An: The first bit is from Bwonsamdi's point of view and contains the torture and death of a child. It also covers her rebirth and near-death experience with the tree.
The sacrifice on the altar was different this time. Bwonsamdi couldn't anything but watch as the child was held down and Zalazane began his dark ritual. The little Darkspear screamed her loudest and it still wasn't enough. No one would miss one more orphan of conflict, slipping through the cracks.
Bwonsamdi made himself watch as Zalazane kept her alive with his voodoo magic. He didn't look away when the traitor began to cut into the little girl's belly, removing her guts. The suffering...it beat at him like a heavy metal bar swung in the hands of an enraged orc. Yet, he couldn't get close enough in his weakened state to gather her soul up and spirit it away.
This wee little Darkspear whose only crime had been to exhibit shamanistic abilities at a young age was being sacrificed in his name. The fact made Bwonsamdi sick. It wasn't even her time to die. Zalazane's decision to do this went directly against the natural order of things.
When it was done, he took the confused and frightened soul in his hands and first took away the residual pain. "Ya just think ya still be feelin' it. I'll help ya catch up." The little ball of light cradled in his palm calmed. Second, Bwonsamdi took the memory of the pain. "Ya be too young. It was far too soon. I'm going to make it so you don't remember and then I'm going to get ya a second chance."
It took him forever to argue this deal out of the Arbiter, but eventually a deal was struck. She could be reincarnated almost immediately, no sitting around in the shadowlands. The only catch was that she wouldn't be reborn on Azeroth. Or even in this star system. Also like every other rebirth, she would lose all memory of her previous life.
"It be for the best. But ya won't be alone. I will be by ya the whole time." Bwonsamdi was allowed time to mark her soul so he could find her, and then he handed her over to the arbiter and went back to deal with Zalazane. Rastakhan...Rastakhan was helpful. By the time he triumped over Zalazane and passed his mantle and Bwonsamdi on to Princess Telanji, Bwonsamdi felt the tugging that signified his marked Darkspear was alive. She had been concieved at long last and it was time for him to see what kind of world it was.
Finding her was easy enough, for she was surrounded by a tribe that would love her when they finally discovered her existence. Bwonsamdi took time when he could to come back to this living planet they called Pandora and study the culture. He felt odd, watching over a child whose own parents didn't know she existed yet. The woman, Grace Augustine was a scientist and she adored the planet and the people on it, although she seemed unlikely to label it as more than scholarly fascination. Grace had two bodies and one soul she used to jump between them.
Grace Augustine died before she could come to the realization she carried twins within her. Bwonsamdi was crushed. He didn't want to do this all again, so soon. That poor soul. He'd promised...He pulled some strings and had the babies moved from her human body to the blue one she kept in a tank. Now he was going to owe the Winter Queen in addition to the Arbiter. This was okay. He owed this soul more.
She and her twin were adopted by the human turned-tribe-leader Jake Sully before they were ever born. Then they were born and Bwonsamdi felt relief. It was done. He had seen it through just as he vowed. He visited every so often, all too aware of the mark he'd left. He was careful not to touch Kali as she was known now, lest she physically stumble. Sometimes it seemed as though the child could see him. She'd smile right at him. Once she even waved. Don't. They won't understand.
Unfortunately, Kali Sully was a clumsy child and he couldn't stick to that for long. It seemed like everytime he was checking on her, he had to tap her. Make her stumble just out of reach of some danger or the other, making use of the fact she was quite literally touched by death to move her soul and in turn her body.
One day he was nearly too late. Kali was at the top of the rainforest canopy when he came to visit, glowing the way only a ten year-old could when they'd done something they probably really shouldn't. She had made quite a climb, nearly two thousand feet from the forest floor. It was raining. Bwonsamdi sighed. Everytime she had a close brush with him or his domain, the girl only seemed to grow less and less afraid of dying. More and more...open and daring. Recklessness. He thought. Beautiful freedom, to be so unbothered. This was all I ever wished for her. Maybe I can stop checkin' now-
The branch Kali rested on broke and the child began tumbling to the ground. Bwonsamdi did his best to push her toward branches, to lessen impact. She was fatally injured and Bwonsamdi poured what energy he had this far from Azeroth into sustaining her body-and-soul connection. For almost forty-eight hours, he cupped Kali's cheeks, eased her pain. Sang quiet troll lullabies. Bwonsamdi kept her warm and from going into shock. He made sure she didn't slip to death this time, helping her hold on until the scientists finally found her.
Now he watched her yelling at her adoptive father in his defense; storming off looking very much the part of an infuriated Darkspear woman. He saw the almost kiss between her and Zekhan. For perhaps the first time since her ritual sacrifice, he began to really relax. She was stronger now, strong enough to protect herself in most cases. Is my job done, now?
x
Kali was roused from her sleep in the roots by the sound of quiet swearing. Lo'ak popped into view, pulling himself down the shore. He perched on a rock jutting from the water and grumbled to himself. "Is this about that tulkun I heard of?"
He nearly jumped into the waves. "Kali! That isn't funny." He sighed. "Yeah. I basically just told Tonowari he was ignorant about Payakan's true nature. I know him. He's my brother."
"I just yelled at dad about my preferences and told him I was leaving the tribe as soon as you were found safely." She cast him a sideways glance. "Except you seem to have found yourself."
Lo'ak winced. "You've been getting more and more distant for a couple years now. I can't say I'm surprised your next big decision turned out to be leaving the tribe. This culture...it celebrates connectedness in all things. You will be thought a freak. Are you alright with that?"
"Lo'ak they already call me names. At least here with the sea people I don't hear most of them." She sighed. "My twin will always be more impressive than me and I can't take being compared to someone for the rest of my life."
"Maybe the strangers will take you with them when they figure out how to get home." Lo'ak suggested.
"Maybe you should leave too. Live on the sea with this Payakan. You could make a floating hut out there easily enough." She gauged his reaction, trying to see her sibling's mental state.
Lo'ak heaved a big sigh. "You have no idea how good that sounds. I'll never be as good as Neteyam. I only ever seem to piss dad off. Gets worse the harder I try. But I can't."
Kali nodded. She understood. Usually the only Na'vi who could be found living on their own were the suicidal ones or the elderly who didn't wish to burden the tribe any longer. "I think the one with the red mohawk was going to kiss me." She blushed, the thought not all that bad to her.
"What did you do in the forest that whole week?" Lo'ak looked like he might turning a little green.
"He was actually just teaching me something I can apparently do." She hesitated. "I'd show you, but I'm not sure I could produce results on command."
"Do you like him?"
Kali laughed, about to brush him off by saying she didn't really know Zekhan but..."Something deep within me says that he's...Ah shit. I don't know, Lo'ak. That accent is really cute."
Lo'ak made a mock wretching noise. "Alright, alright! So kiss him already. Making the first move is very much like you, I think."
"I'm sure mom and dad are going to be watching me every second of every day now."
"No. I think they're worried about Kiri. She had a seizure underwater and almost drowned." Kali sighed. Kiri. Of course.
Before they could talk on any other subject, they saw their own and father speeding by on their new mounts with Tonowari and his tsahik. Behind them, nearly able to keep time paddled Thrall. They were headed for the reef. Kali exchanged a glance with her brother. "Payakan." He said.
Kali called her ilu over. "Let's go."
x
Bwonsamdi watched her go, before turning to Zekhan. "Zappy...she be leaving again."
Zekhan stood in one fluid motion and cracked his knuckles. "I'll head them off. It's time to push Kali a bit more anyhow."
x
Kali stopped Lo'ak. "Wait. Something is off."
Zekhan stepped up out of the water until he was standing on it. "Get out of the way." She said. "My brother and I need to check on Payakan."
"You're not done learning, Sully." She flicked her eyes for Lo'ak to go on alone and turned her ilu to fully face Zekhan.
"You want to fight me?"
"Well, it's more like I don't want you to see what waits at the reef."
Kali frowned at him. "Think fast, Sully." And the water under her erupted, shooting her and her ilu up off the surface. When they crashed back down, they were separated. Kali kicked for the surface and popped her head out, coughing and spluttering.
"What the fuck, Zekhan?!" Her ilu had fled, so she was treading water as the troll stalked menacingly toward her. "Now isn't the time for training."
"Now is exactly the time, with you full of emotion." He was almost upon are. "Are you going to fight or will this be purely one-sided?"
Kali tried to copy to him, to pull herself out of the water and stand on it's surface but it was to no avail. "Zekhan-" She spluttered, starting to dip below the surface.
"Well, Sully?"
"Can't..." She slipped below the surface, sinking further the more she flailed. While she was pretty decent at floating on the top, she couldn't do it while trying to defend herself and the ilu was gone. Beyond that, Kali had very limited ability. She had just hid it very well. She was going to drown if she couldn't figure out how Zekhan was walking on the surface. There was no way he thought she couldn't swim.
She reached up, toward the surface asnit rapidly pulled away from her.