༺chapter eighteen༻
✧
⇝ we never go back to that bloodshed

The whole time she laid there, unmoving breathing at a normal rate, hearing the voices of those she didn't recognize, Norm and Max had been by her side, for a week now they had been on the island but were preparing themselves to leave back to the forest after seeing no signs of her walking up.

except when Norm ears jerked at the heart monitor picking up its rate, he stepped away from the box towards the machine. Amiryat couldn't feel anything below her chest when she woke up, numbness hit her without her actually feeling it, slowly fluttering her yellow eyes open with a slight headache, "Max, she's waking." A male voice echoed through her ears as he towered over her laying form, "can you hear me?" He asked her but all she saw was a blurry figure.

Norm brought a mini light over passing it through over her eyes, "she okay, she's just adjusting to the light, Amiryat can you see how fingers I'm holding." The male avatar asked raising three fingers but to the girl they looked like goo.

"Uh, there's uh..." Amiryat blinked opening and closing her mouth, feeling how dry her throat was. "—three... fingers." She squinted her eyes. "yeah, three." She tried to moved but her body was to tried. "No, lay back down, you shouldn't move right away." Norm gently pushed her back onto the cot.

"We should get Jake, he needs to know she's awake," Max mentions to him, moving to the entrance, Norm sighs debating if he should call the male na'vi. "We should let Amiryat rest for a few hours before getting him, she'll be a lot better." Without another word from either of them, Amiryat fell back to sleep.

By the time Amiryat woke up it was late in morning, the sun was still bright as ever as she listened to the na'vi children playing around outside the hunt she laid in, glancing around the room to see that she was alone, she slowly rose from the bed with a groan then pushed herself to sit up straight.

Glancing down to her chest, was a gauze overlaying where she got hit, her arm was hugging her stomach as it was held with a sling as the humans would call it, it was colored baby blue, she remembered having the exact color when she was a baby.

Swinging her legs around the cot, cracking her neck wincing at her arm. She wiggled her toes slowly missing the feeling of being able to move her body, glancing once again around the hunt, she spotted a fire pit with grey smoke rising from it, it had been just been burned out.

Slowly raising from the cot, exhaling when her bones crack at each step she took, squinting her eyes, "oh god!" She cried forgetting how bright the real world was. Blinking a few times she adjusted to the sun, some people passed her with shocked eyes.

"Amiryat!" A small voice broke her out of her daze, tunring to the voice she found her youngest sister dropping whatever she had in her hands and run towards her, Amiryat smiles kneeling down as Tuk threw herself onto her, wet tears hitting her shoulder. "You're awake, you're awake." The young girl muttered to herself, smoothing her hair.

Amiryat glossy eyes met her when she pulled away. "Yes, im here now, I'm okay Tuk," the teen laughed as her small hands touched her face, Tuk gasped as her eyes widen. "We gotta tell dad, and mom, everyone else!" Amiryat leaned back on her feet as the young girl tugged her to her feet.

"Tuk, Tuk, wait." Amiryat brought her back, leading them back inside the marui, wanting to get away from peering eyes. "Can we wait from a little, I just woke up and I don't think I want a crowd right now, okay?"

Tuk nods rapidly, tugging them over to the fire, "you must be hungry, I don't know how to cook but mom has extras around here— ooh." Tuk giggled snatching a yovo fruit from beneath the small table, Amiryat glanced around the marui, realizing the room was a lot smaller then when they first arrived.

"Tuk, did we move homes'?" Amriyat asked the younger sister, Tuk shook her head taking the fruit over to her. "No, Tsireya's dad wanted you to have your own room because having Norm and Max all together in one roof wasn't good, dad and mom also wanted to to have your space."

Amiryat hums as she came around. "Oh, that was nice of him." She smiles softly taking a bite of the fruit, she exhaled at the delicious taste.

Tuk sat across her, scanning the white fabric wrapped around her, she might have been young but she could see how skinny her sister became, it's been a month since Amiryat accident and ever since some people lost hope, they didn't believe she would wake.

"What is it?"

Amiryat licked her lips placing down the fruit in the bowl, the look on her face said everything. Pity. "I know I look different, I mean I should be laying down but—" she paused noticing her sisters lips tremble. "come here."

Tuk crawled over laying her head on her lap, hands circling around her waist. "I thought you weren't going wake up." She hiccuped, Amiryat frowns twisting a braid. "I would have nothing if you died."

"Don't say that." Amiryat picked her head off her lap, making her sit instead. "Listen to me, I might have been gone for some time but I'm here now, I'm not leaving okay," Tul nods whipping her tears. "I'm sorry, Tuk." Amiryat brought her to down to her chest.

"Amiryat?"

The two sisters pulled away at the voice, lo'ak held his bow and some arrows but that was soon tossed away when he spotted his sister, Tuk helped Amiryat up from the ground facing their brother with smiles. "Lo'ak, your taller." She rose a brow. "How long have I been gone?"

Lo'ak shook his head approaching her with his arms wide, when he reached her his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close, but not enough to hurt her and she let out a small laugh, "your walking, and moving." He states holding her tightly swaying them.

"I found her first." Tuk whines crossing her arms.

Lo'ak couldn't peal his eyes away from his older sister when they pulled away, cupping her face between his face. "I'm okay, lo'ak, it's only been a few minutes since I woke up."

Amiryat reassured him. "Where's everyone else and I could have sworn Norm was here." She told him glancing between them. Lo'ak nods. "Yeah, they flew in a week ago and the fam and I went for a little hunt down the ocean."

Amiryat nods, lo'ak held her arms moving them back to the cot. Amriyat reached up to her collarbone, she felt shells she didn't recognize. "Ao'nung. He would switch them out when he found new ones."

She smiles briefly, staring down at her feet. "How was everyone when I... I wasn't around." She asked him, Lo'ak turned to her tracing the white dots on her face with his eyes.

"They haven't been the same." Lo'ak admits out-loud. "I seen it everyday, they try to smile and move on with their days like if you weren't always on our minds. Mom was the only positive one and Tuk and Kiri, they were the ones that talked to you most of the time."

"And Neteyam." Lo'ak paused rubbing his hands. "He blamed himself for what happened." Amiryat cocked her head growing sad with her heart breaking the thought of  her brother. "He would talk to you like once every two weeks."

"Dad, well he ignored you most of the time, not in a rude way just because seeing the way you laid there, and looked. It broke his heart, I could hear him cry at night sometimes." Lo'ak tells her fiddling with his bracelet. "He distances himself but mom always told him to have hope that you would recover until eventually he did talk to you."

Amiryat met his glaze watching as he messed with his bracket so she took his hand with a squeeze. "What about you?" She asked him softly. Lo'ak squeeze her hand back.

Lo'ak frowns remembering the days where he refused to see the sun because he wanted to wait for his sister to wake. "I hated every second that you weren't awake, each time I wake up and pass your marui just to see that you haven't moved and each time I walk back you still hadn't moved, it was my worst nightmare." He admits, tearing his eyes down to their hands that laid on his lap.

Amiryat didn't know what to say, she didn't think she was going to survive especially a bullet to her chest, but by some miracle she was still here, breathing. "I wasn't myself," Lo'ak utters quietly, "at some point I believe that you weren't going to wake, though mom refused to give up on you."

Tuk glanced at her siblings, she stood up catching figures by the entrance. "ma ʼite?" A sorrow voice interrupted the siblings from thier moment, Amiryat teared her eyes for lo'ak up to her parents, Jake eyes glistened at the sight of his daughter.

Neytiri was the first to cry, Amiryat stood up slowly with Lo'ak' help. "When did you wake?" Neytiri embrace her daughter in her arm, swaying them, hands cupping the back of her head muttering to Eywa that she answered her prayers. "Eywa irayo! irayo!" (Thank you! thank you!)

Amiryat felt another pair of hands that belonged to her father. Her head pressed against her mothers chest as she looked up to her father, a tear fell down his face, Amiryat bit her lip whipping the tear away. "Oh sweet girl, I never letting you leave my sight, you hear me?" Jake exhaled dropping his head down on hers.

Amiryat looked passed her moms shoulder to Neteyam, her arm pushed through her parents reaching out to him, Neteyam took her hand, jointing in the hug, soon enough Tuk shouted group hug as she ran into the hug, Amriyat yanked her brother in.

"Please not so tight, soaia." (Family) Amriyat cried out smiling, her mother only shh her holding on to lo'ak and her eldest, she missed moments when it was just them. "Let me enjoy this moment." Neytiri says softly, refusing to let her go.

—

"Do you feel that?"

It's been a couple hours since Amiryat had woken up, her father alerted the chief about his daughter recovering, Amriyat was thankful for her family for everything but she wished that they weren't watching her every move, she couldn't even use the bathroom without her mother following her.

She didn't have the heart to tell them to leave her alone, because she didn't know what her family went through without her and she knew that her family missed her like crazy that they don't want to miss another second of it.

Norm had been helping Amiryat with a small exam, her shot wound was in display for everyone to see and she hated every second of it, it was disgusting to look at in her eyes and each time she looked up to her father or mother she could see that their eyes held sympathy.

She shook her head, "how about now?" Norm held her left hand up to the air then slowly brought it down to bend to cross over her chest, she cried wincing, Jake in an instant stood up at the sound of her cry, Norm ignored Jake' sudden death stare and released her arm.

"Dad." Amiryat exhaled dropping her hand back down, Neteyam pushed his father down to sit. "It's part of the process," Norm continued with his work, as he kneeled down in front of her, he held a new sling around her body, having her left arm lay against her chest.

Amiryat stared down at the sling noticing the different color, turquoise. Norm stood back up after adjusting the sling, Neytiri moved over to her daughter, fixing the piece of fabric herself. "nìkʼong, räʼä win si." (Slowly, don't rush) Neytiri pressed her hand on her chest, fingers glazing over the wound.

Amiryat exhaled closing her eyes, until they snapped open at the sound of Norm' voice. "She's okay, the wound will take time to heal and will definitely leave a scar, though you have to be careful around her left arm because it strikes her pain each time."  

Jake stood up nodding his head. "Is there anything Ronal can do to take away the pain, I mean, it's just I think we all wouldn't want her to be in pain all the time." Norm hums and nods. Max excused himself between Neytiri and her daughter with a gauze in hand.

"I'm just going to— uh..." Amiryat stared at the human with a small smile. Her mother held herself back from barring her teeth at him. "Max, it's okay." The human patch her up covering the wound before quickly moving away.

"i got here I soon as I could."

Ronal stood by the door with her two children and husband, in Tsireya's hand she held a weaved basket of her mothers aid supplies, Neytiri stood up greeting the woman, she had been nothing but supportive to the family along with the rest of the Metkayina clan.

"thank you, our daughter is in pain and we want to rid of that pin." Neytiri said calmly, Ronal didn't question her as she and her daughter walked in and began to prepare, Amiryat could feel his eyes, well everyone's eyes but his matter more.

She couldn't look at him, not because she didn't want to because she did, she hated the way she looked and everyone can tell that she still needed time to adjust to everything, Ao'nung almost ran to her marui when she woke but he knew she needed her family, Tonowari couldn't understand the pain of almost losing a child, but he knew he had to be there for the family.

"Any good news, Jake Sully?"

The father glanced at the slightly taller man, "yea, she's in great health nothing to bad about her wound, it's good. She's going to be okay." Jake tells him, Tonowari nods patting his shoulder.

Ronal couldn't have Amiryat lay on her back due her injury, She looked away from the needle in her hand seeing the uncomfortable expression on Amiryat' face. "I need to do this session alone."

Ronal broke her free from her state, the pregnant woman passed her a smile, Jake nods respecting her wishes and ushered himself and his kids away. "Tonowari, you as well." Ronal didn't need to look back at him, the chief took his son and himself out the room.

"Thank you." Amiryat utters quietly to the woman, Ronal waved her off with a smile bringing her down to sit on the ground by her, her hands pressed to the girls back, mumbling phrase's beneath her breath.

—