𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐟 || ʟᴏ'ᴀᴋ

023

Lo'ak 

All of the children, including myself where ushered out of the marui, apparently receiving a marking was a high honour, and it was supposed to be a special moment, a part of me worried about the amount of pain that occurred within it. I wasn't the only one that was eyeing the sharp teeth, and when one sank into her flesh Neteyam had to hold me back from stopping the Tsahìk. 

A part of me shuddered at the though of endless sharp jabs and cuts, and I could only realise what Se'aeylwa must be enduring. 

We all flinch as we hear a yelp from inside, and Tsireya quickly talks to distract us. 

"How about we do tomorrows lesson now?" She asks. 

Tuk, as she always does, forgets about everyone else and rushes to hold Tsireya's hand. She beckons us all to follow her as we do. I take one last fleeting glance of the marui as she leads us to the stone slab rocks. We all sit on them, coincidently in a circle as she draws her attention to herself. 

Along the way Aonung had joined her as he leans against a palm tree no less than a meter away. 

"Umm, tomorrows lesson was going to be a culture lesson, so Aonung and I thought we should teach you customs, like the warrior parting ceremonies and the way to greet specific people" She smiles, looking at me like no one else was in the room. 

"We'll take Neteyam and Lo'ak" Aonung suddenly pitches in, quickly moving before grasping our arms and moving to such a distance they couldn't hear us talk.

"You don't need to worry about that, it's simple, you'll learn in time. The most important part of our customs is the culture revolving around mating and courting. Tsireya get's all shy about it, so I told her I'd deal with it" He collectively says as Rotxo smiles and nods along, humming in mutual agreement.

Neteyam and I look between one another before we shrug, we where going to be here indefinitely, so it might not be a bad thing to learn, and what if it was different from Omatikaya customs?

"Okay first things first, Ilu sharing" Aonung starts off. My brows furrow, that's not a bad thing is it? 

"In Metkayina custom, sharing an Ilu is only done with mated couples, or couples who are courting one another, the only exceptions are for friends if there's no other Ilu's around or siblings. It's even more serious if you place the person on the Ilu, it's a display of affection and shows others that the person is being courted or has a mate" He explains. 

My cheeks flush red as I realise that's what I had done with Se'aeylwa, I didn't think, I just wanted to help her out. And what made me blush even more was what Aonung said next.

"And then there's the ancient way of affection, if a man or woman bites another persons cheek lightly, it's like kissing them, but not many people do it anymore so you probably don't have to worry, na'vi just do the real thing." He shrugs, the detail not being that important to him. 

I don't move a muscle in my spot as now I realise why Se'aeylwa froze, of course she would freeze, the gesture meant I was kissing her. A part of me wanted to rush back and tell her how deeply sorry I was, but another part of me wasn't sorry at all, like I wanted to do it, and I would do it again if I had the chance. 

I rub my hand to the side of my head, brushing over the shaved sides as I fiddle with one of my braids. 

"Ok this one is important" Rotxo chimes in, watching amused as Aonung counts off his fingers, confused on which one he forgot. 

"When you pass the trials to become a considered adult, you have the choice to choose a mate. But its extremely important how you ask the na'vi"

My ears twitch as I find myself curious, wanting to know more. 

"Have you both ever noticed how the mated females all have a necklace or a hairpiece?" He asks. Thinking about it, I don't remember the last time I saw a woman with her mate without one of the two pieces of jewellery. 

I hum along with my older brother as Rotxo is washed over with relief that we knew what he was talking about.

"Well the Metkayina way of asking someone is to gift them with one of those two things, it's a promise or proposal of sorts that shows them your efforts and dedication you will show in their future relationship" He explains.

"Is there something familiar about that with the Omatikaya?" He kindly asks. I take my time to ponder as Neteyam immediately answers.

"We have an armband we gift to the na'vi we'd like to mate, it's an old tradition" He recites. I'm not surprised, Neteyam was next in line to be the future Olo'ekytan, and was tied to our grandmother and father most days as he learnt about ruling. He had also half completed the tests where he would become an adult, and I was certain he had his eyes set on a future mate already.

Aonung nods along with his words as he shrugs them off quickly, not finding them relevant. I take a moment to process the information as idle chatter fills the area, the three conversing as I for once didn't speak my mind and sat quietly. 

I seemed to catch them off guard as I began to speak. 

"What are the adult trials here?" I ask. Aonung coughs as he sits down across from me with Rotxo as Neteyam looks at me like I asked a strange question.

"Well, we have to tame a Tsurak" He pointed to the creatures swimming along the shore, a fair distance away from the ilu's. I nod, taking in the information as he continues.

"And there are a few tests with ones spirit brother to complete Iknimaya" He responds. 

Awkward silence fills the air as he abruptly stands once more and ushers us to follow him. 

"Let's see what Tsireya is teaching the others" 

Her melodic voice fills the air as I see Rotxo's face soften, but mine does the opposite, it scrunches in distaste as she's all over my sisters touching their arms and hugging them like they where sisters themselves. I saw the slight discomfort of Kiri's face as her eyes met mine, Tuk however, loved all of the attention she was receiving as she sat in Tsireya's lap quietly, while she listened to the girl.  

They all begin to converse as they form a group, I find myself straying from the group as I silently drift back into the marui where Se'aeylwa was. Upon entering I saw a large tattoo that flows from the back of her left thigh to the healing wound behind her neck, it contoured to the curves of her body as she quietly groaned in pain, tiredly putting her head in her hands. 

Ronal sat quietly still penetrating the skin of her back and forming patterns as she noticed my entry. She stopped for a moment and I could visibly see the relieve of Se'aeylwa's body as the pain subsided for a moment. 

She acknowledged my presence as she continued once more, I hated seeing her body stiffen once again as I quietly placed myself out of the Tsahìk's way and sat on my knees next to Se'aeylwa. 

I reached out and held her hand tightly to comfort her, she held onto my palm like her life depended on it as she sighed in relief once more.