??? ?????; neteyam

TWO

"You don't have to act like all you feel is mild."
-summer child, conan gray

THE HELICOPTER WAS bright as it flew away from the forest, leaving the Sully family and Namaoyi distraught as they mourned the presence of their human friend. Spider was gone, lost in the despicable world he was born into, as Quaritch flew him away and out of reach of the children. You don't know what it feels like to have someone close ripped away from you until it's happened, personally. 

"Kiri," Namaoyi breathed out in relief once her eyes landed on her female friend, gravitating towards her before pulling her into a much needed hug. "I am so sorry, you are not deserving of this pain."

"They took him!" She wept, tears soaking into Namaoyis skin as it glowed a brighter green around the drops. She had noticed when she was young, she flourished in the water. "They took him!"

"I know, Kiri, I know. It is okay, he will be okay," she smiled, pulling away to hold the girl by her shoulders. She reached up and wiped the tears trailing down her cheeks with her fingers, trying to hold a smile for the sake of her own friend. Once she had turned away, her demeanor dropped, her lips twisting down into a frown.

"Come here," Neteyam muttered as he wrapped a hand around her shoulder, the girl instantly turning into his chest as she let out a deep breath. She didn't cry, not a single tear slipped, but a small tear in her heart formed. She knew what this meant, they were coming for her planet. Pandora was falling once again, just as Jake and Neytiri had experienced all those years back when they first met.

As they walked back, arms holding back leaves and legs kicking up dirt, they conversed. Jake and Neytiri led the way with a small and traumatized Tuk walking between them, Kiri and Lo'ak walking side by side in the middle as Neteyam and Namaoyi spoke at the back. They were all on edge - would they return? - but the adults had immediately shut the idea down. Still, it lingered without allowance.

"Do you think Spider is okay?" Namaoyi asked as she looked to the side, trying to replace her thoughts with the immense beauty of the dense nature around her. Neteyam looked at her, really looked at her, before pushing his head to the ground.

"I am not sure, I do not know what they will do to him. But he is strong, he can fight," he argued, placing a tender hand on the girl's worried shoulder. Her muscles unknowingly unraveled beneath his touch.

"I know, but humans . . . they have things we do not," she muttered. "He will not be prepared."

"We can never be prepared, just how they can never be prepared for us," he smiled, his thumb rubbing circles on her shoulder before he let it drop into her hand. He swung it between them, causing the girl to let a small laugh slip between her worried lips. It was music to his shy, timid ears pushed against the back of his head.

"You are brave, Neteyam. I admire you," she muttered unexpectedly. He looked at her, eyes wide, as he took in her words, one by one. She believed in him, she believed he was brave, and then he realised, he could live off those few words if it ever came down to it.

"I admire your beauty, and your grace. You are so much more than you believe you are, Namao," the boy said, speaking from the deepest crevice within his beating heart. The girl flushed, her eyes lighting up in the darkness, as her eyes fought between looking at the floor or his capturing face. She chose him, like she always would.