The Tides have changed | Neteyam Fanfiction

part 23

-a couple of days before the tides change-

"Lo'ak you have to listen to me! You can't be friends with a killer!"

Raeya and Lo'ak were standing on the beach, after Lo'ak had gone missing and admitted to bonding with Payakan, Raeya couldn't stop herself from asking him about what happened.

This made her really mad and scared. She didn't want to lose her friend. And she didn't want for Neteyam to lose a brother.

"No, he is my friend. You don't understand!" He argued.

"Lo'ak, please. He is not your friend. This is too dangerous," Raeya argued back, with almost teary eyes.

"No, if you just listen to me. Payakan showed me what happened, he didn't kill your mother!" The boy knew that he shouldn't have said that, he had promised Tsireya that he wouldn't say anything, but his argument with Raeya was making him sad.

All he wanted was for them to understand, that Payakan didn't kill Raeyas mother, and that he was made an outcast for the wrong reasons.

Hearing those words come out of Lo'aks mouth made Raeya stop in her argument. She put two and two together really fast. She knew that Tsireya had been the one to tell him about how her mother died.

Raeya let her arms drop down to her sides and closed her mouth that had been open since Lo'ak said those things.

She felt defeated. Lo'ak was too stubborn to listen to her and she no longer knew what to do. She looked at the boy one last time, and then left.

She walked right past him, bumping into his shoulder. She didn't say anything, so Lo'ak was left there, just standing in silence.

He did turn around for a second to see where Raeya had gone. He looked as she crossed her arms in front of her and walked quietly to her Marui.

He sighed, as he had made the realization that his words hurt her. The boy knew that Raeyas mother's death was a sensitive topic. And now he regretted his words.

A little while passed without them seeing each other or speaking.

So when Lo'ak came up to Raeya when she was feeding the Ilu, she was surprised.

"Look. I'm sorry for what I said before, but there is just something that I want to show you." He stood there looking at her.

The sincere look in his eyes meant to Raeya that he was really sorry. "What do want to show me?" She asked.

Lo'ak suggested to her to follow him. So she did. They got on their Ilus and took off towards to sea.

Lo'ak took Raeya to the cove of the three brothers. At first she didn't understand what Lo'ak was doing, but when she realized where she was, she demanded answers.

"Lo'ak why did you take me here?"

The boy didn't respond, he just made a weird call sound. To her it sounded like a failed mating call, but to Lo'ak it was a call for his friend.

"Lo'ak, answe-" the water beneath her got darker. It was a shadow of a huge creature.

Raeyas eyes went wide, it wasn't just any random creature, it was a Tulkun.

It was Payakan.

Her ears started to ring, and her breath hitched.

Payakan came to the surface and went straight to Lo'ak. The boy placed a hand on the Tulkun and greeted it, "hello my friend."

Raeya was frozen to her spot. She couldn't move or say anything, fear had overwhelmed her.

Payakan looked at his friend and then at Raeya, 'is that her?' He said.

Lo'ak turned to Raeya, she was too stunned to speak, but her Ilu had different plans. The small creature could tell that it's owners fear was real. So when the Ilu could sense that through the bond they shared, it got scared as well.

The small creature jerked Raeya off, and threw her into the water, and took off.
Raeya was left stranded in the water.

"This is Raeya, the one that I told you about. We need to show her." Lo'ak signed to Payakan. They both looked at Raeya.

But she was not about to give into death that easily. Raeya dove down and tried to swim away as fast as she could.

But Lo'ak and Payakan were after her. Payakan cut off Raeyas escape way and Lo'ak swam up behind her.

They all surfaced and Raeya took out her knife. At first she pointed it at Lo'ak, "Raeya please just listen to me. Put the knife down."

The boy tried to reason, but Raeya was too scared to listen. She pushed Lo'ak in the water and took off towards Payakan. She knew that a small knife could not kill a huge Tulkun, but at that moment she didn't care.

Lo'ak swam between her and Payakan and put his hands up to stop her. He managed to make Raeya drop her knife and he used this to pin her arms down and take her in a hug, to keep her from moving.

Raeya struggled to break free from his grip, but Lo'ak was surprisingly strong. So she gave up. Thay both floated there for a while before Lo'ak let go and they swam back to the surface.

"Look, I know that you think that Payakan killed your mother, " he looked at her and then at his friend, "but he didn't. I can prove it."

"Lo'ak, I don't care. Nothing you do will change my mind about this," she was getting more and more nervous. What was Lo'ak planning?

The boy sighed deeply. He looked at Payakan and then back at Raeya. "Just this once, can you just trust me and to what I ask of you?" he reached out his hand to her, and waited for her response.

Raeya saw the look in his eyes and it made her wonder. Why was he trying to convince her so much? Why was this so important to him?

Raeya reluctantly took hold of Lo'aks hand. They dove under water and swam closer to Payakan. Lo'ak guided them right in front of the creatures mouth and watched as it opened wide.

Raeya got scared, was he going to feed her to his friend? She tried to swim away but Lo'ak stopped her. He just gestured to the mouth and then swam inside himself.

The girl watched as Lo'ak swam into the creatures mouth without second though. And even tho she didn't think it was a good idea, her curiosity got the best of her.

She swam in and Payakan closed his mouth behind her. For a moment everything was pitch black and neither of them could see anything. But then, Payakan mouth lit up like the night sky.

Thousands of little spots in his mouth looked like stars in the sky.

Lo'ak swam to a weird looking thing at the end of Payakans mouth. Just as he got close, it lit up and streched out in front of them. It looked like que, the thing they use to make the bond between them and creatures.

Lo'ak took his brade and signaled Raeya to do the same. She reached down and took her que, and she watched as Lo'ak connected himself to Payakan. For a moment she really thought through all her decisions up until now.

And she was left with no choice. She needed to know what Lo'ak wanted to show her. What was so important to him.