Rivals || Lo'ak Sully

Chapter 17: "Back" 💫

(POV: Lo'ak)

"Let's go here," Lo'ak said to the girl now behind him in a dark dirty tunnel that smelled like rubbish.

Both of them crunched their noses as they moved around the tiny tunnel.

"You sure you know where to go?" Ma'i asked with an untrusting tone.

"Ma'i, please," Lo'ak said not even looking at her. "For one second just trust me." The words left his mouth as they struggled to move around.

"Mhm." That was all Ma'i managed to say.

The two rebels scrolled through the dusty interior space for a few more minutes when suddenly the disturbing sounds were audible again and a cool light was seen in the horizon.

"Lo'ak" Ma'i said with a - to her dislike - trembling voice.

Lo'ak stopped moving and looked back at Ma'i. He saw how her eyes flickered around as if she was about to run away if there was a chance.

"We will be fine." He reassured her. "Trust me, Ma'i." Lo'ak said meeting her eyes.

(POV: Ma'i)

It was something. Ma'i saw (or felt) something that just simply made her relax. She didn't know how, or what Lo'ak did to make her feel at ease but it did just that.

It always caught her attention: even ever since he was small, Lo'ak was able to have some amazing calm aura. It could've been seen around the animals and nature they were. Ma'i always noticed how Lo'ak communicated with other species, and how he was able to concentrate while being alone.

And it actually made her angry at him because it was something that was hard for Ma'i. She knew ever since her childhood that she had to be "the best" and win the clan prize that everyone was so excited about... but this was one thing that Ma'i needed to learn. To be calm, to be at that spot right there - and Lo'ak had that.

"Okay," Ma'i said. "I will trust you. But just because we are in this situation." She had her stubbornness back.

Lo'ak bit his lip so as to not smile at this situation.

"Okay, know-it-all, let's go here." He whispered to her and pointed in the direction in front of them.

They moved for a few more minutes, the light getting brighter and brighter.

"I will push it." Lo'ak suddenly said. "Be behind me."

"You will push wh-"

Ma'i didn't even finish her sentence as Lo'ak kicked the small square door and it flew open falling right into the water under them.

A cold breeze hit their faces as both of them tried to look where they were.

Ma'i ducked out from the side of Lo'ak's shoulder to see something.

Water.

That's all she could see. Water everywhere.

"So this is your plan?" The girl asked almost mockingly.

Lo'ak sighed.

"Why do you always have to be so bitter." A smile reached his face.

"What are you smiling about? We literally have to either swim until we die or stay here until we die. None of these seem like a great idea for an escape to me."

She snickered annoyed at the fact that Lo'ak seemed as unbothered as he could possibly be - why was he so calm all of a sudden?

"Or we could go with him."

At that moment, he saw that Ma'i looked around trying to find what Lo'ak called "him".
She squinted her eyes still not being able to see anything.

Suddenly, she felt five cold fingers on her chin, as her face was softly pushed to the right side. It wasn't the view that struck Ma'i first - it was the goosebumps running through her spine, the feeling of her skin burning against his. Lo'ak didn't let her go immediately (or was it to Ma'i that it seemed like it), she could feel his thumb brush against her cheek unintentionally.

And what angered her the most was the fact that she didn't want to smack his hand away. Ma'i was convincing herself that it was because of the fact that she was so taken aback. There was no other reason.

She bit her bottom lip, her face now red as a bluish tomato, and concentrated on the view that the boy next to her was so eager to show her.

Something was moving towards them but she still couldn't understand what it was, not until it got closer.

She squeezed her eyes and her face instantly portrayed her shock - it was Neteyam's ikran.