" When are they coming back ? ", Tuk complained for the hundredth time as she slumped heavily on her sister's side.

Kiri sighed, rolling her eyes. " I don't know Tuk. Be a little more patient. They can come back any time now ", she said as her clear pupils lost themselves in the horizon for a moment.

She and her younger sister had been waiting for hours at the edge of the coral reef and the time only seemed to get longer without knowing what was happening or what to do to help. It was completely dark now and there was hardly anyone left to see the return of those who had left after her brother. The metkayinas returned one by one to their hut to spend the night there and only the families of the members of the research team had stayed awake waiting just like her.

Kiri couldn't help but have a bad feeling, as if a distant voice was shouting at her in the back of her mind, warning her and telling her to stay alert. She didn't know why she felt like that, at least not precisely, but it was much stronger than her. Her tail whipped around as she was biting her nails to relieve her stress and the minutes continued to pass as she anxiously waited for her family and brother to return.

Why are they taking so long ? She wondered as her teeth bit into her thumbnail. They should be back by now. What was going on ? Hadn't they found him yet ?

She was about to lose her mind because of all these questions swirling around in her head.

" Do you think they're okay ?", Tuk asked again in a small voice as she straightened up slightly to look at her sister and Kiri suddenly felt the ball of stress that had built up in her stomach turn into fire.

" Damn it Tuk. I don't know ! Stop asking me these things you know very well that it will not change anything ! ", Kiri raised her voice, unable to contain her irritation before immediately regretting her words when she met the younger's hurt eyes as her ears drooped sadly.

Kiri had the terrible urge to kick herself for letting her frustration show that way. Tuk was as worried as she was and she couldn't blame her for just asking a few harmless questions. She was still so young. She didn't deserve this. Kiri closed her eyes and sighed deeply as she tried to shake off the itch that ran down her spine. It was not in her habit to get angry with her little sister. She needed to calm down.

" I'm sorry… I shouldn't have spoken to you like that ", Kiri apologized, " I'm just very worried about our brother and it makes me very nervous ", she said while stroking Tuk's hair like an offering of peace. " I also hope they are all okay but I can't be sure and it scares me. Can you understand that ? "

The little girl nodded then curled up under her arm before hugging her like she always did. " Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you..."

" Do not apologize. You didn't do anything wrong ", Kiri whispered softly to the girl as she rested her chin on top of her head.

" Okay…I won't ask any more questions ", Tuk replied and Kiri hugged her tighter, happy that her sister understood how she felt.

Tuk might be the youngest, but she understood a lot more than anyone could imagine, especially when a situation got serious like this. She was far more mature than she or their brothers had ever been at her age and it was certainly because of the environment she grew up in since the return of the sky people. She had already witnessed so many things. Horrible things. Neteyam, Lo'ak and her had not known any of this at the time, they were able to have a peaceful and happy childhood unlike her.

It was so unfair.

Tuk stirred a little as she repositioned herself against her shoulder then let out a long yawn showing her little fangs as she rubbed her eyes. Kiri watched her for a few seconds before glancing back at the village. There were even fewer people than before and as her gaze swept around, Kiri noticed that there were no children left.

No surprise there, it was so late, the children usually slept much earlier.

Kiri gently nudged her sister to open her eyes. " Hey. You should go sleep at the hut. I promise I'll pick you up when they get back "

Tuk's eyes fluttered for a few seconds. "No", she whispered, " I wanna stay"

Kiri looked at her dubiously. " Are you sure ? You're barely awake "

The younger girl's forehead creased with a sad expression. " Yes. I don't want to be alone. I prefer when we all sleep together like at home "

"Oh Tuk...", Kiri whispered painfully, she sometimes forgot how stressful it must be for her, especially when they weren't home as they went on missions or hunting. Young children weren't really allowed to leave the refuge within the mountains, so when Kiri wasn't there to keep her company, her sister often found herself alone.

Tuk had long since learned to play on her own and to build her own toys. Kiri could often see her having fun running around huts and other omatikayas carelessly as if she had locked herself in a little bubble of joy and enthusiasm. But Kiri knew better. The little girl was always watching around her, on the lookout for the slightest noise or for any ikran about to arrive, anxious to miss the slightest detail. Tuk was always the first to let her know when their parents were back, she was always there to wait, and she was always so full of joy when she saw them as if her world lit up every time.

She must have been so scared that one of them wouldn't come back and today was no different.

" Rest here then ", Kiri said as she draped her shawl over the younger girl's shoulders.

She will definitely need it more, she thought.

Kiri watched Tuk lay down as her breathing slowed before focusing on the sea again. Exhaustion was starting to set in, her eyes were heavy with fatigue and ready to close but she knew she couldn't sleep. It was impossible anyway, not with her itchy skin or with her heart writhing painfully in her chest. Kiri rather preferred to watch if her little brother had managed to come back by himself as her father had told her. She had to be ready if needed. Her care kit was attached to her waist in case and even if deep down she really hoped not to need it, you always had to be ready for the worst.

How could things even turn out this way ?

Not too long ago, she was just exploring the beach, picking up pebbles and seashells to add to her collection. Nothing wrong, just an innocent activity that she found soothing. Then, she lay down in the water enjoying the feeling of sand and cool water but before she even knew it, a group of boys had come to ruin her moment of peace.

It wasn't as if she wasn't used to being laughed at, it was her daily life after all, but her people had at least had time to get used to her unlike the metkayinas. She had certainly always felt apart, strange, but she had never felt so excluded as here. She had never suffered so much hostility towards her differences, especially her physical differences. It was no longer just her way of being or her hobbies that were singled out now, but it was her appearance itself that was despised because according to them her five fingers were the very proof that she was not a real na'vi.

Yeah... she was a freak to them and she wasn't the only one.

It was something she and Lo'ak had somehow always shared. It had created a special bond between them that was unlike any other. Even their father couldn't fully understand it let alone their mother. It was something else to be born half-breed as they were called, neither na'vi nor avatar, just a mixture of the two without ever belonging to one or the other. It was just them.

Only Lo'ak really could understand.

Her brother had been her best friend since they were all little. Between their arguments, the games they invented or their teasing, deep down they were perhaps the closest among their siblings. Lo'ak had always been there for her. He had always been the first to intervene when she was being teased by the other children like the hothead that he was. He never hesitated to come to her defense and sometimes she felt like it was just them two against the world.

Kiri sometimes wished she could do as much for her brother as he had done for her, but… she knew she wasn't like him. She hated conflict and avoided it like the plague. It never helped after all and in the worst case, it only made the situation even worse. That's why she preferred to ignore the idiots who had nothing better to do with their day than to annoy them instead of arguing to end up being even more annoyed.

Lo'ak could never agree to such a thing, she thought with a faint smile. He was brave, maybe too much. He was a fighter at heart who looked like a brainless idiot most of the time. But sometimes taking action might be better than doing nothing, she thought despite herself.

Kiri frowned as her stomach turned in on itself. What if she had fought back this time ? Would things have happened the same way ? Lo'ak might not have intervened if she had finally defended herself. He wouldn't have fought or been scolded to end up abandoned in the middle of nowhere. Should she have done more instead of remaining unnecessarily peaceful ? None of this would have happened if she had just... acted.

The teenager curled up on herself with guilt as she felt sick. " Please Great Mother, let him be safe and sound ", she prayed softly.

As she drowned in her worry, footsteps suddenly sounded and before she could even think, Kiri snapped her head up to see a pair of blue eyes she wished she hadn't seen.

Him. Great….

" Hey... I saw you from there so I-uh-", Aonung said uncomfortably before clearing his throat, " It might be more comfortable for you two to go with the others. My mother would surely prefer you to join us so…"

Kiri looked at him with an unimpressed look that only seemed to make the boy more uncomfortable. Aonung has never been particularly nice to her ever since she met him. He never missed an opportunity to put her down and make fun of her like it wasn't hard enough already. She had done her best to ignore him and pretend that his unwanted existence was not that important, after all there were more serious things than bullies who thought they were superior to others. But that was before he decided to lose her little brother somewhere in the ocean.

" We are fine. And anyway, I'd rather not go if you're already there ", she said dryly with a dark look.

The teenager took a deep breath as if he was holding himself back from saying something. " I was just trying to be nice. I'm not looking for trouble "

" Too bad you haven't tried that before ", Kiri replied sarcastically, " Otherwise we wouldn't be here right now "

Aonung closed his eyes in shame. " I know, no need to remind me ", he bit between his teeth, " Listen. I know what I did was wrong. I know now so just… I'm sorry "

Kiri felt stunned at those words. She wasn't usually someone who held grudges, she didn't like anything that looked like unfounded revenge or hatred. It always seemed wrong to her but at that moment, Kiri couldn't accept that. It was too easy. Did he really think a simple "sorry" would solve anything ? After what he had done to her brother ?

Kiri almost laughed in disbelief. " All right. I do not forgive you "

Aonung's back suddenly seemed to tense as if he hadn't expected that response, "I just—"

She raised a hand to cut it off. "Do you really think after what you've done you can just come up to me and say "sorry" ? Really ? For what ? Because you feel guilty or something ? ", she spoke uncontrollably as she stared straight into the boy's eyes, " You've been horrible to us from day one. We've never done anything to you or your people. But you put us down and insulted us. Do you think we wanted to be here ? That it was our choice ? »

Aonung's eyes were fixed on the ground unable to meet her gaze, and Kiri felt satisfied for the first time to hold such power. So that was how Neteyam must have felt when he made someone cringe into himself with just a look. How lucky, she thought, but her frustration hadn't been fully vented. The words she didn't know that had been stuck in her throat for months needed to come out like a raging torrent she had no control over.

She really needed to get all that weight off her chest.

" We are here because we fled the war, because our family is being chased by people who want us dead ", she continued in a firm voice, " Do you even have any idea what it is ? Do you know what it's like to have to heal bullet wounds ? To see people you know not come back after a battle ? Or maybe you know what it's like to be threatened by a knife ? To see someone you care about get kidnapped and not know what happened to them for months ? ", she asked again and again pushing the thought of Spider out of her mind knowing full well that Aonung had never experienced anything like this as he shook his head at each of her questions, " No. You didn't. But you allow yourself to make our life hell as if it was all our fault "

Aonung had his hands firmly held in fists as his lips were pressed together in religious silence, shame and regret sweating off his skin. " I-I'm so sorry… " he apologized again in a hoarse and numb voice.

Kiri looked him up and down as she finally stood up to face him. "I'll see if I can forgive you", she said and Aonung finally crossed her pupils with a spark of hope crossing his eyes, "But if my brother doesn't come back, you can forget about it", her voice rang with finality and she felt no remorse on the boy's devastated face. She was too angry to give him any relief.

Kiri thought every word that came out of her mouth. She might not be a warrior like the rest of her family but that didn't mean she was as gentle and fragile as a flower. She didn't want to be seen that way anyway. She cared about her family, she was ready to fight for them, and she certainly wasn't afraid to hurt his feelings for that.

He deserved to be put in his place, she thought as a powerful feeling of anger continued to flow unnaturally through her veins, as if her feelings were oddly heightened. It was strange, unusual. She was definitely not used to so many negative feelings. It was heavy, almost stuffy and definitely unpleasant.

What was wrong with her ?

Without realizing it, Kiri suddenly felt a small hand gently grab hers. It was soft and hesitant but also firm and insistent. Kiri quickly turned her head to see Tuk still wrapped in her shawl as she looked at her pleadingly, silently asking her not to get upset and to calm down. She even looked like she was worried about her, as if seeing Kiri getting angry was something scary and out of the ordinary.

Oh Tuk...

She definitely didn't like seeing that look in her sister's eyes.

Kiri looked down at their entwined hands and she was surprised to see that her hand was shaking slightly. She hadn't even noticed it until now and as her anger slowly subsided it was like a shock. The nervous energy that had been building up in her body since Lo'ak's disappearance had only grown in all that time and it had definitely reached a climax. Her heart was pounding in her ears and her skull ached as it throbbed like being hit with a hammer.

Kiri let out a shaky breath she hadn't noticed she had been holding. The feeling of earlier had been growing since Aonung had arrived. She had felt it before but now it was too much. Why did she feel like this ? And why did it only get worse ?

For some reason, a flash of energy rushed in her mind and Kiri's eyes were suddenly attracted towards the ocean as if drawn by a giant magnet. Her gaze roamed the edge of the reef insistently, skirting the rocks and coral, until she finally noticed some movement. There were dim lights protruding slightly from the entrance of the reef and only after a few second, she saw a first person enter followed by several others not far behind.

The search party, her eyes widened in realization.

They were back.

Tuk watched her sister for a moment before looking at what had caught her attention and she wasn't disappointed when her face lit up with a gigantic smile. " They are back ! Kiri they're back ! ", she tugged on her hand enthusiastically, "Come on ! We have to go see them ! ", the younger exclaimed as she began dragging her to meet them.

Kiri immediately followed her sister without looking back and even though she didn't possess Tuk's energy, she walked as quickly as possible as if a supernatural force was pushing her forward to help her to go faster. She had to reach them as soon as possible. It had been almost an eternity since they had left and the relief that came over her to finally see them was almost dizzying.

They were finally here. Finally !

Why had they taken so long ? What had happened ? She desperately wanted to ask them as she quickly descended the rocks. She badly needed answers to her worries but she also knew that now was not the time as she finally reached the dock. It was not the priority. First of all, she had to be sure that everyone was okay and they were certainly exhausted after so many hours of searching at sea. Her questions could wait, for now she just had to be ready to help.

The metkayinas who had stayed awake were also crowding around the group and Kiri made her way as best she could through the crowd while Tuk had long since let go of her hand to run towards their parents. It took a little more effort for Kiri to overtake the other na'vi but it was worth it when she finally got a glimpse of the men and women who were back.

As she walked towards the group, Kiri felt another wave of relief seeing her parents standing in front of her but as her pupils watched them, her smile quickly faded seeing their expressions. There was no joy nor relief or lightness. No. The air around them was heavy and tense. Their faces were dark and weary, almost cast down. They all seemed to share these same sentiments, even the voluntary metkayinas, and none of them seemed to be able to bring good news.

Her mother seemed to be the worst of them all as she tightly held Tuk who had certainly instantly jumped into her arms as soon as she saw her. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks and dark circles had settled under her eyes. She looked terrible, completely devastated, as if nothing could ever make her smile again. She didn't even seem to be able to stand as she knelt with her youngest daughter pinned against her in blatant despair and her shoulders were still shaking as if to hold back her sobs.

Neteyam stood by her side as he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder but Kiri could also very well see that he had also been crying. A deep crease lay on his forehead as he forced himself to remain strong and stoic as always but when he met Kiri's gaze, his will seemed to waver for a split second before he looked away to focus on their mother once again as if he couldn't face her yet.

what-

Kiri felt her blood freeze on the spot and her legs abruptly stopped moving. The pain in her head only swelled again as the bad feeling she had felt all along finally became clearer. Something had happened. Something very bad she guessed as she watched the looks the search team shared and fear began to seep into her bones as she failed to find the person they were all so worried about.

Her brother.

Where was he ?

A shadow passed over her and Kiri finally left the sight of her mother and the group to meet her father's gaze. He looked exhausted and sad, terribly sad, as if the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. She didn't know if she had ever seen her father look like this in her whole life. He had been worried, angry, yes of course, but never so…dejected. Sorrow reflected in his eyes like a mirror and his lower lip even quivered slightly when he opened his mouth.

"Kiri…" he whispered tiredly as he reached out a hand to brush a strand of hair behind her ear as he always did to comfort her but Kiri already took a step back.

"Where's Lo'ak?" »