𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 | lo'ak x tsireya

𝟎𝟗 - comfort

lo'ak pov

i let out an angry hiss as the recom lyle uncuffed me. i tried to pull away, but he grabbed hold of me and threw me into a small enclosure in the back of the aircraft. my mind was spinning and all my senses were on high alert. a few seconds later, to my dismay, the other recom soldier threw tsireya in with me. she immediately ran behind me as i stood protectively before the two soldiers, unsheathing my knife.

"just wait until the colonel sees 'em," i heard one of the soldiers joke. "he'll be thrilled." an uproar of laughter from the two erupted afterward.

before i could make any offensive attack toward them, lyle slammed the door, locking us in the small room. i threw a fist angrily at the small window before turning around to face tsireya.

my shoulders dropped and my stance relaxed when i saw her. the poor girl was trembling and staring at me with a fearful expression.

"tsireya..." i walked over to her and placed my hands on her cheeks, glancing over her body, thankfully she had no injuries. "i'm so sorry this happened. it's all my fault."

"lo'ak..." she murmured breathlessly, pulling me into a hug and laying her head on my chest. "i'm just glad you are here."

"but- what were you doing out there so late?" i asked, a little disappointed that she had managed to get tangled up in my mess.

"i could ask you the same thing." tsireya gazed up sternly at me as her lips formed a thin line.

i stared down at the floor in embarrassment and rubbed my arm. "i couldn't sleep."

"me neither."

it took me by surprise that she didn't scold me as anyone else would, but then again this was tsireya. the only one who never seemed to judge my actions. it comforted me to hear her relate to my insomnia.

"but lo'ak, you are hurt..."

it wasn't until she mentioned it that i felt a sudden sharp pain in my right forearm. i followed her gaze downwards on my arm until i spotted blood seeping from the small wound.

"oh, that? it's nothing, don't worry," i dismissed her comment with a toss of my head.

"no, come sit," she pulled gently on my other arm, leading me to sit beside her on the cold metal floor. the room moved slightly under us as the aircraft moved through the air. my eyebrows lifted in surprise as she pulled some small white flowers out of her loincloth.

"what are those for?"

tsireya did not respond and popped the tiny plants in her mouth. she chewed slowly before spitting them onto her hand and rubbing the flowery pulp in between her two fingers. i watched in admiration as she took my right arm with one hand and gently patted the poultice into my wound with her other hand, her expression concentrated as she focused on her task.

a few seconds later, i felt a cooling sensation on the skin around my arm, numbing the pain that the wound had caused.

"that feels so good," i sighed in relief, leaning my head back against the wall. i turned to face her, grinning. "hey, thanks a lot. i'm sure you'll be a great tsahik one day."

"it's not a problem," she looked down at her lap, her cheeks flushed. "it is simply my duty."

i thought i saw a small smile on her lips but it disappeared before i could convince myself it was there. we both stared at the door uncomfortably as a few minutes of silence passed between us.

then tsireya turned to me with a concerned expression, one that i had become all too familiar with. i immediately knew the question before she uttered it.

"where are they taking us?" her delicate voice sounded so small in my ears.

"i'm not sure." i bit my lip as worry began to churn in my stomach. the fact that i had no idea where we would end up terrified me, but i wanted to stay strong for tsireya. she did not deserve any of this. i cursed myself for not going to my dad earlier to fix my broken comm because there was no way i could contact him from here. i tried pressing on the space between my throat, but it did not respond to my touch. i knew spider would have told everyone. at least, i hoped he did. the clan would find our absence sooner or later.

the continued silence was painful for a moment as we listened to the sound of the engine whirring above us. i took a deep breath and turned to tsireya, shifting my position so that i was facing her.

"hey, listen to me. just know that no matter what happens, i'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you. i promise."

tsireya gazed up at me with her glistening blue eyes, her smile big enough that her dimples showed through her cheeks. she nodded and rested her head on my shoulder, her soft curls tickling the skin on my arm. then she took hold of my hand and squeezed it with her smaller one. i prayed to eywa that she would not feel my heartbeat accelerating by her simple touch.

i cleared my throat and swallowed hard, trying desperately to think of something else to say. my mind traveled back to when i was in danger and tsireya came to rescue me.

"by the way, that attack you did earlier was pretty cool. where did you learn that from?"

a few minutes of silence passed as i waited for her response. when the awkwardness settled in, i looked down to find a heartwarming sight. tsireya had fallen asleep on my shoulder. her chest slowly rose and fell with her calm breathing, her lips slightly agape. i felt my mouth curve into a smile as i stared at her. it made me feel warm inside to see tsireya had enough trust in me that she could fall asleep on me.

i guess i had forgotten that it was still nighttime. drowsiness began to make my eyelids feel heavy. i wanted to stay on guard because we were not entirely safe, and i was aware of the fact that the recom soldiers could burst through the door at any moment or we could suddenly arrive at our unfortunate destination. but tsireya's warmth was more comforting compared to the cold metal floor we were seated on, and my body felt more tired than usual.

i wanted to protect tsireya even if i fell asleep, somehow. in light of this thought, i looped my arm through hers and slid my hand into her own, interlocking our fingers. very soon, i lost the battle with the urge to stay awake and drifted off into a deep slumber.