The Breath of Water | Neteyam

22 • In Due Time

A/N: If you guys got a notification that I had updated with a different chapter earlier that was an accident 😭 I hope you guys didn't manage to read it 😠 :D

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It was a brand new day, and Liyanin never felt more pumped. She woke up in a great mood, mentally prepared for whatever life might throw at her. Kiri's gift to her yesterday was something she did not expect, but helped in lifting her spirits so much. Her happiness and joy did not go unnoticed, for she was too obvious in the way she expressed herself. As Ronal was sewing the many gemstones onto Liyanin's ioi asrew, she watched as her daughter practically pranced around the pod. She wondered what had captivated Liyanin so, but did not wish to bother or ruin her moment, thus she left her be. She wanted to finish this outfit first, anyway.

"Mother how will my ioi asrew look?" her daughter asked.

"Well, that depends on which one you like best. I am making you more than one so you can choose." Ronal explained.

"Oh, you are actually going to do that for me? Make three?"

"Of course, this is the first time you are accomplishing such a task, you should have more than one ioi asrew to choose from."

Liyanin smiled softly, appreciative for her mom's subtle, yet unending amount of love for her. She wanted to give Ronal a hug, but she was working, and Liyanin knows that it is best to not disturb her when she works like this.

"Why do you ask?" Ronal questioned.

"Oh, uh, just curious!" she replied, withholding the full truth. She actually was curious, but she really just wanted to see if Kiri's gift would go well with her ioi asrew. But due to her knowledge of her mom's indifference towards the Sullys, she felt it was best to keep that part to herself. She had hidden the collar in a place where she felt no one would decide to look...which was beside her hammock.

Since her mom was busy weaving and stitching, and her siblings were somewhere else (along with her dad), she figured she could use this moment to go have some alone time. And with alone time, she could practice her abilities.

The last expansion of her powers she had discovered was when Lo'ak was misleadingly lead to the outskirts of the reef—she had unlocked the power to hear through the water. But after that day, she never really had time to try and practice with it because of all the stuff with Neteyam, the constellation gate potentially being Eywa's home, Neteyam and......mostly Neteyam.

But now, she could focus on herself for a day. She went to the place where she would usually practice, which was some secluded forest near the Cove of the Ancestors. It was pretty well hidden, as Liyanin had stumbled upon it purely by chance. Not one person (that she knows of) had discovered this place.

Once she reached her secret hideout, she immediately was greeted by the fauna that resided there; the glowing fireflies were fond of her, due to her recurring presence there. She walked through the very shallow water, splashing her way through as she headed to her spot. She passed through a wall of hanging vines and entered into a new section. Its water had covered the whole floor, some patches of sand here and there, but the depth of the water had varied extremely throughout the area, some of the water was shallow, then other parts of it were waist-deep. It was the perfect place for Liyanin to practice; it was secluded, relaxing, and had loads of water for her to play with.

She wanted to see how her powers would extend next; she knew that she would have to do this without the help of her songcord since she wanted to get stronger without relying on something else. She then raised her hand to lift some of the water up. Her first goal was to see how long she could hold it up without dropping it, but she had to make sure not to overexert herself or she could be in for another off-day. As she held the water, she breathed steadily, wanting to properly conserve her energy in order to stay undisturbed.