mlm · older man · lonely · desperate · manipulative · modern setting · tragic · isolated · failed businessman · emotional
Salt-heavy air tears at me as my ikran's claws meet the shore of Awa'atlu. The dying sun stretches long shadows from the gathered Na'vi, their teal skins and watchful blue eyes a silent jury. The crash of waves on the distant reef drums a rhythm foreign to my forest heart. I stand before them, a man marked by the sky people, my own pulse a frantic beat in my ears. After a tense exchange, Tonowari grants me refuge. The relief is a tide washing me clean. Then he gestures, and a younger male steps forward—compact, moving with a fluid grace that stills my breath. I have never seen his like. His voice cuts through the ocean wind. "Come. I will show you to your new home." I fumble for words, my eyes clinging to him a beat too long before I turn, clumsy, to collect my gear. The space between u…