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Rain was an intimately familiar sound to Lo’ak. Rain was a constant in his life, nourishing the forest and all its inhabitants, softly trickling across his lapis blue stripes as he romped with his siblings or hunted with his parents. While the human scientists who lived near their village were often dissuaded by the weather, rain was a companion to the Omaticaya, a friendly presence on their skin and soothing symphony at night.
Tonight however, Lo’ak tossed and turned through the rainstorm. The double-layered protective covering had been swung shut for the night by his parents before the family retired to sleep, and while the insulation was designed to keep them warm and dry, a chill breeze still crept through near Lo’ak’s sleeping mat, positioned as it was near the edge of the shelter. He felt restless, something setting his teeth on edge. His father had told him it was because he could sense the impending storm, but urged him to try fall asleep anyway, great help that had been.
Lo’ak curled into himself, suddenly wishing for the nights of his childhood when he would sleep next to Neteyam, pressed against solidness of his older brother’s back to keep warm throughout the night. It had been a while since Lo’ak had slept next to his brother, but he didn’t think Neteyam would mind. Looking back on it, he was certain that he himself had been the one to determinedly sleep separate after a teasing comment from Kiri one morning that had set him off. His parents had responded to Kiri with a sharp admonishment, so she never brought it up again, but Lo’ak still tried to sleep alone after that. Sometimes though, after a particularly taxing day, Lo’ak would settle in next to his brother and was he never turned away.
Tonight, Lo’ak silently sat up into a crouch, and crawled over to Neteyam’s sleeping mat, dropping a hand on his arm to wake him up.
“Scoot over,” he whispered over his ear. Groggily opening one eye to glare at him for the disturbance, Neteyam followed the order without further complaint, scooting over to make room on his mat. Lo’ak flipped on his side to face away from Neteyam, and pressed his back against his brothers’ warmth as he tried to slow his breathing and settle down. Try as he might despite the soothing of the rain, he could not release the tension from body. He tried to relax without shifting too much, not wanting to wake his older brother even more. He perceived his failure, a moment later, as Neteyam yawned and turned on his side, throwing an arm around Lo’ak and moving closer.
“Go to sleep Lo’ak,” he encouraged groggily.
Lo’ak let out a heavy breath. Kiri was lucky, she could fall asleep anywhere and sleep through anything, tonight she was sprawled on the hammock with Tuk tucked under one arm. His youngest sister was the only one who could endure Kiri’s sprawling sleeping pattern.
Kiri liked to sleep by herself even from a young age, something the rest of the family was grateful for because she sprawled out the most. She often claimed the hammock and woke most mornings with multiple limbs hanging out. She permitted Tuk to sleep next to her though, always having a soft spot for her younger sister, and this was good news too because Tuk never wanted to sleep alone. She had slept with their parents longer than any of their kids, even longer than Neteyam who had been particularly hard to dislodge.
Neteyam had refused to leave his parents bed even after Lo’ak was born. For two years which could occasionally be described as brutal, Jake and Neytiri had all three of their kids in the hammock with them every night, all under the age of three years old. (Suffice to say, date nights were very frequent, and Jake and Neytiri were infinitely thankful for Mo’at’s willingness to babysit.)
Blessedly, Kiri was able to settle by herself about a year after Lo’ak’s birth, but Neteyam was very stubborn, still wanting to sleep next to his brother and parents. Admittedly Jake and Neytiri gave in far too easily, all too willing to keep their kids close.
Eventually though, Neteyam nobly stepped aside for the newborn Tuktirey. Lo’ak, always quick to follow his older brother’s lead, left his parents sleeping mat too, choosing instead to lay next to Neteyam. Tuk had stuck tight to her parents until she was 6 as they again, were unable to refuse her request to stay close. Eventually she did branch out, and began choosing to sleep next to one with her siblings instead, even going so far as to sleep by herself occasionally to prove she was “one of the big kids.”
Suffice to say, they rarely all heaped together to sleep. Nowadays, Jake and Neytiri were only occasionally joined by Tuk. If not with her parents Tuk would assign herself to one of her older siblings. On this rainy night, even Lo’ak had given into the predilection to remain close to someone.
His parents were tightly entwined on their shared sleeping mat. Lo’ak often wondered how for two people who were together as often as his parents were, they still slept as though they had spent years apart. Tonight they were facing each other, foreheads almost touching as they breathed the same air. His dad’s arm was folded with his hand under his head, and his mom was lying close enough to use his forearm as a cushion. Jake’s other arm was tossed diagonally over her waist, his grip lost in the relaxation of sleep as his hand hung loosely with fingers grazing the base of her tail. Neytiri’s top leg was thrown over her husband’s, wrapping far enough around that her foot lay against his calves. Lo’ak and Neteyam often scoffed among themselves at their parent’s disgusting displays of affection, though tonight it couldn’t help but feel a bit hypocritical.
Neteyam’s arm lay heavy across his chest as Lo’ak’s breathing finally slowed to a restful rate, but a flash of light bright enough to penetrate his closed eyelids was the only warning he got before he was shaken from the edge of sleep. The deep crack of thunder ripped through the forest, too close for comfort and shaking their shelter. Lo’ak and Neteyam both sat bolt upright, instinctually ready to fight while Tuk let out a soft groan upon waking to the confusion of sound, paired with her sister’s arm whipping around as Kiri struggled to disentangle herself from the hammock.
Jake and Neytiri shook themselves awake, his mom extending a hand and calling Tuk over to her. His dad ran a hand down his face and registered all his children fully woken from sleep, their bright eyes so well adapted to the dark shimmering as they stared at him from around the floor. As Tuk snuggled close to her mom, Jake waved a hand, first towards Kiri, then towards his boys as he encouraged them.
“Come on, this storm isn’t letting up anytime soon, might as well come over here.” Kiri scrambled up to join Neytiri and Tuk, laying on Tuk’s other side to enclose her younger sister between her and mom, giving her wild limbs space to sprawl out on the other side with no impediments.
“Come on”, Neteyam tugged at Lo’ak’s arm pulling him up from the ground and pushing him towards where his dad lay. Lo’ak may have acted reluctant, but he was secretly aching for the warmth his family would provide, and Neteyam saw right through him.
As Lo’ak rolled into his fathers side he felt Jake’s arm wrap around his shoulders. Resting his head on his dad’s broad shoulder, he felt nervous for some reason, he hadn’t done this for a long time, but his anxiety was swept away in the next moment as his dad’s hand cupped the side of his head, thumb sweeping across has temple as Lo’ak relaxed and let his head settle fully in the crook of his dad’s neck.
A moment later Jake lifted his hand again to make room for Neteyam as his brother pushed against Lo’ak’s other side, lazily flopping an arm over Lo’ak to rest his hand on his dad’s ribs. Jake’s arm was tucked beneath both Lo’ak and Neteyam as he wrapped his hand on Neteyam’s outer shoulder. The older teenager buried close into his brother’s back, and Lo’ak, feeling encouraged to be vulnerable, reached down and gently squeezed Neteyam’s wrist before releasing it to rest his hand above his brothers on his dad’s sturdy chest. Lo’ak was abruptly reminded of how similar he was to his dad as a moment later Jake copied the movement unknowingly, squeezing Lo’aks hand on his chest for a moment, before releasing it to grasp Neytiri’s.
Neytiri let out a sigh as their fingers intertwined, turning her head to nuzzle into the other side of Jake's neck, content as she surrendered to sleep, happily surrounded by their children. Feeling his dad’s steady heartbeat beneath his palm, Lo’ak was finally able to sleep.
When the next blast of lightening hit followed by the cacophony of thunder, no one woke, or twitched, or even moved.