Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter fifty-one of "Gone in the Dark." This fic has three chapters to go before it reaches its end. This features the first appearance of Riti, who is Ronal's new spiritual sister. I was not sure if a reef Na'vi can gain a new spirit sibling if theirs passes away. I decided to have it where they could, especially since forest Na'vi can gain new banshees aftter their previous mounts died. Stay tuned for chapter fifty-two.

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Chapter 51: Informing the Pod/Giving It All

Riti swam through the ocean at a steady speed around midevening. Her three-month-old daughter, Novik, stayed alongside her. Her pod trailed her closely behind, including several new mothers and their calves. The tulkuns surfaced with loud bursts of air. They headed underwater, only to come up again six minutes later.

Riti wiggled her front flippers. She was slightly smaller than Roa was. Her eyes happened to be orange. She was dark brown above and white below. The middle of her back was decorated with black spots. Her tail had a few chunks taken out of it. A horizontal scar could be seen near the front of her back. It had a circle on the front.

Novik emitted a soft squeak. She was normal-sized for her age. She resembled her mother with the exception of being light brown above and having gray spots all over the middle of her back. The base of her tail had two circular scars being a small space apart. A white line started from her nose and ended just past her neck. She rubbed up against Riti's side.

"When will we see the Metkayina, Mama?" Novik asked.

"I do not know, darling. We have not seen Payakan and La in a while," Riti admitted.

"Are they okay?" Novik replied with some uncertainty.

"I am sure they are fine," Riti assured with a gentle nudge. "They haven't gotten themselves into any trouble. At least, I hope not."

"It sucks Payakan prefers to spend time alone," Novik squeaked.

"Novik, watch your language!" Riti scolded in irritation. "Where did you hear that word?"

Novik clicked embarrassingly. "From Avik."

"That son of a gun. He is going to get a tongue-lashing he will never forget," Riti declared.

"He has too big of a mouth," Novik commented.

"You are right. You could fit Polyphemus in it," Riti responded with a roll of her eyes. "We could add one of its moons too."

"I can't wait to see you scold him later," Novik said eagerly.

Riti nudged her again. "I am ready to do that."

Novik opened her mouth and acted as if she were raking her mother behind her eye. Riti turned to bump her in the side playfully. Novik swung her tail, hitting her in the side very lightly. Riti lifted her front flipper. Novik went under it, squeaking happily when she covered her with it.

"I love you, Mama," Novik clicked sweetly.

"I love you too, darling," Riti replied. "Always."

Just then, excited squeals came out of nowhere. Riti, Novik, and their podmates halted themselves. They spotted Payakan and La coming their way. Novik lifted her head, a happy squeak coming from her. She rolled on her side and slapped her flippers against the water.

"It's Payakan and La, Mama!" Novik blurted out delightfully.

"Something wonderful has happened. I can feel it," Riti clicked with a loud burst of air.

"I think we will be seeing the Metkayina very soon!" Novik said eagerly.

"I think so too," Riti agreed.

Payakan and La stopped before the pod. They emitted loud bursts of air from their blowholes. Riti approached them, her tail swinging from side to side twice.

"Hello, Payakan and La. It is good to see you two," Riti greeted.

"We have wonderful news. The Metkayina and the Green Spears have reached a deal. They agreed to let members of either clan pass through their territories or to return to theirs if that is not desired. They also agreed to help each other deal with the human threat. Their war is officially over," Payakan announced in joy.

"We can see our brothers and sisters now," La added.

Novik emitted a very excited squeal. She went underwater, going a little downward. She came back up and did a spyhop next to her mother. She wiggled her front flippers. The other tulkuns squealed in just as much excitement. This caused Payakan to click amusingly.

"Look at your little girl being excited and inciting the other tulkuns, Riti," Payakan said warmly.

"That's Novik all right," Riti said, eyeing her daughter as she came back down. "I am so eager to show her to Ronal. I want to see how much her youngest children have grown since last year."

"I have no doubt Ronal will be delighted to see her," La said, lifting her head.

"Unfortunately, there is some bad news. Rishi was killed in a sudden ambush at Three Brothers. We rescued her friends, but it was not in time to save her. Neytiri was severely wounded in a brutal attack by a Green Spear. Ronal was wounded protecting her," Payakan said sadly.

"Oh, no!" Riti replied in shock. "I am so sorry, Payakan. I know she meant a lot to you and La."

"She was laid to rest a few days ago," La commented. "Neytiri slipped into a coma for twenty-four hours. She regained consciousness yesterday. She is still not out of the woods."

"It is good to know there is a little light in this whole situation," Riti said in relief.

"When can we see the clan?" Novik wondered.

"Tonowari and Ronal agreed with us that we can see them within a week," Payakan answered.

"That is perfect," Riti said, warmth echoing from her squeak. "All in favor?"

The other tulkuns lifted their heads, giving approved squeaks. Novik nuzzled her mother, who mimicked her. She blinked three times before spouting air from her blowhole.

"That makes it unanimous. We are coming to see the clan in a week," Riti announced in happiness.

"Wonderful," La said. "Let's go for a swim together."

Riti squealed approvingly and began swimming, as did Novik and their other podmates. Payakan and La came up alongside the calf. They let out loud bursts of air before diving deep with the pod.

00000

Max adjusted the IV bag in the marui Neytiri was in around late evening. He looked down at her sleeping form. He watched her chest rise and fall with every breath. He peered at Jake in the corner of his eye. Jake stood before the window. He felt the wind move his dreads back a tiny bit. Max slipped his hands inside his pockets. Jake came to his friend's side.

"She looks so peaceful, Jake," Max said, smiling somewhat.

"Thank Eywa she has been doing well since she came out of the coma," Jake said, his voice lined with relief. "It will be seen whether or not the tube will come out of her nose tomorrow morning."

"I have no doubt it will," Max said, his heart skipping two beats. "She is lucky she wasn't in the coma for longer. It is well known a patient has less chance of surviving if they are in a coma for a very long time."

"Some humans were in comas for decades before waking up. They went on to live normal lives, though they had to get used to a changed world," Jake explained.

"Imagine someone slipping into a coma in the 2000s and waking up in the 2010s. They would have had to get used to doing stuff such as texting and emailing. Those were very common by the latter decade," Max replied, his brow furrowing.

"They are still common," Jake admitted. "I do not think humans will ever get rid of either."

Max emitted a soft snort. He remembered texting and emailing his friends when he was living on Earth. He never minded when they did not answer right away. He could never forget seeing people go nuts when those they emailed and texted did not respond immediately. He found that funny, especially when they banged on tables.

"I will never forget learning Nekx had declared the war was over when I came back with the medical supplies," Max said amazingly. "I never thought he'd be the one to do it."

"It reminds me of Marmax so much. He was confident he was doing the right thing attacking and killing Thessalians. Then he saw the grisly reality of war up close. He decided to put an end to the war and negotiate with his enemies," Jake commented, chuckling to himself. "Unlike Marmax, it took Nekx several days to see straight."

"Some people will insist they are right, even if it is clear they are wrong. Then they double down on their views," Max said, shuddering loudly.

"They insult others for not agreeing with them. They may even make violent threats," Jake mumbled in some fear.

Max scoffed irritatingly. "You lose the right to free speech once you resort to bullying to get your way."

"I agree," Jake said, giving a sharp nod. "The Metkayina and Omaticaya's views on things are different, but the majority of either clan's members do not resort to insults to prove them."

"Imagine a huge crowd of people with the same views. You stand off to the side and yell, 'You are wrong!' They stare at you like you are an idiot," Max explained, holding up a finger.

"The herd mentality is no different here," Jake said, shrugging.

"Humans and Na'vi are so much alike that it is scary," Max said, letting out a nervous laugh.

Jake exhaled. "That they are."

Just then, Nekx came into the marui. Jake and Max looked at him as he walked to the former's side. Nekx moved his tail up and down twice. He did the same from side to side.

"Hi, Nekx," Jake greeted.

"Hello, Jake and Max. How is Neytiri doing?" Nekx wondered.

"She is doing well," Max admitted in a very warm manner. He clasped his hands together. He placed them against his lap. He tapped them against it while clicking his tongue. "She should have the breathing tube out of her nose by tomorrow morning."

"Good," Nekx replied. "What about the twins?"

"They are doing good too. I would not be surprised if they are sleeping right now," Jake commented with a soft chuckle.

"You told me human babies spent seventy percent of their time sleeping in their mothers' wombs during the first few months of pregnancy. It was longer as time progressed," Nekx explained in a soft way.

"I was surprised when Neytiri told me Na'vi babies did not spent as much time doing that, but she did admit they did it longer as pregnancy went on," Jake added.

"Humans and Na'vi are capable of doing both great good and evil," Nekx replied and ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth. "The most important rule of combat is to never underestimate your opponent."

"Another important rule of combat is never becoming overconfident. Your opponent can use that to his advantage," Jake added.

"Julay did not dare to attack me. She knew I would wipe the sand with her ass if she did. I am so glad Uzukay and Nessa decided to exile her from our clan over her attempted revolt. They admitted they were not surprised at what she did. They have always seen her as trouble due to her constant blabbing about other people's businesses. Several other Green Spears joined her in exile. They felt what our leaders did was wrong," Nekx explained.

"I do not blame Uzukay and Nessa for dishing out that punishment," Jake said and scoffed irritatingly. "I do not want to see her face again. Neither does anyone else."

"I say we tell Julay 'Ha' and 'Ha' again if she ever comes around here," Max said with a sharp nod. "She should have gotten a severe tongue-lashing when she was a kid. It just might have straightened her out."

Jake rubbed the back of his neck. He had given all of his children tongue-lashings at some point in their lives. He felt it was better than whipping them, especially since he felt that made bad behavior worse in more ways than one. He rubbed his hands together.

"It is good to know the tulkun celebration will be held one week from now. It is the perfect thing to celebrate the official end of this war," Jake said, happiness lining his voice.

"Neytiri won't be able to join in this time, but she will likely be able to watch it from a pier. It depends on how well recovered she is by then," Max added.

Nekx touched his cheek in a light way. "I hate to tell you this, but her attacker said he did not regret trying to kill her. I scolded him for what he said, yet he insisted he was right." He hissed in anger.

"Not everyone is happy this war is over. That is something we cannot change. What we can do now is focus on the patients recovering from their injuries," Jake said, crossing his arms.

"Do you think this set of twins will survive, Jake?" Nekx wondered curiously.

"To be honest, I don't know. Pregnancies containing multiples are no less risky in the Na'vi. They may be stronger, but they can succumb to illness just as easily as humans can," Jake admitted with a heavy sigh. "Zeus and Roxanne never stood a chance due to being so premature, even with human technology aiding them."

Max emitted a soft snort. "There are so many what-ifs. We can't dwell on them. We must focus on the future."

Jake and Nekx nodded in agreement. They listened to the steady beating of the heart monitor as Max placed his hands on his sides.