Chapter Text
Kiri hadn’t ever felt so exhausted.
It had been almost two weeks since they had arrived at the ally stronghold, her family had joined her the next day once they had heard of what happened. Rotxo’s surgery had been successful, she had heard something about them being unable to remove a few bullets, but all she cared about was that, according to the head surgeon, he was stable. Comatose, but stable. Jake had tried to convince her to come back home, and told her that they could return once he had awoken, but Kiri refused, she wouldn’t leave until Rotxo woke up, and she didn’t care how long she had to wait. If she left Rotxo in this state, everything would go wrong, she had no evidence of this, but she felt it in her bones.
When she wasn’t sleeping in one of the on-site bedrooms, she was sitting beside Rotxo. He looked so frail, his skin was a grey-blue hue, with ugly stitches and scars all over, a large bandage over his eye, and she could see his bones protruding out of his skin. Perhaps because he hadn’t eaten an actual meal in days, all of his sustenance coming from an IV. She understood why, according to Norm the projectile had punctured his stomach and left a large hole, and while they were able to stitch it back up, he was in no condition to eat physical food, and wouldn’t be able to until it healed up completely. Rotxo had always been on the shorter side of things, with Tsireya being the only one in the core group shorter than him, but in this state he looked so… small, harmless, vulnerable. Nothing like the boisterous, joyful boy she knew and loved.
It made Kiri feel sick to her stomach.
It was wrong, so so wrong and she couldn’t do anything but wait around and hope that eventually his eyes would open again. Or just one eye, his other eye had been shot through, she didn’t know how surgery went for that one, or if he’d ever see out of it again. She hadn’t felt this level of anxiety in so long, she kept telling herself he would be okay, that he would make it through and make a full recovery, but there was no way that was true, was it? His injuries were too severe, if and when he did wake up, he’d have permanent disabilities and chronic issues for the rest of his life, and she prayed as hard as she could that they were at least manageable, that he wouldn’t be in agony constantly.
She was seated by his bedside, watching with heavy eyes as his chest slowly went up and down with shallow breaths, and listening as the sounds of all the strange machines hooked up to him beeped like a metronome. She’d lost track of time at this point, and all she could do was stare at him. At first, she’d begin to cry whenever she’d lay eyes upon his withering form, but now she was numb to it, the sight still hurt to see, but she’d run out of tears to cry.
It was then when someone walked in, Kiri didn’t turn to look at them, or greet them, but her head fell when she felt a hand on her shoulder, “come and eat, he will be here when you are done.”
Kiri shook her head, “no, mom, I’m fine, I swear.”
“You have not eaten all day, my precious daughter,” Neytiri leaned forward, placing her chin above Kiri’s head, “he would not want you to skip meals, Rotxo is not going anywhere, so please, come and eat, Miranda made stew.”
“I hate tawtute stew.”
Neytiri chuckled, “well, it is either that or stale bread, and I know for a fact you do not want that.”
Her daughter sighed, she was right, Kiri most certainly didn’t want that. So, she gave the comatose boy one more look, before finally standing up from her chair. She had been sitting for quite a while, so the stretch did her some good. Neytiri made her way beside her, placing an arm around her shoulder and giving the girl a quick kiss above her eyebrow before beckoning for her to walk with her. Kiri held her shawl tightly as she was led into the small cantine on the stronghold site, where the rest of her family were sitting, already eating out of their bowls.
The first family member to greet her was Tuk, who waved and attempted to say hello with a mouthful of stew, causing Lo’ak to gently swat her on the back of the head. Kiri managed the lightest of laughs as she sat down while Tuk glared at her older brother. Neytiri walked off and soon returned with two bowls, one of herself and one of Kiri, and after thanking her mother she looked around and asked, “where’s dad?”
“Outside, talking to Norm about… something, I dunno,” Lo’ak replied, taking another slow spoonful of stew.
This caused Kiri to grin a little, “you’re not vibing with it?”
Lo’ak shook his head, “I mean… it’s just… not good.”
“Oh do not be dramatic,” Neytiri scoffed, “it is hardly that terrible, it just uses… foreign ingredients.”
It was then Neteyam’s turn to interject, “yeah, from their dead planet, who knows what’s in this? Whatever, food is food I guess.”
“We’d be eating decent food if Kiri stopped being stubborn and came home with us.” Lo’ak mumbled.
Kiri rolled her eyes, taking a spoonful of the stew — by Eywa, tawtute food was just so bland — while Neytiri shook her head, “your sister has made up her mind and we will not leave her alone here, so you should stop complaining and deal with it.”
Lo’ak, knowing he wasn’t going to win any sort of back and forth with their mother on Kiri’s side, simply nodded, “yes mom, you got it.”
With that, the family resumed their meal. Kiri ate in silence while everyone else chatted, Tuk happily spoke about the playdate she got to have the day prior when Norm brought Popiti over and how much she missed her, Neteyam talked about getting to hang out with his Omatikaya friends shortly after the battle before everyone returned to their respective homes, with Lo’ak interjecting about how much he didn’t like one of them and Neytiri telling him to stop being rude. Although the food left a lot to be desired, Kiri had to admit that being able to sit and have a normal time with her family was nice.
Soon, Jake reentered the room, with him and Norm separating and the other man leaving to go and talk to someone else. He took a seat by the table, but not before going over to Kiri and gently ruffling her hair, “how are you doing, Princess?”
Kiri smiled, nodding, “I’m doing okay dad, you?”
“Better now that I know you’re okay, make sure to let me know when you need anything, alright?” Jake replied, when Kiri nodded he let off a subtle hum of approval before making his way to a seat beside Neytiri, but not before swiping himself a bag of chips.
This caused Neytiri to snort, “I thought out of all of us, you would be the most eager to eat tawtute food, go and get some stew.”
“I’m good, Neytiri,” he chuckled, leaning into her, “besides, I’d rather wait until tonight for my meal.”
Tuk had no clue how lucky she was to not get the innuendo, and was left in confusion when her three older siblings all began to dramatically wretch and cry “ew!” and “gross!” at the top of their lungs. Jake laughed at their reactions, while Neytiri rolled her eyes and shook her head, though she was unable to stop a small chuckle from leaving her. Just like that, the family continued to enjoy their meals, not allowing the weight of the current circumstances to keep them down too much.
Kiri had finished just about all of her stew, not able to stomach the last bit and gently pushing it aside when a man walked in, dressed in strangely casual wear and a trenchcoat, piloting an avatar was one of the many medical personnel that worked at the stronghold. His name was Percy and Kiri and the kids actually quite liked him, he was one of the younger ones, and didn’t get mad at them when they ran around or asked too many questions about the gadgets and gizmos they used. He looked around the cantine, his eyes glittering in achievement when he spotted the family seated at a table.
Percy walked up to the table, greeting them with a friendly, warm smile, “hey y’all, how’s it going?”
“Good,” Kiri simply said, only for everyone else to follow suit.
After what she soon came to learn was unnecessary small talk, Percy then turned his attention to Kiri, brushing his shaggy hair out of his face before then saying, “so, earlier today before you woke up we ran some tests on your friend, Otto—”
“Rotxo, but continue.”
“Right, Rotxo, my apologies,” Percy awkwardly stumbled with a light flush, “but, um, we ran some tests and he was showing major improvements from last time, your friend is a fighter, we suspect a recovery.”
“A full one?” Jake asked, his ears tilting in curiosity.
Percy’s face scrunched a little, “well, no, not really. He was incredibly messed up, someone emptied a whole clip on the poor boy, and that toxic dart didn’t do him any favors… we don’t know everything yet, but I can confidently say as of now he is going to have permanent nerve damage, and well as motor issues, his left eye is healing, but we’re unsure if he’ll ever regain sight. We’re confident he’ll wake up, but when he does he has a very long road ahead of him.”
“I will be there every step of the way,” Kiri said, before then gesturing to her siblings, “we will be there every step of the way.”
When the rest of them agreed, Percy smiled, “but, I didn’t actually come here to tell you only that, what I wanted to let you know is I just came out of his room and… his fingers and eyes were twitching, which is a good sign, he isn’t awake yet, but usually that means—”
Kiri didn’t need to hear the rest, well, to be honest she probably did, but she wasn’t sticking around to. All she needed to know was that Rotxo was waking up, slowly and surely, but waking up nonetheless. She shot up from her seat and practically bolted back to the room. Her family called to her, and when they realized she wasn’t turning back, they all reluctantly got up, and alongside Percy they followed her. Once she was back in the room, Kiri slumped back in her chair, her amber eyes peering at Rotxo with desperation.
Yet, he was still, just as she had left him. When her family and Percy entered the room, they remained silent, watching as an invigorated Kiri stared at the motionless boy. Percy wanted to step forward and tell her that twitches were a normal but sporadic phenomenon among comatose patients, and was a good sign of brain activity but didn’t guarantee they would wake up immediately, but when he stepped forward to try and talk to her, Jake simply took hold of his hand, shaking his head and causing the other man to step back. She kept staring, hoping to catch sight of one of these twitches, these jerks, any sudden movement that showed he was waking up.
Once again, it was Tuk that was the first to point and say, “his ears!”
Kiri’s eyes immediately shot to his ears, and lo and behold, they were moving. It started with his left ear, which seemed to move every time she made a sudden movement or her chair scraped against the ground. They hadn’t moved at all since he’d been in this bed, could he hear her?
She decided to test this out, “Rotxo?” Kiri gently called out.
He didn’t move, but once again, his ear twitched, falling down, not only that, but Kiri then noticed his tail, shifting under the blanket. So, she once again asked, “Rotxo, can you hear me?”
Once again, at first he didn’t move, but his ears and tail once again shifted and twitched in response. He could hear her, even if he couldn’t understand what was happening, her voice was reaching him. She wasn’t sure if she was letting her own hope and desire for him to wake up get to her, but Kiri had done some miraculous things in the past, what made trying this any different? She had given a human the ability to breathe Pandora’s air, she had bonded with an already bonded ikran, what couldn’t she do, realistically?
Which was why she leaned forward, and took hold of his left hand, “Rotxo, I know you’re in there, you want to wake up, and I know it’s hard… but you can do it, I’m here for you, I always will be.”
Rotxo once again, didn’t respond… at first. He simply gave the same reactions he had been giving the entire time, but it all changed when Kiri felt something; a squeeze of her hand. It was light and fleeting, and had she not been paying attention she may not have even noticed it, but it was undeniable. She gasped, her eyes widening, unable to stop the wide smile growing on her face.
“Yes, Rotxo!” She gleefully uttered, “that’s it, I knew it, you’re waking up, just listen to my voice, let me guide you.”
Once again, Kiri felt another squeeze of her hand, this one being a light tighter than the last one. It seemed every time she spoke to him, every time she encouraged him, he made a sudden movement. Everyone else in the room remained silent, not daring to intervene with… whatever Kiri was doing. It was a slow process, sometimes when Kiri spoke he didn’t react at all, and other times he had a big reaction, but she didn’t give in, she refused to, she was so close that she could practically hear his voice already.
It was then when Kiri’s heart almost exploded, looking upon his face, she saw something, his unbandaged eye was fluttering! If she wasn’t holding his hand, she would have placed a hand above her rapidly beating chest, “Rotxo? Are you there? C’mon Rotxo, you’re fighting so hard, keep pushing, you’ll make it, I promise.”
The boy began to grunt, they weren’t sounds of pain, instead it sounded like he was trying really hard to speak, but it wasn’t working. It was then when everything began to go off the rails, Rotxo’s eye began to open, but he didn’t look anywhere, instead, his pupils were dilated, the grunting got louder, his breathing got heavier and the monitor showed his heart rate increasing rapidly. He was panicking, he was scared.
“Rotxo? Rotxo!”
Percy rushed over, watching frantically as Rotxo’s chest almost caved with the depth of his breathing, he reached for a syringe to administer anesthesia, but Kiri noticed this and snapped, “no! You will not put him to sleep again!”
“He’s having an attack, Kiri!” he retorted, “it isn’t safe to keep him awake!”
“No! I will not let you!” Kiri yelled back, before looking around. She didn’t want him to be filled with fear, anxiety and terror, but she couldn’t bear to see him still and motionless again. Not knowing what to do, she did what she always did, relying entirely on her instincts. Kiri reached for her kuru, taking hold of it before sliding her hand behind Rotxo’s neck. She managed to find his, and pulled it from under the weight of his body. Without giving it a second thought, Kiri quickly connected the two ends and went to take hold of his hand once more.
“Breathe, Rotxo, breathe for me, okay? Be calm, you are safe, you are okay, breathe.”
It wasn’t instantaneous, but soon his breathing began to settle, his grunting and groaning noises became more frequent, once again as though he wanted to say something, “yes, breathe Rotxo, breathe, please.”
Kiri could feel his calming through the bond, a wave of familiarity washing over the both of them, Rotxo felt… safe, he felt at home, he didn’t feel lost anymore.
“… Ri… Hu… Ri…”
She looked into his open eye, still dilated, staring into the ceiling, “huh? Rotxo, what are you saying?”
“Ri… Ki… ri… Kiri… Kiri…”
Kiri’s eyes went wide, welling with warm tears while her lips curved into a smile, her family and Percy watched on in disbelief as she nodded, “yes, Kiri! I’m here, I’m right beside you, Rotxo, I’m here! Oh Rotxo, you’re awake, you’re…” she sniffled, her lip beginning to shake as she spoke, “oh, you’re awake!”
“Kiri… Kiri… Kiri…” Rotxo’s pupils slowly began to shrink, the corners of his lips making their way up. After a few minutes, he was finally able to turn his head to face her, and for the first time in about two weeks, Kiri could see his uncovered eye. Still in immense pain, all he could do was weakly smile, and say, “Kiri… you are… Kiri…”
The rest watched in relief, pride, and joy as Kiri happily choke, bringing his hand to her chest and nodding, not caring that her tears were beginning to drip onto his bedsheets, “yes, I am Kiri,” she sniffled, hiccupping away as days worth of fear and worry mixed with her sudden hope to create a cocktail of wild emotions.
Rotxo let out a pained grunt as he tried to sit up, and though Percy advised him not to, he did anyway. Once he was sat up as straight as he could, he leaned forward, trying to use his other hand to wipe her face, “why… do you cry…?”
Kiri shook her head, freeing a hand so she could try and wipe her face, “skxawng, you almost died, why wouldn’t I?”
“But I’m alive, so don’t, I really hate seeing you sad… I’m… sorry for scaring you.”
If his constant, sudden hisses of pain and the bandages covering his body didn’t allude to his state of agony, Kiri would have swatted him for being so stupid. Of course Rotxo would still worry about Kiri’s feelings after just barely surviving a horrific and brazen attack, what else did she expect from him? He always put others first, and even now on his proverbial death bed, finally waking up after two weeks in darkness and instability, his first concern was whether or not Kiri was feeling okay. It was irritating, it was adorable, and it so perfectly encapsulated who Rotxo was.
To think, had she not been as quick thinking, had Tìlor not accepted her as a rider, as Okxoa not swam as quickly as he did… he wouldn’t be here. This should have never happened in the first place, but those days of reckoning with him not making it, of her having to go the rest of her life without him had made her realize how much she needed him here. Kiri needed Rotxo by her side, to be her sunshine, to be her friend, to be her ally, to be her silly little zukzuk she could tease, she needed Rotxo to be… her love; and now that they’d made it through what was probably the hardest thing they would ever have to go through, she realized she no longer cared what anyone thought, and wouldn’t let go.
Therefore, Kiri sat up straight, using her palm to wipe her eyes before turning her head to look straight at Jake. The older man didn’t actually notice until Neytiri nudged him with her elbow, “oh, do you need anything Princess—”
“Father,” Kiri began, her voice suddenly adopting a serious tone, “Rotxo has been courting me for many months now and I’ve decided that I wish to be promised to him, and no amount of you complaining about it will change my mind.”
Both guys were clearly caught off guard by the statement, because as Jake shouted, ‘what!?’, Rotxo began to cough suddenly, with Kiri turning to look at him, “wait, you, you wanna… with me?”
Kiri smiled, nodding, “yes, I do, is that okay?”
Jake clearly wanted to intervene, and probably rant about how he wouldn’t allow it, or how upset he was that he was only just now being told this. However, Neytiri took hold of his forearm and gave him… the glare. It was a glare she only ever reserved for Jake when he was irritating her, and that combined with her gesture for him to step back was enough to make him question if now was the time to play overprotective dad. Perhaps after Rotxo had recovered enough to eat solid food.
Rotxo stared at her, his eye wide, and his look of disbelief contorted into an expression filled with more joy than Kiri had ever seen from him, “I… I would be so… so honored to be promised to you, that’s… all I ever dreamed about, all I ever wanted… I love you, Kiri.”
He had said it before, how much he loved her, how much he admired her, and whenever he did, Kiri would shut down, run off, or refuse to acknowledge it. She never understood his feelings, why he was always willing to go above and beyond for her, what he saw in her that she couldn’t see in herself. Now however, she didn’t want to run, or hide, or refuse to acknowledge it; so, with a wave of warmth flowing through their bond, Kiri took hold of his hand once again.
“I love you too, Rotxo.”
Rotxo had expressed his love for Kiri many times, and although she had clearly expressed feeling some sort of way for him back, this was the first time she had ever said it out loud. Kiri loved him, she loved him, Kiri, the girl he’d do any and everything for, really, truly loved him.
Even as he lay there, his entire body sore and aching, covered in stitches, filled with bullets that couldn’t be removed and unable to see out of his left eye, Rotxo could confidently say this was the happiest day of his life.
It had been three months since Kiri and Rotxo had promised themselves to one another. Well, to be honest they weren’t officially promised yet, in order for that to be a reality the two had to meet with Ronal who would hand them their pearl armbands in a mini ceremony, but that could wait until Rotxo was able to return home. Still, the two were promised in spirit and that’s all that really mattered. When Rotxo’s wake windows became more consistent, her family practically dragged Kiri back to Awa’atlu, though they had to promise she was allowed semi-regular visits of course. She supposed she couldn’t complain, she had agreed to return once Rotxo was awake, and he was awake now.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to take full advantage of her promised visits, after the end of the second war, Awa’atlu desperately needed to recuperate, many lost their lives, many children were left orphaned, many homes had been destroyed and many funerals had to be held. The entire island was in mourning, and the need to restructure had made it so Kiri and the others had been too busy to consistently visit Rotxo at the ally stronghold. Kiri didn’t like it, and truly wished she could drop everything and fly back, but she had responsibilities to the people she couldn’t just ignore, and she was sure Rotxo would understand that.
Still, just because she hadn’t been visiting in person didn’t mean she was in the dark about his condition. Whenever Norm would pop up on the island, he’d give her a quick update about how he was doing, he was apparently now able to stand up and walk around with only the need of his cane, and he was finally able to eat solid food again. That part excited Kiri the most, because seeing Rotxo stick thin had probably been the most horrific part about this entire incident. From what she was told, he was improving, and simply knowing that made her want to give thanks to Eywa every second of the day.
Kiri was in the Tsahìk marui with Ronal, who had Pril strapped to her chest, quietly snoozing as they worked. With Tsireya busy giving a free diving lesson to the kids, Ronal had asked Kiri to assist her that day, considering she was Tsakarem of the Omatikaya, something Kiri happily obliged. She was grinding herbs into a clay bowl while Ronal stacked circular crystal plates on top of each other. Kiri had always admired the headstrong woman, she almost couldn’t believe that not too long after having a baby and getting shot in the arm, Ronal was right back to her Tsahìk duties, even when everyone told her to rest or take some time off. That was just Ronal though, the iron woman, who couldn’t stand back if Tonowari begged her on his knees to.
The older woman then turned to look at Kiri, “have you received any updates on Rotxo’s condition from that sky man?”
Kiri nodded, “yes Tsahìk, he says he is walking now, it won’t be long until he’s back home.”
“I cannot wait, their poison is slowing down his recovery,” Ronal spat, causing Kiri to giggle, “if he was home I would have put him on remedies that would have had him walking over a month ago.”
“Let’s cut them some slack, Tsahìk,” Kiri said with a knowing smile, “their surgery is the reason he’s still with us, so they can’t be entirely useless.”
Ronal rolled her eyes, moving to put the plates away, “and for that, I am eternally grateful, but their methods are archaic at best, they do not yield good results for long term recovery. Like that silly substance they had your stupid mother on during her injury, had I not switched to my herbs she would have never been able to shoot an arrow again.”
Normally, people get quite irritated when someone insults their mother, but Kiri instead shook her head with a small giggle, knowing the two’s complicated relationship. She looked at Ronal’s arm, the spot where the bullet wound had been replaced by a pale scar, “well, considering the pace he’s going, it won’t be long until he’s back home, then you can begin his true na’vi recovery.”
The Metkayina Tsahìk shook her head, muttering something to do with the word snark before Pril began to fuss. She sighed, freeing her hands so she could place one her head and the other over the small infant’s little body, mumbling soothing words so she didn’t begin to scream her tiny lungs out, “I have to remember to bring Pril to Pulla later, for therapy.”
“Therapy?” Kiri then said curiously, her head tilting to the side, “why?”
Ronal let off a small sigh, her ears falling, “during that battle, Pulla lost her husband, Wetama… she suffered a miscarriage soon after.”
Kiri’s hand shot up to her mouth, “oh my goodness, that’s horrible!”
“It is,” Ronal quietly replied, continuing to soothe her baby, “understandably, it has left her utterly broken, her and Wetama were so in love, they were so excited for their third child… it pains me to see my friend in such a state… luckily, it seems spending time with Pril has been helping her cope, so every two days or so I drop her off and allow her to have her for the day, her smile is beginning to return, and that makes me happy… I just hope she can find it in her to be strong for Aunyen at least, and that Zävan can settle into being the guidance she needs.”
Kiri could only nod, wow, losing a father and an unborn sibling… she knew her and Zävan weren’t on the best of terms at the moment, in fact they hadn’t even spoken since that fateful afternoon, and for a while she blamed him for what happened to Rotxo, and yet she wouldn’t wish that sort of pain on her worst enemy. Kiri promised herself that if she ever crossed paths with him again, she would give him her condolences, and perhaps even ask to begin again on a clean slate.
The two continued to work quietly, resigning to their own thoughts when soon the sound of footsteps began getting closer to the marui. It was then when Tsireya popped her head through the entrance, and before the two could ask what she wanted or why she was away from the kids, she happily announced, “Tìlor! Tìlor is approaching the island, and Rotxo is on her back! He is back!”
Tsireya disappeared as quickly as she arrived, and the two inside shared a gasp, before practically dropping everything and running out. They made their way to the beach side, and by the time they had arrived, Tìlor had already landed, with a familiar reef boy by her side. One of his arms, his left one, was still bandaged up and held in a cast, and he still had bandages around his torso, his non-bandaged parts of his body revealed half-healed stitches and his entire body was scarred. His hair was longer, clearly not having the time to trim it while bedbound and in his right hand he held a crutch — oh, Ronal was definitely going to replace that with a more traditional cane.
Kiri’s eyes widened with joy as she saw Rotxo happily chatting with and greeting those who came to see him, and she quickly made her way over, with Ronal close behind. See, Kiri had been so excited to see him, that she hadn’t taken the time to notice how he was now a head above Tìlor, who still hadn’t left the subadult stage yet, or the fact that Ao’Nung, who was right next to him, only seemed to reach the boy’s shoulder. In fact, it only became clear how… tall he had gotten when she was finally close enough to close the distance, and once she was, her heart fell when it sank in…
She had to look up at him.
Rotxo perked when he noticed Kiri approaching, and smiled happily, turning to her. Her opened his free arm, pulling her into a hug after waddling over, “Kiri! Oh stars, it’s so good to see your face again! I missed you so much!”
Instead of proclaiming how reciprocated the feeling was, Kiri could only quietly hug back. Not only was he taller, but that wasn’t her Rotxo’s voice, her Rotxo’s voice was honey-like, mellow with an awkward crack occasionally. This… oddly deep voice couldn’t be him! However, that ikran tattoo on his neck and shoulder was a dead giveaway. Kiri was in shock, how could this have happened? He’d been hospital bound attached to an IV for months, where did he get the nutrients for a voice break and a growth spurt!
Perhaps it was odd, most girls wouldn’t complain that their boyfriend got taller and his voice got deeper, but granted, Kiri wasn’t like most girls so she was sure she could get a pass.
When she pulled back, Kiri placed her hands on his shoulders, “woah, you’ve… changed, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, let me tell you, stronghold hospitals are not for the weak, I hope I never have to do that again!”
She giggled, finding amusement in that wonky smile she missed so much, “hold on, your eye…”
Rotxo pointed at it, his left eye was open, but the sclera was tinted red, and the pupil and iris were entirely greyed out, “oh this? Yeah, I’m blind out of this eye now, the bullet went through here,” he pointed at the corner of his eye, “and they managed to get it out, but it did… something, I didn't pay attention, but it's got cataracts now, but apparently even without the cataracts I’d still be blind out of this eye so it’s whatever.”
“Damn,” Ao’Nung then interjected, “anything else we ought to know?”
The injured boy shrugged, “oh, um, I’ve got… look, I dunno all the fancy sky people words, but my motor skills are permanently altered, so I’m gonna have a hard time with physical stuff for the rest of my life, and my nerves are all messed up to, so I’m gonna have to deal with really bad migraines and might even have seizures occasionally. The entire left side of my body is less mobile than my right, and then there’s other stuff I forgot.”
“Well, at least you’re alive!” Tsireya happily cheered, pulling him in for a hug while being mindful of his injuries.
It was then when Ronal stepped forward, causing Kiri and Tsireya to step back for her. The older woman walked up to the boy, looking him up and down before immediately going in for a hug. Neither said a word, Ronal had never been a woman of many words anyway, it didn’t matter. She took the time to caress his back, take a sniff of his shoulder, to truly appreciate the fact that he was standing in front of her at that very moment.
“Never scare me like that again,” she said quietly.
Rotxo nodded, “I’m sorry, Tsahìk."
After a few minutes, she finally pulled back, and Rotxo looked down at the little bundle strapped to her chest, “you had the baby?”
Ronal nodded, finally smiling, “her name is Pril.”
“She’s so sweet— oh, let me back off, she’s still sleeping.”
“Come with me,” Ronal then ordered, “to the marui, I must get you out of this nonsense for some true healing, and perhaps when Pril awakens you can introduce yourself to her.”
Rotxo didn’t have the chance to disagree, because as Ronal said that she already turned around to make her way back. With a chuckle, he angled his crutch and began stepping forward, having to navigate how to walk with it in sand. Luckily, he had Kiri right by his side every step of the way, just as she had promised. As long as things were this way, Rotxo knew he never had to worry ever again.