𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 | lo'ak x tsireya

𝟎𝟐 - desperation

lo'ak pov

"tsireya!"

my voice came out weaker and fainter than i expected it to. i watched in despondency as the lighter blue-skinned girl ran, expanding the distance between us. when i knew she wasn't coming back, i dropped my head to the ground in defeat.

i felt my whole body become flaccid as disappointment bubbled up in my stomach. i cursed at myself for yelling at tsireya. i couldn't see past my grief that she was just trying to help me. she had never rejected me, seen me as a "demonblood," or made fun of me. she just saw me as i was. we had started to get so close, and i felt as if i had broken her trust, and most importantly... our friendship. i couldn't hide that there was something more i felt for her inside.

to my surprise, i heard familiar footsteps from inside my family's pod.

a gentle hand laid on my shoulder.

"lo'ak. tell me. what happened?" my mother's demanding voice spoke above me. i knew she had heard me yell at tsireya.

"nothing," i mumbled, shrugging her hand off my shoulder. "i just need to be alone."

⠀───⠀ 𓇼 ⠀───⠀

the whole night i was unable to sleep. i kept tossing and turning in my spot. i had to make it up to tsireya somehow, whatever it took. i couldn't lose her.

the minute i awoke the following morning, i sat up with a start. i blinked open my eyes to see the dawn's light trace streams inside our pod.

i tiptoed over my family's sleeping figures and outside onto the pathways. i passed other villagers who were jumping onto their ilus to fish and gather food. others were just waking up and stepping out of their pods. i knew exactly where tsireya's would be because i visited her so often. when i arrived, i poked my head in. she wasn't there, but ao'nung was.

"hey, man. what are you doing here?" the turquoise-skinned boy asked with a slightly suspicious expression painting his features.

"uh... is tsireya here?" i asked, looking past his shoulder as if she would magically, by the power of eywa, appear.

"no. and she doesn't want to see you," ao'nung frowned, leaning on the wall of the entrance and running a hand through his curls. "i heard what happened last night."

"i know, and i screwed up. i just came here to apologize," i pleaded, searching ao'nung's cold gaze to find any possible way of finding help.

"she is not here. i cannot help you," he said quietly, avoiding my eyes.

i let out a dejected sigh and turned away. it seemed my 'friend' couldn't help me, either. but i knew exactly who could help me, and where i would go to find them.

i started sprinting down the pathway and whistled for my ilu, the same throaty whistle that tsireya had taught me and my siblings when we had first arrived. just as commanded, my ilu appeared at the surface of the water and i jumped on, connecting my tail to his. with a deep breath, we dived in together and swam out into the ocean, away from the village.

once we reached the familiar rocky shore, i broke the surface and patted my thanks to the ilu.

"payakan! hey! where are you?" i called out, cupping my hands on the sides of my mouth to amplify the sound. i waited a few seconds before a distinct whistling sound was heard and a spray of water rained down on me. whirling around, i saw my best friend staring at me from out of the water.

with a grin, i jumped off my ilu and swam over to him.

how good to see you! he whistled as i scrambled on top of his wide fin to talk to him better. what's wrong?

"well, a lot of things have happened," i admitted, rubbing my arm and looking to my right side in the distance. the ocean water lapped calmly at my waist and the smell of salt filled my nose.

i took a deep breath and began to sign, "i lost my brother yesterday and-"

payakan let out a low wail, feeling similar to the grief that was still weighing down on my heart. i bowed my head in silence. i still couldn't shake the guilty feeling off that i had called payakan my brother instead of neteyam... i would never forgive myself for that.

"payakan, i need your help," i signed urgently, speaking slowly. "i did something wrong."

what is it?

i stared intently at payakan's massive eye, observing the concerned stare in his.

"well... i hurt someone very close to me, and i need to find a way to apologize to them."

the tulkun let out a low whistle, i could feel the vibration of the sound under my feet from his fin. i waited patiently as he seemed to ponder what i had told him.

how can i help? payakan blinked his eye at me and i smiled. "well, it may involve speaking to another tulkun..." i trailed off as payakan let out a loud wail. he began to move, and i struggled to keep ahold of him.

"wait, please listen to me! payakan!" i waved my arms frantically, grabbing hold of his fin. when he finally calmed down, i breathed in slowly.

"i need you to talk to tsireya's tulkun..."

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omggg thank you guys so much for the love on the previous chapter! i hope you enjoyed this one as well! i will keep trying to update this story as much as i can. stay tuned for the next chapter <3