Falling for the Olo'eykte

✧Chapter 16: Playing in the Sky

Azura's POV

The following day, I asked Neteyam to bring Tuk to my kelku so that both, she and my brother, could explain what they had done yesterday. The kids sat next to each other on the floor while Neteyam and I placed ourselves in front of them to look straight at their faces as they stated their reasons.

"Before you say anything, I want you to know that I'm very disappointed with both of you. What you did yesterday was reckless and I hope you've learned your lesson. Now you can speak" I said looking at them straight in the eye. The two of them diverted their eyes to the floor as they played with their fingers. I knew they were sorry for their actions but that didn't change how dangerous it had been.

"We were worried that something bad would happen to you, so we decided to follow your Ikrans and hide in case you needed help" Tuk began to explain, "We wanted to protect you, the sky people are cruel. We don't want to lose you" Anek added as he lifted shyly his head. "Your intentions were pure, nonetheless, your actions could have led to horrible consequences" Neteyam intervened.

"How did you even get there?" "We flew on Jazu, far behind all of you so that you wouldn't notice our presence" Tuk replied. "But, how that's possible? You never learned how to ride an Ikran. We had to flee from our clan before our parents could teach you" Neteyam said surprised, "It was difficult at the beginning, but I learned to stabilize it enough so we wouldn't fall"

"So you took Eloide's Ikran when she was asleep, followed us to the human base and hid in that tree without anyone noticing". Even though I was angry about what they had done, I was astonished at how these two sneaky kids had done all of this by themselves. "Eemm, yeah?" they replied looking at each other and back to the floor. "I must say it is very clever how you carried out your plan, but it was still imprudent" Neteyam added.

"I can't even imagine what would have happened if they took Anek away from us. As your older siblings we are the ones in charge of your safety, not the other way around. I know it's difficult for you to see us go to dangerous places but risking your life won't change anything, it will just jeopardise the situation" I said calmly to make them understand why I had reacted the way I did.

"We are sorry" they said in unison as they looked timidly at us, "Please don't be mad at us, we promise we won't do it again. Anek and I only wanted to keep our older siblings alive". My heart swelled with sweetness at their apology, turning my head I focused my eyes on Neteyam. Just like myself, he was staring at both kids with softness until his eyes met mine.

Without saying a word, we communicated with each other and agree to reward our siblings for their honesty. "Since you've been honest and you truly look repentant we'll reward both of you. However, I want you to keep in mind what happened yesterday and what we have said here today. Understood?", "Mhmm" they hummed in agreement nodding repeatedly.

"Now come here and give us a hug" I said as Neteyam and I opened our arms wide to welcome the children. They quickly made their way towards us and embraced us tightly. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed the feeling of having my brother between my arms unharmed. He was my only family and everything I needed to be happy, if I ever lose him I would lose myself.

Caressing my brother's hair, I rested my head on Neteyam's shoulder and I opened my arms to join both hugs into one. A smile made its way to my face at the scene, both children had their eyes closed with a big smile on their lips while they relaxed in our arms. These kids had us wrapped around their small fingers, it was easily noticeable that they were our weakness.

Neteyam's head rested on mine as we savoured the moment while it lasted. Lifting my head slightly, I opened my eyes and found his eyes staring at me already. Smiling at each other, we approached our faces until our foreheads collided. If I could I would stop time and live in this moment forever. With the kids in our arms and the closeness we were sharing, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he and I had a future together.