Crystals and Lessons and Rumours

The next morning, Tsireya decided to teach the children more about the customs of the sea people and the ecosystem they evolved in.

Before that, Sylwa had sewn up a new sea Navi outfit with the materials Tsireya had found her. She had sewn up a one-strap bikini of seaweed with tendrils that fell past her chest and she had decorated it with shells and placed the pearl she had found in the centre like a brooch. And she had also embroidered a short sarong-themed skirt of the same green/red seaweed with some long pieces of kelp hanging from her right hip.

"Good look. It suits you," Kiri complimented.

"You too," Sylwa said back, observing her new vest made of kelp and seaweed tendrils. Tuk was wearing weaves of seaweed as well with shell necklaces which they had made together.

The boys were wearing new items of accessories too and most of Lo'ak's hair had been tied but he left his two main beaded strands dangling by his right side. Still, he wore the necklace Sylwa had given him when they were children, a special colourful stone of lapis blue. And she had another one but of a pink colour.

The chief's daughter guided them around the village and they observed more of the village's traditional practices including fish and symbolically killing it. Their way was so much different than their old forests' one. She had even offered to take them around in a boat. They gleefully accepted and whilst the boys rowed, the girls observed Metikyena children being tutored to dive underwater. Unlike them, their training took only a few hours to complete. As they were sea Navi, they were born with these aquatic natural instincts.

After a while of rowing, they stopped the boat and they all chilled out under the sun, their fingers dangling in the water.

"Spider would have loved this," said Kiri; like her twin siblings, she deeply missed him.

Sylwa pursed her lips. They decided not to talk about him, afraid they would create a moment of sadness and deep longing. The last thing they wanted was to upset their brothers and younger sister.

A moment passed and they made their way back to shore. They passed by their parents talking with Tsireya's parents. The general however watched the Sully parents, particularly Jake sceptically. No matter how much they improved, he remained suspicious as ever. As if they were the enemy. When he noticed the twins glancing repulsively over at him, he sneered back. Neteyam turned them away and they continued walking through the village.

They came to a nice, secluded spot and decided to sit down for a while. Whilst Neteyam sat with Kiri and Tuk and they talked, Tsireya observed Lo'ak and Sylwa talking together, exchanging chuckles and laughter. As they did, she began to cry a bit. Heartfelt memories were jogging up in her brain as seeing the two together made her picture herself and a dear loved one sitting together in that same spot, watching the view of this amazing island.

Sylwa heard her sniffles and turned around. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, wiping her tears. "It's nothing. Are you guys reading to learn some more lessons about the ocean environment?". Everyone sat around her. "Being part of the Metikyena is more than just about diving. You need to learn more about the sea and all of its creatures other than ilus. There is one particular creature we call our spiritual brethren. The Tulkun,"

"Are they huge?" asked Tuk.

"Oh yes. Very huge,"

"Are they as big as whales?" Sylwa asked. Tsireya was confused. "Like as in ginormous," she drew an etch on a large creature with fins and a finned tail,"

"Yes. Just like that," explained Tsireya. "It's not very long now until they visit our village as they do every season. You'll love them. It's such a beautiful moment when we reunite with our brothers and sisters,"

"What other creatures lurk in the sea?" asked Neteyam.

"There's one creature you don't want to fight. The Akula. It's the largest sea predator. Three mighty jaws. Sometimes travels in groups. One big reason we don't go out to the open sea,". Tsireya continued explaining about the different fishes and creatures of the deep.

"Has anyone ever travelled to the very bottom of the sea out there?" asked Lo'ak.

Neteyam elbowed him. "What?"

"That has never happened. We do not know any creatures that live at the bottom of the deep except possibly…" she paused. The children were confused why she'd pause like that.

"Are you forgetting to teach them about the Taquamare?" came an unexpected, unwanted voice. It was Aonung, standing nearby with his goons. The twins stood up on alert, ready to defend their family if he dared to mock them.

"What's a Taquamare?" asked Tuk.

"Only the scariest daemon in the seas," Roxto made scary faces as he and all the bullies surrounded them making mean scary faces much to the Tsireya's annoyance. "Everyone knows what happens to Navi who got out to the open sea. They roam the sea, just waiting for Navi so they can eat them,"

"Stories from the other clans say that they spew blood and launch deadly weapons from their mouths to kill their prey and take over islands. They can make huge whirlpools to kill entire troops of fishermen," a bully jeered.

"If you're trying to scare us, it's not working," asked Neteyam, not liking Roxto scaring his youngest sibling.

"Actually, I think it is," said Aonung back, looking at Tuk who was getting a bit scared. "People say they have eyes that hypnotise you into following them to your doom," he booed, trying to make the youngest girl hide behind Kiri in fright.

Lo'ak shoved him away. "Nice try but you're not going to frighten us enough into leaving," he said, crossing his arms. "You're just making this up when you don't even know them,"

"You should be scared," Aonung leaned in. "Cause they're the last thing you see,"

"That's bolshevik," scoffed Sylwa. "How do you know that's even true when you haven't actually seen one?"

"You calling me a liar?" Aonung threatened.

"Back off," Neteyam warned, behind Sylwa's back.

"Just because you hear things doesn't mean they're true," Sylwa still wasn't gonna back away. Ignoring Neteyam's tense grip on her shoulder trying to urge her to stop talking, she continued speaking. "Sometimes they're either lies or the people that tell them choose to be ignorant of the real story. How can you even judge a creature like that when your people haven't actually encountered one?"

Tsireya blinked quite surprised by her wisdom.

"She got you there Mr," Lo'ak mocked at Aonung with a big smirk. "You're just being a skewing because you think it's fun to be mean about something that's different from you,"

Aonung just snarled back and walked off.

Neteyam gave the twins a look. "What?!" they asked together.

"I admire your wisdom," Tsireya said to them. "But they mustn't be mentioned at all in this village,"

"Has anyone here actually seen a Taquamare?" asked Sylwa down to Tsireya.

"Not really," said Tsireya. "No one truly knows what kind of creatures they are. But they conserved very dangerous. Some call them 'daemons of the deep'"

"Then why are they considered dangerous if no one here has ever seen one?" Lo'ak asked.

"Rumours from the other tribes say that anyone who has ever tried to see one is never heard from again. They're not to be mentioned around the village. Especially around my father. Got it?"

"Okay," Neteyam nodded, Kiri and Tuk in agreement. Sylwa and Lo'ak however were hesitant.

Once the morning passed, Lo'ak and Sylwa decided to sneak off once again for some twin time. Sylwa had her knapsack with her item with her, including her sketchbook. She hoped their dad wouldn't find out. She and Lo'ak were hoping to find Atuiko so she could share her drawings with him.

They walked along the beach on the outskirts of the village.

"It feels great to have some twin time together," said Sylwa. "I can't believe we've improved so much,". She noticed Lo'ak seemed rather quiet. "Lo'ak, are you okay?"

"I can't stop thinking about that creature. The Taquamare. I just find it ludicrous that people call them daemons when they don't even truly know them. They probably treat them like that because they're different,"

"I don't believe those rumours either," agreed Sylwa.

Their conversation was disturbed by the sudden chorus of cruel laughter and desperate cries. They walked past some palm trees and to their alarm saw Aonung and his friends tormenting Atuiko, poking and pushing him around. And Roxto was just standing there, doing nothing.

"Are you crying little fishy boy?" mocked the cruel prince.

"Leave me alone!" begged the kid in tears.

"Cry, cry all you want baby," taunted another teen.

Before Aonung could say another mean thing, Lo'ak and Sylwa marched onto the scene. "What do you think you're doing?" the girl spat as they pushed past them and stood in front of the kid.

"Why don't you mind doing your own business Forest people?" Aonung warned.

"Mock us all you want but leave this kid alone," Lo'ak gestured to the kid behind them who stared at them, awed by their action to protect him. "He's one of your own,"

"He's a disgrace to our way of life,"

"You take that back!" Sylwa snapped, pointing a finger at him.

"Or else what?" jeered the cruel teen. "Cause I smell fear,"

"I'll give you something to smell," Sylwa pulled out some deodorant and sprayed it right at their faces. They coughed and gagged and wheezed. They ran away from the stinky odour. "That's right you bullies! Run! Run!"

"And don't you come back and hurt this boy again!" Lo'ak took in a deep smell. And then exhaled gloriously. "Smells like victory. Good thinking sissy," he praised, high-fiving her.

"My secret weapon," Sylwa stored it in her side pouch.

"Where'd you get it from?"

"Norm gave it to me. Told me to use it against you and Teyam if you pranked me again,"

Lo'ak frowned. She chuckled and he punched her shoulder. He turned around to his friend. "You okay kid?". He fretfully nodded. "Come here," Lo'ak offered a hug and the kid instantly hugged him tightly. "There. There. It's okay," he rubbed his back. "No one's going to hurt you,"

"Thank you both for standing up for me," he sniffled. "You really might get in trouble for that,"

"We've been in trouble for worse," assured Sylwa. "Besides it's not right to just stand back and do nothing,". Atuiko let go and wiped his eyes. "There. There," she comforted. "Wipe away the tears. The big, bad bully is gone,"

"Why did Roxto let them pick on you?" Lo'ak asked, flabbergasted that the boy would let his friends pick on his own brother.

"Because he wants to stay in Aonung's good graces rather than jeopardise his friendship with him,"

"Then he's a bad brother," said Sylwa disdainfully. She wished that Atuiko had the same amount of backup she had from her brothers whenever she was picked on.

"Those guys are just jerks," Lo'ak comforted. "Why don't we go for a walk before we get into any more trouble? Come," he offered her hand again. Atuiko took it and Sylwa offered hers. He took it too. The trio walked along the coastline together. They came to a nice, secluded spot along the beach and sat under some trees. "This is nice right?" the girl twin observed the beauty of the island and the pools, wishing she could sketch it.

"Wonderful. And most importantly no Aonung for miles," Lo'ak checked the coast was clear.

"Why were they making fun of you?"

Atuiko didn't want to answer; he looked ashamed. Lo'ak could almost see himself in him.

"We won't laugh at you. We promise," his kindness touched the little boy's heart.

"I'm afraid of the water!" he blabbered out, crying a bit. The twins were shocked. An ocean Navi afraid of water? "I nearly drowned when I was a kid. And because of that, I freak out every time I'm near water. And those boys make fun of me for it. They say I'm a disgrace to the tribe and they're right. And it's all because I'm scared of water," he cried into his hands, unable to show his puffy face to the twins.

"It's okay kid," Lo'ak comforted him, patting his back. "Everyone's scared of something,"

Atuiko wiped his face and nose and turned his head from left to right looking at them. "Even you two?"

"Of course. We can't all be unafraid of everything,"

"What are you scared of?"

"Viperwolves," Lo'ak shivered.

"One time back at our rainforest home, we accidentally stumbled into a viperwolf nest and you should have seen the look on his face when he screamed," Sylwa giggled. Lo'ak rolled his eyes in embarrassment.

"What about you?" Atuiko asked Sylwa.

He turned her head way slightly. "Fire," her skin quivered remembering the night that had changed their lives forever.

"Is that how you got your scar?" the kid couldn't help but ask. His answer was a nod.

"The Sky people did that to her," said Lo'ak bitterly. "When they came back and destroyed much of the forest we grew up in," The kid sympathised with Sylwa and reach over to touch her hand, she clasped it back tenderly appreciating the compliment. The brother decided to change the topic again. "The point we're saying is 'kid' is….you shouldn't be ashamed of fearing something. The only thing that matters is what you do to face it,"

"But I can't do anything right. I'll never be like my people. I'm useless,"

"Don't say that" Sylwa tried to comfort him with little effort.

"And I feel so small. And I'm older than your younger sister,"

"Being little isn't a bad thing," Lo'ak said.

"Yes, it is," the kid argued.

"No, it's not,"

"Is too,"

"Is not,"

They kept on arguing back and forth much to Sylwa's annoyance. "Here," she picked up a stone. "Pretend that it's a seed,"

"But it's a rock,"

"I know but let's just pretend for a minute that it's a seed. See all these trees," Sylwa pointed to all the tall mangrove trees that towered the island, dominating the vegetation, providing each and every ocean Navi with homes. "They didn't all start that way did they?"

The kid shook his head. "No,"

"Well…our granny says that we are all trees. We start off as seeds. And with growth and time, we become trees. The point is kid…you may not think you can do much but that's just because you need to give yourself some time. You're still a seed,"

"But it's a rock,"

Sylwa smacked her forehead. "I know it's a rock. We've both spent a lot of time around rocks," groaned Lo'ak, irritated that the kid wasn't getting it.

"You're both weird," said the kid. "But I like you two," The teens smiled. "You two are really nice. I just wish the chief would put Aonung in his place. I wish it was Tsireya being the future chief,"

"You and me both kid," Sylwa swung her arm around his shoulder. He smuggled into her embrace again. "At least she's more responsible and she doesn't judge people for how they look,"

"Me three," Lo'ak wrapped his arm around both of them. "And Sylwa has a crush on her,"

Sylwa freed herself from them. "I do not,"

"Come on," her brother continued to tease. "Me and Neteyam see the way you look at her when you see her," he blinked twice at her.

"We're just friends. She's been so kind to all of us since we got here and I'm very grateful for that. End, of story," still her twin has her the goo-goo eyes and she rolled them in annoyance.

"I see the way he looks at you," Atuiko teased. "I've never seen a girl attracted to another girl before. Very strange but so beautiful,". He blinked at her, pretending to be Tsireya.

"You know where our dad comes from, that kind of relationship isn't accepted everywhere. And it won't be accepted here even if it were true. Which it isn't,". She said that last sentence quickly. They wouldn't stop giving her goofy smiles. She growled and smacked her forehead. "Just drop it,". But her heart rate accelerated in her chest as she felt her cheeks blushing. "Here," she pulled out her sketchbook. "As I promised Atuiko," she opened it and the kid marvelled at the pictures of all the landscapes of the forest. "It's amazing,"

"That's where we're from," said Lo'ak. "You'd love it all. The mountains. The forests,"

"I once had dreams about visiting different lands as a kid. My mother and I once dreamed of going on adventures together, seeing the world. But I'm stuck on this land unable to step even a foot into the water. I'm such a scaredy fish," he gave Sylwa her sketchbook back and hugged his legs, burying his head into his knees.

Lo'ak and Sylwa exchanged painful expressions. They sympathised with him. They knew what it felt like to be ostracised by your own community just because you were different from them.

Lo'ak would not see him upset like this. "Why don't we give you some swimming lessons?" he offered to the kid.

Atuiko wasn't sure. "Are you sure? Won't you guys feel degraded or embarrassed to be teaching a kid who's supposed to know this by instinct? I wanted to ask Tsireya to help but I was so afraid of embarrassing her,"

"Of course not, kid. We'll help you," he said. "Won't we Sylwa,"

"Absolutely," she said. She stood up, pulled off her rucksack and hid it by a tree. "Come on," she stood up and offered a hand. "We'll start off easy,"

"Okay," Atuiko took her hand and Lo'ak took his other one.

They quietly walked to the gentle shorelines. "We'll just paddle into the water and do a bit of swimming," Lo'ak knelt beside him. "You ready kid?" He nodded. "We'll go in together,"

They stood before the gentle tide bobbing to and fro along the sand. "Three. Two. One…" Sylwa counted down. "Let's go. We'll take it slowly. If you want us to stop…just stay so,"

"Okay," he said. The kid became frantic with fear, afraid already. But feeling his new friend's hands in his own, he felt a little brave. Together they walked slowly into the water. They walked in till the water reached their knees.

"Enjoying the water kid?" Lo'ak asked.

"Not bad," he confessed.

"It feels great doesn't it?" encouraged the girl twin.

"It does,"

"Okay. Now we're just going to do a bit of swimming," Sylwa stood in front of him. "You can do this kid. And we'll be with you, the whole way. Okay?"

Atuiko nodded. They let go of his hands and walked in a bit further until the water reached his chest.

"Now here's what you need to do," Lo'ak instructed. He started swimming slowly, waving his arms to and fro under the water to keep him up. "You see it's easy,"

Atuiko was too scared.

"It's all right. Your fin-like tail will keep you upwards. It'll be okay," promised Sylwa.

The kid took a deep soothing breath and he walked in slowly till he felt his chin touching the surface. Then he waved his fin-like arms under the water and wagged his tail. He was floating. "I'm doing it," he cheered.

"I knew you could do it," said Lo'ak proudly.

"We'll try a few lengths underwater. And you've got to take in some deep breaths," said Sylwa. "If you freak out, we'll bring you up to the surface,"

Atuiko nodded. "Okay,"

Lo'ak and Sylwa took in deep breaths and dived underwater. Atuiko followed. As he swam underwater, the twins held out their hands and he took them. They swam underwater, seeing all the cool fish. As the twins held his hands, the kid suddenly felt all his ancestral instincts kicking back into him.

He made some noises with his mouth and the twins realised that he needed to go back up for air. They swam up to the surface and bobbed above the water. "Beautiful under there right," said Lo'ak.

"It is," said Atuiko. "I think I can feel it all coming back to me,"

"That's wonderful. Are you ready for some more swimming?" asked Sylwa.

Atuiko nodded. If today was the day he was going to get over his phobia and the twins were going to help him, then today was that day.

For the next few hours, the twins taught him everything Tsireya had taught them. As Atuiko was a reef Navi, it was easier for him to absorb everything. When it came to the ilu riding, Atuiko was quite nervous. So Lo'ak offered to ride with him. As Sylwa watched them from the beach, pulling out her sketchbook and drawing them, she smiled as she saw them having so much fun.

"This is so fun!" screamed out Atuiko for joy. The ilu leapt out of the water and he and Lo'ak screamed for fun as they went in for a splash. As they resurfaced he turned his attention to Lo'ak who had become extremely brotherly to him these last few weeks. "Thank you so much Lo'ak,"

"We underdogs have to look after each other," he said. The kid was confused. "It's a meaning for people who are different,"

They swam back to the secluded beach and together with Sylwa, they lay down on the sand, staring at the sky as the sun set across the sea.

"Isn't this nice?" said Sylwa.

"Such a beautiful sunset," said the kid. "Thank you so much, guys. I guess all it took was a simple step into the water and everything just had to kick right back in. But I couldn't have done it without you two,"

"Here," she reached into her side pouch and handed him her deodorant can. "You just threaten them with that and they'll leave you alone,"

"Thank you," he took it and clutched it tightly.

"Won't last forever though," she warned.

To their surprise, the kid looped his arms around both of them, pulling them into a big hug. "Thank you. Thank you. So much. You're the best friends I've ever had," Surprised by touched by his act of affection, the twins hugged him back. "I like hugs,"

"So do we, Atu," said Lo'ak. "Would you like that to be your nickname?"

"I love it. "Can I show you guys something?" he asked ecstatically.

The twins nodded eagerly. The kid took them to the far side of the island where they came across a group of goliath sea caves carved into the secluded cliffs. A curtain of long seaweed hung in front of them.

"Is this secret?" asked Lo'ak.

"Probably," said the kid with a cheesy smile. The twins grinned back. They walked through the curtains of green kelp and ahead of them was the most incredible thing they had ever seen. Before them was a giant crystal of multiple colours with etches on them.

"That is..." Lo'ak breathed.

"So…" continued his sister.

"Amazing," they finished together.

"I know right," cheered the kid.

"What is it?" asked Lo'ak.

"I don't know. I found it a few weeks ago," they approached it and they clanked at the amazing details.

"Is it a sacred crystal?" asked Sylwa. She peered closer at the etches.

"Dunno," said the kid. "It looked like it had been hidden for such a long time when I found it.

"Well, it looks beautiful," said Lo'ak. As he peered closer, he noticed there were some sacred flowers around the crystal. But they looked dead. Perhaps this crystal was sacred to Eywa.

"This is my secret hiding spot," he showed them, his giant drawings on the walls.

"Wow. You're an artist," complimented Sylwa.

"You can come here and do all the sketching you'd like," he offered. "This will be the underdog cave," he said. "Go underdogs!". Lo'ak offered a high-five and he did it.

"We should head back. Our families will be wondering where we are and my father will not be happy," they left the cave, pulling the curtains over again, hiding their now-shared secret spot. They made their way along the beaches towards the village. "Why is my father so antagonizing towards you guys and your family anywhere? You've never done him wrong,"

"It's because he thinks we're the enemy," Lo'ak looked at his five-fingered hand. His twin did too.

"Not all the Sky people are bad," said Sylwa. "We have a best friend who's a sky person and our father fought against his father to save the forest. And we don't judge him for being the enemy's son,"

"Then it means you two have such open hearts. You don't judge people for what they look like or what other people say about them. You choose to find the good within them," said the kid proudly. The twins couldn't help but blush to hear him say that. And in a way, they thought he was right.

They came back into the village and luckily none of their parents were nearby.

"Well, see you guys tomorrow," said Atuiko.

"See you later Atu," Lo'ak offered a fist. "It's a fist bump,"

The kid punched it and then he punched Sylwa's. "I love your customs guys. They're very cool,"

"Atuiko!" shouted a voice. They turned around to see the general marching towards them. Nearby were Roxto and Aonung, an arrogant smirk on the latter's face. Lo'ak and Sylwa gulped. They were afraid they were in trouble.

"What are you doing hanging out with these daemons?" demanded the general.

Lo'ak and Sylwa were struck hearing him call them that. "They're my friends!" Atuiko snapped back. "And you have no right to call them that!"

"I specifically told you to stay with your brother and his friends,"

"They were picking on him," Lo'ak defended.

"I did not give you permission to speak daemon," the general snapped.

"How dare you speak to him like that," Sylwa spoke back. "What have we ever done to you? Ever since we got here, all we've done is try to fit in but all you do is judge people for what they look like,"

The general growled. He looked like he was about to snap or do something more violent.

"What do you think you're doing to my children?" shouted a voice. They turned around to see Neytiri marching on the scene. She stood between her general and her son. "You touch a single hair on either of their heads and you'll answer to me,"

"Tell your children to stay away from my own and we won't have a problem,"

"You can't do that," Sylwa spat back.

"They caused trouble with the chief's son and his friends,"

"They were picking on your youngest kid," Lo'ak spoke back. "Your favourite son was just standing by doing nothing,". As he spoke, Roxto flinched hearing him speak like that about him. But Aonung's firm glance made him straighten up.

"Lo'ak," hissed Neytiri. She looked at the general with a cold expression. "Don't you ever antagonise my children like that. And your son can play with them as much as they'd like,". Atuiko smiled at her, happy that she wasn't getting in the way of their friendship the same way his father was. "You allow them to spend time together…and we won't have a problem,"

Soxato fumed. "I bid you all good night," she gently guided her children away and they waved back to Atuiko who skipped off in a merry mood much to the bewilderment of his brother and Aonung.

As they walked towards their hut, Lo'ak noticed that their mother looked quite upset and angry at the same time. "Are you gonna tell Dad?" he asked, a bit scared of seeing his heated face again.

"I'm his mate. I don't have to tell him everything," she said. "I quelled things with the chief because your father could be informed of the matter,"

The twins sighed in relief. But they still received a firm glare from their mother. "Mum, we were not trying to cause trouble," said Sylwa. "Those bullies were picking on Atu and we stepped in. You and Dad always taught us to defend someone when they're being bullied,"

"I'm proud of you two. And I'm happy you've made a new friend," she said. "But your father specifically said not to get into any sort of conflict,"

"All she did was spray deodorant into their faces and it scared them away," said Lo'ak. Bad move. Sylwa glared at him for giving it away like that.

Neytiri sighed. She saw her knapsack. "We specially told you not to use any of your gadgets,"

"It was the only thing I could think of to scare them away. And all I did was just show Atuiko my drawings,". Neytiri glanced more firmly at her. "And I did a bit of drawing," she forced herself to say.

Neytiri stopped them and looked into their eyes. "I know how difficult it has been for you two. It was just as hard as it was for your father to fit in because he had sky people qualities. He knows that it's part of who you are. But to these people, sky people are the enemy. And we cannot act like them,"

"So, we're just supposed to hide who we are?" asked Lo'ak.

Neytiri sighed. "Yes,"

That's the next chapter done. What did you all think? And the new creature's name: The Taquamare? And the mysterious crystal Atuiko showed the twins. I hope you've enjoyed it. Please will you send reviews and let me know what you all thought. And please, please send what you all think will happen in Avatar 3 based on what's been released on the internet. See you all