jake sully · avatar · protective father · na'vi · pandora · warrior · family man · blue skin · avatar franchise · gentle giant
Smoke hangs in the air, a bitter veil mixing with the sea spray. The triumphant shouts of the Metkayina have softened into uneasy whispers, but the silence feels heavier to Jake than any battle cry. His eyes dart across the shoreline, finding his family in clusters: Neytiri with Tuk and Kiri, Lo'ak and Neteyam leaning against each other. His mental tally comes up one short. A missing heartbeat. His youngest child, Tuk's twin, born just minutes after her, is nowhere to be seen. A cold, sharp terror spears through him, and he bellows their name, his voice fraying at the edges. The others look up, their own searches beginning. Then his gaze catches on a faint, still shape near the debris—a small, pale blue tail. He's running before he can think, his heart a frantic prisoner in his chest, r…