𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐄, neteyam

023. 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛

After Neteyam's funeral, Ronal and Tonowari never got their normal daughter back. Metaphorically and physically.

Ilyana spent her days occupying herself with jobs, even if it meant tidying up after the smallest things — and when she wasn't tending to something she'd hide in the cove where Neteyam and Ilyana spent a majority of their time together.

Silence ruled the girls life everyday. She had learnt to tone out any mentions of him, any noises at all. Though sometimes her ears would twitch at the villagers phrases of remorse for her and she'd blow up at them for even mentioning it.

As it was, Ilyana went through all the stages of grief; Denial.

She had spent a week ignoring any sign of him being gone. She'd walk straight past his rider's mask that sat, untouched, on his mattress. She refused to feed his ilu — Neteyam would feed him normally three times a day. If she could, she'd avoid the Sully's altogether. Despite their attempt at trying to mourn with her instead of letting her suffer alone.

Anger. She visited the cove once late at night, and went feral. Attacking any movement that made her tail sway and ears twitch. Killing all sense of life that stay in a meters radius of her.

Bargaining. For a few days, Ilyana had put her mind tricks into play and managed to convince herself Neteyam would show up at the door of her marui telling her it was all a prank. She even manifested it. Ilyana encraved small messages into leafs and hid them around her own marui to find, as if Neteyam had hid them there for her.

Depression. Her stage of bargaining led her into an unhealthy phase of crying herself to sleep at night. She'd wake up the next day after her family would have just finished lunch, with messy hair and un organised attire. Then sulk with Esyan until it grew dark until she'd repeat the process again. This was the stage that had lasted the longest. 7 months. Neteyam was gone for almost 8 and everyone but Ilyana had managed to cope with it, why couldn't she.

The last stage would typically be acceptance, but Ilyana had chosen to skip that — and add another.

Revenge. Spider, the human boy who un wantedly hung around everywhere, was who Ilyana had come to the conclusion of being responsible.

"Neteyam went to help that boy! This is your human's doing."

Ilyana hissed at Lo'ak who was stood in between the knife and Spider.

"You're a bitch!"

Her curse word took the Sully's and her family by shock, though Tonowari and Ronal were oblivious to what she actually meant.

"Lo'ak taught me that by the way."

Looking towards Tsireya and Ao'nung, whos jaws were held open. Though her amused faced didn't last for long as she hissed at the human boy over Lo'ak's shoulder.

Ilyana had attempted many times to kill the boy, one time getting extremely close.

She sneaked into the Sully's marui, Neteyam's hunting blade in her hand. She crept towards the mattress that Spider slept on and crouched by him. She hissed before slitting his throat, unsuccessfully killing him — but she left him a nasty scar that would be their for the rest of his life nevertheless.

Spider's scream awoke the family and after a range of cries and screams, they had managed to calm her down.

"Bro! Neteyam wouldn't want you to kill Spider."

Lo'ak stroked her back comfortly.

"With his knife anyway."

He whispered to her, resulting in her laughing way too loud. It was the first them her loved ones watch her experience any sort of happiness. Lo'ak brought her that happiness.

*ೃ༄AUTHORS NOTE; i'm thinking about beginning my lo'ak book, and set a publishing schedule or shall i finish this book first? lmk !
i also wanna thank a few certain people for giving me so much love on my story, yk who u are 😉
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