liii. let go of me my dear sister
╰ avatar: the way of water

Odessa was beyond her normal state of mind. Too much had happened in the recent hours that she wasn't sure what to do. ( between lo'ak being deemed missing then found, her youngest daughter crying to sleep because she missed the trees, kiri expressing how she felt in her heart and soul ) So, when Tsireya has shyly stepped towards her and asked if she would accompany them to the cove of the ancestors, she agreed and kissed Neytiri goodbye for the time being.

"We are here." Tsireya announced, "This is the cove of the ancestors, our most sacred place. Eclipse is the best time of day to be here."

By the time the sun had fully set, and the moon took its place, leaving only a small amount of light visible, the group had made it deep into the cove of the ancestors. Unlike the tree in the forest where Odessa had once called her home, this tree was submerged underneath the water and held a much more luminescent view to it.

She unmounted her ilu, waiting until the children had slid of theirs before she dove underneath the surface of the water. She used the breathing techniques Tuk had been so excited to show her. Unsure on what to do — if she should wait or connect her queue to the tree. One of the Metkayina children nodded, gesturing for her to connect her queue. So she did and she  felt the sensation she loved so much run through her body. She boy closed her eyes gently, feeling herself being sucked in just like she had all those times before when she was apart of the avatar program.

A white light flashed before her closed eyes, like all the times before. She left her surroundings change; she was no longer submerged in the water but dry as a bone. Her body felt different, weird even, like something that she didn't know.

Home. She was on earth. The smells of the organic herbs her mother grew as a child filled her nostrils. The wallpaper she had torn off her wall after her first breakup was fixed, perfectly plastered. Her finger nails were painted a dark blue, one that had matched her graduation cap and gown. She was in her human body, as weird as it was. Everything was perfect, too perfect.

"Dessie."

Odessa whirled around, her eyes swelling with tears as she faced her twin sister Tessa. It was like looking into a mirror, only she knew the difference between them both. Her sister had more freckles, a perfect smile compared to her own crooked smile, wavy hair and the brightest happiest eyes ever.

"Tess?" Her breathing slowed and she let out a sob as she threw herself at her sister. "Tessa."

Tessa pulled away from her twin after a few minutes of soaking each other in after being apart for the longest of times. She smiled happily as she stepped away, her hand now grasping Odessa's. "Dessie, I've missed you."

"I missed you too, so so much." Odessa wiped her eyes as tears continued to fall. She's gone through so much without her sister, and now she has her. "So much has happened, Tess."

"Tell me all about it." Tessa says as she sits on the floor. The second her hand drops form Odessa's the scene around them changes. "Ahh, the forest of Pandora. It's beautiful."

Odessa blinks, her hands touching the soft grass that she now sits on. She missed the forest, what had become her home for the longest of time. "I missed this, the forest. You would have loved it, Tessa."

"I do love it here." Tessa spoke, her eyes flashing happily as she leaned back and laid against the ground.

"You've been here? You love it here?" Odessa questioned with wide eyes. Her sister died on earth, why would she love it on a whole different world. "Tess?"

"When you first connected to the tree of souls, I woke up. I watched you grow, win a war and start the fight of another, have kids, learn the ways of the water." Tessa paused, unsure as if she wanted to continue. "I have been here every step of the way but I can't do anything but watch. I'm not living anymore, not even though you."

"Tessa..." Odessa sighs, her heart shattering at how broken her twin sister sounded. "I didn't know, I'm so sorry."

"I have a place here in this afterlife like everyone else. But every time something happens in your life, mine stops." Tessa frowns, but she can't stay here any longer. She's hidden away in the tree of souls where her sister has put her in hopes of being able to remember her. Odessa needs to let Tessa go so she can go on with her life, with what she had built. "You have to say goodbye, Dessie."

"Please, no." Odessa sits up, her hand reaching out for her sister. "I don't want to let you go."

"But you can let me go,"

And then everything faded and Odessa is disconnected from the tree of souls.

🌍

Odessa wasted no time in disconnecting her queue and swimming towards her seizing daughter. The dots on her daughter, that all the Na'vi had, flickered until Odessa and Tsireya gently removed her queue from the tree. She wrapped her arms around her daughter gently, kicking her feet up and moving towards the surface. Panic shot through her body as Kiris body stilled.

"What's happening, Mamma?" Tuk peered up at her mother, her small arms wrapped around Neteyam who was visibly concerned at the sight in front of him.

Odessa doesn't answer as she leans done and plugs her daughters nose, breathing a puff of air into her lungs over and over until Kiri coughs up water. She's breathing again, but her eyes stay closed. Panic is still running through her body — it's what she is now running on. That and the want and need to protect and save her daughter.

"Go to the village, go." Tsireyas voice is shaky as she looks from the unconscious Kiri to the shaking Odessa.

Odessa does as she's told, eyes flashing to her son and youngest daughter who cling to each other in the time of pain and panic.

🌍

When Norm and Max arrive to the reefs, Odessa doesn't leave Kiris side to greet them. She doesn't move when they ask her too, nor does she even flinch when they accidentally drop something that makes a loud noise.

"We've got to scan her, Odessa." Jake kneels beside his sister, gently placing his hand on her arm. She moved away, wiping her tears and standing to quickly.

Who she was before and who she is now are two different people. Before she believed in the medical drugs and the scans that humans paid too much money for. Now she believes in the plants, and the prayers that will help those who deserve to be helped.

Her daughter, Kiri, deserved to be helped. She would make sure of it. She would give her own life for her children. She wanted them all to have the best care they could, but she believed differently than her brother.

Which was why she made her way towards Ronal and Tsireya who stood together not to far away.

"Odessa." Tsireya looked up at the woman, a sad smile resting on her face. "How is Kiri?"

"Will you help her." Odessa's voice cracked as she looked to Ronal. She didn't want to pump her daughter full of chemicals she knew Norm and Max had. The plants around them would save her if she was destined to wake up. "Please." 

Ronal agreed, turning on her heals sharply to go and gather what she would need. Tsireya had followed, helping her mother carry everything.

The feelings Odessa were feeling were too much. She felt scared, fear, panic, nervous, mad. But she also felt thankful, hopeful, glad. She's mad at Jake for contacting Norm and Max without her knowledge. She's scared, full or fear and panic for her daughter. Thankful and glad that Ronal was so willing to help Kiri — Odessa thought she would have had to beg the Tsahìk to help heal her child. Hopeful and nervous for what was to come.

Ronal stepped into the Everett pod with Tsireya only a few steps behind her. The older woman wasn't happy to see the human machines tucked away in every space that was available. To her, it was something that was not acceptable and that shouldn't even be in her sight. It made her, the Tsahìk, feel worthless as well.

"I see I am not needed anymore." Ronal spoke, her tone of voice more upset than accusing. She had been asked to come and help Kiri, only for the 'nerds' to be taking over and using their human contraptions to do more harm than good.

"No." Odessa looked towards the woman she had asked to help her daughter. She shook her head; the woman would help Kiri. "You are Tsahìk. You are needed."

"I need all of it removed." Ronal the  stated, her eyes never leaving the child who laid still on the floor of her pod. Her heart clenched in sadness as she sent a small prayer to the great mother.

Odessa nodded and turned towards Jake, Norm and Max. She glared, sharp teeth flashing as she harshly stepped closer. "You heard her, everything out. Now!"

And within minutes everything was far gone and awake from Kiri. It hadn't taken Ronal long to start what she was asked to do. What she had been trained to do. She did everything with a certain magic that Odessa was amazed by. The words Ronal whispered filled the grieving mother with a small hope.

Kiri gasped, filling her lungs with as much air as she could. Her eyes snapped open and she was instantly met with Odessa's tearful face.

Odessa cradled her child, whispering 'thanking you' to the all mother over and over again.

"Mamma." Kiri cried, tears streaming down her face as she buried her head into the shoulder of her adoptive mother.

Kiri was okay. That was all that mattered.