Mighty Jewel | LO'AK + NETEYAM

chapter twenty six

The next morning, Kyalayi stayed for a little longer on the beach, skipped breakfast with the Sully's to have a moment with herself and her thoughts. Thoughts that battled each other in her head, making her forehead throb underneath. Her father's words were on loop, echoing loudly in her mind as if Marrek was actually whispering them in her ear. They're coming. She knew she couldn't keep her father's revelation to herself anymore, she needed to warn Jake, he would know what to do in order to protect his family... her family. The eclipse had completely faded now and when Kya noticed Tuk running out of the family's hut, pulling Kiri by the hand, the white haired girl took it as a sign that it was finally time. Kya got up from the sand, brushing it off her teal skin and made her way toward the hut. Before entering, she glanced one more time at the two girls who were now playing in the water, painfully smiling at them. In a few minutes, everything is going to change, she thought.

Kya must had forgotten to look before entering because when she did, she bumped into someone. Her gaze flickered from the girls to glance up Lo'ak who grinned down at her. "Sorry." She said, passing by him as he did the same, their places now exchanged. But before she could get any further, Lo'ak grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her closer.

"Are you okay?" He asked, cocking his head so he could meet her beautiful jeweled eyes. He needed to make sure that after yesterday, she wasn't shutting everybody out. But Kyalayi fled his gaze. "Kya." He insisted, interlacing their fingers. The ocean girl looked down at their hands. It felt weird and rather unusual to not have some of his touch stole away by her gloves now that she wasn't wearing them anymore. But what was even weirder was the feeling she realized was lacking when he touched her. Her ears weren't perking, her stomach didn't summersault, her heart didn't paced, her breaths didn't stuck in her throat. Kyalayi felt peace with the boy but she had naively confused the kind of love she felt for Lo'ak with the one she felt for Neteyam. They were similar but at the same time, very much different.

"I'm fine." She finally replied, daring to look up and meet his eyes. She slowly pulled her hands from his and inhaled a big breath to gather her courage. "I'll find you later, okay? We need to talk."

Lo'ak nodded before joining his sisters on the beach as Kya stayed out for a few more seconds to recollect her thoughts. So many thoughts. One thing at a the time, she thought. First, she needed to talk to Jake and then she will talk to Lo'ak. Matters of the heart weren't as much as a priority as a possible war coming their way, it'll need to wait. Kyalayi stepped forward with a false confident pace, scared to even speak the words of her father out loud. She passed by Neteyam who was cleaning up their breakfast. The ocean girl hadn't realized how close he was to the hut's entrance and her heart slightly pinched as she knew he must had heard and saw her with Lo'ak, holding hands. Her thoughts were confirmed when Neteyam didn't even look up at her when she walked by, the girl silently wincing to his ignorance and making it harder to follow through her initial plan of speaking to Jake.

The Sully man was inspecting his weapons when Kya interrupted him, Neytiri was close by, braiding some dried seaweed together. "Jake." Her voice caught in her throat, making her voice break. Both Sully parents redirected their attention toward the ocean girl, their traits showing their concerns at the sight of how distressed Kya looked. As Kyalayi struggled to find her next words, Jake shared a worried look with her mate which made the man stepped toward the girl, gently grabbing her by the shoulders.

"What is it?" He softly asked, reading clearly the anxious signs she presented. Her body stiffened under his touch.

"They're coming." Was the only thing she could say, just as it was the only thing in her mind. Jake's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose to the girl's words. She didn't need to specify who they were, he had a hunch, a gut feeling that the Sky People would eventually catch up with him, especially now that Evelyn had came back. Before answering, Jake glanced back at Neytiri who nodded, giving him the sign to reveal what they had agreed with Tonowari and Ronal. Evelyn was the reason for many bad things happening to both the Sully's and Metkayina and now, there was no escape from her future.