LOG-011."She claims to be Tsahìk of her clan, honoured one. The Kyra'meta."The words weren't exactly subtle, and likely weren't meant to be, as the older woman shooed away the warrior who had come up and whispered at her. Wizened eyes instead turned to stare at me, the sound of Alfa gently being herded back managing to pound in my ears as Mo'at approached.I was well and truly surrounded now. There would be no escape if this turned bad, which is why I needed to make sure it didn't. Still, the silence continued as the Na'vi matriarch inspected me, before slowly stepping forward, her head tilting as I felt myself be picked apart. Raising my hand, I allowed my fingers to just barely brush my forward, the limb extending out towards my fellow healer in a more personal greeting."I see you, Tsahìk of the Omatikaya."The inspection paused for a moment, Mo'at's eyes narrowing slightly at me, before the woman nodded, bringing up her own hand and mimicking the gesture. "Hm, star clan. I see you, Tsahìk of the Kyra'meta."My shoulders drooped ever so slightly, some amount of tension draining from my body as the elder raised her arm, clicking her fingers and letting out a yelp."All of you! Find something better to do!"Before the hand lowered and pointed towards me, after which it turned and gestured towards a nearby tent-like structure."My husband is out with the hunters. You will speak with me. Come."—My scalp was currently being scrubbed with rainwater and what I was pretty sure was the oil of some kind of dead animal."I have heard distant whispers of the Kyra'meta. An accursed clan, abandoned by Eywa. But only whispers. I know not why you are called cursed, or what your people could have done to earn such a thing."Hunching up my shoulders only earned them a slap from Mo'at, who waited a second before resuming her seemingly randomly assigned ritual of washing my hair."Our…our elders led us astray, before they died. Our home was poisoned. The water we drank was killing us. But Olo'eyktan refused to leave. We continued to take losses, until I was the only one left with any true authority. As Tsahìk, I led the survivors to a place that could save us-"I winced, sentence cut off as rough fingers all but dug into my skull, Mo'at letting out a click as she did so."Desperate times. You claim to be Tsahìk, yet you seem barely older than my eldest daughter. Is there truly no one else left?""I was tsakarem when my mother died. So no, there was no one else left with the knowledge. Just hunters, warriors, a few gatherers and children."The words kept Mo'at silent for a long moment, the only sound filling the tent being the scrubbing of my damned skull, before the older woman sighed."I am sorry for your loss. What is your name?"Closing my eyes as her hands moved from my scalp to the sides of my head, I huffed."Opal. My mother gave me the name for the obvious reason, I think.""Mm. You are rather strange looking.""So I've been told my entire life."The urge to flinch as both of my kuru were grabbed came and went as it always did, the two connector organs presumably being inspected by the Tsahìk behind me."Very, very strange.""Really? I wasn't aware."The sarcasm earned me a light pat to the head from my elder, before she let my kuru fall back to their natural, hanging positions, an amused grunt escaping her throat."Just like my daughter, if paler, and perhaps a little more mature. Look at me."Presumably looking like a soggy wet kitten, I turned and stared at the woman over my shoulder, her golden eyes seemingly doing their best to pierce through my own pearlescent ones."You say you led your clan to safety. You are no longer sick with whatever disease was afflicting you?"Shrugging slightly, I nodded."Yes."Mo'at's eyes narrowed."How."It wasn't a question, and something in my gaze presumably gave her a hint of my hesitation, because the Na'vi reached forward and grabbed at my chin, pulling me closer."What did you do, Opal?"A light hiss involuntarily left my throat, my hand rising up to slap at the limb keeping me in place."You're not my mother, don't take that tone with me!"Perhaps a mistake, perhaps not. Mo'at didn't seem impressed, but she didn't seem angered either, just staring at me, waiting for an answer.My raised hand lowered, instead moving to grab at my other arm as I finally bit the bullet."The…sky people, may or may not have helped us."The words prompted the older Na'vi to rear back slightly, her eyes widening."You would go to them?"Features scrunching up slightly, I glared at her."My people were dying. No clan would harbour or help us. Our home was poisonous. I couldn't fix the issues we were having."It was like a valve had burst open, a slight snarl entering my expression as I leaned forward."Do not dare judge me, Tsahìk of the Omatikaya. Not unless you have held a shaking, dying child in your arms, knowing you could do nothing to help them, and being forced to whisper promises that they would see Eywa and their parents on the other side a dozen times over-!"It all happened too quickly. The sensation of being embraced came before I'd even seen Mo'at move, alongside the feeling of fingers rubbing along my back. The wetness around my eyes was another matter, alongside the heaving sobs that wracked through my trembling frame."Quiet now, Opal. You have told me enough for the moment."It was all together too much. Especially considering the last time someone had hugged me while I cried, it had been my own mother.And so I sobbed into my fellow Tsahìk's shoulder, trembling within her embrace like the fucking child I was.I couldn't be sure when sleep came, but it eventually did. And for the first time in a long time, I actually felt safe, strangely enough.