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 it could have ended badly for any of us. I hope you've learned your lesson. This can never happen again. Now you may speak". 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 after Anek heard Jabari say where you were going, we decided to go and hide in case you needed help" Tuk began to explain. "We wanted to protect you. The plan was to hide so neither of them nor you could see us and only come out if you need help. 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. The sky people could have hurt you" 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 is that 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 stabilise it enough so we wouldn't fall".

"So you took Jabari's Ikran when he 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. What we did yesterday was to protect you and the clan. 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 families alive". My heart swelled with sweetness at their apology, turning my head I focused my eyes on Neteyam. Just like me, he was staring at both kids with softness until his eyes met mine.

Without saying a word, we communicated with each other and agreed 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. If this ever happens again, we won't be so merciful. Understood?", "Mhmm" they hummed in agreement, nodding repeatedly.

"Now come here and give us a hug". 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 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.