Chapter Text
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Lo'ak then followed where Neteyam's gaze had been before letting out a small 'oh' and patting his older brother on the back. Just what did he mean by that? However, Tsireya was snickering behind him, clearly she had planned for this to happen. Miki appeared behind me, giving me a small nudge in Neteyam's direction, talking about, "Go get your boyfriend!" Before disappearing once more.
I adjusted the bracelet on my wrist before I approached him, then I looked up and found that he had approached me first. "You look..." the words died in his mouth as his gaze travelled up my body and met my eyes, "Breathtaking." It's funny how such a small comment from him was able to fluster me so. My hands instinctively reached up to play with my hair. "You look, um, handsome too..." I was unable to hold his gaze for long as my eyes flickered away from him.
"How can you say that when you haven't even looked at my face?" His words caught me off guard as I quickly scrambled to reply, "I-I, I, uh, I already, did- I, uh, already know what you look like..." My words faded as he let out a small chuckle, one I could hear despite the festival noise surrounding us. I slowly peeked up at him, seeing the teasing grin now on his face. "Are you saying I look handsome all the time?" He cocked his head to the side, the beads in his hair clicking together.
I could feel my face heat up from his words as my tail curled around my leg, "Uhhhh." My brain practically malfunctioned as I tried to think of a response. "Don't worry, you don't have to answer that." He placed a hand on my head, forcing me to look up at him. And just like every time I looked into his eyes, I was lost in his gaze. The setting sun shone on his face, somehow making the honey coloured flecks in his eyes shine brighter.
"Booo! Get a room!" Aonung yelled from behind Neteyam. Tsireya slapped Aonung's arm as he took another sip from his cup, "Why'd you disturb them?!" She hissed at him, Aonung slightly staggered before straightening up again and pointing at us, "you two need to kiss alrea-" He was cut off by Miki who shoved him, causing him to fall onto the ground, words slurring, "I don't care... I'm tired of seeing them... they need more than a kiss at this point."
Both Miki and Tsireya tried to help him up as Rotxo took a sniff of the empty shell he dropped, scrunching his face up at the smell. "Aonung, you liar!" Rotxo threw the shell at Aonung, "He had zangke all along and didn't tell us!" Miki dropped Aonung immediately, refusing to help him up, "I'm not helping him until he gets us zangke!"
I watched the scene unfolding in front of me as I looked from them to Neteyam then back to them. "It seems I have to go help my very stupid brother who decided to drink a whole load of zangke before the sun even set." I sighed, before looking back to Neteyam. He looked slightly disappointed, like he was upset that we were interrupted. "I'll help out too."
In about under thirty seconds the whole scene had transformed from Tsireya, Neteyam and I trying to help Aonung to Miki and Rotxo ambushing him for more zangke to Ke'anu interrupting with more zangke to these idiots just prancing around, Aonung in the centre of whatever was going on.
Kiri swirled the drink in the shell, watching the bubbles fizz up to the top, "What's this made of?" Before answering, I took a sip from my shell, letting the sharp taste of zangke piece my mouth, "I dunno, fermented fruits and stuff?"
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Neteyam was staring at the shell suspiciously, taking a small sniff before being hit by its pungent scent. "We're actually not allowed to have it..." I mumbled, letting my thoughts slip, "The adults make it or something." I took another sip, feeling the bitterness burn my tongue - regardless it tasted way too good.
Neteyam shrugged before finally taking a cautious sip of his drink but as soon as the zangke's burn hit his mouth, he began to cough. "What's in this? Why's it so strong for?" He stared at the zangke incredulously as if it had done something personal to offend him. Then he reached out and took both mine and Kiri's cup. "You guys shouldn't have this." I pouted as I watched him take my cup away, "There was a whole sip left in that..."
"Wasn't that your third cup?" Kiri questioned as Neteyam's ears perked up in shock, "Third?! When did you drink the other two?" He blurted, unable to hide his surprise. Before I was able to answer, Aonung interrupted us. "Only three?" He snickered, "Damn, you're going light." I rolled my eyes at him, "Yeah and you're leaning on Rotxo to stand." Aonung pulled a face, "Whatever... can we-"
"Let's go dance!" Miki shrieked, a little too excitedly, before dragging Tsireya and I towards the centre of the festival.
Miki wasted no time throwing herself into the crowd as the sound of drums and other instruments got louder. "Just what is he doing?" Kiri sounded confused as I followed her gaze and found Aonung running into a tree multiple times, "Wait. What is he doing?" I squinted as I watched Tsireya move through the crowd to go stop Aonung. "Maybe he had a bit too much to drink... here." Neteyam handed me a shell filled with fruit smoothie, "That zangke didn't taste good." I gratefully accepted the drink, taking small sips as I swayed with the music, feeling the rhythm of the song along with the angelic voices of the singers.
For a moment, it was peaceful. Feeling the music in my soul, the rhythm in my feet as I quietly hummed along to the song.
All of a sudden, Rotxo and Miki crashed into me, effectively ruining the sense of peace I was momentarily feeling. "Don't be a bore, Payìva! C'mon, dance!" Miki exclaimed as she let go of Rotxo to grab ahold of me, spinning me around with her. At first, I was startled but then it slowly became fun as I propelled our spinning further, laughing along with her. "Don't let go, Miki!" I said, hoping she would hear me over the wind and music. "Don't worry I won't!" A glint in her eye appeared, that was never a good sign.
Just as I had expected, Miki was up to something as she abruptly let go of me causing me to lose balance and fall into the person behind me. Luckily, whoever it was had caught me, preventing me from colliding with the floor. "You should be more careful, sevin (pretty)." Just by the gentle tones to his voice, I already knew who it was. I already knew exactly who Miki pushed me into. Neteyam.
I quickly recovered and awkwardly laughed, "uhm, thanks..." I avoided his gaze as I adjusted the jewellery on me before finally looking at him. His gaze was fixed on my wrist before he reached out to adjust the bracelet he had given me, ensuring that the pearl faced the right way. "It matches your headband..." He mumbled, so quietly that I was convinced that only I heard him. "It looks good... you look good, no- beautiful." His eyes finally met mine as I felt my heart race at his compliment, overly aware of his hand on my arm.
After a few seconds of awkwardness, Neteyam offered to get a drink. "You don't have to..." I began before he cut me off, "But I want to." He smiled before leaving to go grab some drinks and a snack.
Soon after, I got into deep conversation with Tsireya, "Flirting with Lo'ak, I see?" Her face purpled as she shrugged, "What? He's nice..." I snickered at her response, "Yeah, I bet he's real 'nice'" She feigned offended before shooting back, "At least, I don't run off with him at night..." And before I was able to say something, she added, "And get on his ikran." My mouth was open but no words came out. I didn't even tell her about that?! "I have my sources," She hummed before looking around, "Anyways, where's your boyfriend at?"
"He's not my-!"
"Yeah, yeah," Tsireya rolled her eyes, when did my little sister get such an attitude? "Well, Lo'ak's waiting for me on the dance floor so I'll see you later!" She took off and disappeared into the moving crowd before I was able to get a word in.
Now that I thought about it, where was Neteyam? I moved in the opposite direction, towards edge of the crowd. I was able to spot Neteyam before I was able to make it out, he was quite tall and was a whole different shade of blue, so hard to miss. My eyes scanned him before landing on the hand that was placed on his arm, who was that? I didn't entirely leave the crowd but I moved through it allowing me to see who it was from a different angle.
It was Ayana. Holding his arm. Standing a little too close. Smiling, giggling the way she does. Her face was slightly flushed... does she like him? Neteyam, on the other hand, made no attempt to move away. Instead, he was playing along with whatever stupid game she was playing, smiling along with her. Ayana threw her head back in a cackle, her shell-laced locks swaying from behind her, both ears pointing at him. She was... beautiful. Both her face and the ensemble she wore were... beautiful. No wonder Ke'anu was head over heels for her, any guy would be.
My hand drifted over to the bracelet he had just adjusted not too long ago and a sour taste filled my mouth. The bracelet he had made me. Maybe- Maybe... he did it out of goodwill instead of whatever Tsireya was on about. I mean friends gift each other things all the time, right? Although, the fact that he used a pink pearl was contradictory, to gift a symbol of romance to a friend was quite unheard of. But then again, he is Omatikaya and doesn't know our customs.
Suddenly, Neteyam's gaze drifted over to the crowd and he smiled as he spotted me. To Ayana's dismay, he quickly wrapped up whatever conversation they were having and left. He returned with two drinks in hand, "Coconut, your favourite." A lump in my throat prevented me from saying anything other than a meek, "thank you," as I accepted the drink, my mind racing once more. However, Neteyam seemed to notice my deflated mood at once, "Are you... okay? You seem upset," I quickly brushed off his observation, "I'm fine... just tired."
Luckily, Rotxo's interruption prevented him from questioning further.
"Hey lovebirds! Wanna play some games?" Rotxo yelled over the loud music, waving us over. "We should- uh" I began quickly making space between us, I just wanted to leave this conversation already. "Yeah, uhh, we should probably go." He stumbled over his words before handing me a crooked grin, "If you want, that is." I observed his face before I giving him a small nod, "yeah, I do... thanks for asking." My voice was quiet, small as my mind continued to race, why was he acting like this? "Come," He grabbed my wrist and walked towards where the others were sat before letting go of me and taking a seat.
I began to make my way towards the space between Miki and Kiri but as soon as she noticed, Miki quickly shuffled to block the space. I let out a frustrated huff, I already knew where this was going. Then I moved towards the space between Kiri and Tsireya but Tsireya suddenly stretched her legs, blocking the space as Kiri snickered. For a moment, I stood there, looking around to see if there were any other places I could sit. As I was looking, my gaze clashed with Neteyam's as I quickly looked the other way. When I realised there were no other places, I begrudgingly took my place between Neteyam and Aonung. "Did I do something wrong...?" Neteyam murmured, low enough for only me to hear. I shrugged, not wanting to give him an exact answer right this moment.
"I'll be watching you two." Aonung proclaimed, surprisingly coherent for someone who couldn't even stand straight.
"What game are we playing?" Lo'ak asked as soon as everyone had gotten comfortable with food and drinks. Miki beamed at his question, "Naturally, we'll be playing truth or dare!" Of course, what else would I expect. She clapped her hands enthusiastically as Rotxo put his finger up, "But there's a twist." I narrowed my eyes, "A twist?" I mean, what twist could you possibly add to truth or dare? Rotxo nodded his head whilst Miki had a sly grin on her face, letting me know that they were the ones to plan this. "Every time someone chooses truth... they have to drink zangke!" They both exclaimed the last part, looking so proud of themselves.
"That's the worst idea I've ever heard in my life." Miki's and Rotxo's excitement died as soon as I made that statement. "Uh, no? That's cuz you always choose truth over dare." I shot Aonung a dirty look, "I do not! Tsireya chooses truth more than I do!" Tsireya exclaimed a small 'hey' while Aonung scoffed, "That's because Tsireya's Tsireya. She never chooses dare but you on the other hand. You pretend you're all mighty and courageous but you can't even do a simple little dare."
"Yes I can!" I exclaimed, offended by his oddly accurate observation. "Okay, so then why do you have such a problem with the new rule?" A grin stretched across Aonung's face as he realised he had me cornered, "Exactly."
I grumbled in defeat and played with my braids while Rotxo and Miki were explaining the game's rules. "Are you sure you're not upset at me?" Neteyam mumbled, shuffling closer to me. "I'm fine." I dismissed him, refusing to look at him.
"Okay! Let's start!" Rotxo yelled as he placed a shell in the middle. He spun it, waiting for it to slow down and point at someone. The shell's pointed tip faced Ayana as it came to a slow. "Truth or dare!" Miki asked overexcited, as Kiri scolded her for it not bring her turn. "Dare..." Ayana's words slurred as she then changed her mind, "Wait... no, truth..."
"Too late you already chose dare!" Rotxo snickered, "So then, why don't you hug the person you like most here!"
A silence fell upon us as Ayana's eyes scanned the group. "I'll choose..." I tensed as she pointed in my direction, "You."
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