Tacenda - Things to be left unsaid; matters to be passed over in silence
or
Tsa'tvayi gives Neteyam a purpose, while caring for his family as if they were her own.
Started: Jan 01, 2023
Completed: Jan 21, 2023
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TSA'TVAYI
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"BREATH IN," SHE WHISPERED softly while looking down at Tuk.
The younger girl sat before her on the rocks, her legs crossed and her back straight as she let her eyes fall closed. Tuk inhaled deeply, her chest rising as she did, and Tsa'tvayi tilted her head as she watched the girl struggle keep the air inside of her before letting it all out in a heap.
"I can't do it." Her golden eyes opened, a small pout on her face.
"You can," Tsa'tvayi assured as she pressed a hand on Tub's chest. "Breathe in again."
This time, Tsa'tvayi could feel the air entering the younger girl's lungs, she could feel how her heart raced under her hand and how her chest rose as the air filled her. Lowering her hand, she pressed against Tuk's abdomen and frowned slightly as it gave in under the pressure, the air once again leaving Tuk.
"Alright." Tsa'tvayi rose to her feet, a shocked look falling onto Tuk's face as her eyes opened once again. "Let's try a different way."
Tsa'tvayi reached out a hand and helped Tuk up, before leading her down the rocks and back to the water. She could feel the stares on her back as the pair headed to the water, and a quick glance back revealed Neteyam's concerned eyes as his eyes flickered from Tuk to her. When their eyes met, she gave a small nod, an assurance that everything was alright and Tsa'tvayi wouldn't let anything happen to Tuk.
She turned back to look at the ocean and quickly pulled Tuk to sit besides her, the waves rising and caressing her legs. Tsa'tvayi motioned for Tuk to stretch her legs out until the water enveloped them and nodded.
"Do you feel how the water moves?" She placed a hand on the surface of the water and let the waves lead her hand. "How it rises and falls against your skin?"
Tuk reached forward and placed her hand besides Tsa'tvayi, her smaller hand moving in tandem with the older girl's. "Yes," she sighed. "It feels really nice."
"This," Tsa'tvayi waved at the water before them, "Is my home. This is where I grew and where I learned to walk and speak. This is where I hunted for the first time and where I bonded with the ila. This is where I learned to cry and laugh and fight. This is not your home."
She could feel Tuk's shoulders dropping besides her, the younger girl's hand retracting from the water. Tsa'tvayi followed suit and turned so that she was facing the dark skinned girl.
"This is not your home, yet. But it can be." She reached forward and held Tuk's face between her hands, the smell of Metkayina surrounding them. To Tsa'tvayi that smell was home, it was the warm hug of a mother and the praise of a father. To Tuk, she imagined it was fear; the fear of a new place, of a new element, of the loss of family and home.
