Ma Neteyam

22

~A/N ~

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_watuluv_9

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Vareya sprinted through the twisted maze of trees, heart pounding, fear holding a tight grip on her. Her frantic breaths and pounding heart seemed to be the only noise she could hear.

That sound was no longer there, but it only seemed to torment her more. Because she new, Vareya knew it was there. She saw that death machine with her own two eyes, witnessed it begin to land on the islands sandy shore.

With her vision hazy, she didn't notice a tree root sticking out from the ground and tripped over it, falling down roughly. Yet she was quick to get up, didn't care about no dirt, or scrapes, or scratches. None of that mattered.

Her feet picked up pace, her body numb to the pain from her fall and the branches that she's avoiding to dodge, allowing them to constantly whip at her. Then she saw it.

Her breath was stolen as her throat constricted and shivers ran down her spine. Trembling, she collapsed to her knees. Overwhelmed by terror, tears began to stream down her face on their own as she stayed on the ground in a panic-stricken breakdown.

Vareya thought she would be ready, thought all these years alone had toughened and shaped her to be strong for this situation. But just the sight of it has her feeling like that young girl from so many years ago.

She smelled the smoke, heard the repeated bangs, and felt his blood. This was too much, her heart ached so bad not even she could heal it if she tried.

She knew she needed to know what was happening, but she was scared to see it. Scared to see the damage they must have caused. They were probably here because of the Sullys. Tracked them down somehow and were now here to get what they needed before destroying their home.

And that's when it struck her. Neteyam.

With a newfound strength, she was dashing for the village again. No care about who would see her. All she could focus on was her hope that this new Na'vi whom she'd found herself caring for hadn't suffered the same fate as the first one did.

Finally reaching the village, she could already feel all the eyes of the clan on her as she sprinted past them. Their murmurs, whispers, and gasps were all useless background noise that she payed no mind to.

Especially when in the distance, there he was. Neteyam was sitting down safely in front of his families Marui. He looked unharmed, safe, okay. There was no blood, no holes covering his body, and most importantly, he was alive. He was here.

He did look tired though, and worried. His was resting his head on his hands when the commotion around them must've made him look up.

And the second her eyes met his golden ones, a huge breath of relief escaped her lungs. They stood there staring at eachother, as if they were the only Na'vis on this island.

Even from afar she could see his eyes scanning her up and down. He looked confused and concerned as he took in her appearance. Her face was streamed with dried out tears, her body dirty and scathed.

Of course he doesn't understand why she's like this. He doesn't understand what happened that could make her act this way.

But that didn't matter. She wanted to hear him. Vareya didn't care if they yelled at eachother or fought. Maybe it was too soon to feel this way, but she cared for him. That stupid forest boy managed to find a place in her heart, the one that she had closed off for a very long time.