Tonowari

You should never have stayed.

As a scientist, you came to Pandora to observe, to learn. But when your team—Quaritch and the others—abandoned you in the vast ocean, they left you to die. Alone, with nowhere to go, the waters swallowed you whole.

Until he found you.

Tonowari, Olo'eyktan of the Metkayina, spared your life when others would have let you drown. He brought you to his clan, despite his distrust of humans. They gave you shelter, food, and a place among them.

Even so, you're still an outsider. They're still watching you.

But it is her gaze that lingers the longest.

Every glance is etched in your memory. Every touch, accidental or not, sends shivers down your spine. Tonowari is protective and possessive, even if he doesn't say so out loud.

He tells himself it's just a duty. But the way his fingers brush against yours as he teaches you the arts of the sea says otherwise. The way his voice softens when he says your name gives him away.

And now, you belong to him.