Chapter Text
“This is Ao’nung, him and his family are facing a difficult time. We will help him from now on.” Jake holds gently on the shoulder of the young boy, whose eyes never leave the floor in order of respect to the wealthy family.
“He’ll be working in the farm, feed the horses, and responsible to be a guardian of you, Neteyam, whenever there might be a need for you to be in the town.” Jake shares his glance toward the oldest kid.
Neteyam nods, not leaving his little brother’s hand while standing proudly in front of the poor boy.
“Every friday night he will have dinner with us, he’s staying in the first guest room and will come back to his family each 2 weeks.”
Neteyam doesn’t even know why would his father explain all of that information to him and his brother who seems to give even less attention. Yet as a good older brother he is, he keeps nodding. Changing his glance towards the boy and then back to his father.
“Now, be kind and give him a greeting.” Spoke Neytiri, standing besides Lo’ak.
“Welcome, my name is Neteyam.” He shared a warm smile and a hand to shake.
“Thank you, Neteyam. My name is Ao’nung.” The boy answered.
Neteyam gives a little nudge to his little brother, giving a look of be-kind-and-greet-him that Lo’ak answers with a grunts.
“I’m Lo’ak.”
“Hi Lo’ak, I’m Ao’nung. It’s nice to meet you.” Says Ao’nung, bent himself slightly to the younger one.
Ao’nung himself isn’t that much old, Neteyam thinks. He never asked his father, instead, one random conversation by the dinner table told him that Ao’nung is just the same age as he is.
It was saturday. Usually, the previous farm boy that works for the sully will be working harder by the weekend. But today is different, Ao’nung has been only staying for 2 days and he still needs a better welcome, Neytiri thinks.
The dinner was chaos, there are more Na’vi other than Neteyam’s family members. Though, it’s only auntie Sylwanin and his husband, uncle Tsutey. Mo’at— the favorite grandma was supposed to be there too, but she has another more important business to attend, as a tsahik of their village.
Ao’nung is not much of a talker, but he’s quick. Quick to help since the moment he stepped on the kitchen. Neteyam knows because he keeps observing due to his “strange” appearance that Neteyam barely finds in another Na’vi he meets both in village or town.
Normally, Neteyam is quick to help too. It’s just that the existence of someone new in the house makes him think twice.
“Let me help you with the that, mother.” He says, arranging the table for them to have dinner together.
Sometimes he walks or stands awkwardly whenever he crosses a way with Ao’nung in that room. Neteyam tried his best to control his expression whenever he’s afraid Ao’nung’s big and longer tail will slap the bowl of soup that he holds. At least he’s good at it, at faking expressions but not for Lo’ak.
“Why is your tail so big?” Asked the young one when Ao’nung just had his seat right in front of Neteyam.
He doesn’t answer, he just smile. Offering a slice of meat to the boy that asked.
Auntie sylwanin spoke, after exchanging eye contacts with both Neteyam’s parents. “Ao’nung comes from a very, very far place. His tail is built for playing and hunting in the water! Isn’t that an impressive thing to know?”
Now, the questions Neteyam been holding is answered. Still, he needs to know why would a swimmer like him choose to stay in land like them?
“We don’t have sea here.”
Lo’ak’s statement make everyone except Ao’nung turned their head to the youngest. Neytiri cut off the topic immediately by talking about their long-awaited harvest this year. The atmosphere finally started to get loud again, by auntie Sylwanin’s jokes and Lo’ak’s laughter that can’t be controlled.
Yet again, Neteyam finds his gaze back to the new boy. He seems to try his best keeping up with talk. By some moment he didn’t talk he just sit quietly, staring at his food as if he doesn’t have any appetite to finish that.
Neteyam really wanted to tell him that they do have a sea, it’s just that it’s very very far away from where they stayed and the sea doesn’t have much of an admirer because there’s always a strong wind.
At the end, Neteyam keeps that to himself until the sky is getting dark and the dinner must end.
#
They don’t talk much after that. Well, Ao’nung spends most of his time by the farm and he always leaves early and comes home the latest. Even if they did still awake by the same time, Neteyam barely be in the first floor where Ao’nung’s room is.
Some nights Lo’ak would innocently ask Ao’nung to play together after his work is done. He doesn’t supposed to do that, but cheerful Lo’ak lately likes to be on bed later than usual.
“Lo’ak, let him rest. You can play with him tomorrow after school.” Said Neteyam, already in his pajamas, holding his little brother’s wrist to follow him to their bedroom. They don’t sleep in the same room, but Lo’ak likes to especially when their parents is away for a night. This night, such as.
“I’m sorry Lo’ak. I need to take a bath too, i stink of horses.” Ao’nung said, forcing a smile.
Lo’ak just whines like he used to do whenever he can’t get what he wanted. Neteyam whispered a little sorry to the other boy whom answered with a tiny nod.
The night followed with another strom yet again. For the past weeks it’s always been raining when it gets dark. Their parents having a business and leaving them for this type of night is not likely. But Neteyam, who’s almost 17, had enough responsible to face this situation.
They had school the next day and it was raining. It’s not usual for the rain to appear on the daylight. So Neteyam runs to his brother’s class to find him already wetting his shoes.
“Be patient, we will go home soon.” He said, clearing the outside of those shoes with a small piece of cloth he always had with him.
“But we don’t have umbrella!”
“I know. We will wait until the rain stops. Now sit down and wait.” Neteyam said, giving the look of the older brother to Lo’ak.
They did wait. It almost been 10 minutes in Lo’ak’s mind and he’s not a very much patience boy unlike his brother. There was a laughter of some other older boys, whom Lo’ak believed to be a friends of his own brother.
“Neteyam!” Says the one under a black umbrella.
Neteyam stood, waving his hands excitedly. Sometimes Lo’ak found himself feeling irritated whenever that friend of his brother is nearby. He doesn’t really like him somehow.
“Come home with me,” He said, walking towards them.
“I’m okay. We’re okay. We will wait until the rain stops.” Neteyam smile shyly, from his angle, Lo’ak can see how his brother is getting red.
“Are you sure? Lo’ak doesn’t seem like one?”
Neteyam looked at him, “He’s just a bit hungry. Pretty sure the rain will stop in no time.”
Then the boy nods, leaving them with his friend group.
Neteyam sits down again, with a smile still lingered on his face.
“Why would you say no?”
“Because it will be a disaster with three of us under the same umbrella.”
“But if it’s only you, you will say yes?”
“Lo’ak! No!”
“Then tell him to leave the umbrella for us.”
“You’re unbelievable.” Neteyam rotates his eyes.
A couple of minutes later, sleepy Lo’ak heard a familiar sound beside the raindrops. His ear raised by the sound of footsteps.
“It’s Seze!” He jumps happily.
Ao’nung come to them, gave an order to stop to their family's horse on the carriage he was riding.
It is indeed Seze, Neteyam thought. The lovely adult horse that belonged to his mother.
“What are you doing?”
“The rain won’t stop until the sun drown. Come up and let’s go home.”
He said, walking down to lift Lo’ak onto his arms. Neteyam didn’t say any word, he gets on the carriage and sit down beside the strange boy.
“Did father told you to come?”
“No, they’re not yet back.” Ao’nung said, referring to their parents.
The drive home wasn’t loud, rather quiet because Lo’ak is already comfortably sleeping on his seat.
Neteyam really wants to talk to Ao’nung but he’s scared he might say something unpleasant. So he keeps the words again until they reached home.
The next days weren’t much different. It keeps raining when it’s after school time. Some mornings Ao’nung drive them to the school, some other Neteyam insisted they will just walk.
But today is a bit different. Lo’ak isn’t with him because he catches a cold. At least their mother is already back from the business and is taking care of the little one.
“They should’ve close the school already, the weather is very much in danger lately.” Said his mother the other night.
Neteyam is already with his umbrella. After saying goodbye to his friends that already left. By the time he walks only couple meters away from the school, he heard footsteps of a horse.
“Ao’nung? Why would you come?”
“Your mother told me to, she doesn’t want you to be sick like Lo’ak.”
The horse stopped and Neteyam had no other choice but to get up on the carriage.
“I’m doing just fine,”
“Tell that to Mrs. Sully.”
Another quiet moment between them. Neteyam knows Ao’nung is actually a talker. He peeps through the stables before when he was looking for Lo’ak who turned out to be playing hide and seek with the farm boy.
Ao’nung keeps babbling funny things, making Lo’ak laughed and reveals himself only to lose the game.
Sometimes Neteyam envy him, he wants to play with Ao’nung too and his brother. But he’s too shy to ask, too mature to play stupid games.
“Why don’t you go to school?” Asked Neteyam, trying to warming the air.
Ao’nung went silent for a while, “Back in my village no one goes to school. We study by our own way.” He said and Neteyam not quite understand that.
“Yeah, but here, we have school. Why don’t you go?”
“Does it seem like i have the time to?”
Neteyam went silent this time. Right, what a stupid question to asked.
“You’re no fun. You played with my brother but you’re being so cruel to me.”
Finally, Neteyam lets it all out. They’re already in front of the gate to his house when he said that.
“Excuse me?”
“We’re the same age, yet you talk to me like i’m an alien to you. You know what? It’s you that’s alien here. Your tail is fucking weird!”
He said. Slightly maximized his voice by the last words. Leaving Ao’nung that still stood in full confusion beside Seze.
“… What?”