[LOOK AT ME] Nᴇᴛᴇʏᴀᴍ.S ˣ ᵐᵃˡᵉ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

[Number one supporter]

"Don't think I forgave you for dragging me and Tsireya into your mess with that stunt you two pulled." You try and change the subject to literally anything else. In your opinion, you've been holding out on both of them and it's not like what you're saying is a lie either.

You've silently held onto this grudge, almost like a vice.  So, what?

Both Rotxo and your brother abruptly stop in their tracks when you do the same, with identical expressions across their faces and...that was weird. That was very weird.

You expected them to get defensive when you brought up the topic, but they almost look like they were expecting it. Maybe they were.

You've never seen something so close to guilt in their eyes and it's slowly, very slowly, making you feel uncomfortable or something similar to that feeling, which stands to threaten your resolve. Just a little.

These two have been following you around since the early hours of the morning, trying to get you to hold an actual conversation with them without turning your back or receiving unresponsive or just short, plain answers that left no room for anything more.

When you got like this, they usually pestered you until you lightened up your mood. Or rather, Ao'nung pestered you and brought Rotxo along for moral support and comfort ever since he found out that he got more responsive and overall kinder answers out of you in his friends presence. How he came to this conclusion, you don't know-

Tsireya must have let something slip. Which means, she blatantly told them, because your sister doesn't let anything simply slip.

However, this time your problem is with them. It's with them and their inability to think things through and what it would cost others. What it would cost you.

They just needed to leave you alone. Part of your frustration falls onto yourself and you're still trying to figure out why.

Was it because you let it happen? Was it because you had been so careless to leave those three - Ao'nung, Rotxo and Lo'ak - alone when you knew what sort of 'games' they got up to sometimes? Was it because there was a chance Lo'ak didn't get lucky and ran into something dangerous?

No, it wasn't. You couldn't really care less about what happened to that boy. If it was something stupid he'd gone and done on his own, yes. But, this was different. It hadn't been his own doing.

It was the two boys in front of you.

"Do you think I actually like looking after you two? And Ao'nung-" You address him separately, fixing your harsh stare onto him.

"Did you think I'd be happy?" You allow an irritated smile to crawl its way across your face. "Proud even? All of a sudden you're okay and you've made amends with Neteyam's brother?"

Oh. Both of them looked a little confused by your words. They expected you to bring up what they did. The immature and dangerous 'little game' they had with Lo'ak.

But, you didn't. Not even close.

After your brother came back home, he sheepishly mentioned the fact that Lo'ak and him were 'okay', almost like he didn't quite believe it himself. In his exact words he said, he was cool about it.

Neteyam's brother out of all people, was apparently 'cool about it'.

You can admit, you liked the way Ao'nung could shrug something off and put stuff out there like it wasn't a big deal, like he wanted to act all cool in front of you all of a sudden, but you also hated it sometimes. Hated how he could let it sound so casual.