chapter 3

                                    

                                          

They ran up to the clearing, Swiriya pushing Kiri in infront of her, the girl going in to hug their mother.
"Kiri! What happened?" 
"They took spider-" she broke, father going in to try his best to comfort her.
Swiriya nodded at her parents, confirming spiders fate.
"He's a strong kid, he'll be alright" her father comforted the girl, Swiriya looking around at her other siblings, walking up to Tuk, falling to her knees to match the small girl's height.
"Tuk are you hurt?"
"No- im scared Swivie" her lip trembled
"Oh Tuk-" Swiriya was a warrior, a hardened one, but when she heard the pure primal fear in her littlest sister's voice her shell broke, hugging the girl tightly, letting her little hands hook around her neck, her miniscule tears falling onto Swiriya's shoulder like waves hitting the shore. 
...
She sat, a bitter expression on her face, aggressively carving figures out of wood as she listened to her parents argue in the next pod over, she knew she would get flamed for this, for leaving, it wasn't her fault, what could have possessed them to go alone?
No.
The more you think about it, the more it will come crashing down. She dared not to listen to the words her parents lightly shouted at each other, her ears folding down as she heard her mothers raspy voice, begging her father to stay in the forest.
They had decided to leave, she wasn't privy to that information, but she could hear it in her mothers voice, her shouts informing her that father wants to leave, to protect her siblings.
But what of her? What would happen to her? She thought, if father ran, what would happen to her, her status, the title she has fought for and trained for for 19 years?
Would they forget her, throw the ceremonial shoulder piece onto her and fly off, or would they drag her along, making years worth of training useless in one fell swoop, neither choice left her very happy, she gripped the knife that laid in her left hand, her right having a piece of wood she had been hacking away at, making figures for Tuk, she shook her head, leaning back to lay against the smooth woven fabric of the pod she was sitting in.
Her parents left their pod, she heard their light footsteps heading up to where her siblings were supposed to be, but Swiriya chuckled, knowing they were listening in.
"We're leaving?" asked Tuk, giving away their positions.
"Oh Tuk.." whispered her mother, making Swiriya step out of her own Pod.
"Yes, we are, we will be leaving in a few days, say bye to everyone."
Her father confidently said, finally catching sight of her. Her siblings eyes all widened, even Neteyams, trying to argue as they could but father shushed them, turning his eyes to Swiriya fully.
"Swiriya, you are an adult, what is your choice?"
"What?" Swiriya uttered, speechless at her fathers choice words
"We are leaving, whether you want to leave with us is your choice."
"What happens if I stay..?"
"You will take on the title of Olo'eyktan, your training intensifying to prepare you fully"
"And if i leave?"
"You leave with us, you give your status and title off to someone else, joining us in the reef clan."
Swiriya looked down at her palms, them betraying her, shaking ever so slightly, she looked at her family.
"I- i dont- you can't ask this-"
Her siblings didn't speak up, all four of them staying quiet, dealing with it on their own terms.
"Swiriya, choose. Please" the soft tone of those last words didn't sound like her father, not anymore.
"This is my life- i've been training, gruelling away for this my entire life i can't just-" her strong voice gave away for a voice crack at the end.
her eyes shutting closed so hard her young face showed wrinkles.
"I'm not asking you to come along with us, just asking you to make the choice."
Those final words felt like acid, like black tar dripping onto her head and running down her neck.
How she wished to return to childhood, easy life moving along with the wind on the trees, the animals following her, some in peace some in hunger, then came her teenage years, military training putting the gentle butterfly into a jar along with a cynical alligator, the millitary training leaving barely anything to fall back on, leaving only drills and codes engraved in her once nature entrapped mind.
"Im staying" the pained and shocked gasp that left her mothers throat, as she leaned her head into her fathers shoulder.
Swiriya's eyes turned to stone, looking up to make tears that dared escape run back into her eyes.
"If i have a choice, i'm staying, this has been my home for 19 years, the forest is my home, the only thing on my mind since i turned 11 has been becoming good enough for the people, i'm sorry, i have to stay." she looked to the ground, at her green fabric bound heels and the tiny tattoo barely visible coming to life on her ankle.
"Swiriya-" Neteyam spoke up.
"I'm sorry baby brother, I have to. 
For the people"
In that one short phrase she made it audible she was Neytiri's daughter, as hard as those words lay on her heart she knew deep down even if it wasn't what she full heartedly wanted, the people needed her, and every good leader needs to make sacrifices, her own father taught her that.


This has been in the works for a while! ive been procrastinating finishing enough chapters to publish for a while but it is official! bug collector is out! 
i hope people who read tiftangled will enjoy this, if not im sorry, and i hope for however long i'll continiue writting this will be incredibly fun!


-eb