𝙀𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙉𝘼𝙇 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀. 𝙉𝙀𝙏𝙀𝙔𝘼𝙈 ¹

𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧. 𝙖 𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨

Neteyam had some balls to set everything up the way he did. First, he made sure to occupy Tsireya by begging Lo'ak to do something stupid. Then, he made sure it was a time when she wasn't busy. And the final step of his plan, asking his father beforehand for tips to bag a girl.

"Dad?" He popped his head around the Marui wall. Jake Sully sat on the ground, tending to the leather burn on his hand that had occurred a couple days ago during his first ride on a tsurak. His head snapped up at the sound of his eldest son's voice.

"Yeah?"

Neteyam fiddled with his fingers. "I, um- how did you... charm mom?" There was an awkward pause, the tension in the air increasing. The boy had felt so uncomfortable at the silence of his father.

To his surprise, Jake said, "So, who is it?"

Neteyam paused. He hadn't thought through the possibility that he would want to know who it was. "Well, she's uh..."

Jake waved his hand, motioning for Neteyam to sit next to him, chuckling. "It's fine, you don't have to tell me who." This was the first time as a father that he had to have this talk. Kiri hadn't been interested in it, Lo'ak hadn't found the right person, and Tuk was far too young. "Is there anything you want to really know?"

"Uh," Neteyam looked at his hands, imagining that the girl on his mind was holding them instead of himself. "You said that mom didn't like you at first, right?" He finally looked up to meet his father's eyes. "How did you change that?"

Jake laughed, shaking his head at the memory. "I'm gonna be honest, kid, I don't know how it happened. She tried to kill me when we first met. Then, after learning under her guidance, we went to the Tree of Souls, and- um, well-"

"I don't need to know the specifics," he covered his ears and gagged. "I just wanna know how, you know?"

Jake sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Make a romantic gesture. If she's like every other girl, she'll fall for that."

Neteyam pursed his lips. "And if she's not?"

Jake let out a soft laugh, patting his son on the back. "You'll have a tough one on your hands." He rubbed Neteyam's shoulder. "Just... let it happen. If it's meant to be, things'll just fall into place. Don't push it too much. Never hurts to try, though."

Neteyam nodded and sprung up, facing Jake. "Thanks, dad." He ran off to find Fei.

He hadn't known where she would be at the exact moment, but he got lucky. He spotted her rather quickly. She was riding her Ilu. By its color and patterns, it was Alat. In her hands was a net that she was gathering up. A dozen fish were flopping around inside, and Neteyam could swear her face was painted with a smile.

Neteyam waited by the sand as she rode back, taking her queue and breaking the bond. Alat swam away right after she grabbed the net back. She hadn't spotted him yet. That, or she was ignoring him. "Um, Fei'uey!"