I was having a wonderful dream. Well, more of a memory. It was from when Tuk was just born. All of us were in the hammock, curled up in each other's embrace, listening to our mother tell the story of how she fell in love with father. It was beautiful.

Then I woke up.

There was a painful ache in my shoulder. And with that pain, the memories came rushing back. The attack. Looking over I spotted my grandmother kneeling by the fire.

"Grandmother," I called softly. Her head snapped over to me a relives breath leaving her lips as she saw my open eyes.

"Oh my sweet girl," she rushed over gently picking my head up and pressing it to hers. Breathing me in she cupped my cheek before pulling back.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A little sore," I said going to move but hissing in pain. 

"Calm child. Calm," she gently lowered me down.

"Is everyone ok?" I asked.

"Everyone is well," she said but I could hear the hesitation in her voice.

"Grandmother. What is it?" I asked.

My family were overjoyed to see I had woken up. I was hugged, praised, and cried over. And I was hugged as I cried at the news.

Mother and father had decided that we were to leave. He said it was to protect the people. I would gladly do anything to save my people. But it doesn't mean it wasn't hard.

When I was healed enough the ceremony was held. I watched as grandmother took the chief's dress from my father's shoulder and set it atop another. Tarsim. A good man. My father kneeled as he held his knife high in the air. Bringing it down with a cry his fist made contact with my father's chest. It was symbolic.

It symbolized that one leader must die. So the leader can be born. Tucked Under Neteyam's arm we walked away from the great spirit tree. Away from our grandmother and people. Away from everything we had ever known. I shared in my mother's tears and my family's sadness.

Toruk Makto will disappear. The people will be safe.

As we flew from the forest each and every one of us looked back. Looked back at the home we would likely never see again. And with stone's heavy in my heart, I tore my eyes from my home and looked to the horizon. To my future and my family.

We traveled for many days. Though storms and winds. When we stopped to rest father would check my wound, but other than that there was not much talking.

And then. We made it.

The sea clan is a world of themselves. Thousands of islands. Unknown territory. The perfect place to vanish.

It was a beautiful place. Beautiful white beaches and mangrove trees with a whole village woven into them. We landed on a large patch of sand everyone quickly dismounting. I instantly moved to my brothers who sandwiched me between them.

"On me," Father called. 

"Be nice," he said holding his hands up to show he came in peace.

"Be nice," mother repeated his words as she took hold of Tuks hand. Neteyam copied our father's actions.

The metkayina were similar to us. Yet they had light blueish green skin, thick arms that had fin like protrusions on their forearms. Thicker legs, and tails that looked more like a paddle then anything else. And the bluest of eyes. As we walked they started to surround us staring at us curiously and hesitantly. Two of them broke from the crowd looking over us. Myself and my brothers in particular. My brother signed I see you while I only looked. He looked strange. The one leading the other. Whoever he was he held my gaze as he rounded us. 

"Easy just be cool," Father ordered.

"Look what is that? Is that supposed to be a tail?" the boy behind him asked pointing to our tails with an amused chuckle. Loak didn't care though. His eye had been caught by a pretty metkayina girl who walked up to us. She was gorgeous long black wavy hair and bright eyes.

"It's too small, how are they supposed to swim?" My attention was once again grabbed by the boys looking at our tails. With that comment though the girl gently slapped them.

"Do not. Rotxo, Aonung," she scolded them with a sigh. So that was their names.

"Hey," Loak nodded earning a propped eyebrow from me. Well, she seemed to have liked it smiling and giggling. Our attention was quickly diverted by three winged sea beasts that glided over us before landing in the water to our left. It was the chief of the tribe. A tall muscular man covered in tattoos. Tonowari. He walked forward spear in hand greeting my parents. Then the tsahik walked forward her eyes calculating as she took us in. he was beautiful as well. 

"I see you, Ronal, tsahik of the metkayina clan," my father greeted her nervously.

"Why do you come to us Jake sully?" The chief asked.

"We seek aoturok," My father stated loudly.

"Aoturok?" The tsahik asked. Aoturok, in its simplest terms meant sanctuary.

"Sanctuary for my family," Father nodded gesturing to us all as the tsahiki walked forward. She first examined my father.

"We are reef people, you are forest people. Your skill will mean nothing here," The chief said. The tsahik then turned her gaze to myself and my brothers. Neteyam moved closer to me blocking half her view with his body.

"May Eywa smile upon our first meeting," I said doing the greeting shigh. Reaching forward she took hold of my queue that rested over my shoulder running her hand down it.

"We will learn your ways right?" father asked mother as the tsahiki moved to them grabbing her tail.

"Their arms are thin," Ronal said grabbing Tuk's hand.

"Their tails are weak," she said grabbing Kiri's.

"Ow," she murmured pulling out of her reach.

"They will be slow in the water," she announced. Her eyes then found Kiri's hand taking them into her own and holding them up for everyone to see.

"These children aren't even true Navi," she announced earning shocked gasps from the people around us.

"We are," Kiri said reefing her hands from hers. She then moved to Loak doing the same with only one hand.

"They have demon blood!" she announced. Gently taking Loaks arm I pulled his hand down out of her grasp. It wasn't a pleasant feeling to be hissed at. The villagers hated demons, and here we were. The children of one.

"Look look," Father said holding his own hand up. "Look I was born of the sky people and now I am Navi. You can adapt. We can adapt. We will adapt," father said. He was getting desperate now. He was begging. And my mother hated to see him beg. 

"My husband was Toruk Makto," my mother announced earning a wince from my father. My mother was a proud woman, she was a daughter of a chief and she was the wife of one. She had never been in this position before. It unsettled her.

"He lead the clans to victory against the sky people," she continued.

"This you call victory? Hidden amongst strangers?" the tsahil asked instantly fueling my mother's flame. "It seems eywa has turned her back on you, chosen one," the tsahik said to my father. Mother hissed at the insult and she hissed right back. The tension was building. And a decision was yet to be made.

============================================================

============================================================