Fate's Game | Lo'ak Sully

Part 23 - Obvious

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Shit.

He thought he was in the clear, that his brother had decided to keep it between the two of them. He'd never told his brother to do so, but he considered it common sense, surely?

Well, Neteyam reckoned it was only fair to tell Tsireya, as she'd been noticing the odd behaviour. He deemed it necessary to let her know what was going on, as perhaps she could be of help to the situation. He did consider telling Aonung, however he didn't feel like confrontation.

Lo'ak shifted in his step, rubbing his hand along his upper arm.

"Uhm... What game? What?" He attempted to act oblivious, evoking a stunned expression to appear on Tsireya's face.

"Lo'ak. Neteyam told me, I know."

There was no way of him succeeding to convince her that she was delusional and that there was no such "game" at all, so he gave up rather quickly.

"...That jerk-"

"Hey! He's trying to help you here!" Tsireya snapped at him, closing her brows together in rising frustration.

"And how exactly does he plan on helping me?" Lo'ak thought the idea was hopeless.

Tsireya didn't know how to answer that. All Neteyam had told her was what the game entailed, not why they were doing it, though that part was obvious to her as she knew the two didn't want to become a pair. To sum up, she didn't know the specifics. She knew that they weren't at all fond of each other, nothing more and nothing less. So, with that being the only information she could base her answer on, she went with it.

"Well... I don't know what he plans on doing but I know that I want my own questions answered." She crossed her arms, giving him no choice but to comply.

"And those are?"

She had to think again, choosing her words precisely. "Why do you both hate each other?"

She chose that harsh word for a reason, wanting to see his reaction to it. As she'd expected, he seemed discomforted by it. Lo'ak took a breath before answering her. "We fight a lot."

Tsireya looked puzzled, "Alright, but why do you hate each other?"

Lo'ak's body language read as jittery at most, he wouldn't look at the girl in front of him whatsoever.

"She's... Annoying. And rude. And she doesn't stop bothering me-"

"Do you bother her too?"

Tsireya's questions were really getting to him, as they required him to dig deeper into his mind and his feelings; Something he'd never had to do before, especially in front of someone.

"...Yes." He reluctantly replies.

The girl hums for a while, moving her hands to join together behind her back, swaying as she thought of her next test.

"So... You bother each other, got it. Have you ever not fought with her? Like, had a normal conversation?"

Lo'ak traced back to any interaction he'd had with Fay'tari, scanning for one that didn't involve arguing.

He couldn't find one.

He realised that the two had never had a normal conversation between them, but of course, he knew that was because if they tried to it would feel wrong.

"No, don't think so." He opened up more, sounding slightly more comfortable in answering such deep questions.

"Do you want to?"

"What?" He looked bewildered, as if the question she'd asked was an impossible one, though it was as simple as they come.

"Do you want to talk to her normally for once?" He extended it.

"Uhm... I don't know? There's nothing to talk about." He rather truthfully answered, as he really couldn't think of anything him and Fay'tari would converse over if it ever were to happen.

"Oh nonsense! There's plenty, let's see... You could talk about how you're both getting on at the reef..." Lo'ak was looking at her in disbelief, finding that suggestion to be a silly one. "...Or about your little game, you know, you could ask her how she's getting on with my brother?" She tried, reluctant to behold his response.

"No." He quickly rushed out, before taking it back. "I mean- no, I don't think she'd like that."

Tsireya could tell that his first response was the real one, mixing around in her mind for new words. Lo'ak however was worried about where she was going to go with it next, hoping she'd shy away from the topic of the game. That hope was shattered, obviously.

"Why? I think she's enjoying his company, did you see-"

"I did see, I did. Okay, hell! Maybe I'm the one who doesn't want to talk about it, then." He suddenly reveals, feeling threatened for some reason.

Tsireya watched him for a moment, asking herself if she should ask the question that was on the tip of her tongue. She saw his overwhelmed state, how he was shifting his eyes from one side to the other, not being able to focus on one thing.

But, she did it anyway.

"You don't really want to play this game, do you?" She softly inquired, her tone genuine and comforting. Even though his words said one thing, it was plain to see what the correct answer was.

"What?! Yes I do! I'm not losing, I'm-" He halted, his eyes getting angrier. "-I'm not becoming her mate." Lo'ak declared, not wanting to continue the conversation further. He strode passed Tsireya with frustration, not knowing where he would go but wanting to get away.

He felt vulnerable, too open for everyone to see, even though there was only one individual present.

The boy didn't get far. He was forced to come to a complete stop, Tsireya wondering what had hazarded him to do so. She slowly made her way towards him, standing directly beside him as she followed the direction his eyes were pointed at. Then, the pin dropped.

In front of them, they were able to see both Fay'tari and Aonung wading around in the shallow waters, tossing what looked like a small circular object around. Lo'ak didn't pay any mind to whatever it was, as his attention was completely on the girl. She was smiling widely, as well as laughing. She looked entirely content, splashing around and enjoying herself.

It wouldn't have bothered Lo'ak this much if it was anyone else, but it was the threat she was with. The Na'vi who'd become her pair, the one who'd replace him.

It registered in his mind just how far ahead she was in beating him, But also, that she was happy. In front of him, without him, she was happy.

Tsireya checked his facial expression, which was as she'd thought it would be. His brows were resting straight above his eyes, his jaw slightly tightened and his lips flattened. She couldn't pin directly what his eyes read as, however from what she could see, they looked void.

She shifted her gaze between him and the two in front of her, unsure if she should say something.

Eventually, Tsireya knew what she had to do, and that was to make Lo'ak realize that if he didn't come clean about what he wanted, then he may never get it. She knew what he was feeling in that moment, but she also knew that he wasn't going to break away from his determination to win.

So, she breathed in a little before making a resonating statement.

"You've said you want to win." She started in an almost whisper. "You've said you want to stop the engagement."

Lo'ak didn't react at all, apart from a hitch in his breathing.

"But I think you're lying." She admits with purpose.

A silence lasted, before Tsireya finished.

"You want to win the title...I get that." She lifted her up head up and to the side of her, looking at Lo'ak with genuine concern and understanding.

"It's not the game you dont want to lose..."

"...It's her."

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