A true seer | Neteyam

7. Reunion of the forest people

I was woken up for the second time in the day, but this was different. I heard various voices from people I didn't recognize. One was childish, from a girl, and the rest sounded more grown up. My body craved for another round of sleep, but their whispers wouldn't let me. It was as if they were right next to me, sounding loud and clear.

"Look, look! Mom, she's like us!"

"Why is she different from the others?"

"She's a forest Na'vi? Here?"

"Hey, hey. She is sleeping, guys, keep it down," a male voice finally said. Whoever he was, I'd thank him later for being the only caring person of the lot.

"Listen to your brother. You can talk to her later."

A round of 'yes, sir' was heard and I finally opened my eyes. None of the talking people were in my range of view, so I simply stretched my arms and yawned. I got up from Atswon's bed and walked towards the wood bowl on the other side of the pod. I drank some water from it, hydrating my thirsty body.

"Hey!" A voice from my left made me drop the bowl. It came from a dark blue skinned girl, and I recognized her voice to be the one from earlier. She had yellow gold eyes and short, braided hair all the way to the ends. She was dressed in leather garments.

My eyes opened wide and any sign of sleepiness left my body. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"You are forest Na'vi, aren't you?!" She grinned from ear to ear, "You are so pretty! You look like a Metkayina," she practically yelled, pointing with her finger to my hair and clothes, "Oeru syaw Tuk, fyape syaw fko ngar?"

I told her my name in between a breathy sigh, still looking at her with a startled face. It had been, what? Ten, eleven years since I saw another forest Na'vi apart from my family? What was she doing here?

"Kiri! Lo'ak! Za'u!" Tuk yelled again, shifting her head to face the left wall of the pod. From that side, voices and steps were heading towards us.

"What? Kiri? Lo'ak?" Those names belonged to people I knew back home. My brain tried to think as fast as it physically could, bringing back shots of memory from my childhood. While it did that, I picked up the bowl, now empty, and left it aside. When I looked up, two new people were standing in front of me.

A girl, tall, with short, straight hair and some loose braids. She had the characteristic features of a forest person. The boy next to her, Lo'ak, had piercing yellow eyes, half opened. His face was like an upside down triangle. His hair tied in a lower ponytail, with one strand out, covered in beads. Much older, both of them looked exactly like the friends I knew.

"You..." I whispered.

They both said the usual salute, and when I noticed their hands, five fingers each, there was no doubt in me. I shoved them aside, searching outside the pod for a specific person.

I saw him talking to none other than Jake Sully and Neytiri. He was nodding at something his parents had said. With all the noise we made, the three of them turned to face me and the rest of their family.

I looked at Neteyam's eyes and became breathless. He had certainly grown taller, more muscular and handsome. He still was a copy of his mother, taking her beauty and transforming it into a perfect sharp face. His dark blue stripes adorned his body and face, making it even more unique, contouring his long eyelashes and pink lips. His ears were up, twitching. He had the same eyes, but bigger. The specks of green combined with the yellow were the most lovely and dreamy. It was enough to make blood rush to my cheeks.

His eyes observed mine, with what I assume was interest. I was hoping for him to say something that would give me any input if he remembered me or not. But, before either of us could say a word, his dad spoke.

"Oel ngati kameie," Mr. Sully said, followed by my name.

"Oel ngati kameie, Uncle Jake, Aunt Neytiri," I answered, using the same titles I called them when I was little. I worried for a second that they wouldn't feel comfortable with me calling them that way, but I was surprised to see their smiles.

"It has been a long time, 'evi," Neytiri squeezed my shoulder, "We were waiting to see you and your parents. Are they okay?"

"Um, well, my dad died a few years back. Mom and I are alright. Maitrey is still... the same," I smiled sadly.

Jake gave me a side hug. Knowing them, the news of their best friend dying was hard to digest. It was then when Tuk spoke.

"You know her?! Is that why you wanted us to come here?!"

"Partially, yes," he said, then looked at me, "I was hoping they were happy to see you. You might or might not remember them. Tuk you didn't know, but here is Kiri," he pointed at her with his head, "Lo'ak," he did the same with him, "And..."

"Neteyam," I cut him off, gazing at said boy. From his looks, he wanted to talk so badly, and so did I.

"Glad you remembered. You can catch up with them, we can talk later." He and Neytiri entered their pod. I saw Tsireya approaching from afar.

"I- I actually have to go to work," I swallowed so deeply I was positive they heard, "I need to go, sorry."

I left in no time, my heart threatening to jump out of my chest, its beats rumbling  in my ears.

'Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit,' I thought.

Was it possible that it was truly them, or was I dreaming? A nightmare, maybe? Whatever it was, I needed to talk to someone. I went to my mauri, expecting that the sight of my sister could comfort me. When that didn't happen, desperation outdid my will to seek for help.

I felt my heart racing as fast as an ilu on water, my upper half trembled and I felt sweat starting to drip down my forehead. I was short of breath, feeling lightheaded from the lack of air. The chest pain was unbearable.

As much as I tried to look around, my vision was blurry as hell. I couldn't make out the shapes of things. At most, the smudged colors of my surroundings. The dizziness made me want to puke, so I did. Nothing came out, other than saliva, but the feeling that I had sucked out my stomach was present.

I felt like I was about to die.

Strong hands wrapped my arms and torso. Atswon hugged me from behind, whispering some words into my ear.

"Maway, maway. It's okay. Breathe."

"I- I- he- and- I felt it, I felt him," nothing of what I said made any sense whatsoever, but he nodded to every word.

"I know, I know. But breathe, rutxe."

I inhaled deeply, letting the smells of the sea calm me down.

"He promised, and he's here."

————
Author's note:

Hey people! We finally get some action. I just want to tell you not to be strangers. It really hypes me up whenever someone leaves a comment, which hasn't happened so far. As well, don't forget to vote the star ⭐️ if you like the story! It looks weird to see that many people have viewed the story, but way less have left a vote.

I have never described a panic attack before, and I hope that it wasn't too awful. 

See you next chapter.

Happy Monday, cheers.