You're enough (Neteyam x Ao'nung)

Chapter 13 : Amare

music suggestion : just sad songs I think

hey so this chapter I have the same problem with it as the last two ones so it may get deleted/rewritten depending on how lazy I am. Have fun reading it!

Tsireya drags me after her to the 'Picnic' that she wants us to have. "Reya, are you sure we should do it today? I don't feel so good" I try to get out of the situation but she tightens her grip on my arm and makes me sit down, staying standing herself.

"Hey Reya!" I hear Kiri's voice from somewhere among the trees, I spin my head around and see her standing with him. "Ao! Look it's Neteyam! Maybe the two of you should have a picnic instead" Reya takes Neteyam from Kiri's grip, dragging him in front of me. "Bye guys!" Kiri takes Reya's hand and starts running away out of the forest, I just watch after them hopelessly.

"So, your hair looks cool" I point out the new beads in Neteyam's hair and he acknowledges me with a nod. "Thanks" he reluctantly takes a seat opposite from me and I can finally see his face up close. There are bags under his eyes and tear tracks over his face. His eyes look empty, he looks like he is dead. 

"Training is starting tomorrow again so that's cool, we are gonna teach you guys how to ride Ilus" I try to start a conversation but just get a nod back in response. Without saying a word, I pick up a fruit and shove it in his hands. "Eat, it's not good for you to starve yourself" he looks up at me with a tired expression. 

"I'm not hungr-" I cut him off before he can finish the sentence. "You don't have to be hungry, I want you to eat" I speak in a stern voice and I see him look down and nod as he takes a tiny bite out of the purple fruit. 

"Have you been sleeping?" I can see his ears flicker in recognition as I say this. "Not really" I stare at him with eyes wide. "At all?" I continue to stare as he looks up to me with a weak smile to nod. "Ma'teyam, you have to sleep" his smile drops and he takes another tiny bite of his fruit, though he does not react to the nickname. 

I let him slowly finish his fruit in silence and watch him silently as he keeps his eyes glued to his hands. "Ma'teyam, please you must sleep" when there is only a small bit of fruit left I grab his attention again but he just looks up and shakes his head. 

I shuffle closer to him as he finishes the last bit of the fruit, eyeing me carefully. "If you don't sleep on your own free will, I will make you sleep" he watches me get closer with caution but I know that his motor reflex is probably slower because he is tired.

I lunge forward and grab him by the waist, pulling him so that he is lying up against me as I lean on one of the tree roots behind me. "I actually hate you" he yawns but tries to get up, I hold him down by his waist so he can't move. "Now you have to sleep" he finally gives up on trying to break free from my hold and I loosen my grip on him.

"How about, I tell you a story. Will you sleep then?" he buries his head in the crook of my head, saying the most  adorable 'maybe' I have ever heard. I hold back a chuckle as I think of a story to tell him. I decide to tell him my favourite story that I always made my mother tell me.

"Long ago, at the time of the first songs, a young metkayina boy, Trr'ong, decided he wanted to venture across the oceans and become a traveller. Everybody around him told him it would be foolish to venture across the ocean on his Ilu, that he would meet his fate at the hands of an Akula. But the boy's decision was not swayed by the fears of his village. He decided to leave at night, so as not to be stopped by any of the other villagers. As he walked out of the village to go prepare his Ilu for the long journey he was approached by another boy, Txon'ong. Assuming that the boy was going to try and change his mind, Trr'ong ignored the boy until he said something that caught his interest. 'I wish to join you on your adventure across the ocean'. Together the two boys travelled the oceans until one stormy night, the waves separated the two, cursed them to forever be parted. To this day the two still chase eachother across the horizon to attempt to meet again one day, though they never will. That is how Trr'ong (sunrise) and Txon'ong (sunset) came to be."

I look back down at the boy who is now lying unconscious in my arms. "I love you Ma'teyam, don't you ever forget that" I close my own eyes leaning my head against the tree root behind me. For the first time in days, I get pulled into blissful sleep, holding the boy I love.

I don't know if I like the story I used because I had to make one up so if you know any actual metkayina stories please tell me. thanks for reading have a nice day/night! 💙