𖣘 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙮𝙖𝙡𝙖 𝘼𝙥𝙞 𖣘 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙮𝙖𝙢 𝙎𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𖣘

13.

  Nyala Api hold a tribute to the fallen exactly three days after their death, this is called a Hoo'lewa. Each family member will place a painted hand print on their late family members chest.

Lei painted two white marks down her flat nose bridge, overlapping two orange marks painted there before. Her family and the rest of the tribe were preparing for the Hoo'lewa, the Omatikaya were to be apart of this as well.

"Close your eyes." Lei instructed her brother while she smeared patterns onto his face. Lahar sat silently as he let his sister assist him.

Lahar had so many questions, but he didn't know where to start. He opened his mouth to speak but held himself back.

"What is it?" She placed her hand in her lap.
Lahar looked away from his sister.

"Did he say anything?" He finally asked.

Lei's expression dulled as she thought back to the traumatizing memory, she shook her head.

Lahar nodded his head slightly, looking to the left of his sister's saddened face to break the tension.

She paused before dipping her fingers back into the bowl.

Eta'yla entered the room without speaking, she grabbed Lei's forehead and tilted it back to view her face. She then did the same to Lahar, rewarding them both with a nod of approval.

Matahari stepped into the doorway, the red glaze over her eyes and her swollen face proved she had been crying. Eta'yla trained an empathetic gaze to her first born daughter.

"Sit." Eta'yla spoke in a gentle tone. Matahari rested down next to her mother, Lei stared at the floor in a hopeless state of mind. Eta'yla stared at her two daughters and then shifted her gaze back to her son.

"I see you all." A tear escaped Eta'yla's eye, she shifted her head towards the ground. Lei noticed the speechless look on her mother's face as she stared at the ground, she had never seen her mother so emotional — the uncomfortable feeling racked her.

Suddenly Percikan's father, Kanak, was calling outside of the front entrance of the hut. "It's time."

She stood upwards, helping Lahar up as well. The 4 made their way outside of the hut to join their tribe.

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"Do we have to go?" Tuk whined to her father, Neytiri overheard.

"My daughter, they have taken us in." She approached her daughter, beginning to paint the young girl's face with the Nyala Api's tribal colors. "We show them respect."

Neteyam was sat beside Lo'ak, they weren't informed of who had passed. "This is a sad time." Neytiri looked back to her two son's to warn them while she attended to her daughter.

Kiri entered the room with a solemn expression on her face. Jake immediately noticed and hurried to his daughter, "What's the matter baby girl?" He swept her hair out of her face.

Kiri shook her head as she buried her face into her father's chest, Neytiri finished Tuk's face paint. "Kiri?" She turnt around.

"We brought them here." Kiri mumbled through her father's chest, Jake gently lifted her head.

He looked down at her and then glanced at his wife's face, he felt great sorrow — his daughter was right. Jake fixed the pigmented paste on her face. "I'm sorry." He kissed her head. "I will fix it, baby." He picked his daughter up and held her on his hip even though she was a bit too big for this behavior — he didn't care.

Neytiri watched the interaction between her husband and her daughter, she couldn't help but smile.

"Are you two ready?" She turnt back to the two boys.