Rivals || Lo'ak Sully

Chapter 4 : "Golden"💫

Ma'i decided to clean up in hopes of this way getting the words Lo'ak said out of her mind.

The girl was now standing right in the tool hut with all the necessary needs for her's and others' bonded ikran's. It was surprisingly empty considering the fact that almost all clan people except youngsters had their ikrans already and there were usually at least one or two others. Ma'i of course didn't mind being with herself for a second, it was calming.

The girl's hands brushed against her so beloved saddle for her Ikran. The whole day she decided to not think about anything except cleaning up and then taking a flight in the night sky. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, one thing completely occupied her mind and she couldn't help but feel frustrated.

Ma'i tried to plan her new tricks in order to make sure she was ready for the upcoming tournament yet her mind just decided to wander away, not letting the girl focus.

"Going somewhere?" The voice came out of nowhere, slightly startling the girl but Ma'i managed to get a grip to not show any emotion.

She put her headpiece on top, making sure she was ready for the flight.

Ma'i didn't even bother to answer as her hands stabled the seat on the Ikran. She didn't want to drain her energy levels knowing that the only thing that could come out of this would be another fight with Lo'ak.

However, Ma'i could hear another ikran being prepared for a ride next to her. She mentally cursed as her hands took the saddle and started moving her ikran away to the edge of the cliff.

The girl quickly hopped on top, excitement flowing right through her veins. Flying was like therapy to her, no matter if she was stressed or relaxed, moving together with her ikran made her feel calm but somehow excited too.

She connected to her ikran, instantly feeling his emotions and after a few seconds Ma'i took off, completely ignoring Lo'ak who was only a few meters from her, also preparing his ikran.

As soon as Ma'i moved adrenaline rushed through her body and she felt so free. The ikran quickly spin through the air and made a few circles, letting out a soft sound as the ikran was happy too. Ma'i felt amazing as she inhaled a deep breath of fresh air and leaned back a bit when her ikran got to a stable flying rhythm.

"Hey, wait up!" Lo'ak shouted speeding up his ikran and moving closer to Ma'i. Now he was exactly from her right side, his ikran almost touching Ma'i's.

"What do you want, Lo'ak?" The girl looked straight at his face only to be met with a sly grin. "Can't you seriously leave me alone?"

Lo'ak looked straight at Ma'i's eyes as he put one of his hands under the chin, making a confused face.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The boy once again scoffed at Ma'i, not failing to see how her hair blew in the wind, making her whole neckline exposed as she trembled feeling the coldness. "I needed to make sure you aren't better than me at this field. And also, this route is included in my training too so don't act like you're the only one who's allowed to go here."

Lo'ak tilted his head and his tail flutter in the air, softly hitting his ikran's back.

Ma'i chose to not interact with him anymore and just got her attention back on track.

They both flew for a long time, none of them uttering a word. Ma'i felt surprisingly calm and safe too, but she figured out that it was due to Lo'ak being silent and the weather being so calm.

Ma'i watched as the sunset set on the horizon, the sun shining right at them but not being too bright.

The girl closed her eyes enjoying the calmness. She took her hands off the gear and stretched them out, feeling better than ever. The fresh wind suffused her body and veins.

She then looked up, smiling. Ma'i turned her head to Lo'ak's side only to be met with his fiery golden eyes staring at her already. Ma'i's smile dropped down and she averted her gaze forward again. She furrowed her eyebrows in obvious annoyance and slight shyness she didn't want to admit.

"I seriously don't-"

Suddenly her ikran let out a shrieking sound and turned right, shooting straight down, cutting any further words that Ma'i had to say. A strong wind blew right at the girl's face. Ma'i quickly grabbed tighter on the saddle as she was already starting to slide down.

The girl managed to sit up straighter as she saw a red mark on the side of her ikran's wing.

Ma'i didn't need to see it twice. She looked around attentively when her eyes caught a glimpse of an open cave. Ma'i strongly turned her ikran to the side, hoping they will make it on time.

A strong force blew Ma'i and her ikran inside the dim tunnel and they fell down on the ground, rolling for a bit. She stopped, her body hitting a strong stone and crashing inside.

A sharp pain shot through her whole body, as the girl not only felt dizzy, with a buzzing sound ringing in her ears but the sudden hit made her body ace and burn up due to the stabbing pain. Ma'i felt like her whole breath was knocked out of her lungs all at once.

The girl let out a choking cough, rolling slowly to the side, trying to inhale anything but failing entirely.

Ma'i looked up a bit, trying to keep her eyes open. Her last sight was Lo'ak jumping off his ikran, throwing his bow and arrows away and storming speedily toward her.

"Ma'i!" The girl managed to hear the final sound of Lo'ak's voice as her eyes closed completely and she fell into the field of complete darkness.