remember when i said i would take the updates slow bc of the holiday? yeah fuck that here's another one

They must have lost track of time, as Fei and Neteyam were sleeping soundly on the sand cuddled up. Shouts were heard from afar.

As Kiri rounded the clearing, Tuk in tow, she widened her eyes at the sight of them. "Oh, shit."

That was when Tonowari and Jake had seen them over her shoulder.

That was how the pair ended up standing in the middle of their Marui awkwardly, getting shamed and scolded.

"How long has this been going on?" Tonowari demanded, pointing a finger at both of them. "Huh? When?"

Neteyam opened his mouth to answer, but Fei cut in. "Earlier. A little after they first got here."

Ronal paced from behind her mate. She had a scowl on her face. "First, you bring your dream to me again. You yell and disrespect, and then you do this!" She gestured to the pair. "I raised you better than this!"

Fei bit her tongue to hold in her words. 

"If I may," Jake spoke from the corner of the room. Neytiri grabbed his arm and gave him a worried look, which he dismissed. "Neteyam is responsible. He would never hurt your daughter, never."

Tonowari turned his head to glare at the boy. "Is this true?"

He nodded, looking right back in his eyes.

Ronal grabbed the man's shoulder and shoved a finger in his face. "You are too kind. That boy," she pointed to him. "Is of alien blood. He is not true Na'vi."

Neytiri hissed at the woman. Tension in the room was high as Fei shared a look with Neteyam.

The man sighed and rubbed her pregnant belly. "Ronal, they love each other." He mumbled. Tonowari glanced back at his daughter, a cold and distant look in her eyes. He huffed. "We cannot control that, you must let it go."

While the two were in a hushed conversation, Jake crept up to his son. "So, uh," He scratched the back of his neck. "How did this happen?" He gestured to the pair.

Fei crossed her arms. "He was being stupid. I almost killed him."

Jake shared a knowing glance with Neytiri. They had been a little too much like the couple. "Well," he muttered.

It was her turn to confront the young girl. Neytiri stepped forward and poked Fei's forehead. "Strong mind, strong heart, strong will." She could not be angry. It wasn't in her blood. No, she had seen the way the two complimented each other.

They were whole when together. Before Eywa, they were in love. She could not do anything about it.

Ronal turned around, tense from the situation. She rubbed a hand on her belly and glared at Fei. She got a blank stare back.

"You will not see each other again." Tonowari finalized. 

Jake's eyes widened. "Woah, woah, woah, we never agreed on that,"

"We don't have to." He looked over Ronal, who nodded. "It is not good for Fei to entangle with a foreigner. It will not be allowed." He was the next one to receive the blank stare from Fei'uey. He turned his attention to the ground.

"No." Neytiri refused. She stalked up to Ronal, who she had not been fond of while they stayed on the island. "No, you cannot make that choice for them. They have to agree."

"Fei'uey cannot make choices, she is but a child."

Those words managed to hurt the girl even more. She had passed the stage of child years ago when she had to grow up quickly as the future chief. She glanced over a the boy next to her, a frown on her face.

His knuckles grazed hers. It was close enough to holding hands without really doing it.

Neytiri hissed. "A child is young and ignorant! If you truly paid attention to your daughter, you would truly see her! She is fit to lead and make her own decisions!" She had felt the urge to protect the girl, despite not being her real daughter.

"You speak like you know more-"

"-Enough!" Tonowari ended their dispute.

Fei clenched her jaw. "I make my own decisions." Eyes were on her now. "I have learned everything so I can lead this mighty island." Her words cut like knives and were as strong as stone. "I know what I am doing. I know what I have done. You can send me across the ocean. You can banish and torture me, but never tell me what to do when it comes to my happiness."

The final straw. Fei had officially broken off of her mother. It was like a block of ice, floating away. Ronal was suddenly held back from Tonowari, who had put a hand on her shoulder and stepped in front of her.

Neteyam only stared at Fei. He had seen her closed off, broken, weak. Now, she was strong in my her mind and her heart. She had grown. A diamond formed under pressure. He couldn't help but love her even more in that moment.

"I will set you up with a warrior from this village." The mother pushed the man away. She jabbed a finger in the girl's face, sick of her attitude. "You will mate by tomorrow, it is final. I will not allow you to continue seeing this boy. I don't care!"

Neteyam suddenly shifted under the woman's gaze. The way both of the teenagers clammed up and looked to the ground told everything. Ronal's narrowed brows lifted up slowly as she understood what had happened.

Her eyes went wide, as did Tonowari's.

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit.

Off to the side, Neytiri reached for Jake's hand, putting her free one lightly over her open mouth. He couldn't help but feel like Grace in that moment, the day he came back to Hometree, hand in hand with his mate when it had been announced.

There was a tense silence that enveloped the group. It was deafening as Fei waited for their response. The thing she had been worrying about and evading for as long as possible. 

For some reason, she did not feel shame under their gaze. Their judgmental eyes. She felt complete, like she had nothing to worry about in the first place. Fei held her head high under the wrath of her mother.

The woman had started to shout, marching up to her unflinching daughter until Tonowari pushed her back, away from doing the girl harm. He tried to explain for her to calm down, but she only saw a blinding rage.

Fei'uey held her head high. This was but her first battle. She must stand her ground and conquer. 

Neteyam grabbed her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles. She did not even give him a glance, keeping her eyes trained on her mother's. The woman had to learn the resilience of her eldest daughter.

Fei was not an empty shell. She had so much life, it spilled out of her body. But that life, it had been built with unnecessary barriers and barricades, never letting anything in or out. Once they came crashing down, fate sealed by the searing first kiss she shared with Neteyam, she had learned the one thing you can't:

Walls are not needed for a soul made of steel.

As she stood there, ears ringing as she tuned out all noise, the corners of her lips perked up. It was a small smile, but it made Ronal pause at the sight. Her efforts were pointless.

For once, Fei'uey had become her own person. A great warrior, a leader, and a lover. Her own name that would be heard by every Na'vi in every clan.

Outside, a shadow moved away from the Marui, lifting their ear away from the tent wall. Having heard enough, they ran away.

IT'S TIMEEEEEE i'm so in love with fei this chapter like slay pussy queen

anyways, i posted this on my announcements but like nobody saw (i think) but WE GOT 100K READS ON THIS SHIT!!! WTF i swear it's like something is changing in my brain chemistry.

does anyone want a spider socorro fic? like one person responded when i announced it and asked