Neteyam

Yawntu

Viryn submerged herself completely into the ocean. Her hair floating up around her head like a inky black halo. She blinked a couple times to get her eyes used to water and rid her vision of the blurriness. Kiri became less like a shape and more like a person in front of her. Merq'ena was nearby staring at the fish. For animals the Metkayina ate, they didn't seem to be scared of them.

Kiri gestured for them to follow her. The light was wobbly from the water's surface but it cast interesting shadows. Viryn and Merq'ena liked swimming back in the rainforest so they were already strong swimmers but being in a river was different than the ocean. It was difficult for Viryn to maneuver herself to the bottom and sink her toes in the white sand.

Merq'ena looked around and grinned at a plump shaped fish. She reached up and patted it. The fish seemed offended let out a huff before swimming away. The braids were weighed down with the beads and shells so they did not float like Viryn's hair but each braid swayed with each movement.

The two girls followed after Kiri, a little slower than her but they were keeping up with relative ease. When they went up for breath a smile was on each of their faces. Then a strange music filled the air. It was in English so Merq'ena and Viryn had no idea what it was saying. But it was the music that sounded the most foreign.

"What's that?" Merq'ena asked. Kiri swam towards the rocks by the shore they jumped off of. "It's my tablet." She said as she picked up the device and pressed the screen to silence the music.

"It has old music on it from Earth." Viryn and Merq'ena swam over onto the rocks. The water rolling off their skin in little beads. "What are they saying?" Merq'ena asked as she moved next to Kiri, their shoulders brushing each other. "This one's, Olivia?" "What does that mean?" Viryn looked curiously at the closeness of the two other girls but looked down at the screen.

"It's a name, I think it's about a person." Kiri played the music again. "It's a love song." Merq'ena narrowed her eyes at the screen. "But there are four people in the picture. Which one is Olivia?"

Kiri shrugged. "I don't know, this is Norm's stuff mostly." There were no swear words so Viryn and Merq'ena didn't have any idea what was being said. "It sounds. So weird." Viryn touched her ears as if to check if they were working correctly.

"What are they saying?" Merq'ena asked as the song continued. "It's about how they love Olivia. Or one of them. I don't know." Kiri tilted her head to hear the lyrics. "We should learn English. I didn't understand a word of what happened when you guys got held hostage." Viryn said.

"What about dip shit?" Merq'ena said after thinking about that moment. "Oh ya, maybe Lo'ak actually taught us something." Viryn smiled. "Thank you guys by the way." Kiri said. Her face more concerned thinking about the time.

"For coming in and helping. We got out as quick as we did because of your backup." Viryn and Merq'ena waved away the statement. "We would have done it no matter what." Merq'ena nudged Kiri. "Did you not see us?" Kiri shook her head with a more lighthearted expression. "I didn't even know you were there until you shot your arrows."

Viryn and Merq'ena grinned at each other. Clearly pleased with themselves. "We'll always be here." Viryn smiled at Kiri. The shortest girl blinked at the phrase. Looking at the two other girls to confirm they were being honest.

"Now show us some English." Merq'ena said while gesturing to the tablet. "You guys need to learn the Metkayina finger language." Kiri laughed and pulled away. "We already know a few words." Viryn brushed off the idea of working on the finger language. "Like what?" Kiri arched a brow.

Viryn did the gesture for hello. The movement coming off a little awkward but still understandable. "And I know 'hurry up'." She demonstrated. It was a gesture that Aonung did constantly. "And look, we know the word 'here'." Merq'ena made sure to do each movement clearly. "Just yesterday we learned the way to say "friend"." Kiri rolled her eyes but smiled. "You guys can't even hold a conversation with the words you know."