MOON RIVER | Ao'nung

chapter six.

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After Ao'nung and Neyali found Kiri they made their way over to the shallow waters.

Neyali went to stand next to Neteyam and Tuk quickly swam towards her. Neyali gently picked her up as Ao'nung began calling some creatures over.

"These are ilu. If you want to live here, you have to ride" He explained before turning to look at Neyali.

They quickly split into groups. Tsireya decided to take Lo'ak and Tuk, Rotxo went with Kiri, and Ao'nung took it upon himself to teach Neyali and Neteyam.

"Make the bond gently" Ao'nung instructed as he helped Neyali up and onto her ilu.

"Do they only bond with one rider?" Neyali asked as Ao'nung helped her position her legs correctly. She tried not to blush at the action.

Ao'nung shook his head "ilu's are gentle creatures, they will bond with whoever wants to ride. They do tend to have favorites though"

Neyali nodded her head in understanding as she brought her queue over her shoulder and gently made the bond.

The ilu's eyes widened as well as Neyali's and she focused on clearing her mind and feeling the creature.

"Ikran's only bond with one rider?" Ao'nung asked curiously.

Neyali nodded her head "It's part of our iknimaya, we must go to the hallelujah mountains and let the ikran chose you before making the bond"

"How do you know the ikran choses you?" Ao'nung asked.

"It will try to kill you," Neyali answered simply.

Ao'nungs eyes widened before he patted Neyali's thigh, silently telling her to go.

Neyali took a deep breath before instructing the ilu to go. The ilu took off quickly and Neyali had to grip on to it tightly.

She quickly told it to slow down and the ilu obeyed her commands. Neyali smiled in delight as she realized she was riding the creature successfully.

The two quickly made their way back to Ao'nung and Neteyam. As soon as Neyali came up from the water she laughed.

"That was amazing" She chuckled as she petted the animal. The ilu simply chirped up in content.

"Teyam you have to try," She said as she looked at her twin.

As she was disconnecting her queue from the ilu, she heard some laughter coming from where Tsireya was helping Lo'ak. She found her brother falling off the creature and grimaced.

Ao'nung started laughing and Neyali sharply turned to look at him, but she couldn't help but chuckle a little when his ilu splashed him before diving back down.

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After Neteyam had successfully learned to ride an ilu, Ao'nung decided to take Neyali on a ride.

The two separated from the group as they dove into the water on their ilu's. As much as Neyali missed home, she couldn't deny the beauty of the ocean and the reefs.