EXPECTATIONS | Neteyam

FRIENDS?

"..but i'm getting my tattoos soon, for sure."
"dude, i thought we were all doing it at the same time?"

They sat in across the shores of the beach together, their bodies covered in sand where they lay on the floor or on the rocks. Tefiti sat cross legged near the water, her mouth parted with concentration as she crocheted. Cornrows full of new shells and beads and strings of decorative seaweed sat gently on her lower waist and by her face, which she brushed behind her ear ever so often. Aonung glanced to Tefiti, the grin fading on his face to a mesmerised observance by the skill of her swift hands and the concentration which graced her face.

"Tefiti, is the rite of passage really that hard? Remember the way she jumped on that tsurak?" She remained unphased for a few seconds, strands of seaweed that were braided into her hair falling infront of those green eyes again. She paused, looking up at the others blankly. "huh?"

One of the boys groaned, which made Tefiti flick her eyes to Aonung, who shook his head dismissively at her concern. She sighed, glancing down the beach. They were there. She stood up, waving down the beach to the three Sullys, who picked up their pace. She grinned to the tallest, who fidgeted with his braids in a flustered manner. Aonung groaned dramatically, protectively sliding his fingers around Tefiti's wrist.

"Did you invite them there?" He accused. The others looked her up and down, groaning even louder when she looked back at them helplessly.

"Seriously, Tefiti? Have you not taken the hint."
"Hey! They're good people. And when you're all together it's not so bad."
"You mean Neteyam?" the boys whistled and pushed her playfully as she hissed at them.

Tefiti turned to Neteyam who was much closer now. He towered over her, his pearly white teeth glinting in the sun as his eyes squinted into a grin. His muscular arms wrapped around Tefiti's tiny waist, pulling her into a tight hug. "Did you sleep well?" His deep voice fanned against her ear, making her flush red. "Yea." she giggled giddily.

She pulled away much to his disappointment, and grabbed Kiri's hand, grinning at her, and nodding to Lo'ak. She turned to Aonung and his friends, who stared back in disgust. "Come on, take them on a ride." She pleaded with her eyes, the Metkayina boy giving in and stomping towards the water. The other boys followed him, pushing Tefiti along with them.

She split from the group, laughing with the others as they messed around with her, pulling her tail and hair. She turned to the three who still stood where they had met on the shore. She waved them over, laughing at their blank faces. "Do you want to come or not?"

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"Look at this catch bro!"

After hours of hunting in the water, diving over the waves, the group surfaced into the village. Tefiti shook her hair gently, drops of water flicking off her hair like diamonds. Neteyam walked next to her into the pod, ignoring the voices of the other boys mindlessly talking to him.

They sat down in a ring, pulling out their catches and finds. The boys all pulled out large or colourful fish, sliding them into the middle with pride on their faces. Laughter broke out in the circle constantly as the others presented their items. Kiri slid a large pile of shells, coral, and seaweed infront of her sheepishly, which the others shrugged at. Tefiti lay three meduim sized fish infront of her, and a small pile of shells which she would sew into her clothes and her hair. Neteyam glanced to her pile, revealing two large fish for his family. He slid a handful of shells to Tefiti when no one was looking - "beautiful looking shells for the beautiful girl." he had whispered., grinning. A downwards smile of gratitude formed on her face as she she shook them into her pouch.

"We're gonna take these to the village, you coming?" Lo'ak and the group of boys had stood up to leave the pod, lingering back for Tefiti who shook her head.

"I'm going to go for an evening swim." Kiri left the Pod swiftly, leaving Tefiti and Neteyam in silence in a matter of seconds. Tefiti spun on her knees to face Neteyam, who lazily manspread on the floor. "So."

His eyes assessed her features as she leaned forward. Her confidence faltered slightly when he finally met her eyes. "Aonung isn't so bad is he?"

Neteyam smiled gently, batting his eyelashes to her empty hand which he longed to hold. "why do you want them to like us so much? I think they already made their minds up."

She rolled her eyes dramatically throwing her arms up. "Ugh. Why are you like this? They're just stubborn. They do like you."

"Aonung hates my skxawng ass." He rested on the floor, blinking slowly at the girl who giggled at his defeated face. There was a silence after that; not an awkward silence - but a comfortable quiet. They found peace in eachother's presence even when they did not talk. Their lessons were mostly in silence now as Neteyam became more skilled in sign especially in the recent days, so they both enjoyed it.

"Tefiti." Her eyes glanced to Neteyam.
"Mhm?" The boy sat up, glancing anywhere but at her to find his words. He shut is agape mouth, sighing in frustration. She smiled at his features, fingers running up to his arm.

Her touch made him reach out for her again, tangling gently into her braids. Her face lit up from his movement, happy he didn't try to break away from her touch.

"Would the clan be angry if i wanted to be your future mate?" Her eyes widened at his upfront approach. He looked down at her crossed legs, unable to look in her eyes. If he did, he would lose all trail of thought and all control of himself as she pressed into his touch. "I don't know."

"Do you want me to be your future mate?" She met eyes with the boy, who looked back at her desperately with those golden orbs. His lips parted as he glanced down to her lips. She swallowed, her eyes flick all over his face as he inched closer. "Yes."

The gap between their lips was messily broken as the boy pulled her in by her waist. She gasped into the kiss, grabbing his jaw, her hands then trailing up is face to his locks of black hair. Her other hand trailed up his abs to her shoulders as they pulled his face closer to hers. He was sweet as he pulled her body on top of his so she straddled him, stroking her hair as he deepened the kiss, his lips colliding with hers again. She giggled when he parted for air, his face full of concentration as he pulled her into his lips again. He kissed her bottom lip as she exhaled in pleasure, wrapping her arms around his neck.

The sound of boxes dropping outside the pod made Tefiti jump out of the kiss across the floor. They looked up immediately to see Rotxo standing by the frame, his eyes wide. He blinked blankly from Neteyam to Tefiti, who lay on the floor. Neteyam had guilty light pink stains around his mouth from the herbs Tefiti wore on ber lips, making her go a shocking red as the boy made a dash away from the pod.

"Rotxo!"