Chapter Text
As Jake opened his eyes, his queue disconnected from the Spirit Tree. Even after over fifteen years of living on Pandora, he was still left awestruck by the beauty of Eywa. My son has made the great mother even more beautiful he thought, eyes watering at the reminder of his son’s death. He blinked away the tears building up, pushing the memory of Neteyam’s far-away, unblinking gaze to the back of his mind at the same time.
He turned to his mate, who seemed to be lost in bittersweet memories filled with the laughter of children and the warmth of a parent’s embrace. She blinked, smiling softly as she looked over at him. He returned her smile before motioning to go to the surface: he could feel the slight burn in his lungs that warned he was running out of air.
He shielded his eyes from the sun’s blinding light as he broke the surface just outside of the Cove of Ancestors, Neytiri following close behind. He quickly climbed onto his skimwing and made tsaheylu before beckoning to his mate to climb on. Neytiri wrapped her hands around him, and Jake directed the skimwing to head back to their family pod.
The two of them rode back in silence under the setting sun, stuck in their own memories of their recently deceased son. Due to the skimwing’s fast nature, they reached their new home in a matter of minutes.
Neytiri climbed off from the skimwing and went inside the pod to check on their other children, while Jake offered a pincer fish to his skimwing as a show of gratitude. As it swam away, he turned and started to follow his mate inside, ready to offer comfort to any of his family. After all, the father has to act as the pillar in his family. His ears drooped slightly as he was reminded of his past words and his failure to protect his eldest son from the RDA. He shook it off and walked inside the marui pod where Neytiri and their children were waiting.
His youngest, Tuk, was already curled up asleep. His eyebrows furrowed as noticed that she had been crying, if her red eyelids and tear-stained cheeks were anything to go off of. As he covered his daughter with a blanket, he decided to take her out for a swim early the next morning to take her mind off of her brother’s death. Who will never get to see her make tsaheylu with her first ilu, he realized.
He flicked his tail as a way of pushing the thought away and turned to his other daughter, Kiri. With each passing day, she looked more and more like her mother. Even though Kiri was adopted, he still loved her as if she was one of his own. He cleared his throat awkwardly, causing her to look up with an expression that was far too similar to one Grace would give him once in a while. I hope you are taking good care of Neteyam, Grace, and I hope you are seeing how strong and mighty your daughter is.
“Have you eaten yet?” He glanced over at the food that Kiri seemed to have left untouched. His eldest daughter followed his gaze before looking down at her hands.
“I made some for me and Tuk, but my appetite vanished when she mentioned how it didn’t taste the same as Neteyam’s.” She mumbled out, looking over at her sleeping sister.
He crouched down in front of Kiri. “Look at me,” she lifted her head as he continued, “we are a strong family, and we will get through this together. Neteyam will always be a part of us, even if he is now with Eywa. Try not to take anything Tuk says to heart; I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it.” He paused before continuing once more, “If you want, tomorrow I can teach you how he liked to cook fish.” At that, her ears pricked up and she seemed to straighten up.
“Yes!” She exclaimed. Both she and Jake froze, turning to make sure that Kiri’s exclamation hadn’t disturbed Tuk’s slumber. After a moment, Jake turned back to his eldest daughter and rested his hand on her head.
“Eat up and then get some rest, baby girl.” She smiled and nodded. He lifted his hand and looked around for his younger son and mate.
Hearing hushed voices outside his family’s pod, he peeked outside to see Neytiri and their son, Lo’ak, embracing each other. He smiled, glad that his son was getting the comfort and support that he deserved. He thought about joining them but then thought better of it, worried that his son would be in a bad mood because of their conflict earlier. He winced as he remembered how he declared his son had brought shame upon their family. He decided that he would apologize in the morning for his hurtful words. He hadn’t meant to say them to Lo’ak, not truly, and he sure didn’t mean what he said. His tail flicked quietly as he thought about the similarities between him and his son. They shared a very similar personality, and Jake had hoped that Lo’ak would grow out of it before he got himself and others into trouble like he himself had when he was younger. After Neteyam’s death, Jake realized that the only way for his son to grow was to let him be independent and not lecture him for all of his mistakes. I just hope that he doesn’t get hurt in the future because of his reckless behavior. He doesn’t deserve that.
He jumped slightly as someone tapped him on his shoulder. He turned around to see Spider looking up at him. He shifted his feet, seemingly stalling.
Seeming to muster up enough courage, Spider whispered, “Can I, uhm, talk to you? In private, maybe?”
“Of course. Lead the way, kid.” Spider dipped his head for a moment and then wandered to an exit from the pod. Jake followed close behind. When Spider turned around, he was taken aback by the tears that were welling in his eyes.
“Neteyam’s death is all my fault, Mr. Sully. I got myself caught, and Lo’ak and Neteyam and the others came to rescue me, and if they had just left me he would still be here, and I’m sure I would’ve found a way to escape without their help, and—“ Jake brought Spider’s head to rest against his chest.
“It’s not your fault, Spider. It’s no one’s fault except for the one who shot him.” He paused, growling at the thought of his son’s wound. “There is nothing you could have done, anyway. There was nothing any of us could have done. Besides, you’re just a kid. It isn’t your responsibility to look out for others; that’s my and Neytiri’s job.” Which I failed, he thought despairingly.
Spider moved backward, reaching to wipe his eyes before stopping as he realized he couldn’t with his exopack on. He looked up at Jake once more, mumbling out a soft thank you before heading back inside with the excuse that he was tired.
Wishing him a good night’s rest, Jake looked up at the now dark sky. His face was illuminated by the bright stars that shone above. He smiled, reminded of when he was back on Earth and he had gazed up at the signs that lit up everything within a ten-foot radius. He was forever grateful to start a new life on Pandora, and he knew, even with his son’s recent death, he would never regret this new life he was given.
He yawned and walked back inside his family’s marui pod. As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he noticed that everyone had fallen asleep. He smiled fondly as he took it all in, and then moved to lie down next to Neytiri. As he did so, his mate shifted, waking up. She turned to look at him and smiled.
“Ma Jake, I’m glad you’ve decided to join us.” She opened her arms, inviting him. He smiled at her and moved into the embrace where he wrapped his arms around her.
When he went to ask her how she was doing, he realized that Neytiri had already fallen back asleep. He kissed her on her forehead and closed his own eyes. He would be forever grateful that he had a mate such as Neytiri. She was a great mother to their children and was quick to protect her loved ones with a fierceness that matched a palulukan. He would always feel safe by her side, and he knew that she felt the same way about him. He felt himself start to drift off and joined his family in slumber.
What Jake failed to notice was a bright light that seemed to embrace both him and Neytiri. When the light became blinding, Jake raised his head, but was hit by a wave of dizziness that seemed to dissipate only when the bright flash of light went away.
Sitting up, he realized that his surroundings were different. In fact, he seemed to be in an area similar to the forest in which the Omatikaya resided in; he and Neytiri were surrounded by trees that seemed to touch the sky with their branches. However, as he stood up to take a closer look, he realized it was different— there was a large pool of clear, fresh water to his left with a waterfall that seemed to be coming from nowhere. Squinting, he noticed that on the sandy floor of the lake were a variety of shells. He turned behind him to see multiple hammocks adorned with flowers and shells galore that were similar to the ones the Omatikaya used. However, the shells implied that they also shared similarities with the Metkayina tribe. When he turned back to his mate, he realized that she was now awake and alert. She was crouched low on the ground, ready to fight anyone who dared to come upon her.
“Where exactly are we?”
His ears perked in surprise as he turned to his right to see Tonowari, who had voiced the question, and his mate, Ronal. The two were standing side by side and looked to be just as confused as Jake. Ronal seemed to be on edge, her ears flicked back and a slight growl echoing in her throat. Tonowari, although also on edge, seemed to be more calm. Looking at the Metkayina leader, he was reminded of the moment when he and his mate had declared the Sully family as part of his tribe. He would be forever grateful that they were welcomed as part of the tribe despite all of the pain they had caused.
Jake blinked, wondering how he hadn’t noticed the two Metkayina members earlier, and then shook his head. “I’m unsure. This place seems to be a mix of Omatikaya,” he gestured to the trees all around them, “and Metkayina territory,” he pointed to the lake and the shells that rested deep in the water, “although I’m not sure how.”
Neytiri stood up and, although still on alert, joined the three. As she did so, woodsprites began to travel towards the hammocks behind the group. Neytiri’s ears pricked up in surprise, while Jake gasped quietly in surprise. Tonowari and Ronal looked at one another, seemingly confused by their reactions. Realizing this, Jake turned back to face the two.
“In the forest, our version of your Ranteng Utralti, the Vitraya Ramunong, emits seeds. These are the seeds,” he gestured to the woodsprites, “which are called Atokirina’. They are considered to be signs from Eywa herself.” Tonowari and Ronal looked at each other, eyes wide.
“Are you saying Eywa brought us here for a reason? Perhaps to show us something?” Ronal questioned, her ears pricked in interest.
Jake nodded and looked back at the woodsprites, which were now hovering above the hammocks.
“I think Eywa is telling us to sit.” Neytiri commented, gesturing towards the other three hammocks as she sat down.
Jake followed his mate’s instructions and quickly sat down. As Ronal made her way over to one of the other hammocks, Tonowari offered to help her climb onto it. Ronal flicked one of her ears, mumbling under her breath how she could still take care of herself, to which Tonowari backed off and approached his own hammock.
As soon as they sat, the sound of drums filled the air, and the waterfall parted to reveal a message: Do not fret, the Great Mother has wished for you all to watch the past. This may cause conflicts, but ultimately it will allow you four to grow closer once you know each other’s experiences.
“If Eywa wishes for this, then we must listen.” Ronal complied as the message disappeared. Tonowari and Neytiri voiced their agreement, while Jake wondered how much of their past was going to be shown. The message was replaced by a film that began to play as Jake realized it was bound to show him when he was a human.
This is going to be a long day.