Stargazing: Neteyam x reader

13. Escape

"LO'AK! I shouted to get his attention over the roaring of the Thanator.
His eyes widened looking at me then Neteyam then back at me again before flinching as the Thanator lunged towards him again.
Neteyam hit the spine of the thanator to get its attention. It growled at him fiercely charging for him but ended up getting stuck in some tree vine as Neteyam dodged.

"Lo'ak come here!" I shouted gesturing for the boy to get behind me. We couldn't just run out knowing it would follow us out and scare everyone and possibly kill someone. I dashed to the right, Neteyam and Lo'ak behind me. As the Thanator broke free we all jumped up to gain some height in the trees. Using its big claws it tried to claw its way to us, catching up to his gradually.
"Neteyam we are going to run out of tree to climb soon!" Lo'ak shouted above the sounds of the wind.
"Agh! Just keep climbing!" I could tell Neteyam was getting worried, I was too.

I was slowly falling behind as the other two climbed up swiftly. My inexperience was going to be the death of me. As my heart pounded in my chest I heard the growls of the Thanator behind me getting closer and closer as we went higher and higher. My adrenaline was at an all time high once again, my mind running through all the possible scenarios and outcomes of this situation. I was so scared I could practically throw up.

Finally I reached the top, looking at the two boys frantically.
"What do you we do?!" I said looking around frantically.
"We jump." Neteyam said simply.
"We WHAT!" My eyes widened looking down, "No no no I can't do that." I said panicking.
Lo'ak took a leap of faith, grabbing onto leaves as he fell down, making it look effortless. Neteyam turned to me, grabbing me by the shoulders, "As you fall just grab the leaves and if you can't I will catch you, okay? I promise." He said seriously, not breaking eye contact with me.
Nodding anxiously, he jumped just like Lo'ak so effortlessly with no fear.
Hearing the growls of the Thanator getting even closer I prayed to Eywa that I would survive this ridiculous situation.

Bending my knees slightly I finally took the leap, aiming to grab a bigger leaf to break my fall. But quickly I lost my grip, falling and falling only barely able to grab the leaves before slipping again. Seeing the ground incoming I braced for impact as I lost grip of the last leaf. Shutting my eyes I prepared to hit the floor but instead felt two strong arms wrap around me tightly, pulling me close. Slowly I opened my eyes again, looking up to see Neteyam looking down at me, a look of relief on his face. He set me down gently, looking around at the forest expanse.
"Let's go, now!" Neteyam ordered as we ran for the exit not wanting to see the Thanator return.

My mind couldn't get rid of the mental image of Neteyam in my head. He looked even more handsome up close, his eyes practically sparkling in the moonlight.
I needed to make sure I thanked him for catching me. In all honesty I hadn't felt that scared in a long time.

As we stepped out back onto the beach, I felt much safer feeling the sand on my feet than the forest grounds. Neteyam grabbed the back of Lo'ak's neck, sitting him down on a piece of bark.
"What were you thinking! You almost got yourself killed!" Neteyam scolded.
"I had it under control." He mumbled in response.
Neteyam scoffed, "That was under control? Really? We had to save your ass before you got eaten."
Lo'ak didn't respond.
"And in addition you almost got Y/n killed! She doesn't know the forest like we do. There's a reason why she told us the forest was banned you Skxawng!" Neteyam looked furious.
"Okay I'm sorry, it was a stupid idea." Lo'ak muttered.
"Is this why you have been disappearing so much lately?" I asked softly.
He looked over at me, "Maybe, I only went into like three other times."
"I see, well please don't go back in. Rather let me try get you permission." I suggested.
He nodded appreciatively before getting up and walking off without another word.

Neteyam let out a long sigh, walking towards me.
"Let me have a look at you. Are you hurt?" He asked me.
"A few scratches, and sore muscles but that's about it." I said light heartedly.
He didn't seem in a joking mood.
"I was so scared for you." He said softly, "I don't know how I would have lived with myself if I hadn't caught you."
"It was my stupidity for not being able to get down safely though."
"No, do not put this on yourself. You are not at fault here." He said sternly, grasping my shoulder lightly.
"If you say so, 'daring warrior." I smiled.
He finally cracked a smile, shaking his head.

"The stars are out again tonight." I said looking up longingly.
He hummed in response, walking by my side as we walked along the beach. I didn't want to leave his side, but I was starting to tire too.
"Maybe another evening we can go for another evening swim to look at them." He suggested.
My eyes sparkled as a thought came to my head, "I know a place that gives an extraordinary view of the stars, I'll see if my dad can let us go."
He gave me a smile, as we turned to head back to our huts.

"Thank you for saving me Neteyam." I said softly making eye contact with him.
"I will always be here to protect you Y/n." He responded gazing back into my eyes.
"I think we should stick to staring at the stars than going on another adventure for a while." I laughed.

Neteyam's POV:

"But I would much rather be staring at you." I thought to myself.
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Watched the movie for the second time today. Cried my eyes out oml.
And yes this book has a bunch of extra scenes not related to the movie but I think it adds some flare
-Author out