Stargazing: Neteyam x reader

12. Troublemaker

As the days went by, the amount of time in which Lo'ak disappeared was getting more lengthy and I was surprised only me and Neteyam had actually noticed in the first place. It seemed most of the time it was in the evening, and he would arrive back just before the rest of his family went to bed. Ever since I told Neteyam he tried questioning the youngster but he only denied anything that was mentioned which frustrated me because I knew something was up.

I was tempted to tell Jake or Neytiri, but I didn't want to at the same time in case I was completely wrong. So it was just mine and Neteyam's secret for the time being until we could finally figure it out somehow.

Neteyam and I had spent another evening at the beach talking amongst ourselves as usual. I decided not to mention Lo'ak as I felt it had been the topic of conversation for a while now, and I was too tired to focus on it tonight.

"Has that boy left Tuk and the others alone then?" I asked gazing at my knuckles which were still a light shade of purple.
"Yes he has, whenever he sees us he practically falls over his own two feet to leave." He laughs.
"Good, never liked him in the first place. So it didn't surprise me when he did such a thing. He used to pick on Rotxo which Aonung wasn't going to allow. Due to that they cut him off." I explained.
He nodded, "Well has he come near you?"
"Once, he looked angry cause his lip was swollen and I couldn't help laughing. But he backed down since my father was with me and didn't want to cause a scene. I have been on my guard just in case he comes out of nowhere."
"After yesterday's performance I wouldn't even dare go near you if I was him." He said making me laugh.
"As I said, he's cocky, thinks he will eventually gets what he wants but doesn't." I shrugged.

Slowly but surely most people were heading into their huts for the night. Many bid their goodbyes and good nights whilst we sat at the beach for even longer, not wanting to leave each others company. Even in moments of silence it was comfortable, as though a voice wasn't needed to fill that void. We just needed each others presence.

"You know what I can't stop thinking about." I said after a while.
"What would that be?"
"Flying an Ikran. It was magical, being so high in the sky without any fears. I felt so light in the sky." I said softly looking up at the sky.
"I understand, when I did it for the first time, I was entranced by it. The bond with an Ikran is something you don't take for granted." He commented.
I hummed a response, "It does sound out of this world." I said with a smile, imagining it in my head.
"I will try take you on a longer ride one day, I promise." He said nudging me playfully.
"Why thank you daring warrior, what an honour." I teased.
"It is, you get to fly with the great Neteyam." He teased back.

My ears twitched for a second, I could hear a rustle behind us from nearby. Turning our heads, we looked around for the source of the noise. Looking at the back of the village I noticed a figure of someone stalking near the forest entrance. Getting up from where I stood my eyes widened as I realised who it was. Neteyam seemed to have noticed too.

It was Lo'ak.

"What the hell is he doing?" Neteyam whispered, "If he gets caught he is in so much trouble."
"If this is where he has been going all this time, he's completely underprepared."
He nodded in agreement, "We need to go after him."
"We must, if he doesn't come back thats on us for not getting him." I mumbled.
He could tell I was scared, "I can go in alone if you want to be safe." He tried to reassure me.
"No! I am not letting you go in there alone." I said looking at him dead in the eye.
"Are you sure?" He asked again.
"Yes, lets go get your brother.."

Crouching slightly to make sure no one spotted us, we neared the entrance of the forest. I tried brainstorming some sort of plan to ensure we would get out of this alive but I knew that Lo'ak and Neteyam knew the forest better than I.

"Any ideas?" I whispered as I brushed the leaves aside, doing a full 360 of the area around me.
"Not really. We can track his footprints though." He said pointing down at a set of footprints.
I nodded, following him closely.
"He's such an idiot, putting his life on the line like this." He mumbled stopping in his tracks to look around.
Putting my hand on his shoulder I said, "We will find him, and then we can scold him after." I said light heartedly.
He gave me a small smile, "Sounds like a plan."

My hearing was engulfed by the sounds of the forests, not knowing how loud the forest was at night. But at the same time that meant there may be more creatures out and about who were nocturnal. As much as I loved the scene, I was still terrified at the thought of being attacked.
Slowly I looked up at the blanket of trees that covered the night sky, understanding why Neteyam had such a fascination with the stars when we were on the beach. Then again, the forest had its own sort of beauty to it.

Edging our way closer we heard a familiar cry from nearby. My eyes widened as we picked up the pace to the source of the noise. In the distance was Lo'ak being corned by a creature I had never seen before.
"That's a Thanator." He whispered.
"A what?" I asked but before I could finish my sentence Neteyam dashed away to help his brother. He had his knife in hand, slowly coming up behind them.

What had I gotten myself into now...
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Lo'ak being a trouble maker as usual
-Author out