Ngalu hasn't spoken to Lo'ak in multiple days. Which she thought was weird, they seemed to really bond a few days ago. But, she probably guessed wrong. Every time she'd see him anywhere, he was with Tsireya. She didn't understand why.
Ngalu sat by the fire in their pod, folding leaves around a piece of food to put on the fire in a bit. She was deep in her thoughts, not even noticing Aonung walking into the pod. 'Hey, Ngalu!' He tried to get her attention again after a failed attempt.
'Huh, what?' She looked up at him. 'Oh, hey Aonung.' She said while folding another piece of food.
He studied her, noticing she was daydreaming. She probably had a lot on her mind. 'Hey, want to go shell hunting?' He knew that would cheer her up. And they always talk about their life when they go seashell hunting, she could open up to him.
Ngalu shot him a crooked smile. 'Always.' She stood up after folding the last leaf around the bit food and placed it on top of the other ones she'd already folded.
The two of them left their pod, walking past the water. Ngalu's eyes met with a sight she didn't know what to think of. Lo'ak and Tsireya were lounging at the shallow end of the sea. The waves crashed into them softly, making Tsireya giggle every time Lo'ak got annoyed by it.
One thing in particular caught her eye. Lo'ak was smiling. She hadn't seen him smile, like ever. He was smiling like he made her do the other day, but not at her. She didn't have anything to do with this. She felt her ears drop and her tail fall behind her. Ngalu didn't want to seem too faced about it because truthfully, she wasn't faced at all! She kept telling herself that. But deep down, she knew this was a lie.
Aonung saw all of this happen, Ngalu's mood switching as her eyes fell upon Lo'ak and Tsireya. He didn't understand why though, the girl absolutely despised him. It also didn't seem like she was jealous.
She quickly shook it off as she noticed that she was watching them for too long. She faced Aonung again, who looked at her with a complex expression on his face. 'What?' She quickly shrugged while shaking her head, looking at him while waiting for an answer.
His eyes grew wide and he shook his head as well. 'Nothing, come on.' He grabbed her wrist, guiding her over to the beach.
Her toes touched the warm sand, she shut her eyes real quick. That was the first time she'd put her feet in the sand today and she loved every second of it. It was something she looked forward to every morning she woke up.
Ngalu shifted her head towards Aonungs, who already had an eyebrow raised while looking very smug. Little shit. She smirked. 'What?'
'Nothing.' He raised his eyebrows while shaking his head. He put his arms up and leaned backwards, his lip slightly curled downwards.
Ngalu rolled her eyes at him, already looking down while scouring the sand for pretty seashells. She was always very picky, she didn't want any broken shells. The only shells she accepted were fully intact ones. Sometimes she'd find one with a little creature living inside of it. She'd always put it back into the ocean, letting it calmly live its life further on.
However, Aonung didn't start looking just yet. He was still looking at his sister, trying to find the best way to start this conversation.
She already had seven shells in her pouch when Aonung finally decided to try talking to her. 'How are you?'
Ngalu stood up from squatting down to pick up yet another shell while raising an eyebrow in suspicion. 'Good, what about you?' She asked him, facing him while putting her newest addition in her pouch.
He shrugged. 'I'm okay.'
Ngalu stood up straight, folding her arms. 'Why just "okay"?'
He moved his lips from side to side, thinking about his answer. 'These forest people are getting on my nerves.' He said, matter of factly.
She frowned, tilting her head. 'What do you mean?' She thought he was okay with them being here now, since Lo'ak took the blame for him days ago. Apparently that wasn't the case.
He shrugged. 'I don't know. I don't hate them or anything. It's just weird that they're here, that's all.'
Ngalu still had a puzzled expression on her face while looking at the boy in front of her spotting a seashell next to him and him turning around to get it. He gave it to her, smiling at her. 'Alright.' She continued walking across the shoreline.
Aonung quickly followed her. 'Why are you so quiet?' He asked her, trying to keep up with her. 'Damn, I forgot how fast you are.' He muttered under his breath.
She chuckled. 'I am just thinking.' She told him, not looking up from the ground.
'Thinking about what?'
'Nothing in particular.'
'Liar.' Ngalu looked up at her brother. He tilted his head, having a smug look on his face with his signature grin. She only rolled her eyes at him. She wasn't obligated to tell her brother all of her thoughts and secrets. Why would he even care. To be fair, she wasn't thinking about anything in particular. Shell hunting always helped her clear her mind, only focusing on getting the prettiest seashells.
Aonung sighed, stopping Ngalu in her tracks while moving in front of her. He put his hand on her shoulder. Ngalu looked up at him, wondering what he was doing. 'You know you can always talk to me, right?' Aonung was always so overprotective of his sister. It wasn't that it bugged her, she liked it. But sometimes she'd wonder if there was an ulterior motive.
She nodded. 'Of course. And you can always talk to me.' She said, holding the hand he placed on her shoulder.
༄
He didn't even mind spending this much time with Tsireya. Lo'ak actually had a lot of fun today. She wasn't what he thought she would be like. She was actually funny. Really funny. She made him laugh at almost everything that left her mouth.
Tsireya started to fall for the boy, like actually fall for him. She's starting to like him more every second.
He noticed her attraction to him. Did he feel the same way? He didn't know. On the one hand, she was such an amazing girl. But on the other hand,
she wasn't Ngalu.
Why was he so determined to dislike Ngalu so much and why was it okay to spend so much time with Tsireya instead of her? With Tsireya it would be a sweet and lighthearted little relationship. With Ngalu it had more meaning, he was scared of what he felt towards her. It would've been more deep, a heavier kind of relationship. If he ever got a hold of her, he would never let her go. And that can't happen, he won't let it happen.
Besides, he didn't want to take this away from Neteyam. Lo'ak sees how he looks at her. Neteyam has done so much for Lo'ak and he wanted to repay him. If that meant letting her go, so be it.
He's already made his peace with that.
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Making Waves | lo'ak sully
Fanfiction'You made me realize that I should be proud of the person I have become,' 🫧- Ngalu was a lost soul, not knowing who she was anymore. Lo'ak was a lonely outcast, never able to live up to his older brother. When the two meet, it was like she was the...
