Author's Note: So sorry about the long wait! I hope that you enjoy!

"It can't be true" and "How is this happening?" Keeps flying from his lips as he shakes, forehead pressing against Tsu'tey's. His friend is trying so hard to sooth him, gently murmuring reassurances that Jake can't hear. Occasionally Tsu'tey will do a weird nuzzling thing to Jake's cheek that seems like it should be soothing but the more that Jake talks, the more he riles himself up, getting increasingly more upset. While he can hear his friend talking, Jake just can't seem to calm down even though he knows that he should.

Tsu'tey's hands go from running up and down Jake's arms, to wrapping around his back and hugging him tightly. Jake, both doesn't like it because he's not used to the touch, and unable to pull away. Not because Tsu'tey wouldn't let him, but because Jake was panicking so much that he couldn't think straight. He can't articulate what he wants, either with his words or his actions, equal parts pushing Tsu'tey away and pulling him back. Did he want to get away? Did he want to stay? Was Tsu'tey's arms around him comforting? Was it overwhelming?

He was so out of his mind in a blind panic, that he wasn't sure he was coming down from it until he could hear Tsu'tey softly humming to him. The tune was broken up only by him softly saying, "You are safe here, Jake. You are safe."

In his mind, he warred with himself. From panicking too much to function, to trying to go to his safe space in his mind. To go to where he knows nothing can hurt him so that when he comes back, it'll all be over. That all he'll have to do is scrape himself off the ground and move on. It's always been easier that way, yet for some reason, he can't seem to fall into that space as easily as he used to. It had become second nature to him when dealing with... with the man that raised him. As soon as he started swinging, Jake found that place easily, knowing he would be safe from the things that scared him.

For some reason, it's not coming as easily to him now.

He managed it though, growing more and more catatonic, in an effort to protect himself. This felt like a nightmare. Something new was wrong with him and now he was forever trapped in a strange body with people who would one day grow tired of him. Who would one day realize that whatever it was that they thought they saw in him wasn't real and they would push him to the wayside.

Then he would be truly and utterly alone.

Jake, at some point, just kind of collapsed into Tsu'tey's arms, resting his cheek on the other teen's shoulder, with his hands on Tsu'tey's shoulder blades. He was shaking so bad that he's surprised he didn't fall out of Tsu'tey's arms. His breathing ragged and hoarse, but slowly and surely, as he calmed down, the quiet of the night wrapped around them. It took some time for Jake to come out of the haze of panic in his mind and just take in this strange feeling of someone holding him.

It was only whenever he finally came out of the safe place, he goes to with Tommy holding him that he's known this feeling. But it wasn't quite like when Tommy holds him. Tommy is usually rocking him back and forth, usually crying and whispering to him to ease the pain in Jake's typically smarting body from the beatings he usually endures that pushes him to his safe space.

But it's not like it is with Tommy. Tsu'tey is so... steady. He holds tightly to Jake, squeezing him to the point of it being almost uncomfortable, but it also felt good. The compression feels nice. He was uncomfortable for a moment but the more he just sat there, feeling it, the better it was for him. He's not sure why it is, but it helped to settle his panicked mind and racing heart. It takes him a moment to register the tingling in his right foot and the ache in his tail. He has to consciously unwind his tail from his leg, having cut off the blood flow for who knows how long.

He sags against Tsu'tey, just listening to the soft humming all around him. His erratic breathing calmed more and more as he just sinks into the older teen's embrace, relieved that he was there. Jake doesn't deserve Tsu'tey, but he is so fortunate to have him. Everything was soothing now. The warmth of Tsu'tey's skin, his steady breathing, the hard press of his arms holding Jake close, the humming, Tsu'tey's soft words of reassurance. Now it was having the desired effect.

Jake stares at the firepit as it seems almost too bright to be natural, seeing Neytiri, Eytukan, and another male that Jake didn't recognize were there, just silently watching no doubt judging his worth and finding that he comes up lacking. But he can't look at them, take in their disappointed or disapproving expressions. He feels too sensitive, too raw. Tsu'tey never judges him. Never makes him feel bad. Even now, the other teen just holds him, comforts him in a way that Tommy hasn't tried yet and it feels good. It helps Jake and he's thankful that Tsu'tey's offering it freely, despite how embarrassed Jake is to accept it.

His eyes droop a bit, panic mode fully whirling down as Mo'at steps into his line of sight. He has no idea when she showed up or if she was always there, but she's looking at him with bright eyes. She looks down at his hands that are still on Tsu'tey's shoulder blades, along his arms, down his back. Jake peels his cheek a bit from Tsu'tey's shoulder to see that he was absolutely shining. Intricate patterns of light under his skin, the bioluminescent freckles are brighter than usual. The light that he thought was purely from the fire, turned out it was in part himself. He was so... bright.

And the humming that he thought was Tsu'tey, wasn't. It was coming from the atokirina floating around him. And he could feel her again, at the edge of all of his senses, like she was right there. So close, yet so far. It washed him with warmth and made him feel safe, secure. Like Tsu'tey did, holding him so close, so tight. Reeling from the sudden shift between panic and relief made all the energy just flush from his body.

"What is she saying, JakeSuli?" Mo'at asks softly, her eyes bright.

Jake rests against Tsu'tey, suddenly exhausted. As the panic faded from him, relief took its place. He feels this tension in his shoulders loosen as his eyes droop closed. "She's singing, Mo'at," Jake rasps, his voice so soft. Tsu'tey holds him tighter, muscles rippling beneath Jake's hands. It almost felt like Tsu'tey kissed his shoulder but that could have just been his imagination. Why would Tsu'tey have done that?

"Singing..." Mo'at echoes, her voice soft. A moment of silence, where she gently runs a hand down his arm. "You are very loved, JakeSuli."

That didn't make any sense to him, but he couldn't focus on her words as the safety from both Her and Tsu'tey, the squeeze of the arms around him, and the soft humming, it was all so nice. It was enough to fully settle him, despite Mo'at's words confusing him. He not sure why she would think such a thing, just because of some singing, but it wasn't what mattered.

He was tired, so tired. And as the stress bleeds from him, so too does his consciousness. One moment, he was listening to the sound of soft singing, feeling a feather light touch form an atokirina onto his shoulder, then next he was floating into stars.

Jake jolts awake, dazed and confused. He looks around his room, seeing everything is as he left it the night before. It felt like he had only closed his eyes for a single moment, but through the blinds over the desk in the corner of the room, dawn approaches. He had somehow managed to sleep through the whole night. Or at least most of it, which is rare for him.

Rubbing at his forehead, Jake feels a mixture of better and worse than last night. His body feels more rested than it has in a while, meaning it didn't seem to take as much from him as he sat up, but his head is splitting. He could ignore that, even if it was annoying. Pain wasn't unfamiliar to him; it was just nice that he could sit up without the drag on his body that seemed perpetual up to this point. But he will accept the little victories where he can get them.

That had been so strange. Had he really..? Had he gone to Hometree in his dreams last night? It seemed so... it felt real. It was like when Tsu'tey stopped showing up. When Jake dreamed about being in Hometree. About seeing Tsu'tey in Mo'at's medical hut. He had just... thought that it was a dream. But... was it the same as it was last night? Could he really have dreamed that? Both times?

He had paid it little mind, even after having realized that his dream had come true, but... what if it wasn't a dream?

With those nagging thoughts following him like a dark cloud overhead, Jake showers and dresses before heading to the cafeteria to get some food. His pretzels from the night before did nothing for him and he was very hungry. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to keep functioning if he didn't eat - especially with all the weight he's lost. The doctor that he's been seeing is no doubt about to start putting him on bedrest - as Jake had heard him warn Grace and Quaritch. Jake's health was rapidly deteriorating. That had been the start of another argument between his two self-proclaimed caretakers.

Jake has noticed that they argue a lot, and he's starting to suspect that he might be the epicenter of more of those arguments than he thinks he is.

Despite how early it is, the cafeteria is decently filled, only dots of openings in the long lines of tables are left available as the shifts change from third to first and a new day begins. Jake actually finds his twin and Norm at one of the tables once he grabbed his food, which is surprising as while Jake was always an early riser, Tommy wasn't. But that was because Jake usually couldn't sleep well, so that might be part of it. But they greet him as he moves to sit by Tommy as friendly and welcoming as always.

"How are you feeling?" Tommy asks for what feels the hundredth time.

"Fine, Tommy," Jake says, scooping up some eggs, noting that his plate is almost identical to Tommy's - eggs, toast, orange juice, and an apple. Only difference, is Jake's apple is sour. An unusual deviation.

Tommy doesn't seem to notice as he says, "I haven't seen you in the cafeteria in a while."

Jake shrugs, noncommittal. "I've been eating at different times."

Tommy nods slowly, moving his eggs around with his toast, considering before scooping some egg onto the bread and taking a bite.

After a few moments, Jake asks, "How are you? Food no longer giving you a hard time?"

Tommy shakes his head. "Nope," he says around a mouthful. "Not often at least. Every once and a while I'll feel nauseous, but most of the time I'm okay."

"That's good," Norm offers and Jake nods in agreement. After listening to the din in the cafeteria while they're eating for a few minutes, Norm finally looks at Jake and asks, "Will you tell me?"

Jake blinks slowly, pausing in a bite of his apple. It's not as sour as his favorite Na'vi fruit, but it is an excellent substitute. "What?"

Tommy rolls his eyes as Norm says, ignoring him, "Tom let slip that you guys might have been the reason for the six-month delay."

Jake stares at the oldest of the three of them, blinking blue eyes before nodding, "Okay."

Tommy snorts, amused, while Norm looks exasperated at that. "Come on, Jake. What happened? Not that I'm not grateful, as that second launch is what gave me the chance to come along, but why are you guys probably responsible?"

"Tommy and I wouldn't be able to make it to the first one," Jake says.

Norm sighs, rubbing at his forehead. "Okay, whatever man. I'll figure it out, just you wait. Both of you." He sends a playful look to a grinning Tommy who nudges a confused Jake.

He's not sure why Norm was saying that. It was the truth. Jake and Tommy wouldn't have been able to make it on the first flight, but the RDA had spent so much money on their Avatars that they could risk on them not being on it, so there was an exception made. Plus is allowed for more personnel to be sent to Pandora. At least, that's how it was explained to them - not that Jake was really listening.

Norm can think whatever he wants, but that was the truth. It was hard to decide what to do, but Jake was certain that they made the right choice now. Something in his gut tells him, had they gone on the initial flight, like they planned, Jake wouldn't have ever made it to Pandora.

Instead, he chose the long road.

"Oh, hi."

Jake stops at the sound of a woman's voice by door to Quaritch's office. Inside is Quaritch at his usual seat behind his desk, Lyle, sitting in the chair in front of it, and a beautiful woman in army fatigues standing next to it. Her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail and dark eyes kind as she smiles at Jake, turning to face him.

The water bottles in his hands feel heavier somehow. He carefully skirts around her to give the two older men their water that he had offered to get for them. He had grown so used to Lyle being around with Quaritch, that this woman being here has somehow left him a little off kilter. He's not sure why.

"Hello," the woman says again, her smile is friendly.

Jake drops his chin to his chest, looking at the grains of the desk, shifting a bit. "Hello."

She tilts her head a bit, as if trying to catch his eye but he refuses to raise them. "I'm Paz. Paz Socorro." She moves around Lyle to hold out her hand to him. "It's nice to finally meet you."

He nods slowly. "Jake Sully." He hesitates, staring at her hand before tentatively reaching out to grab onto it. He felt the pressure of her hand closing around his own, which he kept nice and loose, and watched her initiate the handshake. He pulls back as soon as she let him go. "And... uh, you too."

"Do you like working with the Colonel?" Paz asks.

Jake nods. "Yes, ma'am."

He surprises himself by realizing it was true. He did like to work with Quaritch. Outside the times that the older male made him nervous - which was progressively getting less frequent over these long weeks together - he enjoys their time together. He likes to listen to the soft music that Quaritch listens to, sometimes catching the older man singing under his breath or whistling the tune. He likes their lunches with Lyle - both seem to know each other very well and the other man has been nothing but kind to Jake. He likes that, well, Quaritch tries to find some way to make Jake comfortable. To find things that he likes so that they can talk about them. Jake's not a big talker, but Quaritch definitely is enough for the both of them.

Although, whenever Jake does talk, the man offers him his full attention.

"These boys treating you right?" She asks, mirthfully while gesturing to Lyle and Quaritch. Jake watches the movement but sternly keeps from looking at her face, despite her eyes on his.

Jake nods again, pulling at his fingers by his stomach.

Paz tilts her head a bit. "Is it okay if I call you Jake?"

Another nods, but this time he murmurs a soft, "Yes, ma'am."

Paz smiles, leaning a hand on the back of Lyle's chair. "And do you like being an avatar driver?"

Jake shifts a bit; not really sure anyone has asked him that. He really didn't in the beginning, and most of the middle, but recently it really is growing on him. He's finally starting to like it and he's not sure how much of it is because of Tsu'tey. Jake's first real friend. At least he thinks so.

"I didn't at first," Jake admits, sparing a glance up at her, flushing when he realizes that she's offering him her full attention, that smile not leaving. "But I do. More. Now. I like it more now, I mean." He cringes, snapping his mouth shut. Lyle smiles a bit at that, reaching out with a black boot to nudge Jake's own boot. Jake tips his chin lower in embarrassment.

Taking pity on him, Paz asks, "You're a very quiet boy, you know that?"

Yes, a lot of people tell him that. They must not be used to kids anymore seeing as how many adults tell him that. He doesn't think Tommy is all that loud, but then again, speaking normally around Jake is usually significantly louder by comparison, so maybe there is something that.

His eyes lower to the ground, nervously.

"Let the boy be, Paz," Quaritch says, finally showing his more benevolent side. They share a smile before she gives him and Lyle a little wave before heading towards the door, only to stop once more.

"It was nice to meet you, Jake," she says, offering him another sweet smile.

Jake nods back. "You too..." He watches her go, wondering who it was that she reminded him of. Something about her soft brown eyes, her gentle smile, about the way that she offered her attention to him. He's not sure who it is, but she seems familiar to him, somehow.

"Are you alright, son?" Quaritch asks, his voice soft.

Jake looks over at him, two sets of blue eyes staring into one another before the younger nods. "I'm okay, sir."

When Jake opened his eyes, at first, he wasn't sure where he was. It certainly wasn't where he went to bed the night before. He rubs at his forehead and sits up slowly, looking around confused. It takes a second but then he recognizes that he's in Mo'at's medical hut. His eyes land on Mo'at and Tsu'tey, both of which apparently were waiting on him. Jake blinks in confusion, looking between them. He folds his legs to the side, turning his golden eyes to Tsu'tey, remembering his dream from the night before, and his realization.

"It wasn't a dream last night, was it?"

Tsu'tey stands up, moving over to him and kneeling down next to Jake and the collection of blankets that he had all around him. Like a little nest.

Tsu'tey nods, he looks down at the pile of blankets before scooting closer, placing a hand on Jake's thigh. The avatar flinches at the sensation but doesn't push his hand away, even as Tsu'tey looks down at his hand before pulling back, frowning while saying, "You were quite panicked last night, Jake. Are you okay?"

Jake nods back, rubbing at the back of his neck. "It wasn't supposed to be like that. I went to my bed in my room, away from the machine that brings me here, and yet... I woke up here." His lashes flutter as he looks over between Tsu'tey and Mo'at, who moves closer to Tsu'tey's side. "Why did that happen? How did that happen?"

Tsu'tey looks over at Mo'at, dragging Jake's eyes to her as well as she says, "I know not. But this must be the act of the Great Mother. She is trying to connect you to us."

Jake frowns at that, rubbing at his arm subconsciously. "But why? I'm already here."

Mo'at smiles. "You are very special, JakeSuli. The Great Mother wants you here. More than you are."

Jake shakes his head slowly. "But I can only be here as much as I am. I... I made obligations, Mo'at."

Still displeased, Mo'at sighs, rubbing at her forehead. "Keeping your word is important, JakeSuli," Mo'at says, but there is a hint of bitterness to it. "You could be learning so much more here, with us, all the time. It is what the Great Mother wishes of you."

Jake looks away, down at his lap. Long strands of straight black hair fall down his chest, tickling his ribs. His fingers gently pick at his tweng, running over the soft material of the flap on his thigh. His shoulder droop and his tail flops a bit behind him. "Mo'at... I told you, I can't."

"I know what you have said," Mo'at says, sighing as well, and Jake flinches, feeling bad for making the woman upset with him.

"Is okay," Tsu'tey says, looking between Mo'at and Jake. "We will... just do more. Jake and me. More of the ways of the Omatikaya."

Mo'at doesn't look like she appreciates that at all, and in shame, Jake wilts where he sits, hating that he disappointed her, but wasn't sure what else he could do. He supposed if he slept less - not that he sleeps all that much anyway - he would have more time in the day, but he just knows that's not going to fly and with his next doctor's appointment coming up, he really needs to eat more, because he's about one slip up away from having any sort of rights or freedoms revoked for the foreseeable future. He's not completely sure what that would entail, but he's certain that he won't want it in the slightest.

Jake carefully pushes to his feet, tail curling around his hips apprehensively.

Mo'at watches the action before letting out a little sigh and climbing to her feet with him. "I am sorry, JakeSuli. I do not mean to make you sad. You are doing well, and we are happy with everything that you give to Omatikaya."

"I don't..." he hesitates, still unable to look at the female before him. "I'm sorry, Mo'at. I'm not..."

"You are," she says, shaking her head, making the beads on her headdress clack together. "Don't feel bad. We will be patient."

Jake sighs, wrapping his arms around himself, which makes Tsu'tey's tail droop a bit as he joins them on his feet. Sensing Jake's discomfort, he leans in close, bending over to look up at Jake's downturned face with his hands tucked behind his back.

"Come, Jake," Tsu'tey says, then grins. "Today, I want to do something for you, to better connect with Omatikaya."

Jake perks up a bit, fluttering long dark lashes. "What...? What are we doing?"

Tsu'tey smiles, he reaches out, finger catching a chunk of long dark hair and gently pushing it back over his shoulder. "Come, Sylwanin and Neytiri wait for us."

Jake's face is burning so hot, he feels like he's going to pass out.

His hair, freshly cleaned and mostly combed out, now sits in a massive mop on the top of his head. Tsu'tey and the sisters had taken him to the lake that the Omatikaya use to clean themselves and insisted that he bathe and clean up his hair before trimming it of dead ends and sitting him on a large, flat stone before they got to work.

Neytiri and Sylwanin shave the sides of his head with sharp, wickedly curved blades, close enough to the skin to be smooth to the touch. Not taking nearly as much off the sides as Tsu'tey's, probably about two or three inches from where his sideburns used to be down to behind his ear. Apparently the Omatikaya weren't strangers to a lot of hair, but Jake had a lot of hair.

He liked it short on the sides like that, admittedly, as it was closer to how he usually had his hair - with the exception for how long it is on top, but he supposed this was a nice in-between for him.

After the girls were pleased with his shave lines, they began pulling down sections of hair to braid and weave in charms from their baskets while Tsu'tey braids his queue after asking Jake for permission. Four times. Jake knows that it's important to the Na'vi that the queue connects them to their goddess, and it is a cherished piece of them, but Jake's sure his first affirmation is probably enough.

The girls chat to him in Na'vi, really testing his listening skills, because they keep stopping to ask him if he understands. And unfortunately, they won't accept a yes or no. He has to briefly explain what they are talking about. It's annoying, but it is definitely helping his concept of understanding the language, while he definitely won't be speaking it any time soon, he is training his ear to pick out more and more words, piecing together more sentences. He might not understand each individual word, but he's understanding a lot more than he thought he would.

All their topics are mundane, easy things that he's learning about, so he's thankful for that, but to be their sole focus and their hands all over him just makes him embarrassed. All he can do is fiddle with his hands on his lap while trying to follow Neytiri and Sylwanin's careful conversation. They would help him when he didn't understand something, but he felt so very surrounded, so he was making a lot of mistakes even when he was following what they were saying to some degree, but he's making himself more flustered which is making him mess up more.

Never mind that Jake is very distracted by Tsu'tey brushing up against his hips and ribs and waist every time he shifts. With his shins, his knees, his hands. It's all very distracting. Sylwanin and Neytiri do it too, occasionally, but that's all his shoulders and sometimes his neck.

They are very gentle, keeping his sensitive skin in mind despite the accidents, which he appreciates.

For hours he sits there, struggling his way through the conversation, as at some point, they started pointedly asking him questions in Na'vi and expected him to answer in kind. A lot of simple things like what color was that flower, or that lily pad. How many stones were in a cluster by the large rock next to them. Things like that.

He sat there, for hours, curled up as small as he could make himself, just watching the fish swim around in the pond, answering questions and occasionally stretching out his limbs to relieve the pressure in them before curling up once more.

Once Tsu'tey had finished the long, thick braid of the queue, gently laying it down the length of his spine, he moved to assist the sisters with the rest of Jake's mass of hair, speeding the process along a lot faster, now that all three of them were working on it. They must have spoken in length ahead of time on what they wanted to do, because they didn't talk about his hair at all this entire time after initially explaining what they were going to do.

Jake didn't do anything, yet he was exhausted by the end of it. His head throbbing from trying to keep up with the language and upholding his side of the conversation, but once the final braid is done, the sky has already begun to darken enough for them to return to Hometree. While Tsu'tey and the sisters cleaned up their supplies after oiling Jake's new braids, Jake looks down at his reflection in the water, honestly impressed with how his hair came out. He doesn't know a lot about hair to begin with, but on top of braiding it, they took those braids and pinned them back in clusters to keep the bulk of it out of his face with a few long braids framing his face and falling over his shoulders.

The hairstyle itself was beautiful, in Jake's opinion, based on his very limited understanding, but it was almost too regal, too delicate for someone like him. It almost softened his features and made his face appear longer - but then again, what does he know? It's hair. He was fine with it being as it was, but apparently that wasn't good enough for Tsu'tey.

And to be honest, it was getting in the way. He could hardly see around it and he wasn't used to hair being that long.

So, with most of it pulled from his face and just a few swinging braids in his peripheral, he could deal with that. It was difficult to go through, but he's glad that he did, and that it's over with.

On their way back to Hometree, Jake slows to a stop while the sisters keep going with a gesture from the tallest male. Tsu'tey's fingers wrap delicately around Jake's wrist, but doesn't pull him along, as Jake delicately reaches out to touch a large leaf frond the size of Jake's chest, watching as the path of his fingers light up across its surface. Jake's tail flicks with interest as he idly draws patterns into it with his fingers, watching as the light fades from it.

Tsu'tey stares at the side of Jake's head for a long time, looking between his profile and the patterns he's tracing into the frond.

"Narlor..." Tsu'tey whispers so softly, Jake almost didn't hear him. He didn't react at first, too preoccupied with his swirling pattern before realizing that he did hear it, and he's heard that word before. After racking his throbbing brain, he realized that he didn't know the meaning for that word.

Jake's ears twitch, and he looks over at Tsu'tey, marveling with how the shadows from the growing darkness and the low light from the plants cast the most flattering shadows over his face. His bioluminescent lights lining his cheeks and nose and forehead, glowing brighter and brighter as the darkness of the world around them deepens.

Tsu'tey blinks when Jake's eyes turn to him. "Jake?"

"What does it mean?" Jake asks, tilting his head.

Tsu'tey frowns a bit. "What does what mean?"

"Narlor," Jake says, blinking up at the taller male.

Tsu'tey seems surprised, then looks away, face shadowed in the darkness. Jake raises an eyebrow, wondering why Tsu'tey wasn't just telling him. Was it something bad? It didn't seem like it was something bad, despite the number of times that he said it to Jake. The younger teen just never got the impression that it was anything that he should be upset to hear. Now, he's not so sure.

"Is it something bad..?" Jake asks softly.

"No," Tsu'tey says, looking back at him with a frown. "I am sorry, Jake. I shouldn't have said that."

"So, it is bad," Jake murmurs, looking back at the fading swirl in his leaf frond. He's trying to decide how to react to the sinking pit in his stomach and chest. The overwhelming desire to just... run away. To go back to Hell's Gate and never come back. The harsh sting of rejection growing ever more familiar to him.

But he doesn't want to run away. Well, he does. But he also doesn't. He does like it here in Hometree. He likes the bit of the Omatikaya he's been drip fed each day. He wants to stick around for as long as they'll let him.

But Tsu'tey? Tsu'tey not wanting anything to do with him? Hating him? Jake hadn't considered that. He always imagined when the people he loved leaving him - Tommy and Tsu'tey - that it wouldn't be in hatred, but in clinical indifference. Apathy, even. Like they had this veil pulled from over their faces and in somber acceptance, they would walk away from him. He hadn't ever thought that it would be something so... dramatically tilted in the opposite direction.

"No," Tsu'tey says again, softly, watching as Jake's shoulder pull inward and he debates on how he's going to get out of this situation, hating how he opened up this can of worms on his own. He should have learned to leave well enough alone. He shouldn't have ever opened his big fat mouth, especially since that little voice in the back of his head always warns him that he shouldn't ask question he doesn't want the answers to.

Seeing Jake pull into himself, despair and sadness wrapping around him like a dark cloud, Tsu'tey reaches out with the other hand to grab onto Jake's other wrist and gently turns him to face the older teen.

"Beautiful, Jake," Tsu'tey says softly, pressing his forehead to the shorter teen, waiting for confused golden eyes to meet his tentatively before murmuring, "Narlor means beautiful, Jake."

Jake's ears press back, as the growing panic in him is sidetracked by confusion. His brows furrow. "It does?"

Tsu'tey nods, pressing close to Jake. The avatar looks up at him in surprise as Tsu'tey's thumbs gently rub at the pulse points on both of Jake's wrists. "It does."

"But... you said it about... me?" Jake frowns, trying to understand how that could be. Did Tsu'tey... somehow mistake Jake for Tommy? No... that would be silly. How could he do that? Tommy doesn't go to the school anymore, let alone coming all the way out here to Hometree. It's just Jake. "Why?" His brows furrow more. "Why would you say that about me?"

Tsu'tey smiles softly, nosing at Jake's a bit as bugs of light flutter around them. "Why, Jake? Because you are... beautiful."