.·:*¨ ✘ die for you ✘ ¨*:·.

fishing

the eclipse had barely ended leaving room for orange to crack through the sky. you were on ka'li, your tsurak, rushing through the waters to get to the main village of the ta'unui clan.

your father assigned you to tell the surrounding clan about toruk makto's family seeking uturu in awa'altu. while he would tell the other villages of the metkayina about the arrangement.

when you arrived at the main ta'unui village, you got off your tsurak and stayed in the shallows. greeting the closest ocean na'vi.

"i see you. i need to talk to your olo'eyktan," you assert. the na'vi greeted you and took a second to understand your words. you knew that some of your words would be different from theirs as the ocean na'vi carry a different dialect from your reef one. some of your words you would have to teach to the forest na'vi.

you were motioned to follow the ocean na'vi and you do. your eyes soon connect with their olo'eyktan.

"i see you, olo'eyktan of the ta'unui," you immediately greet, dipping down in respect for the na'vi in front of you.

"i see you, future olo'eykte of the metkayina. how are you, (y/n)? it's been a while," he asks.

you did not expect any pleasantries to be exchanged. believing that being the messenger would be a quick and easy job.

"i am well, i have a message for you," you say, cutting to why you were here.

"haha, always so serious. well then, what's your message?" he follow up.

"toruk makto has seeked uturu with the metkayina."

"toruk makto?" you nod your head at his words.

a silence settles between the two of you as he thinks about your words, face scrunched in thought. the ta'unui tsahik appears, basket of clams in her hand.

"what is going on here? (y/n), why are you here?" she asks, concern laced in her voice.

you immediately greet her, not missing a beat and repeat what you said to the olo'eyktan.

"uturu? that man is riddled with war and he leaves it behind... what village is he staying in?" the tsahik asks.

"awa'atlu."

"your home? tell me nothing has happened yet."

"no troubles."

"good, i'm sure ronal would not enjoy any trouble," she says, placing down the basket in her hands and crossing them.

"is there anything else, (y/n)?" the olo'eyktan asks.

"yes. please, if sky people come and ask where toruk makto is, do not say. tell your other villages and tell them to keep it a secret as well," you say, looking between the both.

"sky people?! how have sky people come up in this?!" the olo'eyktan says in shock, the tsahik darting up with fear to question your words. before she could speak, you continued to.

"he seeked uturu because of them, and this is just in case the sky people come. my mother said it is a precaution," you state, hoping it would calm their minds if you mention your mother.

the both of them still looked tense, but calmed down the smallest bit. they nod their heads at you, now understanding your words.

"please, tell your villages and do not say anything about toruk makto being here," you ask, repeating your words.

"we will, we trust that we will be unharmed in this," the olo'eyktan says, relaxing a bit.

"thank you," you bow your head at him, and then at the tsahik.

"is that all?" the tsahik asks.

"yes."

"why would they choose our seas of all places to hide?" the olo'eyktan asks.

you shrug, not having an answer for them. there were many places for the omatikaya to choose that were closer to where they live, and there were places further from the metkayina if they wanted to be far from their home. you just didn't know the reason.

"anyway, you can go home now. take some food before you go, you must be tired," the tsahik says, turning around and grabbing a basket with smoked fish.

you grabbed a fillet and said thank you, you leave their marui pod and called for ka'li. you sat on her while you eat some of the smoked fish and then made your way back to awa'altu.

the sky was fully blue during your ride back. it was peaceful, you enjoyed feeling the water glide along your skin, feeling the breeze as you dip in and out of the water, with no one bothering you. getting back into the reef, you spotted your father guiding toruk makto toward the water, probably prepping him to tame a tsurak.

"ah (y/n), you're back," tonowari says with a smile, "would you like to lend ka'li to allow jake to learn to tame tsaruks? her calmer personality might be better for him to learn."

before you can say anything, jake speaks, "don't worry, i can take any tsurak you have, i don't need to take (y/n)'s"

"our tsuraks aren't like your ikran, they have many riders. (y/n)'s just prefers for her to ride, but i assure you you will appreciate the calm personality of (y/n)'s tsurak."

"if you say so," jake says. you give both of the fathers a nod.

"should i go to the normal training grounds?" you ask, looking between the two.

"yes, but in the shallow end," you nod once more and ride along the surface of the water, finding yourself quickly at the training grounds, waiting for the two. it would probably take them a bit seeing as they're not on a mount. you got off ka'li and stood by her side, petting her side.

as you wait for them, you look to the other side of the training ground where younger na'vi would learn to ride ilu and practice there. the area was bustling with life, you are able to make out the sully children because of their dark blue skin. because they are there, you assume that your siblings and some of their friends would be there as well.

you watch as the figures go into the water and after a short amount of time, pop back up. this was usually how your days would go, watching from the outside since you didn't know how to get along with others. what made up for how introverted you are was how good of a warrior you turned out to be.

your father, jake, and a couple other metkayina warriors finally arrived. you motion for jake to get on ka'li, she trashed around a bit, the others holding her for jake as you backed off a bit.

before jake got on, you noticed that he wrapped his hand with a rope to the handle of the saddle. you watched confused as he got on and tried to ride. at first, he wiped out but he got it the second time. jake rises from under the water, your father joins him as well as the other warriors and you watch from the shallows. your father telling you to take a break today since you went far out.

but you didn't want to take a break yet you didn't want to call another tsurak to catch up to the rest of the warrior group. you decide to go fishing in the seawall to prepare for dinner even if it was early.

you call for another tsurak for a quick ride back to the village, quickly getting off and walking over to your family's marui pod. on your way there you see neteyam walking with one of his siblings. you bow your head to them as a greeting and continue on your way but neteyam's voice stopped you.

"(y/n)! hey."

stopping in your tracks, you look at him and his brother, not exactly recognizing who it was.

"hello neteyam, hello to your brother as well."

"this is my brother, lo'ak," neteyam says to introduce lo'ak. you eye him for a second, he was one of the na'vi that has four fingers and the hair above his eyes.

"hello lo'ak. i'm (y/n)."

"oh, i know. neteyam talks abo-" lo'ak starts, but neteyam jabs his side with his elbow and side-eyes him. you look between the two with confusion.

"why did you stop him from talking?" you ask.

"no reason, what are you doing?" neteyam quickly combats with a question, lo'ak staring into his skull from his side.

"i'm preparing to fish," you say, already turning to leave.

"can we come with you? we fished from time to time in the forest," neteyam asks. lo'ak expression looked as if he had hit an epiphany.

"yeah, can we? we can be useful and stuff," lo'ak says, hoping to convince you.

you look between the two of them, not sure if you bring them fishing yet since you didn't know if they've done their training for the day. so you asked.

"have you guys done your training for the day?"

"we have! we got to ride ilu," neteyam says.

"alright, follow me," you say, motioning them to follow you to your marui pod.

luckily enough you had 3 spears of your own so you did not have to borrow anyone else's, as you made your spears in your free time. you handed the boys the spears, grabbed a basket, and headed to the seawall, without exchanging words with the boys behind you. though you did hear them have a conversation, you didn't join or didn't hear them call out to you at all.

as you approach the seawall, you turn to them and take a deep breath.

"things you must know about the sea wall; we fish here when we do not want to leave the reef. the fish that wander into here are from the sea. the fish from the reed, we do not hunt as they keep the reef alive. ocean fish, though keep the sea alive, have much more fish than the reef. with the bones, we use it in weapons, jewelry, and anywhere else we can," you say while walking around the sea wall, motioning the two toward different parts of the place you stood.

that was the most you have spoken in a while, you look at the two for their reactions.

"wow, that's a lot," neteyam says.

"yeah," lo'ak says, the both of their faces looked as if they were still processes the amount of information you dumped on them.

"you said you fished before?" you ask the two.

"we have, there's rivers that run through the forest and we used our bows to hunt fish," neteyam answered.

"if you are more comfortable with using a bow, i didn't have to give you a spear," you comment, looking at the spears you gave them.

"no, it's fine. we're here to learn your ways," neteyam finalizes. the way he answered reminded you of his father's response to riding your tsurak.

"i want to use a bow," lo'ak says trailing off, you look to the younger boy.

"the next time we fish, bring your bow," you pause for a second, then continue with what you were doing, "watch me."

you walk to one of the pools in the seawall and hold the spear above your head with two hands, your eyes tracking a fish that was swimming in it. you wait a couple moments before you swiftly thrust the spear into the center of the fish. you bring the spear closer to you, displaying the fish to the boys and throwing it into the basket you put down close to you.

after your example the boys branched off to go to their own pools to fish. you spent time switching between fishing on your own and observing the boys as they fished. after some time, you noticed how much the boys struggled with aiming the spear, and aimed their spears only with one arm.

"neteyam, use both of your arms to aim," you say.

he looks up at you and nods, putting a second arm on the spear and aimed down on the fish, getting it immediately. after his catch, he looks at and smiles. you nod back.

"you know, my dad taught me how to fish," he says, starting a conversation with you.

"hm? he did?"

"with a bow."

"you did say that earlier."

"oh, i did?" he says as you nod as an answer instead, "well, when did you learn to fish?"

you thought for a second, "i don't remember, even since i could."

"did your father teach you?"

"no, my mother did," you say, wanting to continue to talk about how after every kill you thank eywa for the food. you didn't say that to the boys but you hope they knew from their own parents.

"your mother must be a warrior if she can teach," he says.

"she is, she's one of the best of the clan," you say with admiration lacing through your voice, thinking about one of the many reasons your father fell in love with your mother was through her power in their youth. not just because she was meant to be tsahik.

"go back to fishing. we will return to the village soon," you say after shaking your head to get of out your dreary mindset.

after a little bit of time, you call out to the boys to stop what they were doing. the basket that you brought was full as the 3 of you piled fish in it. before you could pick up the basket to carry it, neteyam already had it in his arms. you look at him with a questioning gaze but disregard it, making your way to the village with the two in tow.

⎯⎯ ୨୧ ⎯⎯

[a/n]: i just watched jamie's documentary and now i wish i was an actor )): i know that the kids were learning to ride ilu the same time jake was learning to ride a tsurak but lets pretend it was later in the day bc jake had to learn some other warrior stuff !! sorry this took so long