˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ blue blood ⋆ - neteyam sully.

˗ˏˋ 6. 'ˎ˗ Secrets.

  Aunty was not pleased, and to my surprise, she dropped the mating talk all together. The fight had been a blessing in disguise. I knew this peace wouldn't last, so I enjoyed it all I could. It wouldn't be long before Aunty was talking about it again, reminding me of how important it is to bond with a strong, good warrior man.

Uncle told me Häàtawai was grounded and I wouldn't be seeing him for a long time. I pretended to be sad, but Uncle saw through my act and just laughed at me.

It was four days after the fight when I saw the Sully's again. Reya was hanging out with Lo'ak almost everyday, Aonung off with either Uncle or his friends.

I was trying to make life feel normal again, enjoying my newfound peace. I was helping with the fishing, the Ilu, babysitting children, helping new mother's learn to weave baby mats and doing my spear training with Uncle. I was doing the things I really enjoyed, trying to forget how much the village had changed since the Sully's arrival.

I was trying to forget the Sully's all together. Well, not all of them, just one. Neteyam.

I couldn't stop thinking about the way he'd defended me, as if we were best friends, as if we had some kind of deep connection. I was angry at myself for thinking so much of it; so I kept my schedule very, very busy.

However, I needed a little bit of down time too, no matter what was bugging me. I spent this time in my cove, weaving or singing or just resting. I was humming the lullaby I always used to sing for Reya and Aonung with my feet in the water, letting it lap at my ankles, when I heard a rustling from behind me.

I turned quickly, my ears shooting upwards at the noise. I waited anxiously as the bushes rustled. A blue blur suddenly fell through and landed with a thud on the sand. I watched, my eyes wide.

No one had ever found my cove, not even Reya knew where it was.

The blue blur had been Neteyam, of course. I cursed my luck as I turned my head away from him. I heard him grunt and stumble onto his feet. It took him a few seconds to see me, and when he did, it went dead silent. The only noise was my heartbeat, which had become considerably faster, and the noise of the gentle waves.

"Āmāna?"

I hesitated before turning to look at him. I hadn't seen him since his fight at the gathering. I pushed Reya's words from the night of the fight away, reminding myself they were not true.

I gave him a blank stare. "You can not be here."

I watched his ears fall flat, a look of disappointment crossed his face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was looking for a spot to hide from Tuk and I tripped. We're playing hide and seek."

"No one knows about this cove. It's mine," I told him, looking back at the water. For some reason, I was scared to meet his eyes. I felt like I owed him for defending me.

"I will go," he said. I could feel his eyes on my back, he hesitated, waiting for me to say something more.

"No," I said, surprising myself. "Come and sit."

It was silent. I waited a few seconds before turning to look at him properly. He seemed to be hesitating again.

"Come," I repeated.

He did. He came and sat beside me. I stared at him. His eye had turned a deep purple, his lip had swelled up slightly and the scratch on his forehead was a dark red now. I felt a wave of protectiveness, the way I felt for my family.

Before I could stop myself, I reached out and ran my finger down the scar on his face, gently grazing his smooth skin. He sat still, his eyes wide, watching me.

"I'm so sorry about the fight," I whispered, feeling oddly sad. "I must thank you for what you did, no matter how much trouble you caused."

Neteyam didn't speak. He was staring at me still, his mouth parted open slightly.

"Is your eye sore?" I asked, not really giving him time to respond.

I gently touched under his eye where his skin had bruised badly.

"No, no," he replied, his voice soft.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He blinked a few times as if snapping himself back into reality. "It's okay, it's not your fault. I do not like that guy. Is he really your mate?"

I chuckled. "No, my parents just like him. They want us to, I don't. He doesn't really either, he just wants to flaunt me to his gross friends. I also think he wants to train with my Dad. It is a privilege only the best of the best get to experience here. I think he thinks he will get a chance if we are mated."

Neteyam nodded slowly. He opened his mouth to say something then hesitated.

"What?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Can I ask you a question?" He sounded nervous.

Curious, I agreed and shuffled closer to him, pulling my knees up under my chin and wrapping my arms around my legs.

"Why do you call Tonowari Uncle?"

I froze. How did he know? I had never referred to Uncle at all in front of him... My ears suddenly flattened as I remembered. The Ilu ride. I had been trying to save him from having to ride with my Uncle and I had called him just that.

I must've looked as upset as I felt because Neteyam began apologising profusely for asking, telling me it wasn't his place and he was sorry for being so nosy.

I shook my head, finally regaining my voice. I spoke through the big lump in my throat. "No, it's okay."

"Really?" Neteyam asked.

"Yes. He is not my real Dad. I am not the Chief's firstborn daughter, Tsireya is. He is actually my Uncle. Ronal is my mother's sister."

Neteyam nodded again. "That makes sense."

"Mm."

We fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence. I never would've thought I would ever be this calm about a stranger knowing that. I wasn't mad, I had just been surprised.

"Can I ask you a question?" I tried, meeting his eyes once again.

"Of course."

"Okay," I paused, taking a breath in. "Why did you defend me at the gathering?"

I watched his expression change. I don't think he'd been expecting that. He seemed nervous again. I ignored the urge to comfort him.

He hesitated before answering. "To be honest, I'm not really sure."

He avoided my eyes. I was disappointed with his answer. Why? Why was I disappointed? What had I been expecting?

He must've seen my disappointment.

"You seemed upset and-" he paused, looking away- "it bothered me."

I felt my ears prick up. "Really?"

"Yes," he answered, drawing circles in the sand. "You're a nice person. Häàtawai didn't seem like one."

I smiled, then I giggled, then I couldn't stop myself. I started laughing, loudly. I was so overwhelmed and confused by everything that happened; on the night of the gathering and now that I just laughed. And I couldn't stop.

Neteyam watched me, a small smile playing on his lips as I attempted to catch my breath again.

"I'm sorry-" I breathed, giddy as I rubbed the tears from my eyes. "He is not a nice person. It's so nice to hear someone finally say that."

"And mean it," Neteyam added through a smile.

I fought the sudden wave that passed through me. A wave of urges; an urge to hug him, an urge to tell him I wanted to trust him so badly. A very strong urge to make a very strong bond with this curious forest boy.