MΛ'ƬIЯI | ΛVΛƬΛЯ

stormy warmth

"Te'rani will be coming with us back home"

Neytiri watched how Kiri's face lit up. How her mouth opened in shock before quickly being turned into a smile.

Suddenly the sound of rain surrounded their marui. Heavy tear drops of the sky caused the room to feel a little colder.

The three siblings shared looks, mainly including the brothers smiling at how Kiri reacted.

Kiri was the closest to Te'rani. She admired and looked up to her. From what Kiri knew, Te'rani's life was just the one she wanted to live one day.

She wanted to be in the ocean, be able to see the world beneath the water everyday. She wanted to live a peaceful, quiet life, like one of a fisher. Where she could explore the reef and beyond as long as she'd like.

But since they had gotten the news that they had to leave, Kiri knew that the life she now wanted was going to be impossible to get.

Maybe because of living in such a different place, where sky people (almost)never bothered their everyday behaiviour, it made her stay feel like a vacation.

Neteyam and Lo'ak knew this, because that's how they felt as well. Though it wasn't easy at first, they got to start liking the ocean. It was a world within itself.

So when they learned that a piece of that world - Te'rani- was coming with them to the forest, it was relieving to say the least.

A short silence followed, since all the siblings were a little lost in their thoughts.

But Kiri quickly spoke.

"That's amazing....we're happy for you, mom" she said a little loudly, to be heard over the rain pouring around them.

"And we're glad she's coming with us"

All four of the teens, including Spider, seemed happy at the news. Spider only got to hear from his friends about their Metkayina friends. They were nice, and really cool too. Te'rani was no exception.

Neytiri could've closed her eyes and still heard the smile in her daughter's voice. She looked at her kids, feeling relieved to say the least.

She knew that her children liked, if not loved, Te'rani to some extent. Seeing their happy faces made her feel on top of the world. The only opinions she truly cared about were their's. And all she could think of now was what Te'rani's reaction to her telling her how the kids reacted.

Neytiri could imagine the rare smile and the glint in Te'rani's eye when she would tell her.

Neytiri took a hold of Kiri's hand, giving it a loving squeeze. "I have the best children" she said, causing all of them to chuckle a bit.

Lo'ak smiled at his mom, which made her heart warm a little more.

Te'rani was an amazing maternal figure in her kid's lives. She was caring and very knowledgeable. She was naturally an attractor. It was crazy how she hadn't been mated with someone already.

Neytiri snapped out of her train of thought when she heard thunder rumble. She realized how cold it was actually getting. Though the warmth she felt in her heart should've been enough to keep them secure, she said,

"Lo'ak, light the fire, we'll freeze to death before we get to go home"

They all laughed, feeling infinitely better in eachother's presence. Because when they were together, they knew they were heard and cared about, without needing to say a word. Because they were family. A family missing just one more member.

The sun would be setting now. The sky would be orange, with the eclipse setting into motion. But it wasn't.

The storm roared around Te'rani. She stood at the corner of her Marui, having seen Tsireya walk with Tuk to Neytiri's marui.

All the children were returning back to their homes, retiring for as long as the storm stayed. They knew better than to go out at this time, because the harsh season had begun, the rain season.

Te'rani looked out at the reef beyond her marui. She only say two or three other Na'vi from where she was. The ocean would be more or less empty now.

Te'rani always lived the rain, solely because it made the clear water look dark and hollow inside till you actually went in to see the coral beauty still well and alive.

It often felt like a metaphor. You'll never know the beauty within if you don't take that leap of faith into a dark place.

Right now, Te'rani felt hollow, like the ocean looked. Rain drops fell onto the water, but never really looked like it went in.

They reminded her of bullets, seeming too small to give damage but in reality, striking right past the surface.

Te'rani stared blankly at the water below her before a thought came to mind. Her ears lifted, and her gaze averted from the water to her feet, and then went up to see the reef barrier far beyond.

She thought about it, really thought about it for a second.

She shook her head at herself, not knowing what else to do.

And then she jumped into the water.

Te'rani entered the coldest water she had ever felt. Her body almost froze with shock, the reason being that this was the first time she was entering the water all day, and it had just begun raining out.

She let out a couple clicks, hoping for an ilu to swim by. Click. Click. Click.

But no ilu was in sight. Fine then. She would swim herself.

She turned in the water, looking behind her where an ilu should've been, but it was an empty reef.

Te'rani turned back around, getting ready to position her body to swim, when she saw a tsurak swim dangerously close to her shoulder.

It looked at her for a second as it passed by, tail almost on its way to hit her face but turning just in time.

Te'rani calmed her heart beat down, really not having expected to see the tsurak nearby.

But she collected herself and decided that she had gotten her ride.

So here she was, at the center of a storm, speeding past coral and fish to get to the place she needed to be - The cove of ancestors.

The tree glowed bright, thanks to the storm clouds hiding the sun that would've been yet to disappear.

Te'rani broke through the surface, gasping for a breath as the rain kept falling on her. She had almost forgotten how fast tsuraks were.

The creature roared as it spread its wings, gliding closer to the tree and then entering the water again.

Te'rani hadn't visited Eywa's tree in what felt like a year, but in truth was about a month.

She felt confused. Conflicted.
She needed to ask Eywa if this path was really one she should walk on. She had heard enough about what other had to say about her situation. But now she needed Eywa's guidance.

As clouds clashed far above her, so did Te'rani's thoughts.

Thunder screeched as an ikran would, louder than Te'rani could've expected. She flinched at the sound, and the tsurak wasn't any better. It shrieked in surprise and decided to enter the water again, where it would be at least a little less terrifying to see lightning flash by your eyes.

Te'rani was scared too. Maybe even more scared than the tsurak. Seeing the spirit tree come into view helped a little with that. Finally, she let go of the tsurak, swimming to the tree.

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