Chapter Text
It's been three days. He's been a Sarentu for three whole days, yet he didn't feel like one. He was keeping something from the ones closest to him, and he didn't know how to deal with it. A sort of grief he hasn't felt in a very long time.
He was known to be the silent, reserved type who acted first and explained later. But right now, he just wanted to jump onto his Ikran and fly all the way to the plains to yell about his feelings to his newfound family.
At the same time, he understood that that wouldn't be a great idea if he didn't want half the clan to turn on him.
So, his only solution to that problem was trying to make someone understand without revealing too much, not yet. He didn't know what the reactions would be. Can he even prove it happened? Will Ri'nela, keen on keeping the clan together, lie about it, pretend Nor never did anything?
This fear… he felt like a coward. But being honest with himself, he'd rather feel like a coward now than live the rest of his life with guilt nipping at him at all times of the day, all while he acts like the high and mighty Dog-tag Warrior.
This fear.
He didn't want to be alone again.
"…Tamtey, I have a bad feeling about Nor… I think you should keep an eye on him." That was the first thing he muttered to the young Sarentu fighter after he and the others left for the Heart of the Plains to inform the Zeswa of what happened back in the Kinglor Forest. They haven't even been gone for a day.
"Is anything wrong?" Tamtey would ask back, and So'lek would have to explain a bit more than he would want.
"He's… He's been acting strange ever since they took you. Not listening to my orders, doing whatever he wants. I don't think he's going to change just because you are back… Just be aware." So'lek didn't really feel any better now. But at least he warned the other before anything bad could happen.
Still, it felt like not enough.
The next call came only a few hours after the first one. This time initiated by Tamtey. It was mostly about the Zeswa and how they've been doing since the Mangkwan started their alliance with the RDA. So'lek was silent for the better half of the conversation, waiting for Tamtey to tell him that Nor has attacked someone for being friendly to the humans, or something akin to that. But it never happened.
He's been losing sleep the past few days. Over something that might not even happen, but who is to say that Nor won't choose to betray more of their allies? It was a horrible feeling, but there wasn't much he could do about it outside of warning Tamtey.
"And a few people from the resistance are here, Teylan called them, and they were nearby, so they came and are at camp with us."
It was like a dagger into his gut. Those people are in danger; he needs to save them. But at the same time, he doesn't want to scare Tamtey.
"I talked to Priya, and she said that she's been trying to contact Alma, but she couldn't, so we're looking into how far the comms reach right now." Tamtey continued, unaware of the inherent danger of having those people around Nor. On the other side, So'lek shuddered at every name uttered. Eywa… He cannot even begin to think of how he's going to break the news of their deaths to the other Sarentu. He assumed that he would not care much for Alma, but the others? They were innocent in all of this.
"That is great. But could you please make sure Nor isn't left alone with any of them? Or even better, not having him be alone for too long either." He sounded almost desperate in his request.
"…" Tamtey did not reply for a while, So'lek's ear only filled with the buzz of the machine.
"So'lek… Did something happen while I was gone? You seem… You don't sound like yourself." Tamtey caught on quickly… unfortunately for So'lek.
"He did things that I do not want him to repeat. The only reason he did them was because he wasn't being watched over closely enough. Those people are not safe around him." So'lek was trying his hardest to come up with a plan on how to keep those last few people alive, but he also did not want to tell Tamtey of what happened at the Safehouse; that conversation was to happen between two pairs of eyes.
"…Should I do something?" A tinge of fear tainted Tamtey's voice.
"Just keep them separate for today, go rest and call me tomorrow… I'll think of something." With that, So'lek ended the call, trying to calm himself down by walking over to Íley and petting him for a long while.
The crackling of the fire behind him, the soft purring of Íley, or even the soft sound of the breeze rustling through the leaves weren't enough to calm his nerves. He had to think of something, and he had to do it now.
He had not slept a wink that night, mainly so he could figure out what to do with the situation he had found himself in, but also because he was dreading a call that would never come. The whole night, he couldn't help but assume that just the next second, he's going to get a call from someone and be told that all their allies are dead and that Nor has been rampaging and killing anything in sight.
So'lek didn't understand why he was so fearful for everyone's lives out of nowhere. Maybe it just naturally comes from the years and years of bad things happening to him, people who hurt him once coming back for seconds. All the death he's witnessed, and yet the one he fears will attack is the one that he's supposed to call family.
He wonders how Ri'nela is taking this. She's quick to forgive and take the blame, but surely she has to see the danger Nor poses, not only to the people but to Tamtey and Teylan. Those two were more keen on using metal, Teylan specifically, even if he's on a journey to become more Na'vi-like.
And suddenly, each second he did not get a call, his mind started to wander further. What if something happened, and that's why he hasn't been called yet…
No, he has to calm down.
So'lek walks over to Íley and bonds with him, not to fly, but to hopefully let the Ikran's thoughts invade his own mind. He needs something simple, like the feeling of hunger and the want to stretch his wings.
It works for a little bit, but his own thoughts take over like a large shadow looming over a pond of crystal clear water, making it look dull and lifeless.
He jumps up on Íley, hoping that losing the feeling of his own body touching the ground will help him feel closer to the animal. Soon they take flight and almost free-fall all the way down to the nearest lake so Íley can catch something to eat.
There was a moment where he could truly believe he and Íley were one, but it wasn't enough; the thoughts kept coming back like a wave of arrows piercing his body anytime he dared to move. Dread, all he could feel was dread, and it made him feel weak.
He's the dog tag warriors for Eywa's sake; he's downed so many men, so much machinery, even his fellow Na'vi. But the thought of his family getting hurt… hurt again was too much to bear.
His own emotional turmoil has started rubbing off on Íley, who began almost frantically accelerating, running away from nothing. So'lek chose to carry the burden of those thoughts alone once more. Jumping off the Ikran and feeling his own body, they were more pervasive than ever.
…
Beep Beep Beep
The comm lit up. The calm singing of the forest around him was muted by the overbearing, sharp noise coming from the machine.
He accepted the call, trying to calm his voice.
"Nor and Ri'nela just went on a hunt, so I assumed now was the best time to call you." Tamtey's voice was the thing he needed to hear the most right now. Like the finest 'umtsa for his wounds.
"Are you alone?" So'lek said in his usual deep voice, a bit calmer knowing that nothing went wrong through the night. But he would lie if he said that "Nor," being the first word of that sentence, didn't scare him.
"Um… No? Should I be?" Tamtey said, a little voice crack could be heard coming through the comm, and So'lek could help but smile at it. He missed talking to the other. Missed all of his strange Sky people mannerisms.
"It would be better, yes."
"Okay… give me a moment…"
"…" His ear was once more filled with that buzz, like a swarm of Stagfly Ants.
"I'm alone now." Broke the silence, yet the background noise somehow persisted. So'lek wished they could speak in person.
"I thought about it, and I do not trust Nor to not do something that would hurt this operation. I need you to get those humans as far away from the camp as you can. Move them while he's not around and do not speak of where they are to anyone…" So'lek explained, feeling as if this was truly the only way to keep everyone safe.
"So'lek, I really don't like this… I feel like you're hiding something away from me." Tamtey was right to assume as much. He was always perceptive to many things, it was almost strange he did not notice Nor turn more violent. Even more strange was that he hadn't started suspecting something had happened to the missing humans.
"I will tell you when the time is right. Now, you have to get those people to safety, and we can talk then. Can you do that for me, ma Tamtey?"
The comm fell silent just for a little bit, and for some reason, So'lek already expected the worst. Tamtey definitely won't do it until he has a solid reason-
"I'll do it. But you have to promise you'll tell me everything… every little detail." Tamtey replied; that usual fire he used to have before his imprisonment was back, almost burning So'lek through the comm.
"Of course."