Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter fifteen of 'Gone in the Dark.' This chapter has some Jake/Neytiri. I made the decision to have a Na'vi as the main antagonist because there are not enough fics featuring such a thing. That does not mean it will remain that way. However, it will be up to me whether an antagonist turns away from being one or not. Stay tuned for chapter sixteen.
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Chapter 15: So Much Tension
Nekx stood on the pier outside the marui twenty minutes later. He had his eye on the sky. He could see three banshees flying in an almost straight line. They flapped their wings in perfect unison. The first banshee let out a loud squawk. The second banshee followed suit with a soft chirp. The third banshee cawed in return. They gave their wings two more flaps.
Nekx twitched his ears. He felt lucky to see banshees flying over the ocean every now and then. This was especially true when he saw them at night. He enjoyed seeing their silhouettes look as if they were about to merge with the moons that were in the sky at any given moment. He thought of them as being on an adventure. He believed Jake, Neytiri, and their children experienced one as they came to seek refuge with the Metkayina.
His thoughts shifted to his injured comrade. He was glad he learned the man would not be left with a very visible scar on his neck. He was rather impressed with how quickly Jake stitched up and bandaged the wound. He wondered how many marines he had to give medical care. He was not about to ask as he considered that a personal matter. However, he did not mind if the former marine was willing to share that number.
He started thinking about his injured enemy. He was amazed at how Maureen kept her breathing until she could be stabilized. He felt fortunate to have witnessed such a thing. He had a feeling she would need to have surgery on her lung, especially since he saw her breathing was problematic. He hoped the surgery would not take long and that the recovery would be quick for her.
Nekx snapped out of his thoughts when he heard approaching footsteps. He spotted Jake coming out of the mauri. Jake ran his hand over his dreads as he breathed exhaustedly. He swallowed hard before stopping next to him. Nekx twitched his tail and swung it from side to side three times. He ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth.
"How is your fellow Metkayina?" Nekx asked in concern.
"She is in stable condition. Norm and Maureen will be doing a scan on her soon to see if she will need surgery on her lung," Jake answered.
"Oh," Nekx whispered while looking down.
"Since when did you become so concerned about how a Metkayina was doing?" Jake asked incredulously.
"I just wanted to know how she was doing. Is that a crime?" Nekx retorted as he made eye contact with him.
"It isn't, but the way you treated Rishi was uncalled for. You had no right to push her out of the way just so you could be at your friend's side," Jake said angrily.
Nekx huffed with much irritation. "She should not have slapped me like she was some spoiled brat."
"No one approved of her doing that, but we cannot blame her. She was angry at being pushed aside and reacted. She hadn't done anything to you before then," Jake pointed out matter-of-factly.
"If everyone did not approve, then Tonowari should have punished her by sending her away," Nekx said in a fierce voice. "She deserved it big time, especially since it was a hard slap."
"He would have sent you away too. You deserved to be punished for pushing her. He didn't because your help was needed. Your presence calmed your friend down, though he was still scared he would die," Jake explained in a low but firm voice.
"You may have taught the kids your medical techniques, but they are still inexperienced. There is room for making errors," Nekx said in much seriousness.
Jake hissed frustratingly. "I do not need someone telling me that. I am aware the kids could make mistakes when they apply medical care. They still have the right to help out in any way they can."
Nekx chuckled in a humorless way. He opened and closed his hands to flex his fingers. He twitched his ears, coming closer to the former marine. Jake inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. He didn't dare move, for he believed his rival might make a move on him.
"I have to admire you, Jake. You and your family traveled many miles to take refuge with reef Na'vi. You adapted to our ways rather well. That does not take away the fact you will always be forest Na'vi. Spider will always be human," Nekx said, turning his nose upward.
"I cannot deny all of that is true," Jake admitted. "That does not take away the fact the ocean is as much our home as it is yours. If you had to go to the forest Na'vi for refuge, the forest would have been your home as much as it was ours. Of course, you would always be reef Na'vi."
"How did a demon in a false body get so smart?" Nekx wondered.
"I thought my life was over when I found I could no longer walk and had to use a wheelchair," Jake said, taking a deep breath. "I spent many days moping about my circumstances. After my brother was murdered, I got an opportunity to do something worthwhile. I came to Pandora to be part of the Avatar Team. What I did not know was I was about to have the adventure of a lifetime. I found I could walk again. I was supposed to gather intel for Quaritch, but I fell in love with the Na'vi way. I had to make a choice. I chose to side with the People because what humanity was doing to this world was wrong. Even if I had told the Omaticaya about what I was really doing a lot sooner, it would never have saved Old Hometree."
"It still would've saved a lot of lives," Nekx said seriously. "You will always be responsible for those deaths."
"I regret not telling the Omaticaya about my mission sooner every day," Jake whispered, sniffling. "Neytiri refuses to hold it against me. So do Mo'at and the rest of my family."
"It will always be that way," a female voice said sternly.
Jake and Nekx turned to see Neytiri standing a short distance away from them. The former smiled at her while the latter huffed as she walked up to them and clasped her hands together.
"You really should not be eavesdropping on conservations, Neytiri," Nekx hissed irritatingly.
"It is not eavesdropping when you walk in on a conversation," Neytiri retorted with a growl.
"Then what brings you out here?" Nekx demanded.
Neytiri snorted. "Since you asked so nicely, I thought you might want to know your fellow Green Spear wants you at his side."
"Oh," Nekx responded.
"I thought you'd be glad to hear that," Neytiri snapped while flaring her nostrils.
Nekx gritted his teeth. "I would have been glad if you had not walked in on our conversation, demon lover!"
Jake grabbed his rival's shoulder and forced him to make eye contact. "You will not speak to my mate like that! If I found out you have done that again, I will tie both your tail and hair in knots. Is that clear?"
Nekx growled fiercely and walked away from Jake. He bumped into Neytiri and mouthed 'Excuse me' to her. She and Jake stared after him until he was out of sight. They looked at each other and shook their heads in disbelief. He clenched his teeth tightly.
"That guy has been insufferable ever since we brought him here," Jake growled, his voice showing frustration.
"I know," Neytiri said, her ears lowering. "We can't kick him out. It would be cruel of us to do so, especially since his presence could keep his injured fellow Green Spears calm."
"If he does not want to do it, we could ask another one to be there. I think Eli would be a good candidate. He was calm and patient with Tsireya," Jake suggested.
"I think so too. Julay would unlikely be a good candidate because she tried to complain about Lo'ak to Nekx after she reunited with him," Neytiri grumbled with a roll of her eyes.
"I can't blame everyone's frustration with her," Jake commented with a shrug. "This is especially true for Lo'ak. She had to call him a freak."
She blew a bit hard. "He does not let that bother him anymore. He is now content with how he looks."
"Neteyam admitted Lo'ak's swimming skills were better than his were before he died. He even said he felt a little jealous about it," Jake responded and pressed his lips together. "For the first time in his life, he was jealous of his younger brother."
"That was bound to happen eventually," Neytiri said while taking his hands into hers. "I am sure you were jealous of Tommy sometimes."
He chuckled to himself. "I was jealous regarding our grades. His were all As. Mine were Bs and Cs with a rare A. No matter how much he helped me study, I could not earn his grades. He was jealous of my street smarts."
Neytiri gave her mate's hands a gentle squeeze. She brought them up to her lips to plant kisses on each of them. She released her hold on them. They went to the edge and sat down. They placed their feet in the water. He placed his hand on the back of his neck.
"I have to say treating those patients made me a little tired, even if it didn't take very long to complete," Jake admitted.
"When you are at war, you tend to feel more tired than you normally would. That is exactly what happened to us when you led the guerilla campaign against the RDA," Neytiri pointed out.
"There were some days I was so tired that I thought I would fall asleep standing up," Jake said, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Lo'ak joked about placing a bed on the ground, so you could fall and land on it," Neytiri said, smiling somewhat.
"Imagine me snoring after falling on a bed," Jake answered and imitated a snore. "Tommy was a big snorer. Sometimes, his snoring was so loud that it echoed through the house."
"We should feel fortunate none of our kids inherited your brother's snoring problem," Neytiri whispered, her voice lined with relief.
"Thank Eywa," Jake said, sighing to himself. "I do not think we would have been able to handle it too well."
Jake placed his arm around his mate's shoulder and hugged her. He rocked her from side to side. They twirled their feet in the water.
"I hope Lo'ak and Tsireya have a good time with Payakan," Jake murmured.
"Me too. At the same time, I do fear for their safety," Neytiri whispered in some uncertainty. "Remember what happened at Three Brothers three years ago."
"I know," Jake said with a heavy sigh. "Forbidding anyone from going out alone was a good idea. It allows an injured person to be treated by their companion."
"Mm-hmm," Neytiri agreed. "Let's just relax and enjoy this quiet moment for now."
Jake nodded in agreement. He and Neytiri looked toward the horizon. They could see three banshees flying in the distance. They listened to their squawks and chirps.