become weak from your usual strength. and your covering becomes uncomfortable with all the arousal pooling.

“can i kiss you?” he interrupts, practically spitting it out in desperation - his eyes pleading into yours. slightly bucking his hips feeling your wetness spread along his bare leg. your thigh grinding against his cock. “fuck” he groans out, trying to hold himself back.

you moan out again in surprise and excitement, feeling his cock throb against your body. his breath staggering, the both of you in a dazed state just from pure lust for one another. a sort of unspoken lust.

“please” you whine out, throwing your arms around his neck. and neteyam dives down to catch your mouth with his immediately, not being one to wait any longer. lips pressed and dancing with one another. the two of you swallow each other's moans, the kiss you’ve waited ages for, finally happening, and making you fall even more in love with your childhood friend.

frantically tugging at your covering, neteyam manages to take off your loincloth that’s inevitably soaked. dropping it on the sand. his hands squeezing your ass, caressing the flesh with a fever.

pulling away from his mouth, you both take in a deep breath of air. both of your hearts pumping incredibly fast, looking into his eyes you lick your lips and trail your sight down his body. finally looking at his erection. making you swallow down hard.

neteyam watches as you blush from looking at his body, and it made his need for you only heighten. you were all he wanted, for as long as he could remember. and now here you were, taking off his bottoms with shaky hands.

the light from the huge moon displaying your bodies in a beautiful hue.

gasping out in sight of his unclothed body, neteyam chuckles out. “y/n, is this okay?”

lifting your head and meeting eyes again, you nod and shyly smile. “y-yes neteyam.” hearing his name come from your mouth always made him feel closer to you, but now you saying it made something else come over him. untying your top piece in a hurry, neteyam throws it towards your other clothing on the sand and you stand there fully bare in front of him. “i love you” he blurts out, being in shock from the beauty of your body. and it made fluttering appear in your stomach.

grabbing his hand, and intertwining your fingers together, you lead him over to a near tree and back him up against it. looking into his eyes, you smile and kiss his lips in a quick peck. “i love you too”

your mannerisms you use on him work in making him desire you even more. dropping his hand from yours, he traces his fingers down your navel and to your intimate region. cause you to suck in a breath. his touch sending pleasurable shocks into your stomach as he dips a long finger into your heat. “mmmh” you moan out, eyes falling shut.

pumping another digit into your pussy, neteyam watches how your body reacts to him with a smirk and when he knows you’re ready he adds his third finger. and you grip his wrist in euphoria.

“‘teyam” you mewl out, opening your eyes. “don’t stop” pleading out you feel your high begin to build quickly. as you clench around his fingers, neteyam growls and pulls out of your entrance. leaving you whining out. “why-“ you begin to question, but quickly he pulls your face in and kisses you hard. full of passion, as he drops the hand that was just inside your heat to his cock. pumping himself, he moans. and bites your bottom lip. his fangs nicking just slightly causing a small droplet of blood to mix in with your mouths.

“ngh!” you cry in pleasure.

and in the heat of the moment, neteyam drops his hand from your face and lifts your body up - turning himself to rest your back against the tree instead of his. then pulling off your lips, his eyes you down, “is this okay?” he asks again, making sure you want this as bad as he does. you bite your bottom lip where he just did and smile. “yes… my neteyam”

with you giving your consent, he aligns his cock with your entrance and eases himself in. dropping his head into the crook of your neck he moans out lowly, his breath fanning across your skin. the painful yet pleasurable feeling erupts in your body, and you grip his shoulders hard with a lewd cry.

thrusting into your pussy, his hips speed up as he hears your sounds. pressing kisses across your neck and collarbone, neteyam grunts out, his cock throbbing inside your warm walls. “you’re mine” he hisses out, drawing his free hand to your clit and fondling you with expertise.

his sensations cause you to clench around his dick hard, and pant out. “i'm yours neteyam” you say with a sigh, bucking your hips down with his. feeling him reach inside you deep. the knot in your stomach close to snapping. you reach up a hand to his jaw and lift up his head to face yours. “im so close”

groaning out, neteyam circles your clit faster and thrusts his hips at an angle - hitting the sensitive bundle of nerves inside you. his own climax coming close. “baby, you’re doing so good” he grunts out, barely able to finish his sentence after you roll your eyes back and go limp in his arms - shaking out of control as your orgasm washes over you.

“neteyam!!” you moan out in ecstasy, clenching around him in flutters - he too loses control and moans out in reach of his climax. “fuck” he drops his head and bites your shoulder as he comes deep inside your heat, hips bucking with no rhythm as he rides out both of your highs.

humming out in pleasure as you feel him emptying his load within you, the light sting of his bite across your shoulder only adding to the intense moment of euphoria between you two.

“i love you neteyam, i always have” you confess in a whisper, as his hips thrust to a stop. kissing the mark he left on your shoulder, he looks up into your eyes, in pure love. the eclipses effect to both of your bodies' bioluminescent dots, glowing in each of your eyes.

his smile is genuine, his fangs showing in the wide and beautiful stretch of his lips.

“and i have always loved you, y/n”

[vampsywrites]

forest boy.

synopsis: you are tsakarem (tsahik-in-training) of the metkayina clan, promised to ao'nung. however it seems that things take a turn when you catch the attention of a certain forest boy.

tags: fluffy drabble, fem! metkayina! reader, a test post to see if this fandom still lives lol, jealous! ao'nung, pining! neteyam, love at first sight! neteyam, subtle tsireya x lo'ak, reader and ao'nung are parallels of ronal and tonowari

part 2 here

The bellow of a horn echoed throughout the village, accompanied by the fluttering of an Ikran's wings. Both you and Tsireya halted your light conversation, laughter dying down as your attention was drawn to the exotic mountain banshees flying above. Sharing a curious glance, both of you moved towards your Ilu's, making haste towards the sandy shores.

From afar, you could see how a family of forest Na'vi dropped down to the sands. They seemed apprehensive, led by a tall man dressed in exotic gear.

"Isn't that the Olo'eyktan from the Omatikaya clan?" Tsireya whispered, her voice barely audible. "What could possibly bring them here?"

"I have no idea," you replied, dismounting from your ilu as you approached the shore, Tsireya mirroring your actions.

As you dipped your head in the water, you pushed yourself upward, breaking through the surface. With a graceful motion, you brushed aside your damp hair, allowing it to cascade down your shoulders in a shimmering display.

Just then, your eyes locked with one of the strange forest people. Almost immediately, he bowed low, gesturing to you by placing his fingers on his forehead and extending one hand down. Smiling, you gestured back, returning the greeting with a nod of your head. The forest boy seemed pleased by your response, and his eyes sparkled with interest.

As Neteyam's gaze fell upon you, he couldn't help but become entranced by the mesmerizing shade of aquatic blue that adorned your skin, gracefully accompanied by flowing white stripes resembling gentle waves. The captivating allure of your large, penetrating blue eyes seemed to delve into the depths of his soul and he found himself speechless, mouth running dry.

Taking in your petite stature, the fin-like formations on your arms and legs piqued his curiosity, evoking images of elegant aquatic creatures. Your attire, intricately woven and embellished with coral, shells, and delicate trinkets, complemented your features perfectly, adding to your captivating appearance.

"You're staring, skxawng," Lo'ak snorts, playfully knocking his brother's side. Neteyam huffs, feeling a tinge of embarrassment as he quickly averts his gaze. "Shut it," he retorts, trying to brush off the moment.

As their father engaged in conversation with the newcomers, a group of boys broke away from the crowd, heading towards the brothers. Lo'ak and Neteyam exchanged quick gestures of greeting, but received no response in return.

Neteyam's gaze sharpened as he observed the group encircling them, a hint of caution in his eyes. One of them then laughed heartily, pointing at their tail, "What is that? Is that supposed to be a tail? How are they supposed to swim?"

"Do not!" Tsireya hisses, swiftly moving to smack Roxto's hand away. Sensing the tension, you saunter towards them, joining Tsireya in scolding the boys. "Be nice," you chide firmly.

Neteyam's attention shifts, his gaze locked on you as you approach Ao'nung and place a firm hand on his bicep.

In that moment, Neteyam witnesses a silent conversation unfold between the two of you, communicating with nothing but your eyes.

'You are being mean again,' you assert, raising your eyebrows and fixing your intense gaze upon the Metkayinan boy. Ao'nung blinks slowly, a dull look on his face. With a click of his tongue, he shuts his eyes and huffs in resignation. 'I know,' he concedes.

As all four of you shift your attention back towards the newcomers, Tsireya beams with enthusiasm, her warm greeting echoing once more, "We welcome you."

Lo'ak acknowledges her with a nod and a mumbled greeting, and you can't help but notice Tsireya's endearing reaction. Her cheeks flush, and her smile turns almost bashfully giddy as she glances down at her feet, clearly charmed by the interaction.

Months had passed since the Sully's integration into your village. You couldn't help but admire their quick learning, seamlessly adapting to the ways of the water in less than a month. As you spent more time training with them, your bond with the siblings grew stronger, particularly with endearing little Tuk, who always seemed eager to drag you along the shore to play.

'This is going to be interesting.'

Amidst the camaraderie, not everyone got along. Fights frequently arose between Ao'nung and the two Sully brothers, resulting in heated scuffles, both physical and verbal. And while Ao'nung and Lo'ak seemed to have made some progress in improving their relationship, the situation with Neteyam remained…unresolved at best.

"Ao'!" You gasp out, flinching back when he tackles Neteyam to the ground. The two boys exchange hits with fervor, their fists flying in rapid succession as they grapple with each other.

"Oh, you skxawngs!" you huff, unable to contain your frustration any longer. You grab hold of Neteyam's tail, pulling him off Ao'nung and breaking up the fight. "What is wrong with you two?!"

"I told him to back off!" Neteyam snarls, his hand pressed against a blossoming bruise on his torso. Ao'nung clicks his tongue, rolling his shoulders as he stands up, his expression defiant. "Maybe you should back off my mate."

The tension in the air remains palpable as emotions run high, leaving you caught in the middle of the escalating conflict. You don't miss how Neteyam's shoulders drop, his mouth agape as his eyes dart between the two of you.

Confusion fills his gaze as he stammers, "Mate?"

"I am Tsakarem," you affirm, taking a step towards Ao'nung's side to assess his injuries. "But it's bold of you to claim that I'm your mate," you add, clicking your tongue disapprovingly. Neteyam, catching your mocking tone, seems to perk up and grin

"Don't get too excited, forest boy," Ao'nung grumbles, his gaze drilling holes into Neteyam's head, "She is still promised to me."

Sighing you tuck your head into his shoulder, begging him to shut up.

May Eywa help you.

[theblueflower05]

Yawnyewla(Broken Heartedness) | Part Two

A/N: It has been a crazy month or so, real life has brutalized me. Sorry you guys are getting this chapter later than planned Avatar + the Omegaverse has been my comfort lately. @cinetrix you have been especially supportive and I lova ya bby. Thank you for making me some Mega Neteyam to keep my writing brain on! The art below is made by her and omg right?

Word Count: 10k+

Warnings: Alien sex. Alien Genitalia. Oral sex(female and male receiving), Fingering(female and male receiving) Cursing. Angst(it’s me, duh) and mild talks about past grooming. Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics.

Summary: You’re the Metkayinan Olo’eykete in training, but sometimes even you buckle under the crippling pressure. Will Neteyam be there to comfort you?

Omega Neteyam x Female Alpha Reader

Series Masterlist

<Part One

Part Three>

You only ever touch me in the dark,

Only when we’re drinking can you see my spark.

And only in the evening would you give yourself to me,

Cause the night is your woman and she’ll set you free

-Lies, Marina and the Diamonds

Your life had always been ruled by carefully crafted routine. Early mornings as the sun rose on the glittering sea, and late nights after most were tucked away.

Being the eldest daughter in any family came with its own list of responsibilities. But for you, the eldest of the reigning Olo’eyktan and Tsahik who also happened to be an Alpha, it seemed like you had been born with duty running through your bloodstream. Burdened with glorious purpose.

It had been clear from an early age just what was expected of you. A life, lived for your people, was your destiny.

And at most times that was okay.

You were happy to serve, it was in your nature to care for others. Good Alpha’s, your mother had taught you, are not ruled by ego. Or violence. Strength comes from within, is a honed skill like fishing or net weaving. Strength is taking care of your family. Helping the elderly and the young. Making sure everyone has a full belly before they lie their head down for bed.

You we're a good Alpha, or at least you tried to be. You knew you could be if you tried. If you could just be calm for long enough to focus.

Ronal liked to say that you were more like the ocean than anyone she had ever met. She had birthed the sea incarnate- with its strong crashing, never faulting, waves. It’s vastness. It’s life-giving vitality.

And its wild nature.

There was something unsettled about you. Deep down, you would never be still. There was a need to learn. Explore. To fight and scream and run. An untamed side of you that Ronal and Tonowari had watched with equal parts amusement and hesitancy during your childhood.

From a young age you’d jumped from the highest cliffs. Sailed out past the reef. Engaged in fights with warriors twice your size, Limping away from tussles with a crimson tinged grin and your big blue eyes sparkling.

The older you get, the more you try to temper it. You desperately attempt to shove it somewhere hidden and out of sight. You can't be what anyone wants you to be with all of this restlessness inside of you. You can't support your father's throne or keep your people healthy-

There’s no room for it. For you, at your core. In your soul.

No one wants a wild woman.

You’d heard it before, it had left a bitter taste in your mouth and a stain on your heart.

In your younger years you were a bit of a trouble maker, but you’d like to think you'd reformed. If only a little bit. It’s not like you truly had the time to get into messes anyway.

Especially not at this time of year.

Though it’s sacred, a time for joy and festivity, it’s exhausting. To say the least. With the Iknimaya ceremony and The Return of the Tulkun looming in the very near future, the village of Awa’atlu was a buzz.

There’s preparations to be made. And endless list of duties to fulfill-

And yet, this migration cycle, you lag.

Usually, you run around like an austrapede(chichen like creature) with its head cut off. Heading to your parents every word. Not getting a moment to truly breathe, your sole focus on making sure that the ceremonies went smoothly-

Something else entirely has your attention. A certain golden eyed man that had bewitched you completely.

You thought you had known infatuation before Neteyeam.

You've certainly had crushes before.

There had been others who caught your eye, definitely.

But this? You’d never felt anything close to this. You think about him when you awake in the morning and before you fall asleep. When you’re not with him, you're aching for the moment that you can find time to slip away and get your hands back on his hard, muscle corded body. Your mind constantly assaults you with images of him. His broad shoulders and long braids. His mouth, swollen and puffy. His deep moans as you bring him over the edge-

“Look at you” Your good friend, Akime, grunts through a laugh. Breaking you from your reverie.

You’d been sat with a group, working on repairing weapons for the Great Hunt that would ensue after the Iknimaya trials.

But Neteyam had walked by with his father.

Doing something mundane, toting heavy woven baskets to the big main Mauri for dinner. His arm muscles bulging in a way that had you greedily tracing his form. He’d only given you a small nod in acknowledgement as he passed. An even smaller smile.

“Shut your mouth-and focus on your whittling. I pity the poor soul who ends up with that lopsided spear” you retort with a roll of your eyes.

You're not embarrassed about being caught ogling. You knew you weren't the only one. The Omiticayan transplant was one of the most gorgeous Omega’s that had ever stepped foot on the islands. Everyone was a bit dazed.

“He’s very pretty, I'll give you that. But he’s so stand offish- I could never see you with a mate like that, yawne(beloved)” Akemi was your closest confidant outside of your family.

A Beta who stood much taller than you and had the brawn of two men but was the kindest Na’vi you’d ever met. A gentle giant so to speak. He wore his dark hair pulled into a loose bun at the nape of his neck most days and black ink tattoo’s swirled around most of his body. A decorated warrior and hunter with the tattoos to prove it.

Everyone had assumed the two of you would mate, until he met his husband. Another Beta Male from one of the smaller islands. The two had all but raised Akemi’s cousin, Roxto, after the abrupt and tragic passing of the younger boy's parents.

“He’s really not,” you sigh, shaking your head as you sharpen the blades.

“Oh? I don't think I've ever heard him speak more than a few words at a time. And he always has that look on his face- like he swallowed a Wonwon fruit(lemon like fruit)”

Neteyam has many skills, you’d learned as you’d spent endless hours training him. Being a social butterfly is surely not one of them. He clams up around big groups, gets nervous and awkward. You find it endearing, even though you know the Omega is really hard on himself for it. He’s actually really funny and easy to talk to when you get to know him.

“He’s shy, be nice” you chide your friend easily. “There is nothing wrong with him not wanting to gab all day with any and everyone”

“Hah! I guess your loud skxawng ass can talk for the both of you. You never shut up” Akemi dodges the small shell you throw at him “But really, he’s so different then what you usually go for-” Akemi goes on and if it was anyone else you’d shove them off. Tell them to mind their own business.

Neteyam had made it clear that he wanted to keep what the two of you had under wraps, at least for now. And even though that wasn't what you particularly wanted, you respected his wishes.

“And what is it I usually go for, pray tell?” your brow bone rises, confrontational and curious.

“People just as annoying as you” Akemi dead pans and you can’t help but snort “You like Na’vi who challenge you. Who are just as bold and loud and daring. Is he not too…soft for you, my friend?”

In the past you had been attracted to men and women who matched the spark in you. And it had always ended in misery. In yelling and fighting and you questioning if you're meant to be alone because in partnerships you seem to always chase away the other.

But with Neteyam it’s different. He isn't a challenge, he doesn't want to knock you down a peg or make you change…he only wants to be your equal.

“Just because he’s quiet doesn't mean he’s soft” you defend the Omega like he’s your own, because that’s all you want. You want to wear his bite “He’s actually the fiercest warrior I’ve ever trained. His skillset is unmatched. I mean, I can keep up with him. But just barely”

Akemi chews this over. Continuing to carve at the spear in his hands “It sounds like he’s impressed you” and that's not an easy feat. You both know. “I'm excited to see his performance for the Iknimaya”

You are too. You can't wait to watch Neteyam shine.

The ocean had not been his chosen terrain, but oh. How beautiful it had been to watch him master it. He rode Tsurak like he had been doing so for years. Uses the crossbow like it had been made just for him.

You liked your partner's competent, and Neteyam checked every. Single. Box.

“If he has you caught in his net, why don't you announce your courtship?” Akemi questions because he knows he can. That he’s your best friend and that you and those walls and that strong strong heart can be open with him.

You hesitate. Chew on your lip for a moment.

“He’s not ready for anyone to know yet” the words are hard. You get it. Neteyam’s not a fledged “adult” member of the Metkayina yet. But many court before their rites, before mating.

“Y/N…”Akemi sighs and it makes your hackles rise.

“It’s fine. It makes sense. He’ll come around after his Iknimaya- that’s the only reason why” you insist to your friend. To yourself.

Akemi purses his lips before he speaks. Choosing his words wisely “I hope that is the case, I truly do. But…you’re my closest friend. I only want your happiness, and investing your feelings into someone who doesn't reciprocate isn't the smartest move, yawne. I just don't want to see you fall into any old patterns”

He doesn't want to watch you pledge your love to another man who's going to stomp all over your feelings. It’d been devastating to bare witness to last time.

You don't like to speak of it. Try not to even think of it. But it doesn’t take from the fact that it had happened.

“I will be fine” You insist, a smile plastered on your face, fake as can be “I’d like to think i’m not that stupid anymore”

Akemi’s nostrils flare “You we’re never stupid, you were young. And vulnerable. You know that right-”

“Please” you interrupt him, head shaking firmly “I don't want to get into this now” or ever.

Most people know not to push you.

That you’d fight back tooth and nail when you feel threatened- but much like your family. Akemi isn't scared of your claws and slick mouth. He’s very much going to push the issue- but is interrupted before he can.

It’s Ao’nung and Roxto, coming down the beach.

Rough housing, tails bumping each other. Even if he hadn't been Akemi’s kin, Roxto would be your favorite of your little brothers friends. He kept Ao’nung in check.

“Y/N!” your brother calls as he approaches- “Sempul wanted you. Says he needs you to help with the Mauri renovations or something.”

He plops down beside you, all the way in your personal space, and you give him a look. Overgrown man-child. Whatever was he going to do when mother had the new baby and he wasn't the youngest anymore?

Roxto stays standing, greeting you politely like the good boy he was. Akemi had done wonders raising him. He turns to his cousin and speaks about plans for dinner for their grandmother.

“When?” you question. You really had hoped you’d be left out of that project, you weren't much of an architect and painting and plastering all day was b o r i n g beyond compare.

“This afternoon” Ao’nung continues.

“But I’m training Neteyam later” you push, your stomach dropping at the thought of not getting to spend your usual time with the Omega. It seems like these days the trainings were few and far between- and after his Iknimaya, he wouldn't need them at all.

“Not today. Tsireya’s gonna have all of ‘em, free diving practice I think” Ao’nung continues, as he reaches for your canteen. Taking big sloppy drink.

“But-”

“Fathers orders, not mine” Ao’ shrugs and you know that he’d had no part in the decision making. Was only an unfortunate messenger.

Still. You snatch your leather canteen with a hiss, standing up. “That's mine, you little freeloader. I hope you’re going to be helping Tsireya with her lessons, your still on thin ice from the Lo’ak incident”

“I am going to help!”

“Good, you better be nice to them” you warn as you gather your belongings and prepare for an afternoon of helping out with Mauris instead of with your sweet Neteyam. Your mood soured greatly.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve been nice lately, have I not? Roxto, haven't I been nice?” Aonung turns to his friend who does nod.

“As nice as Aonung can be, yeah” Roxto agrees and Neteyam punches his shoulder playfully, insisting that he had been a damn saint.

“Uhuh. Keep it up. Tsireya will tell me if you so much as whisper one sideways remark. You boys have a good rest of your afternoon” You give Ao’nung a pointed stare, ruffle Roxto’s hair, and pat at Akemi’s shoulder as you depart.

“We’ll continue our conversation later, Y/N!” Akemi warns, your back already turned.

You just wave at him without turning back- happy to have escaped the trauma laden conversation.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

You end up crawling into your bed that night, dead tired. You don't even burrow under your bed mat- instead you lie atop the covers. You have splinters under your nails from the hay like palm that was used to construct the pods. The afternoon had been long and boring, just as you’d known it would be.

But the worst part is that you hadn't gotten the chance to see Neteyam. To taste his saccharine kisses. As you stare at your beamed ceiling you think of only him.

When you fall asleep his face is behind your eyelids.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

After days and days of activity that had seemed to keep the two of you apart, you’re ready to snap. Antsy and eager and needy for just a moment of Neteyam’s time.

The Omega doesn’t seek you out- he just gives you those tiny little smiles and private glances across the fires during communal dinner. It drives you mad, your fingers itch to run through his hair. Your lips want to rerun that familiar path down his chest-

You know he has to miss you as much as you miss him…right?

You don't allow those seeds of doubt to plant. Instead, your brain, desperate for the chemical rush that came with being around Neteyam, begins to plot on how you’d get to see him next.

As you go through the motions of your day, there’s only one thing on your mind and that is the fact that you need to see the Omega.

You have to ask around to figure out where the eldest Sully sibling is- he’s helping out in the orchards. His expertise tree climbing skills of great use.

Hidden in the shadows of the tropical trees, you wait. Lurking like a predator. You feel like a puluakan stalking her prey as you watch Neteyam from a far. He’s helpful and polite, his usual quiet self as he works with the other Metkayina to harvest the ripe fruits and vegetables.

While everyone else starts to head back- he stays. Neteyam insists that can get the ones from the tallest trees on his own. He’s happy to be useful.

Perfect.

You’re a hunter, tried and true. The only place in life where you could hone in on your thin patience, be quiet. Take your time. You move quick and silent, closer to your target. Your heart flutters fast, visibly beating in your throat and your kuru tingling with excitement.

When he’s nearly within arm's reach, right there, you’re prepared to pounce-

-Of course, he pounces first.

A brutal flash of clashing blue as the two of you collide.

It takes all of your strength, years of training, but somehow it ends up with him pinned to the thick base of the Yovo tree. Panting and staring down at you with wide tawny eyes. The corner of his mouth pulled up into a smirk.

“Hi” Though you’re a little breathless from the scuffle, you grin.

One of your hands on his shoulder, fingers digging into the hard muscle there. The other pressed against his waist. So close to him that you can feel his body heat.

“Hi” he’s so beautiful it hurts to look at him for too long. Of course, what most don't know about Neteyam- is that he’s a smart ass “You suck at stalking. I could hear you coming the moment you stepped out of the bush”

“No I don't” You cajole, a bubble of laughter building in your fast expanding chest “We’ve barely spoken in a week, and the first thing you do is be mean to me? It’s almost as if you didn't miss me at all”

“How are you gonna know to correct your form if I don't tell you?” He jests, struggling a little in your grip for good measure.

You give him a warning hiss.

This little game the two of you liked to play was usually fun, the push and pull of it all. A teasing filled hunter and prey routine that more often than not ended with Neteyam spreading his thighs as he finally let you have him.

You hadn't kissed your boy in days. You didn't have it in you to wait.

“I was hoping you’d want to tell me something other than how shit you think I am at hunting” you sigh, deep, for dramatic effect.

“What kind of other things?” Neteyam’s eyes keep flickering from your own, down to your mouth. His pink tongue peeks out, runs across the plush of his bottom lip and your knees feel a little weak.

“Things like you’ve missed me” you disclose, because you just can't help it. “Cause I’ve missed you”

You can feel him loosen under your hands, the fight draining. His ears twitch, lowering a bit, and his gaze goes unbearably tender.

“I’ve missed you” he confirms after a moment and it's all you need to hear.

You lunge, groaning the moment you're able to feel his kiss. It’s warm and wet. Full of little nips licks that drive you wild because they feel way too good. An all consuming kind of good- you feel him in your bones. When you release him, your grip on his shoulder falters, his arms wrap around you strong and tight.

You pull away, lips tingling and shiny “How much did you miss me?”

He groans and presses his lips back to yours, annoyed as you keep the kiss shallow. Pecks and light presses while he tries to force his tongue into your mouth. You herd even closer, caging him against the bark. His snuffles, cool air through his snout in annoyance “Y/N, come on”

Instead of responding, your hands begin to drift, fingers dragging across his indigo skin as they take their feel. Oh, this body. How you adored it. His strong shoulders and broad torso, all of that rippling muscle so sensitive and clenching under your touch. Your lips leave his, kissing sloppily across his cheek and down the hinge of his jaw. Stopping only when you can press your face into the place on his neck, right behind his ear, where his scent gland was pumping out that hypnotic musk.

Neteyam’s pheromones are like nothing you’ve ever encountered. They’re knock you on your ass strong, for one. You’d been able to smell him from across the beach the first time you’d met him-back when the Sully’s had descended from the sky. For two they’re foreign and unlike anything you’d previously encountered.

He smells of pine, herby and sharp. Of honeyed tree sap. Of fruit you’ve never learned the name of and the dew that stuck to the foliage in the mornings. It tingles in your nose as you inhale deeply, getting greedy lungfuls of his essence. Very much the scent of a virile young Omega in his prime.

Neteyam gets all shivery when you scent him like this. His head lulls to the side as he presents his entire smooth neck to you like a fucking prize.

It’s heady, the way he gives himself to you. How are you not supposed to be in love with him?

“Missed you so much” he whimpers as you lap at the gland “You’ve been so busy. I- ah, oh-” his speech is broken up. Overwhelmed by your mouth assaulting him and your dainty hand attempting to slip under his tweng “I didn't want to bother you”

You don't pull away when you speak, can't manage to tear your mouth from its ministrations. Instead, your words vibrate right into his skin “Please bother me, paskalin(sweet berry). Bother me all the time”

His laughter is as sweet as his scent, and you want to bathe in it.

Neteyam is an indulgence and you're gluttonous for him.

Screw your duties, whatever was waiting for you back at the village could do just that. Wait. It’s a bit scary how quickly you’re willing to put everything on the back burner if it meant you could spend just one sun drenched afternoon with him.

He looks good, in the shade of the palms. His eyes closed and cheeks flushed as the two of you ravage each other. Your hips knocking into one and other as you desperately rub against him through the layers of your clothing.

You’re completely wrapped up in him. You don't realize how much time you’ve spent just kissing him. You know that you’re needed for just about a billion different things but as you taste his spit you can't remember to care.

When you begin tugging at the cords of his tweng he sobers a bit, squirming. “What if someone sees, the gathering group might return”

“Fuck them” you mindlessly mutter, working at the blasted knots. You want his cock. You need to taste him on your tongue.

Neteyam huffs in amusement, reaching down to undo them for you. He always makes it look so easy with those long nimble fingers.

When he’s freed from his confines, your quick hands are all over him. Pawing at his bare inner thighs, groaning when your fingertips run along his dripping slit. You can already feel his manhood, rock hard, and poking out from the protective sheath of his body.

Neteyam is gorgeous and so, so sensitive. He’s throwing his head back, braids grinding against the bark as you play with him. Getting him all wet and messy between his strong thighs.

“Oh shit- shit, Y/N” he wheezes as you grasp his member in your hand, stroking him until he’s standing proud and fully erect.

Neteyam’s very much well endowed. He’s got girth yes, but Eywa he’s long. You wonder what it would be like to take him inside of you. You’re so sure that he would hit places that no other had before. You clench around nothing, can feel your knot internally swell, just dying to contract around him and milk him dry.

You can't, sadly. Not yet. Or you’d lay him down and sit right on his cock this very moment.

Instead you give him everything else. He’s moaning low in his throat as he squirms, and his hands disappear in your hair. Your eyes fight the urge to roll when his fingernails skritch at your scalp just right.

You're sinking then, down onto your knees. You want to taste him and your eager mouth envelopes his mushroom cock head at once. His earthy sweet taste explodes across your tastebuds and you don't know who moans louder, you or Neteyam.

You enjoy giving oral pleasure, you always had. It makes you feel powerful. You control Neteyam as you suckle on his manhood. When your hands come to play, inching down towards his hole he grunts and bucks hard. Your throat constricts around him with a gag.

Its so sexy. The way he chases his release makes you burn.

His virgin hole is tight, the muscles tense as you circle it with your fingers. The sounds Neteyam gurgles above you make it clear that he doesn't want you to stop. It’s a beyond snug fit as you push a single digit in.

The darker man practically sings. His abdominals clench and you’re pretty sure he’s about to blow-

When suddenly his hands fisting your locks go from holding you close, to pushing you away. You’re only haughtily confused for a moment.

The two of you freeze.

Sensitive ears twitching as the sound of crunching footsteps in the distance.

The orchard is large and full of fruit trees and bushes, making an escape without getting caught is easy enough. You slip behind an enormous berry bush, hidden easily by the thorned shrubbery. You’re vibrating with the thrill though, as you and Neteyam avoid being spotted. Just barely.

You don't think you would have minded if anyone would have caught you on your knees pleasuring your beautiful Omega.

Neteyam on the other hand doesn't look as happy as you. He actually seems kind of spooked. Crouching low and alert as the voices hum in the distance he re-ties his tweng with shaky hands. He doesn't relax until they pass and even then his shoulders stay tense.

“It’s okay, I never get caught, don't worry” You press a comforting hand to his side, and he sighs. Leaning into your touch despite himself.

You can tell the moment of passion is over and you hate it, although it probably is for the best.

“I have to go” you’re mournful of the fact” I’m sure they’re looking for me, back at the village”

His face falls, a little frown that’s cuter than it should be marring his features “Okay…”

You cup his cheek on your palm, making him look at you “We’ll get to be together soon, yes? I’m going out of my mind, I need make you come again”

Neteyam bites the inside of his lip hard “Soon” he agrees.

It takes everything for you to leave him in the orchard and not drag him straight to your bed.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

There are more moments like these as the weeks go on.

Stolen flashes of intimacy.

The two of you sneaking in kisses and groping touches wherever you can. It's always white hot, and over way too soon and somehow you feel even more desperate and strung out after them. Like you’re only getting a taste of what you so desperately want to savor.

You think you’re handling it pretty well. Hiding your split attention-

It all comes to a head at dinner.

The Inknimaya celebrations are only days away and the largest Mauri, the communal one right in the center of the village is packed to the brim with buzzing Na’vi.

You’re sat with your family and a group of high standing village leaders at the head of the meal. Tsireya on one side of you and your very pregnant mother on the other. Your Father sits, right in the middle, and Ao’nung to his side.

There is discussion of the rites and who will be present to officiate them and witness them.

You’re barely listening, so exhausted it’s hard to keep your eyes open. You could blame it on your busy day but really, it's because you and Neteyam had spent last night tangled in each other until the early hours of the morning eclipse.

You meet his gaze from across the crowded room.

Neteyam looks as tired as you feel. And still, he grins. A barely there thing just for you. When his hands move it’s subtle movements while no ones paying attention.

He signs, just the way you’d taught him. Only one word.

Tonight.

“Y/N- are you listening?” It’s your mothers voice, firm and cutting and breaking you from your own head.

“Of course” its an automatic lie as you pick at a piece of fish from your plate. You hadnt heard a thing she’d said.

She gives you THE look. A severe one that could make children cry. Good thing you aren't a child anymore.

You try not to feel too embarrassed by her obvious chiding as you rejoin the conversation.

“We were speaking about the First Hunt- there’s been many Nomura(giant man o war style jellyfish) just beyond the reef. Y/N, what is your stance on this matter?” An elder says, voice weary and weathered.

“This is not out of the norm for this time of year. All will be fine, we can set up a perimeter around the young hunters performing their rites” you nod, affirming him while not feeding into the hysteria. Elder Makiao was an anxious man after all.

“Are we sure that’s smart?” The cutting comment is made by the person you like the least.

Vaeyu is an Alpha and vetted warrior from a good family. He has high standing in the clan, and sits on your fathers council. Tall and broad, with dark ink splashed across his angular face and his meaty right arm almost blacked out with intricate tiny tribal markings.

He’s always got something to say and you sincerely wish that you could tell him to shut the fuck up.

Politics don't work that way, unfortunately. “Why would it not be smart? It is tradition, we will perform the rites as we always have, will we not?”

He nods, mulling it over, his lips pursed “Of course I would like to see them performed as they should be but we have…different members attempting this cycle. I would hate for any of our new Omiticayan friends to be put at even more of a disadvantage then they already are”

A surge of protective anger rages through you- years ago you might have lunged at him. But you’ve learned better, about controlling your own feelings. And about dealing with scum like Vaeyu.

You try to keep the appearance that you’re unaffected, for you know it will only fuel him if he can tell that he’s bothering you “I’m assuming you’re talking about Neteyam?” and you want to kill him for doing so.

“The eldest of the Forest children, yes” He goes on and really. The disrespect is dripping from his tone like venom. The fact that he hadn't even had the decency to refer to Neteyam by his name makes

“Neteyam is not a child” you speak slowly and control your tone. Not allowing your pheromones to spike with your annoyance “He’d already passed his rites back home, and is only repeating the process here out of respect”

Your father, ever observant, can see right through your attempt on staying civil and cuts through the tension with his deep timbre “She is right, he has shown nothing but competence since arriving. And from what I have seen, has excelled in training. I trust my daughter's abilities as a karyu. The boy will be given his chance as all others are”

Tonowari is cheif; he’d always given his people the freedom to question him. The openness to have meaningful conversation.

But everyone knew that directly challenging him is off limits.

“Ah. I see” Vaeyu deducts, using his sharp bladed knife to peel the skin of a fruit “Of course, Olo’eyktan. I trust your judgment. We will just have to hope he can keep up; you know the smell of blood draws those nasty creatures in”

The talks stray onto different topics and you try to get over the bitter taste left in your mouth.

You never want Vaeyu to speak of Neteyam again. If it was up to you the older warrior wouldn't even be able to look in his direction. Neteyam was too good for the likes of him.x

You’re more than happy when the man gets up and makes his leave, retreating for the night with his pregnant mate. Once upon a time the sight of his hand on her lower back and her cradling her stomach would hurt you. Now you’re just relieved as you watch them leave.

Your sister gives you a sympathetic pat on the hand.

The dinner on your plate is picked at, you can barely eat with the excitement of seeing Neteyam again bubbling. Tonight is going to be special. You’re going to give him the necklace you’ve been working on. He liked to act bashful, but you knew he loved your gifts and this one was the most important yet.

You offer Ao’nung the rest of your food, not wanting to waste, and try to make your exit.

“You have been very far away as of late”

Of course it can never be that easy.

Your mother is Tsahik for a reason. She is all knowing, with her keen eye and sharp senses, the tribe likes to say she has special Eywa given powers and you believe it. You just absolutely hate when she uses them on you.

Of course she’d notice you being off, even when you we’re trying so hard to keep it hidden.

“I am not sure I know what you mean” you feign innocence “I have been tired, and very busy, yes”

“No” she continues in that tone of hers. Her eyes that are more green than blue boring into you “That is not it. You have been distracted, and if you do not wish to tell me I will not pry, but I need you to recenter”

“Sanok-” you start with a grumble.

“During the festivities, there will be Metkayina from neighboring islands coming in. I want you to think about what we’ve spoken of, about you finding a mate this cycle”

Your ears pin to your head and you can feel your face get hot. No, she’d spoken and when you’d try to insist that you are not going to go through with an arranged marriage she’d dismissed you.

“I am not interested-”

“In performing your duty? You will be Olo’eykte, you will pass the title down to your children. You need heirs, Y/N. By the time I was your age I was already pregnant with Tsireya” Ronal softens, she can tell how uncomfortable you are but this conversation is vital “I want to give you the space to choose. There will be many eligible Na’vi, all looking to court”

You’re tense all over. By the ways she’s speaking you’d think you were an old woman and not one who had just celebrated her twenty first name day.

“Tell me that you’ll at least think about it- Tonowari, please. Help me here. This is important is it not” Your mother plays dirty and calls your father in for backup.

There is not much on Eywa’Eveng that you could deny your father. You are dedicated to him. Closer to him than anyone else.

When he speaks its gentle and encouraging “We just want you to be happy. You are at the age where you should be starting your own family, I want to meet my grandchildren”

You feel trapped, impossibly so.

Mating had been the one thing that you’d refused to surrender to your chosen destiny. Being the next Olo’ekyte could have everything else but you so deeply wanted to find someone who loved you.

You want to tell them that you think you’ve already found a mate. You’re sure your mom wouldn't like it, wouldn't think Neteyam is suitable but your father would support you. You just know it.

It’s not the time.

Instead you just not tersly “I will consider it. Am I free to go?”

“My daughter…” Tonowari frowns, wanting to reach, but keeping his hands at his side anyway.

“Please. I am tired”

Your father just nods. You dont stay around to hear the worried words your family shares.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The moons are high in the dark, star speckled night sky as you lounge in soft grass. You’d never spent much time here, in the little island forest, before Neteyam and yet now it’s become your oasis.

The hidden spot where you could come and release everything. Your fear and doubts are harbored by the trees. They’re good secret keepers.

“You’re distracted tonight” Neteyam remarks as he meets you in the meadow. It always takes him a little longer to get there, he has to wait for his family to fall asleep before he takes his leave.

“Sorry”

You try to put on a brave face, but when he lies down next to you, both of you on your sides facing on another, and places a large, callused hand on your hip you melt.

He doesn't have to say much to make you soft for him, he’s spent months tenderizing your heart.

“Talk to me” Neteyam urges softly as his thumbs rub patterns into your hip bone. “What happened?”

You close your eyes for a moment, overwhelmed by the comfort. “I’m just tired, Tey. I feel like- I can never really satisfy anyone, you know? And I try really hard to.”

He hums in understanding “I do know what that is like. Is this about your parents?”

Your silence is the only answer he needs. You, after all, are rarely ever silent.

“Back home I was going to be Olo’eyktan and while I accepted it, I was always kind of dreading it. Counting down the days until any semblance of my life being my own was over” you don't know it, but he’d never told anyone this. You listen raptly “The responsibility of making sure everyones taken care of, its alot”

You smile, because yeah. Alot is an understatement.

“I’m just letting you know that I know how it feels. Truly. And whenever you need to; we can talk about it, one eldest sibling to another” Neteyam’s kind words go straight to your head. They make you feel dizzy, so cared for and adored.

He’s what you’ve always wanted. All of your fantasies and desires rolled into one. You’re convinced that Eywa had brought him to you. Carried him to you by ikran back on the strong east wind.

You want to mate with him. More than anything, you want to bond him. Would it scare him off if you told him so? You don't want to lose what hasn't even had it’s chance to fully develop.

“I made you something” Your words seem to shock him, if only for a minute, and he groans and rolls his eyes.

“Another gift? Really, Y/N?”

“Don't pretend you don't love them” you tease as you reach for the small satchel you’d brought with you. You grab at its contents and hold it tight in your hand. You’re nervous, terribly so, as you present the jewelry to Neteyam.

This isn't like the spear, or the blanket or the fruit. For Metkayina, this is serious business.

“Oh” he says as you hand over the necklace that you’d spend countless hours working on. “It’s is gorgeous, wow”

He takes it from you and marvles at the care you’d put into it. The necklace is made of leather, and adorned with pieces of carefully polished dark blue seashells. In the center dangles a single pearl, black as night and rare. You’d shucked an endless amount of clams to find one that felt right.

“Do you accept it?” you question as his eyes trace the piece of jewelry.

“Well, I have not rejected any of your gifts yet” Neteyam jokes dryly “I’m not about to start now.”

He doesn't know then. That if he accepts it then he will be accepting your hand. That he will be agreeing to be your mate. In Metkayina tradition, he’d give you a necklace back, one that would sit right where his bite would on your delicate neck.

He requests that you help him put it on but you decline.

This isn't something to adorn tonight, if he still wanted to wear it in the cold light of day you’d be happy to help him fasten it. Once he puts it on, he can never take it off. You’re sure he isn't aware of the fact and you wont trick him- but also don't have the energy to tell him in that very moment.

“Well I can't wear it because your being weird” Neteyam starts, brows knitted “But I still wanna thank you for it”

“Thank me, huh?” you smile as you reach to pet at his braids. Sweet, sweet man.

“Mhmm” Is all Neteyam says as his hand travels from its place on your hip, down, To play with the hem of your pink skirt. It's very clear what he wants, so you roll over onto your back and spread your legs, making it easier for him to get it.

He works you out of your coverings with ease.

Your needy pussy is sticky- strings of wetness stretch between it and your tweng as Neteyam peels it off. He groans at the heady sight. His nostrils flare and his mouth waters.

“You talk so much about how good I taste” Neteyam grumbles into your skin as he presses deep kisses into the skin of your belly, sinking ever lower. Over your naval. He traces the pretty swirling ink of your tattoos, the ones that cradle your hips and lead him right where he wants most.

He mouths at that tender crease between thigh and labia “But your cunt is Eywa sent, I swear. So sweet”

You're panting, chest concaving intensely as his face disappears between your thick thighs. You feel no shame at him staring at where you’re drenched and throbbing for him. If anything you spread wider, showing him the pretty blushing insides of your light blue gash.

Neteyam dives in, nose first. His snout rubbing at your lips, inhaling your essence eagerly. You can't help but smile, happy that he loves the way you smell. That it’s reciprocated. Two of you so compatible.

When his wide tongue laps over your puffy slit, catching on your swollen nub you cry out. Your hands fly to the back of Neteyam’s head, holding onto the braids for support. Tugging ever so slightly, just on the right side of painful. You hump at his face, shoving him closer.

Neteyam’s a messy pussy eater, he dedicates his whole being to getting you off. He uses his entire face; his mouth but also his nose and his chin and cheeks. Soon enough hes completely messy, covered in your slick as he sloppily feasts on you.

“Oh, Great Mother!” you wail when he sits up a bit, hooking your thighs over his broad shoulders, before digging back in. He’s everywhere, there's not one part of your sensitive core that he’s not licked against. “Neteyam!”

When you come for the first time, it's with a violent arch of your back and a squeal. The pleasure makes you seize and shake as it washes over you in a tidal wave. Neteyam rides it out, his mouth following your arching pussy- drawing your orgasm out beautifully.

As you start to come back down, his chin is pillowed on your inner thigh and he's looking up at you with pleased amber eyes. So shy and proud of himself for being able to get you off. His face is sticky and gleaming with your cum. You never want to forget this image of him, you want to engrave this memory somewhere deep and timeless. You think that you will need to visit the Spirit Tree soon.

“Felt good?” he verifies and you grin, nodding, still coming down.

“So good, I love it when you tongue fuck me” you sigh, still spread out for him. Your pussy aches- from over sensitivity. From the need to be touched again.

Neteyam just blushes a little at your vulgar words, sometimes you forget that he’s still very new to all of this. Each time you guys are intimate, he explores a bit more of his sexuality.

He holds your gaze as his fingers begin to toy with your folds. There’s something so erotic about it all, the way that the two of you never break eye contact. Communicating silently as Neteyam rubs at your hard clit. Sharp jolts of pleasure make your hips twitch. But still, you try to be still. Encouraging his tentative touches. When his digit swirls around your hole for a moment before sinking deep your eyes roll until they close and your head presses back into the ground.

You’re meant to be filled, your body designed to squeeze around whatever enters it and not let go. It doesnt care if its a cock or fingers or tongue, your pussy is greedy.

Neteyam bites his bottom lip bloody as he watches your core hungrily eat his fingers. First one, and then two, and then before long he's pumping all there in and out of your wet snatch. A part of him wants to tuck his thumb against his palm and shove his entire fist inside-

He’s rock hard in his tweng, undulating against the ground as he watches your hips chase his hand.

“Knot my fingers” he begs over your pathetic sobs “Please, I wanna feel it.”

It’s too much.

His eager words paired with the constant perfect rhythm in which he’s pumping his digits in and out of you. It’s not hard to grant his request. You cry out as you come, again. This time, you don't stop your body from doing what it instinctually needs to. You reach down between your legs to grab his wrist, firmly pressing his hand to your pulsating pussy. If he wants to feel, you’ll let him. Your knot swells inside of you, impossibly tight, as it locks around Neteyams long fingers.

His wide eyes stare up at you in unfiltered awe as he feels you from the inside. It’s wondrous, like nothing he’s ever experienced. He feels very special in that moment, that he gets to share this with you. Very special and very fucking horny.

“Holy shit” is his clumsy, blunt response to it all. You giggle fondly and shake your head.

“Do you like it?” You inquire as you rhythmically pulse.

He groans and presses his head, his entire face into the safe plush flesh of your thigh “I do” he admits “I want to feel it around my dick so bad”

That starts a whole new round of neediness and the two of you go at it like animals under the bright moonlight, surrounded by fluorescent flora and fauna.

You’d sworn that you’d be smarter- wouldn't stay out as late so that you could go through the upcoming day a little less exhausted but by the time the two of you are done, the sky is painted pinks and purples and the morning eclipse is dawning.

You’re lying with your head pressed to his chest and your leg thrown across his both of his. You know you should get up but you don't want to make the long trek back to the village. You whine about the decided meeting spot as the two of you sit up, knowing that you need to get ready to return.

“Why do we have to go sneaking around in the bush? I do have my own Mauri, you know” you’d sassed him, as you look for your top in the grass.

“And what if someone catches me coming in and out of your place? Yeah, no. I don’t think that is a good idea”Neteyam had protested, flustered at even the thoughts . It would be so obvious.

A frown tugs at your lips at his words. “Would that be so bad?”

There's a pregnant pause before he speaks again “I mean…I thought we had agreed to keep this private. If people start seeing me sneaking in and out of your home at all odd hours it’s not going to be hard for them to put together what’s going on”

Your heart drops a bit at that, and you feel more naked than you had moments before. “What are you…ashamed of what we’re doing?”

“I’m not ashamed…I just don't want that label, Y/N” Neteyam sighs like you’re being unreasonable and it’s like ice water in your veins. “I don't want people to look at me differently because of this”

It's hard to speak around the lump in your throat “Because of what? Me courting you? Why would that cause anyone to feel differently about you?”

“It's just, it’s different for you. There are different expectations in place. You’ve done this before.-”

“As you love to remind me” the laugh that escapes you is humorless as you locate your top and slip it back on. You already feel vulnerable, there's no need to psychically be so too. “ I’ve never once held it against you or made you feel bad about being a virgin, but you constantly throw the fact that I've been with other people in my face.”

“That’s not it-” Neteyam insists as you stand, he tries to reach for you but you side step in and grab your tweng instead. He looks so lost, like he’s trying to untie the knots in his head. You know that Neteyam has a hard time transmuting his thoughts into words and usually you’re patient with him but right now? Right now you’re too hurt to wait for him to find the words to insult you with. “I dont- I dont care if you’ve been with a ton of other people, It doesn't matter to me. That’s not why I feel uncomfortable with the village knowing”

“The mere fact that you’re so eager to call it a ton tells me that it does” you're wrapping the ties of your covering around your tail and ignoring your shaking hands as emotion bubbles up violently “I’ve only ever been intimate with three people, including yourself. Did you know that, Neteyam? I’m not the huge whore that you think me to be”

Neteyam looks down at the ground shamefully. He hasn't even reached for his own tweng yet. It’s like he’s stuck, his head going a mile a minute. Too fast for his body to catch up with.

“When I told you I wanted to court you I wasn't lying. I’m not sure what that means to you, or the people back in the forest, but here it means that I see you as a potential mate. I didn't realize that you’re too embarrassed of me to see me as the same” you’re going to start crying, you can feel it.

This moment had already happened to you, years before. You’d already been rejected by someone you thought wanted you- you never thought you’d allow yourself to happen again.

Eywa, how fucking stupid can you be?

The familiar feeling is devastating. You feel soiled and used.

“If you can just be reasonable- If we can-can talk. I don't know how to make you understand that this isn't all about you” Neteyam is stuttering, finally reaching for his own tweng but you’re checked out.

How does one be reasonable when their heart is breaking?

“It’s fine. There’s nothing to talk about. I’m sorry that I misread this whole thing. My mistake.”

You’re off before he can get another word in, storming through the foliage as fast as your feet can take you. The tears that had been building only fall once you’re out of eye sight.

You can hear him calling for you, pleading for you to come back.

You leave him there, half naked in the woods.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The Iknimaya ceremony comes all too fast.

The days since you and Neteyam’s fight in the forest had all been a blur. You were too busy to focus on your fractured feelings. No one had even truly known about the two of you, so it’s as if life moves on as though it had never even happened.

That might be what’s most painful about it all.

You have duties to fulfill, and you’d like to pretend like they keep you from focusing in on that pain. You help where you’re needed- and even where you’re not. It’s left you drained and bone tired, but distracted enough to maintain.

As you and your sister get ready for the long day, she notices how sluggish you are. Dragging yourself through the motions.

“When was the last time you slept?” Tsireya asks as she watches you dress.

“I’ve been busy as of late, Reya” You take care as you ready yourself. Donning traditional Metkayinan ceremonial drab- your blood-orange tweng is intricate and the shell headpiece you wear connects with your barely there top. You brush your long midnight hair until it’s glossy and bouncing, the ends of it reaching the base of your tail as it falls down your back in waves.

You’d always had a healthy dose of vanity.

You know that you are attractive, pretty. Shockingly so, as you’d been told. Blessed with thick eyelashes and feminine features. Your whole life,many have spoken about how favored an Omega, to which you’d never taken offense. You’d inherited your mothers looks, as had Tsireya. Small. Compact. Unexpectedly vicious.

You use your looks as a weapon, just as everything else, your little sister is well aware of the fact. She knows that you’re overcompensating with appearing attractive for the fact that something has happened.

“I’m worried about you. You can try to fool everyone else, but you’re not fooling me, sister. I know that somethings wrong” Tsireya is sweet, but firm. She’d always had that air around her.

Caring yet severe. She was all Alpha no matter what people might think about her docile temperament.

“It’s not like speaking about it would change anything” you mutter, if anything, it would bring the pain front and center.

“Don’t be a coward, Ma Y/N. You know better than anyone that the only way over something is through it” Tsireya’s blunt, but without an ounce of malice.

She knows how to handle you and knows that tough love is oftentimes better than coddling like comfort when it comes to you.

It works.

“Neteyam rejected my courtship”

“You lie” she accuses in a gasp, and you just glare at her. “But- he’s so interested in you”

“Obviously not” it’s flippant. You don’t even want to meet her eyes. You’d been under that impression too.

“Something is being lost in translation here, sister. Neteyam likes you. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I can feel it everytime the two of you are around each other” your sister insists and it’s like salt in the wound.

“Sometimes things aren’t what they seem. It’s not as though this is the first time I’ve been wrong about someone’s intentions for me” the words are hard to admit and taste like acid in your mouth.

“Neteyam couldn’t be any more different than Vaeyu. The two might as well be night and day- this situation can’t be the same” Tsireya insists and you bite your tongue.

“No they’re not the same. But their feelings, or lack there of, are”

Vaeyu had never been particularly kind to you but there had been a time when you naively believed that he truly cared about you.

Before your Iknimaya, which should’ve been the first warning sign, the older warrior had courted you.

He, like Neteyam, had wanted to keep it a secret.

Vaeyu took your virginity before telling you that as an Alpha himself, he would never mate with another Alpha.

You were too much for him. Not at all a suitable mate. He’d be embarrassed to be with you…

The scene that had played itself out just nights before in the forest with Neteyam had been all too familiar.

“Just once” you start, voice shaky as you focus on holding back all the hurt you've felt “I’d like to be wanted back. Truly. By someone who sees me as I see them”

“Oh, Y/N” Tsireya breathes as she grabs your hands and holds them tightly.

You don’t have the time to weep, but it feels nice, standing in your Mauri with your sister for that fleeting moment.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The Metkayinan Iknimaya is a difficult and dangerous task to achieve.

The Akula hunt is fierce. An entire team of warriors working to bring down the wild beast. Many had died in their efforts. The massive sharks are armored with very few weak spots. They’re extremely difficult to kill.

Today would be no different. There would assuredly be some injuries- you give a brief prayer to the great mother for no casualties.

The to-be warriors line up on the shore and your mother, Tsahik Ronal, passes each. Chanting over them, and drawing a line across their face- from temple, over the bridge of their noses- to other temple, with white paint.

May the Great Mother take you into her arms. The Sea is your home before your birth, and if you should die, you will return to it in the afterlife.

You try to keep from staring at Neteyam, who’s tall and fierce and armed with the spear you’d given him.

The two of you only meet eyes briefly as he mounts his Tsurak. Right before he sets out. There’s so much unsaid and there’s no time to say it.

Instead you give him a firm nod.

You’d trained him. Had seen him in action. He could do this. You have full faith in him.

He only nods back.

The hunt makes you jittery, lights your blood on fire. You love this. Watching hunters draw first blood and make a clean kill. A primal part of you is dying to get in there. To join the fight.

It all happens in a rush- one minute the warriors are out on Tsurak back, headed for the deep. It’s harder to see where what’s going on as you stand with the crowd on the beach but you know from experience the energy filled pursuit that is going on right under the surface.

This year- it’s quick.

So much quicker than the years prior.

The crowd murmurs, almost confused, as the hunters return to the beach in record time.

They are no longer children.

Behind them, they haul the large carcass of a fully grown male Akula. Ropes secured around the body, netting and the waves helping transport with the sheer bulk of the creature. Sticking out of his left eye, perfectly launched, is the spear that you had crafted for Neteyam.

“Our hunters have returned, as fully blooded men and women of the Metkayina!”

Your father booms in pride, his warm cries whooping along the people as they join in. They’d made it back, all of them, with minimal damage. In record time. With one of the biggest catches you’d ever seen.

There’s hugs and tears. Everyone seems to be embracing one another. The pride is felt village wide and it’s a communal high.

“We will feast tonight!”Varyu cheers, and hoots follow “Tell me, who made the fatal blow? It is as clean a kill as I’ve ever seen”

You already know. You’d known since you’d seen the carvings on the wood- but the newly fledged Hunters push Neteyam forward and confirm it.

Vaeyu’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets. It’s comical to say the least.

Neteyam is humble, as he always is. It was a team effort, he claims.

His family beams at him. Jake whooping and Neytiri’s misty eyed. Lo’ak is grinning from ear to ear and Kiri and Tuk clap and cheer for their brother.You remember Lo’ak telling you about how his older brother had been the youngest in their village to ever make a clean kill. You’d been impressed then.

Right now? Right now you are stunned. So proud that you can barely speak. All of those training sessions where Neteyam had doubted his ability to adapt had paid off.

He’s a warrior, as he’s meant to be. Neteyam has reclaimed his place in the world.

Your father goes to Neteyam and places his hands on his shoulders. Beaming. “You have done well and proved yourself amongst are people. I am proud to call you Metkayina”

You want to cry. You’ve never felt such emotion. You know how much this means to Neteyam and all you want to do is go over to him and embrace him.

“As the hunter who solidified the kill, you have first choice during Fertility Season. Tell me, son. Is there anyone who you want to lay claim to?” Your father speaks of the tradition. If the kill can be traced back to a single warrior- they earn the honor of having their pick of mates.

It’s ancient, dated, and most decline. You’re expecting Neteyam to do the same.

Instead, he focuses on you.

It doesn’t feel real. This must be a dream. The docile introverted Omega you’d gotten to know would never lay a claim on you, so boldly. In public. To your father much less.

And yet, he does.

“Ma Y/N” Neteyam calls to you clear and true. He’s chosen these words carefully; they don’t stick to the roof of his mouth “I am yours if you’ll still have me.”

Only then do you notice that the black pearl necklace that you had strung together for him hangs around his throat.

A clear symbol of his acceptance of your courtship.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I’m so sorry to end it there on that cliffhanger but guyssssss. We all know she says yes. She’s down so bad for him lmfao

To my omegaverse besties @tru-blubelle @imperihoe @tiredmamaissy and Cinetrix thanks for all of the inspiration and support!

Omega Neteyam is my fucking religion now. I swear. I’m never getting over how perfect he is. Ughhhh. Sweetest bby boi who deserves the actual world. I love writing the juxtaposition of someone who is so incredibly physically attractive- and yet so socially awkward. He really doesn’t know how gorgeous he is. People expect him to be more suave because of his chiseled features and he’s really just an introverted guy who hates being the center of attention.

Okay so lots to talk about here! I introduced some OC’s! I feel like whenever I get to read about a Na’vi OC I’m like instantly in deep because it’s such an interesting culture and they’re such an interesting people!

I adore Akemi. He’s just an all around good guy who stepped up to the plate and took Roxto in when he had no one. Akemi’s husband is also a fun colorful character and I can’t wait to introduce him to you guys in the next chapter!

Vaeyu fucking sucks lmfao I wanted to write a smarmy Na’vi for the realism of it all. He’s everything bad about Alphas. He totally groomed the reader, if that wasn’t clear enough in the story. Tonowari would have him banished if he knew about it because he’s a protective dad and also a good man who hates creeps.

If you need a visual guide to how I picture Na’vi Male Omega’s genitalia you can find that here!

And if you have any questions about my A/B/O Head Cannons or the way that I’m structuring secondary gender in this story, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Neteyam goes into heat next chapter(I had to split this one into two because it was at 18K words long) so get ready for some wild ass smut😂

Please remember that interaction is key when it comes to fanfiction! I'd love to talk to you guys! Let’s escape to Pandora together!

My Taglist for this story is currently OPEN, but full disclosure that if I take the time to give you a tag, I am going to be expecting some sort of feedback.

@thehoneymushroomhealer @persy-the-nugget @tallulah477 @sakurayuki8655-blog @cumikering @adaiasafira @thatonegirlwiththebeanie367 @akkibear @a-blog-name-2023 @weasleytwinwheezes @siimiasoi @blueslxt-primary @haji-me-mashite @mightyneteyam @kiri-tuk

[neteyamsoare]

My Sweet Tawtute.

༉‧₊˚. Featuring. Tsireya x Fem! Human! Reader.

༉‧₊˚. Anonymous Request. hihi !!! I was wondering if you could write a fluffy fic of tsireya x human!fem!reader? it’d be cute to see her with someone smaller than her considering how short she is herself :).

༉‧₊˚. Summary. Ever since she saw you, she knew that you were the one.

༉‧₊˚. General Tags. Fluff.

༉‧₊˚. Content Warnings. Aged up! Tsireya, Ao'nung and his friends are jerks.

༉‧₊˚. Word Count. 622.

༉‧₊˚. Index. Vrrteps — [demons], Exopack — [lightweight atmosphere filtration system developed from civilian rebreather technology that allows humans to survive on Pandora with a minimum amount of equipment.], and Tawtute — [sky person/people].

༉‧₊˚. Notes. Anon, I hope I did your request justice!! I hope you don't mind that I did it in hcs format. This is my first na'vi x human fic so I'm excited, I have a couple more reqs that have the dynamic, one for Tsu'tey and a few for Neteyam so I hope to get them out soon. Let me know what y'all think of this by either commenting or sending an anonymous ask!!

༉‧₊˚. Extra. Comments, likes, and reblogs are highly appreciated but not pressured. 🤍

༉‧₊˚. Starred Links. Navigation + Masterlist + Prompts + Taglist

𝜗𝜚 — When Tsireya first saw you when the Sullys' sought uturu in her home, she was intrigued by you, it was the first she saw a tawtute in person. Only she heard of them was that they were vrrteps and how they were bad people but as she looked at you admiring her home with a round thing on your face that she learned later that it’s an exopack that helps you breathe, she couldn’t help the feelings start brewing inside of her, to her you weren’t bad. 

𝜗𝜚 — It took some time for Jake to convince her parents to let you stay but the moment she heard them finally give in, she smiled knowing the fact that she’d be the one to teach you the way of the water.

𝜗𝜚 — One thing she absolutely loves is how short you are, you only went up to her chest but she loves that she can tower over you since she was short herself, and basically anyone towered over her so she was glad of the change. 

𝜗𝜚 — She loved how eager you were to learn the way of the water, sure it was harder for you but you never gave up, you kept trying. 

“Breathe from down here,” Tsireya says softly as she places one hand on your lower abdomen and the other on your chest after gaining permission to do so. “Breathe in,” you do as she says, breathing deeply. “And breathe out,” you exhale as you turn to look at her “[Name], your heartbeat is fast,” she looks into your eyes as your cheeks heat up. “Sorry.” “Try to focus.” you slightly nod and she smiles at how cute you were. 

𝜗𝜚 — One thing she learned about you is how fragile you were so she swore to protect you, always carried an extra exopack if the one you were wearing ever crack on the walks you and her took, a thing y’all pick up on doing to get to know each other. She’d protect you from her brother and his friends' bullying, making sure to let their father know of how Ao’nung was acting and always making sure he and his friends apologized to you. 

“You know you didn’t have to do that?” you voiced as you looked up at her earning a frown from her. “Do what, protect you?” you silently nod. “[Name], I won’t let people step all over you just because you’re different than them, I love my brother but he should know better.” You leaned more into her touch whispering a small ‘thank you’ and she smiles. “Now come on we have a date?... with an ilu.” you let out a chuckle as she leads you to the ocean. 

𝜗𝜚 — Of course, Ronal was not happy with you dating her daughter, all the Metkayinan women and she chose a tawtute for a girlfriend, she would never understand it but as she watches the two of you more, she sees what Tsireya sees in you and slowly accepts you in her family. 

𝜗𝜚 — Tonowari was more accepting of you cause he knew you had a strong heart and you didn’t look like you could hurt his daughter, hell you couldn’t hurt a bug. A smile would form on his face whenever he saw you two talking to each other with huge smiles on your faces, as long as Tsireya was happy, he was happy with your relationship. 

𝜗𝜚 — Tsireya knew you were the right one for her and why not seal the deal, sure you can’t mate like na’vis’ can but the two of you bonded in a different way, something so passionate that the two of you would treasure for the rest of your lives together.

🔖 @zanabelle99, @moonchildxoxx, @jakescumdump, @btsiguess-kpop, @sweetdayme4427, @ronalsskimwing, @shit-i-say-shit-i-think, @23victoria, @tsireqas, @kittenw, @violilaqrs, @valentinqee, @kiriswifejayden, @neteyamyawne, @glimmering-darling-dolly, @ducks118, @lilmackiee, @kasai-https, and @neo-novaa.

© neteyamsoare 2023. | All Rights Reserved. Do not repost on other platforms, copy, steal, or translate any of my works!

[lorre-verie]

⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐡. 𝟏 ࿐ྂ

summary: metkayinan! reader who is expected to become the next olo’eyktan but wishes nothing more than to shed their responsibilities and simply run away from all their problems meets the sully family. they speak of them in defense in front of their people, catching the attention of a certain omaticayan boy.

word count: 5k words

pairings: neteyam x gn! ao'nung's older twin! reader

basically:  - reader is the oldest child of ronal and tonowari by a few seconds (fraternal twins w/ ao'nung, you can imagine yourself however you like) - No idea how old tsireya actually is so i'm saying shes 1 year younger than reader and ao’nung for the sake of my sanity - Take a shot everytime you see the word “you” or “your”

warnings: literally 90% no neteyam in this part because this is like the backstory of the reader’s life. parents being overbearing per usual, feeling guilty for putting yourself over others, literally nothing else idk

dictionary: 

tsaheylu: the bond/neural connection made between two beings gill mantle: the creature that provides the ability to respire underwater (given to Neytiri by Kiri when they were swimming out of the sunken ship) marui: the tents the na’vi live in Tree of Souls: the tree that is said to be the closest connection to Eywa on Pandora (the tree that helped Jake transfer into his avatar body permanently) irayo: "thank you" in the na'vi language

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | masterlist

Both you and your twin brother Ao’nung had been considered blessed gifts from Eywa ever since the day you both were born.

at least that's what every elder in Awa’atlu said to the both of you, for as long as you two could remember. The first twins in the Metkayina clan to have been born for hundreds of years, they emphasised.

Since you were just children, it had already been clear to the whole village that you and Ao’nung were far more talented than other kids, and your parents, especially your father, were extremely proud of the both of you for that reason, his chest always puffing out more than usual and lips turned into a smile whenever someone complimented his children in front of him.

At the age of 7, you both were skilled at using your spears, having amazingly swift reaction time and swimming at speeds comparable to other na’vi 2 times your age. Everyone around you would always whisper in awe of both of your talents, always speaking highly of both of you equally, since you were on par with one another.

But despite how similar you both were in talent and intelligence, it was clear which one of you had the heart of a leader. 

You were always one step ahead of Ao’nung, especially in the literal sense, protecting him and guiding him through the waters, teaching him to do things that you learned first. And whenever you played with the other children and a fight ensued, you always were quick to find the way to a peaceful solution.

Your parents noticed this of course, and they quickly started talking about you becoming the future olo’eyktan during family dinners, which at first you had no opposition to, instead beaming at the prospect of becoming a leader for your brothers and sisters. 

But inevitably throughout the years you grew tired. Tired of your mother always nagging you about looking presentable even if you were only going for a walk along the shore, tired of your father always expecting nothing less than exceptional from you, tired of everyone around you always asking for assistance in everyday tasks and being the person that they looked for when disagreements started.

Of course, you loved your family and your people. But it truly drained you to put their needs over your own. You had no time to enjoy the feeling of the water brushing against your skin, to take in the beauty of Pandora’s waters and the underwater creatures that Eywa created. 

Your siblings Ao’nung and Tsireya, despite having their own expectations from your parents, were still always able to have fun and enjoy the waters and make close friends that they could trust and talk to, while you were stuck helping the elderly and the young. 

But every time you thought of rejecting helping others it always hurt you inside, because what were you doing thinking like that? You were the future olo’eyktan, you couldn’t not help your people, right?

It wasn’t like you didn’t have the ability to help, you were very much capable, so everytime you had the thought to say no, you pushed it far away in the back of your mind, thinking you were selfish for even coming up with such an absurd idea.

But one morning when you were 13, you finally had quite enough of having to endure all your responsibilities. So you did what every other pubescent teenager would do; you formed an escape plan.

In the bright and early morning when you know absolutely nobody would be awake, you snuck past your parents and siblings while they slept, going out of your family’s marui, asking for forgiveness from Eywa with every step you took.

But you didn’t regret it, not for a second. Once you were far enough from all the marui, you ran to one of the shores farthest from the centre of the island. At last, you were able to really feel the sand between your toes and take a deep breath of the salty air. 

It smelled of the ocean, you thought, while closing your eyes and outstretching your arms, your smile so big it hurt. You walked along the beach a little while longer, relishing in your extremely rare moment of freedom and alone time. 

Until you heard the morning horn sound. Your smile instantly disappeared, realising that soon people would be up and about and that you would have to return to your duties. 

No, your heart said. I don’t want to. And for once, your brain didn’t tell you to go back. It didn’t say you were being selfish.

Instead, your heart rate went faster, every beat against your chest urging you to run. So you disappeared in the glittering water before anyone could see, swimming away while being careful to not be seen and only coming up for air behind rocks. 

You didn’t know where you were swimming, you just wanted to be somewhere that wasn’t surrounded by other na’vi constantly asking for help right after you were done assisting another. 

Through tsaheylu, you attached a gill mantle to your back, allowing you to breathe under the water. Since you didn’t need to resurface for a while, you swam at your own pace, enjoying the colourful sea life that surrounded you.

The coldness on your skin was refreshing, you could finally enjoy the feeling of swimming deep into the water without bringing a spear to hunt fish. You glided through the water, closing your eyes to focus your senses on the feeling of the water all around your body.

You felt a disturbance in the water near you, like someone was next to you. When you opened your eyes, you realised you were face to face with a baby ilu staring at you with curiosity.

Looking around, you saw great amounts of colourful fish and coral, meaning you were in the part within the reef that na’vi rarely came to, the one with the great sea mountain. 

The reason it was near empty was because it was forbidden to prevent hunting around that area, an order issued by your great-great grandmother who was once olo’eyktan.

And you knew nobody in their right mind would swim down this deep without the purpose of hunting; most would only swim near the surface if they chose to come here. This is it, you thought to yourself as you smiled at the ilu, it swimming circles around you in response, examining your features. 

While looking at the sand below you admiring the seashells shining in the light, you saw a large dark blue boulder heavily covered in seaweed. On the top of it, you noticed a bright purple fish struggling to get free, some of the seaweed tangled around its fins, preventing it from escaping. 

You swam down, concerned for the helpless creature. You carefully unwrapped the seaweed from around its tail, then its dorsal fin. With that, the fish was free, and it spared no time swimming away from you. But not to the ocean with the rest of its friends, no. It swam behind the big rock, then disappeared. 

Confused, you made your way to the other side, examining the seaweed all over it while wondering where the fish could have possibly gone. 

Then you saw it; behind all the seaweed there was a small opening, like a tunnel of sorts. Lifting up the seaweed around it, you discovered that the tunnel was much bigger than you originally thought, enough to fit an adult male na’vi. 

Peering into it, you almost gasped. You saw bioluminescent plants arranged in a beautiful pattern across the walls of the tunnel. They reminded you of old metkayinan patterns that used to be woven into the cloth your people would use for formal ceremonies, but alas that was a long time ago. 

The art was long lost, except for the leftover worn down cloth that your father kept draped over your families’ marui, as a reminder of who our ancestors were. You always looked at the pattern before you went to sleep, the cloth dangling above your head and serving as yet another reminder of your responsibilities. 

But now, you were able to admire it for its beauty. The patterns twisted into curls at the end, the lines mimicking the waves of the ocean. It was certainly old, you deduced, since some of the plants had grown, bleeding out into the grooves between the rocks of the tunnel.

Where did this tunnel come from? Who arranged the plants in this way? Did anyone know about this? These questions flooded your mind as you moved forward, swimming through the tunnel. It dipped deep below the sand, the only light you had to guide you were the plants on the wall, glowing purple and blue. Your hands pushed you forward as you placed them on both sides of the tunnel, propelling you forward.

It had been around 2 minutes of seemingly endless swimming when you finally saw a light in front of you. When you finally made it out of the tunnel, you were met with an astonishing sight.

A cave greeted you, with a huge air pocket that allowed you to poke your head out of the water. You removed the bond that attached you to the gill mantle, letting it go back through the tunnel and leaving you alone to marvel at this cave of wonders. 

There were flat rocks shaped like stairs which you stepped on, and the walls of the cave were smoother than most, almost like they’d been carved into and perfected with a tool.

There were paintings and maps hung and scattered on the cave walls, adorned with colourful seashells on the corners. In the corner, lay a delicate carving into the rock of a mighty tulkun with its tattoos in all of its glory, a small calf following it. 

Algae you’d never seen before were growing on the rocks underneath your feet and on the ceiling, hanging down like what you heard the flora that grew on the Vitraya Ramunong (Tree of Souls) would look like.

On the smooth rock floor in front of you there was a large hammock hooked up with woven cloth, and as you stepped closer to it, you noticed something. 

Grazing your fingertips on the edges of the hammock, you observed the same metkayinan pattern that decorated the tunnel woven here. You inspected the maps that were on the walls; maps of Awa’atlu and the other islands surrounding it. Beautiful paintings of tulkun and other sea creatures, the pigment extracted from the colourful plant life in the reef, more vibrant than any other paintings you had seen before.

Your eyes were simply open in shock and in awe of all the beauty. Perhaps Eywa had shown you this cave for a reason. Perhaps she had seen that you needed a place to escape to and gifted you the honour of finding this place. 

That night when you went home, you watched the area, wondering if anyone would sneak out to go in the direction of the reef to go to the cave. But nobody ever did. And everytime you went back, it was always exactly how you’d left it. 

For the next 2 years, you had escaped to that cave every time you felt overwhelmed, even staying for a nap in the hammock a few times. No one had ever questioned where you went, always assuming you were out helping others. 

Sometimes you returned with fish you hunted from the other reefs just to steer clear of suspicions. Of course, you never stayed in there for too long, only going in between duties for a break to avoid more being piled onto you.

It was your sanctuary.

“Tsireya! Where are you going?” you asked your little sister, catching up to her as she walked along the beach which was teeming with your people. Kids were playing, adults were preparing to go hunting, and the elderly were weaving baskets and garments to wear. For the metkayina, this was the usual.

She recognized the sound of your voice, turning around with a smile. “Y/n! I was just about to go feed the ilu. Want to come with me?” she said, looking at you hopefully. Your relationship with your sister was not as close as the bond you shared with your brother, of course, but you still cherished her for she was in your eyes, adorable. 

You smiled back, agreeing. She waved her hand as a signal for you to follow her. “So..” you glanced at Tsireya. As you both walked together you asked her, “Have you been considering anyone lately, sister?” A cheeky grin appeared on your face as her cheeks turned slightly purple. 

She pursed her lips, using her right hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Well, no…not really. None of the boys interest me.” You raised your not-eyebrows in slight surprise. None of them? “And of the girls?” you inquired, folding your arms while slightly speeding up to get a better look at her face. “None.” she responded, avoiding your gaze nervously. 

The wind from the sea blew against her face as she stepped into the water, you still looking at her in slight shock. Out of all the people, none of them had interested her? You were absolutely sure she was interested in one of the boys, Lälo, who had always made her laugh and always gave her gifts to show his interest.

“They’re nice, of course. But… I just don’t feel a spark with them.” she said, lowering her head and her ears pointed down, as if she expected you to be upset.

Your whole family thought she would accept Lälo’s courtship, always looking fondly upon them whenever he invited her for a walk. Your face morphed from one of shock into sympathy, reaching out a hand to put on her shoulder.

“There’s no rush sister, you don’t need to be ashamed of anything. Love is something that’s unpredictable, and one day Eywa will bless you in finding your future mate. You don’t need to worry about that now.” you reassured her, and she gave you a smile that almost melted your heart. “Irayo, y/n.”

You both waded through the water to the ilu’s feeding area, signing a quick I see you to the ilu keeper. When you were feeding one of the babies, Tsireya suddenly questioned, “And you?”. You turned your head in confusion, but she continued feeding the mother ilu. “What?”

“Do you have anyone you’re interested in?” her smile turned into the same grin you had on your face earlier. Before you could respond, a horn sounded.

Multiple shadows were cast on you both, and disappeared as soon as they came. Looking up, you saw multiple mountain banshees flying down towards a blank spot near the marui, the horn continuing to sound. This was certainly not a normal occurrence. 

You shared a look with your sister, and you both rode your ilu to the spot they landed, diving into the water first before resurfacing and brushing some of your wet hair out of your face while walking onto dry land. When you got there, whole bunches of your people had already surrounded the omaticayans, including your brother and his friend Rotxo. 

“It’s too small, how are they supposed to swim?” Rotxo said, pointing at their tails while Ao’nung laughed. Tsireya was quick to silence them, “Do not, Rotxo and Ao’nung!” she scolded them, as you walked next to her and watched the omaticayans who were still raising their hands to show they meant no harm.

She sighed, then turned her gaze to one of the younger male forest people who had two braids dangling in front of his face, shooting her a simple “Hey.” She smiled and looked down, and you tried to contain your laughter by covering your mouth as you recognized the look he gave your sister, failing to notice someone else also giving you a similar look. 

All of a sudden, the sound of skimwings splashing the water as they moved could be heard. Both metkayina and omaticaya turned their heads to witness your father flying over the crowd and landing back in the water on the opposite side. 

You whispered to Tsireya, “Does he always have to be so dramatic?”, and she put a hand in front of her mouth to keep her from laughing. 

As your father and the omaticayans exchanged greetings, your mother approached, a confused look in her eye. “Why do you come to us, Jake Sully?” your father asked.

You slightly gasped at the mention of his name, recognizing the tallest males' non-na’vi features. He had strange hairs over his eyes and an extra finger and toe, which you recognized on two of the other children. 

Jake Sully, who was once part of the Sky People and known throughout Pandora as the newest Toruk Makto, was here in Awa’atlu? You couldn’t believe your eyes. Was this his family?

“We seek uturu”, he said bravely, outstretching his arms. You heard murmurs spread throughout the crowd. Uturu? Jake Sully? Toruk Makto? were the words you heard repeated the most. Why would they need to seek uturu in the home of a stranger?, you yourself wondered, tilting your head in confusion. 

“Uturu?” your mother repeated, to confirm she was hearing correctly. “A sanctuary for my family.” Jake Sully said in affirmation. Your parents shared a glance before your mother stalked towards them, inspecting their features. 

“We are reef people, you are forest people, your skills will mean nothing here.” your father said. “So we will learn your ways,” Jake Sully responded, before looking at who you could only assume was his mate, Neytiri. You have heard of her amazing skills in the war between the omaticaya and the sky people, and your eyes shimmered with adoration when you looked at her. 

“Right?” he asked his mate, before your mother took her tail between her hands without saying anything. You groaned internally. She never did have a sense of personal space, especially after she became the official Tsahìk after your grandmother died (may she rest in the Great Mother’s arms.) 

She grabbed the youngest one’s arm, and said “Their arms are thin.”, the little girl pouting and retreating to the safe embrace of her mother after yours let her arm go. 

“Their tails,” she added, grabbing the tail of another girl with a uniquely shaped nose, almost like that of the Sky People, as she exclaimed in slight agitation and slapped your mothers hand away, “are weak,” she frowned. “You will be slow in the water.”

You looked at the girl again. She had a woven shawl around her neck, probably shielding her from being too cold on the ride here. Your mother grabbed her hands one by one, showing them to the clan. 

“These children-" she paused, her eyes widening, "are not even true Na’vi!”, she announced, your people gasping in shock. “Yes we are!” she said back to her, and you felt a slight twinge of guiltiness in your heart for your mothers behaviour, even though it was not yours to control. 

She walked to the boy that Tsireya was looking at before and grabbed his hand, also raising it up for your people to see. 

“They have demon blood!” she announced again, the boy’s head hanging low, only being able to look down at the sand below him as gasps mixed with shock and outrage again rose from the metkayina that surrounded you all. Another boy who you assumed was his brother, looked at her in slight annoyance. 

You did not blame him, for your mother had clearly overstepped her boundaries this day. You glanced towards your sister, her face twisted into one of guilt and sympathy, and you guessed she was feeling a similar sentiment.

You put your left hand on her shoulder, whispering, “It’s alright. I will talk to mother about this later.” you tried to muster a smile but you could not, looking at the little omaticayan girl that was absolutely crestfallen, hugging her sister’s leg. 

You couldn’t bring yourself to look at them anymore, even as Neytiri started to talk in defence of her mate. You turned your gaze to your brother, who despite whispering something into Rotxo’s ear, was still being stupidly loud enough that you could hear. 

“My mother is right, Rotxo. They will be useless here. Just look at how ridiculous that one’s hand looks!” he snickered. You felt anger boil up in your body as you walked over to him, still bent down and whispering. 

You grabbed him by the ear, pulling him through and away from the crowd, unaware of a certain pair of yellow eyes fixed on you both.

“Ao’nung! How could you say such foul things about them like that! You as the son of the olo’eyktan have to be responsible! Not ill-mannered like a child!” you scolded him, still pulling on his ear as he hissed in pain.

“Okay, okay I’m sorry!” he apologised in a panic, trying to slap your hand away. 

“Do not let me catch you doing it again, skxawng! At least do not be so loud that they can hear you!” you hissed as you slapped the back of his head, him looking away from you with agitation once he was free from your vice-like grip. 

The nerve of your skxawng of a brother sometimes. You rolled your eyes, walking back to your original position next to your sister. 

You saw the youngest hugging her father, whispering “Do we have to go?” as he reassured her “Shh, we’ll be okay.” Your ears drooped at the sight, once again sad for the family. You looked towards your parents who were looking at each other in silent conversation. Perhaps you could nudge them in the right direction. 

Taking a deep breath, you stepped towards your parents, suddenly aware of all eyes on you. “Mother, father, may I speak?” you said with a hushed tone. Your father simply nodded. 

“Alright I–” 

“If you must speak, you will speak in front of our people.” your mother said, staring into your eyes. 

Your lips parted in shock. You? Speak in front of all your people? In defence of strangers?

“Darling, I don’t believe that’s necessary.” your father tried to cut in after seeing the colour drain from your face at the thought of publicly speaking. Ronal sighed and ignored her husband, placing a hand on your shoulder. 

“Not for me,” she shook her head, “For your people.” 

Your ears perked up when she said those words. 

“They are scared, ma y/n.” she breathed out, her voice trembled so little that nobody would ever notice. But you weren’t nobody, you were her oldest child.

You could see in her eyes and hear in her voice that she was distressed at their sudden arrival. Her best friend in the Ta’unui clan was murdered a long time ago trying to protect the tulkun from the Sky people before Payakan’s murders, and she had to pay the price for it with her tears.

Not them, but her.

"If you truly believe in that family, then you will show it to the people.” she said, eyes scanning the crowd to which you followed. 

The children were hiding behind a few elders who were trying to calm them down. The thought of demon blood being in front of them of course terrified them, they did not know any better. Some of the metkayina had their teeth bared, fangs showing in clear aggression and disapproval, still gripping onto their spears. 

The metkayina despised the Sky People ever since they set foot on Pandora, when they hunted the tulkun and left their bodies scattered at the bottom of the ocean. They ruined the spiritual bonds that intertwined the lives of your people and the tulkun, and they did it without remorse. 

You looked at a group of younger metkayina who looked terrified, ears pointing down and scared, and you recognized the face of a crouched down elder who had his spirit brother murdered by the sky people long ago, struggling to hold in his tears as he whispered “Mawey, mawey, my child.” as he hugged a little girl who buried her face into his shoulder. His grandchild. 

“Show them.” your mother repeated, squeezing your shoulder in reassurance. You took a deep breath, and whispered, “May the Great Mother give me strength.” before slowly stepping towards Jake Sully and his family. 

“Jake Sully. Neytiri.” you said, bowing your head and signing I see you, to which they returned with slight confusion. You turned around, facing your people. 

“My people, you have all heard of the things that Jake Sully had done during the fight with the omaticaya and the sky people. You all heard how their hometree had fallen and they had fled to the Tree of Souls.” you began, not noticing the slightly pained expression of Neytiri as you mentioned the hometree.

“You also remember how these brave warriors,” you gestured towards the omaticayan adults behind you, “had saved the forest from being destroyed by the sky people.” 

“Jake Sully may have been of the sky people but he had seen the beauty that the Great Mother blessed Pandora with and he fell in love with it. As we all would if we were in his place.” You paused, taking a breath. 

“He’s not the same as those who have hurt the tulkun, I’m sure of that. He is not different from you and I. So do not be scared. And do not be angered.” you continued, and took a deep breath after. The crowd murmured, and the children stopped crying to listen to your words. 

“This family has been nothing but respectful towards all of us since they have set foot in Awa’atlu, so I expect you all to return this favour. Else your stares of disapproval will burn into their memory.” you said, and noticing the group of hunters loosening their holds on their spears.

“My people, we know better than to judge others based on their physical differences. So I implore you all to keep an open mind. They mean no harm to us. That is all I have to say.” you finished, bowing your head down to your parents before stepping beside Tsireya once more. 

“That was great, y/n!” she whispered excitedly, bending slightly to the right to look into your eyes, hers glimmering with adoration for her older sibling. 

“You really think so?” you grinned back, still a bit flustered from having to speak in front of everyone. 

“I know so. Take a look.” she reassured you, subtly gesturing towards the metkayina that had been showing aggression towards the Sullys, now seeming to calm down, looking at the sand in slight embarrassment of their previous actions.

You looked at the children who seemed to be wiping their tears and now were asking their elders about the feats of Jake Sully, then to the once scared group of metkayina who also calmed down, and your heart swelled. 

You looked to the Sully family, or more precisely, into the eyes of one. He smiled at you, to which you returned graciously. Now that you were able to look at him, he was quite cute.

He was not taller than your brother but his posture was perfect, making him stand tall and proud. Every strand of his hair was pulled into delicate braids, sort of different from the ones metkayina used in their hair, and some colourful beads decorated one of the braids near his ear. Your sister had not failed to notice your gawking. 

She playfully hit your left arm, still looking forward and paying attention to her father speaking with a straight face as if her arm was acting on its own, but you know that deep down inside she was ready to unleash her relentless teasing about the boy later. 

After your father had announced that the Sully family would be staying here, your sister excitedly went to show them to their new marui, hopping on the nets that connected them all. Since your skxawng of a brother had no intention of helping them, you had to drag him to follow the omaticayans, Rotxo coming along as well. 

You looked at the older sister, who begrudgingly introduced herself as Kiri earlier, at the back of all her family members lagging behind. You turned, glaring at your brother. “Keep following. Do not try to escape this.” you warned him, to which he grumbled something you couldn’t hear but still nodded. 

You then sped up your hopping, and Kiri turned to look at you as you matched her pace. “Hey.” you said.

“...hey.” she returned, avoiding your gaze.

“I’m sorry.” you said, putting your hands behind your back. She looked at you confused. “For what?” 

“For my mom earlier. What she said back there wasn’t nice. At all. I’m sorry you and your siblings had to go through that.” you responded, turning your gaze downwards in shame. “Thanks. But it’s not like you’re in control of your mom…” she looked at me, her voice trailing off. 

I realised I had never introduced myself to the family, being off helping some children when the initial introductions were being made. “Y/n.” you smiled. “Cool. ” she gave a small smile back. As you tried to explain more about the metkayina and our culture to her, she couldn’t help but focus on trying to keep her snickering to a minimum. 

She had seen Neteyam’s ears flick in your direction as soon as you said your name, and she knew he was listening to your rambling intently.

He was doing that thing where he nodded subconsciously while learning information from someone. “Kiri? Kiriiii?” you asked, waving your hand in her face. “Oh sorry! I got lost in thought.” she apologised. 

“No problem. Do you want me to repeat that for you?” you smiled, completely unaware of the boy in front of you both who had now turned his full attention towards you, taking in your smile. “Yeah, if you wouldn’t mind.” she said, grinning.

Lo’ak laughed in front of you both, and you looked at him with confusion. He said something in a language you didn’t understand, which earned a “Haha!” from Kiri and a push forward from Neteyam, muttering “Skxawng.” under his breath.

“Mind telling me what that was about?” you turned to Kiri. She shrugged while hiding a chuckle behind her hand, “Oh don't worry about it, just Lo’ak joking around, as usual.”

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | masterlist

Thank you so much for reading to the end! I’m sorry that there actually wasn’t that much Neteyam in this part but I promise he’ll show up more in the next part 🥲 I didn’t want to post too long of a part (else this would’ve been 10k words instead of 5k) or have to wait longer to post this. 

[ngayawneluoer]

if i keep my eyes closed (he feels just like you)

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ neteyam x reader (past), lo’ak x reader (platonic... ish?)

You and Lo’ak find comfort in each other while mourning his brothers death, and he confides in you about the guilt he feels.

word count: 1046

a/n: just a little angsty thing that came to mind and i had to write it out. neteyam is dead in this one too because I love making people suffer :) oh yeah, spoilers. sorry.

You twitched in your sleep. Once again, your mind was plagued with haunting visions of the day your heart was ripped from your chest – the day you lost Neteyam.

All you could see was his blood on your hands as you pulled him up onto the rock, the wound that went straight through him. And his eyes - those beautiful eyes that you used to get lost in. All you saw now was how the life drained from them as his spirit withered away. Every time you had this nightmare, you felt your dream self cry and wail up at the sky, only to look down and watch him die over and over and over again.

This particular night, Lo'ak was being kept awake by thoughts of regret. He sat on the edge of the net outside the Marui pod you all shared, his feet dangling in the water and his eyes fixed on the endless ocean. Nights like this, he could almost pretend that everything was okay – that Neteyam was sleeping soundly wrapped up in your arms in the family’s new Metkayinan home, that you hadn't lost your lover, that he didn't lose his brother. But he couldn't. His remorse always got in the way, the rotten thoughts of how he did nothing right and how it should have been him instead embedding themselves deep in his mind.

Lo'ak would never say it to his parents, but he truly wished that he had died instead of Neteyam. But firstly, he didn't want to make it about himself, and most importantly, he was afraid they wouldn't disagree. He knew his parents preferred Neteyam; he had known it his whole life. He even saw it with you. You had been friends with Lo'ak for longer than he could remember - he was the one that introduced you to Neteyam - but it was Neteyam you chose and were closest with. And now, he could tell that every time you looked at him, all you could think of was his dead brother. You could barely look him in the eye. And to know that he could never live up to what Neteyam was and what he could have been hurt him more than he could ever verbalise.

He was ripped from his thoughts when he heard the cries coming from your side of the Marui pod, the small corner you and Neteyam once shared. He didn't have to look to know you were having a nightmare with how frequently you had them lately. It seemed that every member of the Sully family had been awoken with visions of Neteyam's death, especially Neytiri and Lo'ak himself, and you were no exception. 

Lo'ak brought himself to his feet and quietly made his way over to your sleeping body. You were facing the woven wall, your body slightly shaking with cries as your memories continued to haunt you in your sleep. He slowly approached you and kneeled before finally placing his hand on your arm, gently stroking your skin with his thumb, and whispering your name to try and pull you from your nightmare. Finally, your breathing started to even out, your crying stopped, and Lo'ak felt you slowly wake up.

"Neteyam?"

Your gentle whisper of his brother's name made Lo'ak freeze. It was an honest mistake; you were barely awake and very vulnerable. But Eywa, he never wished for Neteyam to be there as much as he did at that moment.

A part of him wanted to say nothing, to just hug you and allow you a moment of bliss with the idea of his brother comforting you.

He didn't get to make that choice, though. Before he could react, you placed your hand on his, turning to him with teary eyes. He wanted the ground to swallow him whole when that look of disappointment flashed on your face. He wished he could be who you wanted him to be.

"Lo'ak," Your voice cracked as you said his name, and his heart cracked with it, "I'm sorry… I- I didn't mean to…."

Lo'ak shushed you softly, resuming his gentle strokes on your arm, "Don't worry."

Hesitantly, he stretched out his legs, shifting his body closer to yours. When he saw no sign of rejection from you, he lay beside you. To his surprise, you turned to him and worked yourself into his embrace, and he wrapped an arm around you. Before long, he could feel your body shaking again with hushed sobs, your tears damping his skin.

"I miss him, Lo'ak," you spoke softly, your voice muffled by his chest.

"Me too."

He was quiet for a long time after that, so quiet that you thought he had fallen asleep. Then, as you drifted in and out of sleep, he spoke softly, "I'm sorry."

Your eyes opened, and you looked up at his face to be met with tear-stained cheeks and watery eyes, "What for?"

"It should have been me."

The agony in his tone stunned you for a second, your eyes fixed on his own, "Lo'ak..."

"Don't try to lie to me", he sighed, "We all know it's true. He died because he pushed me out of the way. It was supposed to be me. It would have been better that way."

"Lo'ak... I know you blame yourself, but it was not your fault," You whispered softly, bringing a comforting hand to his cheek, "Neteyam saved you because he was your brother and he loved you, and he wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

"I see it in your eyes..." he whispered, afraid his voice would fail him if he spoke any louder, "You blame me for it."

"I do not blame you, Lo'ak." You frowned, heart aching from hearing of the guilt he carried, "I am just hurting. And I know you are too, and I would never blame you for what happened."

"But-"

"But nothing, Lo'ak. You did not kill him; the sky people did. We did all we could. He is with Eywa now."

Your words seemed to only bring tears to his eyes, but you could tell they got through to him. As stubborn as he was. You pulled him close to you once again, and the sunrise's slivers peeked through your Marui pod's weaves, signalling another difficult day ahead. But as Lo’ak slept soundly in your arms, you figured that maybe, just maybe, if you braved it together, it would get a little easier.

-

a/n: send in requests lads, i'm bored over christmas break and need stuff to do<3