Here With Me | Neteyam 💙

💙 ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 6

It seemed as though they had been flying for an eternity now.

When they took off, Hazel realized she had no choice but to make physical contact with Neteyam or she would fall to her death.

Her hands remained on his shoulders throughout the journey, despite her reluctance. Since he wore a brown cloak over his shoulders, at least it wasn't skin-to-skin contact.

They remained silent, however, without saying a word to one another.

There was still an unspoken tension between them, even though she couldn't express it out loud.

It was good for a while until it no longer felt good when the wind lashed against her body. She let out a sneeze, beginning to feel cold from the breeze.

The sound of her sneeze caught Neteyam's attention as he glanced back at her subtly.

It seemed illogical to him that she wasn't wearing a cloak or shawl while they traveled. He could tell she was becoming uncomfortable from the way she looked.

Up ahead, his father signaled for them to land at the cliff of a mountain.

"Hold on tight. We're landing," he mumbled to her as she tightened her grip on his shoulders.

When they dove down toward the cliff, a gush of wind whipped her hair against her face, her eyes growing wide with the sudden change.

She didn't realize she was holding her breath until they landed on the ground.

Neteyam disengaged his queue from the ikran's as he hopped off in a swift movement. She shifted her nervous gaze to the ground as she pondered how she should land.

"Thank you, boy," he said softly, delivering gentle pats to his ikran's head.

His attention shifted to Hazel as she stared back at him awkwardly. Immediately, his expression changed to that of his usual unimpressed one.

His eyes seemed to be waiting for her to ask for his assistance again.

While he expected her to play the role of a damsel in distress, she refused to go along with it.

In myriad sloppy but somewhat successful maneuvers, she hopped off the ikran's back.

"Whoa, careful! You alright?" Loak grabbed her hand as he held her up to prevent her from rolling her ankle.

"Yeah, I'm good. I got it, thanks," she smiled at him.

When he saw their interaction, Neteyam rolled his eyes and walked toward his little sister, who immediately ran into his arms.

"Thank you, Netty!" Tuk squealed, nuzzling her head into his neck.

As he ruffled Tuk's hair, Hazel saw a smile spread across his face.

"Bipolar much," she mumbled, prompting Loak to throw her a confused look.

"You said something?"

"Nothing!" She shook her head, letting out an ugly yawn as she stretched her muscles. "Man, I'm parched."

As he handed her a wooden gourd, he chuckled.

"Here, drink this."

"Is it water?" She asked, her eyes glistening with delight.

"Yeah, it's mine. Hopefully, you don't mind sharing with me."

"Are you kidding me? My throat feels like a dessert right now."

After opening the lid, she opened her mouth to take a sip of water from the wooden gourd only to have it snatched away from her.

"Hey—" She turned towards the hand, irritation immediately taking over once her eyes narrowed in on Neteyam.