*ੈ✩‧₊˚ gentle breeze •°. *࿐

songcord

Fishes seem to dance all around your figure, tickling random parts of your submerged body with affection from their own. The environment was busy, the aquatic life bustling around but seemed to calm down around you. Relaxing in tranquility, you close your eyes to appreciate the atmosphere, feel the sun rays that are peeking through the water warm your body, and soak in the salty sea.

All of that would soon be interrupted when your ears perked up to hear the clicks of an approaching ilu getting louder. Opening your bright eyes, you spot an ilu heading straight to you. Shock and panic fill your face, as you wake your body and swim as fast as you can. Your hands break through the surface of the water, creating a splash sound.

"(Y/n)! It is nice to see you."

"Ao'nung!? Why would you do that!" you exclaim, taking deep breaths and treading the water in a sporadic way, trying to recover from the shock.

A deep voice chuckles, as Ao'nung hovers around you on top of his ilu, "because it is fun! And because my mother is looking for you."

"Of course you would not seek me on your own terms."

"I would! Just not today"

You roll your eyes, and let out a sigh. Ao'nung gestures to him and his ilu. You allow herself to be pulled up behind Ao'nung, holding on to his waist as the two dip into the water and head back to the village of the Awa'altu.

For as long as you had known, you were betrothed to Ao'nung. You didn't mind, he didn't mind. It was what the both of you were told all their lives, and the two of you didn't question it. But just because you were to mate did not mean either were deeply in love with each other. To the two of you, it was simply fulfilling the roles you were given.

"So what were you doing in the water like that?" Ao'nung asks breaking the surface so you could talk without sign language.

"Like what?" you ask, knowing that it wasn't the first time Ao'nung had seen you under the water like that.

"Like you were dying," you left out a scoff at his statement.

"Hey! We have been breathing under the water since we were born, you know I wouldn't be dead."

"It looked like it! Plus, I'm just curious about what you were doing. Were you sleeping?" Ao'nung said in defense, a teasing tone in his voice.

"I wasn't sleeping. I was spending time in the water, the way that I like to," you reply, dipping your hand into the water.

"Ah, so drowning yourself. The best activity to do."

"I'm not drowning myself! It's called being underwater because I want to be."

"Okay, okay, whatever my Tsahik says," Ao'nung teases, knowing it would get a reaction out of you.

You ignore the last part of his statement and huff, Ao'nung bringing the ilu back under the water to travel faster as they were far from the village.

Pulling into a more shallow end of the beach, you admire the village you were from. Despite being there her whole life, she could not believe the beauty of the place. The bright sky, the perfect beaches full of life by the na'vi, the roots of trees covering the marui pods as a way to camouflage the home. You could not imagine a place any better, other than the Cove of the Ancestors.

You lazily dived into the water, slowly walking up and going towards the marui pod where you believed Ronal, Ao'nung's mother, would be. Lighting bouncing on the rope pathway, you look slightly over your shoulder to see Ao'nung following you and a small smile falls upon your face.

"Why are you following me? Does your mother want to see you as well?" you question him.

He shakes his head, a smirk that he seemed to always have laying on his face, "what? I can't walk with my future mate around the village?"

This time you shake your head, "of course you can walk with me, I thought you would run to your friends as soon as we got here."

Ao'nung shrugs one shoulder, "I would've but we haven't hung out in a while. I would imagine this walk would be helpful for our relationship later."

"Since when did you care about our future?"

"Since.. now?"

"Your mother told you to walk me, didn't she?" There was no response from Ao'nung. He was guilty.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't want to spend some time with you." He finally responded.

Even though you both had always cared about your relationship with each other in a way, due to him wanting to please his parents and you wanting to please your father, it was fun to tease the boy about the lack of attention that he'd give you. The both of you had found yourselves already at the entrance of the marui pod, which had ended their conversation. You wave goodbye to Ao'nung, ushering him away and entering the marui pod.

Ronal was in there currently working on an injured na'vi who looked to have been bitten by an akula. The bite grew along the na'vi's leg, as if he was not careful enough when trying to hunt the big beast. Your face was full of shock the moment you saw him. Not being used to being around such injuries since your training to be the future Tsahik did not reach the part where you had to deal with actual injuries.

Ronal's green eyes turn toward you, a smile gracing her usual stoic strict face. You greet her and begin to follow the instructions that she gave you.

"(Y/n), I already have the materials needed, grab me some cloth," you nod your head at her words. Quickly walking over to where all the materials were stored. You grabbed a big cloth and a bin of water as Ronal had already conjured up a soothing paste. Bringing everything over, you watch as Ronal cleans the injury with the cloth and water, rubbing the paste over the open wound.

Meanwhile, you were studying what the older na'vi was doing. Though the steps were simple, it was the actual creation of the paste that you did know. You had missed which herbs and sap that Ronal grabbed, due to being out. Ronal was mumbling small prayers under her breath related to the quick recovery of the na'vi in front of you. You took note of the things she was saying, knowing you would learn it soon.

"Now rest, wait at least 10 moons before you think about going out until the reef again," Ronal tells the now patched up na'vi. The na'vi nods, before laying in defeat (or comfort) in the area set up for him.

Ronal then switches her attention to you, "next time we train, we can touch on medicine. But for now, have you been practicing your singing?"

A Tsahik's job is to be a spiritual leader for their village through their connection with Eywa and performing ceremonies with dance and song. Training to be the Awa'altu village's next Tsahik had only started recently for you, with Ronal starting you off with the task of singing and learning the songs only a Tsahik would know.

"I have," you reply simply, not knowing how much detail to give her. In all truth, you've spent more of your time laying on the ocean floor than practicing what Ronal had asked of you.

"Good, because of this I will consider this our training for the day, though it was simply you observing me I am done for the day. You are free to go," Ronal says, you nod and leave the marui pod, quickly running into Tsireya.

Tsireya spots you first and calls out your name, "(Y/n)!"

"Tsireya!" you yell back, both of you falling into each other's arms. You and Tsireya were close friends, considering the circumstance that you were in with Ao'nung, who was unfortunately her brother. The two of you spent more time with each other than you did with Ao'nung. Did that bother Ao'nung? Probably but it's his problem to deal with.

"Our fathers should be back from hunting now, would you like to greet them with me?" Tsireya asks, her eyes pleading for you to hang out with her.

"Of course, it has been a while since I have seen my father anyway," you reply, as you both start to head towards the shore.

Not long after getting to the shore, you spot a group of na'vi riding on skimwings pull up into the shore. Both your father and Tsireya's father, Tonowari, lead the group with a decent pile of fish.

Tonowari gets off his skimwing first to greet Tsireya and whatever else a father does. Meanwhile Ewkmal, your father, gives the fish they hunted to the other na'vi in the group, turning to you and putting a hand on your head.

"Hey (Y/n), how was your training today?" your father asks, he was considered to be one of the best protectors of the Awa'altu village, the proof being his arms covered in tattoos given to him by Eywa. You tell him about the na'vi that was injured by an akula, how you helped out Ronal, and how you would soon be learning medicine because of the event.

Ewkmal nodded his head, proud of what you had done for the day, which wasn't much to be fair, but he soon retired to your marui pod. Leaving you to do whatever you wanted for the rest of the day. Disappointment pricks at the edges of your mind as it was another day that she could not hang out with your father.

In a way, you understood why he couldn't hang out with you. He spent the whole day around the edges of the reef, leaving the marui pod early in the mornings, patrolling the deeper parts of the sea for predators like the akula. You wonder if he spotted the na'vi you helped take care of in the ocean at any time that day.

Sighing, you went to see if Tsireya was done talking with her father, to find out both of you had free time to spend more time together. You both decide to go further from the village to explore the seawalls. Once there, you both sat at the rim of one that was at the ocean, legs dipping into the water.

"How is training with my mother?" Tsireya asks, obvious curiosity in the tone of her voice. You imagined in your head, that she would be the future Tsahik of the village while Ao'nung would would be the Olo'eyktan with a mate of his choice if you had not been deemed special.

"Training is good, she has only been teaching me songs but soon I will learn medicine from her," you reply, as she moves closer to you to lay her head on your shoulder. You smile at the younger na'vi.

"Have you made a songcord? I told you about mine, but I don't even know if you made one," You let out a hum at Tsireya's words. It was true that she had told you about her songcord, the events she chose, the story she told was as beautiful as her. Ao'nung showed you his songcord as well, his stories involving the adventurous stories and his proudest achievements.

"I have not, I have learnt the one of the clan's songcords, about your father's tasks to become the Olo'eyktan. I do have a basket full of trinkets I could put on one, I should start it before something interesting happens," you laugh, knowing you had learnt the clan's songcord about Tonowari because of Ronal's pride of her mate.

"I will help you start your songcord then! I want to be the first to know about the stories and events you choose," Tsireya exclaims with excitement, jumping up and gently tugging you up.

You smile at her, as you head back to the village to grab your basket and twine. Once you have everything, you head to the beach once again to start your songcord about your life.

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[a/n]: guys idk if its ao'nung or aonung but ao'nung looks prettier :D

did you know: tsireya is actually the future tsahik of the metkayina! which explains her gentle demeanor <3 im assuming the future leader of the metkayina is chosen like the omaticaya clan but we pretend it is through family :D

+songcords are used for more than personal stories! they are used to tell the stories of a clan and to recount important information, songcords are based off wampum a traditional shell bead which are from the eastern woodland tribes of native america. strings of wampum were used for storytelling, ceremonial gifts, and recording important treaties (via wikipedia unreliable ik LOL). in the avatar world, you would only tell those you are close with the story and events of your songcord, so in a way tsireya was questioning how close she was to you (oops).

btw i wrote 2 chapters in the 3rd person and then realized that 2nd person would probably help with the immersion i screamed mentally for 5 mins. SO if there are any errors pls tell me so i can fix <3