𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 | lo'ak x tsireya

𝟎𝟕 - jubilation

author pov

by the time lo'ak and tsireya returned to the village, it was later into the evening. lo'ak wanted to walk her back home so tsireya happily agreed. when they approached her marui pod, the two found both of their parents standing outside of the entrance, talking amongst themselves. neytiri was the first to notice them, smiling at the pair.

jake nodded his greeting at the two as tonowari stepped towards them.

"lo'ak," tonowari began, laying both of his hands on the boy's shoulders. "the tsahik and i have something important we would like to say to you."

lo'ak bowed his head as he stared at the ground, his tail swishing anxiously behind him. his ears laid flat against his head.

tsireya's eyes darted from lo'ak's face to her parents, worry painting her expression.

"we would like to apologize for our accusations made against you," ronal's usual firm voice sounded soft from behind tonowari. "i have misjudged you. you saved our daughter's life."

lo'ak looked up in disbelief at the tsahik. he was expecting some sort of reprimanding or insult from her. his continued silence of shock caused the olo'eyktan to speak up again.

"in consideration of this, we would like to invite you to a celebration tomorrow night. it will be to honor welcoming your family into our clan."

lo'ak seemed to regain his composure and swallowed hard, making eye contact with his parents. then he nodded firmly. "yes sir, i accept the invitation. thank you."

lo'ak made eye contact with ronal and nodded his head as a sign of forgiveness.

"no, thank you," tonowari gave the boy a soft smile, eyeing tsireya who was smiling widely.

"goodnight, sullys," ronal lifted a hand and disappeared into the marui pod. tonowari and tsireya followed her inside. the girl took one last look at lo'ak and smiled, giving him a small wave.

"come on, son," jake pulled lo'ak into a headlock and led him in the direction of their marui pod.

"i'm coming, sir," he chuckled, feeling a sense of relief that his dad wasn't mad at him this time. neytiri smiled at the two bantering as she followed close behind.

lo'ak pov

the following night of the celebration, i found myself seated around a small fire i had made with sticks. the smoke billowed weakly, but the light and warmth that came from it offered some comfort to me. i had quickly grown tired of the praises and congratulations from my new clan members. i didn't hate it, i just wasn't used to it. henceforth the distance i had created from myself and the crowd. it felt more comfortable to be alone.

i looked down at neteyam's songcord in my hand. it was another one of those days where i missed him terribly, and it happened to be the day when i felt like i was supposed to feel joyful. i fingered the beads and stole a glance back to where the celebration was. my family was lost somewhere in the crowd as the metkayina dancing ceremony had begun. i happened to spot my parents dancing together, seemingly in their own world. i rolled my eyes. that was nothing new. i knew that neteyam would want me to join them. i could almost feel his hands pushing on my shoulders, persuading me to dance.

my eyes traveled over to tuk attempting to drag kiri into the circle of dancers, jumping like a maniac while kiri was trying to reject her. i smiled at the sight of them. i then turned my attention to the dancers and their rhythmic movements. the way they danced reminded me of the ocean.

i then felt my eyes dragged like a magnet over to a beautiful girl. it happened to be tsireya, of course. she was dancing in the center, closer to the giant fire burning in the middle of the dancers. her twirling movements and spinning were so mesmerizing to watch.