Blood and Water | Neteyam

The Calm Before the Storm ∼ 31

Jake had called a family meeting the next morning to inform the kids of Spider's situation, and that he was, in fact, alive.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Tcelia and Neteyam already knew. They played along, pretending like it was the first time that they were hearing the information as well though, not wanting to share with Jake that they had been eavesdropping on his private conversation.

Lo'ak immediately insisted that they go and save him, backed up by Kiri, but Jake shut him down instantly, reasoning that it was exactly what Quaritch wanted. Tcelia swallowed the nauseous feeling that rose in her as she pictured Spider, alone and afraid, forced to work with the enemy. She felt a hand placed atop her bent knee and she looked over. Neteyam was looking at his dad as Jake spoke, but his hand rested gently on her knee, as if he had sensed her worry for Spider.

At least there had been one good thing that had come out of learning how close Quaritch was to them, Tcelia thought glumly. Tcelia and Neteyam were back to being friends again.

When Neteyam had followed her into the forest after they had overheard Tonowari and Jake, he had promised to go back to normal. He had tried, Tcelia knew that, but he still seemed almost awkward around her, as if he was forcing himself to act as if everything was back to usual. It wasn't until Tcelia had woken up from her nightmare and Tcelia had been allowed to braid her black pearl into his hair that he had completely become her old Neteyam again.

She tried to ignore the unwanted butterflies in her stomach at the sensation of Neteyam's large hand on her knee.

Pictures from the night before flashed through her mind. The way he had looked at her as she had slipped the pearl into his hair, just below the one she had given him, and braided the black locks back together. She hadn't wanted to go back to the pod then, not wanting to wake up and shatter the illusion in case Neteyam would return to the way he had been the past week. But she could also see that Neteyam needed to rest.

Placing herself down in the sand, overcome with sudden boldness, she patted the spot beside her. Their eyes had locked as he slowly lowered himself down beside her, and he had swallowed, as if nervous. She had nestled up against him, placing her head on his chest and an arm around his torso. She could feel him freeze, inhaling sharply, and Tcelia squeezed her eyes shut, praying to Eywa that he wasn't contemplating what the nicest way to push her away could be.

She could feel his heart beating rapidly as he, ever so slowly, wrapped his arms around her. His arms had tightened, securing her to him as if he never wanted to let her go. She had savored the feeling, knowing that it might never happen again, staying awake to make sure that Neteyam would fall asleep. It hadn't been long before his breath had become regular, Tcelia's head rising and lowering evenly with his chest.

The memory and the butterflies in her stomach completely disappeared as she tuned into what Jake was saying, replaced with guilt. How could she have been thinking about something as silly as a crush when Quaritch was so close, when Spider was in danger?

"There are going to be some new rules set up, alright?" Jake looked around at them individually, making sure that everyone was listening. "No swimming after eclipse, okay? I don't want you wandering around in the dark, then accidentally losing your way and ending up outside the reef." He looked at Lo'ak pointedly, who ignored him, glaring at the ground.

"How stupid does he think we are?" Lo'ak grumbled to Tcelia as Jake removed his focus from Lo'ak and continued his speech.

"Lo'ak!" Neytiri scolded, indicating for Lo'ak to pay attention to what his father was saying.

"Alright, second rule," Jake lifted two fingers, "No adventures too far inland. We don't know what could be waiting for us in there. For all we know, Quaritch has set up a base and is spying on us as we speak, planning how to take us down." Tcelia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. That seemed a bit excessive. If Quaritch really had found them, Tcelia doubted that he would be sitting and twiddling his thumbs, as if waiting for some sign from Eywa on when the right time would be to strike.