You had unconsciously walked to your hut. Seeing the emptiness without your parents in it made you shiver. You couldn't remember the last thing you told your parents. It made you feel guilty, like you were a bad daughter. Knowing your mother last thoughts were about you made it a bit less painful. It was painful being here, but it was your home. Memories of the past 6 months here started flooding your head. It made you cry and smile at the same time. You knew they could die in those attacks, but you never thought it would happen to them. Let alone, losing them both on the same day.
You sat down in the center of the hut. You couldn't hold back anymore. Tears started rolling down your face as you sobbed loudly. You pulled your knees to your chest. Hugging your legs, you sreamed as loud as you could. This wasn't fair! You wanted them back. No! You needed them back. You sobbed more as your whole face was now wet. You felt warm arms wrap around you from behind. You didn't question who it was, not care at the moment. You were glad someone was holding you. It only lasted a moment before those arms left. Whoever it was turned you armed and pulled you close to their chest.
They pulled you into a hug, you held on to them tightly. You sobbed louder, finding comfort in their embrace. This person didn't speak as if they knew you just needed someone to hold you. You made a quick mental note to thank them later. You could feel their chest getting wet of all your tears. So you tried to pull away, but they pulled you back closer. "Don't." You heard a familiar voice say. You look up at the person holding you. Through your blurry vision, you could see him. "Just let me hold you, for now." Neteyam pleaded as he looked down at you. You could see he pitied you in this state. You nodded with tears still rolling down your face.
The tension between you two had eased. Despite the difficulty of the situation, it was a necessary step toward healing your relationship. The more you calmed down, the more Neteyam released his grip on you. Neteyam shifted to sit beside you, allowing your head to rest on his shoulder while his arms wrapped you in a comforting embrace. You noticed how his arm was wrapped around your shoulder and not your waist like months before. It made you realize you two had indeed grown further apart than you originally thought. Months ago, that would've been normal, no questions asked. If he did it now, it would feel forced, abnormal even.
There were some many unanswered questions and frustrations, yet you remained quiet. You didn't want to talk about your parents, it would only make you cry again. The urgent conversation you and Neteyam needed was something you weren't looking forward to. It was like Neteyam read your mind, our at least half of it. "We should talk." He started as he glanced down at you. You sighed as you lifted your head from his shoulder, refusing to look at him. "That night was what you thought it was..." You started, closing your eyes for a second. "I took Lo'ak through the secret place. Not to show it to him, but because it was the quickest way back to the village." You tried your best explaining, without making it sound like an excuse.
"I understand. About Inani..." He started, but you cut him off. "You don't need to explain it to me. If you're happy with Inani, that is all thar matters." You uttered, making sure he knew you didn't hold him accountable for being happy with someone else. "No! I do need to explain." He said as he placed his free hand on your cheek. He lightly pulled your face to look at him. Your eyes met his as he removed his hand from your cheek. "I didn't bring Inani to our secret spot." You looked at him confused. He saw you needed a little more than that to understand. "She followed me there. I didn't know until it was too late. She thought I was keeping it a secret for her later." This made you laugh lightly. Inani had gotten stuck up ever since the arrangement was announced. She had thought Neteyam did everything for her, even if she knew otherwise.
Neteyam smiled at your response. He hadn't thought you would find it funny. "I can already imagine her sneakily following you." You chuckled, envisioning the scene in your mind. Neteyam couldn't help but giggle as well. It was a fun scene, after all. Your smile slowly faded as your eyes met once more. "Thank you for being here. And trying to make me feel better." You received a tender smile from Neteyam. "That's what friends are for." He replied. It hurted you both, but it was the truth. You had both agreed on the promise, and both of your weren't trying to break it.
"If you're ready, we should head back." Neteyam announced, trying to see if you were ready. With a nod, you got up. You looked around once more, trying to memorize this place. You wouldn't be coming back after all. Neteyam walked out, waiting on you on the outerside. He knew you needed a second to yourself before leaving. You smiled as you sighed, knowing it was time. Neteyam and you walked towards his hut in silence. The tension between you had vanished after the long awaited talk you just had. You both felt as comfortable around each other as you could.
You walked first into the hut, thinking Neteyam was behind you. Neteyam was stopped by Lo'ak. "We need to talk." Lo'ak said to Neteyam. Neteyam nodded and followed his younger brother. The two of them went to a quiet place. "I saw you holding her, while she was crying." Lo'ak started, seeing what his brother had to say about it. But Neteyam stayed silent, not knowing how much his younger brother knew. "I know about your secret place and the stargazing. I can't help but see how you two look at each other." He continued seeing his brother wasn't going to admit anything. He knew his brother well enough to know he was going to come up with some excuses to explain everything. "You two like each other, right?" He questioned before Neteyam could say anything.
"We did." Neteyam admitted, knowing excuses weren't going to work now. "You did?" Lo'ak was confused at his brother's words. He had seen you two minutes ago. So he had to be lying, right? "Before the arrangements and bit after. But we agree to stick to the arrangements." Neteyam explain, with pain in his heart. Lo'ak tried to understand, but he couldn't figure out why you agreed on it. You could go against the arrangements but yet you both chose to honor it. It didn't make sense to him. "Do you like her?" Lo'ak snapped back to reality at Neteyam's question. "She is a good friend and we have tried to get closer. And we did grow closer, but not like you two are. I don't like her like you do." Neteyam felt relieved, yet felt bitter about it.
Neteyam was happy that he didn't have his own brother as his competitor. But if you were going to honor the agreement, you wouldn't as loved as he wanted you to be. He didn't want that for you. He wanted you to be loved like he always imagined. He had already accepted the fact that he would never love Inani. But he had never thought you wouldn't truly love his brother, and his brother wouldn't truly love you. This made Neteyam question if the promise between you two was worth it. It made him question all of his decisions he made since he started loving you.
