Neteyam's hands flew to his face instantly. He heard his sister shout something and felt Ao'nung scramble backwards, clutching his forehead. Neteyam shut his eyes tight, trying to keep them from watering. He inhaled sharply, feeling warm, thick blood dribble onto his lips. He could taste it on his tongue. "Don't touch his fa-" "Shut up, Ao'nung, i gotta see if it's broken," Kiri shouted, cutting him off. "It'll hurt him if you touch his face, Kiri!" Neteyam heard the sound of Kiri sighing, followed by a scoff from Ao'nung. He felt Kiri's fingers on his face, pulling his hands away from his nose. "Shit," Ao'nung whispered. "Neteyam, I am so-" "It's fine, it- Kiri, please stop," he pushed his sister's hands away from his face. "Shut up, idiot, I'm trying to see if it's broken." Neteyam heard Ao'nung gasp softly. "Broken? Oh, god," he groaned. Neteyam tried turning his head to look at him but Kiri's grip on his jaw held him in place. "Ommi! Teyam's nose is broken!" she shouted, running towards the door. Neteyam took the opportunity to glance over at Ao'nung. He was covering his mouth with his hands in horror, eyes wide. "Oh my god, Neteyam, I am so sorry," he breathed, shaking his head slowly. It hurt like hell. If anyone else had done it, Neteyam would have been furious. But, for some reason, he found that he didn't really care that much. Neteyam grinned, aware of the blood in his teeth. Ao'nung's eyes grew even bigger in shock. "Oh my god," he whispered again, reaching over and rubbing the blood off of Neteyam's mouth and chin. He whispered how sorry he was the entire time, eyes full of worry. "It's fine, really," Neteyam murmured, watching him carefully. Ao'nung didn't notice. Neteyam was glad. He would be mortified if Ao'nung knew how flushed Neteyam's face was at the thought of his apparent worry for Neteyam's well being. It was written on his face in every sad line by his downcast eyes. Had his eyelashes always been this long? And dark? There were two rows of them. Neteyam's first thought was how similar they were to the rows of shark's teeth. He felt like an idiot for thinking any of the thoughts present in his mind at this moment and looked away, watching the door for Kiri's return.
Kiri returned with Ronal and Neytiri in tow. Ronal was holding an ice pack wrapped in a dish towel. "What happened?" Neytiri asked, voice tense with worry. Ronal whispered something gently to her, rubbing her shoulder softly. Neytiri nodded and clasped her hands behind her back. "Come here, Neteyam," Ronal whispered, kneeling beside Neteyam and gently taking his chin in her hand. "What happened?" Ronal asked, looking at his face carefully. Neteyam glanced at Ao'nung. His face was pale and he was chewing on his lip nervously. His leg was bouncing rapidly. "I hit my face on the... wall," Neteyam lied, gesturing with his head. He tried to smile reassuringly at her, but her wince at his bloody teeth told him it wasn't worth bothering. Her face was measured and calm. Ronal gave him a sideways glance. "Ao, go get tissues," she murmured, gently molding the ice pack to fit the bridge of Neteyam's nose. Every ounce of pressure was agony. Neteyam was trying very hard not to cry, blinking rapidly and looking up at the ceiling. Ao'nung returned with his hands full of at least 50 tissues and a roll of toilet paper. Neteyam smiled but instantly regretted it as he felt his nose wrinkle. Ao'nung sat beside his mother and began folding his tissues into neat rectangles. Ronal propped Neteyam up against the foot of Ao'nung's bed frame, instructing him to hold the ice pack where she had left it.
"I know it hurts, but putting pressure on it will stop the bleeding," she explained apologetically. Ao'nung was handing her clean tissues and taking the blood-soaked ones whenever necessary. There was an awkward silence in the room. Kiri had gone back downstairs. It was just the boys and their mothers now. "So, you hit your face on the wall?" "Yes ma'am," Neteyam answered hurriedly. "How does that happen, Neteyam?" Neytiri asked, handing Neteyam a clean tissue. "We were, uh..." "I pushed him," Ao'nung said, so fast his words slurred together. "You pushed him?" Ronal asked, trying not to smile. Neteyam internally pleaded Ao'nung to shut up and let him lie his way out. "Yeah. We were-" "He's lying, ma'am. He was showing me a swimming stroke." Neytiri scoffed, quickly stifling her laugh with her hand. Ao'nung groaned, rubbing his face. "Neteyam," Ronal murmured, looking into Neteyam's eyes and trying not to laugh. "I have been a doctor for many, many years. Did you know what is the easiest thing to determine about bone and cartilage breaks?" Neteyam blinked, feeling his stomach curl. He shook his head. "Directional impact. You know, the direction the bone was broken in. Do you see what I'm getting at?" "Yes, ma'am," Neteyam whispered nervously. "If you had smacked it on the wall, like you said, it would have broken this way." She demonstrated with her hands. "With it being smushed into your face. But, your nose is broken upwards. The skin on your nose bridge irritated and bruised, meaning you didn't hit anything face on at all. If anything, my son punched you in the nose. Is that what happened?" Neteyam shook his head, eyes wide. "No ma'am. Not even close. It's not his fault-" "Yes it is," Ao'nung muttered. "No, it's not," Neteyam said firmly. Neytiri was grinning behind her hand, sharing looks with Ronal. "...Okay, well... what actually happened?" Ronal asked once more, pursing her lips. Neteyam wished Ao'nung was sitting where he could see him without eyeing him suspiciously. Has he come out to his mother yet? Neteyam decided to stay silent and let Ao'nung speak. It occurred to him, after a few minutes of very tense silence, punctuated by breaths of laughter from Neytiri, that perhaps Ao'nung was thinking the same exact thing. "Ommi, stop," Neteyam pleaded, after his mother laughed loud enough for the entire house to hear if they were listening for it. "I will not. It's funny that you two don't think Kiri told us already." Neteyam's jaw dropped. "What?!" Ao'nung shouted, getting to his feet. "You made us sit here and lie?" Ronal shook her head, grinning. "No. We hoped to make you tell us yourselves. You added the stress all on your own." Neteyam was at a loss for words. "So, Kiri told you-" "She said she walked in on you two, and your head was in Neteyam's lap-" "It was on my knee," Neteyam corrected quietly, unable to look Ronal in the eyes. His mother snorted. "Whatever. Anyways, she spooked you, and you sat up before Neteyam could react. Sound pretty close to what happened?" Neteyam nodded nervously. Ronal smiled at Neytiri briefly. "Okay. See, was that too hard? Ao'nung, how's your head?" Neteyam blinked, looking up at her in surprise. Ao'nung stammered for a moment before answering. "Uh... good. It's fine." "Does it feel bruised? Any tenderness?" "No ma'am." Ronal nodded. "Good. Well, we will go back downstairs now. When your nosebleed stops, come join us." Neytiri got to her feet and helped Ronal stand. The two of them paused by the door. "Kiri won't tell anyone what actually happened," Neytiri said, turning to face her son. "Yes. We will tell them you ran into a wall. The only one here who knows enough about directional breaks to argue is Tsireya, and, well..." She winked at her son. Neteyam heard Ao'nung groan and drop his head into his hands.
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ao's face listening to his mother read their lie to filth
