Thanatophobia | Ao'nung

⋆˚✿˖°ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟜⋆˚✿˖°

"Hey, Ni'la," A familiar voice greeted, and the girl turned around to see Lo'ak sitting on top of a rock in the forest.

"Hey, Lo'ak," She said as she sat down beside him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, clearing his throat.

"I came here to calm down after what Dad said, but I'm glad I found you," Ni'la said, leaving out the part where she'd originally entered the forest with Ao'nung.

She didn't want to give Lo'ak another reason to fight with the Metkayina boy, especially since Lo'ak was already in enough trouble with their dad. And Ni'la knew that Lo'ak wouldn't be able to handle another fight with their Dad, so it was best to stay quiet. As Ni'la pulled herself away from her thoughts, she saw a tear flow down Lo'ak's face, and her heart broke.

"Why did you lie?" She asked.

"Because I saw the way the Chief looked at Ao'nung, and it reminded me of how Dad looks at me," Lo'ak whispered as he looked at his sister with bloodshot eyes. "No one deserves to feel like that, Ni'la. It hurts like hell," He croaked, and his sister pulled him in for a hug.

The two sat in silence as Ni'la did her best to comfort her little brother. "I don't understand why I can never do anything right," Lo'ak pulled away from the hug. "I try so hard, but it's like he only ever sees the imperfections. Would it hurt him to say he's proud of me?" He asked, and Ni'la didn't know what to say.

While she knew he was hurting, nothing she said would make him feel better because she didn't understand his pain. All Jake had ever done was praise her. He never critiqued her, and he hardly ever scolded her. So, she said the only thing that popped into her mind after a few moments of silence, "I'm sorry, Lo'ak."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I don't know, maybe if I'd been with you, Ao'nung would have never taken you beyond the reef," Ni'la explained as she felt her anger from hours before start to build in the pit of her stomach. "I don't understand why he can't leave us alone. I mean, we've never done anything, and all he ever does is harass us. I hate him so much," She ranted, and Lo'ak looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Ni'la questioned.

"I don't think I've ever heard you say that you hate someone before," Lo'ak shrugged.

"Well, I hate Ao'nung."

"Whatever you say, Ni'la," Lo'ak said, and Ni'la narrowed her eyes at her brother. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She snapped.

"Rotxo's convinced that you like Ao'nung," He said, glancing at his sister. Ni'la's eyes widened at her brother's statement. "I do not!" The girl denied it. Lo'ak looked at his sister with a wide smile before he started to laugh, and Ni'la looked at her brother confused. "Why are you laughing?" She asked, confused.

"It was a joke!" Lo'ak said through his laughter, and Ni'la scowled at her younger brother.

"That wasn't funny," She mumbled, and after a few seconds, Lo'ak's laughter came to a stop.

"Okay, okay." He sighed, causing Ni'la to roll her eyes at him. "We should probably head back to the pod," Lo'ak said, scooting off the rock before giving his sister a hand. The girl nodded in agreement, and as they made their way back to the pod, they saw that all of the torches had been put out, signifying that the Metkayina people had decided to go to bed for the night.

The cool said squished under the teen's feet as they slowly walked back to their home to see that everyone in the pod was still awake.

When Tuk saw her siblings, she ran up to both of them and gave them a hug before going to her mattress to lie down for the night. It was way past the youngest Sully child's bedtime, but she refused to go to bed without saying goodnight to her siblings, so Neytiri had allowed her to stay up until they returned.