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It was Tuk’s idea.
Tsireya, Aonung, and Roxto had been teaching the Sully kids how to ride ilu’s for a while now.
Kiri and Tuk got the hang of it pretty fast. It felt almost natural to them.
Neteyam struggled a bit but after a few tries, he got the hang of it.
Lo’ak?
“Bro I swear this ilu hates me, can I try on another one?” he complained for what felt like the millionth time that day.
“Lo’ak, this is the fifth ilu you’ve tried, I think you just need some help” Tsireya said calmly as the rest of the group quietly laughed.
“No, I swear this one hates me” Lo’ak groaned.
“If five of them have hated you so far, it’s safe to assume the entire reef creatures will hate you too then” Aonung poked at him.
Tsireya slapped the back of Aonung’s head in annoyance before turning back to Lo’ak, “Perhaps we can try another day? We could show you around the village.”
Tuk complained loudly, “But I wanna stay in the water. Why do we have to leave just because Lo’ak can’t ride an ilu?”
“Tuk I swear to-” Lo’ak glared at her before Kiri finally stepped in,
“Leave her alone Lo’ak” she said boredly.
“She started it!”
Roxto smiled, “Maybe we can play a game here in the water? That way, we can take a break from practice and Tuk can stay in the water” he suggested.
Tuk happily clapped, “Yes! Let’s play a game here! What do you guys usually play?”
Aonung shrugged, “We usually go hunting when we’re bored.”
“Tuk is seven dude” Lo’ak said flatly.
“That’s why I said we wouldn’t do that,” Anong said back.
“You didn’t say anything-”
“Enough you two! Let’s just do something before I get bored and leave” Kiri cut in.
Roxto’s eyes widened slightly, “C’mon guys, let’s not ruin the moment. Maybe we can see who can get more seashells from the bottom of the sea in five minutes? It should be enough time for you four to stay underwater” he suggested as he looked at Kiri for an answer.
Kiri was about to say that it sounded lame before Tuk yelled, “Let’s play a guessing game!”
Tsireya smiled fondly at her, “That sounds fun Tuk, how do we play?”
Tuk swam to Neteyam so he could lift her up higher as she wrapped her little legs around his waist, “One of us has to go down to the bottom and sing a song and the rest of us have to guess what song it is! Whoever guesses the most songs wins!”
“That sounds stupid-” Aonung complained before Lo’ak glared at him.
“That sounds good Tuk. Who wants to go down first?” Lo’ak asked.
No one volunteered, so Neteyam spoke up, “Okay…since it was Tuk’s idea, why don’t you choose who gets to go first?” He looked at her with fond eyes.
Tuk nodded before looking around the group, her eyes setting on Lo’ak.
She grinned.
Lo’ak gulped.
“Lo’ak goes first!” Tuk said as she smiled at Lo'ak, who groaned in annoyance.
“Of course you'd pick me” he said before he took a deep breath and swam to the bottom of the reef.
It was both funny and frustrating.
Lo’ak was at the bottom, mouthing Eywa knows what while the rest of the group had their heads under the water, trying to guess the song.
They suddenly realized they had a problem:
How were they supposed to communicate if they were under water?
The Sully kids hadn’t learned their sign language and as far as they know, Lo’ak could be mouthing crap and they’d think it’s a song.
Soon enough, Lo’ak ran out of breath and swam back up.
“Dude what on Pandora were you saying?” Neteyam asked him as soon as the rest of them lifted their heads up for air.
“I was singing a song! That’s the game” Lo’ak said as he took deep breathes, his body still trying to get used to holding his breath in for longer periods.
“Are you sure you weren’t just saying bullshit?” Kiri asked.
“Guys we’re supposed to guess the song! Not be mean to Lo’ak” Tuk whined.
“Right, any guesses anyone?” Tsireya asked as she looked around.
“Uh…” Roxto said unsure as the rest of the group shook their heads.
“Bro, it was literally my song cord song!”
The group groaned.
“What? I thought it was obvious!” Lo’ak tried to defend himself.
Aonung glared at him, “We met you like three hours ago, how are we supposed to know your entire life song?”
Lo’ak’s face slightly turned red in embarrassment, “Uh…”
“How are we supposed to guess if he’s all the way at the bottom and we have our heads under water though?” Kiri asked.
“Usually, we use our sign language to communicate while we’re under water but you are new…” Tsireya said in thought.
“Maybe the person at the bottom sings the song then they come back up and we each get one guess? We can signal them to repeat it if needed and once we all have an answer, we can signal them to come back up and we’ll guess” Roxto suggested.
“That’s pretty smart sea boy,” Kiri said kindly.
Everyone saw the pink slightly tint Roxto’s cheeks but for his sanity, they stayed quiet.
“Sounds good to me, who’s next?” Neteyam asked.
*
The afternoon went on with the kids taking turns to sing underwater while the rest were trying to guess songs that either the reef kids or forest kids had never heard before.
Even though it was Tuk’s idea, she eventually left to go play with a small reef child around her age, leaving the teens in the water and somehow, still playing the game.
“That was a horrible guess Tsireya” Aonung said as he swam back to the surface.
“Well what was it then?” she asked, annoyed.
“It was literally the song mom used to sing to us when we were kids, you should know it” he splashed her with water.
“Aonung that was when we were like, eight. We’re thirteen and fifteen!”
“Only five years ago, it couldn’t have been that hard,” Neteyam commented.
“Thank you!” Aonung said dramatically.
“Uh guys? Where’s Tuk?” Lo’ak asked as he looked around.
The group looked around and spotted Tuk with kids her age by the beach, far from where they were at.
“...When did she leave?” Roxto asked.
“Forget that, how did we not notice? She was literally the one who made the game. How many rounds did we do and forget about Tuk?” Kiri said in disbelief.
“I guess we got so caught up with the game ourselves that we didn’t notice she swam off?” Tsireya said as she looked back at the group.
“You think she’s mad that we left her out?” Lo’ak asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Neteyam said as he started swimming towards the beach.
Aonung grinned before yelling, “Last one to the beach has to carry our gear back to the village!” and immediately swimming off.
“Wait what?” Neteyam asked and before they knew it, Tsireya and Roxto had also swam off as fast as possible, leaving Neteyam, Lo’ak and Kiri behind.
“Wait, guys!” Lo’ak yelled before the rest of the kids started swimming as fast as they could.
As expected, it was the Reef kids who came first; Aonung, Roxto, and Tsireya.
The Sully kids?
Since he had a head start because he was gonna go get Tuk, Neteyam got there first, Kiri following behind and being second.
That meant Lo’ak lost.
The kids reached the beach, laughing and pushing each other around, “No fair! You guys were obviously gonna win!” Kiri whined as she slightly shoved Aonung and Roxto, who only laughed.
Roxto laughed, “You must learn our ways and sometimes, that means competing on the spot”.
Lo’ak, who finally reached the beach, loudly complained, “No way, that wasn’t far at all! I say we do a rematch!”
Tsireya giggled, “It’s okay Lo’ak, I can help you carry the gear” she volunteered.
Kiri laid a hand on Tsireya’s shoulder, “let him take it on his own, that was the point of the competition”
“Why do you even talk, Kiri” Lo’ak glared, which Kiri stuck her tongue out at him in annoyance.
As the kids walked towards the village, Lo’ak behind with the heavy gear and Tsireya by his side for company, Tuk walked up to them.
“You guys are mean. You left me out of my own game! I’m never playing with any of you again” she pouted and turned her back on them, crossing her arms.
“Oh no, whatever shall I do” Aonung said sarcastically, earning a slight shove from Neteyam as he bent down to Tuk’s level, “We’re sorry Tuk, we didn’t mean to leave you out.”
Roxto smiled behind Neteyam, “If it helps you feel better, that just means your game was so good we got really invested in it” he spoke softly.
Tuk turned around, her eyes wide and filled with stars and a big smile, “Really? Can I make up the games then?” she asked excitedly.
Tsireya went up to her and patted her hair, “Sure Tuk, you can make the games when the seven of us hangout, right guys?” she asked the rest of the kids.
Lo’ak mumbled in agreement as the gear was heavy and he was out of breath.
Aonung shrugged but slightly nodded as Roxto just smiled.
The chief called Tsireya and Aonung over while Roxto’s grandmother asked him to help her back at their hut, leaving the Sully kids on their own.
*
Back at their own hut, the Sully’s quietly had dinner.
“So, how was it with the Chief's kids and their friend?” Jake asked.
Lo’ak thought back to Tsireya and her big eyes and beautiful long hair. Her soft voice and delicate movements. He thinks about how her cheeks would tint whenever he’d look at her a second too long.
He smiled to himself.
Kiri thought back to the sea creatures, the water, the sand, the reef. How the reef people are so connected to the sea and their animals. She thought back to the warm sun and soft sand. She thought back to Roxto’s stare on her every other minute.
She scoffs in amusement.
Neteyam thought back to the other kids. How Aonung stood tall and confident, Tsireya calm and patient, Roxto curious and welcoming. He thought about how noticeable Lo’ak’s crush on Tsireya was and how it seemed like she seemed interested too. He thought back to Roxto staring at Kiri and she tried to ignore him and focus on the sea. He thought back to the thick tension between Aonung and Lo’ak, knowing something was bound to explode between them two. He thought back to Tuk’s game and how she tried to fit in with everyone.
He shakes his head softly with an almost exhausted smile.
Tuk?
“It was so fun! I met a girl my age and we played at the beach! I also played with the older kids but they left me out so I left.” she said excitedly.
“Left you out?” Neytiri asked, looking at Neteyam.
“She made up a game and we got carried away with it,” Neteyam said with a sheepish smile.
“That sounds fun, what game did you kids play?” Jake asked as he passed some fruit around.
“So someone goes under water and–” Tuk tried to explain before Kiri spoke in,
“It’s a long game but in short, we have to sing under water and the rest guess” she said bored.
Jake nodded, “What’s the game called?” he asked.
“Uh, Tuk came up with it so I guess it doesn’t have a name,” Lo’ak said with his mouth full of fruit.
Neteyam rolled his eyes, “Don’t talk with your mouth full you skxawng; Tuk, what do you want to call the game?” he asked.
Tuk thought for a moment before clapping her hands with a big smile,
“The Sea Sing Song Game!” she said happily.
“That’s a tongue twister,” Kiri commented.
Tuk stuck out her tongue at Kiri, Kiri returning the gesture.
Neteyam chuckled, “Let’s just say, this new journey is gonna be long and time consuming” he sighed a bit.
“Speak for yourself, I’m gonna be great at everything fast,” Lo’ak teased Neteyam, who only pushed him.
Neytiri huffed, “At least the children will be okay with Tsahik’s kids. Tsahik herself is arrogant and full of herself” she complained.
Jake sighed, “Baby, we’re guests. Let’s not stir up any trouble, okay?” he asks her softly.
Neytiri nods as Jake looks back at his kids with a serious eyes,
“Are we clear?” he asks.
The kids nod as Lo’ak says, “Yes sir. Lima Charlie.”
They continue eating, the kids talking about what they did during the day.
Neteyam let out a soft sigh, already exhausted at whatever problems or situations him and his family were about to face.
And he had a feeling the reef kids weren’t as obedient as they seem to be, so it only meant one thing;
Trouble would arise, whether it be the adults getting them in trouble or trouble between each other.
And that alone, exhausted him