alien; lo'ak

⥤ Chapter Twelve : Payakan ⥢

⥤ Chapter Twelve : Payakan ⥢

Lo'ak reluctantly rides his ilu to Ao'nung and Roxto. He doesn't want to make amends, but he wants to obey his father's request.

"What's tree boy doing here?" Roxto questions.

Lo'ak parks his ilu in front of Ao'nung. "I'm sorry I hit you." Still angry about him picking on Kiri and (Y/N), he adds, "So many times."

Ao'nung pauses, before smirking to Roxto.

"We should be friends," he offers Lo'ak. "Come hunting with us, outside of the reef. It's where the men hunt."

Lo'ak doesn't trust this. He tries to play it off. "I'm not allowed past the reef."

Ao'nung is still deviously smirking. "I must be asking the wrong brother. Neteyam didn't need a girl to fight for him."

Lo'ak gets irritated with this. He doesn't want (Y/N) brought into any of it. He also hates being compared to his brother. "Let's do this."

-

(Y/N) sees Lo'ak in the distance with Ao'nung. She's kind of happy that he's trying to make amends. She watches them swim off together on their ilus.

She takes the day to herself, taking a dive alone to explore.

Tsireya finds her again, noticing her swim so naturally. (Y/N) sees her, and treads the water to be more still. She waits for Tsireya to say something, worried her secret is out.

"Beautiful." Tsireya has taught the teens sign language, so (Y/N) understands.

(Y/N) tries to sign back. "Secret." She is still figuring out how to approach telling her friends.

Tsireya compliments her, "You have a gift."

-

The day passes, and (Y/N) is sitting on the beach, waiting for Lo'ak to return.

She gets excited when she sees Ao'nung and Roxto. Her ears flatten when she doesn't see Lo'ak with them.

Ao'nung and Roxto swim to the beach, unaware of (Y/N). They laugh to themselves about the prank they've pulled.

(Y/N) comes over, startling Ao'nung a bit. "Where's Lo'ak?" Her question was innocent sounding enough, her voice calm. Roxto looks to his friend, unsure how to answer. It's clear that Ao'nung has no idea what to say either.

Her eyes widen, worrying for the worst.

Then, she straightens her face, seeing Ao'nung is intimidated by her. She steps closer, making Ao'nung step back with his ears down. "Where is Lo'ak!"

Ao'nung scoffs. "What's special about tree boy?" There is a pause as the boys realize how serious she is.

"Three Brothers Rocks." Roxto answers her. "It's out past the reef."

Outside of the reef. (Y/N)'s heart drops, worried for Lo'ak. She develops eyes of betrayal; Ao'nung becomes saddened by this.

(Y/N)  takes off into the water, relying on Raya to swim her to Lo'ak.

-

Lo'ak swims away from a predatory sea creature, cornering himself against coral. The animal, an akula, has injured Lo'ak's ilu, who has swam away for safety.

The akula is now targeting Lo'ak. It tears apart the reef, Lo'ak unable to swim to the surface for air. His chest burns as he won't be able to hold his breath any longer.