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After nearly weeks of traveling on your ikrans, your family had finally arrived in Awa’atlu, desperately seeking Uturu to get away from war. You were standing beside your brother, Neteyam, your lanky arms hanging awkwardly in front of you, tense hands clasped together in a poor attempt to ground yourself.
You felt even more awkward when an–admittedly attractive– boy and his friend entered the crowd. Once the two of you made eye contact–his being a thousand times more intense than yours, burning into you like a hundred suns– you immediately brought your hand to your forehead, a sign of respect.
Instead of him doing the same like you thought he would, he flared his nostrils and looked you up and down with a narrowed glare. His stare made a feeling flutter deep in your stomach, like someone alerted a field of colorful kenten.
Oh. He was sizing you up.
With an inaudible inhale, you shuffled closer to Neteyam, his heavy arm immediately coming to wrap around your tense shoulders, thumbing at scarred skin, effectively grounding you. Your big amber eyes never broke away from Aonung’s baby blue ones, furrowing your eyebrows and flicking your ears upward in embarrassment from being blatantly ignored. He would definitely be a problem later.
It was when your dad whispered an “it’s alright, be cool” that you finally broke his gaze, opting to look at the ground beneath you. Your thick braids curtained the sides of your face, beads clicking together harmoniously–the feeling of being watched intensely from a crowd of na’vi made you feel nauseous, dizzy, and even more alienated; your nose twitching as the the saltiness of the air nearly intoxicates you.
The sand felt weird, foreign, incredibly unfamiliar to the dark soil you already missed digging your feet into. The waves crashing against the shore, however, sounded lovely. The wind blows, it passes over, beneath, and between the mangroves, one after another, never to return. Though, it wasn’t enough to fill the void. You hoped that after all this blew over, you and your family would be able to go back home–but the gnawing voice at the back of your head knew that would never happen.
“These children are not even true Na’vi.”
You harshly blinked away the tears that threatened to spill when you felt the Tsahìk rip one of your clasped hands away, only to hold your four-fingered hand up for the scrutinizing crowd to see. Her voice boomed with authority.
“They have demon blood!”
The only thing you could hear were ringing in your ears, your own pulsing heartbeat, and the scared gasps of the na’vi surrounding you.
Welp. This is your life now. Your home.
.⠀ ݁ ⸜⸜ 𓂃 ✿̅
“Hey!” Lo’ak yelled, striding up to Aonung and his crew with you following closely behind, “Back off, fishlips.” Kiri took a few small steps back, looking between the both of you in a slight panic; you nodded towards her and she nodded back with a small, yet obviously forced smile on her face, the look in her eyes gave you just enough to know she was fine.
Aonung’s face quickly morphed into a smirk, his tone criminally sardonic. By Eywa, this boy is evil. “Oooh, more four-fingered freaks!” He cackled wickedly, lightly shoving Lo’ak–almost playful– like he wasn’t tormenting Kiri a few moments ago. Him and his gang started to crowd around your twin, pulling and touching the thin tail that flicked with annoyance.
“Leave us alone!” Kiri chorused, the plea sitting desperately on her tongue.
With an exaggerated sigh, you ran up beside Lo’ak and shoved Aonung with as much strength as your lithe body could muster at the moment, running off of pure adrenaline. The push wasn’t that strong, but strong enough that it made Aonung take a few steps back, admittedly flustering him a little. “Dude, don’t touch him!” You emphasized, your frantic, honeyed eyes as wide as can be, staring back into his.
Time seemed to stop for Aonung as he took in your appearance like he did the first time you two saw each other, yet you were even beautiful up close. His eyes looked between your left eye, your right, and then to your lips. Before his own mind could even register, he wrapped his big hand around your wrist, indulging in how it nearly engulfed your entire hand. Once his thumb caressed your skin, you felt your heart jump.
“Beautiful..” Aonung whispered– his voice low and deep– so that just the two of you would be able to hear it. His tongue swiped at his bottom lip, effectively distracting you from what was really important at the moment.
It seems that he was too caught up in taking you in, narrowly missing the way Neteyam was currently striding up to him with vigor, shoving him with way more force than you ever had, resulting in everyone going quiet and shifting their attention towards him.
“You heard what they said.” Neteyam started, pointing an accusing finger at Aonung. “Leave them alone.”
“Back off, now.”
Aonung raised his hands up in mock surrender, looking off to the side as Neteyam continued to stare holes into his head.
“Smart choice. And from now on I need you to respect my sisters.”
“Let’s go.” Neteyam gathered you, Kiri, and Lo’ak like sheep, ready to walk away and get whatever the hell was happening over with.
“Look at them. They’re all freaks, the whole family.”
Lo’ak sighs deeply at this and makes his way back over to Aonung and his friends.
Watching him with wide eyes, your heart panged as you figured out what would happen as soon as he steps into their vicinity again. “Lo’ak..” You chided, hurriedly looking back towards your twin and the snickering guys behind him.
“I got this, sis.”
Lo’ak, in fact, did not have it. A huge fight broke out between everyone, excluding Kiri of course. What kind of twin would you be if you didn’t jump in?
.⠀ ݁ ⸜⸜ 𓂃 ✿̅
You all were definitely about to get the lecturing of a lifetime–or, you and Lo’ak, at least. Lo’ak had his hand wrapped around his arm, Neteyam rubbing at his bloodied nose, while you had your arms crossed, nails digging into your elbows. All with Jake trailing behind, practically seething with anger.
“What was the one thing I asked? The one thing?”
“Stay out of trouble–” You and Lo’ak chorused, Neteyam looking off to the side.
“Stay out of trouble, right.”
“And you,” Jake started incredulously, turning his stern gaze towards you. He knew you and Lo’ak were alike, down to a T, so maybe he really shouldn’t be surprised, yet he still couldn’t help but feel a semblance of disappointment pang in his chest as he watched the pinkish hue of Aonung’s blood stain the tips of your teeth and the cracks of your bruised lips. “You bit Aonung!”
“I did not–” “Yes, you did! Oh, so now you’re starting to lie to me?” Immediately, your ears cast downward, the loudness of his voice making tears brim your eyes and your bottom lip tremble. He was right, you actually did lie, the taste of iron fresh on your tongue to further prove his point. But how you hated when your father spoke to you like this–the weight of shame and disappointment dripping down your shoulders like hot syrup.
You felt Lo’ak and Neteyam’s stare burn into the side of your head like hot coals, their hearts heavy as they both watched their little sister get scolded for something she didn’t start.
Neteyam pursed his lips before stepping in front of you and Lo’ak, ready to defend. “Sir, it is all my fault–”
“I don’t think so. You gotta stop taking the heat for these two knuckleheads.” Your shoulders were pinched as a tear ran down the slope of your rounded cheek, hand coming up to quickly swipe it away. Neteyam stepped over to place a hand on your back.
“Dad, Aonung was picking on Kiri.. called her a freak.” Lo’ak said softly, as to not make your father raise his voice any more than he already was. Jake’s stern gaze softened at this, looking off to the side. He sighed audibly before looking back to the both of you.
“Go apologize to Aonung.”
“What?” You and Lo’ak said in unison, both of your eyebrows furrowing.
“He is the chief’s son, do you understand? I don’t care how you do it, just make peace. Just go.”
And with that, Lo’ak sighed and shook his head, stray braids swinging with the movement, walking off to go find Aonung with you scurrying behind like a lost, pitiful puppy. You didn’t dare look back when Jake called for Neteyam, only focusing on controlling your own harsh breathing. This had to have been the worst day of your life.
.⠀ ݁ ⸜⸜ 𓂃 ✿̅
“Run that by me again.”
“..Whatever that means.”
“Repeat what you said.”
“I said, if you allow me to court your sister, you will be pardoned.”
“Dude, I am not prostituting my sister. Are you nuts or something?”
“Not prostituting, I just happen to like her.”
Well, you thought, so much for trying to apologize.
You were currently hiding behind a nearby tree, ears alert as you listened in on their conversation. Lo’ak told you to stay put, that he’d go apologize to the dude himself since you didn’t have anything to do with it; technically you did bite him, and his friend.. and two more of his friends. But that was because you had teeth, so why not use them for what they’re made for?
By the time Aonung blinked, you were already at your twin’s side, amber eyes glancing into amber eyes before peeking into his blue ones. “I am very sorry, Aonung, but I don’t think Kiri is interested in you. Like, at all.” You said with a tilt of your head, beads thudding almost mockingly.
After an awkward beat of silence, Aonung cleared his throat. “No, I’m not talking about Kiri..? I’m talking about you, (Y/N).”
Lo’ak gawked at him as if he had grown fifteen heads, eyebrows raised incredulously. “Bro–” “I accept your offer.” Now Lo’ak was staring at you as if you were crazier for even accepting, mouth open cartoonishly wide. Aonung, however, looked extremely pleased at your response, glancing at Lo’ak in a way that screamed ‘she said it, not me’.
“Whatever. Let me know if you need me to beat him up, okay? And you, bring my baby sister back before eclipse.” Lo’ak huffed before turning to set off along the shore, shaking his head in the procress.
“Not a baby, Lo’ak, we were born five minutes apart!” You complained in English, making Aonung’s ears perk up at the foreign language that spilled from your mouth.
Lo’ak turned to you, flipping you off with both hands raised in the air–even with his thumbs out. Disrespectful. “Girl, bye!”
You watched your brother walk further and further, his silhouette getting smaller and smaller. Blinking, you turned to Aonung, only to find out he’s already staring you down intensely. Acknowledging him with a nod of your head, you felt your cheeks flush at his attention, a fluttering feeling took over the pit of your stomach.
Aonung crowded you, tucking his fingers under your chin to make you look up at him. “Just so you know, I would have courted you even without your brother’s permission, sweet girl.” His eyes were even prettier up close, a striking narrowed blue boring into your honey ones. You felt your heart violently palpate at the name, and with a nervous exhale, you shied away from his hand.
“Come.” You quipped sweetly, skipping ahead with Aonung following close behind, his eyes trailing down your form, stopping at the pretty woven bow that sat right at the base of your tail. His gaze snapped back to your face when he saw you face him in his peripheral, heart thudding against his ribcage. “Do you call everyone ‘sweet girl’?”
“No, only you. You are very pretty, by the way.”
“Thanks bro.” He internally cringed at the choice of label, it was a habit, obviously, but Aonung didn’t seem to mind it very much; he knew it would change over the course of time. “You think the same about Lo’ak?”
“By Eywa, no, he doesn’t look half as good as you, paskalin.”
“He is my twin, skxawng. We look the same.”
Aonung went silent for a few moments, scanning your features before responding. “.. Not necessarily. The shape of the hair over your eyes are both the same, though. I will give you that much.”
Your laugh fluctuated throughout the air, singing harmoniously with the crashing waves. You desperately trying to ignore the way your entire body felt like it was lit up in flames when he placed his hand on the small of your waist, thumbing at the skin, you were sure he could hear your heartbeat threatening to jump out of your chest.
Looking up at him, you noticed the small multitude of bite marks along his shoulders and arms, your ears lowering in guilt when the phantom taste of iron filled your mouth, remembering what your dad told you.
“Also–uhm– sorry for biting you.. so many times.”
“It’s okay, I liked it, sorry for calling you a freak.”
“No hard feelings. I’ve said worse about you with Lo’ak.” Aonung decided he would ignore that last part, while you decided to ignore the first part of his statement, feeling your face flush for the thousandth time today.
“I really did like it, by the way, you biting me. Do it again next time.”
“.. Jesus christ.”
“Who?”
You didn’t really like it here at first, but since the Olo’eyktan’s son currently had his hand digging into the skin of your waist with full intent on courting you, you guess you could make it work.