"𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘺𝘢𝘮,
𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦."
Life in Awa'atlu was as predictable as the way water flowed across the sea, with everything set in motion with routine and order - that is, until the Sully's arrived...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Many things happen for no apparent reason; it could be fate, but more often than not, it is a fluke. Neteyam said my bullseye was a fluke, and while my pride urged me to claim it was my skill, my third attempt—which didn't even end up in the tree but instead travelled somewhere deep into the forest's darkness—quickly brought me back to reality. That's the thing with flukes. That's why whatever strange thing happened with Neteyam just before was a fluke. The heat of the moment. Nothing like this would ever happen again. A fluke.
On the way home, my thoughts returned to that moment: how his breath felt so close to my skin, how the details of his face were all so clear with him so close, how his accented voice sounded thicker as he whispered, how that rasp sent chills down my spine. All of those strange, unnatural feelings were just a coincidence; they could have happened to anyone. The fact that it was Neteyam was purely coincidental. It was the situation, not him, that made my heart skip a beat. I mean, who could blame my heart for fluttering when he was practically breathing down my neck, looking at me with those golden eyes, his slender fingers dancing up my body, almost electrocuting me with his touch? It was a common reaction. It wasn't because it was Neteyam; anyone could have made me feel that way. Anyone.
The next morning, I set out to put that theory to the test. We sat in a circle by the ocean while Tsireya tested the Sully's sign skills; they were still pretty rusty, knowing only a couple words and barely any sentences. I happened to be sitting across from Neteyam, but I kept my gaze away despite the fact that I could feel his eyes on me. Surprisingly, he wasn't the only Sully sibling whose gaze I was feeling; Kiri, too, kept looking at me as if she had something on her mind but wasn't sure how to bring it up. It was a little unsettling; had I done something wrong? Did I freak her out at the Cove of Ancestors? I wasn't entirely certain, but I needed to know sooner rather than later because she was acting strangely for the second day in a row. Lo'ak was the final Sully who kept staring at me, though he appeared much more relaxed, perhaps cheeky, as he wore a smirk on his face, which was also unnerving. As I previously stated, the Sullys were a peculiar bunch, but this was quite weird even for them.
Nonetheless, I ignored this when my theory's target approached us.
"You guys are still learning this stuff?" Ao'nung teases as he approaches us.
Tsireya rolls her eyes and continues to teach. I smile at Ao'nung, at which he frowns. I don't blame him; this smile was a bit too happy to see him, which probably freaked him out too. I chose to ignore him once again and scoot over to create a space between me and Rotxo so that he could take a seat. He eyes me and hesitates before squatting down to join the circle. My eyes must be stuck on him as he turns to look at me, suspicion on his expression.
"What?? Is there something wrong with my face?" He swats at his face to try and remove whatever was there.
"Hm? No, not at all!" I laughed. The laugh was unnatural and maybe a bit too sweet.
