Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 33: War Cries pt. 3

*You might need at least a few tissues for the chapter. I know I did, but that's because I had to watch the movie while writing this scene*

Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past

Bold - sign language

Ja'lia blew a braid that had made its way to the front of her face out of the way as she silently sat and waited for someone to rescue them. The three girls had been tied up on the ship for what felt like hours, and none of the Avatars who were keeping watch had even given them a second look since cuffing them to the railing.

The girl had tried to talk to them, but with the language barrier, it was no use. However, it wouldn't make much of a difference if they could understand her anyway because she suspected they were ignoring her words and starting to piss her off.

The three girls had tried to pull at their cuffs every once in a while, but at some point, Ja'lia stopped completely because the cuts on her wrists were starting to hurt her as her adrenaline wore off. She didn't have her knife, so there was no way she could cut off the cuffs.

However, a couple of minutes ago, she did catch sight of Tsireya's knife that wasn't too far away, but with the Avatars watching them like hawks, there was no way she could make a move toward the weapon without someone figuring out what she was doing.

Suddenly, the man who was responsible for all this destruction made his way toward the three girls with one of his men right by his side, whispering something in his ear. A look of disbelief flashed across his face before he nodded at the man and told him to go to his post.

Quartich looked at the three girls with an emotionless expression before he walked over to them. "You know, none of this had to happen. All Jake had to do was give himself up." He sighed, causing Ja'lia to snarl as she tried to lunge at him. The man merely smiled at her reaction before it fell off his face at the sight of her arms.

"I thought I told you morons not to injure these girls," He seethed, and the man who'd placed the cuffs on Ja'lia's wrists slightly looked down in shame. Ja'lia watched the man with wide eyes as he approached her, undoing her cuffs before he slapped on another pair, but this time, it wasn't nearly as tight as it was before. Quartich then walked over to the man and spoke to him in a hushed tone.

The Avatar's actions confused Ja'lia because she didn't understand why he cared that one of his men had hurt her. He had no issue with them pointing a gun at her or Lo'ak earlier, so what was the big deal? Ja'lia truthfully didn't understand his actions, but she wouldn't question him because at least the cuffs were no longer digging into her skin.

In fact, they were so loose that if Ja'lia could put up with 30 seconds of pain, she could be able to break free by slipping her wrists out of them. But it would be stupid to attempt the action right now. No, she had to come up with a plan before she made any decisions because it wasn't just her life she had to think about.

Tuk and Kiri were her family. The girl cared for them deeply, and the Sky people knew that. So, Ja'lia knew they would use the two girls against her in any way they could.

All three girls watched as the sun got closer to setting. Soon, they would all be in the dark, and they grew worried that Jake and Neytiri wouldn't be coming for them anytime soon. They had been left on that ship for hours, and the war cries coming from the Metkayina had ended a while ago.

It seemed that the battle had come to an end, with the two Sully girls and Ja'lia being the last pawns to play in the game. The silence around Ja'lia was deafening as she waited for either side to make a move, and when she saw a man whisper something into Quartich's ear, she knew it was time to begin the final battle.