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Kiri finds Tsireya in the center of the burning base, staring down at a dead Sky Man. At least, Tsireya thinks it's a man. She still has a hard time telling Sky People apart, unless they make efforts to distinguish themselves like Spider. And there's nothing to distinguish this human, now, certainly not the bullet in his chest or his smashed face. There are humans like that lying everywhere, dripping red.
"Come on," Kiri says, taking Tsireya by the hand. "We should get out of here."
Tsireya blinks slowly, feeling blood crack where it's already started to dry on her face. Her tail is sore, aching from rough and brutal movement. She's lost her knife, buried in one body or another, and the rifle feels heavy and unfamiliar on her back.
"Did we win?" she asks, as Kiri leads her through the metal hallways. It feels like a silly question; they're not running away, after all, so they must have won. The floor around their feet is piled with bodies, Na'vi from all sides mixed in with humans. Dark puddles splash between Tsireya's toes, staining her legs.
Surviving warriors come up to them and Kiri says things Tsireya can't hear, her words a distant buzz. Giving orders like she was born to do it, and a voice in the back of Tsireya's head whispers wasn't she? Isn't that what Eywa made her for?
The base is aquatic, blood dripping through its open doorway and mixing with the waves. Kiri guides Tsireya in gently, one arm still tight around her shoulders. Salt splashes them both and Tsireya shivers, scrubbing a hand over her face. The water out here is colder than the water back home, darker.
Salt splashes on her face, sharp as tears. In fact, they are tears, dribbling down Tsireya's face as she sniffles and gasps. Kiri holds her upright, humming a lullaby Tsireya doesn't recognize. Her arm wraps around Tsireya's waist, holding her upright. Her body presses close, warm and soft.
In the waters ahead, far away, Tsireya can see two akula fighting over a Na'vi body, tugging it back and forth. It's probably a Mangkwan, Kiri wouldn't let the animals eat Na'vi on their own side. Tsireya's almost completely sure she wouldn't, anyway.
"Come on." Kiri guides her farther away from the base, settling her in the shallows. Tsireya sits with her legs folded beneath her, water tugging at her battle vest. Kiri sits behind her, combing gentle fingers through Tsireya's hair, teasing dried blood from the strands.
"That man," Tsireya says. She coughs, twists her hands in her lap. She would stand up and take off her rifle, make sure it doesn't get damaged by the water. "I shot him. And then I smashed his face in, with my tail." There is a dull ringing in her ears. "I didn't have to. He was surrendering. He dropped his gun and I…"
Kiri makes a soft noise of acknowledgement. Tsireya wishes she would scream, rage, show Tsireya's head under the water and hold her there, but she doesn't.
"I just...I wanted to punish them. Make them suffer. For what they did. What they took," Tsireya coughs, scooping water from the surf and rubbing it over her eyes. She keeps scrubbing until Kiri's fingers take her by the wrists, gently pulling her hands away.
"It makes sense." Kiri's voice is soft,curling inside Tsireya's ear like a caress.
Tsireya lets out a rattling breath. "Mother would be disappointed."
"Your mother isn't here." A simple, blunt statement of fact. "Neither is my brother. We are, though, and we do what we must. They brought this on themselves."
"That's what they say about us, though," Tsireya holds up her hands in front of her face, opening and closing her stained knuckles. "Isn't it?"
"If you hadn't killed him, he would have killed someone else." Kiri's words are harsh, but her voice is easy, simple. “It’s the way of things.”
She brushes the hair off the back of Tsireya's neck, kissing her gently. Her mouth is warm, and it makes Tsireya how cold she is, soaked to the bone. She shivers, teeth pressed together.
"Come on." Kiri rises to her feet, taking Tsireya's hand in hers. "Let's go find the others, get you warmed up. You'll feel better tomorrow, I promise."
Tsireya doubts it, but it's not like she has a choice now. Her path has been made already, so she takes a deep breath and reaches for Kiri's hand.