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karmaisakhaleesi · 2 years ago

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🦋 Butterfly's Repose~ Jake Sully x fem!human! reader~ Chap. 4 🦋

masterlist~

warnings~ smut, 18+, language, violence, death mentioned, smoking is also mentioned, please lmk if i missed any!

this is sooo chaotic, and i might do a rewrite at somepoint, but not now~

wordcount~ 4k+

★⌒ヽ

The future's lookin' bleak Your will to live is weak But honey, hold on for me...

★⌒ヽ

You sit up so fast you bang your head on the lid of the link pod. Cursing silently you stand, rubbing your forehead.

Your father crosses his arms before motioning for you to follow him. You follow after him, not giving anyone a second glance as Grace calls after you.

You sit in silence as he moves paperwork around the desk, searching for something. You twist a loose strand of hair around your finger before speaking, "Dr. Augustine doesn't like how you're meddling in the Avatar program."

He stops abruptly, dropping a stack of papers, and you watch as they float to the floor. His fists clench, knuckles whitening, "Well, it doesn't matter what she thinks, I need you to focus on the mission assigned to you."

Sighing you blurt out, "She's planning on taking us to the Hallelujah Mountains, in two weeks."

He scoffs, tossing an envelope on the desk, "That won't be happening."

Crossing your arms you groan in frustration, "It will be, you know that this is our best chance at getting Parker's damn unobtainium."

You stand hand on the door frame before your eyes catch sight of a familiar picture. A small plain silver frame, a woman with long brown hair and dark eyes smiles, her hair whipping wildly across her face, her eyes squinting as the sun blinds her.

Your hand grips the door frame tighter, "Of course you kept it," you snap angrily as you slam the door behind you.

Storming through the hallways you nearly pass your door, when someone calls out to you. Looking over your shoulder you see Jake in the hallway. Your face heats up when the memories of the last few hours surface and you throw open your door.

He clears his throat before speaking, "Listen, about earlier-"

You cut him off sharply, "Goodnight, Jake."

You shut the door and slide down against it, holding your hands in your head, you whisper, "Fuck."

★⌒ヽ

Hiding from Jake hadn't exactly been easy, but you managed. It wasn't that you didn't like him, things were just complicated, especially after that night.

And hiding from Jake meant hiding from the others too. Grace had been hounding after you for weeks, she at least seemed to sense something had happened. And Norm, well, he didn't understand why you had been so avoidant, but he at least gave you space. Until today at least.

Your feet tap against the ground nervously as you reach for another cigarette, almost lighting it before someone clears their throat nervously in front of you, "Grace wants to see you."

You drop the cigarette and toss your lighter back into your pocket before following Norm to the link room.

Grace stands with her hands on the table in front of her, annoyance clear on her face when she looks up at you, "Where have you been?"

Taking a seat in front of the table you meet her eyes, "Nowhere in particular."

"Damn it, you know how important this is, we leave in the morning! You disappeared for two weeks!"

You shrug your shoulders and lean forward on your hands, your hair falling in your face, obscuring your vision. She grabs your shoulder, forcing you to face her, her eyes full of sympathy as she speaks, "Be here tomorrow, one hour before we depart."

She releases your shoulder and strides out of the room, leaving you alone with Norm.

"I'm glad you're back," he says with a nervous smile as he takes a seat across from you, flipping open a book on Pandoran ecology when the link pod at the end of the room opens up, revealing a disheveled Jake. His brow twists in confusion when he sees you, his mouth opening, "H-how, why. Where were you?"

Standing your shoulders tense, and you speed walk into the hallway, heat rising up your face before you light another cigarette, and hear Norm reprimand you for smoking near the link room.

You almost feel numb waking up the next morning, following Norm into the link room, watching as Grace makes preparations to leave.

"So where're we going?" asks Jake as he enters the room, stopping next to you.

Grace steps towards him, "Getting out of Dodge. I'm not about to let Selfridge and Quaritch micro-manage this thing," she says as she throws a glance at you.

"There's a mobile link up at site 26 we can work out of, way up in the mountains."

A look of shock comes over Norm's face as he steps closer to Grace, "The Hallelujah Mountains?"

"That's right," Grace says.

You groan, but at least Norm looks excited, "Are you serious?"

"Yes!"

You smile as he laughs, and cover your mouth with your hand, as Jake looks up at him in confusion. Norm's expression changes from excitement to one of jealousy as he speaks, "The legendary floating mountains of Pandora? Heard of them?"

You frown at him and whisper to Jake, "It's fine, he's just jealous," with a laugh.

★⌒ヽ

"We're getting close," Grace says over the noise of the blades of the helicopter.

You wince when Trudy replies, "Yeah, look at my instruments," and see them glitching all over the screen.

"Yep, we're in the Flux Vortex."

"Which means we're VFR from now on," Trudy says as she chews her gum.

You try to keep your eyes on the floor of the helicopter, so you don't get too dizzy, but look up when Norm asks what VFR means, and Trudy replies, "Means you gotta see where you're goin'."

"You can't see anything," Norm prompts as you glance out the window, seeing nothing but fog.

"Exactly," she laughs, "Ain't that a bitch?"

And as you crane your neck to look out the window, thoughts of dizziness now gone, you can see them. The mountains, floating, but not moving as you pass them by, are covered in vines and flowers, and ferns.

And you gasp, marveling at the beauty of them while Norm blurts out, "Oh my God."

Trudy laughs again, "You should see your faces!"

And seconds later you're landing.

"Thank you for flying Air Pandora," Trudy says before shutting off the helicopter.

You carefully reattach your oxygen mask and step down from the helicopter, walking up to the door of the lab. Although you don't bother waiting for Grace or the others to enter, quickly take your mask off again and inhale deeply.

Tossing your bag on your new bed for the next six months or however long, you watch as Grace turns on the power, led lights nearly blinding you as Jake and Norm file in.

Trudy tosses a bag down and grabs a bottle of water from the fridge as Grace starts to explain the layout.

"All right Jake, hang a left and you'll be in the link at the end," she points to the end of the room, "Unit One, Beulah. She's the least glitchy."

"Quaritch, you'll be in the middle, Unit Two. Second least glitchy," she says as she passes you directing Norm to where his link is.

You can feel your face heat up in anger when the name leaves her lips, Quaritch, truth be told, you'd rather be called anything else.

Dinner is quiet as you push your food, now turned to mush, around your plate, Grace stares at you, before turning to Norm. You feel a tap on your hand underneath the table and flinch, looking over to see Jake, looking at you, torn between saying something and staying silent.

You grab his hand, entwining your fingers, and you hear him catch his breath before his grip tightens on your hand.

★⌒ヽ

Jake watched as you walked past him to join Mo'at, and gave a small wave. Which you completely ignored before Neytiri appeared before him, her eyes inquisitive as she glanced back to see you.

So, you were still avoiding him, not that that was anything new, he thought to himself as Neytiri took a seat on a nearby moss covered log.

"Today you will learn the language of the people," she said as he sat down across from her.

After Neytiri had discussed the basics of the language, they began repeating words back to each other, starting with how to pronounce certain words and phrases.

"Na’rìng," Neytiri says slowly.

"Na’rìng," Jake says as she pronounces it again stressing the 'a' sound.

"Again, na’rìng."

"Na’rìng!"

He flinches as she smacks his head muttering, "Skxawng," under her breath.

It was just repetition after repetition after that. At first, Jake tried to use learning the new words to distract himself from thoughts of you, but he failed miserably. He wanted to say something, anything to get you to even acknowledge his presence, but he didn't know what.

Just as Neytiri is about to pronounce the word again, he hears your voice coming from behind him, "No, I don't think so."

Standing, Neytiri greets you, "Snatanhì, how are you?"

You laugh, and smile as she gives you a quick hug, "I am well, and you?"

"Jake Sully is difficult to teach, but I manage," her words make your smile drop, your eyes looking over to him.

"I see," you say, coughing into your hand before wishing her luck and following after Tsu'tey.

He frowns as he watches you leave. It had been almost two weeks since you had had any sort of conversation, well other than brief greetings and asking how the weather was.

His brow furrowed as he thought about how to get you to talk to him, or at least stop leaving the room every time your eyes met. Just as Neytiri starts with another word, and his eyes light up with an idea.

★⌒ヽ

The next day your eyes flutter open, and you sit up in your hammock and follow Neytiri, and Jake through the branches of the tree. Watching as Neytiri calls for her Ikran, you wonder where Tsu'tey is.

And then you hear the screeching of Seze, who lands in front of Neytiri, her wings flapping, kicking up the leaves, so they swirl around you.

"Holy shit!"

"Do not look in her eye," Neytiri says as she offers her a piece of meat, "Seze."

"Tam tam, Seze," she whispers as she pats her neck.

"Ikran is not horse. Once Tsaheylu is made," you watch as she makes Tsaheylu with Seze, "Ikran will fly with one hunter in the whole life."

You take a step back as Neytiri mounts Seze, "To become taronyu, hunter, you must choose your own Ikran, and he must choose you."

"When?" asks Jake his voice oozing confidence.

"When you are ready," Neytiri replies as she pulls down her visor and takes off.

You watch as she flies around the tree, and duck when she nearly knocks you off, laughing before you hear Tsu'tey behind you.

"Come, there is more training for you," he says, leaving you to catch up.

You give Jake a small wave and rush after him, wondering what training he'll have in store for you.

It turns out to be more archery. Your limbs feel sore as you hobble to your hammock and lie down, your eyes closing, and then opening. The lid of the link greets you.

★⌒ヽ

You pick at your nails as you record your video log, "Video log twelve, not much to say, it hasn't even been a full week yet. But I have made more progress with the bow, I don't miss my target nearly as much, so Tsu'tey hasn't been too upset with me. And I started helping more with Mo'at," you grimace, remembering how many different herbs and medicines you had to memorize with her.

"I think I know the name of every medicine, how to use it, alternative ingredients, and where to find them now. My brain feels fried."

Racking your brain, you try to think of something else to add, but come up with nothing, opting to instead end the video log.

"Done already?" asks Grace as she writes something down on a paper, free hand holding back her hair.

"Yeah, I'm going to the link now."

She hums in agreement as you pull the lid down, and close your eyes, and then open them.

The day goes by quickly, and you end up spending most of it with Tsu'tey practicing archery and hand to hand combat. You kick your feet at his legs, almost knocking him to the ground, but he catches it instead, slamming you into the ground, his knife on your neck.

You shut your eyes, thinking of a way to reverse the situation when his knife leaves your throat and you hear Neytiri and Jake approach.

Tsu'tey stands and greets Neytiri, ignoring Jake as you stand and dust yourself off, unsheathing your knife, and lunge at him. He stumbles forward as you hold your knife to his neck, your knee digging into his shoulder blades when you feel a hand on your shoulder.

Looking up you see Jake, his eyes filled with uncertainty as Tsu'tey uses your distractedness to throw you off of him. Your knife falls to the ground with a dull thud and you groan in annoyance.

"You distracted me, I almost had him!" you shove his shoulder playfully, smiling before turning back to Tsu'tey, "What's next then?"

After your training with Tsu'tey and watching the sun set, decide to gather some more herbs for Mo'at, and let the bioluminescent plants guide you through the forest, pointedly ignoring the sound of footsteps coming from behind you.

Grabbing a fist full of bark from the tree in front of you, you carefully place it into the basket next to you. You reach down to grab it but feel hands on your waist. You gasp when you feel lips on your ear.

You turn to see Jake standing behind you as cups your face in his hand. You lean into his touch, your eyes closing as he leans in, lips meeting yours. You feel a shiver run down your spine as his hands move to grab your ass, and he pushes you against the tree behind you. His lips trail down your neck, and you cover your mouth to conceal a moan, but he yanks your hand away from your mouth, "Don't, I want to hear you, baby girl."

You stiffen at his words, your eyes going wide as he stares at you, before closing them, "Why?" you whisper, as he kisses your neck, his hands between your thighs.

His fingers slip beneath your loincloth, "I want to hear you when I make you come."

You throw your head back, your fingers grasping at the bark behind you, "Fuck," you moan as his fingers move to rub your clit. Your knees shake as he keeps your clit between his thumb and index finger, rubbing in small circles, teasing you, before he slides a finger inside of you.

You close your eyes and bite your lip to hold in your moan as he slowly slides a second finger inside of you, curling his fingers upward to stroke that spot inside of you.

"Please," you beg, wetting your lips, "L-let me come," you whimper, and he slides his fingers out of your warmth and shoves them into your mouth.

He turns you around to face him, your eyes meeting his, "Do it. No, don't close your eyes, look straight at me."

You whimper at his words, you didn't even realize you had closed your eyes. He slides his fingers out of your mouth, "I want to see the look on your face when you come, baby girl."

You let out a small moan, desperate to come when you realize he's already removed his own loincloth, before he slides his fingers back into your mouth. Your jaw drops as he puts his hands back between your thighs, quickly sliding his fingers back inside of you.

"Fucking hell," he groans, watching your mouth, as you suck his fingers.

His fingers slide out, and he grabs your hips, and slides his cock inside of you, thrusting forward, he slams his mouth on yours, muffling the moan that erupts from you, he groans, "Fuck, you're so tight."

The bark scratches at your back and you throw your head back, your eyes falling on the bright blue sky above you as you focus on the feeling, You wrap your legs around Jake, and moving your arms around his neck and arch your back, to press your chest against him, "F-fuck," you moan, grinding your hips into his.

You feel his fingers dig into your hips as he fingers your clit, and you throw your head back, your hair falling in front of your eyes, as you moan.

You cry out, your whole body trembling, as your orgasm rocks through you. He pumps his hips forward and you feel his cock pulse as he spills himself into you.

You breathe heavily, gasping as you feel his come drip out of you. Jake rests his head on your shoulder, panting. Your arms wrapped around each other.

"Oh, shit," you gasp and Jake lets out a chuckle, kissing your neck, "Don't," you whine, covering your neck with your hand, "Your mouth is right there, I can still feel your mouth on me."

"Good," he whispers to you and you roll your eyes.

Jake pulls out of you and your eyes fall on your thigh, a small red mark from the bark where you gripped it.

"Damn it," you say, wiping at the mark with a slightly irritated sigh.

Jake laughs and kisses your cheek, "Maybe you should stop using trees as your cushion, then you wouldn't have that problem."

"I'm not always having sex with you," you pout.

You grab the basket and begin to gather your things, when you hear his voice, "I can make it so you do."

You look at him, your eyes widening, "Jake-"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," he says, getting up.

You sigh, "No, it's just, complicated."

"I know, I just-" and he sighs, "It's just really nice with you, I don't want it to stop."

"I don't want it to stop either," and you meet his eyes, "But it's not that easy," and you grab the basket and begin to walk away.

Jake grabs your hand, "Wait," he says, and turns you to face him "I just want you to know that I want... this," and he gestures between the two of you, "I don't want it to become awkward between us, I want this to stay the same."

You nod, "I-I want that too," your voice is quiet, "I'm sorry I avoided you then, I was dealing with a lot," and you sniffle.

Jake pulls you into a hug and kisses the top of your head and you bury your face into his chest.

"Your Father?" he questions, his voice soft as you nod your head.

"No, I just don't know if I can go through with this."

"With what?"

You sigh, tears brimming in your eyes, "The mission, assignment. Whatever the hell you want to call it, it's not right."

His hand brushes away your tears and pulls you closer to his chest, his thoughts in turmoil.

★⌒ヽ

You flinch at the sound of Grace stirring in her sleep. Looking over you sigh in relief, seeing that she's still fast asleep you maneuver yourself over the metal threshold and sit on the edge of Jake's bunk. His eyes blink slowly before they open and he grabs your arm and pulls you to lay down next to him.

Feeling his arms wrap around you, you smile and nuzzle into his chest. It was strange, you thought, being so close to someone. In your twenty-one years of living, you had never once really given thought to what it would be like to have someone who cared for you.

Of course, you had your Father and Mother. But your Father was never really around much or cared for you much at all until your Mother died of course. And your Mother, well, you had been sure any ounce of love you were capable of having had died with her. But now, you weren't so sure, you thought as you felt Jake's lips linger on the shell of your ear, his warm breath making your face heat up.

"Still awake?" he asked groggily as you felt his arms wrap around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

Humming in reply your lips met his in a quick kiss. Hearing a muffled sigh you laid your head back on his chest, smiling. Things might turn out alright in the end, you thought to yourself as your eyes closed, ushering in a dream filled with past memories.

★⌒ヽ

You could almost taste the anger in the air as you walked to your Father's office, the door cracked open slightly, yellow light illuminating a small sliver of the hallway.

"You're going home, with-"

Your Father was cut off sharply by your Mother's voice, her voice angry as she whisper shouted at him, "I'm not leaving, my whole life's work is here on this planet, and you want me to abandon it because you think I'm getting 'too close' with the Omatikaya?"

Her laugh is bitter as she crosses her arms in indignation, "I can't believe you, it's because of her isn't it?"

You flinch when you hear his hands slam on the desk, its feet scraping as it moves forward.

"The both of you will be leaving after your next assignment, and if you don't, I'll make damn sure you're on that ship first thing in the morning."

She scoffs, "Is that a threat? I don't understand why I can't stay. Let me do my work, it's not like I'm interfering in whatever the hell Parker wants," she pauses to clear her throat before continuing, "And what about our daughter? She was born here, she's never even stepped foot on Earth!"

"She'll be fine-"

Losing your grip on the door, you fall forward, and his gaze snaps to you.

And suddenly you hear your name being called and feel a hand shaking you awake. Rubbing your eyes and look up to see Grace looking down at you, a small smirk on her lips as you sit up and push your hair out of your face.

"What time is it?" you say, words slurred with drowsiness as you rub your eyes again and stretch.

"6:30. Now, hurry up and eat, village life starts early, remember?" she says as you take a seat at the small table.

Norm gives you a good morning before turning back to his computer, and Grace passes you a plate of eggs. You eat them quickly before standing and rushing over to your link, hoping that Tsu'tey will be lenient with your lateness.

★⌒ヽ

The days rush by like a river, fast, and everchanging, and suddenly it's your forty-second day in the mountains. This also happens to be the day Jake convinces Mo'at to let Grace back into the village.

And it seems time flies by faster after that. Three weeks after Grace is allowed back into the village, Tsu'tey takes you to hunt. You follow him through the trees, listening to the sounds of animals chirping and drops of rain falling against the canopy of leaves above your head when he motions for you to stop.

You glance ahead and see a yerik standing in front of a moss covered log. Notching your arrow, you pull back the string and let it fly past you, the force of the string snapping cutting your cheek.

Rushing over to the now flailing yerik you feel guilt twisting in your stomach. But you push it aside and unsheathe your knife as Tsu'tey stands behind you, watching silently.

"I see you, sister, and thank you," you finish as you stab into it.

"Your spirit goes with Eywa, your body stays behind to become part of the people."

You sheath your knife and pull the arrow from the yerik as Tsu'tey looks down at you, "You are ready."

★⌒ヽ

na’rìng [ˈnaʔ.ɾɪŋ] n. forest

thank you so much for reading, i hop you enjoyed!

please comment below if you'd like to be added to the taglist!

requests are open!

taglist~

@eringaitskill

@neteyamforlife

@lovekeeho

173 notes · View notes

moonpetrichors-blog · 2 years ago

Note

hey could i please get a lo'ak x f!reader oneshot where lo'ak goes to see payakan (by himself) and he is just chatting payakans ear off about y/n ans how amazing he thinks she is and payakan was like "confess to her???" or something and he was "nahh i cant do that, she doesnt even like me like that" but payakan wasnt believing him so he asks to see her and lo'ak agrees and when y/n and payakan meet payakan "accidentally" exposes lo'ak about his feels, and lo'ak is super embarrassed trying to deny it but y/n cuts him off saying she likes him too , tyy :>

-🪶♡

Confess Already

Tags: Lo’ak x Reader, Oneshot, Fem!Reader, Hella Fluff, Lo’ak Talks Like Aladdin LMAO

Warnings: None

Lo’ak is whipped for you. He’s always chatting Payakan’s ear off about how pretty and amazing you are, and he’s had enough of him not gathering up the courage to confess yet. Payakan is many things; a tulkun, an outcast, but best of all, a wingman.

An AU where Payakan’s not a cockblocker, but a wingman for once LMFAO also im not sure if u meant to be anon or not but like i gave u a hashtag anyways so😜🤝

* ˚ ✦ 676 Words • Read below the cut

╭┈─────── ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-╰┈➤ ❝ [20/02/23] ❞

Lo'ak went swimming alone with Payakan, as he regularly does.

Splashing and playing in the sea was something they did all the time. They'd explore the reef or Lo'ak would cannonball off Payakan's back, but Lo'ak was absorbed by his thoughts today.

Payakan whistled in irritation at his spacing out habit, and Lo'ak swished his legs back and forth in the water lazily. He didn't realize Payakan was talking to him until he submerged his fin.

Lo'ak sputtered under the water as Payakan hoisted him back up, his arms outstretched in bewilderment. He glared at him, and Payakan blinked back with the same force. He whistled again as if to ask, "what's wrong?"

Lo'ak ran a hand through his braids, and sighed wistfully. He shifted his body to face Payakan properly and began to sign with his hands.

"I met a girl."

Lo'ak could tell Payakan was intrigued, but did not know who he meant.

He groaned. "Y/N."

Payakan laughed out loud with a succession of clicks. Lo'ak ignored his response and persisted.

"Eywa, she's beautiful. You have to meet her! Every time I'm around Y/N, she's just so amazing... She’s got these eyes that just... And her smile!"

Lo'ak rolled onto his back and laid on Payakan's fin, returning to his daydreaming about you. Payakan was dissatisfied. Lo'ak could determine from his expression that he was perplexed as to why he hadn't confessed to you yet.

He sat up, frustrated. "I can't do that! She doesn't even like me like that. What if Y/N rejects me?"

Payakan whistled again in disbelief, then asked Lo'ak to meet you to make sure of it.

"I could bring her to our swims, but I doubt she even sees me that way..."

Ah, if only he knew.

...

You agreed to meet Payakan, much to Lo'ak's consternation.

So there you were, caressing Payakan gently while marvelling at how Lo'ak managed to befriend him. That was a story he could tell you another day, but for now he was anxious about what Payakan was up to. Why on Pandora did he want to meet you?

Payakan watched Lo'ak's dopey expression, evidently unimpressed, while you gushed at how incredible the tulkun was. Lo'ak was completely smitten by you, his bright smile reaching the corners of his eyes as he observed you.

Payakan, the filter less tulkun that he was, began clicking at Lo'ak.

To Lo'ak's chagrin, he knew you comprehended what the tulkun's clicks implied, and your countenance transformed from awe to uncertainty.

You drew back from Payakan. "What's up with him?"

He kept laughing at Lo'ak, and you whirled around to see what was so hilarious. You noticed Lo'ak's lingering gaze and realized what was happening. Then, a deep flush enveloped his features, and he averted his eyes from you; his skin was flushed and feverish.

Payakan hummed, mocking Lo'ak about his crush in an inadvertent (but not really) fashion. Although Lo'ak couldn't fully grasp what he was saying, he understood the gist of what Payakan meant, and instantly became mortified.

He turned to you, and desperately tried to deny it. "It's not true, Payakan is just a pathological lia-"

You silenced him with a finger against his lips. "I like you too."

That really shut him up.

Lo'ak felt himself go into cardiac arrest and slowly sank backwards into the water, similarly to a dead fish. You thought his reaction was sweet, but Lo'ak assumed he'd finally learned the way of water; perhaps he'll bury himself beneath the sand, too.

He started sinking.

You shouted in a panic. "Eywa, Lo'ak!"

You hurriedly plunged your head to swim after him and haul him over the surface of the water. You tightened your grasp on his waist, and once he regained consciousness, you began to smirk at him.

You giggled. "Did you serious pass out because I said that?"

Lo'ak tore your hands away from his shivering waist, and shielded his face with a clenched fist. "Shut up!"

You could still see the evident blush dusting his features. What a cutie.

207 notes · View notes

omnipresentlemon · 2 years ago

Text

The Little Games We Play

Set in a softer time, with a more forgiving beginning for Pandora’s littlest human.

--------------------------

Sometimes, Jake and Neytiri play a game. A competition, more like. They don’t play this game often, and the winner usually gets to revel in their victory for at least a fortnight before the chance to challenge arises. It’s a game only played by the two of them, and while their children may have some inklings as to the nature of it, they are content to let their parents be the sole competitors.

As Polyphemus rises in the sky and eclipse begins, so does Jake and Neytiri’s game.

Evening meal is being cleared away, and the children romp and tussle around the tent until Jake and Neytiri lower themselves onto their sleeping mats, signaling that it is time to finally settle down.

Neytiri begins at an advantage – Tuktirey is barely a year old, and thus still sleeps most comfortably with her mother close by. Neytiri smiles at Jake with savage delight when Lo’ak stumbles over to her, sleepily rubbing at one eye and tucking himself under Neytiri’s arm for the night.

She almost secures victory before Jake can even begin his counterattack, Neteyam approaching her for a goodnight hug and kiss. But that is all he apparently seeks, bending down to kiss Lo’ak and Tuk’s heads as well before joining his father. Jake shoots her a victorious grin as he wraps their eldest in his arms.

Neytiri doesn’t want to give Jake any more reason to gloat, but she can’t help but scowl as Kiri also heads Jake’s way, attention absorbed by the intricate leaves of the flower she has plucked on her morning walk. Jake takes it from her hands and sets it aside gently, whispering promises that it will be waiting for her in the morning when their daughter complains. Kiri grudgingly accepts this answer, and squirms in between Neteyam and Jake.

They lock eyes over the heads of their dozing children. They are at a stalemate.

Their gazes shift to the last of their children still awake as he finishes putting a fresh battery into his exopack. Spider’s jaw cracks with the force of his yawn, and his eyes are mostly closed as his body sways where he stands, fatigue overcoming him.

Jake opens his mouth to call out to Spider, but Neytiri shoots daggers at him with her eyes. The only real rule to their game is that they are not allowed to try and coax any of their children to their side. They must come completely of their own will.

Neither truly knows where Spider may go. For the most part, the family slept together, a miasma of limbs and braids and the soft exhales of sleep. Nights like tonight were rare, and usually only implemented when the children seemed so tired that an accidental kick or kuru tug would send them into tears.

Most nights, it can be guaranteed that wherever Kiri goes, Spider will follow. But Spider had been annoyed when Kiri had left the tent this morning without waiting for him, and his resentment at being left behind may still linger. But, Tuk still wakes at least twice during the night, and Spider is a light sleeper. He may not want to sleep with Neytiri if there’s a chance his littlest sister may wake him before eclipses’ end.

As if summoned by the thought, Tuk begins to fuss, tired whimpers escaping her mouth as she tries to fall asleep. Neytiri sings to her softly, rocking the babe with one arm and smoothing down Lo’ak’s braids with the other.

If the song Neytiri chooses happens to be Spider’s songchord, that is between her and Eywa.

As if summoned, Spider begins to drift her way. His eyes don’t open as he stumbles across the tent, guided only by his mother’s voice. Tuk quiets as Spider nestles into Neytiri’s stomach, hand intertwined with Lo’ak’s over her navel.

“Night, mama,” Spider mumbles. Neytiri tucks a braid behind his ear, fingers stroking a soothing pattern at the nape of his neck.

“Goodnight, my son,” she whispers back. She soaks in the bliss that is the gentle rise and fall of her children’s chests as she settles herself finally for sleep.

Before closing her eyes for the night, she looks across the smoldering embers of their hearth at her husband. Even as he holds Kiri and Neteyam with love and gentleness, he looks at Neytiri with pure betrayal.

“Traitor,” he mouths at her. Maybe her trick with the songchord wasn’t as subtle as she thought.

No matter. Both Neytiri’s home and heart are warm, and that is prize enough.

For the record, however, she still won.