Three Years Later.
It was like any other sunny day. The sky was so bright and clear, the ocean looked as if there were millions of little stars resting on the surface. And The soothing sound of the waves against the rocks and the occasional chirping of the ilus filled the air.
Inside the Sully's household, Tawn sat with her sister and her tsakarem making pieces of jewellery for the hunting festival that they'd hold in the communion that night.
The hunting festival was the time for the warriors to test their true strength. They would take this time to present their biggest hunt to their mates or someone they cherished so much.
The warrior would also compete on whose got the biggest kill that year.
It was a very anticipated annual event for the metkayinas since this was the moment that symbolised the start of adulthood for the young clan members, and this was also the time to share happiness and love with the people.
It was a joyful ceremony.
"So Tawn, are you excited for tonight?" Ronal asked, looking up at her through her eyelashes slyly.
Lei'la giggled, remembering last year's hunting ceremony.
Jake made a big scene out of it when he offered her the head of an akula. Yes, Tawn was so confused about how he managed to get the head of the sea beast. His theatrical spurred gossip and envy from the clan, even her sister's, and after the ceremony, she had to scold him for doing that.
Tawn rolled her eyes at her sister's teasing remarks, "I told him not to do anything dramatic for this year," she smiled at the thought of her mate.
The two girls giggled. They were looking forward to what he'd bring her this year.
"I doubt it," Ronal muttered under her breath.
Now that the clan knew about their relationship, Tawn and Jake were their favourite couple. They were the ultimate mated pair in the clan.
How could they not love the couple? They were helpful, kind and very friendly to the villagers. Plus, with the grand gesture Jake loved to shower Tawn with, many people were curious about their relationship and started to pay closer attention to them.
Lei'la sighed dreamily, "You both are so romantic," then her face turned sour, "It'll take a miracle for Aonung to make that kind of gesture for me."
Ronal and Tawn laughed at the tsakarem.
Aonung decided to announce his tsahik as soon as he bore a mark of a warrior. Of course, Neteyam took the declaration the hardest since he still had feelings for the girl. As a result, Tawn and Kiri needed to console him all night after that.
"All in due time," Ronal smiled at her successor.
Tawn nodded, "Jake doesn't always act like that," she smiled, looking down at the bracelet she made for Kiri, "he could be so clueless sometimes that he angers me so much," she confessed.
"It doesn't seem like that," Lei'la hummed.
"He has his days," Tawn shrugged.
It was true. Jake had his days of being an ass, but Tawn would eventually forgive him since he knew the right button to push.
"Sa'nok!" Tuk greeted, walking into her marui, followed by Kiri who was holding a baby in her hand.
"Hi sa'nok," Kiri smiled at Tawn before turning to Ronal and Lei'la, "hello, tsahik, tsakarem," she smirked at Lei'la.
"Hello, guys. How was baby Rami? Is he fussy?" Ronal asked, standing up and walking towards Kiri, wanting to hold the baby in the young woman's arms.
Kiri hummed, "Yeah, he kept asking for his sa'nok."
Tawn walked towards Kiri with gentle eyes, "Come here, my strong little warrior," she smiled softly at the baby in Kiri's arm, reaching out to Kiri.
Kiri smiled and gave her little brother to Tawn.
"Ma little Rami," Tawn smiled at her youngest son, who cooed at his mother, making grabby hands at Tawn.
Rami te Suli Tsyek'itan was born six months ago, right after the eclipse after long and enduring labour.
When Tawn asked Jake to name their little boy, he immediately refused, saying he didn't want his boy to have an earth name. Tawn was confused since she loved his ikran's name.
She tried to persuade him, saying he could name the little boy after his twin brother, but his resolve was made. He tried to negotiate with her saying if any of his human friends asked, he'd tell them his name was Tommy.
She was even more confused by his idea. Nevertheless, she still wanted to name him something that would remind her family of their old clan.
Tawn remembered the floating mountains that Jake and the kids wouldn't stop talking about. She knew the mountains were remarkable for the Omatikaya, so she decided to name him Rami after the word Ram, mountain, in Na'vi.
With that name, she hoped little Rami would always stand firm like the mountain and withstand anything the world threw at him.
"It's not fair that Ram has all your attention," eleven years old Tuk whined, hugging her mother's waist while glaring at the baby in her hand.
Tawn smiled softly at her youngest daughter, "All of you have my attention," she said, earning a scoff from her youngest daughter.
Kiri sat down beside Lei'la, muttering something under her breath, earning a laugh from the girl next to her.
Tawn, Ronal and Tuk looked at the two of them strangely.
"Did you finish making my necklace?" Tuk asked enthusiastically, walking to their crafting station, "I can't wait to show Kiki about it. I bet she's going to get even more jealous than last year," Tuk smirked, her eyes running through the collection in her mother's station.
Ronal chuckled, her index finger softly stroking the baby's cheek, "are they still on it?"
Tawn sighed, nodding, grabbing a beautiful patterned dark blue cloth for her baby sling and put Rami securely in it.
Tuk had now grown up into a beautiful and intelligent young woman. She always aced in her warrior training and Tawn also noticed that Tuk had an affinity for trading. She found it fascinating enough to gain her attention.
Since her crafting skills were much better than before, Tuk liked to trade her crafts for anything she needed with the villagers. Once, she managed to trade a wood basin for a beautiful crossbow that looked as if made by the demons themselves.
She was smart and resourceful. And she knew how to use it to her advantage.
Tawn and Jake were concerned about Tuk's new passion, but they didn't dare to stop her since she was stubborn and hard-headed.
"You can wear it, Tuk, I need to finish this one for Kiri and then we're going," Tawn said, nodding at her to take the necklace.
Kiri crawled to her mother, wanting to know what she had made for her this year, "Are we going to match again?" Kiri asked, looking at the beautifully crafted bracelets in her hands.
Tawn always made sure that her family wore matching jewellery at every ceremony. She already gave the boys theirs yesterday since they needed to leave in the morning for their hunt, and she did the rest today, "yes, and you're going to love this one cause I made it with your favourite shells!" she grinned, showing it to Kiri.
"That's beautiful sa'nok," Kiri smiled, admiring it.
"I'm finished with mine," Lei'la announced, standing up with the pieces of jewellery she made for her parents and sister.
"Me too," Kiri quipped, "wait for me, Lei, sa'nok has almost done," she said over her shoulders.
Tawn looked at Kiri, furrowing her eyebrows, "are we not going to get ready together?"
Kiri smiled sheepishly, "No mom, I promised Lei'la and Tsireya we're getting ready together."
"Is it because you want to wear something revealing for Rotxo or Spider?" Tuk teased, walking out of her corner and showing Tawn the necklace, "Am I pretty, sa'nok?"
Lei'la snorted at Tuk's teasing, excusing herself when Ronal looked at her, mortified.
Kiri rolled her eyes and glared at her younger sister, "No, Tuk, we're just going to have some fun together," Kiri looked at Tawn and kissed her cheek, "See ya tonight." She smiled, grabbing the necklace in her hand and then running with Lei'la out of their marui.
Now that they were at the age of first loves and heartbreaks, Kiri was stuck between two worlds. Literally, her good friends, Rotxo and Spider, seemed to have a crush on her, and they spent every day courting her with gifts and trips.
Kiri, being Kiri, didn't really pay them any attention; even if someone asked her about the two boys, she would always give the same answer. They were her close friends. Instead of dwelling on boys, she focused all her energy and attention on what she did best, healing. That was why she was the most sought-after healer in the clan now.
Tawn looked at Ronal as if asking her if she saw that, but Ronal just smirked, looking down at her jewellery, "Me too, I better go. I need to get ready to be the preetiest flower of today's ceremony," Ronal grinned innocently at her sister.
Tawn rolled her eyes at her sister, waving bye.
"Well, it's only the three of us now," Tuk grinned, plopping down beside the two of them, playing with little Rami, who was busy giggling and laughing at his older sister.
Tawn nodded, "How was class today?" she asked.
The three of them spent the rest of their day talking and getting ready.
Tuk was dressed in a beautiful camisole made by Tawn. Baby Rami wore a green loincloth with shells and pearls hanging down a thread, while Tawn wore a beautiful long crochet dress with beautiful shells thrown over her chest.
When it was time to go, the three of them went together to the communal area, where the singers already sang their first song.
Tawn walked Tuk to Tsireya and her little sister, Naäyi, who were playing together, probably waiting for Kiri and Lei'la.
"Where's Kiri and Lei?" Tawn asked the beautiful young woman.
Tsireya smiled at her aunt, "They were here a while ago. I don't know where they went."
"Probably gossiping with their other friends," Tuk said, sitting beside Naäyi, smiling at her, "I don't like them. I saw them trying the forbidden drink," she said casually, wanting her mother to get angry at her big sister.
Tsireya furrowed her eyebrows at Tuk since she didn't know how she found out about that. She looked at Tawn, "no, they were probably coming back with some juice," she said, trying to cover for her best friends.
Tawn sighed, her arms getting tired from carrying her baby, "well, just don't let this one out of your sight," she smiled, gesturing to Tuk, who groaned at her mother's protectiveness.
Tsireya giggled. She wasn't complaining about being the designated babysitter for the night. In fact, she was happy with it, "will do."
Tawn smiled at Tsireya before walking over to Ronal, who was talking to Tonowari's best warriors' mates. She sat down, politely greeting the others before watching the spectacle in front of her.
She occasionally looked down at her little son, checking if he liked what he saw or not and then engaging in baby talks with him. The baby cooed and giggled at his mother's attempt of gibberish talk, even if he didn't understand a thing.
They enjoyed the dancing and singing, watching the dancers move fluidly and gracefully for Eywa and the clan, and listening to the beautiful voices of the great singers of the clan.
The atmosphere was convivial and pleasant, and everyone was excited about what the hunting party would offer them. Whispers and talks were a big part of the hunting celebration.
Before they knew it, the sound of a horn indicating the return of the hunting party was heard.
The loud noise startled baby Rami, making him cry at the sound. Tawn held him closer to her chest, bouncing him softly, trying to calm him down with her hums and the idea of seeing his father again.
"It's them, look!" someone called out, pointing toward the sea.
"Look, it's sempul. He's back," Tawn cooed, sitting him down on her lap and pointing at the hunting party.
Tawn watched as warriors passed with a bag filled with what they killed during the day in their hands.
She waved as Aonung, Rotxo, Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Spider walked past her.
Aonung was carrying a heavy-looking bag over his shoulder, and he strutted towards Lei'la with a smirk on his marked face and a slight arrogance in his eyes.
Sweet Rotxo was holding a similar-looking bag and carrying a crossbow over his shoulder, walking behind Aonung to see Kiri. He was followed by Spider, who tried to outwalk Rotxo despite his small stature. Tawn knew that the two of them were competing again, and it was honestly funny watching them act like that.
Neteyam was smiling at Tawn. He was now a beautiful young man who passed his rite of passage here as a metkayinan and earned the mark of a warrior, much like Aonung and Rotxo, on his back. Surprisingly he didn't carry anything on him except for a bow and arrows.
"How was your hunting trip, ma Txe'lan?" Tawn smiled at her oldest son, who happily sat beside her.
One thing Tawn noticed about Neteyam was that he was a mommy's boy. He would follow her around like the little helper he was and help her with tasks that were too arduous for her. Tawn wasn't complaining at all.
Neteyam shrugged, "it was okay. I helped Dad hunt something big for you and Rami," he said, waving at little Rami, who looked up at his oldest brother in awe.
"What did your brother get for this year's hunt?" Tawn asked, her eyes searching the crowds of warriors for her mate.
Neteyam laughed, "he hunted a huge stingray for her," he said, snickering at his brother.
Lo'ak finally moved on from Tsireya to the annoying girl he had told Tawn all those years ago. He was trying to win her back since it was her turn to be annoyed by Lo'ak's presence. Let's say the period between Lo'ak moving on from her niece to finally courting the girl he was once so annoyed by was filled with flirting and smooth-talking the village girls.
The girl he had his eyes on, Malia, was making him pay for all those years of ignoring her and treating her like shit just because she liked him when he was supposedly in love with Tsireya. Tawn, Tuk and Kiri were enjoying his punishment, served him right to act that way to a woman.
"Poor boy," Tawn giggled, "if only your little brother could keep it in his pants."
Neteyam scoffed at that, "as if."
The chatters died down, followed by whispers and gasp from the people. Tawn and Neteyam turned to look at the source of that attention, only to find Jake and Tonowari walking in with huge fishes on their shoulders.
They won their respect again by giving one of the biggest hunts of the night.
Jake dumped the massive fish in the middle of the communion along with Tonowari before searching for Tawn's light blue eyes among the people. When Jake finally looked at his pretty mate with their baby on her lap, he smirked, "Brothers, sisters, please feast on the fish that I dedicated to my mate," he smirked, bowing down slightly before walking towards her.
The women around her whisper and giggle at Jake's grand gesture this year, muttering their praises to the man.
With his new looks, Jake was the heartthrob of the village. He was now more muscular than before, and he grew a swimmer physique that the ladies appreciated; however, much to Tawn's dismay, he lost the softness in his belly after years of training with Tonowari. His hair was now long and wavy from the seawater, it framed his face beautifully, and with the headpiece, he wore on his hunt, he was even more handsome than usual. If there was one thing she loved about his new look, it was the tattoos. Whiles staying here, he earned two new marks on his body. One trailed down his sleeve and another on his broad back. The tattoos made him more ruggedly handsome to Tawn.
"My love," he greeted, he turned his gaze towards the baby, "my strong warrior, did you protect your mama as I told you?" he smiled, picking up the baby from her arms.
"Hello to you too Dad," Neteyam sighed when Jake didn't greet him.
Jake chuckled, "We spent the day together, Neteyam," he cuddled the baby closer to him, sniffing his cheeks repeatedly, his breath tickling the giggling baby.
Tawn smiled fondly at the scene in front of her. Her heart bloomed with happiness.
"Oh, look who's up here with the adults," Tonowari's voice boomed from behind Jake, "my strong nephew," he smiled, standing beside Jake and looking at the baby who snuggled into his father's warm chest.
Tonowari chuckled at the baby before walking to Ronal, greeting and sitting beside her. Ronal leaned against her mate, watching Jake and Rami together, "Tawn, you should make more babies like him."
Tawn rolled her eyes, "I just birthed him six months ago sister," she sighed, pouting at her older sister.
Tonowari and Ronal laughed at Tawn's expression. They loved to tease her in front of Jake, embarrassing her in front of her mate. Besides, wasn't that what sisters were supposed to do?
"I'm going to join the others," Neteyam announced, standing up from his seat and waving goodbye to the adults.
Jake sighed before taking Neteyam's seat beside Tawn, "How was your day?"
Tawn shrugged, "it was okay. I spent most of my time with my sister and Lei. Rami was with Kiri and Tuk most of the time," she recounted.
Jake hummed affectionately, "Are you tired?"
Tawn shook her head, "no, what makes you think that?" she cocked her head to the side, her eyes challenging Jake to say something wrong about her appearance.
Jake's eyes widened, "oh no, no," he said quickly, not wanting to offend his wife, "I just thought you were tired from your day with your sister and all."
Tawn giggled at his flustered face, "No, Jake I'm not tired," she smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder, "I know for sure you're tired because you look rough," she teased the man.
Jake chuckled slightly at her teasing.
They enjoyed the dance again, sitting quietly beside each other before Jake opened his mouth, "so... did you think about it?"
Tawn straightened up. "What?"
Jake looked at her incredulously, "Tawn, I'm being serious right now."
Tawn sighed. She knew what he was referring to, her eyes gazing at her grown kids laughing and bantering among themselves, "Is it really necessary?"
Jake's eyes followed Tawn's line of sight. They watched as Aonung said something to Lo'ak that made the rest of the gang laugh out loud, Tsireya and Malia laughing the hardest amongst them, clearly enjoying Lo'ak's misery. Kiri and Lei'la were trying to diffuse the situation while Neteyam sat back and watched the stupidity unfolding with the rest of the gang.
They were finally adapting to the Metkayinan ways now. All of them seemed to be happy here in their new home.
"Look, I know you don't want to leave your family here, but the sky people are still out there, ravaging the forest, the clan," Jake whispered, not wanting the others to know.
Tawn closed her eyes. She didn't want to relive that again. She was happy here in their own little bubble, untouched by the demons. "The kids, they are happy here, they didn't need to go through that again."
"I know," he sighed, "but I need to help my people. They needed our help, please Tawn, think about this," he pleaded, looking at her distressed light blue ones.
"Maybe you should go alone," Tawn huffed, taking Rami from his hand, "I don't ever want to do that again, Jake. You need to understand where I'm coming for," she glared, standing up and walking away from the gathering.
Tawn knew she was being selfish, but she was scared at his request. Jake wanted to return to the forest with her and the kids since he felt he needed to exterminate the sky people once and for all. While Tawn applauded his bravery, she couldn't help but curse him for his saviour complex. He needed to understand that as long as they were here, the sky people wouldn't be able to track them again.
The last time they went into war, they lost their unborn children, and it took her months to get over it. If she lost another one of her loved ones in the next one, she would die from grief.
Tawn walked into the pod, bouncing baby Rami to sleep while holding back her tears. She looked down at her baby boy, tracing down his feature. He got his father's deep blue skin and her cyan blue eyes, his face littered with glowing freckles. He was perfect.
"I'm sorry. I can't let you go through that again, my love," she whispered, touching her nose to his little head, "forgive me that I cannot sacrifice all of you for the greater good," she sniffled.
"You wouldn't have to sacrifice them," A voice she knew too well said behind her.
She closed her eyes, kissing the top of her baby's head. She leaned away to check if he had fallen asleep before setting him down on his cot.
"Look, I know you're scared, hell I am too, but please understand that we are stronger together," Jake walked up behind her, his hand circling her waist, pulling her into his embrace before he nestled his head between the crook of her neck, "We can't keep running away from them, this is our home."
Tawn shook her head in denial.
Jake turned her towards him, lifting her chin when she refused to look at him, "Tawn, we are a family of warriors. We can do this. We know better now, we've changed, and we've grown, trust in us and trust in Eywa," he begged, looking deep into her eyes.
"I can't leave my family here," Tawn tried to reason.
Jake smiled softly, cupping her cheeks, "We will still be able to visit them, and Tonowari promised to help us," he leaned his forehead against her, "You said so yourself. You will be right beside me to protect Pandora from Earth's fate."
Tawn sucked in her breath. She sighed, giving up, "Okay, we'll leave, but I have to tell you right now, if anything happens to all of you, Jake, I couldn't handle it," she confessed, a tear sliding down her cheek, "the grief of losing one of you will end me, not the bullet from the demon."
Jake sighed, taking her warning seriously, "I promise I wouldn't let that happen, my love."
Tawn shook her head, "don't make promises you couldn't keep." she whispered, leaning her head on Jake's chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Jake sighed, nodding his head.
That night, he lay with his mate, waiting for their children to come home before telling them the news.
They lay together, holding onto each other and trying to soak in the peace and serenity that blanketed the two of them before it got ripped away the moment they flew back into the battlefield.
Jake understood now. They couldn't stand there idly waiting for them to strike, he was done running away, and the only thing he could do to stop it was fighting back. He was a father now, it was his job to protect his family, and he would gladly give them his lives if it meant they were safe.
No one could stop him now.
----
That's rough.
But anyways, here's an epilogue. I hope it is to your liking. I actually have a plan to make a sequel of this, but it has to wait for a couple of months for me to publish it since I have no idea what the plot will be. As i promised before, I will post some one shots about Neteyam, Lo'ak and Kiri's life as a metkayina and also a little fluff for my favourite couple, Tawn and Jake.
Oh, and if I decided not to do the sequel, i would probably post a Quaritch fanfiction based on the first avatar because 1) we need more forest scenes. 2) I can't stop thinking about him, and the lack of his fanfiction is saddening. If you haven't already noticed, I have an affinity for men way older than me, one of my friends even told me I might have daddy issues which is not true since I have a perfectly okay relationship with my father, but yeah questionable lana coded older men are my jam.
Anyways, i'll be seeing you soon,
Love ya !!