"Alright, the water is cool and all, but you guys need to stop clinging to me, I'm supposed to join dad on a hunt"
"Nooo, we're not letting you go"
Kiri and Tuk had their arms tangled around Ti'ywan's body, refusing to let her go anywhere without them. It had been a few days since she woke up and was able to go back in the water. Neteyam and Lo'ak were a bit more subtle about their clinginess, pretending to be engaged in their own conversation while following her. Ti'ywan sighed and gave up for today, confident she'll have more willpower to resist and leave them tomorrow. Knowing they'd won, they dragged her back to the water. Tsireya wasn't with them today, receiving her tsahìk lessons from her mother, Ronal. Disappointment was evident on Lo'ak's face and Neteyam didn't let the chance to tease him slip by. The eldest also enjoyed the incentive to poke fun at him, especially since their last few weeks together in the forest were tense. After the fiasco Lo'ak did when he disobeyed Jake's order to stay in the air to guard, it seemed tasteless to poke fun at any trouble he had made.
Ti'ywan laid on a rock near the reef, enjoying how the sun caressed her skin. Her siblings competed in breath holding, occasionally splashing water onto her, cooling her off. After a few hours, she noticed that Lo'ak was a bit off. He was no longer enjoying the family time and kept looking beyond the reef, trying to spot something.
"Hey Lo'ak, what's up"
She got up from her spot and scooted over to the edge to sit next to him. She gently nudged his shoulder to get his attention. He gave her a nervous side-eye and thought hard if he should tell her. Ti'ywan noticed, smiled to herself and ruffled his dreads.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me, I'm just still not sure about my presence here, I've missed so many things that happened to you guys, so I'm trying to catch up"
Lo'al furrowed his brows. He understood how his big sister must feel. She wasn't there when they had to travel through the storm to get here. She wasn't here when Ronal mocked them for their extra fingers. If she had been here at the time, she probably would have growled at her and defended them even more than their mother. That thought made him chuckle.
"What's so funny?"
"Ah, nothing, I was just imagining how you would have reacted to Ronal when we arrived"
"Oh, did she say bad things about your fingers too?"
"Yeah, wait, too?"
"Oh yeah, she immediately grabbed my hand and squinted her eyes nastily"
Ti'ywan laughed when she recalled how they snarled at each other.
"I wish I could have seen that"
"Oh yeah? I made sure they knew not to mess with me, their warriors were scared"
Ti'ywan lightly hit his shoulder teasingly, making Lo'ak laugh.
"Who wouldn't be scared of you, you're a giant, Father said you might still outgrow him"
"You bet I will! I'll be the strongest and tallest!"
They laughed at the imagination of Ti'ywan looking down on their father as he looks up at her awkwardly. The mood lightened and put Lo'ak at ease. Enough to tell his sister about Payakan.
"The thing that's bothering me, sis, it's this one Tulkun, his name is Payakan, and he's an outcast"
"It's that big creature right?"
"Yeah"
"Why is he an outcast?"
"That's the thing, I don't understand, he fought back against the human with his friends, to protect the herd, but the herd shunned him for taking lives, even though it was to protect them!"
"I see..."
"The humans brutally hunt and kill mothers with their young, that's how Payakan lost his mom, and now he has no one, except me"
Lo'ak's words trailed off into a pitiful silence. The boy was concerned for his friend. Perhaps he saw a part of himself in Payakan, Ti'ywan thought. Lo'ak wasn't the easiest to take care of, at least for their parents. And his troublemaking nature didn't make him the clan's favourite either. That's why he often felt like he didn't belong, and now that he met someone like him, he feels a sense of kinship. Ti'ywan put her arm around Lo'ak, pulling him into a hug.
"It's okay Lo'ak, I'm sure he's glad to have you at least, although cruel to you, they must have their reason and rules, just like us, na'vi, even if it isn't fair"
"I know, still..."
"...it's sad, I understand, hey, do you want me to meet Payakan with you one day? He'd have two friends!"
Lo'ak looked at her, a sparkle in his eyes.
"You'd do that for me? But he's beyond the reef, last time I went there I got in a lot of trouble, you saw it yourself"
She chuckled, knowing how their parents, especially Jake, must have reacted. Even more harshly than back in the forest probably, since they're in the care of the Metkayina people.
"Well, better for me to go with you in case something happens, than to let you go alone right? It's not like you won't go if we tell you not to, anyway"
"Yeah, I have to see Payakan again, thank you"
"Hey, that's what I'm here for...getting my lil bro out of trouble"
Ti'ywan grabbed his tightly and ruffled his hair playfully once more, letting him know how much she cared for each of them. She always worried for them. They were all unique, with their own set of worries.
Kiri feels a strong connection to Eywa and nature, making her fall asleep uncontrollably sometimes. They sometimes had to search the forest to find her, giving them quite the scare. Not to mention the issue with her parents. Her mother, Grace, whose soul rests with Eywa as her avatar body is asleep forever. Ti'ywan remembers how often Kiri would go visit her.
Neteyam seemed like a tough cookie, but his parent's expectations were a heavy burden for him. She didn't want to imagine how much worse would it be if she wasn't the eldest. Neteyam was a very closed-off person, not sharing his worries even with Ti'ywan, but she knew. She knew very well...
Fortunately, Tuk Tuk had no worries yet. Other than the age gap between her and her older siblings, who sometimes didn't want to play with her. She was the youngest and they all spoiled her occasionally. She's a cute and kind child, and Ti'ywan wanted to ensure that at least she would grow up worry-free.
And for that, she would do anything...
YOU ARE READING
Ti'Ywan, The Daughter Of Toruk Makto
Fanfiction"Sully's stick together" She took her father's words to the heart as she knew it was her duty as the firstborn to protect The people and her family.
