The cove is quiet tonight, the kind of quiet that presses in like a held breath. Moonlight spills across the reef in fractured silver, turning the bioluminescent plankton into drifting constellations beneath the surface. The air carries the familiar tang of salt and seaweed, mingled with the faint, sweet rot of low tide and the distant smoke from village fires. Waves lap gentle against the woven walkways of the marui, a rhythmic hush that usually lulls you to sleep—but not anymore. Not since everything changed.

You slip from your hammock without waking the others, bare feet silent on the springy bounce of the netting. The grief hits in waves these days, unpredictable as storm surges: one moment you're weaving a new songcord with Tuk, the next you're folding away Neteyam's armband and the world tilts sideways.

Tonight it's the latter.

No one sees you leave. You dive clean from the edge of the platform, body slicing the warm water with barely a splash. The ocean embraces you instantly, cool silk against your skin, pressure building in your ears as you kick deeper. Schools of gill mantles scatter in glowing trails around your arms.

The Spirit Tree waits below, its fronds swaying slow and hypnotic in the current, roots pulsing with that soft, ethereal light—the heartbeat of Eywa herself. You've come here too often lately, more than Lo'ak, more than anyone dares admit. The elders watch with quiet concern, but they say nothing. Grief is sacred, even when it borders on obsession.

You settle among the tendrils, the water cradling you weightless. Your fingers find your queue, extend it with practiced ease, and connect.

The shift is immediate; colors bloom brighter, sounds deepen into something almost musical. The tree's neural glow threads into you, warm and vast, and then...

He's there.

Neteyam materializes in the dreamscape of Eywa's memory, standing on a familiar outcrop of the Hallelujah Mountains back home (wind in his hair, sunlight gilding the strong lines of his shoulders, that easy smile tugging at his mouth like he hasn't a care in the universe) . He's wearing the hunting gear from before everything went wrong, bow slung across his back, queue swaying lazy.

Your heart stutters. Every time, it stutters—like the first time he ever called you "my heart" after a successful hunt, eyes shining with something that made your stomach flip.

"Hey, skxawng," he says, voice carrying that familiar teasing lilt, warm as sunlight on moss. "You look like you've been crying again. Come here before you drown the whole reef with those tears."

You step closer and he meets you halfway, strong arms pulling you against his chest like they always did. Solid. Real enough that you can feel the steady thump of his heart, smell the forest on his skin even here. Your hands fist in the woven straps across his back, anchoring yourself.

"I miss you," you whisper, the words cracking open something raw inside. "Every day, Neteyam. It doesn't get easier. I reach for you in the hammock and you're not there. I hear your laugh in the wind and it's just... gone."

He pulls back just enough to cup your face, thumbs brushing away tears. His eyes search yours with that quiet intensity he always had, the perfect son masking the boy who just wanted to make everyone proud.

"I know, baby," he murmurs, forehead pressing to yours in the old way that used to make your knees weak. "I feel it too. Every time you connect, it's like I'm right there watching you hurt and I can't—" His voice roughens, that protective edge sharpening. "I can't fix it. And that kills me more than any bullet ever could."