Gladiator

Chapter 7

Zrina's POV:

     My heart stopped. I lunged at him and wrapped my hand around his throat. I punched him in the face so many times that my knuckles were starting to bleed badly. Neteyam grabbed me by the waist and pulled me back. Once he let go of me, Neteyam grabbed Ao'nung by the arm.
"I'm going to get Lo'ak," I walked over to the shore.
"No you aren't! You don't know the waters like everyone else!" Neteyam exclaimed.
"Neither does Lo'ak! I'm going." I called for an ilu.
"You could die looking for him!" He yelled at me.
"He's all I have left Neteyam! My mom is dead and I don't even know who my dad is so back off. I don't have anyone but Lo'ak. And you can't stop me from going after him." I got onto my ilu and swam away quickly to aid Lo'ak's rescue. I could hear Neteyam yell in anger as I swam away. I turned around and saw him bringing Ao'nung to our Mauri. I swam faster than I've ever gone before. I swam until I saw three rocks. That is where Lo'ak was left. I swam west of the rocks. I swam until I saw a figure in the water. It was very large, I noticed it as a tulkun. I swam towards it carefully and saw him. Lo'ak. I smiled widely and yelled.
"Lo'ak!" I waved my arms in the air so he could see me. He turned in my direction and started jumping.
"Z! I'm over here!" He would yell back. I swam up to him and hugged him hard. I was so happy that he wasn't dead.
"I'm so glad you aren't dead." But then I smacked him over the head, "skxawng. You know not to go past the reef, don't get pressured into it if it happens again. And before you say anything, I beat the shit out of Ao'nung when I found out." Lo'ak laughed.
"Good. I was going to do it but you just saved my ass from being in trouble again," Lo'ak said.
"Oh no, I did not save your ass at all. Jake is going to kill you," I told him. Lo'ak groaned.

While Zrina and Lo'ak reunite, Neteyam brings Ao'nung to Jake...

Jake's POV:

     I'm sitting in the Mauri with Kiri when all of a sudden, Neteyam brings Ao'nung in harshly and pushes him toward me.
     "Tell him what you told me and Zrina!" He snarled to the boy. Ao'nung looked like he hadn't wanted to say it.
     "I took Lo'ak outside the reef. And left him there." My face fell. My son is outside the reef and no one is there to save him. He could die for all I know. Neteyam had mentioned Zrina. She wasn't there.
     "Zrina took off looking for Lo'ak a few minutes ago." After Neteyam said that, I noticed that Ao'nung was covered in bruises around his face and he had a hand mark on his neck. Neteyam's knuckles were clean, meaning only one thing. Zrina beat the absolute shit out of Ao'nung. I stood up.
    "I'll take Ao'nung to Tonowari, and you wait for them to return." I pulled Ao'nung to his family's Mauri...

Zrina's POV:

It had started to get dark out when we had finally noticed the glimpse of torches on land. We had made it back home.
     "Lo'ak, they are looking for you," I said. I got back onto my ilu.
     "Here, get on with me and say goodbye to your new friend." He said goodbye and got on my ilu. We swam back to shore when everyone started to notice us. I got onto shore and the minute I stepped onto sand I saw Ao'nung. I glared at him and walked toward him. I was pushed back by Neteyam, who is just trying to prevent me from fighting him. We stared at each other but his gaze softened. I turned back to Lo'ak who was being inspected by Jake.
     "Come here, let's have a look at you," he moved Lo'ak around to see if he was hurt, "he's fine, he's fine. Just a few scratches!" Neytiri walked over to him and grabbed him.
     "I pray for the strength that I will not pluck the eyes out of my youngest son," she threatened.
     "No, my son knows better than to take him outside the reef," Tonowari pushes his son so he is on his knee, "the blame is his." Jake tries to get Lo'ak to leave but Lo'ak speaks again.
     "No, this is not Ao'nung's fault. This was my idea. Ao'nung tried to talk me out of it. Really." Jake pulled him away from the crowd so the rest of us followed. I stayed by Neteyam's side and saw that he still has my arms band on his arm. I smiled. He noticed I was looking at him so he nudged me. I tripped a little so he grabbed my hand. Lo'ak was trying to apologize to his parents but they weren't buying it.
"What were you thinking?" Jake asked him.
"You told me to make friends with these kids," Lo'ak defended himself.
"I don't want to hear it. You brought shame to this family." My stomach dropped when he said that.
"Can I go now?" Lo'ak asked.
"Any more trouble I'm gonna jerk a knot in your tail," Jake threatens. Lo'ak walked off but I stayed by Neteyam's side, too nervous to follow him in case I would get into trouble too. Jake sighs and turns to Neteyam.
"Where were you?" Jake asked him. Neteyam was where exactly Jake told him to go. To get his wounds fixed. And he did. So it's not his fault.
"What happened to keeping an eye on your brother?" He asked again. Neteyam looks down in shame.
"Sorry, sir." We walk off and toward the Mauri.
"Your father is too hard on you. You did nothing wrong. I was with you," I explained to Neteyam.
"Why did you go to look for Lo'ak?" Neteyam changed the subject with a new question.
"I already told you, Lo'ak is my only family. If he died, I would have never forgiven myself if something happened to him and I could have saved him." I look down at my hands. Neteyam grabs both of my hands and makes me look him in the eye.
"You are not alone. You will always have me, Kiri, and Tuk." He smiles down at me. I smile back at him slightly.
"I also wanted to say thank you for finding my brother. And for saving my ass at the party the other night." I laughed at his comment. I leaned my head against his chest and sighed.
"You are welcome," I whisper the last part. But Neteyam still heard it. He gently grabs my chin and makes me look into his eyes again. He smiles down at me and I think I saw him look down at my lips. I look down at his lips and see him lean in closer to me. I lean in as well and our lips meet. It was soft and sweet. The complete contrast to when I kissed Ao'nung. The way Neteyam kisses me makes me feel safe and protected. I smile into the kiss and wrap my arms around his neck. He moves his arms to be draped around my waist and pulls me closer to his body. We eventually pull away for air but once we catch our breath, Neteyam kisses me again. The kiss starts to get more heated as I bite his lip. His mouth opens so I slide my tongue into his mouth. Our tongues were fighting for dominance in our mouths but he was clearly winning. I never knew I could like someone so fast. We finally pull away and walk back into the Mauri pod. I lay down on my mat and immediately fall asleep, thinking about a certain Na'vi.