Let me heal you - Neteyam x reader

Nine

Passing out was not fun. I hope to avoid it in the future. Two times is enough.

When I pushed through the foggy, dream-like state of half-consciousness and forced my heavy eyelids open, the first thing I notice is the pounding of my head, and the bright light reflecting off the water. Then it is my wrists, bound to a railing. Beside me, Lo'ak kneels, stock still. Tsireya and Tuk struggle on my other side. The tulkun murderer has his gun pressed to the back of Lo'ak's head, and is gazing out to sea, where a flock of Ilu are gathered, carrying an army of Metkayina.

The murderer says something in English. He speaks into a small device, one that I recognise as Lo'ak's, which he used to call his father earlier. One Ilu, holding a slightly bluer Na'vi, inches forward. It is Jake Sully. He barely makes it halfway before Bayakan leapt out of the water and soared through the air.

The Avatar raise their guns, shooting at him in a panic, but do not pierce his armour. A laugh bubbles up and out of my throat as the tulkun lands on the ship with a crash, flapping his fins. Sky people are knocked down left and right.

Raising his gun, the murderer staggers to his feet beside me. I kick him, hard, in the back of his knee, and he is on the floor again. He glares at me, holding us his weapon again, before becoming distracted by an explosion rocking the boat. Bayakan dives back into the water. Avatar and sky people abandon the deck in favour of joining the battle, and the four of us are left unsupervised.

I scan the deck, eyes locking on the knife I had dropped before. This is our chance to escape. I stretch out my leg, attempting to grasp it between my toes. Tsireya watched intently, and Tuk urges me to hurry. Just as I grip the knife, a second explosion sounds, and the boat begins to rock violently.

"No, no, no." I mutter, watching as the knife slides away.

The ship lurches forward, and crashes into a rock, soaring into the air. Tuk screams, and Lo'ak is thrown into me. Sky people are thrown overboard, and we are saved by the restraints holding us to the bar. The boat hits the water again, and we hit the metal deck, hard. I cry out in pain, for my knees are surely bleeding. The ship tilts at an abnormal angle, and sirens sound. We are sinking.

"What do we do?" Tuk cries, tugging on her restraints, and searching for any way to escape.

"We wait," I said, pressing my shoulder to hers in what I hoped to be a comforting way. "Someone will come to get us. Be brave, little Tuk."

As if on cue, Neteyam hurls himself over the side of the ship, brandishing a knife.

"Brother!" Lo'ak shouts, and Tuk cries with relief.

Neteyam frees Tsireya free first, sawing quickly at the bonds. Tuk is released next, and he pushes her towards Tsireya, urging them to get as far away from here as possible. He slices at my restraints, then Lo'ak's. His arm goes to my waist, guiding me to where Tsireya and Tuk disappeared to. Lo'ak runs in the other direction.

"Lo'ak, what are you doing?" Neteyam calls.

"They've got Spider. Come on." He says, taking a gun from the Avatar lying nearby. Neteyam does not move. "We can't leave him."

Neteyam hissed, then turns to me. "Go. Follow Tsireya. I will find you."

"No." I do not know what spider is, but I will not let Neteyam out of my sight again. "I am coming, my Teyam."

He is silent. Then, he presses his lips to mine. The brief touch is not enough. "Fine. Stay close."

Soon, we are shimmying along the pipes on the ceiling of the boat. My head and knees throb, but I do not care. The sooner we find the spider, the sooner we can get out of here. Below us, a group of sky people rush through. Among them, is a young boy, wearing a cloth and blue war paint. The spider is a human boy.

Neteyam drops down on top of one of the sky people, throwing him over the railing. Lo'ak follows suit, taking out another. I hit the floor, unsure. I watch the three boys take out the sky people. Then, I spot one on them raise his gun at Neteyam. I dive, knocking the weapon out of his hands and ripping off his mask. I single punch to the face knocks him out cold.

Looking up, I see Neteyam, his eyes sending me a silent thank you. I nod in response. He helps me up, and we face the Spider.

"Thanks guys." He says with a nod. His Na'vi is clear and fluent, as though he has been speaking it all his life.

The moment is over quickly, as Lo'ak spots the murderer stalking the ship, and raises his gun. Neteyam shoves him along, his hand in mine, and we take shelter behind a wall as shots ring out. He takes Lo'ak's gun and fires. I do not know if he shot anything, because he is ushering his brother over the railing and into the water. The spider goes first, and Lo'ak follows, swallowing his objections.

"My Teyam!" I shout over the pinging of metal on metal.

"Go!" He yells back.

I run and throw myself over the railing. Shots ring out above me, but I am home free. Neteyam crashes into the water behind me. Lo'ak whoops in celebration, and I can not help but laugh. I can see Tsireya approaching on an Ilu. I turn to face Neteyam, and my grin fades. He is struggling to stay afloat, and the water around him is stained red.

"No!" I rush to him and pull his arm across my shoulders. "He is shot! Tsireya, help me."

Lo'ak mounts the Ilu, pulling Neteyam across his knees. The rest of us hold on to what ever we can as the Ilu tears through the water. Fear settles into my chest as we come to a halt by some rocks and pull Neteyam up and out of the water. What if I cannot heal him? Or if I lose consciousness before I can finish the job?

Lo'ak screams for his father, who scrambles to reach us, immediately rolling Neteyam over to check for an exit wound. Blood seeps out the back of his chest.

"Get out of the way," I command, placing one hand underneath Neteyam and one on his chest, either side of the bullet wound. He groans from pain. "I know, tìyawn (love), I know. Just stay awake for me."

"Syulang," Neteyam mutters.

"Sh, my Teyam. Do not speak. You will be alright." I told him, ignoring the tears running down my face as my hands began to glow.

Neytiri collapsed on the other side of him, a sob escaping her. I remember how she comforted me as I cried. I can comfort her now, by keeping Neteyam alive. My hands get hot, and my vision is blurry. If it is from the tears, or my powers, I do not know.

Neteyam gasps for breath. "I want to go home."

"It's okay, we are going home. We're going home." Jake reassured him.

"Stay with me, my Teyam." I urged, fighting to stay awake.

"Stela," He panted. "I..."

The light disappeared from his eyes. I scream ripped at my throat. No, no, he would not die, not on my watch. I poured every ounce of my power into him, begging for Eywa to help me now, even if it killed me instead. Neytiri sobbed from beside me, and her grief only fuelled me. I couldn't see, and I couldn't feel anything except for Neteyam and the slow beating of his heart. He would not die. He would not. I screamed again, battling the to urge to sleep.

Then, gently, he began to breathe. His heart rate sped up and gasped in relief. Then, the heat in my hands disappeared, and I let myself go.