Still Breathing

Chapter 12. Punk Tactics

"If you don't shut your mouth, I'ma shut it for you, Punk!" ~ Joey Valence

It was a nice day out, not a cloud in the sky as the Sully's enjoyed their rest day. Erica and Lo'ak were sitting on the warm sand, looking for sea shells so Lo'ak could make a necklace for Tsireya. After Neteyam and Erica spent about a month teasing Lo'ak, he'd finally confessed that he liked Tsireya.

Kiri was laying on the sand in the shallow waters, just enjoying the sun and the calmness of the water. Erica would occasionally look over at her, making sure that she hadn't wandered off or to make sure she was still okay. 

Lo'ak was in the middle of showing Erica another shell that he'd found when the two of them heard the annoying voice of Aonung and his friends. "She's just looking at the sand."

When they looked over, they noticed Aonung standing over Kiri as she looked up at him. Erica and Lo'ak glared over at the Metkayina boys, watching to make sure they didn't touch Kiri as she stood up.

"Are you some kind of... freak?" Aonung asked.

Kiri just rolled her eyes as she stood up, walking away from the group. Erica and Lo'ak both jumped to their feet when they noticed that they'd begun to follow her.

"Look at these hands." Aonung teased, attempting to grab her hand but she pulled it away quickly. He reached for them again, this time grabbing hold of her and at this point, Lo'ak and Erica had seen enough.

"Hey!" Erica shouted from where her and Lo'ak stood as they began to walk towards the two of them. Aonung and his friends all turned their attention towards them as he let go of Kiri's hand.

"Back off, fish lips." Lo'ak demanded, stepping closer to Aonung who backed up slightly. 

"Wow. Two more four fingered freaks." Aonung smirked at Lo'ak before shoving him slightly. Erica stood in front of Kiri, hissing at the two boys who stood close to them, causing them to back up.

One of Aonung's friends grabbed Lo'ak's tail, making fun of it before Lo'ak pushed him away. 

"Don't touch him." Erica shouted as she now stood beside her brother, the two of them shoving the Metkayina boys every time they touched them. Kiri tried to get them to leave but they wouldn't listen.

The three of them heard footsteps walking in their direction and were relieved to see a fairly angry Neteyam as he shoved Aonung away from his siblings. 

"You heard what they said, leave them alone." His voice was stern and cold as he stood in front of his siblings. He placed a finger on Aonung's chest pushing him away slightly.

One of his friends went to start a fight with Neteyam but Aonung quickly shut him down, placing a hand on his chest to get him to stop talking. 

That only angered neteyam more as he held a finger in front of Aonung's face. "Back off. Now." He spoke through gritted teeth as he watched Aonung put his hands up in defeat, backing away slightly.

"Smart choice." Neteyam spoke through gritted teeth as he continued to tell Aonung and his friends off. He patted Lo'ak's head and pulled him away from the group as Erica dragged Kiri by her wrist after she noticed her younger sister sticking her tongue out at the group of boys.

"Look at them, they're all freaks." They heard Aonung say quietly to his friends. Although Kiri and Neteyam kept walking, Erica and Lo'ak stopped and turned to glare at them. However, Erica intended to turn back around and walk away. But Lo'ak had something else in mind as he completely turned his body around, a smirk planted on his face.