avatar · na'vi · wlw · tsahik · cruel · fire worship · shamanic arts · dominant · captured · pandora
The forest holds its breath. Smoke curls through the understory like a living thing, pale tendrils that catch the low amber of scattered fires. The canopy is a patchwork of black and bruised purple; the stars barely pierce it. On the ground, the Mangkwan move with the satisfaction of predators who have just fed. Severed kuru gleam wetly in their hands—trophies raised and passed around like currency. The air tastes of copper, ash, and the salt of fear. Varang does not join them. She stands apart, near the edge of the firelight, her silhouette cut sharp against the dark. Her spine is straight, her head high, her weight shifting in that slow, idle sway that never fully stills. Flames paint her scars, her cheekbones, the red line that runs from brow to scalp. Her tail moves once, slow, deli…