#loreraine

[okaylorrainee]

words never said

characters. lo’ak & female omatikaya reader.

genre. romance. angst

synopsis. arranged as a mated pair, lo’ak never focused on becoming a good husband for you and often pushed away your feelings for him. only when you’re dying in his arms did he realize what he was losing, but it was all too late.

contains. aged up characters (adults). ooc most likely. character death. unhappy marriage. the sullys never went to awa’atlu. the clan still lives in hometree.

note. counting this as my 180+ followers special ! hehe. i hope you guys learn something from this :p let me know your thoughts! (but don’t be mean i am weak)

also on ao3!

a shawl made of leaves wrapped around your form as you stood silently in the middle of your kelku, watching your mate frantically search for his battle gear. jake sully had called the warriors again for another raid against the sky people who were planning to take over yet another area in your clan. the raids have been happening quite frequently now, and being the son of the olo’eyktan himself, lo’ak, your mate, was expected to participate in all of them. 

you grew worried every moment he wasn’t here. you prayed to the great mother he’d come back to you in one piece, safe and sound, but you knew it wouldn’t always be possible. every time the war party came back, someone would be gravely injured. most of the time, a couple of them wouldn’t even return - their corpses lying cold on the battlefield.

thankfully, your husband was a great warrior. although he was reckless and often didn’t follow jake’s orders, he was witty enough to survive all the hits and attacks of the humans, and also, your brother-in-law, neteyam, would always be there to keep him in check. not once did lo’ak return with a fatal injury, but still, you couldn’t help but worry.

in front of you, lo’ak grunted, securing his battle band around his waist. he grabbed his hunting knife from the ground and wiped away litters of dust the blade caught from lying on the floor. his brows formed wrinkles on his face as he frowned, and you didn’t really know why he was upset again right now.

“please be careful, ma’yawntutsyip.” you uttered softly, but he didn't reply nor look at you. even if it was usual for him to do this, it still hurt you. you tried not to mull over it too much.

still ignoring you, lo’ak turned his back on you as he moved to exit. he was leaving again to battle without saying anything, while you were here, dying with concern over his safety. it pained you so much how it seemed like he didn’t care about you every second of every day since you were mated. but you still loved him anyway. he was your mate, your husband, your second half.

before he could completely leave you, you took the chance to say, “i love you, lo’ak.” something you never failed to tell him every day, just to remind him that you were here, that he had you to come back home to. “please, will you say it back just this once?” it took every bit of your strength to plead to him, you just wanted to hear him say it.

your words made him stop in his tracks. he turned his head to the side to spare you a glance, and you tried to fight his cold eyes. you saw how he clenched his jaw as if he was going to say something, but he sighed and turned away before he could. saying nothing else, he marched out of your kelku.

you felt your whole body relax as soon as he left, you didn’t even notice how tense you were while he was here. still standing in the same spot, you looked around your kelku. some stuff were disordered from how much lo’ak moved them around while he was searching. when the air entered from the opening of your kelku and touched your skin, the heaviness of your heart became difficult to ignore, and you simply inhaled deeply to try to calm yourself down.

tears started welling in your eyes and your lips quivered. you were upset. so so upset at how cold and lonely you felt in your own home right now, so upset that you have to clean up all of these cluttered things as if you were once again fixing up the mess that was your union with lo’ak. 

you tried to keep your sobs quiet as you knelt to pick up the things your husband didn’t bother to put back properly. it was always like this with him. while he never yelled at you nor physically hurt you, lo’ak also was never affectionate to you. it was like he wasn’t even your mate. it was like he was just living with you in the same home, sleeping in the same mat and hammock. it was like he never acknowledged you as a lover with how cold he was towards your advances.

you envied the other couples who would profess their love, kiss and hug, and reassure each other every time the other went to battle. why couldn’t lo’ak just love you, try to, or even pretend to?

from what you knew, to him, you were just someone his parents tied to him for life in order to keep him ‘in place’, to show the people that he is a desirable son and son-in-law like his older brother, to make the people know lo’ak is capable of finding a mate and providing for her and for a future family. 

and you understood how he felt and why he was like this to you. you convinced yourself really hard to. every night when you lay beside him whilst he slept soundly next to you, you were crying to yourself, trying to understand that he was still just busy proving himself to his father, proving himself to the people that he could catch up to his older brother, proving to everyone that he wasn’t just some rash failure. you understood why he couldn’t focus on you, even if you were his wife.

as a husband, lo’ak never fulfilled his marriage duties. he only mated with you once and never again, and that was during the ceremony in front of eywa. many of your heat cycles have passed but he never touched you no matter what you did. you often wondered if it was because he had his eyes on someone else. but you’ve confirmed long ago that lo’ak never flirted with the other women in the clan. he was simply too busy with the war and with proving himself, but you loved him all the same because you supported your husband, you only hoped he’d love you back one day. 

hours have passed since he left. while he was gone, you decided to stock up on some fruit by yourself. you could’ve joined the other women who were also waiting for their mates, but you wanted to be alone so you could think and calm down. you were solemn the entire time, even as you returned back home with your basket full of his favorite fruit.

at the moment, you were sitting quietly in the middle of your kelku, weaving a new mat for lo’ak so he could rest in a clean one once he got home. but the silence didn’t last long when it was interrupted by the stomping feet and crying of a child running to your home. all at once, you dropped everything and hurried to the child’s side, gently taking her into your arms.

you cupped her face and looked at her with eyes full of worry, “what is the matter, ‘evi? why are you crying?”

the little girl continued to sob in your arms. “my brother, please. the tawtute.” her sentence was incomplete, and she was crying uncontrollably but the words ‘brother’ and ‘tawtute’ were all you needed to hear to understand what was going on - the sky people were near, and her brother was in danger.

your breath hitched but you tried not to panic. what were you going to do now? you were not a warrior. you were just a common clan member whose role is to weave clothing and collect fruit for the people. but you knew how to shoot an arrow as it was required to come-of-age, and you knew it was enough to at least help and stand up for this little child and her brother. she came to you because your kelku was the nearest, and there was no time to look for someone else. as an adult of your clan, it is your duty to protect them.

with a deep breath, you pulled away from her and quickly took the old bow and arrow sitting next to your shared mat with lo’ak. gripping its handle tightly, you said, “take me to him.” 

the little girl wasted no time in dragging you with her deeper into the forest. you weren’t sure where she was leading you. every step you took made you grow more anxious about what you were going to face. 

soon enough, you heard the sound of running water nearby, and you understood that a waterfall was just here somewhere. the little girl suddenly stopped running in front of you, and she tugged your arms, giving you a look to tell you that you were here. 

you heard the voices of male humans chattering in the vicinity, talking about ‘dna’ and ‘new avatar’ in their language. you couldn’t understand what they were saying and only those three words gave you the gist of what they were talking about. even if your husband was quite fluent in the language of those demons, you still didn’t understand. lo’ak never taught you after all. but all that matters right now is getting her brother back, you could worry about the rest later on.

you bent your knees slightly to meet the child’s eyes. placing your palm on her head, you whispered. “go hide. i will take care of everything.”

still with tears in her eyes, she nodded at you before running back to one of the trees behind you.

you took a deep breath before stealthily approaching the voices. your steps were gentle as you crouched, the crunch of the leaves you stepped on was non-existent as you made your way closer. as soon as the soldiers came into view, you took a while to observe the situation. the na’vi boy was tied up, back faced to you, and two humans were in front of him, armed with large guns scouting the area. 

you quietly moved and hid yourself behind the tree that was next to you. with your back pressed on its trunk, you took your arrow and started positioning your bow. you can do this, you can do this. you encouraged yourself in your head. there are only two of them. to you, the humans themselves weren’t scary, they were a lot smaller than you after all. just one harsh slap and you could make them fly away. it was their weapons that concerned you, you didn’t understand how they worked.

you held your breath as you stepped away from the tree, arms raised whilst you aimed at the human. you planned to shoot them consecutively before they could react with their weapons, you knew you could do it. and so, without further hesitation, you released the arrow and allowed it to fly through the air, stabbing the human right on his head.

the man hadn’t even dropped to the ground when you took another arrow and stretched your bow to aim at the other one. again, you shot the man on his head, and you watched as both of their bodies collapsed on the ground with a thud.

you sprinted to the boy’s side, who began crying from relief the moment he saw you. when you knelt in front of him, you immediately started to untie him from the ropes, reassuring him that he was safe now and to not worry. as soon as the boy was free, he tackled you into a grateful hug, sobbing into your arms.

“mawey, mawey.” you patted his back, carefully pulling him away from you. “we need to go. more of them will come. go!”

he was nodding as he stumbled standing up. you gestured for him to run, and he obeyed, darting to the direction of hometree.

you stood up to trail behind him. but before you could even walk another step, a loud mechanical thud was heard from behind you. you grew cold, already aware of what that was. you spun around reluctantly and were met with a soldier in an amp suit aiming his firearm right at you.

what happened next was a blur. you didn’t have the time to grab your bow nor react, because when his weapon erupted a loud bang, it was already over for you.

–

the ikrans shrieked as they landed on the branches of hometree. the war party was surrounded by a crowd of family members, all looking for their warriors in worry and anticipation of their return. lo’ak, who was in between his father and older brother, dismounted his ikran as his eyes searched for a particular na’vi among the people. 

he puffed out a disappointed breath when he couldn’t find who he was looking for. were you mad at him because he didn’t say ‘i love you’ back earlier? this wasn’t new to your relationship, so what was different now? you never missed his arrival. were you finally getting tired of him?

lo’ak’s lips pursed as he followed behind jake through the horde that was their clan members. neteyam who was walking beside lo’ak, felt his younger brother’s sour mood but he decided not to mention it anymore. the entire day and weeks before having been stressful enough. with the raids going on and lo’ak constantly going to him for advice about his marriage, neteyam knew if he dared to bring it up, it would only make his brother appear more upset in front of you once he got home. 

as the three of them made their way through hometree, they came across a young na’vi boy wailing in the corner, circled by a few other adults who were trying to calm him down. jake didn’t hesitate to go near them.

“what’s going on here?” jake asked, his two sons standing with him on both sides.

the boy wiped his tears away, trying to meet the eyes of his olo’eyktan. “s-soldiers ambushed me.” he wanted to explain more, but his voice was shaking, and it was all he could say.

“where?” neteyam leaned forward to join the conversation.

“near the waterfall.” the boy sobbed. “i was able to escape because my sister called for help.”

“help? who helped you?” lo’ak asked.

everyone fell oddly silent from his question that it made jake and neteyam look around in confusion. lo’ak raised an eyebrow, waiting for the boy to answer. “well?” he urged him to reply.

the boy only hid himself in the arms of the na’vi who was comforting him, sobbing louder than earlier. what could he say to the husband of the person who saved him? when it was already clear to him what happened when a bang echoed through the forest?

the people looked at lo’ak with sympathy, and he stared at them one by one, trying to process and understand what their expressions meant. he grew cold every second when none of them uttered anything. what were they doing? why were they looking at him like this? like they were apologizing? 

lo’ak’s expression darkened. your absence, their apologetic looks. it couldn’t be, right?

he released a deep exhale as he straightened his back. lo’ak’s world stopped as realization struck him. suddenly, everything was silent. he couldn’t hear the child’s sobbing, the people talking around him, and neteyam calling his name from literally right beside him. all he could hear was a long high-pitched ring on his ear, and there was a string in front of him ready to snap any second.

his lips were parted as he breathed heavily, trying to calm himself whilst he turned and walked away from them without a word. jake was calling him but he ignored and continued to his ikran. you? you helped that boy? you weren’t a warrior. how could you fight? lo’ak’s jaw clenched as he thought about it.

neteyam hurried to lo’ak’s side, grabbing his arm to catch his brother’s attention. “bro, calm down.” 

lo’ak snapped his head at neteyam, eyes burning in anger. “calm down? how can i? my wife, my mate. she is in danger!” his voice raised, catching the attention of almost everyone around them. lo’ak harshly pulled his arm back from neteyam, and all the man could do was stand there dumbfounded.

jake nodded to neteyam with a knowing look as lo’ak mounted his ikran in front of everyone. the animal shrieked louder than ever, mirroring the burning anger of its rider. and as lo’ak commanded his companion to fly away, jake and neteyam ran to their ikrans and followed suit to fly to you.

lo’ak couldn’t think straight as he flew, and his ikran could feel it. his blood was cold, and he was shaking in worry. he was hoping, praying to the great mother silently in his head that he understood their looks wrong and it wasn’t you who he was going to find there. that you were just asleep in your home, tired from weaving, and that’s why you weren’t there earlier when he arrived. lo’ak was sweating, even as the cold air ran through his skin as he flew - he didn’t know what he would do if it was really you.

for the past few weeks, lo’ak had been visiting his older brother, asking him for advice on how to make things better for your relationship. neteyam was always the better one, and even lo’ak couldn’t disagree with that. lo’ak knew that he struggled with expressing his emotions and with controlling the relationship especially because it started out rough when he initially didn’t want to be with you. he was hoping his brother could help him sort his thoughts out, or at least, help him form better words to explain and plan out the slow change he wanted in your marriage.

lo’ak learned to love you as months with you went by. at first, he thought you were pretending to love him and that you were settling for him because he was used to the others mocking him for not being as great as his older brother. but lo’ak saw how genuine, kind, loving, and caring you were towards him - how could he not fall? 

lo’ak treated you harshly because he felt bad that you were tied to a failure like him. he wanted you to find someone better so you could be happier, because he was still in the process of finding himself. but lo’ak knew that deep down, he couldn’t really let you go. just thinking about you being with someone else irked him so much, he would rather be skinned alive than to live through a day seeing you with another man. and so, lo’ak built up his courage, and tried so hard to prove himself to everyone, so that one day, he could love you, and nobody else would be worthy enough for you than him. after all, you were his mate, his wife, his second half.

lo’ak, neteyam, and jake arrived by the waterfall just in time when a soldier in an amp suit was picking you up with its hands, motioning to walk away from the scene.

lo’ak’s eyes glowered at the sight, blood boiling as he became angrier. your limbs were swaying as the metal suit held you, and lo’ak knew you were unconscious. his ikran glided through the air at immense speed as he yelled from his throat, taking his bow out and aiming the arrow straight at the soldier inside the suit.

the amp suit collapses in an instant when the arrow stabbed through the human’s head. the sudden motion made the suit’s arm throw your body into the air, and you fell harshly on the ground with a cruel sound. 

lo’ak kept his eyes only on you when his ikran eventually landed, jake and neteyam right behind him. lo’ak practically jumped off of his ikran as he rushed to your side. from his rear, jake was in the background ordering neteyam to scout the area and look if other soldiers were around, but lo’ak ignored them and only focused on you.

lo’ak knelt beside you, grabbing your arm as he assessed your body. jake towered behind lo’ak, and he could only watch sadly for his son - he knew that from how you looked right now, you were already dead even before they arrived, but he couldn’t bring himself to point that out to his grieving son.

“no, no, no. please, please.” lo’ak shook his head, refusing to believe the state you were in right now - blood running from your mouth and everywhere else that was shot in your body. this was the first time you could’ve heard the concern in his voice for you, but you couldn’t.

lo’ak began tearing up at the sight of you, and he forced his tears away so he could assess your face better for any sign of life. “you’re not dead, you’re not dead.” he repeated to himself as if he was convincing himself. 

when you didn’t answer a word nor any movement, his grip tightened on your cold hand, and he yelled a cry. it was the first time jake saw his son cry that much. “please come back to me, baby, please!” he pleaded, hands moving to cup your cheeks. but your lifeless eyes only stared back at him. 

i love you, lo’ak. please, will you say it back just this once?

“i see you, i love you! i always have, please!” he wailed the words he never said, the words you have longed to hear. but it was too late, your arms were limp, and you weren’t responding; you couldn’t hear him anymore. your body was turning cold every minute that was passing; you were dead and no matter how much lo’ak pleaded and cried beside you, you weren’t going to come back. he knew this, but he was refusing to accept it.

jake could only watch as lo’ak started to yell out his cries. 

the regret of being too late, the regret of losing his other half forever, the regret of never giving you the love you deserved, the regret of never saying the words you deserved to hear - would eat lo’ak up for the rest of his life, because you died never knowing how much he loved you too.

©️ okaylorrainee 2023. please do not re-upload, translate my content anywhere without permission.

tell the people you love that you love them before it's too late!

#loreraine #wordsneversaid #lo'ak x reader #lo'ak fanfiction #lo'ak sully #lo'ak x you #avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar twow #avatar 2 #atwow angst #atwow loak #angst #lo'ak x omatikaya! reader

[okaylorrainee]

her way of water

characters. neteyam & female metkayina reader. sully family. tsireya.

synopsis. neteyam and his family left their clan to seek uturu from yours. on their first night, neteyam wanders by the shore to clear his mind. he finds himself away from everyone’s marui pods and comes across you as you bathed - he couldn’t get you out of his mind since then.

contains. aged up characters but only by a few years. timeline and some parts of the plot of the movie may be ignored. sometimes out of character.

note. hello! welcome to my first avatar ff :)! this was supposed to be a one shot, but as i wrote it, i’ve decided one part isn’t enough. sorry if any parts of the story seem weird. i still have a lot to learn about the na’vi. do they even bathe? idk. english is not my first language so please feel free to correct me if i get anything wrong! also, this may be the first avatar ff i’ve ever written and published but it might not be the last so stay tuned!

Ch 01 [ masterlist . next ]

he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. a low grunt left his lips as he sat up in frustration. he looked around and his family was in deep slumber, perhaps due to exhaustion from all of the water training they’ve done all day. he wished he could be the same, then at least he’d silence the sadness he felt from leaving his home. 

neteyam didn’t want to voice it out too much. he knew it was harder for his parents, especially for his mother whose whole life was the forest. he refused to burden the family with his emotions, so he suppressed them, like the responsible eldest son he always was.

he sighed, making his way out of their family pod. he didn’t know where he was going at this time of the night, but he just allowed his feet to keep going. wherever he’d end up, he’d just make sure to find his way back again before the sun rises. because tomorrow was another day to learn the ways of the metkayina, to be one of them. 

neteyam uttered not a single word, and nothing but the sound of waves surrounded him. the breeze accompanied him as he walked, his hair flowing with the wind that the beads braided with them collided every now and then. he found the air relaxing, that every time he inhaled he felt like his lungs were being cleansed from how fresh it was.

awa’atlu was indeed a very beautiful place, but neteyam adored his clan’s forest more.

neteyam found himself by the edge of the shore. beside him stood the palm trees that formed the forest he has yet to explore. thinking he had gone too far away from the village, neteyam was about to turn and walk back, until he heard low humming come from his left, the parallel of the village’s front. 

curious, he carefully approached and followed the sound. the humming got louder as he got closer. and soon, a figure came into view in front of him. it was a silhouette of a metkayina na’vi, waist deep within the water, staring into the vast ocean in front of her.

neteyam hadn’t felt his eyes gape at the sight of her. she was undressed, nothing but her long hair covering parts no one but only her future mate should see. her skin was wet and the freckles all around her body made her glow. this kind of scene should not be new to him, after all, he too had freckles that glowed in the dark. but for some reason, neteyam seemed to be so mesmerized by her that he found it hard to look away. only when her whispers of singing reached his ears once more did he realize that he was staring at this naked na’vi woman. he immediately turned away and hid behind a palm tree.

neteyam’s cheek burned from embarrassment. just what was he doing? but actually, what was she doing? at this time of the night while the rest of the clan was asleep, she was here apparently bathing at the opposite side of the village’s island. for someone who spends so much time in the water, this metkayina woman had the thought of washing herself in the middle of the night - neteyam found it a bit odd.

however, he stood still from his spot. he didn’t want to walk away, he was curious as to what she might be up to. this wasn’t weird, right? it’s not like he was watching her. he was simply… waiting.

a couple of minutes passed but nothing else happened. she continued doing whatever it was she was doing by the water, creating small splashing sounds here and there while humming another song different from the previous one. this whole time, neteyam was leaning on the tree, staring at the sand and doing nothing. but he had to admit, instead of being bored out of his mind, he enjoyed his time listening to her voice.

soon enough another gentle splash came from behind him, it sounded different from the ones before, indicating that she might be leaving the water. neteyam felt a sudden wave of nervousness, worried she might find him. so without looking back, he quickly ran to the direction of the village, moving carefully to not alert her of his presence.

it had been long since then. hours had passed and the sun had risen. neteyam and his siblings were once again under the care of the olo’eyktan’s children to learn about metkayina customs. today, they were polishing their riding skills with ilus.

tsireya and her brother were watching the sullys from near the shore, both mounted on their ilu companions. ao’nung spent most of the time snickering as he watched lo’ak fail over and over, and tsireya would smack him to make him stop. she flashes a gentle smile to lo’ak when he peeks to look in her direction, and he nods at her trying to appear cool before getting thrown off once more for losing focus. she giggled, lo’ak appeared very cute to her.

tsireya shifted her eyes to the others. kiri and tuk, who were accompanied by ao’nung’s friend, rotxo, seemed to be doing better than their brother. tsireya noticed how kiri appeared to be a natural at everything they have taught them so far, and she thinks it may be because of the special kind of connection kiri had with nature. but tsireya didn’t comment on it any further, she had only met them yesterday.

meanwhile, neteyam was alone on the far right of the group. tsireya noted how neteyam was quick to adapt and learn, and that it wasn’t difficult to teach him. compared to his brother, neteyam took things slow at first and it made him grasp the idea of riding the ilus easily. 

tsireya hadn’t missed how distracted neteyam looked today. he was paused above the water, staring at it in deep thought as he held his ilu in place. tsireya wondered if something was wrong, so she motioned her ilu to swim to neteyam’s direction.

“hey, neteyam.” she said to catch his attention.

the said man lightly jolted before turning to her. “oh, tsireya, hey.”

her brows furrowed in worry. “is everything alright, neteyam? it seems like you are unable to concentrate today.”

neteyam’s cheeks flushed. “i am okay, tsireya. there is no need to worry.” 

she hummed, still not convinced. “well, alright. but if there is anything we can help you with, let us know.” she turned to swim away. but before she could get farther, neteyam called her.

“actually, tsireya, there is something that’s been on my mind for hours now.” he started. “but you must not let anyone know.”

curious, tsireya went closer to him. “what is it?”

he let out a deep breath before shooting her eyes a serious look. “last night as i was taking a walk by the shore, i came across a woman who was alone at the opposite side of the village.”

tsireya pulled away in shock and interest. “metkayina? what was she doing?”

neteyam nodded then gestured for her to lean closer again. he whispered, “she was bathing, i think.”

“bathing? that is strange.” she tilted her head in confusion. “did you approach her?”

neteyam shook his head. “no. i could not bring myself to interrupt her. she was undressed after all. how would she react if a man came to her while in such a state?”

tsireya nodded in thought, agreeing to what he said. “you are right. did you see what she looked like?”

neteyam sighed. “no, but i listened to her sing.” he spoke. “she has one of the most beautiful voices i have ever heard. her tone almost made me fall asleep from how relaxed i was, you see. and her skin,” he sighed once again, “tsireya, i had only caught a glimpse of it because i had to turn away. but i could not forget how divine she looked around the glow of the bioluminescence surrounding her.”

tsireya couldn’t hide the smirk that was growing from her lips as she listened to him talk. when she didn’t respond, neteyam turned away in embarrassment when he realized what he was saying. tsireya covered her lips and giggled. “so, you have developed a crush on this woman you saw last night. is that it, neteyam?”

“be quiet, tsireya! the others might hear you.” he scouted the surroundings and saw that everyone else was still busy with their training. “but… i don’t know for sure. i told you because i don’t know what she looks like, and i am hoping that you might know who she is.”

tsireya shook her head. “i am sorry, neteyam. i do not know who you are talking about.”

a slight frown becomes visible on his face. neteyam’s shoulders dropped in defeat. “oh. that’s okay.”

“but hey, do not worry.” she placed a hand on his arm as a gesture to comfort him. “i will help you look for her. there is not anyone in this village i am not familiar with. perhaps with more details, we can figure out who she is.”

neteyam gives her a small smile. “thank you, tsireya.”

she smiles back. 

loud laughter from everyone else in the group interrupted their conversation - lo’ak had fallen off his ilu once again because ao’nung had taunted him. tsireya and neteyam exchanged looks before heading to the commotion.

-

tsireya enjoyed spending time with the sullys. she thought they were a very fun bunch. when they arrived, her days became something she started to look more forward to.

because she believed this arrangement would be permanent from now on, she thought it would be important for an acquaintance of hers to be introduced to the sullys as well. it would happen eventually anyway since they would become fellow clan members soon. 

also, tsireya believed this acquaintance of hers would be a great addition to the sullys’ circle, especially from all the trouble her brother and his friends were bringing them. tsireya was sure that a kind and open-minded na’vi would make her new friends feel more welcome. that, and she needed another capable hand to help teach the sullys better.

“sister, are you here?” tsireya peeked inside the marui of her friend.

you turned your head to her direction, away from the new top you were working on. a smile appears on your face when you see your friend. “tsireya, it is nice to see you.”

©️ okaylorrainee 2023. please do not re-upload, translate my content anywhere without permission.

ch 01 [ masterlist . next ]

#loreraine #neteyam x reader #neteyam #neteyam sully #neteyam x you #neteyam sully x reader #avatar #avatar the way of water #atwow neteyam #avatar twow #avatar 2 #atwow fluff #neteyam x metkayina!reader #herwayofwater

[okaylorrainee]

her way of water

characters. neteyam & female reader. sully family. tsireya.

synopsis. neteyam and his family left their clan to seek uturu from yours. on their first night, neteyam wanders by the shore to clear his mind. he finds himself away from everyone’s marui pods and comes across you as you bathed - he couldn’t get you out of his mind since then.

note. went out to touch grass + visited my grandparents so this chapter was uploaded a bit later than intended hehe. thank you to everyone who read the first chapter! i wasn’t expecting to wake up to 100+ notes today so i am very grateful :)! shoutout to my irls btw. avatar has been our motivation to get through hell week last week lol anyways enjoy reading!

taglist: @rainbowsocks @mashiromochi

Ch 02 [ previous . masterlist . next ]

you were a simple member of the metkayina clan. born from warrior parents, you grew up to be a huntress taught by the adults in the clan. as a young na’vi, you would accompany the older members whenever they hunted so you could learn and get better experience. your tasks weren’t limited to hunting, however. you enjoyed helping everyone out. everyday consisted of different activities for you depending on whoever needed help the most. for some days, you would spend your time weaving nets or clothing for the other clan members, and on other days, you would play with the children, teaching them the basics of clan traditions. 

you loved crafting during your free time. the others would find you sitting somewhere creating ornaments or weapons for yourself from leftovers from the animals you’ve hunted. you considered them as a keepsake from your time hunting with the others, every moment was an important memory for you. you were quite the sentimental one.

since hunting took up most of your time, you haven’t had the opportunity to hang out with the na’vi your age. everyone else was busy with their own duties as well, so you understood there wasn’t a chance to get closer.

tsireya was different though. she always found the time to get to know you, and eventually, she became your only close friend. you were probably just one of hers, but it didn’t matter to you, you were content with your friendship.

at the moment, you were in your marui, tying up the last few shells to the new net top you were working on. it was coming out beautifully, just how you envisioned it. you were busy admiring your work when a familiar voice interrupted your silence.

“sister, are you here?” 

you turn around and a smile finds its way to your face, “tsireya, it is nice to see you.” you released your creation, letting it drop to the netting. you stood up and held your hands out; she approached you with a smile, taking your palms.

“i have missed you all day. did you have to be gone all afternoon?” 

you chuckled, “i have enjoyed myself too much out there. you know i would rather enjoy the freedom of the ocean instead of cooping in this small pod.”

tsireya giggles at your statement. her eyes find their way to the net top you were working on. “i see you have made another one. the clothing you make is very lovely as always.”

“thank you, sister. i appreciate that compliment. would you like one as well?”

her face brightened even more. “really? you would make one for me? i would love that.”

you nodded, “of course, anything for my friend.”

she gives you another soft smile before letting you go. “to tell you the truth sister, i did not come to you for this reason.” she said, “i have a favor to ask of you.”

you gave her a curious look as you picked up the top from the netting. “oh? do tell.”

tsireya began walking around your marui, “you know about the forest na’vi from the omatikaya clan who arrived yesterday, and how my brother and i were tasked to teach toruk makto’s children, correct?”

“... yes?” you urged her to continue.

“i know this would only add to your schedule,” she stands firmly and faces you, “but we need your help for their breathing exercise tomorrow.”

you tilted your head in confusion. “why, tsireya? i am sure you are more than enough to help them learn. you are a very great teacher.”

“but you will be better!” she grabbed your arm. “sister, you are the best swimmer among us in our age, and i know even ao’nung would not object to that.”

you hummed in disapproval. “i am not so sure about that…”

“please,” her grip on your arm tightens, “you have to do it. i would like to introduce you to them. the others have not been very nice to them, but you will, right?”

you stared at her for a few seconds, thinking about how you’ll reply to her. but then again, what harm could it bring? you missed the opportunity to see them yesterday after all when everyone crowded around them and blocked your view. tsireya was begging you with her large eyes, how could you refuse your friend?

you sighed, “alright. i will be there tomorrow.”

with a small squeal, she jumped with your arm in her hands. “great! you will enjoy it, i promise!”

tsireya spent a few more minutes in your pod, chatting about each other's day and some other random stuff. when dark came, you’ve decided to stay inside and finish the net top you promised your friend the afternoon earlier.

–

neteyam had the entire evening to think about his discussion with tsireya and to decide what to do about it. eventually, he came to the conclusion to approach the na’vi he saw that night, and just talk to her. he didn’t know how he’d start and what he’d talk about honestly, but he refused to act like a coward. a mighty warrior such as himself is afraid to talk to a girl? lo’ak would be laughing his ass off if he found out.

and so, that’s what he came back here for. same time, same place. only now, he wasn’t hiding behind a tree. he was waiting out in the open, looking behind himself every now and then to check if the na’vi he was waiting for was approaching.

neteyam had stayed in the same spot for so long, gradually getting impatient. perhaps she had something to do which is why she was late? - is what he’s been telling himself for who knows how long. but his optimism was wavering every passing moment. what if he had only seen her there by coincidence? what if he had lost his opportunity the night before because he ran away when she was leaving the water? what if… she wasn’t real and was only in his mind?

minutes turned to hours, and it would only be a while before the sun rises. neteyam heavily sighs, standing up and brushing off the sand clinging on his skin. a dark expression on his face, he heads back to the village in disappointment.

neteyam went back to sleep after that. what else could he do? it was stupid of him to waste his time over there. hopefully he'll have enough energy to train tomorrow. it would be suspicious of him to not perform well.

when he woke up, his family was feasting on fish for lunch just behind him. they said they couldn’t wake him up as he was in such deep sleep. they didn’t question him, thinking he must’ve been overwhelmed with his training; neteyam didn’t bother to say anything else as he followed to eat.

–

training with the sullys was fast approaching, and you had just gotten back from hunting with some elders. you were rushing to your marui, a net of fishes in your hand; they will be dinner for you and some other clan members later on.

biting your lip, you ran through nets and nets of pods just to get to yours. you had to drop off these fish first and grab the top you’ve made for tsireya before heading to the training place. you couldn’t afford to be late; you didn’t want to upset your friend.

out of nowhere, a na’vi appears right in your face when you jump to take a turn around the pods. their sudden appearance caused you to lose balance and tumble right on your ass, almost falling into the water. your grip around the net loosened because you had to hold on to something else to support yourself, and this made you release your hunted fishes into the water. 

“ah.” you watched as the net slowly sank towards the seabed. eywa, have mercy. what disrespect to the blessings she gave you.

“i will get it.” before you knew it, the na’vi dived right into the water, and you could only watch as he swam to get your fish.

when he floated to the surface, it was only then did you confirm he was not from awa’atlu. his blue skin, thin arms and tail told you he was one of the sullys, because who else could he be?

you observed him as he placed the fish on the netting next to you before climbing up, his braided hair occasionally covering his face as it swayed all over. as soon as he stood up, he held his hand out to help you get on your feet. you grabbed his hand without a word, taking note of how firm and manly they were as you stared at his dripping wet face. it was difficult not to, but you were definitely eyeing him. 

he was so different from the metkayina men you’ve been used to. is this why tsireya was so drawn to that one sully boy she kept talking about yesterday? you kind of understood now.

“i am sorry about that. are you hurt anywhere?” he asks.

“no. i am fine.” you replied, and you swore you saw his eyes shot up to yours. “thank you for grabbing my fish. you did not have to do that.” his staring was starting to melt you that you looked away. “uhm… i must go now. goodbye.” you didn’t even give him a chance to say anything else, and just went around him to walk away.

you hadn’t noticed how his head spun to follow you, eyes squinting as if he was thinking. but the man tilted his head and brushed it off, walking away as if nothing happened.

©️ okaylorrainee 2023. please do not re-upload, translate my content anywhere without permission.

Ch 02 [ previous . masterlist . next ]

#loreraine #neteyam x reader #neteyam #neteyam sully #neteyam x you #neteyam sully x reader #avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar twow #avatar 2 #atwow neteyam #atwow fluff #neteyam x metkayina!reader #herwayofwater

[okaylorrainee]

her way of water

characters. neteyam & female reader. sully family. tsireya.

synopsis. neteyam and his family left their clan to seek uturu from yours. on their first night, neteyam wanders by the shore to clear his mind. he finds himself away from everyone’s marui pods and comes across you as you bathed - he couldn’t get you out of his mind since then.

note. this chapter was supposed to have another scene but i had to cut it off or else there’d be a lot going on 💀

taglist: @rainbowsocks @mashiromochi

Ch 03 [ previous . masterlist . next ]

“neteyam! lo’ak! over here!” their little sister’s voice resonated across the shore. she was sitting on a gigantic rock next to kiri and rotxo, waving her arm in an exaggerated manner to catch the attention of her brothers.

neteyam spotted an additional figure with them, and he was quick to realize that it was the female na’vi he bumped into earlier. before he could react, lo’ak moved from beside him and jogged to tsireya’s side; he followed right after.

“you are both just in time.” tsireya stood up, smiling. “lo’ak, neteyam, this is my friend,” she gestures to the na’vi beside her. “she agreed to be part of us for your training today.” 

“hello.” the two young men looked at you when you spoke. you gestured ‘i see you’, to which they returned the greeting, both taken quite aback since no one in awa’atlu has ever done it to them first. most of the time, the people never even replied.

“ao’nung is out with father. i hope it is alright if she takes his place to guide you today.” tsireya said to neteyam.

he shrugs. “i’m alright with anything.”

“that is great to hear.” she flashes a gentle smile. “now, come! let us begin.” she gathers everyone into a circle, motioning for them to sit down.

you sat on the rock next to tsireya, and beside you was neteyam. she began to demonstrate what to do, and you could feel the man next to you watch her intently. when it was everyone’s turn to practice the inhale-exhale technique along with her, you paid close attention to neteyam - he was assigned to you after all.

barely putting an effort into the exercise, you focused on neteyam and how he was doing. you took note of how quick it was for him to catch the idea of when to hold his breath and when to let it go. he was slightly still struggling, but he was getting there.

as you continued to watch him, you finally couldn’t help but to intervene and place a hand on his back to fix his posture. this made him look at you, all while still following along with everyone in the exercise. you placed your hands on his front; one on his chest, the other on his stomach. 

as you applied light pressure to him, you returned to look at his face. “you are doing well. but try to practice holding your breath for longer.” you instructed, “now, relax. follow and breathe from here,” you gently tapped his stomach.

“inhale,” he inhaled. “hold,” you applied a little more pressure on his stomach, giving him an encouraging look. “this is to mimic the pressure underwater. it will help practice your lungs.” you explained to him, and he could only nod his reply to not lose focus. you both maintained eye contact, and these few seconds felt like minutes to neteyam before you finally directed, “and now, exhale.” he let out a loud sigh, practically blowing air onto your face.

rotxo, tuk, and lo’ak could not help but laugh at the scene, and tsireya was watching too with her lips forming a wide grin. “you are lucky you are personally being instructed by her, neteyam.” rotxo said, catching everyone's attention. he continued, “she can hold her breath the longest among all of us. if she wanted to live underwater, she could.”

“rotxo.” tsireya called in a warning tone. he quickly went back to kiri, pretending he said nothing.

“is that true?” neteyam returns to look at you curiously, but you just shrugged. 

“just focus on yourself. there is a lot we need to work on.” patting his shoulder, you motioned for him to get back to his previous posture. 

the hours went by just like that. you’ve spent the entire afternoon with the group beside neteyam. you got to know the sullys more; you thought they were nice to be with. 

from practicing their breathing into learning sign language, you have been with neteyam all this time when the group separated to learn by partner. he would ask you basic questions about yourself, trying to lighten the atmosphere, and you would do the same. this exchange happened throughout training, and you learned that he was raised to be a warrior like you, only his childhood contained more pressure to become the perfect golden son and warrior as his name was associated with toruk makto and was supposed to be the next olo’eyktan of the omatikaya. 

as neteyam spoke about his general life story, you had the opportunity to observe his features. you were both sat down but it was clear how he was a head taller than you. his build supported his title as a warrior, training to hunt since childhood must have contributed to his figure now as a young adult. you took note of the way he spoke, how it reflected his position as the eldest brother of the sullys. neteyam was a fine na’vi despite the others talking about how he had demon blood, that much was obvious to you.

the training ended as soon as the eclipse neared. with no words besides ‘goodbye’, you parted ways with neteyam, watching his back as he walked away with his siblings, the youngest being carried in his arms.

–

hours after dinner, the sky was once again darker and everyone in the village rested in their respective pods. no matter how much he tried, neteyam couldn’t sleep again. it was like his body was telling him he had something he needed to do. 

soon enough, he just found himself in that same location he was visiting the nights before. a low sigh left his lips upon seeing no one there. guess he was still lowkey hoping he’d find her.

he grunts as he sits on the sand, arms resting on his knees while he watches the ocean in front of him. he closed his eyes, letting the breeze carry his braids and sway them with their pattern. how relaxing it was, to be alone, to be surrounded by nature and its sounds, to be… at peace, finally having time for yourself without the pressure of responsibilities. 

perhaps this was also the reason why that na’vi went here. but why she stopped coming, neteyam didn’t know.

his peace soon came to a halt when he felt a presence drawing near his position. neteyam stood up, ready to face whoever it was. maybe it was her? finally her?

his pointed ears perked upon hearing the same song he heard from that night, the life story of a warrior who lived a simple life in awa’atlu and died while hunting. 

neteyam gulped. the environment must’ve paired itself with his emotions because the air made everything quiet, and he could only hear her voice. no words came out of his mouth when he saw the na’vi who appeared in front of him. he gazed from her feet up to her face, processing her figure. his eyes gaped as he mumbled, “it’s you?”

you, who paused singing and almost jumped from his voice, didn’t notice him while you were walking. you glanced at him, his tall height. “what? me?”

his eyes were still on you, and he began to walk closer. “i have been waiting for you for hours. but you were right near me all this time.” how could he not notice? your hair, your voice. it was obvious from the start.

you gave him a confused look. “what do you mean? i do not understand.”

he doesn’t answer.

“neteyam?” you asked again, “what are you doing here? you should be asleep.”

“i could say the same to you.” he teased, his expression relaxing into a gentle smile as he took you in. “what are you doing here? what have you been doing here? all alone, far away from the village.”

your confusion grew stronger, and it took you a while to understand what his words meant. slowly, your lips formed a frown. “you have been following me?”

he shook his head, a sudden wave of nervousness flowed through his body when he heard the change in your tone. “no, no. i accidentally saw you here once-”

“when?” you cut him.

“the night i arrived here with my family.” he replied.

“so, you have watched me?” you slightly backed away.

“i was not watching you.” he answered almost immediately, hands raising as if he wanted to prevent you from running away. “trust me, i could not even remember what you looked like, and that is why i kept coming back here so i could meet you.” the desperation in his voice was evident as he reasoned.

but his intention to reassure you failed because you felt no relief at all, and neteyam could see that. you suddenly felt uncomfortable in front of him, knowing he saw you in your vulnerable state when you hid from everyone, even walking to the opposite side of the island just so no one could find you. 

he saw you, but you haven’t even known him for long. “neteyam, i want you to not ever come near me again.” your voice was low, and you looked away from him. “and i mean it.” you said firmly with no remorse before walking away.

“wait!” he called you but you ignored him and continued to leave. he couldn’t even raise his arms to grab you; there was something in the way you looked that made him feel ashamed.

–

the following morning and mornings after that, you had avoided neteyam. he lost count of how many failed attempts he had made to approach you whenever he saw you around the village before you left to hunt. it was the only time he’d have the opportunity to look for you; you didn’t return to train him again.

he just wanted to apologize and talk to you properly, to get to know you better. but he sucked at explaining, just how he was terrible at expressing his emotions from keeping them in too much. 

tsireya could sense his distress from miles away. and with you not even showing up during the afternoons you’ve promised her, it wasn’t hard for her to put two and two together - something had happened between you both.

excusing herself from lo’ak, she swam to neteyam who was being taught by a sneering ao’nung. she placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder and gestured for him to leave them. ao’nung tilted his head, “sister, do not tell me you are interested in this forest boy. the other is bad enough.” he referred to lo’ak, who was discreetly listening to their conversation.

tsireya frowned at him, and he simply laughed at his sister’s reaction, raising his arms before swimming away. 

“what’s the matter, tsireya?” neteyam asked as soon as ao’nung was far from them.

“did something happen between you two?” tsireya was quick to get to the point. “why has my friend been avoiding you and refusing to join us?”

you didn’t tell tsireya, is what neteyam thought which is why he hesitated to answer. he had already upset you, and he refused to add more to that by revealing your secret. he thought you might’ve had a reason why you weren’t telling anyone. “we had an argument… but i am trying to fix things, so do not worry.”

her brows furrowed with concern. “what happened? what did you argue about?”

neteyam shook his head. “it is between us. i am sorry.”

tsireya sighed, nodding to herself. “i understand. i will do my best to bring her here tomorrow to help you. you must fix this.” and with that, she swam away.

–

that evening, tsireya visited you right as you were about to sleep. you were sitting on your blanket, watching her pace back and forth in front of you, pretending to observe the ornaments you’ve made just recently. 

“tsireya, you know if you want to take one, you are free to do so.” you sighed, laying down. “i am very tired so i am going to rest now.”

“oh, how tiring these days have been for me.” tsireya exclaims with an exaggerated sigh. “training the four of them is quite difficult, my brother is not helpful you see.”

ah, so this is what it was about.

you tried not to roll your eyes and just closed them. maybe if you pretended that you had fallen asleep already, she would stop this nonsense and leave.

tsireya yawned dramatically. “i am so tired. do you not feel bad for me, sister?” she takes a peek at your form.

“well, it has to be done as per olo’eyktan’s orders. you will be fine, tsireya. good luck.” you replied as you changed to a more comfortable position.

“i did not realize how heartless you can be!” she slightly pouted. “come on, sister! you must go and make up with neteyam.” she couldn’t help but go straight to the point. “and do not even try to act oblivious. i have already spoken to him and he told me!”

“he told you?” you sat up. “what did he say?”

tsireya’s expression softened when she heard the concern from your voice. she went closer and knelt next to you. “he only confirmed this argument you had. did he do something to you, sister? you are not one to avoid people like this.”

you looked away, contemplating how you would answer her. “no.” you mumbled, shaking your head. “i don’t know. perhaps his sudden interest in me caught me off guard. i was not expecting it.”

tsireya caressed your arm as an act to comfort you. “are you scared? why not give him a chance? neteyam is nice. i know you have seen it.”

you didn’t reply. 

tsireya moved away from you and stood up. “you should get to know him. he is not so bad.” she said in a caring tone. “if you are still willing to, you are free to join us tomorrow afternoon. rest well.” and then she left.

you groaned, plopping back down to your blanket. you spent the whole night deciding what to do, and what you were going to say to him tomorrow.

©️ okaylorrainee 2023. please do not re-upload, translate my content anywhere without permission.

ch 03 [ previous . masterlist . next ]

#loreraine #neteyam x reader #neteyam #neteyam sully #neteyam x you #neteyam sully x reader #avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar twow #avatar 2 #atwow neteyam #atwow fluff #neteyam x metkayina!reader #herwayofwater

[okaylorrainee]

her way of water

characters. neteyam & female reader. sully family. tsireya.

synopsis. neteyam and his family left their clan to seek uturu from yours. on their first night, neteyam wanders by the shore to clear his mind. he finds himself away from everyone’s marui pods and comes across you as you bathed - he couldn’t get you out of his mind since then.

note. happy valentines! little disclaimer, the fishes and creatures mentioned in this chapter do not exist in avatar. i haven't read the comics so i have no idea if there are other water creatures in pandora aside from the ones in the movie. that's why i just made some up :) i didn't name any of them and they won't hold any importance in the future chapters so don't worry. also, there's not much dialogue in this chapter bcus they’re underwater. sorry bout that.

taglist. @rainbowsocks @mashiromochi @anm3mi @fanboyluvr @anxietydrogz @sakura-onesan @amortencjja @kaealowri @jkeluv @xxlaynaxx

ch 05 [ previous . masterlist . next ]

“here is far enough for the ilu. we have to swim from this point.”

neteyam nodded and followed when you dismounted the animal. you were murmuring to your companion while he was petting his, and then the ilus swam away. neteyam watched as they disappeared somewhere. would the ilus hear them if they called later on? he pondered for a while.

“are you ready? you have to hold your breath for longer now. this is not going to be one of those breathing exercises that baby you.” you raised your brows at him, “we cannot keep going back up for air.”

he nodded once more. “yes, ma’am. do not worry about me.”

you sent him an amused look. ma’am? no one has called you that before. “but if you really need to, i will find a gill mantle for you. there should be plenty around.”

“gill mantle? what is that?”

you patted his shoulder. “stay close to me.” tightening your grip on your spear, you deeply inhaled air and dove without further explanation. you felt the waves collide with your body when neteyam came after you. 

swimming further down, you came across various schools of fishes. seaweeds danced with the water below you and there were a few rock structures in the area. small bubbles would form from you every now and then, but none of that mattered because this was just the beginning, the easy part of the journey. you still had hours before your lungs would start to give out.

the same could not be said to the na’vi you were with though. you kept looking beside you to check if he was still doing fine. sure, he was responsible for himself because he offered in the first place, but still, you felt like you had the obligation to take care of him. you wouldn’t know what would become of you if something happened to him after all.

it was impressive to you how neteyam was able to swim minutes without going back up for oxygen. his weeks of practice while you avoided him must’ve been fruitful if he came with a result like this. did he follow what you’ve shown him before and practiced the pressure technique with ao’nung? probably. you were kind of proud.

even so, you couldn’t help but to worry. you were deep underwater, and if neteyam really couldn’t take it anymore, it would be difficult to swim back up.

you patted his shoulder to grab his attention. you signed, ‘stop. wait here.’, and he gave you a confused look, but he obeyed anyway.

you swam quickly in search for a certain little creature to help extend neteyam’s time underwater. it didn’t take long for you to find some as they were swimming in groups on the way to somewhere. you carefully grabbed one and gently held it as you swam back to where you left neteyam.

he was in the middle of everything - the seaweeds, rocks, and fishes. he was watching everything around him, and his face was slightly scrunched; it looked like he was about to reach his limit and that he was only trying to distract himself by taking everything in. thankfully, you took a gill mantle in advance. he didn’t need to suffer longer.

neteyam saw you approach him, and he felt his worries wash away. once he saw what was in your hands, what you said earlier made sense to him. he wondered how it would be able to help him though. 

as you swam to get closer to him, your eyes caught sight of something swimming rapidly towards neteyam. your heart stopped in panic, and neteyam saw the change in your expression. before he could turn around to see what you were looking at, neteyam was confronted by your spear that stabbed through the water at immense speed, as if it ignored the pressure and was only flying through the air.

his eyes grew wide as the spear went past him, stabbing whatever was behind him and creating a cloud of red underwater. the blood found its way to neteyam’s nose, and even if he couldn’t smell, its consistency surprised him so much he began coughing. 

you rushed beside him, and through the bubbles he released, you carefully grabbed his queue and made it connect with the gill mantle you were holding.

a worried expression displayed on your face as you placed an arm on his chest whilst holding his lower back. you watched how he slowly started calming down, how his muscles began relaxing.

neteyam returned an astonished look to you as he felt the tightness of his chest disappear every second. when you pulled away, he attempted to feel the gill mantle from his shoulder. what an amazing creature. he thought.

‘you okay?’ you signed to him. he nodded, a little happy at your concern, and signed back ‘thank you.’

you gave him a small smile before swimming down. he watched as you went to the large fish that tried to attack him earlier. it was now dead, and your spear was still penetrating through it. neteyam curiously observed you when you gently took the large fish in your hands and moved it closer to yourself as if you were attempting to embrace it. 

with your eyes closed, you chanted a little prayer in your head, one that was part of your rituals whenever you hunted. when you finished, you took back your spear and wasted no time in swimming back to neteyam’s side.

‘let’s go.’ you told him.

neteyam nodded, and his eyes went to your spear. you threw it at such a speed, and that meant you held great strength. he believed you now when you said you could hunt on your own. you proved you were an impressive huntress.

the rest of the swim went well. no more breathing struggles, no more fishes that tried to attack you. neteyam took the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the underwater, until finally when you tapped his shoulder again and signed that you had arrived.

in front of you was a cave that had an opening comparable to the height of the palm trees found in the shores of awa’atlu. the cave was surrounded by kelp, and it was dark inside where sunlight didn't reach. the underwater cave didn’t seem to be as deep and as spacious as neteyam had expected. it was pretty small, but it was huge enough for the giant creature neteyam caught sight of to live in.

how lucky. you thought with excitement. the creature was asleep unlike the last time you saw it when you came here. 

you tapped on neteyam’s shoulder once again and pointed to the small rock next to the creature. there sat the objective of your journey, multiple pearls shining from the small line of sunlight that found its way there. 

‘be careful.’ you signed, and he signed back, ‘i will’. exchanging nods, you swam side by side deeper into the cave. 

the environment was getting darker, and you became more anxious as you got closer to the creature. the first and last time you came here, you were lucky not to be spotted. hiding behind some rocks as you observed it swimming around, you were stealthy enough to swim away without catching its attention.

right now, it was asleep, but if it woke up and attacked you, what then? you were fine with your life wasting because of your recklessness, but you had brought toruk makto’s eldest son with you, one of the most important na’vi ever. you would slap yourself right now if you could. you should’ve just given him a simpler task, one that didn’t involve giant creatures that could eat you whole.

you looked at neteyam. it seemed like the man was a lot calmer than you were. when he sensed your gaze, he examined your features for a while and immediately felt your hesitation. he placed a hand on your shoulder, gently squeezing it as a gesture to reassure you. you softly smiled before focusing on the objective at hand again.

soon enough, you reached the rock successfully. so far, so good. you and neteyam admired the pearls in front of you because they were all shining so beautifully. you began taking some with your fingers, placing them carefully in your palm, while neteyam turned around to scout the area.

but neteyam couldn’t not even move another inch when he saw what was in front of him; a gigantic eye staring right back at him. the giant creature was awake this whole time.

you didn’t feel anything at first, and only when you noticed how neteyam froze did you discern that something was wrong. you hesitated to turn around. even without looking completely, you could already see what was staring back at you. 

this is it. neteyam.

a cough leaves your mouth from panic and neteyam was quick to cover your mouth to prevent water from entering further. neteyam immediately dragged you with him to exit the cave, and you couldn’t do anything but continue to lock eyes with the creature. 

what an eerie sight. neteyam thought, arms around your waist as he carried you with him. but how odd, it did not even bother to follow. maybe it isn’t hostile to na’vi?

suddenly, the creature began to squirm, and it caused intense waves of pressure to its surroundings. the rocks that formed from the cave began to crumble that your only exit was getting more difficult to reach. the vibration from the quake made the other fishes living in the cave hysteric that they all rushed to swim out. you were about to be trapped inside if you didn’t do anything. you refused to let that happen.

freeing yourself from neteyam, you switched your positions by grabbing his arm and dragging him to swim with you instead. you were faster than him after all. you swayed from side to side, avoiding the rocks that were falling down, not as fast as they would on land but quick enough to tire you gradually.

you were getting close to the exit, just a little more and you’d finally be free. a boulder showed up in front of you, and you took your spear at once, slashing it in an attempt to push it away. you were successful; however, your spear broke in half in the process. it was alright, you could make another one once you get back. escaping was more important now more than anything.

neteyam could only watch everything below him while you dragged him to the exit. he was overwhelmed by the number of fishes that frantically swam to leave the cave; the darkness they came from helped mask their locations so he couldn’t figure out where they’d be appearing from.

when a larger fish suddenly emerged right in front of him, neteyam was quick to jab it out of the way with his free hand. perhaps neteyam reeked of fish blood for the creatures, most likely because of the earlier incident with the first fish attack, because the larger fishes kept coming after him, curious as to why he smelled such a way.

you felt the entire thing happening because you were holding him. taking another ounce of what was left of your strength, you held neteyam by his shoulders and threw him to the opening of the cave, losing a few pearls in the process. neteyam watched you with wide eyes as you continued to fend off the larger fishes that were trying to get to him with your broken spear. 

no, this is not what he wanted. he clenched his jaw as he grabbed his hunting knife. with all his strength, neteyam swam to get to you as fast as he could. so far, this was the most effort he had done with swimming, and he regretted how he lacked skill in it even if it wasn’t his fault.

you started kicking the fishes that were trying to get through you because the spear you held became more of a nuisance than of help. it seemed like the largest one in the group had gone irritated by this when he went straight to you instead of neteyam. you saw it open its mouth, and its fangs were ready to bite flesh out of you. you closed your eyes, bracing yourself from the pain, but nothing happened.

when you opened your eyes, neteyam was in front of you, shielding you from the fish as he used his hunting knife to combat the animal’s teeth. it was much stronger than the ones before, and the fact that he had no land to step on to support himself against this battle of strength wasn’t helping him at all. neteyam had to punch the fish on its chin to get the upper hand. while it was stunned, he took the opportunity to slash the knife at its flesh, and the fish wriggled in pain as it swam away.

wasting no more time, you took neteyam by his arms again and dragged him out of the cave through the only exit that was near you. and then, the environment was lighter and wider again. finally, you had escaped the cave.

neteyam moved to embrace you with his arms, and you let him. he was relieved that you were safe. you stayed in each other's arms as both of your adrenaline started dying down. you peeked at the cave while resting your cheek on his shoulder, wondering if the giant creature had survived all this chaos.

–

your journey back home was quiet because you were both drained of energy. you couldn’t even ride your ilu anymore and had to ride with neteyam on his, your companion could only swim beside you.

neteyam was both impressed and scared of how you had held your breath underwater for the whole duration of everything that just happened. he thought rotxo was exaggerating when he claimed you could live underwater if you chose to, but he was proven wrong. after all, he witnessed it himself how you never went back up for air since the moment you dove underwater.

neteyam noticed how tired you became because of it though. it was also probably because of the number of fishes you had to fight off this time; he wished he could have helped more. he allowed you to lean on his back as he guided his ilu back to awa’atlu. thankfully, it still wasn’t dark out, and that meant it would be easier to get out of trouble.

soon enough, you reached the shores of the village. neteyam helped you get off of the ilu, and you both said goodbye to your companions before they swam away. 

because you were feeling limp and tired, neteyam volunteered to take you home. you didn’t have the energy to refuse so you let him support your body with his arms around your waist; you were leaning on him as you walked. you definitely caught some eyes as you made your way to your marui, but you were really too tired to care - you’d just find an explanation for it later. you’d hear some of them ask neteyam from time to time about what happened to you or where you both had been, but he’d always answer with a quiet smile and say you were out hunting with him.

when you reached your marui, neteyam gently placed you to where your blanket was then knelt beside you. “go rest now. i apologize we failed to obtain what we came there for.” the dejection was evident in his voice. “if i can, i will find another one for you when i go out to hunt again. so do not worry.”

you raised your fist near his face and slowly opened it, revealing three small pearls. a tired smile appears on your lips, “i managed to save some, neteyam. do not apologize anymore.”

from being surprised, his lips slowly formed a grin. “you…”

you laughed and moved to sit up. “thank you.” you put your arms around him and pulled him closer into a hug. “you have helped me get these pearls. i appreciate your efforts.”

he returned the embrace with a soft smile, slightly burying his face more into your neck. “it was quite scary, i admit. but you were very brave and amazing. you are truly the amazing swimmer they say you are.” 

you pulled away from him, chuckling at his praise. “and your breathing has improved a lot, neteyam. i am very impressed.”

“what can i say?” he huffed with confidence. “i am a mighty warrior, and i learned from the best.”

©️ okaylorrainee 2023. please do not re-upload, translate my content anywhere without permission.

ch 05 [ previous . masterlist . next ]

#loreraine #neteyam x reader #neteyam #neteyam sully #neteyam x you #neteyam sully x reader #avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar twow #avatar 2 #atwow neteyam #atwow fluff #neteyam x metkayina!reader #herwayofwater

[okaylorrainee]

ꕤ her way of water masterlist

status: completed

pairing: neteyam x female metkayina reader

genre: romance. fluff

sypnosis: neteyam and his family left their clan to seek uturu from yours. on their first night, neteyam wanders by the shore to clear his mind. he finds himself away from everyone’s marui pods and comes across you as you bathed - he couldn’t get you out of his mind since then.

taglist: @rainbowsocks @mashiromochi @anm3mi @fanboyluvr @anxietydrogz @sakura-onesan @amortencjja @kaealowri @jkeluv @xxlaynaxx @mirikusashes @strangerdangerwrites @hafutoru @inluvwithneteyam @jjkclub @lovergirl-3000

Ch 01

Ch 02

Ch 03

Ch 04

Ch 05

Ch 06

Ch 07

also available on ao3 !

#loreraine #avatar the way of water #neteyam x reader #herwayofwater

[okaylorrainee]

her way of water

characters. neteyam & female reader. sully family. tsireya.

synopsis. neteyam and his family left their clan to seek uturu from yours. on their first night, neteyam wanders by the shore to clear his mind. he finds himself away from everyone’s marui pods and comes across you as you bathed - he couldn’t get you out of his mind since then.

note. heyy sorry for the delay of this chapter despite my announcement of its scheduled release. a lot has happened in just a few days and i couldn't find the time to write. thank u to everyone who noted the previous chapters!

taglist. @rainbowsocks @mashiromochi @anm3mi @fanboyluvr @anxietydrogz @sakura-onesan @amortencjja @kaealowri

ch 04 [ previous . masterlist . next ]

tuk’s laughter was loud as she fed her ilu with tsireya and kiri. their glee was contagious when the animal let out sounds of joy; everyone watching smiled with them. 

it was heartwarming moments like this when neteyam appreciated awa’atlu and the beauty it offered them. he was reminded of his firsts as a child back at the omatikaya clan. every memory was pleasant; from his first hunt, his first tsaheylu with the pa’li, his coming-of-age ceremony, and his first raid, recognized as a reliable warrior by his father - these were all moments he cherished about the clan he grew up in. but for tuk, it would be different.

tuk would be growing up in this clan now, and that meant she would learn more about the ocean than the forest. unlike the rest of the sully family who experienced great transitions in their lives, tuk would just be starting hers. neteyam was glad that his little sister was enjoying herself here so far. he wanted her to create beautiful memories like he did when he was a child. it would be a privilege, especially because this generation was in another time of war.

neteyam was interrupted in his thoughts when lo’ak went in front of him and started waving in his face. “what’re you thinking about, smiling to yourself like that, bro? is it that girl who ghosted you?” he teased. “what was her name again?”

neteyam stood up and head locked his brother in a playful manner, rubbing his fist on top of lo’ak’s head as he said with gritted teeth, “her name is for me to know, and for you to not mention again, baby bro. you understand?”

lo’ak freed himself from neteyam’s arm, “damn. already possessive?”

neteyam scoffs at him. “her name was already introduced to you and you just forgot, skxawng.” 

“yeah, yeah.” he rolled his eyes. lo’ak then catches sight of a figure nearby who was approaching them; he smirks. “speaking of.” he tapped his older brother’s arm before pointing to her direction.

neteyam looked behind him, standing up, and in an instant, his heart pounded with nervousness. you were here? why were you here? are you finally willing to talk to him?

“hello.” he greeted as soon as you got closer. “you came. i am glad-“ but you walked past him, eyes fixed on his sisters. neteyam stood dumbfounded and lo’ak snickered beside him; he hasn’t seen his perfect older brother like this before.

lo’ak put his arm on neteyam’s shoulder. “let’s go, bro.”

you waited for the girls to finish feeding the ilu. they gave it a final pet before letting it swim away. tsireya was the first to notice your presence that she hurried to your side, happy that you listened to her and came. tuk and kiri follow behind her, the former sending you a shy smile.

everyone already knew the drill when tsireya gestured to come quickly and sit to form a circle. neteyam could only purse his lips as he watched you move further away from him and squeeze yourself in between rotxo and his sisters, kiri indifferent to your actions.

neteyam tried not to frown. why were you there when you were supposed to be training him? wasn’t that agreed upon every time ao’nung was not present? at least no one was pestering him and his siblings with the chief’s son absent. but even with that fact, neteyam could not compose himself completely.

neteyam kept his eyes on you like an eagle when rotxo awkwardly stood to replace your spot as his guide. even so, the man failed to observe how much you were panicking inside, slightly shivering from the looks he was boring into you. 

before you knew it, everyone had started their breathing exercise and you were helping kiri and tuk with theirs. even as you were sideways from neteyam, you could feel his intense stare that was focused on you. you tried your best to ignore him even if you came here expecting to talk. it was an internal debate; you were too nervous to talk to him because you didn’t know what to say. if you didn’t get over your anxiety, you’d be fine with letting this day end without clearing things up. you’d be back tomorrow anyway.

neteyam was barely paying attention to rotxo even as he followed the man’s instructions. soon enough, he came to decide that he couldn’t bear this anymore and had to talk to you. neteyam stood up all of a sudden and went to you with no hesitation, strands of his hair flew in the air and he caught the eyes of everyone in the circle.

a shadow towered over your form and spoke before you could look to see who it was. “i am having trouble understanding.” neteyam declared in a neutral voice, and your head shot in his direction because of his sudden appearance. “can you help me? you are the expert, right?”

you saw how tsireya was nodding her head and urging you to go from behind neteyam. you sighed, grabbing his wrist without a word and yanking him away from the group.

neteyam is surprised, but he doesn’t say anything and just lets you drag him. you took him to the water, and without warning, you pulled him to dive with you. bubbles came out of his mouth when he coughed from the water that rapidly entered him. you let his wrist go and watched him swim up the surface from underwater.

neteyam gasped, taking in as much air in his lungs to mellow out his breathing. you stayed underwater, almost lying on the seabed to observe him. you almost felt kind of bad, but your smile did not reflect what you felt.

neteyam took his time to breathe before looking back down to find you. he floated on the surface, squinting his eyes as they tried to adjust to the water. and there you were, just right below him, observing him as he did with you.

rays of sun formed reflections on the water, and they were blurred on your skin that it made parts of you glow. he watched as your third eyelids delayed every time you blinked, a distinct feature of the metkayina he found interesting. your hair swayed with the water below you, as did your tail trying to keep you in your position. you looked so beautiful to him, and he admits that no woman he has known could compare to you; this fact hasn’t changed since he first saw you.

neteyam began signing and telling you to come up, but you signed back ‘why? swim.’ he only shook his head.

when he lifted himself to breathe again, you swam up in front of him. you watched him fix a few strands of his hair before he said, “let me make it up to you. whatever i did, i won’t do it again.”

you tilted your head, “how?”

“i’ve noticed you liked creating ornaments and decorative garments for yourself. allow me to help you by hunting for you.” he offered. the determined look on his face couldn’t mask the confidence he had for his skills as a warrior. but the forest was different as the water had its own ways. this caused you to have doubts for him.

you shook your head. “i can hunt very well on my own. i do not need you to do that for me.”

he stared at you as if he was thinking about how to salvage his only plan. looks like he hadn’t thought about a backup.

but perhaps this was something that should be done to serve as the catalyst for the improvement of your relationship. you thought about it all night after all, and you decided to give him a chance.

“okay, fine.” you sighed. “there is one thing i’ve had my eye on for a while. you can help me get it.”

a smile finds its way on his face. “you can count on me.”

–

neteyam woke up much earlier than he usually did the next morning. the sun had risen but it was too early for anybody else to wake up. careful not to wake his sleeping family members, he snuck his way out the pod and went to the beach - it was where you agreed to meet up.

you told him that what you wanted was located a little further from the reef. but getting there meant getting in trouble, so you were expecting him to back out. after all, he had told you before how strict it was in their family, his father especially. but neteyam did not waver. he stood firmly by what he offered you and agreed to come with you. he was a man of his word, and you were impressed.

neteyam found you in his line of sight when he got closer to the meet up place. you were feeding an ilu with one hand, while your other held a decorated wooden spear much taller than yourself. you didn’t notice him arriving behind you.

“i’m here.” he uttered.

you turned around to look at him, and he noticed how you wore a different top from yesterday. he acknowledged how talented you were with your hands. 

“you are just in time.” you nodded. “are you ready? where is your weapon?”

he took out the hunting knife from his belt and raised it to show you. “i would have brought my bow and arrow, but that would be useless underwater, wouldn’t it?”

you chuckled. “whatever you have to protect yourself, forest boy.” you moved to mount your ilu. “we won’t be hunting anyway. our weapons are for protection only. what i want is not from an animal.”

neteyam went closer to the water and began calling for his ilu. “then? what is it that you want?” he asked as he mounted his ilu.

you met with his eyes once again. “a pearl, found inside the cave. it is being guarded.”

–

neteyam was trailing behind you as you led the way in front of him. you had passed the three brothers island chain quite a while ago and the journey was quiet. neteyam scouted the area, he had never been here before of course, as he was new to the clan. but have you?

“have you hunted here before? you seem to have memorized the area.” 

you hummed. “a couple of times. but only when the adults with me forget i am with them. i never swim too far though.” you turned your upper body to face him, “it is against the clan rules, and my parents have lost their way there.”

he nods, looking down. “i see.”

you observed his expression, unconsciously making your ilu slow down to match his pace. “neteyam, why are you so keen on making it up to me?” your question made him raise his head to meet your gaze. “you have even disobeyed the rules just because i told you to. you are risking yourself to get in trouble with the clan, with your father. i do not understand.”

“i don’t want there to be anything negative between us. i never wanted to upset you in the first place.”

your brows furrowed. “then why did you...?” your voice trailed, unable to continue your words. why did you want to look for me so much, neteyam? were you hoping to get me in trouble? did you want me to feel ashamed?

so many questions ran through your head, but his voice interrupted your thoughts. “i wanted to find you, because i thought you were beautiful.” he answered firmly, as if he knew what you were asking in your mind.

you stared at him in shock; his answer was not what you expected. you searched his face for any sign of lie, but you found nothing. his steady gaze on you made your heart thump from a feeling you haven’t felt before. 

©️ okaylorrainee 2023. please do not re-upload, translate my content anywhere without permission.

ch 04 [ previous . masterlist . next ]

#loreraine #neteyam x reader #neteyam #neteyam sully #neteyam x you #neteyam sully x reader #avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar twow #avatar 2 #atwow neteyam #atwow fluff #neteyam x metkayina!reader #herwayofwater

[okaylorrainee]

her way of water

characters. neteyam & female reader. sully family. tsireya.

synopsis. neteyam and his family left their clan to seek uturu from yours. on their first night, neteyam wanders by the shore to clear his mind. he finds himself away from everyone’s marui pods and comes across you as you bathed - he couldn’t get you out of his mind since then.

contains. i can show you the world moment (you’ll understand later)

note.  i named neteyam’s ikran for him. sorry if you get tired of the word ‘smile’ here lmao everyone’s very happy in this chap. also, im gonna start shutting up about when the next chap is gonna come out, i never end up following what i say (sorry for scamming you all twice) enjoy !!

taglist. @rainbowsocks @mashiromochi @anm3mi @fanboyluvr @anxietydrogz @sakura-onesan @amortencjja @kaealowri @jkeluv @xxlaynaxx @mirikusashes @strangerdangerwrites @hafutoru @inluvwithneteyam

Ch 06 [ previous. masterlist . next ]

you took a few beads from the bowl next to you, placing them on the hair of the child you were braiding. beside you, the other children continued on weaving as they waited for their friend; you had finished braiding all of their hair earlier. 

today was just one of those simple days where you stayed in the village and spent time with the children. the elders you usually hunted with let you stay home for today so you could help out with the others. when you finished the chores that were assigned to you a few hours ago, you volunteered to watch over the warriors’ kids. the way you’ve piqued their interest with weaving and creating ornaments made them look forward to spending time with and learning from you. the children would always excitedly listen to you talk about your adventures while hunting. you loved being with them.

finishing the last braid, you leaned to the child with a satisfied smile and placed your palms on her shoulder. “it is finished. now, come. let me have a look.”

the child stood up and turned to face you, a bashful smile on her face. you patted her head. mayfe was always a shy one. “you look beautiful, dear. will you braid my hair too?”

her pointed ears perked, and she looked at you with anticipation. “you want me to? but i am not good. my friends are better.”

“that does not matter to me.” you tucked a strand of her braid behind her ear. “i want you to do it.”

she grinned happily. “okay! i will do my best.” then mayfe went behind you and quickly began to section your hair.

as she began to work on your braids, you, on the other hand, took the opportunity to focus on something else. 

since your trip with neteyam, you have been working on another ornament piece using the pearls you have obtained together. there were three, but you only used two of them. one for you, and one for him. you couldn’t decide on what to do with the third one yet. 

initially, you planned to create a neckpiece with the pearls you were going to bring home from that journey. but you changed your mind last minute and thought it would be great for both of you to get something from that trip; the ornaments serving as a memento. you had already finished yours yesterday and were wearing them right now. it came out beautifully, a forehead piece with the pearl in the middle. it emphasized your beauty even more, but not enough to take the attention away from your features.

your gift for neteyam was almost complete. with a few more twists and knots to secure the pearl on the cord, finally, you had finished your work. you lifted the accessory up to match your eye level, inspecting it with satisfaction. you hoped he’d like the present you made for him. you were planning to give it to him today.

“it is done!” mayfe exclaimed from behind you. 

you brought your hand up to touch your hair, and she hurried in front of you to take a better look. “i did my best. do you like it?”

“i feel beautiful, mayfe.” you pulled her in for a hug. “thank you!”

she giggled as she returned the embrace. “wait a moment, i will add one last thing.” she pulled away and scurried to her basket that was next to her friends, and you watched her curiously. mayfe came back with a small purple flower. with a large grin, she gently placed it on your hair near your ears, saying, “i found this flower while i was collecting fruit with sa’nok. i will give it to you because you braided my hair!”

“you are very sweet, mayfe. thank you.” you patted her head once again. the little girl flashes a bright smile at you before she hurried to sit next to her friends and join them to weave. 

as you stood up to stretch, two figures made their entrance in your marui. it was kiri and tuk, the latter with a beaming expression as she held her own set of beads. 

“we’re here! are we late?” tuk ran to you with excitement. the little sully had been telling you how she wanted to get to know the other children for a while now, so you thought it would be nice to invite them as well.

“not at all, tuk. come, sit.” you patted her head and gestured to where the other children were.

kiri followed behind tuk as the little girl sat next to the others, greeting them and looking at their work. “thank you for having us. i hope you don’t mind if i’ll be staying with tuk.”

“no, it is fine. do not worry about it. please, take a seat.” kiri gave you a small smile before sitting next to her sister.

“oh, by the way kiri, do you know where neteyam might be? i have something to give to him.” kiri’s eyes traveled down to the accessory you were holding, and you saw how the corner of her lips almost curled into a smirk.

“at this time of the day, i think he’s where our ikrans are staying. it’s his turn to feed them.” she replied with a nod.

“i see. would it be alright if i leave for a few minutes to see him?” 

“of course, go ahead.” she nodded. “i’ll take care of everything here.”

smiling, you replied, “thank you!” and then you hurried off to the furthest left of the island where the banshees were.

the ikrans were aerial predators many na’vi from the other clans bonded with to move through the skies. they were used for battle, for hunting from the air, and for traveling through long distances. they were quite foreign to you reef people because all you needed were in the water; there was no need to fly. the closest animal you had for flight was a skimwing, but even that could not fly high enough.

you had never seen an ikran before, and only when the sullys came did you first encounter one. of course, only from afar, you found them too terrifying for you to meet them face to face. you had this thought that they were aggressive, and you knew that the others in the village shared your sentiments.

but toruk makto and his family could not just abandon their animal companions to cater to the reef people. after all, they were from the forest before they came here. those ikrans are one of the only few things they had that could remind and bring them back to their clan someday. tonowari and his tsahik, ronal, were not cruel enough to exile those creatures. so, they were positioned at an area where no reef people visited often. 

the screeching of the ikrans became louder as you got closer. their wings came into view when they stretched, and already you knew they were overwhelmingly larger in person. a bead of sweat drops from your forehead from the sudden thump of fear you felt in your heart. but you were here now, it would be too late to walk away.

taking a few more steps, your eyes find neteyam feeding a green ikran that had yellow and brown stripes. he was wearing his complete flight gear, perhaps about to take the animal for a little flight trip because he hasn’t in a while. he didn't notice you getting closer, he was busy petting the animal.

“neteyam?” you called, stopping a few meters away from him. you were too scared to get closer.

his head snapped in your direction when you spoke. “oh, hey.” his eyes took you in - your braided hair and the purple flower on your ear; he thought you were so pretty. neteyam cleared his throat and pulled away from the ikran to approach you. “what are you doing here? is there something you need?” 

you gently smiled at him, looking up to face him and his tall height when he stood in front of you. “i have something for you.”

“really?” he asked, trying to suppress the grin that was about to outline his lips. “what is it?”

you carefully took his hand, and with your other, you revealed the accessory you made for him. “for the hand that saved me,” you tied the ornament on his wrist, and neteyam kept his eyes on you, his smile growing larger. “a bracelet with the pearl we obtained together.”

he took his time to admire your work. “it’s beautiful.” he said in a low voice as if he only intended to mutter to himself, but you heard him.

“do you like it?” 

“i do. i will wear it proudly.” neteyam answered with no hesitation. “thank you for this gift.”

“it is nothing.” you smiled again, satisfied with his response.

neteyam finds the pearl on your forehead, and unconsciously, his hand raises up to touch it. “you have made one for yourself as well? this means we are matching.”

you broke away from his eyes, looking at the ocean on your right. but even that couldn’t hide the blush forming on your cheeks. “i did not intend it to be that way so don’t think of it differently.”

he chuckled at your reaction. “alright, alright. but actually, i have something for you too. wait here.”

as soon as neteyam pulled away from you, he ran to where the ikrans were. you watched as he disappeared from your sight when he went behind a sleeping ikran. you couldn’t see what he was doing so you could only wait curiously.

neteyam came back jogging with a huge grin, and with his hand, he held a wooden spear that was decorated with leaves and colorful feathers. you stared at him in surprise.

“this spear is for you. i made it myself.” he presented proudly. “the feathers are from the birds i have hunted a few days ago. i hope it is to your liking.”

you took the spear from him, staring at it in awe. you were touched by his gesture. “oh, neteyam. i love it.” you sent him a grateful gaze. “i did not expect for you to do this.”

his hand traveled to his nape in slight embarrassment, and he looked down, “i remembered how your weapon was snapped in half from last time because of my incompetence.”

you covered your mouth as you giggled. “that is not true.”

a sudden screech from one of the ikrans interrupted your conversation. as both of you looked at its direction, neteyam was quick to hurry to its side. you hesitantly followed him, keeping an eye on the other ikrans that were close by. you almost forgot about them.

you watched silently as neteyam began to murmur to the same ikran he was feeding earlier. this led you to think that this particular one might be his.

“this is yok’o.” neteyam introduced as he continued to pet his companion. “she is my partner. i have been accompanying my parents on their missions with her since i came of age.”

your eyes shifted to the ikran, observing its wings, the saddle on its back, its legs - everything you could to comprehend it. “so ikrans are what your warriors use to fly.”

“yes.” neteyam nodded. “and your warriors use… ilus?” 

you shook your head. “no. skimwing.”

he looked at you, confused. “skimwing? why have i never seen you ride one?”

a melancholic smile finds its way on your face. “i… feel bad for my skimwing companion. i have hurt it.”

neteyam tilted his head. “how so?”

he watched as your eyes shifted to the ocean, looking at the waves that were creating the sounds around you as you tried to form the proper words to explain to him. “when we form tsaheylu with the animals, they feel what we feel mentally, physically, and emotionally, right? they share our emotions.” 

neteyam nodded, urging you to continue. 

“well, when my parents died, i was hit by sadness like no other. everytime i bonded with my companion, it would feel pain in its heart and suffer consequences.” you looked down, and you felt neteyam withdraw from his ikran to focus on you completely. “it is the reason why i have learned to hunt without the help of the animals before. it is the reason why i have learned to hold my breath for so long. i did not want to hurt any of them until i have healed. that is why i stayed by myself and did everything i could alone.”

he said nothing further, and just took your hands in his. neteyam’s action made you look at him. he ran his thumbs on your palms as a gesture to comfort you, then he said with a low voice, “i understand now. you have gone through a lot.” 

so, your talent for holding your breath wasn’t natural, he thought to himself. you had to go through such depression and carry it all by yourself to master it. neteyam had already commended you before, but the respect he felt for you now was deeper than any praise he has known. after all, neteyam knew it all too well to understand how hard it was to deal with everything on your own, especially if it’s about your feelings.

you shook your head with a playful smile to answer him, trying to lighten up the mood. “not as much as you did.”

neteyam didn’t reply and only continued to look at you, observing you in an attempt to review your mood.

“but i am better now.” you reassured him, giving his hands a gentle squeeze when you felt his stare. “i am slowly connecting with the animals again. one day, i will ride with my skimwing, and maybe soon you will too.” 

“yes, you are right.” he nodded. “i have to be recognized as a warrior here soon.” the worry in his face disappears upon hearing your tone. 

“and then, we can explore the ocean together.” the excitement in your voice builds up as you continue, “i will show you many beautiful things. you will love it, neteyam.”

“i like the sound of that.” he stared at you affectionately, adoring your enthusiasm and the way you spoke. “you love the ocean a lot, don’t you?” he felt it. from the way you looked at the water to how you connected with it. perhaps even your affairs every night at the opposite side of the village was a reason for it; neteyam was starting to get the idea.

“i do!” you exclaimed. “everytime i am out hunting or free diving with the others, i see everything. i feel free, and i am happy.”

free? a thought came into his head as he listened to you. his hand moved to caress your hair, you almost leaned to his touch. “i have an idea. are you willing to try it?”

tilting your head in curiosity, you asked, “what is it?”

“something that will help you see more of everything.”

still holding your hand, neteyam guided you to come closer to his ikran and you followed literally right behind him. it screeches again from the presence of a stranger, and neteyam felt you hesitate to get nearer. when he looked back, he saw the worry and fear in your expression. your grip tightened on his hand. “what’s wrong?” he asked.

“am i… really allowed to fly with her?” you glanced at the ikran who was moving its head to the side, trying to get a look at you.

“yes, of course. but do not look at her eyes.” neteyam grabbed yok’o’s chin to keep her steady. “you are not a rider yet. staring may provoke her.” immediately, you averted your eyes away from the animal. neteyam went back to you, “do you trust me to fly with you?”

you took a while to reply, “… i do.”

“good girl. wear this.” neteyam released your hand as he went to take off the riding visor that was resting on his forehead. you stood still as he wrapped its bands around your ears, careful not to ruin the purple flower that was on your hair.

neteyam murmured one final time to yok’o, telling her to keep steady. you swore you even heard him warn her not to scare you too much, but you didn’t comment on it anymore. when he finished, neteyam focused on you again, going behind you to help you get on his ikran. he placed his hands on your hips and counted to three before lifting you up. yok’o obeyed neteyam and kept steady; you got on her with no struggle.

neteyam followed after, climbing up quickly as if it was the easiest thing ever. his legs were right behind yours and he leaned to grab the rope that was in front of you, caging you with his arms. his body was so close to you that you could feel his warmth from behind, you tried not to get distracted.

“are you ready?” he asked as he continued to wrap the strap around his hands.

“i think so.” you hesitantly answered, viewing the ground and how far it was from your height right now. “if i fall and die, i will haunt you, neteyam.” you joked.

the man let out a laugh. “i thought you said you trusted me?” he released the rope with one hand and placed it on your waist, leaning closer to your ear from behind. “but do not worry. i will not let you fall.”

his breath tickled your ear that your face heated up from the sudden contact. you immediately turned away from him in embarrassment. just what is this man doing?!

neteyam didn’t say anything else, satisfied with your reaction. he grabbed his queue from behind him and formed the tsaheylu with his ikran. the animal shook itself from the connection. you couldn’t even react when yok’o sudenly flapped her wings open. before you knew it, she jumped at such a height and began to fly.

overwhelmed from the sudden movement, your hands raised to cover your face. thankfully, you prevented yourself from screaming. otherwise, it would’ve been embarrassing in front of neteyam.

you could feel how his arms and legs were caging you from both sides, as if they were there to help you remain in your place and keep you stable. for some reason, you felt safe between them. you liked it.

the breeze started making your hair fly that you lightly shivered. you felt yok’o steady from below you and it became easier for you to balance yourself as you sat on her. you decided to peep between your fingers, curious to what was happening; what you saw instantly took your breath away.

an audible gasp leaves your lips as your hands unconsciously relaxed unto yok’o’s skin. you took the view in with wide eyes, overwhelmed with its beauty. the vast ocean was meters below you, glistening from the rays of the sun that it was sparkling. the sky seemed bluer and brighter to you, if that was possible. and you found it amazing how high up you were that some birds were even flying with you. 

“neteyam, look!” you pointed excitedly to a group of ilus swimming in a circle, and neteyam shared a light chuckle with you. everything was smaller below you, you felt like you were on top. 

you were ecstatic at everything you saw because you had never seen them in such a point of view; always staring in front of them, never above them to appreciate them all as a whole. neteyam adored your reaction and he felt proud that he decided to do this for you. he was enjoying your enthusiasm for it all even if this kind of view wasn’t new to him.

“this is amazing. i have never experienced anything like this before.” you exclaimed with a large grin. “i can see everything, neteyam!” you opened your arms to welcome the wind, letting it hug you. 

neteyam laughed once more. “this is how we do it back in my clan. your excitement reminds me of the young ones who have tamed their ikrans and flied for the first time.”

relaxing back to your seat, you turned your head to look at him, “really?”

he nods. “yes.”

you stared at him as you pondered for a while, allowing yourself to ease on his chest. “neteyam, i have a question.”

from staring at the view in front of him, his eyes shift down to match yours. he hummed, “yes?”

“do you think that if i ever could, i would someday be able to fly like you as well? you know, if ever.” you shrugged as you looked down. 

a gentle smile didn’t hesitate to form on his lips when he listened to your question. “yes.” he answered with a steady gaze, observing your face from his view affectionately. oh, if you could only see how he looked at you. 

“and i think that you would also make a great member of my clan someday.” your eyes snapped back at him in confusion. neteyam smirked as he looked somewhere else to stir his ikran, “you know, if ever.”

©️ okaylorrainee 2023. please do not re-upload, translate my content anywhere without permission.

ch 06 [ previous . masterlist . next ]

#loreraine #neteyam x reader #neteyam #neteyam sully #neteyam x you #neteyam sully x reader #avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar twow #avatar 2 #atwow neteyam #atwow fluff #neteyam x metkayina!reader #herwayofwater

[okaylorrainee]

her way of water finale

characters. neteyam & female reader. sully family. tsireya.

synopsis. neteyam and his family left their clan to seek uturu from yours. on their first night, neteyam wanders by the shore to clear his mind. he finds himself away from everyone’s marui pods and comes across you as you bathed - he couldn’t get you out of his mind since then.

contains. timeskips. skinny dipping. kissing. all sfw, nothing wild.

note. thank you all for reading this story! had lots of fun while writing this. this fic is officially the first one i’ve finished in my years of writing fanfics. see you in my next avatar story! (lo’ak or tsu’tey x reader) <3

taglist. @rainbowsocks @mashiromochi @anm3mi @fanboyluvr @anxietydrogz @sakura-onesan @amortencjja @kaealowri @jkeluv @xxlaynaxx @mirikusashes @strangerdangerwrites @hafutoru @inluvwithneteyam @jjkclub @lovergirl-3000 @papadragun

Ch 07 [ previous . masterlist ]

flying with neteyam was an experience you knew you would never forget, and the same could be said for him. the few minutes you’ve asked from kiri became hours because every moment was wonderful that you’ve lost track of the time. you watched the ocean together and got to know each other more as the conversation went on, you didn’t want this to end; neteyam was genuinely so fun to be with.

just like that, days went on and it’s been weeks since that moment. from there on, spending time with each other became normal for you both. every day would either be him joining you to hunt or you just hanging out somewhere on the island talking and training until eclipse came. eventually, you even felt comfortable around him enough for you to let him come with you every night when you ventured to the other side of the island to do whatever it was you were doing. neteyam never joined you in the water though, he would only sit quietly on a tree branch, looking somewhere else as he enjoyed listening to you sing the songs he later figured out were your parents’ life stories.

this connection you were forming with neteyam didn’t come unnoticed by everyone around you. after all, many of the people knew you as someone who was too busy to socialize. even your peers struggled to keep to themselves when you seemed inseparable as days went on. not a day goes by that neteyam wasn’t seen with you. he had even given you one of those extra throat comms their family brought with them to awa’atlu just so you could call him anywhere if you were in trouble; jake became interested in meeting you when his son asked.

when the tulkuns came back, it meant that it was another time for the metkayina coming-of-age rituals. you had mentioned this to neteyam before, and he asked you to help him prepare; he seemed eager to be recognized as a warrior. perhaps he grew tired of the limits and being treated like a child when he was already a skilled warrior back in his clan, or perhaps he couldn’t wait to ride through the oceans with you in your skimwings, just like you promised. 

when you introduced him to your spirit sister, aweä, he felt even more encouraged to overcome the tests of the coming-of-age rituals. aweä was very fond of neteyam. because of your spiritual connection with her, it wasn’t difficult for her to notice the feelings you had for the man. she expressed how she supported you and wished for your success, and how she approved of him becoming your mate. you simply laughed at her, saying, “he has to succeed in the trials first.”

and succeed he did. neteyam easily prevailed in taming a skimwing. you watched from afar when neteyam swam and dove with his new partner, a proud grin on your face as his siblings cheered beside you. everyone saw how he flew with his skimwing while raising his spear with both hands, yelling his own victory cheer as he locked eyes with you. tsireya teased you all day about it.

neteyam, unsurprisingly, proved successful for the tulkun trials as well. when he came back with the more experienced hunters with a huge grin on his face, everyone already knew. you immediately went and threw yourself at him, arms around his neck as he laughed and returned the embrace. the people cheered as you guided him to the hut where tonowari, jake, and the other hunters were waiting. you sat beside him, smiling the entire time he was given his first tattoo. neteyam would wince from the pain every now and then, but you held his hand to encourage him, such a sweet act was smiled upon by his parents and the adults who acted as yours.

the next few days were wonderful. with neteyam now officially recognized as a warrior in the clan, your promise to ride with him was soon to be fulfilled. all that was left was for you to call for your skimwing and connect with her again. neteyam placed his hands on your shoulders to help ease your anxiety, a gesture to let you know he was here. “you can do it. she will be fine.”

you put your fingers on top of his hand, inhaling deeply before calling for your skimwing. the water was pushing and pulling beneath you, and it takes a while before the creature shows up. neteyam gently squeezed your shoulders, urging you to approach the animal. “go.”

you took slow steps to come closer to your companion and neteyam watched you from the shore. breaking away from your shared gaze, you drew your attention back to the skimwing and began to pet it carefully. “kaltxì, kaltxì. i have missed you. will you accept me as your rider again?”

the skimwing opened its mouth and puffed out a deep breath, as if it was replying to you. you took your queue whilst you observed the animal, gently connecting yours with it. a sudden wave of emotions gushed through your body when you felt the skimwing’s entire being. her breath, her heart, and her mind - showing you the fond memories you had together that she kept, it all overwhelmed you so much. you truly missed your partner. 

you began tearing up as you moved to mount the skimwing, whispering an apology to her over and over because of how much you neglected her. you hadn’t even thought that she was missing you too. 

neteyam smiled at you affectionately as he watched. your connection with your partner warmed his heart, he was so proud and happy for you. from that day on, you rode your skimwings together almost every day, exploring the ocean and hunting together, discovering more about the beauty of the ocean with you by his side.

everything was perfect. you hadn’t felt so content and happy with your life in such a long time. it was like the deep hole in your heart had disappeared, and the one who filled it was neteyam. 

neteyam who took you flying for the first time and continued to do so every now and then because you loved it so much. neteyam who offered almost all of his hunt to you everytime he got back, that the people now assumed you were courting each other. neteyam who treats you with so much care he would run to your side whenever you called him using the throat comms. and neteyam, whom you spend every night with when you hide away from the village, the same place where he first found you and thought you were beautiful.

you smiled as you closed your eyes, thoughts of him clouding your mind as you reminisced the past few months you’ve spent together. finally, you’ve embraced the feelings you’ve developed for him. your heart was so full, aching for this man. there was no one you’d want more.

you curled your toes on the sand beneath you as you relaxed on the water again. the moment you opened your eyes, you were met with the same view you saw every night when you swam. of course, you were here again, and neteyam was with you too, up on a tree, overlooking the ocean and your back that was turned to him, body submerged in the water. 

you weren’t speaking and neither was he, only the waves and the tree leaves that rustled from the breeze created sounds. but that was until he spoke. “why are you keeping this affair of yours a secret?” he has been with you here for so many nights, and yet he only asked now. 

“it is not a secret. nobody else has simply noticed to ask.” you explained as you fixed the strands of your hair from behind you. you paused for a few seconds before continuing, “water is around us and within us. every night i come here to be one with the water. because as the tulkun and fishes swim bare, i believe we should too. at least, every now and then.” you smiled. “it is what my mother has taught me, her way of water.” 

neteyam didn’t reply, absorbing what you said.

a few seconds of silence went by, and you suddenly turned around to face him. neteyam’s eyes shifted to you in surprise. usually when you were finished, you would tell him first to turn around before you faced him and went out of the water. neteyam wanted to look away, but your gaze on him was too steady, he couldn’t bring himself to. 

“neteyam, why don’t you join me in the water?” you invited him, combing your hair to your front and letting them fall to hide your upper body.

he felt his eyes widen, and he tried not to stutter. “... are you sure?”

a gentle smile appeared on your lips. “i have told you now why i come here every night. do you not agree with my belief?”

he exhaled from his mouth and jumped down from the tree branch. “i do. i think it is very meaningful. your mother’s teaching has helped you form a very beautiful mindset.”

you smiled again before turning your back to him, saying nothing else. you watched the glowing ocean floor, deep in thought. you didn’t notice neteyam approaching behind you.

“should i take off everything as well?” he asked in a low voice.

“if that is what you are comfortable with.”

you hear him moving from behind you. you feel the ripples of the waves move against your skin as he enters the water, but you didn’t say anything and continued to look at the vast ocean in front of you. 

neteyam finds your arm when he closes the gap between you. he’s standing right behind you, breath hitched and hesitating on what to do next. his hand is cold, but his presence was warm on your rear. you smiled even if he couldn’t see, grabbing his arm and pulling him gently to let him embrace you. you rested your head back on his shoulder and your hands on his arms that were around your waist. “how are you feeling?” you asked him.

his warm breath blew on your skin as he answered, “to be honest, i do not feel any different.” ignoring his nervousness from this skin-to-skin contact, that is.

you chuckled at his response and turned around to face him. again, he is startled, and he tries hard not to look anywhere else but your eyes. you cupped his cheeks with your palms, and you noticed how warm they had become - he was blushing. “come, let us do something fun.” you slightly grinned, tugging his arm gently as you dragged him to the deeper part of the ocean.

“what are we going to do?” he allowed himself to be dragged by you.

“breathing training.” 

he paused for a while. “are you serious?”

you laughed again. “yes.”

as your bodies fully submerged in the water, you focused on nothing but each other. you were both kicking your feet and swaying your arms, trying to keep yourselves in your position. you could see his entire self, and he could see you. the way your eyes were drawing him in made it easy for him to concentrate on returning your stare, even as your hair would float away from hiding your skin. you were so so beautiful in his eyes. not even the glowing fishes nor plants surrounding you could make him look away.

minutes underwater go by like seconds, neteyam was enjoying whatever this is you were doing to notice the time - he could stay here forever, he thought. only when he felt his insides cramp did he realize he was about to lose his breath soon. and that was the only time he broke away from you - his face couldn’t help but to crumple.

you smiled watching him, like the first time you dragged him into the water with you for breathing exercise when you were upset with him. back then, you didn’t do anything but observe him catch his breath. but now, it is different. you swam closer to him, lifting your hands to catch his cheeks. neteyam couldn’t even find the time to react when you pulled him closer, bringing your lips to his. his eyes gaped when he felt air coming into his mouth.

you felt him pull you closer in an attempt to deepen the kiss. you brought your arms around his neck, and you stayed like that for a while. neteyam could feel how his heart was about to explode.

when you withdrew from the kiss, he wasted no time in pulling you with him as he floated to the surface. he hugged you tightly before drawing back to kiss you again. he leaves slow and gentle kisses from your forehead to your eyes, your cheek, your jawline, and then your neck - you were giggling the entire time. 

with your palms on his pectorals, you look at him adoringly. neteyam felt the love in them, but he couldn’t believe it not until he heard you say it yourself. and so, he asked, “does this mean you have feelings for me?” 

you smiled again, sliding one hand up to his neck to kiss his lips. “i do.” you whispered to him as you caressed his hair. “my heart is yours, neteyam.” and that was all he needed to hear before taking your lips once again.

on that night, you shared nothing but love to each other, and it has been many years since your confession. many years since you have both announced your choice of mate, many years since you’ve tied your souls together in a ceremony in front of eywa.

the people were overjoyed for the both of you, your closest friends and family especially. tuk was happy to have another older sister especially because that sister was you, kiri could finally stop her worrying about her brother, and lo’ak was just very happy for you and for his older brother. among your peers, tsireya was the most excited one of all. after all, she witnessed your love from the beginning, and she was the friend that helped bring you two together. it took her long enough to realize that you, her friend, were the metkayina woman neteyam was talking about from before - she feigned being upset for a whole day when she figured it out because you didn’t tell her. but you and neteyam made it up to her by setting her and lo’ak up on a little date.

jake sully and his mate, neytiri, welcomed you into the family with warm hugs. at first neytiri was worried about her eldest son - he was a mama’s boy, but as she got to know you, she knew her worries were not necessary. you were a sweet and kind girl, and a strong and capable huntress too. she and jake knew you were perfect for neteyam. 

your acting father, inäin, wasn’t as affectionate to neteyam as his family was to you. you remembered it as clear as day when he challenged your mate to a duel. he was quite the overprotective one, declaring how he would never give you up until neteyam proved to him that he was able to protect you. in the end when he lost, he softened up and admitted that he was only worried for you, his ‘daughter’, because you had lost your parents once, but what if it was his time to leave, what would happen to you then? 

you watched as neteyam firmly held inäin’s hand, proclaiming, “i will protect her with my life. even when the stars fall, she is my priority. don’t worry, sir, we will form a loving family together, and i will make her the happiest woman in pandora.”

neteyam was really a man of his words. you recalled how his sincerity impressed you once before back when you were young adults, he truly has not changed in these many years that have passed. currently, you are in your thirties, still in awa’atlu with all your families and friends, except there was an addition to your loving circle, and another one on the way.

you placed a hand on your growing stomach as you watched your daughter feeding a young ilu with her father, the love of your life, neteyam. 

a smile formed on your lips as you raised your hand to wave to them, “ma’yawne, it is time to go back. the others are waiting for us.”

neteyam lifted his head to smile at you before carrying your daughter in his arms. she giggled in his neck, hiding herself in there playfully as neteyam jogged to your side.

you tucked strands of your daughter’s hair behind her ear as soon as neteyam stood in front of you, and this made her turn to you with a grin. on her neck was an ornament you made weeks before you gave birth to her - a pretty necklace with a pearl in the center, the same one you obtained with neteyam years ago on your first trip together. the pearl sat right on her chest where her heart was, and it was like you and neteyam’s love was closest to hers - thinking about it made you smile. 

neteyam is the best thing that happened in your life, and you are his. you hadn’t loved like this before, and you were sure you would never love another like this in your life. 

©️ okaylorrainee 2023. please do not re-upload, translate my content anywhere without permission.

Ch 07 [ previous . masterlist ]

#loreraine #neteyam x reader #neteyam #neteyam sully #neteyam x you #neteyam sully x reader #avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar twow #avatar 2 #atwow neteyam #atwow fluff #neteyam x metkayina!reader #herwayofwater

[okaylorrainee]

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