Chapter Text
The flight from their home in the Hallelujah Mountains to the village of Awa’atlu was a long one, but to Neteyam, it was incredibly short. Probably because he spent the whole journey in a state of dissociation.
Neteyam had heard about the Recom Avatars from his father, but until a few days ago, he’d had yet to see them. He wished it had stayed that way. But as he was pressed into the ground under the heavy weight of one of them, gun pointed at his head, he had wished he was anywhere else.
His eyes met his father’s, who Quaritch’s Recoms had on his knees. Jake met his son’s eyes, and Neteyam found comfort in the steady look Jake gave him. The command was silent, said through his gaze. “Stay calm.” But then one of the Recoms cocked their gun and aimed it at Jake’s head, and Neteyam couldn’t help himself. “Dad!” He cried out in fear.
That, he would realize too late, was a big mistake. There were four Recoms holding them captive, and all eyes turned to Neteyam. “Did this little fucker just say dad?” One of them sneered with glee. Neteyam met Jake’s gaze again and his stomach rolled. His father was no longer stoic. He was afraid.
“Lyle,” Jake snapped, but his voice trembled. Neteyam realized he was addressing the man on top of him. “Leave my kid out of this, man. Don’t fucking do this.”
But Lyle wasn’t listening. He pulled Neteyam up onto his knees, holding him by his queue. Neteyam hissed. “Well doesn’t that make this so much better.” Lyle grabbed Neteyam’s face roughly, turning his head to observe his face. “You know, he looks just like his mother. So… pretty. He could almost be a woman, ” Lyle leered.
Jake seemed to understand something before Neteyam did, because suddenly, he began to wildly struggle against the two Recoms holding him. One of them hit him across the face with his gun, and Jake slumped. “Tell us where your wife is, Sully,” the other Recom holding him demanded. “Never,” Jake spat. “Bold, considering we have your son.” “Yeah,” Lyle snickered. “In fact, he’s so pretty, I think I’ll make this fun.”
Lyle shoved Neteyam back into the ground face first. Then, Neteyam could hear him fumbling with his belt with one hand, the other still painfully gripping his queue and keeping his face in the dirt. Neteyam was confused, but by the look on his father’s face, he knew something very bad was about to happen to him.
“NO, STOP!” Jake bellowed. But he was ignored, and Neteyam’s heart dropped when the Recom that had been standing guard sat on his back and pinned his arms down. Lyle was still sitting on his legs, messing with his pants. Then, to Neteyam’s horror, he felt Lyle’s hands move to his loincloth, and begin undoing it. “W-What are you doing!?”
“You can make this stop, Jake,” one of the Recom’s holding his father said. “Just tell us where your wife is.” Jake looked torn, like he was seriously considering it. Neteyam shook his head vehemently, deciding that he would endure whatever was about to happen to him for the sake of his family. Jake’s lips pressed together.
“Have it your way, Sully.” One of Lyle’s hands gripped Neteyam’s waist while the other gripped his tail, holding it up and tugging on it painfully. Lyle forced his legs apart, and stripped of his loincloth, Neteyam finally understood what was happening. “DAD!” Neteyam cried out in terror.
“I’LL KILL YOU ALL!” Jake roared. But he could do nothing as Neteyam felt Lyle begin to penetrate him. It burned, and Neteyam screamed so hard his voice cracked. He felt something wet and warm trickle down his inner thigh.
Lyle didn’t get all the way in before Jake had finally overpowered his captors. The Recom that was sitting on Neteyam’s back jumped off of him to fight Jake, and with his arms and upper body free, Neteyam threw an elbow back into Lyle, who yelped and pulled back. Neteyam squirmed out from under him, grabbed his knife from where it was strapped on his thigh, and released all his fury and fear into stabbing Lyle.
Jake got a hold of his gun and shot the other three Recoms, but when he turned on Neteyam and Lyle, he only watched, letting Neteyam take his justice.
“FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU!” Neteyam screamed with tears streaming down his face, stabbing Lyle over and over and over, even though Lyle was long dead. Finally, Jake’s voice broke through the ringing in his ears. “-teyam! Neteyam!” Neteyam came back to himself, finally stopping his assault on Lyle’s body, and dropped to his knees, suddenly very aware he was still exposed.
Silently, Jake handed him his loincloth. Neteyam desperately redressed himself, cringing when he felt something sticky between his thighs. When he pulled his hand away, it was red, and Neteyam’s stomach rolled again with the realization that Lyle had made him bleed. Wordlessly, once his loincloth was back in place, he stood and made for the creek that he could hear nearby. Jake followed him silently.
Neteyam removed his loincloth to wash himself off, grateful when Jake turned away to give him privacy. Once Neteyam felt he was clean enough, he climbed out of the water and re-tied his loincloth. His eyes met his father’s. Jake looked horrified.
“Do not look at me like that,” Neteyam demanded, his voice cracking. “I do not ever want to talk about it.” “Son, I think we should-” “NO!” Neteyam yelled. Jake’s ears fell back, but he didn’t reprimand his son for raising his voice. Instead, he opened his arms. Neteyam rushed into them. Jake sighed in relief, holding his eldest child close. “We don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready, okay?” Neteyam nodded against his chest. “Come on, boy. Let’s go home.”
It was a mere three days later that they were leaving the only home they’d ever known, possibly for good. Neteyam didn’t know if it made his situation worse or not. On one hand, he was ripped from the comfort of the forest, his home, which he loved dearly.
On the other hand, he was getting far, far away from the demons who had assaulted him and the place where it happened.
Mostly, Neteyam felt guilt, because he saw how much it broke his siblings and mother’s hearts to have to leave their home. Neytiri knew what had happened to him. Neteyam knew Jake had told her by the way she looked at him. But he was grateful they didn’t tell his siblings anything, despite their endless, begging questions of why they had to leave their home.
Neteyam was so absorbed in his own head that he hardly paid any mind to the discomfort of the journey. Before he knew it, they’d arrived at the sunny village of Awa’atlu. They circled on their ikrans, his parents letting out yips and calls to convey their arrival was friendly. A lookout blew a conch. Finally, they landed in the soft sand, and the people were quick to gather.
The reef Na’vi were built differently than the forest Na’vi. That was the first thing Neteyam noticed. Their rib cages were wider, their forearms were wide with a fin, their tails were thick and fin-like as well. They were also teal, as opposed to the forest Na’vi’s dark blue. The older Na’vi had tattoos.
Neteyam followed his father as they all walked away from their ikrans, stopping in the circle the Metkayina people had formed around them. Some looked curious; some looked weary. Neteyam waited. The crowd parted slightly to allow a tall male, his age, Neteyam guessed, to stride confidently to the front, followed by a shorter male Na’vi. Neteyam and Lo’ak both greeted them politely with an I see you gesture, but it went unreturned from the other two.
The one that seemed to be Neteyam’s age stared Neteyam down, and Neteyam stared right back. The Metkayina circled around, stopping slightly behind Neteyam. His friend, the shorter one, slapped his arm lightly and pointed at Neteyam’s tail. “Look at that! What is that? Is that supposed to be a tail?” The taller one laughed. Neteyam’s ears fell back.
Then, a girl was slapping both of them on their arms. “Aonung! Rotxo! Be nice,” she hissed. She made eye contact with Lo’ak. “Hey,” Lo’ak greeted. The girl giggled. Neteyam rolled his eyes at his brother. Then the Olo’eyktan arrived. “Tonowari,” Jake greeted respectfully. As his parents and Tonowari greeted each other, Neteyam’s eyes drifted back to who the girl had addressed as Aonung.
Neteyam quickly looked away when he found him still intensely staring.
The Tsahik finally arrived, and Neteyam respectfully avoided eye contact as she scrutinized him and his family. Then she began disparaging his family, holding Kiri’s hands up on display and claiming them to have demon blood. Now Neteyam was on alert, his tail flicking agitatedly behind him, ears down as he glared at the Tsahik. Ronal, he’d vaguely heard his father call her.
She held up Lo’ak’s hand next, continuing to berate them. Lo’ak yanked his hand away. When Ronal stepped back, Neteyam relaxed just slightly, and once again began to dissociate. Aonung, Rotxo, and the girl had moved to stand by Tonowari and Ronal. Aonung had finally torn his gaze away from Neteyam. Neteyam took a deep breath.
He came back to the conversation when Tonowari announced uturu would be granted. Neteyam saw his father’s shoulders sink in relief. Tonowari commanded his people to show them their ways, so they would not suffer the shame of being useless. He said they would be like babies, and Neteyam frowned when his mother winced. He knew this was hurting her pride. He certainly had learned how that felt over the past few days.
“My son, Aonung, and our daughter, Tsireya, will show your children our ways,” Tonowari announced. “But father!” Aonung began to protest. It was the first time Neteyam heard him speak. Tonowari raised his hand. “It is decided.” Aonung looked angry, but didn’t argue further. Tsireya, the girl, however, looked thrilled. “Come,” she chirped. “I will show you our village.”
Neteyam helped his family gather their things from the ikrans before they all followed Tsireya through the village. She stopped at an empty marui. “This is yours,” she announced. Neteyam sighed internally. This was happening. This was home now.