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[Pandora - Awa’atlu]
A single night had transpired, and all was not well as Tsireya sat on the edge of her small island as her feet trickled against the warming oceans. In a single night, everything she knew and believed had changed.
She bore witness to a revival. She bore witness that there are those aren’t even Na’vi calling Eywa kindred.
Yet, such thoughts trampled her thoughts. More questions, than answers and that greatly infuriated her.
“Tsireya,” Kiri murmured as he approached her.
“Kiri,” she answered with a beaming smile. She had heard from Lo’ak and Neteyam that Kiri and Spider were extremely close. She had a feeling that it had something to do with the fact that Kiri’s mother was human. “Avoiding the family?”
“Yes,” Kiri answered as she sat next to Tsireya. “They… they just don’t understand. There’s no sense of accountability… I hate them. I hate them for putting me in this… in this situation. I hate them for making me feel like this… like my thoughts aren’t allowed. That my anger and rage isn’t justified. I… I… oh, I’ve been rambling,” Kiri muttered sheepishly.
Tsireya smiled. “Oel ngati kameie,” she said as she grabbed Kiri. “I see you,” she continued as she let Kiri go. “In a single day… what I knew of Na’vi has changed… it’s… something.”
“Thank you,” Kiri answered with a smile. “I just needed an out… I just needed to get away.”
“The need to find your own solace,” Tsireya murmured with a slight nod. “You are right to miss your friend Spider… but you must remember… you saw it. Spider was saved.”
“Yeah,” Kiri murmured. “And he’s god knows where.”
“Eywa knows,” Tsireya murmured as she began kicking against the warming waters. “Eywa knows all… and I have a feeling, that the man that saved Neteyam came to save your Spider.”
“He has no one,” said Kiri. Yes, she was happy that someone had saved him, but at the same time she felt annoyed that it wasn’t her. The man that saved Neteyam was a stranger, and Spider deserved to be around people he knew.
“We must maintain our faith in Eywa,” Tsireya said. “He was saved… which means, he is alive. He might not turn up today… he might not turn up tomorrow… but you must have faith that you will cross paths in the future.”
“I know,” Kiri answered meekly. “But I feel so selfish for evening thinking it. We abandoned him once. Mum and dad… they thought that he would be treated fairly by his kind… they were so wrong. We were wrong.”
“You must take things one day at a time, Kiri,” Tsireya answered. She might have been younger than Aonung, but maturity wasn’t determined by age and Tsireya carried herself in such a manner that somewhat reminisced her father, Tonowari.
Kiri sighed.
“Whatever your father and mother might have said… or done, they are your family. I am not saying that your anger is unjustified… quite the opposite. It is justified, but such hate can only lead to loneliness. You must communicate your anger… you must communicate without causing harm… only then can you rise,” Tsireya answered.
“I… you are right,” Kiri noted with a sigh. As much as she hated them, she couldn’t let it hold her back. Regardless of their ups and down, they were family.
Following Tsireya’s gaze, she found herself looking at the open ocean, wondering what her future entails as well as wondering how Spider was.
-
[Pandora – Northern Mountains]
“Why?” Spider mulled as threw his hands back into the cold, icy waters. “Why the fuck am I here trying to hunt? There’s no fish… there’s nothing here!” he screamed.
“Because you’re trying to connect with Eywa,” Loki yawned from above. Using seidr, he hovered a few inches above the vast opening of what he knew as the ocean.
“You try doing this while being wet and cold,” mulled Spider sarcastically. “Why am I even listening to you?” he murmured as he turned to face the seafront. “I’m a human… a demon; I can’t do this. I can only kill… I can’t do this whole talking to Eywa.”
“You will,” Loki noted as he raised a hand. Immediately, an invisible barrier popped into existence. “And you will not leave till you have accomplished this task,” Loki continued as he watched Spider hitting the imaginary wall.
“Bastard,” Spider seethed as he turned around to face Loki.
“Is that, how you speak to your saviour?” Loki asked as he bowed at an impossible angle while mid-flight.
“You should have let me die,” Spider snarled venomously.
Loki let a sigh loose as he gently descended into the murky, shallow, icy waters. Putting his hands into the water, he closed his eyes.
“What are you doing?” Spider murmured silently as he shuffled towards him.
“Ruxte,” Loki calmly said.
Immediately, the waters warmed, as shards of icy sleeting snow dissipated into nothingness. Spider couldn’t help but be surprised as his eyes widened.
Within moments, a fish appeared within Loki’s cupped hands.
“Irayo,” Loki murmured as he caressed the fish. “Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi Irayo,” he murmured silently while raising the fish above the water.
Upon closer inspection, Spider realised that the fish was dead. “How?” he asked silently. “How did you do that when you are not Na’vi?”
His voice was a little quieter, and Loki verily noticed the subtle jealousy that was entertaining Spider’s mind. “Place your hands into the water,” Loki murmured.
“What?” Spider asked. That didn’t answer my question, he silently mused.
“Place your hands into the water,” Loki murmured once more. His voice was more authoritative as his piercing gaze hardened.
Feeling the subtle shift of uncertainty, Spider found himself slowly descending his hands into the ocean.
“Good,” Loki said. “Now picture it… picture fish… picture food… picture yourself eating… picture yourself eating for a new day.”
Spider didn’t know why, but he found Loki’s voice soothing. It had a motherly and fatherly tone that gave him hope. Hope that no one else could provide. Hope that he could be more.
Yet, with that thought, there was another voice within that commanded such prowess. His own inner monologue.
I am nothing.
Spider is nothing.
“Spider,” Loki iterated once more.
With his hands placed in water, he tilted his head to the side so that he could see Loki. Letting a gulp loose, Spider was mesmerised.
Loki might have not been a human, but he looked like one. He had no queue, and no real ties to Pandora. Yet he was here. Showing what could be, and in that split moment the dark thoughts that mangled and intertwined with his soul and mind was eviscerated.
Taking a deep breath, he pictured it. He pictured a warm fire where he could sit, where he could eat. A warm fire within pandora.
“Now think of Eywa. Think of the All-mother. The mother that guides every sentient being on Pandora. Eywa could be anything… it could be a flower, it could be the water, it could be anything… but it must be strong. The thought must be strong,” Loki murmured.
It could be anything? Spider mused silently.
And then, a few meters away he could see the glistening rays of the mighty sun shining brightly against the ocean sea floor as different shades of blue flickered into existence.
The sun, he mused as his pupils turned to the sky.
A moment went by, and nothing happened. Spider readily wanted to give up, to turn and scowl at Loki for raising his hopes, and just when he was about to give up hope, he felt his fingertips getting warm.
And then, within seconds a fish appeared within the confines of his hands.
His eyes bulged as realisation dawned upon him, that he had done it.
“We are not finished,” Loki murmured.
“Yes,” Spider answered as he shook his head. What was it Loki said? he murmured. “Irayo,” he voiced. It wasn’t the Na’vi dialect, but it would do he realised as he slowly found himself raising the fish out of the water. “Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi Irayo,” he whispered.
“Now look at your fish,” Loki ushered as he stepped closer to him.
“It’s dead,” Spider realised.
“It is,” Loki murmured. “The cleanest of all kills when you ask Eywa for sustenance,” he murmured as he cupped Spider’s hands. “This is your kill Spider… yours… which was granted by Eywa. Do you know why?” Loki asked.
“No,” Spider whispered because he honestly did not know.
“Because Eywa does not wish you dead… Eywa does not wish for her children to starve. You might not acknowledge it… but you must understand. You are a child of Pandora and as such, Eywa has claimed you from the moment you were born… like the Na’vi, the Flora and Fauna,” Loki murmured as he began walking back to the shore. “Letting you die… would be nothing but an inconvenience to yourself… and only yourself, because you wouldn’t be able to reap the riches and rewards that you are bestowed with.”
The harsh tone echoing behind Loki’s etched voice sent shimmers down his spine. “Wait, no… that’s impossible,” Spider murmured as he walked towards Loki with the fish in hand.
“Is it?” Loki murmured. “Because you were told?” Loki asked in gnarly tone as he ignored Spider’s sullen expression. “Do you not ever get tired of what is said? Do you not have a brain of your own that you can use to think, to calculate?” Loki sneered.
“Of course I do,” Spider roared.
“So, for the love Eywa… why do you chose to ignore the obvious when it is right there in your hands… why ignore what you can see, but dearly hold onto what has been told and ushered in whispers? Like it’s a taboo or something diabolical?” Loki roared in return as he turned to face Spider with his hardened gaze.
Immediately, Spider found himself cowering. Loki wasn’t much taller, but the way he stood, intertwined with the way he talked, Spider couldn’t help but feel slightly stricken in awe. “Who the fuck are you man?” Spider asked after a moment had passed.
Loki let a bellowing laugh loose. “Come… you will eat your riches while the sun graciously shines upon us.”
Staring back down at the fish in his hand, Spider couldn’t stop the overwhelming tears that perched on the corners of his eyes.
“This is mine,” he murmured quietly.
“Louder,” Loki retorted from the shorelines. “If you must utter such despicable thoughts… you should do so with pride… You are a hunter, Spider. You might be a human on the outside, but on the inside, you are a Na’vi… so say it with pride.”
Pride.
“This is mine,” he muttered with every conviction under his mantle. “This fish is mine.”
“Exactly… now come… I am starving. Saving you yesterday has raised my appetite,” Loki murmured as he let his feral tongue skirt the edges of his tongue. “And I shan’t waste a moment more when my stomach grumbles and groans.”
With every step, Spider felt his shoulders lighten. With every step, he could feel that brighter future that he had dreamed off. With every step, he believed that he was Na’vi.
Very good Spider, Eywa murmured. Only Loki could hear, but for now, that was enough. The boy was on a path of righteousness while paving a way for his future. You are a good teacher Loki.
Loki couldn’t help but snort in response as he watched Spider walking towards him. “We will be going back up to the mountains,” Loki murmured as he turned away.
“Wait what about the oceans?” Spider asked. Whatever they did, had taken the icy sleet away. Yet, upon turning his head he was surprised that the foamy cold sleet had returned. The ocean looked barren and lost. The rich colours had vanished along with the sun which was now hidden by the misty fog.
“What about it?” Loki murmured without turning back to face Spider.
“Nevermind,” Spider responded silently as a combination of shock and surprise coursed through his body.
“Then hurry along,” Loki murmured as he began pacing himself towards the widening, bending passage that would take him to the peaks of the mountain.
“Yes… Sir,” Spider answered. The words seemed awkward, yet well placed. The last person he called Sir was Jake Sully, his role model.
But not anymore, he mused as he watched Loki with an expression of awe and respect.