Afterglow - Tsireya

Chapter 10

Play the song when you see ***

Pandora Reef

Metkayina Clan

Tree of souls

The sun poked through the gaps of the mauri, illuminating Tsireya's teal skin. The Metkayina princess blinked a few times, adjusting t the light as she turned her head to look at the ceiling. She scrunched her eyes in confusion when she didn't see the familiar seaweed decorating the room. Her head turned to the side to see Tsu'tey lying beside her with his arm draped across her stomach. She quickly remembered the previous night's events, but she couldn't focus on those when her eyes were glued to him. His ears would twitch every few seconds, or his nose would scrunch up. Tsireya thought he was adorable.

Tsu'tey's eyes fluttered open; she saw how his eyes tightened to avoid the sun's glare, just like she had down when she woke.

"Morning, Princess", he mumbled with a raspy voice tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Morning", her voice just above a whisper. The two lay in silence, just enjoying each other's company, Tsu'teys hand still firmly wrapped around Tsireya's midsection.

"Thank you for last night", she mumbled sadly. "I'm sorry you had to see that".

Tsu'tey leaned up so he was resting his elbows. The boy slightly towered over the girl. "Don't be sorry, Tsireya" Her ears twitched at how he said her name. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help".

"I would say that kiss helped me a lot" Her blue eyes flickered up to meet his, and a cheeky glint appeared in his eyes.

"Really?" he teased

Tsireya nodded her head, her eyes looking at his lips quickly.

"Hey Tsu'tey, Dad said he heard something last night, and I wondered if ..." Teya stopped midsentence once she saw what she had walked into. Her eyes widened when she saw her brother almost on top of Tsireya in his bed. "Oh, my Eywa", she cursed. Tsu'tey and Tsireya looked at each other; their voices overlapped as they tried to explain.

Poor Teya was almost on the verge of tears. "You", she pointed at Tsu'tey ", and you", then she pointed at Tsireya.

"It's not what it looks like", Tsu'tey protested.

"NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE? CARE TO TELL ME WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE?"

Once again, the two na'vi made eye contact, not knowing what to say, so they stayed silent.

"I am going to walk out of the room now, and we are going to pretend this never happened" She eyed her brother and best friend. "Understand" When she reached their understanding, she slowly backed out of the room, tripping on her feet before running out of the mauri.

"Jesus", Tsu'tey cursed, flopping back onto the bed

"What's Jesus?".

———————————————————————————

Tsireya, Ao'nung and Rotxo led the way on their ilus as the Omatikaya followed on their ilus minus Lo'ak. Tsireya rose from the sea, smiling at her friends as they approached the cave. Tsu'tey emerged from the water smiling brightly, lifting his hands to block the sun's gaze.

"This is the cove of ancestors. Our most sacred place," Tsireya spoke softly, catching Tsu'tey's eyes. They hadn't spoken since the morning, but there was clear unresolved tension as the kids swam into the cove. Tsu'tey watched Teya's smile fade at the absence of Lo'ak. He should be spending this special moment with her.