The Breath of Water | Neteyam

35 • The Ties that Bind, Will Bond

Liyanin was left feeling kind of disappointed with what she had learned from Lo'ak, but nonetheless she couldn't shake off the feeling that something about his story seemed close, yet far, from the truth... but at the end of the day, Neteyam was his brother, and they grew up together; who was she to deny Lo'ak's rendition on the events?

She sighed as she rode on her Ilu, letting her hand drift in the water. She wasn't even in the mood to look for stuff for the nikroi anymore. Her mind was just only focused on Neteyam's story, wondering if what Lo'ak was saying was actually true; his face while telling it gave a hint of mischief, but that could have been her optimism in searching for a reason to deem his words false.

She hit her head lightly, wanting to shift her focus back to why she was out here in the ocean in the first place.

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Neytiri had managed to complete Kiri and Tuk's ioi with the help of Kinat, getting the more elaborate and time-consuming ones out of the way. Even with what had recently happened to her mate, she still offered her help and wanted to do so for Neytiri, for she considered her a valuable friend. Neytiri tried to tell her that she did not have to worry about it, but Kinat insisted. She was pretty stubborn, and Neytiri could only tell her no so many times. The final products were absolutely breathtaking, and she nearly teared up imagining the outfits on her daughters. Paired with the jewelry she picked out, the look would be complete, and she could already see the beauty of it all being put together. Kinat rested her head on Neytiri's shoulder, smiling softly at their hard work.

"Your daughters will love this, Neytiri." she spoke.

"Thank you for helping me with this. I am forever grateful for you." Neytiri replied.

"Oh, I am forever grateful for you," Kinat said, laughing a bit. "...you have no idea how much this friendship helped me...what it means to me....in fact, I did a little something for you behind your back."

Neytiri's ears sprung up out of curiosity, wondering what it is Kinat had in store for her. The latter had gotten up, walking over to her swaynivi (family hammock), pulling something from beneath it. It appeared to be a clothing of some kind, and Neytiri began to form an idea of what it might be.

"Since you were working so hard on your children's ioi, I realized that you had not made one for yourself," she handed the gift to her, showcasing its beauty and sincerity. Neytiri was taken aback; she had no words, for no one had ever done something like this for her. No one outside her family, at least.

"Kinat—" her voice broke.

"And before you try to say no, I spent hours working on this, so you will take it." she laughed out. Neytiri gently took the ioi in her hands, not wanting to disturb any of the needlework and weaving.

"It is so beautiful." Neytiri said, her face beaming with joy. "I have said thank you so many times. I am sure you do not want to hear it again, so I will just do this." she proceeded to give Kinat one, big embrace, her happiness overflowing from her heart. Kinat had returned the hug, wrapping her arms around her.

Since the hard ones were now out of the way, Neytiri started to work on her sons' and mate's ioi. She knew it would be quick, so she told Kinat that she would be able to do the remainder on her own, but still requested that she made the rest in Kinat's pod since she still wanted it to be a surprise. She obviously said yes, so Neytiri stayed there to begin. If she started sooner she would finish sooner.

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Aonung was sent to look for Liyanin since their parents wanted to have a talk with them in the morning, but she had left before all of them. He noticed Neteyam was gone, too, so he assumed that she had helped him back to his pod, but it had been a few hours since then and she didn't return, so Ronal and Tonowari had told him to go find her. Tsireya waited in their pod as he went to go out to look for her.