Heart To Heart || Neteyam Sully

12. Spears and Ilus

" You hate that you want me.

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I don't want this feelin' "

Eiwa's POV

The third day started off better than yesterday. I had made sure that I would not be waking up the way I did last morning by placing Kiri's wooden block beside my pillow. That way I won't roll over to Neteyam's side. I'm more than happy to say that it worked. I woke up before the rest today, despite the lack of sleep from last night. Neteyam and I spoke for about an hour or two before deciding that we should head to sleep. He told me about his life when he was younger, before the 'sky people' came back. And I told him about mine, which was not too eventful considering how I spent it. But Neteyam seemed to have been quite interested from the amount of questions he had asked.

The morning went by as it did yesterday, though with much less knowing looks being thrown around. Then Tsireya, Ao'nung and Rotxo brought us all to the ocean again. This time, we chose not to divide ourselves into groups and stuck together.

"We'll just go for a swim around until lunch," Tsireya said with a smile. "We'll introduce you all to Ilus after that. And how to hunt, if possible."

Tsireya took the lead, while Ao'nung and Rotxo just followed her like we all did. Most of us had to get some air earlier than them, except for Kiri and I. Tsireya began to do something with her hands, almost like how Ao'nung did during our lesson yesterday. Rotxo and Ao'nung responded with their own hand gestures. Sign language? I thought. I turned to Kiri and found her to be thinking the same.

After a while, we reached a small island. Tsireya and the two Metkayina boys were obviously the first ones to get out of the water. Kiri and I followed. Then Tuk came next with Neteyam. Lo'ak was last.

"How are you all so fast?" he breathed out in exhaustion, laying on his back.

Tsireya smiled and helped him up. "Perhaps it was a mistake to skip the breathing lesson."

"She said they can all breathe," Ao'nung muttered, rolling his eyes.

Tsireya disregarded her brother. "Let's go back to the group we made yesterday, okay?" Then she turned to Rotxo and Ao'nung, "I want you two to help them with their breathing technique. Be serious, especially you Ao'nung."

Ao'nung clenched his jaw, reluctantly taking a seat in front of Neteyam and I. "Let me see how you breathe in."

Neteyam and I began inhaling at the same time.

"You're already wrong," Ao'nung rolled his eyes. "Pay attention to my chest and abdomen." He then breathed in himself. Though Neteyam and I did not seem to get anything out of it. "Try."

We inhaled again.

Ao'nung groaned, "No! Wrong!" He breathed in again pointing at his chest and abdomen, "Like this."

"Gee, don't get so pressed," I mumbled before breathing in the air aggressively for the third time.

Ao'nung scratched his head, "Let's do it one by one. You watch him for now. Look at the movement of his chest and belly as he breathes in."

I sighed and turned to Neteyam.

"Go on, breathe."

Neteyam furrowed his brows and clenched his jaw in annoyance, but did what he was asked to do.