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kukuma-kit · 2 years ago

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Holt Summer Waves

Ao’nung

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☆: * parings: Ao'nung x Omatikaya!reader

☆: * characters: Lo'ak, kiri, tuk, neytiri, jake, Tsireya, Tonowari, Ronal, Norm, Max, oc?

☆: * warnings: PROLONG TENSION before meeting Ao'nung, mentions of hunting(very long)

☆: * Na'vi glossary: Tsawksyul- sun lilly(flora), Tsahaylu- bond, siltan-word, Toruk Makto- Rider of last shadow, Marui Pod- huts to the Metkayina, yerik- Hexapede , Tawtsngal- panopyra(flora), Flate Skate Fish- type of fish

☆: * word count: 2280

☆: * Note(s): I have a habit of long intros huh, something I will need to work on lol. Feedback would be helpful!

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☆: * Summary: not being able to go with the sully family, you are stuck back at the Omatikaya clan and continue to enjoy yourself but Kiri has a seziure and now you're off to go with your uncles to see her.

Ze'tey skillfully navigated a sharp turn to avoid colliding with one of the robust rocks of Ayram Alusing otherwise known as the Hallelujah Mountains. The powerful flapping of her wings, combined with your tight grip on the queue harness and swift shifts in weight, made for an exhilarating ride. Looking over your shoulder, you spot Otxä on her ikran struggling to keep up with the vast environment and feel a sense of pride in your own flying skills as a Ikranä Maktoyu.

"you better keep up Otxä!" you shout out to her to which she replies back.

"I'll have you know that I am doing just fine!" she exclaims happily, even knowing that she was struggling somewhat.

As you feel the wind cut through your hair diving through the forest, you expertly maneuver through tight spaces and dodge looming tree trunks. Inside was a nearby clearing, you see a beautiful waterfall and let out a cheerful click. Ze'tey quickly swooped down into the water without hesitation, you lower your stance on Ze'tey's neck and break through the cascading water and into an open cave, expertly guiding Ze'tey through the sharp turns and steep ascents. The rush of the cool mist on your face heightens the experience with the strong huffs that seem to fill the surrounding air. The force of Ze'tey's breathing is so detectable that you can feel it in your own chest, a testament to the great power and energy that Ze'tey emanates.

As Otxä clicked her tongue and her ikran chirped, you instinctively looked behind you, and to your surprise, she was close enough to make you shout out. Feeling the immense force of Ze'tey, you held on tight as her wings gilded gracefully, propelling you both up towards an opening in the cave wall. The light slowly came into view as you scrambled out of the cave and soared above the lush trees. Along the way, you passed a group of Syaksuk, their playful voices echoing through the forest as they swung from the branches. You straightened up with Ze'tey as she cut through the air. Approaching the opening, you hear cheering and see a group of Na'vi pointing at you. Some are jumping with yips and others are on their ikran, perched at the top of the treelines some are even flying high above. The euphoric feeling of freedom and adventure rushes over you, bringing back nostalgic memories of past expeditions.

Your hold tightens on the queue harness as you catch sight of Otxä, preparing for the impending action. Ze'tey huffs beside you, oozing confidence as she senses your plan formulating. She gracefully narrows her wings and tenses her legs, flapping furiously to ascend to great heights. With a sudden dive, you both vanish into the forest canopy. Otxä seems bewildered by your swift maneuvers, but her eagerness gets the best of her as she charges towards her ikan with a smug grin stretched across her face. "Let's do this!" she cheers, daring anyone to stand in her way. This moment feels reminiscent of the past, as if the memories of your first flight together are being relived one more time.

the whirl of colors whipping past you as you are unexpectedly thrust out into a radiant clearing. The cheers and excitement of the Na'vi fill the air, the humidity of the dense jungle brimming with palpable energy. You notice a station banner in the distance and watch in awe as Otxä gasps in surprise and takes a nose dive to try and regain control. However, before she can get any closer, you whoop loudly as you soar past the banner and land safely on the other side. Turning to face Otxä, you feel your heart pounding in your chest as the rush of adrenaline and excitement overcomes you.

Otxä's grin mirrored your own excitement in that moment as she raised your victorious hand up high. "Behold," she roared, "the daring ikran rider reigns supreme once again!" Her voice echoed throughout the clearing and mingled with the chorus of youthful cheers. This was no ordinary tradition; our annual ikran race began as a simple pastime to cure teenage boredom but had since grown into an event of great significance. when you unearthed the bow made from the wood of the late hometree - gifted to you by your uncle Norm, adorned with akula teeth at the ends. Your friends had then decided that the winner would keep the bow as a memento, breaking the Tsaheylu as Ze'tey huffs heavily. You grabbed Ze'tey softly as you spoke "mawey, mawey Ze'tey" quickly giving her some yerik.

Otxä spoke sweetly, her voice full of warmth and love as she expressed how proud she was of you. Throughout your life, she had been a maternal figure, her mother taking you in when your parents died during the Great Battle. As you grew up under Norm's care when Otxä's mother died shortly, you spent countless hours around the lab, absorbing all the knowledge you could. Despite this, nothing prepared you for the rush of emotions you felt every time you raced. With the eclipse looming, you and Otxä decided to race once more to the marui pod, resulting in Otxä's unexpected victory and two sleepy omatiyaka women.

Opening your eyes after inhaling the tantalizing aroma of Max's tsawksyul, you were hanging out with him in the lab, lending a helping hand. You were in the midst of transferring the Tawtsngal to another container, when Max suddenly burst into the room, visibly distressed. "__, hurry! I need you to come with us. Kiri has had a seizure," Max exclaimed in a panic. Without any hesitation, you nodded and hastily made your way out to fetch Ze'tey. But not before making a quick detour to your hut to bid farewell to Otxä, explaining your urgent absence, and collecting some of your most potent herbs and healing tonics, stuffing them into a homemade pouch.

You first met Kiri thanks to Otxä, who brought you both together. Although you never became extremely close, you knew her well enough to appreciate her gentle, yet sassy sarcastic sense of humor. Being with Otxä and Kiri was always fun, as they had a rebellious streak that made every adventure exciting. You even began to feel as if you had two older sisters. Kiri was particularly kind to you, often braiding your hair and bringing little gifts. But what you loved most was when she brought Tuk over, the most adorable girl you had ever seen. Whenever Kiri was around, you could not resist the urge to go on little adventures with Tuk.

As you climb aboard one of the impressive aircrafts, Norm recounts the events that took place as you make your way towards your destination. Little did you know that Ze'tey had tailed you until halfway through, at which point you decided to hop on her. Briskly, you arrived and landed right after them, disconnecting Tsaheylu before quickly following behind Toruk makto and Norm, with Max right by your side. Once you reached the designated spot, you set all the necessary equipment up and inspected the logs to ensure everything was in order. Promptly, you mix together a powerful blend of herbs to help Kiri calm down before whispering softly, "Sìltsan, Sìltsan" as she takes the concoction. Suddenly, the Tsahìk of the Metkayina clan and Tonowari's mate, Ronal, enters the scene as Toruk makto's partner bellows at everyone to leave.

Unsure of what to do, you stick around to help The Tsahìk with requirements she may need. The tension in the air is palpable as the group navigates through this difficult time together.

"__," Tsahìk's firm voice broke the painful silence as she skillfully dipped her needle into the small cup of liquid you offereas she did her acupuncture. Tuk leans into your side as she watches her sister, you then get up when Kiri wakes up seeing her family members come in. You didn't want to crowd her any more than she was. You go to the Tsahìk, seeing as she was exhausted and wanting to carry her basket. "Oel ngati kameie, Tsahik"( I see you)

Tsahìk glanced up as you approached her with an offer to carry her basket. She eyed the young one warily, questioning their intentions, but decided to accept their help as she was too exhausted to carry it herself. "That would save me the effort indeed. Go ahead," she replied gruffly. "Why does a young one want to carry my stuff?especially that of omatikaya, do you not wish to see your family?" she questions your intentions.

"I would like to help the Tsahìk, as I would like to be useful and I am not needed there" you answer back as she hands over the bundle of supplies, Following her out of the marui pod, you catch a glimpse of a breathtaking metkayina girl approaching the Tsahìk. As the Tsahìk takes note of your hunter bow, she inquires, "You have experience as a hunter?'"

not expecting her question you look at her as you hold onto your bow softly. "Yes, I am a hunter with my clan" you reply softly.

"Ah, that is good to see. It is always nice to meet people who are capable of protecting their clan and their people" she replies shortly after, seeing her daughter come into close contact.

"mother, is everything alright?" Immediately recognizing her as Tsireya, you gesture a greeting to which she does back. "Hello sweetheart, She has awoken" Tsahìk replies as they walk beside each other. You just followed silently as you start to arrive main village area. Handing the basket over to Tsireya, you turn to see Tonowari hoping off his skimwing, quickly gesturing respect you go back to see Lo'ak talking with two metkayina boys. "Lo'ak!"

As you sprint towards the group, memories of Lo'ak flood your mind, like the times Tuk spoke passionately about her brother and even invited you to dinner. Unfortunately, Neytiri wasn't too thrilled about your presence since she did not know you. Nevertheless, you approach the group, and Lo'ak greets you with a warm embrace, proceeding to the two captivated young boys gazing at you with wonder. "Who's that?" one of them asks as you join the group - a perfect chance to tell them.

"__ te Raylu'itu and you?" you spoke with a firm voice as you gestured back to them. " Ao'nung te Tskaha, Ronal'itan"introduces briefly looking you over as his friend smiles. "I am Roxto! you are friend of Kiri?" he asks to which you nod.(__ daughter of Raylu, Ao'nung of Tsahik, son of Ronal)

"Indeed, more or less," you reply with a hint of excitement. Kiri found solace in Neytiri’s embrace, while Lo'ak was entrusted with the task of fetching some food. Intrigued by their imminent adventure to the hunting grounds, you eagerly join them on their journey. Lo'ak and Ao'nung go to the edges after grabbing saddles, calling out and clapping their hands. Two Ilu appear, they waste no time strapping on their saddles and leaping onto the creatures' backs. "Makto ko!" Lo'ak exclaims once he's settled, he looks at Ao'nung then you. "You're gonna have to ride with Ao'nung, Ion got room cuz" (let's ride!)

Before Ao'nung could protest, he swims off. "Au! Za'u!" Ao'nung gruffs out in annoyance as he rushes you to get on to which you comply.

Venturing deep into the swampy forest, you've honed the skill of breathing underwater to a tee. That, however, wasn't the main problem as it was a bit hard to stay on the ilu with the water gushing roughly from Ao'nungs Ilu pace. Feeling your unsteady presence behind him, he tenderly secures his grip on your thigh, ensuring you remain firmly in place as your ride swiftly continues through the captivating waters you quickly arrive near an area with a school of Flat Skate Fish. After disembarking, you swim together with your companions behind the vibrant coral reef, and watch intently as Ao'nung and Lo'ak try their hand at spearfishing. After some failed attempts, y'all decide that your catch was enough to feed your families as you head above the surface to breathe, followed by the two.

"latsi, forest girl" Ao'nung tells you as he calls out to his Ilu again, mounting it as you follow in suit. you look at Lo'ak and compliment his useage of the speargun and hunting skills. "Those fish were pretty fast!" Lo'ak laughs as he agrees.(keep up, forest girl).

"of course tho, my hunting skills were no match!"

"quit flirting you too, we need to head back. Makto ko!" Ao'nung impatiently urges you to stop flirting and head back, you quickly grab onto him, eager to return. Lo'ak is close behind, eager to race. Ao'nung agrees and before you know it, you're whizzing past corals and other obstacles, gripping onto Ao'nung for dear life. As you approach Awa'atlu, you burst through the water's surface and take a deep breath. Ao'nung chuckles at the sight of you, "You look like small lips over there," he says. You hop off, Lo'ak following suit. Bewildered, you ask Ao'nung what he means by that.(let's ride)

"He was worse than a Metkayina baby learning our ways, he still swims slow" Lo'ak glared at him, already annoyed that Ao'nung beat him again.You chuckle as you help with the bundle, dropping some off to the sully's before you follow Ao'nung to his Marui pod. "Oel ngati kameie, Ronal, Tonowari" you gesture to them as Ao'nung lets you in, helping you put the fish up and Tsireya drags you away to tell you that the sully's want you so you rush back, seeing Norm and Max you check in with them. "Hey, we're gonna have you stay since you have herbs and medical stuff they'll need help in" Norm tells you as you nod, Max and just came back with your stuff.

"Am I really leaving my friends behind?" you anxiously inquire, but your worries dissipate as Norm nods reassuringly. "Don't worry, kid, it's just for a few months," he gives you a friendly pat on the head before hopping into the aircraft. You watch as he waves goodbye, then make your way to the marui pod, feeling exhausted. You're so tired that you decide to skip dinner and slip away into a peaceful slumber in a spare bed.

#ao'nung #avatar way of the water imagine #ao'nung imagine #avatar #atwow x reader #aonung x reader #kuniblurbs #suggestiono #atwow #avatar 2 #avatar james cameron #avatar the way of water 2022 #avatar ao'nung #x reader #imagine #female reader #Holt Summer Waves

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vintage-marina · 2 years ago

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currently writing a fic about ao'nung that he is a mate with a human but they hate eachother, love that for them

#ao'nung x reader #avatar the way of water #ao'nung imagine #neteyam #loak #tsireya #avatar fanfiction

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randxmthxughts · 2 years ago

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Heaven in Hiding - Ao'nung x Metkayina!Reader (secret dating)

summary: ao'nung and you have been hiding your relationship for some time now but there comes a moment when you want more than that

contains: aged up characters, fluff, secret dating / secret lovers trope

wc: 1.5k

a/n: finally writing for thiiis boiii, and even though i know he can be an asshole, i'm convinced that ao'nung would be soft for his gf. had to take a brief break from the tsu'tey series to write this oneshot. also ignore if this doesn't read smoothly, i wrote it in a few hours and barely edited it, but i will fix everything tomorrow

masterlist

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Ao’nung tried hard not care about the way his friends’ eyes lit up when you gently smiled at them while passing. The way he would rarely catch glimpses of you around the village, running around with fishnets and baskets, hands always occupied with work. The way you brushed the hair out of your face and kept a polite smile, working hard alongside the elders to prove your usefulness. It was only when you would lock eyes with his and give him a knowing smile, in those fleeting moments between your tasks, that his heart would flutter. It reminded him that he shouldn't let himself become consumed by worry over your busy schedule. Because no matter how hectic things got, he would always have you in his arms, all to himself, after the eclipse.

The two of you were bouncing around each other like dancing flames, flickering in the darkness where no one else could see. Each stolen moment, every brief touch, and knowing glance sent your heart into your stomach, making your love for him burn bright like the sun. It was a private affair that you both treasured and had agreed to keep a secret for a while. Ao'nung wanted to avoid the pressure from his parents, while you wanted to establish yourself in the clan first, without being associated with the future Olo'eyktan.

The intensity of your feelings for each other caught both of you by surprise, because everything started out slowly. So slow that you had a hard time believing it when Ao’nung had first approached you. He had been eyeing you from afar for years then, unsure of what exactly it was about you that had been captivating him, drawing him in like a moth to a flame. And while he wasn’t a coward, even he couldn’t explain why it had taken him so long to finally ask you for a late-night walk one day. Ao’nung never planned for the moment to be so private, but when you accepted his courting gift with a warm embrace, and he melted in your arms, he realized that he never wanted to share that glimpse of him with anyone else but you.

You stepped softly and cautiously towards the hidden, peaceful spot that Ao’nung and you had been meeting at almost every night. Your eyes scanned the area, and there he was standing tall, already waiting for you. It wasn’t long till you slipped up behind him, hugging him from the back and pressing your cheek against his skin as hard as you could. His hands were quick to find yours and caress them, a soft smile spreading across his face.

“Finally,” he whispered, his voice low and husky.

Ao’nung turned around to return your embrace, his eyes taking you in so adoringly, as if he was seeing you for the first time. Your mind was already clouded, when his thumb traced the contour of your lips, before leaning down to kiss you. You had shared countless kisses before but every time it felt exciting. Warm.

“I missed you,” you murmured with a sigh.

Ao’nung smiled knowingly, eyes sparkling with a twinkle of delight when he heard you say those words. It wasn’t long before he had you laid out on the warm sand then, pressing soft kisses to your skin, hands memorizing every curve of your body. You sighed with a mixture of pleasure and disappointment, when you had to interrupt him.

“I have to help father early in the morning,” you said, pulling him out of your intoxicating presence, “I need to go home earlier tonight.”

It wasn’t hard to miss the way Ao’nung’s expression shifted with a twinge of pain. Trying to hide it, he trapped you underneath him, resting his head on your chest. You chuckled in disbelief.

“Seriously?” you teased, nudging him.

“It’s too soon for you to leave,” he muttered, hugging you even tighter.

“Ao’nung,” you pressed with a firmer tone.

With a heavy sigh, he turned his face up to look at you, his chin digging uncomfortably in between your ribcage.

“Promise to stay longer tomorrow?”

"Only if you promise me something else in return," you said, smirking at him. He perked up in curiosity.

“Anything for you, yawne.”

“I want you to be nicer to your sister. She’s only rooting for you.”

Ao'nung's confusion deepened as he tried to recall when he had interacted with his sister in front of you. He was completely unaware of the fact that you had witnessed their small banter earlier in the day.

"What? How do you even know?" Ao'nung sat up, his brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"Well, because I watch you," you replied with a gentle smile.

"When?" he asked, the deep wrinkle between his eyebrows becoming more pronounced. You reached out to flatten it out with a soft touch.

"Whenever I can.”

But instead of finding your confession amusing or flattering, Ao’nung turned even more somber.

“You should be more careful with that,” he shook his head.

“But I am always careful,” you protested, “What’s wrong?”

"I know you're careful, yawne… but the elderly are very observant,” Ao'nung's expression grew more concerned as he spoke, “I've noticed them staring at me more than usual lately. Maybe we should keep away from each other for the next few days."

You pursed your lips together, realizing that your confession had inadvertently created a rift between you and Ao’nung. Even if you knew that his concerns were justified, it still left a sour taste in your mouth. But you didn't want to cause any trouble for him, so you only nodded in agreement.

“I’m sorry, you know this hurts me just as much,” he cupped your cheek gently, “We don’t want to get caught and ruin everything.”

“Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if someone knew,” you whispered, but as soon as the words left your lips, you regretted them.

“Who do you want to tell?” his eyes widened at you, and you hastily tried to backtrack.

“No one, nevermind.”

“Y/N, we had an agreement, remember?” Ao’nung reminded you gently, “As long as we don’t hide anything from each other, our love will only grow stronger."

Feeling like a child getting disciplined by their parent, you nodded reluctantly.

“Now tell me who you wanted to tell about us.”

“My mom,” you let out a long sigh, expecting his immediate rejection.

“Why her?” Ao’nung looked genuinely curious, instead of guilty for letting you down.

“Because she’s worried about me. It’s been two years since entering my adulthood, yet I have not chosen a mate. She doesn’t know that my heart is already taken, so she has been pushing me lately to begin courting… And I don't have a reason to reject her wishes."

Ao’nung felt silent for a moment and lowered his gaze to the sand, lost in thought. You watched him anxiously, already regretting bringing up the topic to him. Ao’nung felt uneasy by the thought of other men courting you and vying for your attention. And the idea of your family rooting for someone else but him was becoming almost too much to bear.

“Okay, let’s do it,” he finally said, looking up at you with a smile.

“You’d let me tell her?” you squealed in surprise, “I promise my mother will be happy for us!”

“That’s not what I meant, Y/N,” he shook his head.

“What did you mean then? You don’t want me to tell her?” you frowned, wondering if you had misinterpreted his words.

“No… what I mean is, I'm ready to tell everyone how much I love you,” Ao’nung leaned forward, resting his palms on your waist, “I don’t want to hide it anymore. I want the whole world to know.”

You stared at him in amazement, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden racing in your chest.

“Are you sure about this?” you asked, a hint of uncertainty creeping into your voice.

“Absolutely,” he confirmed with a genuine smile, “As long as you wish for it too.”

“I do,” you laughed, feeling lighter than you had in the past weeks.

“I love you,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss you.

The moment felt like an eternity as your lips molded together in a soft and gentle kiss. Eventually, you pulled away, a playful smile dancing on your lips.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“Well, first things first,” he said, grinning mischievously, “I’m going to ask your parents to set you up with the Olo'eyktan’s son."

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taglist (sorry babes, i know most of you wanted to be tagged for tsu'tey but i can't edit the taglist just for this one oneshot):

@bigdikzaddy @awriana @scarletrosesposts @abbersreads @mechformers @my-love-of-books @avatarbyamara @robin-the-enby @netemoon @minjix @nilrilie @jakes-babygirl @grierpilots @suntizme @jakesully-sbabygirl @lovedbychoii @live-laugh-neteyam @jakesullylongjuiscyshlong

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loaksky · 2 years ago

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— 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴

the lowdown — the one where you’re madly in love but ao’nung doesn’t want a thing to do with you.

the who — ao’nung x fem metkayina!reader

the word count — 2.1k

the tags & warnings — language, angst, ao’nung is an asshole when his friends are around, all around shitshow lol, unrequited love

the notes — based on this request! was really excited to write more for ao’nung ! this probably won’t have a part 2 because i like the idea of leaving the ending open, so it’s up to you guys if ao’nung and reader end up together aheh.

masterlist

You should’ve known better. Should’ve known better than to love harder than your fragile heart could take. Because now you’re hurting far more than you prepared for and the object of your affections is the cause of it all.

Ao’nung had a way of brushing you off, of putting as much distance as he could between the two of you. And you’d run regardless, cross as much of that stretch if it meant a chance at capturing his heart. You were shameless, persistent, sweet on the boy who wouldn’t even bat an eye at you.

Because at one point he had, when you two were little warriors growing into yourselves. But you can’t trace when things had soured, couldn’t understand why your heart grew fonder while your friendship fizzled like dissolving seafoam.

“Look what I found,” you’d coo excitedly during excursions you’d tag along to, remnants of a scrounged shell thrust triumphantly in the air.

You all hadn’t become teenagers yet, teetering over the fine line of figuring out what was blossoming in your heart.

His friends couldn’t be bothered to hide their laughter, jostling the leader’s son as you swam nearer to close the fragment in his palm. It was like you were giving him pieces of yourself, happily, willingly.

It took you too long, his friends would argue, to realize that he was letting the fractals fall to the seabed once you turned your attention to something else, to anything bigger and better to signify the beating of your heart to him.

When you had successfully completed your rite, had crawled from under your parents’ worried thumb, had started to become a woman, you pressed further.

“Wanna go for a swim?” you’d ask him right after eclipse and the waters would glow something fierce. Almost as if the ocean was cheering you on.

“Nope.” The answer’s always spoken without second thought, scoff following shortly after.

And you’d hear him from your family’s marui, splashing and laughing with his friends late into the evening, a dull ache in your chest at being rebuffed so easily when all you wanted was to be seen by him.

And it’d been like that for a while, chasing chasing chasing like you had the stamina of every little thing to grace the face of the moon, but he was always so out of reach.

“He’ll come around,” the elder who’d taken you under her wing had said one evening when the cracks were becoming too much.

“Hope so,” you whispered, watching as the stars twinkled something fierce against swathes of blue.

The final fissure was humiliating, made your cheeks burn unbearably.

As a young woman, ready to spend forever, you’d gathered what was left of your courage. Had taken the plunge, and with your heart in your hands, you told him.

“Since we were kids,” you say shakily. “It’s always been you.”

Frankly, you catch him off guard. He didn’t think you had it in you, didn’t think you’d be able to get over your little crush and finally say something, but here you both are, standing a little ways from where his friends are watching with razor sharp eyes and pricked ears.

Ao’nung doesn’t know what to say, watching as you fumble with something in your little bag.

You continue, his silence making way for bubbling words.

“You’re the only person I could ever see myself–”

The laugh he scoffs out sends his friends tittering in the distance and the first crack is deadly.

“Be realistic,” he says flatly.

You try to mask the hurt that eclipses your features, a semblance of hope dancing in your chest that maybe he’d tell you he’s playing a cruel joke. That of course he sees you, of course he’d be with you. That after all these years of you chasing him, wanting him, loving him, he’d learned to do the same.

“Did you really–” He can barely contain his amusement. “Did you really think I’d reciprocate?”

“I- I mean–” you suck in a deep breath, throat thick with tears as you fiddle with the tie you’d made for his hair, corded with fragments of buffed shells and sanded beads.

His eyes flit to your fidgeting and a protest dies on your tongue when he snatches it from your grasp and turns the dinky little thing over in his wide palms.

“What’s this?” he asks.

Fuck, you’re beyond embarrassed, breaths stuttering as the corner of your mouth twitches into a frown.

You didn’t think Ao’nung could be this heartless. Thought that he’d be curt, quick when it came to turning you down, but this feels like an eternity and you want to disintegrate.

“This supposed to be for me?” he snorts, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger like he can’t stand to hold it.

“Yeah,” you whisper brokenly, after a moment of silence. “Made it for you.”

“Yeah, no thanks,” he chuffs, and you’re scrambling to catch it before it hits the sand.

You look up at him from where you kneel, eyes blurring as he stares down at you in contempt, like he can’t stomach the thought of you being in love with him.

“You’d offer nothing to this village,” he says spitefully. “To any man. Don’t be ridiculous.”

He leaves you there, kicking up sand as he rejoins his howling circle of friends.

How pathetic, you hear them whisper. The olo’eyktan’s son, really?

When you’re alone, when you hear them splashing through the waters like they hadn’t just shattered your heart, you shred the tie.

“You are unkind, Ao’nung,” Tsireya tells him a few eclipses later.

His eyes swing from his catch, eyebrows furrowed.

“What are you on about?” he asks flatly.

“________,” she says simply, like he should know his atrocity.

And maybe he does. He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about that night since. He’d barely given you a second thought all these years, but when he and his friends had returned the way they left you, he’d seen the tattered remains of the ocean weeds nearby. Seen the beads and shells from the tie scattered among the loam. They’d been smeared red.

Had he been too harsh? Been too unforgiving under the gaze of his expectant friends? You’d always been easy to pick and prod, so soft and unrelenting in the way you pursued him. But that night, something had shifted. He’d felt it so, didn’t realize that others did too.

After a moment too long in his head, all he manages is a shrug.

“How would mother and father feel?” she asks, obviously far more annoyed with how flippant he is about the situation.

“Why would they care?” he bites. “She’s a nobody.”

The look his sister gives him makes his heart stutter and his stomach twist.

“She is kind,” Tsireya says softly. “She is compassionate, skilled, strong. Her lack of status means nothing to mother and father if she is capable of leading with heart.”

When he is silent, she continues.

“You let your friends cloud your judgment,” she says. “You know better than anyone what’s right.”

His throat bobs.

“Apologize, Ao’nung,” she says fiercely.

Ao’nung’s never had to search for you. You’d always been there, even when you were on the perimeter, waiting. But now it’s like you’re a mere thought that refuses to solidify.

“Have you–” He scratches the back of his head. “Have you seen ________?”

The elder you spent much of your time training under merely blinks at him. Tells him that she hasn’t seen much of you lately and he simply nods, bowing his head before taking his leave.

It frustrates him, makes him want to scrap this entire endeavor, but his sister’s words are etched into his mind and the bits and pieces of the tie you’d made him weighs heavy in a small pouch tied around the band of his loincloth.

He stumbles upon you purely by accident, near the edge of the reef. You’re all alone, a ball of weeds near as you weave quietly. It’s his chance, he realizes, just the two of you with no prying eyes and no pricked ears.

You nearly jump out of your skin when his fingers close over your shoulder.

Your expression softens and hardens in a matter of moments, standing so quickly you accidentally kick sand up into Ao’nung’s face. He splutters as he reaches blindly for you.

“Wait, wait,” he pleads. “Don’t go–”

“Don’t fucking touch me,” you hiss, lip trembling as you grab your materials quickly.

He shouldn’t be stunned. Shouldn’t be surprised that you’re upset, but he can’t help it. Not when you’ve been nothing but sweet to him, when all you’ve wanted was to be seen by him.

He murmurs your name quietly, blinking quickly as he knuckles away the particulates in his eyes.

“I don’t want to see you again, Ao’nung,” you hiss.

The words pierce him, brands him like hot iron when he sees clearly enough to make out the hurt painted all over your face.

He’s after you in his next breath.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes quickly. “I- I-”

You deflect his reaching hands, shaking your head vehemently when he moves to take another step towards you.

“I have loved you since before I even knew what love was,” you choke, unable to get a handle on all the emotions swarming beneath the surface. “All I have ever wanted was to love you and be loved by you, but all I receive in return is humiliation. Hurt.”

You wipe the tears away angrily and Ao’nung is frozen as he watches you unravel, bears witness to every sentiment that you’ve kept a tight grip on.

“So, no, Ao’nung, I’m sorry,” you spit, face aching as you shudder through your declaration. “I wish I could go back and tell myself that I was being fucking stupid for wanting you.”

He flinches and you take one last look at him, like you’re committing him to an infalliable memory.

Time lapses, no matter how long he yearns for it not to.

Nights bleed into days, into weeks, into months, and you aren’t letting up. The taste of his own medicine is bitter, deserved, when he seeks you out at every turn and all you do is widen the gap.

His agony is silent, consuming as he watches you grow from afar, sees what a wonderful woman you’ve become. Not that you hadn’t been before, but now he beholds you in all your glory and he is gutted.

You are every bit the definition of incredible, makes something visceral claw at him every passing moment both near and far. Because you’re healing, moving past such an awful suffering being bound to Ao’nung by what was once your desperate heart.

“This is your own doing,” Tsireya tells him one night, when the sting burns especially so.

He can’t help but watch you across the fire, the way you smile at one of your friends gently. Can’t even bring himself to retort something snarky to his younger sister.

Your eyes meet his from across the way, smile leaving your lips when you find his gaze already on you, and his heart sinks.

Your parents have arranged your union with someone else, he hears.

“Pity the poor soul,” one of his friends scoff when the whispers finally reach his circle. “Forever with her sounds like–”

Ao’nung doesn’t know why, but it feels so right with his fist coated in his friend’s blood. Something like sick satisfaction curling through his veins when he clutches his nose in horror and asks what the fuck is wrong with him.

He knows he doesn’t deserve it, your time, but he’s mapped the course to your family’s marui well enough and he’s rushing down the woven path.

Your suitor looks happy, triumphant, as he stands before you and your family.

It should be me, is the only thought that crosses his brain as he sees the way you shift in stance, the smile not quite reaching your eyes. And you clock him before he can draw nearer, eyes glazing over with tears before you let out a deep sigh.

“Ao’nung,” your parents greet cordially, clearly unaware of the chaos brewing between the two of you the past few months.

“Don’t be rude, Maite, say hello,” your mother prods after a moment of awkward silence.

You bite the inside of your lip, toes curling as you give Ao’nung a curt nod.

“To what do we owe the pleasure?” your father asks, turning all of the attention over to the olo’eyktan’s son.

It’s his last shot at the two of you, at being able to make you his. His friends weren’t forever, but you were.

His shoulders square and he steels his nerves, eyes never leaving yours as he speaks.

“I’ve–” He takes a shuddering breath. “I’ve come to ask for her hand.”

taglist; @nao-cchi , @jkiminpark , @philiasoul @amart-e , @s-u-t , @netesbby , @tayswiftlovebot , @dumb-fawkin-bitch , @neteyamo , @fanboyluvr , @mazemymirror , @theycallmesia , @girlpostingsposts, @athenachu , @hiya-itsamber , @morks-watermelon , @sanfransolomitatm , @lovedbychoi

#ao'nung #ao'nung x reader #ao'nung imagine #ao'nung fic #avatar #avatar way of water #avatar the movie #avatar the way of water #atwow

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tiredmamaissy · 2 years ago

Text

Behind the Façade

🔞 minors, do not interact 🔞

Characters: Ao’nung (20) x Fem Metkayina Reader y/n (20)

Warnings: NSFW, smut, rut cycle, no foreplay, mostly sub ao’nung, mostly dom reader, slight power struggle, creampie/breeding kink, knotting, smidge of fluff, spitting mouth (kinda), awkward moment during sex, profanity

Word Count: 2.6k

Requested: Yes || No

Author’s Note: As requested. Bestie, this is for you @jiafeimagic

Synopsis: Ao’nung unexpectedly goes into rut in the middle of the night. You calm your mate. Simple dimple. Enjoy

Intro:

You and Ao’nung have been mated since the sully family sought uturu in your village. He likes to put on a brave face – a façade that he’s this big, bad bully, when really he’s softer than the flesh between your legs. His rut is more like a heat, similar to what you experience monthly - lasting for 3 days. You allow him to keep up his façade in public, being his little bitch that follows his every order. But behind closed doors, he’s yours to do whatever you want with.

----

“Y/n.” Ao’nung pants.

“Hmm?” You croak, trying to open your eyes.

All you can see is the luminescence of your own skin. Feeling around with your hand, you find that the space next to you in the bed is empty. You sit up and rub your eyes, hoping to figure out where your mate’s voice is coming from.

“Y/n.” He repeats, this time in a more frantic manner.

“What is it? you ask, worried that something is wrong with him. “Where are you?”

You squint your eyes, and scan the marui pod, looking for your mate. Two heavy lidded, purple eyes float in the corner of your room, watching you intently. They're dazed and full of lust. A sinking sensation plagues your stomach when you realize what’s happening.

Ao’nung’s rut came early.

You squint your eyes, trying to make out the figure in front of you. He's sitting in the corner, with his knees to his chest and his head in his hands.

“Sorry to wake you.” He grits his teeth. “I just... I can’t take it anymore.” He huffs, dropping his head between his knees.

You get out of bed and approach him slowly. “It’s alright, I know how intense your ruts are, my love.” You hum, kneeling to his level to stroke the length of his queue. “You should have woken me earlier.”

He’s trembling, shaking his head from side to side in his knees and panting heavily – he must have been enduring this all night long. Leaning into your touch, he rubs his face into your bosom, closing his eyes and inhaling your scent. You shush him, rubbing circles into his back.

“Shh. Shh, baby boy. You’ll be alright, I’m here now.” You reassure him, laying his legs flat on the floor as you mount him.

His legs are now between your knees as you tower over him, shortening the distance between your hot bodies.

“I want this.” Ao’nung whines, cupping the soft flesh between your legs. “...please.” He whimpers, looking up at you through the dip of your breasts, with inebriated, glowing eyes - begging for some relief.

“How could I ever say no to these eyes?” You whisper, moving his hands to your waist.

Using a single finger to lift his chin, you kiss him fervently, swirling your tongue around his. You shuffle even closer to him, lowering your pelvis onto his crotch – sticky from his own slick. He’s already rock-hard, writhing his pelvis into the softness between your thighs. You share each other’s hot breaths between wet kisses as your hands explore every inch of your bodies.

He’s whimpering quietly into your mouth, succumbing to the urges of his rut, trying to fuck you through your loincloth. His movements are impatient – full of desperation and desire for his mate. Unable to form a coherent thought, he allows his body to speak to you, begging to be inside of you. His hands slide down to your hips, gripping it tightly, using it as leverage to grind even harder against you.

You move your sloppy kisses down his face, planting bruise-like marks on his jawline and neck. You linger there, filling your lungs with his potent pheromones, intoxicating your body with his scent. His pheromones remind you of the salty ocean, mixed with the scent of the sap of a mangrove. You know that you wouldn’t be able to satiate him if you weren’t high, too – his rut is just too intense for that.

“Tsheylu, Ao’nung.” You mumble into his neck, moving your hand to the base of his queue.

His movements are eager, tugging at your queue to bring it closer to his. It sends small shocks down your spine as he makes the bond eagerly. In an instant, the heat and fogginess of his rut transfers to you, putting you in a trance, too. Your hips pick up speed, whining and grinding against his member whilst he kisses your shoulders.

“...please, y/n.” He lets out a lengthy mewl, squeezing his eyes shut. “...f-fuck me.”

His eyes fly open, glossy and glowing in the dim light. You witness his pupils morph into slits. He’s now at the height of it, and if you didn’t give it to him soon – he would just take it for himself. This part of his rut always frightened you a bit, he would go from begging on his knees to forcefully-taking-what’s-his in a split second. You slip the thin cloth covering your breasts over your head, and fiddle with the knot of your loincloth with trembling fingers.

“Hurry. I need you now.” He grunts urgently, untying his own loincloth in a hurry.

“I’m trying, I’m trying” you pant, struggling with the knot due to the darkness of the room.

In frustration, Ao’nung rips your loincloth down the middle and throws it aside. He’s fighting with himself, trying his hardest to be gentle with you, but he just wants to shove his knot inside of you already. He’s rubbing his veiny cock against your sticky cunt, getting off from the feeling of your clit rolling against his tip.

“Stretching. Do you need it?” he mumbles, as his fingers burrow their way between your hips, frantically searching for your hole.

“No.” You yank his hand out by his wrist.

“What I need is...” you line up his tip with your slippery hole, “...this huge cock.” You moan loudly in his ear as you slowly slide his entire length inside of you.

He lets loose a lengthy, guttural groan, finally getting the attention his cock has been begging for. He softens under your touch, burying his face into your chest, hiding his expression from you as he hums into your breasts. Gripping him by the neck, you push him away, and stare at his erotic expression.

“I like seeing your face when I ride, understood?” You purr.

Your taken aback when you realize why he hid his face. You can feel his cock throbbing in your cunt, already emptying it’s seed inside you. He’s gritting his teeth, trying to bite back his lewd noises as he rocks into you, ensuring that your womb gets every drop of his sticky cum. The pure bliss – the ecstasy that he’s feeling from the gummy, hot walls that clench around his cock is unbearable.

“Are you cumming? Already?" You ask quickly, trying to hold back your laugh.

"All from me putting it in? Fucking pathetic.” You spit, watching his face contort from overstimulation as you start moving your hips.

“Haah.. ah... Fuck.” He lets out choked pants, glaring at you through his slits. His cheeks redden even more, he's clearly embarrassed by his quick release. He buries his face back into your breasts.

“I’m sorry, you just feel so fucking good.” He huffs, pushing himself even deeper into you, ensuring his cum makes its way into your womb.

“Shit. Still going? Was that not enough for you?" You grab a fist full of hair at the back of his head and pull him from your chest, looking directly into his eyes.

"Fuck... trying to drill yourself into my womb like that.” You drop your gaze to your sticky pelvises.

“Such a pitiful sight...” You moan, looking back up into his drunk, pleading eyes. “Now, beg.” You whine your hips on him ever so slightly, massaging his cockhead with your cervix.

He clenches his jaw and swallows his spit. “Please.” He growls begrudgingly.

You start lifting your hips off him. “Oh? That didn’t sound very genuine. I see I am not needed anymore.”

“Wait. Fuck. P-please y/n.” he grabs your hips, pulling them back down onto his cock. “Please... I need you. I can’t live without you. Please, I can’t take this anymore.” He sobs, looking up at you with watery eyes.

A grin plasters your face as you start riding his cock, firmly gripping his throat for support.

“I love when you listen to me.” You grind onto his cock, already feeling a little bulge growing at the base of it. “Whoa... I can feel your knot already, Ao’nung.” You whisper, feeling your face heat up.

You glance at him to see that his eyes are closed – face contorted from how good your pussy feels around his cock. He really looks like he might cum inside of you again, all from just a few thrusts of your hips.

“Woman, you feel too good.” He groans, dipping his head back.

“I know. I know, baby boy.” You moan, feeling his tip poking against your sweet spot. “You feel good too... I can feel you heating up inside of me. Gonna cum for me again?” You chuckle under your breath.

Ao’nung’s body is taking control, thrusting his hips upwards as they chase the warmth of the slick that coats the walls of your cunt. He’s whimpering from the overstimulation – but he can’t stop rutting into you. His sweet, little moans are becoming louder in your ears as he buries his face into your shoulder. You can feel his cock jumping inside you, ready to burst and fill you to the brim with his seed.

“Talk to me, Ao’nung. What do you want?” you breathe, picking up speed.

“Haa.. ah. I want... Ngh – I want to get you pregnant...” he whines, looking back up into your eyes. “Please... bear my child, y/n...” his head slumps forward, back into your chest. “Please...” his pleads are muffled from the plump flesh of your breasts. “...I’ll do anything”

“Good boy.” You moan, chasing your own climax now.

“Ugh... it is coming, y/n. L-let me cum inside of you... Please.” he whines loudly, manhandling your hips.

Through the bond, you can feel the heat pooling in his chest as he wills himself not to cum until you give him permission. Not only that, but you can feel his enormous, veiny knot poking at your entrance, begging to rip you into two. Knowing that this is only the beginning of his 3-day-long rut, you want to start slow – so not to tire yourself out.

“No knotting yet, my love.” You pant, trying to lift your hips off him. He drives his fingernails into your hips and shoves you back down onto his knot. “Fuck. Control yourself, Ao’nung.” You whimper, feeling it stretch you out.

“Please...my love.” he begs.

He’s pushing his cock even deeper into you, trying to break through the walls that prevent his knot from popping inside of you. He’s completely consumed by his urges to turn you into a vessel to carry the heir to Olo’eyktan – to carry his son. You see his thoughts, as he imagines you heavily pregnant with his child. Soon, you feel this urge too, wanting to be his little breeding bitch.

“Oh, fuck it.” You huff, going over the edge from the mere image flashing through your head. “Fill me up, Ao’nung. Give me your fat knot.”

He rams his knot into you in one quick thrust, forcefully holding you down onto his pelvis as he cums deep inside you yet again. His tip is drilling through your cervix, directly into your womb – spurting thick ropes of his hot seed inside of you. It sends you over the edge, finally allowing yourself to release your own orgasm, pulsing around his cock as your walls milk him dry.

You slump into your mate, who’s finally feeling some sort of relief. You look down into his face as the room is becoming brighter from the suns emergence, and see that his heavy lids are finally closing – covering his dark blue eyes. He rocks into you every so often, putting you into a state of comatose, too. You’re both breathing heavily, trying to catch your breath and calm down from your high.

Only an hour passes until he’s tugging at your entrance, trying to pull his knot out of you – pinching himself and you in the process. This is what you didn’t want from the get-go, but it’s too late now and his rut has only just started. He’s nipping at your neck, tracing your jugular with his pointed fangs, silently asking to mark his mate. You too are deep in the thick of his pheromones, feeling woozy and jaded.

“Yes... do it, ma’ nung.” You hum, feeling the bite of his sharp teeth, piercing your skin as he marks you as his.

His urges take the forefront, as he thrusts in and out of you causing his partially deflated knot to pop in and out of you. This continues for the rest of the day, in the same position. You’re completely numb now, unsure of how many times he’s knotted you, as your abused hole is just dripping with his cum.

“Ao’nung...” you croak, trying to get off him for the fifth time. “I’m hungry... and thirsty.”

“Mmnn... come” he kisses you sloppily, spitting in your mouth as a poor attempt at quenching your thirst. “...better?” he moans, still deep in a trance.

“No... skxwang. I need real water.” you groan, pushing him off you and crawling away.

He pounces on you, knocking you on your stomach as he mounts you again. He slides himself inside of you and starts bucking his hips, desperate to breed you once more - despite the extreme overstimulation. Both of you were fucked out raw, but he couldn’t help it – he couldn’t stop himself. You lay there and take it, just grateful to finally be in a new position.

----

You open your eyes to see a bright room. The sun was out and shining vibrantly. The dead weight on top of you makes you winded, knocking all the air out of your lungs. You look behind you to see Ao’nung slumped over your shoulder, sleeping soundly. You groan from the soreness, reaching down to your pelvis to feel if he’s still inside of you.

The answer is simple – yes. He is. You feel a little more, to find that his knot has finally gone down enough to pull him out of you. You shove him off your back, and crawl towards the bucket of water in the corner of the pod – breaking tsaheylu.

Gulping loudly, you chug the water, quenching your extreme thirst at last. You pull away and finally take a deep breath, looking back at your mate. You're met with his delirious gaze. You sympathize with him, feeling awful that it took three full days of this to calm down.

“Oh, baby boy.” You mumble, shuffling back over to him with a cup of water. You stroke his hair – wet from sweat. “It’s over now.” You pull his limp body into your lap, supporting his head with your breast.

“Drink.” He laps up the water greedily, not realizing how thirsty he was until it wet his dry lips.

“Y/n. I love you. Only you truly see me.” He stares longingly at you, with his light blue, teary eyes.

“I love you, too ma’ nung.” You lean down to kiss his wet lips.

He pulls away from you, panting heavily. “No. I mean it. I will stay by your side for the rest of my life.”

You smile at him, feeling the warmth in your heart, and kiss him gently.

----

After cleaning, feeding and watering one another you both walk out of your marui pod to be met with the bewildered eyes of no one other than Lo’ak, Neteyam and Roxto. Ao’nung slips back into his usual self, walking towards the na’vi with an aggressive demeanor. You follow closely behind him, with your eyes locked onto your feet. It was obvious that you two were loud enough for them to hear you.

“What is wrong with you freaks?” Ao’nung spits, puffing out his chest.

Lo’ak laughs, mocking Ao’nung. “Oooh, y/n. ‘only you truly see me’.”

“Lo’ak! Come on brother. I thought the ‘I will stay by your side for the rest of -” Neteyam taunts, being cut off by Ao’nung shoving him in the chest. Roxto tries to keep his smile to himself, finding the whole ordeal amusing.

“Agh.” Ao’nung spit, rolling his eyes before turning around and walking away.

Tags:@jakexneytiri @sweethoneycn @deadgirl02 @keijis-wifey @pandorxx @swiftielivvie @teyamfangirl @bl-lover-yaoi @sooebear @vanillawhale @bxnnywriting @athenachu @trashboat-the-raccoon @avaixe @itssiaaax @qweq-6802 @rodeosayu @girlpostingsposts @jakesullysbabygirl @rinloversworld @agelsully @zetey @boooogieman @jiafeimagic @eywascall @yawneneteyam @weirdomcu @pandxrastars @eichenhouseproperty @camgod78 @kibiscribbles @bedofpearls @kurtsworld096 @audrinawf @otukirey @deexdeez @c78r @bby-bo @neteyamsmate4life @wheniseeyouigogonutz @sullymenrhot @jakescumdump

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kukuma-kit · 2 years ago

Text

Club Night

Ao’nung

┯━━━━━━━━━━ ●●● ━━━━━━━━━━┯

☆: * parings: human!Ao'nung x curvy! human!reader ☆: * warnings: AGED UP! 22 characters, maybe oc Ao'nung?, attempted proofread, cursing, mentions of Ao'nung and readers body, maybe some flirting? not rlly fluff or angst ☆: * Na'vi glossary: skxáwng- idiot ☆: * word count: 5,971 ☆: * Note(s): I was just experimenting with this and how tumblr works, feedback would be really helpful! I haven't wrote in a while but I've been wanting to write and I use to, so this'll be my first one. Not really proud of it but we'll see:) credit to the person who drew Ao'nung as a human! by @CrazyTom0712 on twitter!

┷━━━━━━━━━━ ●●● ━━━━━━━━━━┷ ✧* Summary: Having to be stood up and accompanied by the rain isn't exactly an ideal introduction of meeting a new possible friend..

The sound of raindrops falling on a quiet night would have been a soothing and peaceful experience, if it weren't for the fact that you had just left a noisy strip club and were stood up by a blind date set up by a friend. Frustrated and grumpy, you shouted into the empty sky, "As nice as it would be to enjoy the rain right now, now's not the time!!" You knew deep down that the guy wasn't going to show up, but you were still angry at the wasted effort and the terrible weather conditions that made it impossible to get a cab or any other transportation.

You cursed yourself for not checking the the hours of transportation properly before leaving, as you quickly pulled out a spare jacket from your bag, thanking yourself for checking the weather. The thin material of your dress was no match for the cold rain, and you rushed to find a chair to sit on one of the bar's patios. As you sat there shivering, you couldn't help but think of the friend who had dressed you in the black dress that didn't provide any warmth, putting the jacket you brought around your shoulders. While skin tight clothing was never really your thing, your friend convinced you to slip into a black dress that reached down to your mid-calf. The dress had a subtle slit on the side that reached right below your panty line and hugged your curvy hips. Although the fabric was stretchy, it still felt snug in all the right places. The thin material was perfect for your sensitive body heat, and you appreciated how it was loose enough to allow for easy movement. Despite all of this, you still cursed 'Otxä for forcing you into this dress and for having the nerve to dress you!

As you sat there lost in thought, the door to the patio opened and out walked a tall, muscular man with a tanned complexion and a thick accent that immediately caught your attention. He let out a sigh of relief and stretched his broad shoulders, revealing the outline of his muscles underneath his shirt. Ao'nung wasn't fond of his co-workers and their silly antics, he wanted some space so his headache would go away.

"ah..finally, some fresh fucking air" You couldn't help but notice the way his accent slipped off his tongue and melted into his words, making you feel a little more alive and a lot more turned on. Thighs clenching instinctively to put some sort of pressure on the throbbing that happened in between your legs, you pull out your phone to distract yourself from the man. The sound of your sigh fills the air as you look at your unanswered messages, left on delivered. Making said man avert his eyes to your screen, not realizing someone else was there with him. The impatience within you grows and you stand up, almost colliding with the man.(why he so close?) You feel his hands grip your biceps, causing your jacket to fall as your phone slides off to the side. As you stare up into his ash-blue eyes, you gulp, taken aback by his sudden rudeness. "Do you not look where you are going?" he huffs at you. You snap out of your daze and remove yourself from his grip, irritated by his behavior. Furrowing your brows, you create a crease in between which he can't help but notice.

"Well, excuse you. You were the one near me, why are you even that close?" you cross your arms underneath your breasts, making them pop out as you lean on one side of your leg, your hip poking out as you stare at him. He's surprised by your response; no one has ever spoken back to him like that before. You were also very pretty, even gorgeous, causing him to feel flustered and intimidated. His eyes scan over your figure, lingering on certain parts for a few seconds. "R-right, are you alright?" he asks, briefly regaining his composure. You chuckle before sitting down at the nearest table, facing him. He picks up your phone and jacket, walking over to you and setting them on the table.

"You aren't the best with words, huh?" you say, observing him as he gruffs. He feels bad about getting your jacket wet and sees you shivering, unable to resist a glance at your breasts as they pop out more. "Uh- yeah, something like that," he stammers, handing you his blazer. You inspect it, leaving him speechless before he blurts out, "It's like it's dirty! Why're you- just put it on or give it back, woman!" You laugh and put on the blazer, sighing at the warmth it provides. "I was only kidding. Thank you…uhh?" you trail off, realizing you don't know his name. Ao’nung, a member of the Metkayina clan, leans on the table as he introduces himself. You're left wondering about his clan, but before you can speak, you accidentally say out loud, "Metkayina..? As in one of the clans from Pandora, the reef people?". Ao’nung confirms your suspicion, grinning at your knowledge and causing his face to glow in the moonlight. As you continue to chat, you can't help but notice his earrings reflecting the moon, giving him an almost ethereal glow. When you inadvertently stare, Ao’nung asks why, and you quickly come up with a silly excuse. "why're you looking at me like that, woman?" "well that's one way to address me, fishface. besides no one's looking at you with that attitude" you huff out in annoyance at his rudeness. Taken aback he quickly defends himself before you burst out in laughter, Ao'nung wasn't having it as he yells at you. You both engage in some good-natured teasing, sharing laughs and quick insults that lead to a competition. As the night grows late, he offers to give you a ride home. Seeing that he was your only way of transportation, you accepted. The ride was surprisingly comfortable, and you both enjoy chatting and getting to know each other. You end up exchanging numbers with the promise to hang out again soon. As you step out of the car, he warns you not to wear certain clothes in a club where guys might stare at you, but you tease him about having a "fishface". You say goodbye and head inside, collapsing on the sofa and falling asleep with a smile on your face.

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torukmaktoskxawng · 2 years ago

Text

'anla - part three

Series Masterlist

Summary: A race against time and the problem with having a large family.

Pairing: Ao'nung/Fem!Na'vi!Sully Reader

Warnings: Mature language, time skips, strict parents, blood/gore, HEAVY angst, death, canon typical violence, canon compliance, slow burn, etc.

Word Count: 5k+

Tag: #'anla ao'nung fic

Na'vi Words: tulkun - whale like animal, ilu - dolphin/plesiosaur like animal, ikran - Mountain Banshee, kuru - queue braid, tanhì - bioluminescent freckle, tsurak - skimwing, ionar - riding visor, tsaheylu - bond, matxe'lan - my heart

posted on ao3

Taglist (red indicates "could not tag"): @aonungmyaddiction @lv9su @aisselasstuff @yourusername1 @amortencjja @king-julian6201 @gg-trini @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @mikeyswifie

A/N: I'm only tagging those who specifically asked to be tagged as of rn. If you don't see your user in the taglist and you want to be added, please lemme know. Also, please reread part two before reading this. Thank you!

It was a dream turned into a nightmare. For a split second, Y/n wanted to drag Ao'nung by the hand and demand he takes her back to the Spirit Tree if it meant she could have one more minute of peace. The intrusive thought, however, immediately vanished when the Omatikaya girl finds herself gently holding a crying Tsireya while the entire village becomes an uproar of war cries all around them. Ronal is demanding justice for the murder of her Spirit Sister and calf, her eyes swimming with grief and anger as she mentioned the ones responsible for this crime.

The Sky People were here.

Y/n looks around, spotting her family among the crowd. In his hands, Neteyam held a long and red metal object, equipped with a sharp tip and light. Beside him, Jake is trying to calm the people, begging them to stop and think. Neytiri silently watches, a haunted look of recognition in her eyes as if she had seen all of this before. Kiri held onto her mother's shoulder as a comfort for both of them and Lo'ak, alone, stood small and quiet among the crowd while Tuk is nowhere to be found.

Her father continued to plead with the Metkayina people while Y/n drowned his voice out. She, too, had heard it all before and instead focused more on Tsireya, the reef girl shaking in fear, her innocence in question aside from what the villagers decided to do. Kiri had vanished from the crowd, likely off to find Tuk with danger so close to their new home, making a sickly feeling form in Y/n's stomach.

It only worsened when Jake took the red object, the tracker, from Neteyam's hands and held it out to the crowd, hushing them as he spoke, "You tell the tulkun that if they're hit with this, they're marked for death. And call for me, I'll silence it. Saving their lives, that's all that matters. Right? Saving your family."

Tonowari and Ronal exchange a silent conversation with their eyes alone, before turning to their people, "Tell the tulkun."

"Go. Go!"

The Metkayina scatter, and through the chaos, Tsireya turned to Y/n, eyes widening in a horrifying realization, "Lo'ak--"

"I know," determination fills Y/n's lungs as she grabbed Tsireya's arm and pulled her along, "Let's go."

The girls sprinted toward the docks, asking around for their friends as they went. Eventually, they spot two teenage boys. Not the ones Y/n was particularly looking for, but ones that Tsireya reached for in her panic, "Ao'nung, Rotxo, have you seen Lo'ak?"

"No." Rotxo paused, looking between the two girls, "What is going on?"

Y/n's walk begins to pick up, a scowl permanent on her face, "Take a guess."

She takes off down the walkways, heading toward the hut holding the ilu harnesses, not caring if the others followed her or not. Tsireya and Ao'nung take off after her with Rotxo in tow, all four of the teenagers making their way to the edge of the village. Y/n is the first one there and the first one to spot both of her brothers arguing until they spotted her.

"Lo'ak! 'Teyam!" She called out.

Lo'ak's head whipped around to spot her, Neteyam a little slower to react as Lo'ak begins to back away, pulling his arm out of his big brother's hold, "Get off me--"

Tsireya and the others catch up to Y/n and try to reach out, "Lo'ak!"

"Lo'ak!"

"Come back!"

He doesn't answer the reef girl or his brother and dives into the water below without another word, quickly disappearing into the deep with his ilu. Neteyam turned to the other teens, thumping Ao'nung's chest as he passed him, "Come on! He's going to Payakan!"

Neteyam claps his hands and makes various different calls to summon a ride of his own. The others call for nearby ilu, expertly diving into the water as they all follow suit, in sync and in formation like they have done in recent hunting parties. The ilu fly through the water, jumping out and back in through the waves, picking up speed and desperate to get to Lo'ak as he pushes through far ahead of them.

"Lo'ak! Come back!" Tsireya called up to him in between jumping up through the water before diving back down.

At one point, Kiri with Little Tuk had joined in the race as well, following after their friends and their siblings, confused by the urgency. Soon enough, the group was beyond the reef, close to Three Brothers Rocks when Lo'ak had eventually slowed his ilu, calling out for his Spirit Brother. Payakan had responded, though his calls were not one of joy or greeting. The poor tulkun sounded as though he was in pain. When Lo'ak asked what was wrong, the bull turned until the Na'vi boy noticed the bright red tracker piercing his flesh.

"Shit!" Lo'ak exclaimed while jumping onto Payakan's fin and then climbing onto his back, signing to his Spirit Brother to stay calm.

The rest of the group had caught up to Lo'ak and immediately clocked the situation, all eyes turning when they heard the sound of rotor blades. A demon ship was slowly coming out of hiding from behind the large rock cliffs peeking out of the sea, drifting over to the children and tulkun menacingly. Taking action, Neteyam and Y/n hop off their ilu and climb onto Payakan's back, lifting Tsireya and Ao'nung out of the water to help Lo'ak pull the tracker out of the injured tulkun. Everyone tried pushing and pulling the pinger out, together, with all their might as Lo'ak quickly called in their location to Jake. Neteyam eventually got an idea and used a rope to latch onto the saddle of his ilu, throwing the other end to Ao'nung after shouting his name so the reef boy could tie it to the embedded tracker.

Ao'nung successfully knots the rope around the red pinger, encouraging Neteyam to pull, "Go, go, go!"

"Pull! Now!" Neteyam demands as he orders his ilu to swim, the strain of the rope tightening as the ilu struggles with all its might, flapping its fins in the water.

"Everybody! Together!"

"Pull!"

Rotxo and Lo'ak pull at the very end of the tracker, while Ao'nung tries pulling at the rope now attached to it. Tsireya tries pushing it out with her foot while Y/n takes both hands and grips tightly onto the base of the needle that stuck out of Payakan's flesh, pulling that with all her might.

"Pull! Harder!"

"Pull!"

Y/n was the first to feel the tracker loosen and eventually, the pinger releases its grip on Payakan and the force of the rope threw all the teenagers into the water, each of them shouting in surprise as they splash into the sea.

"It's out! Kiri! It's out!"

"Go. Tuk, go!"

"Go! Everybody!"

"Go on, get out of here!"

They don't take time to revel in their small victory. Panicked on borrowed time, the kids immediately swim to their mounts and round each other up. Lo'ak instructs Payakan to dive and get as far away as possible while the others were screaming to one another to hurry up, the demon ship nearly upon them.

Chaos erupted after that. The children were forced to split up after Neteyam took the tracker to draw the Sky People away from the others. Depth charges were tossed into the water, exploding on impact and confusing the children, rattling their teeth and ringing their ears. Neteyam had a couple of close calls but was at least able to stay attached to his ilu as he ditched the tracker, letting it sink to the bottom of the reef. By the time he had lost the Sky People, he looked around and realized that he had been completely separated from his siblings.

Meanwhile, the other Sully children and the Metkayina trio were hiding underwater with their ilu among a forest of gigantic seaweed as they were being pursued by the Sky People's crab suits and submersibles. Weaving through the kelp and trying to keep a safe distance, the children urge their mounts to swim away, the sweet creatures clicking to one another in distress.

At one point, Y/n loses sight of half of the group as she maneuvers her way through a thicket of seaweed while being pursued by a crab suit, long claws stretching out to try and grab her. She dodges and weaves expertly, her thighs clenching tightly around the saddle of her ilu with the muscle memory of an ikran rider. Her stomach clenches once and Y/n noted that she would need air soon after hiding down here and holding her breath for so long. She needed to lose the demon crab, the others were no longer her priority until she can shake her pursuer. Out of the corner of her eye, Y/n caught sight of another demon crab searching through the seaweed, unbeknownst to her presence. Thinking fast, she sharply turns her ilu and frantically swims over, the crab that had been chasing her still right on her tail. With speed and the element of surprise, Y/n ambushed the unsuspecting crab suit and swiftly swims over it, causing both crabs to crash into one another in pursuit of her. Y/n beams smugly while looking over her shoulder, happily watching the way the machines struggled and quickly forget about her before slowing her swim, looking around in search of the others.

She catches sight of Kiri and turns toward the direction she spotted her sister, ordering her ilu to leave after disconnecting her queue braid. Y/n followed Kiri after she noticed Rotxo and Ao'nung with her. The three others caught sight of Y/n and even look relieved, waving her over and signing for her to follow them for air. Ao'nung takes the lead, swimming ahead, without an ilu, as he finds an underwater pod, swimming up into the center of the blooming flower for a pocket of air. Rotxo has the Omatikaya girls swim ahead of him, letting them swim up after Ao'nung, who grabs Kiri's arm first to bring her up for air, then Y/n. All four teens gather snugly together in that small pocket of air, taking their breaths while Kiri looked around frantically.

"Where is Tuk? Did you see her?"

Y/n's eyes widen, "You mean she's not with you?"

"She had fallen off, but I don't think the Sky People noticed. They were too busy with us."

"I think we lost them," Ao'nung stated.

"What do we do?" Rotxo asked.

Kiri's pupils shrunk and grew rapidly through her panic, "We can't stay here. We gotta find the others. Any of you see Lo'ak and Tsireya?"

"No. It all happened so fast--"

"We find Tuk first," Y/n exclaims, ears pinned back and staring them all down with authority, "She's all alone, then we find the others."

"What about Mom and Dad?" Kiri questioned her older sister.

"Lo'ak called it in. They're on their way, likely with an army. 'Teyam drove the demon ship away, leaving us with whatever is left of their subs," her face suddenly splits with a twinkling, uplifting grin, "I already damaged two. You guys need to catch up."

Kiri rolled her eyes but let out a huff of air resembling a short bout of laughter, her adrenaline appreciating the small bit of humor Y/n tried to break through the tension. Looking around at the other three, Y/n raised her eyebrows, "We ready?"

Ao'nung nodded then turned to his friend, "Rotxo, you go first. I'll stay in the back, in case we need to grab them and swim out of there fast."

Kiri and Y/n exchange a look but say nothing, both internally shocked that Ao'nung didn't take the time to make a 'bad divers' comment while Rotxo just nods, "Right."

He takes a long, practiced breath and sinks back down into the water. Y/n expands her stomach as she takes a deep breath and holds it, following Rotxo as her arms and legs push and pull her through the water. Kiri is not far behind and Ao'nung follows suit, the teenagers carefully looking around, cautious for signs of danger. Rotxo led them all back the way they came in search of Tuk, but the longer they swam, the more things looked unfamiliar. He had turned to swim backward while signing to the others following closely behind him, 'We should have seen her by now.'

Y/n briefly grabs Kiri's shoulder before signing, 'No Sky People either. Maybe we should--'

Throat grunts echo behind her, Y/n's ears perking up at the sound as she spins around. Ao'nung was frantically clicking to grab their attention, pushing Kiri forward as he quickly motions, 'Demon!'

A small submersible appears from behind the large seaweed, bright searchlights blinding the Na'vi children as it spots them. Ao'nung continues to shove the girls forward until they pick up enough energy to swim away, trying to lose the sub around a large coral reef at the edge of the kelp forest. They swim close to the wall of the reef, all the while the sub maintained speed. In her determination to get away, Y/n lost sight of Kiri for a moment only to realize too late that her adopted sister had hung back. Y/n mewls deep in her throat as a way of screaming a warning, stopping and trying to turn around to go back for Kiri, but Ao'nung was suddenly there and he was using his powerful legs and tail to push Y/n in the opposite direction. Y/n tries to struggle but remembered to slow her heartbeat when she realized her thrashing was draining her of oxygen. Looking around for Kiri, all three turned back and notice the girl had attached her kuru braid to a nearby daisy anemone, watching the large plant-like sea creature move and grow out its long tentacle entrapments at her command.

The submersible arrives and is unaware of the trap until Kiri uses both of her arms' movements to mimic a push as if she was forcing someone off of her. The command is clear as the anemone reaches out, grabbing hold of the sub and completely encasing it with its tentacles. Kiri then uses one arm to mimic smashing something to the side of her, then the anemone pulls the sub in, smashing it against the side of the reef, squeezing the sub until the glass shatters and collapses within itself. When the sky demons within the sub try escaping out the hatch, Kiri makes a motion mimicking the way she would squeeze fruit for a fun and juicy treat as a child, only she made this motion with a menacing glare. The tentacles completely surround the Sky People, swallowing them whole and squeezing them to death. Kiri lowers her arms, satisfied even as her tanhì flickers up and down her entire body.

Ao'nung and Rotxo look at each other, amazed, confused, and a little freaked out. Y/n was used to her sister's... strange abilities and instead tried focusing on holding her breath. She had been underwater for far too long. Ao'nung and Rotxo were just fine and Kiri was strangely accustomed to holding her breath just as long as a Metkayina could, even without training, leaving Y/n to be the only one who was starting to struggle. Her lungs and stomach clenched and constrict, begging for air. Y/n's hands rise to her mouth and nose, forcing them to stay closed as she tries not to panic and keep her heart steady. Black spots started to dot her vision when she looked up to the surface, catching the sun rays peeking through the water.

Y/n grunts deep in her throat to get the others' attention. Kiri and the boys all turn and she frantically signed, 'Need to breathe.'

Kiri swims forward, gesturing with her hands, 'We can't wait for it to be safe. Need to go up.'

Ao'nung and Rotxo move then, taking Kiri's orders when she told them to bring Y/n up to the surface, 'I'll be right behind you.'

Ao'nung took one of Y/n's arms and Rotxo took the other. Together they use their speed to swim the forest girl up to the surface. The moment she felt air on her face, Y/n gasped for breath, sputtering and coughing with whatever water she had accidentally inhaled. Rotxo had let go of Y/n's arm and Kiri emerged, taking deep, more steady breaths. If she had taken the time to notice through her panicked breathing, Y/n would have noted the firm hold Ao'nung still had on her other arm.

The teens form a circle as they breathe but are not spared a moment of peace. The silence should have been a warning before an ikran, armed in Sky People gear and sporting a Recom for its rider, swooped down out of nowhere, wrapping its talons around Kiri's arms and plucking her out of the water like she weighed nothing.

Kiri screamed, kicking the air as she struggled, "LET ME GO! NO! SISTER, HELP!"

"KIRI!" Y/n screams, staring up and watching in horror as the ikran takes her sister away. Once she realized the banshee was taking Kiri to the demon ship, Y/n immediately began to swim. Her limbs, however, protested. Her arms were heavy and her lungs spasmed, everything begging her to rest even through her determination to go after her sister.

"No!" Ao'nung grips Y/n's elbow a little tighter. She spun back to hiss at him, but noticed the way his entire hand was able to wrap around her whole arm and found it pointless as he continued, "You'll be faster on your ikran. Let's go home and bring back reinforcements."

"No, no, no, I can't. I have to find Tuk!" Y/n exclaims, now allowing her panic to sink in at the idea of all of her siblings separated from one another, "I have to get Kiri back and find Tuk! I have to find Lo'ak and Neteyam--"

"Y/n." She paused at the sound of her name, turning back to the reef boy holding her. Ao'nung makes sure she's looking him in the eyes as he nods encouragingly, "They'll be fine. Look."

He turns his head and Y/n follows his gaze, her yellow eyes widening by what she saw. Fire, for one, lining along the ocean's surface, and a battlefield between the Na'vi and the Sky People. Boats and gunfire ring out against tsurak and Metkayina spears. It was an all-out war, and Y/n couldn't find herself looking away from it.

Ao'nung does, however. Moving his hand up from her elbow to grab her shoulder instead, pulling her gaze back to him, "Our fathers are driving them back. We can use this to buy time to get whoever is left at the village. Come on, Forest Girl. You need your ikran."

He knew -and she did, too- that Y/n stood a better fighting chance in her element, upon her own mount and using her own weapons. Even so, her stomach drops, dread filling her heart at the idea of her brothers and sisters among all that death and destruction. She wasn't sure if she had the willpower to run back now, and somehow, she managed to say it with her eyes alone without ever speaking a word.

And somehow, Ao'nung heard her. She watches his eyes as he reads something written on her face before a decision was made. Ao'nung expression of reassurance melts into something determined, nodding sternly at her as he calls and clicks with his tongue, summoning an ilu.

Rotxo does the same, confused and unsure what decision had been made, and two ilu emerge from the depths. Without a word, the boys climb onto the backs and Ao'nung drags an exhausted Y/n to sit behind him, making sure her hands were secure around his waist before internally ordering the ilu to dive. Y/n hangs on for dear life, taking another deep breath as they submerge underwater. She pressed her whole front against Ao'nung, afraid that she wouldn't have the strength to hold on otherwise, and the warmth radiating along his back was the smallest bit of reassurance she didn't realize she needed.

The swim back to Awa'atlu was longer than she remembered. Eventually, she had to pat Ao'nung's stomach to let him know she needed air. They resurface just outside the large atoll seawall. Without even looking for the village beyond the wall, Y/n remembered to breathe and her first exhale was a shout. She mimicked a bird call, shouting at the top of her lungs as she, Ao'nung, and Rotxo swim through the tunnels of the weaving atoll. Y/n kept yipping and calling out until finally she received an answer. A screech rings out and slowly a large form flies over the treetops behind the Metkayina village, flying over open water and toward the teenagers.

Hope floods Y/n's chest at the sight of her loyal friend flying toward her. She smiles briefly, sitting up straighter in the ilu saddle as she squeezes Ao'nung's shoulder, "Don't wait up for me, Seaweed Brain."

Ao'nung smirked at her from over his shoulder, "Honestly, Forest Girl? That's all you have to say? Why not 'Thank you, Ao'nung' or 'Be safe, Ao'nung'?"

"Who's Ao'nung?" She grinned back as the shadow of her ikran looms overhead, "I only see you."

Both of them had frozen at her words, eyes widening at one another, the only sound between them being the squeaking ilu, clapping its fins in response to whatever emotions were going through the bond between the creature and Ao'nung. Thankfully, Y/n didn't have to backtrack or rephrase her words as her ikran decided to drop in at the perfect time. Talons out as she dove forward, the ikran screeches again, breaking the awkward air around the teens. The spell breaks and Y/n looks up, holding her hand out just in time as she grabs hold of her banshee's open talon. The ikran bats her wings as hard as she could, banking up high in the air and completely pulling Y/n out of the water. Ao'nung and Rotxo watch the display in amazement, necks craning up with eyes wide and jaws dropped. Y/n pulls herself up and climbs onto the back of her mount, finding her ionar in its respectful saddle pouch and slipping them over her eyes before completing the tsaheylu.

"Good timing, Evi," Y/n whispered to her ikran, patting the mighty beast's neck, "Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~

The sky was dark as eclipse rolls around, the fires from prior explosives the only thing lighting up the war zone. It was like a waking nightmare for Jake Sully, watching a small group of teenagers come rolling onto the shore of the rock face he had landed on. Quickly, he noticed something was wrong, running over as Lo'ak waved him down.

"Dad! Dad, help! It's Neteyam!"

Tsireya briefly closes her eyes as a harsh wave smacks her in the face, ears drooping when listening to the sounds of Neteyam's coughs. He was weak, short of breath even through her lessons on how he could take large gulps of air for deep diving. It scared her, "Hurry!"

Lo'ak peers back at his brother before sinking into the water, dismounting his ilu and handing his brother to Tsireya, "Here, take him!"

"Oh, no," Jake gasped as he took in the horrific sight of the half-drowned kids trying to pull his wounded firstborn to shore, blood pouring from his chest like the water he was floating in.

Lo'ak keeps repeating the same words through his fear, "It's Neteyam! He's hurt!"

Spider, the only human among them, reaches out for Toruk Makto's arm as he grasps Neteyam's body, "Jake, come on! Come on!"

"Hurry, please!" Lo'ak begs.

Jake finally snaps out of his daze and grabs Spider's arm, trying to help drag all the connected teenagers to shore, "Pull!"

"Bro, watch his head, watch his head!" Lo'ak instructs Spider, panic set in as he watches Neteyam's eyes begin to roll back, the older boy still coughing and otherwise unaware of his surroundings.

"Pull! Come on!" Jake grunts, finally managing to get all the kids out of the water. He grabs Neteyam's torso, lifting him in the air while Lo'ak and Spider have his sides and Tsireya has his legs. Jake has them bring Neteyam to more solid ground before lowering him, "Just watch his head. Okay--"

Neteyam shallowly breathes, unable to suck in more air as Lo'ak grasps one of his hands, squeezing hard in comfort, "It's okay, bro. We got you."

Jake pushes Neteyam onto his side, immediately clocking the exit wound bleeding profusely with the help of Spider's flashlight, "Oh, no," looking around, frantic, he instead grabs Lo'ak's hands and presses it harshly against Neteyam's bleeding chest, "Put pressure-- put pressure on it!"

Neteyam stifles a grunt at the pressure against his chest, trying to get a word out, "Dad, I--"

"It's okay, I'm here!"

Neytiri lands her ikran when she spotted a few members of her family, barely pulling her braid from her mount before running over to the scene, muttering in fear and denial, "No, no, no, no, no!"

"It's okay. It's okay, son, I gotcha." Jake comforted.

Lo'ak tries the same, "It's okay..."

"Dad, where's Y/n?" Neteyam's eyes wildly looked around, unfocused and frightened.

"I don't-- I-- I don't--"

"Where's Y/n?"

"We'll find her, son, we'll find her--"

"--Is she alright?"

It was like his son couldn't hear him, the shock setting Neteyam into panic mode as Jake tries to firmly reassure him, "Neteyam--"

"Is she alright?"

"She's gonna be fine, boy. She'll be here soon."

"More... Tell her-- tell her-- 'find more.'"

"Alright, alright, I will."

Neteyam briefly looked relieved before tears started to brim in his eyes. Just this once, he allows himself to be a little boy again, tearful and sad, "I want to go home..." he grunts out before gasping rapidly, the words exhausting him.

Jake's voice quivers, holding his son's shoulder, "I know. I know. It's okay, we're goin' home. We're goin' home."

He softens his voice, pushing the desperation away to try and calm his son, as if he was still an infant he was soothing to sleep, "We're going home. It's okay, it's okay."

"Dad, I..."

~~~~~~~~~

The battle was already starting to disperse when Y/n finally arrived, flying in on her ikran. She had spotted a few stranded Sky People and made quick work of them before they got any ideas, taking her bow and arrows from their places attached to Evi's saddle. Like her mother, Y/n didn't miss and continued onward without ever even watching the bodies drop.

It was almost too quiet for her liking, with only the beat of an ikran's wings to keep her company. Searching around and wishing she had a throat mic to contact her family for their location, Y/n's heart sank when she couldn't find the demon ship, wondering if it had left or if something worse had happened to it. Did it sink? If it sank, then they won. But where was Kiri if she was meant to be on that ship? Where are Tuk and Y/n's brothers? Where are her parents?

Her questions are answered when a geyser sprays out of the water, rocketing almost high enough to hit Y/n. Evi squawks as she evades the water spray and Y/n looks down, spotting Payakan below, unharmed. Flying like a vulture in circles so she can get a better look at the tulkun, Y/n's eyes squint as she catches sight of a small ring of blue bodies, drifting over the top of Payakan's only pectoral fin. Gasping in shock, Y/n orders her ikran to dive, pulling her smaller body closer to Evi's as they fall. Once close enough to the water, Y/n suddenly asks Evi to pull up, and as the ikran lifts its wings to catch the air and slow her descent, Y/n holds her breath and breaks her bond with her banshee, diving into the water. She immediately swims back up to the surface and paddles over to the tulkun, where she had seen the group of blue bodies.

"MOM! DAD!"

Jake's ears perk up as he pulls away from the family embrace, and hurriedly looks around until he spots a familiar figure in the water. He wheezes in pain because of his injuries, but he lifts his arm and frantically waves, "Y/n!"

Neytiri follows her mate's gaze and nearly sobs in relief, crying and smiling all at once, "Y/n, matxe'lan! Matxe'lan!"

Lo'ak, Kiri, and Tuk also chime in, relieved and excited to see their big sister, alive and well, "Y/n!"

"Y/N!"

"Sister!"

Y/n is crying and shaking in relief as she finally reaches her family, both her mother and father pulling her up onto Payakan's fin when she couldn't find the strength to do it herself. The parents nestled their oldest daughter between them, each embracing her one at a time and surrounding her in their hugs, Neytiri even going as far as to kiss all over Y/n's face.

Jake is almost beside himself, hushed exhales escaping him as he settles his cheek over the top of Y/n's head and closes his eyes in relief, "You're okay. You're okay, sweetheart."

For a moment, she revels in the peace and her parents' embrace before looking around, inspecting each of her siblings' faces before she took a head count in her mind. She pulls away to look at her mother's face, "Where-- Where's Neteyam?"

Immediately, Neytiri's face falls, and unshed tears quickly form in her aging eyes. Her hand reaches up to cup Y/n's face while looking each of her daughters in the eyes, "Y/n... my girls... something happened."

~~~~~~~~~

Payakan brings all of them to the flat rock faces sticking out of the ocean, forming small islands of their own in the middle of the empty war zone. The Sully family slowly and painfully drag themselves to shore and Lo'ak thanks Payakan before the tulkun leaves. Y/n catches her breath and looks around, finding Tonowari and Ronal, standing off to the side, holding Ao'nung and a sobbing Tsireya in their arms. Lo'ak calls out the reef girl's name and Tsireya starts a new round of crying as she broke away from her parents to embrace him. Ao'nung briefly looks up when the Sullys arrived and locked eyes with Y/n, and to her sinking horror, he looked at her with pity and sorrow.

She soon found out why when the sound of Tuk's crying rang in her ears. Y/n spun around, ready to defend her baby sister, until she realized that there was no danger. Tuk was crying over a body, holding its arm to her little chest and hand to her face, sobbing. Neytiri blocked Y/n's view as she knelt on the other side of the body, picking it up and holding the head close to her chest. Y/n looks around and catches Jake's eyes as he looked at her expectedly, waiting for her reaction with broken eyes and tear tracks running down his aging face.

Y/n begins to catch on to what was happening, but the words that fled her mouth were ones of denial, "No... no no nononono."

She stomps over to her family, kneeling down around the legs of the body as she frantically looks around, "What's wrong with Neteyam? Mama, don't just stand there! What's wrong with him?! Someone help him! Help him!"

"Maite..."

"Don't!" She pushes Neytiri away and hovers over the body, kneeling down to it opposite Tuk. She finally allows herself to stare at her twin brother's face, and she's haunted by those unblinking eyes, unfocused and staring off at a place they couldn't see anymore. Panicked, Y/n roughly grabs Neteyam's jaw and tries tilting his head around to make him look at her, "'Teyam. 'Teyam? Wake up. You're okay, you're okay, you're okay..."

She is met with silence, and that almost rings louder in her ears than the sound of a roaring waterfall. His eyes still don't blink and his mouth never moves. Y/n, from that day forward, wished she had never looked down, because all the blood was permanently sewn into her memory and purged her nightmares.

One look at the gunshot puncturing her twin brother's chest, Y/n became a madwoman, roughly grabbing onto Neteyam's shoulders, "TSMUKAN! ZA'U NE'ÌM TSONTA, RUTXE! RUTXE!"

The noise that escapes her lungs is unlike any sound ever heard on Pandora. It pierces the air, shattered and broken like glass to the point where it had to hurt her throat. Tuk was completely terrified, scared to see her oldest sister lose her cool and continue crowing and sobbing like a feral, wounded creature. It was heartwrenching to listen to, and even worse to watch.

Y/n rocked herself back and forth as she sobbed uncontrollably, trying to find the smallest bit of comfort as she held her other half in her arms. Neytiri tried to be her comfort, even through her own shattered cries. Neytiri knelt on the other side of Neteyam's body, holding his shoulder in one hand and Y/n's in the other. The twins, neither living nor dead, noticed or even acknowledged their mother's touch.

"NETEYAM!"

Y/n's last words to Neteyam are roughly translated to: "BROTHER! COME BACK TO ME, PLEASE! PLEASE!"

A/N: So... uh... did I not mention that I write heavy angst? I think I should've put that in my resume. I have several blogs for several fandoms, and if you asked my followers anywhere else, they'll tell you I write angst on purpose. I write angst to make them suffer. Their tears keep me young forever.

Although I can't say this was written without any of my own tears being shed. That would be a lie. I swear I was bawling my eyes while watching the death scene happen (for the dozenth time, I'll be honest) and writing it out. No movie has ever pulled tears from me after I've already watched it several times, which is why I admire Zoe's acting for shattering my heart every time Neytiri screams and cries over her dead child.

But, look at that! Y/n's ikran has a name! It's Evi, derived from the Na'vi word 'evi, which is an affectionate word for 'kid'. That's something light-hearted and cute, right??? Right??? Ha ha, please don't kill me.

Anyway, I promise that this is only the beginning of the series and I hope the rest of it helps you heal from this loss like I know Y/n will likely learn to heal in time 😇 I honestly believe this will help me recover from Neteyam by writing about my characters' own healing journeys.

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torukmaktoskxawng · 2 years ago

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Main Masterlist

There’s room to grow! Leave a request and watch this list expand!

Masterlists:

Forest Na'vi

Ocean Na'vi

Recoms/RDA

Frontiers of Pandora

Series:

'anla (Ao'nung/Fem!Na'vi!Sully Reader)

tsamsiyu ta'em (Tonowari/Fem!OC/Ronal)

Sleeping Beauty (smut)

Avatar!Grace Lives AU

Headcanons:

atwow headcanons/dating headcanons

If you want to be tagged in any WIP of these characters, check out the dedicated taglist HERE!

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tiredmamaissy · 2 years ago

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have a lil' something for y'all tonight.

kinda short - but sweet.

our baby ao'nung is finally making an appearance.

Read it here.

#ao'nung smut #ao'nung imagine

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loaksky · 2 years ago

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— 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴

the lowdown — the one where you’re shy and ao’nung’s got a crush.

the who — ao’nung x fem metkayina!reader

the word count — 1.1k

the tags & warnings — no warnings!

the notes — this was a request from this lovely anon. this scenario came to me out of nowhere after trying to grapple with how to start this lmaooo. also wanted to experiment with the list format at the end for the bonus! thank you for your request, i hope you enjoy! :)

masterlist

Truthfully, you have zero clue how you and Ao’nung had come together. He was the well-loved son of the olo’eyktan and you were just a normal clan member, moving through the motions of life in Awa’atlu.

All you recall is a blend of memories, distantly. One moment you were sidling on the edge of the village, then the next Ao’nung had his sights on you.

He hadn’t been too subtle, showing up wherever you’d be, suddenly more accident-prone and stumbling into your family’s tent for treatment, intruding on shared moments with his sister Tsireya.

As you recall, maybe that’s where it started, when you and Tsireya started hanging out together, giggling and chattering over village gossip while beading simple jewelry for your other friends.

But what you didn't know was that Ao’nung’s always seen you. It wasn’t until he had finally grown into himself, into his role as the potential future olo’eyktan that he’d gained the courage.

“You will have to court a woman soon,” Tsireya had told him one night after you had parted ways with the siblings and scurried back to your family’s marui.

There’d been a minuscule smile playing at Ao’nung’s lips as he watched your retreating figure, graceful and lithe in the eclipsing evening.

“I know,” he had said.

Tsireya pinned him with a knowing glance.

“You have made your decision?” she asked.

Ao’nung’s smile widened as he slowly nodded his head.

“Yeah,” he confirms. “It has been made for a while.”

When it comes, though, his confession dumbfounds you.

He had caught you in a shallow pool a few days after, drawing shapes in the sand as you waited for Tsireya to be finished with her chores in the village. You didn’t know that she was lingering on the outskirts, watching as Ao’nung worked up the courage.

“________,” he called, a few paces away.

“Ao’nung.” You stood to your feet quickly and gestured.

“Are you well?” he'd asked you.

You glanced up at him with clear blue eyes and a genuine smile.

“Great,” you had answered. “Are you?”

His lips twitched, hearting thudding in his chest as he looked down at you. Every single word he had rehearsed with Tsireya over the course of the leading days had left him, leaving him staring down at you, stricken.

“Ao’nung?”

“Yeah, fine, good. I’m good.” His face was burning.

“Well…” you trailed off. “Was there something you needed?”

“I–” Ao’nung tripped over his words before forcing them out. “I have noticed you for a while.”

You blinked and he panicked.

“I like you, ________,” he blurted.

Your eyes were wide, mouth slightly agape as you stared up at him in disbelief.

Your silence had triggered his self-preservation.

“I know we are not close, but I think you are a lovely–”

He hadn’t even finished his thoughts before you were racing away, cheeks indescribably hot at his confession.

Nothing could have prepared you for Ao’nung’s sudden declaration of admiration. It made your heart swell, your face warm. But most of all it made you so incredibly nervous.

He had taken it the wrong way at first, a stinging rejection at you fleeing from him. He would scour the village for any signs of you, but like you do best, you had blended too well into the background.

You didn’t snap out of it until Tsireya had confronted you crossly, the usually sweet and bubbly daughter of the clan leaders obviously miffed by the tension between you and her brother.

“You are you being silly,” she said, legs draped over the edge of the small row boat you were sitting in, feet circling the water.

“What do you mean?” you asked, hands coming up to cool your consistently hot cheeks. “It had to be a game he was playing with his friends.”

Tsireya’s laugh was loud, glittering.

“If only you knew how long Ao’nung has been pining for you, ________,” she had revealed.

Your head shot up, searching her eyes for any semblance of dishonesty.

“He wishes to court you,” Tsireya had revealed. “If you let him.”

You were still unable to suspend disbelief, frozen in place as your friend stood to her feet to leave you with your thoughts.

“He’s been gloomy,” Tsireya told you. “Do us all a favor and end this headache?”

She left you with a knowing smile.

You had run into Ao’nung later that night, while he was out setting traps for the morning kill. It wasn’t your intention to reunite with him so soon, but something in the way the reefs glowed harder that night gave you the spirit.

“________,” Ao’nung murmured, swallowing down the lump in his throat at finally seeing you again.

“Hi,” you whispered, hands clasped behind your back as you stood a great distance away from him.

“Hi,” he greeted, the last trap still in his hands as he looked down at you.

“About that day…”

He already knew what day you were talking about, and his fist tightened around the netting, waiting for you to continue with bated breath.

You took a step closer to him, slowly closing the distance. As you drew nearer, he noticed the tremor in your spindly fingers and dropped the net.

“I’m sorry I ran off,” you apologized, voice shaky.

Ao’nung licked his bottom lip, watching you intently.

“I didn’t know you were serious,” you admitted. “I am nothing extraordinary. I am not used to be noticed.”

Ao’nung broke into a grin.

“I have always noticed you,” he’d said, taking a step forward so that you two were toe to toe.

You were staring up at him and he couldn’t help himself, thumb brushing your cheek.

“Well– Well, I wanted to say that…”

“That?” Ao’nung coaxed.

“That I like you, too,” you blurted.

Almost impossibly, his smile beamed brighter, but you wipe the grin off his face when you shyly push up on your tip toes and press a quick kiss to his cheek.

“________,” he’d all but gasped, eyes wide.

And again, you’d run off, heart pounding and face hot.

BONUS:

after that night, ao’nung would consistently tease you about how shy you get.

nine times times out of ten, you guys would meet after eclipse and have night dates because he likes loving up on you and you get so sheepish in front of the others when he does.

during the day, you’d probably wouldn’t be glued to his side, but you’d always be near, and that’s enough for him.

most people in the village probably don’t even catch on to the fact that the two of you are together until one day ao’nung slips up when you two cross paths and gives you a kiss on your forehead before parting.

his friends will probably tease him about it, but when he notices that it makes you a little sad, he’s beefing lmaooo.

all in all, you two are polar opposites, but ao’nung never has to question your feelings for him because you’re his soft and sweet girl who’s clingy and loving when no one else is watching <3

taglist; @nao-cchi , @jkiminpark , @philiasoul , @amart-e , @s-u-t , @netesbby , @tayswiftlovebot

#ao'nung #ao'nung x reader #ao'nung imagine #avatar the way of water #avatar way of water #atwow #avatar #avatar the movie

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loaksky · 2 years ago

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— 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴

the deets — you are a warrior of very few words, yet oftentimes your gaze betrays you. this widens the rift between you and the eldest sully, but will seeking refuge with the metkayina soothe the burn? especially when the alleviation comes in the form of a certain ocean boy?

the who — ao’nung x fem tipani!reader, a lil neteyam x fem!tipani reader

the word count — 7.1k (i thought this was gonna be longer, regardless i have zero self control)

the tags — slight e2l (you and ao’nung get off on the wrong foot), unofficial love triangle (reader has two people hooked lmao), angst (wouldn’t be me without a little heartache), fluff.

the warnings — language, ao’nung’s a cheeky lil shit, neteyam’s in denial and makes things difficult. ao'nung gives reader a lil kith.

the notes — this is my first request! it took me a moment to finish this because i wanted to really research the tipani to characterize reader the best i could. similarly, i feel like we don’t see much of ao’nung past the point of him being a little shit in the movie, so i had to take some creative liberties regarding his character. thank you so much to the anon who requested! this is so long, holy shit, but i hope i did it justice! :)

(also not proofread well, my bad lmaooo).

masterlist

YOU WERE BORN TO FIGHT. That was what your mother and father had told you day in and day out, from the rise of the sun, to the last eclipse. It was what they had told you when you began your training, when you had started to deepen your studies, and finally, when they clung to their final breaths in the smog of the burning jungle.

Your village was scarce, a dying lot, as families broke off and settled farther into the jungle, high above the forest floors and into the canopies of the looming trees.

Jake had heard about you, heard about your dwindling family, your mighty spirit. You were barely older than his eldest, just shy of ten when he’d taken you in, told the clan to revere you as their own. You were tough to crack, stoic, quiet, as you grew into a force to be reckoned with.

The only thing that chipped your facade came in the form of Jake Sully’s oldest son.

Neteyam, you’d come to realize, was always the diligent one; courageous, firm, and commanded any space he occupied. But he was curious about you. Curious about the lone wolf who wouldn’t even bat an eye in his direction. He poked and prodded, tried as he might, to crack a smile out of you in the first year or two, but found that you gave little reaction. The slightest tilt of the corner of your lips, the most infinitesimal furrow between your brow bones. It was triumph enough, but then things started to shift.

Though you’d softened around the Sully’s, especially Kiri who, despite being two years your junior, had doted on you like an older sister, Jake had seen potential in you and Neteyam as the fiercest duo.

It was only normal to consistently pair you two during your training, forcing the hands of time to twine you closer together as your iknimaya drew nearer. You’d both succeeded with flying colors and it was the first time Neteyam had touched you, crushing you in a hug so tight, you felt the breath and the sense leave your body.

You begrudgingly admit that from that moment on, you were wrapped around his finger.

Your heart would swell dangerously behind your ribcage every time his hand would come up to pat your head affectionately, stomach twisting in on itself when he’d flash you a pearly smile after each successful hunt. Neteyam made you feel, and it thrilled and horrified you all the same.

But despite basking in the warmth of his company, of being intertwined so intricately, you still feel grossly misplaced.

The thought of letting him in on the fact that he’s swayed your heart leaves a horrid taste in your mouth.

“It’s not like you to back down,” Kiri tells you as she helps you roll beaded tops and woven loincloths into the small satchel you’d designated for the flight to Awa’atlu.

The humans were closing in and Jake was growing desperate.

You stop, tongue in cheek as you settle back on your haunches.

“Some things are better left unsaid,” you reply, hands clasping in your lap as you level Kiri with a soft gaze through your thick lashes.

“Perhaps,” Kiri hums. “But will it settle well with you in the future when you think about your inaction?”

You stiffen a fraction, knowing that Kiri’s insinuation is a heavy one.

Will you be able to live without him knowing? Will it settle well when Neteyam courts another?

You doubt it will, but pride can be an ugly thing. You’d been taught by your parents, by your surroundings that reading into things farther than you must will only leave you scathed. You’re afraid to piece every lingering touch, every furtive glance, every sweet smile into something that paints an unwanted picture.

“The worst he could say is no,” Kiri presses. “You are his equal, his dearest friend. You could never ruin that.”

Kiri squashes every doubt you have with her encouraging words, so you take the plunge.

Neteyam is almost finished preparing for the journey when you poke your head into his tent, cheeks warm and blood pulsing erratically in your veins.

“One last walk through the forest?” you offer.

Neteyam grins from ear to ear, excusing himself before ducking out of the tent to meet you outside.

“Lead the way,” he gestures, voice deep like the velvet of the night sky.

You’re clammy as you walk a few paces in front of him, tongue tied and wracked with nerves as the forest comes alive so brightly around you. The bugs chirp and croak as you cross over fallen logs and climb through the dense flora.

You’re so deep in your head that you barely register Neteyam calling your name. It’s only when his hand clasps around your wrist that you jerk to a stop, neck craning to take in the concern that mars his freckled face.

“Everything okay?” he asks, head tilting to get a better look at you.

“I need to tell you something,” you blurt, swallowing down the courage threatening to escape your body.

“Of course,” he says, hand lacing with yours. “You can tell me anything.”

A breath catches in your throat before you finally spill.

“I don’t know what our future holds, but…” you trail off, distracted with how intensely he gazes down at you.

“But?”

“But I know that I want you in it,” you say, blinking when you realize that’s not at all how you wanted that to come out.

Neteyam’s head tilts again, this time confusion crosses his features.

You try again.

“What I mean to say is, I— well… I like you,” you admit, looking up to meet his golden gaze.

His face softens and your heart picks up speed.

“Oh, ________,” he whispers.

“Maybe I’ve always felt like this, I don’t know,” you continue, steeling your resolve. “But being around you, being with you, makes me feel light. Like I don’t have to bear the weight of the burden all on my own.”

You realize that this is beginning to go south when his mouth purses and instead of seeing you, he begins to look like he pities you.

“I’m sorry,” is all he says as he pulls his hand from your own. “We’re friends, ________.”

You look up at him and it feels like the forest has stilled enough for someone to strike it and shatter the peace.

“That’s all,” he reiterates. “I’m— I’m flattered, don’t misunderstand. You’re great, lovely, but…I don’t see you in that way.”

You recoil like you’ve been burned and Neteyam looks guilty.

“But…”

“C’mon,” he says, almost pleadingly. “We grew up together. You’re apart of my family. You’re like a si—“

“Don’t,” you whisper. “Don’t say it please.”

Neteyam sighs, deflating.

“I love you, you know that,” he urges. “But not in that way.”

Your lips press together tightly, shame filling every available space within you as you feel like the most minuscule speck underneath his burning eyes.

It’s like you’re both rooted to the earth, unable to part from the other, but you eventually fold first, backing away from his towering stance.

“________,” he sighs, like you’re just another task he has to deal with.

“Sorry,” you murmur. “I’m sorry.”

And you steal off into the glowing forest.

The waters of Awa’atlu glitter as you close in on the reefs. You lag behind the Sully’s, thoroughly taken by the prior night’s rejection.

You almost miss the tilt of the voyage, falling even further behind.

Neteyam peers over his shoulder, immediately noting your lack of focus as you fly with a wide berth between you and his family.

He falls back.

“You okay?” he asks over the flapping of wings.

He notices the puffs underneath your eyes when your gaze flits to him, but like a wall erecting itself, your face goes blank. You lean forward on your ikran and press her to move forward.

Neteyam is left at the rear now, watching you fall in tandem with Kiri who seems to light up at your first display of emotion.

The sun gleams againstglinting blue tides as silence blankets the newcomers, the only thing piercing the stillness is the squawk of the birds and the ripple of the waves.

You stand behind Kiri, staggered in a shallow of sand among the Sully's. You're the smallest of them all, hidden from view as the Metkayina begin murmuring.

“What a freak.”

Something tugs hard on your tail, and like muscle memory, your fist is flying. Your knuckles are caught before they strike and you look up into the foamy eyes of a towering boy whose skin is a gentle blue.

You pull your tail back, ears flat as you level him with a nasty glare.

The smirk playing at his lips disintegrates as Jake’s voice announces that his family are seeking refuge among the reefs.

You turn your attention back to the front as the woman, fierce despite being with child, takes Lo’ak’s hand and thrusts it towards the sky, announcing that his extra finger denotes demon blood.

The villagers gasp and you take a step forward, fists balled so tight you feel like they could burst through the skin. Lo’ak’s head is bowed, refusing to meet the intensity of the clan’s prying eyes, and you feel helpless.

Kiri squeezes your shoulder as Jake attempts to quell the crowd by hold up his own hands.

The murmuring intensifies as the Olo’eyktan and Tsahik stand at a distance, staring at each other in a silent exchange.

“Show them our ways,” the Olo’eyktan says after a final verdict. “So that they may not suffer the shame of being useless.”

Your body is rigid, tense as another ripple of speculation flutters through the crowd.

“My children will spearhead this by showing them the way of the water,” he says.

A deep voice makes a noise of protest behind you and your fist tightens around the strap of the satchel slung across your body, temper beginning to tick like a bomb ready to detonate.

The daughter of the leaders, Tsireya, is the one to show you to the marui that you’ll all occupy. It’s an empty one, uninhabited and clear of any belongings.

Tuk runs in, tossing her things to the wayside as she begins her inspection.

“Get settled in well, we will begin our first lesson before eclipse,” Tsireya smiles, then turns to you, trailing behind the Sully’s like their shadow per usual.

“I’m sorry about Ao’nung,” she says quietly, and you look up at the girl whose dimples dent her rounded cheeks.

“An apology means nothing if doesn’t come from the aggressor,” you say flatly, hiking up the roll of fabric tucked underneath your arm.

Tsireya’s ears flatten, her smile faltering as she nods her head.

“I suppose you’re correct,” she agrees. “The villagers are very steadfast in their ways. When change arrives, they are hesitant, but they’ll come around, promise.”

She takes your hand and gives your fingers a squeeze.

“Tell your friends not to be late,” she coos, pulling away from you to bound down the path you’d all come from moments before.

When you turn, Neteyam stands before you, skin dewy under the unrelenting heat of the pounding sun.

“Can I get this for you?” he asks, reaching for the items tucked under your arms.

You ease away, almost as skittish as the first nights you’d joined the Sully’s all those years ago. You feel shamefully like you’re back to square one as you shake your head wordlessly and Neteyam looks down at you with an indiscernible look on his face.

“________,” he murmurs, and you name sounds like a broken plea on his lips.

You push past him, taking a quick survey of your surroundings as you claim the level up, hammock tightened around two support posts under a woven canopy.

Your things are thrown haphazardly underneath the hammock and with your satchel, you’re steering quickly out of the marui.

“Hey, kid, where you running off to?” Jake calls out.

“Out,” is all you reply, steps quick down the unfamiliar webbing of the maruis’ woven walkways.

You’re on edge all over again, like you have to restart all of your valiant efforts to feel any semblance of comfort among another new clan. When you’d joined the Omatikaya, you were able to grasp onto the slivers of belonging through blending into the background, but now, as you pass villagers with skin as glittering and blue as the ocean, tails strong, and figures built, you feel so grossly misplaced.

You search for less, eyes falling near a swathe of shady trees and a shallow pool in the distance.

Your pursuit is futile as three looming figures emerge and begin surrounding you, basking you in their shadows.

“Are you a five-fingered freak like them?” One of them tries to swoop to grab your hand, but you recoil like their touch is acidic.

“Leave me alone,” you grumble, attempting to push past them.

Someone tugs sharply on your tail and you jerk back, hands and knees burrowing into the sharp grains of sand. A hand comes up to grab you by the top of your head, forcing your face skywards.

His curly hair is braided out of his face, the purse of his lips menacing.

“I asked you a question, weirdo.”

You hiss and his face contorts.

“I should—“

“Wune,” the voice is a warning.

A grunt of annoyance.

Wune lets go of your hair and pulls away from you. You all look in the direction of the voice, and your blood seems to curdle when you see the one who’d yanked your tail earlier in the day.

Ao’nung.

His chin jerks in the other direction and the three pass each other a knowing glance before retreating, leaving you to fall into a seated position against the sand.

You surprise yourself when tears begin to well in your eyes involuntarily.

“You okay?” Ao’nung asks hesitantly, crouching in front of you.

“Piss off,” you whisper, climbing to your feet as you quickly brush the tears from your waterline.

“Wait—“

“I said piss off,” you hiss, stalking away.

Awa’atlu is beautiful right before eclipse, sky bathed in orange and purples.

You’ve rejoined the Sully’s after your encounter with the three Metkayina boys and Ao’nung. Now you’re seated with the four siblings, Tsireya, and another friendly face that you’ve been introduced to as Rotxo.

“The way of water has no beginning and no end,” Tsireya says. “Our hearts beat in the womb of the world.”

Your heart beats fast now, like you’ve just run from one end of the forest to another. It beats erratically under Neteyam’s unrelenting gaze. He looks like he’s dissecting you, trying to pry into your mind and you hate that things have come to this.

You hate that one evening has shattered the careful friendship that you and Neteyam have built over the course of many tumultuous years. You want to find comfort in his presence, know with your soul that he’d tuck your hair behind your ear and tell you that things would be alright. But now you feel like you two are distant strangers.

“The sea is your home, before your birth and after your death.”

You want to argue that you know no home, that the wind seems to carry you where it may, but you bite your tongue and you zone out of her lecture.

You only tune back in when the hairs on the back of your neck stand at the arrival of a new body.

“Mother and father say that it’s time to prepare for the evening meal.”

After hearing the voice twice in the day, you recognize the timbre.

Ao’nung stands tall, chest broad and eyes bright.

They settle on you in an instant, and you feel indescribably smaller as Tsireya announces that she will continue during the morning’s eclipse.

Everyone begins to stand, brushing the residual sand from their skin as they begin to file away.

You’re startled to a stop when your name comes from Neteyam’s lips and a gentle hand latches onto your forearm.

You look down to see strong fingers lighter than your own holding onto you. Then your gaze flits to Neteyam who stands a few feet away, words dying on his tongue.

Ao’nung tugs lightly and you look up to meet softened eyes.

“Can I borrow you for a moment?” he asks. He notices the apprehensive look on your face as you peel away from him, then adds, “I’ll be quick.”

Neteyam opens his mouth to protest on your behalf, but you flash him a pensive look and he stops in his tracks, watching as you turn your slender back towards him and follow the lumbering Metkayina.

When the two of you are alone, you dig your toe into the sand, hands clasped behind your back as you wait for Ao’nung to break the silence and get on with it.

“I want to apologize,” he finally says, when you’re out of earshot of the village and the curious Sully’s who’d noted the entire exchange.

You look up at him, brow bone raised.

“For?”

“For being mean,” he says, “I was inappropriate.”

“Is this your sister talking?” you ask crudely, but he doesn’t flinch at the venom in your tone.

Instead, he smiles down at you.

“No,” he assures you. “One hundred percent me, promise.”

You look down at your feet, still fidgeting with the sand.

“I guess…” you trail off.

“You guess?” he prods.

“I guess we’re okay,” you say hesitantly.

Ao’nung hums.

“Good,” he concedes. “Great. I’m glad.”

You flash him a bored look through thick lashes and his lips twitch as he stares down at you with piercing eyes.

“I can be dumb,” he says, grin widening. “My family says I don’t know how to act around nice things.”

Your cheeks warm as you avoid his eyes, breaking away to catch up with Kiri and Tuk.

After dinner, in the quiet of the Sully’s marui, you lie in the hammock you claimed earlier in the day, hands folded underneath your head as you gaze at the stars.

“My dad came from a star,” Lo’ak had said to you one night, eliciting the smallest of smiles.

As you comb through each one, you burn to be up there. A digging desire to only know about shining bright and being wished so hard upon.

There are nights like these where everything feels heavy, where your shoulders sag underneath the pressure of being a great warrior. You wonder what life could be like had the RDA spared your village, had you not gone off into the forest to hunt, had you—

He’s a barely perceptible shadow under the glow of the moon and ocean, slinking down the woven path between pods.

Like a whisper of wind, you climb out of your hammock and over sleeping bodies.

As you slip out of the marui, you don’t notice the pair of sleepy eyes on your retreating figure.

Before he even knows what’s going on, you’re scurrying over the thick branches, following his path until he hits the intersection right before the Sully’s quarters.

You jump down and intersect Ao’nung, hand coming over his mouth before he can shout in shock. His eyes are wide as you stand on your tip toes, other hand coming to your lips to gesture for him to be quiet.

“What are you doing?” you hiss quietly.

His fingers come to your wrist, nudging your palm from his mouth to reveal a beaming smile.

“I was coming for you,” he admits.

“Why?” you press, shaking his hold away when you realize that he’d still been grasping your wrist.

“Have you ridden an ilu before?” he asks.

You shift uncomfortably.

“No,” you answer shortly.

“You wanna?” he offers.

“No.”

He frowns.

“Swimming?”

“Pass.”

“I have fruits,” he singsongs.

“Ao’nung,” you warn.

“Is it so wrong to want to spend time with you?” he asks, hands up in defense.

“Why would you want to?” you ask accusingly. “Your village sees us as demons and I’m included in that whether it applies to me or not. I’ll stay out of your way, just leave me alone.”

“I don’t think you’re a demon,” Ao’nung says gently. “If anything, I- I think you’re great.”

“You don’t know me,” you spit.

“I know enough,” Ao’nung says with finality. “I know that you are strong and your spirit is kind. Ewya has let me feel as such.”

Your expression is lethal, but Ao’nung doesn’t back down.

“One night,” he says quietly. “Spend one night with me.”

The following silence stretches eternally before something magnetic pulls you towards Ao’nung’s honeyed gaze. You chance a glance over your shoulder, met with stillness and the minute laps of the ocean on the shore.

When you meet his eyes again, you nod once, hesitantly, and he’s taking your hand to tug you into the glowy night.

Ao’nung returns you before the sun rises, a few early risers giving you two curious glances as he walks you to where you’d ambushed him the night before.

You wave to him hesitantly, sighing in relief when you you creep back into the marui and find everyone fast asleep, splayed over one another like a big heap.

You climb over limbs and snoring bodies, finally settling in your hammock to watch the beginnings of the eclipsing sun brighten the village.

You don’t notice the same bleary eyes watching you from where he’s laid on the floor, Lo’ak’s head weighing on his stomach and Tuk smushed onto his armpit.

They’re the same eyes that watch you all morning, as his family gets up one by one, stretching their lithe limbs and tidying up before being called for the day’s first meal.

Neteyam is watchful, stealing glances as you file behind his family from the pod to the clan circle, now buzzing with hungry villagers as the sun shines high in the sky.

But he doesn’t say a word, silent as you choose the seat farthest from him. Quiet as you blink your eyes sleepily, barely registering Tuk’s excited blabbering about all of the new things she can make with the shells and supplies here.

“Give it a rest,” Lo’ak grumbles from beside him.

He snaps out of his reverie, eyes narrowing in on his brother.

“What?”

“You’ve been watching ________ all morning,” Lo’ak chides. “She’s locked up tight, bro. No way you’re getting her.”

Neteyam’s blood curdles at the thought, wanting to tell his brother to shove it. But you’d shut him out the past few days, the sting of his rejection obviously driving a wedge between the two of you.

“Shut up,” he grumbles.

He hates that you’d gone from being inseparable to being strangers overnight. But what he hates even more is the way Ao’nung drops onto the log next to you and you don’t even flinch, just pass him a bored gaze that makes him beam.

He watches you closely, eyes glued to your every move.

Something ugly roils inside of him as Ao’nung offers you a braided bag and you hesitantly take a piece of dried meat from him, face morphing as you give him a nod of approval.

Ao’nung looks proud of of himself as he balances the bag next to him on the log and leans towards you almost imperceptibly. Neteyam expects you to put distance between the two of you, but you barely bat an eye, watching intently as Ao’nung talks animatedly.

Lo’ak scoffs beside him and Neteyam stomach turns.

Hours bleed into days, days bleed into weeks, and for once, you feel like things could be alright. The breathing gets easier, the learning comes faster, and something feels peaceful being near the ocean.

The only thing that hadn’t been amended was the gaping hole that separated you from Neteyam, but in the company of a certain Olo’eyktan’s only son, you don’t feel the burn as much.

You watch him now, as he treads water with Rotxo and the two Sully boys, walking them through the procedure of hunting under water and how to maximize their kills.

“…and the reefs underwater…”

He’s one and the same with the tides, mighty and commanding as his veined hands gesture confidently. One moment, he’s focused on his instruction intently, the next he’s glancing at you.

You feel hot in the warm waters as your cheeks flame under a genuine smile. Neteyam follows his line of sight, body tensing in the water when he sees the shy look on your face.

He’s not the only one who notices as Kiri feigns a gag and Tsireya pauses her spiel to giggle at the obvious exchange.

“Oh, ________,” she whispers giddily.

Your eyes swing to the group of girls surrounding you as Tuk lets out a gleeful laugh and pinches you under the water.

“Ouch!”

“________ has a crush,” Tuk singsongs obnoxiously.

You knuckle her forehead and give her a warning glare than only sends her into a frenzy, laughing and splashing as she seeks protection from Kiri.

“Stop that!” you whisper fiercely.

“Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft,” Kiri moans.

“No!” you say, a little too quickly. “No.”

No one in your circle looks convinced as Tsireya closes her lesson and leads the three of you to wade out of the waters.

“It’s okay, you know?” Kiri says once you’ve reached your belongings and sling your trusty satchel over your front.

You give her an inquisitive look and she throws her head back and laughs.

“I know you sneak out to meet with Ao’nung at night,” she admits quietly. “I love my stupid brother, but it’s okay to move on.”

You blanche, embarrassed at having been caught.

After the first night, when he’d taken you for a swim with his ilu and you’d gasped in both fear and delight as the creature cut through the waters to sail through the air, he had started to frequently come back for you in the wee hours after eclipse. It had turned from you clocking him as he approached the Sully’s pod, to you standing off the side of the path he usually crossed, waiting for him.

The first night you’d done that, his smile was so sweet, you felt something fluttering in your tummy.

Among one of those late night excursions, while you both were splayed on the beach after a particularly adventurous swim, Ao’nung had told you he wouldn’t mind showing you all the beautiful things Awa’atlu had to offer, you just had to say the words. And you had reluctantly agreed, heart locked away tight.

You hate to admit that he’s done well chiseling away every effort you’d made to remain snug behind your walls. He had coaxed you out with soft words, sweet fruits, meaningful talks. And you absolutely melted like putty in his hands.

“We are head and heart,” Kiri says gently. “Sometimes it’s okay to listen to your heart.”

You swallow under Kiri’s sympathetic gaze.

“You’ve been strong for a long time, ________,” she states simply. “Your feelings are not a weakness.”

You nod as she rejoins Tuk and Tsireya a few strides away.

A few moments later, a voice is warm in the shell of your sensitive ears.

“What adventure awaits after eclipse?” Ao’nung asks lightly.

You resist smiling up at him, but fail miserably when his webbed fingers come up to move hair from your face.

“I have seeds of a spartan fruit,” you say quietly. “If you know of anywhere to plant them.”

“I can make something work,” he assures you, thumb brushing your cheek, then pinching gently with a toothy smile. “Our usual place?”

You bow your head, cheeks hot.

“Of course.”

“Alright, little leaf,” he bids, that stupid nickname he’d called you one of the first nights, sticking. “See you then.”

He’s walking back in the direction of the other boys, cutting across the sand as they venture towards the heart of the clan’s village.

As you pick up the remainder of your items, you don’t realize a body has stayed behind.

“Little leaf?” It comes out as a scoff, mocking as your whirl on your heel and find Neteyam standing over you. “What’s your deal with him?”

You blink hard.

“What are you talking about?”

“You an Ao’nung,” Neteyam bites, temper short. “What’s going on between you two?”

Annoyance pinches the back of your brain as you look off into the roll of the shallow tides, then turn your attention back to the eldest Sully. For the first time in an infinite amount of moments, you don’t feel like falling into him.

“He’s my friend,” you decide to say, sucking in a deep breath in hopes of calming your racing nerves. “Is that alright with you?”

Neteyam’s glare doesn’t falter.

“Just your friend?” he accuses. “I know you meet with him after eclipse, don’t think you have anyone fooled. Why?”

“What do you mean why?” you counter, unable to keep the edge from your tone.

“Why are you sneaking around with someone you barely know after dark, ________?” he grills. “Don’t be dense.”

“Ao’nung is kind to me,” you argue. “He shows me about his life, about the villagers and the way of the water.”

“And what, I’m not kind to you?” Neteyam bristles. “Tsireya can’t show you all of those things?”

Your face scrunches in annoyance.

“You’re being unreasonable, Neteyam,” you scoff.

“I’m being unreasonable?” he asks in disbelief. “Ao’nung is just like the rest of the village, ________. You really thinking that in front of everyone else, he doesn’t shun us all the same?”

“No, Neteyam, I don’t,” you retort. “Because Ao’nung is nice. He goes to great lengths to make me feel welcome, like Awa’atlu is home.”

“So he puts on a show and you’re so willing to be with him, huh?” Neteyam seethes quietly. “We’re your home, ________. Ao’nung is earning brownie points with his parents having you hooked, but do you really think he sees you?”

You swallow, biting the inside of your cheek as you stare up at Neteyam in resignation.

“You can be so callous sometimes,” you whisper, turning to leave the conversation.

“I’m not done talking to you,” Neteyam sighs.

“Well, I am.”

You never make it back to the marui that night, still embarrassed that two of Sully’s had noticed that you were ditching your hammock as soon as the village turned in for the evenings. Instead, you wander around the beaches, collecting shells and little trinkets for morning handicrafts with Tuk.

After the island glows both from the luminescence of the habitat and the moon, you stand post, waiting for the familiar pad of Ao’nung’s feet over the sand. You watch the stars up above to distract you, fingers twitching as you recall your argument with Neteyam earlier in the day.

You know he was looking for chords to strike, but something akin to insecurity begins to root itself inside of you as the stars begin shifting further and further, indicating that a wide span of time has elapsed. The village is still, but your mind is racing as Ao’nung’s whereabouts remain a mystery.

Regardless you wait. You wait so long, you’d resorted to planting yourself in the sand, and after what felt like infinity, the morning eclipse begins. When the village starts to turn over for the day, curtains and drapery being pulled back to reveal slowly waking families, you finally stand, heart in your hands.

When you return to your pod, Neteyam is already up, posted on the edge of the walkway with his toes in the water.

He’s shooting up when he sees you.

“Where have you been?” he demands as you draw nearer.

His face softens when he sees the first tear arch over your sculpted cheekbone.

You quickly wipe it away.

“No where,” you grumble, pushing past him.

“________,” he urges.

You deflect his reaching hands.

“I’m serious, Neteyam,” you warn, the look in your golden eyes deadly. “Leave me alone.”

Despite not seeing Ao’nung the entirety of the day, you return to your post the next night, hoping the night prior had been a fluke. The seeds of the spartan fruit are held tight in your fist and you use them as a vessel to wish hard. But it’s futile when the stars that map the skies continue to inch and you continue to wait.

On the fourth night of Ao’nung’s absence, you decide to get to the bottom of things.

You weave through the maruis, into the village’s circle right before eclipse. You spot Tsireya first, then him. He isn’t hard to miss when you’ve grown to know the drape of his curling hair and the bass of his hearty laugh.

Rotxo, who sits opposite them, notices you first and his smile falters.

Ao’nung’s neck cranes and his face shutters as he locks eyes with you.

“________, hi,” he greets simply.

“Hi?” you parrot, the spartan seeds you were beginning to use as a safety blanket clutched tight in your fist. “That’s it?”

Ao’nung turns completely, waving off his sister and Rotxo as he stands to his full height.

“What are you—“

“I waited for you,” you hiccup, shocked at the emotion that hijacks every morsel of resolve and composure you’ve always kept a tight lid on. “I waited for you, but you never came.”

Ao’nung’s hands are on your shoulders, nudging you to a more private area, an alcove hidden among arched and gnarled tree roots.

“________, I don’t understand,” he says quietly. “You—“

“I waited for you so that we could plant these stupid seeds and—“

Your unfurled fist catches his attention and his eyes widen when he sees that you’ve gripped them so hard in your hands, your palms are bleeding.

He makes a move to grab you injured hand, but your fist tightens again.

“This is inappropriate,” Ao’nung says sharply, eyes pleading.

“What is?” you ask desperately.

“You and me,” he says, like it should make sense. “This isn’t right.”

Like a time warp, you’re brought back to the glowing forest before your departure. You see Neteyam’s disappointed expression, the twinge of disgust lacing his features at the thought of wanting you like you wanted him.

Your heart shatters.

Just when you thought you were getting over it all. Just when you thought that Ao’nung made you feel alive. Made you feel things you’d never felt before, he was extinguishing every sweet moment. If he was trying to cut ties before you could fall, it was too late. He was dousing the flames that had grown to engulf him and you don’t know how much more you can take.

“Why would you do this?” you whisper brokenly. “I wanted to be left alone. Why would you force yourself into my life if you don’t want to be in it in the first place? Why would you make me want you?”

Ao’nung’s expression turns sour.

“I want to be there for you, ________,” he says fiercely. “You shine so bright and you are so incredible, you don’t even know it, but I can’t do this.”

“Why?” you hoarse.

“You are promised to someone else,” he says vehemently. “This entire time, I have sought you out with the intention of making you mine, but your heart belongs to someone else.”

Your face crumples.

“What are you— I don’t—“

“Neteyam told me to stay away from you,” Ao’nung says. “That you two would solidify your union once it was safe to go back home.”

“No,” you interject. “That’s not—“

“Don’t be cruel,” he says quietly. “I don’t think I can take it.”

“No, Neteyam and I are nothing,” you spit. “We—“

The fury hits you full force as you pull away from Ao’nung and stalk away.

You don't you hear him rushing to catch up with you. It’s like you’re underwater, hearing muffled as you map the woven path to the Sully’s marui.

Everything is absolutely red as you clock him.

Neteyam is laughing with Lo’ak and Kiri when you approach.

The expression on your face is murderous when he looks up and he pales as he stands to meet your barreling figure. You’re shoving him away from you as soon as he steps in your immediate space.

“How could you?” you cry out.

Kiri and Lo’ak’s eyes are wide at your outburst, the warrior of few words teeming with anger and emotion as you square your shoulders. Kiri nudges Lo’ak’s shoulder and gestures towards their marui to give you two some privacy.

“________—“

“You told Ao’nung we were promised to each other?” you press, finger jabbing his chest heatedly.

His face contorts as his spine straightens.

“Yes, ________, I did,” he confirms, nearly smug.

“Why?” you cry out. “After everything, why would you—“

“You’re mine, ________,” he blurts, fists shaking as he closes in on you. “All mine, and I refuse to let anyone have you. Especially Ao’nung.”

The boy who stands before you is unrecognizable, so taken by anger and envy.

“You’re heartless,” you whimper.

“Me?” he asks incredulously, voice breaking as he comes up to grab you by your biceps. “You– You made me fall for you and suddenly you–“

“I liked you first,” you choke, eyes searching his wildly. “I liked you first and you told me that you were sorry. In that moment, I could see how you saw me. Pitiful, coarse, misplaced. Ao’nung doesn’t make me feel that way.”

“Ao’nung doesn’t—“

“For once in my life, I feel okay. I feel like I can finally breathe, and that upsets you? You’re jealous? All I’ve known is the forest from a distance, coinciding with clans that make me feel like an outsider! When it’s me and him, that’s all it is, just two souls existing together. This is the first time I can say such.” Your voice is hoarse, drawing wandering eyes.

Neteyam’s face softens.

His entire time growing up with you in the forest, he’d never seen you display as much of yourself as you had in this moment. He can feel it pouring from you, every feeling you’d kept locked tight in your heart. He sees it in your eyes, nearly feral as you tremble in his hold.

“You love him?” It comes out more like a statement, his chest heaving.

Love. A word that holds the weight of a thousand suns. Four letters that seal your fate.

Did you love Ao’nung?

No. You didn’t, but maybe…maybe you could learn to. You could learn to love him just how he’d learned you, how he meticulously dismantled every doubt you had in him.

“I could,” you whisper.

Neteyam’s grasp loosens and he looks wounded as he backs away from you, peering down at you like he doesn’t recognize the person you’ve become.

As the cloud dissipates, you become aware of the eyes watching the entire debacle.

You shrink, mortified that nearly the entire village knows of your feelings for their Olo’eyktan’s son.

You turn on your heel to flee, but a sturdy body stands a few feet away, leaned against one of the twisted trunks of a tree supporting the surrounding maruis.

You swallow.

“A-Ao’nung,” you splutter.

His smile is soft, knowing, as he pushes off the tree and comes to stand in front of you.

“You’re popular, little leaf.”

You buckle, head bowing in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, Ao’nung,” you murmur. “I…”

His hand comes around your head and pushes your face into the smooth skin of his chest.

You soften.

“Why are you sorry?” he asks, hand caressing your loosening braids.

“This must be embarrassing,” you whisper.

He spins your bodies, tugging you back down along the path you marched to confront Neteyam.

“You could never embarrass me,” he assures you, guiding you towards the village circle. One of his hands turns yours over, inspecting the tiny wounds as you two hurry along. “Let’s get you fixed up, okay?”

You can barely swallow around the lump forming in your throat as he climbs up into an empty pod used for treating the wounded and helps you up.

“Sit,” he coaxes, striding to the ledges of supplies, meticulously organized by his own mother.

You obey, tears streaking your cheeks as you tuck one leg under the other. You don’t feel like the mighty warrior Jake and many of the Omatikaya have made you out to be all of these years.

You feel small, and you feel weak. All because of a boy.

“Hand, please,” he says gently, kneeling in front of you with an arm full of remedies.

You oblige, offering your shaky hand, palm up.

The blood has dried, revealing small little angry lacerations that sting when he pours a thin liquid to clean them. You hiss and the tears start again.

“Stop,” he murmurs, wiping away the rivulets that slip. “Stop crying.”

“I’m sorry,” you repeat, fist balling involuntarily when he slathers a viscous mixture on your palm that soothes the burns.

“Stop apologizing,” he says softly. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

He places a leaf over your palm and then wraps your hand in a soft cloth that sates the ache. When you’re all patched up, he brings your fingers to his lips, then holds them tightly in his lap.

“I need to hear it for myself,” he sighs.

“Hear what?” you croak.

“Every moment I spent with you since your arrival has been precious to me,” Ao’nung says. “I want you to say it to me.”

You’re in knots, swallowing hard as he blurs.

You take a gasping breath as you will yourself not to cry.

“I want you, Ao’nung. I see you,” you warble. “And I’m petrified to admit it because admitting it means I’m being vulnerable, but I want you to see me too.”

His lips curve, pulling you forward so that you have to catch yourself on your uninjured hand.

“You scared me for a little there,” he whispers, mouth a hairsbreadth from yours. “I don’t know what I would do if all that time we spent together meant nothing to you.”

You swallow for the thousandth time.

“Never,” you shudder.

His smile widens.

“You’re not gonna stop me, are you?” he asks, lips ghosting yours as his eyes search your own.

“No,” you murmur.

“Good,” he sighs.

He kisses you like you’re delicate, pulling you into him to taste every unspoken word you’ve held onto since the first night he came to you.

When he pulls away from you, forehead resting against yours, he’s so quiet when he whispers.

But you hear him all the same.

“I see you, little leaf.”

an — AHH second full length oneshot is done! if you've made it this far, i thank you again! i had so much fun writing this request and once more want to express gratitude the anon to shot me this idea! ALSO purposefully left out details of their little rendezvous' so that i could do some drabbles for them in the future! next fic is (finally) the lo'ak x reader i've been blabbing about.

#ao'nung #ao'nung x reader #ao'nung imagine #avatar the way of water #avatar #avatar way of water #avatar the movie #neteyam fic #neteyam x reader #neteyam

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