admiration | neteyam & lo'ak x oc

? twenty seven

"hurry ma jake, we need to start now." neytiri called for her mate and helped him place the fragile girl across her avatar form. then the family stood to the side together, waiting for mo'at to begin.

and she did soon after, the tsahik preparing the ritual and commanding the rest of the clan to join in. it would've been a beautiful sight to see had it not been under such unfortunate circumstances, the way everyone worked together and surrendered their prayers to eywa.

mo'at did all she could with what power she had, feeling the all-powerful energy and speaking with the great mother. then the light of the tree went out, enveloping the area in a darkness.

the sully's stood closer now, waiting to see if it worked. neteyam and lo'ak broke free from everyone else and sat by her human side, taking off her oxygen mask together. they shared a glance in fear that the ritual may not have worked.

jake and neytiri held each other in a side hug embrace, trying to not cry and seem as if they had given up. but they'd seen this fail before, knowing it was possible especially with how far gone talia was before they brought her. kiri and tuk stood by them, wrapping their arms around each other while sniffling their own tears. they would be devastated if the girl they grew to love like a sister never woke up again.

breaking the long, bitter silence, mo'at told her family, "it was too much for her body to handle. she is with eywa now."

hearing this, lo'ak and neteyam felt their emotional well-being collapse. the world around them slowed as the news hit them, it all felt unreal. it was only a few hours ago they were celebrating her, now they were hearing the news of her death. never in a million years would they have guessed to feel heartbreak the way they do right in this very moment, like part of them died with her.

still in denial, lo'ak moved to her avatar body and began shaking her, "no.. no.. talia? wake up! talia!"

jake and neytiri hung their heads, unable to watch the scene before them. their kids are experiencing their first major loss in their lives, something that will surely stick with them forever.

"mommy, when is talia going to wake up?" tuk tugged on neytiri's hand as she kept waiting, not fully grasping her death quite yet.

"oh tuk.." the mother couldn't find the words to even begin to explain.

neteyam was silent, his entire body shutting down. he felt the entire five stages of grief wash over him and now he was just plain numb, void of all feelings. he felt the tears roll off his cheeks, but didn't care enough to wipe them away. instead, he lowered his head and pressed a kiss to each closed eyelid on talia's human body. he kept his forehead against hers as he struggled to let go, only moving once he felt a hand pull him back.

"son, we need to say goodbye.." jake spoke with sorrow in his voice. neteyam didn't argue to stay, just letting his body move to wherever his father nudged him.

neytiri went to their youngest son, "lo'ak, you heard your father. it's time-"

"-no! i-i can't let her go, mom. i just can't!" he cried out, his hands still on her shoulders as he tried to comfort himself.

kiri stood behind her family with tuk, a lump in her throat as she watched her brothers grieve over someone they grew not only infatuated with, but the girl they fell deeply in love with. she couldn't stand to see it anymore, so she let go of her sister and made her way in between everyone.