𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦

19.

The instant that Neteyam had heard what Au'nong did to his brother, he felt fury. To be so stupid and drag a newer outsider to outside the reef and then leave him? Neteyam was furious.

"Are you serious? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Neteyam yelled. Au'nong looked down. "Look I'm sorry dude but-" Neteyam didn't even care to listen to the rest of what he was going to say and instead grabbed his ear, taking him to Neteyam's father to explain what happened.

Laya saw Neteyam angrily storm off with Au'nong. She figured she would let him sort that out, then be here to help him when he needed it. She could tell that Neteyam cared for his brothers. She was a little jealous. She always wanted to be in a family that would do anything for each other.

Neteyam dragged Au'nong to his father and pushed him forward. "Tell him what you told me" He said.

Au'nong told him, and flinched when Jake stood up and rushed to the port where the Ilu and other rideable creatures were. Suddenly, Lo'ak came from the back of someone and their ilu and went onto the port. He stared down Au'nong who was on the level above him, before his father stepped in front of his view of Au'nong.

His father started to check him for wounds and injuries. "Let me look at you."

After checking everywhere he said, "He's fine, he's fine."

Lo'ak kept eye contact between him and Au'nong, almost daring him to come down and fight him, but Au'nong just stayed near his father.

Neytiri came up to her son and inspected him for injuries, even though Jake had already checked him.

She let out a frustrated sigh. "I pray for the strength that I will not claw the eyeballs out of my youngest son!" She exclaimed.

Tonowari put his hands on Au'nong and pushed him down. "No. My son knows better than to take him outside the reef." Au'nong looked down at the ground. "The blame is his." Tonowari finished.

Jake nodded, and started to lead Lo'ak away. "Okay, let's go."

Lo'ak stood his ground.  "No, this is not Au'nongs fault. This was my idea. Au'nong tried to talk me out of it." Jake ignored him and tried to pull him up to the platform so he could lead him to their home. As Lo'ak was pulled away, he noticed Tonowari asking Au'nong if it was true, and he saw his mother scold him.

Neytiri and Jake looked at their son, worry now replaced with anger. Lo'ak tried to reason with them.

"Dad, you told me to make friends with these kids." He explained. "That's all I was trying to-" His father interrupted him. "I don't want to hear it." Lo'ak looked at his father. "Dad-" His father looked at him, then to the side.

"You brought shame to this family."

That hurt Lo'ak, but he tried to hide it.

"Can I go now?"

"Any more trouble and I'm gonna knot your tail, you read me?"

"Yes sir." Lo'ak responded, no emotion on his face.

Jake gave Lo'ak a look that said he was released. Lo'ak nodded and walked away.

Then Jake turned to Neteyam. Neytiri looked at him too.

"What happened to watching your brother huh?" Jake scolded Neteyam. Neteyam nodded. "I'm sorry sir." Jake just sighed and walked away, Neytiri following him. Neteyam sighed and tried to bite back tears.

He was really scared for his brother, and knew he could've lost him. He would've gone out and looked for him himself if he could've. He tried to shake off the dread that he felt whenever he thought about any of his family members' deaths and decided to go find Lo'ak.

Walking outside, he quickly located Lo'ak. He was sitting on a bench, looking down at his feet. Neteyam started to walk over there when he noticed Tsireya walking over. Deciding to let her comfort him, he scanned the area and located Laya. She noticed him too and gave him a small smile. He returned it, and headed over to her. She noticed the glum mood that he carried. She put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a comforting smile.

"Let's go down to the beach. Does that sound good?" She asked him. He nodded, and interlaced their hands.

She led them to her favorite beach and they sat down on the sand. She looked at him, hand in hand, and kissed his cheek. He bit his cheek, trying to fight back the emotions he was feeling. She somehow could sense what he was feeling and draped her hand around his shoulder, letting his head lean down on her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, kissing him on the head. He didn't respond, and just furrowed his head deeper into her shoulder.

He was trying so hard not to cry, and her comforting wasn't helping. He knew she wouldn't judge him for crying, but he just despised crying itself. He couldn't help it though, and tears started to stream down his face. She felt drops fall onto her torso, and she looked down at him. He felt her gaze on him, and he looked up at her. She saw the teary eyes, the trembling mouth, and she wanted to do nothing but help him feel better. Then he started.

"I thought I lost him." He uttered, so quiet she thought she imagined it. She rested her chin on top of his head, and simply just hugged him.

"When Au'nong said they left him there... I was so mad. I wanted to jump out in the water and go get him myself." He explained, playing with a piece of Laya's hair. She nodded, her head still on top of his.

"You're the reason he's home safe. Who knows where he would be right now if you didn't tell your father." She tried to reassure him. He lifted his head and looked at her, holding her hands with his.

"I know. It's always been like that." He looked at the moon rising above the ocean. "It's always on me to take care of them. Then when I don't... like tonight... the blame is on me. Since I'm the son of 'Toruk Makto', I have to live up to him, and make sure that my siblings don't disappoint them." He looked back at her. "I don't want that kind of pressure." Tears started falling down his face again. "I just want to be a regular teenager. I want to-" He cleared his throat. "I want to sneak out, stay out late, do things normal teenagers do." He paused. "I don't want to be 'Toruk Maktos' son. I want to be Jake Sully's son." She frowned, and held his face in her arms, making him look at her.

"You are. You are the son of Jake Sully and Neytiri. You are an incredible warrior and an amazing older brother. You're brave, honest, kind, and infinitely amazing. But you're also an 18 year old boy who makes mistakes. You excel in certain things, but suck in other things." She looked down at him, brushing his hair back. "You're an amazing flyer, but you suck at fishing. You're a great kisser, but you're not smooth at all." He had a small smile on his face as he looked at her. "You're a person Neteyam. You're not perfect. The fate of your siblings is not up to you. They're gonna have to make mistakes and learn on their own." She softened her gaze at him. "You're incredible. I wish I knew more words to describe how amazing you are." He gazed at her, suddenly appreciating her much more. He nuzzled into her chest. "Thank you" He muttered into her skin.

"Of course." She said as she was cradling his head.

"Of course."