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twenty one. family is all that we got
GROWING UP, BOTH—NEYTIRI AND JAKE—SAW PARTS OF JUNIPER IN ALL OF THEIR KIDS. Neteyam was the warrior that Juniper once was. He didn't have to think twice about jumping into danger when it came to his siblings. With Kiri, it made Jake laugh when the girl gave attitude as he would remember the times when Juniper would remark with her sassy replies.
Le'ah and Lo'ak shared the same recklessness and rebellion that Juniper had—it was true, Juniper didn't break the rules as the twins did, but it was something that reminded Jake of Juniper for what was right. Tuk had Juniper's innocence. It didn't matter about the things that Juniper did or endured. Juniper was still innocent at heart. A pure and good kid.
It brought Jake contentment to see Juniper in his kids. It made him feel like she was still with him after all this time of letting her go. But, it brought fear in him. Fear that he was going to lose them like he had lost Juniper. From the day he let Juniper go, and his children were born, he swore to himself he'd protect them at all costs. He'd give up his life in a heartbeat when it came to his kids.
So seeing them being held by the Avatars, guns and knives being thrown their way, and finding Le'ah trapped under the branch of the trees above—he felt frightened. And on top of that, knowing Quaritch was alive grew anger. He was angry at the man for everything he had done since the beginning, but tipping Jake off the edge, was the death of his little girl. He stood in front of Neytiri, watching the woman's face filled with emotions, "this is our family. Our home."
From outside the tent, Kiri gestured for the twins and Neteyam to come on over. They had just gotten back from their grandmother's tent, where Mo'at was attending to Le'ah's leg, and thankfully, there wasn't much wrong except for it being bruised. No broken bones, nor having to be on bed rest for a few days. Le'ah frowned at the sound of her parents arguing, knowing they barely ever fight, "this is our family. This is about our little ones."
