Stargazing: Neteyam x reader

15. Game night

As dinner came to an end we all gathered by our meeting point excitedly. I wondered what Reya had planned and if any of the others had certain ideas too. The night was warm with a small gust of wind now and again hitting our backs from the beach. After all recent near death experiences I felt that this time was precious and I would take full advantage of it.

"So Tsireya, what's on the agenda?" Rotxo asked as we all gathered around in a circle.
"Well, I had heard of a game the sky people play called 'tag' I think it was, it seemed fun?" Reya turned to Lo'ak and Neteyam.
"Oh yeah! We played it with my dad as a kid." Lo'ak smiled at the memory.
"How does it work?" I asked.
"One person plays as the 'tagger' and whoever gets tagged by them becomes the tagger and the cycle just continues. So if you are not tagged you just run away and avoid them." Neteyam explained.

There was a moment of silence before Kiri with a smirk on her face tapped Lo'ak and shouted, "Tag your it!" Before getting up from her seat. Collectively we all jumped up from where we sat and started running and Lo'ak started looking around to target someone. Screams and laughs filled the air as we all ran around frantically trying to avoid the boy.

His first target was Aonung as he ran quickly towards the boy who tried to dodge and weave but eventually got tagged. He turned to me, a smirk on his face that I recognised all too well.
"Oh no you don't" I said playfully, turning on my heel to run away. Knowing he was faster than me, I ducked a few times out of his range, weaving in and out and trying to distract him with some water in the face too, which didn't seem to do much.
"I'm gonna get you little sis." He teased running even faster to me making me yelp in surprise as he tagged me from behind.
"Damn it!" I laughed looking for who to target. Looking at Neteyam, he seemed to notice my eyes on him as he turned to run.
Swiftly I made my way to him, dashing forward.
"Get him Y/n!" Reya laughed as Aonung and Rotxo cheered.
"Run run big brother." Lo'ak teased.

Running in from the side I made sure to get a good view on which way he could turn to. To my surprise he jumped up on one of the smaller trees on the beach, dangling from there.
"No fair forest boy." I said dramatically looking up at him.
"What can I say, it's intuition." He laughed.
"Uh huh," I rolled my eyes laughing before ascending the tree myself making his eyes go wide.
"Ohh Neteyam you better think fast!" Lo'ak laughed.
As I got higher he swerved around the tree to try avoid me but I quickly caught up to him.
"You either jump or get tagged." I shrugged nearing him.
He looked around for a good place to land, before swinging from the tree and landed on the sand, I followed after him.
I jerked towards Tuk as though to tag her making her jump. A collective laugh echoed in the group as I caught up to Neteyam, practically jumping towards him and getting him on the back.
"Tag." I yelled triumphantly.
Everyone clapped and cheered as Neteyam laughed at his defeat.

We took a break in the water as I pondered what game to play next, something that took up less stamina.
"Looks like this time I beat the daring warrior." I joked as Neteyam approached me.
"You did indeed, a once in a life time opportunity." He teased.
"Definitely, so so special." I said sarcastically.
He nudged my side playfully as we looked out at the sea, "Any ideas for the next game?" He asked me.
"I have one that could work." I suggested, gesturing that we go tell the group.

"I have an idea!" I said as the others looked at me.
"Let's have a game of hide and seek." I suggested, everyone's eyes sparkled at the idea.
"I shall seek!" Reya volunteered.
"Count to around 30." Aonung said as we all started backing up to go hide.
As soon as she shut her eyes I lightly grabbed Neteyam's wrist to show him a good spot that I knew.
"Where are we going?" He whispered to me.
"Trust me, I know a spot." I whispered back.
I led him to a small little den that was encased by palm leaves that blocked the entrance.
"In here." I whispered moving the leaves aside.
"So, is this like your secret hideout or something?" He asked looking around at the small space.
"Something like that, I used to hide here all the time as a kid, parents never found me." I chuckled at the memory. Sitting in silence for a while, we heard distant laughs of a few getting found already making me laugh. However that meant there would be more people looking for us too.

"I wonder how nearby they ar-" I said but I was quickly greeted with a hand over my mouth. I glanced over at Neteyam who put his finger to his lips, indicating to be quiet. We heard footsteps from nearby but they slowly faded away. My heart was pounded by his sudden gesture.
He slowly removed his hand, "Sorry." He whispered making me laugh.
"It's okay. I was being too loud." I chuckled making him smile.

After what felt like Hours we heard all of them shouting for us to come out because they couldn't find us after searching for so long.
"Told you, this spot works like a charm." I whispered once more before leaving our spot making sure they didn't see where we hid. The others were looking around absolutely clueless.
"There you guys are! Where were you?" Reya asked laughing.
"I shall never tell such a secret." I said proudly.
"You and Neteyam were gone for an awfully long time." Aonung teased.
"Shut up brother." I rolled my eyes trying to hide my smile.

After an eventful evening most of us had decided to go get some sleep for the night. Except for me and Neteyam. Lo'ak had started called us night owls which humoured me.
Sitting on the sand next to Neteyam I thought of the previous day where we had escaped the clutches of the Thanator.
"I was once told a tale of a mighty warrior who rode a Thanator into battle once. The creature followed her command like any other animal you bond with."
"Oh, that was my mum." Neteyam chuckled at my wide eyed expression.
"Wow, thats incredible." I said in awe, "I guess you take after her then."
"I try to," he said a bit unsure of himself.
"You're doing great, trust me." I reassured him, laying my hand on his shoulder.
Looking at me for a moment, the small smile that appeared on his face was just enough for me to realise how much he needed to hear those words. He laid his hand on mine for a moment, appreciative of my words.
"Thank you Y/n." He said with a soft tone of voice.
"Of course, you deserve such praise after all." I smiled.

I think after having such pressure on him as an older brother, he needed this consolidation. In my eyes he had all the admirable features of a leader, and I hoped I would be able to show him how worthy he was..
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They are so wholesome honestly. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Also how the hell did this story double in reads overnight! Thank you so so much for 6k reads on this, I appreciate you all.
-Author out