You will fall (Neteyam x Oc)

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 14
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

Neteyam sat on the shoreline for a while after Sao'Nae swam off, simply staring into the distance, hoping maybe she forgot something and would turn back and return to Awa'atlu. Of course she didn't, Neteyam knew it was stupid to think she would, but some small part of him still hoped to see her for just a second longer. Just one second.

He sat there for the better part of three hours, his eyes trained on the eclipse singing in the sky, wondering if Sao'Nae was looking at it to. But soon, just like everyone else, he had to wake up. The boy stood from the sand and turned his back, glancing over his shoulder one last time before heading towards his families Marui.

As always his lovesick baby brother was returning around the same time, only instead of having a solemn face like Neteyam, he was all smiles. The two walked alongside one another.

Neteyam glanced over and gave a tight lipped grin, his eyes slightly saddened even with the largest smile in the world, " Lo'ak, what's got you smiling?" He joked, already knowing the answer.

Lo'ak grinned ear to ear, " Tsireya and I went for a swim. She showed me some really weird night fish." He laughed, " It was crazy!"

Neteyam nodded, " I'm glad you had fun man." He said, walking into their home, " I was thinking about practicing my sign with Ronal since---"

" Since Sao'Nae isn't here? And why don't you just do Ao'nung, he knows sign too."

Neteyam shook his head, " Ronal just seems like the one who would know it best." He said surely, only for Lo'ak to scoff.

" She's Tsahìk, she doesn't have time to teach us sign. She does all the stuff grandma used to do." Lo'ak explained, " Just have Ao'nung teach you."

" You don't even like Ao'nung, why are you asking me to ask him to teach me?"

The smaller boy rolled his eyes, " If talking to Ao'nung makes you forget Sao'Nae even a little, it's worth it. Ever since we got here it's 'oh I wonder if Sao'Nae will will talk to me' or 'oh do you think if I gave Sao'Nae a flower she'd think I was flirting' or my favorite 'Should I redo my braids, I wanna look nice for Sao'Nae'." Everytime Lo'ak said something Neteyam said he said it in a girlish voice, one that was admittedly high pitch.

Neteyam actually smiled and rolled his eyes, " Listen hear Skxawng---"

Neytiri entered the room and gave a warning look to her son, " Neteyam, don't call your brother a Skxawng!" She chided, titling her head, " Sit, boys. Sit."

Neteyam did as told, Lo'ak soon following, and once they were both seated on the floor, Neytiri smiled, " How's your day. Jake and the girls will be back soon."

Neteyam smiled and shook his head, " My day was good, mother."

" Liar~" Lo'ak said in a sing-song voice, smirking but not lifting his gaze from his five fingers. Neteyam glanced at his brother with wide eyes, shoving the boy harshly, " Skxawng!" He hissed. Neytiri raised the skin of her brow and smirked, having a feeling in her gut that she knew what this was about.

" Nete, what did you think of Sao'Nae's send off? Very different, huh."

Neteyam said nothing but glared at Lo'ak.

Neytiri tired not to smile, " You know, Neteyam. The girl will come back." She assured, " It's just a little ceremony. Just a simple hunt."

Neteyam rubbed his neck and looked up at his mother, thinking about what to say. Honestly he would rather be anywhere in Awa'atlu if he meant he didn't have to disclose girl-matters with his mother...

" I know." He said.

Once more Neytiri sighed, " You know Neteyam, your father and I were once in the same boat you two are in. You and Sao'Nae." She remarked, grabbing a bowl she'd been mixing before her son's had entered and continued to stir, " An outsider and a chieftain's daughter? Yeah, your father crossed that line a lonnng time ago." She laughed at the memories.

Neteyam shook his head, " I don't like Sao'Nae."

At the same time Neytiri and Lo'ak gave him a look so strong, that for a second Neteyam was taken aback. Neytiri smirked, " So is it just any girl you take flying on your Ikran?"

Neteyam's eyes were as wide as saucers and his cheeks turned the deepest shade of purple that he nearly ran out of breath. Neytiri nodded and didn't look up from her bowl, " Don't think I don't see these things, because I do. You're just lucky Ronal didn't find out, because like my mother would've done back when I was young, her Inkimaya would've been cancelled."

Lo'ak grinned sheepishly, " I think he would've rather it'd been cancelled."

Once again Neteyam hit him.

Neytiri shook her head at her son's and smiled, " Stop it, boys." She ordered softly, " All I'm saying Neteyam, is it's not as crazy as you think if you wanted to...bond with...her."

Neteyam immediately shook his head and stared in shock at his mother, meanwhile Lo'ak was laughing his ass off and trying not to drool on the floor his was rolling on. Neteyam was blushing much harder than even before, " Mom!?"

Neytiri laughed, " What? It's not weird. It's completely natural. You and Sao'Nae would make a good couple. You remind me of me and your father when we were young." She admitted, " If you like this girl, go for it."

Neteyam sighed and kicked his brother one more time, trying to shut up his endless laughter, " Mother, she is Metkayina. We are Omatikaya. Her mother would never allow it." He said, his words ending in a mumble.

Neytiri looked at her son's sad face and furrowed her brows, " Why would that stop you, son?" She asked, " My mother had me arranged to marry Tsu'tey, a mighty warrior, but I had already bonded with your father. My mother was furious, but in the end, even in the eyes of a great war, she knew it was either accept him or lose me. I loved your father very much, and if you like Sao'Nae how you say you do, you shouldn't let the biased opinion of her mother stop you." She wisely said, " But that doesn't mean proclaim your love in front the entire clan. Don't be stupid."

Lo'ak had finished laughing (for the most part) and sat snickering on the other side of the room, rubbing his side from where Neteyam had kicked him.

" What if she doesn't like me back....?" The boy asked in a moment of silence.

Lo'ak paused, glancing over. Neteyam sat on the ground with his palms in his lap, head hung low and braids covering his face. Neytiri reached over and raised her sons head with her hand, smiling softly, " Just take it slow. When the time comes, you'll know if she is ready to hear it." She said, going back to her mixing.

" But how?" Neteyam asked.

Neytiri giggled, knowing just how whipped her son was for the chief's daughter, " When her eyes are wide and full of stars everytime she looks at you." She smiled.

Neteyam paused for a moment.

" What the hell does that mean?"