Me and the Devil | lo'ak sully

chapter 14: always positive

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'Na'veya, no!' Neteyam called after her but once she saw Aonung in the corner of her eye, she could only see him. She ran up to him with incredible swiftness as Neteyam tried to run after her.

She took her knife and pressed it against Aonung's throat. 'Where's Lo'ak.'

Aonung jumped, gulping as he couldn't look into her eyes. He knew immediately that this was Aungia. Fear took over, his friends ran away as he stood there alone with her. 'I— he—'

'Stop stuttering and tell me!' She grabbed his chin and made him look at her.

The look on her face almost made him piss his loincloth.

But he was still mad at her. She had no right to shoot him today, Lo'ak started it. He tried to stand his ground, his shaky breath almost giving him away.

'Do you want me to shoot another hole in your body?' She looked down as he still didn't respond. She harshly gabbed the wounded hand with the leaf bandage around it and pressed down on the wound, making him groan in pain.

'Na'veya!' Neteyam reached her and tried to pull her away, but she was too strong.

She ignored him, pushing her thumb even harder into the hole in his hand. He groaned again, a single teardrop falling from his right eye. 'Far outside the reef. You'll be lucky if he's still alive!' Aonung yelled before Na'veya let go of his hand.

Her eyebrows quirked up. 'What did you just say?'

'Na'veya, we don't have time for this. Let's tell my dad!' Neteyam tried to pull her away but she ignored him.

She can't wait much longer. If Aonung isn't lying, Lo'ak could be dead. Or, he's dying right now. It'll waste too much time if they were going to tell his dad.

So without even thinking, she ran into the ocean and dove in.

She could hear Neteyam calling her name before her head was submerged.

It all went silent. The ocean was like a silencer, only the motion of the water could be heard. It felt nice. No syaksyuk screaming, no wind whistling through the trees, no nothing.

She moved through the water, not really knowing where she was going. And she wasn't the best swimmer either, shallow ponds and rivers being the only waters she'd swam in before to hunt for fish.

It felt like it was fate. A creature, probably an ilu as Lo'ak had described, made its way towards the girl. She was stunned as the ilu nudged her with its head. She smiled slightly, forming tsaheylu. How hard could this be?

Hard.

She slid off merely a few seconds later as the unexpected current hit her in the face. I don't have time for this. She tried again, more confident this time. And luckily, she stayed on.

Again, she had no clue where she was going. But if felt like the creature was guiding her. So she trusted it, something she usually doesn't do this fast.

After what Na'veya thought was a long ass time, the creature stopped. She looked down at the ilu beneath her, frowning. Why isn't it going any further? But that's when she noticed a dark blue figure sticking out like a sore thumb. It had to be Lo'ak. He was laying on a— rock? Na'veya almost fell back into the water when the "rock" spewed water into the air.

But the next question arose: was he still breathing?

Na'veya jumped off the ilu and onto the "rock". She still hadn't made up her mind about what it was. Once she made it to Lo'ak, she checked his pulse. His heart was still beating and he was breathing. A wave of relief hit Na'veya as it was clear that he was still alive.

She sat down, her head falling back as she sighed. 'Thank you, great mother.' She quietly spoke underneath her breath. She felt like she could finally breathe again as a large sound almost made her slide off the "rock". Na'veya's eyes grew wide, slowly sliding herself off the "rock" to see what it could be. Then she noticed a large eye peeking right above the water. Na'veya frowned as the creature blinked while talking to her. 'I'm sorry, I have no idea what you just said.' She smiled down.

Lo'ak's eyes slowly opened, his vision a little blurry. He could tell he was laying outside, the sun was blazing on his body. He heard a girl's voice. Na'veya. He moved his head in her direction. Who was she talking to?

She was talking to a— a rock?

He frowned, almost letting out a large laugh as her eyes darted towards him. He cleared his throat, eyes wide as she looked at him. 'I'm sorry but, what are you doing?' Lo'ak snickered.

'Saving you!' Na'veya walked up to him, smacking him on the back of his head.

'Ouch. What was that for?' Lo'ak asked as he rubbed the sore spot.

'You absolute skxawng! Don't ever do that again.'

Lo'ak jerked his head back. 'What?'

'You had me worried for hours you idiot!' Na'veya crossed her arms as she looked down at him.

Lo'ak stood up as he smirked at her. 'You were worried about me, huh?' He raised his eyebrow.

Na'veya grunted loudly. 'This isn't a joke Lo'ak! What the hell happened anyways?' She asked, frowning.

Lo'ak sighed. He had a bit of trouble remembering it all. 'My dad told me to apologize to Aonung so I came here since Tsireya told me he would be here. Then he asked if I wanted to come hunting with him outside the reef. I told him I wasn't allowed to and then he mocked me so I practically had to go! Then he tricked me and he left me here by myself.' His words made Na'veya dig her nails into the palms of her hands. Who the hell does Aonung think who he is. 'Before I knew it I got attacked by an akula.' He sighed, making Na'veya's nostrils flair up in anger. 'But now I'm here.' Lo'ak looked down, noticing a big fin drifting above the surface.

Na'veya felt like the world turned red. Everything was a blur. A loud ringing in her ear as she stared in front of her.

Lo'ak, as oblivious as he could be, moved down onto the fin as he saw an eye peeking up at him. He leaned down. 'You are a tulkun. You saved my life. Thank y— thank you.' He signed to him, knowing how this was the way they communicated.

But then Lo'ak looked up, finally noticing Na'veya's terrifyingly angry face. 'Na'veya,' He said with a low voice, walking up to her.

That made her snap out of her thoughts and lay her focus on him and only him. She looked him in the eye as he stepped closer to her.

'I'm alive, aren't I?' He put his hand on her cheek, tilting his head. 'You don't know how it makes me feel when you care so much about me.'

'Positive or negative?' She gently asked.

'Positive. Always positive.'