Chapter Text
Family doesn’t have to end or even begin with blood. It can be whoever you feel is your family. And until I met the na’vi people, I never really thought much of family at all.
Jake stands in the waters, Neytiri beside him, their children floating around them. Tonowari and Ronal stand with their two children just a few soft waves away. And meanwhile, the rest of the Metkayina clan have joined them in the Suli Family’s wake.
Not only was I lucky enough to find the love of my life among these strange and beautiful people, but I was also lucky enough to carve out a new existence for myself. My very own family.
Jake can only watch as a few members of the marine clan come swimming towards him, his sad eyes glued to the tiny lifeless body floating atop as they carry the leaved casket along the waters.
Neteyam. My poor boy. Fuck, I really thought we had lost him this time. Neytiri almost broke down when she thought she’d watched our sweet boy take his very last breath.
Neytiri feels a few stray tears roll down her cheeks as she turns to face her son. His beautiful face is now as lifeless as the face of one being floated over to them. Jake, too, turns his head to look at his poor son–because he can’t even imagine the thought of losing his own mate.
I feel bad for Spider, too, of course. It’s his big sister we’re laying to rest.
Jake glances over to Spider, who’s sitting with Kiri on the back of her ilu, his arms loosely wrapped around her waist. Jake can clearly see the tears in his eyes through his oxygen mask.
I never understood why Spider always irked Neytiri and I more than his sister seemed to. At least, not until I saw the look the kid gave his unlucky excuse for a father. I don’t blame him. He’s just a kid looking to find where he belongs. Can’t say I haven’t been there...
Tonowari swims his ilu over to Jake and Neytiri’s shared ilu (Neytiri sharing her Jake’s.) Jake gives a faint smile of gratitude when Tonowari places a gentle hand on his shoulder and tells him, “The sky girl died protecting your sons and my daughter. And now, she will rest with our ancestors. She was one of us, as now, are you and your family, Tsyeyk te Suli.”
“Thank you.” Neytiri speaks up to the leader when she sees her husband’s gaze lost on their eldest boy again.
Tonowari gives a formal nod. He follows the other father’s line of sight and sighs as he leans in and quietly asks the boy’s mother, “It is tradition for the closest of kin to lay the body to rest.” He motions subtly towards the boy, smiles softly as he says, “But if it is too much for him, our people can–“
“We will take her.” Jake says, turns back to face Tonowari, who simply bows his head in acceptance. “Thank you.” Jake finally says, lays a hand on the leader’s shoulder.
Tonowari nods, then, glides back over to join his wife and children.
Jake sighs tiredly; anxiously. He turns his head back to look at Neytiri as he quietly asks her, “Are you asking him or am I?” Neytiri smiles softly back at him, her arms tightening around his waist. “We ask together.” Jake nods before turning his ilu to swim over to his son finally.
Until the moment his father waves a hand in front of his face, Neteyam had simply been staring at her body, while secretly trying not to crumble in front of everyone. (He can do that later when he finally finds somewhere to be alone...maybe out in the ocean, where something bad can hopefully swallow him up...) Neteyam blinks rapidly, his eyes snapping up to his father’s face.
“What?” Neteyam’s eyes widen for a split second as he quickly remembers himself. “I mean... Yes, sir?”
Jake smiles softly, lifts a hand to swipe a few of his son’s braids away from his face. “I said, it’s time.”
Neteyam sucks in a sharp breath upon hearing that; upon finally having to actually let her go. “I...” He stammers, but his mother is already slipping off of his father’s ilu and floating up beside him and his own ilu. “My sweet boy. Do not be sad. She will be with–“
“With Eywa. I know.” Neteyam nods, voice soft, but most definitely defeated. He knows he’s being childish, but he suddenly can’t help it as he feels the overwhelming urge to curl up into his mother’s arms and cry like a damn baby. Instead, he glares down at the waters and grits his teeth as he mutters out, “I don’t want her with Eywa. I want her with me...”
Before Neytiri can hop up onto his ilu behind him, Neteyam is already swirling around and hurtling off through the waters. “Neteyam!” He ignores his father’s slightly annoyed tone, ignores his mother gently shushing his father. He ignores all of the stupid sorrowful looks thrown his way, even ignores his little brother calling after him. In fact, hearing Lo’ak, only makes Neteyam drive his ilu faster in fear of him coming after him. And then, Neteyam holds his breath as he dives under the waters and disappears completely.
“Ma Jake, let him go.” Neytiri latches a gentle hand onto her husband’s leg before he can take off after their son. She smiles softly when Jake huffs and nods, gives his leg an affectionate squeeze before tilting her head to motion over to their little guardian angel still waiting to meet Eywa.
I guess when you save the life of someone’s kid, it no longer matters where you came from. Or in my case, by some miracle, uniting the people for just long enough to save them and their home; my home.
As Jake slips off of his ilu and wades over to join Neytiri, he thinks back to the moment his boy looked up at him with fear in his eyes when he thought it was his own blood he was covered in, and then, the instant look of distraught heartbreak when he realised who’s blood it really was.
“Dad, please... I just wanna take her home... Please let me do th–“
Jake lets his eyes fall shut for a moment as the memory of his boy’s face burns even deeper into his mind. Fuck. If that was Neytiri, I– Jake’s pretty sure he feels his own heart crack a little, even just by thinking about it. Fuck. His eyes spring open with realisation as they stare over at the trail his son used to swiftly exit. He absolutely needs to go find his boy immediately after they have given her body to Eywa.
“Ma Jake.” Jake snaps out of his thoughts, smiles faintly and nods at her. He then moves to stand the opposite of the casket, their other kids slowly slipping off their ilus to swim over and join their parents. “Lo’ak, Kiri, you two in the middle. Spider and Tuk, you two take her feet.”
“Yes, sir.” Lo’ak and Kiri nod as they take their places on either side in front of their parents. Neytiri can’t help eyeing Spider with some resentment, even though there’s a soft smile tugging at the corner of her lips when she watches how gently the boy helps her youngest daughter through the water (even though she’s almost two thirds the size of him.)
Kiri suddenly begins to feel a little tingly all over, but the feeling is so faint, that she doesn’t bother to question it. Instead, she smiles softly over at Tuk, who’s in front of her, and reminds her, “Deep breaths.” Tuk smiles back, a sad and broken smile, bless the girl, Kiri thinks as she runs a hand over her tiny braids.
Jake nods to them all, giving their guardian angel’s face one last look of appreciation as he quietly thanks her for saving his boy. “Remember, kid, family doesn’t have to end or even begin with blood. You may be gone, but you’ll always be the annoying third daughter we never even knew we needed.” He mumbles out to her, hopes that Eywa lets her hear his words when they finally give her over to the goddess.
Neytiri reaches over the girl’s body to give her husband’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. She lets her hand slip after they share a small smile, then, reaches down to gently brush the beaded braids (that Tuk and Kiri blessedly took the time to make for her journey to Eywa) out of the girl’s pale little face. “Now, your family brings you to the Mother Goddess, where we will meet again, one day.”
Family may not end or even begin with blood...
The Suli’s (minus one, of course; technically two) all take a deep breath before finally diving under the surface. Jake, Lo’ak and Spider all take a firm hold of the casket, while Neytiri, Kiri and Tuk all take a gentle hold (so as not to further bruise the delicate human flesh) of the girl, Neytiri holding a hand over the top of her head as Kiri holds an arm over her waist and Tuk holds her feet down. Finally, when they reach the bottom, the boys and Jake let go of the leaved casket, letting it float back up to the surface.
Jake watches it float back up as he thinks, but that still doesn’t mean you ever get to choose who that family is...never get to choose who finds their way into your heart...
But Eywa does. Because our beautiful Mother Goddess knows all things. Even before they ever come to pass... Like now, for instance...
Of course Kiri is the first one to notice anything is happening, because she’s the only one who can probably feel it before it’s even happening. Like that weird feeling she shrugged off earlier...
The family watch Eywa’s glowing soul reach up through the beds of seaweeds to encase the girl’s body in its warm and eternal embrace. That’s all quite normal. What isn’t normal is the golden hues of that essence then turning rapidly bluer and bluer...
Jake shares a confused look with Neytiri, their gazes snapping back to the girl’s body as it begins to glow even brighter by the second, the blue hue almost swallowing each of them whole. Jake has to adjust his eyes for a few moments to even see that his family are unharmed. His wide eyes relax, small bubbles of relief floating from his lips in a muffled sigh.
As quickly as the glow surrounds them all, it’s gone, and Jake is taking another moment to adjust his eyes again. This time, when he looks around at his family, they’re all looking downwards with wide eyes of shock. And when Jake slowly follows their gazes, his eyes then widen, too...
***
“Eywa welcomes the sky girl, as she once welcomed you, Dreamwalker Tsyeyk te Suli.”
The words are echoing in Jake’s mind again when he finally hears her stirring. His ears twitch towards the sound before he turns away from the entrance of his family’s maruis to face the girl.
Rippa coughs up a little bit of water as she turns onto her side, her eyes slowly blinking open. Jake wonders slowly over to her, his mind flashing back to the way her no longer lifeless body suddenly began struggling violently against her bound feet and wrists. The memory of him pulling her binds loose before watching Neytiri and Spider drag her towards the surface floats through his mind as he slowly kneels down beside her.
After a few seconds of her eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight, Rippa finally sees the mass of blue knelt before her. Instantly, she smiles, happy to see him. “Ja–uh, sir...” Jake smiles at her embarrassed little purple blush. “You’re OK.” Jake nods when she asks, then, is cautiously asking her, “Are you...OK? Like, do you feel OK?”
Rippa’s face creases with confusion, “Yeah. I–“ Her eyes suddenly widen as the memory of what happened hits her. “Oh, shit! I got shot!” She bolts upright in bed, but pauses and grabs at her forehead when she feels a little dizzy.
“Easy, kid.” Jake tells her, voice soft as well as the hand on her shoulder.
Rippa frowns at the feeling...has his hand...shrunk...?? And finally, this is when Rippa opens her eyes and looks down. Only, she’s not focused on Jake’s hand, she’s focused solely on the blue colour of her own shoulder.
Jake slowly pulls his hand back as he sees her eyes slowly widening in complete shock. “Breathe, girl. You’re OK.” He slowly pulls both hands up to try to calm her, stares at her with caution as his ears twitch at the sound of her heart slowly beginning to race.
“I... I’m...” Rippa gulps loudly. She doesn’t know what to think right now, let alone what to say. Finally, after a few moments of lifting her arms up to inspect her blue skin, Rippa turns to Jake with wide and fear filled eyes as she quietly asks him, “Am I... Am I dead?”
“What?” Jake shakes off his confused look to shoot her a reassuring look. “No.” He firmly states before softening his tone enough to ask her, “Why would you think that?” It’s not until her eyes slowly lift and catch his that Jake finds himself smirking very slightly.
Eywa knows all things.
Considering what the kid’s just been through, for once, Jake stands down on teasing her over hers and his son’s hopeless feelings for one another. “You’re not dead. You did get shot though.” He confirms.
Rippa jumps as she suddenly feels movement behind her. Jake chuckles softly as he watches her turn around to try to inspect her new tail. “This is so effing weird...” She mumbles to herself, still blushing with embarrassment as she turns to face him when he laughs at her again.
“You’ll get used to it real quick. You already move like the people. I had to be taught.” Jake tells her, shares a small smile with her, then, stares curiously at her when she smiles sadly. “Is everyone else OK?” Jake nods, smiles, “Everyone.”
Rippa nods, smile faint as she stares down at her blue legs peaking out from underneath her shorts. “My feet are huge.” She mumbles, mostly in thought.
Jake glances over at her feet as she wiggles them, glances back at her adorable little frown and chuckles as she stares down at her new feet. “What do you remember?” He asks, his voice soft, but encouraging. He needs to know what kind of head space she’s in. He couldn’t bare the guilt of having her permanently traumatised on his goddamn watch. (His heart clenches harder at the mere thought of it being one of his actual kids. It’s already bad enough imagining it being Kiri, just as it is potentially right now being Rippa.)
Rippa shrugs. “I remember jumping off the boat behind Lo’ak, Tsireya and Neteyam, and...” Another frown takes her face with confusion, “And then, nothing...” She takes a deep breath to calm herself, and doesn’t ask the stupid question of what happened, because it’s obviously too fucking obvious, so instead, she asks, “Where is my...my other body?”