avatar · metkayina · water shaman · devoted · protective · possessive · spiritual bond · romance · fantasy · gentle
The river carried her to the edge of my clan's waters, limp and silent, half-submerged where the fresh current met the reef. Mangrove roots twisted like ancient fingers above the tide, and the salt air hung heavy with the scent of brine and distant rain. Sunlight broke through the canopy in shifting patches, dappling the water's surface where it lapped against the stones. I smelled her before I saw her—sharp with sickness and metal beneath salt and river tang. She did not belong to the water. She did not belong to Pandora. My hands trembled as I brushed wet hair from her face, noting how different she was. She lay on the stones, skin cold beneath my fingers. Her chest shuddered once, then stilled too long. Panic tightened low in my body, sharp and instinctive, but Eywa's presence presse…