Inside Here
By SparklyTree3876
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Pairings: Jake/Neytiri (mentioned) and Lo'ak/Tsireya (mentioned)
Summary: Hi, readers. I would like to present a new Avatar one shot. It is set eighteen months after Avatar: The Way of Water and shows Mo'at reflecting on leaving the Omaticaya and joining the Metkayina. This one shot is set in the universe of "Gone in the Dark." I wanted to do this because there are not enough fics focusing on this wise tsahik. I do believe she would have missed her family terribly and wanted to join them at some point. It would mean surrendering her title to a new apprentice, but she felt her family was more important now and that her time as tsahik had come to an end. I hope you enjoy this one shot. Constructive criticism is welcome.
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I sit on the beach staring at the sun hanging high above the ocean. I put my hand over my eyes. A large cloud moves over it steadily. It continues until the sun is covered completely. Clouds are such interesting things. They can appear in all shapes and forms. Cirrus clouds look like long lines of smoke. Cumulus clouds appear big and puffy. Mammatus clouds tower very high.
Laughter catches my attention. I look toward the water and see Jake and Neytiri splashing Lo'ak, Kiri, Spider, and Tuktiery with a large wave. The children splash them within an even bigger wave. They take off running to the shoreline. Their parents are right on their tail. They laugh so loud that it echoes through the air. A crab moves out of the way as they go further down the beach. Some waves go past them. They retreat out to sea.
I can't help but smile. I am so glad to be with my family, especially my grandchildren. It doesn't feel like six months since I joined the Metkayina. It feels likely only yesterday. I never thought I would give up being tsahik of the Omaticaya, but family is much more important than a title is. It is the one thing that can never be replaced. It needs to stick together in times of great happiness and sorrow.
The reef Na'vi are a very interesting group. They have stronger upper bodies, strakes on their arms, and camouflaging stripes for life in the ocean. I was shocked to hear some were quite prejudiced against the forest Na'vi as evidenced by Aonung and Rotxo making fun of Neteyam and Lo'ak's tails when they, their parents, and their siblings first came here. I am sure some forest Na'vi have similar feelings. No one is without unconscious bias. This term is stated as having a negative attitude toward a group without being aware of it. It is perpetrated by stereotypes and experiences.
I began missing my family terribly not long after they left for Awa'atlu. I wanted to be with them so much. Tarsem's mother, Kina, suggested that I train a new apprentice to take my place because she believed being with them was so much more important. She told me a family needs their grandmother as she was glue that stuck them together. I was reluctant, but then I saw Athena displayed signs she was more in tune with Eywa than the any other young Omaticaya woman.
I realized Kina was right. I decided to train Athena in the ways of the tsahik. She was eager to learn everything I knew. Kina is just as much in tune with Eywa as I am. She could have made a great tsahik. However, she never wanted the title. She considered it meaningless as she had no daughter to pass it on to. There are male tsahiks, but they are rare. The same goes for female olo'eytkans. No role is gender-specific, not even the hunter, weaver, gatherer, etc.
I was elated to see my family eight months after they left Omaticaya territory. My heart sank when I learned Neteyam was killed in battle and had been buried at the Cove of the Ancestors. Everyone was shocked when Jake and Neytiri announced they were staying with the Metkayina permanently, except for me as I had a feeling about that. I revealed I was training Athena to take my place. I would be joining them within a year and that Norm would bring me to them. Jake, Neytiri, Spider, Lo'ak, Kiri, and Tuktiery were so elated. It lifted their spirits after suffering such a terrible tragedy.
A year later, I bestowed my title of tsahik on Athena. Norm took me to Awa'atlu by Samson. My family was waiting for me when we got there. He didn't stay for very long as he needed to get back to High Camp and assist the other Omaticaya in resisting the RDA in the forest. I was greeted warmly by Tonowari and Ronal. They welcomed me to their village. Aonung and Rotxo were quite surprised to see a former forest tsahik. They wondered if I was any different from Ronal. I assured them that she and I were the same and different.
Ronal and I got along almost immediately. It was a stark contrast to her and Neytiri, whom clashed with each other in their first encounter. I began learning the ways of the reef Na'vi from her. I caught on very quickly, including using kuru tsahaylu with an ilu. It is a bit different from bonding with a pa'li. The ilu is a bit feistier. It takes more time to master the tsahaylu. I noticed Neytiri was a little miffed at my and Ronal's immediate friendship. She had anticipated us clashing with each other due to differing customs. She and Ronal clashed due to their similar personalities. They are both feisty and dominant. I am more of the gentle and submissive type, but I can lose my temper when I am pushed too far.
Ronal took me to the Cove of the Ancestors three months after my arrival. I was amazed at its structure. The arches and floating rocks were similar to the ones protecting the Tree of Souls. The differences were the rocks being more horizontal than vertical and the arches sitting on the largest rock formation in the area. She took me underwater to visit the Spirit Tree. I was amazed at how similar it was to the Tree of Souls. The branches moved in the current like that of the trees would in the wind back home.
I decided to visit Neteyam within Eywa by connecting to the Spirit Tree, though I was a little reluctant at first because Kiri had a seizure while trying to see Grace there. Kiri is very mysterious. She is far more connected to Eywa than any other Na'vi I've seen, even me. None of us have any idea how she was conceived. We don't know of any Na'vi lovers that Grace may have had. If she did have one, she kept it very quiet. Affairs are not unheard of in our civilization. Some olo'eytkans have mistresses on the side much like the kings of Earth. I do not feel it is right, but every clan is different. No two clans have the same beliefs and customs, not even those of the same type.
I was elated to see Neteyam spearing a fish. He appeared as a young boy and offered it to me. I started crying when I looked down at it. He wondered why I was crying. At that moment, he was his fifteen-year-old self. I told him I was happy to see him. He said he felt the same way. He reverted back to his eight-year-old self. I took the spear out of the fish and proceeded to get one of my own. We talked and laughed. It was such an amazing experience.
The most incredible thing about being here is Neytiri had finally made peace with Spider. She was so hostile toward him from when he was a baby. She feared he would become like Quaritch, who was his father. His mother was Paz Socorro, who was killed in battle. I told her she needed to let go of her hostility toward him as he had nothing to do with what his parents did. There were times where she did treat him with respect, especially when he tended to one of her children who had suffered an injury while romping in the forest. I knew she cared about him deep down. Her doubts just kept plaguing her.
I was surprised Kiri told me it looked like Neytiri was going to kill Spider, but it turned out she was only bluffing. She had to think of something quick because it seemed Quaritch was about to made good on his threat to kill her. She thought it was the best way to get him to let her go. Once she was able to process her grief, she felt ashamed of the way she had treated him. It was no wonder she wasn't mad at him when the family learned he had saved his father or rather a clone of him. She begged him to forgive her for her treatment of him. He did so and embraced her. She finally adopted him as her son.
Neytiri went from shunning Spider to becoming overbearing toward him. She kept a careful eye on him. It annoyed him a bit, but no one could blame her. Humans are much more fragile than Na'vi are. Their bones can be easily broken with a simple fall. I admit I became overbearing toward her after Sylwanin was killed. I didn't want her walking into the forest or flying in the skies as I feared humans would target her. I argued with Eytukan about this a lot. I finally let go after a little while.
I love that Lo'ak formed a close bond with Tsireya during the time I wasn't there. She understood how he felt his father didn't understand him as she had similar feelings toward hers. Jake grew quite strict with him and Neteyam after the humans returned. Lo'ak hardly ever listened to him because he was just like him when he was young. It was great he and Jake made peace after the battle at Three Brothers. Jake had always wanted a better relationship with him. He realized it was best to stay put and let children make their own choices. I believe Lo'ak and Tsireya will become an item at some point.
I listen to the family's laughter as Jake and Neytiri catch up to the children. He takes the hands of Lo'ak and Kiri. She does the same with Spider and Tuktiery. They come back up the beach. I smile at my family. We must enjoy every moment we spend together as everything can be gone in the blink of an eye. It is inside here that we are the happiest.
THE END