Chapter Text
As he awoke, the first thing he felt was the burning of his lungs.
He opened his eyes, and noticed the not-so-pleasant yellow tendrils holding onto him under the water. He kicked and pulled with the burst of energy he gained with his awakening, and managed to pull away and awkwardly flap his way up to the surface of the water, taking in a deep breath from above the waves before desperately rushing over to the shore that was luckily close enough to his location.
After crawling out onto the shore and practically heaving to catch his breath, his mind finally caught up to him.
He stared wide-eyed down at his hands, shocked to see how they shifted the fine, delicate sand below them with even the tiniest of movements.
Neteyam pushed himself onto his knees, grabbing a handful of sand in the process and marvelling at how the grains flowed freely throught the gaps in his hands.
He couldn't have been dreaming, the burning he felt in his lungs was too painful and raw for that, the sand was too real for that.
Despite his negative experience only a few moments ago, he hurriedly turned and approached the water and came close to the water line, offering a hesitant hand to the waves that washed over his fingers softly; it almost felt as if the ocean was apologising for what it had done to him. A soft smile crept its way onto Neteyam's face as he acknowledged the definite feeling of something, confirming this wasn't a hallucination. He began to crawl further into the water, though only so far that his legs were covered before thoroughly appreciating the feeling of natural movement.
Though, his exitement was quickly cut off by a hitched breath at the sight of his reflection. Of course, it was him, though...different? His features were more defined than he remembered, he resembled the memory of his mother with her gentle face and sharp jawline. As he tried to get a closer look, he became bothered by the how much the water moved, blurring the sight of himself that meant he couldn't make out the more subtle features that he knew were different through small glances.
His hair, though now unbraided, was much longer than before; while earlier it at most would reach just below his shoulders, it grew to reach his waist, covering much of his queue in the process. He pushed himself up onto his knees, gently caressing through the knots and marvelling at it's length, wondering just how much time must've passed for it to grow this long.
With a final glance into the water at his new figure, Neteyam finally stood up and, out of habit, used his left hand to feel around his neck where his necklace would usually be, noticing the emptiness of the space before realising that he was lacking any sort of clothing, let alone jewellery. He gave a quick glance to both sides and thanked Eywa no one was there to see him, and quickly made his way over to the small forest where he began to weave himself a makeshift loincloth out of some leaves and long grass. He took the opportunity to properly take it all in. It seemed that he did really come back from the white abyss. He was alive? How was that even possible? The questions were never ending, and yet Neteyam only felt a slight sense of dread despite the turn of events, despite everything, it really seemed as if he had another chance at life.
The boy, now seemingly a man, put on the Loincloth, he felt quite bare without his usual accessories but he could bare with it for a little while. Exiting the forest, he came back to the beach where he emerged from the water, he knew he recognised this area from a burial ceremony held in the Metkayina Clan not long before he died, so he was hopeful that he could make his way back in quick time. He could only hope nothing drastic had changed and that the clan and his family were still there and safe...for all he knew, the battle may not have gone in their favour, and they could all be....no, no, he shouldn't think about this, everything would be fine.
He slowly walked along the path, making small noises to adjust himself to his voice that had now deepened, a very sudden change for someone who had only heard his own voice that had otherwise remained the same for so long.
Approaching another small forest area, the comforting sight of vines and trees let him loosen up a bit. He first walked through the tall grass, appreciating how each blade felt along his legs before beginning to run, faster and faster until he grabbed onto a low hanging branch and climbed up it, jumping between the lowest level of branches on each tree.
Although he felt somewhat strange in his 'new' body, he couldn't deny how agile and quick it was; Sure, he had tripped over his own feet once or twice, but it was to be expected when he went so long without any activity.
The wind through his hair, the smell of the trees...he had missed it all so much.
Eventually, he came to the end of the forest and begrudgingly climbed down to floor level, continuing to stare into the distance at the sight of...something.
It took a moment to realise what he saw, but as he did a relieved smile appeared on his face. It was movement! Movement from other Na'vi! He wasn't alone!
As quickly as the smile formed however, the smirk fell at the sound of the grass russling.
Neteyam tried to turn and attack whatever it was behind him, but instead he was met with a hand gripping the back of his neck alongside a sharp knife that threatened his neck.
"You. You are not from here. State your purpose." The man behind him spoke, a low growl following the sentence in an attempt to instill fear.
Neteyam, acknowledging the danger and lack of any means to defend himself, held his head up in the air while slowly lifting his empty hands, attempting to look as unthreatening as possible.
After a moment of silence, he responded. "I live...I lived here."
The knife came closer to his neck in reply, causing Neteyam to instinctually pull his neck closer to the hand that was already harshly gripping it. "We are an ocean clan, there are no land inhabitants that I do not already know of."
"No, no, you don't understand, I....I've come back after a long time."
Neteyam lowered his eyes, attempting to inspect his surroundings but instead noticing a striking detail on his assailant.
...Dark blue skin?
This was definitely the Metkayina clan, he had confirmed it through the burial site and the various inhabitants he could see further along the shore....and unless more Forest Na'vi made their way to the sea there was a very likely chance he knew this person.
Upon further inspection, his eyes grew wide. The blue stripes trailing along the skin of the man's hand were very familiar, he had spent much of his younger years helping to heal the scars that appeared on the same arm.
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"...Lo'ak?"