Fate's Game | Lo'ak Sully

Part 13 - Fate's Game

                            🪷 🌊

"We're going to play a little game." She smirked, making Lo'ak only become ten times more confused.

This is the first time he'd seen her smile since she arrived back, causing him to feel slightly uneasy. He just looked at her, not at all interested in what she was about to say. "Just get on with it."

"Ok. So!" She began, "Knowing my Mother, the only reason she wants me to pair with one of Jake's sons is because she wants me to mate with someone of high power and status." She squinted her eyes, thinking hard. "I don't have a clue how you qualify as a person of high value, but here we are." She snuck in at the end, thinking out loud.

He gave her a "really?" look, crossing his arms. "Right..." He tried to follow along.

"And knowing your parents, they'll be perfectly okay with splitting us up if both you and I manage to do something-"

"Oh my Eywa, Fay'tari. Stop being so cryptic and tell me!" He got slightly impatient with her, though Fay'tari was rather enjoying breaking it down slowly.

"You and I need to find different suitable partners."

With that being said, Lo'ak's ears prick up, looking a whole lot more engaged now. That was, until he realised something.

"Wait, but- Tonowari and Ronal only have two children, that means-" He stops, looking at her knowing face, as she'd been aware of that fact from the beginning, and slowly started to smile.
"You're going to be stuck with that asshole, ha!" He taunts.

"Can't be a bigger asshole than you!" Fay'tari contradicted, judging him thoroughly.

He quietened his laughter down, "You're serious?" questioning the girl.

"Dead serious."

"But." She lifts her index finger to add a serious effect to her twist. "Let's make it more interesting, shall we?" She smirks, staring at him with intense eyes. Lo'ak thought she still looked mental, "maybe she was a psycho deep down" he pondered, which he wouldn't doubt.

"First to secure a different partner, wins." She says dramatically, her smile growing deviously.

Lo'ak didn't look too intrigued, but then Fay'tari found out why.

"Wins what?" He stupidly says, making Fay'tari realise she hadn't thought of that yet, and if they were going to go through all of that trouble, there had to be some sort of prize. She lowered her finger, moving the hand to cover her mouth instead as she thought of something.

When she did, her eyes brightened again as she looked up.

"First one to secure a different partner, wins eternal, everlasting, infinite glory whilst the loser can't argue, insult or even look at the winner in a bad way." She concludes, folding her arms over each other, looking proud of herself.

Lo'ak was silent for a while, staring at the girl in front of him who just came up with the most boring ending to a challenge ever. He felt like something was missing, something to do with the loser's punishment. It had to be more than that, it had to be even more brutal.

"That, and..." He starts, stepping towards Fay'tari and holding his finger out in front of him to mimic what she'd been doing the whole time. "The loser has leave. And never, ever. Come back." He overdoes it, poking Fay'tari square in the chest with the index finger as he said the word "loser", insinuating that he wasn't going to be deemed as one.

She thought about it. She knew she could easily disagree with him, but that would make her look scared of losing. And she wasn't. Mainly because she thought the idea of a life without Lo'ak constantly nagging her was overpowering. Because of that, she didn't mind being stuck with that Aonung for the rest of her life if it meant getting rid of Lo'ak from it.

But, there's always a flip side. If Lo'ak did win, which she deemed unlikely, that would mean she'd have to leave. She'd be without a home as well as a partner, and her Mother would surely kill her. But, would that be so bad? She questioned. Thinking about it, she could find a place where her Mother could never find her, thinking she'd stayed with the Sully's and was paired with one of his sons.

So, considering it a win-win situation but not vocalising it, she agreed.

"Deal." She held out her hand for him to shake, allowing him to seal the deal also. But Lo'ak was hesitating. He was shocked she'd agreed to such a risk, not understanding what was going through her head. He thought she'd definitely decline it.

As stubborn as he was, he couldn't let her be the stronger one in this situation. If he declined having suggested the idea, she'd never let him live it down. Rather taken aback by her confidence, he tries to avoid sealing the deal.

"We need rules first." He ignores her hand, giving him more time to think.

"Why? What for?" She looked at him with disdain.

Scrambling for an excuse, he simply states that "every game needs rules", giving Fay'tari not much of an option but to try coming up with some herself, thinking he probably had dozens ready to go.

He didn't.

The first one he came out with was sensible, that being "No telling my parents".

"Fine."

"No sabotage."

Her figure freezes, already having thought of tons of ways she was going to sabotage him throughout the game.

"...Fine" She gives in.

He struggled to come up with a third, playing it off as if he was trying to be fair. "Have you got any?"

She did have one, although she didn't know if she wanted to say it. In the spur of the moment, she goes for it. "No backing out. If you do, you'll be considered the loser."

A silence took over, both of them inspecting the other's face, trying to detect small specs of nervousness.

Lo'ak decided it was a fair rule mentally. So, he did the only thing that was left to do.

"Deal." He reaches out for her hand, causing her to immediately connect her own hand with his, the two of them shaking on it once before hastily letting go, Fay'tari wiping her hand on herself, supposedly to rid herself of germs. He scoffed.

So, it was decided. The game was afoot.

The two were about to fight for a change in their futures. They weren't going to let the other beat them, their minds filling with ways they were going to go about it. They agreed to change their fates no matter what...

...Thinking fate can be played.

.
.
.