Chapter Text
The faces above him, covered in soot and blood and tears, looked down with agony dulling their eyes. He stared back, fear making his breath quick as pain quivered his muscles, blood draining from the wound in his chest. Their hands turned white at the grip they had on his arms, their hands shaking just as much as he was. He tried to hold them back, his grip weak as it kept slipping off their arms as his eyes darted back and forth between his family, tears welling and falling down his cheeks, a reflection of their own faces. Words were catching in the back of his throat as he tried to plead, blood welling in the back of his throat and choking him. The white glow from the artificial light off to their side grew, slowly encompassing the crying faces above him, curling around him before piercing into his eyes blinding him and filling him with nothing but painpainpain—
The white retreated slightly, bringing back with it the pain he felt in his bones, deeper than anything he had felt before, even with his past as Jake Sully’s son. The lack of pain brought his awareness to the white void surrounding him, a pure nothingness in every direction as he swung around, looking for his family. His breathing was quick, and yet he never lost his breath as he stumbled around the empty space around him, his ears flicking pointedly looking for a sound as his tail flicked agitatedly behind him. His tear bared in fear as he tried to search for anything around him. He was just with his family (he was just dying) and now he wasn’t sure where he was, or what that pain was, or how he was okay, or how he wasn’t dead. Unless he was?
“You’re right, you aren’t dead,” a voice echoed, causing him to jump, whipping around to look at the direction the voice came from, seeing nothing but more of the white void. He flicked his eyes and ears in front of him, suddenly feeling eyes on him and yet no one was with him. He furrowed his brows in confusion, the feeling of being watched never ceasing even as he began slowly turning, looking around him once again and still seeing no one. He opened his mouth, moving to call out when a pulse of light twisted in front of his eyes, still bright but something different, something he couldn’t comprehend and causing his eyes to slip as his concentration wavered. His mouth snapped shut as he turned his attention to the slightly different light in front of him, flinching back when the voice spoke again, coming from it.
“Not yet anyhow.” The voice is a balm on his nerves, his panic over his surroundings and the new voice speaking to him dulling without his action. He furrows his brows from the comment. Not yet… He remembers his family, crying over him as it got harder to breath. He looks at the blankness, eyes darting and looking at the light in front of him, his tail calming from its torrent movement to rest against his ankles as the tension in his shoulders released and allowed him to relax. He tilted his head gently as he took a step forward, questions on what he was looking at and where he was flitting through his head as he opened his mouth to attempt to question the voice, only to be interrupted again.
“You are too early,” The voice mumbled enough for him to hear, and yet softly as though it was aware of his fragile thoughts. “He wasn’t supposed to come back. I told Them not to bring him back.” His mouth slammed shut, his attention peaked at the comment, quickly dissecting it in his mind as he tried to figure it out, pushing all other rampant thoughts about where he was, how he got here, eyes rapidly and unconsciously flicking back and forth again, his tail curling around one of his ankles and his ears twitching in an upward motion. His eyes clouded slightly as he thought, fingers twitching along with the rest of his body as his brows furrowed further in confusion and irritation, unsure on why he was here and who this voice was and what was going on???
“Calm, child. I am simply here to change what shouldn’t have been,” the voice cooed, catching his attention as his gaze returned to the vague difference in white in front of him. The voice’s cadence turned more somber, an edge to it causing him to grow concerned and causing him to attempt reassurances as he stepped forward, when he was interrupted once again.
“I ask of your help, to fix what was wronged,” the voice almost had a quiver to it, if he could pinpoint an emotion to a voice. He took a step forward, a feeling of dread and morose anticipation curled through his body, unfamiliar to his other emotions as they flowed through him, tensing his body again and filling his chest with a stuck breath. The voice had what he could only described as fear as it spoke again, his attention finally falling completely on the vague shape in front of him. “To fix the miscalculation, the decimation.”
He took another step forward at the perceived emotion in the voice’s tone, alarm ringing in his skin as he took in the plead, the white of the void surrounding him glowing brighter in the corner of his eyes, his attention unable to leave the white in front of him. He looked on, going to open his mouth, once again, only to snap it shut as what felt like heavy weights to land on his shoulders, pushing on him, holding him in place, gripping tightly, gently cradling. His eyes widened at the presence of a deep pull in his chest suddenly appearing, tugging slightly between his lungs with the same weight as that on his shoulders. He brought his hands up to grab at the grip on his, encountering nothing but his skin, still unable to move his eyes away from in front of him. His chest almost seemed to be crushed under the dread and the fear, breaths finally catching up to him as they begun filling his lungs, panic curling inside him alongside the other swirling emotions. The pressure in his chest increased, as though a weight was pushing and pulling on him, seemingly growing along with the weight on his shoulders. His ears plastered themselves to his head at the voice’s volume, so much louder than it was before.
“Please, Neteyam,” the voice keened, begging him. “Please help us.” Thousands of voices screamed out, anguish coloring their tones as they pierced his ears, as a brighter white carved its way into his eyes and brought back the encompassing painpainpain, as the weights on his shoulders almost seemed to push him back as the weight in his chest yanked him down, stealing his breath. He found himself flying back and flying down and being pulled and yet pushed as his breath left him as he filled his lungs as he fell and as he flew—
“Please help us.”
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A whole body flinch followed Neteyam’s consciousness, his breathing was rapid and when he quickly looked down his hand were shaking. He wasn’t sure what just happened, where he was. He last remembered dying, his family peering down at him as he laid there with fear and relief, at his brother surviving. The white flickering in that white void and the weird voice calling to him, he wasn’t sure what it was; whether it was something calling to him or the hallucinations as a product of the blood loss and his dying. Now, as he darted his head around, he knew immediately he wasn’t where he died.
Neteyam’s body tingling from wherever he came from as he tried to gather his wits to determine where he was. Trees surrounded him, iridescent plants glowing in the night as he sat at the base of a large root system, partially covered. His eyes darted around the area, taking in the sight of the forest he hadn’t been able to see since their move to the Metkayina, his breathing slowly calming and the shaking ceasing. The forest looked so much like those from home, the sight alone managed to fill him with joy and filled something he hadn’t realized was still gaping inside him. He had truly missed his home, but the sight of the forest, days of flight away from where his family had been living, still filled him with trepidation.
Even with the nostalgic view of the forest, Neteyam was unfamiliar with where he was. It was all unfamiliar, which almost certainly couldn’t have happened as his free time used to consist of roaming the forests of his home with his siblings. He gently stood up on shaking legs, his head spinning as his vision faded in and out and his chest aching where he was shot. His ears folded back as his mind immediately went to why that was; blood loss. Neteyam’s hands went to his chest, hands dancing across his unblemished skin; the gunshot wound was gone. He wasn’t sure how; even if he somehow had traveled into a forest at some point, or been carried, there should have still been a wound, and even if he had been put into a coma and then brought out once it was healed he should have had a scar. He looked frantically around the forest floor, and when finding nothing around him but plants, darted out from the cover of the roots, quickly spinning in a circle as he tried to look out into the relative darkness.
“Mother? Father? Lo’ak?” His frantic voice echoed in the empty space, the quiet reaching back at him. Nothing surrounded him but darkness and the trees, his voice echoing back at him, his eyes darting around and seeing relatively clearly in the dark. His panic was starting to rise again, dread rising in his throat as he received no response. Alone. His mind taunted him as he tried to calm his breathing down again. He closed his eyes, flicked his ears around trying to get a hint of any type of noise, his tail trashing behind him, flicking against his ankles. Nothing echoed back at him, small croaking from settling wood and small taps from the tiny bugs crawling around the leaves above him the only other noise in the forest that he could hear. He opened his eyes again, taking in the glowing forest around him as he tried kicking his logical mind into gear.
He was in a forest, in a part of it he had not seen before although it felt familiar, alone with no wounds. He felt unharmed, he was still mostly in control of his mental functions, if he disregards the small panic attack he is trying to push away. Neteyam reached around and felt the small of his back where the back of his loin cloth held his knife holster and found no knife in it. So, without weapons as well. He quickly looked up at the tree he woke up under, seeing a distinct lack of wildlife and a distinct abundance of branches and made a decision.
Neteyam quickly went back under the tree again, reaching for the low hanging branches and began pulling himself, determined to both reach a high branch for a view and to get as far away from the ground and its potential predators as possible. He scaled the tree quickly, the instincts to pull himself up coming back to him as though he hadn’t been living on a beach for the last however many months he had been with the Metkayina. Reaching a little over halfway up the tree and peering through a gap in the leaves, he looked at the expanse of forest in front of him, the darkness of the treetops keeping the fluorescent light under the canopy and ensuring he was unable to see much of anything.
Neteyam bared his teeth in frustration, eyes flicking around the trees before turning back to the tree and trying to look out the other side, once again seeing nothing but darkness. He turned back and carefully crouched on the branch under him, looking down the tree at the ground below absentmindedly as he tried developing a plan. It was safer up in the trees during the dark, and during the day he would be able to see further out across the canopy with the new light. But he had no idea what was around, or if there was any Na’vi clan around or even if there were any human camps. Without a weapon he wouldn’t be able to defend himself against the humans, but he could probably endear himself with a clan and they would be able to help him find where he was? He absentmindedly placed his hand over his chest, where the wound should have been, not sure on how long he had been out either. It could have been weeks under if someone like Norm had set up a feeding tube, or days if he was just dumped, although that still didn’t explain the lack of scaring either.
Neteyam’s breath had finally returned to normal, his panic turning to determination as he laid out the details in his mind. Finding a clan in the morning was his best bet, and he could go without eating for one day and stay safe in the tree. He looked back up at the canopy through the leaves, then started climbing down the tree closer to the ground, in case he somehow fell out of the tree, his head still slightly pounding from being unconscious. He reached a few thicker branches that were close enough to the ground that he’d be able to jump down if needed, and looked around as best as he could through the leaves, flicking his ears and looking for anything that could hurt him.
A small noise, faint yet close caught his attention, his ears and eyes flicking toward the direction it came from. It sounded like the yip of a viperwolf, maybe a quiet yelling as well. Neteyam stayed silent and unmoving, his eyes and ears not moving from the direction of the noise, his tail laying unmoving on the branch behind him as he waiting for something to happen, either the noise to start again or for the viperwolves to get their prey. Minutes went by, the growls from viperwolves and the yelling getting louder and becoming more recognizable, sounding as though someone was being chased by them.
Loud crashed through the vegetation weren’t enough to alarm Neteyam into moving, his resolve making him stay still, until a bright light came through, blinding him for a moment as he bared his teeth, his arm coming up to block his eyes as he tried to see what just busted through the clearing. A fire was the cause of the light, being held up by another Na’vi in human based clothing, while being chased by a pack of the viperwolves. He squinted around his arm, seeing the back of the Na’vi’s head as they stood with their back to the tree, waving around the torch and yelling out loud bellows of noise and attaching more attention to themselves. They stumbled across the roots on the ground, not graceful in the slightest, as they tried to keep their attention on the viperwolves.
Neteyam huddled himself further in the leaves as his confusion etched itself on his face; his nose scrunched as he smelt burning sugar and the musk of sweat as the figure cornered themselves into the tree roots. He was almost disappointed at the lack of grace in the Na’vi and the lack of respect for the creatures, especially with the option to climb the tree was obvious instead of trying to harm them. He looked down at the Na’vi, trying to get a glimpse of who it was, hope curling through his chest as the only Na’vi he knew that wore human clothing was those in the resistance and Quaritch, and it was clear that the person in front of him was smaller than he was. He watched as the figure swung around the torch, trying to keep at bay the viperwolves nipping at his feet as they stumbled around like a newborn. Neteyam was still staring down and watching the figure fight back against the wolves, not offering any help, when an arrow flew through the air and hit one of the animals that had jumped on the abnormally dressed Na’vi, startling Neteyam’s concentration as he looked back at the direction the arrow came from. His eyes widened with the vision in front of him, his jaw almost dropping in shock.
Leaping from the darkness was his mother, looking years younger, with an angry snarl on her face. His ears went back by instinct, fear thrumming through his blood at whatever made his mother angry enough to throw herself forward with that kind of expression. His eyes watched the fight, his heart beating rapidly as he tried to remain as still as possible so as to not give himself away to either of them, his mind still trying to wrap around what was happening and who the other Na’vi was and where is he and why is his mother so young?!
Neteyam was brought out of his panic by the extinguishing of the light, his eyes finally stopped stinging as they adapted to the night again, the iridescent glow of the fauna slowly returning. He focused on his mother and the other Na’vi as she yelled at them over the dead viperwolf, her voice echoing in the night. The other Na’vi stumbled back with their hands up, back to Neteyam as they tried to placate Neytiri, coming closer to the trees Neteyam was in. Neytiri stepped closer, swiping her bow through the air and hitting the other Na’vi, knocking them to the ground, scowling at them as she reprimanded them, gesturing further with her head as she all but snarled. Neteyam watched with a vague sense of dread and confusion, staying as silent and unmoving as he was able as he tried to figure out what was happening. His thoughts jumped quickly, half formed hypothesis’ coming and going quickly as he tried to also focus on both his mother in front of him and keeping him breathing slow.
“Your fault! You are like baby, making noise, don’t know what to do. You should not come here, all of you! You only come and make problems. Only.” Her teeth remained bare as she glared at them. Neteyam stayed silent and still in the tree directly above watching the interaction play beneath him, waiting for them to leave before he even attempted to try and move. He knew his mother wouldn’t hurt him, she always had an affinity with younger children, not including Spider or any of the other human children in the resistance, and yet he still was not sure what would happen if she were to see him; he still looked strikingly similar to her. The other Na’vi slowly stood up, still facing Neytiri, as they responded defensively.
“Okay, fine, you love your little forest friends—” they only got that far before Neteyam realized who the other Na’vi was. Even with the years changing him, the loss curling on his shoulders, and the closing of his emotions, Neteyam could recognize his father’s voice anywhere. The shock from realizing that this young, undamaged, ignorant Na’vi was his father caused him to release a breath of air, causing a small huff of air to leave him. It caught the attention of Neytiri, her ears flicking at the noise and her gaze flying up to him, her teeth still bared as she stared him straight in the eyes.
Neteyam stayed stock still, holding his breath and not moving as he locked eyes with his mother, fear running through him as he stared her down with pinned ears and a small quiver in his stiff muscles. Anything thoughts running through his mind following the reveal of his father cleared from his mind at the perceived threat in front of him; he knew he wouldn’t be able to fight his mother, nor did he even want to. The jerking of her attention to the tree behind him had Jake turning around, trying to see what she was looking at, only to see a small pair of eyes staring at them through the trees. His arms came down as he stared back at the tiny figure, confusion marking his brows as he contemplated the literal child looking at them from the tree. Neteyam risked a small glance to his father, seeing the confusion glam in his eyes briefly before his attention returned to his mother.
Neytiri’s eyes softened, her snarl fading quickly when she realized she was looking at a terrified ‘eveng[1] staring at them. She gently cooed at the boy as she stepped toward him, ignoring the vrrtep[2] she had been previously arguing with, gently placing the bow on the ground as she slowly approached the tree. The small Na’vi stared at her, his ears tucked back and his body hunched in a defensive curl, his tail wrapped around his tiny body as fear practically wafted off him in waves. He looked young, still in his adolescence, and his, what seemed like, subconscious whimpers yanked at her instincts to sooth as she continued to attempt to get closer to him.
Neteyam stayed still in the shock and fear at seeing his mother and father, years younger, looking at him. He wasn’t sure what to do; his mother didn’t seem to want to hurt him anymore, his father stayed still looking at him in confusion, and the fear of having to fight his mother waned slightly at her show of goodwill. Thoughts tumbled quickly through his brain, decisions on whether to run or stay battled in him. If he left, he wouldn’t have to try and explain anything to them, his future potentially safe and he could go and think on what happened, or he could stay, and have the support of the clan they were at, and potentially understand what happened to him and what he could do about it. The indecision rushed through him and kept him still, staring wide eyed at his mother.
“Frawzo, ngatsyìp. Kllza’u, kxuke. Ma Neytiri, tupe nga[3]?” Neytiri gently cooed at him, reaching up toward him while the vrrtep stayed quiet behind her. Good. She thought, her instincts pushing her to take the child and get him away from the danger that was the faker. The little Na’vi stayed quiet as she held her hand up toward him, his eyes darting between her face and her hands, looking for any sign to jump away from her. His muscles looked clenched, as though he was preparing to run at the slightest hint of aggression toward him, his fear scent clearing slightly and his tail releasing from his waist and dropping back to the tree behind him, still close to his body in preparation. He stayed silent for a moment, glancing back and forth before quietly whispering.
“Neteyam,” his voice was a quiet whisper, barely making it to Neytiri as his eyes seemed to roam her, taking her in. His decision in staying, at least temporarily, pushing him to give his name, certain that it wouldn’t put him in any sort of harm in giving it to her. She gently smiled at him, chirping at his response as her hand continued to reach for him. She was determined to stay as long as she needed to help the child back to kelutral[4] and safe away from the harm the tawtute[5] would befall him. The young one looked so much like her sister, back when she was as young as he was, and it tugged at her heart and protective instincts, especially with the human standing off to the side, still watching them. The gentle quiet of the waiting was broken by a harsh voice behind Neytiri, instantly making irritation flow through her, the protective instincts in her roaring higher.
“What the hell? How long have you been up there, kid,” Jake loudly interrupted, making Neteyam’s eyes dart to his quickly, pupils large as they stared at each other, one filled with confusion and the other with fear. Jake wasn’t well versed in the Na’vi culture, but the thought of a child out by himself in the middle of the forest in the middle of the dark night made even his hard exterior soften. Judging by the other Na’vi’s reaction as well, Jake didn’t think a wandering child was normal in their culture either, and in that moment Jake thought that if she hadn’t stopped to help the kid he would have, even if it would have probably scared him off.
Neytiri whipped her head around to face Jake, a snarl showing up on her face again as she hissed at him, drawing Jake and Neteyam’s attention back to her and finally shaking Neteyam out of his frozen state. Neteyam shifted on his feet, his muscles hurting from the constant clenched panic he had put himself in as he stayed on the branch. The slight shifting brought their attention back to him, his ears flicking back at the attention but his tail gently twitching behind him, no longer stiff with shock and fear. He stared at his mother, eyes flicking across her features as he took her in, finally thinking on what was happened, what had happened, that got him to the point that he was now looking at a young version of his mother and father.
Neteyam had once, when hanging around Spider back in the resistance with Norm and Max, listened to a story that Spider had found and shown Kiri and him that the humans had brought back, where the main character had gone to space, in a similar manner as to his father, and had gone through time and found himself back with his daughter and a younger version of himself, stuck on the other side of a wall unable to reach them fully. The story reminded him of himself now, looking at the younger version of his parents. The only thing he could think of was the parallels, and the warning from the voice in the void, one explanation curling through his mind, dread making his eyelids droop. Time travel.
He didn’t have much time to think before his attention was brought around again to his mother stepping closer to him, arms reached out toward him, as she chirped at him the way she used to when he was young as she had to convince him to come to her. He stared at her kind expression for only a moment longer before he slipped down the branches and landed in a crouch at the base of the tree. He slowly came out of his crouch, his tail laying almost slack around his ankles as he continued to stare at his mother. Her eyes glowed with approval as she churred at him, making a small part of him happy at making his mother proud of him.
Neteyam stepped closer to Neytiri, head slightly tilted as he asked her, “Omatikaya?” His thoughts ran as he began to think on the warning and what it had asked of him; ‘help us’. He wasn’t sure at what point he came back to, if he came back in time at all, but he knew at some point Norm and Max had been apart of the clan, or as much as they could be. Perhaps he could get them to help? Or, if he had to do what the voice said, he would be able to help the clan and go back to his time? He wasn’t really sure what he could do, but he knew that going back home is both a necessity to survive and a craving he has had since they first left home.
The question startled Neytiri slightly, but it seemed like a standard question to ask from someone of a different clan, although the beads in Neteyam’s hair and the quality of his clothing were those of her own clan. She had initially thought he was the child of one of the surrounding smaller camps surrounding Hometree, simply having wandered out of range and gotten lost, but she supposed he could be from a differing clan, having the beads and cloth through trade. She looked at him and nodded, noting the almost determined look in his face as he nodded back at her once.
Jake stood to the side, a confused look on his face remained he dominating emotion on his face as he witnessed the interaction in front of him, not understanding a word of what they were saying. He stayed silent, however, as he watched the kid step closer to the woman who yelled at him earlier, her hand reached out to him. The kid walked into her hand as she cupped his face gently, his eyes closing briefly before opening as he made a chirping noise at her and tilted his head. She gently looked at him before turning to pick up her bow and began at a fast pace across the clearing. Jake jerked forward at her departure, snapping his head back at the kid who had turned to look at him with his head tilted. He jerked his head at the woman before turning to follow her at the same quick gate as she did.
“Hey! Wait up,” Jake yelled after them, clumsily pulling himself up the tree to try and follow the two Na’vi as they gracefully bounded through the trees.
Neytiri and Neteyam quickly made their way through the edge of the clearing and quickly ran up a root and into the trees, moving at a decent speed across the branches. It only took a few minutes, and several stories climbed, before Neteyam noticed a lack of presence behind him and the slowly fading noise of his father’s clumsy steps as they moved faster than he could keep up. He looked back the way they came, a furrow to his brow as his ears flicked at the sound of Jake calling for them and the fumbling crunch of leaves.
Neytiri stared at him, her own eye furrowing, before he started back through the trees in the direction they had just come from. She chirped questioningly at him, coming back to him and stopping at a small distance in hope she won’t scare him away. He hummed vaguely at her, and continued back the way they came.
It felt cruel, he though, to leave his father lost in the forest, defenseless after he couldn’t even deal with a small pack of viperwolves. He quickly backtracked to get closer to his father again, disbelief at how clumsy he was flicking through his mind. Coming up to the loud crashing on the thick branches, he stopped far enough away that the untrained eyes of his father wouldn’t see him, his mother coming up beside him to observe the fumbling Na’vi. He was confused on how his father, who ran beside his mother as she taught him and his siblings how to run through the trees quickly and gracefully, was so bad at just walking.
Jake groaned in exhaustion as he stopped to take a breath, his ears flicking around trying to hear where the two Na’vi went. She was his only hope at surviving the night, and he was determined to stay by the child, ready to help him should she leave him as well. His breathing was harsh as he tried to catch his breath, turning slowly in a circle as observed where he was; he ended up high on a thick branch, the forest floor almost a hundred yards underneath him, enough to kill him should he fall. He wasn’t sure how they climbed the trees so quickly, without anything on their feet to protect them, while also not becoming out of breath so quickly. He was having trouble trying to walk along a wide branch that wasn’t even inclined. His eyes went upwards, taking in how far up the trunk went up, before seeing little jelly-fish looking wisps floating down toward him. As one reached him, he went to smack one of them, tail lashing behind him at the strange bug-thing trying to touch him, before Neytiri’s hand reached out and grabbed his arm, startling him.
Neytiri jumped out of the higher branches, darting past Neteyam to reach Jake and grab him before he hit one of the atokirina’[6]. She stared around him as the sprites came down, wonder and dread fliting through her expression quickly as the whole of his upper body was covered by the seeds. Her hand continued to hold onto his arm as his other hand flipped around to cradle one of the sprites, confusion and fascination colored his eyes as he stared at all the little things covering him.
Neteyam stayed in the tree, his eyes were wide with wonder, the same as his mother’s. He had seen plenty of the woodsprites, his visits to meet with Eywa filled with the little seeds floating around, but he’s never seen so many choose one person before. He continued to watch as his father’s top half was covered in them, before they gently started to float away, their message having been sent. He ignored the sprites as they glided away, and focused on his parent’s expressions. His mother’s awe was fading and was being replaced by irritation again, while his father was twisting around in confusion, trying to look at the woodsprites further. Neteyam slowly climbed out of the tree, his approach silent and graceful as he stayed semi-crouched as he landed on the branch the other two were on.
Neytiri was frustrated at the turn of events; not only was she unable to kill the vrrtep but now Eywa was sending a sign she would have to bring back to the Tsahik[7], her sa’nok[8], and face her parent’s anger, and she still had a child she needed to try and bring back. She bared her teeth and huffed in anger, going to turn around to ensure the child didn’t run off, only to see him crouched on the branch they were on, looking over at the tawtute[9] as though also sharing her thoughts on him. She dropped her lips, pressing her lips into a grimace as she turned quickly away from both of the other Navi.
“Come.” She started bounding away, toward the direction of kelutral, trusting the child and the older Na’vi to follow her. Ears flicking back, she listened as the vrrtep loudly stomped after her, the noise covering up any attempt at noise from the child. She quickly looked back to ensure they were both following her, and saw the child in the far back, silently following them while curiously watching the older Na’vi stumble through the foliage. She turned back around and lead them further toward kelutral. Hopefully, after her mother’s consideration, she would finally be able to kill the human and figure out where the child came from and give him back.
Jake’s head whipped around as he followed Neytiri, taking in the forest around him as it shined in the night. Never once did he hear steps behind him from the child that was following, but he didn’t think Neytiri would leave him behind so Jake figured he must still be there. He tried to keep up with her while staying as silent as his companions, yet he never seemed to be as quiet as they were, nor as graceful, he adds as he looks at Neytiri essentially gliding through the trees. While crossing a branch, he opens his mouth to ask her a question.
“So, where are we go—” his speech was stopped quickly by the sounds of a bolo flying through the air, twisting around his ankles as he is taken from the branch and toward the ground, landing heavily with a thump. He grunts with pain as he hits the ground before another, lighter thump hits the ground next to him and a sharp cry echoes, reminding him of the child. Jake swerves his head toward where the child fell, taking in the way he was tangled in the bolo and bleeding from a cut on his face. He reached down on his own legs to rip off the bolo, reaching toward the kid’s legs when he got his off, when the heavy thumps of another creature bound toward them.
Into the small clearing they fell in, Na’vi riding direhorses flooded any available space, surrounding the two downed Na’vi as spears were pointed at them. Jake continued to try and unwrap the boy, his head flicking around trying to keep track of the Na’vi surrounding them. He stayed hovering over the kid after getting the rope untied as he stayed low, trying to protect him with his body. An anger filled confusion came across his mind; why the child, who he was sure was a Na’vi born child and not one of from a human, was caught up in getting harmed as he was.
Underneath his father, Neteyam’s heart was beating fast once again, panic overtaking him as he looked around frantically at the Na’vi surrounding him, all of them unrecognizable. He curled himself smaller, ears flattened to his head and tail wrapped around his legs, as he sat in fear at the number of them, sure he was unable to fight back against so many. Suddenly, a thump sounded in front of him, his mother hitting the ground as she stood between his father and him and the Na’vi standing slightly in front of the others. The sight of his mother calmed him slightly, his defensive curl loosening as he pulled himself up slightly bumping against his father’s chest but staying underneath him.
“Tsu’tey, kempe?! Alu ‘eveng, lumpe lun kempe[10]?” Neytiri snarled at Tsu’tey, her body positioned between the two Na’vi on the ground and the towering warrior in front of her. There was no reason to catch the child in the attack, although she did not care that the human had gotten caught in it. She continued to bare her teeth, her ears perched forward in focus as her tailed lashed behind her, as she stared down the other Navi. Tsu’tey looked down at her and her aggressive stance before looking at the crouched vrrtep behind her, barely seeing the child being covered. His eyes glanced between Neytiri and the adult Navi, disgust dancing in his eyes.
“Fì’u vrrtep sweylu kaw’it tok rusey, kop peseng nip ‘eveng[11]?” Tsu’tey’s voice carried through the clearing loudly, making Neteyam twitch. Tsu’tey’s eyes narrowed at the pile of Na’vi behind Neytiri, contemplating the vrrtep protecting the child with his body. He had not realized that one of the Na’vi with him had caught the child, believing they had aimed for the human. Decisions ran through his brain as he stared at them, before he jerked his head away from the center of the clearing, looking at Neytiri.
“Niä vrrtep, kulat ‘eveng kop ninew makto awnga pate kelutral[12].” Tsu’tey gestured toward the two Na’vi behind Neytiri, holding out his hand and waiting for her to give over the child. She snarled at him, anger rolling off of her as she stared him down, determined not to give up Neteyam, not caring about the human.
“Pxasìk, ninew kämunge ‘eveng[13],” Neytiri growled out through her teeth, eyes not leaving Tsu’tey as she stepped backwards. She felt her tail tap the side of the vrrtep, where she stepped around them and crouched beside their pile. Looking away briefly, Neytiri reached for the child, gently pulling him from under the other Na’vi and toward her, gently standing them both up and backing away quickly as the other Na’vi surrounding them dart in and grab Jake.
“Hey! Get off me, what the hell are you doing—” Jake yelled out, getting cut off by one of the Na’vi grabbing his braid and holding a knife to it, marching him toward a retreating Tsu’tey and leaving Neytiri and Neteyam to fall in the back. He had wanted to protect the child as well, his head trying to pull away from the grip to look back at him, but unable to free himself enough to do so. Neteyam pulled away from Neytiri’s grip, panic still running through his as he tried to keep up beside his father, unwilling to have him disappear from his sight after being able to see him, or at least a version of him, again. He looked back at his mother, ensuring she followed along as well as the group of Na’vi marched their way back to Hometree.
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[1] Child
[2] Demon
[3] It’s okay, little one. Come down, it’s safe. I am Neytiri, who are you?
[4] Hometree
[5] Sky-people
[6] Seeds of the Great Tree, Woodsprites
[7] Clan spiritual leader
[8] Mother
[9] Sky-people
[10] Tsu’tey, what did you do?! That is a child, for what reason did you do it?
[11] This Demon should not be alive, and where did you get a child?
[12] Grab the demon, hand over the child and I will ride us to Hometree
[13] No, I will take the child