Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 35: Dissociation

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

Bold - sign language

It had been two weeks since Neteyam's funeral. Only two, and to the Sully family it felt like it had been an eternity.

None of them had properly slept in those two weeks, and every time they tried to rest for the night, they were woken up by Tuk's ear-piercing screams from another nightmare. The night always started the same way and ended the same way.

Go to sleep. Wake up in the middle of the night to Tuk's screams. Try to go back to sleep. Eventually, the family gave up on sleeping because they knew they wouldn't be met with it again.

Ja'lia watched as Tuk walked over to sit on her mother's lap as the tears streamed down her face. "Shh, Tuk. It's okay," Neytiri said, trying to soothe her youngest child. Tuk continued to cry in her mother's arms while everyone sat with their backs pressed against the wall and their heads leaned back. Everyone was exhausted, but they couldn't blame Tuk for their sleepless nights.

Because if it wasn't Tuk who was waking them up to her nightmares, they were awoken to their own. And it had started to take a toll on all of them. Kiri would hardly leave the pod or talk to anyone. Tuk was attached to her mother's hip, while Neytiri often spent time soothing her child to distract herself from her grief. Jake tried to act normal, but even he had a hard time going throughout the day without breaking down. And Lo'ak and Ja'lia were often found staring off into space.

Dissociation had become a new normal for the two teens as it was the only way they knew how to process their emotions. Lo'ak didn't dissociate as badly as Ja'lia did, but it was still concerning enough for Jake and Neytiri to whisper about it at night when he was sleeping.

The two parents knew they needed to talk to their son, and soon, so that's what they were going to do once everyone else left. While they knew it would hurt the kids, Jake and Neytiri decided that it would be best to have their children leave the pod and get some fresh air, even if it would only be for an hour.

Jake and Neytiri were thankful for those in the Metkayina clan as they had been more than accommodating with the recent changes in the Sully family dynamic. The Metkayina clan had gotten used to the cheerful behavior and antics that came from the Omatikaya children, but that all came to a stop after the ceremony.

Hell, they hadn't seen any of the Omatikaya children since the ceremony, and everyone was starting to grow worried, so Ronal and Tonowari offered to have their children come over to take them out for the day.

After about half an hour of waiting, the two Metkayina teens finally came to collect the Omatikaya children as well as Spider who seemed to have been dealing with more than grief. Kiri had reluctantly agreed to leave, taking Spider with her, and Tuk had flat-out refused to leave.

"Come on, Tuk. Kiri will be with you," Neytiri persuaded, but the girl shook her head.

"I don't want to go," Tuk refused.

"Please, it'll be good for you," Jake said softly. Tuk looked at her father with teary eyes, and she saw the pain in his own. It hurt her to leave her mother, but as long as Kiri was with her, she would try to be okay. But then Tuk looked over to see that Ja'lia and Lo'ak hadn't even noticed that Tsireya and Ao'nung had shown up. "Are Lia and Lo'ak going to come too?" She asked.

"Yes, why don't you go tell Lia what's going on? Your father and I want to talk with Lo'ak," Neytiri asked, and Tuk nodded before slowly walking over to her friend.

Once Tuk reached the teen girl, she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lia?" Tuk said, but Ja'lia didn't respond, so Tuk tried again, "Lia?" She said louder, shaking the girls' shoulders, finally gaining her attention.