Chapter Text
Sun softly grazed Lo'ak's eyes as he woke up, met with his wrists in front of him that were covered in fading or fresh scars. He got up to see his family all huddled together, everyone except Neteyam. It's been around half a cycle since his death. The grief had slowly become more manageable and his family had started to contribute again to the Metkayina clan.
He slowly went to the outside of the mauri, the sunlight hitting him dead on which made him wince. He covered his eyes with a hand as he saw the sea glisten with every wave. He sat down and looked at the sand, he was turning 15 today. He and Neteyam had planned to go to the top of one of the highest trees in the forest. Then they would drink to celebrate the year he would pass his dream hunt. Yet there seems to be a change as they are thousands of miles away from the forest and Neteyam is too far deep in the ocean.
Lo'ak snapped out of a trance he never knew he got into when he heard someone getting up. He looked behind to see his father groggily getting up, stretching his arms. Jake made eye contact with Lo'ak as he got up from the pile. "Hey kid, go back to sleep. We don't have anything to do today." Jake said as he leaned by the entrance of the mauri. Lo'ak stumbled up, went past his father, and went back into the empty corner. He curled up against himself and wrapped his arms around himself. Jake watched him through the corner of his eye, a frown shown as he looked back to the outside.
Lo'ak stared at the wall of the mauri, thinking about the interaction. Maybe they forgot? Would they? It was his time to start training into an adult, maybe Mom would remind him about it later. His mind had slowly started to fall back asleep and he let out a little sigh when he closed his eyes.
He woke up later to his family being almost finished with breakfast, he watched from afar at how happy they looked without him. He slowly crept outside and wasn't surprised that they never realized. He was zoning out as he didn't mind the burning sand and only realized when he felt the cold water touch his toes.
He hesitated but eventually started to go into the water, calling for an ilu once he was waist-deep. An ilu came and they quickly went off to see Payakan. Lo'ak detached from his ilu and went to hold on to one of Payakan's fins, " Hey Bro, How are you?" Lo'ak says. Payakan yipped as a bit of water came out of his breathing hole. 'Good, The pod has started to accept me more. How about you? How's your day going?'.Lo'ak hesitates before going on and saying, " I think I'll be okay, so tell me more about the pod?". It was obvious he didn't want to talk about the morning.
'Are you sure-' "Yes, don't worry about it." Payakan slowed down. 'You can talk to me Lo'ak, I'm your brother!' Lo'ak's eyes widened as he slowly started to get on top of the tulkun. He took a breath in and said, " It's my birthday today.". Payakan yipped shortly before asking, 'Why didn't you tell me? In no time you will be getting your ceremonial tattoos!' he swayed side to side. It seems Payakan had realized his sad expression, 'Why are you so sad?'. " They forgot." Payakan let out a small wail. ' How could they forget? You're there-'" No, never mind it's fine. I just want to spend time with you right now." Payakan stayed still for a second before continuing to swim and talk with Lo'ak again.
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Lo'ak shook off some water once he was back on the sand. The sun was starting to set and he didn't want to get yelled at again for being out too long. He started to walk to his mauri only to be met by his dad waiting for him. "Hey Kid, clean up a bit we're going over to Tonowari's Mauri for dinner." He nodded and passed by him, going into the corner and taking out a reflective piece of sea glass to look at himself. He was fixing a few braids that were out of place and wiping off any debris that got on his face. He didn't know how but he accidentally dropped the sea glass, leaving drops of blood starting to form from the cut. Lo'ak didn't hiss but just stared at it before trying to wipe it away with a nearby cloth.
It slowly started to stop, " Lo'ak! Let's get going!" his father said as he started to go towards the entrance of the mauri. Lo'ak followed and slowly hid in the back of his family. They soon got to the mauri and sat down where told to, Lo'ak sitting by Tsyriea with his head pointed down. He got pushed on the shoulder by Kiri, when he looked up he saw Kiri giving him a look that clearly said to be respectful. He straightened his posture and focused on the conversation at hand.
“So, are you ready to start your training tomorrow Lo’ak?”, The Tsahìk says after she sees him come back from zoning out. Everyone stares at her confused. “ What do you mean? He hasn’t reached the age requirement to start the training.”. Neytiri had said as she put down her grilled fish. Ronal looked at her and said, “ Here 15 is the age to start training for our rite of passage.”. “He isn’t 15 yet?” Jake had budged in, Lo’ak wished he never tuned into this conversation. His ears narrowed as theirs went against his head, he looked down and tried to focus on the floor.
“Lo’ak, wasn’t today the celebration of a new cycle for you?”, Ronal had said and he went blank. He couldn’t stand the attention and he felt like such a disappointment for no reason. He had got up quickly and left the hut quickly, his hands clenching his braids as he went to the ocean. He heard voices talking to him and his father yelled out for him with a sigh as he saw that he wasn’t coming back.
“What day is it today Neytiri?”, Jake asks.
“It’s the 24th day of-“, Neytiri gasps as she realizes, soon every one of the Sullys understood.
They forgot Lo’ak’s Birthday.