~+ Outcasts +~+ Lo'ak x fem reader +~

Chapter 10: {Lo'ak's PoV}

After our fight - which I will admit is a little bit irrational - Atala and I don't speak for several days. I'm still a bit annoyed over our argument, but not necessarily mad. Maybe I'm ready to speak to her again.

I plan to try to talk to Atala on the fourth day of us not speaking to each other. I don't think she's mad either. I asked Neteyam and he said we were both probably nervous to speak to the other again. He's definitely right about that, with me anyway. 

I'm walking on the beach, assuming I'll find her around here somewhere. In the distance, I see Kiri laying down in the water. She's face down, admiring something beneath her. I'll see what she's up to later. Atala is my first priority right now. 

I see movement in the water. It's a Na'vi, her skin darker than Metkayina and lighter than mine. Atala. She's riding on her Ilu, her attention turned somewhere to the shore. I follow her gaze to Ao'nung and his group of friends. They're approaching Kiri. They seem to be taunting her and I freeze. What do I do?

Atala apparently knows what to do. She hurries over and speaks to them. She tries to shove them away from Kiri but they're all bigger than her, and look to be stronger. 

Before I know it, I'm walking over. "Hey, fish lips!"

The group turns to me as I put myself between Kiri and Atala and Ao'nung's group. They immediately start mocking me. Only one of the comments hurt. 

"Not even a real Na'vi." 

Between my four fingers and eyebrows, I'm pretty self conscious about the fact that I'm technically only half Na'vi. If he hadn't passed through the Eye of Eywa, my dad would still have been an Avatar and only Neteyam would  be alive. So yeah, this insult kinda hurts. 

Of course, Neteyam chooses now to protectively storm over. His hair swings dramatically - it's always doing that.  "You heard her. Back. Off." He moves closer to Ao'nung threateningly, poking at his chest. Ao'nung raises his arms in mock innocence and starts to move away. Neteyam looks at him like he's something gross. 

"Wise decision." Neteyam says, starting to turn away with Kiri and I. I can see the confusion on Atala's face, deciding where to go.

"Bye-bye!" One of Ao'nung's particularly ugly minions says mockingly as we leave.

That was just annoying. I'm not about to let him mock us like that so I turn back. "Look. I know this hand is funny, four fingers, I'm a freak, alien." I raise my hand like I'm showing off to Ao'nung and his friends. "But it can do something really cool. Watch. I ball it up real tight, put my thumb here and-" I thrust my fist out into Ao'nung's face in a strong punch. "Don't ever touch my sister again!"

Ao'nung staggers back and everything seems to pause. Then they approach me and begin to fight me. Ao'nung tackles me and I''m pulling ears and tails and throwing punches when I can. After a little bit of hesitation, Neteyam jumps in and evens it out. He knocks a few to the ground before being pulled down by one of the minions. Atala and Kiri stand over us, smirking. 

We fight a bit more and then someone yanks me back by the wrist. I'm about to turn and punch them before I see it's Atala. 

"Alright, you skxwangs, lets get you guys to Jake and Tonowari!" She says, her voice in a fake-sweet tone. She moves her hands from my wrist to my ear. She's also holding Ao'nung and she does the same with him. She pinches my ear harder and forces my head down. "If you don't want me to drag you there by your ears, you will come with me." She says, letting go of our ears and grabbing our wrists once again. She doesn't let go until we reach my Mauri pod. She releases Ao'nung to Tsireya, who lets Neteyam go. He hesitates as Kiri goes in but enters after a moment. I'm the only one left.

"Don't make me shove you in there." Atala says, just loud enough for me to hear. I sigh and enter the pod.

The news has already reached my father. He's already in full lecture mode. "What were you two thinking?" He says, sounding angry. "I asked you two for one thing, one thing! what did I ask for?"

"Stay out of trouble." Neteyam and I say at the same time.

"Sir, it was my fault." Neteyam says.

"No! You cannot always take the blame for Lo'ak." Dad says. He's getting more angry. "You disappoint me, both of you."

A tense silence follows. We all know he's more disappointed in Neteyam. He expects this shit from me, not his golden child. I need to leave. "Can I go now?" I say.

Dad gives a brief nod and I fly out. I'm angry and walking fast. I get nearly to the beach when something startles me.

"You ok?" It's Atala. I jump. How long has she been there?

"I'm fine." I lie as I shrug. "Are you?"

"Why wouldn't I be fine?" She says. "You're the one who just got into a fight."

I stop and turn to face her. She can't be serious. "I meant about our, um, argument." 

She glances around looking wary. "Come, we'll talk elsewhere." She starts walking and I follow. She takes me to the cove, where I talked to her for real for the first time. We sit on the sand, just far enough from the water so we're dry.

"So." I say. "Are you ok?"

She tilts her head up to face the sunset, the purple, gold and pink sky casting beautiful lighting on her face. I wish I could tell her how stunning she looks without making it weird. 

"I'll always be ok. You don't need to worry about me." She says, still facing the sky.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. I think you're great, but you..distract me too much to teach me." I say. I know, it's awkward, but I can't adress the matter any better. I reach up to wipe the blood that's still on my face. "Oh-ow."

She turns her attention from the sky to me. "You're still bleeding." She says. She gets up and moves to the edge of the cove, gathering things from the plants. I can't help but admire the grace she moves with, the precision in each step, the lightness in every movement. She walks to the sea and then sits down next to me. She silently dampens the moss and reaches up to my face. She pauses, just inches away.

"Is this alright? I'm just going to wipe away some blood." She asks.

Alright? It's more than alright, I've wanted to be this close to you since that first night on the cove, why aren't we closer? All I want is to close the distance between us.

I don't say any of this. I just nod and she starts to clean the blood off of my face. My heart is thumping as I try to hold still. I can't shake how close and so far apart we are.

"There. Now you don't look like you just fell flat on your face, forest boy." She says, teasing. Eywa, why must she call me that and stay so far away? I blink away these thoughts.

Lo'ak, get it together. You can think about this later when she is not right in front of you.

I smile at her. "Thank you, Atala."

We sit in silence. She's watching the waves crash up the sand while I watch her, not that she knows it. 

"I didn't believe you, you know." I say. My head whips towards her. "I don't think you're 'fine,'" 

"I think you know what I mean." I say. Not that we've ever talked about it, but I somehow know she will understand what it's like, to be treated separately, like an outcast.

"But why does he outcast you?" I ask. She's referring to my father.

I glance at her. "Same reason the clan outcasts you. We're different. Outcasts"

Sure, our situations are not exactly the same. I will always biologically be related to my family and she has no one. She probably has it worse, being a completely unique type of Na'vi.

"Well, I don't see why we can't be outcasts together."She says thoughtfully.

I pause, glancing out into the horizon and then back to Atala. Mostly for dramatic effect. "Yeah, I'd like that."