Surface| Neteyam

19.

I dangled my legs over the large roots that climbed over the forest floor, leaving the sand underneath it unseen. It wasn't till Netetyam and his family arrived that I really appreciated it, the smell was light and freeing but I was still too scared to venture inside.

I couldn't imagine living anywhere but the sea but it made me wonder about the parts of the world I would never get to see. Well, maybe one day I'd be able to fly on the back of Neteyam's Ikran and finally see Pandora not just in the blues and greens of the ocean.

I smiled a bit at the thought of it but decided not to get ahead of myself. I glanced up at the sky, it was already night, still no sign of him.

Maybe this was a stupid idea, what if he didn't show up? I fidgeted with my thumbs trying to keep myself from leaving. It took me a few minutes to get on top of this branch. I didn't want it to be for nothing.

'You skxawng, where are you..?'

At the Bonfire
(Sira's fathers pov)

Ke'ung dusted off his loincloth, it was the one his mate made for him many years ago. He and Seytira had a matching pair that he instructed her to wear for that night's event. It was a neatly woven net with hints of blue. He had seen the large fish she had caught earlier but hadn't seen her since the morning.

"Ke'ung, you made it!" One of the members of the bonfire that night approached him, they exchanged "I see you" gestures before taking a seat.

"I can't wait for you to see the trout my daughter caught" Ikuie, Riuwe's father, happily announced with a hint of passive aggression in his voice.

Ke'ung subtly rolled his eyes while taking a sip from the coconut in his hands, he only recently started going to these gatherings again since his wife's passing. They normally would go together and woah everyone with what they were able to catch, Seytira on the other hand hated going because she would always get compared to Riuwe.

It was tough being alone at these places though, everyone would drop rude comments about his life and he had to simply laugh it off. Maybe this time with Seytira's catch they could finally shut up.

*:･ﾟ✧* :･ﾟ

I began impatiently swaying my tail, it had been almost an hour since the sunset now and I knew if I went to the bonfire any later I would be grounded for this lifetime and the next. I made sure to wear the matching outfit with my father to save some time, I hated to say that it was actually one of my favorite pieces of clothing.

"Seytira?"

I peered down excitedly, I didn't know why but my heart suddenly jumped and I was growing nervous.

As I focused on who called my name I realized it was only Neteyam's brother.

"Hello Lo'ak, Tsiyera's not here right now"I joked, I saw as he fumed in embarrassment which made me laugh.

"That's not really why i'm here" He waved his hand to usher me to the ground.

"No way, do you know how long it took me to get on this branch?"

He huffed but quickly climbed up, I watched in awe as he swung onto the branch in a matter of seconds.

"How did you-" I was about to ask but cut myself off, I already knew the answer.

He made himself comfortable and cracked his knuckles before talking.

"So, you and Neteyam"

I tried to keep my face neutral but the question caught me so off guard.

"Everyone is wondering about it, especially Aonung, he won't stop bugging me about it" Lo'ak continued as I tried to come up with a excuse.

"So, are you guys like, you know" He turned to me,

"No, I don't know. '' I brushed my hair back not knowing if the right thing was to lie or not. I didn't know Lo'ak as well and it could be a problem if he had a big mouth and ended up telling someone like Aonung, or anyone for that matter.

The truth was I didn't really know what we were right now anyways so I thought the best thing to do was deny deny deny.

"My brother says the same thing, but I know you guys are doing something i'm not a skxawng" His tail lifted a bit, I was still picking up what their tail movement meant in different scenarios but I think in this case he was getting impatient.

"Look, I really don't know alright, he's your brother, he will tell you when he needs" I began to climb off the root, it was a waste of time being here.

"We'll, he was talking about that other girl.."

I bit the inside of my cheek at this, he never mentioned someone else, could that be what was between us?

"Other girl?"

I hated that, I hated how I sounded like I cared so much, like I was jealous.

"Yeah, I forget her name but it was the girl with the tattoos"

I felt my stomach twist as I held back angry tears, I couldn't let him see or it would reveal everything about my real feelings.

I started to piece everything together, he never showed because he was too busy with, her.

"Riuwe" I tried to say calmly but deep down I wanted to tear up her perfect little face, I wanted to shout so loud that everyone in the forest could hear. I wanted to be able to hate him.

"Thank you for um, checking on me but I have to go now" I waved before walking back to the direction of the village, a million arrows piercing my heart. Why did I care about him so much?

Once I got out of his sight I sprinted towards the bonfire, where I should have been to begin with. The large fire was now burnt out to a small flame and the only person who remained was my father.