Chapter Text
Lo'ak was about to do Something impressive, she Just hasn't decided what it was but it will be impressive it had to be
They were in the water still learning how to properly ride an Ilu, adapting to the ways of water have proven to be more difficult
Than what they anticipated, and it definitely doesn't help Lo'ak's case that the one assigned to teach her happened to be the most beautiful Metkayina boy in all of Awa'tlu who also happened to be the Olo'eyktan and the Tsahik youngest son
Other than his stunning looks the boy was nice, soft spoken and very patient with her, how can she not like this boy ?
"take your time, there's no need to rush" tsireya said voice soft, like he wasn't trying to correct her
Lo'ak shot him a look " I'm not rushing " she said too quickly, definitely not defensive
She then immediately dove fast, faster than necessary, the entry was wrong the form was even worse , the impact knocked the air out of her lungs, alongside her dignity as she was thrown off her Ilu
When she surfaced again Tsireya was by her side " are you alright?" a hint of concern in his voice ," I totally meant to do that!"
She blamed the heat she felt traveled up her neck on the sun ,and definitely not blushing at his giggles, " I'm sure you did" he said laughing softly.
Unknown to the young Na'vis, a pair of watchful eyes following the interacting with the intensity of a hunter, Neteyam doesn't have anything against the Metkayina boy, he actually seemed sweet when she first met him , she just doesn't like how close he's getting to her baby sister
she stood still on the shore arms crossed loosely, expression unreadable, but her eyes tracked every movement Lo'ak made, every attempt to look like she wasn't trying , and the boy stayed close not too close but close enough , he spoke softly, showed her patience, and Lo'ak seems to be just as fond of him
She was probably overthinking , maybe the boy was actually sincere and it was probably just a harmless crush between teenagers
But she can't help it she's the oldest sister, she has to protect her siblings, let it be a bullet from a sky's person gun or a possible heartbreak
As she was watching the pair, "is Toruk Makto eldest slacking off ?" Neteyam feels the headache already forming behind her eyes
Aonung walked up to her making his place by her side , like keeping personal space was optional
She was so focused on her sister that she didn't even notice him, she scolded herself for not paying attention to her surroundings
she turned to face Ao'nung fully " aren't you supposed to be a good example for your siblings, " he said as a statement more than a question " your younger sister already surpass you, don't you think that you should catch up" he said with a smirk that doesn't seem to leave his face like a personal trademark
They only been to Awa'atlu for a few weeks , the Metkayina reluctantly agreed to their Uturu, , most had already warmed up to them, but some of them are still wary of them
much like the Metkayina boy in front of her , who seems to make taunting them his personal mission
including Neteyam
especially Neteyam
He seems to get a kick out of angering her , scanning her face for the smallest changes in her usually neutral expression
And she noticed it, because of course she did , and she would be damned if she gave him the satisfaction
"Don't you have your 'future Olo'eyktan' duties to attend to ?" She said turning to look back at her sister
"I do, it just happened that my duty for the day is too busy staring daggers at my younger brother" he said crossing his arms, tilting his head to his brother's direction
Right, he's supposed to be her teacher, Eywa put her out of her misery
"I think I'd rather have a rock to teach me than you" she wishes she can wipe that smirk off his face without getting into trouble
"Right because you're doing so great with me around, that you can afford to not have one at all"
"It's not my fault I was assigned to the worst brother, maybe I should ask tsireya to teach me, he's obviously the better choice"
Aonung's smirk didn't leave his face, instead his lips twitched slightly his ears flattened and his tail went rigid , definitely not pleased by the forest na'vi comeback
His fined hand grabbed her biceps and caught her off guard, she immediately swat his hand off her
"nonsense my little brother is too busy with your disaster of a sister-"
"hey watch it!"
"Besides he'll be too busy making eyes at her he won't be paying any attention to you, I'M the better choice "
He said as he grabbed her again and basically dragged her to their usual training spot
This time she didn't swat his hand away
Ao'nung's expression didn't change from his trademark smirk but his whole demeanor changed, Neteyam didn't know what she said that caused it, but whatever it was she will do it again
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Ao'nung was bored out of his mind, sitting with his' friends ' by the rocks with the village in view
They were exchanging stories about hunting or whatever they were laughing at, he wasn't really listening too interested with the shell in his hand
When he lifted his head up he spotted a familiar dark blue figure making her way through the village, a basket in hand
He immediately got up
"Wait I just remembered my father asked me to do something "
He gave a half baked excuse as he made his way towards Neteyam ignoring his friends questioning gaze and their 'again??' sounds
Neteyam as he came to realize is a restless creature, if she's not babysitting her chaotic troubling siblings (Ao'nung should go hug his brother for being a literal angel, and maybe Roxto as well for good measure)
Then she's training to adapt faster and prove herself useful, and lately has been helping more around the village
the village was still wary of the Sully's but seems to warm up to her just fine
Especially the elders, how can they not when she's the image of perfection , all sweet with respectful words and a radiating smile that can put anyone in a good mood, asking to help with whatever they need help with
Not that he's watching her whenever he gets the chance (he is, he's just bitter none of her smiles were targeted towards him)
"Going somewhere important?"
His voice came from behind her, his steps falling besides her , sparing him a glance she reacted with nothing but a subtle flick of her thin tail that didn't escape his watchful eyes
"I am actually being useful, what do you have to say for yourself"
"You say that as if I don't do anything around the village"
"The only thing that you do successfully is giving me headaches " she pushed him lightly with her shoulder hands occupied with the basket full of some of today's hunt
as she reached her destination, dropping off the basket in the cooking area for the cooks to prepare, exchanging some words she turned to leave finding Ao'nung waiting for her
"What are you still doing here?" She walked past him ,he followed her
Making sure you don’t get lost” he said easily
“In my own path?” she didn’t bother to wait for him
“You’d be surprised what you forest people managed to get wrong”
"Please we improved a lot since we arrived, were basically Metkayina" she announced proudly
"Sure you did" he taunted
"We did! I'd love to see you try to adapt to the ways of the forest, you'd be like a fish out of the water ,clumsy as a baby Yerik"
"Why? Are you planning to take me with you to the forest?" He nudged her , amusement in his voice
"I would consider it if I didn't fear you'd faint at the sight of an Ikran"
"Aww you worry about me?" His smile widened
"More like-" she cut herself off, stopping suddenly on her track
He stopped too, looking at her, confused "wha-? Why'd you stop?"
She didn't answer, head swaying frantically from side to side looking for something, someone and muttered a faint"Lo'ak.."
That didn't escape his hearing "what about h-" Neteyam's hand shot up suddenly grabbing his tooth necklace bringing him to face her closer
Aonung is definitely not thinking about those golden eyes that seems to stare at his soul looking at him with a mix of worry and irritation, her lips pulled into an adorable pout
Oh Eywa his face feels so hot he's definitely purple at this point
They're so close he could-
"Where's your brother??"
The moment shattered
Aonung let out a tsk, fighting the urge to roll his eyes to the back of his head
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Aonung loves his brother, he really does, he's an angel a real blessing
, an award for every good thing his parents have ever done in their lives,
the day tseriya was born was the happiest day in Aonung life he barely remember that day but still
But now
Now Aonung wishes he was an only child, he sat crossed legs his head leaning on his fist
sulking ...
He and Neteyam were currently hiding, spying on the younger na'vi who were sitting on the shore
They sat facing each other Lo'ak was weaving something head down Concentrated on whatever she was weaving, while tseriya was more focused on admiring the forest na'vi In front of him, his features soft
Lo'ak lifted her head for a second thrusting her occupied hands for tseriya to look she said which tsireya replied to with a gentle smile loak nodded resuming to her work and tseriya to his staring
"Damn it, I can't hear a thing! We should get closer" she whispered, moving to get closer before he caught her by the arm pulling her back to her previous position
It's no secret that Neteyam is protective towards her younger siblings, Aonung thinks it's precious
But now it's just annoying, he could be spending time with Neteyam alone, they were literally having a moment!
It's no fair tseriya has his own forest girl, why is hogging his forest girl's attention,
Well not his yet but still, he called dips
"We're already too close ,if we move any closer you're going to get us caught"
Neteyam huffed annoyed but didn't disagree just went back to stalking at the young 'soon to be couple'
"You know my little brother's not going to hurt her, he's too gentle for his own good"
"It's the ones that seem sincere that are to be cautious of" she didn't look at him
Aonung perked up back straightened from its previous hunched position, sensing that are more to her words
"You sound like you're speaking of a previous experience"
"I am"
Heavy silence stretched between them
"...do you wanna talk about it ? I promise to keep it between us if you want "
Neteyam scoffed "why?" She finally faced him "so you can use it to bully my sister? Hard pass"
“Hey, come on" he said, lowering his voice slightly
“If I wanted to bully your sister, I wouldn’t need your secrets for that”
Neteyam shot him a look. “You’re not helping your cause"
He huffed a quiet laugh, shifting where he sat before glancing back at the pair in front of them.“…I’m serious.”
“I won’t use it against you”then he added quieter turning his attention to her “Or her”
Neteyam studied him for a long moment
“…Why do you care?” she finally asked.
His tail flicked slightly behind her
“Because" he started, then stopped jaw tightening, like he was about to say something but thought against it
"Because whatever got you obssesing on my brother like a creep-"
"Hey!"
"-Is not something to take lightly"
Neteyam didn't say anything for a minute only sighed
She sat back, turning her back on the pair
"When Lo'ak was younger" she started
"She used to hang out with this group of kids around her age
"I was so glad she managed to make friends, I was afraid she wouldn't because of her features, she was insecure about them"
Ao'nung winced remembering the first time when they arrived, his mother lifting the said girl hand for the whole village to see, calling her a demon
"She was always existed to spend time with them, until one day she came home early clearly upset
she refused to eat, or answer our questions about what happened, it stayed that way for days "
Neteyam took a deep breath
"Then one day she went out, when I found her, she was about to cut her finger off"
Ao'nung gasped eyes widening
"I stopped her, she fought back , when I managed to calm her down she cried and told me everything"
"Apparently the children were only nice to her because some older kid told them that if they aren't nice to Lo'ak, Toruk Makto would feed them to Toruk"
Ao'nung stopped himself from chuckling, it wasn't appropriate for Eywa sake!
Neteyam noticed and shot him a dirty look, he apologized and Neteyam continued
"Then they went on a long rant about how freaky she looks and how they hate that they have to befriend her, all while Lo'ak was listening"
"I promised her... And myself that I would protect her, and would never allow her to be hurt like that ever again"
Neteyam met Ao'nung's eyes with a determined eyes
"So Ao'nung, I'm not ' obsessing ' over your brother. I'm fulfilling my promise"
They stayed like for a moment, before Neteyam went back to her previous position stalking the pair
"Now shut up, reef boy I need to focus"
Ao’nung wasn’t listening
He was looking at Neteyam instead, something close to wonder settling in his chest
It seemed that every time he learned something new about her, she managed to surprise him shift just slightly out of reach of everything he thought he understood
And somewhere along the way,
without him noticing, it had stopped being simple curiosity
So he simply smiled at her, not a smirk ,a genuine smile
"why are they sitting so close for??"