Here With Me | Neteyam 💙

💙 ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 2

When he slowly approached her, his face was filled with confusion as she took a step back, wary of his presence.

"Why are you hiding behind my family's Marui?" Loak gestured to the pod. "I thought Esnat said you hurt your head?"

As he took a step forward, Hazel stepped back and paused briefly. He could tell she was very confused by her facial expression.

"Are you feeling okay?"

When he approached her, she tightened her grip on the blanket and hurried away.

"Aya, wait!" He hollered, immediately taking off after her.

The moment Hazel ran past her, Esnat's eyes widened. Her head whirled around and she followed after her, Loak not far behind.

Running parallel to each other, they exchanged confused glances. They didn't know why she was trying to get away from them. Several people stared at Hazel as she ran by.

A few creatures lined up in an area caught her eye. Their appearance reminded her of the hybrid dragon-bird she saw in her dream. Maybe she really was dreaming again after all. And maybe, she would wake up if she jumped into a body of water.

"Watch out!" Loak shouted as he reached for her.

She turned back to the front and gasped, stopping in place as the blanket fell from her grasp. On her tiptoes, she tried to catch her balance right at the ground's edge.

There was only one thing she could see below her: a deep and deadly fall. Suddenly, someone grabbed her long braid and yanked her backward as she landed flat on her butt.

"Ah...!" She winced, rubbing the area on her head where her braid was.

"Have you finally gone mad?"

As he spoke, his voice was low. In between looking at his feet and looking at his face, her eyes traveled across his body. Standing in front of her, he gazed down at her.

He had braids that stopped at his shoulders, a broad chest, and a muscular build, and his face was unimpressed at the sight of her. Across his forehead, he wore a brown headpiece, right above his right nipple was a red gash on his chest, and around his diaphragm, he wore a brown waistband. Two armbands adorned his forearms, while a knife was slung around his waist. His appearance resembled that of a warrior just returning home from war.

When she saw the band around his bicep, she held her breath. She had the same one on her arm, but his was slightly larger.

Suddenly, she slapped herself back to reality, startling him, Esnat, and Loak.

"Wake up! Wake up!" She told herself, striking her cheek once more.

The three of them exchanged confused glances.

"Um, sh—she hurt her head," Esnat stuttered nervously, to which Neteyam sighed in annoyance.

In order to attract his attention, Ayavi was always causing trouble. The girl never appealed to him, and he never understood why his mother thought she would make a good Tsahik. If anything, she was annoying and arrogant.

"Enough," he grunted, grasping her wrist to stop her.

Hazel stared at him, her mouth agape as he yanked her up on her feet with force. The glare he shot at her indicated that he was becoming aggravated. She didn't know who he was and why he despised her so much. And if he didn't like her, why was he interfering and dragging her away?

"No, stop." Attempting to free her wrist from his grasp, she only prompted him to tighten it further.

In search of help, she looked towards Esnat as they walked past her and Loak. However, the girl just merely gazed back at her, unsure of what to do. She had never seen Neteyam handle Ayavi with force.