Ma Neteyam

23

A/N

Later in this chapter there will be flashbacks to the first chapter " The Trauma." In case it gets confusing, any slanted paragraphs and quotes will be the "flashback" parts!

Hope you guys enjoy!

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Vareya walked slowly to her hut, feeling drained from the storm of emotions she felt today. Even after having her Uncle reassure her that the giant death machine was not here for the reasons she believed, the whole situation left her feeling unsettled.

Simply walking to her hut she caught herself going the wrong way twice, turning where she wasn't supposed to thanks to her brain being covered by a large cloud of fog.

But her senses were brought back somewhere close to normal when she reached her hut and saw a controlled smoke emitting from the roof, indicating that a fire was on. Vareya knew who was inside, knew who was waiting for her.

For a moment she almost turned back, deciding it would be better to spend the night outside than deal with the shame and embarrassment of how she acted earlier. But then she realized how weak that sounded. Yes, things will be uncomfortable from now on because he'll no longer see her as this brave, tough, and powerful Na'vi.

Now she knows what he'll truly see when he looks at her. He'll see that broken girl that went running to him, calling out his name as if the world as they knew it was coming to an end. She doesn't even understand why she did it, she's still trying to figure it out.

She knows their relationship has grown past him merely being just a curious Na'vi boy trying to bypass his time. It would be a lie to say they were anything less than, dare she say, friends? Yes, that's it. She's finally admitted it. Neteyam is her friend.

He's the only one that's gotten closest to the spot that had been open for such a long time. Not like her Kai, nothing like her Kai. But there was something there that developed without her wanting it to.

And besides, it's not like her not going up tonight will make him go away. She's learned the hard way just how stubborn this boy can be. So with a forced courage, she made her way inside her home.

After making her way up, she must of been extremely silent or Neteyam very focused with the fire, because he flinched in surprise when she came into his view.

He sucked in a sharp breath then released it when he saw it was her, but that's it. That's all he did. That left them in a similar situation as earlier.

The pair stared at each other in silence, the crackle from the fire and sizzle of whatever he had burning was the only noise that filled the space. Neither of them knew what to say, but Vareya knew that she couldn't be the first to speak.

Her throat had closed the moment she saw him, any words she'll try to say now would only make her sound like more of a fool.

Luckily, the quietness was finally broken by Neteyam. Not exactly directed to her, it was more of a small worried yelp as he rushed to flip the fish he was cooking. When he turned back to face her though, he cleared his throat before being the first to talk.

" I thought you'd be hungry so I wanted to make some dinner. I wasn't sure if you liked any spices on your fish so I just decided to let you choose..."

Vareya looked away so he didn't see the tears that threatened to escape. Wiya, she was such a prrnen.

" However you make it is fine." she answered bluntly before rushing to her hammock to distract herself from anything but him. But she was surprised when beside her sleeping spot stood a bucket filled with water.