Aha'ri heaves herself up to the final vine bridge. She took a recovery breath and continued after Kiri. The vine bridge lead right into the cave where their village now was.
There were people out and about all throughout the village. Some were weaving large ornate baskets, some were on their way down to the forest to gather materials, others were headed to the cook's tent for the food.
That's where Aha'ri and Kiri were headed. But first, Aha'ri had a stop to make.
She made her way over to the sleeping tents, to hers. Inside and curled into a ball facing away from her lay her little sister, Lurei. The tip of her tail was swishing idly over the edge of her hammock as she slept. Probably dreaming about playing tag on the forest floor—a game she always asked Aha'ri to play.
Aha'ri felt bad that she was cooped up in this rock village most days while she went out into the forest. In that aspect, Aha'ri was just like her parents. Her cheeks heated at that thought. Lurei was just so young, and the forest was dangerous even for her.
Someday she would teach Lurei to hunt and fly. But that day was not today. When, Aha'rj didn't know.
She knelt down next to her and shook Lurei's shoulder gently, "Rise and shine, little bird."
Lurei moaned, turning over to face Aha'ri. Her eyes squinted from the sunlight that bounced around the caves. "Morning," was all she said.
"A big hunt came in. You coming?" she asked standing up.
Lurei took a big breath and stretched her arms as she sat up. "Yeah." Then she hopped out of her hammock.
Aha'ri giggled at her, ruffling her braids as she walked by earning a swat and a glare, which only made her giggle more.
In front of the cook's tent were families sitting together, eating the hunt for the celebration.
A couple of flute players played joyous music quietly in the corner, dancing to themselves as they played.
Next to the cook's tent was a large basket of raw meat chunks brought up from the kill. Easier to transport. But the large fire cooking it all smelled delicious.
She hadn't had sturmbeast meat in months—large animals were rarely hunted now because of the difficulty of transportation. The last thing you want to do when you kill a sturmbeast is spend hours cutting it up just so you can bring it back to the village.
Aha'ri guided Lurei to grab a leaf-full and she did the same.
When they turned around to find somewhere to eat, Kiri waved them down. She was sitting with her family, which included Neteyam.
Lurei looked up to Aha'ri for confirmation and she nodded. "Go ahead, I'm right behind you." She smiled before skipping over to Tuk.
Aha'ri gestured I see you to Jake and Neytiri before squatting down next to Kiri. Jake gestured back and went back to his conversation with Neytiri. She felt Neteyam's eyes on her from the moment she walked over but she refused to meet his gaze.
They all sat in a circle. Jake, then Neteyam, then Lo'ak, Spider, Kiri, Aha'ri, Lurei, Tuk, and Neytiri. All together. Aha'ri just so happened to sit right across of Neteyam, making it even harder to avoid his piercing stare. He eventually went back to eating. Thankfully.
Kiri's eyes darted between her and Neteyam as they talked idly and ate. If she noticed him staring, she didn't let on.
It felt foreign to Aha'ri to sit with a family, even though she was close with the Sullys.
"Aha'ri can we please go flying later? Please," Lurei drew out. She pinned her ears down and blinked her golden eyes at her. Even frowned a little.
"Where did you learn that look?" Aha'ri chuckled.
YOU ARE READING
Pathfinder || OC X Neteyam
FanfictionAha'ri had a sheltered childhood. Her parents were scarred from the war with the sky people, and intended to protect their children from the world. When the sky people returned, her parents were killed trying to flee, leaving Aha'ri and her little s...
