Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Just a quick note before moving on to the story :D 

The story will take place during the second movie’s timeline, but the period of time between the Sully’s arrival at the Metkayina clan and the final battle is stretched out much longer for juicy chemical romance to bubble. 

(excellent choice of words) 

Also, the characters' ages are sort of changed, mainly the Sully kids and other kiddos because…I feel like it :D 

So for reference, here’s a list of their ages: 

Neteyam - 18

Lo’ak - 16

Kiri - 16 

Tuk - 8 

Tsireya - 15 

OCs 

Lili - 17 

Nigel - 23

Corey - 21

Also, updates may be slow because I have a limited amount of attention span, but I'll try my best :^]

I’m so sorry  

Ook cool 

With that cleared up, let’s get you guys to the story. 

Enjoy!!!!

Chapter Text

Those on Pandora believed in balance, that Eywa’s true intentions were to keep the scale of the living equally balanced. 

If a mighty tree falls, new waves of flora and fauna take its place.

Animals were killed to serve as food for others, and likewise. 

The passing of one generation allows the newer ones to flourish. 

All energy is only borrowed, and one day you have to give it back. 

A life for a life 

A soul for a soul 

That was how Eywa ensured the balanced of all life on Pandora. 

And now, Neteyam was trying his best to balance his ikran in the air.

Awkwardly swaying left to right while trying his best to keep up with his father, Toruk Makto. Neteyam wasn’t entirely sure why he was having trouble flying, back home in the Omatikaya clan he was the fastest flyer of his age, being the eldest child of the Olo'eyktan and all - it was basically as easy as walking for him. But now, he held on tightly as he swerved from side to side, battling against the unbalanced gusts of wind. The young Na’vi grunted in annoyance as he pulled his visors closer down his eyes, shifting ever so slightly to get the familiarity of flying back into his bones and focusing on his hold on the creature. 

Perhaps it was because Neteyam had been spending more of his time under the waves of the ocean than in the clouds. That’s why the feeling of flying felt almost foreign to him.

“We’re almost there, keep your eyes out for any forms of machinery,” his father, Jake Sully, called out from further down.

“Yes Sir,” Neteyam called back, bringing himself closer down to get a better view of the shallow forest beneath them. 

It wasn’t after three weeks of officially moving into the Metkayina clan, after seeking sanctuary with them, did they start hearing distant sounds of eruption further down west of the village. Apparently, these eruptions were not new either - judging from the panicked conversations the Chief and his wife had with the Sullys. These eruptions sounded too mechanical, too timely to have originated from nature’s cause, meaning the only answer would have been that they were caused by other than the Skypeople. And to make themselves helpful, Jake had volunteered himself and his eldest to scoop out the area where the explosions occurred and rid of any humans lingering in the area. 

Those damn bastards

Neteyam prayed to the Great Mother for a chance that they would eventually spot some Skypeople, for he was craving to sink his arrows into their hearts and get rid of the disturbance of peace himself. The Skypeople had already brought so much pain to the Omatikaya clan and his family back in the forest, and Neteyam would dare not wish to bring the same fate upon the peaceful lives of those at sea. 

“Hey! Boy, are you listening to me?” his father’s voice rang in his ears, pulling him out of his daze. 

“Er, yes sir…” Neteyam mumbled, his fingers pressed against the device around his neck to respond. 

“Sure,” his father spoke. “Let’s proceed on foot, we can’t see anything from up here and we can’t fly too close to the ground either.’’ 

“Yes sir.” 

Without another word exchanged, the pair flew down towards the forest, crashing expertly through the rows of trees before landing on the bark of a large tree. Neteyam slung his quiver over his shoulder while his bow was stationed in his left hand. His fingers gripped nervously against the wood of his bow, his thumb teasing the deep lines engraved against it.

It has been a while since he last shot his bow, the last time he shot something was with a crossbow made by the Sea Na’vi. 

“Alright, stay low and stay close to be son. You got that?” Jake ordered, wrapping his own five fingers around his metal gun. 

“Yes, Sir.” The young Na’vi responded, pulling on the bowstring of his bow before trailing after his father. 

The pair started off slow, taking in the foreign territory they were in. Yet, the feeling of grass blades tickling the soles of their feet felt so familiar, as if they were back home again.  

“Eyes sharp soldier,” Jake spoke, scanning every inch of the forest before them, with his gun raised.

Neteyam moved swiftly past overgrown roots, trees and ferns - the skills taught by his mother ingrained deep within his muscles started to feel present again. His honey eyes moved past the dark barks of trees, hoping to spot any sort of low-life human beings wandering around the forest. And hopefully, armed with their stupid metal weapons. Neteyam wanted a reason to hunt. He wanted to find that thrill of a hunt in a forest again. 

Father and son moved deeper into the forest, eyes flickering at every snap of a twig and at every rustle of leaves, only to find not one human. 

“There’s no one here dad,” Neteyam muttered under his breath, lowering his stance. “We must’ve covered the entire forest already.” 

Jake lowered his weapon, staring off into the distance before facing his son, “You’re right. Let’s fall back, it’s getting dark.” 

The young Na’vi nodded, slinging his bow over his shoulder.

Snap

The pair jolted and their weapons were quick to return to their gasps. Their ears stood high, trying to locate the source of the sound - listening. 

“You’re not gonna find any here…” 

A soft whisper floated down the air from a distance, alerting the Na’vis well of its presence. 

It sounded like English

Jake signalled his son to push forward, inching quickly towards the direction of where the voice came from, careful not to make a single sound. 

“We need to look under the shade, that’s where mushrooms are more present.” The voice continued, quickly followed by sounds of annoyed sighs and more English words that Neteyam could not decipher. When the young Na'vi got closer, he could make out three figures, roaming around a small clearing near a small flowing stream, who are clearly sky people. Neteyam moved behind a bush of ferns, peaking through the gaps between the leaves while his father moved behind a tree - the two observing the three. 

From his understanding of sky people, he was able to make out two males and a female, the female being slightly younger than the other two, but appears not any younger than Neteyam. They had these odd-looking masks on their faces, nothing Neteyam has seen before. These masks weren’t like those Spider and the other Skypeople wore to receive enough oxygen in Pandora’s atmosphere, they looked like a mix of fabric and metal, covering only the bottom halves of their faces - their eyes clear for the world to see. All except the girl’s, her eyes were shielded with this weird-looking version of a visor. It doesn’t look like Neteyam’s at all, except, they have these two metal circular tubes with tinted lenses at the front, covering the places where her eyes should be, a rubber-like strap pulled firmly at the back of her head to hold it in place. 

Neteyam wondered what her eyes looked like. 

The three continued their bickering among each other, not having a single clue that they were currently being spied on by two Na’vis. Neteyam slowly retrieved an arrow from his quiver and stationed it firmly against his bow, waiting for an opportunity to strike. 

“Stand down son,” the voice of his father rang through the device in his ear. 

The young Na’vi pressed his lips together before lowering his bow at his father’s orders. Regardless of his father’s orders, Neteyam still felt the urge to pierce his arrow through one of their head, might be his mother’s genes showing, keeping his fingers tight on his arrow. 

“God's sake Corey, can we hurry this up? We should be heading back already.” One of the boys spoke, bringing his fingers against his temple. 

“You always have your head stuck in that lab of yours, you should be thanking me for bringing you out for fresh air, Nil.” The other boy spoke, waving a pair of tweezers. 

The girl remained silent, not paying attention to the argument before her as her eyes danced in the clouds. 

Lab.

Now that’s a word Neteyam recognised. 

Are they scientists like Norm and the others back with the Omatikaya clan?  

Are they good like Spider, or are they military? 

“They aren’t a threat,” his father's voice rang once again. “They seem like children, I doubt they’re the cause of those explosions.” 

Neteyam sighed, acknowledging his father’s orders and fall back. 

However, Neteyam’s foot managed to land on a dry piece of twig, snapping it as he did. 

The heads of the humans snapped towards the sound, eyes piercing straight through Neteyam’s blue skin. 

In a panic, Neteyam drew his bow. 

Aiming the tip of his arrow dead at one of the boy’s heads. 

“Corey move!” the girl yelled, shoving the boy out of the way and narrowly escaping Neteyma’s arrow. 

The Na’vi cursed under his breath, before drawing another arrow. 

“Boy get down!” His father ordered, firing his gun at the humans and before they knew it, the three burst into a sprint in every direction possible - engaging in a wild goose chase. “Get the girl, I’ll go after the two guys,” His father ordered, quickly sprinting after the two. 

“Yes sir,” Neteyam broke into a sprint, the girl not leaving his line of sight. His honey eyes pinned onto her as if he were a predator hunting down his last meal. The young Na’vi scaled a tree with much ease, using the thick branches to get a height advantage over the human girl as well as sending multiple arrows down her way. Though because of her small stature, she skillfully weaved past rows and rows of trees, dodging the rain of arrows targeted down at her. Neteyam grunted, increasing his speed until he was directly above the girl. 

The young Na’vi threw himself off the branches, crashing into the human girl and forcing her to the ground. 

“Stand down-” Neteyam ordered by was quickly cut off with a swift punch in the face, before getting hit with a ball of dirt in his eyes. 

“Fuck,” the young Na’vi cursed, frantically wiping the ball of dirt from his face, the taste of the soggy earth lingered on his tongue as he does. The human girl took the opportunity to sprint off once again after her attempt to harm the blue alien. 

Determined to bring back a dead human, or at least a hostage. Neteyam frantically drew his bow, blinking as he aimed his arrow at the girl. 

He shot. 

Unfortunately, the arrow missed its intended target (her head), instead, it landed a clean shot into her shoulder, knocking the human girl onto the soil beneath her. Neteyam sprinted towards his catch and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t somewhat proud of himself for landing a shot with dirt in his eyes. 

Wiping his honey eyes free of soil, Neteyam quickly approached the girl - ready to knock her out if necessary. Fortunately for her, she was out cold, her body lay as limp as a dead body on the ground, and her face planted into the soil. Neteyam pressed his fingers against the device around his neck, calling out to his father. “I’ve got one of them.” 

Not a second later, he received a response. “Good. I didn’t get mine. They had some kind of makeshift bombs on hand and threw me off the trail...” 

“At least we know where the explosions were coming from,” Neteyam, bending down and peering at the girl, inspecting her wound. The only problem is that there was no wound on the body. No blood, no holes, nothing. The space between the boy’s eyes wrinkled as he tilt his head, pulling at his arrow as it came clean off. It didn’t seem to have penetrated through the jacket-like clothing she was wearing since there was no visual hole where the arrow should have pierced through. 

What is this…

“So what’s her status?” yet again, his father’s voice pulled him out of his daze. “Knock her out cold, I think we can keep her as a hostage to get information from.” 

“Good thinking, I’ll meet you back with the ikrans,” his father ordered before ending the line at his end. Neteyam did not pay attention to whatever words his father just uttered, instead his attention was solely fixed on the passed-out human girl before him. His honey eyes wandered from the mysterious fabric of her jacket to her covered face. It was obvious that she had straight dark hair, almost the same colour as his, tied up in the most untidy way Neteyam has ever since. Strands of hair fell onto her face and Neteyam had to resist the urge to tug them behind her ear just so he could see her face clearer. Even if he did, she still had those ridiculous goggles on, with the tinted lenses that shield her eyes from him, and her mask which the Na’vi knew better than to remove. But the goggles, however… 

I just want to take a quick peek…

“Neteyam!?” 

The boy jolted, quickly withdrawing his hand from the girl’s face in fright. “Y-Yes?” 

“I’ll meet you back with the ikrans, don’t make me wait,” Jake's stern voice rang through his earpiece. 

“Yes sir.” 

Without wasting yet another second, Neteyam moved quickly. Tying the girl’s arm behind her back with a string of vine and tossed her over his shoulder before he sprinted back. 

Little did he know, the girl on his shoulders was entirely conscious. 

Chapter Text

Breathe 

Just breathe

This isn’t as bad as she thinks 

Being held captive by hostile blue aliens 

That isn’t so bad, right? 

Dangling over a flying creature hundreds of feet in the air isn't too bad, right? 

Lili could only fill her mind with thoughts to keep from being distracted from her current situation. She remained her limp posture, mimicking the idea of being knocked out that thankfully the natives bought. She only played dead because she knew she could never outrun a grown Na’vi, the arrow barely greased Lili’s shoulder when it hit her, and she has her jacket to thank for that. 

That jacket was a gift, made from only the toughest fabric material found on earth, tailored specifically for Lili to protect her against the many threats of Pandora. In this case, Na’vis’ arrows. The maroon-red material was still unknown to Lili, something she’s been trying to find out ever since she received it. But right now, the material of her jacket is the least of her concerns. 

She has to figure out where the hell she is 

Or where she’s currently taken to 

Possibly as a hostage 

Or whatever 

She’ll figure it out later 

Right now, she had her eyes squeezed tight, playing into her role as a useless dead body. She could easily open her eyes and survey her surroundings as her goggles were still placed firmly against her face, but she didn’t want to take any chances. After all, she is in the hands of hostile natives.  Lili listened closely, straining her ears at any chance environment sounds or wind change and right now, it sounded like waves chasing against a steady shore near her. Her body was then shifted and Lili had to resist the urge to break into an attack and sprint far away from her captors but she forced every cell in her body to remain still and simply allow her captors to drag her body through what felt like sand against her. Little gains sneaking their way beneath the tiny cracks of her clothes, sticking to her skin. 

She heard voices, voices that spoke in a tongue she could not understand. Voices that were mixed with a tone of confusion, curiosity, anger and… Hissing? 

Great. 

After what sounded like a firm discussion between two, her body was then again brought to a new location. The only difference this time was that she was not dragged through the oddly soft and fine sand, but instead, she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping itself under her legs and behind her back, lifting her off the ground. In any other scenarios where she would be carried like some princess, Lili might just almost blush, but she felt no warmth in her chest. Instead, the places where her skin met the other, burn. Not in a good way but in a way where she wanted to scratch it off her, to peel this contact and throw it across the great ocean.  As if she had laid on hot charcoal herself and Lili wanted nothing more than to be dragged on whatever terrain they were on, instead of being carried like this. It was simply humiliating. 

Not long after, the girl’s prayers were answered and her captor finally placed her body down. This time, instead of the warm sand from before, the ground felt almost firm but soft. Like multiple strands of thin yet sturdy rope weaved beautifully together. Wanting to feel the craftsmanship behind the woven flooring, Lili tugged on her restraints, momentarily forgetting the fact that her arms her tied behind her back. Before she got the chance to grace her fingers across the flooring, she was tugged up from the ground - into a sitting position before her restraints were adjusted. 

This was when Lili finally decided to take a quick peek through her eyelids. Her dark eyes scanned over the flooring she was sitting on, confirming her theory of it being a woven floor, almost as soft as a fresh carpet. Her eyes danced around the surroundings, registering as much information as possible. It seemed like she was being held in some soft hut, a hut that looked as if it were vacancies for decades. Not that it wasn’t clean, but it felt also ghostly, almost as if no one had set foot into the hut she was in. The walls stood high, boarding before meeting each other at every top. There was little to no furniture around, only a couple of hooks stood on one side of the wall and a rolled-up mat collecting dust in the corner. A singular window stood facing an ocean. Her captors were nowhere to be seen. 

Good 

Meanwhile, a couple of voices grew nearer to the tent-like hut she was in, their owners not visible from where Lili was though she could make them out from the shadows cast onto the thin walls. One appeared to be better built, taller and stronger. Its head tilted down to look at the other. The other shadow seemed to belong to a slimmer figure, shorter - Lili figured that they might be much younger compared to the other.  The voices bickered at each other. This may be the perfect time to make her escape now that her captors are distracted but Lili simply did not have enough information to do so. 

Where is she exactly? 

How far is this place from the forest? 

How is she going to escape these bloody restraints? 

The answer to the last question was simple. Whoever tied her up, didn’t do much of a job in keeping her hands still. Perhaps they were worried about hurting her tiny little hands if they were too tight, therefore making to lose. 

Their mistake. 

Lili was already halfway through her restraints, wiggling her arms to make room for her fingers to mischievously plunk at the rope.  However, before she could fully rid herself of the restraints. A clear grunt was heard from outside, quickly followed by harsh footsteps towards the flap that Lili assume was a door. Lili immediately threw her body back into a limp state, retreating her attention from her restraints and slamming her eyes shut.  The figure brushed past the door and the sound of footsteps only grew louder, slow yet steady. Lili could feel her heart drumming against her chest, trying her best to calm it all while desperately trying to appear unconscious. She could feel the figure nearing her, almost feeling its breath blowing against the skin on her face. Its eyes lingered dangerously on her, feeling it as its gaze touched her limp body. Lili wanted to open her eyes right then and there, to take a quick peek at her captor.

Then, what she had least expected, she felt her hair shifting. Moving from her face to the back of her ear. 

What the fuck? 

The touch of skin ever so slightly graced her exposed cheek as it tugged the strains of hair behind her ear. Lili could not be any more confused. 

Then a poke. 

A steady poke on her now exposed forehead. 

“Are you awake?” A voice sounded, followed by quick taps on her forehead. 

This, Lili, could understand. It was now speaking in English. The language rolls off its tongue so perfectly as if it had spoken it since they were born. 

Wait, English? Do they know English? 

“Hello?” the voice continued. Lili’s brain screamed at her to remain limp and still, to not engage with the creature before her and to ignore all of its advances. But her curiosity spoke louder. She wanted to know who they were, why or how do they happen to know English and what on bloody earth do they want from her. 

Lili’s eyes shoot open. 

And the first thing she saw was the beautifully woven flooring she was on. Then she slowly lifted her head, her gaze shifting ever so slightly upwards until her eyes met golden ones.  The Na’vi in front of her stared back. Its pupils flickered to and forth between the lenses of her goggles, trying to make out whether the eyes behind them were staring back at it or not. Its hands held up slightly, like someone trying to calm an agitated animal.

Lili squinted her eyes, recognising the face before her.  The same face she threw a firm punch and a soggy ball of dirt at. The one that captured and held her hostage. Lili’s brows knitted tightly against each other, noticing how close their faces were. Uncomfortable, the girl shifted away, her back stopped by some sort of pillar she was tied to. 

“So you are awake.” The Na’vi spoke again, his voice calm and smooth, an accent lingering around the edges of each word.  Lili remained silent, still figuring out if she should engage with the creature or not. 

“Do you have a name?” He spoke again, head tilting ever so slightly to the side as he watched her with curiosity swimming in his eyes.

“Fuck you,” the words left her mouth in a whisper, coming out almost rusty through her mask. And from his reaction, Lili could deduce that the Na’vi before her understood what she meant. Lili was purposefully being difficult, there was no reason for her to play nice with her captors. After all, they were the ones that took her away. How could they expect her to act all nice and polite to them? 

“Well, there’s no need for such words,” he replied, the lines decorating his face creased tightly together, trying his best to appear as calm as possible. But Lili knew that he was slowly getting annoyed with her.

Good, it would be much preferable if he did just leave her alone.

“I’m just trying to get to know you.” 

Lili was amused by this boy’s tolerance. If she were him, she did toss her hostage into a pit of fire just for swearing at her. He must want some sort of information off of her, that’s the only possible reason why she is still alive and not rotting over in some ditch. Lili kicked, sliding the soles of her shoe across the surface of the floor, sending a small cloud of dust his way. 

Petty. 

She knows, but what can she even do?  She wasn’t about to snitch everything she knew to some blue creature just so she could live. There was still a percentage of possibility that they would kill her regardless. 

The Na’vi cursed in his native tongue, swatting the small cloud of dust away from his face, coughing. Frustration painted all over the Na’vi’s face, giving Lili the satisfaction of successfully annoying him. “Well, if you want to stay silent, go ahead,” The Na’vi huffed, standing from the ground. “Don’t say I did not try.” He held his hands up in defence, before stomping out of the hut.  Lili was perfectly fine with being alone, anywhere alone in the deadliest forest is better than anywhere with one of those creatures. The girl shuddered at that thought, she did not wish to prolong her stay here any further. She has to escape. 

She will escape. 

Bonus

“Neteyam,” Jake called, watching his son walk out of the small hut, clearly frustrated.  The young Na’vi grunted, turning to face his dad as he caught up. “I don’t get it, dad. I’ve tried talking to her but she just doesn’t seem to respond,” Neteyam drew his hair back in frustration. “Stupid human, can’t ever answer a simple question.” 

Jake sighed, watching as his son cools off a little.  “Interrogating may not always be easy Neteyam, you’ve just got to find new ways to work around it- “ 

“Then why can’t you do it?” 

Jake blinked. 

“You’ve got the experience, why do I have to interrogate some bloody sk'awng,” Neteyam spoke, annoyance laced in his tone. “I’ve got lessons to attend to, I don’t want to fall behind. It’s already hard for us to learn everything from scratch and now I need to make time for this. And it doesn’t help that she’s being difficult.” 

“The girl has just been taken to a foreign place, I’m sure she’s more than terrified that’s why she’s acting difficult. And I’m just asking you to take a few minutes out of your day to check on the girl,” Jake spoke, his voice calm and collected. “We need information from her. Learn, my son.” 

Neteyam’s gaze was anywhere but on his father. His mind torn between doing what he wants and being the perfect golden son. 

“Can you do that for me, my son?” 

Neteyam shook his head, “Yes sir.” 

“That’s my boy,” Jake smiled, shaking the boy’s head before sending him off for his lessons with his siblings. 

Neteyam left with a newfound anger towards the human girl.

Chapter Text

The morning light peeked from the horizon and Neteyam was already up and working, wandering aimlessly, with a tray of mixed food in his hands. 

Well, to be exact, he wasn’t just aimlessly walking around - he had a destination he needed to be, but out of spite, he had decided to cover the entire stretch of the village before approaching the lonely marui that sat at the furthest end. A marui with the tiniest room ever, a room that could only house up to two Na’vis, so it must be plenty for a mere human being. Not that Neteyam cared for the girl’s comfort, he would have been perfectly content with shoving her into the tiniest closet ever and leaving her in that cramped space for days. Fortunately for her, he considers himself much more civilised, at least compared to her. 

Neteyam huffed, recalling his interaction with the human girl the day before. Having his face caked with mud and clouded with dust was not a pleasant interaction and he had found it unreasonable. He had tried his best to warm up with her despite tying her up and tossing her in a marui surrounded by nothing but deep ocean waters so she couldn't escape.

He seriously can’t be the bad guy, right? 

Plus, because of her, he has to drag himself out of bed at the crack of dawn just so he could tend to her basic needs and take time to retrieve information about her and her deal on Pandora. This job quickly became a torn on his side, forcing him to cramp his schedule to its brim and leaving no extra time for the young Navi to have any time for himself. 

Neteyam rolled his shoulders back, sore from the swimming lesson with his siblings the day before. He sighed as he approached the tiny marui, closing his eyes and letting out a long breath. “Hello?” he mumbled, remembering to use English instead of his mother’s tongue, lifting the fabric at the entrance with the back of his hand when balancing the tray in the other, the plates of food shifting nervously as he did. The young Na’vi frowned as he stepped into the marui, his eyes pinned onto the loose strands of rope laying at the foot of the thin pillar. Neteyam’s chest began to bubble uncomfortably. 

There was no way the human girl could escape that easily. 

Neteyam tiptoed towards the pillar, setting the tray down as he kneeled down, taking the material of the rope in his fingers. His mind raced, and his eyes darted to every corner of the room, trying to catch a glimpse of the girl but the room remained silent. Only the sound of his heavy breathing echoed the empty marui and the sounds of lazy waves floating past the small door facing the ocean. 

His father is going to kill him.

Did she manage to swim out during the night? 

That can’t be, she would have been spotted…

Suddenly, his ears twitched back, responding to the silent creek behind him and before he knew it, a large object came swinging down at him. Neteyam shot his arm out, taking the hit with the back of his arm instead of his face. The boy swiftly turned and was instantly met with the sharpest pairs of eyes he has ever seen. 

Those eyes…

They weren’t anything like the Na’vi. 

The Na’vis had large circular eyes that beautifully complimented their features, round eyes that Neteyam was used to. Even Spider had big curious and mischievous eyes. But now in front of him were a pair of sharp, thin eyes filled with dangerous dark irises that danced furiously at him. If Neteyam didn’t know better, he did assume those eyes belonged to the devil himself. But they were those of a human girl, a mere human that barely reached half his size. 

A gut-punching kick sent Neteyam right out of his daze, the human girl planted the foot of her shoes into his stomach, forcing the boy backwards. With him stumbling onto the ground, the girl took the opportunity for another quick swing at his head, hoping to knock the Na'vi unconscious. Unfortunately for her, Neteyam was his father’s firstborn for a reason and his quick reflexes instantly kicked in, dodging the sloppy attack. His fingers steady wrapping around the object - which was a random tree branch. The young warrior fixed his grip on the branch, turning the pathetic weapon to his advantage and shoved it against the girl, forcing her back to the ground. Neteyam swiftly climbed above the human girl, forcing the branch to her neck, his free hand gripping securely around both her wrist and pinning it above her head against the ground - finally leaving no room for her to escape. Neteyam might be careless before, leaving a little room in her restraints in fear of hurting her but now, he couldn’t give a single shit whether or not she was in pain. 

The human girl wiggled underneath the Na’vi boy, failing miserably under his firm grip; there was no way she could match the strength of an eight-foot-tall being. This was when Neteyam truly saw the difference in their size. Neteyam had come face to face with sky people before, back when he was busy defending his own clan from the demons. But they were all military men, built and armed with dangerous metal weapons and gears; Neteyam gave not a single thought about their size and just focused on killing them. Now, however, laid beneath him was a small human girl and now that he could see her face properly without those hideous goggles - she seemed almost young, maybe even younger than him. 

“Are you going to let me go now, or are you going to stay silent on top of me forever?” her voice rang, raspy from the ventilation on her mask. Neteyam focused his gaze on her eyes once again, as if they were some black hole sucking him into them. “Not if you’re going to escape again,” Neteyam replied, pushing the branch harsher against the skin of her neck. The human girl stared back into Neteyam, a mean stare painted against her face. Even though there was a mask covering her, Neteyam was pretty sure she had a scowl on. “Don't you dare think about escaping while I tie you up or I wouldn't hesitate to cut your throat dry.” Neteyam threatened, he himself wanted to get off the girl immediately - the feeling was simply unpleasant. 

A huff of air escaped through her mask’s ventilation before the girl gave Neteyam a firm nod. Carefully, the young Na'vi removed the branch from her neck, revealing a light red mark against her skin before reaching for the rope using his foot. Expertly, Neteyam brought the girl up to a sitting position, her face dangerously close to his, eyes bored into his soul. His grip tightened around her wrists as he brought the rope around her arm. This time, tying them in front of her so she could eat. 

There was no way in hell he was feeding her. 

Tightening his last knot, the young Na’vi gave the girl one last warning look before releasing his grip on her. Her arms dropped to her lap and her eyes rolled up to the sky. Neteyam couldn’t help but be reminded of Kiri’s mannerisms, perhaps the human girl was of similar age to his sister.  Neteyam stood, walking towards where he last left the tray of food, picking it up before returning to his place in front of the human girl. The two sat before one another in the middle of the small marui, taking each other in. Neteyam slid the tray of food towards the human girl, watching as her eyes followed the tray. “Figured you did be hungry.” 

The girl remained silent, her eyes darting between the random array of food mixed on the tray. Neteyam didn’t know what exactly humans eat, so he grabbed almost anything he thought was edible and tossed them onto the tray. A mix of berries and glowing fruits lay on one plate while a fish burnt over a fire with beans wrapped in tree leaves lay on another and some of his mother’s leftover cooking from the night before. 

She better count herself lucky for it. 

The human girl glanced back up at the young Na'vi boy, her dark eyes almost studying his soul, trying to read in between the lines decorating his blue skin. And for the first time, Neteyan felt small under her gaze. Bringing her bound hands up, she plucked at the strands of her hair behind which are still tied together with a loose piece of string and strands standing at odd angles. The girl pulled out a thin metal piece from her hair, almost like a sharp needle but thicker. She then proceeded to stretch forward, dripping the tip of the pin into the water sitting in a wooden cup, her eyes watching the metal carefully. 

Neteyam frowned, his golden eyes flickering from the girl to the pin, then to her eyes and back to the pin and then back at her again - having not a single clue what on earth she was doing.  A few seconds passed with nothing happening, the girl removed the pin from the water before pushing it deep into the flesh of the fruits before her, repeating it with every other form of food on the tray. 

Satisfied, the girl dropped the pin on her lap before unclasping her mask and instantly reached for the wooden cup at the far end of the tray, like a sniper trained on their enemy. Greedily gulped down the delicious water inside as drops of the liquid trickled down the side of her cheeks and down her neck, Neteyam’s eyes trailing down after them. Without another second lost, the girl dropped the cup onto the floor and brought the mask back against her face, drawing a deep breath behind it. 

"W-what was that for?" Neteyam whispered, his brows knitted as he tried searching for an answer in his brain. 

"Poison."

Neteyam looked up, his eyes meeting those sharp ones yet again. 

"I was checking for poison," the girl spoke. 

"Oh…"

Still confused about how that would work, Neteyam watched as the girl repeated the action as she picked at her food, popping one or two berries into her mouth while holding her breath before bringing her mask onto her nose momentarily for air and then repeating. Her eyes were anywhere but on him, now focused purely on the food before her. This made the smallest hint of guilt rise from beneath Neteyam's chest, who knows how long it has been since she had her last meal - or her last drink of water. 

The young Na’vi shook his head to rid of any guilt in him.

She is of the sky people and they are nothing but trouble. If anything, they did deserve to be starved of food and water. 

Neteyam stared with much curiosity waltzing in his pupils, his mind wondering how on earth her mask worked and why it was so different to the ones the Spider and the other sky people wore. “How does that work…” the question silently escaped his lips, earning the attention of the human girl.  “Hmm?” the girl looked up, before pointing to her mask. “This?” 

The boy nodded. “It looks so…different from other sky people’s masks, why so?” 

The girl shrugged, "We never got any to begin with so we just made our own." 

"Made your own?" Neteyam continues trying to pry anything, anything out of the human. It wasn't like he wanted to know more about her, to know where she came from, how she got on Pandora and so close to the Metkayina clan; what was she doing that day he found her. This was only for the job his father assigned him. Purely that and nothing else.  The girl hummed, picking at the food once again. 

"How?"

"I don't have to tell you that," the girl cringed, her fierce gaze swiping past him - not sparing him any other attention. 

There it goes, his chance to get -to know- information out of her. 

How was he going to pry out secrets from a sealed box he doesn't have the key to? 

Neteyam fell silent as he watched her finish up her food one piece at a time, steering clear of the burnt fish which was probably a wise decision on her side. Neteyam wasn't the best chef without any assistance from his mother. 

Useless 

Was what he thought of himself when he was shoved to the side, away from helping with the cooking because he always managed to burn something. 

"Neteyam!" A shout from afar. 

"Wha?" Neteyam muttered under his breath, his ears perking up in the direction of the sound. Looking up, it seemed as though the shout gained the attention of the human girl whose head faced the entrance of the marui. 

"Neteyam where are youuuu?" Another call rang, this time closer to the marui he was in. 

Tuk 

Shit

He was so preoccupied with the hostage in front of him that he failed to realise the ever-growing clutter and chatting outside, signalling that the village was being to come alive in the morning. Meaning that his siblings were up and looking for him, looking for him so they could start their lessons together.  "Shit," the Na'vi boy cursed in his native tongue, pushing his body off the ground and approaching the human. Her confused gaze followed him as he pulled her by the bounds on her wrist, dragging her towards the pillar she was tied to the night before and securing her there. 

"But I'm not finished yet," she complained, tugging against the firm restraints. "Don't care, I've got to go," Neteyam replied in English, giving the rope one last tug to ensure that she wouldn't make another escape. 

"To where?" The question slipped from the respiration machine on her mask. 

"I don't have to tell you that," Neteyam flashed the human a smug smile before leaving her side. Leaving the way he had entered, Neteyam let the flap fully enclose the entrance, tying it up. 

"Neteyam!" A sharp squeal pierced through the boy's ears before he was attacked with a bear hug from his youngest sister. "Tuk." 

"What in the world were you doing in that?" Another voice followed suit, belonging to his other sister, Kiri. 

"No reason," Neteyam said, "Where's Lo'ak?" 

The young Na'vi immediately changed the subject, not allowing his sisters to continue their questioning. His father had specifically instructed him to not let his siblings get involved. Harm may be brought upon them if he were to. Luckily for him, his sister dropped the question - rolling her eyes as she crossed her slender arms. "At the beach with Tsireya." 

"His girlfrienddd," giggled Tuk who had a cheeky smile plastered across her face. 

"Is that so? Well, let's join them, shall we?" Neteyam smiled, grabbing his youngest sister's hand in his before guiding them to the beach. Relieve to finally leave that tiny and cramped marui. 

Though his body was on the beach, far from that marui. His mind stayed back, lingering on a certain someone - annoyed to not have been successful.

Chapter Text

A short Chapter

Lili huffed, blowing air through the ventilation system on her mask as she swung her arms beside her. 

She had broken free of her restraints hours ago. 

The Na'vi boy, who seems to be in charge of her, did a much better job this time - to which those bloody ropes left a red imprint on her wrists and Lili had to actually put in effort in releasing them this time.  Lili pulled against the goggles that hung on her neck the metal areas clicking against one another as she does. Her eyes were busy observing her location, her brain running to find a possible escape route. It seems like her previous attempt of escaping by knocking her captive out, turned out to be a failure.

Time for experiment number two. 

Everything was like a science experiment. She just needed to find more information to play with, and more factors to calculate. Perhaps her previous attempt failed because she miscalculated something, or maybe it was just a pathetic plan, to begin with. But never mind that now, she needed to work.  Lili worked her fingers past the flaps of the curtain-like doors at the entrance of her tiny hut, fiddling around for some sort of string or rope that held it straight. She just needed to loosen it a little, not too much that it seems like she was making an escape but enough for her to lift it and peek through. Tracing the surface of the material, her finger finally found a loose thread, thick enough to be a string, and pulled ever so gently. The flap fell slack, earning Lili the opportunity to lift it. 

Lili piqued her curiosity through a tiny opening, surveying the outside of her hut. What she saw seemed like some sort of village, with multiple similar huts scattered. Large root-like structures curved between the huts, where woven pathways seem to be secured to, allowing the villagers a passageway around. It seemed as though the entire village is suspended a few feet above the water, all except for hers as it seemed like the pathway leading towards her hut slanted towards it. 

That explained why that "window" of hers, which is literally just a hole in a wall facing the open ocean, seemed so close to the crashing waves beneath. So close that Lili could easily slip into the water and swim away. 

But where would she swim to? 

All she could see in that direction was just the open ocean. Plus, it would be incredibly awkward if something were to happen and the blue people had to come to her recuse.

She did rather drown. 

Lili focused her attention back on her view of the village, squinting as she studied.  The blue fella she was familiar with was nowhere to be seen, and Lili couldn't help but felt her stomach drop. It wasn't as if she wanted to see him, let alone enjoy his presence but he might be the closest thing that she was somewhat familiar with in this foreign location; that alone could provide Lili with the tiniest spac of comfort - even if she rather it did not. There was no way she would ever find comfort in some blue alien creature - especially one that took her hostage.

 L ili shook her head and focused, she wasn't looking for him in the first place - why is she even bothered? 

Her eyes continued scanning the buzzing life of the village. They seemed much more green compared to the Na'vi boy that frequent her, like a teal colour - the colour reflected on the shallow seas near the beaches. They had broader arms, and broader tails compared to the thin and slender figure the more bluish Na'vi possess. 

Most likely for swimming in the heavy waters.

So what is a forest Na’vi doing here? 

Lili suspected, watching as the Na'vi people carried woven baskets around, sharpening spears and diving into the crystal water below. Most important, they were conversing in a completely foreign language which posed a huge disadvantage for Lili. She could not gather any usable intel for her escape.  The only person she could understand was her the blue fella that spoke to her in English - the one that shot her with an arrow. Her palm found itself on the spot on her shoulder where she had been hit with the pointed weapon; the rough material of her jacket tugged on her fingertips. The girl sighed, gathering more information with her eyes - as much as she could to start planning her next escape. 

She peered over to the left, spotting a group of Na'vi people gathering with natural materials in their arms and tool-like types of equipment slang on their hips. A few instructed while the others fixed the materials down as if creating a barrier or a reinforcement of sorts. 

But what for? 

Lili strained her vision to get a better view. Seeing how the Na'vi pointed to the rising waves and then up at the sky. 

Waves, sky and reinforcements...

That could only mean a storm was on its way. A storm, hopefully, big enough to create a distraction to present Lili with the opportunity to slip through the village unnoticed and find a safe way out. 

That's it. 

She'll wait till the storm stuck to make her escape.

  A sly grin sneaked its way onto the girl's lips before she lowered the flap shut. Now she just needed to find a way to survive the storm during her escape and how to get back to her home afterwards. 

Lili walked towards the hole-in-the-wall of her hut, a bounce added to each of her steps. Plopping down onto the woven floor, Lili let her legs dangle at the edge, the tip of her shoes barely gracing against the cool water below. Lili marvelled at the crystal clear water beneath her, watching intently at the fishes that explored the reefs that decorated the ocean bed, the sand below seemed so soft. The sound of waves crashing was calming and rhythmic, matching her heartbeat as Lili closed her eyes. The feeling of afternoon sun beamed down at her, caking her face with its warmth. 

Lili wanted to remove her shoes, to allow her skin to feel the coolness of the ocean water; wanted to rip her mask off and breathe in the sun's beautiful rays. But she knows she couldn't. Pandora's elements would not allow her to. 

"Neteyam!!"

A high-pitched scream pierced through Lili's body, causing her to jolt on the spot ' pulling her out of her relaxed state.  "Jeez..." Lili grumbled, turning to find the source of the scream. But all she saw were heavy ripples on the ocean surface a little far out and maybe a few figures swimming underneath its surface. Lili wasn't sure, she could barely see under the string sun. 

There was it again.

Lili recognised it.

The same call that got her blue captor running out the door with his tail between his legs earlier that day. 

Was it a cry for help? 

Something signifying urgent matters? 

Or was it a name...

Either way, it shouldn't be Lili's business, her priorities should solely be focused on escape and running free of this wretched place. She doesn't wish to stick around long enough to find out what will come out of that mysterious damp puddle in the corner of her miserable hut. 

Or may she does...

If only she has her kit to collect samples...

Thinking that she had enough with the ocean, she went back into the welcoming shade of the tiny hut. Returning to her pacing as she brainstorms her previous problems, searching and working for a possible solution. If only she had a pen and paper to jolt her ideas down, would the burden of storing everything in her brain be lifted.

But a curiosity question starts to take form in her mind, distracting her.

Chapter Text

The next few days were slow.

Painfully slow. 

As if time itself was purposefully inching its way past and Neteyam cannot be more bothered. It wasn't that he did not enjoy the lesson he had with his siblings, Tsireya was an amazing teacher and Ao'nung was just there, but it was because he was getting nowhere with that damn hostage. Every time he thought he had tightened her restraints to their limit, she managed to be up and waltzing around every time he returned the next day. 

At least she doesn't actually escape, he did expect her to by now. All she does was pace around that small space, back and forth, with her head up in the air and eyes wandering. Sometimes, it took a call or a few minutes for her to realise Neteyam was in the Marui with his arms crossed - brows knitted at the fact that she had once again freed herself from her bounds.

He shook his head, trying to rid of any thoughts about returning to that pathetic marui and focus on Tsireya's teaching in front of him. 

"Your heartbeat is fast," Tsireya's sweet and smooth voice mumbled, her hands pressed against the chest and stomach of Neteyam's little brother, Lo'ak. "Sorry," Lo'ak blinked, sucking in the air around him as he tried his hardest to calm his heart.  Neteyam flashed his brother a smug smile, teasing his little brother with the obvious shade of purple on his cheeks. Who knew Lo'ak, his baby bro, would appear to be the first to find a possible mate. It wasn't that Neteyam did not believe in his little brother, if he had to admit, Lo'ak has their father's charms, but it was just expected in their family that Neteyam did get one first.

Back in the Omatikaya clan, home, he was constantly swarmed with female Omatikayians who were always finding every possible excuse to be his company, like moths to a light, and Neteyam did be lying if he said he did not enjoy the attention. They were interesting Na'vis; he was sure, but none of them seem to any spark interest from the heir. It was always the same few options - Mairey was the best singer, Loi'an was the bravest hunter, and Tsi'an was the most skilled healer. Like Neteyam mentioned, nothing interesting. 

Nothing caught his eye. 

N eteyam brought his gaze afar, his gold eyes floating on the surface of the ocean - his skin soaking in the dimming light rays from the sky. 

Dimming 

Neteyam shifted his gaze to the sky, fixing on the darkening clouds beginning to form right above the rock they were sitting on. "Tsireya..."Neteyam spoke, his eyes never left the sky. The Na'vi girl turned, following the older boy's gaze and looked up into the sky. "Oh no..." she muttered, removing her touch from Lo'ak and standing. 

"Wha- what is it?" Lo'ak questioned, his tone catching on with Tsireya's worried expression. 

"It's the storm, it should not have come this early..." Roxto, who has been sat with them for the lesson, spoke in a rush; pushing himself off the rock as well. "I'll go to the warn others." With that, the Metkayina boy dived into the water and headed for the village. 

"Wait a storm?" Neteyam asked, standing next to Tsireya and his brother. 

The Na'vi girl nodded, "Yes, it’s a storm that comes by this part of the ocean every year. It’s big but the clan has dealt with this for centuries so we should be fine." A smile quivered on her lips, as if to assure herself rather than the boys. The brothers looked at each other, worried scattered across their faces. 

A crash of thunder erupted within the clouds. Neteyam was fully aware of the concept of storms - be it that he grew up in a rainforest that frequently flirted with rainstorms, but he fears of what a heavy storm could do when mingled with raging waves. Even the image itself made the Na’vi shudder. 

"We have to go," Tsireya spoke, her voice thin as she dived into the water. Neteyam took one last glance at the approaching clouds before submerging underwater. 

----

The winds hollowed as the first few drops of rain attacked the village. Bullets of water shot down, hitting aggressively against every surface - from the edge of the sea to the roof of every marui in the village. All Metkayina people were gathered at the great marui, a vast space acting as a great village hall - big enough to house all the people if cramped tightly together. Every family brought together only their precious possessions and dear family members, huddled together at their own little corner of the great marui.  Prayers echoed through the thick and sturdy walls as the people began lighting the small fire pits around, bringing light and warmth. Children trembled nervously in their father's arms while their mother drug out any last cloth or blanket to keep the family warm. 

Whispers of Ewya floated between their lips.

The Sully family had their own space, huddled closely with the clan head family. Ronal and Tonowari were busy brushing past every family, whispering ensuring words of comfort and hope - leaving Jake and Neytiri responsible for both the families’ children. Clan warriors were occupied as well, hurriedly shutting every entryway close and securing them tightly with the thickest string while some stood guard in the marui's perimeter, bringing the clan any crumbs of security they could. 

Neteyam was one among them. Pull his own weight, had his father said when they first arrived. 

Neteyam yanked the last flap shut, disrupting any wind trying to sneak its way into the marui. Taking a glance at his family, Neteyam took a mental head count, relieve that everyone was present and safe. Everyone was where they were supposed to be.  

All except one. 

"Dad- Sir. Sir," Neteyam spoke, his voice low and hushed as if to not alert the others.  "What is it?" Jake turned from his conversation with Tonowari, attention now shifted to Neteyam. 

"We forgot about the…," Neteyam whispered, his eyes flickered between his father and the direction of the tiny marui. 

"What?" Jake frowned, the cogs in his brain turning ever so slowly. "Speak properly Neteyam."

Neteyam chewed his lips, leaning towards his father, “The sky person.” 

Tonowari lean over towards the young Na'vi looking back at his people before whispering, "My people here cannot know of sky people's presence here, they had believed we killed her off the moment we brought her back.” 

“Then what, we just leave her to die there?” Jake muttered. 

“That…may not be a bad idea..?” These words spilt from Neteyam before he could catch them, words that did not go unheard by his father. “Neteyam, watch it,” Jake warned, earning back a ‘yes, sir." 

Neteyam rolled his eyes, his thoughts reverting back to the possibility of the girl dying and that seem to bring him some sort of pleasure. No more long dragged-out hours trying to pry a single drop of information from that stubborn head of hers - along with not having to hear her stupid gas mask squeak every time she breathes.  "Make sure the girl does not escape," Jake added quickly, watching as Tonowari stepped away. “Make sure she comes back alive. You understand me?” 

"Yes Sir," Neteyam nodded, pulling open the smallest gap between the entrance flap - giving his family one-like look before stepping into the rain. 

—---

Neteyam bolted across the woven pathways, the skin under his feet furiously gripping onto the material below, trying its best to not slip from the water.

The water felt like bullets firing against his blue skin. 

The ocean's storm was much harsher than those of the rainforest. 

Neteyam would not be in this situation if not for the girl, he would be sitting with his family - gathered around a warm fire instead of enduring this stupid rain. The young Na'vi cursed, almost losing his footing as he reached the entrance of the tiny marui. 

"Hey!" his voice echoed through the singular room. 

But there was not a single reply... 

The lightning from the storm was the only thing illuminating the ghost room. 

Thunder crashes against the waves as Neteyam’s shadow stood solo on the woven floor mat. Neteyam’s eyes flickered back and forth, skipping from the torn-up pile of rope on the ground to the blown-out candle Neteyam had lit for the sky person earlier on. 

The Na'vi cursed aloud, kicking a loose plank across the floor. 

Another second that he has to deal with that sky person, is another second he wished his arrow pierced through her heart the first time. 

Neteyam dashed out of the tiny marui, braids frantically flying and all, his eyes furiously scanning the area in search of the tiny figure of a sky person. The bullet-like droplets rained down hard, blurring his vision much more than it should be and causing Neteyam to squint. That’s when he spotted the little demon, her tiny figure sneaking around below the roots of the mangroves along the borders of the village, all five tiny fingers gripping onto the roots for dear life. 

Oh, how much Neteyam would give just to see her slip and fall to her watery grave below. 

And then she actually does. 

A playful snicker sneaked its way past his lips as he witness the human girl slip into the crashing waves below. The root that she happened to have her grip on snapped, tossing her back with her arms waving about before the harsh winds shoved her into the swirling ocean below. The splash itself almost made Neteyam cough out a full chuckle,  but not before remembering his father’s harsh words about getting the girl back alive. 

Oh, Ewya 

Forcing back an eye-roll, Neteyam slung his bow back before running off to recuse this sky person. The young Na’vi ran as quickly as he could past the rows and rows of marui, trying his best to track down her body under the water as he does. Finally, he spotted her body trashing about in the water - limbs flying just to stay afloat as her body gets flushed further into the sea. 

Neteyam dived. 

Headed straight for the human girl.

Thank Ewya that he had paid attention to his swimming lessons or else Neteyam would be dying from the ice-cold water engulfing his entire body, waves throwing him around at their own will. 

A flash of Red. 

A flash of red and Neteyam went for it. 

Reaching out for his fingertips to graze the weird material of her clothing and yank the sky person out of the water.  Neteyam pulled himself and the girl out of the water, the sky person tight in his arms as he drew in precious air. The girl coughed, her mask squeaking those awful mechanical sounds that could sting any Na’vi’s ears deaf. “Stop kicking, we’re going to drown us both-”

“Let go of me,” the girl protested, desperately pushing Neteyam’s strong grip with what was left of her strength.

“I’m trying-” Neteyam coughed, in English, as he tightened his hold on the sky person. “To save you.” 

“Save yourself first!” 

A swift kick in the face was all it took for his grip to slip, allowing the human girl to swim off. The pair struggled in the deadly water for god knows how long. The girl thrashes and splashed every drop of salty water into the Na’vi’s eyes while Neteyam frantically tries to keep them both afloat as the towering waves crash down on them.  Neteyam hissed under his breath, whispering to Eywa that maybe letting this sky person drown isn’t as bad as anyone thinks. 

Sky people are bad right?

Wouldn’t it be better for all of Pandora if one meaningless life is taken away? 

And if she dies right here right now, maybe Neteyam’s poor ears would not have to suffer from the horrid noise her mask is making. 

Well, at least she’s not resisting his hold anymore…

Wait- 

Neteyam turned down to the human girl, his arm firmly around her limb body - water quickly filling her respiration device. 

--------

Chapter Text

Her head was spinning, 

It was everything and nothing all at once. 

Though Lili did prefer nothing in her head at all. Everything hurts, her brain was throbbing at every second, her limbs were sore from battling the ocean and her lungs ached for some odd reason. More specifically the muscle around her neck and chest seemed to ache much more than every other fibre in her body - not to mention the awful taste in her mouth, an awful and disgusting mix of salt water, seaweed and…a little sweet around her lips…

What?  Nevermind that. 

Right now, Lili has to figure out where the hell she could be this instant.  She could not still be in the ocean because her body was as still as a rock, lying on some terrain Lili could not quite put her finger on. She could not be lying dead on the ocean bed either because she could hear mumbling all around her - which sounded foreign and impossible for Lili to decipher because she never bothered to learn the language used among the Na’vi.

She had bumped into a few groups or clans of Na’vi during her time on Pandora, considering that was how she remembered her whole life, but she never cared to learn their language - she didn’t need to. Her parents were always there to strike the conversation with the blue aliens while her eldest brother translated for her and her other brother as they waited - never knowing if they would live to breath another second under the merciless hands of the Na’vi. Well, that was how Lili remembered it anyways - as much as her little kid mind could remember. Thankfully, her siblings and her were left alone - her parents, were not as lucky as they were. 

The Na’vis were to blame. 

And back in the present, Lili would beg whoever was there to fuck off so she could plan her escape once again.  She could just open her tired eyes right then and there but she rather not see any blue as of now - considering how she almost died twice in the four-fingered hands of a Na’vi. 

Oh, how much Lili wanted to kill that Na’vi. 

If they just hadn’t disrupted their peaceful outing in the forest, Lili could have enjoyed the freshly roasted fungi Nil made after their pick, or in her lab working on her latest experiment, or even helping COrey fix up their boat so they could all finally leave this hell of a place and just live out in the middle of the ocean - where no one could touch them.  But instead, she has to tolerate the annoying voices hovering dangerously close to her face, holding back every fibre of her muscle to not peak through her eyelids and remain asleep.  Not until she felt a poke on her face, more specifically nails rattling on the surface of her mask. 

That’s it. 

Lili shot her eyes open, pupils staring right back at strange piss-yellow eyes before her and before she knew it, she swung. Her fist collided with the blue face in front of her, sending the alien to the ground.  Immediately after, shouts of the other language bombarded the room and footsteps hammered quickly towards Lili and the fallen Na’vi. Lili jerked back as arms were wrapped around her own, pulling her away from her victim - shouts even she knew were yelling at her to stop. 

Good. At least this time, she was the threat. Not them. 

With her arms yanked behind her back, was when Lili finally decided to stop - eyes still pinned on her victim whose body was still on the ground, hands fixing his jaw. Only was it not who Lili suspected.  No. Her captor, the annoying bastard of a Na’vi who kept bugging her every second for the past few days was taller and had more meat on his bones but the blue alien lying in front of her was scrawny, hair all different and tied - his face much younger. So who the fuck is this. 

Another Na’vi ran towards the fallen one, anxiously surveying his face for a bruise or anything that Lili’s fist had left on him. Only that it was a female this time.  As the two Na’vi exchanged groans and nags, Lili took her opportunity to peek at the one holding her arms back. Lo and behold, the Na’vi staring right back at her was none other than that annoying son of a bitch she was growing to hate. 

Oh, what she would give to have punched him instead, not whoever this was. 

Lili drew her gaze away, cutting the Na’vi with only her eyes before drawing whatever air her mask would allow her to. Damn, she’s really gotta fix that mask soon or she might just die.  Lili listened as the three aliens exchanged their words, easily towering over her small figure. Probably discussing whether or not they should throw her back into the deadly sea again, and let the ocean decide her fate. No, they went through the trouble of bringing her back from the dead, they wouldn’t just waste that effort - they must want something. 

Obviously, information. Information about her. 

Lili sighed. Her dark eyes wandered beyond the room, not the same room she had been kept hostage in before - this was much more spacious - much more for Lili to work with. Sunlight beamed into the room, as much as it could through the tiny gaps between each thread that made the room. The sea beyond looked much calmer, water glistering in the sunlight and the creatures of Pandora seem to sing while bathing in the warm daylight. 

“Ok, can we talk about this now?” The female Na’vi pointed out in English, her long slender finger facing down at Lili. The other two Na’vis replied in their own language, hissing out at the female Na’vi. “So the human can understand us?” she shrugged, “I mean, shouldn’t she know what’s going on?” 

“Yea bro, even I want to know,” the other Na’vi, the one Lili punched, agreed. The Na’vi behind Lili, heaved out a huge sigh. “The two of you can get your explanation from dad, I have things to settle.” 

Their English were not the best but Lili managed.

“Great, fine. We’ll piss off and leave you alone with your human girlfriend now,” the female Na’vi teased, her tongue stuck out at the other as she strolled out the room. The Na’vi with the bruise followed not long after. 

Great, just great. 

Lili thought, as her arms were bound together yet again before she was dragged to the corner of the room and tied to a random pillar again. “How many times are you going to do this,” Lili mumbled as the Na’vi worked the ties. “To understand that this is not gonna work?” 

The Na’vi flashed her a second of his gaze before returning his focus to his work, pulling the ropes tight enough to leave quick marks around her wrists. Giving up, Lili turned her focus on her breathing. It hurt like hell to breathe, her lungs and nostrils seem to burn at every breath Lili took - perhaps that’s what you get for drowning. It’s not like she wanted to drown, if this stupid-ass of a Na’vi did not wrap his arms as tight as he did around her neck, she would be able to draw a quick breath before the water could seep into her mask. Maybe it was her fault for thrashing about as much as she did, perhaps she should have just let the Na’vi ‘save’ her sorry ass and brought her back. Either way, she still would have been unsuccessful in her attempt to escape. 

"Do not move.” 

The Na’vi’s poor English pulled the girl back from her thoughts, her eyes focusing as she watch him move about the room, shifting items and light furniture around before finally taking his seat in front of Lili.  The two made eye contact, and for the first time - neither shifted their gaze, waiting for the other to speak first. 

The Na’vi chose first.  “This is how it’s going to go,” 

And for the first time, Lili chose to listen. 

“I ask questions and you answer. Got it?” 

Lili nodded, her stare pinned on the blue alien boy. 

“Your name?” 

Lili frowned, “What?” 

“Name.” 

“...Lili…” 

The Na’vi shifted, his eyes seemed to soften every so slightly. 

“Okay…why were you in the forest?” 

“...Minding my own fucking business?” 

The Na’vi frowned, not fully understanding what the human just said. 

“Sorry, what do you mean…by that?” 

Even if she wanted to insult him, he would not even be able to understand enough to get hurt by it. 

“I was getting food. You know, to survive?” 

“What kind food?” 

“Does that matter?” 

The Na’vi fell silent, the cogs in his mind working to find the English words needed for him to communicate with Lili. 

“Who were you with?” 

“I’m not telling you that.” 

The brows above her eyes knitted closely together. There was no way in hell was she going to tell the alien about her brothers. 

“Fine, what about the-the…” Chewing his lips, the Na’vi paused as he searched for the words he needed. 

Lili waited, holding back an urge to mock the Na’vi. 

“The…the Booms.” 

“The what?” Lili’s head tilted, confusion twisted into her face as her mind tries to work out what he was trying to say. 

“The booms, booms in the forest.” 

“Booms?”

It was pathetic if Lili was being truthfully honest. Neither of them knew the other’s language, giving them only his poor English to work with. 

“Yea, booms. Loud sounds, like thunder.” 

“...Explosion?” Lili guessed. 

“...Yea…” 

Lili worked her brain to figure out what the hell is this Na’vi going on about. Explosions? What kind of explosions goes off in a forest other than- Oh. Oh shit.

“Errrrr…” Lili dragged, unsure if the information would get her straight-up killed or not. The Na’vi boy leaned in, eager to hear what the human girl could possibly say. 

“Those were…experiements…” The corners of her lips tilted up, watching as confusion littered all over the Na’vi’s yellow eyes. 

“Ex…what?” 

Oh, this was going to be fun. 

“You know, like science?” Lili stated as if a matter of fact. 

“Like scientist? You’re like the guys at the lab?” 

“...Yea, like a scientist.” Lili nodded, surprised that the Na’vi knew what a lab was, let alone a scientist. “You know what they are?” 

The Na’vi boy huffed, rolling his eyes as he spoke, “Had more than enough of those crawling around my home last time.” 

“Close to any?” Lili smiled, trying to divert her interrogation to something else that might not get her killed. 

“Nope.” 

“Why not?” Lili pushed. 

“Well, cuz- Hey no, I’m still questioning you,” The Na’vi leaned forward, eye squinted as his finger pointed right through her chest. “Okay alright, chill,” the girl shrugged her shoulders in defence. The Na’vi boy leaned back- no Lili’s tired of calling him ‘The Na’vi boy’, he must have a name, doesn’t he? 

“What’s your name?” she questioned. 

His ear perked at the question, eyes now curiously staring back at the human girl, his lips opening at the thought of telling her. 

“Neteyam.” That was his name. 

  Neteyam 

-----

Chapter Text

Lili

That was her name.

A scientist. 

No.
A crazy scientist. 

Yes

Who had the audacity to punch Lo’ak in the face; and as much as Neteyam was furious at that - he could not help but snicker at the look on his brother’s face when it happened. 

Though right now, Neteyam had to focus. 

Her name’s Lili, a mad scientist who somehow managed to survive living in the middle of a deadly forest; has an attitude problem and at times is…insufferable; she did seem like she would much rather drown than receive kind of help from him. She has these pair of eyes that seemed as if they could physically cut his skin with just one look; not that Neteyam was afraid of them, it was just…different from what he was used to. Don’t get him wrong, it was not like they were special of any kind, Neteyam very much dislike them and just thinking about it made him want to puke up his breakfast…

Ok ok, he’s getting off track-

The two other males she was with, at the time they were spotted by Neteyam and Jake, reminds unknown - no matter how much Neteyam pushed for names or relations, Lili shut him down as quickly as she could. The location of her lab also remained unknown.

Neteyam grunted as he flexed his shoulders back, muscles aching from the swim the day before. The boy has gotten no sleep off the previous night after the storm, rushing about to ensure the human girl stays alive after their near-death encounter which Neteyam could admit was partially his fault. 

Well, maybe if she hadn’t pulled on his hair so much, he wouldn’t have accidentally strangled her. 

Rubbing his tired eyes, Neteyam marched back to his family’s marui, weaving through passing villagers going about their day and carrying out repairs on broken maruis and other infrastructure. The pile of work only stacked right as his siblings came bragging in - Tuk, thankfully, not with them. With their brother gone for so long, it was only obvious that Kiri and Lo’ak would be searching the entire ocean just to find him - Neteyam had just wished they hadn’t found him leaning down close to the human, trying to hear a heartbeat. It must have been such an awkward and embarrassing sight to see that going on between a Na’vi and a sky person - and Neteyam will not hear a word of this from anyone. 

Now, his only priority is to relay the information Neteyam has collected, to his father. It was not much for him to provide either way, perhaps Neteyam should have used torture to get more out of the sky person but noting her small stature, she wouldn’t be able to take any sort of Na’vi torture Neteyam knew - she did just die. 

Neteyam snickered to himself at that thought as he pulls himself towards his family’s marui; only to hear words loud words being thrown against the walls. It was obvious what was going on; having her first-born son missing throughout the storm, only to find out he was almost killed trying to save a sky person from the ocean - it was expected that Neytiri had some words to say.  

Neteyam pulled his gaze onto the ground, watching as his parent’s shadow exchanged hisses and words of complaint; his own cast hazily in between. He never liked it when his parents fought, who would to be honest? They were often peaceful parents but when they do argue, it was always because of the same subject; sky people. 

The literal bane of Neteyam’s existence. 

And normally in such situations, Neteyam would turn the other and walk right out - act like he had seen nothing and return after his parents calmed down but the mention of the human girl could only lead to Neteyam’s guess that he was now involved. Sneaking a foot into the marui, Neteyam observes as his parents hissed. 

“I thought you said you’ve killed the sky person. Why is it only now that I found out that it is still here?” His mother whispered, fingers pressed into the sides of her head as she paced the room, her tone filled with frustration.

“Because-” 

“What were you thinking Ma’Jake,” Neytiri interjected, done with what his mate had to say. “Bringing a sky person here? Bringing danger to these people and our family? And letting our son be the one to talk to it? Have you gone mad Ma’Jake?” 

Neteyam shuffled in his spot at the entrance, not sure whether he make his presence known or wait for one of his parents to notice him. 

“Neytiri-” Jake licked his lips, trying to find the correct words for his mate. “This is different. A different situation-” 

“How would you know.” 

Neytiri’s eyes bore themselves into Jake’s, demanding an answer from her mate. 

“I- It’s a feeling, she didn’t look as if she worked for the RDA or the military.” Jake started, stepping back from his mate as she stood firm against him. 

“A feeling? Jake.” 

“Yes.. and plus, she’s a child.”

“Child or not they are all dangerous. All sky people are dangerous and if they are not, they will bring the danger here,” Neytiri spoke, not a word out of line as she made her point. 

Jake remained silent, his chest heaved as he took in his mate’s words. She did have a point, sky people are nothing but trouble to live on Pandora; greedy and egotistical, but deep down, he knows he couldn’t bring himself to kill the girl. 

Neytiri was the first to notice her firstborn. “My son,” immediately reaching forward and grabbing each of his arms.

“Any news?” Jake muttered turning to face the two as Neytiri eyed her son carefully, searching for any signs of injury the sky person could inflict upon him - circling him like a predator at its prey. “She’s alive…and awake sir,” Neteyam blinked, gaze shifting to his mother and back at his father. “And I’ve got some information from her.” 

Neteyam watched as his parents exchanged words from their gaze alone, waiting for his next instruction. “You cannot go back to that sky person, let your father do it instead,” Neytiri suggested, her voice firm and stern, leaving no room for an objection or disobedience. 

But Jake being Jake, 

“He has to learn,” 

“Learn about what, Jake? He’s still a child-” 

“Our son is a warrior, Neytiri. How long have we denied him his right as one?” 

Neytiri took a step back, taking in her mate’s words carefully her gaze lingering on her first-born son. It was true, Neytiri was so afraid for her child’s well-being that she has forgotten how much of a warrior Neteyam truly was - she just could not forgive herself if anything happened to her firstborn. 

“By doing this, Neteyam will learn how the sky people think, learn how to figure out their motives and everything,” Jake finds the right word to convince Neytiri. “He needs to learn by experience.” 

This is not the first time Neytiri has opposed any correlation Jake wants with sky people, and it wouldn’t be the last. Sky people will forever be the enemy, no matter how nice, kind or helpful they are, the danger will always follow them - like a plague. Nothing good comes with being with a sky person and Neytiri will do anything in her power to shield her children from the plague if it’s the last thing she’ll do. But despite all that, deep down, Neytiri knew her mate was right and letting her kids learn more about the sky people, will only increase their chances of ridding Pandora of the sky people. 

Forever. 

Neytiri stepped forward, eyes close to her son’s as she spoke, “Be very careful. Do not get close. Remember, she is of the sky people, son.” 

With that, his mother left the two alone, her shadow disappearing along with her. Despite the warm rays peeking in, Neteyam shivered as chills crawl up the skin on his back at his mother’s words - tickling the back of his neck. 

“So, what’s this information you’ve got,” Jake asked, moving off to his corner of the marui, where he kept all his sky people's pieces of equipment, - computer screens, communication devices, machine gun, bullets and bombs. All things metal, just as Neytiri hated it. 

“Her name’s Lili,” Neteyam answered, mind still racing at his mother's words. He always knew that sky people were the threat, after all, they were the ones who burnt his home down into ashes, forcing his clan to move into the Hallliuja mountains for safety. But- it can’t be all of them who are evil at heart, there’s Spider and Norm; who were very close with the Na’vi…

But what makes them the expectation? 

“Like the flower?” 

“What?” Neteyam stuttered, his mind pulled out of his little daydream. There was no such flower named Lili on Pandora - alone the fact that that human girl could be named after a flower. It much more believable for Neteyam if she was named after some type of sewage waste. 

“...A flower? Like on earth?” Netyam questioned; his father’s always on about something on earth.

“Yea, a lily, but never mind that.” Jake rumbled, pulling parts of his gun apart and bringing a dry rag to them. “Son, her name isn’t going to be much of a help here.”

“Well, she’s a scientist, said that those explosions were caused by something she called ‘experiments’ in her lab,” Neteyam continued, using the English word for experiments and hoping his father could explain its meaning.  “Experiments,” Jake translated in Na’vi. “And scientist? Like in the RDA?” 

“Wouldn’t say,” 

Jake paused, thinking before he spoke once more, “What about a lab? Did she say anything about the location?” 

“Couldn’t get it out of her,” Neteyam answered, moving forward to fiddle with some of his father’s equipment. “She didn’t say much about the other two she was with.” 

“They’re her brothers,” Jake mumbled, his concentration on the weapon. 

“How do you-” 

“Well, for starters, they seem way too young to be her fathers and secondly, the way they spoke to one another is the same as you and your siblings do. So, brothers,” Jake shrugged, leaving Neteyam perplexed, wondering why he himself had not figured that out earlier. 

“Anything else son?” 

“No, she was persistent in keeping information to herself.” Neteyam shook his head, “Will not speak a single word of herself or her brothers, let alone the location of their lab.” 

Jake scoffed, inspecting his weapon closely before turning to his son. “Well that’s the tough part of interrogating someone and you did your best. I know so.” 

Neteyam peeked up at his father, ears perked; he can’t say he wasn’t surprised at his father’s encouraging words. Neteyam’s father was never the best with words, and when he is, it’s usually harsh on him and Lo’ak. 

“Right now we’ve got to find out whether or not they’re RDA. My suspicions say they aren’t and if I’m right, find out why they are here. We do not need to know where they live, just find out if they’re on our side or not.” 

Turning to face his son, Jake gave him a stern look. “You understand me?” 

“Yes sir.” 

------

Chapter Text

Lili jumped. 

The soles of her shoes crash back down onto the woven floor as she lands, the rope that previously tied her to place was now discarded aside, torn. Lili coughed through her mask, catching her breath after working through a small amount of cardio. If only she was a bit taller, she might just reach that seaweed sticking through the ceiling of the room she’s trapped in. 

Why seaweed you ask?

Well, it’s crucial for her escape and Lili will show you in a bit; just not right now, it has to be at the right time. 

Lili could easily just bolt out of the little cocoon for a room for all she cared, just run and dodge everything if it meant getting back home; hell, she would even knock over a few Na’vi just for the sake of it. 

But Lili was smarter than that.

If nothing’s stopping her from dashing out of the room, what’s stopping them from firing every single arrow they had once she was spotted? No, she has to be clever about it; just like how Lili and her brothers managed to stay alive for so long on Pandora - they never left anything to just chance or else they would be dead meat by now. Lili coughed once more - she has to fix this stupid mask soon , before eyeing that taunting piece of ocean weed above; salt water dripping - as if to mock her. Lili glared up at it, her mind working its magic to figure out how on earth she was going to retrieve the piece of weed. There was nothing for the human to climb on; the entire room was held up by ropes weaved against one another and occasionally on wood branches for stability, other than that, nothing else. Lili couldn’t possibly climb on the ropes either, the whole room would come crashing down and the last thing Lili needs is the whole village running to witness the commotion. Perhaps Lili could do so to annoy her captors into releasing her. 

Lili turned to inspect her surroundings once more; perhaps she had missed something the first two rounds of doing so. Tracing over every inch of the room light could, Lili began to reassess the environment, eyes scanning over the handmade carpet-like object, rolled up in a small corner, a couple of thin wooden planks that lay idle and what seemed like a candle. 

Squinting, Lili stalked her way towards the candle-like object, picking it up before grazing her fingertips over the material. It did not feel anything like wax, like how humans had traditionally made candles - from what Lili had seen in stolen historical tapes. Instead of a normal waxy texture, the candle base felt soft and squishy and despite that, the candle still had its standard wick at the very top. 

Good, that is what’s important, not whatever material the candle was made up of. 

Lili pushed away the itching curiosity to the back of her head as she tucked the candle into the pockets of her outerwear. 

Perhaps she could save some to bring home, where she could start a full analysis of how and what this material is. 

But until then, she had to wait. 

Lili kicked her shoe against the soft ground- 

Wait- soft? 

Shifting her gaze down onto the ground, Lili’s eyes traced the weaved pattern of the floor closely. Everything in the room seemed to be made out of rooms being weaved against one another, like some kind of a giant blanket but much sturdier; yet soft and flexible. 

Flexible 

Lili bounced herself against the floor, using it as a sort of trampoline, testing its strength and flexibility; and seeing how the tension was held between each weave, Lili concluded that it could hold her weight. After all, it was built for a Na’vi. Not humans.

Giving it a few jumps, Lili stared back up at the slimy plant once more and this time with the help of the string-like floor, her eyes were filled with more determination. She then jumped, barely reaching the weed before she bounced back down. Rise and repeat until she has the plant in her grip. 

It must truly be a hilarious sight for anyone unlucky enough to stumble in as she jumped, Lili almost felt sorry for them but she just couldn’t care less what they thought. She needed the seaweed in order for her plan to work and Lili was not about to give up her freedom just because she felt a bit embarrassed. 

After a few tries, Lili’s fingers finally grazed the slimy surface of the weed, but not enough for her to grip it and tear it down. 

Progress. 

Lili grunted as she landed back down, her footing slipping slightly against the floor as she did. Lili had to work fast, there was no telling when that Na’vi boy would return and continue pestering her with questions - much to her displeasure. 

Sorry, she should be using his name now that he had told her.  

Neteyam, was it? 

Anyways 

Did she find him annoying? 

Nah, Lili understood why he needed to do so; plus, the look on his hideous blue face painted a clear picture that he would much rather jump into a volcano than spend another second with her. But this does not mean that Lili was going to give up information that easily.

He does know that there was nothing in the world he could do to make her give up information about her brothers right? Lili even had a plan for if the Na’vi decided to pull out torture; just die as soon as he did - that way she does not have to suffer nor do they get the information they need. 

Win-win situation, for her - not them. 

Lili shook her head, holding back a cheeky snicker before returning her focus to that damn seaweed. Just as Lili was about to take another jump, the sound of a flap tossing open startled the human girl, causing her to throw her body back mid-jump. 

“Buahh,” a soft shout escaped from Lili’s lips as she fell backwards, landing smack down on her bum and back and Lili was seventy percent sure she hurt her tailbone in some way. 

A rumble of Na’vi language sounded as footsteps came rushing in.

Ok, now Lili was embarrassed. 

“Bro…are you ok?” English floated in the air, this time, its hint of Na’vi accent softer compared to what Lili was used to with Neteyam. 

“Yea, no…” Lili grunted, pushing her upper body off the woven floor, propping herself on her elbows as she shifted. 

“Ha, that was a nasty fall,” a chuckle left the Na’vi’s throat, to whom Lili has yet to identify. 

Lili blinked, looking at the blue face right in front of her. His face was much younger compared to Neteyam’s, hair tied up as a loose strand fell on his face, a light bruise sits at the corner of his yellow eye… 

Oh, damn. 

This was the Na’vi Lili threw a punch at when she woke up not long ago. 

“Lo’ak, leave the sky person alone,” a much firmer voice echoed from the entrance of the room, Neteyam revealed himself from under the flap. His face scattered with a familiar sense of annoyance. 

Lili wondered if it was because of her, or if there was just a problem with his personality.  

“Does she not have a name? We cannot keep calling her sky person, can we?” The Na’vi, apparently named Lo’ak, spoke as he bent down closer to the human girl. Neteyam mumbled a little Na’vi under his breath before pulling lightly on Lo’ak’s long braid. 

Lili frowned, her eyes trailing back up at the seaweed which sat comfortably between the ceiling pieces, before flicking back down at the two blue aliens who seemed to be arguing in their native tongue. Lili watched as the two exchanged their foreign words, and shifted up on her feet as she cautiously watched. There was no telling what they were going to do to her. They could most possibly be here to escort her to her execution for punching a Na’vi in the face; him being here just to taunt the human girl. 

Do Na’vi’s even have public executions? It seemed as though humans were the ones who were egotistical and crazy enough to do such barbaric things. 

Lili’s dark eyes flickered back and forth between the two before landing on a small bowl of food that sat between Neteyam’s slender fingers. Her stomach churned impatiently at the slight of possible food. Lili had forgotten that she had yet to eat anything since the first drop of rain fell and drowning certainly help forget all about hunger. Lili forced a ball of saliva back down her throat, stepping back as the two Na’vi finally concluded their mini argument - Neteyam with a smug smirk tucking at his lips. 

The smile disappeared as soon as it appeared as Neteyam stalked towards the human girl, his height easily casting a thick shadow over her. Bending down to set the bowl on the floor, Neteyam muttered, “Eat.” 

Much more like an order than a request. 

Lili pulled her lips into a thin line as he did. This was not the first time she had eaten in front of the Na’vi and Lili could only hope it would be the last, but for some reason, she felt a pit of nervousness cook up at the bottom of her stomach. Hopefully, it was only the hydrochloric acid gurgling in her stomach due to the lack of food, than the fact that Neteyam seemed almost intimidating now.

Lili prayed it was not the latter. 

Lili stared down at the food. A mix of fresh berries that Lili has identified to be safe for human consumption. “What’s he doing here?” Lili nodded at the Na’vi boy lurking behind Neteyam, eyes flickering between the berries and those of Neteyam. “Do not pay attention to him, just curious,” Neteyam muttered as he sat. Even when sat, Neteyam’s gaze remained at eye level with a standing Lili. 

“And unlike the golden child, I have manners,” Lo’ak, the younger one, snickered as he gripped onto Neteyam’s shoulders from behind. “I’m Lo’ak.” 

The Na’vi brought his hand forward as if waiting to take Lili’s in his own for a handshake. As much as Lili is confused and bewildered by the Na’vi’s friendly gesture, her hand seemed to have a mind of its own and slowly made its way to Lo’ak’s. Normally, Lili would naturally recoil at the touch of a blue alien, just as she did at Neteyam’s - but for some reason, Lili took it. “Yeah, I kinda got that…” 

Neteyam’s face tightened as the two shook.  

Other than Spider, Neteyam does not seem pleased with a sky person mingling with his family in any way. 

This, apparently, was no exception.

“Five…fingers?” Lili mumbled aloud, her own words falling deaf to her ears - hands immediately taking the Na’vi’s palm into inspection, searching every cell on its surface. 

Lo’ak chuckled, flexing his fingers as he spoke, “Weird, right? Na’vi with five fingers.” 

“Fascinating…” Lili whispered. 

Lo’ak’s ears dropped at the word, his English was considerably better compared to his siblings’ but he had not heard of this word before. ‘Fascinating’, his father never used it and for all Lo’ak knew, the human girl might be mocking him. Though her wondered and curiously filled eyes told him otherwise. 

“But, why so?” Lili questioned, her eyes dancing on Lo’ak’s palm. “How did you get five fingers?” 

“Because our father’s Jake Sully, everyone knows that,” Lo’ak stated, as if everyone, even on the edges of Pandora should know of his father’s name. 

“Who’s Jake Scully?” Lili blurted out. She had never heard an utter of such a name before and yet the Na’vi had spoken as if she should have known that her entire life. 

“Sc- Scully?” Lo’ak stuttered in confusion. 

“That’s enough,” Neteyam commanded.

Lili ignored the older Na’vi, fingers subconsciously dancing towards the goggles which took home slung around her neck - hoping to take a closer look at her specimen much clearer with the goggle’s built-in function to zoom into things; made specifically for her studies. 

But instead, her collarbone sat bare of it. 

—--

Stubbed by it, Lili failed to notice that Neteyam had pulled his brother’s touch off of hers before hissing at Lo’ak in his mother’s tongue, “What are you doing? You promised not to temper with the interrogation. Do you want me to tell Dad?” 

Lo’ak rolled his eyes at his elder brother, pulling his hand out of Neteyam’s tight grip before holding them up in surrender. “I was just getting to know her,” Lo’ak mumbled under his breath. “Was there any harm in doing so?” 

“Of course there’s harm.  She’s sky people and sky people-” 

“Are the enemy. I know. I don’t need you reciting mum’s words all the time bro,” Lo’ak shrugged, rubbing gently at the bruise lingering at his eye. 

Neteyam sighed, rubbing his palm on his brother’s back before signalling for him to leave - to which Lo’ak compiled for once. 

Perhaps Lo’ak was right. 

Neteyam might just be becoming more and more like their mother.  

He could barely remember the last time he did not hold some sort of grudge against any sky people who were unlucky enough to cross his path - any other than Spider of course. He used to be close to Spider and the other sky people working in the lab near his home. Heck, even Norm was there when they celebrated the date of Neteyam’s birth. But as soon as the sky people landed their asses back on Pandora, Neteyam could not help but isolate himself from the sky people, scientist or not, friend or not. Though he knew he could trust Spider, Neteyam could not help but fear that he may bring some sort of misfortune or tragedy to his family, especially now that Spider was held under the sky people’s. He felt rage and betrayal towards people whom he had previously called friends - a part of the clan even. 

The worst part is, that Neteyam does not truly know why he felt that way. 

But never mind that now, there’s a new problem in front of Neteyam and it was his job to figure out whether or not she is a threat to his family. And right now, she’s turning around on the spot, eyes wandering around the room with no specific target, hand laid the place connecting her neck and collarbone. 

Neteyam frowned, “What are you doing.” 

The girl- Lili, turned her eyes towards Neteyam, causing him to shiver ever so slightly. 

“What does it look like I’m doing?” she muttered, sarcasm poisoning the tip of her tongue. “Dipshit.” 

Neteyam's face turned into a grimace, despite not knowing what this ‘dipshit’ word meant, but it can’t be any good. 

Anything that spouts from this girl’s mouth is just a fountain of insults anyway. And Neteyam’s not going to hold back on his either. 

“Skxawng.” 

“What did you just call me?” Lili was not stupid, she knew for a fact that was some kind of insult in their stupid language. 

“Beautiful woman,” Neteyam smiled.
“Bullshit,” Lili crossed, stepping towards the Na’vi who seemed a bit too comfortable sitting on the woven floor. Neteyam’s eyes fell onto the girl’s small figure, his eyes squinting at the missing piece of clothing article around her neck and he knew exactly where it was. 

Sitting at the bottom of the ocean. 

Of course, Neteyam had noticed that those hideous goggles were missing as soon as he pulled her out of the jaws of the sea. Call him mean, but Neteyam could care less for the girl’s possession right now. Another second that goggles are not in his sight, is another second Neteyam gets to live in peace. 

However, they did help shield away her sharp gazes from him.

“Eat,” Neteyam demanded, pushing the bowl closer towards the girl - who continued to ignore the Na’vi. “I still have questions for you.” 

Lili scoffed, “And what more would you want to know? I’m not telling you anything else than what I already have.” 

Neteyam chewed the insides of his cheeks before speaking, “Are you working with RDA?” 

“Who?” 

“RDA.” 

Lili’s eyes fell into deep thought, blinking before she replied, “Nah, I wouldn’t be caught dead working with those losers.” 

She’s not with the RDA. Good, that’s more information he can bring to his father. But this was not merely enough. 

“Then what do you do?” Neteyam pressed, hoping to receive a constructive reply. 

“I told you, we mess around in our lab.” the girl’s lips formed a thin line under her mask, tired from the bombarding questions the Na’vi was throwing at her. 

“But how do you get your things too,” Neteyam stuttered, trying his best to rephrase in English, praying to Eywa that he does not sound like a total child in front of her. 

Lili thought for a moment, eyes trailing up and down Neteyam’s figure before she picked a fresh berry from the bowl. “We stole from them. The RDA.” Lili shrugged, slipping the food under her mask before returning to her meaningless search for her goggles.

Perhaps she had left them in the previous room.

Neteyam licked his lips as his mind worked and one thing he knows for sure now is that she is not working with the RDA but in fact, she steals from them. 

But does this make her a target of the RDA? Are the sky people in the RDA looking for her?

“Are the sky people looking for you!?” Neteyam raised his voice, visibly startling the human girl. “What?” she mumbled, confusion pooling in her dark eyes. “Why would they?” 

This- skxawng-

“What do you mean why? If you steal from them, you are their enemy.” 

“...Correct, so?” Lili shrugged, her eyes flickering to the side. 

“So-” Neteyam leant forward, his face dangerously close to her own. “They will track you here, which means you have put my family- this village in danger.” 

The brows on Lili’s face turned towards each other as the Na’vi stared down at her, and that, she spoke. “Did you think I asked to be put here? To be captured and be held here in your miserable pathetic village?” Her words were calm and slow, almost threatening. 

“And aren’t you forest Na’vi supposed to be dancing in a rainforest anyways, what in the hell are you doing here?” 

Neteyam’s face twisted into a grimace at the human’s words. 

“That’s is not your concern.” Neteyam hissed, “Answer me now. Are the RDA tracking you?” 

Lili clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, tired of the non-stop questions. “Look, they don’t even know we exist, let alone know someone stole from them.” 

“They don’t know?” Neteyam tilted his head. 

“Yes. So don’t worry about all that tracking bullshit, we’re ghosts to them.” 

Neteyam bit the corner of his lips, thinking and processing the words that flew out of the girl’s mouth - ignoring the vulgar words that were strung to her sentences. 

“We?” 

“Yea, well- me and my brothers. Not us.” Lili blinked. 

“Brothers?” 

Lili paused, her head slowly turning towards Neteyam, quickly realising what she had done. A sneaking smirk crawled its way onto Neteyam as he watched the colour drain from Lili’s face, watching as she quickly realised she had slipped up. “You heard nothing,” Lili whispered harshly, her eyes lingering on the shadows of the room. Neteyam scoffed, he would be lying if he said he hadn’t found the girl’s mistake amusing. 

But nothing else. 

“Do you mind telling me where the lab is too?” Neteyam questioned, clearly mocking the mock girl. “In your dreams,” Lili replied, her eyes growing paper-thin as she stared down at the Na’vi. Neteyam had to force back a chuckle, he was not about to break character just because he happened to find her slip-up slightly amusing. 

Only slightly-

Lili clicked her tongue in annoyance, pulling back every string of muscle from wiping that smug look on the Na’vi’s face. She couldn’t believe that she had just slipped up like that after making herself promise to never mention her brothers - but for some reason, Lili had a feeling Neteyam had already known. And if he had known, there might already be Na’vi going off in search of them, or perhaps they were going to use her as some sort of leverage against her brother, knowing well that they were family. 

“Did you tell your captain?” Lili questioned. 

Neteyam leant back against his arms, “Captain?” 

“Your superior- or something or whatever you guys call the person you report to.” 

And there she goes again, shooting numerous English words at the speed of light; as if Neteyam was fluent in the language. 

“What?” What all Neteyam managed to say and he might as well have replied in Na’vi. 

“The- the guy that you were with when you ambushed us,” Lili tried, her arms waving about as she explained, “The guy you report to.” 

Neteyam thought, trying to make sense of what she was saying, “That’s my father.” 

“But you call him ‘sir’,” Lili paused, “Who calls their father ‘sir’?” 

Neteyam shrugged, even though he had forgotten how Lo’ak and himself had come to call their father in that way. Maybe it was the soldier they saw in Jake, a human soldier who never left. 

“Ignoring those issues you’ve got going on there but- have you told him about my brothers?” Lili pushed, desperate to get an answer and to try her best not to show so. 

Neteyam blinked back at the girl, his yellow eyes peering into hers like a cat. “What issues?” 

“I’m not explaining that to you, answer my question,” 

The Na’vi sat silent. 

“Please?” 

Neteyam smacked his lips, “My father was the one to think of it. There was no need to tell him.” The shoulders of the girl dropped, like heavy bags of stone dropped onto a concrete floor as her hands hung dead at her sides. “Great…” 

Despite worrying for her brother’s well-being, Lili can’t help but feel a slight sting at the Na’vi’s poor grammar in his speech - like a mosquito Lili could not quite get rid of. 

Perhaps she should get Nil to start teaching her Na’vi- 

Hell , what was she thinking? There was no way Lili was ever going to associate herself with anything related to those blue aliens. But, it does help with communicating with them much more efficiently and maybe Lili could finally insult the Neteyam properly, insult him with something he could understand. 

“Right,” Neteyam smacked his lips together as he pulled his tall frame off the ground and onto his feet. “I guess you will not make the same mistake of telling me where your lab is, so I am leaving.” 

Neteyam’s eyes trailed after Lili’s still figure as he walked, her focus was on something else rather than on him. A sigh left his chest as Neteyam lifted the flap of the marui to make his exit. “Wait-” 

Neteyam paused, his arm falling back to his side as the flap gently floated down. “What? Missing me already?” Neteyam joked. 

“Will never,” Lili waved her hand at him as she walked to the centre of marui. “I was thinking…could you get that for me?” 

Neteyam’s eyes followed the line of her finger as she pointed up, his gaze crawling up the woven walls of the marui and up to its ceiling. And there it sat, a lone seaweed hanging between the pieces of the roof - dripping drops of saltwater down to the ground. Neteyam squints at the weed. “Why?” For some reason, Neteyam just could not seem to cook up any possible reason why one would want a mere seaweed. 

“Because…I want it-” Lili dropped her arms, “Are you going to help me or not, because I was actually doing it myself before the two of you interrupted.”

Neteyam dropped his eyes back down at the human girl, her eyes flat. 

That explains the jumping… 

His chest dropped as Neteyam reached up for the water plant, tilting his weight onto his toes as he gripped it.

He was just a good person, helping a poor helpless sky person out - no other reason. 

“Here,” Neteyam slipped the slimy plant into Lili’s palms. Lili shivered as the cold surface of the plant pricked at her skin, her fingers observing the texture of the weed. “Yeah, thanks.” 

The young Na’vi watched as the girl stalked towards a corner, facing out of one of the many openings to the marui, staring out into the village; her gaze seemed blank as her eyes flickered from the ocean waters to the creatures swimming in it - thinking. 

It was Neteyam’s job to figure out what this sky person’s thinking, and what her motives and plans were. His job was to keep her in check. 

But- His lessons with Tsireya were about to begin and they were going to explore the deeper depths of the ocean; Neteyam would kill an entire sturmbeast again if he had to miss it for a measly sky person. Neteyam shook his head as he left the marui and the human girl alone, finally relieved to be rid of that sky person’s presence and returning to his day-to-day life in the Metkayina clan. Despite it being a bore, visiting and interrogating the sky person was something different in his life. Neteyam might as well miss the horrible and dangerous missions he had back in his home clan even though he might get killed during a crossfire or an accident when dealing with the sky people. And if he was being honest - 

He missed the thrill danger brought him.