strong - neteyam x oc

leap

Kireyi

She hadn't known how to feel, she was nervous, but excitement filled her body. The girl tried to look back on Neteyam's Ikran, remembering how she flew in the sky, her first time meeting the beautiful creature. Her heartbeat sped up, her nerves calming, trying to forget the fact her life was on the line. Neteyam's eyes met her own, his head in front of her now, "Are you ready?"

He seemed to of pulled Kireyi back to reality, "Yeah."

Neteyam's eyes lingered, and Kireyi nodded in reassurance, "Alright, follow me...."

Her skin filled with goosebumps as his hand met her back, gently leading her forward toward a ledge. She looked down to see the high drop, then looking forward to see the Ikran around the corner. Air filled her lungs, the crisp air calming the girl as she placed a foot on the ledge. Kireyi practically forced herself not to look down, her eyes stuck on the Ikran as she treaded closer and closer.

She stopped moving the second Neteyam's hand grazed her wrist, "Remember Kireyi, trust yourself and you will do fine," Her eyes bore into his, "Be strong."

"Strong...." Her voice was a mere whisper, "Okay...."

Inching forward she finally stood on the flat surface of the ground, her heart speeding up at the sight of so many Ikran. They were giant, and yet she treaded forward despite the urge to run back to Neteyam. Many ignored her, giving nothing but a quick glance, and it wasn't until she was far into the crowd of creatures that one finally paid mind to her. Its eyes were a dark blue, its body a deep purple. And the second it hissed at the girl she prepared her string, taking a step back.

Kireyi's chest heaved, and she desperately tried to calm her breath, prepare herself for the second the Ikran lunged at her. The two seemed almost in a trance, staring one another down, waiting for the other to make the first move. She took the slightest step forward to urge the Ikran, and as she did it lunged right at her. Kireyi turned to the side, lassoing the string around its mouth before jumping onto its back.

The feeling of sitting on the creature hadn't felt familiar anymore, unlike the security of Neteyam and Kenali, this truly was life or death, "Tsaheylu Kireyi!! Make Tsaheylu!" Neteyam yelled out.

With desperation her free hand reached for the queue, the other already on her own braid. It felt almost impossible to line the two up, to make the bond. But when it happened, it took a split second, the Ikran suddenly unmoving. Kireyi now knew it was a girl, and they stood tall on the rocky platform, the creature almost mimicking the girl's breathing. She remembered what Neteyam had said, how the first flight would seal the bond, completely making the Ikran hers.

Fly.

And she did, the Ikran took off in an instance, soaring through the air. The cold wind surrounded her skin, her hands holding onto the animal as if her life depended on it. She began to tell the Ikran to slow- graze through the air instead of cut. Her breaths were still heavy, her chest heaving up and down, her hands shaking from adrenaline. Slowly she calmed down, still flying, and her eyes trailed the area. Kireyi could feel the Ikran's movements how assuring the animal was up in the sky, and she slowly let go, raising her hands up to fully feel the wind.

Esen, that would be her Ikran's name. Kireyi had come to adore the air- the wind almost just as much as she loved the sea. Esen was the perfect name. They ventured out just a little more before heading back towards the cliff, and she saw as her siblings succeeded in their test. She watched Neteyam call for his Ikran, the boy coming to meet her with great speed, "You did it!"