𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 || Rotxo

Chapter 6: Where's Lo'ak?

Neytiri, Tirol and Kiri are sitting in the tent, making food as Jake is sharpening his knife behind them.

Neytiri and Tirol share a look, both of them seeing Kiri is clearly upset.

"What is wrong, Kiri?" The mother asks, breaking the silence, making Jake de-turning his gaze from his weapon to his daughter.

"Nothing." She replies too fast, obviously lying, "I'm fine."
"Why should I not be fine?" She continues, aggressively putting the leaves filled with food on the stack.

Tirol continues to put food in the leaves, not saying a word, as Neytiri moves behind her daughter.

"Why can't I just be like everyone else?" Kiri asks, looking at the floor.

"Oh, Kiri", the mother breaths, understanding her daughter's pain as she puts some locks of her hair behind her ear. Kiri moves back at the touch.

Tirol wants to scream at her how precious she is and how much she loves her. That she is enough, but she keeps these thoughts in her mind, knowing this is not the perfect timing to tell Kiri, the later being clearly irritated. It will make her upset even more if she tells her right now.

Kiri hates people taking pity on her, so instead of saying anything, Tirol continues to pile the leaves filled of food on top of each other.

Time goes by, and one of the sully sons is out of everyone's sight.

"It's eclipse", the mother groans, "where is Lo'ak?"

"I don't know, mom" Tirol replies as she braids bracelets for Tuk, whose sleeping. "Neteyam went to ask Ao'nung since he's the last person who saw him."

Neytiri sighs deeply, murmuring inaudible words to herself as she aggressively sharpens her knife, her tail moving more than usual because of the stress.

Tirol moves closer to her mother and puts her hand on her knee, rubbing her thumb against her skin to give her some support. She feels Neytiri's muscles relax under her touch, before the mother kindly smiles at her, stopping sharpening her knife and puts her hand on Tirol's cheek.

This motherly gesture warms the teen's heart as she feels her eyes teary.

This physical contact reminds her of Mo'at, the night before they leave. Her grandmother's words echoes is her mind:

"This is your fate; you have to live it."

But Tirol don't understand.

What does she have to live? Experiencing the feeling of missing her friends, her grandmother, her home?

Is it her fate to suffer?

"Come on! Tell him what you told me!" Neteyam's voice echoes, getting the girls out of their thoughts.

Jake and Kiri are sitting on a tent blinding, Neteyam and Ao'nung in front of them, Tirol is now standing beside Neteyam.

"We went at the Three Brothers Rocks..." Ao'nung speaks hesitantly "outside the reef."

"What?" Jake asks, standing up, facing the Chief's son.

Neytiri appears.

"We wanted to go hunting, and..."
He searches his words, looking at the ground shamefully.

"And what?" Jake asks impatiently, feeling stress growing in him.

"We... left him. We wanted to do a joke, nothing more."

Yeah, fucking funny.

Tirol hisses at him, venom in her eyes, her tail aggressively moving behind her. Ao'nung glances at her but quickly looks away shamefully, not daring to look at her burning gaze.