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"Hey kid, you coming with us to swim?" Hailey glanced up from her book with a small smile. "Hey, Jake. Not today. I've got a migraine," She gestured to the pills on her bedside. "Another one? They genetic or something?" She snorted softly as her pseudo-godfather crouched in her room, sitting on her bed. "I think so. Dad says Mom used to get them all the time." Jake glanced around briefly - something Hailey had noticed he did when he was nervous about something. "Go into your Avatar then," He said. Hailey shook her head, "Can't. Migraines pass onto them. The painkillers don't work as great either. Ask Tey, he had one a few weeks ago,"
Truth be told: Hailey was on her period. And periods do, in fact, happen with the Na'vi. And quite honestly, all she wanted to do was sleep off the pain and drown in her sorrows. Usually when she had a "migraine" one of the boys would bring her some fruit to eat. Sometimes Spider would as well, but he was usually too busy trying to woo Kiri over in his new Avatar form. Neteyam would be by after the swim session with handfuls of fruit and healing ointments from Mo'at or Kiri and sit with her for a while whilst she watched a movie - and introduced him to the concept of a DVD.
Her best buddy Lo'ak - of whom they shared a mutual love for bullying each other - would bring by some banana fruit (utumauti) and claim that because she wasn't a Na'vi at that precise moment, there was no custom saying he couldn't share it with her. He would also be by during a swim session or a hunt so they were on their own. Hailey would play off the cramps and headache by stretching dramatically, swatting at whoever was by when they stared at her, either confused or laughing.
"That sucks," Jake said. Hailey mmhmm-ed as she picked an old DVD to watch. Her eyes came upon a favourite. She picked it out with a smile. "What DVD are you watching now kid?" She displayed it. "The Little Mermaid? Isn't this for kids?" Jake asked with a smirk. She threw the remote at his leg. "It came out way back when in 1989. 181 years ago. Apparently my great-grandma used to love it. Mom used to watch it with her before she flew out here." She pushed the DVD into its slot and flicked the tv on. "I used to watch it with Norm when I was a baby. He said when mom felt sad, she'd watch it. She watched it a lot when she was pregnant with me." She sat down on the bed. "I think I remember her watching it, actually. Kiri and Neteyam would watch it with her,"
Hailey smiled softly. "She'd be so proud of you," Jake said a few moments later. Hailey sighed quietly but offered nothing in reply. The film began to play softly when Jake stood. "I'm gonna go then. You nurse that migraine," She waved goodbye and twisted on the bed to ease her stomach cramp - and it helped a little. "Oh," Jake paused in the doorway. "When my wayward son turns up, tell him I want him back by eclipse,"
Jake left to Hailey's snort.
~
Much later, at the point where Hailey had stuck on the second film in the trilogy, her best friend turned up. "Your dad knows you come here by the way," She called in lew of greeting. Lo'ak huffed as he dropped two utumauti fruit on her bed. "You grassed on me? Not cool," She shook her head with a laugh, wincing slightly when her stomach cramped. She ignored the look he sent. "Nah. He came by earlier to tell me," She cackled as Lo'ak tried to drop onto her bed but misjudged the distance and fell on his ass instead.
He swore. Hailey laughed loudly. "I'm ignoring you," He grumbled, sitting on the bed. She watched in amusement as he pulled the oxygen mask up to his face and took several deep breaths. "I've not said a word. He's your dad though, he knows everything," She unpaused the movie and shifted slightly so there was more room for him to stretch out. The film played for a solid 2 minutes before she sighed heavily. "I can hear you thinking penis face." The movie continued quietly. "I've been thinking," He said after a few puffs of Pandorian air. Hailey raised her eyebrows. "Really? Couldn't tell," She sighed. The kick to her shin was expected. "I don't think you get migraines," He began. Hailey snorted. "Let me finish before you speak, skxawng," She giggled. "They happen every single month, on time, yeah?" Hailey hummed in agreement. "Without fail? Every single month?" Hailey shifted on the bed as a cramp hit. "Sometimes. What're you getting at?"
"You get periods." Hailey looked at him, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. "I dunno why you lied about it. It's a normal thing, isn't it?" She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess there's a stigma around periods. People see them as gross and unhygienic," Lo'ak's tail slapped her leg. "Don't be stupid. Periods are, if anything, a good thing here. It means your body is working as it should: that we can have kids when the time's right,"
Hailey felt herself freeze at the word WE. She chose not to mention it though. "Yeah, but it's irrelevant here. The only person I could realistically have kids with is Spider, and he's too busy wooing Kiri." Lo'ak seemed to get uncomfortable. "But your avatar can, can't she? Like Grace did with Kiri?" Hailey shrugged. "I dunno. It was a while after she died before Kiri was in the womb. Tey was already a month old when Grace was four months,"
Hailey sat in silence as Lo'ak thought. She felt a small smile grace her features as his face changed. His brow furrowed slightly as he bit the inside of his lip. His tail waved through the air softly, the motion lulling Hailey into a calm state of mind. "Don't lie about it again. It's normal to have periods, please don't feel embarrassed by them. My mom and Kiri have stuff you can use as your avatar. I don't like not seeing you for a week," Hailey shook her head fondly. "You do see me though. You come by." Lo'ak shook his head. "S'not the same. I like running through the forest with you. And pulling your tail through the water. Or flying on our Ikrans together,"
Hailey smiled at the thought of her ikran - Athena. "How is she?" Hailey heard herself ask. "Nearly took my head off when I came. She's outside your window. And has been for the last day. She does every month," She snuggled deeper into her blanket - something her mom tried to knit when she was pregnant. She never finished it and after she died, Neytiri finished it for her. "I'll rag you later for it. I wanna fight - and you're boring right now," Hailey scoffed playfully. "Oh, I'm sorry my stomach is ripping itself apart is an inconvenience for you," She threw her bear at his head.
But she felt better.