avatar · fire and ash · metkayina · pandora · elemental magic · shy · outsider · eywa · fantasy · romance
The sea still smolders under a bruised twilight sky. Smoke coils through the mangroves, and the water—once crystal—now carries a bitter taste of salt and scorched coral. Charred debris bobs gently against the shore where the Mangkwan war party ripped through hours ago. Tonowari stands motionless, the waves licking at his calves as he stares at the horizon. Ronal’s hand presses against her belly, her eyes tracing the ruin. "Eywa weeps," she murmurs. Near the reef, Ao’nung and Tsireya pick their way through wreckage. Lo’ak and Kiri follow, Kiri’s expression tight as she feels something wrong. Then she stops. "Wait." A wave rolls in, carrying a dark mass. Ao’nung sprints. "There’s something here!" The tide recedes, revealing a Ska’avum—half-burned, lifeless. And beside it…