Fate's Game | Lo'ak Sully

Part 39 - Interrogation

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(POV: Narrator)

The next three days were gruelling for Neteyam.

He'd find Fay'tari and Lo'ak in the same spot every morning, watching as they went about their day as if nothing had happened. Fay'tari would go off to train with Aonung while Lo'ak would do the same with Tsireya. It was as if absolutely nothing had changed besides their nighttime arrangements.

Fay'tari, Lo'ak as well as Tsireya were all aware of it too.

To make things worse, Jake and Neytiri were noticing.

They'd asked Neteyam a few times what was "going on with Fay'tari and Aonung" as well as the same question for Lo'ak and Tsireya. He had to explain to them that he thought it was nothing to worry about, knowing his parents wanted the original pairing to go ahead. They weren't convinced, though.

One day, when Jake spotted Fay'tari and Aonung alone once again, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

In his mind, he knew Fay'tari and Lo'ak weren't fond of each other. He knew they fought a lot, but to be honest, it only reminded him of himself and Neytiri when they were younger and thought they'd eventually get over it. But, he also knew that they were no longer fighting, and he deemed that a bad thing as they weren't talked at all. He trusted his eldest son's judgement that there was nothing going on, however he still had to see for himself whether or not that was true.

He thought they'd eventually accept each other as a pair, however he never wanted to force them into it. So, he just wanted to know what the situation was.

He called all the kids together, including Tsireya and Aonung who were a little skeptical to be there at first. Kiri and Tuk stayed out of the way in the corner, while Neteyam, Fay'tari and Lo'ak stood in the centre of the room along with Tsireya and Aonung behind them.

Everyone seemed rather skittish, so he began quickly.

"Does anyone know why I've called you all in here?" He paced from side to side, provoking everyone to shake their heads in unison. He nodded, not having expected them to know. Neytiri stood out of sight behind her husband, her arms crossed as she watched the kids.

"Then, let me tell you." He stopped pacing, facing Fay'tari and Lo'ak specifically which made only one of them nervous; That one was not Fay'tari.

"Your Mother has asked me to confirm whether or not you've accepted your pairing; She expects you have." He looked directly at Fay'tari, who only peered back with a blanked face.

Both Lo'ak and Neteyam turned to look at her too, matching shocked expressions on their faces, both knowing that the topic wasn't a good one to bring up.

Jake was lying. No message had come from Ikeyni, he'd made it all up. He examined the girl, checking for any kind of emotion. She didn't give in, slowly tilting her chin upward. Then, she smirked.

"When did this message arrive?" She narrowed her eyes so that they were mere slits, watching Jake visibly grow confused. He was taken aback, not expecting to be countered.

Nevertheless, he answered confidently. "Just this morning." He states, making Fay'tari's smile grow wider.

"Oh? That's funny. I don't remember hearing the conch horn sound." She looked ahead at him, noticing his movements slow and his face concentrate.

She'd caught him out. Whenever a newcomer entered the reef's territory, the conch horn would be blown to welcome them and alert the chief. But there hadn't been one that morning, she was right.